1 . The public nowadays has a misunderstanding of forest fires, believing that fires should be kept out of every type of forest. Many of us can recall Smoky the Bear's famous warning: “Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires”. However, that's not always the case. Under the right conditions, and when conducted safely, fire can create many environmental benefits as well as help prevent larger, uncontrollable wildfires.
After a forest fire, many wildlife species will move into recently burned areas to feed on these newly available foods. Some reptiles and amphibians such as the pine (松树） snake prefer forests frequently burned by fire. As Herbert Stoddard put it, “One of the most harmful things modern man has done to birds has been his attempt to exclude fire from fire-type pine forests. Within a few years most forests choke up with bushes, lose their prairie-like vegetation (草原般植被） and can no longer support birds dependent on periodic burning for their food supply and proper cover.”
If you are asked to picture the forest floor, what do you see? Pine needles, cones, leaves, branches might come to mind-all sources of fuel. If these fuel sources build up without any type of removal, the 'fuel load' can lead to fires catastrophic to forests and people alike. In contrast, prescribed fire can be used by forest professionals every couple of years to keep forest fuels at an appropriate and manageable level. They can also minimize the spread of pest insects and disease and remove unwanted tree and plant species. Plus, they can create and maintain important wildlife habitats rich in grasses and promote the growth of trees, wildflowers and other various plants.
Many organizations and agencies work to promote fire on the landscape when and where appropriate. Smokey Bear even has an updated warning: “Only You can Prevent Wildfires,” as the Forest Service has over the last few decades developed policies and procedures to include prescribed fire as a management tool, as well as continuing their work to prevent and fight wildfires.
1. Why did the author mention Smoky the Bear's warning?| A．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| B．To clarify a misunderstood concept. |
| C．To show the significance of fire prevention. |
| D．To raise people's awareness of forest protection. |
| A．Forest bushes. |
| B．Fuel sources. |
| C．Pine forests. |
| D．Periodic burning. |
| A．To put out wildfires. |
| B．To keep the forest balance. |
| C．To remove tree and plant species. |
| D．To keep the fuel rich in the forest. |
| A．One Match Can Start A Forest Fire |
| B．Where There Is Smoke There Is A Fire |
| C．Not All Forest Fires Are Created Equal |
| D．Why Not Keep The Forest Fire Burning |
2 . Until now, scientists haven’t been able to study the new rock on the moon.The new samples from Chang’e 5 will change this. They’re from near Mons Rümker, a volcanic mountain where the rock is thought to be much younger-- about 1 billion years old.
There are a lot of reasons scientists are eager to study this younger rock, one of which is that it could help us more precisely date not only the moon, but many rocky planets and other objects.
Here’s how that works: Scientists date lunar rock by using something called a chronology curve（年代学曲线）, says Jollliff, a scientists at Washington University in St. Louis. Basically, they estimate the age of the rock by counting the number of craters（火山口） in the area the rock comes from; those increase as objects strike the rock over time. To make this estimation, scientists need to match the number of craters to a precise age. Right now, they only have data points for lunar rock that is 3 to billion years old. Modern techniques can date the new sample extremely accurately, and once scientists know its precise age, they can add a valuable data point to their chronology curve. The dating system will also help us more accurately estimate the age of all sorts of objects in space, like rocky planets and other moons.
