1 . The United States is a nation of car owners. Ninety-five percent of households own a car, and 85 percent of people get to work in one. This lifestyle contributes to congestion on our roads and damages the environment. As autonomous vehicles begin to hit the streets over the next decade or so, it's believed that all this will change.
Autonomous vehicles will most likely decrease the number and severity of crashes, allow cars to travel more closely together and improve cooperation between vehicles, all of which tend to reduce traffic jams and increase capacity.
However, this future is not assured. To realize the full potential benefits of driverless cars, we will have to act soon to encourage a culture in which transportation is shared. Many people in the automobile industry assume that driverless vehicles will automatically be shared, but there is little evidence that this is true. Most estimates suggest that driverless cars will eventually be only slightly more expensive than traditional cars, which means they'll be within reach of many consumers, so users are not willing to share rides.
If most people are going to buy-in to a shared-ride culture, they need to get a significant benefit. Saving a few dollars off the fare isn't likely to promote the movement dramatically. A better benefit would be knowing that you're going to reach your destination more quickly. The way to guarantee quick passage is to redesign our roads to give priority to ride-sharing autonomous vehicles like building priority lanes. The cost of travel will also be varied based on how efficiently a vehicle uses the roads. Autonomous vehicles carrying multiple people should get higher priority than those carrying one or none at all.
Decision-makers must push for incentives that encourage the most efficient use of our limited roadway infrastructure(基础设施). The autonomous future is rapidly approaching; it is critical that we act now, while the impacts of autonomous vehicles on traffic jams and emissions are still largely within our control.
1. What's the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic. |
| B．To tell the severe traffic problem. |
| C．To prove the necessity of autonomous vehicles. |
| D．To show the damage of cars to the environment. |
| A．Autonomous vehicles worsen traffic jams on roads. |
| B．Autonomous vehicles are likely to reduce traffic jams. |
| C．Saving some fares contributes to shared-ride significantly. |
| D．Many people have ridden autonomous vehicles to avoid traffic jams. |
| A．To save a large amount of money. |
| B．To promote the development of science and technology. |
| C．To redesign roads to prioritize car-shared modes. |
| D．To allow you to reach your destination much more quickly. |
| A．Driverless Cars Will Make Our Traffic Problems Worse. |
| B．Autonomous Vehicles Will Make a Difference to Traffic. |
| C．Decision-makers Should Take Some Measures Quickly. |
| D．The Current Situation of Cars in the United States is Serious. |
2 . Social media is taking over our lives: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and now, TikTok. These social media platforms have transformed from a way to stay connected to an industry where even kids can make money off their posts. While this may seem like another opportunistic innovation, it’s really full of hidden false realities.
The median income (中位收入) recorded in the United States of America was about $63,000 in 2018. TikTokers can make anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 for a TikTok brand partnership, and TikTokers with over a million followers can make up to $30,000 a month — $360,000 a year. They are making more than the average person trying to feed their family and keep a roof over their heads, simply by posting a 15-second video.
This is mad in more ways than one. Not only is it an overpaid “job”, it promotes undeserved admiration from viewers and a false sense of reality. Many of these famous TikTokers are still teens, and the effects of fame at such an early stage in life might cause issues later in life, such as mental illness. Teens between the ages of 13 and 17 make up 27% of TikTok viewers, who can be easily influenced by what they are watching. They can put a false sense of self-value into who they look up to and what they represent: money, fame, being considered conventionally attractive.
While TikTok has become a great tool for marketing, it’s important to understand how this content affects young viewers. If we’re constantly consuming content that hsows us all we need to do to be successful is be conventionally attractive and post a 15-second video featuring a new dance, it will challenge our knowledge of what really makes someone successful and will in turn affect our individual work ethics (伦理). What about the people who miss birthdays and family holidays due to their jobs and aren’t getting paid nearly as much as these TikTokers?
Richard Colyer, president and creator of Metaphor, Inc., had his own view on this issue.
“It sounds great that kids can make money for doing the latest dance moves in a 15-second video, but we should feed the minds of kids and not just their bank accounts. TikTok can be great if used properly. Money alone is not good, technology alone is not good and connectedness can be bad if it’s only online.”
