1 . The curb cut (下斜路缘). It’s a convenience that most of us rarely, if ever, notice. Yet, without it, daily life might be a lot harder—in more ways than one. Pushing a baby stroller onto the curb, skateboarding onto a sidewalk or taking a full grocery cart from the sidewalk to your car—all these tasks are easier because of the curb cut.

But it was created with a different purpose in mind.

It’s hard to imagine today, but back in the 1970s, most sidewalks in the United States ended with a sharp drop-off. That was a big deal for people in wheelchairs because there were no ramps (斜坡) to help them move along city blocks without assistance. According to one disability rights leader, a six-inch curb “might as well have been Mount Everest”. So, activists from Berkeley, California, who also needed wheelchairs, organized a campaign to create tiny ramps at intersections to help people dependent on wheels move up and down curbs independently.

I think about the “curb cut effect” a lot when working on issues around health equity (公平). The first time I even heard about the curb cut was in a 2017 Stanford Social Innovation Review piece by PolicyLink CEO Angela Blackwell. Blackwell rightly noted that many people see equity “as a zero-sum game.” Basically, that there is a “prejudiced societal suspicion that intentionally supporting one group hurts another.” What the curb cut effect shows though, Blackwell said, is that “when society creates the circumstances that allow those who have been left behind to participate and contribute fully, everyone wins.”

There are multiple examples of this principle at work. For example, investing in policies that create more living-wage jobs or increase the availability of affordable housing certainly benefits people in communities that have limited options. But, the action also empowers those people with opportunities for better health and the means to become contributing members of society—and that benefits everyone. Even the football huddle (围成一团以秘密商讨) was initially created to help deaf football players at Gallaudet College keep their game plans secret from opponents who could have read their sign language. Today, it’s used by every team to shield the opponent from learning about game-winning strategies.

So, next time you cross the street, or roll your suitcase through a crosswalk or ride your bike directly onto a sidewalk—think about how much the curb cut, that change in design that broke down walls of exclusion for one group of people at a disadvantage, has helped not just that group, but all of us.

1. By “might as well have been Mount Everest” (paragraph 3), the disability rights leader implies that a six-inch curb may become ________.

A．as famous as the world’s highest mountain

B．an almost impassable barrier

C．a connection between people

D．a most unforgettable matter

2. According to Angela Blackwell, many people believe that ________.

A．it’s fair to give the disadvantaged more help than others

B．it’s impossible to have everyone be treated equally

C．it’s necessary to go all out to help the disabled

D．it’s not worthwhile to promote health equity

3. Which of the following examples best illustrates the “curb cut effect” principle?

A．Spaceflight designs are applied to life on earth.

B．Four great inventions of China spread to the west.

C．Christopher Columbus discovered the new world.

D．Classic literature got translated into many languages.

4. What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?

A．Everyday items are originally invented for people with disabilities.

B．Everyone in a society should pursue what is in his or her interest.

C．A disability rights leader changed the life of his fellow men.

D．Caring for disadvantaged groups may finally benefit all.

2 . Back in 1930, the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that with technological change and improvements in-productivity, we’d only be working 15 hours a week by now. But while working hours have _______ by 26%, most of us still average 42.5 hours a week.

One of the things Keynes underestimated is the human desire to _______ with our peers — a drive that makes most of us work more than we need to. “We don’t measure productivity by how much we’ve harvested anymore,” says Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, visiting scholar at Stanford University. “Overworking has been part of Western society since the Industrial Revolution. When some predicted that automation would create an extra amount of _______ time, needless to say, that didn’t happen.

Thanks to computerization and globalization in the 1980s, managers could demand more of employees under the _______ that jobs could be given to someone else. So the _______ piled on. And we took it exhausted, but asking up the burden all the same. The psychologist Barbara Killnger writes in Workaholics: Te Respectable Addicts about how we _______ sacrifice our own well-being through overwork for “success”.

But far from delivering productivity, value, or personal fulfillment, overwork has been proven to lead to burnout, stress, greater risk of heart disease and even shorter lifespans. _______ we carried on — until COVID-19 came along.

Besides making us work longer hours from home, COVID-19 has also _______ the move towards the adoption of automated machine, especially tor jobs requiring much interpersonal contact-from Amazon developing delivery drones (无人机) to self-driving cars. By 2050, Michael Osborne, a professor of machine learning at the University of Oxford, predicts that at least 40% of current jobs will be lost to _______.