Another reason scientists are keen to study this young volcanic rock is to find out more about how volcanism works on the moon. Jollliff says that it’s unclear why there was volcanic activity on the moon for such a long period of time. Most of the moon; s volcanic activity, he says, is thought to have occurred 3 or 4 billion years ago, when the moon was still pretty young. But since the moon does not have plate structure, which drives volcanism on Earth, it’s unclear what could have caused much later volcanic activity. “That’s something that you can find out of the samples by studying them in the lab,” Jollliff says.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．The fact of being unable to study the new rock. |
| B．The new rock from near Mons Rümker. |
| C．One of the reasons to study the moon;s new rock. |
| D．The study of the moon’s younger rock. |
| A．ensure there was volcanic activity on the moon. |
| B．more precisely date only the moon. |
| C．date lunar rock by using a chronology curve. |
| D．explore how volcanism works on the moon. |
| A．Scientistsare keen to study this young volcanic rock. |
| B．Scientists can’t know why volcanic activity exists on the moon. |
| C．The moon’s volcanic activity occurred 3 or 4 billion years ago. |
| D．It’s clear what could have caused much later volcanic activity. |
| A．How scientists study the younger rock. |
| B．Why the research is important. |
| C．Why the younger rock is worth studying. |
| D．What scientists do to study the younger rock. |
3 . Ian McKenna was in third grade when he learned that many kids at his Austin school weren't getting enough to eat at home. He wanted to help, but local volunteer organizations turned him away, saying he was too young. So he decided to find his own solution. For years, he had been gardening with his mother, and they often distributed their extra vegetables to the neighbors. “Why not give the produce to a soup kitchen? Then I thought, I'm good at gardening," says McKenna, now 16. “Why not plant a garden at school, so that kids in need could take food home?"
McKenna persuaded his school to set aside space for a garden; then he asked the community for donations of seeds and equipment. Other students donated their time. Within months, McKenna's garden was producing lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash for students and their families. Now, seven years later, McKenna's Giving Garden project has expanded to five area schools in addition to his own backyard garden, and he has provided organic produce, enough for 25,000 meals, to Austin families.
For most of his gardening activities, McKenna wears the same T-shirt in different colors, with his personal motto on it: BE A GOOD HUMAN. To him, that means helping in any way you can, no matter what your age. "Even a smile might change someone's life," he says. “It lets them know that they are important. It can make their day."
When COVID-19 hit the U.S., McKenna redoubled his efforts, cooking up to 100 meals to distribute to the hungry on the weekends. When social distancing meant that volunteers couldn't work on community garden plots, he started offering online classes and a gardening hotline so families could grow at home. While gardening is his core focus, McKenna says he is always looking for new ways to help the hungry.
1. What caused Ian's decision to help the kids in his own way?| A．Being rejected by volunteer groups. | B．Being good at gardening. |
| C．A soup kitchen's support. | D．His mother's suggestions. |
| A．It helps students only. | B．It was started with joint efforts. |
| C．It is funded by schools. | D．It earns great profits every year. |
| A．Where there is a will, there is a way. | B．A small gesture makes a difference. |
| C．One good turn deserves another. | D．Love can break all the barriers. |
| A．Ian McKenna, Growing a Food Bank |
| B．Ian Mckenna, an Experienced Gardener |
| C．Giving Garden Project, an Impossible Mission |
| D．Giving Garden Project, a Universal Solution |
4 . People who have kids live longer than those who remain childless, an academic study has suggested. Researchers believe it is because adults’ immune systems are “refreshed” when kids go to nursery and start picking up infections.
During the course of someone’s life, their immune system can become weaker. But when kids start bringing infections home, their parents’ immune systems get a workout. Non-parents — unless they are teachers or nurses perhaps — do not get the same exposure to infection.
Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, Miguel Portela said parents had less risk of dying from infection than non-parents and if they did, it was about five years later. He said that “a parent’s immune system is refreshed by a child’s infections at a time when their own protection starts wearing thin.” He added, “With this improved immune system, the parent has a better chance to defend whatever infections that might strike when old and weak and parenthood is rewarded in individual terms through an improved immunization against infections.” Naturally there are other reasons why some people live longer than others, but they may not be comparable with becoming a parent. The academics say that high income and house ownership are always associated with higher survival but less so than having children.
Mr. Portela admits the research is far from complete, saying that while the results “record a relationship between the presence of children and death rate, the specific transmission mechanisms remain unclear. He acknowledges the presence of other, perhaps behavioral factors in parents which result in changed death rate compared to individuals without children.” He adds, “While the relationships of lifestyle choices such as smoking, obesity, drinking and other behavioral factors with life expectancy and causes of death are well studied and understood, the same cannot be said for the individual decision to become a parent”.
