1 . Hazel Mayfield usually cooks the Thanksgiving meal for her extended family in Houston, Texas. She usually welcomes friends and neighbors who are eager to taste her fried turkey, green bean casserole, candied yams, homemade cornbread dressing, and dirty rice-just a few of her signature dishes. Known as Sugar Mama, because her grandchildren think she’s so sweet, the 91-year-old typically likes to do her own shopping for the ingredients to make her special dishes.
“My mother is the head cook of the family,” said Panulette Mouton, Mayfield’s daughter. “Because of her reputation, you know, there’re people in and out all day and every family comes through. They want to get some of Sugar Mama’s cooking, and some of them would like to learn from her how to cook the food.”
But Mayfield hasn’t been to the grocery store since March. And there is little about Thanksgiving in 2020 that’s usual. Because of Covid-19, the deadly virus that has killed millions in the U.S. and spoiled life around the world, everything is different. Since limiting close face-to-face contact with others is the best way to reduce its spread, hundreds of thousands of American families have re-imagined the holiday with virtual celebrations and canceled or delayed travel plans. There can only be small gatherings with people in their households in response to COVID-19.
This year, Mayfield’s family members, without exception, are lamenting the absence of a big gathering. They’ve explained to their young children and grandchildren why this year’s Thanksgiving is different. Mayfield’s youngest daughter, Michelle Sanders, says it’s tough to help her grandchildren understand why they can’t see some of their other family members and why they have to stay at home, celebrating Thanksgiving all by themselves.
“It’s really hard, trying to explain to them,” Sanders said. “When-you’re talking to them and they want to come over, you have to tell them no. They really don’t know how to be careful.” Sanders added, “And, they don’t understand that, being three, four, and six, you know they don’t really understand that. So, it’s...it’s really, really hard, and heartbreaking.”
1. According to the passage, Hazel Mayfield is ________.| A．helpful and kind-hearted | B．stubborn and enthusiastic |
| C．talented and instructive | D．grateful and sensitive |
| A．fascinated by | B．upset about |
| C．ignorant of | D．embarrassed at |
| A．Children are too young to understand the situation. |
| B．Children are always careless on Thanksgiving Day. |
| C．It’s tough to help children overcome their problems. |
| D．Adults should show patience when talking with kids. |
| A．People are cutting down holiday celebration expenses. |
| B．People are trying hard to get together to have more fun. |
| C．People have to make changes in their lifestyle to stay safe. |
| D．People have put more emphasis on the traditional customs. |
2 . Round and Round They Go
Space is becoming more crowded. On December 3, a Falcon 9 rocket made by Space X thundered into the sky. On board were 64 small satellites, more than any American company had launched before in one go. They have a variety of uses, from space-based- radar to the monitoring of radio-frequency- emissions.
These objects are part of the latest breed of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites. This launch is just taste of what is planned. Space X and One Web, a communications firm, plan to launch satellites in their thousands, not hundreds. The pair are set to double the total number of satellites in orbit by 2027.
That promises to change things dramatically on Earth. LEO satellites can bring internet connectivity to places where it is still unavailable or unaffordable. This will also be a lasting source of new demand for the space economy. Morgan Stanley, a bank, projects that the space industry will grow from $350 billion in 2016 to more than $1. I trillion by 2040. New internet satellites will account for a half this increase.
For that to happen, however, three worries must be overcome. Debris(碎片)is the most familiar concern. As long ago as 1978, Donald Kessler, a scientist at NASA, proposed situation in which, when enough satellites were packed into low-Earth orbits, any collision could cause a chain reaction which would eventually destroy all space craft in its orbital plane(平面). The syndrome which bears Mr. Kessler's name weighs heavily on the minds of executives at the new satellite firms. Debris could cause entire tracts(广阔的一片) of space to be unusable for decades.
