1 . Do you want to live another 100 years or more？Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
“I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生),”said Michael Zey，a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “I think by 2075 we will see it and that's a conservative estimate（保守的估计）.”
At the conference in San Francisco，Donald Louria,a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nano technology（纳米技术）make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. “There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”
However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last past about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less diseases, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live." It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life？" said Leonard Poon，director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Centre." At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all."
1. By saying “we are knocking at the door of immortality”, what does Michael Zey mean?| A．they believe that there is no limit of living |
| B．they are sure to find the truth about long living |
| C．they have got some ideas about living forever |
| D．they are able to make people live past the present life span |
| A．people can live from 120 to 180 years |
| B．it is still doubtful how long humans can live |
| C．the human body is designed to last past about 120 years |
| D．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future |
| A．a great push | B．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years |
| C．the idea of living beyond the present life span | D．the conservative estimate |
| A．Living Longer or Not | B．Science，Technology and Long Living |
| C．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living | D．No Limit for Human Life |
2 . My name is Lwazi Nzimande. I started my schooling at Thukeyana Primary Farm School in Underberg, KwaZuluNatal.
I had a favourite teacher in primary school. Her name was Miss Dube. She taught me natural science and human social sciences in grade six and seven, and had a way of pushing learners to be able to think for themselves. She made sure that each and every learner took part in every lesson. She used pictures, diagrams (图表) and other things to make learning easier and more unforgettable, moving at a pace that was suitable for all students. As a teacher, she showed patience, respect, open-mindedness, and reliability (可靠性). Now you see why she was my favourite teacher in primary school, don't you?
In my opinion, patience, respect, open-mindedness, and reliability are some of the things that all teachers should have and show. A patient teacher is one who understands that some learners need more explanation than others to understand something in class. He or she should always be willing to help learners. An open-minded teacher will go beyond what is found in the textbook. A teacher who is respected will find it easy to control a class. Respect is earned through what a teacher says to learners or how he or she deals with them in general.
Miss Dube often told us not to badmouth or make fun of others. She also did so. She never badmouthed other teachers in front of us. Also, Miss Dube never made fun of her learners. She thought making fun of learners in front of others would hurt them and damage their confidence.
Miss Dube was also very honest. From my point of view, that's also what a good teacher should be like. If she didn't have an answer to a question, she would let her learners know. This set a good example to the learners.
1. Why was Miss Dube the author's favourite teacher?| A．Because of her rich knowledge. |
| B．Because of her good appearance. |
| C．Because of her teaching style and character. |
| D．Because of her lifestyle and attitude to students. |
| A．Pay close attention to every student's improvement. |
| B．Tell about something outside the textbook. |
| C．Avoid believing everything in the textbook. |
| D．Show great respect for her students. |
| A．She liked praising her students. | B．She was very confident in class. |
| C．She got along well with other teachers. | D．She set a good example to her students. |
| A．Being a very patient teacher. | B．Answering students' questions. |
| C．Being honest in front of students. | D．Teaching students very difficult things. |
3 . In the mid-1990s, Tom Bissell taught English as a volunteer in Uzbekistan. He left after seven months, physically broken and having lost his mind. A few years later, still attracted to the country, he returned to Uzbekistan to write an article about the disappearance of the Aral Sea.
His visit, however, ended up involving a lot more than that. Hence this book, Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia, which talks about a road trip from Tashkent to Karakalpakstan, where millions of lives have been destroyed by the slow drying up of the sea. It is the story of an American travelling to a strange land, and of the people he meets on his way: Rustam, his translator, a lovely 24-year-old who picked up his colorful English in California, Oleg and Natasha, his hosts in Tashkent, and a string of foreign aid workers.
This is a quick look at life in Uzbekistan, made of friendliness and warmth, but also its darker side of society. In Samarkand, Mr Bissell admires the architectural wonders, while on his way to Bukhara he gets a taste of police methods when suspected of drug dealing. In Ferghana, he attends a mountain funeral(葬礼)followed by a strange drinking party. And in Karakalpakstan, he is saddened by the dust storms, diseases and fishing boats stuck miles from the sea.
Mr Bissell skillfully organizes historical insights and cultural references, making his tale a well-rounded picture of Uzbekistan, seen from Western eyes. His judgment and references are decidedly American, as well as his delicate stomach. As the author explains, this is neither a travel nor a history book, or even a piece of reportage. Whatever it is, the result is a fine and vivid description of the purest of Central Asian traditions.