1. Why did Mr. Portela say “parents had less risk of dying from infection than non-parents”?| A．Parents have healthier lifestyles. |
| B．Parents have less exposure to infection. |
| C．Parents have higher ability to fight against infections. |
| D．Parents have less experience to fight against infections. |
| A．By being exposed to their kids’ infection. | B．By working out with their kids. |
| C．By refreshing their kids’ life. | D．By strengthening their kids’ infection. |
| A．Rich life benefits parents more than having children. |
| B．Lack of sleep has nothing to do with life expectancy. |
| C．The presence of children can improve parents’ health |
| D．Behavioral factors contribute to higher death rate than having no children. |
| A．Parents and Non-parents | B．How to Achieve Longer Life Expectancy? |
| C．How Is Parents’ Immune Systems Changed? | D．Children’s Effect on Parents’ Immune System |
5 . “If music is the medicine of the soul, let it play on,” said a famous person. I think he said so probably because he had got some help from music. Music has some strange functions. Medical scientists have found that a person who feels stressed can actually listen to a certain kind of music and become relaxed.
Researchers said that since stress comes as a result of some events in life such as starting a new family, starting a new business and starting a new job, one can actually listen to good music and feel good because good music touches humans in a positive way. Music helps you forget these events that make you worried and remember the important events that once happened in your life.
Depression(抑郁症) is a disease caused by stress, smoking, social problems, etc. Depression is also caused by difficulties such as failure in business. Depression may bring us weakness, headaches and loss of concentration. Good music makes one remember happy moments or days. If you play music about love, it makes you feel like falling in love again though you may have had several upset experiences. And such good feelings make you healthy.
Anxiety is another health problem that can be controlled by music. Anxiety is one of the side effects of some major health problems such as liver cancer and breast cancer. Good music makes you feel relaxed and relieves the pain caused by these diseases and you will feel better. Good music also makes you sleep better, and you need to know that sleep puts your body in a healthy condition. Good sleep takes away the effects of stress, depression and anxiety from a person.
1. What do you know about music according to the famous person in Paragraph 1?| A．Music can treat many kinds of diseases. |
| B．Music can help you keep mentally healthy. |
| C．Music can take the place of medicine in treating illness. |
| D．Music can make you remember things that happened in the past. |
| A．By letting people have a good sleep. | B．By making people think positively. |
| C．By showing something new to people. | D．By making people focus only on important things. |
| A．Stress | B．Depression. | C．Anxiety. | D．Upset |
| A．The benefits of listening to music to health. |
| B．Stress can bring us many kinds of diseases. |
| C．Some diseases have something to do with music. |
| D．Tips for us to live a healthy and comfortable life. |
6 . The spine (脊柱) stands at the center of your health, providing your body with structure and support. It also contains a major collection of nerves that deliver electric signals from the rest of the body to your brain. Since your spine is so central to health, it’s important to take care of it.
Staying in a good position is one of the most important things you can do to keep your spine healthy. A proper position means standing or sitting while keeping your spine straight, except for its natural bending. Positions play a vital part even when you’re asleep. Stomach sleeping is far from a good idea. Many people prefer sleeping on their side, which is in the interests of their spine. Sleeping on your back has lots of benefits yet can cause lower back pain and put some pressure on your spine.
Staying still for too long — even if your position is good — can be hard on your back. Especially if you work at a task most of the day, it’s important to get up and stretch (伸展) periodically. Therefore, exercise is also a key part in the health of your spine. Stretches can help the muscles (肌肉) around your spine relax. Strength exercises with light weights or body weight exercises like pushups can also help by strengthening the muscles. However, don’t overdo the exercise, as repeated movements can hurt the muscles around the spine, as trying to lift heavy weights with poor technique.
Your diet also affects the health of your spine because many vitamins are necessary for bones and nerves. In particular, vitamin B and omega3 fatty acids help keep nerves healthy. Another important part is vitamin D, which is required for strong bones. Vitamin D can come from some foods, but it’s also absorbed from sunlight, so it may help to do some exercises outside. At last, many of the actions necessary to keep a spine healthy are similar to those used to protect your health in other ways. So protect your back, and the rest of the body will benefit.