Solutions exist. One is to grab malfunction satellites and pull them down into Earth's atmosphere. Another is to monitor space more intensively for debris; a US Air Force program me called Space Fence is due to start in 2019. But technology is only part of the answer. Rules are needed to govern the safe disposal(清除) of old satellites from low-Earth orbit. The United States' Federal Communications Commission is revising its regulations with this in mind. Other countries should follow suit.
Cyber-security is a second, long-standing worry. Hackers could take control of a satellite and seal intellectual property, redirect data flows or cause a collision. The satellite industry has been slow to respond to such concerns. But as more of the world's population comes to rely on the infrastructure of space for access to the internet, the need for action intensifies.
The third issue follows from the first two. If a simple mistake or a cyber-attack can cause a chain reaction which wipes out hundreds of billions of dollars of investment, who is liable? Underwriters(保险商) are studying the plans of firms that wish to operate large numbers of satellites. But there is a long way to go before the risks are well understood, let alone priced.
As space becomes more commercialized mind-bending prospects open up: packages moved across the planet in minutes by rocket rather than by plane, equipment sent to other small planets, passengers launched into orbit and beyond. All that and more may come, one day. But such activities would raise the same questions as LEO satellites do. They must be answered before the space economy can truly develop.
1. What can we learn about LEO satellites from the passage?| A．They are supposed to limit the space economy. |
| B．They are expected to increase in large numbers. |
| C．They are designed to move beyond the Earth as far as possible. |
| D．They are mainly intended to bring internet connectivity to remote areas. |
| A．depending entirely on the modern technology |
| B．monitoring the movement of spaceships carefully |
| C．strengthening rules to remove old satellites safely |
| D．destroying all the satellites with problems instantly |
| A．Measure. | B．Increase. | C．Spread. | D．Repeat. |
| A．Lack of satellite regulations. |
| B．Loss of intellectual property. |
| C．Crisis of confidence in the field. |
| D．Slow response of satellite industry. |
| A．It should be further confirmed for its ownership. |
| B．It should be continued because of its advantages. |
| C．It should be done carefully to avoid potential risks. |
| D．It should be stopped in face of the space economy. |
3 . Imagine a world where you move around in front of a personal computer in your own sound space. You listen to your favorite songs, play loud computer games or watch a movie — all without other people hearing the sound and without headphones.
That is the possibility presented by “sound beaming”, a new technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company. On Friday, the company introduced a desktop device that sends sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones or a special receiver.
Noveto Systems gave The Associated Press (AP) a chance to test its SoundBeamer 1.0 before its introduction. The AP’s Louise Dixon writes that listening to the device is like something from a science fiction movie.The sound seems so close that it feels like it is inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them.
Noveto expects the device will have many uses. Office workers could listen to music or conference calls without others hearing. People could play a game, a movie or music without waking up others in the same room. Because the device does not use headphones, it is possible to hear other sounds in the room clearly.
The device uses a 3-D sensing module that finds and follows the ear position of the listener. It sends ultrasonic waves (超声波) to create sound pockets by the user’s ears. The 3-D method creates sound on all sides of the listener, therefore the listeners feel completely transported into the scene.
By changing a setting, the sound can follow a listener around when he moves his head. It is also possible to move out of the sound beam's path and hear nothing at all.
While the idea of sound beaming is not new, Noveto was the first to launch the technology.
According to the chief executive officer Christophe Ramstein, a “smaller” version of the device will be ready for release to consumers next year.
1. What does the underlined word “possibility” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The listener may put on music to block out other sounds. |
| B．The listener may hear sound only for him or her without using headphones. |
| C．The listener may enjoy songs or movies without being interrupted by others. |
| D．The listener may have the ability to pick up some special sounds. |
| A．Amazing. | B．Impossible. |
| C．Strange. | D．Meaningful. |
| A．It places the listener on the scene to hear the sound. |
| B．It fixes a sound beam’s path which can not be changed. |
| C．It follows the listeners around to send and receive sounds. |
| D．With 3-D tracking technology, it sends ultrasonic waves to the target listener. |
| A．To promote the SoundBeamer. | B．To introduce a new sound device. |
| C．To recommend new headphones. | D．To explain a technical phenomenon. |
4 . Fired bricks are a universal building material, produced by thousand-year-old technology, which throughout history has seldom served any other purpose. But researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have found a new use for bricks:as energy storage units. A team of engineers and chemists have found a way to transform an ordinary house brick into a battery (电池) — allowing it to conduct (传导) and store electricity.
