1 . A KidZania opened in Frisco, Texas on November 23, 2019. The indoor play area is unique because it promises to teach children about the real world—while they have a great time!
A KidZania is an interactive mini-city created for children between 4 and 14 years old, where they can walk freely, exploring various activities. The goal is for them to learn about the world through realistic role-play. That's why you'll find theaters, shops, and office buildings inside the city walls along with pedestrians and tiny vehicles.
At these places, kids can spend about 20 minutes per session being firefighters, mail carriers, construction workers, dentists, nail technicians, bankers, or even broadcast journalists.
If a kid wants to be a doctor or see what it's like to be a veterinarian（兽医）, they can get a taste of it, said Mike Laudizio, KidZania's” mayor （市长）”and general manager.
They get their hands in it, and it really gives them the freedom to explore the city.”
Since children learn best by doing, they are more likely to leave KidZania with a newfound appreciation for different jobs and a better grasp of how the world works. Best of all, while the kids work, they earn KidZos by doing their jobs well or by achieving small goals like washing their hands or participating in branded activities. They have the choice of cashing in for toys and candy at the gift shop or saving up in the KidZania bank for another day.
Our only question is when one of these will open for adults. This place looks great fun, and it can teach kids important lessons about the world we live in. Let's hope more KidZanias open in the U. S.
1. What is a KidZania?| A．A mini-city. | B．A kid-care center. |
| C．An interesting play. | D．A charity project. |
| A．Work as mayor of a city. |
| B．Learn through realistic role-play. |
| C．Shadow people in different occupations. |
| D．Attend lectures about how the world works. |
| A．A brand name. | B．A kind of business. |
| C．Toys sold in the shop. | D．Money in the mini-city. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Curious. | C．Admiring. | D．Worried. |
2 . There is a Website called the “World Database of Happiness”. It combines and analyzes the results of hundreds of surveys from around the world that have been conducted on life satisfaction. Most of the findings are predictable, but a few are surprising.
The database makes it clear that there is not a strong connection between material wealth and general satisfaction. It is a cliche to say that money can’t buy happiness, but the old saying seems to be supported by research. Many people still believe that gaining riches will be the answer to all their problems, yet they are probably mistaken.
Studies have been carried out on people who got sudden wealth, such as lottery winners. In most cases, after the initial joy had worn off, people were not left with a sense of lasting happiness. In fact, they tended to go back to the way they felt before they became rich.
If material wealth does not bring happiness, then what does? Perhaps happiness has something to do with where you live. The authorities at the World Database on Happiness have surveyed levels of happiness in different countries. Obviously, people in America, Canada, and Singapore are very happy; people living in India and Russia, not surprisingly, are not happy.
Other surveys consistently point to the importance of relationships. Family relationships in particular seem to be the key to long-term happiness. The website suggests that falling in love and having children are two of the situations that bring the greatest happiness.
Nowadays people look to technology as another source of satisfaction. People increasingly spend more time alone watching TV or surfing the Internet rather than spending time with family. Can technology truly make people happy? It is too difficult to tell, but one thing is sure: If the website’s research is right, time spent with your family is a better investment than time spent making money.
1. The Website World Database of Happiness is designed to______.| A．share stories of happiness | B．find out the reason for happiness |
| C．conduct surveys around the world | D．tell interviewees how to be happy |
| A．Traditional custom. | B．Proved theory. |
| C．Famous report. | D．Popular belief. |
| A．An unhappy man who has won a lottery in Singapore. |
| B．A student who has three high-income part-time jobs in India. |
| C．A mother who stays with her family everyday in America. |
| D．A Russian falling in love with a soulmate recently. |
| A．Levels of happiness vary from country to country. |
| B．Making money is not the only way to happiness. |
| C．It is uncertain whether technology make people happy. |
| D．A good family relationship is the key to lasting happiness. |
| A．Neutral. | B．Dissatisfied. | C．Supportive. | D．Doubtful. |
3 . It was late one evening. I can’t remember what it was about, but my Dad and I had a very big argument when my mother was away. We both said things we didn’t mean, and in the end I said, “I’m leaving.” And he said, “Good. The sooner, the better.”
I threw a few things in the suitcase and closed the door violently behind me, not knowing where I was going. After walking aimlessly for 20 minutes, I stopped at a local supermarket. Then my phone rang. It was my mom calling. She said, “Hey, Mary. Where are you? Dad is worried about you.”
