1 . In spring, chickens start laying again, bringing a welcome source of protein at winter’s end. So it’s no surprise that cultures around the world celebrate spring by honoring the egg.
Some traditions are simple, like the red eggs that get baked into Greek Easter breads. Others elevate the egg into a fancy art, like the heavily jewel-covered “eggs” that were favored by the Russians starting in the 19th century.
One ancient form of egg art comes to us from Ukraine. For centuries, Ukrainians have been drawing complicated patterns on eggs. Contemporary artists have followed this tradition to create eggs that speak to the anxieties of our age: Life is precious, and delicate. Eggs are, too.
“There’s something about their delicate nature that appeals to me,” says New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. Several years ago, she became interested in eggs and learned the traditional Ukrainian technique to draw her very modern characters. “I’ve broken eggs at every stage of the process — from the very beginning to the very, very end.”
But there’s an appeal in that vulnerability(易损性). “There’s part of this sickening horror of knowing you’re walking on the edge with this, that I kind of like, knowing that it could all fall apart at any second.” Chast’s designs, such as a worried man alone in a tiny rowboat, reflect that delicateness.
Traditional Ukrainian decorated eggs also spoke to those fears. The elaborate patterns were believed to offer protection against evil.
“There’s an ancient legend that as long as these eggs are made, evil will not exist in the world.” says Joan Brander, a Canadian egg-painter who has been painting eggs for over 60 years, having learned the art from her Ukrainian relatives.
1. People in many cultures honor the egg because _______________.| A．it is their major source of protein in winter |
| B．it is a welcome sign of the approach of spring |
| C．it can bring wealth and honor to them |
| D．it can easily be made into a work of art |
| A．carve | B．promote | C．place | D．lower |
| A．She is never sure what the final design will look like until the end. |
| B．She always achieves great pleasure from designing something new. |
| C．She never knows if the egg will break before the design is completed. |
| D．She believes there won’t be evil in the world once the egg is made. |
| A．the decorated “eggs” are favored as a form of fancy art in Russia |
| B．contemporary artists draw on eggs to reflect anxieties of people today |
| C．the delicate nature of eggs appeals to Roz Chast |
| D．eggs provide a hard and unique surface to paint on |
2 . Papa, as a son of a dirt-poor farmer, left school early and went to work in a factory,for education was for the rich then.So, the world became his school.With great interest, he read everything he could lay his hands on, listened to the town elders and learned about the world beyond his tiny hometown."There's so much to learn," he'd say.“Though we're born stupid, only the stupid remain that way.”He was determined that none of his children would be denied(拒绝)an education.
Thus, Papa insisted that we learn at least one new thing each day.And dinner time seemed perfect for sharing what we had learned.We would talk about the news of the day;no matter how insignificant, it was never taken lightly.Papa would listen carefully and was ready with some comment,always to the point.
Then came the moment-the time to share the day's new learning.
Papa, at the head of the table, would push back his chair and pour a glass of red wine,ready to listen.
Felice, “he'd say,”tell me what you learned today.“learned that the population of Nepal is...”
Silence.
Papa was thinking about what was said, as if the salvation(拯救)of the world would depend upon it.“The population of Nepal.Hmm.Well...”he'd say.“Get the map; let's see where Nepal is.” And the whole family went on a search for Nepal.
This same experience was repeated until each family member had a turn.Dinner ended only after we had a clear understanding of at least half a dozen such facts.
As children, we thought very.little about these educational wonders.Our family,however,was growing together,sharing experiences and participating in one another’s education And by looking at us,listening to us, respecting our input, affirming(肯定)our value; giving us a sense of dignity, Papa -was unquestionably our most influential teacher.
Later during my training as a future teacher studied with some of the most famous educators.They were imparting(传授)what Papa had known all along-the value of continual learning.His technique has served me well all my life.Not a single day has been wasted, though I can never tell when knowing the population,of Nepal might prove useful.
