1 . Why do we dream? It’s a question researchers have been studying for years. Now new research suggests that some dreams may result from the brain’s effort to keep learning, even as we sleep.

In a study in Boston, 100 volunteers were trained for an hour on a maze (迷宫). They tried to find their way through the difficult puzzle as quickly as possible. Then half of the volunteers were allowed to sleep for 90 minutes. The other half stayed awake, reading or relaxing. The ones who slept were asked to describe their dreams when they woke up.

After the rest, the volunteers were asked again to solve the maze. Those who hadn’t slept showed no improvement or did even worse after the break. Sleepers who didn’t report any maze-related dreams did better but showed only a little improvement. However, 4 nap-takers who reported dreaming about maze showed a surprising improvement. They scored 10 times higher after sleeping and dreaming about the maze.

Even though the number of dreamers was small, the researchers noted that the gap in learning between the dreamers and the non-dreamers was so wide that the finding was significant.

The dreamers had all performed poorly on the test before dreaming about it. That suggests that struggling with a task might be the trigger that leads the sleeping brain to focus on it and work on how to deal with it.

“It’s almost as if your brain is going through everything that happened today,” Dr. Stickgold, a scientist at Harvard Medical School, said, “The things you are obsessed (着迷的) with are the ones that your brain forces you to continue to do with. ”

1. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Learning while you dream.	B．What dreams stand for.
C．Dream a good dream.	D．Dreams and health.

2. What were the volunteers asked to do after the rest?

A．To work on a new maze.

B．To continue to do the maze.

C．To talk with each other about their dreams.

D．To tell what they thought about the maze.

3. According to the study, which group showed the greatest improvement?

A．Those who didn’t sleep.

B．Those who slept but didn’t dream.

C．Those who dreamed about the maze while sleeping.

D．Those who thought about the maze before falling asleep.

4. The underlined word “trigger” in paragraph 5 probably means ________.

A．chance	B．idea
C．way	D．cause

5. In which part of a newspaper would you most probably read this passage?

A．Business	B．Science
C．Education	D．Life

2 . Swimming across the English Channel is no easy feat. In addition to the strong ocean currents, swimmers also have to endure extremely cold temperatures. However, don't tell that to Sarah Thomas. The 37-year-oki American recently became the first person ever to swim across it not once, hut four times non-stop!

"I just can't believe I did it/' Thomas told the BBC after the swim. "I'm really just pretty numb. There was a lot of people on the beach to meet me and wish me well, and it was really nice of them, but I feel just mostly stunned."

What makes Thomas's achievement even more remarkable is that just a year ago, in 2018, she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She said that fighting the strong currents was hard. But even worse was “dealing with the saltwater... it really hurts your throat your mouth and your tongue”, she said. “I got stung(蛰)in the face by a jellyfish. The water wasn't as cold as I thought it might be, but it was still very cold."

Thomas’s record-breaking journey began just past midnight on Sunday, September 15, 2019, when she dove into the waters off the shore of Dover, England. Though the swim was initially meant to be about 80 miles, strong currents forced the athlete to change course several times, lengthening the total distance by about 50 miles. By the time she appeared from the water at 6:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, she had been in the water for 54 hours and 13 minutes and swum a total of 133 miles! Even more impressive, Thomas achieved the astonishing feat in a regular swimsuit. Her only aids were swim goggles, one cap, a nose clip, and earplugs。.

This is not the first time Thomas has swum across the English Channel. She has done it twice before, in 2012 and 2016. She told filmmaker Jon Washer, who is making a documentary about her swim, “As I was doing 20 mile swims, it occurred to me that I could do more and I wanted to see what that more was." The swimmer, who is being praised “an absolute legend" by the CS&PF, has indeed shown the world what she is capable of However, we have a feeling she is not done yet!

