1 . 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. |
2 . 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. |
3 . For those who can stomach it, working out before breakfast may be more beneficial for health than eating first, according to a study of meal timing and physical activity.
Athletes and scientists have long known that meal timing affects performance. However, far less has been known about how meal timing and exercise might affect general health.
To find out, British scientists conducted a study. They first found 10 overweight and inactive but otherwise healthy young men, whose lifestyles are, for better and worse, representative of those of most of us. They tested the men’s fitness and resting metabolic (新陈代谢的) rates and took samples (样品) of their blood and fat tissue.
Then, on two separate morning visits to the scientists’ lab, each man walked for an hour at an average speed that, in theory, should allow his body to rely mainly on fat for fuel. Before one of these workouts, the men skipped breakfast, meaning that they exercised on a completely empty stomach after a long overnight fast (禁食). On the other occasion, they ate a rich morning meal about two hours before they started walking.
Just before and an hour after each workout, the scientists took additional samples of the men’s blood and fat tissue.
Then they compared the samples. There were considerable differences. Most obviously, the men displayed lower blood sugar levels at the start of their workouts when they had skipped breakfast than when they had eaten. As a result, they burned more fat during walks on an empty stomach than when they had eaten first. On the other hand, they burned slightly more calories (卡路里), on average, during the workout after breakfast than after fasting.
But it was the effects deep within the fat cells that may have been the most significant, the researchers found. Multiple genes behaved differently, depending on whether someone had eaten or not before walking. Many of these genes produce proteins (蛋白质) that can improve blood sugar regulation and insulin (胰岛素) levels throughout the body and so are associated with improved metabolic health. These genes were much more active when the men had fasted before exercise than when they had breakfasted.
The implication of these results is that to gain the greatest health benefits from exercise, it may be wise to skip eating first.
1. The underlined expression “stomach it” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “______”.| A．digest the meal easily | B．manage without breakfast |
| C．decide wisely what to eat | D．eat whatever is offered |
| A．Their lifestyles were typical of ordinary people. |
| B．Their lack of exercise led to overweight. |
| C．They could walk at an average speed. |
| D．They had slow metabolic rates. |
| A．They successfully lost weight. | B．They consumed a bit more calories. |
| C．They burned more fat on average. | D．They displayed higher insulin levels. |
| A．A workout after breakfast improves gene performances. |
| B．Too much workout often slows metabolic rates. |
| C．Lifestyle is not as important as morning exercise. |
| D．Physical exercise before breakfast is better for health. |
4 . When the young donkey Daisy May came to us，she was pregnant. With no donkey experience. I was unprepared for what might come next.
After some difficulty，Daisy’s baby was born. I thought the poor thing was dead. I planned to put the loss behind us and make sure she never got pregnant again. Just then，I heard a little noise. I couldn’t believe that baby was breathing and looking at me!We called him Samson，and of course I became his mother as much as Daisy was.
When Samson was nine months old，I had to separate Daisy and Samson for a few hours a day to wean(使断奶)him，but otherwise he went wherever she did. I think she would be lost without him. His donkey stepdad Bernard taught him to always be ready to have fun. They enjoy playing football together and going for a roll on a hot summer day.
I asked a worker to make a harness(马具)for my three little donkeys. When I brought it home I taught them one by one how to pull a cart. Samson watched and freely followed Daisy. When he was three，I put the harnness on him and he knew exactly what to do.
That was 15 years ago. Now，the most exciting thing about Samson is that he has become a little renowned. People come from all over to see him perform. The neighbors bring their grandchildren，and my sons bring their friends.
Samson shakes hands，unties my shoe，picks up a hat and more. And when I ask him if he has any bad habits，he tries to pick my pocket!He surprisingly learned these tricks himself. I just ask him to do them and he understands.
The relationship I have with my“baby”Samson has been an amazing experience. Every day is a fun day with this superstar donkey.