Again, as a fellow consumer of TikTok, I do enjoy the app when I have some time to kill and need a good laugh. I’m not against someone making a living on entertainment, but what does getting famous of a 15-second video teach young people?
1. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Social networking. | B．Making money on social media. |
| C．A job offered by TikTok. | D．Staying connected to the Internet. |
| A．They tend to live an adult life too soon. |
| B．They are forced to pay for certain services. |
| C．They may abandon other social media. |
| D．They are likely to develop false values. |
| A．TikTok can be a positive influence if teens employ it wisely. |
| B．Young TikTokers should be banned form making money. |
| C．It is better to involve education on investment in TikTok videos. |
| D．Contents of videos need checking before their release online. |
| A．Say No to TikTok. | B．Join Young TikTokers |
| C．TikTok — A Mine of Money | D．A Job vs An Entertainment |
3 . I grew up in libraries, or at least it feels that way. I went there several times a week with my mother when I was young. Those visits were fantastic. The library might have been the first place where I was ever given autonomy (自主权). In the library, I could have anything I wanted. And on the ride back home, my mom and I would talk about the order in which we were going to read our books, a solemn conversation in which we planned how to pace ourselves through this charming period until the books were due.
When I left for college, one of the many ways I differentiated myself from my mom was that I was wild about owning books. All I know is that I lost my appreciation of the slow pace of making my way through a library and of having books on borrowed time. If my mother ever mentioned to me that she was on the waiting list for some book at the library, I got annoyed and asked why she didn’t just buy it.
But in 2011,one of my son’s school assignments was to interview someone who worked for the city. He said he wanted to interview a librarian. As my son and I drove to meet the librarian, I was flooded by a sense of absolute familiarity, a recollection of the journey of the parent and child on their way to the library. I had taken this trip so many times before, but at that moment I turned my thought on its head, and I was the parent bringing my child on that special trip.
As I walked into the library, nothing had changed — the sense of gentle, steady busyness, like a pot of water on a rolling boil (沸点), was just the same. In the library, time is dammed up — not just stopped but saved. I knew what hooked me was the shock of familiarity I felt — the way it revealed my childhood, my relationship with my mom, my love of books. However, as I was rediscovering those memories, my mother was losing all of hers.The writer Amadou Hampâté Bâ once said that in Africa,whenever an old man dies, it is like a library has burned. But if you can take something from his or her internal collection and share it, it takes on a life of its own.
1. What can be inferred about the author’s childhood from Paragraph 1?| A．She lived near a library. |
| B．She possessed a library. |
| C．She didn’t borrow books from libraries. |
| D．She enjoyed visits to libraries. |
| A．She lost her enthusiasm for reading. |
| B．She did not return books on time. |
| C．She quit the habit of going to libraries. |
| D．She wanted to buy books for her mom. |
| A．Her love of libraries. |
| B．Her delight in owning books. |
| C．Her lost memory of her mom. |
| D．Her familiarity with her mom. |
| A．The Library — a World of Knowledge |
| B．The Library — a Place of Memory |
| C．The Library — a Busy Place |
| D．The Library — an Old Man |
4 . Lectures on happiness are becoming increasingly popular in Harvard University. I went to one of them, which left a lasting impression on me. While we were listening with close attention, the speaker suddenly stopped and started a game, giving each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write their name on it using a pen. Then the 100 students from 25 schools were divided into two groups.
Now the two groups were in different rooms with their balloons flying in it. The first group of 50 students were asked to find the balloon with their name on it within 5 minutes. Everyone was hurriedly searching for their own name, pushing and running into each other, and there was lots of noise. At the end of 5 minutes, none of them could find their own balloon.
The second half, on the other hand, was asked to randomly (随机地) collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.
This is exactly happening in our lives. Everyone is hurriedly looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness, and you will get your own happiness. And this is the purpose of human life.
1. What happened to the first group?| A．None made any noise at all. | B．None found their balloon |
| C．Everyone found their friends. | D．Everyone helped one another. |
| A．5. | B．25. | C．50. | D．100. |
| A．Everyone pushed each other in the two groups. |
| B．Students in the game come from the same school. |
| C．Our happiness comes from the happiness of others. |
| D．Students learned nothing about happiness in the game. |
| A．Finding Happiness | B．Having Lectures |
| C．Collecting Balloons | D．Playing Games |
5 . Recently, as I watched my son Nathan play basketball for his school team, I was feeling sorry for myself and for him. His team was facing adversity (困境) on the court and he was playing in a hostile environment — it was the opponent’s home gym filled with their supporters, and Nathan’s team was trailing (落后) for three quarters of the game. As for me, I had just been dismissed (解雇) from my job earlier in that day.
