1 . In the world of Chinese archaeology (考古学), a sign of a dig's importance is the sight of Zhou Mingsheng at work. A field technician who has worked at archaeological sites all around China. Master Zhou is credited with the gentlest touch in his profession. Born into a farming family, he is a “national-level craftsman” with a talent for using simple tools to get relics (遗物) that would crumble in other hands, says his current boss, Wang Xu, director of an archaeological site at Shuanghuaishu, a Neolithic (新石器时代的) settlement near the Yellow River in the central province of Henan.
It is not beauty that attracts visitors to Shuanghuaishu. At 5, 300 years old, the settlement is the work of a culture too simple to have left behind many buried treasures. The single most precious find, to date, is a finger-length sculpture of a silkworm. Nor is the setting lovely: an area surrounded by deafening insects, between a highway and two power stations. Rather, the site's importance is historical. For since the birth of Chinese archaeology in the 1920s, it has been inseparable from claims that China has the oldest unbroken civilisation on Earth.
Leading archaeologists say that the site has the right combination of location, age and distinctive cultural elements to be the capital of an early Chinese kingdom. That would make it a bridge between China's written history and the era of the Yellow Emperor, who is said to rule over these central plains almost 5,000 years ago, though many foreign scholars doubt his existence. Chinese media call the site proof of China's 5,000 years of history.
Foreigners complain about a lack of written records, Mr Wang notes. Perhaps they are missing symbols that will one day be understood, for instance in patterned pottery. Outsiders "can't keep using Western standards to apply to Chinese ruins," he argues.
1. What does the underlined word “crumble” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Result. | B．Break. | C．Wait. | D．Shine. |
| A．It is of great historical significance. | B．It has various precious treasures. |
| C．It has appealing scenery. | D．It is easily accessible. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Tolerant. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
| A．Chinese history amazes the world | B．Chinese archaeology catches on |
| C．China follows its tradition | D．China digs its past |
2 . When we experience earthquakes, medical emergencies — whatever the situation, the first thing you probably do is panic. Everybody does. While many of us think that we’re cool in a crisis, science tells us that we seldom are. At the moment we need to be keenly aware of our surroundings, but our attention goes to the scariest thing on the scene, leaving us unaware of the other sights, sounds, and even smells around us. At the moment, we’re anything but at our best.
These normal human reactions can be reversed. For example, firefighters are taught how to bring down their blood pressure and heart rates quickly, box breathing, belly breathing, hum breathing — you can learn these techniques in minutes. Once you calm down, you’ll identify accurately what the problem is really about. Lack of practice always causes us to judge problems in wrong ways. Doing the thinking ahead of time also helps you fire off the solution when it’s show time. This is why you are advised to find the closest exit before the flight. And sometimes we aren’t prepared with all the knowledge we need. Let’s say we’re on a hike and a bear shows up. What shall we do? Better to read suggestions on how to respond before heading into the wild.
Performing in a crisis is becoming more important for all of us for two reasons. Back in the good old days, the reliability of most anything we used or did was far less than it is today. Now think about what happens to our preparedness as the probability of something had happening reduces. Unless we practice what hardly ever happens, our ability to respond when it does happen tends to slip away. Reliability can kill you. Also, the systems we use today are more complex. There are seldom moving parts in plain view that allow us to see when things are about to go wrong. Consequently, terrible situations can “come out of nowhere”. Ironically, the systems that were designed to lessen our workload might require us to remain in a state of increased vigilance (警觉) in order to survive these increasingly infrequent events when they do happen.
As technology becomes part of most everything, and as once-large risks break into countless small ones, crisis situations may become standard affairs. We should all learn to breathe, recognize the situation, and carry out the plan that we are smart enough to prepare well in advance.
