1 . You spend a third of your life asleep, a certain part of which involves dreaming. But most often, you don’t remember any of your dreams.
While the exact reason of why we can hardly recall our dreams is not fully known, scientists have gotten some insight into memory processes during sleep, leading to several ideas that may explain our forgetfulness.
You are awake, but is your hippocampus(海马体) awake? When we fall asleep, not all the brain’s regions go offline at the same time. Researchers have found one of the last regions to go to sleep is the hippocampus, a structure in brain that is important for moving information from short-term memory into long-term memory.
“If the hippocampus is the last to go to sleep, it could very well be the last to wake up,” said Thomas Andrillon, a neuroscientist at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. “So, you could have this window where you wake up with a dream in your short-term memory, but since the hippocampus is not fully awake yet, your brain is not able to keep that memory,” Andrillon told Live Science.
While this might explain why dream memories are so fleeting, it doesn’t mean that your hippocampus has been inactive throughout the night. In fact, this region is quite active during sleep, and appears to be storing and caring for existing memories to strengthen them, instead of listening for incoming new experiences.
Sometimes your dreams are just not memorable? Do you remember what you were thinking about this morning when brushing your teeth? Our minds wander(游离) all the time, but we get rid of most of those thoughts as unimportant information. Dreams, especially ordinary ones, may be just like daydreaming thoughts and believed by the brain to be too useless to remember. But dreams that are more vivid, emotional and coherent(连贯的) seem to be better remembered—perhaps because they cause more awakening, and their organized story makes them easier to store.
If you are interested in improving your dream recall, there are a few tricks to try. One is drinking water before bed, because it will make you wake up at night to use the bathroom. These middle-of-the-night awakenings are frequently accompanied by dream recall. Repeatedly reminding yourself that you want to remember your dreams may increase your chances, and so does keeping a dream journal, some studies have suggested. Upon waking up, hang on to that fragile(脆弱的) dream memory: keep your eyes closed, stay still and replay the dream memory, until your hippocampus catches up and properly stores the memory.
1. What can we learn about dreams from the passage?| A．Dreaming means processing memory during sleeping. |
| B．Dreams come from your hippocampus. |
| C．Dreams are sometimes useless for us to remember. |
| D．We need special trainings to recall our dreams. |
| A．you are forgetful and poor in remembering things |
| B．your dreams are vivid, emotional and coherent |
| C．your hippocampus is active in receiving new information |
| D．your brain needs to start up to move dreams into long-term memory |
| A．Inactive. | B．Short-lived. |
| C．Significant. | D．Slight. |
| A．Improve the ability of your hippocampus to catch up information. |
| B．Keep reminding yourself of the need to remember your dreams. |
| C．Record what you can remember in your dreams upon awakening. |
| D．Think back on the things in your dreams directly after you wake up. |
| A．To tell the importance of dreams. |
| B．To explain our forgetfulness in dreams. |
| C．To present some methods to recall dreams. |
| D．To analyze how our brain deal with information. |
2 . Over the years, cheerleading has taken two primary forms: game-time cheerleading and competitive cheerleading. Game-time cheerleaders’ main goal is to entertain the crowd and lead them with team cheers, which should not be considered a sport. However, competitive cheerleading is more than a form of entertainment. It is really a competitive sport.
Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activity. The majority of the teams require a certain level of tumbling (翻腾运动) ability. It’s a very common thing for gymnasts, so it’ s easy for them to go into competitive cheerleading. Usually these cheerleaders integrate lots of their gymnastics experience including their jumps, tumbling, and overall energy. They also perform lifts and throws. This is where the “fliers” are thrown in the air, held by “bases” in different positions that require strength and working with other teammates.
Competitive cheerleading is also an activity that is governed by rules under which a winner can be declared. It is awarded points for technique, creativity and sharpness. Usually the more difficult the action is, the better the score is. That’s why cheerleaders are trying to experience great difficulty in their performance.
