1 . It is a well accepted assumption that students come to colleges to get good grades and that they are usually too busy to do anything else.

But Connie Snyder Mick, an academic director of the Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame, says it is just half of the truth. There are many volunteering centers like hers at the colleges and universities in the United States. Mick says these centers help students seek an experience that may not be directly related to a student’s academic progress, but that is still important.

Volunteering is not uncommon in higher education. Many college groups organize volunteer events for different causes. Officials in charge of student housing often organize such events to help build a sense of community. Participation in these kinds of activities is good for students, Mick says. For example, the busy nature of college life can create a lot of stress for students. Doing something completely unrelated to a student's studies can help calm them by putting their mind on other things.

For a more meaningful addition to their college experience. Mick urges students to visit centers like the one she heads. She says these centers exist to create volunteer opportunities that are more complex and meaningful than just a day spent cleaning a local park or raising money, for example.

Such volunteering centers often partner with local organizations that serve the people of the nearby communities. Even for students with little interest in building a connection with the local communities, there is still value in what volunteer centers have to offer, Mick says. She notes some opportunities can push students to use what they are learning in the classroom out in the real world and having that kind of experience can make a student appealing to employers in the years to come.

1. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Academic progress.

B．College education.

C．Volunteering experience.

D．Center for Social Concerns.

2. What is the housing officials’ main purpose in organizing those events?

A．To give students good part-time jobs.

B．To raise money for different celebrations.

C．To help build a closer bond among the students.

D．To improve the living conditions for the students.

3. How can these centers’ activities benefit the students according to Mick?

A．By helping them focus on their study.

B．By offering chances to test their knowledge.

C．By protecting them from the local communities.

D．By increasing their competitiveness in the job market.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Colorful College Life in the USA

B．Guidelines for Volunteering Center Selection

C．Volunteering: a Meaningful Addition to College Life

D．A Valuable Platform: Mick's Center for Social Concerns

2 . Last May I was hired by a large government agency. I had seven coworkers and a boss, Mrs. King. Our job was to sort huge amounts of mail into four hundred slots( 位置). We delivered the mail out of grocery carts we wheeled from office to office, picking up outgoing mail as we went along. Each mail delivery took an entire half-day to sort and deliver.

My troubles began almost as soon as I arrived. I was horrified to see that the slots were labeled not with people’s names but with their initials. Without thinking, I asked why this was a good idea, only to receive a sharp glance from Mrs. King. So I repeated the question. This time Mrs. King told me not to question what I didn’t understand. It was the first of many such exchanges, and I hadn’t been on the job a half-hour. The longer I worked at the job, the more I saw how inefficient all the procedures were, from delivery routes to times for coffee breaks.

When I asked Mrs. King about the procedures, however, she always reacted the same way. I continued with it over the next seven weeks, but my efforts were fruitless, even counterproductive.

Two months later, I was fired. I objected, of course. The personnel manager asked me if I had ever heard of the barnyard pecking order: the top chicken pecks on the one below it, the second pecks on the third, and so on all the way down the line to the lowliest chicken, whose life is a constant misery. Mrs. King, the manager said, was that lowliest chicken at the bottom of the pecking order in the agency’s management. No one should doubt for a moment that she ruled her rooster.

I reflected upon my adventure in the agency. Eventually I saw how arrogant, and how unsympathetic, my behavior had been. In my next job, I ’ll learn the pecking order before I become a reformer, if I do.

1. What trouble did the author meet when he started his job?

A．He had too many co-workers and a boss to work with.

B．He found the slots were labeled not with full names but initials.

C．He had to spend too much time in sorting and delivering.

D．His boss Mrs King glanced at him sharply and answered him quickly.

2. Why was the author fired two months later?

A．He questioned his boss Mrs King endlessly.

B．He did not work according to work procedures.

C．He worked inefficiently.

D．He did not make his efforts to work.

3. What does the barnyard pecking order in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．work procedure	B．job morality
C．production line	D．ranking system

4. What have the author learned from his job adventure?

A．Honesty	B．Self-confidence
C．Respect	D．Perseverance

3 . Language experts say that spoken English was almost the same in the American colonies and Britain two hundred years ago. Americans began to change the sound of their speech after the Revolutionary War in1776. They wanted to make it different to separate themselves from the British in language, in the same way they separated themselves from the British government.

Some American leaders proposed(建议) major changes in the language. Benjamin Franklin wanted a whole new system of spelling. His reforms(改革) were not accepted. But his ideas did influence others. One was Noah Webster.

