1 . An 85-year-old primary school constructed in 1935 in Shanghai has been lifted off the ground in its entirety and relocated using new technology called the “walking machine.” The project marks the first time this “walking machine” method has been used in Shanghai to relocate a historical building.
Urbanization（都市化）has continued to significantly threaten architectural heritage. In the capital Beijing, for instance, more than 1,000 acres of its historic hutongs and traditional courtyard homes were destroyed between 1990 and 2010.
In the early 2000s, cities including Nanjing and Bejjing-due to the critics’ protest about the loss of old neighborhoods-drew up long-term plans to preserve what was left of their historic sites, with protections introduced to safeguard buildings and restrict developers.
These conservation efforts have taken different forms. In Beijing, a near-ruined temple was transformed into a restaurant and gallery, while in Nanjing, a cinema from the 1930s was restored to its original form, with some additions providing it for modern use. In 2019, Shanghai welcomed Tank Shanghai, an arts center built in renovated（重修的）oil tanks.
“Relocation is not the first choice, but better than destroying,” said Lan, the Shanghai primary school’s project supervisor. “I’d rather not touch the historical buildings at all.” Building relocations he said however, are “a workable option.” “The central government is putting more emphasis on the protection of historical buildings. I’m happy to see that progress in recent years.”
Shanghai has arguably been China’s most progressive city when it comes to heritage preservation. The survival of a number of 1930s buildings and 19th-century “shikumen” （or “stone gate”） house have offered examples of how to give old buildings new life.
“We have to preserve the historical building no matter what, ” Lan said. “The relocation has challenges, but in general, it is cheaper than destroying and then rebuilding something in a new location.”
1. How did cities respond to the loss of historical sites?| A．They criticized the developers. | B．They rebuilt the historic hutongs. |
| C．They ended the significant threat. | D．They proposed the protection project. |
| A．All original form. | B．A new addition. | C．A cinema. | D．A temple. |
| A．Provide strong evidence. | B．Introduce different opinions. |
| C．Summarize previous paragraphs. | D．Add some background information. |
| A．Walking Machine: a New Technology | B．Rebuilding: a New Option for Relics |
| C．Old Building Torn down for Modern Use | D．Historical Site “Walks” to New Life |
2 . My challenge for you is this: to read a book for 15 minutes very single day for a month.
Let me explain a bit, by telling you where the challenge came from. I have many things in common with my dad, like music taste and sense of humor, but sadly reading isn’t one of them. I can happily spend a whole day with a book, but my dad can’t read a book for longer than about 5 minutes. He reads emails, websites and papers for work, but not books. He's busy, so I think siting down to read for just 15 minutes a day is a good way to relax and to introduce him to reading. My dad is by no means the only person who avoids books. I know lots of people would rather relax on their computers or in front of the TV. Everyone is different and has their own interests, but I think there’re lots of benefits of reading, which screen-based activities don’t have.
Firstly, it’s better of your eyes. Looking at screens can be very stressful for your eye muscles, and clearly you should avoid looking at screens for an hour before bed, to get a good night’s sleep.
I personally love reading in that I can be transported to another world—I often forget the time or things around me! Reading is a great way to switch off before you go to bed, because you think more about the world of the book, rather than the real world, so you can truly relax. I know you can be transported to a different world in a film or a TV show, but I think books do it better.
I also enjoy hearing what people are doing and finding out what they think. Reading gives me the chance to get to know hundreds of new people! It also teaches you to see things from other people's points of view, and understand other people's decisions or opinions. With a book, you can hear everything a character is thinking or feeling—you really can be inside someone else’s head!
So give it a go! Take 15 minutes when you're waking up, going to bed, eating lunch, or having a coffee. If you read a lot, why not try 15 minutes of an English book, or pass the challenge on to someone else? Good luck, and happy reading!
1. The author mentions his father in the text to show _______.| A．reading is important | B．his father is very busy |
| C．his father likes reading | D．many people have no habit of reading |
| A．Knowledge from books. | B．Some scientific experiments. |
| C．The authors personal experience. | D．The author's father's personal advice. |
| A．Helping readers sleep well. | B．Making readers feel relaxed. |
| C．Reminding readers of the real world. | D．Transporting readers to a different world. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. | C． Supportive. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．15-minute Reading Challenge. | B．Tips for Reading English Books. |
| C．The ways to Improve Reading Skills. | D．Having a Coffee While You Read. |
3 . You may think that sailing is difficult, but it is really not hard to learn it. You do not need to be strong. But you need to be quick. And you need to understand a few basic rules about the wind.
