1 . Dogs can’t speak, but their brains respond to spoken words. Every dog owner knows that saying “Good dog!” in a happy, high voice will make their pet joyfully wag its tail. That made scientists curious: What exactly happens in your dog’s brain when it hears praise, and is it similar to the way our own brain processes such information?
When a person gets others’ compliment, the more primitive, subcortical auditory regions (皮层下听觉区) first reacts to the intonation — the emotional force of spoken words. Next, the brain taps the more recently evolved auditory cortex (听觉皮层) to figure out the meaning of the words, which is learned.
In 2016, a team of scientists discovered that dogs’ brains, like those of humans, compute the intonation and meaning of a word separately — although dogs use their right brain to do so, whereas we use our left one. Still, a puzzle remained: Do their brains go through the same steps to process approval?
It’s an important question, because dogs are a speechless species, yet they respond correctly to our words. For instance, some dogs are capable of recognising thousands of names of individual objects, and can link each name to a specific object.
When the scientists studied scans of the brains of pet dogs, they found that theirs, like ours, process the sounds of spoken words in this manner — analyzing first the emotional component with the older region of the brain, the subcortical regions, and then the words’ meaning with the newer part, the cortex.
See why dogs are so successful at partnering with us? Dogs and humans last shared a common ancestor some 100 million years ago, so it’s likely that our brains respond to sounds in a similar way. As domesticated animals that have evolved alongside humans for the past 10,000 years, dogs make special use of it to process human emotions. You know, what we say really matters to dogs!
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “compliment”?| A．Reply. | B．Praise. | C．Warning. | D．Advice. |
| A．Linking it to an object. | B．Analyzing the emotion. |
| C．Working out its meaning. | D．Tapping the auditory cortex. |
| A．By comparing opinions. | B．By raising examples. |
| C．By providing answers to questions. | D．By analyzing causes and effects. |
| A．Dogs—good listeners |
| B．Dogs—perfect partners |
| C．Dogs and humans share a common ancestor actually |
| D．Dogs understand spoken words the same way we do |
2 . The death of soccer legend Diego Maradona has shocked fans worldwide and drawn an outpouring of grief. Maradona, 60, died of a heart attack on Nov 25,2020.
Argentina's president, Alberto Fernandez, declared three days of national mourning upon Maradona's death. "You took us to the top of the world," he wrote on the social networking platform Twitter, "and you were the greatest of Indeed, Maradona lived a life that showed that soccer at its peak can have passions that move entire nations. He was a man who was deified (奉若神明)in Argentina and the Italian city of Naples.
Maradona reached legendary position during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico after scoring two winning goals against England in the quarterfinal. That was a redemption (救赎)for the nation, which was defeated in a war over territory (领土)conflict by the UK just four years earlier. But his magic didn't stop there. At a time when teams were largely domestic, Maradona became the first truly global soccer superstar. Before his arrival in Napoli in 1984 they never won the Serie A title. The city took him in, regarding him as the man to bring back pride and respect to Naples. The club won the championship for the first time ever in the 1986-87 season.
Magician though Maradona may have been, he was deeply human, thus deeply flawed. He appeared in newspapers more for his drug habit than for his soccer skills in the late 1990s. After he played his goodbye game in 2001, Maradona stated, "The ball does not show the dirt."
As a symbol and idol he shone brighter than any other athlete in the last century. Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi wrote, "He leaves us but does not leave, because Diego is eternal (不朽的)
1. Why was Maradona regarded as "the greatest of all"?| A．Because he was an international superstar. |
| B．Because he played soccer to the death of his life. |
| C．Because he lit the passion that moved the country with his soccer life. |
| D．Because he won back the territory tor the country after the 1986 World Cup. |
| A．Imperfect. | B．Athletic. | C．Noted. | D．Influential. |
| A．He was a perfect human respected by people. |
| B．He built his legendary status in soccer in his 20s. |
| C．He was a great soccer player as well as a magician. |
| D．He was the brightest soccer star in the 19th century. |
| A．The Rise of a Superstar. | B．The Biography of a Soccer Player. |
| C．An Intense Soccer Match. | D．Passing of a Legend. |
3 . BEIJING — A bullying (欺凌) incident at a primary school in Beijing should not be brushed off as "a joke that went too far"; rather, facts should be dug out and action should be taken to prevent similar events from happening in the school again, according to experts.
