1 . Why humans make and appreciate music is an evolutionary (进化的) mystery. Recently David Schruth and his colleagues have a new explanation. They say the roots of human music can date back to the branches of trees more than 50 million years ago, when the first primates (灵长类) appeared. Early primates moved around forest by leaping (跳跃) from branch to branch, a very dangerous way to travel that relies on hand and eye working together and control over muscles.

Schruth argues that a primate that calls in a musical way is advertising that it has fine control over its vocal (声音的) muscles. This might have convinced other primates that the caller also had fine control over its body. His another research shows the species that leap the most tend to have more complicated calls, which the team jokingly named as ‘protomusical’.

Hagen, a worldwide famous scientist in this field, commented on the research: “Some people would not include what we see in primates and songbirds as music. But I do see a continuity between human music and primate vocalizations”.

Hagen doesn’t think human music has a single, simple explanation. He argues that human ancestors originally used music-like vocalizations in two ways: groups vocalized together to send

a signal of strength and unity to scare outsiders away, and mothers used vocalisations to communicate with babies. Also another idea: humans used music to strengthen social bonds.

All these ideas might be compatible, says Hagen. Protomusic could have evolved in primates both to attract companions and for territorial signaling. Later, as early humans began cooperating in large numbers, protomusic might have been repurposed so it could attract rather than frighten outsiders, while also strengthening social bonds within groups.

1. What is Schruth’s finding?

A．Primates have the most complex calls.

B．Human ancestors leap around trees skillfully.

C．Frequent movements sharpen early human calls.

D．Complicated vocalizations result from more leaps.

2. What’s Hagen’s attitude to Schruth’s research?

A．Negative.

B．Skeptical.

C．Supportive.

D．Cautious.

3. Which word can replace the underlined word in the last paragraph?

A．Clever.

B．Reasonable.

C．Misleading.

D．Contradictory.

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．Repurposed functions of music

B．Arguments on primates’ evolution

C．Origins of music linked to leaping

D．Discoveries about the human origins

3 . A new study has found that animals feign（假装）death for long periods of time in order to escape capture from their predators. How long they are motionless depends on the circumstances, but they can wait out their predators for quite a long time when their lives are in danger.

Animals stay still to avoid capture for different lengths of time. “Most intriguingly, Charles Darwin recorded a beetle that remained motionless for 23 minutes. Antlions, our favorite study creature in this regard, set a record of 61 minutes,” says lead author Nigel R. Franks from the University of Bristol.

Antlions are members of large group of insects. Antlion larvae（幼虫）dig pits in loose soil and then aggressively attack ants and other small insects that fall into the sandy pits. In another study, researchers dug sandpits to understand the physics of how antlion larvae build their pits. As part of their research they needed to weigh the individual larvae. When they put them onto the microbalance scale to weigh them, they noticed that the larvae remained motionless for long periods of time. “This made it ‘piece of cake’ to weigh them but it aroused researchers’ curiosity, ‘What on earth were they playing at?’” Franks says.

The researchers found that the amount of time the antlions remained stationary after being disturbed was unpredictable and was often quite lengthy. In researching other animals, they found that how long they wait to move again can depend on factors such as hunger and temperature, but it always varies.

This unpredictability is absolutely crucial for their survival, Franks says. For example, if a bird visits these antlion pits and the larvae “play dead”. the birds will fly around the antlions to see if they move. “Imagine if antlions always remained immobile for 5 minutes. In such case, the predator could look for alternate prey（猎物）and then return to its original one when the time is up,” he says. “If that happened, it would be a short life for the predictable death-feigner.” But because the time is unpredictable, the birds leave and go find something else to eat. The predators turn their attention from the unmoving prey that no longer catches their eye to something nearby that is a better alternative.

1. What is the new study about?

A．Animals’ hunting skills.

B．Animals’ living conditions.

C．Animals’ self-protecting behavior.

D．Animals’ means of communication.