There are ________. Jobs that involve complex social interactions are beyond current robot skills: so teaching, social care, nursing and counselling are all likely to ________ the AI revolution. As are jobs that rely on creativity. The same also goes for ________ jobs, according to Osborne, due to the large number of different objects cleaners encounter and the variety of ways those objects need to be dealt with. Interestingly, areas of the workplace traditionally dominated by women won’t be so easily adopted by AI. Robots are unlikely to ________ in the “work” of taking care of children, preparing lunchboxes and doing the laundry.

Those whose work falls outside the caring, cleaning or creative field will still work in future, just ________. In about 60% of occupations, it is estimated that a third of the tasks can be automated, meaning changes to the way we work. A large-scale study has predicted that over the next 20 years, although 7 million jobs will be taken over by AI. 7.2 million new ones will be ________ as a result. So we will work in future: we just don’t know what we’ll be doing yet.

1.

A．declined

B．increased

C．continued

D．kept

2.

A．disagree

B．compete

C．cooperate

D．identify

3.

A．working

B．tough

C．leisure

D．active

4.

A．fantasy

B．influence

C．threat

D．impression

5.

A．joy

B．cash

C．ambition

D．pressure

6.

A．excitedly

B．willingly

C．dramatically

D．hopefully

7.

A．Otherwise

B．Still

C．Furthermore

D．Therefore

8.

A．speeded up

B．followed up

C．prepared for

D．planned for

9.

A．overwork

B．labour

C．automation

D．science

10.

A．dreams

B．models

C．expectations

D．exceptions

11.

A．cause

B．cease

C．survive

D．undergo

12.

A．caring

B．cleaning

C．curing

D．coaching

13.

A．assist

B．exist

C．believe

D．understand

14.

A．hardly

B．differently

C．unfortunately

D．probably

15.

A．lost

B．recovered

C．substituted

D．created

3 . Going off to university gives students the opportunity to move out of home and into halls – and the chance to make their own decisions free of parental _________. For many, the experience is _________. But it is not suitable for everyone, which is why many students choose to commute(走读).

At Oxford Brookes University, a travel survey for 2012 found that almost a quarter (24.1%) of students travelled more than 10 miles to get to campus, while more than a third (34%) took journeys _________longer than 30 minutes. These figures may seem surprisingly high, but with the increase in tuition fees and the rising costs of living, they are _________ to grow.

Of course _________ pressures are not the only reason students opt to travel significant distances to university. Helen Jenkins, who studies English and Japanese, decided to commute to Oxford Brookes after _________ from depression in her first year.

The question of degree availability is vital. Less _________ subjects aren't taught at all institutions. Students who are tied _________ by family commitments are left with little choice but to travel considerable distances to _________ their studies.

Moreover, first-year students who fail to get a place in halls, or got a last-minute university place through clearing, are often __________ to commute – at least in the beginning.

Having lived in student accommodation in my first year, I opted to commute from London to Oxford in my second. I am fully __________ of the pros and cons(利害之处) of being a teenage coach commuter. While I adore my course, "student life" wasn't for me.

Though I now have all my home comforts, it is important to stress that living at home is not the easy option. I endure a journey that takes several hours out of my day, have less time to socialize, and am an awfully long way away from the university library. I estimate my travel will have __________ me £1,000 by the end of the year. This isn't cheap, but it is considerably less than the cost of __________ a property and having to worry about all the bills that come with it.

Students are finding a variety of __________ to the problem of high rentals: some have decided to study by distance learning, for example, through the Open University, while others are doing degrees at local further education colleges. The more __________ are opting to study in Europe, where education is cheaper, though the cost of travelling back and forth to Britain soon cuts into their savings.

1.

A．violence

B．authority

C．discipline

D．scale

2.

A．thrilling

B．terrifying

C．boring

D．confusing

3.

A．continuing

B．keeping

C．lasting

D．starting

4.

A．possible

B．likely

C．perhaps

D．never

5.

A．emotional

B．financial

C．influential

D．residential

6.

A．benefiting

B．suffering

C．learning

D．resulting

7.

A．traditional

B．original

C．efficient

D．popular

8.

A．geographically

B．academically

C．accidentally

D．unwillingly

9.

A．abandon

B．pursue

C．search

D．research

10.

A．willing

B．forced

C．wise

D．released

11.

A．aware

B．familiar

C．resistant

D．informative

12.

A．spend

B．cost

C．take

D．occupy

13.

A．managing

B．sharing

C．living

D．renting

14.

A．remedies

B．solutions

C．methods

D．origins

15.

