1 . Modern medicine’s ability to keep us alive makes it tempting to think human evolution may have stopped. But if we look at the rate of our DNA’s evolution, we can see that human evolution hasn’t stopped – it may even be happening faster than before.
Evolution is a gradual change to the DNA of a species over many generations. It can occur by natural selection, when certain traits created by genetic changes help an organism survive or reproduce. Such genes are thus more likely to be passed on to the next generation, so they increase in frequency in a population. Gradually, these changes and their associated traits become more common among the whole group.
By looking at global studies of our DNA, we can see evidence that natural selection has recently made changes and continues to do so. Though modern healthcare disrupts a key driving force of evolution by keeping some people alive longer, in countries without access to good healthcare, populations are continuing to evolve. Survivors of infectious disease outbreaks drive natural selection by giving their genetic resistance to offspring. Our DNA shows evidence for recent selection for resistance of killer diseases like Lassa fever and malaria. Selection in response to malaria remains in regions where the disease remains common.
Humans are also adapting to their environment. Gene change allowing humans to live at high altitudes have become more common in populations in Tibet, Ethiopia, and the Andes. The spread of genetic changes in Tibet is possibly the fastest evolutionary change in humans, occurring over the past 3,000 years. This rapid increase in frequency of a mutated gene that increases blood oxygen content gives locals a survival advantage in higher altitudes, resulting in more surviving children.
Diet is another source for adaptations. Studies show that natural selection favoring a change allowing adults to produce lactase – the enzyme (酶) that breaks down milk sugars – is why some groups of people can digest milk. Over 80 per cent of northwest Europeans can, but in parts of East Asia, where milk is much less commonly drunk, an inability to digest lactose is the norm. Like high altitude adaptation, selection to digest milk has evolved more than once in humans and may be the strongest kind of recent selection.
Yet, despite these changes, natural selection only affects about 8 per cent of our genome. But scientists can’t explain why some genes are evolving much faster than others. We measure the speed of gene evolution by comparing human DNA with that of other species. One fast-evolving gene is human accelerated region 1 (HAR1), which is needed during brain development. A random section of human DNA is on average more than 98 per cent identical to the chimp comparator, but HAR1 is so fast evolving that it’s only around 85 per cent similar. Though scientists can see these changes are happening – and how quickly – we still don’t fully understand why fast evolution happens to some genes but not others.
1. Which of the following statements may the author agree with?| A．Evolution occurs among several people overnight. |
| B．Genes may change and some are beneficial to people’s lives. |
| C．Evolution is done when the whole population possesses a certain gene. |
| D．The changed genes leading to higher survival rates are chosen deliberately. |
| A．explains | B．causes | C．upsets | D．heals |
| A．some people can resist infectious diseases like malaria |
| B．children in Tibet tolerate living environments with thin air |
| C．northwestern Europeans digest lactose better than East Asians |
| D．the human gene HAR1 resembles that of a chimp to a lesser extent |
| A．What Is Natural Selection? |
| B．Are Humans Still Evolving? |
| C．Why Will Certain Genes Evolve? |
| D．How Do Mutated Genes Function? |
2 . By the year 2050, a fifth of the world’s cities will experience unprecedented climate conditions and environments that currently don't exist in any major cities, according to new research. A team of scientists at the Crowther Lab in Switzerl produced the report, which described the climate for 520 major cities 30 years in the future.
The results showed that 77 percent of the world’s cities will experience a surprising change in climate conditions by 2050, and 22 percent of the 520 cities will see conditions that are not currently experienced by any existing major cities.
In China in 2050, the climate of Xi’an, in Shanxi province, will be similar to that of current day Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho in southern Africa, with the maximum temperature of the warmest month likely to increase by 4.5 C. Chongqing in southwest China will resemble the climate of Swaziland capital Mbabane, as the warmest temperature is predicted to rise by 5.1 C.
Scientists predict summers in Europe will get warmer by an average of 3.5 C and European winters will see temperature rises of 4.7 C. London's climate will be more similar to Barcelona, and Madrid’s to Marrakech.
The Crowther Lab hopes the analysis will motivate decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent or address some of the climate impacts due to the threat of climate change. The report also found that cities in tropical regions will experience smaller changes in average temperature but will be controlled by shifts in rainfall regimes. This may lead to a noticeable increase in unexpected events, and severe droughts.