1. By mentioning “Swimming across the English Channel is no easy feat", the writer aims to

A．warn people not to swim across it

B．arouse people' interest in swimming

C．set off Sa rah Thomas's achievements

D．stress the difficulties swimmers have to conquer

2. What does the underlined word “stunned" mean in Paragraph 2?

A．Surprised.

B．Satisfied.

C．Doubtful.

D．Regretful.

3. What troubled Thomas most during swimming?

A．Strong currents.	B．Sea water.
C．Jellyfish.	D．Water temperature.

4. What does Paragraph 4 mainly focus on?

A．The long distance she covered.

B．The ordinary equipment she possessed.

C．The record-breaking time she stayed in water.

D．The impressive determination she displayed.

5. What can we infer from the last Paragraph?

A．A documentary is being made about her achievements.

B．She has swum across the Channel more than once.

C．She will probably plan to swim the Channel in the future.

D．She is capable of doing everything she wants to achieve.

3 . When author Nicholas Carr began researching his book on whether the Internet is ruining our minds, he restricted his online access and e-mail. His new book argues the latest technology renders us less capable of deep thinking. Carr found himself so distracted (分心的) that he couldn’t work on the book while staying as connected. After first feeling confused by his sudden lack of online connection, he was able to stay focused on one task for a long period within several weeks.

Reading on the Internet has changed how we use our brains. Facing much text, video, music, links to other web pages and blogs, our minds have become used to skimming and scanning information. As a result, we have developed sharper skills at making fast decision, particularly visual ones, Carr wrote.

But now most of us seldom read books, long articles that would help us focus. We are becoming more like librarians than scholars who digest and interpret information. That lack of focus hinders (妨碍)our long-term memory, leading many of us to feel distracted, he wrote.

“What we are losing is a whole other set of mental skills, the ones that require not the shifting of our focus but the maintaining of our focus,” Carr said, adding that for centuries books shielded (保护)our brains from distraction, focusing our minds on one topic at a time.

But with devices such as Apple’s iPad becoming common, Carr predicts books too will change. “New forms of reading always require new forms of writing,” he wrote. Carr has a suggestion for those who feel web surfing has left them incapable of concentration — slow down, turn off the Internet and practice the skills of contemplation (思考)and reflection. “It is pretty clear from the brain science that if you are constantly distracted, you are not going to think in the same way that you would think if you paid attention.”

1. The underline word “renders” can be replaced by ________.

A．causes

B．prevents

C．protects

D．sharpens

2. What topic is Carr’s new book mainly concentrating on?

A．Whether there is no need for us to surf the Internet

B．How the Internet changes our method of writing

C．Whether our minds are being influenced by the Internet

D．What we should do when we are surfing the Internet

3. What did Carr feel after he limited his time online several weeks later?

A．Anxious

B．Concentrated

C．Relaxed

D．Puzzled

4. Carr says we are becoming kind of librarians mainly because__________.

A．we are able to find information online quickly

B．we often feel bored of the information online

C．we are good at using our mental skills online

D．we have to focus on so much information online

5. For those who are often distracted by the Internet, Carr suggests that they should _________.

A．read more books besides surfing the Internet

B．spend less time in surfing the Internet at a deep night

C．often slow down their pace of modern living

D．often get away from the disturbing of the Internet

4 . People size you up in seconds, but what exactly are they evaluating(评价)？ Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy has been studying first impressions alongside fellow psychologists Susan Fiske and Peter Glick for more than 15 years, and has discovered patterns in these interactions(互动). In her new book, “Presence”, Cuddy says people quickly answer two questions when they first meet you: Can I trust this person? Can I respect this person?

Psychologists refer to these factors as warmth and competence(胜任) respectively, and ideally you want to be considered as having both. Interestingly, Cuddy says that most people, especially in a professional environment, believe that competence is the foremost factor. After all, they want to prove that they are smart and talented enough to qualify your business.

