1 . I sometimes find that watching a film adaptation (改编作品) of a book helps me to understand the story of a book.This is especially true for books from a different period or with a difficult dialect.My favourite example of these is Pride and Prejudice, which is also my favourite book.
Film and TV adaptations of books also mean that books reach a wider audience，prompting (促使) people to read the book if they really liked the film. In terms of language learning，watching film or TV adaptations of books can help to provide an understanding of a story that may have otherwise (否则) been difficult to understand.They also help to give a story a more modern twist (转折)，for example Oliver！As an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist.The language in the book can be enough to reduce a native speaker to tears，but the adaptation allows everyone to enjoy the story of the child Oliver. Similarly, the 1996 film Romeo and Juliet，an adaptation of the Shakespeare play of the same name，enables those of us who haven’t studied Shakespeare to still enjoy his play.
Of course, there are limitations and not every story that is translated onto the screen is liked by the many fans of the book，or even the author. For example, the author of the book Mary Poppins, P.L.Travers，hated Disney’s adaptation，but it is now a well－loved work. One of my least favourite adaptations is that of Still Alice by Lisa Genova.They changed the location from Boston to New York for no real reason，which for some readers changes the whole feel of the book.
In my opinion, adaptations are a great way to introduce people to the story and characters of a book before reading it.They’re also a good way for people who may not feel confident enough to read a whole novel in a different language，but still want to enjoy a specific story.
1. The film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice helps the author .| A．develop an interest in the book |
| B．understand the story of the book |
| C．learn history of a different period |
| D．understand the dialect in the book |
| A．By listing facts. |
| B．By giving examples. |
| C．By making comparisons. |
| D．By offering explanations. |
| A．The film Still Alice. |
| B．The book Still Alice. |
| C．The film Mary Poppins. |
| D．The book Mary Poppins. |
| A．He pays little attention to it. |
| B．He has doubts about it. |
| C．He is in support of it. |
| D．He is against it. |
2 . Lego is considering a brick rental scheme in an attempt to cut down on plastic waste.The Danish toymaker has promised to make all its bricks from sustainable sources by 2030 and is ploughing significant resources into finding alternatives.
Tim Brooks,vice-president responsible for sustainability,said the company was “totally open” to the idea of a product rental scheme but acknowledged that lost pieces could cause a significant problem.He said the rental scheme was “possible” but admitted there were some “technical barriers”,one of which is the complexity of some Lego kits (配套元件),many of which contain thousands of pieces.
“What are the chances of giving them to an eight-year-old child and getting them all back again?” Mr Brooks added.There is a lot of technical thinking that needs to be done.
“We are right at beginning of that.” Mr Brooks said Lego was exploring several ideas with a view to producing the highest value from products while consuming the least amount of resources.He said many would “probably never see the light of day” and there was no current plan to try a rental scheme.
Lego has come under increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint amid growing international alarm about the impact of plastic waste on the environment.It manufactures 19 billion pieces per year—36,000 a minute—that are made only of plastic while much of the internal packaging is also plastic.
So far,the only breakthrough has been the development of a line of bricks made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane.The green trees,plants and flowers were first included in Lego sets late last year but account for only one or two percent of the total amount of plastic elements produced.Henrik Ostergaard Nielson,a production supervisor in Lego’s factory in Billund,told the New York Times last year,“We need to learn again how to do this.”
1. How will Lego cut down on plastic waste?| A．By considering a brick rental scheme. |
| B．By producing a new kind of toys instead of bricks. |
| C．By replacing common plastic with a renewable material. |
| D．By investing large amounts of money into market. |
| A．It’ll cause certain serious problems. |
| B．It’ll be of great complexity. |
| C．It’ll require more mature technical skills. |
| D．It’ll involve much more kits of bricks. |
| A．Ideas. | B．Values. |
| C．Products. | D．Resources. |
| A．Lego has to explore a new product to earn a profit. |
| B．A brick rental scheme has been put into mass production. |
| C．Plant-based plastic is environmentally friendly. |
| D．Lego is optimistic about the brick rental scheme. |
3 . A recent study suggests that vitamin D pills can help speed up the time taken for burns to heal, and prevent scarring(结疤). The vitamin, which is produced naturally in the body when the skin is exposed to sunshine, is believed to help protect against burning.