The researchers connect an LED light bulb (灯泡) to the bricks. They are powerful enough to illuminate it and cost only about $3 to make.
“I love the idea of adding value to things that are inexpensive, things that are affordable, things that we see every day,” said Julio D'Arcy, an assistant professor of chemistry at Washington University and one of the researchers on this project.
The new invention relies on something known as iron oxide, a form of matter in bricks that gives them their red colour. The scientists pumped the bricks with several gases that react with iron oxide to produce a network of plastic fibres. These fibres coat the empty spaces inside the bricks — and conduct electricity.
“What we’re trying to do is:we're trying to make specialized plastics and then we can actually put those plastics inside construction materials,”D’Arcy says. “In the future, a brick wall could potentially serve two purposes at one time:providing structural support and storing electricity produced from renewable energy sources,such as solar panels.”
The technology is still at least a few years away from being ready for the market. And right now the energy that the bricks can store is still not much. Hut the team is now testing ways to improve brick performance — because it looks like you can find a new purpose for an old brick.
1. What did the researchers turn bricks into?| A．Lighting equipment. | B．Construction materials. |
| C．An electricity-storage item. | D．A new form of green energy. |
| A．Store. | B．Light. | C．Conduct. | D．Transform. |
| A．Iron oxide. | B．The stored gases. |
| C．The produced fibres. | D．The empty spaces. |
| A．Old Bricks, New Tricks | B．A Bright Future Is on the Way |
| C．A New Way to Produce Electricity | D．Recycled Batteries,Renewable Energy |
5 . This is the moment a cleaner at a British university burst into tears after students raised $ 2,063 to send him to Jamaica on vacation to see family.
Herman Gordon, who has worked at Bristol University for more than a decade, is described as “one of the most loved” members of its cleaning staff. He is so well liked that a group of students raised money to give him a holiday. A video shows a student hands an envelope of cash to the surprised Gordan with tears rolling down his cheeks. He wipes away tears with a cleaning cloth and hugs the student who gave it to him. Gordan said: “I want to thank every one of you and God bless every one of you.”
The group of students started the fundraising because they liked Gordon so much. A post said: “The Jamaican cleaner in the biomedical library is the jolliest man I have ever met; he makes me smile even when I’m in the deepest depths of sorrow, if you want a reason to smile, go talk to him for a minute or two.”
Anyone who has been to the biomedical library knows who Herman the cleaner is. Simply put, Herman is the epitome（典范）of happiness, “All year round, this man works hours on end to provide us with a clean working space in which to study. But most importantly, his everlasting positive attitude has managed to turn many students’ dark days into positive ones filled with joy,” said a student. Whether you’re just feeling generally down or stressed out due to exams, Herman is always there to encourage you.
This legend proves that happiness is not about what you own, what job you have or how much money you’ve got, but about appreciating what you currently have in life even if it’s small.
1. What was Herman Gordon’ reaction when receiving the fundraising?| A．grateful. | B．stressed. | C．delighted. | D．astonished. |
| A．most miserable. | B．most cheerful. | C．most generous. | D．most glorious. |
| A．Building confidence. | B．Developing exam skills. |
| C．Learning self-control. | D．Gaining biomedical knowledge. |
| A．A biomedical library cleaner. . | B．A group of warm-hearted students. |
| C．Money-raising to send a cleaner on vacation. | D．The most loved cleaning staff. |
6 . Social Networking Sites: Are They Changing Human Communication?