1. What made Mr Bissell return to Uzbekistan?| A．His friends' invitation. | B．His interest in the country. |
| C．His love for teaching. | D．His desire to regain health. |
| A．Developing a serious mental disease. |
| B．Taking a guided tour in Central Asia. |
| C．Working as a volunteer in Uzbekistan. |
| D．Writing an article about the Aral Sea. |
| A．Romantic. | B．Eventful. | C．Pleasant. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．To introduce a book. | B．To explain a cultural phenomenon. |
| C．To remember a writer. | D．To recommend a travel destination. |
4 . Over a four-year period, Swiss researchers have developed a machine that can keep human livers (肝)alive outside of the body for one week.
Livers are among the most commonly transplanted (移植)human organs. Current technology can only keep human livers alive for up to 24 hours. It is reported that, in 2017, about 8.000 liver transplants were performed in the U.S., of which 360 used livers from living givers In addition, about 11,500 people were registered on a waiting list to receive a liver transplant. Keeping livers alive and functioning for longer periods could greatly improve the chances of survival for patients.
The researchers say the purpose of their “Liver4Life” machine is to perform what they call liver perfusion (灌注)operations outside of the human body. Perfusion is the process by which blood or other liquids are pumped through organs and tissue. The machine keeps the liver at the right temperature and moves it in a way that would be natural in the body. Using a pump to fill the liver with blood acting like a human heart, the machine also provides oxygen to the organ, controls red blood cell levels and removes waste.
The research team began their experiments with livers from pigs. After repeated testing and engineering development, they succeeded in getting the pig livers to survive for seven days with support only provided from the Liver4Life machine. They also discovered the system can work to repair damaged livers. The team is now planning its next step to transplant machine-treated organs into patients.
Pierre-Alain Clavien. leader of the research said in a statement. “This technology will greatly increase the number of livers available for transplant, improving the chances of survival for patients. The success of this unique machine opens the way for many new applications in transplantation and cancer medicine.”
1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 2?| A．Introduce a brand new topic for discussion. |
| B．Provide some latest data about present liver transplants. |
| C．Show the urgency of tech improvement in liver transplants. |
| D．Remind readers concerned of the importance of a healthy liver. |
| A．The machine. | B．The liver. |
| C．The temperature. | D．The tissue. |
| A．It is among the most commonly used machines for liver transplants. |
| B．It is aimed to carry out liver perfusion operations in the human body. |
| C．It can perform several functions to keep the liver working normally. |
| D．It can be used to keep the pig livers alive for more than one week. |
| A．A biology textbook. | B．A first aid brochure. |
| C．A social web page. | D．A health magazine. |
5 . Pigeons (鸽子) may be considered mice of the sky, but some scientists have found greater value in these urban birds: the blueprint for a new generation of flying machines.
Birds can transform the shape of their wings by fanning out their feathers or moving them closer together. Those adjustments allow birds to cut through the sky more flexibly than rigid drones (无人机). Now, using new insights into exactly how pigeons ‘joints control the spread of their wing feathers, researchers have built a robotic pigeon. This research paves the way for creating more light aircraft, says Dario Floreano, a roboticist in Switzerland not involved in the work.
“What’s really cool about this robot is that you can make adjustments in a robotic wing that you could never do when studying flight in a bird”, says David Lentink, an engineer and biologist at Stanford University. A controllable robotic pigeon solves that problem. In flight tests, Lentink’s team observed that bending only the fingers of one wing eased the robot into a banked turn-offering the first evidence that birds may sometimes use just their fingers to direct in flight. In a second study, Lentink’s group used their robotic wing design to confirm another insight into bird flight: how gaps are prevented from forming between feathers on extended wings.
This is the best set of robotic wings yet for testing how birds adjust their flight feathers to move through the air, says Tyson Hedrick, a biomechanist. But “there’s plenty of room for improvement.” For instance, a future flying robot could include a shoulder joint to investigate how waving a bird’s wings up and down influences flight, he says.
1. What is the newly-found worth of pigeons?| A．They help study other species. |
| B．They protect other urban birds. |
| C．They provide proof of mice’s harm. |
| D．They inspire a new aircraft. |
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. |
| C．Neutral. | D．Critical. |
| A．Pigeons in flight can hardly be observed. |
| B．People can’t make adjustments in birds’ wings. |
| C．It is difficult for pigeons to make a banked turn. |
| D．Pigeons fail to control the spread of their wing feathers. |
| A．A travel journal. |
| B．A travel brochure. |
| C．A science fiction. |
| D．A science magazine. |
6 . Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed new artificial intelligence (AI) software to recognize and follow up the faces of individual chimpanzees (黑猩猩) in the wild. The new software will allow researcher and wildlife conservationists to greatly cut back on time spent analyzing videos, according to the new paper published today in Science Advances.
