1 . I remember that it was a fall morning when the orchestra (管弦乐队) teachers came into Miss Newell’s third-grade classroom. “You have hands for the viola(中提琴),” Miss Ciano told me. I was excited because my hands were finally good for something. I told my parents I wanted to play, and naturally, they agreed.
Since I first touched the viola, I haven’t been able to put it down. Ignoring the difficulty, I am pulled closer to it each day.
Classical music is truly my best friend. It is the trusted friend of every man, woman and child. Various feelings are expressed in classical music. I discovered that when I was eleven and played a cello concerto (大提琴协奏曲) of Bach in a competition, the first movement was joyful, but the second movement was mysterious and full of pain. From the piece, I learned that music expresses not only feelings, but also sudden mood changes. By listening to classical music, I know that someone else shares these feelings. Since I am lucky enough to be able to play classical music, I am comforted by it when I am upset. It gives me a way to escape from my problems for a short period. Classical music can express my joy, sadness and anger.
Now look back at that fall day in the third grade and think how gullible I was for believing that anyone, even music teachers, could tell whether hands were perfect for a certain instrument. I’m certain they told me I had “ viola hands” not because they were fortune-tellers(算命师), but because there was a lack of violists in our district. Classical music is one of the best things that ever happened to mankind. If you get introduced to it in the right way, it will become your friend for life.
1. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the first and second paragraphs?| A．To introduce an interesting musical class. |
| B．To show the importance of proper guide. |
| C．To offer the evidence of her gift for music. |
| D．To tell the power of support from parents. |
| A．By developing social skills. | B．By broadening life experience. |
| C．By improving mental health. | D．By building close relationship. |
| A．Firmly opposed. | B．Easily tricked. |
| C．Greatly affected. | D．Secretly hidden. |
| A．Lifetime dream, great effort. | B．Happy childhood, unforgotten experience. |
| C．Special event, sweet memory. | D．Classical music, endless friendship |
2 . Do you remember what happened on Sponge Bob Square Pants yesterday? The day before? If so, you may be in need of a TV timeout!
Kids today are watching more TV than they watched before, researchers say. Kids ages 6 to 11 in the United States watch more than three hours of TV each day. Ten years ago, children watched only about two hours and 40 minutes of TV each day.
Why the increase? Experts say more TV shows today are focused, or aimed, at kids.
Some people want to limit kids' TV time. Researchers say that children who watch TV shows for more than three hours a day do not do as well in school. However, some programs can help kids learn. One example is BrainSurge. Some people say the show teaches kids facts.
How do you know whether a TV show can make you smart? Think about what you learn from watching, says Aletha Huston. She is a TV expert. But, she warns, don't spend too much time watching. “Limit the amount you watch. Get off the couch and do something else.”
TV Guide
This pie chart shows how long kids ages 6－11 use different types of TV technology each week.
1. What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Kids today watch more TV than they did before. |
| B．BrainSurge helps kids learn facts. |
| C．Kids do not watch proper TV shows. |
| D．More TV shows today are created for kids ages 6－11. |
| A．unusual | B．aimed | C．suitable | D．pleasant |
| A．Three. | B．Five. | C．Four. | D．Six. |
| A．Video games | B．DVD | C．VCR | D．TV |
3 . Slowly but surely, we’re moving closer and closer to 5G world. From smart-home security to self-driving cars, all the internet-connected devices in our life will be able to talk to each other at lightning-fast speeds with reduced delay. Objectively speaking, the fastest 4G download speeds in the US top out at an average of 19.42Mbps. But by comparison 5G promises gigabit (千兆) speeds.
“5G is one of those heralds (使者),along with artificial intelligence, of this coming data age.” said Steve Koenig, senior director of market research for the Consumer Technology Association. The self-driving vehicle is a great emblem of this data age, and that is to say, it is a sign of time, because with one single task, driving, you have massive amounts of data coming from the vehicle itself, and a variety of sensors are collecting a lot of information to model its environment as it moves. It’s pulling in data from other vehicles about road conditions down the lane. It could be weather information, and also connected infrastructure (基础设施) construction. There’s lots of data behind that task, which is why we need the high speed.
And virtual reality glasses and headsets haven’t yet broken the mainstream, but tech companies are joyfully betting that these devices 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 assist — or even replace — smartphones.
Ericsson stated at February's Mobile World Congress 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 hardware for processing power.
