1 . Cryonics is the practice of cooling dead organic tissue. This is used on humans or animals that have recently died. The hope is to bring them back to life in the near future. By law, it can only be performed on humans after they are legally dead. Many scientists and doctors think cryonics is totally morally unacceptable. However, there are also many who support cryonics.
Supporters of cryonics hope that future technology will improve. Molecular technology is especially hoped to reverse (逆转) the early stages of clinical death. It is hoped that this will enable the repair of tissue on a very tiny level. It could also allow damaged tissues and organs to regenerate. They also assume that disease and aging will one day be reversible.
These supporters want to store the memory and identity from the brain of people who have recently died. Cryonics attempts to do this by using liquid that preserves the brain. If this is done before cooling, it will prevent injury. This cooling liquid saves the fine cell structures of the brain where memory and identity exist.
Critics of cryonics think this process is a waste of time and money. They base their opinions on the current level of science. It is true that cells, tissues, blood vessels, and some small animal organs can be reversibly preserved. Some frogs can even survive for a few months in a partially frozen state if they are kept a few degrees above freezing. But this is not true cryopreservation. There is no proof that the identity and memory of a person can be restored after death has occurred.
Critics also think that if it were possible to bring dead people back to life, it would cause many social problems. Critics worry it would cause a huge overpopulation problem. Many also think trying to reverse death is immoral because it is against the will of their God.
1. What can we know about cryonics from paragraph 1?| A．Cryonics is used before people's death. |
| B．All scientists aren't in favor of the use of cryonics. |
| C．Laws forbid the use of cryonics on legally dead people. |
| D．Cryonics tries to cool dead organic tissue by using liquid. |
| A．copy. | B．return. |
| C．freeze. | D．regrow. |
| A．It will make people's memory lost. |
| B．Injury will occur during the process. |
| C．There is scientific uncertainty about it. |
| D．It goes along with their religious belief. |
| A．The use of cryonics has a bright future. |
| B．Cryonics is still a controversial practice. |
| C．The practice of cryonics is limited by law. |
| D．There is an advance in medical technology. |
2 . NASA said its Kepler spacecraft has spotted ''Earth's bigger, older cousin'': the first nearly Earth-size planet to be found in the habitable zone of a star similar to our own.
Though NASA can’t say for sure whether the planet is rocky like ours or has water and air, it's the closest match yet found.
The planet, Kepler-452b, is about 60% bigger than Earth, NASA says, and is located in its star's habitable zone, where life-sustaining liquid water is possible on the surface of a planet.
A visitor there would experience gravity about twice that of Earth's, and scientists say the possibility of it having a rocky surface are ''better than ever''. While it's a bit farther from its star than Earth is from the sun, its star is brighter, so the planet receives about the same amount of energy from its star as Earth does from the sun.
Kepler researcher Jeff Jenkins said, ''The planet almost certainly has an atmosphere, although scientists can't say what it's made of. But if the assumptions are correct, kepler-452b's atmosphere may be thicker than Earth's. ''
It takes 385 days for the planet to orbit its star. ''Because it has spent so long orbiting in this zone—6 billion years—it's had plenty of time to brew life,'' Jenkins said.
''That's an opportunity for life to arise, if all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life exist on this planet, '' he said in a statement.
Kepler-452b is too far away for humans to visit. But the discovery of this new Earth-like planet can tell us a lot about what’s possible for the future of space travel. ''The next step in the process is to do follow-up missions to find planets similar to kepler-452b, but much closer to Earth, '' said Peter Coughlin, a Kepler research scientist. ''We could do a lot more research into those planets, and even start to think about visiting one day. ''
1. The researchers are sure that Kepler-452b ________．| A．is larger than Earth | B．has an atmosphere |
| C．has air and water | D．has many rocks |
| A．They are both located in the sun's habitable zone． |
| B．Their distances from the sun are almost the same． |
| C．Their atmospheres are made of the same compositions． |
| D．They get almost the same amount of energy from their stars.． |
| A．improve | B．endanger |
| C．produce | D．protect |
| A．Kepler-452b Is Compared to the Earth. |
| B．NASA Discovers a New Earth-Like Planet. |
| C．A Spacecraft Was Launched to Find Super-Earth. |
| D．A New Planet With Life Is Discovered. |
3 . A little boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world because poliomyelitis (小儿麻痹症) made his leg lame and his teeth uneven. He seldom played with his classmates; and when the teacher asked him to answer questions, he always lowered his head without a word.