Previous studies have shown that vitamin D pills help decrease redness and swelling after sunburn, and may be one of the reasons why the body produces the chemical.
The research from Birmingham University, has found they may also help relieve other types of burn. Researchers monitored 38 patients who had suffered serious burns for a year and recorded their levels of vitamin D. They found that those with the highest levels of vitamin D had better wound healing and fewer scars.
Professor Janet Lord said: “Low vitamin D levels were associated with worse results in burn patients including life-threatening infections(感染),death and delayed wound healing. Major burn injury severely reduces vitamin D levels and adding this vitamin back may be a simple, safe and cost-effective way to improve the condition for burn patients.” Professor Lord and her team are now focusing on finding out why there is a rapid loss of vitamin D in patients immediately following burn injury and hope that they may be able to prevent this in future.
The amount of reduction in patients’ vitamin D levels was not related to the severity(严重程度) of the burn, so levels may also be decreased in minor burn injury, suggesting taking vitamin D pills could also help people with everyday burns. Public Health England now recommends that all Britons take vitamin D pills in the winter because it is impossible to make sufficient quantities in the darker months.
1. What does the new study find?| A．People with low vitamin D levels get burned easily. |
| B．Vitamin D helps with the recovery from burn injury. |
| C．Vitamin D pills aid in reducing the swelling from burns. |
| D．Vitamin D is more beneficial to serious burns than minor burns. |
| A．The severity of one's burn reflects his vitamin D levels. |
| B．Vitamin D pills are more needed in the autumn months. |
| C．Burn patients lacking vitamin D are at high risk of infection. |
| D．Minor burns have no effect on patients’ vitamin D levels. |
| A．The researchers. | B．Vitamin D pills. |
| C．Previous studies. | D．Some kinds of vitamins. |
| A．Vitamin D: A Necessity for Our Health |
| B．Vitamin D Pills: When Are They Needed? |
| C．Vitamin D: How Much Does the Body Need? |
| D．Vitamin D Pills: Heal Burns &. Prevent Scarring |
4 . We all know about the health benefits of swimming. It offers a great workout for the body—it builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. If you don't mind getting wet, it can be fun too. But who would enjoy swimming in water that is ice cold. Well, many people are taking the plunge, based on evidence that it can actually be good for us.
Cold-water swimming—sometimes called wild swimming—involves swimming in natural areas including ponds, rivers and the sea. Jumping in gives a short sharp shock to the body, but many participants say they get used to it. A cold dip might wake you up, but research has found it can have much bigger benefits than that for your body and mind. As well as being good exercise, spending time outdoors and by water improves wellbeing.
There is much evidence, mostly anecdotal, that suggests cold-water swimming has cured certain health conditions. One man who suffered constant pain after surgery claimed he was cured by taking a plunge in cold open water. And another swimmer, Sandria Simons, told the BBC “the immersion of your body in cold, salt water, just feeling like you're at one with nature if you like, just feels amazing. ”
But what is it that people are gaining from this chilly experience? Doctors say getting into cold water evokes a stress response, but the more you do it, your reaction to stress is reduced. It's also thought to have a strong anti-inflammatory effect. But there are bigger benefits to this stress-reducing exercise. Some experts believe cold-water swimming helps 'cross-adaptation', where one form of stress prepares the body for another. For example? it also helps reduce the stress of exercising at high altitude.
So, if you're convinced that this is for you, take advice: approach it with caution, swim with a friend, and maybe start in the summer, when the water temperatures are higher!
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．Swimming and health. | B．Cold-water swimming. |
| C．Reducing stress. | D．A chilly experience. |
| A．The sharp body shock. | B．The benefit. |
| C．The cold dip. | D．The research. |
| A．It brings you close to nature. | B．It cures certain health conditions. |
| C．It has cross-adaptation effects. | D．It's a great physical exercise. |
| A．Start at an early age. | B．Do it immediately. |
| C．Adapt first in cold water. | D．Safety comes first. |
5 . Rome wasn't built in a day. And neither was the Roman subway system. Underground work is slow going, because construction workers often meet with frescoes(壁画) and other valuable stone foundations thousands of years ago. And a few years ago, they found the wooden foundations of a luxurious porch from a Roman building.