But in fact warmth, or trustworthiness, is the most important factor in how people evaluate you. “From an evolutionary view,” Cuddy says, “it is more important to our survival to know whether a person deserves our trust.” It makes sense when you consider that in cavemen days it was more important to figure out if your fellow man was going to kill you and steal all your possessions than if he was competent enough to build a good fire.

Cuddy’s new book explores how to feel more confident. While competence is highly valued, Cuddy says it is evaluated only after trust is established. And focusing too much on displaying your strength can backfire(产生事与愿违的不良后 果). Cuddy says MBA interns(实习生) are often so concerned about coming across as smart and competent that it can lead them to skip social events, not ask for help, and generally come off as unapproachable.

These overachievers are in for a rude awakening when they don’t get the job offer because nobody got to know and trust them as people. “If someone you’re trying to influence doesn’t trust you, you’re not going to get very far; in fact, you might even cause doubt because you come across as manipulative(会 摆布人的),” Cuddy says. “A warm, trustworthy person who is also competent gains admiration, but only after you’ve established trust does your strength become a gift rather than a threat.”

1. What does the passage mainly tell about?

A．People judge you on your look and mind at first sight.

B．People judge you on your presence at first sight.

C．People judge you on your interaction at first sight.

D．People judge you on your warmth and competence initially.

2. The underlined word “foremost” can be replaced by .

A．very valuable	B．changing
C．extremely important	D．accessible

3. Why does Cuddy refer to cavemen days?

A．To stress the importance of survival.

B．To show the hardship of ancient times.

C．To stress the importance of trust.

D．To tell us the importance of ability.

4. According to the passage, Amy Cuddy .

A．thinks highly of confidence

B．lays trust on the basic position

C．has a negative attitude to overachievers

D．says people who want to influence others are approachable

5 . News anchors(主播) must have been reluctant to read out the following news: Xin Xiaomeng began working as the world’s first female artificial(人工的) intelligence news anchor at Xinhua News Agency on Sunday, three months after a male robot joined the profession.

Unlike previous news robots though, Xin does not read news like a cold machine; she reads it almost like a human being. The muscles on her face stretch and relax — and her reactions change as she continues reading. That’s why many news anchors were worried: Will AI replace us in the near future?

To find the answer, we have to analyze the technologies that support Xin at her job. Three key technologies are used to support Xin. First, samples of human voices are collected and synthesized (合成). This is followed by the collection and synthesis of human muscle movement samples. And third the voices and movements are married in a way that when the AI news anchor reads, the micro- electric motors behind her face move to make her expressions seem more human.

Yet we need a thorough knowledge of deep learning technology to make a robot imitate a person’s voice. The developer needs to collect tens of thousands of pieces of pronunciations, input them into the machine and match them with the text for the AI to learn and read. The process for imitating facial movements is similar. The developer has to analyze the movements of the 53 muscles in the human face, make a model set from the collected data for the AI news anchor to learn, and imitate the movements of facial muscles via programs

Both the technologies used to make Xin’s performance impressive are mature. The real difficulty lies in the third — the technology to match the pronunciations with facial movements so that Xin’s expressions vary according to the content of the news report. In fact, Xin’s expressions don’t always change according to the content. As a result, her expressions look anything but human. Actually, AI is still no match for human qualities.

1. What does the underlined word “reluctant” in the first paragraph mean?

A．Delighted	B．Unwilling
C．Confused	D．Optimistic

2. What can we infer about previous news robots?

A．They read news without expressions.	B．They looked like a human being.
C．They could interview sports stars.	D．They could interact with audience.

3. From the last paragraph, we can draw a conclusion that .

A．human news anchors should learn from AI anchors to save their jobs

B．Al anchors perform much better than human news anchors at present

C．Al news anchors won’t replace human news anchors in the near future

D．Xin Xiaomeng’s expressions vary so naturally that they are true to life

6 . Last night was the last game for my eight-year-old son’s soccer team. It was the final quarter. The score was two to one, my son’s team in the lead. Parents surrounded the playground, offering encouragement.

