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 . 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. |
3 . The end of the school year was in sight and spirits were high. I was back teaching after an absence of 15 years, dealing with the various kinds of "forbidden fruit" that come out of book bags. Now was the spring of the water pistol.
I decided to think up a method of dealing with forbidden fruit.
"Please bring that pistol to me," I said. "I'm going to put it in my Grandma's Box."
"What's that?" they asked.
"It's a large wooden chest full of toys for my grandchildren," I replied,
"You don't have grandchildren," someone said.
"I don't now." I replied. "But someday I will. When I do, my box will be full of wonderful things for them."
My imaginary Grandma's Box worked like magic that spring, and later. Sometimes. students would ask me to describe all the things I had in it. Then I would try to remember the different possessions I supposedly had taken away—since I seldom actually kept them. Usually the offender would appear at the end of the day, and I would return the belonging.
The-years went by, and my first grandchild Gordon was born. I shared my joy with that year's class. Then someone said, "Now you can use your Grandma's Box." From then on instead of coming to ask their possessions back, the students would say, "That's okay. Put it in your Grandma's Box for Gordon."
I loved talking about the imaginary box, not only with my students but also with my own children. They enjoyed hearing about all the forbidden fruit I had collected. Then one Christmas I received a surprise gift—a large, beautifully made wooden chest. My son Bruce had made my Grandma's Box a reality.
1. What was the author's purpose in having the conversation with the students?| A．To collect the water pistol. | B．To talk about her grandchildren. |
| C．To recommend some toys. | D．To explain her teaching method. |
| A．The student's parent. | B．The maker of the Grandma's Box. |
| C．The author's grandchild. | D．The owner of the forbidden fruit. |
| A．They went to play with the baby. | B．They asked to see the Grandma's Box. |
| C．They made a present for Gordon. | D．They stopped asking their toys back. |
| A．She enjoys telling jokes. | B．She is a strict and smart teacher. |
| C．She loves doing woodwork. | D．She is a responsible grandmother |
4 . As part of a health initiative, Berkeley is getting ready to become the first city in the US to require large grocery stores to stop allowing the sales of junk food and candy in checkout aisles(过道). The new rule is expected to go into effect in March 2021.
The “Healthy Checkout Ordinance(法规)” was approved by Berkeley’s City Council. It requires stores over 2,500 square-feet in size to sell at least 25 square-feet of healthy items within a three-foot radius(半径) of checkout registers. So now instead of candy and soda and other high calorie items, shoppers can expect to see fresh fruit and whole grain alternatives at checkout counters.
“Placement of unhealthy snacks near a register increases the likelihood that customers will purchase these foods and drinks when willpower is weak at the end of a long shopping trip,” City Council member Kate Harrison said. The new rule will affect at least 25 retailers(零售商)in Berkeley. These include Whole Foods, CVS, Walgreens and Safeway.
“It's not a ban: it's a nudge(推动),” Harrison said. “Stores can still sell candy and soda, just not at your child's eye level in the checkout.” The council said the shift to selling more healthy products at checkouts will still be profitable for stores because data shows customers are looking for more low sugar and low sodium products anyway. They also said retailers in test cases around the country and in California have seen dramatic increases in sales of healthy foods since they changed their checkouts to include more fresh options in displays.
The ordinance will make grocery stores a “more neutral and health-friendly space for consumers,” said Ashley Hickson, senior policy associate at the Center for Science in the Public Interest(CSPI). Junk food makers spend a lot to make sure their products are front and center in stores, Hickson said, but some consumers don't like the practice. In a CSPI survey, 76% of shoppers who bought unhealthy food or drink at checkout regretted the purchase, she added.
1. What can we infer from Harrison's words in Paragraph 3?| A．Customers tend to ignore the price when tired. |
| B．Items placed near checkouts are most profitable. |
| C．Customers will easily spend a fortune when tired. |
| D．Items placed near checkouts are inviting to customers. |
| A．Alternatives will make up for sales. |
| B．Retailers will get financial support. |
| C．Healthy food will attract more customers. |
| D．Retail prices of other goods will be raised. |
| A．Spending a lot to promote sales. | B．Advertising some unhealthy drinks. |
| C．Placing junk food at checkout aisles. | D．Replacing junk food with healthy ones. |
| A．The Negative Influences of Junk Food |
| B．How to Maximize the Profits of Stores |
| C．Berkeley Will Ban Most Junk Food at Checkouts |
| D．Berkeley Pays More Attention to People's Health |
5 . Regardless of how famous they are, and despite the star treatment they receive, many celebrities make it a point to give back to charities. Some have even set up their own private foundations. Their widely publicised visits to troubled areas of the world help to raise awareness of issues such as famine and poverty. According to Jane Cooper of Unicef UK, celebrities have a unique ability to reach huge numbers of people, many of whom might not otherwise be engaged in charitable causes. She pointed out that famous faces had played a significant role in raising funds in recent years, and their energies had produced tangible results, such as enabling millions of children in poorer countries to attend school.