During the drive home, I kept telling myself that I would find work again in a short time — I was always confident in my experience and abilities, but self-doubt was still sticking its foot in the door.
The basketball game entered the fourth quarter with Nathan’s team still trailing. I saw the determination on his face as well as his teammates’ as they fought back to not only tie the game, but then go ahead by three points. Then, a player from the other team made an unbelievable shot to make the game tied again. With the tied scores and seconds on the clock, Nathan found himself with the ball and with skill and confidence, he made the basket with a defender hanging all over him. The other player was called for a foul (犯规).
As Nathan stood preparing for a shot that would put his team up by three points, I saw the focus and determination on his face, with no room for self-doubt. Nathan was able to tune out all the distractions and nail the free throw with such skill, as if he had done it a thousand times.
As I sat there, my heart bursting with pride, it dawned on me that I had taught him perseverance (毅力) in the face of adversity, and he had just taught me the same lesson. That brief moment of self-doubt and feeling sorry for myself was blown away by the actions of my son on the basketball court. He will play in the finals, but it doesn’t matter if he wins or loses. At this moment, we both won.
1. What did the author estimate his son’s team would be like at first?| A．The team would finally win. |
| B．The team would lose at away court. |
| C．The team would lose at home court. |
| D．The team would tie with the opponents. |
| A．Avoid. | B．Focus. | C．Create. | D．Receive. |
| A．My son would win in the finals and I would find a job soon. |
| B．I had once taught my son face to face that we should never give up. |
| C．It was my encouragement and help that made my son win the game. |
| D．I would become more confident about my future after this experience. |
| A．Life Goes Just Like Playing Basketball |
| B．It Matters Whether to Win or Lose |
| C．A Lesson in Life and Basketball |
| D．A Moment of Self-doubt |
6 . Faster, cheaper, better-technology is one field many people rely upon to offer a vision of a brighter future. But as the 2020s dawn, optimism is in short supply. The new technologies that dominated the past decade seem to be making things worse. Social media were supposed to bring people together, but they are better known for leaking privacy. E-commerce, ride-hailing (网约车) and the gig economy (零工经济) may be convenient, but they are charged with underpaying workers, worsening inequality and blocking the streets with vehicles.
Today's pessimistic mood is centered on smart phones and social media, which took off a decade ago. Yet concerns that particular technologies might be doing more harm than good have arisen before. The 1920s witnessed a criticism against cars, which had earlier been seen as an answer to the problems caused by horse-drawn vehicles which filled the streets with noise and animal waste and caused accidents. And industrialization was criticized in the 19th century by Romantics who worried about the replacement of skilled workers, the robbing of the countryside and the suffering of factory hands.
However, that pessimism can be overdone. Too often people focus on the drawbacks of a new technology while taking its benefits for granted. Worries about screen time should be weighed against the much more substantial benefits of convenient communication and the instant access to information and entertainment that smartphones make possible. A further danger is that Luddite (反对技术进步者) efforts to avoid the short-term costs associated with a new technology will end up denying access to its long-term benefits-something Carl Benedikt Frey, an Oxford academic, calls a "technology trap". Fears that robots will steal people's jobs may discourage their use. Yet in the long run countries that wish to maintain their standard of living as their workforce ages and shrinks will need more robots, not fewer.
Any powerful technology can be used for good or ill. It is the choices people make about it that shape the world. Perhaps the real source of anxiety is not technology itself, but growing doubts about the ability of societies to hold this debate, and come up with good answers. So as the decade turns, put aside the pessimism for a moment. To be alive in the tech-obsessed 2020s is to be among the luckiest people who have ever lived.
