1 . In a large survey of people's first memories, nearly 40% of participants reported a first memory that is likely to be fictional, according to findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Current research indicates that people's earliest memories date from around 3 to 3. 5 years of age. However, the study from researchers at City, University of London, the University of Bradford, and Nottingham Trent University found that 38.6% of 6, 641 participants claimed to have memories from age 2 or younger, with 893 people claiming memories from age 1 or younger. This was particularly prevalent among middle-aged and older adults.
As many of these memories dated before the age of 2 and younger, the authors suggest that these fictional memories are based on remembered fragments(碎片) of early experience—such as a pram(婴儿车)，family relationships and feeling sad—and some facts or knowledge about their own infancy or childhood which may have been derived from photographs or family conversations.
“Further details may be unconsciously inferred or added, e. g. that one was wearing nappy when standing in the cot(幼儿床)," added Shazia Akhatr, first author on the study and Senior Research Associate at the University of Bradford.
“When we looked through the responses from participants we found that a lot of these first 'memories' were frequently related to infancy, and a typical example would be a memory based around a pram," explained Martin Conway, Director at the Centre for Memory and Law at City, University of London and coauthor of the paper.
“For this person, this type of memory could have resulted from someone saying something like 'mother and a large green pram'. The person then imagines what it would have looked like. Over time these fragments then become a memory and often the person will start to add things in such as a string of toys along the top," he added.
"Crucially, the person remembering them doesn't know this is fictional," Conway noted. "In fact when people are told that their memories are false they often don't believe it. This partly due to the fact that the systems that allow us to remember things are very complex, and it's not until we're 5 or 6 that we form adult-like memories due to the way that the brain develops and due to our maturing understanding of the world.
1. What does the underlined word "prevalent" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Unique. | B．Crazy. | C．Common. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Some people have clear knowledge about their own infancy. |
| B．Added details are an important clue to recall the childhood. |
| C．Most people claimed to have memories from age 2 or younger. |
| D．Talks between family members influence the earliest memories. |
| A．By making comparison. | B．By setting examples. |
| C．By analyzing data. | D．By referring to documents. |
| A．Many people's earliest memories may be fictional. |
| B．People's earliest memories can date back to 2 or younger. |
| C．The middle-aged and adults specialize in detailing their first memory. |
| D．Memories develop due to our maturing understanding of the world. |
A young man whose good looks and innocent smile have turned him into an internet celebrity has brought a surge in interest in his hometown among tourists.
Ctrip, an online travel agency, said that after a video of Tamdrin, a 20-year-old ethnic Tibetan man from Litang county in Sichuan province's Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture, became popular online recently, the number of searches for Litang increased quickly.
Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, featured Tamdrin in three tweets in a row on her Twitter account on Monday. “The channel of Sicfiuan TV has a new ‘anchor’, Tamdrin, who broadcasts news in his native Tibetan language as a guest,” she wrote. “Tamdrin recently became a social media star after a photo of his bright, sunny and innocent smile had become popular.” She also posted a short clip of Tamdrin riding a horse and introducing himself in subtitling: “They call me ‘prince on a horse’. The happiest thing for me is to race horses with my brothers. Tm really good at horse racing and often rank first in our village. ”
Tamdrin has now been hired by Litang Culture Tourism and Sport Investment Development Co. to promote tourism for the county. Du Dongdong, the company’s general manager, told China Central Television he hoped the young man could grow and develop alongside local tourism, which has just started to take off.
Tamdrin said in a CCTV interview that he didn’t know why he had become so well-known, but he was happy that so many people knew of him, and he was excited to help people learn more about his hometown. He added that he planned to learn many things and hoped he would do well in his work for the company. "At the same time, I still want to race horses and continue to be a champion,” he said in Tibetan.
1. What does the underlined word “surge” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Rise. | B．Flow. | C．Decrease | D．Movement. |
| A．Sichuan TV is in urgent need of a Tibetan broadcaster now. |
| B．A social media star should look good with innocent smiles. |
| C．Hua Chunying supports the positive energy Tamdrin shows. |
| D．A short clip of Tamdrin riding a horse makes him popular. |
| A．promote the culture of horse racing. | B．set an example for Internet celebrities. |
| C．speak for the tourism of his hometown. | D．act as an image ambassador of the company. |
| A．Confident. | B．Nervous. | C．Proud. | D．Cheerful. |
3 . The world’s first fully electric plane has flown successfully for almost 15 minutes. The world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft took its first test flight on Tuesday, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver and offering hope that airlines may one day end their polluting emissions.
