1 . Scientists in the Netherlands have trained bees to identify COVID-19 through their sense of smell, according to a press release from Wageningen University. The research was conducted on more than 150 bees in Wageningen University’s research lab.
The scientists trained the bees by giving them a treat — a sugar-water solution — every time they were exposed (暴露于) to the smell of samples (样本) infected with COVID-19. Each time the bees were exposed to a non-infected sample, they wouldn’t get a reward. Eventually, the bees could identify an infected sample within a few seconds — and would then stick out their tongues like clockwork to collect the sugar water.
Bees aren’t the first animals to detect COVID-19 by smell. Researchers have also trained dogs to tell the difference between positive and negative COVID-19 samples from human saliva (唾液) or sweat with fairly high levels of accuracy. A German study found that dogs could identify positive COVID-19 samples 94% of the time. That’s because the coronavirus (冠状病毒) makes an infected person’s body smell slightly different from those of a non-infected person. But researchers still aren’t sure whether animals are the best bet for smelling out COVID-19 cases outside the lab.
“No one is saying they can replace a PCR machine, but they could be very promising,” Holger Volk, a neurologist, told Nature. PCR machines are what lab technicians use to process standard COVID-19 tests. At the very least, certain animals could be useful for identifying COVID-19 in places or countries in which high-tech lab equipment is not enough or inaccessible.
Wageningen scientists are working on a machine that can train bees at once. Then bees can use their skills to test for coronavirus aerosols (气溶胶) in the surrounding environment.
1. How did the researchers teach the bees to identify COVID-19?| A．By offering bees some rewards. | B．By infecting bees with the virus. |
| C．By raising bees with sugar water. | D．By exposing bees to infected humans. |
| A．They can watch for the hidden virus. |
| B．They have a sharp sense of smell. |
| C．They can feel samples’ inner changes. |
| D．They react more quickly than bees. |
| A．To keep track of more bees. | B．To detect coronavirus aerosols. |
| C．To help underdeveloped countries. | D．To develop a new type of machine. |
| A．Dogs: Well-trained PCR machines |
| B．Bees: Promising COVID-19 detectors |
| C．Holger Volk: A fighter against COVID-19 |
| D．Wageningen University: A leader in keeping bees |
内容包括：
1.志愿者生活；
2.志愿者活动意义；
3.你的感受。
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯。参考词汇：epidemic 流行病；传染病
My name is Li Hua. Let me tell you something about my life during these days as a volunteer in the worldwide epidemic.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1．活动背景；
2．活动介绍；
3．你的感受。
参考词汇：新型冠状病毒COVID-19 封锁 lockdown
注意：1．词数100左右；2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. 疫情现状；
2. 各方为疫情防控做出的努力（如：个人、医护和志愿者、政府管理等）；
3. 有信心战胜疫情。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5 . I Spent a Year in Space, and I Have Tips on Isolation (隔离) to Share
Being stuck at home can be challenging. When I lived on the International Space Station for nearly a year, it wasn’t easy. But I learned some things that I’d like to share, as we all block ourselves at home to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Follow a schedule
On the space station, my time was scheduled tightly,
When you stay in a small space, you may need a way out of current environment. Some people are surprised to learn I brought books with me to space. The quiet and concentration you can find in a physical book — one that doesn’t remind you of checking mails — is priceless.
You can also practice a musical instrument, try a craft, or make some art.
Go outside
One of the things I missed most while living in space was being able to go outside and experience nature. After being confined to a small space for months, I actually started to crave nature — the color green, the smell of fresh dirt, and the feel of warm sun on my face.
For an astronaut, going outside is a dangerous undertaking that requires days of preparation. I therefore appreciate that in our current status (状态),
We are all connected
Seen from space, the Earth has no borders. The spread of the coronavirus is showing us that what we share is much more powerful than what keeps us apart, for better or for worse.
| A．You need a hobby |
| B．You need a physical book |
| C．Here are a few tips on living in isolation |
| D．Astronauts take time for all of these while in space |
| E．from the moment I woke up to when I went to sleep |
| F．I can step outside any time I want for a walk or a hike |
| G．You don’t need to work out two and a half hours a day |
6 . Avoiding a handshake may have been considered impolite a couple of years ago, but it is now getting more and more common, especially because of the outbreak of COVID-19.