1. What do we know from the first paragraph?| A．Those born stupid could not change their life. |
| B．The poor could hardly afford school education. |
| C．The town elders wanted to learn about the world. |
| D．The author's father was born in a worker's family. |
| A．the news | B．the request | C．the comment | D．the point |
| A．enjoyed talking about news |
| B．knew very well about Nepal |
| C．felt regret about those wasted days |
| D．appreciated his father's educational technique |
| A．Showing talents. | B．Continual learning. |
| C．Family get-together. | D．Winning Papa's approval. |
| A．a wiseman willing to share his knowledge |
| B．a parent insistent on his children's education |
| C．an educator expert at training future teachers |
| D．a teacher strict about everything his students did |
3 . Do you think alien beings exist somewhere in the universe? It seems like Mars, our closest neighbor, has inspired the most science fiction as the place where aliens are most likely to come from. Recent Mars probes (探测) have shown us that there is no life on that planet—at least not now. But that does not mean that life does not exist elsewhere—after all, the universe is really big. A lot of scientific research is going on in the search for “extraterrestrial life”.
Think about it—why should the seven billion people on this little planet be the only living beings in the universe? It would, in fact, seem logical that this is not the case. So scientific research in this matter is based around the idea of finding other planets that have environments that can support life —environments similar to the Earth. The search is on for the evidence of the existence, or earlier existence of life: from very wise beings to simple organisms (有机物).
So far, there have been a number of theories as to which planetary bodies may have an atmosphere that can support such life and therefore deserve closer attention. As for places within our own Milky Way Galaxy, it has been assumed over the decades that Mars and Venus, as well as some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, may have been hosts for life. Now, as technologies have improved and we can obtain measurements of the composition of the atmosphere on extra-solar planets, the chances of finding “alien” life forms are increasing.
There has been a theory that some of the planets in the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Gliese 581 may be able to support life. In 2007, scientists discovered exoplanet Gliese 581c—and felt that its atmosphere was most suitable for supporting life. But further research revealed that it would not. Now, attention has been turned to Gliese 581d, at the outer edge of the star’s habitable zone. The main standards for deciding whether a planetary body can be life-supporting are atmospheric conditions which allow the existence of water. Gliese 581 is about 20. 4 light years away from the Earth, so even if life does exist there, the distance would mean that communication would be unlikely.
Having said this—who says alien life forms (if they exist) need water?
1. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Life existing outside of the Earth. |
| B．The evidence of the existence of life. |
| C．Other faraway planets in the universe. |
| D．Creatures known from science fictions. |
| A．Modern scientific theories. | B．Atmospheric conditions. |
| C．Environments similar to the Earth. | D．Advanced technologies. |
| A．the atmosphere of Gliese 581c was most suitable for life |
| B．it is not certain whether alien life forms need water or not |
| C．the 7 billion people on the Earth are the only beings in the universe |
| D．the distance of 20. 4 light years makes it impossible to find life on Gliese 581d |
| A．Do Aliens Exist? | B．Is Mars Suitable for Life? |
| C．Are Alien Life Forms Various? | D．Can We Communicate with Aliens? |
4 . The government's top Great Barrier Reef scientist says a third mass coral bleaching (珊瑚白化) event in five years is a clear signal that the marine wonder is “calling for urgent help on climate change. Corals can recover from mild bleaching, but severe bleaching can kill corals.
Prof Terry Hughes, director of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, surveyed 1,036 reefs from a plane over nine days in late March.
The marine park authority also had an observer on the flights. The survey has released maps showing that serious levels of bleaching occurred in 2020 in all three sections of the reef northern, central and southern. Some 25% of the reefs were seriously bleached-meaning that more than 60% of the corals on each reef had bleached.
The Great Barrier Reel has experienced five mass bleaching events-1998. 2002,2016, 2017 and 2020 -all caused by rising ocean temperatures driven by global heating. Hughes said there probably would not be the same level of coral death in the north and central regions in 2020 as in previous years, but this was partly because previous bleaching outbreaks had kill off the less heat -tolerant species The 2020 bleaching was second only to 2016 for severity(严重性), Hughes said.