First, you must ask yourself, “Where is the wind coming from? Is it coming from ahead or behind or from the side?” You must think about this all the time on the boat. The wind direction tells you what to do with the sail.
Let's start with the wind blowing from behind. This means the wind and the boat are going in the same direction. Then you must always keep the sail outside the boat. It should be at a 90° angle to the boat. Then it will catch the wind best.
If the wind is blowing from the side, it is blowing across the boat. In this case, you must keep the sail half way outside the boat. It should be at a 45°angle to the boat. It needs to be out far enough to catch the wind, but it shouldn't flap. It shouldn't look like a flag on a flagpole. If it is flapping, it is probably out too far, and the boat will slow down.
Sailing into the wind is not possible. If you try, the sail will flap and the boat will stop. You may want to go in that direction. It is possible, but you can't go in a straight line. You must go first in one direction and then in another. This is called tacking(作“之”字形航行). When you are tacking, you must always keep the sail inside the boat.
1. What should you consider first while sailing?| A．Sailors' strength. | B．Wave levels. | C．Wind directions. | D．Size of the sail. |
| A．The sail. | B．The wind. | C．The boat. | D．The angle. |
| A．Move in a straight line. | B．Allow the sail to flap. |
| C．Lower the sail. | D．Tack the boat. |
| A．To advise you to go sailing. | B．To teach you how to go sailing. |
| C．To show the danger of sailing. | D．To tell the difficulty of sailing. |
4 . Until recently, several lines of evidence — from fossils genetics, and archaeology — suggested that humans first moved from Africa into Eurasia (the land of Europe and Asia) about 60,000 years ago, quickly replacing other early human species, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, that they may have met along the way.
However, a series of recent discoveries, including 100,000-year-old human teeth found in a cave in China, have clouded this straightforward statement. And the latest find, a prehistoric jawbone at the Misliya Cave in Israel dating back to nearly 200,000 years ago, which is almost twice as old as any Homo sapiens (智人) remains discovered outside Africa, where our species was thought to have originated from, has added new and unexpected twist.
The find suggests that there were multiple waves of migration across Europe and Asia and could also mean that modern humans in the Middle East were interacting, and possibly mating, with other human species for tens of thousands of years. “Misliya breaks the mould (模式) of existing assumptions of the timing of the first known Homo sapiens in these regions,” said Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in London. “It’s important in removing long-lasting-constraint (限制) on our thinking.”
Prof. Hershkovitz, who led the work at Tel Aviv University said, “What Misliya tells us is that modern humans left Africa not 100,000 years ago, but 200,000 years ago. This is revolution in the way we understand the evolution of our own species.” He also added that the record now indicates that humans probably travelled beyond the African continent whenever the climate allowed it. “I don’t believe there was one big departure from Africa,” he said. “I think that throughout hundreds of thousands of years humans were coming in and out of Africa all the time.”
The discovery means that modern humans were potentially meeting and interacting during a longer period with other ancient human groups, providing more opportunity for cultural and biological exchanges. It also raises interesting questions about the fate of the earliest modern human pioneers. Genetic data from modern-day populations around the world strongly suggest that everyone outside Africa can trace their ancestors back to a group that left around 60,000 years ago. So, the inhabitants of the Misliya Cave are probably not the ancestors of anyone alive today, and scientists can only guess why their branch of the family tree came to an end.
1. What does the underlined word “they” refer to in Paragraph 1?| A．Early human species living in Europe. |
| B．Neanderthals and Denisovans. |
| C．People first moving from Africa into Eurasia. |
| D．Ancient people living in Africa all the time. |
| A．Our ancestors were powerful and kind of aggressive. |
| B．Our ancestors left Africa much earlier than thought. |
| C．The origins of modern humans are from Europe. |
| D．Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans once lived together. |
| A．Climate was a big factor in human migration from Africa. |
| B．There was a large-scale human migration from Africa. |
| C．Human migration was occasional in Africa 200,000 years ago. |
| D．The Misliya find is against our understanding of human evolution. |
| A．They were ancestors of people living in China. |
| B．They left evidence for their mysterious disappearance in history. |
| C．They probably contributed little to present-day people genetically. |
| D．They could be traced by their remains left on their travelling route. |
5 . London has a new unusual magazine. But it is not printed on paper. Everyone who has a television can receive it because it is on TV.