So local archaeologists called in Mauro Bernabei of the National Research Council of Italy. He's a dendrochronologist: someone who analyzes tree rings, which give age and environmental information.
"We have to study wood because it's full, really full, of information!" Bernabei and his team found that the wooden planks were oak(橡木). But the wood's origin was harder to determine. So they compared the tree rings in the oak floor to those available in libraries of tree rings that contain timber from all over Europe. And they found a match for the Roman wood—from the Jura region of eastern France, more than 600 miles away.
The researchers also determined that it was used in about 40 to 60 B.C. And some came from trees already up to 300 years old when they were cut down. The details are in the journal PLOS ONE.
The discovery is the first clear evidence of oak from north of the Alps being used to build ancient Rome. And it's a reminder that the Romans had a complex trading network. These trees, for example, likely floated down two rivers, across the Mediterranean and up another river to Rome.
Bernabei says Roman archaeologists usually destroy ancient wood—it's not as valuable as jewelry and vases and frescos. But he's hoping this study might change their minds."Save the wood, yes! And call me,if you don't want to save—please, call me!"He says.
1. Why does the subway in Rome go slowly?| A．It is hard to dig up the earth in Rome. |
| B．There are many ancient ruins buried here. |
| C．It is very dangerous to work too fast in Rome |
| D．The Roman are not experienced in building subways |
| A．The wealth in ancient Rome |
| B．The trading information of ancient Rome |
| C．The culture of ancient Rome |
| D．The social relations of ancient Rome |
| A．The stone | B．The subway |
| C．The French wood | D．The Roman foundation |
| A．Scientists found some information about ancient Rome |
| B．Wood was not as valuable as stones in ancient Rome |
| C．Only the rich people in ancient Rome could use wood |
| D．Ancient Rome could have a rich trading network. |
6 . Naturally, American schoolchildren love holidays. And they get a lot of them each year. Besides having national holidays such as Thanksgiving and Presidents’ Day off from school, students get longer breaks in the spring and during the summer holidays. In fact, kids in the US only go to school for about 180 days a year. To students, holidays are perfect. However, parents think there are advantages and disadvantages.
On the one hand, school holidays allow families to spend time together. Many American parents take time off from work during June, July or August to travel with their children on vacations either in the US or in a foreign country. On the other hand, schoolchildren get much more time off school than parents get vacation time. This means that parents with young children may have to pay more in babysitting or daycare costs. As well, the long summer holidays mean that students sometimes get bored.
Besides going on trips with their parents, American students enjoy taking part in different kinds of activities during the holidays. For example, some kids enjoy summer camps and outdoor adventure holidays. Such trips are great for adventurous students. They also have a lot to offer students who aren’t usually interested in traditional PE activities. You can do courses in survival skills, for example. Students learn how to make a camp in the forest, which wild food they can eat and how to find their way back to the center.
Students who are not excited about summer camps and outdoor adventure may take part in courses in computer game design, filmmaking and photography during the holidays. Finally, the traditional school trip to foreign countries is always popular. Students can practice their foreign language skills and experience everyday life in a different culture.
1. How long are kids in the US at school every year?| A．About 180 days. | B．About 280 days. | C．About 200 days. | D．About 300 days. |
| A．Some kids. | B．Different traditional PE activities. |
| C．Parents. | D．Summer camps and outdoor adventure. |
| A．Both parents and students think school holidays are perfect. |
| B．Parents can take care of their young children during all the holidays. |
| C．Students enjoy taking part in different kinds of activities during holidays. |
| D．Students don’t like to have school trips to foreign countries during holidays. |
| A．School Trips in the US | B．School Holidays in the US |
| C．School Activities in the US | D．Outdoor Adventure in the US |
7 . As the pandemic separates us from loved ones, many of us are trying to stay connected through texting, email, and social media, even taking the opportunity to reconnect with long-lost friends.
