1 . Yet although officers will not disappear, it’s hard to imagine that working life will return to before-COVID-19 (新冠肺炎) ways. For more than a century workers have pushed themselves on-to crowded trains and buses, or suffered traffic jams, to get into the office, and back, five days a week. However, for the past one year they have not had to commute (上下班往返), and may enjoy it for a long time.
Employers, for their part, have supported expensive offices in city centers because they need to gather workers in one place. The rent is only part of the cost; there are cleaning, lightning, printers, catering and security on top. Needless to say, in the homeworking era these costs are cut down.
Another part of the homeworking era may be the disappearance of the five-day working week. Even before the COVID-19 many workers became used to taking phone calls or answering emails at the weekend. In the homeworking era, the dividing line between home and working life, a useful way of relieving stress, will be even harder to keep. It may be lost altogether.
What’s more, without the Monday-to-Friday commute, the weekend seems more nebulous, for employees may walk and take breaks freely, with only the company video calls unchanged.
Looking further out, the homeworking era may bring other changes. Some may decide to live in small towns where housing costs are lower, since they have no need to commute. Men will have fewer excuses to skip cleaning or childcare if they are not disappearing to the office.
In a sense, this is a return to normal: until the 19th century most people worked at or close to their homes. But social historians may still regard 2020 as the start of a new age.
1. Which one is the change of the working life after the COVID-19?| A．Living in big cities. | B．More traffic jams. |
| C．Reduced working cost. | D．Less phone calls at the weekend. |
| A．Important. | B．Unclear. | C．Fruitful. | D．Annoying. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. | C．Supportive. | D．Negative. |
| A．2020: the Start of a New Age? |
| B．Working at Home: Are You Ready? |
| C．Who is the Winner: Employer or Employee? |
| D．Home and Working Life: How to Keep Balanced? |
2 . Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?
Professor Simard form University of British Columbia explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined. Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. As far as Simard is concerned, actually the opposite is true: trees survive through their co-operation, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.
Nitrogen (氮) and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi (真菌) networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons (神经元) in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all.
Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend. She explains how moribund trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest.
“We didn’t take any notice of it” Simard says sadly. “Trees move nutrition into the young trees before they die, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.
1. Which statement would Simard agree with?| A．Trees support each other. |
| B．Trees compete for nutrition. |
| C．Trees depend on their needs. |
| D．Trees co-operate with the fittest. |
| A．To explain the importance of fungi networks. |
| B．To introduce the function of neurons networks. |
| C．To illustrate how Nitrogen and carbon are shared. |
| D．To show how the forest ecological system works. |
| A．Energetic. | B．Ancient. | C．Previous | D．Dying |
| A．Protect tree societies. |
| B．Cut down oldest trees. |
| C．Get nutrition from nature. |
| D．Improve our environment. |
3 . Everyone has unique personalities, which makes life more interesting.
Over the last 25 years, doctors have classified personalities into five basic traits(特性), called the Big Five. Everyone can be described as having varying levels of agreeableness(随和), conscientiousness(认真)，emotional stability(情绪稳定)，extroversion(外向)and openness to experience.
Contrary to common knowledge, people aren't confined to certain personality types. Usually, no one is entirely an extrovert or an introvert. While a minority may be at the extreme ends of a trait, most people are somewhere in the middle. “Every personality trait is a continuous dimension. You can be very high or very low, and most people fall somewhere in between,” said Christopher Soto, a doctor at Colby College.
Personality isn’t limited to humans, either. Research finds that all animals have personalities. Both the personality of animals and humans has an evolutionary origin. Evolution can a so explain why personalities vary so much. Depending on the situation, each of the Big Five can be advantageous. For example, agreeableness is great for relationships. But if a lion were charging at you, you'd be better off with a less agreeable and more aggressive personality leaning. Because the world is so unpredictable, every aspect of each personality trait could be useful at different times, so instead of evolving a single type of personality that s first-rank for every situation, we're left with a wide variety.
An evolutionary root of personality means traits must be inherited(继承). So whether you’d like to admit it or not, much of your personality comes from your parents. In fact, for humans, about half of the differences in personality are genetic. The rest of the variability in personality comes from your environment.
Not only does your environment shape who you are, but you can, to an extent, adjust your personality to the circumstance. You can be more outgoing at a party and more agreeable at home with your family. But you can also be introverted if you need to focus on work, or aggressive when playing a competitive sport. Humans, after all, have evolved to learn from our environments.