In order to read this magazine you have to have a decoder. Each page of it is numbered, so you only have to dial the number to choose which subject you want to read about. There is a wide choice — everything is included from cooking to the latest sports news.
If you want to read the news, the first thing you have to do is to turn to the index page which has an easy-to-remember page number, 100 for example. The news is on pages 101 to 109 so you push out the numbers and the news appears written across your screen. Perhaps you want to go out in the afternoon, so you press 181, and a brightly coloured weather map appears on the screen. But the weather is terrible so you decide to go shopping and dial 162 for a list of the week’s best bargains. But should you drive or take the train? To answer that question you only have to press 189 for the traffic report. It is very simple to use. But probably the best thing about the service is that it is being updated all the time. Journalists type new material directly onto the screen and whole pages of the magazine can be replaced in minutes.
London already has three services. One is transmitted (输送) by ITV while the other two on BBC. BBC engineers do not think that their idea will ever replace books and newspapers because they can be taken with you everywhere. But many people would agree that this is a breakthrough as great as the invention of printing, which could change not just our reading habits but our way of life thoroughly.
1. What can we know from the passage?| A．The magazine can be bought at any local newsstand. |
| B．Most of the postmen in London will lose their jobs some day. |
| C．The readers can get all kinds of information staying at home. |
| D．Everyone can read this magazine if they have a television. |
| A．Decoder. | B．Magazine. | C．Subject. | D．Program. |
| A．Help people find out the sum of certain figures. |
| B．Help people go shopping and have other entertainment. |
| C．Receive some special TV program for entertainment. |
| D．Read the information transmitted by TV signals. |
| A．A magazine printed and published in London. |
| B．A popular TV program about magazines. |
| C．An up-to-date way of keeping up to date. |
| D．A technology helping people to communicate. |
6 . The Master Gardener Foundation
Aim
The Master Gardener Foundation provides free information to the public on environmentally safe gardening practices and water conservation. The information is research-based and encourages limited use of farm chemicals and fertilizers.
Donation Activities
The master gardeners here did much donation work. They donated over 35,000 volunteer hours, serving 40,000 adults and more than 5,200 children. They did this through about 35 plant clinics, 6 demonstration gardens, 4 youth gardens, as well as a classroom program and dozens of workshops. The Master Gardener Foundation provides roughly two-thirds of the financial support for all these valuable activities.
Washington State University currently provides the salary and benefits of the Master Gardener Program. The foundation funds office space and supplies, as well as a part-time program assistant.
The Master Gardener Program
Safe and green gardening and water use practices are vital to preserving our environment. The Master Gardener Program seeks to provide this kind of education and information to the citizens for free. It is a highly successful example of cooperation between a foundation and volunteers.
Waiting for Your Donations
The Master Gardener Foundation is a non-profit organization, and all donations are allowed by law and support the Master Gardener Program and activities.
Please consider a donation to the Master Gardener Foundation and help keep our environment green!
1. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．Science research. | B．Adopting children. |
| C．Donation work. | D．Contributing money. |
| A．It’s very expensive. |
| B．It proves to be unsuccessful. |
| C．It provides education just in producing farm chemicals. |
| D．It’s a bridge between the foundation and volunteers. |
| A．To encourage donations. |
| B．To describe volunteer work. |
| C．To spread the agricultural knowledge. |
| D．To give some suggestions to gardeners. |
7 . The state of Israel has welcomed the opportunity to build itself as a startup nation. But how did Israel show its strength in the tech market? And what drove this region to become a software-centric startup nation of young companies competing for a place on the global tech map?
Part of the answer comes down to the local mindset, mentality and morals-after all, the country is well used to fighting for its place. The wider answer is the combination of resources(largely human, not natural ones), higher education, the widespread use of English and the determined attitude to overcome problems that is typical of the local culture.