It is hardly news that people are using the Internet to communicate with others more and more. Some people fear that someday we will no longer feel the need to talk to one another face to face. However, some recent studies suggest that people communicate, or stay in touch, even more than they used to. Whichever side you fall on, what is clear and without a doubt is that human communication has changed in the 21st century. But results of recent scientific studies may have us reconsider just how much our new communication forms have changed our world.
In June 2008, a British psychiatrist, Himanshu Tyagi, warned that communicating on social networking sites could have a negative effect on the generation of people born after 1990. This generation has never known a world without the Internet. Tyagi says that these people use the Internet to communicate with others so much that they may have trouble forming real relationships. Tyagi is concerned that people may start and end relationships over the Internet. Describing the Internet he said, “It’s a world where everything moves fast and changes all the time, where relationships are quickly ended at the click of a mouse.”
Another psychologist, Dr. Aric Sigman, warned of the physical effects that come with using social networking sites. He suggests that the reduction in the amount of time we spend interacting (互动交流) with people face to face could have biological effects on the human body. The results of his study suggest that, without real personal interaction, the body does not react the same way it would if people were meeting face to face. As a result, immune responses, even hormone levels, can be changed. These changes may lead to the development of illnesses, such as cancer.
Despite these warnings, studies can be found that show the positive sides of social networking sites. The results of one study show that using social networking sites has increased the self-esteem (自尊心) of young adults. Another suggests that college students using these sites feel more “connected” with people when they use them. In addition to scientific studies, there are many who feel that the benefits of social networking sites outweigh the possible negative sides. Many people, especially those who spend a lot of time at home, for various reasons, find the Internet a lifeline. They are able to communicate with many people using these sites.
Perhaps the key to this new communication style is self-control and common sense. If someone spends all of his time on the Internet, and never actually sees friends face to face, that seems like an unhealthy way to live. But if someone spends time on the Internet, some of which is spent arranging meetings for “real” time together, then it seems almost complementary (互补的). Balance is the key to keeping communication alive and well in the 21st century.
1. Which of the following ideas may Himanshu Tyagi agree with?| A．Social networking sites harm people of all ages. |
| B．The Internet weakens young people’s relationships. |
| C．The use of the Internet improves people’s immune system. |
| D．The online world pushes people to live a faster and better life. |
| A．It will stop the face-to-face interaction. |
| B．It reduces the self-esteem of young adults. |
| C．It may cause some serious health problems. |
| D．It makes people feel less connected with others. |
| A．Are greater than. | B．Are heavier than. |
| C．Are more effective than. | D．Are more difficult than. |
CP: Central Point P: Point Sp: Sub-point(次要点) C: Conclusion
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
7 . Elizabeth Spelke, a cognitive (认知的) psychologist at Harvard, has spent her career testing the world's most complex learning system-the mind of a baby. Babies might seem like no match for artificial intelligence (AI). They are terrible at labeling images, hopeless at mining text, and awful at video games. Then again, babies can do things beyond the reach of any AI. By just a few months old, they’ve begun to grasp the foundations of language, such as grammar. They’ve started to understand how to adapt to unfamiliar situations.
Yet even experts like Spelke don’t understand precisely how babies — or adults, for that matter — learn. That gap points to a puzzle at the heart of modern artificial intelligence: We're not sure what to aim for.
Consider one of the most impressive examples of AI, Alpha Zero, a programme that plays board games with superhuman skill. After playing thousands of games against itself at a super speed, and learning from winning positions, Alpha Zero independently discovered several famous chess strategies and even invented new ones. It certainly seems like a machine eclipsing human cognitive abilities. But Alpha Zero needs to play millions more games than a person during practice to learn a game. Most importantly, it cannot take what it has learned from the game and apply it to another area.