But don’t get too excited. There’s still a lot of work to be done in the meantime, including various trials to make sure the radios play nicely with hardware and infrastructure construction so 5G isn’t concentrated only in big cities.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The security of 5G. | B．The present world of 5G. |
| C．The future of 5G. | D．The super speed of 5G. |
| A．exhibition | B．symbol | C．sponsor | D．explanation |
| A．They will be heavier than present ones. | B．They will process power on their own. |
| C．They will bring a big fortune to tech companies. | D．They will take the place of smartphones. |
| A．How to fully expand 5G coverage. | B．How to effectively reduce 5G trials. |
| C．How to nicely operate 5G hardware. | D．How to widely construct 5G big cities. |
4 . Jack was born without eyes. He was very lucky as he grew up having other kittens (young cats) to socialize (交往) with, and was used to people from the moment he was born. However, when it came time to find the kittens homes, no one knew where Jack would end up.
That’s when I got an e-mail from my friend. All she asked was “Do you still want one of the kittens? There’s one here with no eyes and no one would like to take him”. Without thinking I told her that I did want the kitten.
When we first brought him home, Jack stayed mostly in my room. After about a day he had no issues running around and climbing on everything. At times he gets lost in the house, he’ll stop. But we just call his name and talk to him and it isn’t long before he finds his way back to us.
A few weeks after getting Jack, we got a new cat named Bear. Jack and Bear have become best friends. It doesn’t matter that he can’t see. He always knows when Bear is around. He’ll run across the yard straight to Bear and wrap his front legs around his neck in a big hug. They run after each other around and wrestle (摔跤). They’ll lie down in the grass together when tired.
Jack is truly an inspiration. I’ve owned lots of kittens in my life, but Jack is the happiest and most playful. He doesn’t feel sorry for himself. He doesn’t need pity. I think Jean, owner of Gumbo, another eyeless cat, said it best when she told me that cats don’t have disabilities; they have adaptability.
1. Why did Jack come to the author’s home?| A．The author cared for an eyeless cat. |
| B．The author didn’t mind whether he was blind. |
| C．No other young cats kept him company. |
| D．The author’s friend begged the author to take him home. |
| A．Jack often wrestles with Bear indoors. |
| B．Jack likes to play with a new eyeless cat. |
| C．Jack quickly adapts to the new environment. |
| D．Jack is good at talking and playing with people. |
| A．Trouble. | B．Fun. | C．Luck. | D．Business. |
| A．A cat has nine lives. | B．All is well that ends well. |
| C．God helps those who help themselves. | D．A good beginning makes a good ending. |
5 . On average, Americans spend about 10 hours a day in front of a computer or other electronic devices and less than 30 minutes a day outdoors. That is a claim by David Strayer, a professor of psychology at the University of Utah. In his 2017 TED Talk, Strayer explained that all this time spent with technology is making our brains tired.
Using an electronic device to answer emails, listen to the news and browse the web puts a lot of pressure on the front of the brain, which, Strayer explains, is important for critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making.
Therefore, it is important to give the brain a rest. And being in nature, Strayer claims, helps a tired brain away from too much technology. More than 15, 000 campers from around the world attended an international camping festival in September. That is when friends and family take time off and escape to nature for several days. They take walks, climb, explore, swim, sleep, eat and play. Camping may be just what a tired brain needs.
Take Carl for example. He lives in West Virginia and enjoys camping. He says that staying outdoors makes him feel at ease. It also prepares him for the work he must do. Kate Somers is another example who also lives in West Virginia. She says she enjoys camping with her husband and two children. She calls it a “regenerative” experience.
At the University of Utah, David Strayer has studied both short-term and long-term exposure to nature. He found that spending short amounts of time in nature without technology does calm the brain and helps it to remember better. However, he found, it is the long-term contact with nature that does the most good. He and his research team found that spending three days in nature without any technology is enough time for the brain to fully relax and reset itself.
1. According to David Strayer, which of the following is true?| A．Americans dislike outdoor activities. |
| B．Electronic equipment should be quitted. |
| C．New technologies also have some downsides. |
| D．Electronic equipment brings great convenience. |
| A．To try another lifestyle. | B．To let our brain relax. |
| C．To make better decisions. | D．To play with our family and friends. |
| A．Refreshing | B．Memorable | C．Remarkable | D．Tiring |
| A．Electronic Equipment Harms the Brain | B．Good Rest Develops Good Memory |
| C．Tips on Using New Technologies | D．Being in Nature Is Good for the Brain |
6 . When Rachel Ratelle saw a news video of a burned koala trying to climb a tree to safety in fire-ravaged（火灾肆虐的）Australia, she decided to do something about it.
She looked up wildlife rescue and relief agencies in Australia to find out what they needed most. Besides donations, many organizations asked for hand-sewn and knitted pouches（袋子）and wraps for koalas and other animals that were burned or had lost their homes and parents in the fires.
This idea attracted Ratelle, but there was just one problem.