1. Which of the following best explains the underlined word “confined” in Paragraph 3?| A．Forced. | B．Composed. | C．Devoted. | D．Limited. |
| A．A personality difference. |
| B．An environmental condition. |
| C．An evolutionary origin. |
| D．Human's relationship with animals. |
| A．Friendly. | B．Stubborn. | C．Considerate. | D．Aggressive. |
| A．Personalities can change over time. |
| B．Your environment shapes your personality. |
| C．Your genetic starting point stays you forever. |
| D．Humans have born abilities to learn from environments. |
4 . Children's average daily time spent watching television or using mobile device increased from 53 minutes at 12 months old to more than 150 minutes at 3 years old, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Children aged 7 were more likely to spend the highest amount of screen time if they had been in bad home-based childcare or were born to first-time mothers.
“Our results indicate that screen habits begin early,” said Edwina Yeung, an investigator in National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), “This finding suggests that interventions to reduce screen time could have a better chance of success if introduced early.”
In the research, mothers of 4,000 children responded to questions on their kids' media habits when they were 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months of age.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends avoiding digital media exposure for children under 18 months of age, introducing children 18 to 24 months of age to screen media slowly, and limiting screen time to an hour a day for children from 2 to 5 years of age. In the current study, researchers found that 87% of the children had screen time exceeding these recommendations. However, while screen time increased throughout infancy, after 8 years of age, screen time fell to under 1. 5 hours per day. The researchers believe this decrease relates to time consumed by school-related activities.
The study authors classified the children into two groups based on how much their aver- age daily screen time increased from age 1 to age 3. The first group, 73% of the total, had the lower increase, from an average of nearly 51 minutes a day to nearly an hour and 47 minutes a day. The second group, 27% of the total, had the higher increase, from nearly 37 minutes of screen time a day to about 4 hours a day. Higher levels of parental education were associated with the lower odds of inclusion in the second group.
1. Which of the following is a reason for children's addiction to the media?| A．Low economic level. | B．Poor family education |
| C．The media's attraction. | D．The shortage of parents' love. |
| A．To stop children using the media. | B．To help parents care for children well |
| C．To reduce children's screen time earlier | D．To increase intervention to children |
| A．By giving some examples. | B．By showing some data. |
| C．By analyzing some reasons. | D．By concluding some results. |
| A．Probability. | B．Price. | C．Cost. | D．Income. |
5 . Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in October as a day to make someone happy. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, the aged, and children who have lost their parents, but also friends, workmates, relatives and neighbors whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.
Over 60 years ago, when a Cleveland man noticed that some people, such as children who lost their parents and patients who lay in bed, too often felt forgotten and neglected, he developed in his mind the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this by giving them small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he gave those people small gifts on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed, other Clevelanders began to take part in the celebration, which came to be called "Sweetest Day". Over time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the poor, the sick and children who had lost their parents was broadened to include everyone, and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small gift. Soon the idea spread to other cities all over the USA.
Sweetest Day is not based on any single group’s religious beliefs or on a family relationship. It is a reminder that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning. Because for many people remembering takes the form of gift giving, Sweetest Day offers us the opportunity to show others that we care, in a positive way.
1. What group of people is the Sweetest Day intended for?| A．The sick. | B．The aged. | C．The orphans. | D．All the people. |
| A．Ignored. | B．Forgotten. | C．Remembered. | D．Loved. |
| A．He felt lonely and wanted to be noticed. |
| B．He wanted to be helpful to those who need love. |
| C．He needed someone to give out some small gifts. |
| D．He was helped by his friends and neighbors. |
| A．A gift is always needed on Sweetest Day. |
| B．Only those sick and children need to be remembered. |
| C．Sweetest Day is limited to families and friends. |
| D．It's a chance for everyone to express your care. |
6 . Liu Xiangping, a Chinese-Canadian artist and stamp designer, recalls his remarkable experiences in designing the stamps which develop friendship between China and Canada.
It was 1997, the year when Hong Kong was returned to China, and Canada Post, along with the then-Hong Kong Postal Administration and China, celebrated the Chinese New Year with a stamp.
In January 2017, special 45-cent stamp designed by Liu and two other Chinese Canadian artists was issued. Since then, Canada Post has been issuing zodiac(属相) stamp for the Chinese Lunar New Year each year. “Many traditional customs related to the Chinese New Year are indeed transnational(跨国的). They are beyond political and cultural differences. They powerfully reflect the close connections of the overseas Chinese to their ethnic roots,” Liu said.
Liu said that what he was most proud of last year was the creation of a stamp for China Post on the theme of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
When China Post issued a set of special stamps in 2003 to mark the victory over SARS, Liu was one of the designers.
In January 2020, Liu left Toronto for Beijing. With the influence of COVID-19 drawing the attention of the entire country, China Post invited him once again to be one of two chief designers of a set of anti-pandemic-themed stamps.
On May 11, 2020, China Post issued the two stamps. One featured the phrase “Pursue Together, Combat the Pandemic” to pay admiration and respect to the Chinese people in the fight against the virus. Liu said the most important principle for the designs is to present the Chinese spirit of solidarity(团结) as well as that of human nature in tough times. “I tried to express the sense of perseverance, anxiety and sorrow at the same time through people’s eyes,” Liu said.