Huang Zifang, a psychologist specializing in children's growth issues, said schools should be careful about taking bullying incidents as mere pranks (恶作剧).
"Instead, they should work to find out the root cause of the incident in a timely manner, guide the children involved to face and handle the incident in a correct way and teach them to behave properly to avoid similar situations," Huang said.
She made the comments after a mother in Beijing posted a description online on Thursday of how her 10-year-old son was bullied at Zhongguancun No.2 Primary School, a top school in Haidian district.
The mother wrote that her fourth-grade son was the target of bullies who threw a toilet wastepaper basket at him, striking him in the head. The boy was also mocked by his classmates, she said, bringing on acute stress disorder — a mental illness caused by severe anxiety.
The mother also wrote that the school described the incident as "a joke that went too far" and that the parents of the boy who threw the basket believed — their son was "just being naughty".
The article went viral, with many internet users recalling being bullied at school.
Shen Xuan, a volunteer from Beijing who has traveled the country for several years to work with schools to reduce bullying, said schools should take responsibility for such incidents and try to make the bullies understand that their behavior is "vicious and harmful" and "not allowed".
"In the long run, a reporting system should be established to root out bullying in the school. Students should be given specific channels to report what they experience to teachers before further measures are taken to deal with incidents," Shen said.
Huang, the psychologist, said that schools and parents must pay more attention to the ethical (道德的) development and mental health of children, rather than just looking at their academic performance.
On Saturday, Zhongguancun No.2 Primary School released a statement on its social media account saying that it had talked to the parents on both sides and would make further efforts to achieve an outcome satisfactory to all parties.
1. What does Shen Xuan stress according to the text?| A．Parents should make the bullies understand their behavior is harmful. |
| B．Schools should pay more attention to children's academic performance. |
| C．A reporting system should be set up to root out bullying in the school. |
| D．Police should be often involved in dealing with bulling incidents at schools. |
| A．They didn't take it seriously. |
| B．They blamed the bullies quickly. |
| C．They reported it to the police station at once. |
| D．They called the parents on both sides immediately. |
| A．Taught the skills for an activity. |
| B．Laughed at in an unfriendly way. |
| C．Made healthy again after an illness. |
| D．Inspired to do something new or unusual. |
| A．Try to care about children's ethical development |
| B．School bullying must not be treated as a joke |
| C．How a 10-year-old child was bullied in the school |
| D．Mental health of children should be paid attention to |
4 . On a drive to my appointment on Halloween, I thought about how life should be going. I was 30, a mother of three daughters — twin five-year-olds and a one-year-old. I should be playing in the park with them or visiting the library. But once again, I needed this appointment.
It had been a year since I’d been diagnosed with cancer. My surgery was over, so it’s just a routine blood test. As always, there was a fear that the cancer had returned. But today, it was more than that. I felt alone, tired, and sad. My family and friends were busy with their lives, and I did not want to burden them with my feelings of unhappiness. I just wanted to see the positive things in life and be truly grateful — without reservations.
When we finally arrived, we sat in a crowded waiting room. It was pretty uneventful (平淡的) until my youngest daughter, dressed up like an angel, walked up to a complete stranger and said, “Tweet.” This was what she said, “Trick or Treat,” coached previously by her twin sisters. The old woman , who was in a wheelchair and accompanied by her caregiver, knew exactly what my daughter meant. She ordered her helper to take her over to the vending machine. She put in enough money to give each of my girls a treat. This caring act started a run on the vending machine. Soon, everyone had a candy bar or bag of chips ready for impromptu trick or treat, which was beyond their expectation.
Everyone was smiling and laughing, and my daughters were extremely happy with their good fortune. Here were these people, facing who-knows-what health difficulties, and they only thought of giving three little girls some Halloween fun. It was a lesson for me about how good, kind and generous people are. The gratitude I felt was overwhelming (压倒性的),and the thankfulness didn't fade away.