Besides, there is also a strict rule of time. The whole performance has to be completed in less than three minutes and fifteen seconds, during which the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area. Any performance beyond the limit of time is invalid.
Another reason for the fact that competitive cheerleading is one of the hardest sports is that it has more reported injuries. According to some research, competitive cheerleading is the number one cause of serious sports injuries to women. Emergency room visits for it are five times the number than for any other sport, partially because cheerleaders don’t use protective equipment. Smiling cheerleaders are thrown into the air and move down into the arms of the teammates, which may easily cause injuries. Generally, these injuries affect all areas of the body, including wrists, shoulders, ankles, head, and neck.
There can be no doubt that competitive cheerleading is a sport with professional skills. Hopefully, it will appear in the Olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports. It should be noted that it is a team sport and even the smallest mistake made by one teammate can bring the score of the entire team down. So without working together to achieve the goal, first place is out of reach.
1. What is the main purpose of competitive cheerleading?| A．To compare skills of participants. |
| B．To make the audience feel amused. |
| C．To attract more people to watch events. |
| D．To cheer up the competitors on the court. |
| A．examine | B．identify |
| C．combine | D．replace |
| A．lacks necessary guidelines to follow |
| B．enjoys greater popularity than other sports |
| C．requires more designed actions than gymnastics |
| D．has a relatively high rate of damage to the body |
I: Introduction P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C: Conclusion
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
3 . Infectious diseases and associated deaths have reduced, but they remain a significant threat throughout the world. Infectious diseases outbreaks and the fear and panic that accompany them present various economic risks.
First, there are costs to the health system, both public and private, of medical treatment of the infected and of outbreak control. Concern over the spread of a relatively contained outbreak can lead to decreased trade. Travel and tourism to regions affected by outbreaks are also likely to decline. Some long-running outbreaks, such as HIV, prevent foreign direct investment.
The economic risks are large. It is estimated that the expected yearly cost of infectious diseases is at roughly $500 billion. Even when the health impact of an outbreak is relatively limited, its economic consequences can quickly become expanded. Liberia, for example, saw GDP growth decline 8 percentages from 2013 to 2014 during the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
The risk is complex, but policymakers have tools in response.
Investing in improved health care, supply of clean water, and better health systems can reduce the frequency of human contact with viruses. Investment in reliable disease monitoring in both human and animal populations is also critical. Within formal global watch systems, instead of discouraging reporting possible outbreaks, it may be beneficial to develop incentives for reporting suspected cases, as countries may reasonably fear the effects of such reporting on trade, tourism, and other economic outcomes. Informal monitoring systems, social media for example, which collect information from official reports, media reports, online discussions, and eyewitness observations, can also help national health systems and international responders get ahead of the outbreak news during the early stages. Cooperations for monitoring infectious diseases readiness at the national level provide information national governments can use to react timely to their outbreaks.
There is a significant market failure when it comes to vaccines (疫苗) against individual low-probability viruses that collectively are likely to cause panic. Given the low probability that any single vaccine of this type will be needed, high Research and Development (R&D) costs, and delayed returns, medical companies hesitate to invest in their development. However, responsible international corporations such as CFPI can overcome this market failure. Its goals include advancing candidate vaccines against specific low-probability, high-severity viruses through proof of concept to enable rapid clinical testing in the event of outbreaks. It also aims to fund development of institutional and technical platforms to speed R&D in response to outbreaks for which there are no vaccines.
Undoubtedly, humans and infectious viruses will coexist. However, we can take effective measures to manage the risk of the diseases. Joint action now at the local, national, and multinational levels can go a long way toward protecting our collective well-being in the future.