1. According to the passage, when an armed robbery (抢劫) happens, most witnesses will first___________.| A．observe the surroundings |
| B．pretend to be calm |
| C．decide what to do |
| D．focus on the gun |
| A．Tested. | B．Changed. | C．Predicted. | D．Understood |
| A．things are less dependable than they used to be |
| B．cautiousness helps prevent the occurrence of crisis |
| C．convenience reduces our problem-solving capability |
| D．the complexity of present systems ensures our safety |
| A．To introduce ways of avoiding crisis situations. |
| B．To point out the connection between stress and risks. |
| C．To raise awareness of the preparation for emergencies. |
| D．To analyse the influence of technology on crisis management. |
3 . Motion sickness is an uncomfortable feeling. The sickness it causes can strike people on an airplane, playing video games, or, commonly, when riding in a car. In a future where people may find themselves running around streets in self-driving vehicles, the problems could get worse.
We typically sense our physical position and movement in the world by relying on our eyes, the feeling we get in our body, and our inner ear. Motion sickness may develop when there's disagreement between what your eyes see and what your inner ear senses. If you're looking at your phone in a moving vehicle, your eyes see a stationary screen but your inner ear feels that you're moving. The result of that dissonance can cause sickness. The common-sense solution is to just stop looking at your phone, but some of the appeal of self-driving cars is that you could use the time to be productive or entertained by what's on a screen.
Researchers of a car-making company and a video game company have been studying ways to address these issues. And their solution uses an interesting medium: sound. The research had two goals: to explore if sound could help relieve motion sickness, and to help people trust self-driving cars more. They experimented with two different categories of sound: tips that tell passengers what's about to happen, and noises that alert passengers when the device has noticed something, like a pedestrian.
The most convincing experiment took place on a closed airport runway in Sweden, near Gothenburg, in August of last year. On that track, brave participants had to ride in the backseat of a car driven by a human and read from a tablet while the car navigated the course. With just 20 people, the study was small, but according to researchers, the presence of sound tips made people report that they felt less ill. Participants said the sounds helped prepare them physically, or adjust their bodies for what was about to happen.
1. When does motion sickness usually happen?| A．Sleeping during travels. | B．Closing eyes on vehicles. |
| C．Driving vehicles speedily. | D．Riding in moving vehicles. |
| A．Confusion. | B．Potentiality. | C．Randomness. | D．Disagreement. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Optimistic. | C．Concerned. | D．Dissatisfaction. |
| A．A study of motion sickness. | B．Self-driving vehicles. |
| C．A convincing experiment. | D．The cause and handling of motion sickness. |
4 . Free school meals are back in the news. Footballer Marcus Rashford’s petition(请愿书) to extend free school meals provision(供给) into the school holidays has collected 1.1 million signatures, causing the government to reverse policy. It has restarted the debate over free school meals, fuelled, most recently, by figures forecasting that if the government ends as planned the current £20 top-up(附加款), another 200,000 children will slip into poverty. This is in addition to the 550,000 children already living in poverty previous to Covid-19.
The roots of the current school meals system lie in the mid-19th century. In Manchester, independent charities as well as official bodies started to provide free meals for undernourished children in the 1870s. When education became compulsory in the following decades, the extent of the issue became apparent. Proponents of feeding starving children pointed out that it was due to government order that children were in school, not working and contributing to the family food budget, so the government should pay.
Reception was mixed. Then, as now, children rejected foods they weren’t used to. Diaries of the time talk of “little bags of mystery” (sausages). Some children were put off brassicas(芥菜类) for life. Finding the balance between cheap and good proved hard. The chief medical officer talked about the lack in calorie value and elements of a well-balanced diet which a needy child does not get at home, such as milk, cheese, eggs, green vegetables, fruit and meat”. In 1980, the Tory government, desperate to cut costs, made provision largely optional and abolished nutritional standards. Over the next 15 years convenience and cost became the most important.
Today, school meals provision is linked to benefits: in England around 17 per cent of children are entitled to free school meals. Provision is outsourced(外包), leading to huge variation. In the last year, we’ve seen all of the age-old debates repeated once more. How do we decide who is entitled? How do we guarantee quality? Who decides what children eat? Who pays? Undernutrition does not just have physical effects, but also affects behavior and ability to learn. It has a lifelong impact. The arguments around free school meals seem never to end. But they are hugely important and, until poverty is ended, they will not and should not go away.