But in spite of these successes there is evidence to suggest that celebrity endorsement (代言) may be overrated. In a survey of members of the public to find out if celebrity involvement would encourage people to donate, researchers found that the impact was not as great as previously thought. When shown a list of well-known organisations and famous people who represent them, over half of respondents were unable to match the celebrity with the cause. What’s more, three quarters claimed that they didn’t respond to celebrity endorsement in any way. The survey also showed that a few names did stand out as being associated with particular charities. But the presence of a celebrity in a campaign, was not a significant factor when it came to a decision to donate time or money. Instead, the majority of people contribute because of personal connections in their lives and families which make a charity important to them.
In another study aimed at young people, most participants cited a compelling (无法抗拒的) mission as their main motivation to give. The second most important incentive was if a friend or peer recommended supporting a particular cause. Only two percent of respondents said they were motivated by celebrity endorsement. This seems to contradict the general assumption that teenagers are particularly influenced by famous people. One possible explanation is that there is a general fatigue (疲倦) with celebrity culture. There is also a suspicion that the stars are the one who benefit most when they offer to do charity work. Some critics have accused that celebrities might actually take attention away from issues by attracting more attention than the causes they represent.
So taking all these issues into account, is it time for charities to rethink their campaign strategies and look for alternative ways to reach new audiences? Whichever point of view you favour, there seems to be opportunities for more research into how charity campaigns might develop relationships with celebrities to maximise their potential. This in turn will open up more engagement, and better targeted campaigns-which can only benefit those who really matter — the people and animals that are in need of assistance.
1. What does the underlined word “tangible” in paragraph I probably mean?| A．Definite. | B．Complicated. | C．Limited. | D．Temporary. |
| A．they gain benefit from the charities |
| B．they are forced to finish a necessary task |
| C．they believe in the famous people they like |
| D．they are inspired by the people around them |
| A．what celebrities achieve in doing charities |
| B．How young people react to celebrity culture |
| C．why young people are hardly influenced by celebrities |
| D．who is to blame for taking attention away from charities |
| A．Objective. | B．Positive. |
| C．Negative. | D．Unclear. |
6 . The 2019 World Conference on VR Industry shows that Virtual Reality （VR） technology can be used to revolutionize people's experiences in practically any field．
Held in Nanchang from Oct． 19 to 22， the annual conference attracted more than 300 experts， leading scholars and company principals from over 30 countries． The theme of this year's World Conference on VR Industry was "VR+5G tor a new age of insight．" Conferences and exhibitions， which hosted more than 2，000 companies from across the world， were held during the event．
As China introduces 5G this year， experts and industry insiders said that the VR industry will hug the new era． "We will take the lead in VR technology creativity． For example， the technology has already been applied successfully to this year's National Day parade． The popularity of the technology among younger generations of users guarantees a large potential market， said Guo Ping， representative of Huawei．
In 2018， Oral Roberts University in the USA opened a new Global Learning Center， which has classrooms equipped with 360-degree cameras on the wail， which follows and records professors as they teach． Through an app on the smart phone， students can see images in 3D and manipulate （操纵）them．
In May 2019， a VR theme park opened to the public in London． Covering about 13，000 square meters with 120 sets of advanced VR equipment， the park attracts thousands of visitors every day．
During the 22nd Asian Music Festival， the musical Eight made its second appearance． Eight is a unique fusion of music， theater， VR technology and visual art， in which audience members wear VR headsets to walk through and manipulate an equipment． The show tells a poetic story of an old woman looking back on her life and it lasts for 15 minutes．
1. What does this year's World Conference suggest？ ______| A．VR technology can be used only with 5G． |
| B．VR technology can change people's lives． |
| C．China's 5G technology will take the lead． |
| D．More VR theme parks will be opened to public． |
| A．Because it attracts experts to cooperate． |
| B．Because it has a large overseas market． |
| C．Because young customers have interest in it． |
| D．Because it has changed how to teach and learn． |
| A．research | B．process |
| C．combination | D．type |
| A．China Is Leading the Way in the World |
| B．VR Technology Development in China |
| C．5G Technology： China Moves Ahead Quickly |
| D．The Bright Future of VR in Diverse Fields |
In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations- UNESCO and National Geographic among them –have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.
Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Center, Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, looking and raising a family in a village in Nepal.
Documenting the Tangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayans reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.
At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials- including photographs, films, tap recordings, and field notes- which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection.
Now, through the two organizations that he has founded-the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project- Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, found in libraries and stores around the world, available not just to scholars but to the youngers.
Generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected.Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet. Turin notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.
1. Many scholars are making efforts to ________.
| A．promote global languages |
| B．rescue the disappearing languages |
| C．search for language communities |
| D．set up languages research organizations |
| A．Having first records of the languages. |
| B．Writing books on language searching. |
| C．Telling stories about language users. |
| D．Linking with the native speakers. |
| A．The cultural statics in India. |
| B．The documents available at Yale. |
| C．His language research in Britain. |
| D．His personal experience in Nepal. |
| A．Write sell and donate. |
| B．Record, repeat and reward. |
| C．Collect, protect and reconnect. |
| D．Design, experiment and report. |
8 . Nowadays, video gaming has made impressive gains in the field of standardized competition. One of the fashionable debates is whether competitive video games are sports or not. If cyberathletes are competing against formal teams in a formal environment, with real titles and monetary stakes on the line, it seems strange not to consider the activity a sport. However, unless something technologically odd gains complete control over our world in the next few decades, they never should be. Cyberathletes and eSports aren’t incomparable to traditional athletes and sports because they require less physical exertion or dedication. They are incomparable because they are different from traditional sports in a number of ways.
Traditional sports are steadfast, and consistent in their structures and mechanics. A professional American football player from any past decade could be transplanted into a current football field, and would only have to be told of a few minor rule changes. The player would know what to do, where to go, and how to accomplish the ultimate goal. He may need to learn a few new plays, but it’s fundamentally the same game. However, competitive video gaming has a variety of goals, and those goals are fluid and dynamic. A competitive video gamer from decades past might be aware of the final goal (winning the game, capturing the flag, eliminating the opposing team, etc.), but the execution (执行方式) would be completely foreign. Controls change, maps change, locations change, even the minute rules are adjusted on a regular basis. As a competitive video gamer, one needs to adapt to a much more aggressive ruleset than most sports or other games. Therefore the video game competitions are less likely to be properly regulated.
Most traditional sports are approachable by Everyman, even the esoteric(深奥的) ones, at least in an educational setting, where budgets and funding are set for them. While home computers are widely accessible, a large percentage of the gaming population is unable to participate in competitive gaming due to the high-standard computing requirements. Even decade-old competitive games like Counter-Strike 1.6 require more equipment and gear than most traditional sports. A pick-up game of basketball, football, or soccer is far more accessible than a pick-up game of Counter-Strike.
Traditional sports are embedded in our culture for good reasons: they offer an entertaining diversion and a great form of physical activity for millions of worldwide fans. The principles and lessons gleaned from traditional sports emphasize teamwork, collaboration, and critical evaluations of any given game setting. While many of these lessons are applicable to competitive gaming, competitive video gamers are still distancing themselves from competing for “sport” status, when their pastime and trade is so fundamentally different and ever-changing at such a regular pace.
1. What is the author’s opinion towards competitive video games?| A．They can be seen as sports due to their emphasis on teamwork. |
| B．They can be seen as sports due to their standardized regulations. |
| C．They can not be seen as sports due to their lack of physical and mental efforts. |
| D．They can not be seen as sports due to the inconsistent rules and high requirements. |
| A．Difficult. | B．Common. | C．Typical. | D．Different. |
| A．To explain the reason why eSports surpass traditional sports. |
| B．To explore the possibility that competitive video games will be sports. |
| C．To provide an example of the difference between eSports and traditional sports. |
| D．To account for the fact that the competitive features of video games are impressive. |
| A．By quoting and citing. |
| B．By listing and analyzing. |
| C．By comparison and contrast. |
| D．By explaining and evaluating. |
9 . To grow sugary dates in the sand, Siwa’s farmers must first make the desert suitable for farming. An oasis (绿洲) in Egypt, Siwa has been home to humans for thousands of years. Since ancient times, the oasis has hosted farms producing some of the most valuable dates in Egypt, and sugary dates have appeared on Egyptians, tables.
The desert environment in Siwa is not quite fit for plants to grow. For example, the water there contains much salt. However, with local people’s efforts, the Siwa oasis contains complex agricultural fields, where date trees, crops and other plants grow in harmony. That impressed me a lot during my visit to the oasis. To make a new piece of field, farmers first remove the top soil and replace it with a mixture of sand and waste matter from animals. The first plants are medicinal plants. Then, farmers plant date trees and olive trees. These farming skills are passed down from generation to generation.
