1 . 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. |
2 . How often do you exercise? A new study finds that most kids aged 12 to 15 aren't getting enough physical activity. The results are based on about 800 kids. As part of the study, the young teens tracked and reported on their own activity levels, and took physical exams.
The US fitness guidelines recommend an hour or more of physical activity every day. According to the study, only 1in 4 kids in the US get enough physical activity.
“It's certainly very worrying to see that our kids are engaging in such a limited amount of physical activity each day,” said Dr. Stephen Pont. He is an expert on children's health.
Few kids in the survey met the guidelines for physical activity that raises the heart rate and makes them breathe harder. Overall, about 25% said they got an hour of that kind of violent exercise every day. Kids also reported on which activities they did most often outside of the school gym class--basketball for boys and running for girls.
The study found that obese（肥胖的） teens were less active than normal-weight girls and boys. Overweight girls were slightly less active than normal-weight girls, but levels were similar among overweight and normal-weight boys. The study also said that the overall obesity rate for children aged 2 to 19 is 17%, or about 12.5 million kids.
“There's always room for improvement,” said health expert Tala Fakhouri, who was the lead author of the study. She also said the results provide useful information to help with fitness campaigns such as Lets Move, which was launched by Michelle Obama in 2010. To inspire kids to eat right and get in shape, Michelle visited schools and held exercise events. She also called on schools to offer regular gym classes.
The study also suggests kids who get physical education at school may get better grades.
1. What is the result of the new study?| A．It is important to take physical exams |
| B．Most US kids don’t get enough exercise |
| C．Kids should get physical activity every day |
| D．800 kids don’t get enough physical activity. |
| A．To help kids to keep fit. |
| B．To hold exercise events. |
| C．To offer regular gym classes. |
| D．To provide useful information. |
| A．do better in their studies |
| B．try their best to get in shape |
| C．be more willing to help others |
| D．be less active than fat children |
| A．visited | B．stopped |
| C．started | D．improved |
3 . Where in the classroom do you prefer to sit,and why? Scientists have discovered that seating preference not only shows students’ personalities,but has a great influence on their school performance.Generally speaking,students show different attitudes depending on where they sit. Based on the research, scientists have developed a funnel-like(像漏斗的) model of “learning zones(区域)” to see the relationship between seating and active learning.
In this model,the mouth of the funnel(A) is the best position for learning. Students in this front area prove to be the most active learners.They show a greater desire(渴求) for learning,which leads them to focus(集中注意力) better and take a more active part than the rest of the class.Those in the neck of the funnel(B) don’t pay the same close attention,but they ask a lot of questions,partly because of the added confidence they feel from being in a safe zone, with others around them. Less desirable is the area “outside the funnel(C,D),” which refers to the side and the back rows,where students take a less active part in classroom activities and find it hard to focus their attention, falling asleep at times.
Studies about learning zones suggest that a change in traditional seating plans can benefit students. In fact, a growing number of teachers have begun less traditional seating plans,such as “U-Type”.There are no side and back areas,so teachers can expect their students to take part in activities more actively and increase student-teacher interaction(互动).
1. According to scientists,students’ learning is greatly influenced by .| A．the number of students | B．the time of class |
| C．seating positions | D．the size of the classroom |
| A．sometimes fall asleep | B．feel safe and confident |
| C．seldom ask their teachers questions | D．try to avoid looking directly at the teacher |
| A．Area A. | B．Area B. | C．Area C. | D．Area D. |
| A．Cause trouble for. | B．Take control of. |
| C．Give a warning to. | D．Do good to. |
4 . It was another day to jump rope in gym class. Lynn and Mike turned the long rope in big, slow circles. The whole class hurried to get in line to wait for their turn to jump. Millie stood at the back of the line and frowned.
Nick went first. He watched the rope and ran in at just the right time. Everyone counted. He made it all the way to 30 jumps. One after another, the kids watched the rope ran in and jumped. Then it was Millie’s turn. She watched the rope go around and around, but she didn’t move. She felt like everyone was looking at her.
Millie’s friends cheered, “Go, Millie, go!”
Millie’s face turned red. At last, she gave it a try, but she failed.
The truth was that Millie had been jumping rope at home every day. With a short rope, she could jump 100 times without missing. She just didn’t how to run in and start jumping with a long rope. Since she was the only kid on her street, there was no one to help turn the long rope.
Just then, Ms Miles, the gym teacher, brought bunch of short jump ropes.
“Let’s see how long each one of you can jump without missing,” she said as she gave each student a short rope
“Ready, set. Go!”