“This proves that commercial airmail in all-electric form can work,” said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Seattle-based engineering firm MagniX. The company designed the plane’s motor and worked in partnership with Harbour Air, which carries half a million passengers a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands and coastal communities. Ganzarski said the technology would mean significant cost savings for airlines—not to mention zero emissions. “This signifies the start of the electric airmail age,” he told reporters.
Civil airmail is one of the fastest growing sources of carbon emissions as people increasingly take to the skies and new technologies have been slow to make remarkable progress. At 285 grammes of CO2 emitted per kilometre (mile) travelled by each passenger, airline industry emissions far exceed those from all other transport, according to the European Environment Agency.
The e-plane—a 62-year-old, six-passenger DHC –2 de Havilland Beaver seaplane improved on with an electric motor—was piloted by Greg McDougall, founder and CEO of Harbour Air. “For me that flight was just like flying a Beaver, but it was a Beaver on electric steroids (电动兴奋剂). I actually had to turn off the power button,” he said. McDougall took the plane in a short circle along the Fraser River near Vancouver International Airport in front of around 100 onlookers soon after sunrise.
1. What can we know from the first fully electric plane’s success?| A．The flying time of e-plane is 15 minutes at most. |
| B．The fully electric commercial airmail has functioned. |
| C．Airlines may realize the goal of zero emissions. |
| D．The fully electric plane never does damage to the environment. |
| A．Means. | B．Proves. | C．Changes. | D．Follows. |
| A．The pollution caused by passengers. | B．The backward airmail technology. |
| C．The current situation of civil airmail. | D．The growing sources of carbon emissions. |
| A．Shocked. | B．Positive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Objective. |
4 . If you like shopping and you are crazy about fashion,London is a good place for you.In London you can buy not only the most expensive clothes,but also beautiful clothes which are inexpensive.
Many of the world’s most famous fashion designers have their shops in London.And every year in February and September,there is an important fashion event.It is called London Fashion Week and people all over the world come here and enjoy England’s wonderful new clothes.Usually the clothes are sold at a high price.The clothes are always in style.In the 1960s,a fashion designer Mary Quant invented the mini-skirt.It made her famous all around the world.Later,in the 1970s,came “punk” fashion.
Outside of London there are some shopping centers as well.In the shopping streets of most towns have a Market Day.On that day,some of the streets are filled with stalls selling food,flowers, dresses, hats, bags, and many other different things. The clothes there are always at a low price.Nearly everybody can afford them.
1. When did “punk” fashion become popular?| A．In the 1950s. | B．In the 1960s. |
| C．In the 1970s. | D．In the 1980s. |
| A．can not buy food from the stalls | B．can’t find the stalls which sell flowers |
| C．can buy some clothes at a high price | D．can buy flowers,hats and bags from stalls |
| A．货摊 | B．水果店 |
| C．菜市场 | D．超市 |
| A．London Fashion Week | B．Shopping in London |
| C．Clothes in Fashion | D．Stalls Selling Clothes |
5 . School is, waking up early in the morning, whether it is hot or cold, putting on school uniform and rushing to the bus stop to catch the school bus and getting used to the words “Hurry up! You will be late!” You reach school and again the same words “Hurry up!” do not let you rest in peace.
Throughout the day, it is a mad rush. One period gets over, the other starts and you are ready for the second subject. When you forget to do your homework, you try to sit at the back and pretend to be looking for something on the floor or in your bag. You are lucky if you are not seen and it is bad luck if you get caught. If you are not lucky, be ready for a good scolding during break or after school. If you are lucky and your teacher is in a good mood, you may be left with a warning.
However, school is not so dull all the time; the games, library period and breaks are a welcome time. When you can relax, joke and have fun with your friends. There are some teachers, too, who can make school very exciting. For example, Mr. Taneja, has a typical style of talking, making us always hooked on the playground.
School can be fun, real fun, when picnics and field trips are organized. We wait for them eagerly and keep on requesting our class teacher to organize one for us. Debates, quizzes, cultural programmes also add luster to an otherwise dull school life. Fun increase after real hard work and you tend to enjoy more than those who had been lazy and have wasted their time. I think this period of your life is the most wonderful period-full of dreams and hope.
