1 . Improve Cloud Security
Sensitive customer data has constantly been found exposed on cloud servers without password protection. To ease the problem, database software makers have been trying to make security easier for cloud database managers. At the Enigma Conference in San Francisco, Kenn White, a security manager at database software maker MongoDB, will describe a new technique, called field level encryption, to make data safer on the cloud.
Field level encryption works by scrambling data before it’s sent to a cloud database and rearranging it in order when the data is needed for use. The promise of the product is to protect the contents of a cloud database, even if bad guys access it.
MongoDB’s new feature comes as more and more companies move user data to cloud servers, rather than run their own costly data centers. It was predicted that cloud computing would be a $214 billion industry by the end of 2019. That would be up more than 17% from 2018, when it was $182 billion.
Companies have rushed to the cloud without understanding all of the possible security consequences. Many companies have left countless databases exposed, revealing personal data. A database containing details about who lives in 80 million US households was left unprotected in 2019, just like the data on Facebook users.
Database managers want to store their data in an unreadable form, but they also want to be able to find specific pieces of information in the database with a simple search term. For example, someone might want to look up health care patients by their Social Security numbers, even if those numbers are stored as random characters. To make this possible, field level encryption lets database managers encrypt a search term on their machine and send it to the database as a query. The database matches the encrypted version of the search term with the record it’s storing and then sends it back to you.
This approach only works with specific kinds of data. For example, field level encryption isn’t useful for long text entries, like notes in a patient’s medical chart, because you can’t search for individual words.
Still, for data like account numbers, passwords and government ID numbers, field level encryption protects data and maintains a usable database.
Most importantly, White said, it’s simple to set up. Database managers turn it on with a one-time configuration change when they set up the database. “That’s really powerful,” he said in an interview.
1. The underlined word “scrambling” in paragraph 2 probably means________.| A．mixing | B．collecting | C．hiding | D．storing |
| A．Secure the safety of Internet pages. | B．Protect files with a unique style of storage. |
| C．Stop bad guys from accessing the database. | D．Enable companies to store files on the cloud. |
| A．Companies should move user data to cloud servers. |
| B．Cloud computing achieved a 17% increase in 2019. |
| C．Companies may be unaware of the risks of the cloud. |
| D．No companies were willing to run their own data centers. |
| A．present some facts | B．offer security advice |
| C．introduce a technique | D．recommend a product |
2 . Twice every month, Miranda Sam, a 66-year-old Ghanaian, visited the China Traditional Herbal Hospital, a private herbal facility at Pokuase, a suburb of the Ghanaian capital, for treatment.
“I was squeezing lemons, and when I finished, I could not get up or even move my legs, so I went to the hospital and did an X-ray examination, but they saw nothing. Meanwhile, I could not walk and was in a wheelchair,” the retired worker said. Hence Miranda decided to visit the herbal facility. “On two occasions, I had to do acupuncture(针灸), and I have found great relief. Now I walk unaided, so I keep coming for treatment,” she said.
As Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is gaining popularity in Ghana, many acupuncture clinics run by Chinese doctors pop up in the country. However, the China Traditional Herbal Hospital was established by 52-year-old Ghanaian business owner Bediako, after his fruitful encounter with the effects of TCM in 2012. With the help of a Chinese lady, Bediako set up a small clinic specializing in TCM. Years on, the facility has subsequently grown into a bigger herbal hospital. The hospital treats patients with a combination of local and Chinese herbal formulas. It supports this with the application of traditional Chinese medical methods.
Strokes(中风) account for 1.3 percent of all hospital admissions in Ghana, and 6.3 percent of all hospital deaths. But Bediako is confident that as more people with these conditions turn to the natural methods of healing, the pain and death rates would subside. “A gentleman was brought here three weeks ago, who could not sit, stand, or walk. He was first taken through acupuncture. I observed him on camera 30 minutes later, squatting(蹲), standing, and walking. You come here with your pain but will leave with a smile. That is our feature,” he said.
The hospital has started a second facility in Ashaiman near the capital, with plans to open other branches across the country to meet the growing demand.