To some AI experts, that calls for a new approach. In a November research paper, Francois Chollet, a well-known AI engineer, argued that it’s misguided to measure machine intelligence just according to its skills at specific tasks. “Humans don’t start out with skills; they start out with a broad ability to acquire new skills,” he says. “What a strong human chess player is demonstrating is not only the ability to play chess, but the potential to fulfill any task of a similar difficulty.” Chollet posed a set of problems, each of which requires an AI programme to arrange colored squares on a grid (格栅) based on just a few prior examples. It’s not hard for a person. But modern machine-learning programmes-trained on huge amounts of data — cannot learn from so few examples.
Josh Tenenbaum, a professor in MIT's Center for Brains, Minds & Machines, works closely with Spelke and uses insights from cognitive science as inspiration for his programmes. He says much of modern AI misses the bigger picture, comparing it to a cartoon about a two-dimensional world populated by simple geometrical (几何形的) people. AI programmes will need to learn in new ways — for example, by drawing causal inferences rather than simply finding patterns. “At some point — you know, if you’re intelligent — you realize maybe there's something else out there,” he says.
1. Compared to an advanced AI programme, a baby might be better at _______________.| A．labeling images | B．identifying locations |
| C．playing games | D．making adjustments |
| A．Stimulating. | B．Measuring. | C．Beating. | D．Limiting. |
| A．AI is good at finding similar patterns |
| B．AI should gain abilities with less training |
| C．AI lacks the ability of generalizing a skill |
| D．AI will match humans in cognitive ability |
| A．What is exactly intelligence? |
| B．Why is modern AI advanced? |
| C．Where is human intelligence going? |
| D．How do humans tackle the challenge of AI? |
8 . One day, Amanda was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer of an early stage. During this time, she was admitted to a college. She planned to save money to meet the college expense and then seek medical treatment for the cancer.
Her father, Clint and her friends didn’t want her to put off her treatment due to the expense. They took matters into their own hands and started a GoFundMe campaign. A longtime friend of the family was cofounder of a group named Praynksters, known for random acts of kindness. The friend decided to use their own group to help the family. The group came up with the creative idea to spread the word and invite families, friends, and strangers who wanted to help to take part in a donation activity. The event induced the enormous assistance from the local community.
Clint and Amanda were moved as the crowd passed by and the donations poured in. The event brought the family over $13, 000 in donations to go towards her medical treatments. The generous act of kindness gave the family a comforting, and optimistic feeling during a time when all hope seemed lost. Clint said that Amanda struggled with the idea of asking for help. She felt guilty and undeserving compared to others who are also struggling. She is still humbled by it all.
After several months of treatment, life for the family has started getting back to their normal routine. Once Amanda got her strength back, she returned to school and completed her bachelor's degree. The family is now inspired to volunteer in their local neighborhood and contribute to crowdfunding (众筹) efforts. They are grateful for the opportunity to give back and help others as many have helped them.
1. Why did Amanda postpone her treatment of cancer?| A．She didn't care about her disease. |
| B．She had to take care of her family. |
| C．She was in a bad economic situation. |
| D．She couldn’t find an effective treatment. |
| A．Brought about. | B．Made up. |
| C．Gave away. | D．Set about. |
| A．Shameful but caring. |
| B．Kind-hearted and grateful. |
| C．Curious and warm-hearted. |
| D．Hard- working and humorous. |
| A．It's quite easy to cure Amanda’s cancer. |
| B．Praynksters is a nonprofit organization funded by Clint. |
| C．Volunteering is very popular in Amanda's community. |
| D．A GoFundMe campaign is actually a crowdfunding activity. |
9 . SHOULD WE FIGHT NEW TECHNOLOGY?
This morning, I saw the shocking headline: “Passenger Dies When Car Crashes in Driverless Mode”.In the article, a lot of people said that the public should oppose the idea of developing driverless cars.They said that some advances in technology were unnecessary and could even be dangerous.Hence, we should cease accepting technology just because it is new.The newspaper reported that the car company had already apologized for the accident, but the families of the deceased said it was not enough.Nevertheless, the company still claimed that most people would be travelling in driverless cars one day soon.