1. Why did Marcus Rashford start the petition?| A．To feed an increasing number of children in poverty. |
| B．To restart the debate over free school meals. |
| C．To raise fund for hunger relief for children. |
| D．To lift children out of poverty. |
| A．Officials. | B．Charities. |
| C．Advocates. | D．Critics. |
| A．Some children liked brassicas provided in the school. |
| B．School meals were both tasty and cheap. |
| C．School meals failed to meet children’s nutritional needs. |
| D．The Tory government chose nutrition over cost. |
| A．Never-ending. | B．Meaningless. |
| C．Influential. | D．Necessary. |
5 . Plastic baby bottles shed microplastics when heated. Should you be worried about its side-effects? We still don’t have enough evidence of health risks posed by microplastic consumptions by infants or adults.
“The last thing we want to do is unduly alarm parents,” said John Boland, a professor at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland and one of the authors of the Nature Food study. While the health effects of microplastics are still unknown, parents can significantly reduce their infants’ exposure by adding some steps to their bottle preparation routine, Boland said. He recommends letting plastic bottles cool completely after sterilization(消毒) in hot water, then washing them out at least three times with water that’s been allowed to cool to room temperature after being sterilized by boiling. Researchers here also found that plastic tea kettles, plastic instant noodle cups and plastic food storage containers all released similarly high levels of microplastics when subjected to heat.
As for what those microplastics may be doing in our bodies, the evidence so far is quite limited and unclear, Schwabl said that points to a need for more research into microplastics released from plastic food storage containers, especially when they are subjected to higher temperatures. He noted some research has found microplastics can cause inflammation(发炎) in the organs, while other studies “show they do not harm.” “The threshold at which they cause problems has not been determined for humans,” Schwabl said. For now, Schwabl agrees we shouldn’t panic. He’s avoiding plastic containers in his daily life – “not so much that I am afraid of the ingestion, but I think thereby I may be contributing to reducing the amount of plastic waste” that makes its way into the environment.
At the moment, there is no need to be afraid, but it is an open question and definitely an unmet need.
1. What does the underlined word “unduly” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Properly. | B．Extremely. | C．Obviously. | D．Specially. |
| A．Temperature. | B．Products. | C．Time. | D．Containers. |
| A．Panic. | B．Caring. | C．Indifference. | D．Critical. |
| A．By providing the examples. | B．By reasoning the readers. |
| C．By analyzing the figures. | D．By comparing the findings. |
6 . Mareus Eriksen was studying plastic pollution when he met camel expert Ulrich Wernery. He went deep into the desert and spotted a camel skeleton（骨架）.Eriksen was not prepared for what he saw in the desert. It was justappalled," he said. “Inside the camel's body was a mass as big as a medium-sized suitcase, all plastic bags. "
Wernery is a scientist working in a researeh lab in Dubai. Since 2008. Wernery s team has examined 30,000 dead camels. Of these, 300 had gutspacked with plastic. As camels wander in the desert, they eat plastic bags and other trash that drift into trees and pile up along roadsides. "To a camel, if it s not sand, it's food," explains Eriksen.
Tightly packed masses of indigestible things can build up in the gut of people or animals. Scientists call them bezoars. Normally, these are made of vegetable fibers or hair. Wernery and Eriksen call those found in the camels “polybezoars”. It points to their origin：plastic polymers.
A bezoar can be dangerous. As it fills the stomach. an animal may stop eating. No longer feeling hungry, they might starve to death. Plastic can also release harmful chemicals. The polybezoars may even carry bacteria that can poison camels.
In a new study, Eriksen and Wernery report data suggesting that each year these polybezoars are killing off around 1 in every 100 of camels. Of five camel bezoars analyzed for this study, the plastic content ranged from 3 to 64 kilograms. "If 1 percent mortality（死亡率）due to plastic is confirmed by future and more detailed studies, then plastic pollution will certainly represent a reason of concern for camels." says Luca Nizzetto. an environmental scientist. Such studies are important, he says, because they "raise social awareness about this pollution”.
Banning plastic bags and single-use plastics is crucial for protecting camels and other wildlife, Eriksen says. “Plastic bags are escape artists. They blow out of garbage cans, out of landfills and out of people's hands. ”What's more, he adds, “They travel for hundreds of miles.”
