1 . School districts across the United States have reported that the number of students failing classes has risen many times higher than usual numbers.
Educators see a number of factors. Students learning from home often miss assignment —- or school completely. Internet availability is limited or not effectively established, making it difficult to complete and upload assignments. And teachers not seeing their students in person have fewer ways to note who is falling behind. That is especially true with many students keeping their cameras off during online classes.
The increase in failing grades has been seen in districts of all sizes around the country. In the Salem-Keizer Public School district, hundreds of students at first had grade scores of 0.0% .This showed that students simply were not taking part in school at all. In New Mexico, more than 40% middle and high school students were failing at least one class as of late October. In Houston, Texas, 42% students received at least one F in the first grading period of the year, double the amount in a usual year.
For it, schools have taken measures. Some schools are giving students more time to complete assignments. Advisory teams have increased contact with students. Teachers have been asked to temporarily stop assigning graded homework. And parents of Hispanic students were invited to learn how they can see their children’s grades online. I n Charleston, administrators are considering bringing in a grading system which permits instructors to give 50s instead of 0s to make it less harmful to students’ grades. “I' m an English teacher, not a math teacher, but I' ve learned zeros are very, very damaging to an average, ”Jody Stallings said.
1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．Teachers’ helplessness in online classes. |
| B．Students’ ineffective access to the Internet. |
| C．The causes of assignments being missed by students. |
| D．The reasons for the increase in students’ failing grades. |
| A．By comparing facts. | B．By presenting statistics. |
| C．By answering questions. | D．By showing public opinions. |
| A．Introducing a new grading system. |
| B．Parents increasing their contact with students. |
| C．Teachers canceling the deadline for assignments. |
| D．Instructing parents to monitor students learning online. |
| A．Approving. | B．Critical. | C．Anxious. | D．Ambiguous. |
2 . Carbon is a chemical element which is present in organic compounds that make us organisms, plants as well as fossil. It is a vital component of the greenhouse gas CO2, the highest percentage of the global warming gas in the atmosphere.
These Green House Gases (GIIGs) along with other factors are responsible for the most discussed issues affecting the planet, climate change. Climate change has and still releases a huge set of environmental disasters which are fueling the difficulty of survival on the planet. In order to eliminate, reduce and adapt to these risks of survival, individuals, organizations, and countries will have to adopt carbon neutrality measures. The main aim of carbon neutrality is to achieve a net-zero emission either by balancing the emission or absorbing of carbon or quit the production of carbon. However, to really understand carbon neutrality, the carbon cycle should be first understood
The carbon cycle is the transfer of carbon through different media. Carbon has the ability to move in different media in different forms at different rates and tines. These different factors (rate, time, and media) are the phenomena underlying carbon neutrality. For instance, carbon released into the atmosphere by the rapid burning of fossil fills back as rain in the form of carbonate (碳酸盐) and is absorbed by the reservoirs (oceans, surface water, and the earth surface). Even though the exchange of carbon between some of these reservoirs takes a long time, some over 100 years, carbon was absorbed until now. The main problem existing today is that the emissions of CO2 are too high to be offset by the reservoirs, thereby leaving the offsetting task to us.
The European Union (EU) is taking all measures it can to offset carbon through Emission trading system which helps industries to manage their carbon footprints. Similarly, China, which is responsible for 25% of the world's CO2 emissions due to its economic and industrial structure is currently decreasing its energy consumption/GDP and CO2 emission/GDP, while increasing is forest cover and air quality through its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) carbon neutrality actions.
1. What does the underlined word "fueling" in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?| A．Experiencing. | B．Overcoming. | C．Increasing. | D．Ending. |
| A．By giving an example. |
| B．By comparing media. |
| C．By analyzing data. |
| D．By describing a task. |
| A．GHGs take the whole blame for the climate change. |
| B．Carbon exchange takes little time. |
| C．The contribution of the EU is not obvious. |
| D．China las a clear goal in low-carbon efforts. |
| A．Politics. | B．Environment. | C．Commercial. | D．Lifestyle. |
3 . There is a school in my Manhattan neighbourhood that has been giving out free meals during the Covid-19 pandemic-and every time I walk past it the line seems longer. A community fridge recently showed up a couple of blocks away; it’s one of many that activists have fixed across the city to fight against growing food insecurity. Just around the corner there’s a young woman who has become a regular among the beggars I usually see in the area. She lost her job because of Covid-19.
