1 . When you go on a trip to America, you will see the word Motel on signs and notice boards. It is made up of “motor” and “hotel” and it is really a hotel for people who arrive by car (however, you don’t need a car to stay at one). You have to pay when you arrive for your room, which usually has a bath. Meals are not provided but there will certainly be a cafeteria. Americans eat a lot of salads and sandwiches. Along the main roads there are a lot of motels. Each tries to offer more than the others. Some provide television in every bedroom; others have swimming pools and so on. Motels are especially useful when you are in the country, far from a town or city. You will also find them in big national parks.
In these great national parks, you may meet guests you don't expect to see. An American friend told me a short story. In the middle of a moonless night，she heard strange noises outside her motel window in the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Thinking it might be a thief, she jumped out of bed, opened the door and crept towards a dark shadow. As she got close, she saw the thief. She was dreadfully frightened: it wasn’t a human thief-it was a big black bear. The bear was turning over some empty tins with its paws, looking for tasty bits of food. My friend decided to leave that particular thief alone!
There are also, of course, places called “rooming houses”, where they provide lodges（客房).You will see such signs as Tourists or Rooms Rent, and you could try one of these. A word of warning-looking for a room in New York during the tourist season is like looking for gold on the moon!
1. Motels provide all the following EXCEPT .| A．bath | B．TV | C．meals | D．swimming pools |
| A．moved slowly | B．rushed out | C．threw away | D．ran fast |
| A．tourists can find gold there |
| B．it is difficult to find a room there |
| C．tourists can have a sweet dream there |
| D．there is a warning for tourists to New York |
2 . On November 27, 2020, two giant pandas, “Da Mao” and “Er Shun,” arrived in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, after finishing their stay at a Canadian zoo ahead of schedule, as the COVID-19 pandemic made their bamboo supply difficult to continue.
The two pandas were shipped from China to Canada on March 25, 2013. The original plan was that the two, Da Mao, a 4-year-old male from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan, and Er Shun, a 5-year-old female from Chongqing Zoo, would stay in Canada for 10 years under a conservation agreement between the two countries, the first five years at Toronto Zoo followed immediately by another five years at Calgary Zoo.
At present, “Da Mao” and “Er Shun” have been sent to Chongqing Municipality for quarantine, according to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
As we know, on average, each giant panda consumes about 40 kilograms of bamboo daily. The Calgary Zoo had been importing fresh bamboo from China because of the climate in Canada, but struggled to meet the pandas needs when the coronavirus grounded most flights in March.
The zoo said staff worked with the San Diego Zoo and Suncoast Nursery to arrange weekly shipments of fresh bamboo, but the process of finding the right bamboo has been expensive and time-consuming.
In May, the zoo announced it would have to return the two animals earlier than planned so that they could enjoy China’s abundant supply of fresh bamboo instead.
The zoo said on Friday that after months and months of hard work it had secured international permits to get their beloved pandas home to China.
Throughout their trip home, each panda has about 100 kilograms of bamboo to consume along with pears, apples and biscuits.
After spending five years at the Toronto Zoo, the two moved to the Calgary Zoo in March 2018 with twin babies, “Jia Panpan” and “Jia Yueyue,” which had traveled home to China in January.
Times Nov.30, 2020
1. How many years earlier did the two pandas return to China?| A．More than two years | B．Less than two years |
| C．About four years | D．More than three years |
| A．the two giant pandas come from China | B．Canada wanted to be grateful for China |
| C．pandas eat nothing but bamboo from China | D．the climate in Canada is unfit for bamboo to grow |
| A．being based on something | B．stopping a child from going out |
| C．connecting something to the ground | D．preventing the flights from taking off |
| A．The two giant pandas are both 12 years old now. |
| B．Throughout their trip home, the two pandas only ate bamboo. |
| C．The two pandas’ twin babies came back to China earlier than them. |
| D．The two pandas are from the same Chinese zoo and stayed together in Canada. |
3 . Just over 12 months ago I gave myself a challenge: give up spending on all but the essentials for a whole year. It hasn't always been easy, but a year on I am wealthier and wiser. Embarrassingly, I have also realized just how much money I've squandered down the pub, in restaurants and through mindless shopping.
