1 . Rachel Carson was concerned about what was happenig to the environment. So in her book Silent Spring, she warned that some chemicals were poisoning the air, the water, the earth, and all its creatures. She imagined a time when spring would not bring the rebirth of flowers, trees, and the songs of birds. The book became a bestseller, and Ms. Carson was in great demand as a speaker. People lisened to her because what she said made sense, and because she was a scientist who knew her facts.
Rachel Carson was primarily interested in the world of sea and shore, so she became a marine biologst for the government. She studied and recorded facts about the sea' s plant and animal life, their special characteristics, and the nature of their environments. In 1951, she wrote The Sea Around Us, which brought her honors, fame, and respect around the world.
Ms. Carson then devoted herself full-time to research and writing. One thing much on her mind was the effect of modern technology on the natural environment. One day, a distressed friend wrote her to say that a plane spraying(喷洒) DDT had flown over her yard, and the next day several birds lay dead. Carson decided to act.
For four years she studied the use of pesticides(杀虫剂) in the United States, and then she wrote Silent Spring.
In her book Ms. Carson said that these pesticides would harm much more than insects. She explained that these poisons would pollute the environment. “Even if their effects are not immediately observable, they remain for years in the water and the soil, and they become part of the food eaten by animals and humans.
Besides, after a time, insects develop immunity to pesticides,” she said.
Recent studies have shown that pesticides can affect human brainwave activity and cause loss of memory and inability to concentrate. We should still remember Rachel Carson’s words, “I think we are challenged as we have never been challenged before to prove our mastery, not of nature, but of ourselves.”
1. Silent Spring is a book that__________| A．aims to raise people’s environmental awareness |
| B．stresses the importance of the cycle of nature |
| C．describes the author' s childhood experiences |
| D．asks people to enjoy the beauty of spring |
| A．curious | B．humorous | C．excited | D．worried |
| A．became world-famous due to Silent Spring |
| B．warned against the use of chemicals to kill insects |
| C．had a good knowledge of the planets in the universe |
| D．created a system for improving human brainwave activity |
| A．we should prove ourselves to be the ruler of this world |
| B．it's a chance for us to prove our mastery of nature |
| C．it's time for us to think about what we have done |
| D．settling on the earth is a challenge for humans |
2 . Scientist， conservation organizations and government trying to stop the trend of extinction （灭绝） often focus on protected areas such as national parks and wildlife preserves. But with as many as million species（物种） at risk， this plan of action may not be enough to conserve wildlife.
Slowing the mass extinction that now appears to be underway will require more creative means of coexisting alongside wild plants and animals. A new study indicates the effectiveness of some such approaches by examining some lands managed by indigenous groups.
“ We show really strongly that， from a biodiversity standpoint in terms of species richness，indigenous － managed lands are at least comparable to protected areas， ” says biologist Richard Schuster of Carleton University. And in some places， they are better than parks and preserves －even though indigenous communities may use their lands’ resources by hunting or searching for food.
Schuster and his team analyzed more than 15，000 areas in Australia， Brazil and Canada. They found that the total diversity of wildlife was highest on lands either managed or co － managed by indigenous groups， while randomly selected areas with no formal protection were the least bio－diverse. For threatened species in particular， indigenous lands scored slightly higher than protected lands on overall species richness in Brazil and Canada， as well as higher for threatened animals in Australia.
Each country has a different geography， climate and history. Yet remarkably， Schuster says， the best indicator for species diversity is whether a given area was managed by an indigenous community. He pointed out that practices such as sustainable（可持续的） hunting， fishing and searching， as well as burning， are more likely to occur in such areas. Don Hankins， an ecologist at California State University，agrees. “ there’ s probably going to be more of a connection to the land， ” he says， “ and a use of the land for the things that are there， compared to a national park. ”
“ It’ s really important to listen to the people who live on the land and have them drive the stewardship efforts going forward， ” Schuster says， adding that partnering with indigenous communities may enable the world’ s countries to better meet a wide range of conservation goals： “ We really need all the help we can get as a global community to prevent species extinction that we’ re facing right now. ”
1. What does the underlined word “ indigenous” probably mean in Paragraph 2？| A．Social. | B．Native. |
| C．Protected. | D．Threatened. |
| A．National parks are even higher in species diversity. |
| B．Indigenous communities overhunted on their lands. |
| C．Some preserves almost have no formal protection. |
| D．Indigenous lands do better in keeping bio－diversity. |
| A．Species diversity depends on geographical positions. |
| B．Humans’ everyday activities are no longer sustainable. |
| C．Indigenous groups have a close bond with their lands. |
| D．Protected areas work perfectly in wildlife protection. |
| A．Beating back extinction. | B．Dealing with environmental problems. |
| C．Setting up nature reserves. | D．Fighting against unsustainable behaviors. |
3 . China will have the most 5G connections of any nation by 2025, according to a new study, while Europe will fall behind Korea, the United States and Japan in terms of 5G penetration (渗透) by that year.