1. What can we learn from Miranda’s words in Paragraph 2?| A．Her illness is not a bit severe. | B．Squeezing lemons is a risky job. |
| C．She is feeling better now. | D．She is unsure about what to do next. |
| A．It is located in the downtown area. |
| B．It was originally a specialized clinic. |
| C．It was established by a Chinese doctor. |
| D．It uses nothing but Chinese herbs. |
| A．Decline. | B．Remain. |
| C．Climb. | D．Change. |
| A．Negative. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Concerned. |
3 . By now, most of us have picked up at least one pandemic hobby. And there's a seemingly common pandemic hobby trend: People who haven't been able to go anywhere are making imaginary travel plans. Maybe you're among those who have spent hours researching locations-even though you're not actually planning to travel.
It turns out that you aren't alone. People who seem to be sticking to public safety recommendations are still planning trips they don't intend to book. And, when I suddenly found myself addicted to an imaginary girls' trip to Joshua Tree, I wondered whether this was a healthy distraction.
"It's an escapist imagination," said Regine Galanti, a psychologist, adding that there's nothing wrong with escapism during a global pandemic.
On the one hand, distractions are often beneficial right now. We are a full year into living with COVID-19 as a pandemic, and that means you've probably had to navigate a range of emotions like discomfort, sadness, or even boredom. So any hobby that doesn't harm anyone or endanger your well-being is probably a worthy attempt.
Even if vacation planning is your happy place, Dr. Galanti suggests you "actually think about what you're trying to achieve." Why? "Maybe what you're saying is, I need a vacation from work," Dr. Galanti explains. "Then take three days off even if you are not going anywhere. "When you figure out what you're looking for, you might be able to find a small socially distanced adventure in your backyard or a quiet place. Vacation planning is a good way to spend some time, but there might be an even better way to get what you're desiring.
Anyway, when uncertainty is all around us, creating things to look forward to isn't a terrible idea. And when things are safer, you'll have all your plans in place.
1. Why do people make imaginary travel plans during the pandemic?| A．To develop a new hobby. | B．To stay safe and sound. |
| C．To be distracted from reality. | D．To get ready for future travel. |
| A．Express. | B．Balance. | C．Adapt to. | D．Deal with. |
| A．Objective. | B．Negative. | C．Supportive. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Figures. | B．Lifestyle. |
| C．Food and recipe. | D．Science and technology. |
4 . A sleepover (过夜) program, which is designed to make kids believe that their favorite toys enjoy reading, can help encourage children to pick up more books, a new study suggests.
Toys sleepover programs are designed to get children interested in books. Children take their toys to a library for the night. At this point, workers and volunteers take photos of the toys which explore the library and read books. The next day, the children collect their toys and the photos of what the toys did during the night. They are given the books their toys chose to read.
It was found that before the sleepover the children did not spend time looking at the books in their play area at preschool. Immediately after the sleepover, the number of children who read to the toys was higher than the number who did not, but after three days the effect decreased gradually.
The researchers also tested a method for sustaining the effect. They reminded the children of the sleepover a month later, by hiding the toys and showing them the photos again the next day. This simple method brought an increase in the number of children reading to their toys.
The study proves for the first time that children who take part in sleepover programs read picture books to their toys more. “We wanted to know if there really was an effect, and if so, how long it lasts. Surprisingly, not only did the children show interest in the books, but they also began to read to their toys. This means that a new behavior pattern appeared that the children hadn’t had before. We did not expect anything like this,” said one of the researchers.
Reading is important for the development of children’s language skills and imagination. When parents read to their children, it is a passive way of reading for the child. However, when children read to their toys, it is a more active, self-directed way of reading, helping them develop into more active readers, researchers said.
1. What is the purpose of the sleepover program?| A．To develop children’s language skills. |
| B．To help children to sleep well. |
| C．To encourage children to read more. |
| D．To guide children to form a good sleeping habit. |
| A．Go around the library with their toys. |
| B．Sleep with their toys. |
| C．Read together with their toys. |
| D．Take their toys to the library. |
| A．keeping | B．testing | C．surveying | D．showing |
| A．Children showed no interest in the books. |
| B．The effect of the sleepover program could last long. |
| C．Children began to read to their toys on their own. |
| D．Whether the sleepover program had an effect remained unknown. |
5 . Looking for a place to take a rest，sip a cup of coffee and have a furry companion? Welcome to animal-themed cafes.