On the one hand, there are many different groups of people around the world who live happily in the absence of new technology.Probably the most well known are the Amish, a group of Christians living in rural America.They do not own or drive cars, watch TV, or use the Internet.They have lived mainly as farmers since the 18th century, and they will probably be living the same way in the distant future.They advocate a simple life with an emphasis on hard work, family, and community.They think that is better than caring about luxuries or following the lives of the rich and famous.It could even be argued that the Amish’s quality of life is better since they live in and appreciate the natural environment rather than living in large, polluted cities.
On the other hand, new technology has provided people everywhere with many benefits over the years.For example, the latest weather-tracking computer programs give people lots of warnings about potential natural disasters, which saves many lives.Moreover, the Internet has made it possible for friends and family to keep in touch easily even if they are on opposite sides of the world.It has also made finding opportunities in life much easier, as it allows people to make larger networks of friends through using social media.
Personally, I have benefited quite a lot from technological advances.I found my career as an AI designer through a social media network.My health monitor, which I wear all the time, has also helped me get into the best shape of my life.Of course, when new technology changes the way we live, it can be a scary prospect.Nevertheless, I will always look on the positive side of change and accept it rather than resist it.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．A person died in an accident while driving his brand-new car. |
| B．The relatives of the victim would never accept the apology. |
| C．Many people took a negative attitude to this new technology. |
| D．The company was very concerned about the future of this new technology. |
| A．To persuade us to follow their natural living style. |
| B．To tell us the Amish prefer a harmonious and peaceful life. |
| C．To prove people can still live better without new technology. |
| D．To advocate a simple life with family and community by hard work. |
| A．Monitoring people’s physical health. |
| B．Providing chances in life more easily. |
| C．Predicting the earthquake and tsunami. |
| D．Helping people contact each other easily. |
| A．resistance | B．future | C．advance | D．positivity |
| A．The author wanted to praise the advantages of new technology. |
| B．The author wanted to show his supportive idea of new technology. |
| C．The author wanted to criticize the disadvantages of new technology. |
| D．The author wanted to arouse people’s concern about new technology. |
10 . As new technology is introduced, there are many who worry about its influence on our current and future lifestyles－particularly when it comes to jobs. It is a current belief that with the rise of automation and artificial intelligence (AI), many people’s jobs, and therefore their livelihoods, are likely to be lost.
Automation in the workplace is nothing new. Machines have been performing dull tasks on our behalf for years, allowing us to escape many repetitive jobs. A recent report from the McKinsey Global Institute states that nearly two thirds of all jobs could have at least 30% of their activities automated by 2030. However, McKinsey also believes that this new technology will also ‘create new occupations that do not exist today, much as technologies in the past have done.’ As the horse gave way to the car, hostlers (马夫) became mechanics and mechanised fields drove up wages and created more long-term roles than it destroyed.
“It’s an evolution of work,” says Ian Barkin, a robotic process automation specialist. As low-skilled jobs are taken on by AI, people will need to learn new skills. “This calls on us to focus on up-skilling. Technology can lead to job reductions but it doesn’t have to,” says Barkin.
Whether or not robots and AI will leave us all jobless remains to be seen. Current views on the subject are mixed. Increased automation could indeed lead to a loss of some jobs, but at the same time is likely to create many more as new skills are required. Will they balance out?
1. How do many people feel about the influence of AI?| A．Quite delighted. | B．Quite surprised. |
| C．A sense of fear. | D．A sense of pride. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Negative. |
| C．Critical. | D．Approving. |
| A．Taking risks. | B．Improving ourselves. |
| C．Adapting to the world. | D．Thinking positively. |
| A．Every coin has two sides. |
| B．Where there is life, there is hope. |
| C．It’s better to do well than to say well. |
| D．A bad workman quarrels with his tools. |
