2 . Those who want to set up office in the garden as temperatures rise should think twice or put a hat on. A new study shows that sunshine could diminish brain power, making it harder to make the right judgments.

Working in hot temperatures is already known to cause hyperthermia — a rise in body temperature — which can cause physical exhaustion. But now scientists say prolonged exposure of the head to the sun also affects the brain's ability to function properly.

The study by university teams in Denmark and Greece said workers could be damaging their brains by working in hot, sunny conditions. Eight healthy, active males aged between 27 and 41 took part in the research. The brain function test consisted of four different computer-based maths and logic tasks that relied on precise calculations. Four heat lamps were positioned to radiate either on the lower body or the back, side and top of their heads. Professor Lars Nybo of the department of nutrition, exercise and sports at the University of Copenhagen, said, “This study provides evidence that direct exposure to sunlight — especially to the head — impairs motor and cognitive performance.”

The decline in motor and cognitive performance was observed at 38. 5 degrees. Researchers said those exposed to sunlight for long periods should cover their heads. Professor Andtreas Flouis, of the FAME Laboratory in Greece, said: “It is of great importance that people working or undertaking daily activities outside should protect their head against sunlight.”

Drops in mental performance caused by sunshine could also mean drivers were more likely to make mistakes on the road, Andtreas Flouis suggested.

1. What does the underlined word “diminish” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Weaken.	B．Improve.
C．Achieve.	D．Change.

2. What is the function of the heat lamps in the study?

A．To light up the night.

B．To give off heat.

C．To warm the offices.

D．To increase the difficulty of tasks.

3. What does Lars Nybo think of the study?

A．Useless.

B．Doubtful.

C．Narrow.

D．Meaningful.

4. What's the Andtreas Flouis’ suggestion for workers in the sun?

A．Wearing a hat.

B．Reducing workload.

C．Having a medical examination.

D．Doing exercises regularly.

4 . Extreme athletes have been using wingsuits（翼装）to fly for many years. However, the pull of gravity makes it impossible to speed up or fly higher. To push past the limitations, Peter Salzmann teamed up with German car maker BMW. The result is an electrified wingsuit, which allows flyers to rise to higher altitudes at the speed of up to 186 miles per hour!

The 33-year-old professional wingsuit pilot first thought of creating the design in 2017, "At the time, I was developing suits for skydiving with a friend," he explains. "One evening after a day of testing, we threw out lots of ideas about how we could improve performance. One of them was a supporting motor-and it's an idea I just couldn't shake off. I found the idea of being able to jump from my local mountain wearing the wingsuit and land in my garden exciting."

To help with the process, Salzmann reached out to the experts at BMW's Designworks Studio. It took the team three years and multiple test jumps to perfect the design. The result is an updated version of wingsuit with two 5-inch propellers（螺旋桨）, Powered by a battery, the propellers can be controlled using an on/off switch and even stopped mid-flight using the emergency button, if the flyer encounters an airplane or a flock of birds.

On November 6, 2020, Salzmann, wearing his hi-tech suit, leaped from a helicopter from an altitude of 10,000 feet to soar around the mountain peaks. The expert pilot fired up the electric motors and rocketed forward, gliding above four mountain peaks. The task completed, the pilot opened his parachute（降落伞）and gently landed.

It is unclear if Salzmann and BMW plan to make the electrified wingsuits available to the general public. But, one can always hope!

1. What do we know about the new wingsuit?

A．It flies faster and higher.

B．It breaks away from gravity.

C．It's equipped with a car motor.

D．It has been used for many years.

2. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．What Salzmann's friend did to help him.

B．What Salzmann experienced in his career

C．How Salzmann became a professional pilot.

D．How Salzmann came up with the new design.

3. What can the flyer do to deal with the danger during the flight?

A．Press the emergency button.	B．Reach out to an expert.
C．Check the propellers.	D．Open the parachute.

4. What does the underlined word "soar" in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Explore.

B．Search.

C．Fly.

D．Dig.

5 . In 1849, travelers going from the East Coast to the West Coast of the U.S. had three choices. They could go by wagon(马车) across the dangerous land. They could travel by sea to Panama, cross Panama by foot, and then sail to the West Coast. The third choice was to board a sailing ship in New York bound for California. The journey took long. Severe weather could add as much as five extra months to the trip.

Could there be any other way to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific? The answer was a canal. A canal is a human-made waterway.

In the1850s,the U.S. and Britain negotiated treaty(条约) for the rights to build canal. However, this canal was never built.

