1 . Beijing is a rather strange city to many western people. One of my foreign friends told me that when he came to Beijing, at first he couldn't understand why most people wear masks when spring comes to Beijing. He thought people wanted to keep their appearance a secret. Well, one of the symbols of spring coming to Beijing is that more and more people start wearing masks. The reason for it is the arrival of so called “sandstorms”.
It is said that each year sandstorms hit Beijing 4 to 5 times. The sand is brought to Beijing by wind from the western part of China. Tons of soil and dust travel hundreds of miles and blanket Beijing's streets, parked cars and apartment buildings. You would be amazed to see the ground has turned yellow overnight. The storm is so violent that you do not want to have a conversation with your friend on the road. If you open your mouth and then you close it, you may have the raw taste of sand in your mouth.
People in Beijing hate those storms. Sandstorms make the traffic jam in rush hours even more unpredictable, because the drivers have to drive slowly in order to have a clear view of the road conditions. Young students also hate sandstorms because whenever there is a sandstorm, they are not allowed to have any activities outside the classroom. It is so boring to sit in the classroom all day and the youngsters are so eager to go out and do some sports.
It is said that the closest desert is only 80 kilometers away from the city center.There is definitely much more to do for the local government to deal with the environmental problem.
1. Why do people in Beijing wear masks in the spring?| A．Because they are rather strange. |
| B．Because there are serious sandstorms. |
| C．Because their appearance are not beautiful. |
| D．Because they want to keep their face a secret. |
| A．Dry. | B．Cross. | C．Destroy. | D．Cover. |
| A．Drivers clean the road. | B．They hold some activities. |
| C．Youngsters go out to do sports. | D．Students stay in the classroom. |
| A．People in Sandstorms | B．How to Prevent Sandstorms |
| C．Sandstorms in Beijing | D．What to Do in a Sandstorm |
2 . The idea of biophilia — that humans love spending time in nature — has been around for generations. While it’s well-known that we get psychological benefits from nature, it’s not always clear which parts of nature provide those perks. Is a city park as good as an old-growth forest? What about less green natural settings like deserts?
Much of the focus of current findings has been on visual features of nature （like trees, flowers or beaches）, but a new study takes a slightly different approach. Set to unfold over the next three years, it intends to find out the effects of bird songs on human’s brains.
Lead researcher Eleanor Ratcliffe tells the Guardian: “Much anecdotal evidence suggests we respond positively to birdsong. However, now there’s a lack of scientific research on the psychological effects of listening to birds.”
With funding from the U. K. National Trust and the Surrey Wildlife Trust, Ratcliffe will begin by interviewing a representative sample of the public to judge their perception （感知） of natural sounds. She’ll try to find out if bird songs can improve mood and attention after stress or tiredness. Later in the study, she’ll seek test subjects via social media to assess the effects of bird songs on their brains and behavior. Beyond that, she hopes to learn more about which kind of bird songs improve mental health, and in what ways.
We’ll have to wait for answers, since the study is scheduled to take years. However, as National Trust ecologist Peter Brash argues, dedicated birders already know the benefits of bird songs. “Birdsong gives us a warm glow inside when we hear it,” he writes on the National Trust’s website. “We’re all used to the need to eat five fruits and vegetables a day or take a 30-minute walk. Taking the time out to listen to five minutes of birdsong every day could also be beneficial to our well being.”
1. What does the underlined word “perks” in the first paragraph mean?| A．Experiences. | B．Changes. | C．Results. | D．Benefits. |
| A．Their particular research areas. | B．The health effects of bird songs. |
| C．The great need for their new study. | D．The limitation of previous study. |
| A．It focuses on the effects of visual natural appearance. |
| B．It aims to discover how bird songs affect human brains. |
| C．It is a 3-year study mainly funded by the government. |
| D．It is going to be carried out mostly on the Internet. |
| A．To suggest. | B．To entertain. | C．To advertise. | D．To summarize. |
In recent years some extreme weather events have arisen from global warming because of human activities, with studies indicating an increasing threat from extreme weather in the future. Scientists were certain that global warming is being caused mostly by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases and other human activities.
Its effects include warming global temperature rising sea levels and expansion of deserts in the subtropics (亚热带). Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic, with the continuing loss of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves, droughts, heavy rainfall with floods, heavy snow-fall and species extinction due to great change of temperature. Bad effects on humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the loss of populated (住人的) areas because of rising sea levels.