It’s not all doom and gloom. While the poor are getting poorer, the 1% are making out like robbers. America’s 600-plus billionaires saw their wealth grow by more than $700bn in the first few months of the pandemic. During the same period, more than 50 million American workers lost their jobs. The US government has printed trillions of dollars in economic relief but many of the forgivable emergency loans for small businesses seem to have been taken by the super-rich. My local independent coffee shop has closed down, but Kanye West received a partially forgivable loan worth at least $2m. It is becoming increasingly clear that the US is experiencing one of the biggest wealth transfers in history.
Bernie Sanders has a plan to help. Last week, Sanders introduced a bill, Make Billionaires Pay Act, that would establish a one-time 60% tax on billionaires’ pandemic gains and use the money to guarantee Americans free health care for a year. There is very little chance the bill will get passed.
Billionaires shouldn’t exist in the first place-the idea that they should be taxed at a higher rate during a pandemic to help pay health care shouldn’t be remotely controversial. However, there are some who think such a move would be extremely unfair to “poor unfortunate” billionaires who, as we all know, are one of the most unfairly hurt groups in the world.
1. How does the author develop the first two paragraphs?| A．By listing numbers. | B．By giving definitions. |
| C．By presenting arguments. | D．By making contrasts. |
| A．the writer doesn’t feel depressed at all |
| B．the current situation of Covid-19 is getting better |
| C．the woman has suffered more than we can imagine |
| D．the billionaires still make profits during the pandemic |
| A．rid the country of pandemic |
| B．restrict the billionaires’ fortune |
| C．provide short-term loans for health care |
| D．ensure temporary free medical service |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Sympathetic. | D．Respectful. |
4 . Approximately 90 percent of the young Chinese participating in the latest survey conducted by the Global Times Research Center believe China should not “look up to the West” anymore.
Chinese analysts said the sustainable and fast development of China is the core (核心的) reason why more Chinese are becoming increasingly confident, and some key elements have sped up the process such as the rise of Trumpism (特朗普主义) in the US.
The survey, titled “Changing attitudes toward the West among young Chinese people,” showed that there has been a significant change in attitude among young people toward Western countries, as a growing number of respondents see them as equals while many previously looked up to them.
The survey showed 37.2 percent of the participants said that five years ago, they still believed they should “look up to the West”, but now, only 8.1 percent of these people have the same view. Meanwhile, the people who “look down on the West” rose to 41.7 percent while only 18.4 percent of them held the same opinion as they did five years ago. About 48.3 percent of the participants believe they should see the West equally now.
The core reasons that have driven such changes are mostly concerned with China’s achievements in recent years. For example, 53.8 percent of interviewees chose “China’s successful epidemic (流行病) prevention and control amid the COVID-19 pandemic”, 40.5 percent selected “China’s cooperation with other countries under the Belt and Road Initiative”, 37.6 percent said “China is the only major economy that keeps growing when the world economy is in a shadow”.
Viewing the West equally does not mean that China will be proud or will oppose the West. The survey also shows that the participants are realistic and rational as they are aware that the West still has advantages over China in certain fields. For example, 64.6 percent of the participants said China should still learn from the West in the fields of science and technology.
1. According to the passage, why are more Chinese becoming increasingly confident?| A．Because Trumpism is rising in the US. |
| B．Because China has been developing rapidly and steadily. |
| C．Because there are few patients with the COVID-19 pandemic in China. |
| D．Because China cooperates with other countries under the Belt and Road Initiative. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By listing figures. |
| C．By making remarks. | D．By showing facts. |
| A．China will he the most powerful country in the world. |
| B．Most young Chinese are probably unwilling to go to the West. |
| C．Cooperation and win-win contributes to China’s development. |
| D．China’s economy is the strongest when the world economy is in a shadow. |
| A．Objective | B．Disapproving | C．Supportive | D．Subjective |
5 . One of life’s great mysteries is how aged parents produce youthful children. Our cells show signs of age as a result of the accumulation of damage caused by the environment and the body’s metabolism (新陈代谢), and yet they can combine to produce a baby biologically younger than its parents. This has led biologists to suggest that the germline (生殖细胞) are immune to ageing, which could lead to ways of curing age-related diseases.