“Across all scientific fields, the greatest challenge in climate science is no longer the precise measurement of climate change impacts, but inspiring people to picture its actual effects in order to motivate action,” said Tom Crowther, senior scientist and founder of the Crowther Lab.
1. The underlined word in the first paragraph probably means .| A．New | B．Similar | C．Familiar | D．Important |
| A．By comparison. | B．By theory. |
| C．By experiment. | D．By number. |
| A．To compare the climate change of the major cities of the world. |
| B．To inspire people to picture its actual effects in order to motivate action. |
| C．To inspire decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent some of the climate impacts. |
| D．To show that 77 percent of the world's cities will experience a striking change in climate conditions. |
| A．World Temperature | B．Current Climate Change |
| C．Big Titles in the World | D．Future Climate Change in Most Big Cities |
3 . Tang Dynasty poets sang for about three centuries in different tones. There were many famous poets living in the Tang period, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi and Li Shangyin. The Poems of Tang Dynasty edited in the Qing Dynasty is a collection of more than 28,900 poems that were written by over 2,200 poets. But it didn't cover all the poems of the Tang Dynasty.
During the Tang Dynasty, poems were recited when lovers walked under the moonlight. Poems were also recited when soldiers fought on the battlefield. People recited them in the open air or at temple fairs.
Tang Dynasty poets wrote poems to win fame and also to develop their temperament (性情). They poured out deep feelings for their friends and criticized injustice in the world through poems.
In the Tang Dynasty scholars had to be poets. Their readers were not only people of high social position but also common people. Poets recited poems, women singers sang poems and other ranks of people, including old women and children, read Tang poems. This atmosphere affected foreigners who visited the country at that time. As a result, Tang poetry was introduced to some adjacent countries, like Japan and Vietnam.
Tang poetry is a most brilliant page in the history of ancient Chinese literature. It's a miracle (奇迹) in the cultural history of mankind. The Tang Dynasty was a powerful empire with a vast territory. It inherited (继承) Chinese civilization that went back to ancient times, was combined with the best of other cultures and adopted the benefits of other nations in the world. Tang poetry wasn't the only spiritual wealth created by the Tang Dynasty people. Philosophy and religion, handwriting and painting, and music and dance all gained new peaks of development. Tang poetry, however, was the jewel in the crown and its greatest achievement.
1. We can conclude from the passage that ________.| A．only people in the Tang Dynasty created poems |
| B．in total there were four famous poets in the Tang Dynasty |
| C．the Tang Dynasty probably existed for about three centuries |
| D．in the Tang Dynasty most common people were poets |
| A．Why the poets created poems. |
| B．Some other kinds of spiritual wealth in the Tang Dynasty. |
| C．The significance and influence of the Tang Dynasty. |
| D．The editors of The Poems of Tang Dynasty. |
| A．strong | B．neighbouring | C．poor | D．rich |
| A．The Great Tang Dynasty |
| B．Tang Dynasty Poetry |
| C．Famous Poets in the Tang Dynasty |
| D．The Development of the Tang Dynasty |
4 . Grandma was going to turn eighty-two on Friday. I heard Mom ordering a cake from the bakery over the phone. “Don’t put any icing on it,” she said, “Just a plain angel cake.” Angel cake with fresh strawberries was her favorite. So Mum was ready.
That afternoon when Dad came home, he showed me the phone he had bought for Grandma. “It has speed-dialing,” he said. “She won’t have to push so many buttons when she calls the doctor’s office or her sister.” Dad looked pleased. “Her fingers are so stiff with arthritis (关节炎) that the phone seems a good idea.”
But what about me? Here I was with only one dollar in my pocket and one night to think of a gift. Even though Mom always insisted that “it’s the thought that counts,” I had a big problem. My mind was even more empty of ideas than my wallet was empty of money.
When I have a problem, it sometimes helps to shoot a few baskets in the driveway. Dribble, shoot, rebound.
For a while I just played without even trying to think. I began to remember back before Granddad died, when we used to visit them in Kentucky, Granddad showed me how to do a jump shot. Thinking about Granddad made me sigh. Grandma’s life was a lot happier when he was alive.
Swish! I’d made two in a row.