Panama was another logical option for a canal. With a canal in Panama, travel time could be three months instead of eight months.

In 1879, France began to build a canal across Panama. This project was led by Ferdinand, the experienced builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The French government felt that he could get the job done.

Unfortunately, problems began as soon as construction started. It rained every day and temperatures climbed as high as 130 degrees. Tropical diseases caused illness or death to the majority of workers. These factors put a great deal of stress on the project. The money assigned to build the canal quickly ran out. In 1899, France abandoned the project.

The U.S. Congress decided to finish the canal. The U.S . government paid $40 million to France for the completed work and abandoned equipment. In 1903, a treaty between the U.S. and Panama was signed paying Panama $10 million for the land for the canal. This treaty also guaranteed $250,000 to Panama each year for the use of its land and ensured its independence. This deal was viewed as a major foreign policy achievement at the time.

By early1913, the canal was nearly complete. On September 26,1931, an old tugboat was the first ship through the canal. Thousands of people watched and cheered.

Time, money, and possibly even lives have been saved as ships use the shorter route from ocean to ocean provided by the canal. The Panama Canal, a highway of water, is a phenomenon.

1. What does the underlined word “phenomenon” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．Disaster

B．Wonder.

C．Case.

D．Supply.

2. What caused France to stop work on the canal?

A．France incorrectly believed in Ferdinand.

B．Ferdinand managed another canal project in Egypt.

C．Tropical diseases infected most workers on the project

D．The U.S. government paid France and took over the project.

3. What can be inferred about the building of the Panama Canal?

A．It caused feelings of hate between France and the U.S.

B．It strengthened the relationship between Panama and the U.S.

C．It united the people living on the east and west coasts of the U.S.

D．It created pressure on the relationship between Britain and the U.S.

4. What is the purpose for writing the text?

A．To persuade readers to visit the Canal.

B．To inform readers about the Canal and its history.

C．To tell interesting facts about who built the Canal.

D．To state building the Canal was a good political decision.

6 . In the age of online shopping and e-readers, devoted staff and customers keep the doors of Auntie's Bookstore open for 40 years. “When you're in Portland, you go to Powell's Books. When you're in Seattle, you go to Elliott Bay. When you're in Spokane, you go to Auntie's,” said John Waite, the owner of the bookstore. “I can't imagine Spokane without Auntie's,” he said. “A lot of people can't imagine Spokane without Auntie's, either,” Waite said.

Turning visitors into regular customers is important to the store's success. Auntie's markets itself as a destination. A half-dozen book clubs meet there. Most weeks, the store hosts two to four author readings or literary events. “We want people to come down, hang out and experience the feel of having a book in their hands,” Waite said.

Eager readers not only want to read books, but want to discuss them, said Kerry Halls, the store manager. Auntie's offers them that chance, she said.

“You can't go to Amazon and talk to someone about your favorite novel, or discuss what you think of the latest Stephen King's book compared with Pet Sematary,” she said.

To compete with the convenience of shopping online, Auntie's tries to predict what books will become a trend. They store these books in advance. But Waite doesn't sugarcoat the realities of selling books in the era of Amazon and other online retailers (零售店). “Even the big guys can’t make it,” he said, noting physical retailers are striving nationally. As the United States' oldest national bookstore chain, Barnes&Noble has to constantly reorganize to stop the declining sales.

At Auntie's, regular customers are very important to its survival and development. Sales of children's and young adults' books are increasing in recent years. Waite said. “For a long time, older customers have kept bookstores alive, "he said. "Now, it's starting to attract younger people.” Another reason of Auntie's longevity (长寿) is Northwest culture, which Waite said encourages new ways of thinking and the diversity of ideas. "I think it's a great book town, “Waite said. "People are enthusiastic about reading.”

1. What can we learn about Auntie's from Paragraph 1?

A．It is very popular in the local area.

B．It is a highly profitable physical bookstore.

C．It takes full advantage of the e-business platform.

D．It has a longer history than Powell's Books and Elliott Bay.

2. What is Auntie's goal?

A．To set up a literary environment.

B．To have more regular customers.

C．To awaken people's interest in reading.

D．To encourage readers to learn about more authors.

3. What does the underlined word “striving” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Celebrating.

B．Progressing.

C．Struggling.

D．Compromising.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The future of Auntie's.

B．The major customers of Auntie's.

C．The influence of Auntie's.

D．The reasons for Auntie's longevity.

7 . For most people, graduation is an exciting day the celebration of years of hard work. My graduation day... was not.