“We have a longstanding tradition of turning curses into blessings,” said Jon Medved, CEO of OurCrowd, a Jerusalem-based global venture investment platform organization. “We don’t have huge natural resources, so we have worked hard to develop our skills-base in the country. There is a certain mentality that leans towards risk acceptance here…. and people develop that from a young age. In my view, great achievements are made by taking lots of risks, but in a calculated way with various approaches to everything.”
Actually, what happens next will be interesting. Israel can’t call itself a startup technology nation forever. For example, more and more of these tech startups will need to graduate to become fully-blown operational companies. Although what often happens is the smaller tech companies end up getting bought by international tech heavyweights-the ICQ messaging system purchase by AOL being among the most famous of these. We can also see major firms like Microsoft and others setting up production plants and research centres in the region, so Israel won’t want to see its talent being bled outwards either.
Either way, Israel’s technology zone has put itself on the map from what appeared to almost nothing. Software development works well in a melting pot. It just needs some hot sauce… and they have that too.
1. What is one of the reasons behind Israel’s rising as a technology startup nation?| A．Rich human and natural resources. | B．A high value placed on education. |
| C．Widespread use of the native language. | D．Successful cooperation with major firms. |
| A．Some natural resource. | B．The local culture. |
| C．The risk-taking mentality. | D．A higher education. |
| A．To prove talent is the key to success. |
| B．To show the startups giving up their dreams. |
| C．To confirm nothing is impossible in this field. |
| D．To stress the challenge the startups tend to face. |
| A．Israel’s tech market has the strength to further develop. |
| B．Israel still needs to make greater effort to stay on the top. |
| C．Israel’s technology has played the leading role in its field. |
| D．No International tech heavyweights can compete with Israel. |
8 . 
Pesticides might just be a bee's worst enemy. They harm their brains, slow down their reproduction, and even kill their buzz. Now it seems they damage their social lives and reduce their ability to care for their young.
While previous studies have shown that commonly used neonicotinoid（新烟碱类）pesticides make bees sick and affect how they search for food and navigate, a new study gives more of an idea of how these chemicals affect the internal workings of a colony（种群）. Studying these effects has proved difficult, so the team employed a new technique. They stuck tiny QR codes to the backs of humblebees and tracked their movements using a robotic camera.
The researchers looked at 12 colonies housed in a lab, giving some the same level of imidacloprid—the world's most commonly used pesticide—that they'd be exposed to in the wild while keeping others pesticide-free as controls. They checked on them for a few minutes 12 times a day. The findings are published in the journal Science.
Unfortunately, the researchers found a number of obvious differences between the bees exposed to the pesticide and the controls. The bees given neonicotinoids spent less time interacting with other bees and more time resting. This pause in activity tended to happen more at night, but the researchers aren't sure why.
"Bees actually have a very strong circadian rhythm（生理节奏）," lead author James Crall explained in a statement. "So what we found was that, during the day, there was no statistically observable effect, but at night, we could see that they were crashing. We don't know yet whether the pesticides are destroying circadian gene regulation or if this is just some, maybe physiological feedback…But it suggests that, just from a practical perspective, if we want to understand or study these compounds, looking at effects overnight matters a lot."
1. What does the new study suggest about pesticides' effect on bees?| A．Pesticides lead to their disease. |
| B．Pesticides slow down their brain function |
| C．Pesticides upset their community. |
| D．Pesticides damage bees' internal parts. |
| A．The tools used to observe the bees. |
| B．The data recorded by the robotic camera |
| C．The researchers conducting the experiments. |
| D．The bees kept free from the pesticides. |
| A．The circadian rhythm of bees is stronger during the day. |
| B．It is vital to study the performance of bees at night |
| C．It is certain that pesticides affect bees only at night. |
| D．The pesticides do great harm to circadian gene regulation of bees. |
| A．To inform people of the worrying effects of pesticides. |
| B．To check the best time to observe experimental results. |
| C．To call for the toughest ban on the chemicals. |
| D．To recommend measures to improve the quality of pesticides. |
9 . For many years doctors have warned us about the dangers of stress (压力) and have given us advice about how to cut down our stress levels. Everyone agrees that long-term stress, for example having to look after someone who has a chronic (慢性的) illness, or stressful situations where there is nothing we can do, for example being stuck in a traffic jam, should be avoided whenever possible. However, some medical experts now believe that certain kinds of stress may actually be good for us.