“For species like chimpanzees, which have complex social lives and live for many years, getting photos of their behavior from short-term field research can only tell us so much.” says Dan Sehofield, researcher and DPhil student at Oxford University’s Primate Models Lab, School of Anthropology. “By taking advantage of the power of machine learning to unlock large video files, it makes it possible to measure behavior over the long term.”
The computers model was trained using over 10 million images (影像) from Kyoto University’s Primate Research Institute (PRI) video files of wild chimpanzees in Guinea, West Africa. The new software is the first to continuously track and recognize individuals in a wide range of posed, performing with high accuracy in difficult conditions such as low lighting and poor image quality.
“Access to this large video file has allowed us to use the newest deep neural networks to train models at a scale that was previously not possible,” says Arsha Nagrani, co-author of the study and DPhil student at the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. “Additionally, our new software differs from previous primate face recognition software in that it can be applied to raw videos with limited manual intervention (人工干预) or pre-processing, saving hours of time.”
The technology has potential for many uses, such as monitoring species for conservation. Although the present application focused on chimpanzees, the software provided could be applied to other species, and help drive the adoption of AI systems to solve a range of problems in the wildlife sciences.
1. What’s the purpose of developing the new software?| A．To save wildlife researchers’ time spent in the wild. |
| B．To keep track of wildlife conservationists’ behavior. |
| C．To protect chimpanzees and help them to live longer. |
| D．To recognize and track the faces of wild chimpanzees. |
| A．Getting photos. | B．Analyzing videos. |
| C．The new AI software. | D．A powerful machine. |
| A．The unique advantages of the new software. |
| B．Some limitations of using the new software. |
| C．The working principles of the new software. |
| D．Controversial attitudes to the new software. |
| A．The new software has a quite bright future. |
| B．The application of the technology can be tough. |
| C．Technology is the final goal of scientific research. |
| D．AI systems are widely used in the wildlife sciences. |
7 . In life，once on a path，we tend to follow it，for better or worse.What's sad is that even if it's the latter，we often accept it anyway because we are so used to the way things are that wed don't even recognize that they could be different This is a phenomenon psychologist call functional fixedness.
This classic experiment will give you an idea of how it works and a sense of whether you may have fallen into the same trap: People are given a box of tacks (大头钉) and some matches and asked to find a way to attach a candle to a wall so that it burns properly.
Typically, the subjects try tacking the candle to the wall or lighting it to fix it with melted wax. The psychologists had, of course, arranged it so that neither of these obvious approaches would work. The tacks are too short, and the paraffin (石蜡) doesn't stick to the wall. So how can you complete the task? The successful technique is to use the tack box as a candle-holder. You empty it, tack it to the wall. and stand the candle inside it. To think of that, you have to look beyond the box's usual role as a receptacle just for tacks and re-imagine it serving an entirely new purpose. That is difficult because we all suffer to one degree or another from functional fixedness.
The inability to think in new ways affects people in every corner of society. The political theorist Hannah Arendt coined the phrase“frozen thoughts”to describe deeply held ideas that we no longer question but should. In Arendt's eyes, the self- content reliance on such accepted “truths”also made people blind to ideas that didn't fit their worldview, even when there was plenty of evidence for them.
Frozen thinking has nothing to do with intelligence, she said,“It can be found in highly intelligent people.”
1. What does the underlined word“it”in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The experiment. | B．Functional fixedness. |
| C．The path. | D．The thinking. |
| A．Tacking the candle to the wall. |
| B．Fixing the candle with melted wax. |
| C．Using the tack box as a candle-holder. |
| D．Lighting the candle to stand it. |
| A．People should question. |
| B．We should be used to the way things are. |
| C．People shouldn't accept the idea that doesn't fit their worldview. |
| D．The smarter people are，the more open to the new things they are. |
| A．An interesting experiment |
| B．A psychological phenomenon. |
| C．A theory to be proved. |
| D．The opinion of Hannah Arendt. |
8 . 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
9 . 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. |
| 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. |
| A．work procedure | B．job morality |
| C．production line | D．ranking system |
| A．Honesty | B．Self-confidence |
| C．Respect | D．Perseverance |
10 . 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| A．The government leaders. | B．Noah Webster. |
| C．Immigration to America. | D．The difficulty Americans had in understanding the British. |