A．intelligent

B．economical

C．responsible

D．adventurous

4 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Does Recycling Work For Plastic?

Dealing with plastic waste is always a tough problem. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), half of the world’s plastic waste ends up in a landfill, 19% burned, and another 22% escapes waste management systems and goes into uncontrolled dumpsites.

So environmentalists suggest plastic waste should be recycled properly, which proves an effective way to handle other waste like paper, cardboard, metal and glass. However, a new study by Greenpeace, and reporting in the Boston Globe, suggests that recycling plastic is a “myth” and raises a major question about the future: does recycling work? Unfortunately, the short answer is “not really.”

There’s been a lot of debate over what really happens to recycled plastic. But scientists say that recycling plastic waste has mostly failed because it’s very difficult to collect and nearly impossible to sort. Because plastic is often made from harmful materials, it can be harmful to the environment to reprocess.

Much of the solution falls on big companies to change the way they do business. The way forward seems to be mostly to cut down on companies’ reliance on plastic packaging, and to move toward reusable packaging and packaging-free alternatives. Above all, companies need to phase out all single-use plastics. For the consumer, living more plastic-free is the only real solution available. Avoiding drinks in plastic containers, using a travel mug or reusable water bottle, bringing your own reusable bag, buying in bulk and cutting back on pre-packaged foods are all a good start.

But in the end, corporate America needs a deeper commitment to the plastic waste problem. “Companies must take action now to get rid of single-use plastics and packaging and not rely on false solutions such as recycling,” says Greenpeace.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Will Plant-based Protein Continue to be an Appetizer in Food World?

A good vegan milk needs to look like milk and taste like milk, whether it’s a fatty version, preferred by bakers, or a skimmed one, favored by the health-conscious. For years, manufacturers of plant-based protein have had trouble hacking this delicate imitation game and it seems that they are winning back a bit. The global revenues (收益) from alternative proteins could reach $290 billion by 2035 and that is a cautious estimate. However, can it last?

Unlike those early products, which were neither terribly tasty nor particularly nutritious, cleaver (剁肉刀) processing improves textures, additives boost taste and a pinch of specially engineered peas and beans adds nutrient in the latest products. Still, ultra-processed substitutes seldom match animal proteins in nutritional value. Animal products, including milk, are better for children’s bone development, though lab- grown versions of meat or dairy are becoming more nutritious. Meanwhile, green-minded consumers are realizing that plant-based does not necessarily mean sustainable in that it still takes a lot to obtain raw materials. Farming almonds (杏仁) to make a milk-like drink, for example, uses huge quantities of water.

Plant-based proteins are also a tough sell in giant markets like India, where diets are already rich in plants and vegetables, or Nigera, where meat-eating is a sign of wealth. That limits their global appeal.

All these suggests that alternative proteins have far to go to replace the animal kind. The limitations may be weighing on the firms involved. Oatly’s market value has fallen by about 80% since its listing, partly because of production difficulties. That of Beyond Meat, whose burgers feature in McDonald’s latest menu, is down by 90% from its peak. Plant-based foods may no longer be only an appetizer in diets, but their maker remain one in food business.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . I was always a reader.

As a kid, I walked to the library several times a week and checked out so many books and returned them so quickly that the librarian once snapped,“Don’t take home so many books if you’re not going to read them all!”

“But I did read them all,” I said.

But I had stopped reading gradually. I joined book clubs that I never attended. I requested a library book everyone was reading, only to return it a week late, unread, with fines.

Then I met David. When I asked him about his last book, his face lit up and his fingers danced.

David read much more than I did, about a book or two a week. He preferred history and nonfiction, while I loved fiction writers.

On our seventh date, David and I visited the library.

“I have a game,” he said, pulling two pens and Post-its out of his bag. “Let’s find books we’ve read and leave reviews in them for the next person.”

“We wandered in the library for an hour. In the end, we sat on the floor among the poetry, and I read him some. He listened, then asked,“What is it you like about that one?”

That summer, as we picnicked outside, I said, “If I tell you something, will you not judge me?” David paused and raised his eyebrows.

“I’ve only read one book this year,” I said.

“But it’s June,” he said.

“I know.”

“Well, read a book!”

The next time I visited a bookstore, his charge to “read a book” echoed in my head. I picked up a book solely for its poetic title.

I had a hard time getting into it. The narrator was an old man. Whenever I was tempted to give up on it, I thought of David. I pushed through the first two chapters and discovered a new narrator in the third. I loved the alternating points of view. I carried the book to work. I read at lunch and on my walk home.