2. Why did the author mention another research in paragraph 3?

A．To introduce a new topic for discussion.

B．To offer supporting data for the discovery.

C．To make a comparison between the two studies.

D．To provide some background information on the study.

3. What does the underlined word “stationary” probably mean in paragraph 4?

A．Unmoving.

B．Alarmed.

C．Energetic.

D．Peaceful.

4. How do antlions take advantage of playing dead according to the last paragraph?

A．By scaring away predators.

B．By distracting predators’ attention.

C．By staying still for an uncertain amount of time.

D．By waiting for predators to eat something else

6 . When he was two years old, Ben stopped seeing out of his left eye. His mother took him to the doctor and soon discovered he had cancer in both eyes. After possible treatments failed, doctors removed both his eyes. For Ben, vision was gone forever.

But by the time he was seven years old, he had developed a technique for feeling the world around him: he clicked with his mouth and listened for the returning echoes. This method enabled Ben to determine the locations of open doorways, people, parked cars, garbage cans, and so on. He was echolocating: bouncing his sound waves off objects in the environment and catching the reflections to build a mental model of his surroundings.

Echolocation may sound like an improbable feat for a human, but thousands of blind people have perfected this skill, just like Ben did. The event has been written about since at least the 1940s, when the word ''echolocation" was first invented in a science article titled “Echolocation by Blind Men , Bats, and Radar.”

How could blindness give rise to the amazing ability to understand the surroundings with one's ears? The answer lies in a gift on the brain; huge adaptability.

Mother Nature filled our brains with flexibility to adapt to circumstances. Just as sharp teeth and fast legs are useful for survival, so is the brain's ability to reset, which allows for learning, memory, and die ability to develop new skills.

In Ben's case, his brain's flexible wiring repurposed his visual cortex for processing sound. As a result, Ben had more neurons available to deal with listening information, and this increased processing power allowed Ben to interpret soundwaves in shocking detail. Ben's super-hearing proves a more general rule: the more brain area a particular sense has, the better it performs.

1. How did Ben “see” after he had his eyes removed?

A．By using a walking stick.	B．By asking others for help.
C．By inventing a new system.	D．By echolocating surroundings.

2. What does the underlined word “feat” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Skill.

B．Task.

C．Sense.

D．Invention.

3. What can we learn from Ben's case?

A．He laughs best who laughs last.	B．Actions speak louder than words.
C．God shuts one door but he opens another.	D．Man becomes learned by asking questions.

4. In which column of a magazine can we read this passage?

A．Culture Shock.	B．Human Biology.
C．Scientific Technology.	D．Environmental Protection.

7 . Arguster grew up on his family’s farm in a remote village. Planting cash crop — cotton, they were breaking even and had to make ends meet. In his childhood, there were nine kids at home. All the boys were in one room with two beds. Two slept at the head while two slept at the foot. Therefore, there was one thing about their feet — washing them before crowding onto the bed.

When there was a hole in Arguster’s jeans, his mother would put a patch on it. However, the hole kept going. It was the naughty kids, Arguster included, that took the jeans out, hung them on a line and shot them to put holes. Aware of that, however, Ben, the father, didn’t rebuke them, knowing it might be the only way to bring laughter to his kids.

Arguster’s first lesson in economics was taught by Ben. The childish kid had worked and made a little extra money. He couldn’t help admiring himself, “I make six dollars! Six dollars! Man! I’m on the top of the world!” With a great thrill, Arguster decided to go to fair, where he played games, ate cotton candy... When asked by Ben how much he had spent, with his head down, Arguster replied, “Daddy, I spent it all...” Looking at his messy hair, Ben sighed, “Boy, you spent all your money and haircut’s gone up to 75 cents. I’m afraid...” From then on, Arguster always kept enough money to get himself a haircut.