Millie smiled for the first time ever in gym class. As she jumped, she sang rhymes quickly to herself.
After a while, Millie realised that everyone was cheering “Go, Millie, go!”
She was the only one still jumping rope! The surprise almost made her miss a step, but she kept going. When at last she was too tired to go on, she stopped. The whole class cheered. Everyone was looking at her and smiling. Millie smiled back!
1. Which word is the opposite (相反的) of the underlined word “frowned”?| A．Sat. | B．Hid. | C．Smiled. | D．Cried. |
| A．She did something well at last. |
| B．She knew the class would cheer for her. |
| C．She thought that she was going to make a friend. |
| D．She believed that she would be the winner of the contest. |
| A．The class decided to play baseball. |
| B．Millie was the last one still jumping rope. |
| C．Nick won the rope-jumping contest. |
| D．Millie tried to hide in the back of the line. |
| A．Proud. | B．Bored. | C．Mad. | D．Silly. |
5 . The decision on Tuesday by Japan and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games until next summer because of the novel coronavirus pandemic must have been a hard one to make.
Although the Games have been canceled—three times in all, in 1916, 1940 and 1944—due to the two world wars in the modern Olympics’ history of more than 120 years, never before have any Games been postponed to a different year.
Nonetheless, the decision is the right one. If it is not brought under control, the harm done to human society by the pandemic could be more serious and far-reaching than even the two world wars. Given the number of countries affected and social and economic shock waves that have been caused by the rapid spread of the virus, postponing the Games is the only right and sensible choice to make.
After all, nothing is more important than people’s lives. Postponing the Games not only safeguards the health of athletes, audiences and everyone involved in the Games, but also reduces potential transmission of the virus from one place to another. Even looking at it from only a sporting level, the pandemic has already caused huge disruptions to athletes’ training and the qualification process.
It is undoubtedly a big blow for Japan, which has prepared meticulously for the largest sports event in the world, including renovating and upgrading its infrastructure and sports venues, such as rebuilding Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium at cost of $1.45 billion. Japan will suffer huge loss at least in the short term.
The international community owes a big “thank you” to Japan for all it has done for the Games despite the postponement. That’s why the Games will still be called the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 despite taking place in 2021. The Olympic flame will also remain stored and displayed in Japan.
More importantly, all members in the Olympic family, guided by the Olympic spirit of respect and understanding are morally bound to stand behind Japan to go through this most difficult moment in the Games’ history.
1. What does the word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to?| A．The decision. | B．The Games. | C．The pandemic. | D．The war. |
| A．Wisely. | B．Recently. | C．Easily. | D．Precisely. |
| A．the Games should be put off in times of war and disaster |
| B．the Games will still be called Tokyo 2020 Games for its sacrifice |
| C．postponing the Games will have a bad influence on the athletes |
| D．the Olympic family will have to make up for the loss of Japan |
| A．The whole world will support Japan. | B．Japan will keep the Olympic flame burning. |
| C．Postponing the Games will bring the world hope. | D．Tokyo will become the symbol of the Games. |
6 . With the explosion of consumer choices in recent history,the latest must-haves would surely need to be upgraded more often than every 10 years.In 2002 a computer and basic mobile phone would have been enough for most people,but now?The public need a trendy notebook computer and a smart phone with WiFi connection to feel they are up-to-date.So when will we have enough things?When will we finally be happy?Well,it looks like the things we buy today will barely keep us satisfied for a few months.
In the eyes of some psychologists,far from making us happy,greater consumer choice creates many serious psychological problems.A fundamental principle of the society is that more freedom is better and more choice in the marketplace means more freedom.Therefore more choice leads to more happiness.This is not the case,however.
Imagine you go to a cafe offering chocolate and vanilla ice cream.You choose the chocolate and eat it happily.But what if the cafe serves 50 kinds of ice cream?You choose chocolate and then start to worry,"maybe blueberry would have been better,and perhaps the half-fat ice cream would have been healthier.Stupid me,all these choices and I didn't make the best one!"
In China's major cities we have now passed the point where more consumer choice is making us happier.We are annoyed by all the options we have,disappointed because our expectations are so high and angered at ourselves when we don't make a perfect choice every time.
A newspaper reporter tells a story about traveling on a plane with high-speed Internet access.He thought this was amazing--the newest piece of technology he had heard of.Then the service went down.The man next to him was angry and swore.The reporter thought,"How quickly the world owes him something he knew existed only 10 seconds ago!"