To memorize the centennial(百年纪念) of Norman Bethune’s birth and his accomplishments, Canada and China jointly issued a pair of commemorative stamps in 1990. Bethune devoted his life to medicine and humanitarianism in China in the late 1930s. Jean Morin and Wanda Lewicka of Canada designed the stamps, and Liu illustrated(加插图)them.
“The stamps are the product of close cooperation and cultural exchanges between Canada and China. They symbolize the fundamentals(基本原则) of the friendship between the two countries,” said Liu. “We’ll never forget that Chinese and Canadian people were committed to the common values of justice and peace in WWⅡ.”
1. When did Canada Post begin issuing a zodiac stamp for the Chinese Lunar New Year?| A．In 1997. | B．In 2003. | C．In 2017. | D．In 2020. |
| A．Wonderful. | B．Difficult. | C．Busy. | D．Common. |
| A．He designed a stamp to celebrate the Chinese New Year with a stamp in 1997. |
| B．He designed a stamp to honor the Chinese people fighting against the pandemic |
| C．He designed a set of special stamps in 2003 to mark the victory over SARS. |
| D．He designed the stamps to memorize the centennial of Norman Bethune’s birth. |
| A．Stamps develop friendship between Canada and China. |
| B．Stamps show cultural exchanges between Canada and China. |
| C．Liu Xiangping is a Chinese-Canadian artist and stamp designer. |
| D．Liu Xiangping enjoys designing stamps reflecting Chinese customs. |
7 . What is an accent? An accent is a flavoring to you that influences the sounds of words and sentences. In Birmingham you might hear “lake” sounding close to “like”, and in Ireland you might hear “this” sounding close to “diss”.
Accents are related to social group. Everyone has an accent, and for every accent there are groups of people who react badly to it. These reactions are the result of prejudice — an unreasoned jumping to conclusions.
Everybody has prejudices about accents. I certainly do. I have held prejudices about other people's accents. But over the years，my experience of working with people from all kinds of backgrounds has led me to give up these prejudices. However, I still have prejudices that I find difficult to control.
Studies tell us that no accent is better than any other. But the reality is that many people judge others according to accents. Jacob, Member of Parliament, remembers when he first stood unsuccessfully for election in Fife, Scotland, “I gradually realized that whatever I happened to be speaking about, the number of voters in my favor dropped as soon as I opened my mouth.”
And sonic people change their accents to sound more refined when talking to people outside their circle of family and friends.
Sky News ran a report recently in which an 18-year-old woman was trying to sound less posh, that is speaking non-standard English, because she didn’t like the strangers telling her that she must be rich and from a famous family.
Lastly, it's worth being reminded that people can have an accent and still be recognized.
1. What’s the main idea of the first three paragraphs?| A．What’s accent and accents can lead to prejudice. |
| B．Accents are something that everyone can have. |
| C．Accents are something that you can meet everywhere. |
| D．Accents have a long root in people that causes serious social issues. |
| A．everyone has prejudice about accents |
| B．many people judge others according to accents |
| C．he was quite unpopular among English people |
| D．he was unable to make himself understood because he had an accent |
| A．Because she tried to be rich. |
| B．Because she pretended to be well-educated. |
| C．Because she just wanted to make herself look ordinary. |
| D．Because she wanted io learn the upper-class British accent. |
| A．Reasonable. | B．Understandable. | C．Difficult. | D．Successful. |
8 . While it's not impossible for birds to fly in the rain, they usually choose not to. You may see birds fly for a few seconds in poor weather, but most of them prefer to stay put on rainy days.
Why does rain make it harder for birds to fly? You might imagine that moving through the air while being pelted by raindrops would be pretty unpleasant. However, it's not the rain itself that makes flying difficult. Instead, birds are influenced by the drop in the air pressure that comes with most rainstorms. When pressure drops, the air is less thick, which makes it harder for birds to fly. Moving through the sky in areas of low air pressure takes a lot of energy.
Most birds need to eat several times a day—rain or no rain. Luckily, most birds' feathers（羽毛）are highly waterproof（防水的）, protecting the skin beneath. Many birds can also make oil that they can spread over their feathers to further protect themselves from the rain. Most birds don't like rain. In fact, in a 2010 study, a team of researchers studied birds living in a Costa Rican rainforest. They found that the birds had higher levels of stress hormone（应激激素）on rainy days. That may not surprise you. After all, many animals feel stressed out during storms. Pet owners often find that rain and thunder make their animals nervous. Some animals are so strongly influenced by nature that they almost seem to forecast the future.
No one really knows how many birds die during a storm or series of storms. But the number is certainly higher than usual. They fly into trees or windows; they get lost over the ocean or a large lake; their food sources are made more difficult to get but, at the same time, they need more food to get warm. However, if rain continues for some time, birds will have to challenge the storm.