“How can he worry about me? I’ve been away for nearly half an hour, but he didn’t call.” I said with annoyance. My anger returned and I remembered all the hateful things he’d shouted to me. “Listen, Mom. You can tell Dad that I’m fine. I’ll call you tomorrow.” I said and hung up.
I walked around the supermarket, trying to get my thoughts together. By the time I paid for my purchases, it had been much later than I used to be out alone. When I left the supermarket, a large piece of white paper was in front of me. On the piece of white paper were these words: “Please come home! I miss you and I’m worried about you!”
Then a car pulled up beside me. Hanging out of the window was my Dad. Besides him, smiling gently, sat my mom. And that’s when I started laughing. I laughed so hard that I cried. Despite(尽管) my best effort to run away from home, my father finally managed to track me down. I couldn’t leave now, not with him sitting there with caring eyes.
1. Why does Mary leave home ?| A．had to make her own living | B．had a bad performance at school |
| C．had an argument with her mother | D．had a big argument with her father |
| A．tried to calm down | B．forgave her father |
| C．became angrier than before | D．agreed to go home |
| A．goods Mary bought | B．actions Mary regretted (后悔) |
| C．telephone calls Mary made | D．lessons Mary learned |
| A．Mary still refused to go home. | B．Mary returned home happily. |
| C．Mary’s father became angry again. | D．Mary’s mother was angry with her father. |
4 . Have you ever wanted to feel like you were in a western film? Or maybe you wanted to feel like you were a pioneer traveling the west? It is possible to experience such things during a Wild West vacation! Here are four of the best Wild West vacation locations available:
Walk the Lewis and Clark Trail
Walk some or all of the 3,700 miles trail that was traversed by Mariwether Lewis and William Clark, two of the world's greatest explorers. Though not all the trails are marked, there are various stops that have been preserved by various historic societies. There is also a coach (长途客车)that makes a 16-day trek following the trail. This begins in St. Louis, Missouri, and ends in Astoria, Oregon.
Venture Route 66
Take a tour or go to see it yourself-ride on the famous Route 66. The road is nearly 2, 500 miles long. Harley Davidson offers motorcycle tours that last two weeks. Route 66 will provide an experience that may only be found on the open road. The historic road is still well taken care of.
Visit the Grand Canyon
Visit the most immense (巨大的)canyon in the world, located in Northern Arizona. Raft down the Colorado River, or hike the various trails that run throughout the canyon. If walking is not your thing, there are donkey and horse riding adventures available. In addition, there are motorized boats that float down through the canyon in a week's time.
Visit Deadwood
Located in South Dakota, Deadwood is a historic landmark. It is the kind of town that comes to mind when one thinks of an old western film. Actors who act as gunslingers (杀手）will often be seen in the streets playing their roles. Winter activities are popular in this old town, and there is always something to do.
1. What do we know from the passage?| A．None of the trails in the west are marked. |
| B．A number of historic stops aren't preserved well. |
| C．Western films are the most popular among Americans. |
| D．William Clark was a pioneer who explored the west. |
| A．long and hard journey | B．traveling information |
| C．beautiful scenery | D．pleasant holiday |
| A．A horse riding adventure. |
| B．A coach riding adventure. |
| C．A motorcycle riding adventure. |
| D．A donkey riding adventure. |
5 . A research by the National Center for Health Statistics is seen as an important confirmation of the “Hispanic mortality paradox (西班牙裔死亡率悖论).”
On average, Hispanics outlive whites by 2.5 years and blacks by 7.7 years. Their life expectancy at birth in 2006 was 80.6 years, compared with 78.1 for whites, 72.9 for blacks and 77.7 years for the total population.
The report shows that the Hispanic population has higher life expectancy at birth and at almost every age despite a socioeconomic status lower than that of whites. “Mortality is very correlated with income, education and health care access,” says Elizabeth Arias, author of the report. “You would expect the Hispanic population would have higher mortality, in line with the black population.”
The Hispanic paradox has been documented for more than two decades, but this is the first time the government has had enough data to issue national numbers. Researchers are struggling to explain why Hispanics live longer.
“We don’t know,” says David Hayes-Bautista, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. “We thought it was a problem in the data, but we can pretty much say this is real.”
Potential factors:
·Culture and lifestyle. Support from extended family and lower rates of smoking and drinking. Latino groups in particular have very strong family and social ties.
·Migration. The “healthy migrant effect” argues that healthy people are more likely to emigrate. And when immigrants become ill, they might return home and die there.
“Solving the puzzle may help the nation deal with health care issues because Hispanics use health services less—they make fewer doctors visits and spend less time in hospitals,” Hayes Bautista says. “It’s clearly something in the Latino culture,” he says.