1. What phenomenon is described in Paragraph 1?| A．The seriousness of social inequality. |
| B．The rapid development of technology. |
| C．Problems brought by personal privacy leaks. |
| D．Worries about the influence of new technologies. |
| A．Negative. | B．Uncertain. | C．Sympathetic. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．A lack of good jobs in the job market. |
| B．An increase in the number of Luddites. |
| C．A decrease in the number of skilled workers. |
| D．An interruption to the advancement of a new technology. |
| A．Pessimism vs Progress | B．Technology vs Civilization |
| C．2020s: The Age of Technology | D．Robots: Our Future Caretakers |
7 . The definition of community has evolved (升华)for me from childhood to the young adult I am now. My mom was born in America but both her parents were from the Bahamas. It was their culture to take care of the elderly and the sick. And my mom has taught me to be caring to those around us because we're all a part of the "community" , an extension of family.
When I was 9 years old, my family moved to Cape Coral, Florida. Both mom and dad worked full-time, so they registered me to attend an after-school program at the Youth Center. Youth counselors (辅导员) would help me with my homework and play games with me and this was where my interest took root. Community service started with me giving back at the Youth Center.
Then illness struck at home. My grandmother had to have heart surgery and needed hospital treatment. This experience brought me to volunteer at Cape Coral Hospital. I asked if I could learn from the nurse how to give my grandma her medicine and it started here.
I loved being at Cape Coral Hospital. I would bring paperwork to other doctors, bring food to the patients, and make sure the patients were attended. I would help direct visitors to see patients. I would always tell what would cheer the patients up because I had built a relationship with them and their loved ones. I grew to feel the hospital was a part of my community.
After volunteering at the Youth Center and at the Hospital, I've learned that people become sort of an extended family when you care about them. Now I am more considerate of those close to me, neighbors and even strangers who share my resources.
1. Who might be the first to expose the author to the sense of community?| A．Counselors at the Youth Center. |
| B．Nurses at Cape Coral Hospital. |
| C．Her grandparents. |
| D．Her mother. |
| A．They were too busy to take care of her. |
| B．They wanted her to do community service. |
| C．The author couldn't finish her homework on her own. |
| D．Becoming a counselor was the author's childhood dream. |
| A．Cheer the patients up. |
| B．Bring food to the patients. |
| C．Help direct visitors to see patients. |
| D．Serve medicine to her grandmother. |
| A．I Love Volunteering | B．Community Is Family |
| C．My Volunteer Experiences | D．My Community and My Family |
8 . Football is my favorite sport. I loved to watch it, but I had never played in a football game before I went to college. I lacked self－confidence and I doubted if I could do well in a team, which was why I hardly did sports together with others. I just loved practicing playing football in the backyard of my house.
About one month after I went to college, one day some of my classmates said they'd play a football game with some players of another class. I really looked forward to it but never thought I'd join them to play. That day finally came and I went to watch with my classmates. However, just about ten minutes after the game started, one member of our football team got injured and could no longer play. The other members looked worried. Then one of them came to me and asked, “Can you play?” At first, I shook my head, but then I nodded. “Great! Come and play,” he said. I followed him, having no idea at all what to do. To my joy, he asked me to play in defense (防守). Defense was my favorite because I found it more fun and less complicated (复杂的). Then the game began again. There weren't a lot of big kids on the offensive line (攻击线) of the other team and I suddenly gained some self－confidence. About five minutes later, the ball was kicked toward the guard. I thought it was a good opportunity for me. I quickly ran past the guard and got the ball. When the guard came to the offensive line, I kicked the ball. I scored and all my classmates cheered. You may not believe it, but I scored twice that time. The final score was 6—2 and we won. My teammates thought that I did very well and none of them believed I hadn't played in a game before.
That game really changed me. I am a really confident person now and often play football games with my teammates.
1. Why didn't the author play sports with others before?| A．He wasn't interested in sports. |
| B．He wasn't popular with others. |
| C．He couldn't afford time for sports. |
| D．He wasn't confident about his ability. |
| A．excited | B．boring |
| C．anxious | D．angry |
| A．got nervous about watching football games |
| B．decided to become a full－time football player |
| C．was considered the best football player at school |
| D．fell in love with joining others in playing football |
| A．My first football game. |
| B．My most unforgettable experience. |
| C．My way of finding self－confidence. |
| D．My way of scoring at football games. |
9 . In 2015, Chennai was destroyed by one of the worst floods in over a century, leaving thousands without food, water and supplies. During the flood, many heroes arose, one of whom was Santosh, a young man who owned a take-out restaurant in Chennai.