With less than ten seconds remaining, the ball suddenly rolled in front of my son’s teammate Mickey O’Donnel. With shouts of “Kick it!” echoing across the playground, Mickey turned around and gave it everything he had. All around me the crowd erupted (沸腾). O’Donnel had scored!

Then there was silence. Mickey had scored all right, but in the wrong goal, ending the game in a tie. For a moment there was a total hush. You see, Mickey has Down syndrome (唐氏综合征) and for him there is no such thing as a wrong goal. All goals were celebrated by a joyous hug from Mickey. He had even been known to hug the opposing players when they scored.

The silence was finally broken when Mickey, his face filled with joy, hugged my son tightly and shouted, “I scored! I scored. Everybody won! Everybody won!” For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son would react. I need not have worried. I watched, through tears, as my son threw up his hand in the classic high-five salute and started chanting, “Way to go Mickey! Way to go Mickey!” Within moments both teams surrounded Mickey, joining in the chant and congratulating him on his goal.

Later that night, when my daughter asked who had won, I smiled as I replied. “It was a tie. Everybody won.”

1. What was the result of the soccer match?

A．Two to two, equal to both the teams.

B．Three to one in Mickey’s team’s favor.

C．Two to one in the opposite team’s favor.

D．Nobody won because of Mickey’s goal.

2. The underlined word “hush” in paragraph 3 means “________”.

A．cheer	B．silence
C．laughter	D．cry

3. What did the author worry about when Mickey scored and hugged his son?

A．The result would disappoint his son.

B．His son would shout at Mickey for his goal.

C．Mickey would again hug the opposing players.

D．The opposite team would laugh at Mickey’s goal.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．both teams liked and respected Mickey

B．both teams were thankful for Mickey’s goal

C．Mickey didn’t mind though his goal was wrong

D．Mickey was a kind-hearted boy and hoped everybody won

5. The purpose of the author in writing the passage is ________.

A．to tell a joke to make readers laugh

B．to suggest we should not mind losing

C．to show enjoying a game is more than winning a game

D．to present his son’s fine qualities of understanding others

7 . I was recently surfing the Internet when I came across a collection of strange beach photos where everyone had a cloth wall surrounding their little patch of sand. I had never seen anything like it before, and I was intrigued. So I started Googling all sorts of phrases that might throw light on the mystery of Polish beach separators.

I found a site on Poland’s affairs that actually covered this “phenomenon（现象）” quite exactly. According to the site, beach separators have been a part of Polish beach-going culture for a long time, but have recently been getting a lot of attention online, after foreign tourists started posting photos on social networks.

Beach separators vary in size according to the size of the group. You’ll see tiny ones only surrounding the space around a single beach towel, and giant ones separating a large part of the beach. They weren’t designed to protect their users from prying（窥探）eyes. It’s no secret that strong winds are very common on the shores of the Baltic Sea, so they were originally meant to allow beach-goers to enjoy sunbathing without having their belongings blown away, or sand blown in their faces.

However, in recent years, people have begun criticizing them. During the summer, beach separators are placed so close to each other that a person can hardly pass between them, let alone（更不必说）find a place to put their own beach towels. This creates a problem for foreign tourists unfamiliar with them, who just want a place to lie down on the sand. And thus they can easily create all kinds of conflicts（冲突）due to the lack of space. For example, some people leave the beach for hours but leave their separators in place, to make sure that their space doesn’t get occupied by someone else.

Having visited a fair number of seaside resorts（胜地）across Europe, I admire that I have never seen anything like this before.

1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “intrigued” in Paragraph 1?

A．Amused.	B．Satisfied.
C．Interested.	D．Encouraged.

2. What do we know about the beach separators?

A．They are a special tradition in Poland.

B．They are man-made scenery in Poland.