But recent research shows that not only does the germline age, but that ageing starts even as embryos develop in the uterus (子宫), much sooner than we thought. “Then the question is, if ageing begins earlier, when does it actually begin?” says Vadim Gladyshev at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Gladyshev and his colleagues looked at the changes in cells and tissues from the start of mouse development. The team found that this measure of ageing began to decrease when the early embryo formed into a hollow ball and reached its lowest point after it had been fixed in the uterus. It then increased again as development progressed. The team also looked at data on human embryos, and found signs of a similar pattern at work, although ethical restrictions on growing human embryos beyond 14 days in the lab mean the team was unable to study every stage of development. The discovery points to a refreshing mechanism (机制) that rolls back ageing to a minimum point from which a new individual can begin life, says Gladyshev.
Ageing can also be changed in adult cells by reprogramming them into more immature cells. However, this also makes the cells lose their specialised adult functions, making it less useful as a way to repair age-related damage. Gladyshev hopes that further study will help reveal whether it is possible to separate these two processes.“This discovery is exciting, since it suggests a potential, naturally occurring refreshment that resets the biological time of germ cells during the first days of development,” says Belmonte at the Salk Institute in California.
1. What contributes to signs of age according to Paragraph 1?| A．Accumulation of age-related diseases. |
| B．Combination of the germline and embryos. |
| C．Ethical restrictions on growing human embryos. |
| D．Harm from environment and metabolic process. |
| A．The early embryo beyond 14 days. |
| B．The early embryo fixed in the uterus. |
| C．The early embryo with immature cells. |
| D．The early embryo forming into a hollow ball. |
| A．telling stories | B．giving examples |
| C．classifying facts | D．making comparisons |
| A．Recent study reveals two separate processes. |
| B．Slowing ageing may be harmful to adults’ health. |
| C．Specialized adult functions make cells less useful. |
| D．People can keep young by replacing immature cells. |
6 . Since time immemorial, people have been searching for the fountain of youth. Surprisingly, the dream of human immortality is, according to some scientists, not so far out of reach.
Professor Brian Cox, Google's Ray Kurzweil, and Tesla head Elon Musk all agree on not only the possibility of human immortality but also that it is not too far away. The solution, they say, is something called the “technological singularity”.
The singularity is a combination of humankind with computers, namely uploading the contents of one's brain onto a hard drive. In that way, a person's consciousness can stay alive after a physical body gets worse. This is based on the idea that a human brain is simply a machine, and there is, according to Professor Cox, “no reason at all why we cannot simulate (模拟) human intelligence,” using a computer.
Although Professor Cox did not say when the singularity would occur, Google's Ray Kurzweil predicts that the singularity will happen as early as 2045. By 2100, he says, human body parts will be replaceable by machine parts. Further, by uploading our brains onto a computer, we will be able to toy with it, and become “able to expand the scope of our intelligence a billion fold. ”
Elon Musk agreed with the asessments of the other scientists, even going so far as saying that the chances that we are not in a computer simulation right now are “one in billions” .
Google is preparing for a future where you can download personalities onto robots. For example, you might be able to download onto your robot a celebrity personality, or of the personality of your deceased grandmother.
The search engine giant filed a patent for this download process recently. So they definitely believe that the singularity is just around the corner. All you have to do is hold on until 2045, and soon you can effectively live in the cloud.