Possible responses to global warming are reduction of emissions (排放), adaptation to its effects, building systems resilient to its effects, and possible future climate engineering Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), whose objective is to prevent dangerous climate change. It has adopted a range of policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas and to assist in adaptation to global warming. It is agreed that future global warming should be limited to below 2.0℃ (3.6°F) relative to the pre-industrial level.
On 12 November 2019, NASA scientists reported that human-made carbon dioxide continues to increase above levels that have not been seen in hundreds of thousands of years: currently, about half of the carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels remains in the atmosphere and is not absorbed by vegetation and the oceans.
1. All of the following statements are mentioned as more frequent extreme weather events EXCEPT ________.| A．droughts | B．heat waves |
| C．heavy snowfall | D．great change of temperature |
| A．Bendable. | B．Inflexible. | C．Unchangeable. | D．Recoverable. |
| A．It is unlikely for us to deal with global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions adapting to its effects and climate engineering. |
| B．There are some efficient solutions to too much carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. |
| C．It is common that human-made carbon dioxide keeps on increasing greatly in the previous several centuries. |
| D．Future global warming should be limited to below 3.6℃. |
4 . Ocean food plays a very important part in our food supply. Not so long ago, the world’s oceans were filled with different types of fish. Now, a large increase in global overfishing has threatened that supply.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 90 percent of the world’s fisheries (渔场) are either being fully exploited (开发), or are at risk of being closed down.
With fish supplies running out at home, fishermen are traveling further to find their catch. Frequently, fishermen are crossing over into other countries. As fish supplies closer to their homeland’s shores are decreasing fishermen cross borders to find fish.
Overfishing can be found everywhere, from Mexican fishing boats off the US coast of Florida to Russian fishing boats in the western Bering Sea. However, the effect is felt the strongest in the South China Sea.
On the other side of the world, West Africa is now seeing malign effects of overfishing. For coastal African countries, such as Senegal, the fishing industry is a large part of the national economy. The World Bank reports nearly 20 percent of the Senegalese are working in the fishing industry. Rashid Sumaila is the Director of Fisheries Economic Research at the University of British Columbia. He says communities that depend on fish for income and food, like Senegal, are now at risk.
1. Why do fishermen cross borders to catch fish?| A．Because they want to protect the environment. |
| B．Because they want to enjoy the overseas scenery. |
| C．Because fish supplies in their countries are decreasing. |
| D．Because fishing is not allowed in their own countries. |
| A．In Russia. | B．In the South China Sea. |
| C．Off the US coast of Florida. | D．In the western Bering Sea. |
| A．Harmful. | B．Satisfying. |
| C．Hopeful. | D．Beneficial. |
| A．Most people in Africa will be out of work. |
| B．The World Bank will lend money to fishermen. |
| C．Rashid Sumaila is unconcerned about overfishing. |
| D．Overfishing has some bad effects on African people. |
5 . 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. |
6 . Being able to take advantage of truly unlimited data is a smartphone user's dream, but everyone I've talked to about 5G is more excited about the usage unlocked by next - generation wireless devices. From smart home security to self - driving cars, all the Internet - connected equipment in your life will be able to talk to each other at lightning - fast speed with reduced delay.
"5 G is one of those forerunners, along with artificial intelligence, of this coming data age, ” said Steve Koenig, senior director of market research for the Consumer Technology Association. "Self - driving vehicles are emblematic in this data age - they show application of data completely. With one single task, driving, you have large amounts of data coming from the vehicle itself, and a variety of sensors (传感器)are collecting a lot of information to model its environment as it moves. It's pulling in data from other vehicles about conditions down the road. There's lots of data behind that task, which is why we need the speed and lower latency ((延迟).
AR glasses and virtual (虚拟的)reality headphones haven't yet been inside the mainstream, but tech companies are joyfully saying that such equipment will eventually replace our smartphones. With 5G, that could actually happen. This is notable because companies such as Apple are reportedly developing AR glasses to improve - or even replace - smartphones.
Ericsson showed at February's Mobile World Congress in 2019 how smart glasses could become faster and lighter with a 5G connection, because instead of being weighed down with components, the glasses could rely on outside equipment for processing power.
But don't get too excited. There's still a lot of work to be done in the meantime, including some necessary testing to make sure the radio plays nicely with basic systems and service construction so that 5G isn, t concentrated only in big cities.
1. What does the first paragraph focus on?| A．Potential of 5G. | B．The super speed of 5G. |
| C．Usage of smart equipment. | D．The future of smart equipment. |
| A．available | B．productive | C．representative | D．popular |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Optimistic. | C．Cautious. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．To make radio play nicely. | B．To construct big 5G cities. |
| C．To do 5G trials effectively. | D．To expand 5G coverage fully. |