But if our goal is to feel closer to people and enjoy our conversations more, we’d better pick up the phone, according to a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.
In the study, participants (参与者)imagined having a conversation with a friend they hadn't been in touch with for at least two years and made predictions (预测) about how it would feel to connect by phone versus(对比)email. "We think it's going to be awkward to talk to somebody, but that just turns out not to be the case," says lead author Amit Kumar. "Instead... people form stronger connection when they're talking on the phone than when communicating over email. ”
The same result held true when the researchers had participants do a conversation exercise with strangers using either video chatting, audio(声音的),only chatting, or text-chatting. People who used media that included the voice had more satisfying exchanges and felt closer to their new friends than the text-chatters.
Why? Likely it's because our voices communicate a variety of emotions, helping others to read us better and to feel like they really know us. Hearing someone's voice helps understand each other better —in some cases, even better than video chatting.
So, while texting can be useful, it's not the best way to get the most out of socializing. If we're looking for greater happiness and connection, we should give someone a call.
1. What do the underlined words “the case” in Paragraph 3 refer to?| A．Stronger connection is possible. |
| B．Predictions agree with the results. |
| C．Talking on the phone is awkward. |
| D．Communication over e-mail is effective. |
| A．They can talk more quickly. |
| B．Voices show more emotions. |
| C．Voices are easier to understand. |
| D．They are more familiar with voice. |
| A．By quoting experts' words. | B．By telling stories. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By introducing theories. |
| A．Text chatting. | B．Sending emails. |
| C．Making calls. | D．Writing letters. |
8 . In my everyday life, I am on an ongoing journey to figure out different ways to reduce my carbon footprint on the planet. A carbon footprint is the measure of influence our activities have on the environment, in particular climate change. It is calculated by the amount of greenhouse gas we produce in our daily lives. Fortunately, nowadays it is much easier to make eco-friendly lifestyle choices than, let's say, 20 years ago. But one question has been on my mind a lot lately: is it better to buy new eco-friendly products or used traditionally produced goods?
After doing some research, I have decided that some things are better new and others are better used. Let me try to explain.
A carbon footprint is made up of two parts, the primary footprint and the secondary footprint. The primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions(排放)of carbon dioxide(CO2)from the burning of fuels, including household energy consumption and transportation. The secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole lifecycle of products we use-those related to their production and breakdown.
Based on this understanding, we have a good deal of control and responsibility over our carbon footprint. Things like dishes, clothes and furniture fall into the “secondary footprint” group, so less is more and we can focus on finding used goods to avoid the added production. However, for the car and the other appliances(设备)that we need we can go with new, energy-saving models. I heard somewhere that electronics and appliances give off 90% of their carbon footprint after they leave the factory. So it seems most reasonable to go for the energy-saving models. The main concern here is the amount of energy that goes into the making of new products and whether or not that extra carbon is worth the footprint the product will make once it gets to you.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．What appliances to buy to save energy. |
| B．What a carbon footprint means in our life. |
| C．How to identify different carbon footprints. |
| D．How to make eco-friendly lifestyle choices. |
| A．It is related to our consumption of fuels. |
| B．It is made when we are buying the products. |
| C．It is less harmful than the primary carbon footprint. |
| D．It is counted as ours though not directly made by us. |
| A．Using second-hand textbooks. | B．Using old and expensive cars. |
| C．Buying new but cheap clothes. | D．Buying new wooden furniture. |
| A．using the product | B．recycling the product |
| C．making the product | D．transporting the product |
9 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar(农历）divides the year into 24 solar terms(节气）．Start of Winter, the 19th solar term of the year,begins this year on Nov 7 and ends on Nov 21.
Start of Winter is the first solar term of winter,which means winter is coming and crops harvested in autumn should he stored up.
In ancient times, the Start of Winter was regarded as the beginning of winter, however,due to geographical factors, the actual winter time varies from place to place.