1. In 2006, Hispanics’ life expectancy is years longer than the average of the total population.| A．2. 5 | B．7. 7 | C．2. 9 | D．80. 6 |
| A．To live longer than. |
| B．To live shorter than. |
| C．To die out. |
| D．To expect to live. |
| A．Hispanics were born better than whites. |
| B．Morality is closely related with health care access. |
| C．Whites should have longer life expectancy. |
| D．Even experts can’t explain the phenomenon. |
6 . I am Tony, a volunteer stem cell courier. Since March 2019, I have done 99 trips——of those, 56 have been abroad. I have 42 hours to carry stem cells in my little box because I've got two ice packs and that's how long they last. In all, from the time the stem cells are harvested from a donor to the time they can be implanted (移植) in the patient, we've got 72 hours at most. So I am always conscious of time.
Last year, I had a trip where I was caught by a hurricane in America. I picked up the stem cells in Providence, Rhode Island, and was meant to fly to Washington then back to London. But when I arrived at the check -in desk at Providence, the lady on the desk said: "Well, I'm really sorry, but I've got some bad news for you - there are no flights to Washington." So I took my box and put it on the desk and I said: "In this box are some stem cells that are urgently needed for a patient- please, please, you've got to get me back to the United Kingdom." She just dropped everything. She arranged for a fight on a small plane to be held for me, rerouted (改道) me through Newark and got me back to the UK even earlier than originally scheduled.
For this courier job, I' m consciously aware that in that box I've got something that is potentially going to save someone’s life.
1. What does the underlined word "courier" mean in paragraph !?| A．provider. | B．collector. | C．delivery man. | D．medical doctor. |
| A．The operation needs that much time. |
| B．The donor can only wait for that long. |
| C．He can't stay away from his job too long. |
| D．The ice can only last such a period of time. |
| A．To help save a patient. | B．To avoid being hit by Tony. |
| C．To get the stem cell. | D．To drop everything. |
| A．Tiresome. | B．Interesting. | C．Meaningless. | D．Significant. |
7 . If you walk through a park,you may enjoy the scents(气味）of flowers,water and soil.If you are especially lucky,you will get to smell fresh-cut grass.It's a beloved scent that transports many people back to their childhood.But there's a dark side to that smell.Indeed,we are in love with the scent of fear.
Plants have many different chemical defenses.That smell is one of them,as the grass responds to an attack,signaling(向......示意）to the surrounding grass that danger is coming.The fresh,"green”scent of a just-mowed lawn is the lawn trying to save itself,says a story at science website Real-Clear Science.
The smell is produced by a mix of chemicals called green leaf volatiles(GLVs,绿叶挥发物）.When the leafy plants are injured by animals eating them, people cutting them, or any other rough treatment-they give off GLVs into the air.These GLVs are a warning to neighbouring plants that their flowers might be removed,so they can move resources like sugar toward their roots and away from their flowers.This reduces a plant's potential losses and can help it grow back later.
The rush of GLVs does a few other things,too.One chemical helps to close the wound on the damaged plant.Others act as antibiotics(抗生素）and prevent bacterial infections.
Some GLVs may also react with animals that eat plants.Silke All-mann and Ian T.Baldwin, researchers from the University of Amsterdam,Netherlands,found that some caterpillars(毛虫）are changed by the GLV compounds(化合物）when they eat a tobacco plant.Tobacco makes the caterpillars more attractive to predators(捕食者）.For the tobacco plants,this is like having an older brother come to beat up your bully(欺凌者）.
Thankfully,nothing is coming to eat you when you mow the lawn.Instead,we human get treated to some great-smelling GLVs.One is a compound known as"cis-3-hexenal".This is the same chemical that gives strawberries their sweet scent.Similar compounds are also found in apples and olives.
＂Just about all fresh vegetables have some GLV scents to them,"Baldwin told Live Science,and fruits may release the compounds as they soften."Throughout evolutionary history,we've used that information to know when something is ripe,"Baldwin said.Now we can use it to know when grass is frightened.