"I'd never sewn in my life," said Ratelle, 17, a senior at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista, US. "Giving money seemed like something too simple. But I wanted to directly help these animals by doing something myself, so I decided to learn how to sew."
Over the next few months, Ratelle bought her own sewing machine and taught herself how to sew via videos online. Then she bought 18 yards of fabric and sewed 25 pouches of different sizes and shipped them off to Fir Australian Wildlife Needing Aid (FAWNA), one of several relief organizations that have rushed to rescue koalas, kangaroos and other species suffering from bums. A week later, she received a photo from FAWNA with a baby kangaroo in one of her larger pouches. "It made me feel like I contributed to the world and it showed how a simple act of kindness can go a long way," said Ratelle, who hopes to study biology for a future career as a nurse practitioner.
"I plan to use my new sewing skills to help animals and people devastated by natural disaster," she said.
Several craft union websites around the world have called for Australian relief by making the animal pouches. Karen Newberry and her two daughters Madison, 12 and Rochelle, 8, from San Diego also offered their help in such a way. For Newberry, "It was a big push that made us crafters, sewers realize there's something more we can do than just make things for ourselves," she said.
1. What do the first two paragraphs mainly talk about?| A．What inspired Ratelle to learn to sew. |
| B．What is needed to save koalas and other species. |
| C．The poor living conditions of wild animals in Australia. |
| D．Different ways to help koalas and other animals in Australia. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Calm. | C．Proud. | D．Moved. |
| A．Ruined | B．Challenged | C．Reduced | D．Abandoned |
| A．People should stay united through difficult times. |
| B．Life is not easy for crafters and sewers in Australia. |
| C．It is challenging for crafters and sewers to do relief work. |
| D．Crafters and sewers can do more to help animals. |
7 . More than 100 scientists from 25 countries have traveled to faraway places to collect wild crop seeds(种子) in an effort to help battle climate change.
The scientists, who have been compared to the heroes of the “Indiana Jones” movies, traveled on foot, four-wheeled vehicles(交通工具), boats, horses and even elephants to reach faraway areas. They faced extreme heat,dust, and danger from wild animals. At last, they collected 4, 644 seeds of 371 wild relatives of 28 world crops, many of which are said to be endangered.
The Crop Trust, an organization that works to save different kinds of crops, is directing the project. The group is working in partnership with Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens and Millennium Seed Bank. Additional financial support comes from Norway. The project is believed to be the largest organized international effort yet to collect and protect crops' wild relatives.Hannes Dempewolf is a scientist and the head at the Crop Trust. He said“What these seed collectors went through in the field resembles scenes from an Indiana Jones movie.”
Some crops are threatened because of destruction of forests, climate change and expanded cities. The newly-found wild seeds have developed so plants can grow in extreme temperatures, poor soils, and even in low rainfall areas.
A United Nations report says that food production is at risk because of a shortage of rain and other weather extremes connected to climate change. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says that the number of plant species is quickly decreasing and people are depending on fewer species for food. Those wild seeds could be important in feeding a growing human population in some areas and offer a largely unused source of diversity(多样性) to crops.
1. What does the second paragraph show?| A．Collecting seeds is not an easy job. |
| B．The scientists’ story is made into a movie. |
| C．The wild seeds are in danger of extinction. |
| D．The scientists can choose from many vehicles. |
| A．Depends on. | B．Looks like. |
| C．Turns out. | D．Refers to. |
| A．They can increase green areas. | B．They can provide more nutrients |
| C．They can survive bad conditions. | D．They can improve existent crop seeds. |
| A．Bringing more plant species to the world. |
| B．Helping farmers improve their farming skills. |
| C．Knowing about the worlds farming practices. |
| D．Helping battle climate change. |
8 . Mirroring body language is a way to bond and to build understanding. It is a powerful tool that we use without even knowing it.
The most obvious forms of mirroring are yawning and smiling. When you see someone yawn, you are likely to yawn immediately. Smiling is also pretty contagious-seeing a smiling person makes you want to smile too.
Mirroring body language is a nonverbal way to say “I am like you, I feel the same”. Research shows that people who experience the same feelings are likely to trust, understand and accept each other.
Women have the natural ability to pick up and understand body signals. Therefore, it is not surprising that a woman is more likely to mirror another woman than a man is to mirror another man. That's why women are regarded as better talkers, even if they might not really have more close friends.
It is interesting that when a man tries to mirror a woman's body language while she is talking, he may seem to her as caring, intelligent and attractive.
Mirroring body language is an excellent way to build trust and understanding quickly. If you want to set up a connection with a new person, mirror his or her gestures, sitting position, tone of voice and talking pace. This will make them feel that there is something about you that they like.
