1 . Do you think alien beings exist somewhere in the universe? It seems like Mars, our closest neighbor, has inspired the most science fiction as the place where aliens are most likely to come from. Recent Mars probes (探测) have shown us that there is no life on that planet—at least not now. But that does not mean that life does not exist elsewhere—after all, the universe is really big. A lot of scientific research is going on in the search for “extraterrestrial life”.
Think about it—why should the seven billion people on this little planet be the only living beings in the universe? It would, in fact, seem logical that this is not the case. So scientific research in this matter is based around the idea of finding other planets that have environments that can support life —environments similar to the Earth. The search is on for the evidence of the existence, or earlier existence of life: from very wise beings to simple organisms (有机物).
So far, there have been a number of theories as to which planetary bodies may have an atmosphere that can support such life and therefore deserve closer attention. As for places within our own Milky Way Galaxy, it has been assumed over the decades that Mars and Venus, as well as some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, may have been hosts for life. Now, as technologies have improved and we can obtain measurements of the composition of the atmosphere on extra-solar planets, the chances of finding “alien” life forms are increasing.
There has been a theory that some of the planets in the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Gliese 581 may be able to support life. In 2007, scientists discovered exoplanet Gliese 581c—and felt that its atmosphere was most suitable for supporting life. But further research revealed that it would not. Now, attention has been turned to Gliese 581d, at the outer edge of the star’s habitable zone. The main standards for deciding whether a planetary body can be life-supporting are atmospheric conditions which allow the existence of water. Gliese 581 is about 20. 4 light years away from the Earth, so even if life does exist there, the distance would mean that communication would be unlikely.
Having said this—who says alien life forms (if they exist) need water?
1. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Life existing outside of the Earth. |
| B．The evidence of the existence of life. |
| C．Other faraway planets in the universe. |
| D．Creatures known from science fictions. |
| A．Modern scientific theories. | B．Atmospheric conditions. |
| C．Environments similar to the Earth. | D．Advanced technologies. |
| A．the atmosphere of Gliese 581c was most suitable for life |
| B．it is not certain whether alien life forms need water or not |
| C．the 7 billion people on the Earth are the only beings in the universe |
| D．the distance of 20. 4 light years makes it impossible to find life on Gliese 581d |
| A．Do Aliens Exist? | B．Is Mars Suitable for Life? |
| C．Are Alien Life Forms Various? | D．Can We Communicate with Aliens? |
2 . ''I'd like to play a game. That is so much fun. It's not so very hard to do.''
As soon as I hear ''Simple Simon says put your hands on your head'', I am back in my grandfather's living room on New Year's Day in the early 1970s. It was our family's favorite song to get the party started.
Grandfather's house was the gathering place for my mum, dad, aunties, uncles and cousins to meet up. My mum comes from a big family, so there was always lots of chatter and laughter. Whenever someone told a story they would get up and do all the actions to illustrate it, which was great fun.
Grandfather had a coal fire, so it was always warm, even if it was freezing outside. He sat in his armchair and happily watched everyone dancing while he smoked a pipe.
Once Simon Says had got the party going, other records would follow, such as Sugar, Sugar by the Archies.
Later there would be a sing-along, with everyone taking turns to sing old folk songs such as A Warship Had Landed. I would put my hands over my ears at this one as it was so sad.
Grandfather drove us home as he didn't drink. The road we travelled on was dark. There was one big bump(隆起物) that made us feel as if we were on a roller coaster(过山车). As we approached it, we would shout, ''Go faster, Grandfather! ''
I've been to many New Year parties, but none can match those family get-togethers at Grandfather's. You can keep your Gangnam Style moves—it's much more fun to dance along to Simon Says!
1. According to the text, the song Simon Says _______.| A．was written by the author's grandfather |
| B．was the only song the author could sing |
| C．was the first song the author learnt |
| D．was often played at the author's family's New Year parties |
| A．Explain. | B．Retell |
| C．Represent | D．Comment. |
| A．They never sang sad songs at their parties. |
| B．They were kept warm by a coal fire. |
| C．The author's grandfather liked drinking alcohol. |
| D．Smoking was forbidden at the author's grandfather's house. |
| A．A Beautiful Song |
| B．My Kind Grandfather |
| C．Unforgettable Family Parties |
| D．My Happy Childhood |
3 . Wal-Mart is not just the world’s largest retailer(零售商). It’s the world’s largest company, which sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year.