1. Where might the story take place according to the text?| A．In the library. | B．In the park. |
| C．In a hospital. | D．At a store. |
| A．She felt excited. | B．She was optimistic. |
| C．She feared the worst. | D．She had mixed feelings. |
| A．Unprepared. | B．Initial. |
| C．Eventful. | D．Splendid. |
| A．An Exciting Appointment | B．A Special Trick or Treat |
| C．A Routine Blood Test | D．One Special Friend |
5 . Last Monday, to prepare a picnic, I decided to go into a superstore which was on my way home.
I parked my car in the big parking lot and went into the superstore. It was a huge one, spread onto 2 stories and 200, 000+sq-ft. After 45 minutes of shopping(which looked like a real escape game)to just get some tomatoes, cheese and 3 toothpicks, I arrived at the cashier line, thoughtful and a bit upset by the time I spent to get 5 articles. I wondered why I did not go to a small local store.
After 15 minutes of waiting in the line, the woman in front of me called me: "Heyyou only have 5 articles? Pass before me; I have many more articles than you!"
It wasn’t the first time it had happened to me. But her initiative(提议)was disarming, as well as was her smile. She did not wear any mask, so I could see it. Not knowing what else to do, I accepted her offering. We chatted a bit waiting for the customers ahead of us to finish-she was very pleasant. Then I thanked her, giving her back my brightest smile although I was wearing a mask.
Getting back in my car, I rethought about that good moment, and realized that she made my day. In the meantime, I wondered how to give it back to her. No doubt it was quite impossible, so I considered how to pay-it-forward to someone else.
While driving, I realized that she saved me 10 minutes. And while I was driving at 70mph, I reduced my speed to 55 mph. The amount of fuel used dropped down by 35%.
As a result, I re-lost part of the 10 minutes that the woman offered me, but it was a way to repay her and do a small thing for the environment.
1. Why did the author regret shopping in the superstore?| A．She found the parking lot was full. |
| B．She thought the superstore was too crowded. |
| C．She spent too much time buying too few things. |
| D．She thought the articles there were too expensive. |
| A．15 minutes. | B．70 minutes. |
| C．60 minutes. | D．25 minutes. |
| A．A little too late. | B．Hard to accept. |
| C．Making people lose ability. | D．Making people feel less angry. |
| A．By wasting 10 minutes. |
| B．By driving a little slower. |
| C．By paying it forward to someone else. |
| D．By asking others to protect the environment. |
6 . Our daughter had a new close friend, one we had heard many good things about, and we couldn’t wait to get to know her. After my husband rolled out his homemade pizza, we sat down to enjoy his hard work as well as learn more about each other.
Wanting to make our guest feel cared for and valued, we showed interest in her life by asking questions to get to know her better. We chatted about hobbies, work and family. When we landed on the topic of holidays, she turned the question on us. “So how do you all celebrate Christmas?” she asked. My husband, our daughter and I waited and looked at one another for a moment.
For some, this question is easy to answer. Their family has traditions they follow year after year. For others, it is more go-with-the-flow. As we pondered which details to share, my daughter spoke first, “For some, Christmas is only about their family. But for us, you never know who will be at our Christmas dinner. We invite in those who might not have a place to celebrate, asking them to join us.”
My eyes became wet with tears as I listened to our girl. I hadn’t really noticed what she had seen as our normal. The way I saw it, inviting someone who needed a family on Christmas day was a natural thing for us. But as I look back, I see it has, in fact, become our holiday tradition. Giving a person a home for the holiday brings my heart joy.
Christmas isn’t naturally a happy holiday for all. I remember that first Christmas without my dad. He died when I was five, and that first year was painful, an emptiness filling the room without his quiet presence with us.
For those whose family lives are less than what they want, the holidays can be a very hard time. If this is you, take a few moments to talk to someone and share how you are feeling today.