Webster wrote language books for schools. He believed the United States should have a system of its own language as well as government. Webster published a dictionary of the American language in 1828. It established rules for speaking and spelling the words used in American English.

Webster wrote that all words should be said in the order of the letters that spell them. This is why Americans use the letters “e-r” to end many words instead of the British “r-e.” He spelled the word “center,” for example, “c-e-n-t-e-r,” instead of the British “c-e-n-t-r-e.”

Webster’s rule for saying every part of a word made American English easier for foreign settlers to learn. They learned to say “waist-coat,” for example, the way it is spelled instead of the British “wes-kit.”

The different languages of many people who came to the United States also helped make American and British English different. Many of their foreign words and expressions became part of English As Americans speak them.

Sometimes Americans and British people do not understand each other because of different word meanings. For example, the word “jumper” in Britain means a sweater. In the United States, it is a dress. The British word “brolly” is an “umbrella” in America. And the British call potato chips “crisps”. All of these differences led British writer George Bernard Shaw to joke that Britain and America are two countries separated by the same language!

1. What does the underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refer to?

A．Separating themselves from the British in language.	B．Written English in America.
C．Spoken English in America.	D．Spoken English in Britain.

2. Why did American want their language to differ from British English?

A．Because they found British English hard to speak.

B．Because they found British English hard to spell.

C．Because they wanted to have their own language and government.

D．Because foreign settlers wanted them to change their language.

3. Why do Americans use the word “meter” instead of the word “metre”?

A．Because Benjamin Franklin didn’t like the word “metre”.

B．Because the word “meter” was absorbed from other languages.

C．Because Webster thought the word should be said in order of the letters that are spelt.

D．Because Webster thought American English should be made easier for foreign settlers to learn.

4. Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons why English began to change in America?

A．The government leaders.	B．Noah Webster.
C．Immigration to America.	D．The difficulty Americans had in understanding the British.

4 . In any given week, about four dozen kids visit Dr. David Abramson’s preschool-like clinic at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. And while most of them are barely old enough to speak, because of Dr. Abramson and the groundbreaking medical procedure he has created for a rare and potentially deadly eye cancer called retinoblastoma, they can see.

In the past, if the cancer didn’t respond well to then-available treatments, survival required removing the cancerous eye. The parents, however, will often choose to let their children die with their eyes intact rather than live without them.

“This was a transformational change in our field,” says Dr. Abramson, who began using the technique in 2006. “Overnight, we went from taking out children’s eyes to not taking out children’s eyes.”

But there’s an aspect of the technique that Dr. Abramson doesn’t talk about much, even though it is as inspirational as the technique itself. He refused to patent it. Pursuing a patent, he feared, would have meant the technique would be kept secret for a long period of time while the paperwork was approved by the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office. In the meantime, untold numbers of children would have suffered and perhaps died.

Patent experts wouldn’t make a guess on exactly how much money Dr. Abramson left on the Table by not patenting his procedure. But the purpose of a medical procedure patent is that it allows a doctor to profit by teaching others to perform the procedure.

“I want people to know that when I do something, it’s from my scientific heart, not because I have any financial benefit,” he says. “And ultimately, our goal is to help children. Our driving force in this is not to make money. ”

1. What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Eyes.	B．Parents.
C．Children.	D．Treatments.

2. Why didn’t Dr. Abramson get the technique patented?

A．He feared that the technique might be kept secret forever.

B．He didn’t like the idea of teaching others about the technique.

C．The application process meant many sufferings and even deaths.

D．The application process would require too much money and time.

3. What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?

A．To introduce an eye cancer.

B．To give credit to Dr. Abramson.

C．To recommend an evolutionary cure.

D．To show the difficulty of a patent application.

5 . The Torch Festival (火把节) is a traditional festival which is celebrated among some ethnic groups in southwestern China, such as the Yi, Bai, Hani, Lisu, and Lahu, etc. It usually falls on the 24th or 25th of June, with three days of celebrations. The festival came from worship (崇拜) of fire by ancestors (祖先). For some ethnic groups, it’s a tradition in the festival for elders to share farming experience with young people and educate them about taking care of crops.

During the festival, big torches are made to stand in all villages, with small torches placed in front of the door of each house. When night falls, the torches are lit and the villages are bright. At the same time, people walk around the fields and houses, holding small torches and placing the torches in the field corners. Inside the villages, young people are singing and dancing around the big torches that keep burning throughout the night. Other activities like horse races are also held during the festival.