Free of any financial worries, I was spending without thinking. Stuck in a cycle of consumerism, I was struggling in vain to spend my way to happiness. Giving up spending for a year was an extreme approach but I wanted to taste extreme frugality (节俭), shake up my spending patterns and overpay my mortgage (按揭) instead of shopping. I could continue to pay my bills, including mortgages, broadband, phone bill, charity donations, life insurances, money to help my family and basic groceries.
It was not easy, especially in the first few months. There were lows, such as when I missed my favourite jazz concerts and hit films. There have also been some awkward moments when I've turned up to a friend's house for dinner empty-handed. I did a lot of washing up at my friends' houses in return this year.
I did find new ways to live, however. Using sites such as Eventbrite I have been to film screenings, wine tasting evenings and theatre productions for free. Living in London I have a wealth of free cultural activities on my doorstep and I've been to more art exhibitions this year than ever before. I even managed a free holiday, cycling the Suffolk and Norfolk coast and camping on beaches. It's something I'd never done before and probably wouldn't have, were it not for the challenge.
The last 12 months have taught me what things I really need. I can honestly say I'm happier now. I've gained confidence and skills, done things and met lovely people I wouldn't have otherwise done or met.
1. What does the underlined word “squandered” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Saved. | B．Wasted. | C．Donated. | D．Earned. |
| A．try to form a virtue of frugality | B．change her former spending habits |
| C．pay off her mortgage as soon as possible | D．reserve money for her everyday bills |
| A．She did a lot of washing and cooking in pubs. |
| B．She tried cycling and camping for the first time. |
| C．She explored more cultural activities in London. |
| D．She attended concerts and wine evenings for free. |
| A．Discouraging | B．Challenging | C．Beneficial | D．Embarrassing |
4 . WASHINGTON—US President Donald Trump on August 6,2020 issued an executive order banning any U.S. transactions with Chinese tech firm ByteDance, owner of popular video-sharing app TikTok, starting in 45 days, a controversial move widely criticized by experts.
The app has been downloaded over 175 million times in the United States and over one billion times globally, according to the executive order, which says that the app automatically captures “vast information” from its users, posing risks to U.S. “national security.”
A similar executive order has also been issued for WeChat, a messaging and social media app owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent.
At a White House briefing earlier this week, Trump told reporters that he is open to a deal in which Microsoft Corp. or another U. S. company buy TikTok, setting Sept 15 as the deadline.
During a news briefing while commenting on the issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said Tuesday that China firmly opposes the U. S. side’s blatant bullying of certain non-U.S. enterprises in violation of market economy rules and the World Trade Organizations principles of openness, transparency and non-discrimination.
“It is a blatant act of bullying, to which China firmly opposes. We have noticed that it has also drawn a lot of criticisms and doubts in the united states and from the international community,” Wang added.
1. Why are the two numbers mentioned in Para. 2?| A．To show that the app is very easy to use. | B．To show that the app can operate so well. |
| C．To show that the app can be of great value. | D．To show that the app is quite popular worldwide. |
| A．To sell it to an American company. | B．To donate it to an American company. |
| C．To rewrite the app in case of posing risks. | D．To give it up to the American government for free. |
| A．Become aware of something or learn of it. |
| B．Accept something although you do not particularly like it. |
| C．Disagree strongly with and try to change it or prevent it from succeeding. |
| D．Consider it carefully or use statistical methods in order to fully understand it. |
| A．US side’s violation of market economy rules in dealing with TikTok |
| B．Chinese tech firm ByteDance-owner of popular video-sharing app TikTok |
| C．Trump issues order banning US transactions with TikTok in 45 days |
| D．Trump’s order says TikTok automatically captures “vast information” from its users |
5 . When our professor Dr. Dressel outlined the requirements of the term paper, he sounded especially terrible, so I recalled another classroom nightmare, Mrs. Grace from Forsyth High. I could still picture her neat script in the margins of my papers, carefully listing each of my grammatical shortcoming in bright blue ink.
“One of these days,” she was fond of saying, “you’ll find that what you’re learning here will be useful.” Few of us believed her, but that didn’t discourage her from relentless training in composition repeatedly. At the slightest protest, her dark eyes would flash, “You’ll find that the real world is far more demanding than my term papers, but meanwhile they can help prepare you for it!”