1. What does the underlined word ''incentives'' in Paragraph 5 probably mean?| A．Habits. | B．Opinions. |
| C．Arguments. | D．Rewards. |
| A．is able to predict the trend of the market |
| B．develops vaccines against infectious viruses |
| C．makes huge profits by selling general medicine |
| D．employs staff who graduate from famous universities |
| A．More importance should be attached to health care systems. |
| B．All-level cooperations are required to handle infectious diseases. |
| C．It will not be long before mankind thoroughly defeats the viruses. |
| D．Technologies hold the key to the settlement of medical problems. |
| A．Health Risks and Research of Infectious Diseases |
| B．Global Cooperation and Spread of Infectious Diseases |
| C．Economic Impact and Solutions of Infectious Diseases |
| D．Medical Service and Development of Infectious Diseases |
4 . Kobe Bryant was one of nine people killed in a helicopter crash on 26, Jan. 2019. He was 41. His 13-year-old daughter Gianna was also killed in the crash. Bryant was one of the greatest NBA players of all-time and an icon in the sports world. In addition to his success on the basketball court, Bryant was known for a ceaseless work ethic and incredible drive.
In honor of Bryant’s legacy, here are some inspiring quotes from Bryant on hard work, success, and life.
On achieving success:
“When you make a choice and say, ‘Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,’ then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that ... when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time.”
On failure:
“I don’t mean to sound cavalier when I say that, but never. It’s basketball. I’ve practiced and practiced and played so many times. There’s nothing truly to be afraid of, when you think about it ... Because I’ve failed before, and I woke up the next morning, and I’m OK. People say bad things about you in the paper on Monday, and then on Wednesday, you're the greatest thing since sliced bread. I’ve seen that cycle, so why would I be nervous about it happening?”
On life:
“There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something there is a choice you have to make. We can all be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that — family time, hanging out with your friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with that.”
On retiring and facing the end of his basketball career:
“There is beauty in that. I mean, it's going through the cycle. I mean, it's the cycle that is the natural progression of growth, of maturation. I mean, there's no sadness in that ... I see the beauty in not being able to blow past defenders anymore, you know what I mean? I see the beauty in getting up in the morning and being in pain because I know all the hard work that it took to get to this point. So, I’m not, I'm not sad about it. I'm very appreciative of what I've had.”
1. What is the attitude of Kobe Bryant towards achieving success by saying “Come hell or high water, I am going to be this”?| A．Confident | B．Determined |
| C．Optimistic | D．Frightened |
| A．not serious or caring | B．anxious and eager |
| C．worried and pessimistic | D．not proud or arrogant |
| A．fight against those who said bad things about him. |
| B．worry about others’ comments on his performance. |
| C．cheer for himself by regarding himself as the greatest figure. |
| D．show no fear facing ups and downs. |
| A．People paid tribute to Kobe Bryant for his success on the basketball court. |
| B．Kobe Bryant devoted more of his life to basketball instead of accompanying his family. |
| C．Kobe Bryant regarded his retirement as the beginning of another career. |
| D．Kobe Bryant felt emotionless when facing the end of his basketball career. |
5 . As I drove along the road, small car flew across the center divider from the opposite direction and crashed into my car head-on. I fell unconscious and was awakened by the ringing of my mobile phone.
I was brought to Kuala Lumpur General Hospital bleeding on from my nose, mouth and legs. But the hospital staff was too busy to attend to me, so I called a friend to tell him about the accident. Some friends arrived very soon and sent me to a private hospital nearby. I saw my injured feet hanging from my body, blue and lifeless, and I begged the doctors to save them at all cost. They calmly promised to do their best.
The doctors made it. After I was discharged, I was given ten months medical leave. My heart sank, knowing that it meant I, a big man, couldn't work. How was I going to support my 65-year-old mother and other family members? I felt completely helpless, but a la of unexpected blessings came my way. When I was recovering at home, friends and relatives helped me with my banking, insurance or simply came to cheer me up.
When the casts（石膏）were removed, I did not let the sight of my weak legs discourage me. I worked hard at my physiotherapy（物理疗法）with only one aim. After eight months, I was walking without the aid of a walking stick. Oh February the following year, I returned to my job again. Today, after eight years, I have travelled to many counties as a tour leader.
The accident makes me realize how lives can change in a second. I value life more, not only of my own but also of everyone I know, and I will always try to help when I know of someone in trouble.