In recent years，the combination of pets and catering has become incredibly popular in many cities throughout China. While many cafes started out offering the company of cats and dogs，others are expanding their range. Some cafes include animals like squirrels，raccoons and even capybaras.
In reviews，internet users have commented that their main reason for visiting these businesses is to interact closely with animals they have only seen from afar.
“The customers love animals. They are curious about these pets and want to raise one at home，but circumstances don’t allow it，”said pet cafe owner Tian Rui，Liu Jing，a Beijing resident who works in finance，loves pigs，but her parents would not endorse her getting one as a pet. The 24-year-old had to admire the animals through videos and images. But now，she can have close contact with an adorable pig every weekend in a pet cafe.
Also，these pet cafes serve as a shelter for those who find comfort in being around animals. “In this place，you can get close to the cute little ones in a very comfortable way without having to worry about safety and hygiene(卫生)—overall，it is an extremely comfortable experience，”said Zhao Ming from Tianjin，30，a frequent pet cafe visitor.
Animal lovers also expect the pet cafes to change people’s attitudes toward pets. Animals like ducks，pigs and sheep have been served as food for many years. People hardly see them as pets. But the pet cafes help shift their attitude from seeing them as playthings to regarding them as family members or close friends.
“Whether at home or in stores，these little animals are there for companionship and they bring warmth to our hearts. They care and understand just like family members. They give us much more than the love we give to them，”Zhao said.
1. Why do people visit pet cafes?| A．To pursue inner peace. | B．To appreciate animal images. |
| C．To experience a clean environment. | D．To have close contact with animals. |
| A．Believe in. | B．Approve of. | C．Prevent. | D．Suspect. |
| A．change our views of animals |
| B．teach us how to look after pets better |
| C．show us the importance of having pets |
| D．remind us to value our family and friends |
| A．Cafes Enjoy Great Popularity | B．Ideal Shelters for Lovely Animals |
| C．Animals Turn into Companions | D．Animal Lovers from Different Cities |
6 . Social distancing is not a new concept in the natural world, where infectious diseases are commonplace. Through specialized senses animals can detect certain diseases and change their behavior to avoid getting ill.
In 1966, while studying chimps (猩猩) in a Tanzanian national park, zoologist Jane Goodall observed a chimp named McGregor who had caught a highly infectious virus. His fellow chimps attacked him and threw him out of the troop. In one instance, McGregor approached chimps in a tree. He reached out a hand in greeting, but the others moved away without a backward glance.
“For a full two minutes, old McGregor sat motionless, staring after them,” Goodall notes in her 1971 book In the Shadow of Man. “It’s really not that different to how some societies react today to such a tragedy.”
Not all animals are so aggressive toward their ailing neighbors. Sometimes it’s as simple as avoiding those who may infect you.
When Kiesecker, a lead scientist in America, studied American bullfrog in the late 1990s, he found that bullfrogs could not only detect a deadly smell of infection in other bullfrogs, but healthy members actively avoided those that were sick. Bullfrogs rely on chemicals signals to determine who is sick or not.
Caribbean lobsters also shun diseased members of their community, well before they become infectious. It takes about eight weeks for lobsters infected with the deadly virus Panulirus argus mininuceovirus to become dangerous to others. Normally social animals, lobsters begin keeping away from the diseased as early as four weeks after infection – once the lobsters can smell certain chemicals released by sick individuals.
Overall, it’s important to note that, unlike us, animals don’t realize if they stay home, they might actually reduce the infection rate,” Kiesecker explains. “As humans, we have that ability. It’s a big difference.”
1. What can we learn about the chimps from Goodall’s observation?| A．They kept a distance from one another. |
| B．They became aggressive when infected. |
| C．The infected avoided contact with others. |
| D．The infected were forced to leave the group. |
| A．Avoid. | B．Cure. | C．Get rid of. | D．Get along with. |
| A．Humans are more sensitive to virus. |
| B．Humans are less likely to get infected. |
| C．Humans treat infectious diseases in a wiser way. |
| D．Humans can detect chemical signals more quickly. |
| A．Help Me Out |
| B．Leave Me Alone |
| C．Stay Away From Us |
| D．Stay Home Stay Healthy |
7 . Recently, as I watched my son Nathan play basketball for his school team, I was feeling sorry for myself and for him. His team was facing adversity (困境) on the court and he was playing in a hostile environment — it was the opponent’s home gym filled with their supporters, and Nathan’s team was trailing (落后) for three quarters of the game. As for me, I had just been dismissed (解雇) from my job earlier in that day.