One spring, the boy’s father asked for some saplings (树苗) from the neighbor. He told his children to plant a sapling each person. The father said, “Whose seedling grows best, I will buy him or her a favorite gift.” The boy also wanted to get his father’s gift. But seeing his brothers and sisters carrying water to water the trees happily, anyhow, he hit upon an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So watering it once or twice, he never attended to it.
A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was surprised to find it not only didn’t wilt, but also grew some fresh leaves, and compared with the trees of his brother and sister, his appeared greener and more vital. His father kept his promise, bought the little boy his favorite gift and said to him: from the tree he planted, he would become an outstanding botanist when he grew up.
Since then, the little boy slowly became optimistic. One day, the little boy lay on the bed but couldn't sleep. Looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, he suddenly recalled what the biology teacher once said, plants generally grow at night. Why not go to see the tree? When he came to the courtyard on tiptoe, he found his father was splashing something under his tree with a ladle (勺子). He returned to his room, tears running down his face.
Decades passed. The little boy didn’t become a botanist, but he was elected President of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.
1. Why didn’t the boy answer the teacher’s question?| A．He couldn’t concentrate on the class. |
| B．All the students looked down on him. |
| C．He lacked confidence because of his illness. |
| D．He was an unfortunate boy with learning disability. |
| A．The neighbor required him to do it. |
| B．He expected them to be botanists. |
| C．He wanted to encourage the disabled boy. |
| D．The children asked for their favorite gifts. |
| A．Become weak. | B．Become strong. |
| C．Become beautiful. | D．Become green. |
| A．An Unfortunate Boy |
| B．Nutrition of Growth |
| C．A Loving Father |
| D．The Unselfish Love |
4 . Two motorists saved the life of a good man who had moments earlier helped them.
Victor, 61, stopped his pickup along an interstate highway in western Wisconsin to help two stranded women change a flat tire. Minutes later, his life was in their hands.
Sara Berg, and her cousin, Lisa, were headed home Saturday night on Interstate 94 when they heard an awful noise. They were somewhere between Menomonie and Eau Claire when they pulled to the side of the road with a flat tire-something neither knew how to fix. Ann showed up and asked whether they needed help. “We were so grateful.” Berg said. “Nowadays, nobody ever really stops to offer their help. It's kind of scary sometimes, because you really don't know what you're getting into.”
Victor is the type of person who gives you 100 percent and worries about himself later. When Victor finished, Berg thanked him and they shook hands. Berg recalled Victor's farewell words to her: “Someone up above always puts me in the right place at the right time.”
And then they parted. Victor and his wife puffed back onto the interstate. Seconds later, Berg followed. Less than a quarter mile down the road, Berg noticed Victor's red truck pulled over. She passed it and then pulled over herself, figuring the couple may have forgotten something. No sooner had she gotten out of her car when she saw Victor's wife waving anxiously at passing motorists. She called out to Berg that her husband was having a heart attack. Berg, a certified nursing assistant trained in CPR, jumped into the truck. Victor had no pulse and wasn't breathing. Berg began chest compressions. Lisa called 911. Emergency personnel arrived in about five minutes, “but it always feels like forever at a time like that,” Berg said.
“It was a nice twist of fate.” said the doctor who is treating Victor at the Eau Claire hospital.
“We know for sure that the CPR the woman did increased his chances for survival.”
Ann, who was also part of her husband's good luck when she guided their vehicle to the shoulder during his heart attack, is grateful.