In a horse race of the Yi people in Yunnan, torches are used to form hurdles for riders to get through. The Hani people in Yunnan traditionally tie fruits to torches with strings. When the strings are broken after the torches are lit, people struggle for the fruits for good luck.

For the Lisu people in Sichuan, the festival is an occasion for holding torch parades. Big torches are carried by teams of people, which is like a fire dragon. If different teams meet, it’s a tradition to exchange the big torches with one another.

1. What can we know about the Torch Festival from the first paragraph?

A．It has nothing to do with farming.

B．Its celebrations usually last two days.

C．It is a traditional festival of all China.

D．It is a festival to show worship of fire.

2. What does the underlined word “them” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A．ancestors.	B．young people.
C．elders.	D．ethnic groups.

3. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?

A．Why the festival is enjoyed.	B．Where the festival is celebrated.
C．How the festival is celebrated.	D．What torches are used for the festival.

4. Which is a way that Lisu people in Sichuan celebrate the festival according to the text?

A．Holding torch parades.	B．Tying fruits to torches with strings.
C．Struggling for fruits for good luck.	D．Using torches as hurdles for a horse race.

6 . The ruins of a Maya city have been discovered in Guatemala with the help of the remote sensing technique LiDAR. This lost city envelops sites like Tikal, Holmul, and Witzna, but shows that these famous areas are a small part of this lost urban network.

Hidden under the jungles of the Maya Biosphere Reserve site, more than 60,000 human-made features — homes, canals, highways, and more — have been identified in aerial (从飞机上的)images collected by some international researchers headed by the PAGUNAM Foundation, a Maya cultural and natural heritage organization. Those have experts rethinking the outlines and complexity of the Maya Empire.

These ancient peoples obviously created these imaginative cultures based on their known relics (遗迹), but the new research has suggested that the size of this lost society is far beyond what experts imagined. The findings will be explored in a one-hour documentary called “Lost Treasures of the Maya Snake Kings”, to be broadcast on the National Geographic Channel.

This breakthrough was possible thanks to LiDAR sensors, which can survey lands in 3D by bouncing pulses off the ground from unmanned air vehicles and others. LiDAR is exceptionally useful for detecting archeological(考古的)sites, as it gets through jungles and other features that hold up exploration on the ground. The technique has made many discoveries become a reality in recent years. For instance, major finds at Angkor, Cambodia and Caracol, Belize can explain what it did. The final goal is to survey Guatemala’s lowlands with it.

“There are entire cities we didn't know about now showing up in the survey data,” Francisco Estrada-Belli, one of the lead archeologists on the project, said in Nat Geo's coming documentary. “There are 20,000 square kilometres more to be explored and there are going to be hundreds of cities about the mysterious people who built this urban network there that we don’t know about, and we will push back the frontiers with the technology,” he added.

1. What does the underlined word "Those" in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Jungles.	B．Human-made features.
C．Researchers.	D．Aerial images.

2. What does the author want to convey in paragraph 4?

A．The working principle of LiDAR sensors.

B．The process of researching Maya civilization.

C．Great importance of Guatemalans lowlands.

D．LiDAR’s contribution to discovering the relics.

3. Which words can best describe the lost Maya city?

A．Small and hidden.	B．Famous and high-tech.
C．Vast and complex.	D．Fully-explored and imaginative.

4. What will the archeologists do next?

A．Continue to explore the unknown.	B．Upgrade the LiDAR technology.
C．Study the documentary carefully.	D．Build a massive urban network,

7 . The voice of an ancient Egyptian priest has been heard for the first time in more than 3,000 years, thanks to a detailed reconstruction of his vocal tract (声带) from his mummified remains.

A team of scientists in England used medical scans of the famous mummy of Nesyamun to create a digital, 3D model of the insides of the individual’s throat and mouth, which were reproduced on a 3D printer. Then the researchers created an artificial larynx (喉头) with a loudspeaker using an electronic waveform. The sound was then played through the speaker into the 3D printed vocal tract to produce a short bust of Nesyamun’s voice — a sound not heard since the 11th century B.C.

Previous efforts to reproduce ancient voices could only approximate them, by animating facial reconstructions with software. In comparison, the sound of Nesyamun’s voice is based on “an extant (现存的) vocal tract preserved over 3,000 years,” the researchers wrote.

Nesyamun lived around 1100 B.C. He is thought to have died in his late 50s from a severe allergic reaction. Almost 3,000 years later, his mummy was discovered at Karnak and transported to the Leeds City Museum in 1823. His remains and ornate coffin (棺材) have since become some of the world’s best researched relics of ancient Egypt.