1. What may some psychologists think of the consumer demand in the cafe?| A．Variety leads to unhappiness. | B．More choice means more freedom. |
| C．The consumer has mental problems. | D．The shop provides too many choices. |
| A．Someone owed him money. | B．The net connection was interrupted. |
| C．The air hostess offered poor service. | D．The pleasure lasted only 10seconds. |
| A．Fell asleep. | B．Made promises. |
| C．Said rude words. | D．Became amazed. |
| A．Hi-tech and consumer needs. |
| B．Computers and smart phones. |
| C．Wireless products and WiFi connection. |
| D．Diverse choices and consumer satisfaction. |
7 . How can we possibly cope with the large amount of information about virus spread,stock market nosedives,canceled plans and uncertainty about the future?Some people are buried in the fear,anxiety and sadness,checking news sites and social media constantly.Others try to suppress it all and ignore the outside world(I'm guessing that Instagram has never seen so much traffic).
There's a third option,though.Rather than fully involving in the negative or ignoring it, we can do our best to experience joy alongside everything else that is sad in the world.In fact, research that I and others have conducted suggests that allowing the two different emotions to coexist may actually benefit us in the long run.
Dr.Jeff Larsen and his colleagues coined something known as the"coactivation model of mixed emotions",and the basic idea is that we may be able to deal with,and learn from negative emotions like sadness if we experience them concurrently with positive emotions like joy at the same time.Here,positive emotions provide a psychological buffer(缓冲），making it easier for people to deal with the things they don't want to face.
The comedian Mitch Hedberg proposed an analogy that captures this essence quite well, noting that“it would be cool if you could eat a carrot with an onion ring and they would travel down to your stomach.Then they would get there,and the carrot would say,'It's cool,he's with me .’ Applied to our emotional lives,we could do a better job in digesting,processing gaining insight into the negative events in our lives if we could do so alongside the positive.
Several years ago,my partner Jon Adler and I set out to test this exact idea.Specifically, we looked at sample of adult volunteers who signed up or weekly mental health therapy sessions.Between each week,they reported the feelings they were having and also took a few questionnaires that were meant to assess their overall health.This design allowed us to examine how different emotional experiences would impact mental health in a longitudinal fashion,over the course of 12 weeks.
1. What does the author recommend people to do with a flood of bad news?| A．Take no notice of it at all. |
| B．Make better plans to fight against it. |
| C．Take in all of the negative emotions. |
| D．Involve in the negative and enjoy happiness as well. |
| A．Mixed emotions remain to be proved. |
| B．The negative emotion is easy to deal with. |
| C．The positive emotion makes it easier for people to succeed. |
| D．Mixed emotions allow people to handle the negative better. |
| A．Exhibition. | B．Promotion. | C．Similarity. | D．Requirement. |
| A．To measure the volunteers health on the whole. |
| B．To record what the volunteers are experiencing. |
| C．To treat the mental diseases of the adults. |
| D．To overturn the theory coactivation model of mixed emotions. |
8 . “Nature never stops being amazing,” says Rosemary Mosco, master of humorous nature art. Her new book, Birding Is MyFavorite Video Game, combines fascinating facts with charming pictures, and it's guaranteed to make you laugh. In fact, the learning and laughing are both equally important to Rosemary.
“There's so much to love about birds,” notes Rosemary. “I admire that they're real-life, modern dinosaurs! As an artist, I'm captivated by their color variations. Once you get into birds, the interest snowballs. You can find them almost everywhere. You start to notice subtle behaviors and wing patterns. You're never bored again. Teaching a kid to watch birds is a huge gift.”
Birds make regular appearances in Rosemary's nature art comics. She created charts explaining the songs and calls of common eastern and western birds. One of her most popular pieces is a flow chart helping you to decide whether or not to help a baby bird fallen from a nest. And her own personal favorite cartoon is about tiny owls, meant to be both motivational and mildly disturbing. Rosemary explains: “One reader asked me if we had any evidence that these owls can kill and eat a moose. My response was, not yet…”
Rosemary loves other animals, and is especially proud of a poster she drew showing every snake in the US and Canada. She also has a real soft spot for butterflies. “Their behaviors can be surprisingly complex,” she points out. “They defend habitats with dogfights. They have complex relationships with poisonous plants. Some of them eat waste and drink tears. Oh, and it helps that they pose nicely for photos.”
Mostly self-taught, Rosemary has taken a few art courses, even studying video game art for a bit. During her career, she's created many educational charts, and has been working on some children's science books. She also has an upcoming comics novel about the solar system.
“I'm excited to share more stories about the natural world.” Rosemary says about the future of her nature art comics. “Humor gives science wings!”