I remember that weekend two years ago. Family and friends had flown in from across the country to watch our class walk across that stage. But like everyone else in my graduating class, I had watched the economy turn from bad to worse. What I thought would take a week dragged into two. and then four, and 100 job applications later, I found myself in the exact same spot as 1 was before. And the due date to begin paying back my student loans was creeping ever closer.

You know that feeling when you wake up and you are just consumed with fear? Fear about something you can't control—that sense of approaching failure that remains over you as you hope that everything that happened to you thus far was just a bad dream? That feeling became a constant in my life. And the most frustrating part was no matter how much 1 tried, 1 just couldn't seem to make any progress.

So what did I do to maintain my sanity（理智）？ I wrote. Something about putting words on a page made everything seem a little clearer—a little brighter. Something about writing gave me hope. And if you want something badly enough... sometimes a little hope is all you need! So I channeled my frustration into a children's book. And then one day, without any sort of writing degree or contacts in the writing world — just a lol of hard work and perseverance—I was offered a publishing contract for my first book! After that, things slowly began to fall into place. 1 was offered a second book deal. Then, a few months later, I got an interview with The Walt Disney Company and was hired shortly after.

The moral of this story is... don't give up. Even if things look bleak now, don't give up. Things change If you work hard, give it time, and don't give up, things will always get better Oftentimes all we need is the courage to push beyond the river.

1. From Paragraph 2, we can learn that the author probably.

A．was having an exciting graduation

B．was getting into financial difficulties

C．missed the life in the university

D．had just applied for the student loans

2. How did the author change the frustrating situation?

A．By sending applications.	B．By offering contracts.
C．By keeping writing.	D．By publishing books.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined word "bleak" in the last paragraph?

A．unattractive	B．hopeless
C．thrilling	D．promising

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Success belongs to the persevering.

B．A contented mind is a perpetual（长久的）feast.

C．A smooth sea never makes a skillful mariner.

D．Misfortunes tell us what fortune is.

8 . Waterbuurt is a residential(住宅的) development in Amsterdam, which consists of nearly 100 floating homes on Lake Eimer.

The floating homes are not ordinary houseboats but real floating houses. They only move with the changing tide(潮水). Designed by Dutch architect Marlies Rohmer, the houses have a basic design but are also comfortable. Although Waterbuurt is still a work in progress, there are some of the houses where there are already residents.

Two thirds of the Netherlands’ people live below sea-level, and with the flooding(发洪水) becoming a serious concern, there are many who believe that living on water in the European country is much safer than living on land. The prices of land homes in large city centers like Amsterdam has risen in recent years. But water is not that expensive.

“Moreover, houses in the cities have to stay there for 50 or 70 years,” Dutch architect Koen Olthuis said. “And as cities change, the only choice is to demolish these houses and build new ones. But floating buildings can be moved and adapted.”

The floating homes are built atop underwater platforms, and consists of a light steel frame(钢架) and wooden walls and paneling(嵌板). The bedrooms and bathroom are located on the lower floor, which is partially flooded. The kitchen and dining room are located on the higher ground floor, while the main living area and the outdoor terrace are on the top level.

All floating homes are designed with a lot of extras that buyers can choose, like floating terraces,a second entry, or a boardwalk around the house.

Waterbuurt is set to become the largest water settlement in the history of the Netherlands. Apart from floating houses, it will include floating parks and even floating high buildings. It is sure to meet even the most difficult buyers and win more acceptance from local people.

1. What can we infer about the floating houses?

A．The prices are slightly lower.	B．They are free from flooding.
C．They are easy to take down.	D．The total completion is done.

2. What does the underlined word “demolish” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Build.

B．Destroy.

C．Design.

D．Buy.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Waterbuurt can exist for 50 to 70 years in total.

B．Waterbuurt is very common in Amsterdam now.

C．People are unwilling to accept this new kind of house.

D．Floating houses have as many functions as traditional houses.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards Waterbuurt?

A．Curious.

B．Optimistic.

C．Indifferent

D．Pessimistic.

9 . Our electronic devices today store an awful lot of personal information. We use the devices to read and send e-mails, check bank balances, and even pay our bills over the internet. We want to be assured that if our devices are stolen. our personal information stored inside them will remain safe from the thief who physically possesses the device.

To deal with this problem. Apple has come out with a new iPhone that uses biometric(生物识别的)information to lock itself up. The phone has a fingerprint scanner that will lock or unlock the phone. Your fingerprint becomes the key, and this makes it nearly impossible for others to use your phone without your immediate permission- or does it?