When Dr. Dressel handed back my papers, an A+ stood out on the page. I disbelieved. I even bent over for a closer look. Professor Dessel, standing next to my table, said, “your term paper is among the finest by a junior student. It tells me that somewhere along the line you had a remarkable English teacher. You should go to that teacher and express your gratitude.”
On the evening, I forced myself up to the Mrs. Grace’s house. The woman who answered the door was far different from the Mrs. Grace I remembered. She was pale and frowning. I gave my term paper into her hands. She glanced at it, then looked back at me wondering.
“My professor knew someone like you was responsible for my paper and”, I stammered, “I just wanted to thank you. I really appreciate all you did for me.”
Mrs. Grace began to cry. “You’re the first person ever to thank me,” she sobbed. “This has been such a hard year. I’ve been sick all fall, but your visit has done me more good than all the medicine I’ve taken. God bless you!” She threw her arms around me and hugged me hard. Then we both shed some tears.
“I’m so glad you stopped by,” she said.
“So am I!” I replied.
Never again have I been reluctant to express gratitude.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the term paper the author had?| A．The author’s professor had strict requirements of it. |
| B．The author’s term paper was not well written. |
| C．The author was not to blame for his academic performance. |
| D．The author didn’t get any help from the professor. |
| A．重复的 | B．严苛的 | C．大量的 | D．无效的 |
| A．He regretted not listening to her class carefully. |
| B．He was unwilling to do so at first. |
| C．He was proud that he had finished the term paper. |
| D．He hardly appreciated what Mrs. Grace had done. |
| A．Always prepare for the demanding real world. |
| B．We should express gratitude to those who help us. |
| C．It is important to be willing to communicate. |
| D．People should insist on doing what they think is right. |
6 . When you choose a friend, you should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair weather (晴天) friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).
Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person’s place, and he tries, to think of ways to be helpful. He is, also a good listener.
At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults in others. He notices their good points. In short, good friends will be honest to each other and accept each other.
Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time? I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favour, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble > he will not run away from me.
There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special, A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humour, too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.
When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I’ve found a friend!
1. If you have fair weather friends, what will happen to you?| A．You will become rich |
| B．You can be sure that you get real friends |
| C．You will be refused when you get into trouble |
| D．They will give you all that they have when you need help |
| A．Honesty. | B．Reliability. |
| C．Understanding. | D．A sense of humour. |
| A．Cloudy. | B．Unusual. | C．Unhappy. | D．Pleased. |
| A．the qualities of a friend | B．where to choose friends |
| C．how to get along with friends | D．the importance of having a friend |
7 . “WHAT IS CIVILIZATION?” asked Kenneth Clark 50 years ago in the BBC series on the subject. “I don’t know, and I can’t define it in abstract terms, yet. But I think I can recognize it when I see it, and I’m looking at it now.” And he turned to gesture behind him, at the soaring Gothic towers and flying buttresses of Notre Dame（巴黎圣母院）.
It seems inhuman to care more about a building than about people. That the sight of Notre Dame going up in flames has attracted so much more attention than floods in southern Africa which killed over 1,000 arouses understandable feelings of guilt. Yet the widespread, intense grief at the sight of the cathedral’s collapsing tower is in fact profoundly human—and in a particularly 21st-century way.
It is not just the economy that is global today, it is culture too. People wander the world in search not just of jobs and security but also of beauty and history. Familiarity breeds affection. A building on whose sunny steps you have rested, in front of which you have taken a photo with your loved one, becomes a warm part of your memories and thus of yourself. That helps explain why China is in mourning—WeChat, young China’s principal means of talking to itself, has been throbbing with the story, and Xi Jinping, the country’s president, sent a message of condolence to Emmanuel Macron, his French counterpart—while India was largely indifferent. Tourism from India to the West is a trickle(细流) compared with the flood from China.
This visual age has endowed beauty with new power, and social media have turned great works of art into superstars. Only a few, though, have achieved this status. Just as there is only ever a handful of world-famous actors, so the pantheon（万神殿）of globally recognizable cultural symbols is tiny: the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s David, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid—and Notre Dame. Disaster, too, is visual. In the 24 hours after the fire started videos on social media of the burning cathedral were viewed nearly a quarter of a billion times.