1. What is the main feature of Rosemary's comics?| A．A novel of ecology and cartoons. | B．A combination of nature art and science. |
| C．A mixture of entertainment and education. | D．A book of interesting facts and behavior charts. |
| A．Puzzled. | B．Attracted. | C．Shocked. | D．Encouraged. |
| A．share the content of Rosemary's comics | B．explain the popularity of Rosemary's art |
| C．prove the hardship of Rosemary's creation | D．disclose the source of Rosemary's inspiration |
| A．Take some art courses. | B．Write a new birding book. |
| C．Draw the sun humorously. | D．Observe moose's behavior. |
9 . Bumblebees(大黄蜂) are clever: when pollen(花粉) is short and plants near the nest are not yet flowering, they have learned to force them to bloom. Research published on Thursday in Science shows that the insects puncture the plants’ leaves, which causes them to flower about 30 days earlier than they otherwise would. How the technique developed and why the plants react by blooming remain unclear.
Consuelo De Moraes, a chemical ecologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, says she and her teammates were observing one kind of bumblebee in an unrelated experiment when they noticed the insects were damaging plant leaves and wondered why. “At first we thought they might be feeding on the plants,” she says. And because previous research had shown stress could cause plants to flower, they also wondered whether the bees might be creating blooms on purpose.
To find out, the team placed bumblebees together with tomato plants in cages. The bees soon cut several holes in the leaves of each plant. As a test, the researchers tried to copy the bumblebee damage in additional plants with a knife. Both sets of plants with injured leaves bloomed faster, but the ones punctured by the bees flowered weeks earlier, suggesting that chemicals in the insects’ saliva(唾液) may be involved as well.
Next, the researchers moved out of the laboratory to see whether bumblebees would continue to damage nonflowering plants near their nest even if blooming plants were available farther away. They did so. The findings suggest the bees’ behavior is an adaptation that improves food-hunting efficiency(效率).
In the future, scientists could test how the behavior may have developed and how widespread it is among other wild bumblebees, as well as what is happening in plants after a bee bite. Understanding those questions could help us better face the climate change.
1. What does the underlined word “puncture” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．bite | B．touch |
| C．kiss | D．eat |
| A．The stress causing plants to flower. | B．The difference in plants’ flowering time. |
| C．The bumblebees’ feeding on the plants. | D．The bumblebees’ damaging plants’ leaves. |
| A．To prove a knife cut can work as a bee bite. |
| B．To figure out what helps plants flower faster |
| C．To find out why bumblebees damage plants. |
| D．To show bumblebees’ saliva helps plants bloom. |
| A．What happens in plants after a bee bite. |
| B．How bumblebees have learned the technique. |
| C．Whether bumblebees are clever in finding food. |
| D．Whether all the bumblebees have learned the skill. |
10 . According to a recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research, both the size and consumption habits of our eating companions can influence our food intake. And contrary to existing research that says you should avoid eating with heavier people who order large portions(份), it's the beanpoles with big appetites you really need to avoid.
To test the effect of social influence on eating habits, the researchers conducted two experiments. In the first, 95 undergraduate women were individually invited into a lab to ostensibly(表面上)participate in a study about movie viewership. Before the film began, each woman was asked to help herself to a snack. An actor hired by the researchers grabbed her food first. In her natural state, the actor weighed 105 pounds. But in half the cases she wore a specially designed fat suit which increased her weight to 180 pounds.
Both the fat and thin versions of the actor took a large amount of food. The participants followed suit, taking more food than they normally would have. However, they took significantly more when the actor was thin.
For the second test, in one case the thin actor took two pieces of candy from the snack bowls. In the other case, she took 30 pieces. The results were similar to the first test: the participants followed suit but took significantly more candy when the thin actor took 30 pieces.
The tests show that the social environment is extremely influential when we're making decisions. If this fellow participant is going to eat more, so will I. Call it the “I’ll have what she's having” effect. However, we'll adjust the influence. If an overweight person is having a large portion, I'll hold back a bit because I see the results of his eating habits. But if a thin person eats a lot, I'll follow suit. If he can eat much and keep slim, why can't I?
1. What is the recent study mainly about?| A．Food safety. | B．Movie viewership. |
| C．Consumer demand. | D．Eating behavior. |
| A．Big eaters. | B．Overweight persons. |
| C．Picky eaters. | D．Tall thin persons. |
| A．To see how she would affect the participants. |
| B．To test if the participants could recognize her. |
| C．To find out what she would do in the two tests. |
| D．To study why she could keep her weight down. |
| A．How hungry we are. | B．How slim we want to be. |
| C．How we perceive others. | D．How we feel about the food. |