Health officials have expressed the importance of completely washing our hands and maintaining proper hand hygiene(卫生). As a result, people around the world are creating alternatives to handshakes such as fist bumps(碰，撞) and elbow bumps.
Let’s take a look at some of the common greetings that are used around the world in place of the famous handshake and more of the alternatives people are using instead of shaking each others’ hands.
If you have ever traveled to Asian countries like China, India, or Cambodia, you may notice that it is common to see people bowing to greet each other. Bowing is a traditional sign of respect in many Asian cultures and has been a custom for centuries.
Meanwhile, in parts of Europe like France, Italy, and Spain and countries in Latin America like Mexico, Peru, and Brazil, the air kiss is more common. Various rules regarding the gender, relationship, and form also exist within these different countries. Officials in countries including France are recommending people to avoid direct kisses.
Some other unique greetings include sniffing(嗅，闻) one another’s faces in native cultures in Greenland and Tuvalu, sticking out one’s tongue in Tibet (a region of China), and clapping one’s hands in the African countries of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
With the spread of COVID-19, people are getting creative with the ways they greet each other. A trend that has gained advantage is the “Wuhan Shake”, a greeting where two people gently bump each other’s feet with each foot.
Moreover, people, including famous figures like Prince Harry, US Vice President Mike Pence, and celebrities and athletes, have been giving up the formal handshake for elbow bumps.
Although officials have not clearly issued warnings against shaking hands, many doctors and health specialists have praised the handshake alternatives as a way to continue maintaining proper hygiene.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．COVID-19 | B．A handshake |
| C．Washing our hands | D．Avoiding a handshake |
| A．By sniffing one another’s faces. | B．By clapping one’s hands. |
| C．By bowing. | D．By sticking out one’s tongue. |
| A．People no longer greet each other due to the spread of COVID-19. |
| B．“Wuhan Shake” is a greeting in which people do elbow bumps. |
| C．Shaking hands has been prohibited by the governments. |
| D．The handshake alternatives are an approach to maintaining proper hygiene. |
| A．The Impact of COVID-19 on Living | B．No Handshake? No Problem! |
| C．Formal Greeting Ways around the World | D．Good News on COVID-19 Vaccines |
7 . Mr. Jafri is a 44-year-old artist from England. In 2020, as COVID-19 spread and many countries went into lockdown, Mr. Jafri was in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Rather than feeling stuck because he was unable to move on. Mr. Jafri decided to take on a huge project that could “make a really big difference”.
He decided to create the world’s largest painting. And he wanted to do it in a way that would involve people from around the world. He asked children who are fond of drawing to send him pictures showing how they were feeling during the pandemic (流行病). He got artwork from kids in 140 different countries. Using the children’s ideas as a starting point. Mr. Jafri began to paint.. .
Mr. Jafri hoped that his painting, called “The Journey of Humanity”, would help bring the world together during the difficult time. He tried to keep the ideas from the children’s pictures in his mind. He even included the children’s drawings in the artwork.
When he finished the painting in September. 2020. he had set a Guinness World Record for the world’s largest painting. The painting was roughly the size of four basketball courts. Since Mr. Jafri’s goal was to raise money to help children. the painting was split up into large sections, Mr. Jafri hoped that by selling the sections separately, he could raise $ 30 million. But when the auction (拍卖) ended on March 22.2021.Mr.Jafri did much better than that. And he didn’t have to split up the pieces. The whole artwork was sold for $ 62 million.
Andre Abdoune, an influential French businessman. purchased all 70 sections of canvases (画布).“I was impressed by the visual effects of the painting when I saw it,” Mr.Abdoune said. ”And for me, it would have been a mistake to separate the pieces.”
Knowing that the money would go to charity also helped Mr. Abdoune decide to pay more. He says he was poor in childhood, so he’s glad to help children around the world by buying the giant painting. He plans to build a special exhibition hall to show the artwork off.