During the drive home, I kept telling myself that I would find work again in a short time — I was always confident in my experience and abilities, but self-doubt was still sticking its foot in the door.
The basketball game entered the fourth quarter with Nathan’s team still trailing. I saw the determination on his face as well as his teammates’ as they fought back to not only tie the game, but then go ahead by three points. Then, a player from the other team made an unbelievable shot to make the game tied again. With the tied scores and seconds on the clock, Nathan found himself with the ball and with skill and confidence, he made the basket with a defender hanging all over him. The other player was called for a foul (犯规).
As Nathan stood preparing for a shot that would put his team up by three points, I saw the focus and determination on his face, with no room for self-doubt. Nathan was able to tune out all the distractions and nail the free throw with such skill, as if he had done it a thousand times.
As I sat there, my heart bursting with pride, it dawned on me that I had taught him perseverance (毅力) in the face of adversity, and he had just taught me the same lesson. That brief moment of self-doubt and feeling sorry for myself was blown away by the actions of my son on the basketball court. He will play in the finals, but it doesn’t matter if he wins or loses. At this moment, we both won.
1. What did the author estimate his son’s team would be like at first?| A．The team would finally win. |
| B．The team would lose at away court. |
| C．The team would lose at home court. |
| D．The team would tie with the opponents. |
| A．Avoid. | B．Focus. | C．Create. | D．Receive. |
| A．My son would win in the finals and I would find a job soon. |
| B．I had once taught my son face to face that we should never give up. |
| C．It was my encouragement and help that made my son win the game. |
| D．I would become more confident about my future after this experience. |
| A．Life Goes Just Like Playing Basketball |
| B．It Matters Whether to Win or Lose |
| C．A Lesson in Life and Basketball |
| D．A Moment of Self-doubt |
8 . Recently, researchers at the University of Toronto figured out a way with a quick video selfie to accurately measure blood pressure with your smartphone’s camera by developing a technology known as transdermal optical(光学) imaging (TOI).
Cameras on smartphones can catch red light reflected from hemoglobin (血红素)under our skin, which permits TOI to visualize and measure blood flow changes. Researchers measured the blood pressure of 1,328 Canadian and Chinese adults by getting two-minute videos of their faces on an iPhone. “From the video got by the technology, you can see how the blood flows in different parts of the face and through this flow, you can get a lot of information,” said Kang Lee, lead author of the study.
Lee also helped create an app called Anura, which allows people to try out the TOI software for themselves, giving them the ability to record a 30-second video of their face and receive measurements for stress levels and resting heart rate. Lee said more research was needed to make sure that the measurements were as accurate as possible, explaining that the study didn’t test people with very dark or very fair skin.
“In order to improve our app to make it usable, particularly for people with hypertension (高血压)，we need to collect a lot of data from them, which is very hard because a lot of them are already taking medicine,” Lee explained. “We cannot tell them not to take medicine, but from time to time, we get participants who don’t take medicine so we can get hypertensive people this way.”
The scientists said there were many potential applications of the technology, including providing health services for those who lived in remote areas.
1. What does the underlined word “transdermal” in the first paragraph probably mean ?| A．from hemoglobin. | B．from stress levels. |
| C．through the skin. | D．with a quick video selfie. |
| A．Living a life free from stress. |
| B．Improving the heart function gradually. |
| C．Accessing health services for free. |
| D．Knowing abnormal blood pressure earlier. |
| A．By providing examples. |
| B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following the order of time. |
| D．By following the order of idea and practice. |
| A．To introduce TOI and an app related. |
| B．To predict future applications of TOI. |
| C．To describe functions of cameras on phones. |
| D．To evaluate the quality of an app called Anura. |
9 . My father told me a family story about his mother, my grandmother.
In 1949, my father had just returned home from the war. On every American highway you could see soldiers in uniform hitchhiking home to their families, as was the custom at that time in America.