Dr Marios Kyriazis, an anti-ageing expert, points out that what he calls "good stress” is beneficial to our health and may, in fact, help us stay young and attractive and even live longer. Dr Kyriazis says that “good stress” can strengthen our natural defences which protect us from illnesses common among older people, such as Alzheimer's and heart problems.
According to Dr Kyriazis, running for a bus or having to work to meet a deadline are examples of “good stress”, that is situations with short-term or low stress. The stress usually makes us react quickly, and gives us a sense of achievement — we did it! However, in both situations, the stress damages the cells(细胞) in our body or brain and they start to break down. But then the cells own repair mechanism “switches on”and it produces proteins which repair the damaged cells and remove harmful chemicals that can gradually cause disease. In fact, the body's response is greater than is needed to repair the damage, so it actually makes the cells stronger than they were before.
“As the body gets older, this self-repair mechanism of the cells starts to slow down,” says Dr Kyriazis.“The best way to keep the process working efficiently is to ‘exercise’ it, in the same way you would exercise your muscles to keep them strong. This means having a certain amount of stress in our lives.”Other stressful activities that Kyriazis suggests as being good stress include redecorating a room in your house over the weekend, packing your suitcase in a hurry to reach the airport on time, or shopping for a dinner party during your lunch break.
So next time your boss tells you that she wants to see the report finished and on her desk in 45 minutes, don't worry; just think of it as “good stress” which will benefit your long-term health!
1. What is Dr Kyriazis' opinion probably based on?| A．How to get a sense of achievement. |
| B．How to cut down our stress levels. |
| C．The benefits of doing physical exercise. |
| D．The relationship between stress and health. |
| A．The daily stress. | B．Long-term stress. |
| C．The increasing stress. | D．Short-term or low stress. |
| A．Being stuck in a traffic jam. |
| B．Packing for a trip at the last minute. |
| C．Being late for work for several days. |
| D．Looking after a patient with heart trouble. |
| A．Stress beats success | B．Stress attracts illness |
| C．Get stressed, stay young | D．Less stress, better health |
10 . Scientists have not found any signs of life on Mars yet,but they say a robotic vehicle called “Curiosity” is helping them learn a lot about the planet’s history and climate.
Curiosity landed on Mars in August 2012 after travelling through space for more than eight months.It was sent to Mars by scientists from NASA in the United States.
Curiosity is about the size of a car and has six wheels.It also has a robotic arm,cameras,and instruments that allow it to examine things it finds on the surface.Then it sends the information back to the earth.
Curiosity’s main task is to find out if anything could live on Mars,either now or in the past.On Nov.2,NASA scientists held a press conference (新闻发布会) to discuss what Curiosity had found in its first two months on Mars.
Curiosity has found soil that is similar to the sand formed by volcanoes (火山) on the earth.Scientists say that studying the minerals in Martian soil will help them understand what conditions were like on the planet in the past.Curiosity also found smooth stones like the ones found on river beds and seashores on the earth,where their rough edges have been worn down by water.Mars is very cold and dry now,but scientists say the smooth stones tell them that a river used to run through the place where they were found.
Curiosity has been testing the atmosphere around Mars for a type of gas called methane (甲烷),but so far it has not found any.On the earth,most methane is produced by plants or animals.Methane on Mars might indicate that some type of tiny plants or animals lived there.
Curiosity is the fourth robotic vehicle to be sent to Mars.It will continue to explore the planet for about two years.
1. Which of the following descriptions about Curiosity is TRUE?| A．It landed on Mars in January 2012. |
| B．It is small in size and has four arms. |
| C．It took over eight months to arrive in Mars. |
| D．It was sent to Mars by scientists from Russia. |
| A．there’s no air on Mars | B．Mars is warm and wet now |
| C．the soil on Mars is rich | D．there used to be water on Mars |
| A．smooth stones | B．rivers |
| C．robotic vehicles | D．volcanoes |
| A．some tiny animals once lived on Mars |
| B．there are no plants or animals on Mars now |
| C．the atmosphere around Mars is full of methane |
| D．Curiosity is designed to test the atmosphere around the earth |
| A．Humans benefit a lot by going to Mars. |
| B．Scientists will stop the research on Mars soon. |
| C．It is possible to build an earth-like environment on Mars. |
| D．A robotic vehicle helps scientists get useful information from Mars. |