1. Why did the author mention the girl’s question?| A．To express the girl’s interest in holidays. |
| B．To introduce the topic of the text. |
| C．To present the friendly atmosphere. |
| D．To show the girl’s excitement of being invited. |
| A．Rejected. | B．Skipped. |
| C．Considered. | D．Emphasized. |
| A．She was moved to tears. |
| B．She took pride in her daughter. |
| C．She didn’t agree with her daughter. |
| D．She felt she had misunderstood her daughter before. |
| A．She had no one to share her feelings with. |
| B．She didn’t feel lonely on Christmas. |
| C．Her family lived a poor life. |
| D．Her father passed away. |
7 . Pengci (碰瓷) has been a disgusting matter for a long time. When driving on a road, if you see an old man or woman walking by the road, you may be afraid that he or she will hit your car on purpose, and then ask you for much money. Even worse, it has been reported that a pupil saw an old woman fall onto the ground, so he walked over to help her. But she grabbed him and said she was pushed down by him. Then she tried to extort much money from the pupil’s parents.
What a shame! How to deal with it? Our authorities have taken aim at pengci.
On October 14, three top judicial (司法的) organs issued a guideline to clarify the application of the law in extortion cases involving deliberately fabricated (捏造的) accidents or similar happenings. The guideline was issued by the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. For the first time, authorities have defined the pengci trick, in which people pretend they have been harmed by another party and then ask that party for money or property as compensation.
The guideline stipulates (规定) punishment for the two main types of pengci-fraud and extortion. Criminals who intentionally or negligently cause harm to others while carrying out pengci tricks may be charged with the crimes of intentional homicide, intentional injury, negligently (疏忽地) causing others’ death or causing serious injury to others, the guideline said.
The guideline also stipulates that whoever deliberately causes a traffic accident and blackmails the victim, which meets the relating provisions (条款) of the Criminal Law, shall be punished as the crime of extortion by blackmail.
According to this guideline, we can avoid being extorted by ill persons and warm-hearted persons can help those who really need help.
1. What does the underlined word“extort”in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Threaten to get something illegally. | B．Earn something by working. |
| C．Ask somebody for something. | D．Give something for free |
| A．To protect old men and women. |
| B．To punish criminals seriously. |
| C．To help students do good deeds. |
| D．To clarify the application of the law in extortion cases. |
| A．All the criminals referred to in this passage shall be charged. |
| B．The guideline stipulates one who causes a traffic accident by chance shall be punished. |
| C．Those who play pengci tricks usually pretend to have been harmed. |
| D．If a man plays pengci tricks, he may be very poor. |
| A．Help cautiously when necessary. | B．Help without hesitation. |
| C．Look on nearby. | D．Call the police quickly. |
8 . On March 19, 2018, the world lost Sudan, the last male northern white rhino (犀牛）.
Sudan died at the age of 45.
A new film, Kifaru, tells Sudan’s story through the eyes of his Kenyan caretakers. Kifaru, directed by David Hambridge, was recently shown at the Hot Docs 2019 Festival in Toronto, Canada. People are drawn into the world of the three caretakers and their love for Sudan
“I saw the caretakers, the bond (纽带）they had, and how strong it was,” Hambridge said. WI saw how much they loved giving Sudan baths, feeding him, sitting next to him, and talking to him.”
After showing the bond between Sudan and his caretakers, Hambridge decided to tell the story“ in a way that was very human, ” he explained. “I wanted people to be able to experience the joys and pitfalls of animal protection on the ground.
Taking care of a rhino, especially the last male northern white rhino, is no easy job. In Kenya, the role of a rhino caretaker does not make much money. Moreover, the caretakers had to spend 10 months out of the year away from their families. As James, one of Sudan scaretakers, said in Kifaru, the job was taking care of an animal that can never look you in the eyes 3nd say, “ Thank you.”
The film comes along with lots of sad news about animal extinction（灭绝)Except for rhinos, many of whom were killed for their horns(角)，lots of other animals are disappearing as well. According to a new report from the United Nations, as many as one million kinds of animals are at risk of extinction because of human activity.
As caretaker James said about the rhino problem, extinction is the result of humans endless greed(贪欲）. Unless we act now, life on Earth could change quickly.