5G is the fifth generation of network technology. It is expected to bring unbelievable speeds to Internet users, with some operations running 10 times faster than on 4G networks. 5G is also expected to unlock the potential in a lot of new services, including artificial intelligence, science of robots, self-driving cars, and the Internet of things.
The GSMA said that China’s three major mobile operators — China Unicom, China Mobile, and China Telecom—are already moving ahead with 5G networks. While most nations will have 5G by updating existing foundations, the study noted that China plans to build part of its 5G networks.
A One of the major distinguishing factors between Chinese mobile operators and those in the rest of the world is the intention to erect the new and independent 5G networks. That is, China is determined to build a completely advanced 5G. The high cost underlines China’s seriousness about paying whatever it takes.
Korea will lead the world in terms of 5G penetration in 2025, when 66 percent of the nation’s total connections will be 5G, according to GSMA. This compares to 50 percent in the US,49 percent in Japan, 36 percent in China, 30 percent in Europe, and a global average of 18 percent. Out of the five economies leading on 5G, Europe will have the lowest participation in 2025, as the area is moving more slowly in having its 5G networks.
1. What will 5G bring?| A．A completely new pattern for daily life. |
| B．Excellent networks and national safety. |
| C．Amazing speeds for public transportation. |
| D．Realizing the potential in many new services. |
| A．It will develop rapidly. | B．It may be lack of government support. |
| C．It will move forward slowly. | D．It may fall behind Europe. |
| A．bring up. | B．set up. |
| C．turn up. | D．pick up. |
| A．Some Chinese will use 5G in 2025. |
| B．Koreans cannot own 5G in 2025. |
| C．Only five countries will have 5G in 2025. |
| D．Europe will pay little attention to 5G in 2025. |
4 . Cassandra Warren, a baby-sitter, was in a rush and feeling a little overcome with work and planning her 200-person wedding. As she was getting invitations for her weddings in the mail one day last year, she hurriedly addressed one to her aunt and uncle in Oregon.
A week later, the invitation came back, with a handwritten note on the return envelope: “I wish I knew you. Congratulations! I’ve been married for 40 years—it gets better with age.” A $ 20 bill was inside.
Cassandra was at a professional crossroads and had been having a tough day. In fact, she nearly broke down, telling her husband-to-be, Jesse Jones, about her depression just as she opened the misdirected envelope. And the magic envelope wasn’t finished with its surprises. Cassandra looked closer and saw that on the envelope were “Live long and prosper”, a nod to space-based film Star Trek (《星际迷航》).
Casandra and Jesse have no idea who the anonymous note writer is. But they figure the Star Trek reference was because the person noticed the “fandom” corner of their invitation, which had both a Star Wars light-saber (光剑) and a Harry Potter wand (魔杖). “She assumed we’d understand her message,” Cassandra says. “Which we did.”
The following night Casandra and Jesse went out o dinner with a friend who was going overseas with the military. They happily put the $20 toward their bill. Then Casandra stopped by a store and bought another card—a thank-you card. She wrote her aunt and uncle’s incorrect address on the envelope again to “Kind Stranger.” Inside, she wrote, “Thank you for the note and taking the time to send it. Not many people would have done that. It was a big blessing after the day I was having. I am thankful for people like you still being in the world.”
1. What is the best title for the text?| A．Welcome to Cassandra’s wedding. | B．What if you invite a kind stranger. |
| C．Take your time to write a right letter. | D．Wedding invitation to the wrong address |
| A．She suffered a disease. | B．She was in bad mood. |
| C．She quarreled with Jesse. | D．She lost her job as a baby-sitter. |
| A．Nameless. | B．Warm-hearted. | C．Peace-loving. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Cassandra made the same mistake the second time. |
| B．The return letter might be from the military friend. |
| C．The second letter was wrongly addressed on purpose. |
| D．Cassandra doesn’t know her uncle and aunt’s address. |
5 . Raised in a motherless home，my father was extremely tightfisted towards us children. His attitude didn’t soften as I grew into adulthood and went to college. I had to ride the bus whenever I came home. Though the bus stopped about two miles from home，Dad never met me，even in severe weather. If I grumbled，he’d say in his loudest father-voice，“That’s what your legs are for！”
The walk didn’t bother me as much as the fear of walking alone along the highway and country roads. I also felt less than valued that my father didn’t seem concerned about my safety. But that feeling was canceled one spring evening.