Wal-Mart exercises its power for just one purpose: to bring the lowest possible prices to its customers. At Wal-Mart, that goal is never reached. The retailer has a clear policy for suppliers: On basic products that don’t change, the price Wal-Mart will pay, and will charge shoppers, must drop year after year. But what almost no one outside the world of Wal-Mart and none of its 21,000 suppliers know is the high cost of those low prices. To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bikes to jeans have had to close US plants in favor of obtaining products from abroad.
Indeed, the real story of Wal-Mart, the story that never gets told, is the story of the pressure the biggest retailer constantly applies to its suppliers in the name of bringing us “every day low prices”.
The giant retailer’s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart’s pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line? Of course, US companies have been moving jobs offshore for decades; long before Wal-Mart was a retailing power. But there is no question that the chain is helping accelerate the loss of American jobs to low-wage countries such as Thailand.
People ask, “How can it be bad for things to come into the US cheaply?” Sure, it’s great to have bargains. But you can’t buy anything if you’ re not employed.
There is no question that Wal-Mart’s drive to squeeze out cost has benefited consumers. By now, it is accepted wisdom that Wal-Mart makes the companies it does business with more efficient and focused. Wal-Mart itself is known for continuous improvement in its ability to handle, move, and track goods. It is legendary for forcing its suppliers to redesign everything from their packaging to their computer systems. It is also legendary for quite straightforwardly telling them what it will pay for their goods.
1. Wal-Mart’s low-price policy results in .| A．more high-paying jobs | B．worse designed packages |
| C．bigger profit of its partners | D．more jobless American workers |
| A．In abroad. | B．In the Ocean. |
| C．On the beach. | D．On an island not far from shore. |
| A．Still more quality goods will be provided. | B．The food you get at Wal-Mart costs least. |
| C．The value of Mal-Mart is over assessed. | D．Wal-Mart is a very demanding company. |
| A．The Fortune Wal-Mart Makes | B．The Wal-Mart you don’t Know |
| C．The Biggest Retailer—Wal-Mart | D．The Money Saving Tip in Wal-Mart |
4 . Journey to the West
If you have a dream, go for it.
My dad talked of the jewel in China’s western part, Tibet Autonomous Region. Tibet was a region I wanted to see and discover but its remoteness and my inability to find the right time to go delayed my journey. After a few talks with my dad, we decided to take a pause in our lives for a few weeks in July 2019 to start an amazing adventure.
We started our journey on a Saturday morning at the Guangzhou train station in south China. We started the first leg of the journey admiring the mysterious mountains of south China. The next day it changed quite suddenly to the dry, waterless landscape of central-west China as we passed through Shanxi and Gansu provinces. That evening we arrived at Xining, Qinghai Province, where we got onto the Xining-Lhasa train.
We were greeted on the train with Tibetan yogurt. The train signs were also written in Tibetan, the beautiful handwriting matched its environment and people. The following afternoon we arrived in Lhasa. Lhasa, one of the highest-altitude cities in the world, is a gem hidden on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. We started our tour of the jewel by exploring the palace and watching local people do morning prays and dances in the park. Overlooking the Jokhang Temple, we enjoyed an amazingly beautiful breathtaking view, just like we had been in the fairyland. It’s a stunning (令人震惊的) golden temple in the middle of old Lhasa, which we visited next before wandering in the old quarters and Barkhor Street in the evening. Barkhor Street is the ideal place to try local food and buy local products.
The following day, we started our journey to the Qomolangma base camp by road from Lhasa. Along the way we stopped to admire the beautiful Yamdrok Lake, a huge freshwater lake that is one of the three largest sacred lakes (圣湖) in Tibet. Yaks (牦牛) in blankets and bells at the lake made for a picturesque impression of perfect countryside Tibet.
About a week later, the highlight came in the afternoon when we arrived at the Qomolangma base camp. We were staying in a guesthouse just next to the base camp. After dropping off our backpacks, we headed straight outside to see the magnificent Mt Qomolangma. There it was, the top of the mountain peeking through the clouds, astonishing us with its unbelievable height. We enjoyed the mountain waves and saw the beautiful clouds separated until the sunset over the peak, feeling I would have regretted for the rest of my life if I hadn’t made the journey.