1. The underlined word “stranded” in Paragraph 2 means ________.| A．trapped | B．exhausted |
| C．frightened | D．threatened |
| A．Victor and Berg share a common religious belief. |
| B．Victor feels it his mission to lend a helping hand. |
| C．Victor happens to be expert in changing flat tires. |
| D．Victor expects Berg to do him a favor in return. |
| A．His pickup broke down and had to stop on the shoulder. |
| B．His heart was badly injured due to a terrible accident. |
| C．He pulled over to collect something left in Berg's car. |
| D．He suffered a sudden heart attack and lost his consciousness. |
| A．A Twist of Fate | B．A Lucky Man |
| C．An Adventurous Journey | D．An Instant Rescue |
5 . Salty water just below the surface of Mars could hold enough oxygen to support the kind of microbial （微生物的） life that existed and developed quickly on Earth billions of years ago， researchers reported on Monday.
In some locations， the amount of oxygen available could even keep alive a primitive， multicellular （多细胞的） animal such as a sponge （海绵动物）， they reported in the journal Nature Geosciences. "We discovered that brines-water with high concentrations of salt - on Mars can contain enough oxygen for microbes to breathe，" said lead author Vlada Stamenkovic， a theoretical physicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. "This fully revolutionizes our understanding of the potential for life on Mars， today and in the past. "
Up to now， it had been assumed that the trace （微量） amounts of oxygen on the Red Planet were insufficient to sustain even microbial life. "We never thought that oxygen could play a role for life on Mars due to its rarity in the atmosphere， about 0.14 percent，" Stamenkovic said. By comparison， the life-giving gas makes up 21 percent of the air we breathe.
On Earth， aerobic-that is， oxygen breathing -life-forms evolved （净化） together with photosynthesis （光合作用）， which converts CO2 into O2. The gas played a critical role in the existence of complex life， known after the so-called Great Oxygenation Event some 2.35 billion years ago.
But our planet also holds microbes -at the bottom of the ocean， in boiling hot springs -that live in environments lack of oxygen. "That's why -whenever we thought of life on Mars -we studied the potential for anaerobic （无氧的）life，" Stamenkovic said.
1. The underlined word "insufficient" in Para. 3 means " ______ ".| A．enough | B．not enough |
| C．wrong | D．right |
| A．this research changes people's understanding of the potential for life on Mars |
| B．the life-giving gas makes up 31 percent of the air people breathe on earth |
| C．Great Oxygenation Event happened some 2.35 million years ago |
| D．earth holds microbial life at the bottom of the desert |
| A．Mars is fit for living |
| B．multicellular animals are living on Mars |
| C．oxygen plays a role for life on earth |
| D．Mars is likely to have enough oxygen to support life |
6 . Several years ago, the Woburn Safari Park in England admitted to killing many monkeys. The park said that it cost too much to continue to feed the monkeys, so the animals were shot and left to die. This is just one of the many cases in which animals are mistreated and murdered by humans.
Animals should be able to live life in natural environments without any negative influences by humans. The first reason zoos should be banned is that tyrannizing and murder are becoming more and more popular in zoos worldwide. In 2007, the IDA(In Defense of Animals) came out with a top ten list of the worst places for an elephant to go. All ten of the American zoos have had elephants die there, because of mistreatment, such as improper diet, lack of exercise, and unsuitable living conditions.
Another example of mistreatment in zoos is illegal products made from animals. A tiger bone wine, banned in 1993, has been sold on the Chinese black market for several years now. Illegal trades like this are very easy because of the zoos. The third reason zoos should be illegal is that they can give visitors the wrong idea about animals. Animals will behave differently in the wild from how they will in a closed area. So, if someone came across an animal in the wild, they may think it is safe to approach the animal when it is not. People could easily get hurt.
Humans are animals too. What if animals got smart and decided to capture humans and put them in zoos? So in order to keep the circle of life and continue to have animals be a part of the world, humans must take basic steps to maintain the delicate balance between man and beast.