Suddenly, I remembered a green glass dish in the shape of a leaf that Grandma used to keep on a table back in Kentucky. It was always full of those red-and-white-striped peppermint candies. I hadn’t thought of that dish for a long time. Maybe it was lost or broken when Dad rented the truck and brought Grandma and the belongings to Ohio.
Just thinking about that candy dish made me taste the peppermint slowly dissolving on my tongue. I could almost hear Grandma saying，“Help yourself to a piece of peppermint, Burt.” That voice had a smile behind it. It was a voice I hadn’t heard for a long time.
Aha! I took one last shot, then dribbled to the back door, ran up the steps two at a time, and grabbed my wallet.
1. What do you know about the author’s grandma?| A．She has difficulty moving fingers. | B．She loves high-tech products. |
| C．She doesn’t like a plain cake. | D．She has a sweet tooth. |
| A．Melting. | B．Chewing. | C．Swallowing. | D．Fading. |
| A．Something decorative for candies. | B．Something bringing good memories. |
| C．Something convenient to use. | D．Something to Grandma’s taste. |
| A．The Good Old Days | B．The Gift of Gratitude |
| C．The Thought That Counts | D．The Inspiration from Basketball |
5 . A while back I caught a news report on something called couchsurfing and the net work of trusting souls who make this phenomenon possible. They offer to put up(留宿) travelers free of charge and help them on their ways. At first, it sounded unbelievable. I mean, inviting strangers into one's home for one or two nights? Give me a break.
However, I was intrigued. I decided to investigate(调查). The only way to truly learn about this phenomenon was to dive in. So I planned a trip to Finland, a country I' ve always wanted to explore. I would couchsurf at every stop there.
If ever any anxiety existed when stepping into the unknown, it disappeared when my first host met me at the train station. Ari looked like my idea of a typical Finn: tall and blue-eyed. Finns were also supposed to be famously reserved((寡言少语的). Ari was anything but. He was a live wire, giving me an enthusiastic welcome and hiking with me to his apartment, where he showed me the sleeping sofa, served me tea and engaged me in warm conversations. He also handed me a key to come and go as I pleased.
If this was what couchsurfing was all about-trust and friendship- then I had gotten off to a good start. As I boarded my next train to continue my journey I began to think about this couchsurfing idea. What urged these people to open their homes to strangers? I concluded that there was a desire to lend a hand to like-minded folks who might enrich their own lives.
Seven cities in 14 days. Seven hosts. Seven new friends. If couchsurfing taught me anything, it's this: Most people are good and generous. Where will couchsurfing take me next? Who knows? But I can't wait to find out.
1. What does the underlined word in the second paragraph mean?| A．Relaxed | B．Disgusted |
| C．Interested | D．Embarrassed |
| A．He was reserved like most Finns | B．He talked less but he was friendly. |
| C．He treated the author as a friend | D．He saw off the author at the train station |
| A．To take an adventure with strangers |
| B．To exchange houses for a short time. |
| C．To learn more about others' family lives. |
| D．To enrich their own lives by helping others. |
| A．Travel on Trust and Couches | B．A Free Travel in Finland |
| C．Experiences in Strangers' Houses. | D．A Plan for Couchsurfing |
6 . Have you ever wondered what wild animals do when no one is watching?
Low cost, dependable and small modern cameras offered a big help. Cameras placed in hard-to-reach places have shot everything from small desert cats to larger snow-lowing cats in the northern Rocky Mountains. Scientists have been able to document the “private” moments of wildlife with leading technology.
Grant Harris is a government biologist with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In his words, “there’s no doubt that these wild cameras are important tools to learn new information on wildlife.” Harris said some images help scientists see the influences of climate (气候) change.
Researchers with the Wyoming Migration Initiative, or WMI, are among those using wild cameras along with global positioning systems, or GPS. But WMI director Matthew Kauffman says as those devices (设备) are limited (有限的), so is the amount of information they can gather. However, cameras can be left in very wild areas for days, weeks or even months. They can provide information on how many animals are moving over a given period of time.
Putting those cameras in place requires careful planning. Wild video can show details about animal behavior. However, wild cameras have their problems too. Animals such as wolverines and bears sometimes attack (袭击) them. Scientists do not know if the attacks are the result of anger or interest. Also, the devices have become popular tools to help hunters look for animals. Some people argue that it is unfair to use the cameras that way.