1. What do we know about GLVs?| A．They are harmful to humans. | B．They are unique to flowering plants. |
| C．They tend to stay in the air for a long time. | D．They are released when plants get hurt. |
| A．They grow more quickly. | B．They produce more flowers. |
| C．They absorb more water. | D．They transport resources to their roots. |
| A．a kind of antibiotic | B．a predator. | C．a caterpillar. | D．a tobacco plant. |
| A．tell us whether fruits are ready to eat. | B．protect plants from pests. |
| C．help fruits grow more quickly. | D．help people choose delicious fruits. |
GETTING A GRANT Who pays? The local education authority (LEA) for the area in which the student is living. Who can get this money? Anyone who gets a place on a first degree course, although a student who has already attended a course of advanced further education may not. Students must also have been resident in the UK for at least three years, which can exclude some students from overseas. |
| SPECIAL CASES |
| If a student has worked before going to college? A student who is 26 or more before the course starts and who has worked for at least three of the previous six years will get extra money – £155 a year if 26, increasing to a maximum of £615 at 29 or more. If a student is handicapped? LEAs will give up to £500 to help meet extra expenses – such as buying a tape recorder for a blind student, extra heating or special food. Banking? Most of the big banks offer special services to students who open accounts (in the hope that they will stay with the bank when they become rich officials). A student won’t usually have to pay bank charges as long as the account stays in credit. Some banks allow students to overdraw by £100 or so, and still don’t make charges (though they do charge interest). |
1. The phrase “a grant” in the first line most probably means _____.
| A．bank interest | B．a credit card |
| C．an education fee | D．financial aid |
| A．be unable to get money from any LEA |
| B．get money if taking a first degree course |
| C．get money from LEA when finishing his course |
| D．have to open a bank account before getting money |
| A．None. | B．£155. | C．£615. | D．£515. |
9 . We all need Vitamin （维生素）D because it helps to build and keep strong bones. A lack of it can lead to some bone diseases. As studies show, sunlight is great for making Vitamin D. When you're outdoors, your body will create the Vitamin D you need from direct sunlight on your skin.
In order to get enough Vitamin D, you should get 10-30 minutes of sunlight at a time, several times a week. However, people with darker skin may need a little more time than this. Besides, your exposure （暴露）time in the sunlight should rely on how sensitive your skin is to sunlight. Too much sunlight can be dangerous, for it may cause some bad results, including sunburn, eye damage, and skin problems. If you have to stay in the sunlight for a long time, you should be careful not to let sunlight hurt your skin, so take care to protect your skin with sunscreen before it starts to turn red.
In a word, your ability to make Vitamin D from sunlight depends on the time of day, your skin color, where you live and so on. Keep those in mind when you go out for Vitamin D from sunlight.
1. Why do people need Vitamin D according to Paragraph 1?| A．To keep their hair healthy. | B．To make their teeth white. |
| C．To make their faces pretty. | D．To keep their bones strong. |
| A．doing some exercise | B．losing much weight |
| C．staying in the sunlight | D．walking in the moonlight |
| A．Lung diseases. | B．Skin problems. |
| C．Heart diseases. | D．Breath problems. |
| A．防晒霜 | B．防水服 | C．防尘罩 | D．防腐剂 |
| A．A story book. | B．A telephone book. |
| C．A health magazine. | D．A music magazine. |
10 . World Book Day falls on April 23 every year. It was set up in 1955 to encourage people to discover the pleasure of reading.
Many countries celebrate World Book Day. In the UK, the government has introduced a rule that a book token(购书券)is a passport. Every year 15 million tokens are given out to students in Britain and Ireland. With a token, students can go to any bookshop to choose a free book according to their taste and hobby. It is believed that 15% of the UK children don’t have a book of theirs. This mainly results from the high book prices. A book token will help them realize their dream to have their first book.
Reading helps us become more knowledgeable and more intelligent(智慧的). Reading helps us to follow the latest developments of science and technology. Reading provides us with information about other culture and places of the world. When we read, we may learn many things that are off our beat to us. We would have to use our brain to think about them or do more reading to find out the answers. The more we read, the more we know. The more we know, the smarter we become.
Reading is also one of the most important ways to learn a foreign language like English. we all know that we can’t learn everything at school, for example, the ways English people are speaking and writing today.“Reading makes a full man.”Books, magazines, newspapers and other kinds of reading materials can help to know more about the outside world and perfect us. Therefore, it is necessary to form the habit of reading every day.
1. How does the UK celebrate World Book Day?| A．By writing more books for kids. |
| B．By building more public libraries. |
| C．By introducing book token system. |
| D．By opening free bookshops for kids. |
| A．Unknown. | B．Familiar. | C．Difficult. | D．Traditional. |
| A．Reading helps to develop science. |
| B．Reading is good for people in many ways. |
| C．Reading can help to create a new culture. |
| D．Reading can help find a way to learn well. |
| A．Suggestions on Reading |
| B．World Book Day in China |
| C．World Book Day in the UK |
| D．World Book Day and Benefits of Reading |