1. Why was the author at a loss for what might happen next at first?| A．She wasn’t ready to be a mother. |
| B．She never raised a donkey before. |
| C．The donkey was pregnant by accident. |
| D．The donkey gave birth to a dead baby. |
| A．He was surrounded by love. |
| B．He was separated from his family. |
| C．He was unwelcome to the neighbors. |
| D．He was skilled in entertaining people. |
| A．Friendly and courageous. | B．Intelligent and lively. |
| C．Carefree and creative. | D．Patient and fortunate. |
| A．Strange. | B．Proud. |
| C．Humorous. | D．Famous. |
5 . One day, Amanda was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer of an early stage. During this time, she was admitted to a college. She planned to save money to meet the college expense and then seek medical treatment for the cancer.
Her father, Clint and her friends didn’t want her to put off her treatment due to the expense. They took matters into their own hands and started a GoFundMe campaign. A longtime friend of the family was cofounder of a group named Praynksters, known for random acts of kindness. The friend decided to use their own group to help the family. The group came up with the creative idea to spread the word and invite families, friends, and strangers who wanted to help to take part in a donation activity. The event induced the enormous assistance from the local community.
Clint and Amanda were moved as the crowd passed by and the donations poured in. The event brought the family over $13, 000 in donations to go towards her medical treatments. The generous act of kindness gave the family a comforting, and optimistic feeling during a time when all hope seemed lost. Clint said that Amanda struggled with the idea of asking for help. She felt guilty and undeserving compared to others who are also struggling. She is still humbled by it all.
After several months of treatment, life for the family has started getting back to their normal routine. Once Amanda got her strength back, she returned to school and completed her bachelor's degree. The family is now inspired to volunteer in their local neighborhood and contribute to crowdfunding (众筹) efforts. They are grateful for the opportunity to give back and help others as many have helped them.
1. Why did Amanda postpone her treatment of cancer?| A．She didn't care about her disease. |
| B．She had to take care of her family. |
| C．She was in a bad economic situation. |
| D．She couldn’t find an effective treatment. |
| A．Brought about. | B．Made up. |
| C．Gave away. | D．Set about. |
| A．Shameful but caring. |
| B．Kind-hearted and grateful. |
| C．Curious and warm-hearted. |
| D．Hard- working and humorous. |
| A．It's quite easy to cure Amanda’s cancer. |
| B．Praynksters is a nonprofit organization funded by Clint. |
| C．Volunteering is very popular in Amanda's community. |
| D．A GoFundMe campaign is actually a crowdfunding activity. |
6 . New Character from Sesame Street
As a means of offering comfort to kids from every walk of life, Sesame Street is introducing a new character who lives in a foster（寄养的）home.
Karli, the foster kid, and her "for — now" parents, Dalia and Clem, are all being shown in a series of Sesame Street videos, storybooks, and interactive activities to offer support to children, foster parents, and foster care providers.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind the show, says they are starting their movements as part of their Sesame Street in Community program. It provides free, easy-to-use resources for community providers and caregivers on a range of topics, including tough issues like family homelessness and traumatic experiences, to help them support children as they explore the world of foster care, and they provide simple, approachable tools to help children feel safer.
The number of children in foster care in the US has grown for five continuous years. In response to the growing need for resources to serve children in foster care, Sesame Workshop partnered with national experts on foster care. The resources include proven strategies to improve relationships between caring adults and children and reduce the effects of traumatic experiences.
" Fostering a child takes patience, adaptability, and sacrifice, and we know that caring adults hold the power to reduce the effects of traumatic experiences on young children," says Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, Senior Vice President of US Social Impact at Sesame Workshop. " We want foster parents and providers to hear that what they do is vital, as they have difficulty building and rebuilding family structures and children's sense of safety."