1. What does the underlined word “appalled” in paragraph 1 most probably mean?| A．Ashamed. | B．Shocked. | C．Confused. | D．Annoyed. |
| A．They mistake them for food. | B．They have to survive on them. |
| C．They find them very delicious. | D．They are surrounded by them. |
| A．They make camels feel hungry. | B．They consist of vegetable fibers. |
| C．They are rare poisonous bacteria. | D．They are hard to digest for camels. |
| A．They can certainly lead to the ban on plastics. |
| B．They can educate people on plastic pollution. |
| C．They are quite simple but offer enough details.' |
| D．They are very convincing but less inspirational. |
7 . In the second half of each year, many powerful storms are born in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean seas. Of these, only about half a dozen becomes the strong, circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that are called hurricanes, and several usually make their way to the coast. There they cause millions of dollars of damage, and bring death to large numbers of people.
The great storms that hit the coast start as soft circling wind hundreds—even thousands—of miles out to sea. As they travel aimlessly over water warmed by the summer sun, they are carried westward by the southeast winds. When conditions are just right, warm, moist air flows in at the bottom of such a wind, moves upward through it and comes out at the top. In the process, the moisture in this warm air produces rain, and with it the heat is changed to energy in the form of strong winds. As the heat increases, the young hurricane begins to move in a counter－clockwise motion.
The life of a hurricane is only about nine days, but it contains almost more power than we can imagine. The energy in the heat released by a hurricane’s rainfall in a single day would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the United States for more than six months. Water, not wind, is the main source of death and destruction in a hurricane. A typical hurricane brings 6 to 12 inch downpours, causing sudden floods. Worst of all is the powerful movement of the sea — the mountains of water moving toward the hurricane center. The water level rises as much as 15 feet above normal as it moves toward shore.
1. When is an ordinary tropical storm called a hurricane?| A．When it begins in the Atlantic and Caribbean seas. | B．When it hits the coastline. |
| C．When it is more than 75 miles wide. | D．When its winds reach 75 miles per hour. |
| A．The terrible effects of water. | B．The heat they give off. |
| C．That they last about nine days. | D．Their strong winds. |
| A．heavy rainfall | B．the progress of water to the hurricane center |
| C．dangerous waves | D．the increasing heat |
| A．It travels more than 75 miles per hour. |
| B．It usually stays about 9 days. |
| C．It usually causes 6 to 12 inch downpours. |
| D．It sometimes brings the sea water level to the height of 15 feet. |
8 . From Mozart to Metallica, tons of people enjoy listening to various types of music while they paint, write, or draw.Many believe that music helps to boost creativity, but an international study conducted by English and Swedish researchers is challenging that notion.Psychologists from Lancaster University, the University of Gavle, and the University of Central Lancashire say that their findings indicate music actually stops creativity.
To come to their conclusions, researchers made participants complete verbal(语言的) insight problems designed to inspire their creativity while in a quiet room and then again while music played in the background.They found that background music “damaged” the participants' ability to complete tasks associated with verbal creativity.
The research team also tested background noises such as those often heard in a library, but found that such noises had no impact on subjects' creativity.The tasks were simple word games.For example, participants were given three words, such as dress, dial, and flower.Then, they were asked to find a single word associated with all three that could be combined to form a common phrase or word.The single word, in this case, would be “sun” (sundress, sunflower, ete).Participants completed the tasks in either a quiet room, or while exposed to three different types of music: music with unfamiliar lyrics, instrumental music or music with familiar lyrics.
They found strong evidence of damaging performance when playing background music in comparison to quiet background conditions.Also, as far as the library background noises having seemingly no effect, the study's authors believe that was the case because library noises create a “steady state” environment that doesn't disrupt concentration.
It's worth mentioning that even familiar music with well-known lyrics would damage participants' creativity, regardless of whether or not it inspired a positive reaction, or whether participants typically studied or created while listening to music.
1. What does the underlined word “notion” mean in the first paragraph?| A．concept | B．mistake | C．method | D．design |
| A．It is bad for the creativity. | B．It is good for the creativity. |
| C．It improves the creativity. | D．It destroys the creativity. |
| A．Instrumental music. | B．Music with familiar lyrics. |
| C．Music with unfamiliar lyrics. | D．Common noise in the library. |
| A．Never listen to music. | B．Listen to some strong music. |
| C．Don't listen to music while studying. | D．Only listen to Mozart while studying. |
9 . Growing up in south Florida, Rebecca dreamed of becoming a professional singer, but after a serious illness damaged her voice at college, she settled for the next-best thing.