1. What made the author come back to life in the traffic accident?| A．Someone made a call to him. |
| B．A car crashed into his ear head-on. |
| C．One of his friends gave him first aid. |
| D．His mobile phone was out of order suddenly. |
| A．Was inspired. | B．Got injured. |
| C．Was discovered. | D．Left hospital. |
| A．He is honest and strong. | B．He is learned and intelligent. |
| C．He is optimistic and determined. | D．He is discouraged and desperate. |
| A．Life is very precious to people. | B．It's a hard job to be a tour guide. |
| C．Many people are in trouble in life. | D．It's a must for someone to help others. |
6 . Cigarette ends are everywhere--littering our streets and beaches--and for decades they've been thought of as “unrecyclable”. But a New Jersey-based company, called Terracycle, has taken on the challenge, and has come up with a way to recycle millions of cigarette ends and turn them into industrial plastic products. Its aim is to recycle things that people normally consider impossible to reuse.
Obviously it would be even better for the environment if everyone just stopped smoking but the statistics show that although there has been an increase in anti-smoking ads and posters, between 2000 and 2014.global sales of cigarettes increased by 8 percent, and a whole lot of those cigarette ends ended up as trash: Since most of our litter eventually ends up in waterways, cigarette ends can surely pollute the surrounding environment. “It only takes a single cigarette end to pollute a liter of water,” Temacycle’s founder, Tom Swak, said. “Animals can also mistake cigarette ends littered for food.”
So how do you go about turning all those poisonous ends into something useful? Terracycle does this by first breaking them down into separate parts. They mix the remaining materials, such as the tobacco and the paper, with other kinds of rubbish, and use it on non-agricultural land, such as golf courses. The filters (过滤嘴) are a little harder. To recycle these. Terracycle first makes them clean and cuts them into small pieces, and then combines them with other recycled materials, making them into liquid for industrial plastic products.
They’re now also expanding their recycling offerings to the rest of the 80 percent of household waste that currently can’t be recycled, such as chocolate packaging, pens, and mobile phones. The goal is to use the latest research to find a way to stop so much waste ending up in landfills, and then get companies to provide money for the process. And now, it works well.
“We haven't found anything that we can’t recycle,” communications director of Terracycle, Albe Zakes, said. “But with the amount and varieties of packaging and litter in the world, we are always looking for new waste streams to address.”
1. What does Terracycle intend to do?| A．Search for recyclable materials for use. |
| B．Deal with as many cigarette ends as possible. |
| C．Produce new kinds of industrial plastic products. |
| D．Recycle what used to be considered unrecyclable. |
| A．Rubbish. | B．Poison. | C．Disaster. | D．Ruin. |
| A．The effective use of cigarette ends. |
| B．The process of recycling cigarette ends. |
| C．The difficulty in recycling cigarette ends. |
| D．The reason for breaking down cigarette ends. |
| A．There is more and more waste to be recycled. |
| B．It is difficult for Terracycle to recycle everything. |
| C．Terracycle is trying to meet the challenge of new waste. |
| D．Terracycle has successfully recycled a large amount of waste. |
7 . Far from the land of Antarctica, a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean. At the underside of the shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod.
For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish. How does it live where most fish would freeze to death? It must have some secret. The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research has been slow. Now it seems we have an answer.
Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish. Scientists studied the fish’s blood and measured its freezing point.
The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of -1.88℃ and many tiny pieces of ice floating in it. The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to -2.05℃. That small difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture.
The scientists’ next research job was clear: Find out what in the fish’s blood kept it from freezing. Their search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein never before seen in the blood of a fish. When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature. When it was put back, the blood again had its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point.
Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein. It has many small sugar molecules held in special positions within each big protein molecule. Because of its sugar content, it is called a glycoprotein. So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein. Or AFGP.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The terrible conditions in the Antarctic. |
| B．A special fish living in freezing waters. |
| C．The ice shelf around Antarctica. |
| D．Protection of the Antarctic cod. |
| A．The seawater has a temperature of -1.88℃. |
| B．It loves to live in the ice-salt mixture. |
| C．A special protein keeps it from freezing. |
| D．Its blood has a temperature lower than -2.05℃. |
| A．A type of ice-salt mixture. | B．A newly found protein. |
| C．Fish blood. | D．Sugar molecule. |
| A．sugar | B．ice |
| C．blood | D．molecule |
8 . You're never too young to make an impact on your community.
Members of Gen Z are exceptionally creative,cause-oriented,and hyper-aware of the world around them,making them perfectly ready to help handle the world's problems through volunteering.
If you want to make a difference in your community, be a part of something bigger than yourself, or just need to earn some required volunteer hours, then this is the place to start. Here are a few organizations of Gen Z with volunteer opportunities for teens!
Habitat for Humanity
Everyone deserves to have a place they call home. By volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, you can play a role in building up your community. Their Habitat Youth Programs accept volunteers between the ages of 5 and 40 for everything from home construction to affordable housing advocacy.
Meals on Wheels
For those teens who just got their licenses and love any reason to get behind the wheel, here's a volunteer opportunity that 'll make driving worthwhile. Meals on Wheels is on a mission to meet the nutritional and social needs of seniors. 225 million meals have been delivered so far-connect with your local provider to find out how you can get involved.
Key Club
As the oldest service program for high schoolers, the Key Club has quite a history of helping teens get involved in volunteering. Because clubs are student-led, you get a direct say in the kinds of service projects you want to do.Chances are, there's already a chapter in your school, but if not, you can try taking the lead in one.
Best Buddies
Volunteer with Best Buddies to help end the social,physical,and economic isolation of 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities-and you'll make some new pals in the process! Join a school chapter (or start your own) to use friendship as a tool for inclusivity in your community.
And don't worry. Even if you can't volunteer physically, there are also tons of online volunteer Opportunities available! Find out more about joining a worthwhile volunteer organizations at www.Gen Z.org.
1. If you want to help people with disabilities, yon can join| A．Habitat for Humanity |
| B．Meals on Wheels |
| C．Key Club |
| D．Best Buddies |
| A．send meals to the elderly |
| B．make nutritional meals |
| C．drive the seniors around |
| D．teach the seniors to drive |
| A．'A part of a book. |
| B．A branch of a club. |
| C．A period of life. |
| D．An office on campus. |
| A．get more people to volunteer |
| B．teach teens to he more creative |
| C．promote awareness of world affairs |
| D．instruct teens to earn volunteer hours |
9 . The recent world chess championship saw Magnus Carlsen defend his title against Fabiano Caruana. But it was not a contest between the two strongest chess players on the planet, only the strongest humans. Soon after Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion, lost his re-match against IBM’s Deep Blue in 1997, the short window of human-machine chess competition was shut forever. Unlike humans, machines keep getting faster, and today a smartphone chess app can be stronger than Deep Blue.
In the late 19th century, Alfred Binet hoped that understanding why certain people stood out at chess would unlock secrets of human thought. Sixty years later, Alan Turing wondered whether this sort of ability represents an essential difference between the potentialities of the machine and the mind. Much as airplanes don’t flap their wings like birds, machines don’t generate chess moves like humans do. Early programs that attempted it were weak.
But now things are different. Based on a common game-playing algorithm(算法), AlphaZero incorporates deep learning and other AI techniques to play against itself to generate its own chess knowledge. AlphaZerostarts out knowing only the rules of chess, with no inserted human strategies(策略). In just a few hours, it plays more games against itself than have been recorded in human chess history. It teaches itself the best way to play, reevaluating such fundamental concepts as the relative values of the pieces.It quickly becomes strong enough to defeat the best chess-players in the world, winning 28, drawing 72, and losing none in a victory over Stockfish, one of the strongest chess engines.