1. The author wanted to go to Tibet Autonomous Region because _____.| A．his father wanted him to travel there |
| B．his father thought it was worth visiting |
| C．he was interested in the mysterious place |
| D．he wanted to go to the farthest place of China |
| A．Jokhang Temple | B．Barkhor Street |
| C．Yamdrok Lake | D．Mt Qomolangma |
| A．smart genius | B．precious stone |
| C．unique temple | D．beautiful grassland |
| A．beautiful views are worth the risk you take |
| B．if you have a dream, you should try to make it happen |
| C．you can finally achieve your dream if you put your heart on it |
| D．traveling ten thousand miles is better than reading ten thousand books |
5 . Most people hold the belief that young people from poor families whose socio-economic backgrounds are not in bad conditions tend to do less well in the education system. In an attempt to help the children of poor families, a nationwide program called “Headstart” was started in the US in 1965. A lot of money was poured into it. It took children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and it was expected to help them succeed in education. However, the results have been disappointing, because the program began too late. Many children who entered it at three were already behind their peers in language and intelligence and the parents were not willing to get involved in the process.
To improve the results, another program was started in Missouri that concentrated on parents as the child’s first teachers. This program was based on researches showing that working with the family is the most effective way of helping children get the best possible start in life. The four-year study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and represented different social-economic status, age and family structure. The program invited many trained educators visiting and working with the parent or parents and the child. The program also gave the parents some guidance to communicate with their children, and useful skills on child development.
At the age of three, the children involved in the “Missouri” program were evaluated with the children selected from the same socio-economic background and family situations. The results were obvious. The children in the program were more advanced in language development, problem solving and other intellectual skills than their peers. They performed equally well regardless of socio-economic backgrounds or family structures. What they found through the program was that one of the most important factors that affected the child’s development was the poor quality of parent-child interaction. That interaction was not necessarily bad in poorer families.
The “Missouri” program is quite different from “Headstart” program. From what they did we can draw a conclusion: Without a similar focus on parent education and on the vital importance of the first three years, some evidence indicates that it will not be enough to overcome educational unfairness.
1. What can we learn about the “Headstart” program?| A．It helped many children from poor families to make progress. |
| B．It failed because the children they helped had already fallen behind. |
| C．It helped the children involved succeed in their education soon. |
| D．It succeeded in improving the intelligence of all the children. |
| A．focused on the children’s first school teachers. |
| B．helped the children return to the same home. |
| C．made the children improved in many aspects. |
| D．gave the parents advice on their development. |
| A．Intelligence. | B．Performance. |
| C．Education. | D．Communication. |
| A．parents play an important role in children’s education. |
| B．it is impossible to overcome educational unfairness. |
| C．poor families cannot change the fate of their children. |
| D．The “Missouri” program pay more attention to the ages. |
6 . According to a recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research, both the size and consumption habits of our eating companions can influence our food intake. And contrary to existing research that says you should avoid eating with heavier people who order large portions(份), it's the beanpoles with big appetites you really need to avoid.
To test the effect of social influence on eating habits, the researchers conducted two experiments. In the first, 95 undergraduate women were individually invited into a lab to ostensibly(表面上)participate in a study about movie viewership. Before the film began, each woman was asked to help herself to a snack. An actor hired by the researchers grabbed her food first. In her natural state, the actor weighed 105 pounds. But in half the cases she wore a specially designed fat suit which increased her weight to 180 pounds.
Both the fat and thin versions of the actor took a large amount of food. The participants followed suit, taking more food than they normally would have. However, they took significantly more when the actor was thin.
For the second test, in one case the thin actor took two pieces of candy from the snack bowls. In the other case, she took 30 pieces. The results were similar to the first test: the participants followed suit but took significantly more candy when the thin actor took 30 pieces.
The tests show that the social environment is extremely influential when we're making decisions. If this fellow participant is going to eat more, so will I. Call it the “I’ll have what she's having” effect. However, we'll adjust the influence. If an overweight person is having a large portion, I'll hold back a bit because I see the results of his eating habits. But if a thin person eats a lot, I'll follow suit. If he can eat much and keep slim, why can't I?
1. What is the recent study mainly about?| A．Food safety. | B．Movie viewership. |
| C．Consumer demand. | D．Eating behavior. |
| A．Big eaters. | B．Overweight persons. |
| C．Picky eaters. | D．Tall thin persons. |
| A．To see how she would affect the participants. |
| B．To test if the participants could recognize her. |
| C．To find out what she would do in the two tests. |
| D．To study why she could keep her weight down. |
| A．How hungry we are. | B．How slim we want to be. |
| C．How we perceive others. | D．How we feel about the food. |
7 . In the West, people are taught to wear masks only when they get sick. Masks are seen as a tool to protect sick people and prevent the disease from spreading, so healthy people don’t need to wear them. Therefore, during the novel coronavirus outbreak, overseas Chinese students said that they would be “stared at like a virus spreader” if they go out with a mask. According to a survey done by Global Times among some European and American people, wearing a mask in public can make them feel “worried”, “shy”, and “afraid of being looked at differently.”