She couldn't be an artist, but she could become a lawyer for artists. “I knew I'd go to a law school and I'd try to help musicians because even if I didn't have my own voice, I could help them find theirs,” said Rebecca, 19. “There hasn’t been a day when I've questioned my choice,”
That seems to be the case with hundreds of students who have signed up for entertainment law courses at Harvard Law School (HLS) over the last 20 years. It marks a trend among law students to change from the traditional field of corporate law and look to Working in creative industries. The trend, also noticeable at other law schools around the country, has pushed growth in the field of entertainment law.
“These students are propelled by a love for music, the arts, and show business. It's an exciting career for a music lover,” said HLS Clinical Professor of Law Brian Price, who's in charge of the Entertainment Law Clinic.
Price added, “Although entertainment lawyers work behind the scenes, they can have a bigger influence on artists' careers than managers. They review artists’ agreements, deals and contacts, making sure their customers, interests are protected.”
“Artists are becoming wise and want to be involved in the business aspects of their careers,” said Price. “When they ask for legal advice, they want to know their legal rights, and how to make good deals and find ways to make more money.” Most HLS graduates end up working in business or corporate law, though some have had successful careers in the entertainment industry. Among them are Bruce Ramer, 58, who represents customers like George Clooney and Clint East wood; Bert Fields, 52, who represents Michael Jackson.
1. What does the author want to show through the example of Rebecca?| A．The importance of learning entertainment law. |
| B．Her determination to succeed in the field of law. |
| C．The rising popularity in the field of entertainment law. |
| D．Her dull future caused by her serious illness at college. |
| A．Blown. | B．Driven. | C．Depressed. | D．Confused. |
| A．HLS is home to many famous artists. |
| B．Artists are wise enough to learn corporate law. |
| C．Artists are becoming more focused on legal needs. |
| D．Famous artists pay no attention to making money. |
| A．The Death of Rebecca's Dream. |
| B．Making It Big behind the Scenes. |
| C．Helping Musicians Improve Themselves. |
| D．A Brief Introduction to Entertainment Law. |
10 . Many years ago, when we were a young couple with two small children, aged 2 and 4, we were practically impecunious. My in-laws lived from hand to mouth, so we didn’t expect any help from them. My parents lived a great distance away, and I was too ashamed to let them know about our situation.
My husband was trying to earn a living with an old pick-up truck, carrying groceries for local shopkeepers, but it was constantly breaking down. It took almost all the money we had to have it fixed. The truck was also the only means of transportation for us.
We lived in the countryside, and we always used the back door because the driveway led to it. One winter evening, I stepped outside to take a bag of trash to the barrel and almost tripped over something. It was nearly dark, and I had to bend down to see what it was. I could hardly believe my eyes. There sat a large basket loaded with food.
It was heavy, so I called to my husband to carry into the house. Once inside, we discovered two loaves of bread, some butter, several cans of vegetables, a can of orange sauce, and a large turkey. There was so much that I can’t remember it all, but it was everything we needed to fix a wonderful dinner — everything except potatoes.
A little while later I remembered that I hadn’t taken the trash to the barrel. By now it was dark, so I had to turn on the yard light — and that’s when I spotted a small bag of potatoes sitting on the porch.
That dinner was the best I can remember.
We weren’t able to thank our donators, though, because we never found out who had been so generous in helping a struggling young family. Whoever it was, we are forever grateful.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “impecunious” in Paragraph 1?| A．Adequate. | B．Penniless. | C．Harmonious. | D．Stubborn. |
| A．By starting a garage. | B．By selling food door to door. |
| C．By working as a shop assistant. | D．By delivering goods. |
| A．She was annoyed. | B．She was astonished. |
| C．She was terrified. | D．She felt a sense of relief. |
| A．A tale of potatoes | B．A reward from a stranger |
| C．A helping hand in time | D．A struggling young couple |