Dr. David Wachenfeld，chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, told Guardian Australia "My greatest fear is that people will lose hope for the reef. Without hope there's no action. People need to see these bleaching events, They are clear signals that the Great Barrier Reef is alling for urgent help and for us to do everything we can”.
Measures to improve the ability of recovery of the reef include improving water quality, controlling outbreaks of coral-eating starfish, and research and development to improve the heat tolerance of corals. " However, climate change brings a new scale of impact unlike anything we have seen before. Thus, dealing with the climate problem is the basis for everything else to work, ” Wachenfeld said.
1. What does the underlined word “mild” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Serious |
| B．Strong. |
| C．Steady. |
| D．Slight. |
| A．The majority of the corals on each reef were bleached. |
| B．The survey was carried out on a plane by Hughes alone. |
| C．The 2020 bleaching killed off the less heat tolerant species. |
| D．The 2020 bleaching was worse than those of all the previous years. |
| A．have done everything they can for the reef |
| B．are sure to lose hope for the reef |
| C．will care more about the reef |
| D．will have no action at all |
| A．Improving water quality. |
| B．Making efforts to prevent global warming. |
| C．controlling outbreaks of coral-eating starfish., |
| D．Doing research on the heat tolerance of corals. |
5 . The rolling out of 5G services has triggered a wave of competition across the world. More importantly, it has started a race to develop 6G as the telecommunications sector has always been a hotspot for competition.
Compared with 5G technology, 6G will have lower latency, higher speed and more bandwidth. And this advanced technology will help connect the real world with virtual digital world. It will also make product design R&D(Research and development) and experiments significantly more efficient and greatly reduce their costs while making it possible to produce digital products. In the physical world through high-tech, including 3D printing.The seamless and intelligent connection of the physical and digital worlds will lead to a thorough reconstruction of the division of labor and societal cooperation.
In terms of economic development, 3G fostered e-commerce while 4G boosted e-commerce and mobile payment. 5G infrastructure building and application marked the beginning of intelligent manufacturing. Similarly, wireless cognition technology associated with 6G technology, once it matures, will further boost the development of the digital economy. In digital economy, intelligence based on big data will become the real force for innovation and 6G networks not only will be highways for transmitting data, but will also much more seamlessly integrate edge and core computing as part of a combined communications. This will provide many potential advantages as 6G technology becomes operational, including access to AI capabilities. Digital economy based on 6G will become the determining factor of the country’s competitiveness in the future, and 6G technology with wireless cognition as its major characteristic will become core technology and main driver of the digital economy.
Starting with 5G our telecom industry, thanks to its extensive R&D input, has taken the lead in standardizing and manufacturing 5G telecom equipment，the competition in 6G will start with the setting of standards,which will determine the level of R&D needed for the launch of the technology and thus decide the market share of the emerging industry .As far as R&D in 5G technology is concerned. We have already enjoyed two advantages. first, it is a global leader in the telecom sector and has a solid reserve of talents. And second, it has a relatively complete industrial chain that covers R&D and design, manufacturing and application. and is home to leading 5G equipment maker. Recent history shows whoever leads the telecom technology sector sets the standards for telecom products and services. and plays a bigger role in the industry’s future development .An official research team on 6G including the government. enterprises and research organizations has been established to obtain the advantage of 6G development competition .
1. What does the underlined word “triggered” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Put off. | B．Kept off. | C．Called off. | D．Set off. |
| A．Complete changes in the way of work and social cooperation. |
| B．Significant reduction in product design cost and work efficiency. |
| C．Perfect replacement of the virtual digital world to the real world. |
| D．Complete disappearance of work and cooperation in the real world. |
| A．Become core technology and main driver. |
| B．Mark the beginning of intelligent manufacturing. |
| C．Promote the growth of e-commerce in real world. |
| D．Assist the progress of e-commerce and mobile payment. |
| A．Should we develop 6G in the future? |
| B．If 5G is here, can 6G be far behind? |
| C．Does 6G really have advantages over 5G? |
| D．If developing 6G can we get in a no-win race? |
6 . You can choose happiness regardless of your circumstances. You can choose to be happy no matter what challenges life brings you. Let the following simple strategies guide you back to your natural happy state.