1. What inspired Mr. Jafri to begin his project?| A．Kids’ great craziness for famous artists. |
| B．People’s increasing passion for paintings. |
| C．The bad situation in many countries for pandemic. |
| D．The increasing praise for him from the people. |
| A．To stir up children’s interest in painting. |
| B．To make a huge profit. |
| C．To connect the people in the world together. |
| D．To hold an extraordinary exhibition. |
| A．Mr. Jafri’s project received an unexpected amazing result. |
| B．Mr. Jafri’s original plan turned out a failure. |
| C．Mr. Jafri’s exhibition was held separately in four basketball courts. |
| D．It was evident that nobody could afford Mr. Jafri’s painting. |
| A．Generous and competent. | B．Stupid but proud. |
| C．Aggressive and short-sighted. | D．Honest and adventurous. |
Tennis super star Naomi Osaka lit the 2020 Tokyo Olympics flame. The Games
Only 950 people attended the opening ceremony. Attendees
9 . One 18-month-old welcomes her big brothers home from school in the most beautiful way possible.
Having spent most of her
With the school year in Charlotte, North Carolina, now in full
“She never
“This is the
In a video recently posted online, Brittany
The video shows Liam, Levi and Lucas on one side of a road and Emmy on the other as both run to
“It’s such a
“One of the things in Indian culture is that
| A．energy | B．life | C．nights | D．vacations |
| A．new | B．younger | C．adult | D．older |
| A．view | B．play | C．length | D．color |
| A．visiting | B．finding | C．leaving | D．teaching |
| A．agreed | B．wished | C．needed | D．experienced |
| A．first | B．right | C．final | D．wrong |
| A．learn from | B．stay with | C．look for | D．listen to |
| A．planned | B．recorded | C．announced | D．celebrated |
| A．likes | B．copies | C．questions | D．suggestions |
| A．meet | B．hide | C．win | D．score |
| A．writing down | B．handing in | C．calling out | D．searching for |
| A．wash | B．pack | C．open | D．drop |
| A．busy | B．quiet | C．sweet | D．private |
| A．born | B．gone | C．lost | D．finished |
| A．time | B．power | C．money | D．family |
10 . Get Digital Scotland, Simon Community Scotland’s digital inclusion programme, is proud to announce the start of Get Connected 100! This is a Scotland-wide project giving 100 people experiencing homelessness access to the digital world.
Our Get Connected 100 project will connect and support 100 people to get online. Each participant (参与者) will receive a free digital device (设备) and unlimited connectivity for 12 months. In addition to free digital technology, frontline workers at Simon Community and in our partner organisations are trained as digital champions to provide person-centred support based around a digital skills learning framework (框架). The project will give people easy access at all times, right in their pocket, and support to build skills and confidence to get online.
Research from the University of the West of Scotland shows us that people who experience homelessness are among the most digitally excluded (排斥的) groups in our society. This is a great disadvantage in life which has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to COVID-19 we depend even more heavily on digital technology for many daily activities: socialising with friends, managing finances (资金), getting the latest news, accessing health services and having fun. Digital technology has never been so important to our lives.
The project is being funded by the Scottish Government. Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “I am glad to fund this project to support 100 people experiencing homelessness in getting connected to the digital world. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that access to digital equipment, data and skills is a basic necessity. The funding, as part of our £100 million winter support package, will certainly help people deal with the additional financial pressures of winter and COVID-19.”
Last year, Simon Community Scotland funded a “Get Connected Pilot” in Edinburgh to develop and test this approach. We wanted to make sure people facing loneliness during lockdown could get support and be connected with loved ones and professional services. The results for the people who were part of the pilot were life changing. 100% of participants said that getting a connected device and support through this pilot positively affected their lives. Our pilot showed that digital access opens up a whole world of opportunities!
1. What will the Get Connected 100 project provide?| A．Costless digital devices. |
| B．Improved broadband access. |
| C．Lifelong unlimited connectivity. |
| D．Training in communication skills. |
| A．How digital technology has changed our life. |
| B．Where digital technology will lead us. |
| C．Who the project will benefit most. |
| D．Why the project is needed. |
| A．Curious. | B．Carefree. | C．Confused. | D．Confident. |
| A．It is sure to be successful. |
| B．It needs some improvements. |
| C．It will spread all over the world. |
| D．It has made a powerful difference. |