Ben taught his kids how to do the right thing and wanted them to do the right thing, which Ben tried to pass on to his kids, in his own way. Ben started a syrup mill(糖坊). People in the community brought their cane and millet for Ben to grind up (磨碎) for syrup. When people paid with buckets of syrup, Ben refused. Arguster got confused, “Daddy, why don’t you let these people pay you?”

“Because we got enough syrup to last for a long time! Son, these people don’t have money to pay. That’s the only way they can pay.”

1. Why should the kids wash their feet before going to bed?

A．Because they turned dirty after playing on the farm.

B．Because they crowded on a small bed with feet close to others’ heads.

C．Because the beds were made of cotton which was easy to spot.

D．Because they had to make ends meet, making them seldom bathe.

2. What does the underlined word “rebuke” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Question.

B．Oppose.

C．Amuse.

D．Criticize.

3. What might happen to Arguster after he spent all the money he earned?

A．He worked and earned money again for his haircut.

B．He had his hair cut with the money Ben gave him.

C．He waited for the price of haircut to decrease.

D．He borrowed money from his mother for his haircut.

4. What’s Ben’s attitude towards people in the community?

A．Strict.

B．Casual.

C．Considerate.

D．Mean.

8 . This year's hottest destination is Mars. On 23 July, China launched the Tianwen-1 mission to the Red Planet — one of three spacecrafts' planning to head there in 2020. This is China's second interplanetary mission, but the first that the nation has launched on its own. The other, Phobos-Grunt, was a cooperation with Russia that didn't make it out of Earth's orbit after blasting off in 2011.

The new mission, called Tianwen, translated as "questions to heaven" — consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, the last of which will be named via a public competition. "It's very ambitious because it's a four-part mission: there's the launch, getting into orbit, the landing and the rover, and every single step has to go right, says space consultant Laura Forczyk. All those steps must work on the first try, an achievement no other space program me has accomplished on a Mars mission because of the difficulty of landing there.

If all goes well, Tianwen-1 will arrive at Mars in February 2021 and the lander and rover will touch down two or three months later. They will take pictures from the surface, measure the soil composition, make radar observations of the planet's underground structure and observe Mars's magnetic field. Due to the harsh environment on Mars, the rover is expected to last about 90 Martian days. It weighs around 240 kilograms, about the same as China's Yutu-2 rover, which is currently roaming the moon. "The Chinese mission to the far side of the moon has been hugely successful, so they are building on that success now," says Forczyk.

The orbiter, which will relay data from the lander and rover back to scientists on Earth, also carries a suite of scientific instruments. It has two cameras and a spectrometer (光谱仪), which it will use to create a map of the mineral composition of Mars's surface, as well as radar and detectors to examine particles in the Martian atmosphere. It will also look for deposits of water ice that could be helpful for future explorers.

Tianwen-1 won't be alone in Mars orbit. The United Arab Emirates has just launched its first mission to Mars, and NASA's Perseverance rover is set to launch on 30 July. These missions are all leaving now because Mars is at its closest point to Earth, which happens once every two years.

1. Which statement is true according to the first two paragraphs?

A．On 23 July, three countries launched space crafts to Mars.

B．Every step of Tianwen mission can be completed at several attempts.

C．The mission, Phobos-Grunt, cooperated with Russia was a great success.

D．Tianwen mission shows the pioneering efforts of China's space exploration.

2. What does the underlined word in Para. 3 mean?

A．Travelling around.

B．Floating past.

C．Wandering aimlessly.

D．Moving swiftly.

3. The orbiter will do the following tasks except               .

A．act as a detector to examine particles on the earth

B．search for a substance useful for future exploration

C．send information back to the earth collected from Mars

D．identify the position of minerals possibly lying on Mars

4. What will be the best title for this text?

A．China's Successful Space Explorations

B．China Launching Missions to Mars

C．Tianwen, the First Interplanetary Mission

D．Mars, the Hottest Destination to Explore

9 . Just one in five workers use their lunch break to actually eat every day-with most using the time to catch up on personal things and play social media instead. A study of 2,000 UK professionals found 79% will have their food as they work, so they can use their “lunch” to do other things. Watching YouTube videos, walking the dog and playing with apps on their phones are also among some of the ways people spend their lunch break.