Make lemonade when life gives you lemons.
Besides happiness, trouble will also be part of life. It’s how you choose to react to your situations that make the difference. If you look at something hard enough, you’ll see the positive side of it.
Do what you love doing.
Do you have a lifelong dream or desire? If so, start working towards it. Taking baby steps towards a goal will help you feel like you’re accomplishing something. You’ll find drive and determination to reach that goal when it’s something you love doing.
Use one of your talents.
One reason why so many people are unhappy is that they’re not doing what they’re called to do with their God-given talents. Each of us has a purpose in life. You have natural talents to help you achieve your purpose, so use your talents effectively.
Call a friend who you know is positive and cheerful.
Talk about your feelings and listen to their advice. Usually, people allow themselves to go deeper and deeper into self-depression. The truth is that you don’t have to be sad. You can decide to be happy. You just have to make up your mind to do so.
Gratitude is the quickest cure for sadness.
When you focus on what’s wrong with your life, you forget to look at what’s right and good. Take a step back and reflect on your life. Do you have children or family to be thankful for? Yes, they may not be the person we’d like them to be, but imagine life without them. Now, be thankful that you have them in your life.
Let your feelings out on paper.
Often you’ll find that just getting your feelings down on paper will allow you to work through them, helping you feel better about yourself and your beautiful life!
1. The first paragraph is used to _______.| A．expect readers to ignore themselves |
| B．start a discussion among readers |
| C．introduce the topic to readers |
| D．carry out a challenge among readers |
| A．trouble is part of life |
| B．lemonade is very delicious |
| C．life is full of sweetness and bitterness |
| D．lemons can only be used to make lemonade |
| A．diverse | B．natural |
| C．excellent | D．learned |
| A．Be grateful. | B．Do many activities. |
| C．Call a cheerful friend. | D．Use one of your talents. |
| A．excited | B．depressed |
| C．bad-tempered | D．kind-hearted |
7 . Growing up, we are constantly reminded that young people are heavily affected by technology. We are the “antisocial club”, those who prefer to text our friends in the same room rather than make eye contact with them. And even though never-ending studies reveal to us the extent of our social media addiction, we should at least consider that it’s not only our young people’s problem any more.
There’s the rise of the Instagram mums, who like to post an abundance of cute baby pictures, share their mom feelings along the way and show their wonderful lifestyles. They are the so-called “Facebook mum generation”, a growing group of parents that like to overshare.
While all of this might be fine, and even a little humorous, new research suggests that parents’ technology addiction is negatively affecting their children’s behavior. According to the study, 40% of mothers and 32% of fathers have admitted having some sort of phone addiction. This has led to a significant fall in verbal interactions within families and even a decline in mothers’ encouraging their children.
There is no denying that I get annoyed when receiving the words “I’ll be with you soon” from a parent, when all I want to do is ask one question. But, at the same time, every day leaving the room to wait until my father is finished with his “serious business” (Farmville), has now become the norm. Whether you want to escape your disturbing children for a bit, or want to stay up late flicking through Twitter, know that wanting to do all of these is normal. We, your children, know how addictive it can be and how difficult it is to switch off. But before telling us to put our phones away at the table or even worse, listing statistics of how damaging social media can be for us, maybe lead by example, considering how much time you spend on the phone and how this is impacting your children and your relationship with us. Maybe in this way we can work on our addiction together.
1. From Paragraph 1, we can know that teenagers nowadays ________.| A．enjoy socializing with their friends | B．send messages to their friends every day |
| C．hate to make eye contact with their friends | D．are heavily addicted to their mobile phones |
| A．Boring. | B．Selfish. | C．Funny. | D．Meaningful. |
| A．security | B．standard | C．routine | D．custom |
| A．To share the author’s own experience with the readers. |
| B．To call on parents to get rid of their own media addiction. |
| C．To reveal that parents are always addicted to mobile phones. |
| D．To show the author’s dissatisfaction with parents’ phone use. |
8 . For some years，my mother worked for a charity as President and Secretary.Selling raffle tickets(兑奖券) was her main means of bringing in the charity’s muchneeded funds.We girls would accompany her，selling tickets with great success.My father made and donated beautiful wooden toys，jewellery boxes and other lovely items as prizes.