At first look, one would think that this type of security would be welcome in the high-tech community where privacy is valued. Instead, some people are even more worried about their privacy. According to revealed documents, the US National Security Agency is able to slip into smartphones, while the agency can also legally force companies to turn over customers' personal information. If this is true, the fingerprint scanner on your smartphone might become a tool for the authorities to collect your fingerprint data.

Another problem with using biometrics to secure devices is that people don't know how secure the systems actually are. Germany's Chaos Computer Club claimed to have slipped into a biometrically secured iPhone within days of the device's release to the public. If this is the case, people who are using this type of security are much more vulnerable than they are led to believe. Although most security systems are hacked by someone eventually, the speed at which biometric security was hacked was very upset to some.

Regardless of how a device is secured, the debate is still attributes to the trade-off between privacy and security. Governments sometimes need to look at large amounts of information in order to defeat terrorist secret plans, and necessarily, some of the data come from you and me. When we use iPhones and other devices, we lose the ability to safeguard information that we would rather keep private, and we are forced to put trust in others.

It will always be difficult to strike a balance between privacy and security with growing changing technology. Nevertheless, one thing is crystal clear: we all have to sacrifice some of our privacy in order to have security for the public.

1. Why do people want to be assured that their electronic devices won’t be stolen?

A．Because people depend too much on it .

B．Because electronic devices are necessary in the workplace .

C．Because electronic devices are getting more and more expensive.

D．Because there is too much personal information in their electronic devices.

2. The example of the US National Security Agency aims to tell us _____

A．The biometric devices are fully safe.

B．Companies keep users’ personal information safe.

C．The biometric devices will be the popular way to ensure our privacy.

D．The authorities may drive companies to turn in users’ fingerprint data.

3. The underline word in Paragraph 4 means_____

A．stable.

B．insecure.

C．reliable.

D．difficult.

4. From the last paragraph we can learn that____

A．the government will eventually know everything about us.

B．It is impossible to know who can be trusted in this technological world.

C．It is necessary to give up a certain amount of privacy for the sake of security.

D．Very few people are willing to use fingerprint security on their new phones.

10 . Dear Cutie-Pie,

Recently, your mother and I were searching for an answer on Google. Halfway through entering the question, Google returned a list of the most popular searches in the world. At the top of the list was “How to keep him interested.”

It surprised me a lot. I scanned several of the countless articles about how to be sexy and sexual, when to bring him a beer versus a sandwich, and the ways to make him feel smart and superior.

And I got angry.

Little One, it is not, has never been, and never will be your job to “keep him interested.”

Little One, your only task is to know deeply in your soul — in that unshakeable place that isn’t upset by rejection and loss - that you are worthy of interest.

If you can trust your worth in this way, you will be attractive in the most important sense of the world: you will attract a boy who is both capable of interest and who wants to spend his one life investing all of his interest in you.

Little One, I want to tell you about the boy who doesn’t need to be kept interested, because he knows you are interesting.

I don’t care if he can’t play a bit of golf with me — as long as he can play with the children you give him and revel in all the glorious and frustrating ways they are just like you. I don’t care if he doesn’t follow his wallet — as long as he follows his heart and it always leads him back to you. I don’t care if he is strong — as long as he gives you the space to exercise the strength that is in your heart. I couldn’t care less how he votes — as long as he wakes up every morning and daily elects you to a place of honor in your home and a place of respect in his heart. I don't care about the color of his skin. I don’t care if he was raised in this religion or that religion or no religion

Little One, if you come across a man like that and he and I have nothing else in common, we will have the most important thing in common: You.

Because in the end, Little One, the only thing you should have to do to “keep him interested” is to be you.

Your eternally interested guy,

Daddy

1. What shocked Daddy when he was surfing on the Internet?

A．Girls’ knowing nothing about trusting themselves.

B．Girls’ giving priority to finding ways to please boys.

C．Girls’ bringing foods and drinks to boys from time to time.

D．Girls’ being upset by being rejected constantly.

2. Father thinks what is of primary importance to his daughter is to _______.

A．keep the boy interested.	B．know she deserves a boy’ interest.
C．attract a boy willing to invest all in her.	D．find a boy who can please her.

3. According to the passage, what does the underlined word “revel” mean?

A．feel depressed.

B．become puzzled.

C．look around.

D．enjoy himself.

4. What’s the main purpose of this letter?

A．To advise his daughter to trust her worth.

B．To inform his daughter how to keep others interested.

C．To show his daughter how to find her true love.

D．To help his daughter find someone with common interests.