1. How is the school life described by the author in the passage?| A．Dull and stressful. | B．Stressful but interesting. |
| C．Strict and fearful. | D．Annoying but funny. |
| A．Some students hope to get away with their fault. |
| B．Teachers should be more patient to their students. |
| C．Some students dislike finishing their homework. |
| D．Teachers should reduce the amount of homework. |
| A．Physics. | B．Language. | C．Chemistry. | D．Physical Education. |
| A．Difficulty. | B．Value. | C．Pleasure. | D．Trouble. |
6 . 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? |
7 . Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.
Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience, researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音高).
One of the study's authors, Nina Kraus, said the findings suggested that studying music ''actually tunes our sensory system''. This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs, Dr. Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.
Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages, pitch plays a central role. A single-syllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.
For this study, the researchers looked at 20 non-Chinese speaking volunteers, half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.
As they were shown a movie, the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word ''mi'' in three of its meanings: squint, bewilder and rice. The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.
The lead author of the study, Patrick C. M. Wong, said it might work both ways. It appears that native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.
1. When learning Chinese, a foreigner will find _____.| A．it difficult to learn music at the same time |
| B．it not difficult to learn music at the same time |
| C．it hard to master the tones required to speak and understand |
| D．it easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch |
| A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music. |
| B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain. |
| C．Because music training might help people with language study. |
| D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music. |
| A．created | B．spelled |
| C．seemed | D．pronounced |
| A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers |
| B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study |
| C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning |
| D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs |
8 . As the COVID-19 pandemic （新冠肺炎）rages, with ongoing lockdown （封城）measures affecting millions of people around the globe, levels of air pollution are falling dramatically in many parts of the world. This trend has been highlighted by a new report published by Swiss company IQAir looking at ten key global cities that normally suffer from high levels of pollution.
The report compared measurements from ground-based monitoring stations regarding a type of pollutant known as PM2.5— tiny inhalable particles measuring 2.5 micrometers or smaller that are emitted （排放）by various sources such as vehicles and power plants. It found significant falls in nearly all the locations listed.
This is, perhaps, not surprising considering the large decreases in vehicle traffic and industrial activity that have occurred with lockdown measures imposed （实施）on these cities.
The report examined data collected over a three-week period for each city while they were under lockdown conditions. IQAir then compared these measurements to the same time period for the years between 2016 and 2019.
IQAir found that nine out of the ten cities in the report experienced significant reductions in PM2.5 compared to the same period for 2019. Those with historically higher levels of PM2.5 pollution saw the greatest drops including New Delhi （-60 percent） Seoul （-54 percent） and Wuhan （-44 percent）. Besides, seven of the cities saw reductions in PM2.5 of 25 to 60 percent compared to the same period last year.
Wuhan—where the COVID-19 pandemic was first identified—experienced the cleanest air on record for February and March. The city was placed under one of the strictest lockdowns in the world on January 24, which was only lifted after 10 weeks.
Unfortunately, these sharp improvements in air quality have coincided （同时发生）with significant economic disruption, suffering and loss of life across the globe. Furthermore, experts warn that without sustained action to control pollution once the crisis ends, levels will likely rebound, as has been witnessed following previous economic downturns.
1. The levels of air pollution in the nine cities drop dramatically probably because .| A．the global economy suffers downturns |
| B．vehicle traffic and industrial activity decrease sharply during the pandemic |
| C．the governments of these cities take effective measures to reduce air pollution |
| D．people around the world have raised their awareness of environmental protection |
| A．To show the data from IQAir are true. |
| B．To make a comparison between the cities. |
| C．To show the significant reductions in levels of air pollution. |
| D．To prove the measures carried out in these cities are effective. |
| A．destruction | B．eruption |
| C．break | D．construction |
| A．The introduction of PM2.5. |
| B．The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great loss across the globe. |
| C．IQAir measured the air pollution levels in major global cities during the pandemic. |
| D．Air pollution has fallen significantly in nine major global cities during the pandemic. |
9 . On Tuesday, China announced it had grown the first ever plants on the moon, days after landing on the moon’s “far side” Von Karman crater. The cotton seed sprouts (新芽) seemed to have withstood the tough lunar conditions: freezing temperatures, lower gravity levels, and radiation.