Now my sister was always coming up with “good ideas”，most of which didn’t work out to plan.But that didn’t deter her.She had many just waiting to be tested.When she was eight and I was just five，we had a wonderful idea for a business adventure.We decided we would sell raffle tickets for charity，and that charity was us!
So one afternoon，we told our mother we were going to play in the park with our cousins as we did most days after school.But instead，we walked around the streets armed with a raffle book，a pen and a large cloth bag to carry the money.
We’d accompanied our mother many times when she sold tickets，so people were familiar with us when we appeared at their doors.Despite the blank looks they received when asking about the prizes on offer，they were very generous.Although there were no actual prizes，our mother’s previous track record enabled us to sell nearly the whole book of raffle tickets.
Like a little pair of lottery(彩票) winners，we walked home and proudly showed off our takings.But our enjoyment of this sudden wealth was shortlived，and our plans for spending it quickly failed.Our angry mother took us back to every ticket buyer，making us apologise and give the money back.Thankfully，our sweet neighbours didn’t make a big deal of our “clever” misbehavior and thus my mother’s
fundraising career could continue safely.We were taught a good lesson by our mother that day.Also I remember my sister’s entrepreneurial(企业家的) spirit dried up a bit after that.
1. What did the author’s father do?
| A．He got prizes ready. | B．He sold handmade items. |
| C．He was in charge of a charity. | D．He helped design raffle tickets. |
| A．Embarrass. | B．Shock. |
| C．Discourage. | D．Mislead. |
| A．They ran into their mother. |
| B．They met some generous strangers. |
| C．They got lost while walking around the streets. |
| D．They took advantage of people’s trust in their mother. |
| A．Honesty is the best policy. | B．What’s done can’t be undone. |
| C．Misfortune never comes alone. | D．Good advice is beyond all price. |
9 . Surrounded by Brothers
I know it is wrong to envy your children. But when I see my son, Tonio and his young brother Sam going down a slide together, one’s arm around the other, I know I have missed something wonderful.
Not only did I never have a brother, but also I had no friendships like theirs. My sister was old enough to help take care of me, so she was more a mother than a playmate, and I was more a pest than a friend. A brother would have been wonderful, but it was not in the family planning.
Now I finally live with brothers, my sons, Tonio and Sam. I am watching them build the kind of relationship that I once dreamed about. They go to bed together. When one comes into our bed after a nightmare, my wife and I know that before morning his brother will follow.
Sam manages the world with more ease than his elder brother, whose frustrations often bring him to tears. With a sincere “Smile, Tonio,” Sam is the one who comforts him. Tonio, on the other hand, has stopped playing with boys at his age who don’t like playing with Sam. They are always backing each other up.
I don’t know what kind of relationship they will have when they grow up. Parents always want their children to have what they never could. I want them to have each other. So I imagine them going to the same college, marrying sisters and living on the same block.
That’s why I was so worried the day Tonio started kindergarten. I felt that I would lose something too. As we headed for school that morning, both boys seemed relaxed, as if neither had any idea that the day was going to be different, that starting then, Tonio would be leaving behind his brother, his best friend, his right arm.
Tonio’s first day was chaotic, with hundreds of children outside looking for their teachers. Before any of us could say goodbye, Tonio disappeared with his new classmates. He turned to wave and then was gone. It was so sudden. Sam even didn’t see him go. Although parents had been asked to ease the craziness of the first day by staying out of the school, I lifted Sam up and took him to Tonio’s classroom, looking for a glimpse of Tonio. Sam spotted him first.
My wife and I didn’t head back home immediately, stopping instead at a coffee shop to treat Sam to hot chocolate. We even let him eat ice-cream with his fingers. Sam was still quiet, so I asked him if he missed his brother already.
He didn’t answer. Instead he asked, “Daddy, is Tonio going to be gone forever?”
“No, Sammy,” I said, feeling happy about his sweet question. “Not forever, just until three o'clock.”