C．They are a temporary phenomenon in Poland.

D．They are becoming popular around the world.

3. Why do the beach-goers set up separators?

A．To have a good sunbath.	B．To attract others’ attention.
C．To keep themselves in private.	D．To protect themselves from thieves.

4. What are beach separators blamed for?

A．They cause plenty of garbage.	B．They take up too much space.
C．They fail to function properly.	D．They look strangely out of place.

5. What is the text mainly about?

A．A new Polish attraction.	B．Big challenges on the beach.
C．Beach space separators in Poland.	D．An unforgettable journey to Poland.

8 . Most of the time, people wear hats to protect themselves from harsh weather conditions. Hats are also worn to show politeness and as signs of social position. But nowadays, hats, especially women’s hats, are much more than that. More exactly, hats have changed into fashion and style symbols by many movie stars. What’s more, people now consider many different features when choosing even a simple hat. Many designers point out that, when choosing the right hat, it’s important to consider the color of your skin as well as your hair, your height, and the shape of your face.

First of all, the color of the hat should match the color of your skin and hair. For instance, black hats should be avoided if you are dark skinned. If a purple hat is placed on top of red hair, one will look as attractive as a summer flower. Second, the height of the hat is also an important point. Tall women should not go for hats with tall crowns, just as short women should choose hats with upturned brims to give the look of height. Third, and most importantly, the shape of the face decides the kind of hat one should pick. A small, gentle hat that fits the head looks good on a small face. However, women with big, round faces should choose a different style.

As the saying goes, “Fine feathers make fine birds.” A good hat can not only help your dress but also support your features, so why not choose the best possible one next time you want to be in public?

1. People wear hats to ________.

A．change weather

B．show their social position

C．work with others

D．choose a job

2. The underlined word “harsh” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.

A．good

B．cool

C．bad

D．pretty

3. According to the article, which of the following women would look most attractive?

A．A short red-haired woman who wears a purple hat.

B．A big-faced woman who wears a small, nice hat.

C．A tall woman who wears a hat with a huge upturned brim.

D．A small dark-skinned woman who wears a black hat with a tall crown.

4. What does the last paragraph suggest?

A．Hats are worn on the head to keep warm.

B．Hats can help you look better in public.

C．Hats are not as important as character.

D．Hats can make you look much taller.

5. What is the best title for the article?

A．How to Show Your Social Position

B．How to Improve Your Features

C．How to Design a Nice Hat

D．How to Choose a Proper Hat

9 . When you were at school, the last thing you probably wanted to do was to spend your weekends going to work. There was homework to do, sport to play and fun to have. But our parents probably persuaded us to find a job to earn some money and get some life experience. When I was a teenager I had a paper round: delivering newspapers to people’s homes.

Today in the UK you are allowed to work from the age of 13, and many children do take up part-time jobs. It’s one of those things that are seen almost as a rite of passage (成人仪式). It’s a taste of independence and sometimes a useful thing to put on your CV（简历). Teenagers agree that it teaches valuable lessons about working with adults and also about managing their own money.

Some research has shown that not taking up a Saturday or holiday job could be deleterious to a person later on. A 2015 study by the UK Commission on Employment and Skills found that not participating in part-time work at school age had been blamed by employers’ organizations for young adults being ill-prepared for full-time employment, but despite this, recent statistics have shown that the number of schoolchildren in the UK with a part-time job has fallen by a fifth in the past five years.

So does this mean that British teenagers are now afraid of hard work? Probably not. Some experts feel that young people feel going out to work will affect their performance at school and they are under some pressure now to study hard and get good exam result and a good job in the long term. However, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told BBC News that “Properly regulated part-time work is a good way of helping young people learn skills that they will need in their working lives.” In reality, it’s all about getting the right balance between doing part-time work and having enough time to study and rest.