1. Why did the Woburn Safari Park kill many monkeys？| A．Because they got seriously ill. | B．Because it took much money to keep them. |
| C．Because they behaved badly. | D．Because they couldn't get on well with people. |
| A．abuse | B．kindness |
| C．influences | D．cases |
| A．following the order of time | B．making comparison |
| C．analyzing the reasons | D．providing statistics |
| A．What if animals decided to capture humans. | B．How to protect animals effectively. |
| C．More example of mistreatment. | D．How to create natural environments. |
7 . As the climate warms, birds are shrinking and their wingspans are growing, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed 70,716 birds from 52 kinds of North American migratory（迁徙的）bird species collected over 40 years. The authors say the study is the largest of its kind and that the findings are important to understanding how animals will adapt to climate change.
"We found almost all of the species were getting smaller." said lead author Brian Weeks, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan.
"The species were pretty diverse, but responding in a similar wav." he said. "The consistency was shocking."
He said studies of animal responses to climate change often focus on shifts in geographical range or timing of life events, like migration and birth. But this study suggests body morphology（形态）is a crucial third aspect.
"That's one major implication," he said, "It's hard to understand how birds will adapt without taking all three of these things into consideration."
The findings showed that from 1978 to 2016, the length of the birds' lower leg bone shortened by 2.4%. Over the same time, the wings lengthened by 1.3%.
The evidence suggests warming temperatures caused the decrease in body size, which in turn caused the increase in wing length.
"Migration is an incredibly taxing thing they do," Mr. Weeks said, explaining that the smaller body size means less energy available for the birds to complete their long journeys.
He says the birds most likely to survive migration were the ones with longer wingspans and smaller bodies.
The scientists aren't exactly sure why warmer temperatures cause birds to shrink. One theory is that smaller animals are better at cooling off, losing body heat more quickly.
1. What's the best title for the text?| A．All of the Birds Are Getting Smaller |
| B．Animals Are Adapting to Climate Change |
| C．Climate Change Is Causing Birds to Shrink |
| D．Scientists Are Finding Causes of Warm Climate |
| A．It took 40 years to collect 70,716 birds from North America. |
| B．Many birds are shrinking when responding to the climate change. |
| C．All migratory bird species were collected to do the important research. |
| D．So many researchers take part in the largest study to work out the findings. |
| A．Tiring. | B．Important |
| C．Easy. | D．Pleasant |
| A．The migratory birds aren't big. |
| B．The temperatures will be higher. |
| C．The scientists will go on further study. |
| D．The smaller animals will surely live longer. |
8 . Creating art or engaging in artistic efforts has numerous benefits for young people — from fewer disciplinary infractions to better academic performance and increased likelihood of struggling for post-secondary education.
And yet students’ participation in arts classes varies by what school they attend. Higher-poverty schools in King County have lower enrollment in arts classes.
That’s one data point evident in a new dashboard released by the cultural funding agency 4Culture and the state superintendent’s office. It shows the percentage of high school students taking different kinds of arts classes in individual schools within King County’s 19 school districts. It’s intended to let anyone in the public research arts class participation and compare schools. For example, more than two-thirds of students at Bellevue’s International School took a music class compared with just 12 percent at Kent — Meridian High School in the Kent School District in the 2018-19 school year.
“We strongly believe the arts can make for a happier, healthier education in every single way,” said Charlie Rathbun, director of arts programs with 4Culture. “So we will be looking at outcomes around the dropout rate, discipline rate, graduation rate, things like that.”
Overall, the dashboard shows higher participation in visual arts and music classes than in theater or dance. “Dance, for example, being almost non-existent in our schools — we have to ask why and think about those students who might respond quite positively to dance,” Rathbun said.
Alternative schools and dropout re-engagement programs have very low participation in arts classes. Students across the state are required to take two arts courses to graduate.
1. What does the underlined word “infraction” in paragraph 1 most probably mean?| A．Obedience. | B．Offence. |
| C．Sense. | D．Authority. |
| A．To know about students’ academic performance. |
| B．To understand the reason for his students’ dropout. |
| C．To prove the function of arts education at school. |
| D．To encourage students to take dance, not other arts. |
| A．Reliable. | B．One-sided. |
| C．Personal. | D．Abstract. |
| A．Arts Class Participation At School: Yes Or No |
| B．New Dashboard: Participation In Arts Classes |
| C．New Dashboard For King County High Schools |
| D．Low Participation In Arts Classes At High School |
9 . While many parents allow children free reign of the internet at home, it's a common debate in education circles on how —and if— digital devices (数码设备) should be allowed al school.