1. What is special about Sudan?| A．He had many children. | B．He was the last of his kind. |
| C．He had more than one caretaker. | D．He was the world's oldest rhino. |
| A．It was directed by Sudani caretakers. | B．It shows how people train animals. |
| C．It tells a true story about a rhino. | D．It was finished in March 2018. |
| A．Hopes. | B．Losses. | C．Surprises. | D．Difficulties. |
| A．Kifaru, a Record of Wild Animals | B．Life Is Changing on Earth |
| C．Protecting the Rhino | D．Rhino Caretakers |
9 . An 11-year-old boy's dance in the rain in Lagos, Nigeria, not only touched the hearts of millions who saw his passion but it is helping make his dream come true.
Those who saw Anthony Madu jumping high and pirouetting（作单脚尖旋转）without shoes on the rain-soaked street in a video posted by his dance teacher were in awe（敬畏）of his talent—So much so that the attention the young ballet dancer, received online earlier this summer has helped him obtain a scholarship from a prestigious ballet, company in New York City.
With the support of actress Viola Davis, who shared Anthony's video with the title "reminds me of the beauty of my people," and actress Cynthia Erivo, 11-year-old Anthony was offered the opportunity to train at the American Ballet Theatre.
For Erivo, she says she felt a special, personal; connection, when she saw Anthony danced. They're in Nigeria. I happen to be Nigerian as well. And I was like, this felt like a fateful moment," the actress told NBC News. She was so moved by the young dancer's performance, she connected him with the theater company, "I think it's extremely important because I think boys are not encouraged to do this incredibly hard craft that actually encourages strength and endurance and beauty," Erivo said.
1. What do we know about Cynthia Erivo?| A．She's a NYC Ballett Company boss. |
| B．She supports Anthony Madu very much. |
| C．She doesn't encourage the boy to do the work. |
| D．She's Madu's friend in New York. |
| A．famous | B．interesting. |
| C．delightful. | D．valuable. |
| A．He loves poetry. | B．He's a news reporter. |
| C．He's very ambitious. | D．He makes videos. |
| A．Nigerian Boy: A Dancer of Talent |
| B．The Viral Video about a Dancer |
| C．NYC Ballet Company: A Haven for the Dancer |
| D．The Love of the Ballet |
10 . Jakarta, Indonesia (AP)—When a garbage collector came to Ghina Ghaliya’s house in the Indonesian capital and asked if she had an old mobile phone that his children could use to access the Internet, it sparked (引发) an idea for a broader campaign to help students stuck at home by COVID-19.
“He said it does not matter if it is an ugly one, as long as his children can use it for learning from home,” said Ghaliya, a journalist at a national newspaper.
Shortly after COVID-19 hit Indonesia, Ghaliya and 11 other journalists in Jakarta organized a group to provide food and money for people in need. They stared hearing from parents who wanted their children to be able to study online but lacked a way to access the Internet.
Ghaliya and the other journalists decided to shift（转移）their focus to providing mobile phones for underprivileged students, many of whom were still not allowed to do face-to-face learning when the new school year started in July.
They announced their campaign through social media and the response was strong, with some people donating(捐赠)second-hand units and others giving cash. So far, nearly 300 phones have been distributed to Indonesian students around Jakarta as well as to remote regions like Papua, the country’s most eastern province.
Khaissyah Levi, 16, is a high school student in Depok, who attends online classes in the morning. His father Deny Sayuti had been lending his mobile phone to him for his studies, but that meant Sayuti could only do his work as a motorcycle taxi driver for part of the day, missing out on peak times like the morning rush hour.
Sayuti worte to Ghaliya’s group in August, and his family received a mobile phone a month later. Sayuti believes that his son can now do better with his online studies. “Now I see him more comfortable, and he can directly reach out to his friends and teacher,” Sayuti said.
1. Why did the garbage collector ask Ghaliya for a mobile phone?| A．To play online games. | B．To send a text message. |
| C．To call police for help. | D．To help his son study online. |
| A．Dependent. | B．Desperate. |
| C．Unfortunate. | D．Unhealthy. |
| A．People reacted coldly to Ghaliya’s campaign. |
| B．Papua is a less developed district in Indonesia. |
| C．Ghaliya’s group advertised a mobile phone brand. |
| D．Social media was not accepted by the Indonesians. |
| A．He depends on it for online learning. |
| B．It helps him much in making a living. |
| C．He contacts his son at school with it. |
| D．It guides him when traveling abroad. |