“Nesyamun’s mummy was a good choice for studying the sound of an ancient voice,” said David Howard, the lead author of the new research, “It was particularly suited, given its age and preservation of its soft tissues, which is unusual.”

He said he hopes the scientific understanding of how human voices are created can be combined with knowledge of the ancient Egyptian language to reconstruct longer passages of Nesyamun’s speech.

Before examining the mummy, the researchers had to deal with ethical (道德的) concerns related to examining a person without their consent. They used nondestructive research methods, and took into account words on his coffin, relating that Nesyamun hoped again to address the gods as he had in his working life.

The researchers interpreted that to indicate his desire to speak again after death. “We are in a way fulfilling his declared wishes,” Howard said.

Howard and Schofield said they hope a reconstruction of Nesyamun’s speech, perhaps reciting an ancient Egyptian prayer, can be featured at the Karnak temple in Egypt for modem tourists.

“When visitors encounter the past, it is usually a visual encounter,” said Schofield. “With this voice, we can change that.”

1. The voice of Nesyamun was recreated by _____.

A．repairing his vocal tract

B．bringing Nesyamun back to life

C．using some advanced technologies

D．combining it with facial movements

2. Why was Nesyamun’s mummy suitable for research?

A．He often gave long speeches.

B．His vocal tract is well preserved.

C．A severe disease resulted in his death.

D．His remains are displayed in the museum.

3. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 8 refer to?

A．The researchers took into account words on his coffin.

B．Nesyamun’s mummy was examined without his consent.

C．The researchers hope to reconstruct longer passages of his speech.

D．Nesyamun hoped to address the gods as he had in his working life.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．A 3000-year-old mummy speaks again

B．The voice of a mummy excites visitors

C．A 3D-printed vocal tract has been created

D．The dream of Nesyamun has been achieved

8 . To be clear, plastic bags are rightly thought of as a threat that's harmful to human health. According to the National Resources Defense Council, over a decade ago, the average American family took home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year, filling our cabinets, kitchen drawers, and landfills (垃圾填埋场). Today the numbers are slightly better: According to National Geographic, as of 2018, shoppers in the United States use almost one plastic bag per resident per day.

This is not a story on the evil of plastics, but on whether the reusable bag can justify its existence. Although more environmentally friendly than traditional single-use plastic bags, reusable bags, depending on what they are made of, are more energy-intensive (耗能) to recycle.

According to a report by the United Nations Environment Program, “depending on what they are made of, reusable bags might have to be deconstructed in a costly recycling process to separate the different materials. As a result, in many cases, reusable bags are not recycled." That means despite the best intentions, millions of reusable bags designed to replace the need for traditional plastic shopping bags, will also end up in landfills.

Another point to consider, not all reusable bags are equal in terms of their recyclability. There are a wide range of reusable bag options on the market, and reusable bags tend to be made of more than one material to give the bag added reinforcement (耐用) and added street fashion. On a life cycle basis, stronger, heavier bags-no matter what material they are made of-will have a more severe environmental effect. That's because heavier bags use more resources to produce as well as distribute.

Just like plastic bags did, reusable bags multiply rapidly. Used for promotional (促销的)purposes and marketing of all kinds, reusable bags' growing popularity means bags that have been used very little (or not at all) can be found piled in streets, in garbage cans in city parks, and basically everywhere. Therefore, consumers have come to see them as disposable, defeating their very purpose.

In the end, the best practice for reusable bags is to have no half measures: Either use them all the time or don't use them at all. Using a reusable bag once or twice, and then throwing it away, doesn't do the environment any favors.

1. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Plastic bags are refused by environmentalists.

B．Shops in America have limited the use of plastic bags.

C．The need of strong and fashionable reusable bags is more than the supply.

D．Reusable bags demand more resources to produce and recycle than expected.

2. The words “very purpose" in Paragraph 6 refer to the intention of __________.

A．being left in landfills

B．being used as much as possible

C．replacing plastic bags

D．promoting goods on the market

3. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．How to Recycle Reusable Bags

B．Disadvantages of Plastic Bags

C．Reusable Bags? Think Twice!

D．Plastic Bags, Less Popular?

4. Which of the following shows the development of ideas in the passage?
I: Introduction     CP: Central Point     P: Point     Sp: Sub-point (次要点)     C: Conclusion

A．	B．
C．	D．

9 . There’s an assumption that you will enjoy good weather whenever you plan a trip. The good weather assumption is right up there with other ridiculous assumptions, like nobody will get sick, you won’t have car trouble and the kids will get along beautifully.