While mirroring body language gains you acceptance, you still need to take into consideration your relationship with the person you are mirroring. If you are in a lower social position and are mirroring the body language of your boss, he will view you as arrogant. However, if you want to defeat those who are trying to prove superior to you, mirroring their body language will help defeat them and change their position.
1. What does the underlined word “contagious” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Affecting each other. | B．Powerful to show one's feelings. |
| C．Attractive to the others. | D．Being gentle to people around. |
| A．send wrong messages | B．hide true feelings |
| C．win others' acceptance | D．avoid misunderstanding |
| A．You will appear very attractive. | B．It will help to soften his position. |
| C．You will seem unacceptably proud. | D．It will be a good way to build trust. |
| A．It is important to copy the others' gestures. |
| B．Why women are regarded as better talkers. |
| C．Men is not good at nonverbal communication. |
| D．Mirroring body language can be a useful tool. |
9 . Both of my parents worked fulltime when I was a little girl，so my grandmother would stay at our house during the day. We would watch game shows in the living room. Our favorite was The Price Is Right. We would call out our answers along with the contestants.
When I got older and started going to school，we couldn’t watch our game shows regularly. That was okay with me，though，because the one thing I liked better than watching game shows with my grandmother was helping her bake cakes. Watching her in the kitchen was amazing：she never seemed to need the recipes（食谱）but everything she made tasted delicious.
At first I would just sit in the kitchen and watch，even though I didn’t understand what she was doing. As I got older，she let me help with the easy parts，such as measuring the sugar. The day she let me separate the eggs，I felt like I had found complete pleasure.
At last，my parents decided that I could take care of myself，and my grandmother stopped coming over every day. The love of baking，however，stayed with me. I started baking by myself，and even if the cookies ended up burnt sometimes，more often they turned out pretty well. I tried out new recipes，and whenever I got to a thorny part，I would call my grandmother for advice. Sometimes I would call her just to talk too. I felt like I could talk to her about anything.
My grandmother passed away ten years ago，but I still think of her every day. Last week，I found a recipe book she made for me. It included her recipes for brownies，cookies，and my favorite，lemon pie. As I looked through the pages，I thought I could hear her voice. She was the one who taught me not just about baking，but about life.
1. The passage is mainly developed by .| A．analyzing causes | B．making comparisons |
| C．following the time order | D．examining differences |
| A．found it interesting | B．turned out to be a troublemaker |
| C．hoped to make a living by baking | D．regretted missing the game shows |
| A．Basic. | B．Common. |
| C．Special. | D．Difficult. |
| A．To describe her childhood memories. | B．To show her good baking skills. |
| C．To remember her grandmother. | D．To talk about her happy family life. |
10 . Deciding to get her money's worth out of the wedding dress on which she spent over $1,000, an Australian woman has been wearing her wedding dress, a year after her wedding.
43-year-old Tammy Hall adopted a new lifestyle-anti-consumerism (反消费主义) lifestyle in 2016, after a trip to India opened her eyes to how much we as a society consumed. She decided not to buy any new clothes or footwear for a whole year after she returned home to Adelaide, in Southern Australia, and she managed to make it.
But last year, as her wedding day approached, she faced a dilemma. She wanted to look good on the most important day of her life, but how could she spend a small fortune on the wedding dress she would only wear on that day?
"In the end I decided that if I was going to get a wedding dress, I'd make sure I could get my money's worth," Hall tells PA Real Life.
"The first time I wore it after the wedding was to vote in the Australian election in early 2019," the 43-year-old adds. "Since then, it's been to all sorts of places. Wearing it on a crowded train was especially funny, but I've worn it to do housework, to football games and to the gym."
Hall says that she has gotten some strange looks from people, but no irritating comments. It may have something to do with the fact that the dress is not the fanciest, but she believes people are just too reserved to say anything. Anyway, she doesn't really care, because she knows she has to hit the goal she has set and wearing the dress multiple times is the most reasonable way she could think of to make the most of her wedding dress.
Hall now plans to wear her wedding dress on a trip to Iceland that she and her partner will take next summer.
1. Why did Tammy Hall adopt a new lifestyle?| A．To adapt herself to Indian life. | B．To cut down her consumption. |
| C．To save money for her next trip. | D．To get prepared for her wedding. |
| A．She brought fun to people with it. | B．She tried to wear it to earn money. |
| C．She wore it repeatedly in daily life. | D．She got it exchanged again and again. |
| A．Thrilling. | B．Annoying. |
| C．Amusing. | D．Confusing. |
| A．She is determined to turn her ideas into practice. |
| B．She values her wedding dress less than her trips. |
| C．She has been struggling to make the ends meet. |
| D．She has influenced people's lifestyle widely. |