1. Which sleep position is best for our spine according to the passage?A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．Doing a proper amount of exercise. |
| B．Staying still in a good position. |
| C．Repeating a certain movement more. |
| D．Strengthening muscles of the whole body. |
| A．Vitamin B reacts with omega3 fatty acids. |
| B．Abundant vitamin D guarantees strong bones. |
| C．Vitamin D can’t be absorbed without sunlight. |
| D．Doing pushups outside increases vitamin D intake. |
| A．Good posture, good spine |
| B．Stay still, stay healthy |
| C．Healthy means, healthy spine |
| D．Proper exercise, proper weight |
7 . September is an exciting month in every college freshman’s life. For many, it’s the first time that they’ve left home to live in a new environment. But after the hustle and bustle of a few weeks, excitement gives way to a less enjoyable emotion—homesickness.
Homesickness manifests itself in many ways. You may miss mum’s cooking, your pets, or even your old bed. All this becomes a fond memory of the past. Homesickness can be a bitter feeling for many students, especially when faced with the challenges of settling into an unfamiliar environment.
But remember, you’re not alone. According to a recent BBC article, 70 percent of British college students experience homesickness. In this increasingly globalized world in which people migrate to faraway places for a relationship, education or work, homesickness is a feeling shared by many adults.
Homesickness can have similar symptoms to depression and in extreme cases it can develop into a panic attack. As for the term, homesickness or nostalgia wasn’t invented until the 17th century. It was considered a disorder by a Swiss physician, who attributed soldiers’ mental and physical discomfort to their longing to return home, “nostos” from Greek, and the accompanying pain, “algos”.
Studies in recent years, however, have shown that nostalgia may have some benefits to our mental health. After a decade of surveys and researches, Constantine Sedikides, a US social psychologist, found that nostalgia is what makes us human. He explains that nostalgia can resist loneliness, boredom and anxiety. Therefore, it’s necessary for college students to learn some ways to overcome the uncomfortable feeling.
1. From the first two paragraphs, we can infer that ________.| A．homesickness means a fond memory of the past |
| B．only a few students will experience homesickness |
| C．homesickness is an enjoyable emotion among freshmen |
| D．college freshmen usually suffer from homesickness after weeks |
| A．negative | B．supportive | C．skeptical | D．critical |
| A．Some benefits about homesickness. |
| B．Other problems in college freshmen’s life. |
| C．How to make campus life more meaningful. |
| D．Some tips on how to cope with homesickness. |
| A．Let’s embrace homesickness |
| B．How to fit into the college life |
| C．A harmful emotion—homesickness |
| D．The disadvantages of homesickness |
8 . A Portland, Oregon man has become the first person to travel across Antarctica by himself without receiving any assistance.
Colin O’Brady has completed the 1,500-kilometer trip. He crossed the continent in 54 days. Friends, family and other people followed his progress through messages and pictures he left on social media.
O’Brady spoke with his wife Jenna Besaw by telephone soon after he completed the journey. “It was an emotional call,” she said. “He seemed overwhelmed by love and appreciation, and he really wanted to say ‘thank you’ to all of us.”
The 33-year-old O’Brady documented the trip on the social networking services Instagram. He called his journey “The Impossible First”. He wrote that he traveled the last 129 kilometers in one big, final push to the finish line. The distance took over one day to complete. O’Brady wrote, “While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced.”
The day before, he wrote that he was “in the zone” and thought he could make it to the end without stopping. “I was listening to my body and taking care of the details to keep myself safe,” he wrote. “I called home and talked to my mom, sister and wife. I promised them I would stop when I need to.”
Other people have traveled across Antarctica, but they all had some form of assistance. They either had better, more plentiful supplies or devices that helped move them forward.
In 2016, British explorer Henry Worsley died in his attempt to travel alone across Antarctica unassisted. Worsley’s friend Louis Rudd, also from Britain, is attempting an unaided solo journey in Worsley’s honor. He was competing against O’Brady to be the first to do it. Besaw told the Associated Press that her husband plans to stay in Antarctica until Rudd finishes his trip.