Even with such problems, wild cameras are clearly an important scientific tool in researching wild animals.
1. What does the underlined word “document” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Remind. | B．Enrich. | C．Produce. | D．Record. |
| A．They cannot be left in the wild over a long period. |
| B．They cannot be placed in hard-to-reach areas. |
| C．They provide limited information. |
| D．They might be stolen by people. |
| A．It is difficult to fix the cameras. |
| B．It helps hunters find animals easily. |
| C．It is hard to achieve careful planning. |
| D．It makes animals interested in the cameras. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Supporting. | C．Uncertain. | D．Uninterested. |
7 . I’d been thinking of taking a course on scuba-diving(水肺潜水)for months, but wasn’t sure because I was afraid of snakes! Sea snakes. Just thinking about it made me sick.
But then, I wanted to know why people loved it so much. They all said that under the sea was like a totally different world, yet a beautiful one. And because of that, I decided to take the risk and try to face my fear.
So, after taking a private course from my diving instructor, Mbak Vita，I went to Sepa Island with her, to take the final exam.
First dive, 12 meters in depth. “What am I doing?” I asked myself. “What if something bad happened?” I tried hard not to panic and told myself to keep a good thought, “It’s gonna be a wonderful experience. Just do it!” Then I went down. My heart beat fast and my ears hurt as I went deeper. I followed Vita’s instructions closely until I felt comfortable to explore the sea.
Suddenly all around me was green. It felt like I was living in a green world! I saw some corals(珊瑚), big ones, and lots of beautiful fish hiding in the sand.
I was enjoying the beauty all around me when my instructor waved at me with her hand holding a pink flipper(橡胶蹼). “That flipper looks familiar,” I thought. Yes! That was my flipper! I didn’t realize that my right flipper had managed to get away from my right foot!
So, that was the first dive. In total，we dove 5 times in 2 days. We managed to dive up to 18 meters in depth. The next dives were smooth and for sure I didn’t lose my flipper! I was so happy to see different types of fish swimming in front of me as if I was invisible(不可见的).It was indeed so beautiful and peaceful down there. Now I can see why people love diving under the sea.
1. How did the author feel about learning scuba-diving at first?| A．Uncertain. | B．Excited |
| C．Comfortable. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Feel tired and sleepy. | B．Keep cool and relaxed. |
| C．Keep quiet and patient. | D．Feel nervous and worried. |
| A．She saw a sea snake. |
| B．A flipper fell off her foot. |
| C．The sea water turned green. |
| D．She lost her instructor in the sea. |
| A．A pleasant trip to the beach |
| B．My first experience with scuba-diving |
| C．Why a person starts scuba-diving |
| D．How scuba-diving affects my life |
8 . Gardening is popular in many parts of the world. This outdoor activity gives us beautiful plants, pleasant smelling flowers and fresh fruits and vegetables. And it also does a lot of good to our health.
Gardening connects people. When you are gardening, you are outdoors. So it is a perfect chance to meet and spend time with your neighbors. Most people love to talk about their hobbies, and gardeners are no different. They usually enjoy showing people what they are growing. And most of them enjoy sharing advice and stories about their gardens almost as much as sharing flowers and vegetables from their gardens.
Gardening is a great activity for children. It gets them outdoors and off computers, televisions and cell phones. Gardening is also a great teacher. It can teach a child about where food comes from and healthy eating. It also helps them to understand that the natural resources (资源) are not inexhaustible and the importance of using them carefully.
Then, when you garden, you must move around. All the different movements needed for gardening, like bending and lifting, work small muscles (肌肉) in the body. And you can easily get good exercise when you are digging holes or pulling grass.
In a study, researches looked at more than 2,800 people over the age of 60. They studied their life habits, activities and health over a 16-year period. They found that gardening could lower the risk of future dementia (痴呆) by 36%. Gardening requires people to do many repeated actions, such as picking off dying flowers. These actions have a calming influence on the brain. The brain is still active but not in the same way when we use computers.
You'll feel wonderful when what you grow in a garden looks, smells, feels and tastes good.