We planned a weekend trip with 12 family members to enjoy the loveliness of the fall at a rented lake house based on these assumptions. A month before, the forecast temperature was 18℃. Perfect sweater weather. Three weeks before, the temperature forecast began warming around 23℃. No need for sweaters. Fifteen days before, my weather app showed clouds and raindrops. Find the raincoats. Two days before, there was a 90 percent chance of rain. And the day before we took off, the forecast changed from a 90 percent chance of rain to 100 percent.

We arrived at our destination and saw threatening clouds but no rain. "To the beach! Run, kids! Run!" someone yelled. Everyone ran. The kids jumped in small waves, threw rocks and got their shoes and pants wet. Then the rain came. "To the house! Run!" someone yelled.

That continued for the rest of the trip. "To the beach!" "To the house!" "To the beach!"

During a normal afternoon, we would run to the beach, light a fire, and make biscuits before the sky turned a threatening steel blue (钢青色). Then, the wind would kick up, the rain would arrive, and we would go back to the house.

On our final night, there was a huge storm. The lights in the house began to switch off and on, and the waves from the lake roared (呼啸). We all pressed our noses against the windows and agreed it was way better than watching the Weather Channel. Later, we played board games and sang songs, then slept to the sound of rain hitting the house and waves roaring along the shore. The next morning, we loaded the cars and pulled away, leaving blue skies without a cloud in sight behind.

We don’t always get what we want, but sometimes, what we get instead can still be enjoyable too.

1. Before taking the trip, what did the author do?

A．She didn’t believe what the weather app showed.

B．She paid little attention to changes in weather.

C．She made several plans for different weather conditions.

D．She imagined what sort of clothes her family would need to wear.

2. What does the underlined word "That" in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The kids running to and from the beach.	B．The waves roaring along the shore.
C．The kids jumping into the lake.	D．The rain hitting the house.

3. What was the weather like on the morning when the author’s family were leaving?

A．Rainy.	B．Stormy.
C．Sunny.	D．Cloudy.

4. We can infer from the trip that the authors family       .

A．were upset about the bad weather

B．still had a good time despite the weather

C．preferred the indoor activities

D．would never choose to go to the lake house again

10 . Technology offers conveniences such as opening the garage door from your car or changing the television station without touching the TV.

Now one American company is offering its employees a new convenience: a microchip implanted (把……植入) in their hands. Employees who have these chips can do all kinds of things just by waving their hands. Three Square Market is offering to implant microchips in all of their employees for free. Each chip costs $ 300 and Three Square Market will pay for the chips. Employees can volunteer to have the chips implanted in their hands. 50 out of the 80 employees have chosen to do so. Todd Westby is Chief Executive Officer of Three Square Market. Westby and his wife, and their children are also getting chips implanted in their hands.

The chip is about the size of a grain of rice. Implanting the chip only takes about a second and is said to hurt only very briefly. The chips go under the skin between the thumb and forefinger. With a chip in the hand, a person can enter the office building, buy food, log in to computers and more, simply by waving that hand near a scanner. The chips will be also used to identify employees. Employees who want convenience, but do not want to have a microchip implanted under their skin, can wear a wristband(腕带) or a ring with a chip instead. They can perform the same tasks with a wave of their hands as if they had an implanted chip.

Three Square Market is the first company in the United States to offer to implant chips in its employees. Epicenter, a Digital House of Innovation in Sweden, has implanted chips in its employees for a while.

Three Square Market says the chips cannot track the employees. The company says scanners can read the chips only when they are within a few inches of them. "The chips protect against identity theft, similar to credit cards." The U. S. Food and Drug Administration agreed the chips back in 2004, so they should be safe for humans, according to the company.

In the future, people with the chips may be able to do more with them, even outside the office. Westby says, "Eventually, this technology will become standardized, allowing you to use this as your passport, for public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc."

1. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The potential risks of implanting the chips.	B．The replacement of the chips.
C．The places to implant the chips.	D．The advantages of the chips.

2. What does the underlined word "them" in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．The hands.	B．The scanners.
C．The employees.	D．The credit cards.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．The chips have magic powers.

B．The price of the chips is reasonable.

C．The chips are very popular among the employees.

D．Most people suspect the application of the chips.

4. Which of the following best describes Todd Westby's attitude towards the chips?

A．Defensive.	B．Disappointed.
C．Casual.	D．Optimistic.