I sometimes think that the greatest thing I have ever done is to help create these brothers. And I didn’t stop with them. We had another child, and for the third time in a row, it was a boy. It wasn’t long before his brothers climbed into the crib to play with him. I am surrounded by brothers.
1. What makes the author envy his sons?| A．He has no friends like Sam and Tonio | B．He has only one brother in his family |
| C．He doesn’t enjoy brotherhood as they do | D．He doesn’t have a good relation with his sister. |
| A．a bad person | B．a lovely brother |
| C．a good companion | D．an annoying person |
| A．They supported each other in different ways |
| B．The two brothers went to the same kindergarten |
| C．Neither of the brothers played with other children |
| D．Tonio often encouraged Same when Sam burst into tears |
| A．Tonio might not do well with his study | B．he was afraid he would lose Tonio forever |
| C．he wanted Tonio to have what he didn’t have | D．Tonio might not spend so much time with Sam |
| A．Sam was very sad because Tonio was gone forever. |
| B．Tonio had a nice day playing with his new classmates. |
| C．the father felt happy when he sensed Sam’s love to Tonio |
| D．Sam was allowed to have ice-cream with fingers as usual. |
| A．The author often plays with his sons whenever he has time |
| B．The author experienced brotherly affection by raising his sons. |
| C．The youngest son is always surrounded by his elder brothers. |
| D．Parents want their children to stay at home and play together. |
10 . One day, gardeners might not just hear the buzz of bees among their flowers, but the whirr of robots, too. Scientists have managed to turn an unassuming drone (无人机) into a remote-controlled pollinator (授粉媒介) by attaching horsehairs coated with a special, sticky gel to its underbelly.
Animal pollinators are needed for the reproduction of 90% of flowering plants and one third of human food crops. Chief among those are bees — but many bee populations in the United States have been in steep decline in recent decades. Thus, the decline of bees isn't just worrisome because it could disrupt ecosystems, but also because it could disrupt agriculture and economy. People have been trying to come up with replacement techniques, but none of them are especially effective yet.
Scientists have thought about using drones, but they haven't figured out how to make free-flying robot insects that can rely on their own power source without being attached to a wire. “It’s very tough work,” said senior author Eijiro Miyako, a chemist at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. His particular contribution to the field involves a gel, one he’d considered a mistake 10 years before and stuck in a storage cabinet. When it was rediscovered a decade later, it hadn’t dried up or degraded at all. “I was so surprised because it still had high viscosity,” Miyako said.
The chemist noticed that when dropped, the gel absorbed an impressive amount of dust from the floor. Miyako realized this material could be very useful for picking up pollen (花粉). He and his colleagues chose a drone and attached horsehairs to its smooth surface to mimic a bee’s fuzzy body. They coated those horsehairs in the gel, and then controlled the drones over lilies, where they would pick up the pollen from one flower and then deposit the pollen at another one, thus fertilizing it.
The scientists looked at the hairs under a scanning electron microscope and counted up the pollen grains attached to the surface and found that the drones whose horsehairs had been coated with the gel had about 10 times more pollen than those that had not been coated with the gel.
Miyako does not think such drones would replace bees altogether, but could simply help bees with their pollinating duties. There’s a lot of work to be done before that's a reality, however. Small drones will need to become more controllable and energy efficient, as well as smarter, with better GPS and artificial intelligence.
1. What does the underlined word “viscosity” in Para.3 probably mean?| A．Hardness. | B．Stickiness. |
| C．Flexibility. | D．Purity. |
| A．bees disrupt both agriculture and economy |
| B．scientists have invented self-powered robot insects |
| C．bees in the United States are on the edge of extinction |
| D．Miyako found the special feature of the gel by chance |
| A．its body is made like a bee’s |
| B．its GPS works more efficiently |
| C．some flowers are coated with the gel |
| D．horsehairs with the gel are attached to it |
| A．are not yet ready for practical use |
| B．may eventually replace bees in the future |
| C．are much more efficient than bee pollinators |
| D．can provide a solution to economic depression |