But as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow around the world, many people in the West are changing their attitudes. In the US, for example, the need for masks is very high now. The US surgeon general (卫生局局长) has been asking people to avoid hoarding too many masks, as they are more needed in hospitals than by the general public.
However, in Asian countries like China and Japan, there has been a long tradition of mask-wearing. In China, for example, when doctor Wu Liande invented the modern medical mask during the pneumonic plague (肺鼠疫) in 1910, the mask became a symbol of China’s position as a modern, scientific nation, according to Scottish medical anthropologist (人类学家) Christos Lynteris. The 2003 SARS epidemic led to the wide use of masks as a form of anti-viral (抗病毒的) protection in China and elsewhere in East Asia.
In Japan, wearing masks has long been seen as a manner to reassure (使安心) others when one catches a cold or flu. Some Japanese also turn masks into fashion accessories (配饰), with different colors and patterns to match their clothes. Wearing masks is also a way to “hide” for young women when they don’t have their makeup (化妆) on.
In more collectivist (集体主义的) cultures in Asia, wearing masks might also be a symbol of solidarity (团结) during the outbreak, according to Lynteris. People wear masks “to show that they want to stick together” in the face of danger, Lynteris wrote.
1. Why don’t healthy people in the West wear masks?| A．They don’t think masks can prevent disease. |
| B．Only medical workers need to wear masks. |
| C．They think masks are for sick people to wear. |
| D．Wearing a mask looks funny. |
| A．wearing | B．making | C．throwing | D．keeping |
| A．the outbreak of SARS in 2003 |
| B．the pneumonic plague in 1910 |
| C．Christos Lynteris wore one publicly |
| D．the invention of the modern medical mask |
| A．proving the importance of wearing masks during an epidemic |
| B．showing opinions about masks between different countries |
| C．explaining why Westerners don’t wear masks |
| D．introducing the history of wearing masks |
8 . Returning to a book you’ve read many times can feel like drinks with an old friend. There’s a welcome familiarity - but also sometimes a slight suspicion that time has changed you both, and thus the relationship. But books don’t change, people do. And that’s what makes the act of rereading so rich and transformative.
The beauty of rereading lies in the idea that our bond with the work is based on our present mental register. It’s true, the older I get, the more I feel time has wings. But with reading, it’s all about the present. It’s about the now and what one contributes to the now, because reading is a give and take between author and reader. Each has to pull their own weight.
There are three books I reread annually .The first, which I take to reading every spring is Emest Hemningway’s A Moveable Feast. Published in 1964, it’s his classic memoir of 1920s Paris. The language is almost intoxicating (令人陶醉的)，an aging writer looking back on an ambitious yet simpler time. Another is Annie Dillard’s Holy the Firm, her poetic 1975 ramble (随笔) about everything and nothing. The third book is Julio Cortazar’s Save Twilight: Selected Poems, because poetry. And because Cortazar.
While I tend to buy a lot of books, these three were given to me as gifs, which might add to the meaning I attach to them. But I imagine that, while money is indeed wonderful and necessary, rereading an author’s work is the highest currency a reader can pay them. The best books are the ones that open further as time passes. But remember, it’s you that has to grow and read and reread in order to better understand your friends.
1. Why does the author like rereading?| A．It evaluates the writer-reader relationship. |
| B．It’s a window to a whole new world. |
| C．It’s a substitute for drinking with a friend. |
| D．It extends the understanding of oneself. |
| A．It’s a brief account of a trip. |
| B．It’s about Hemingway’s life as a young man. |
| C．It’s a record of a historic event. |
| D．It’s about Hemingway’s friends in Paris. |
| A．Debt |
| B．Reward. |
| C．Allowance. |
| D．Face value. |
| A．He loves poetry. |
| B．He’s an editor. |
| C．He’s very ambitious. |
| D．He teaches reading. |
9 . Atlantic puffins (海雀) spend most of their life at sea. When it's time to lay eggs, the birds gather on seaside cliffs. They dig into the ground to build nests. After a chick was born, it spends six weeks in the nest, feasting on fish supplied by its parents. Then the young bird must look after itself. It leaves the nest and flies to the sea.