In fact,the Start of Winter is not the beginning of winter in terms of meteorology(气象学）。The weather every year is different, so the beginning of winter could be quite different.And as China is very large, it starts at different times in different areas.
The beginnings of the four seasons were important festivals in ancient times. Before the Start of Winter,the ancient emperor would take a shower and have no more meat.On that day,the emperor would lead his officials to the countryside and"welcome the winter".
People eat dumplings on the beginning of winter. Legend has it that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty,Zhang Zhongjing invented "Jiao Ear"(娇耳）to treat typhoid(伤寒） patients with ear frostbite(冻疮）.He cooked mutton,hot peppers and herbs to drive out the cold and warm up the body.He put these materials into a dough skin and made them into an ear shape.Since then,people have learned to make the food which became known as "dumpling" or jiaozi. Today there is still a saying that goes "Eat dumplings on Start of Winter Day, or your ears will be frostbitten.”
1. Which of the following is right about Start of Winter?| A．It is one of the solar terns in Chinese calendar. |
| B．People begin to harvest crops on this day. |
| C．Winter begins on November 7 this year. |
| D．It begins in different months in different places. |
| A．the Start of Winter |
| B．the change of weather |
| C．the important festival |
| D．the beginning of winter |
| A．Importance of Start of Winter. |
| B．Customs of Start of Winter. |
| C．Origin(起源）of Start of Winter. |
| D．Food eaten on Start of Winter. |
| A．Because dumplings can drive away typhoid. |
| B．Because they wish for good luck for themselves. |
| C．Because eating dumplings can warm up their ears. |
| D．Because they want to prevent the coming of winter. |
10 . The terraced rapeseed(油菜)flower hills of Jiangling, Wuyuan is well-known as one of the four “seas of flowers” in China, attracting thousands of plant-loving tourists to come and appreciate and photograph the vast and endless rapeseed flower fields.
“Rapeseed flowers are the messenger of spring,” said Bin Zhan, manager of Jiangxi Wuyuan Tourism, “Jiangling is the best place for a relaxing spring trip to enjoy the most visually impressive views of golden seas of rapeseed blossoms covering layered terrace fields”.
The rapeseed blossom in the terraced fields of Jiangling, located 45 kilometres to the northeast of Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, reached full bloom in the second week of March.
This year. Wuyuan restores ancient farming traditions and practices to give visitors an idea or the history ，culture and folk customs of the county by adding scarecrows(稻草人) in the rapeseed flower fields. The creative scarecrows of Wuyuan County are designed in the shapes of popular cartoon characters, Hui-style architecture and folk customs. They are placed in the rapeseed fields to provide more fun and interactions for visitors on flower viewing tours.
“As flower viewing is becoming more popular in recent years, Jiangling is seeing a growing number of returning visitors, especially professional photograph who come back every year for the dramatic rapeseed blossoms,” Zhan said. “The blossoms only last one to two months. April is the last chance to catch a flower-viewing tour this year.”
In addition to flower viewing, Wuyuan County is also home to the most well-protected ancient Hui-style architecture in China. As one of the most beautiful countryside villages in China, it attracts photographers from around the world every year to document not only the natural scenery, but also the unique farming culture and folk traditions.
1. Which is NOT one of the features of the rapeseed blossoms of Jiangling？| A．The rapeseed fields cover a limited area. |
| B．The rapeseed is planted on layered terraces. |
| C．Rapeseed flowers blossom, at the beginning of spring. |
| D．When the flowers blossom, the fields are like a golden sea. |
| A．Folk customs. | B．Hui-style buildings. |
| C．Creative scarecrows. | D．Models of popular cartoon characters. |
| A．Returning visitors get discount when entering Jiangling. |
| B．Visitors could catch the last flower viewing tour in May. |
| C．It is in March and April that Jiangling has the most visitors. |
| D．Not many professional photographers will go to see the blossoms. |
| A．To introduce Wuyuan County as a tourist destination. |
| B．To report how many people visited Jiangling this year. |
| C．To introduce the history of rapeseed farming in Jiangling. |
| D．To remind visitors the best viewing time for rapeseed blossoms. |