1. How does Sesame Street differ with new roles added?| A．It extends the significance of care projects. |
| B．It promotes the entertainment of the program. |
| C．It arouses people's awareness of care for teens. |
| D．It arrests the public's attention to foster kids. |
| A．Carefree. | B．Spiritless. |
| C．Miserable. | D．Irregular. |
| A．Supply care providers with expertise to attend kids. |
| B．Offer free and accessible approaches to aid foster care. |
| C．Present parents easy and adaptable tools to keep safe. |
| D．Release appointed programs to attract audience. |
| A．Foster parents and providers matter to foster kids. |
| B．Sesame Street operates well in foster centers. |
| C．Family structures make little sense to foster homes. |
| D．Foster children are challenged every day. |
7 . An earthquake is one of the most common natural disasters. It may cause great damage. So it is wise to learn some simple safety tips to protect yourself or your family members.
Fragile items, like those made of glass are easily broken and should usually be placed on a lower surface, near the ground instead of placing them on cupboards higher up. Never place them near your bed, sofas and other furniture where you would be sitting or lying down. When there is a strong movement, these pieces will fall on the floor directly and not on you.
There is a strong chance of short circuits (短路) and fire breakouts during an earthquake. Make sure you turn off electrical connections and gas immediately when an earthquake happens.
During an earthquake, lie beneath an object that is not easily damaged. Do not go near objects that could directly fall on you. Never use the elevator to go down. Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries happen when people inside buildings try to go out. Use the stairs at all times.
If you are outdoors, do not take shelter under a tree, streetlights, electric poles or tall buildings. If you are driving, stop your car and stay in a safe place. Do not park your car under a tree or any tall object.
If trapped in debris (瓦砾堆), cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing. Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can find you. Use a whistle (哨子) if one is available. Never shout for help. Shouting can cause you to breathe in dangerous amounts of dust. Do not light a match because you may burn yourself. Do not move about or kick up dust.
1. The purpose of the passage is to tell readers _____.| A．the damage caused by earthquakes |
| B．the rescue work after earthquakes |
| C．what to do about earthquakes |
| D．how to prevent earthquakes |
| A．easily broken | B．easily found | C．expensive | D．heavy |
| A．go out the building at once |
| B．turn off electricity and gas immediately |
| C．take shelter under a tree |
| D．drive to a safe place quickly |
| A．Cover their mouth with a handkerchief. |
| B．Tap on a pipe or wall for help. |
| C．Use a whistle for help. |
| D．Light a match for help. |
8 . Covid-19 is not the only catastrophe that 2020 has brought. In parts of Asia and east Africa, swarms（成群）of locusts（蝗虫）have destroyed fields. Locusts are usually inoffensive, spread-out creatures that do not stay far from the place where they were born. But under the right circumstances, that is, a heavy rain and a following boom in plant growth, they can be gregarious. Millions of the insects gather in swarms which can fly more than 100km in a day.
In a paper published in Nature, Xiaojiao Gou and a group of other researchers clarify part of the biochemical system that drives that transformation. Dr Gou and her colleagues collected 35 chemicals acquired from the bodies and wastes of locusts. When tested, locusts were strongly attracted to just a chemical, one called 4-vinylanisole （4VA）. Scientists already know that swarming is a response to overcrowding, and Dr Gou and her colleagues found that 4VA production rose with population enlargement. Further investigation confirmed the odour receptor （气味受体）on the insects' antennae（触角）is sensitive to the chemical.
Humans have tried everything they can to deal with locust swarms, with mixed results. Man-made version of 4VA might be used to bait（诱捕）traps. If 4VA turns out to be a language that all locusts understand, then it may help humans persuade them to abandon their gregarious ways, and return to a peaceable life of being alone.
1. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Flexible. | B．Starved. |
| C．Aggressive. | D．Gathering. |
| A．Locusts can release 35 chemicals from their bodies. |
| B．4VA is one of the chemicals strongly attracting locusts. |
| C．4VA will be produced more when locusts' number increases. |
| D．The transformation of locusts affects the biochemical system. |
| A．Humans have got the methods of killing locusts. |
| B．Man-made version of 4VA will be introduced to market. |
| C．Scientists have had a new breakthrough to transform locusts' habitats. |
| D．It remains to be proved whether 4VA is a language that locusts understand. |
| A．The harm caused by locust swarms. |
| B．The ways to prevent locust swarms. |
| C．The process of locusts' transformation. |
| D．The finding of 4VA attracting locust swarms. |
9 . If you were to throw, say, a banana peel out of your car while driving along the motorway, that would be a completely harmless action, due to the fact that it’s part of a fruit — right? Actually, no. A banana peel can take up to two years to be naturally processed, and with a third of motorists admitting to littering while driving, that’s a whole lot of discarded banana peels. An orange peel and a cigarette butt has a similar biodegrading (生物降解) term to that of a banana peel, but tin cans last up to 100 years; and plastic bottles last forever, as do glass bottles.