Yet the emotions the sight aroused were less about the building itself than about what losing it might mean. Notre Dame is an expression of humanity at its collective best. Nobody could look up into that ceiling without wondering at the genius of the thousands of anonymous craftsmen who, over a century and a half, realized a vision so grand in its structural ambition and so delicate in its detail. Its survival through 850 years of political turbulence—through war, revolution and Nazi occupation—binds the present to the past.
The fire also binds people to each other. The outpouring of emotion it has brought forth is proof that, despite the dark forces of division now abroad, we are all in it together. When nationalism is a rising threat, shared sadness makes borders suddenly irrelevant. When politics is polarized, a love of culture has the power to unite. When extremism divides Muslim from Christian and religious people from atheists, those of all faiths and none are mourning together. An building built for the glory of God also represents the unity of the human spirit.
And it will be rebuilt. The morning after the fire, the many Parisians who went to the cathedral to mourn its destruction found comfort instead. Although the spire is gone, the towers are still standing and it seems likely that the whole building can be reconstructed. The effort to rebuild it, like the fire, will bring people together. Within 24 hours, €600m ($677m) had been raised from businesses and rich people, and a rash of crowd funding campaigns started. A high-resolution laser scan of the building, carried out recently, should help.
It will never be the same, but that is as it should be. As Victor Hugo wrote in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, a three-volume love-letter to the cathedral: “Great buildings, like great mountains, are the work of centuries. Art is often transformed as it is being made…Time is the architect, the nation is the builder.”
1. The underlined word “condolence” in Paragraph 3 means __________.| A．sympathy | B．compliment | C．gratitude | D．suspicion |
| A．Because Indians care more about jobs and security. |
| B．Because Indians have no access to social media like WeChat. |
| C．Because Indians have less familiarity with Notre Dame. |
| D．Because Indians are not fond of travelling. |
| A．People’s sadness at the misfortune mainly lies in the building itself. |
| B．People wondered who contributed to such an artistic achievement. |
| C．Notre Dame is a witness to Nazi invasion and French revolution. |
| D．Fortunately we are blessed with countless splendid works of art. |
| A．the high-resolution laser scan of the building helps but far from enough |
| B．it’s impossible to replicate (复制) it for lack of the genius of craftsmen |
| C．dark forces, nationalism and extremism are barriers to replicating it |
| D．time has changed and the rebuilding will change accordingly |
| A．What is civilization? |
| B．Why do people care about Notre Dame? |
| C．What binds people together? |
| D．How should we rebuild Notre Dame? |
8 . Germans have a word “wanderlust” which translated into English would be “the desire to wander”. Nowadays the chance to travel is endless. Thanks to cheap air tickets, travelling abroad is very easy and sometimes it's even cheaper to fly out of the country than to travel within your own. So, yes, travelling is cheap but there have to be other reasons to travel and you're right. There are plenty of reasons!
I have always had this feeling of wanderlust. It started from me wanting to explore my local woods at the back of my garden as a young girl and as I have grown, so has my sense of adventure. And I found my local woods being replaced with the Brazil wetland, Pantanal, where I went last summer in search of jaguars, snakes and crocodiles. The thing with travelling is that it's always different. Even if you went to the same country, to the same town and stayed in exactly the same hotel, it would be a completely different experience. The people you meet will be different, and they will tell you their own travelling stories: stories of holiday romances, holiday worries and stories that seem so outrageous that you can hardly believe them until something similar happens to you.
Or maybe the difference is you? Maybe you have changed since last time you were there? And that's the thing with travelling—it changes you. When you travel you are forced to experience a new culture. Whether it's eating a guinea pig, or staying with a family where neither of you speak a common language and you have to communicate through hand actions and smiles, the experience gives me itchy feet to do it all again. And although wanderlust is a German word, the English idiom “to have itchy feet” has a similar idea. Someone who has itchy feet needs to leave or travel. This desire to explore is found not only in language but in us.