Sadly, the excitement of this reunion with his family soon disappeared. My grandmother became very ill and had to be in hospital. The doctors told my father that she needed a blood transfusion immediately or she wouldn’t live through the night. The problem was that Grandmother’s blood types was AB-, a very rare type even today, but even harder to get then because there were no blood banks or air flights to ship blood. All the family members had their blood tested, but not one member was a match. So the doctors gave the family no hope; my grandmother was dying.
My father left the hospital in tears to gather up all the family members, so that everyone would get a chance to tell Grandmother good-bye. As my father was driving down the highway, he passed a soldier in uniform hitch-hiking home to his family. Deep in sadness, my father had no inclination at that moment to do a good deed. Yet it was almost as if something outside himself pulled him to a stop, and he waited as the stranger climbed into the car.
My father was too upset to even ask the soldier his name, but the soldier noticed my father’s tears right away and asked why. My father told this total stranger everything.
It got very quiet in the car. Then this soldier reached his hand out to my father, in which rested the dog tags from around his neck. The blood type on the tags was AB-. The soldier told my father to turn the car around and get him to the hospital.
My grandmother lived until 1996, and to this day no one in our family knows the soldier’s name. But my father has often wondered, was he a soldier or an angel in uniform?
1. Why did the author’s father leave the hospital ?| A．To buy something necessary for Grandmother. |
| B．To ask the family members to have their blood tested |
| C．To pick up a soldier whose blood type was the same as Grandmother’s |
| D．To gather the family members to pay their last respects to Grandmother |
| A．After her serious illness, Grandmother lived 47 years. |
| B．Grandmother’s children refused to help her. |
| C．My father has forgotten the soldier. |
| D．The doctors didn’t try to save Grandmother. |
| A．arrangement | B．design | C．schedule | D．willingness |
| A．A Strange Soldier | B．An Unexpected Gift |
| C．An Angel in Uniform | D．An Unknown Soldier |
10 . Some people like modern art, while others say that it is rubbish. But a cleaner who works in the Tate Britain Gallery in London isn’t able to tell the difference. The woman, whose name isn’t known, mistook a work of art by the German painter Gustav Metzger for a bag of rubbish, and threw it out with other bags. The plastic bag, which contained pieces of paper and cardboard, was later recovered outside the gallery, but the artist thought that it was too badly damaged to be put on show again, and so he found another bag. 78-year-old Mr. Metzger explained that the exhibit, which he said was a copy of a similar work he had created in 1960, was meant to show that all art is temporary (暂时的).
Embarrassed officials at the museum said that they had had to call a meeting with cleaners to explain which things should not be touched. They would not say whether Mr. Metzger would be paid for the incident. However, to make absolutely sure the same thing would not happen again, they decided to cover Mr. Metzger’s work every evening with a coloured cloth. In this way cleaners arriving after the gallery had closed to the general public would realize that they should not touch it.
This is not the first time that museum cleaners have had trouble distinguishing exhibits from rubbish. In 2001, in another London gallery, a cleaner threw away a work by the well-known British artist Damien Hirst. It was an arrangement of empty beer bottles, coffee cups, and ashtrays (烟灰缸), which were meant to show the disorder in the life of an artist.
However, cleaners don’t always throw things away—sometimes they clean them! This was the case with a dirty bath, which was on show in a gallery in Germany. Without asking what the bath was doing in the gallery, the cleaner simply cleaned it.
1. The woman cleaner threw away the plastic bag because__________.| A．the plastic bag was badly damaged |
| B．she didn’t recognize it was a work of art |
| C．she hated modern art and considered it rubbish |
| D．The exhibit on show was taken the place of by another bag |
| A．collecting | B．replacing | C．telling | D．exchanging |
| A．Mr Metzger would be paid some money for the incident. |
| B．Tate British Gallery will be closed to avoid the same mistake. |
| C．Artists often use rubbish to show how content they feel with life. |
| D．More than one cleaner threw away works of art in galleries. |
| A．Cleaner Mistakes Modern Art for Rubbish | B．Good Cleaners Make Mistakes |
| C．Damaged Modern Art Works | D．Dangerous Galleries and Cleaners |