Many young people actually want to work because it gives them a sense of freedom. One 13-year-old girl called Rachel, who has a Saturday job in a shop, told the BBC that “I enjoy my job because I’m earning money and it helps me socialize with people I work with.” That seems like something worth getting up for a Saturday morning. Did you do a part-time job when you were at school?

1. What conclusion can we draw from Para2?

A．Children over 13 in the UK must take up part-time jobs.

B．Taking up part-time jobs is good for students in many ways.

C．Students taking up part-time jobs are more independent.

D．Taking up part-time jobs can help students save money.

2. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “deleterious”?

A．Threatening.	B．Important.
C．Beneficial.	D．Harmful.

3. Why don’t some British schoolchildren take up part-time jobs according to some experts?

A．Because they are not ready to go out to work.

B．Because they cannot endure hardships.

C．Because they want to study hard and get good academic performance.

D．Because they lack confidence and skills needed to work.

4. Which of the following will Geoff Barton agree with?

A．Students should put all their energies into their studies.

B．It is good for students to do part-time jobs as long as they are proper.

C．Students with good grades and no study pressure can do part-time jobs.

D．The more part-time jobs they do, the more beneficial it is for students.

5. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Should schoolchildren have part-time jobs?

B．What kind of part-time job should schoolchildren do?

C．What benefits can part-time jobs bring to schoolchildren?

D．Why do British schoolchildren show less interest in part-time jobs?

10 . Imagine your body is like the house you live in. Every day, your family creates rubbish. The rubbish builds up until it is put out for the weekly garbage collection.

Now, say you put three bags of garbage out, but because one of the collectors was away sick, only two bags are collected. You take the leftover bag inside to be put out again next week. The following week you put on another three bags, plus the leftover bag from last week. But again, only two bags are collected. Imagine this cycle is repeated over the following weeks.

This is a simple description of what happens to your body when your kidneys (肾脏) don’t work efficiently. Your body is not thoroughly emptied of waste products. Other areas of the body such as blood pressure and red blood cell production are affected and the insidious process that may lead to kidney failure begins.

It’s not uncommon for people to lose up to 90% of their kidney function before developing any symptoms. There may be no warning signs. This makes early detection (诊查)difficult.

Kidney ’s main job is to remove toxins (毒素) and unwanted water from our blood.Every day our kidneys clean an average of 200 litres of blood. Kidney failure may be a gradual and silent process, going unnoticed because there is no obvious pain.

Research shows that more than 35% of the patients requiring dialysis (透析) do not see a kidney specialist before they have to do so. Some risk factors for kidney disease such as age and genetic make-up are out of our control; however, some changes in lifestyle may help prevent kidney damage. Two major risk factors for kidney disease, diabetes (糖尿病) and high blood pressure, have been on the rise over the last few decades. Both conditions are chiefly affected by being overweight and not getting enough exercises, which are the potential (潜在的) risk factors for the kidney disease.

1. The author gives the example of the house we live in to indicate that ______.

A．it doesn’t matter much if the waste in our body is not emptied in time

B．our body will not produce any waste if our kidneys work efficiently

C．it’s important for our body to empty the waste in time every day

D．it’s safe and harmless for our body to keep some waste

2. The underlined word “insidious” in Paragraph 3 means ______.

A．smooth and safe	B．clear and fast
C．gradual and unnoticed	D．long and painful

3. We can infer that when we find some symptoms related to our kidneys, ______.

A．the kidney failure begins	B．the kidneys can still work properly
C．we have lost about 10% of kidney function	D．the kidneys may have been seriously damaged

4. How many risk factors of kidney disease are mentioned in the passage?

A．Six.

B．Five.

C．Four.

D．Two.

5. Which of the following helps prevent kidney damage most effectively?

A．Go to see a kidney specialist shortly before dialysis starts.

B．Take enough exercise and make early detection of kidney disease.

C．Try to keep low blood pressure and a stable lifestyle.

D．Go to hospital whenever you find any warning signs.