1. According to Paragraph 2, what is the most important part of travelling?| A．Having different experiences. |
| B．Hearing many travelling stories. |
| C．Experiencing holiday romances. |
| D．Taking more adventures. |
| A．interesting | B．surprising | C．moving | D．disappointing |
| A．Staying with a family without common languages. |
| B．Communicating through hand actions and smiles. |
| C．Eating a guinea pig with a family. |
| D．Experiencing a different culture. |
| A．give various reasons for travelling |
| B．encourage people to travel abroad |
| C．explain the German word “wanderlust” |
| D．share the writer's travelling experiences |
9 . Bats are nature's pest hunter. Every night they fly out of their caves to enjoy millions of insects, including some harmful ones. But habitat（栖息地）loss and climate change, as well as infectious diseases are preventing them from doing their job. A new study adds another item to the list wildfires. But not too many—too few.
In California's Sierra Nevada, bats have adapted to occasional fires. But a century of fire-suppression（抑制）policies has kept some areas unburned for long periods, resulting in thicker forests and undergrowth. "We wanted to see how these changes might be influencing bat biodiversity." says ecologist Zack Steel in University of California, who conducted the research.
Steel and his colleagues tracked bats for over four years at six spots in Sierra Nevada. Three of the areas had been recently hit by wildfires, and three remained unburned.
Seventeen bat species call these forests home. The study revealed that eight of them tended to frequent the unburned areas, whereas 11 used the burned areas（some species visited both）. "We expected to see one group of species benefiting from fire—the more open-habitat-adapted species—and another group to be negatively affected by fire and prefer the unburned areas," Steel says. "But even some of those species were occurring more often in burned areas.”
What is ideal, the researchers write, is a combination of unburned areas and ones burned at different levels of severity. The results were published last December in the journal Scientific Reports.
"When there are changes in habitat after a fire, many species benefit in different ways," says University of Connecticut biologist Andrew Stillman. "On the whole, the community becomes more diverse, and that's a good thing for the landscape.”
Extinguishing wildfires early leads to some species losing out on food and resources. "Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem, and many animals require the disturbance from fire to create the types of habitat that they need," Stillman adds. "It shows another negative consequence of keeping wildfire away from fire-adapted forests in California."
1. What can we learn about the research from the text?| A．The researchers kept track of the bats for six years at four spots. |
| B．11 bat species visited both of the burned and unburned areas. |
| C．The result of the study was out of the researchers' expectation. |
| D．The unburned areas were preferred by most of the bat species. |
| A．Stopping. | B．Observing. |
| C．Causing | D．Catching. |
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．California Forests | B．Bush Fires |
| C．Burn Benefits | D．Bats' Habitats |
10 . When you put down your pens at the end of college entrance exam, 12 hard years of study will have come to an end. Forget your studies for a while. It’s time to enjoy yourselves!
There are many ways to celebrate this special month of graduation. You can have photos taken with your classmates and teachers, or dine out together and exchange gifts.
High school students in western countries such as the United States and Canada usually have a party to mark their graduation. It is to mark the time when kids turn into young men and women. After the party, teenagers either go to college or find a job. It means they will no longer depend on their parents as before.
At the party, boys usually dress in dinner jackets and bow ties, though many different types of formal clothes are worn. Girls traditionally wear formal dresses, or dress to shock or be noticed, in shiny or brightly colored materials.
Common party activities include dining, dancing, crowning of a ball king and queen, and just talking to friends. In some cases, high school students collect funds for their class party through the four years of their high school.
High schools in or near large cities may rent big rooms at expensive hotels or, to be unusual, on a pleasure boat. But often costs are cut by simply using the school gym. Students make a lot of efforts to decorate the gym to make the event special. The music played at the party will be the most popular kinds, like rock and hip-hop.
Sometimes teachers and parents also go to the party. But others like to go with friends, to whom they are soon going to say good-bye.
If you like the idea of a party, why don’t you and your classmates organize one for your graduation?
1. The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to ________.| A．tell an interesting experience of high school students |
| B．tell how the western students spend the last days of high school |
| C．tell how western high school students usually celebrate graduation |
| D．introduce several ways of the western students’ killing time |
| A．They have finished high school and will go to college. |
| B．These teenagers can find a job to support themselves. |
| C．They have grown up and need friends’ help. |
| D．They are adults and will not depend on parents. |
| A．Remember. | B．Celebrate. | C．Sign. | D．Show. |
| A．the party is very interesting |
| B．girls like to make themselves beautiful at all hours |
| C．boys wear as usual to attend the party |
| D．graduates pay much attention to the party |