1. What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?| A．Gardeners don't feel lonely. | B．Gardeners are fond of sharing. |
| C．Gardeners have many hobbies. | D．Gardeners care about the environment. |
| A．Useless. | B．Special. | C．Endless. | D．Cheap. |
| A．To tell us gardening is popular with the old. |
| B．To tell us gardening is good for health. |
| C．To tell us gardening can be a tiring activity. |
| D．To tell us gardening is better than playing computers. |
| A．To show how to garden. | B．To encourage us to garden. |
| C．To show gardening is popular. | D．To encourage us to do outdoor activities. |
9 . Baseball was always where my heart lay. However, my father did not care for baseball. Two recreational activities he enjoyed were golfing and fishing, neither of which I considered a real sport. He didn’t talk much and he wasn’t good at expressing himself. Frankly, I wasn’t entirely certain he cared about me. In a way, my father was like a familiar stranger I saw every day.
One day, watching the play on television made me want a glove of my own. To my surprise, my father said he wanted one, too. He was on the portly side, but then again, one of the famous pitchers(投球手) on the Mets was even fatter. So I thought, why not?
We bought two gloves, and that evening, he suggested we go out to the courtyard and toss(掷) the ball around. I’d already practiced catching and throwing at school, but I could tell this was the first time for my father, because every time he caught the ball, it landed directly in his palm. If you’ve ever caught a ball with a baseball glove, you know how much this hurts.
But my father caught ball after ball this way. Slap! Slap! He winced(呲牙咧嘴). After about five minutes, I told him I’d had enough. It wasn’t out of mercy, but for my own self-interest. Neighborhood kids were watching and would no doubt tease me later for having an old man who didn’t know how to properly catch a baseball do that. When my father took the glove off, his palm was red and swollen.
Dad, who passed away 11 years ago, never told me he loved me. But that sound of the baseball landing in the soft flesh of his hand, over and over again—it spoke its own tender language, though at the time, all I felt was shame.
1. Why did the father want a glove?| A．He was interested in baseball. |
| B．He was impressed by the play on television. |
| C．He wanted to show his improvement in baseball. |
| D．He wanted to make the author happy. |
| A．Experienced. | B．Cool. |
| C．Famous. | D．Fat. |
| A．The father didn’t feel hurt when catching the ball. |
| B．The father didn’t understand his child at all |
| C．The author didn’t realise his father’s love at first. |
| D．The author criticised his father when playing. |
| A．A Crying Shame for Baseball |
| B．The Sound of Love |
| C．A Loving Father and His Son |
| D．Love That Comes Late |
10 . The nine woman of Bella Mondo win over yet another audience. The group is one of just a handful of all-women ensembles (乐队) in Ivory Coast.
It all started in 2007. Prisca Allou was a music student. A music producer came to see her. He said he wanted to make an all-female ensemble to keep a promise to his late mother.
Allou got on board and was charged with recruiting (招募) other members. “It wasn’t easy at first. Some parents were against it. You know, in Africa, the place of women is often seen as being either in an office or at home. That was the fixed image.” Allou spread the word and took out ads in local papers. Most of the girls she found were not professional players. “I just played some tamtam. I learned to play drums when I joined Bella Mondo.” The girls spent the next four years learning to play their instruments. Many gave up along the way, but eight of them soldiered on with Allou, and Bella Mondo was founded.
The band plays original songs and covers. Their music spans a wide range of styles: funk, reggae, pop music. They released their first album in 2013... and have performed in Paris, Dakar, Cotonou and, of course, here at home in Abidjan.
You can see them nearly every Thursday at this bar, the same place that gave the band its start years ago. “Oh yes, I was surprised at first. A woman singing, you see that every day, but an entire band, playing all the instruments and everything? It was extraordinary. I was dumbstruck. Bella Mondo is a great band.”
The women are now working on their second album.
1. Why did the music producer want to form a female ensemble?| A．To sponsor music students. | B．To comfort his mother. |
| C．To carry out his promise. | D．To win over an audience. |
| A．The band charged too much. |
| B．A number of parents didn’t support it. |
| C．Most women prefer to work in a government office. |
| D．African women are not allowed to leave their homes. |
| A．What Allou experienced. |
| B．How Bella Mondo was born. |
| C．Why most girls gave up halfway. |
| D．How the girls learned to play instruments. |
| A．Astonished. | B．Amused. | C．Determined. | D．Satisfied. |