It had been a particularly difficult week at college after long hours in labs. I longed for home. When the bus reached the stop，I stepped off and dragged my suitcase to begin the long journey home.
A row of hedge(树篱)edged the driveway that climbed the hill to our house. Once I had turned off the highway to start the last lap of my journey，I always had a sense of relief to see the hedge because it meant that I was almost home. On that particular evening，the hedge had just come into view when I saw something gray moving along the top of the hedge，moving toward the house. Upon closer observation，I realized it was the top of my father’s head. Then I knew，each time I’d come home，he had stood behind the hedge，watching，until he knew I had arrived safely. I swallowed hard against the tears. He did care，after all.
On later visits，that spot of gray became my watchtower. I could hardly wait until I was close enough to watch for its secret movement above the greenery. Upon reaching home，I would find my father sitting innocently in his chair.“ So！My son，it’s you！”he’d say，his face lengthening into pretended surprise.
I replied，“Yes，Dad，it’s me.I’m home.”
1. What does the underlined word“grumbled” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Agreed willingly. | B．Explained clearly. |
| C．Spoke unhappily. | D．Accepted happily. |
| A．the tiredness after long hours in labs |
| B．the feeling of being less than valued |
| C．the fear of seeing something moving |
| D．the loneliness of riding the bus home |
| A．he was concerned about his son’s safety |
| B．he wanted to help his son build up courage |
| C．he didn’t want to meet his son at the doorway |
| D．he didn’t think his son was old enough to walk alone |
| A．Riding Bus Alone. | B．My College Life. |
| C．Terrible Journey Home. | D．My Father’s Secret. |
6 . From dogs and cats to pandas and penguins, lists of adorable animals can be very varied. However, when it comes to scary animals, the answers are often more or less the same-snakes and spiders are among the most dreadful ones for the majority of us.
However, most of us have never been bitten by a snake or a spider. So does this mean we are born with a fear of certain things?
Scientists have been actively looking into it for a long time. For example, studies have suggested that babies find live animals much more interesting than stuffed （毛绒填充的） ones. This interest continues even if those animals are snakes and spiders.
A study published in Psychological Science in 2008seemed to show that snakes did have a different impact on babies. When scientists presented babies with animal videos along with random sounds of happy or frightened human voices, hey found that babies looked at snakes for longer than any other animal however the voices sounded.
Now, a team from Rutgers University in New Jersey, US has tried to challenge the idea that babies are born with a fear of snakes and spiders. According to the BBC, the researchers measured babies' physiological （生理的） responses as they watched videos of snakes and elephants paired with both fearful and happy voices.
Scientists then set out to surprise the babies to see how they would react. They presented them with an unexpected bright flash of light as they watched a video. As the BBC explained, a surprise like this would be more intense （强烈的） if the babies were already scared, just like when we watch scary films and jump more if we are already scared.
However, according to their findings, published recently in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, babies 'surprised responses were not bigger when watching a video of a snake, even when it was shown with a fearful voice. Their heart response was also lower, which also made it seem that babies were not scared.
"Children do not have an innate fear of snakes,"concluded the study. Even if previous studies had suggested that babies have different responses to snakes, it isn't necessarily related to fear."It's possible that paying more attention to something might make fear learning easier later on. It leads to fear learning,"said research co-author Vanessa LoBue. She further explained that it was a good thing that humans didn't have an inborn fear of snakes because it would make a young infant's desire to explore new things less strong.
Instead, we have evolved to quickly learn to be afraid of something if it turns out to be dangerous.
1. What is the article mainly about?___| A．Whether humans are born with a fear of snakes and spiders. |
| B．How people's fear of snakes and spiders has evolved. |
| C．How babies react differently from adults to snakes and spiders. |
| D．Why snakes and spiders are considered the most dreadful animals. |
| A．The longer babies looked at snakes in the video, the less scared they were. |
| B．Babies took more interest in snakes than the other animals in the videos regardless of which human voices they heard. |
| C．Babies' responses to the snake in the videos were greatly affected by the types of voices they heard. |
| D．The fearful voices babies heard when watching snake videos doubled their fear of snakes. |
| A．A fearful voice didn't make their surprised response become more intense. |
| B．They became more scared when they experienced an unexpected bright flash of light. |
| C．Babies 'heart responses changed slightly when they heard a fearful voice. |
| D．They paid more attention to the snakes when they heard a fearful voice. |
| A．immediate | B．lasting |
| C．from birth | D．from learning |