Some school districts have seen great improvements by allowing digital devices in the classroom. One thing is clear: if digital devices are allowed, there should be guidelines and rules in place.
Students need to be taught online safety, the use of judgment in determining god quality sources of information, and restraint from personal use in the classroom. In other words, they need to learn all about digital literacy and digital citizenship.
There are many resources for teaching these concepts, and a great place to start is the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Their comprehensive standards focus on the skills and qualities students should have in order to be successful in the digital world. ISTE. also teamed up with Google and developed an online digital citizenship game called Interland. It educates kids about digital citizenship in interactive ways. Students learn how to be god digital citizens as well s how to combat hackers and bullies.
If a school is going to allow and/or encourage the use of digital devices in the classroom, then teachers also need proper support in terns of training, professional development，und curriculum. They can start with curriculum and PD resources such as those provided by Common Sense Media, but in order to fully utilize them, teachers need time to plan and cooperate with each other. Digital devices should only be used when there are specific goals in mind, focusing on student safety, digital citizenship, and critical thinking.
1. What does the underlined word“restraint" in paragraph 3 mean?| A．Self-control. | B．Self-respect. |
| C．Self-destruction. | D．Self-service |
| A．It focuses on the skills and qualities teachers should have. |
| B．It worked with Google and developed an offline game. |
| C．It educates kids about citizenship in traditional ways. |
| D．It helps students learn proper online behavior. |
| A．provide good resources | B．cooperate with governments |
| C．spend time training students | D．receive support in many forms |
| A．To comment on the phenomenon of mobile phone use on campus. |
| B．To advise against bringing mobile phones into classrooms. |
| C．To provide guidelines for digital device use in class. |
| D．To raise awareness of digital device use as a whole. |
10 . As temperatures approached 90 degrees in New York City last July 4th, three police officers went into a Whole Foods Market to get something cold to drink. What they walked into was a heated human drama.
Once inside, the police officers, Lt. Louis Sojo, Esanidy Cuevas and Michael Rivera, were approached by a store security guard who asked for help with a suspected thief. The woman in question didn’t have the look of a career criminal. She was obviously scared, and her cheeks were wet with tears.
The police officers glanced inside her bag. “All we saw was containers of food. We didn’t see anything else,” Cuevas told CBS New York.
“I’m hungry,” she explained quietly.
Caught red-handed, the woman no doubt expected to be sent to prison for the crime of being hungry while poor. But the police officers had other ideas. “We’ll pay for her food,” Sojo told the surprised security guard.
There’d been no discussion among the three men, no need to see whether they were all in. It went unsaid. Instead, they picked up the woman’s bag and accompanied her to a cash register, where each paid $10 for the food. She would not be arrested today.
All the woman could do was weep in gratitude. Covering her face with a handkerchief and drying her eyes, she repeated, “Thank you, thank you.”
She wasn’t the only one touched by this act of compassion. “It was a very beautiful, genuine moment,” says Paul Bozymowski, who was at the store. He was so taken by what he’d witnessed that he posted a photo on Twitter for all to see.
But attention was never what the officers sought. They were driven by a far more common emotion. As Sojo told CNN , “When you look at someone’s face and see that they need you and they’re actually hungry, it’s pretty difficult as a human being to walk away from something like this.”
1. Why did the woman cry at first?| A．She was grateful to the police officers. |
| B．She was sad because she had nothing to eat. |
| C．She was happy that she would not go to prison. |
| D．She was afraid because she was caught stealing. |
| A．on the spot | B．with bloody hands |
| C．in the red clothes | D．with a knife |
| A．Because he wanted to thank the police officers. |
| B．Because he was planning to seek attention from others. |
| C．Because he wanted to help the woman. |
| D．Because he was moved by what the police officers had done. |
| A．A Crime Committed | B．Trapped in the Market |
| C．Crime and Compassion | D．Poverty and Compassion |