Despite the fact that longer-lasting materials will serve to damage the environment and its animals for longer, we can’t merely measure the severity of a certain type of rubbish by its lifetime. For example, despite having a fairly short length of biodegrading time, more than 120 tons of cigarette-related litter is discarded in the UK every day.
It’s not a cheap habit either: to keep our streets clean annually costs UK taxpayers £500 million, and when you include our green spaces, that goes up to £1 billion. So, it’s not surprising that if caught fly-tipping you could face a £20,000 fine or even jail time and, if you disposed of something dangerous, the court could give you five years to serve. Regardless of how severe these punishments might seem, however, among the reported cases only 2,000 were found guilty out of 825,000, so we still have some way to go in making sure people obey the rules.
1. What does the underlined word “discarded” in para1 mean?| A．Harmless. | B．Processed. | C．Thrown. | D．Long-lasting. |
| A．Glass bottles. | B．Tin cans. | C．Cigarette butts. | D．Banana peels. |
| A．The severity of rubbish can be measured by its lifetime. |
| B．Quite a few people were found guilty of illegally littering. |
| C．Every year UK taxpayers spend £500 million keeping streets free of dirt. |
| D．Cigarette-related litter and peels can be ignored for their fairly short lifetime. |
| A．To inform readers of different biodegrading terms. |
| B．To call for people not to litter illegally. |
| C．To encourage people to use fewer plastic bags. |
| D．To stress the importance of good behavior. |
10 . While it's not impossible for birds to fly in the rain, they usually choose not to. You may see birds fly for a few seconds in poor weather, but most of them prefer to stay put on rainy days.
Why does rain make it harder for birds to fly? You might imagine that moving through the air while being pelted by raindrops would be pretty unpleasant. However, it's not the rain itself that makes flying difficult. Instead, birds are influenced by the drop in the air pressure that comes with most rainstorms. When pressure drops, the air is less thick, which makes it harder for birds to fly. Moving through the sky in areas of low air pressure takes a lot of energy.
Most birds need to eat several times a day—rain or no rain. Luckily, most birds' feathers（羽毛）are highly waterproof（防水的）, protecting the skin beneath. Many birds can also make oil that they can spread over their feathers to further protect themselves from the rain. Most birds don't like rain. In fact, in a 2010 study, a team of researchers studied birds living in a Costa Rican rainforest. They found that the birds had higher levels of stress hormone（应激激素）on rainy days. That may not surprise you. After all, many animals feel stressed out during storms. Pet owners often find that rain and thunder make their animals nervous. Some animals are so strongly influenced by nature that they almost seem to forecast the future.
No one really knows how many birds die during a storm or series of storms. But the number is certainly higher than usual. They fly into trees or windows; they get lost over the ocean or a large lake; their food sources are made more difficult to get but, at the same time, they need more food to get warm. However, if rain continues for some time, birds will have to challenge the storm.
1. What makes it harder for birds to fly in the rain?| A．The wet air. | B．Food shortage. |
| C．Raindrops. | D．The low air pressure. |
| A．Cleaned. | B．Hit. |
| C．Frightened. | D．Protected. |
| A．Why birds can fly in the rain |
| B．How birds are influenced by rain. |
| C．How birds survive long rainy days. |
| D．Why birds' feathers are waterproof. |
| A．Birds will develop the ability to fly in the rain |
| B．Birds fly only when necessary on rainy days. |
| C．Birds have nowhere to hide in rainstorms. |
| D．Birds need less food on rainy days. |