But on Heimaey, an island off the coast of Iceland, human-made objects have disrupted the chicks’ trip to the ocean. Luckily, they are getting help from the children of Heimaey.
Instinct tells chicks to follow the light of the moon to the sea, but they are confused by Heimaey’s bright lights. Each year, a large number of them end up lost, or worse. Often, the birds are hit by cars or caught and eaten by cats.
Each breeding season, the children of Heimaey form search parties. They carry flashlights and cardboard boxes. “When you see a bird, you try to corner it and herd it into the box,” said Eldur Hansen. Eldur is 14 and he has caught several puffins this way. Each year, they rescue thousands of chicks. Children take rescued birds home. The next morning, they take them to the beach for release.
Before releasing the chicks, the children make a stop at the local aquarium, where the birds are weighed and tagged for tracking purposes. This helps scientists learn more about puffins.
Atlantic puffins are now listed as a rare species. That means they are likely to become endangered. The main reason is that the ocean’s supply of small fish is diminishing. This is tied to overfishing and rising ocean temperatures.
Erpur Hansen, Eldur Hansen’s dad, is with the South Iceland Nature Research Center. He said the children’s action was more important than ever. Thanks to data gathered with the children’s help, researchers have learned that chicks now weigh less than in previous years. That means they have a lower chance of survival. Researchers worry that puffins will die out if ocean temperatures continue to rise, but the children’s rescue inspires them.
1. What will a mother puffin do after a chick was born?| A．Catch fish to feed the chick. | B．Stay in the nest for six weeks. |
| C．Leave the nest and fly to the sea alone. | D．Lead the chick back to the sea at once. |
| A．The cars. | B．The children. | C．The animals. | D．The lights. |
| A．Changing. | B．Decreasing. | C．Accumulating. | D．Abandoning. |
| A．Getting information from the library. | B．Researching the colors of the chicks. |
| C．Studying the data collected by the children. | D．Weighing the chicks adopted at the local aquarium. |
10 . A woman who illegally entered Yellowstone National Parkon May 12 has suffered burns after accidentally falling into a thermal feature (热景观) near its Old Faithful Geyser, officials said. The park has been closed to all visitors since March 24 due to safety precautions amid the coronavirus pandemic(新冠病毒大流行).“Water in hot springs can cause severe or fatal burns, and hot water underlies most of the thin, breakable surface around hot springs,” the park advises on its website. “Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature.”The woman, who is yet to be identified, was backing up while taking photos near the famous tourist attraction and fell into a hot spring or hole where hot gases emerge, according to park spokeswoman Linda Veress. Even with her injuries, she managed to hop back in her vehicle and drive about 50 miles until park guards stopped her. She was then sent to a burn center at a hospital in Idaho.
Visitors are advised to stay on the boardwalks near Yellowstone’s often boiling or acidic thermal features, which include geysers, hot springs, steam vents, and mud pots. This year, two tourists were sentenced to 10 days in prison for trespassing at the hot spring last September after they were caught walking “dangerously close” to the spout of the legendary geyser ( 间 歇 泉 ) without permission and taking photos on their cellphones.
“Thermal area safety is an extremely important part of any trip to Yellowstone. We ask visitors to take the Yellowstone Promise before coming to the park and to read the park visitor guide for more information on safety, rules, and regulations,” a spokesperson said following the incident last year. At times, tourists have taken risks off the designated walkways before being injured or killed. Last fall, a man who was walking off a boardwalk near Old Faithful at night fell into a hot spring, suffering serious burns. Back in June, a 23-year-old Oregon resident fell into a superheated, acidic mud pot and died. His remains couldn't be recovered.
Yellowstone is announcing plans for a phased reopening on May 13.The incident remains under investigation, Veress said.
1. What is true about the woman mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．We don’t know who she is. |
| B．She’s good at taking photos. |
| C．She drove to hospital after being injured. |
| D．She died in Yellowstone National Parkon Tuesday. |
| A．damaging | B．taking photos |
| C．entering without permission | D．drinking water from hot spring |
| A．Have a camera and take photos. | B．Don’t go to hot spring area. |
| C．Follow visitor guide and be careful. | D．Don’t take the walkways. |
| A．Visitors get injured or killed by hot spring the most. |
| B．It’s dangerous for visitors to take photos in the park. |
| C．Yellowstone National Park is the most famous one in the US. |
| D．Visitors will be allowed to enter the park at the end of the year. |