1. What does the underlined word “immortality” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Living forever. | B．Rebirth after death. |
| C．Being perfect. | D．Continuous improvement. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By presenting quotations. |
| C．By logically reasoning. | D．By making a description. |
| A．Computers are much smarter than humankind. |
| B．Computers can never surpass humankind at all. |
| C．Computers and humankind are quite different. |
| D．Computers can be another version of humankind. |
| A．Physically and intelligently. | B．Individually and corporately. |
| C．Psychologically and spiritually. | D．Emotionally and materially. |
7 . There's an organization in England called Playing Out that is trying to send more children outdoors to play. In an ideal world, a child can step outside and enjoy whatever environment he or she encounters. However, many only encounter car-filled streets. Playing Out wants this to change, and its directors invited environmental writer and activist George Monbiot to have a public conversation about how to cope with such a challenge. What follows are some thoughts on the highlights of the conversation,
First, we mustn't underestimate the positive influence of community on a child's wellbeing. It's an essential human need to feel a sense of belonging in a physical space. Monbiot says he gets this sense from his garden, where being in an outdoor physical location connects him with people from all over the community, who are sharing that space.
The greatest threat to modern children's outdoor play is the presence of cars. Monbiot describes neighborhoods where there's minimal traffic. The lines linking houses are closely connected. Compare that to neighborhoods where busy streets bisect (平分) neighborhoods and there's hardly any interaction between households. The busy traffic literally cuts through the threads, and destroys the society's fabric.
This is unfair because children have the right to use land and space as well. But their opinions are ignored when land is being developed. According to Monbiot, children should be allowed to weigh in on how they want neighborhoods to look. He said, "Children have fantastically creative solutions to problems adults can't solve."
Whether it's streets, parks, rivers, or public squares, children need to get out there and fill those spaces with their games, voices and laughter. Not only will it make them healthier, but it'll teach them to be better citizens, knowing how to interact with others and the natural world.
1. What does the underlined word "this" in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Children's unwillingness to play outside. |
| B．The possible benefit of outdoor activities. |
| C．Loss of space for children's outdoor play. |
| D．The challenge of cutting back on vehicles. |
| A．By delivering a public speech online. |
| B．By describing his personal experience. |
| C．By explaining the sense of belonging. |
| D．By giving the result of his research. |
| A．It reduces their access to green spaces. |
| B．It exposes them to deadly dangers. |
| C．It increases their knowledge of traffic safety. |
| D．It threatens their interpersonal connections. |
| A．Children's voices should be heard in community planning. |
| B．Children should be allowed to encounter challenges. |
| C．Vehicles are to blame for children's worsening lives. |
| D．Vehicles should be reduced to improve people's lives. |
8 . As the world’s climate changes, ocean warming is getting faster and sea levels are rising more quickly, warns a new report. The report also discusses a relatively new problem appearing in the oceans: heat waves.
The unusually hot water affected animals that live off the coast of Maine, which are important to the local fishing economy (经济). What’s more, it quickly became clear that the state wasn’t alone. “Heat wave events have popped up all over the ocean.” says Andrew Pershing, scientific officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. “We’ve actually had three huge heat waves in the Gulf of Maine—2012, 2016 and 2018—and now we’re looking at repeat heat waves in the northern Pacific; Australia’s also had some repeat heat waves.”
That’s a big deal for coastal communities whose economies depend on fish and other seafood. Heat waves in recent years drove a lot of changes in life off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, which in turn led to disastrous seasons for fishermen. Unusually hot water supported the growth of algae that polluted the Dungeness crab (螃蟹) fishery on the West Coast, shutting it down for months. At the same time, the hot water off the coast led to continuous dry weather on land, which killed large numbers of salmon (鲑鱼) and raised the risk of wildfires.
The report suggests actions to slow ocean warming and rising and to adapt to its influences. Most importantly, the authors support what has been known for many years: Greenhouse gas emissions (排放物) are the main driver of changes in the world’s oceans, and the global economy must make a complete change to reduce those emissions.
“Even if we cut carbon emissions right now, we are still looking at 20 to 30 years of change.” Pershing explains. “That means, no matter what we do, we have to work out how we are going to adapt to these changes.”