To grow date trees is demanding. And it takes 10 years for a new date tree to mature, but once it does, the tree produces generous fruit: around 110 pounds of dates per year. Each farmer picks dates with the skilled hands. They climb the trees using nothing more than a belt. In total, Siwa grows more than 25,000 tons of dates from 280,000 trees per year.
The dates can be eaten fresh, or made dry. Every part of the date tree is significant in Siwa, from leaves made into beds and boxes to wood used to build houses. And then, of course, there’s the fruit itself. The dates can be cooked with goat meat or mixed with eggs for breakfast. They can also be mixed with flour, water, and olive oil, and boiled slowly to make a local dessert.
Local farmers once developed many unique date varieties, which their camels carried to Cairo. But later many of those varieties perished. And today only several major varieties remain and some have become quite rare and been at risk. The 1985 construction of a road in the oasis made the survival of local agricultural tradition even tougher.
1. What can we learn about sugary dates from Paragraph 1?| A．They can adapt to tough environment. |
| B．They have existed for a long time. |
| C．They’re introduced to Egypt from abroad. |
| D．They’re the most valuable fruit in Egypt. |
| A．The great variety of plants grown there, |
| B．The hard but happy life of local people. |
| C．The great complexity of the local agriculture. |
| D．The local farmers’ wisdom and contribution to farming. |
| A．It’s worthwhile to make an effort to grow date trees. |
| B．It’s easy for farmers to pick dates from the trees. |
| C．It costs a lot to grow date trees in the basis. |
| D．It’s necessary to develop agriculture in Siwa. |
| A．People’s preference for dates. |
| B．The introduction to local food, |
| C．The usage of date trees’ different parts. |
| D．The locals’ high expectations of date trees. |
| A．Died out. | B．Spread out. |
| C．Got created. | D．Became known. |
10 . It’s easy to assume that a vacation to Bali will cost a small fortune. There are plenty of accommodations, food and local transportation, and even the spas offer massages and treatments at value prices. However, you can easily spend a week or two in Bali for under $2,000, without having to sleep on the beach. Here are a few things to consider when planning Bali on a budget.
What is the best time to visit Bali on a budget?
If you’re on a budget, consider visiting Bali during the lower, wetter season, which runs from October through March. The crowds will be fewer, and both hotel rates and flights from abroad are often cheaper, except during the holiday period between mid-December and early January, when crowds swell. The only trade-off for the lower prices is the wet season. This time of year isn’t always ideal for sunbathing, and serious rainfall can make outdoor activities, such as whitewater rafting and visiting waterfalls and rice terraces, less than appealing. That said, even during rainy season, it doesn’t usually rain all day long. Expect bursts of sunshine between the storms.
What is the cheapest way to get around Bali?
The absolute cheapest way to get around Bali is by local bus, but it can take a long time. There are also tourist buses, including hop-on, hop-off options, that travel between different hubs across the island. Bali is well-served by taxis, both of the car and motorbike variety, and the prices tend to be affordable by international standards. Most drivers will offer you a fixed rate for full-day hires or to get from point A to point B, rather than using a meter.
Remember to bargain; doing so is particularly easy when a driver is on his own rather than at a taxi stand.
How much does food cost in Bali?
If you’re into fine dining, you can end up spending a large chunk of your budget on food. Eating at the average restaurant geared towards tourists is the best way to have a meal in Bali on a budget. A good meal should cost you around 100,000 rupiah (around $7), but if you’re willing to subsist mostly off of local specialties such as nasi goreng (fried rice) and eat at local restaurants, you can expect to pay around 30,000 rupiah ($2) to get fed. Best of all, most hotels and guesthouses in Bali come with free breakfast, and many offer heavier options of noodles and meat that may keep you full until lunch.
1. Which of the following situation can be best described by the underlined word trade-off in paragraph 2?| A．Jack got a reward after he returned the lost bag to its owner. |
| B．Lily spent much money buying some handicrafts at the local fair. |
| C．Wendy cancelled her trip in order to prevent the spread of the virus. |
| D．Sam was scolded by his parents for what he did in school last night. |
| A．It’s better for outdoor enthusiasts to visit Bali during the off season. |
| B．Passengers had better fix the price with drivers before the taxi pulls out from the station. |
| C．If on a tight budget, one is advised to visit Bali at the end of December every year. |
| D．It’s relatively economical to eat merely at average restaurants tailored to visitors. |
| A．City and Transport. | B．Travel and Recreation. |
| C．Nature and Environment. | D．Food and Health. |