The conventional wisdom is that machines would approach perfection with endlessstrategies, usually leading to drawn games. But AlphaZero prefers positions that look risky and aggressive, and it programs itself, which allows it to outclass the world’s top traditional program despite calculating far fewer positions per second. It’s the example of the cliché, “work smarter, not harder.”
AlphaZero shows us that machines can be the experts, not merely expert tools. It’s not going to put chess coaches out of business just yet. But the knowledge it generates is information we can all learn from. AlphaZero is surpassing us in a profound and useful way.
Machine learning systems aren’t perfect, even at a closed system like chess. There will be cases where an AI will fail to detect exceptions to their rules. Therefore, we must work together, to combine our strengths. Instead of being angry against them, it’s better if we’re all on the same side.
1. According to the passage, Alan Turing might agree that .| A．airplanes can be as good as birds. |
| B．the unlocked secrets of human thought are powerful. |
| C．machines are better than human in generating chess moves. |
| D．the potentialities of the human mind are better than that of the machine. |
| A．AlphaZero have AI techniques. |
| B．AlphaZero can defeat the best chess players. |
| C．AlphaZero can play more games more quickly. |
| D．AlphaZero can generate its own chess knowledge. |
| A．Become | B．Beat | C．Leave | D．Distinguish |
| A．machine learning in chess is perfect. |
| B．human chess coaches are not needed yet. |
| C．AI will be learning to challenge their rules. |
| D．humans and AI can work together to advance. |
10 . A unique positioning technology POINTER is being developed to pinpoint firefighters inside buildings where other positioning technologies fail.
“Even with all of the advances made in firefighting technology, we still lose far too many firefighters each year,” said Greg Price who leads S&T’s first responder research and development programs. “We want them to know that we have their backs, that we are working to give them the tools they need to ensure their own safety. POINTER is one of those life-saving solutions.”
Unlike positioning technologies such as GPS or radio-frequency identification, POINTER doesn’t use radio waves. Though radio waves offer a reliable means to determine your location in a relatively open space, they can become unpredictable if you go indoors or find yourself surrounded by high buildings. This may be minor annoyance when trying to find the location of an appointment, but it could be a life-or-death situation when trying to locate firefighters in a burning building.
The POINTER system is composed of three parts: a receiver, transmitter, and base station. The firefighter wears the receiver, which is currently the size of a cellphone but expected to become much smaller after further development. A transmitter that can be attached to emergency vehicles outside the building generates the MOS fields, which travel through the building, pinging any receivers located inside over range of about 230 feet (70 meters) in the current version of the system. This range can be extended but isn’t needed in most fire-service applications. The receivers detect the fields determine their 3D location, and then send that data back outside the building to a laptop (the base station). Visualization software shows where the firefighters are in 3D space within an accuracy of a few inches. Not only can POINTER help firefighting teams locate team members through walls, MOS fields can also determine the orientation of the receiver.
“This is a very exciting technology that adds another dimension to firefighters’ situational awareness,” said JPL’s Ed Chow, the POINTER program manager, “Firefighters can be tracked in real time and, if they become unresponsive, their team members can see if they are trapped under debris or if they are injured so a rescue can be mounted.”
The POINTER team is now planning to carry out a live webcast of a technical demonstration inside a two-level single-family home in Pasadena, California, near the campus of Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA. Further field tests in a variety of firefighting scenarios are being planned through 2021, and a commercial version of POINTER will be made available to fire departments in 2022.
1. Why does the author quote what Greg Price said?| A．To emphasize the necessity and importance of developing POINTER. |
| B．To introduce the advances made in firefighting positioning technology. |
| C．To compare the advantages and disadvantages of POINTER and GPS. |
| D．To demonstrate the reliability of POINTER to locate firefighters inside buildings. |
| A．Sending messages to. | B．Adding dimension to. |
| C．Protecting the safety of. | D．Shutting the connection with. |
| A．how POINTER is tested | B．what POINTER is |
| C．why POINTER is developed | D．how POINTER works |
| A．It may be only a dream. | B．It will serve NASA only. |
| C．It will come into use soon. | D．It may have passed field tests. |