1. What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?| A．The results of global climate change. |
| B．The increasing frequency of heat waves. |
| C．The cause of heat waves in the oceans. |
| D．The problem ocean animals are facing. |
| A．By presenting research findings. | B．By following the order of time. |
| C．By providing examples. | D．By following the order of importance. |
| A．We should manage to reduce carbon emissions. |
| B．The measures to deal with climate change are useful. |
| C．We have a promising future of the world environment. |
| D．The influences of climate change on oceans are unavoidable. |
9 . Today, we study literature from a young age—learning about our histories, faraway worlds and influential people. Whether we notice or not, these stories—both fiction and non-fiction—guide us throughout our lives. They allow us to see the world through another’s eyes, open up our world and teach us about every subject known to man.
Despite their importance, many people throw out their old books—laying waste the wisdom that lies on each page. In an effort to save this knowledge and share it with those less fortunate, a garbage man in, Bogota, Colombia has been saving thrown-away books for 20 years and sharing them with those in need.
“I hated to see all the books in the dustbins of wealthier neighborhoods. So I started to rescue them,’’ said Gutierrez. The first book he found was a copy of the classic novel Anna Karenina. The Tolstoy book was later joined by The Little Prince, Sophie's World, The Iliad and a number of novels. Today, he has collected around 25,000 books.
His growing collection didn’t go unnoticed. Gutierrez’s neighbors were soon borrowing the books to help with their children’s homework. “There was a lack of them in our neighborhood, so we started to help,”said Gutierrez.
The ground floor of Gutierrez’s home is now filled with books, from floor to ceiling. Over spilling with books, he opened it up as a free library, with the help of his wife Luz Gutierrez and their three children.
Word eventually spread around about Gutierrez and his books. Most of the books now come from donations. He now travels around the country, delivering free books to poor and remote districts. The library, named “The Strength of Words", has donated books to some 235 schools, institutions and community libraries across Colombia.
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By stating some facts. |
| B．By contradicting a theory. |
| C．By describing a scene. |
| D．By referring to documents. |
| A．A heavy financial burden. |
| B．A companion in difficult times. |
| C．The beginning of his charity campaign. |
| D．One of his greatest achievements in life. |
| A．A good book is a light to the soul. |
| B．A bad beginning makes a bad ending. |
| C．Actions speak louder than words. |
| D．One man's garbage is another man' s treasure. |
| A．Tolstoy books recovered from dustbins. |
| B．Literature now appeals to garbage collectors. |
| C．Free libraries popular with neighborhood kids. |
| D．Garbage man builds a library from rescued books. |
10 . If you've been dreaming of having an electric car, but can't yet afford to buy one, you can start at a low price, really low. Changli, the world's cheapest electric car, can be ordered online and sent to your door for just $ 930.
Designed and produced by Chinese maker Changzhou Xili Car Industry, Changli, and Changli Nemeca is a small electric car that has got lots of attention online after being advertised as the world's most affordable electric car. Calling this thing a car is kind of stretching it a bit, as its electric motor can only produce 1.16 horsepower, and it has a top speed of only 30. km/h. Still, it does come with some interesting features, like air-conditioning, independent suspension, heater, radio and even reverse-view camera. But the most impressive thing about Changli in my opinion, is that you can have it sent to your doorstep.
Anyone who can just order Changli Nemeca online can have it mailed to them without having to pay extra money to the dealership. Changli measures 2.5 meters long, 1.5 meter wide, and 1.8 meters high, weighs 323 kilograms and can carry up to 30 kilograms.
The two-seat version starts at $ 930($ 1,200 with larger batteries), but you can choose a three-seat version as well, which will cost you $ 1,50. The battery of the small electric car is between 40 and 10 kilometers per charge and the batteries take between 7 and 10 hours to charge.
While Changli Nemeca won't be going head to head with other electric cars anytime soon it's still an amazing piece of machinery for the price. Where else are you going to find full functional electric cars that you can have mailed to your door.
1. Why does the author think Changli electric car is the most impressive?| A．Because of its design. | B．Because it's convenient. |
| C．Because it's light and cheap. | D．Because of its appearance. |
| A．Its producer. | B．Its users. | C．Its production. | D．Its features. |
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By listing numbers. |
| C．By giving examples. | D．By reasoning. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Pessimistic. | C．Uncertain. | D．Hopeless. |