1. What did O’Brady think of his journey in Antarctica?| A．It was pleasant. | B．It was discouraging. |
| C．It was impossible to complete. | D．It was hard to complete. |
| A．Making sure of his safety. | B．Trying to achieve the goal. |
| C．Keeping in touch with them. | D．Stopping the travel halfway. |
| A．To wait for another explorer. | B．To compete with others. |
| C．To help other explorers. | D．To make his victory recognized. |
| A．The Antarctic Continent | B．The Impossible First |
| C．Traveling in Antarctica | D．An Incomplete Journey |
9 . Hundreds of people die at sea every year due to ship and airplane accidents. Emergency teams have little time to rescue those in the water because the probability of finding a person alive fall dramatically after six hours. Beyond tides and challenging weather conditions, unsteady coastal currents often make search and rescue operations extremely difficult.
New insight into coastal flows gained by an international research team led by George Haller, Professor of Nonlinear Dynamics at ETH Zurich, promises to enhance the search and rescue techniques currently in use. Using tools from dynamical systems theory and ocean data, the team has developed an algorithm (算法) to predict where objects and people floating in water will go. “Our work has a clear potential to save lives,” says Mattia Serra, the first author of a study recently published in Nature Communications.
In today’s rescue operations at sea, complicated models of ocean dynamics and weather forecasting are used to predict the path of floating objects. For fast-changing coastal waters, however, such predictions are often inaccurate due to uncertain boundaries and missing data. As a result, a search may be launched in the wrong location, causing a loss of precious time.
Haller’s research team obtained mathematical results predicting that objects floating on the ocean’s surface should gather along a few special curves (曲线) which they call TRansient Attracting Profiles (TRAPs). These curves can’t be seen with our eyes but can be tracked from instant ocean surface current data using recent mathematical methods developed by the ETH team. This enables quick and precise planning of search paths that are less sensitive to uncertainties in the time and place of the accident.
In cooperation with a team from MIT, the ETH team tested their new, TRAP-based search algorithm in two separate ocean experiments near Martha’s Vineyard, which is on the northeastern coast of the United States. Working from the same real-time data available to the Coast Guard, the team successfully identified TRAPs in the region in real time. They found that buoys and manikins (浮标和人体模型) thrown in the water indeed quickly gathered along these emerging curves. “Of several competing approaches tested in this project, this was the only algorithm that consistently found the right location,” says Haller.
“Our results are rapidly obtained, easy to interpret and cheap to perform,” points out Serra. Haller stresses: “Our hope is that this method will become a standard part of the tool kit of coast guards everywhere.”
1. In a search and rescue operation, .| A．the survival rate drops to almost zero after six hours |
| B．the use of dynamics leads to the wrong location |
| C．weather conditions are a determining factor |
| D．changing currents present a challenge |
| A．It relies on ocean dynamics. |
| B．It tracks the path of the curves. |
| C．It stops the uncertainties of the accident. |
| D．It figures out how tides change over time. |
| A．the collection of data | B．the testing of the algorithm |
| C．the identification of the TRAPs | D．the cooperation of two research teams |
| A．Why Success Rates of Rescue Operations have Fallen |
| B．Why Algorithms are Popular in Rescue Operations |
| C．How Mathematics Can Save Lives at Sea |
| D．How Coastal Waters Affect Saving Lives |
10 . ◆ What Are We Talking About?
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◆ __________________________________________
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1. Which would be the best heading for Paragraph 2?| A．Why Do We Need Mozzy Watch? |
| B．Who Are Suitable To Wear Mozzy Watch? |
| C．How Does Mozzy Watch Work To Protect You? |
| D．How Did Our Team Do the Test On Mozzy Watch? |
| A．By describing its stylish design in detail. |
| B．By highlighting its unique technical features. |
| C．By offering feedback from thousands of users. |
| D．By giving special buy-one-get-one-free discounts. |
| A．Health. | B．Opinion. | C．Entertainment. | D．Sports. |