But by Thursday, the new cotton seed sprouts had dead already, according to Liu Hanlong, the experiment leader, in a government press conference statement.
After Chang’e-4 landed on the far side of the moon earlier this month, the probe (探测器) was sent a command to remotely water the plants and start the growing process. A tube directed natural light on the surface of the moon into the small container to allow the plants to grow. The probe entered a sleep mode on Sunday, the first lunar night after the probe’s landing.
Professor Xie Gengxin, professor at Chongqing University and chief designer of the experiment, told CNN that it ended after nine days when the control team shut down the power. Xie said temperatures inside the biosphere had grown too abnormal and reached extremes that would likely kill all life, including the seeds and eggs during the lunar night. Xie didn’t confirm why temperatures had risen to levels unbearable for the plants in spite of the measures taken by the research team.
Even though the experiment was quickly terminated, Xie considered it a success. The cotton were the only seeds to sprout, however, and despite many assumptions about the future possibility of moon clothes, the cotton plant’s main purpose this time was to give researchers the valuable data on how to cultivate life in the moon’s tough conditions. The eventual ability to grow plants on the moon could prove useful for long-term space missions, like a trip to Mars. Astronauts could theoretically harvest their own food in space, avoiding the need to return to Earth to resupply.
Aside from the apparent failure of the biological or plant experiment, the rest of China’s mission to the far side of the moon appeared on track as of Thursday. The historic mission is intended to accomplish a range of tasks, including conducting the first lunar low-frequency radio astronomy experiment and exploring whether there is water at the moon’s poles.
Chang’e-4 is the latest step in China’s robotic lunar-exploration program, named after a moon goddess in Chinese mythology. China plans to launch the Chang’e-5 sample-return mission sometime this year.
1. What does the underlined word “withstood” mean?| A．Appreciated. | B．Suffered from. |
| C．Tolerated. | D．Been subject to. |
| A．The measures of the research team. | B．The cause of ceasing the experiment. |
| C．The reason for the extreme temperature. | D．The failure and impact of the experiment. |
| A．To make moon clothes possible. |
| B．To ensure its value for long-term space missions. |
| C．To enable astronauts to harvest their own food without returning to Earth to resupply. |
| D．To accumulate the priceless data on how to grow life in the moon’s severe conditions. |
| A．China’s moon plants have died |
| B．China’s mission to the far side of the moon |
| C．The Chang’e-5 sample-return mission |
| D．Astronauts’ efforts to cultivate life in the moon |
10 . Bradley McConachie, a 33-year-old Australian is actually a student in international relations completing his PhD through Griffith University. He came to Beijing for a cooperative research at Beijing University two years ago. Such an academic life was colorful with a chance offered by the cultural exchanges project, “I'm in China".
Bradley was lucky to win the most "likes" for his photo story about his life in China and became one of 20 winners to visit locations by the project this summer. All the winners’ experiences were filmed to produce a reality show, My Chinese Working Day, which will be broadcast by mid-September.
Bradley was chosen to work as a recreational manager for a Chinese wedding. The film crew took them to many “amazing sites" and the staff at the resort taught them a lot about how to incorporate modern Chinese features while still keeping traditional customs.
“I would have to say two things stick out as the most memorable： the helicopter ride and talking with the staff at the hotel about how they organize weddings here in China," he said. That was Bradley's first time to be in a helicopter, and he was too absorbed with the “stunning" view of the coastline.
“I think it is so important to show other Australians the different landscapes China has to offer. I think so many Australians, when they think about China, imagine the historical sites of Beijing and the exciting things to see in Shanghai but have no idea about other beautiful places, like Sanya or the many other places people have been taken to in this TV series. It was nice to experience these little touches. I was happy to be a part of that experience!” Bradley said.
1. What made Bradley's life more colorful?| A．Obtaining his PhD. |
| B．The cultural exchanges project. |
| C．The research about Beijing University. |
| D．The interest in international relations. |
| A．He produced the reality show. |
| B．His life in China was interesting. |
| C．He was one of the top 20 winners. |
| D．He liked photo stories most. |
| A．Fantastic. | B．Confusing. |
| C．Agreeable. | D．Extreme. |
| A．It's difficult to produce moving TV series. |
| B．Beijing and Shanghai are historical sites. |
| C．Sanya is worth visiting for foreigners. |
| D．Many Australians know little about China. |