The study, conducted by Samsung KX, is designed to inspire people to reclaim their lunch breaks. “We all need to make time for ourselves and our research has shown how few really are,”said Tanya Weller, director of Samsung Showcase KX. “It’s easy to get caught up in a piece of work, but people aren’t even giving themselves a moment to eat—let alone do anything else.”

According to the study, approximately 40% of respondents would like more time to pursue hobbies and interests during their lunch break, as they feel work has completely taken over. But 67% will frequently skip their meal altogether, with the average person only managing to take a proper break from their work three days a week.

But 37% said they don’t know what to do with their time, so they just don’t bother to take a lunch break. It also showed that 43% will usually spend their allocated break time at their desk, with just a fifth stepping away to rest on the sofa. As a result, around 70% confessed to checking work emails or taking calls during their lunch time, rather than enjoying themselves. Participants said they would prefer to spend their downtime watching episodes of their favourite TV shows, playing computer games or even getting creative by painting, drawing or making music on a device.

1. What will most of people during their work do ?

A．Eat food.	B．Watch videos.
C．Check the email.	D．Download some apps.

2. What does the underlined word “reclaim” mean in the second paragraph?

A．Make fun of.	B．Make use of.
C．Come up with.	D．Keep up with.

3. Why do some people develop their hobbies during their lunch break?

A．They feel their life is fully occupied.

B．They find their good jobs in their free time.

C．They expect to have no more time to have lunch.

D．They think their work is too tiring to go out to play.

4. Why are some people unwilling to take a lunch break?

A．They have fun.	B．They’re fond of working.
C．They send emails.	D．They don’t know what to do.

10 . A road running through Accra, Ghana's capital, looks like any other blacktop（柏油路）. Yet what most drivers don't realize is that it is made from plastics—melted bags, bottles, and snack wraps--that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill.

In a developing nation, “it's difficult to recycle plastic,” noted Heather Troutman, program manager of the Ghana National Plastic Action Partnership. “It's expensive, and much easier just to burn it. But if you could put value on recycled plastic, it won't get buried or burned.”

First appearing two decades ago, plastic roads are being tested and built in more and more countries as the world's plastic pollution problem becomes more serious. India has built over 60,000 miles of these roads. The technology, meanwhile, is gaining ground in Britain, Europe, and Asia. Several countries—South Africa, Vietnam, Mexico, the Philippines, and the United States, among them—have built plastic roads recently. Roads containing waste plastic have the potential to perform as well or better than traditional roads. They can last longer, are stronger and more durable（更耐用的）in respect to loads, car tolerate wide temperature changes, and are more resistant to water damage and cracking.

Troutman views plastic roads as “a promising advance,” especially in a country like Ghana with more road projects in the future. And yet, with the prediction that by 2050 the world will produce over three times as much plastic waste as it ever has, she stresses it is vital to curtail Ghana's all unnecessary use of plastics. “This is the first step,” she noted. “If we keep pumping out more and more plastic, we'll never be able to manage it in a sustainable way.”

1. Why it's hard to recycle plastics in Ghana?

A．The plastics are hard to break down.

B．The country lacks related technology.

C．The whole recycling process costs much.

D．The government advocates burning plastics.

2. What can we infer about plastic roads from the third paragraph?

A．They are mainly promoted by India.

B．They are able to stand extreme weather.

C．They are being tested for better functioning.

D．They are becoming popular in some countries

3. What does the underlined word “curtail” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Reduce.

B．Cover.

C．Reward.

D．Delay.

4. What's Troutman's attitude towards plastic roads?

A．Tolerant.

B．Flexible.

C．Hopeful.

D．Pessimistic.