1. What makes it harder for birds to fly in the rain?| A．The wet air. | B．Food shortage. |
| C．Raindrops. | D．The low air pressure. |
| A．Cleaned. | B．Hit. |
| C．Frightened. | D．Protected. |
| A．Why birds can fly in the rain |
| B．How birds are influenced by rain. |
| C．How birds survive long rainy days. |
| D．Why birds' feathers are waterproof. |
| A．Birds will develop the ability to fly in the rain |
| B．Birds fly only when necessary on rainy days. |
| C．Birds have nowhere to hide in rainstorms. |
| D．Birds need less food on rainy days. |
9 . Forty-nine years ago, on April 22,1970, twenty million Americans took to the streets to voice their concern about the deteriorating environment. The movement led to Earth Day.
Unfortunately, our planet is in worse shape now than it was when Earth Day was first celebrated. The good news is that it’s still not too late to reverse (转变) climate change if we all do our part. This Earth Day, take the first step towards helping our planet by participating in one of these fun activities.
NASA is putting our planet up for adoption so you and your friend can claim a portion of the planet as your own. The space agency has divided the globe into 64,000 sections, each about 55 miles wide. All you have to do is type your name into NASA’s “Adopt the Planet” site to claim a certificate that will give you the location of your slice of paradise (天堂) complete with details of its environment. NASA hopes that this exercise will stimulate interest and care in our planet.
Search giant Google is also trying to engage the public with an updated Google Earth focused around Earth Day events. Through a new Voyager feature, users will be able to discover stories from around the world, learn about new places by reading “Knowledge Cards” and send postcards.
If you happen to be anywhere near the nation’s capital on April 22, join the millions that are expected to participate in the Earth Day March at the National Mall. The mission of the event that will feature guest speakers and musical performances is to mobilize (动员) citizens into taking action by promoting this year’s Earth Day theme: climate and environmental science literacy.
While participating in the above-mentioned activities is a great idea, it is just the beginning. All that is required are small lifestyle changes. Planting a tree or two, going meatless just one day a week, or switching your plastic water bottle for a reusable one will go a long way to help reverse the damage we have caused.
1. The underlined word “deteriorating” is the closest in meaning to ________.| A．cleaner | B．better |
| C．worse | D．colder |
| A．air quality | B．ancient history |
| C．local customs | D．tourist attractions |
| A．They can create “Knowledge Cards” online. |
| B．They can discover stories from around the world. |
| C．They can receive postcards coming from Google. |
| D．They can adopt a slice of paradise in the world. |
| A．dream big | B．fly high |
| C．go meatless | D．start small |
10 . Oxford English Dictionary（OED） announced on November 23 for the first time that it has chosen not to name one single word of the year, but many words for the “special” year 2020. Describing 2020 as “a year which cannot be neatly summarized in one single word”. OED said on Monday that there were too many words to sum up the events of 2020. From more than 11 billion words found in web-based news, blogs and other text sources, its lexicographers(词典编纂者)revealed what the dictionary described as “great shifts in language data and frequency rises in new words” over the past 12 months.
Most words of the year are coronavirus-related, including coronavirus, lockdown, circuit-breaker, keyworkers and face masks. The report said the word "coronavirus" dates back to the 1960s and was previously "mainly used by scientific and medical specialists". But by April this year it had become one of the most frequently used nouns in the English language, beyond even the usage of the word "time". It said use of the word “pandemic” has increased by more than 57,000 percent this year.
The revolution in working habits during the pandemic has also affected language, with both “remote” and “remotely” seeing more than 300 percent growth in use since March. “On mute(静音)”and “unmute” have seen 500 percent rises since March, while the words “workation” and “staycation” also increased drastically.
Casper Grathwohl, the president of Oxford Dictionaries, said. “I've never witnessed a year in language like the one we've just had. The Oxford team was identifying hundreds of significant new words and usages as the year unfolded.” “2020 has been filled with new words unlike any other,” Grathwohl added.
The OED's announcement mirrored the huge influence of the COVID-19 on the people from all walks of life. To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.
1. How did the lexicographers find words to summarize the events of 2020?| A．By consulting some experts, scholars and authors. |
| B．By consulting some reporters and hosts of news programs. |
| C．By referring to web-based news, blogs and other text sources. |
| D．By referring to magazines, newspapers and other printed materials. |
| A．They are precise. | B．They are subjective. |
| C．They are reasonable. | D．They are unique. |
| A．Sharply. | B．Steadily. | C．Similarly. | D．Slightly. |
| A．It is a word created in 2020. |
| B．It might first appear in the 1960s. |
| C．It is the only named word of 2020. |
| D．It has been frequently used since the 1960s. |