When the first flood hit in November, he got a call from a company called Naga Rava. The company asked him to prepare 5,000 packets of food and give them to the flood victims. He, with his partners, took the order, cooked for 14 hours and delivered(递送) them. But that night, as they sat together discussing the event of the day, they actually felt ashamed(羞愧). “Here was a man not even from Chennai and he was going out of his way to help the affected people. We, while living here, had not really done anything ourselves for our own people,” said Santosh later.
He then began the groundwork for a collection to help cook more dishes. Little did he know that the November flood was just the beginning, and the real show was about to begin. The December flood affected them all. His own house got flooded and his family was trapped on the second floor. They lost phone connection and electricity. In spite of this, Santosh went back out into the flood, creating a kitchen and preparing food all by himself for the victims.
He did not sleep for four days, taking a one-hour break every day as he kept on cooking. As word got out about this man’s effort, others stepped out to join him. From children to the elderly, strangers came to help him in cooking, packing and transporting food. Up to 300 volunteers worked together to make it all happen. By the time the fourth day finally came to an end, Santosh and his team had prepared 170,000 food boxes and delivered them to people in need.
1. What inspired Santosh to help the affected people?| A．A call for help. | B．His cooking skills. |
| C．An act of kindness of a stranger. | D．The encouragement from his partners. |
| A．The help and support. | B．The severer flood. |
| C．Santosh’s family suffering. | D．Santosh’s cooking more food. |
| A．Energetic and helpful. | B．Determined and clever. |
| C．Selfless and caring. | D．Kind and wise. |
| A．Many Hands Make Light Work |
| B．Kindness Is Its Own Reward |
| C．Major Floods Brought Challenges To People |
| D．A Man Cooked 170,000 Meals For The Affected |
10 . Genghis Khan（成吉思汗）remains to this day one of the most successful men to have walked the Earth. Rising from an outcast to be the ruler of the largest land empire to have ever existed, he introduced an alphabet and an official form of money, united a kingdom of tribes at war with each other, and conquered most of the known world. His empire spread from Poland to Japan. It is estimated that one in every 200 men on the planet today is related to Genghis Khan. But there are no accounts of the events that surrounded his death and burial; only a mystery focused around an area known as the Forbidden Zone.
From the time of the Khan's death in 1227 up until 1991 the Forbidden Zone was as off-limits as any place in the world. Shortly after he died, the surviving Mongol leaders ordered a group of 50 fierce families, known as the Uryangqai of the Woods, to occupy this land and kill anyone who entered without permission.
They made exceptions only for the funeral processions（队伍）of the Khan's direct descendants, who were also allowed to be buried there. This extreme degree of secrecy has led many to the conclusion that the body of Genghis Khan himself lies in a tomb somewhere in this zone, along with some of the treasures of an empire vaster than those of Napoleon and Alexander the Great combined. When the U.S.S. R.（前苏联）took over Mongolia in 1924; they killed all the Uryangqai of the Woods just as they tried to erase the memory of the great Khan. The Forbidden Zone -still remained off-limits, however. It wasn't until the fall of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 that entering the Forbidden Zone became possible for scientists and historians. Even today, eight centuries after it quietly rested, the Forbidden Zone has been visited by very few.
1. Which of the following statements about Genghis Khan is TRUE?| A．He was the ruler of the largest empire in history. |
| B．He united and occupied many parts of the world. |
| C．An exact number of 200 people are related to him today. |
| D．He was buried in what is known as the Forbidden Zone. |
| A．They buried Genghis Khan's body in secret. |
| B．They were ordered to occupy the Forbidden Zone. |
| C．They were killed because they hated Genghis Khan. |
| D．They forbade everyone from entering the Forbidden Zone. |
| A．Who visited the Forbidden Zone. |
| B．When the Forbidden Zone was discovered. |
| C．Why the U.S.S.R. killed all the Uryangqai. |
| D．How the great Khan conquered the known world. |
| A．Genghis Khan, a Great Emperor |
| B．The Forbidden Zone, a Remaining Mystery |
| C．The Discovery of Genghis Khan's Tomb |
| D．The Bravery of the Uryangqai of the Woods |