“How’s your day?” David texted.

“Good. A little tired,” I replied. “I stayed up late and finished my book.”

I tried to make it sound casual, but I was proud of myself. It was not a competition, but I felt him pushing me to be more of the person I used to be and more of who I wanted to be.

I asked David once what he liked about me.

He paused, then said. “I see the world as a more wonder-filled place with you.”

By the end of that year, David suggested we visit the library again. He asked if I remembered the game we played on our first visit.

“I remember,” I said.

He pulled a book from the shelf, dropped to one knee, and opened it. Inside, his   Post-it read: “Karla, it has always been you. Will you marry me?”

His proposal had rested between the pages of The Rebel Princess for over a year.

“Yes,” I said.

1. The word “snapped” (paragraph 2) most probably means ________.

A．talked to someone voluntarily

B．spoke to someone impatiently

C．gave someone a suggestion

D．laughed at someone heartlessly

2. Which of the following may best illustrate the author’s reading habit when she first met David?

A．Carrying books around without opening them.

B．Only reading the books everyone recommended.

C．Avoiding sharing books when going to book clubs.

D．Often forgetting to return the books already read

3. According to paragraph 19, why was the author proud of herself?

A．She finished reading a book she didn’t like.

B．She had read more books than David did.

C．She did what she thought to be difficult.

D．She had kept to her taste in poetic titles.

4. What was the main change that David brought into the author’s life?

A．He introduced a new library and a fun game to the author.

B．He encouraged the author to read more fiction and poetry.

C．He helped the author finish reading an entire book in a day.

D．He motivated the author to rediscover her love for reading.

7 . Why Do You Find It So Hard to Not Multitask?

Most of us do multitasking almost daily. But it’s time to change that. Your attention is already being pulled in millions of directions daily, so you really don’t need to add multitasking to the list. Let’s take the smartphone for example. On average you check your phone 110 times a day — that means you’re spending 23 days every year glued to your smartphone! How productive do you think that makes you?     1    .

But it’s hard to let go of these habits because you’ve conditioned your brain to send misleading signals to your body. Research has shown that when you multitask “successfully”, you activate the reward mechanism in your brain that releases dopamine, the happy hormone.     2    . This rush can also make you overly optimistic, which means you are less careful about the work you do and more likely to make mistakes. Multitaskers basically get addicted to this rush which leads them to believe they are being effective when in fact they’re not.

You can find healthier, more balanced dopamine releases through ticking things on your to-do list through mono-, or single-tasking too. Since our brains can only effectively focus on one thing at a time, this is the way for you to accomplish more in less time. Research has suggested you’re 50% quicker on average to accomplish a task if you monotask, and you’re also 50% less like to make errors.     3    . You’ll also be able to appreciate things on a deeper level and get more enjoyment from them when you’re focused. If you’re chatting to a friend over coffee while checking your phone, you’re not making the most out of your time with your friend!

Now you’re probably desperate to find out how to get rid of this multiasking habit so you can find real productivity. There is no easy answer. You simply have to commit to it and have the self-discipline to stick to one task at a time. Just say to yourself: When I walk, I walk. When I talk to someone, I talk to someone.

When I read, I read. It’s as simple as that.     4    . And like that, you’ve mastered monotasking.

A．Focus on the one thing you are doing.

B．Habits like these which encourage you to multitask make you mentally exhausted and unproductive.

C．Make sure that you also take breaks in your monotasking, because that' s what helps your brain to stay focused.

D．So it’s a win-win for everyone!

E．The little information we do take in when we' re multitasking is more difficult to remember at a later stage.

F．You feel so good that you believe you’re being effective and further encourages your multitasking habit.

8 .

Can you stand on one leg for 10 seconds? Balance could be a matter of life and death. The World Health Organization estimates that 684,000 fatal falls occur each year, making falling the second leading cause of unintentional injury death. Some of these falls are caused by more serious conditions -but many aren’t. According to George Locker, a long-term practitioner of tai chi, a loss of balance is a medical problem that can’t be treated with drugs or surgery, despite its effects. Increasingly,efforts are being made to remedy(补救) the balance problem among the groups already most affected by it. Tai chi,practiced by an estimated 50   million people in China,is an option. Studies have shown that as little as eight weeks of practice can improve older adults’scores on the Tinetti test —a   commonly   used   measure of competence in basic tasks such as rising from a chair and walking—as well as reducing fear of falling. Longer periods of study show further benefits. Whatever activity you choose the lesson is to work on your balance before you need to. not after it becomes an issue. As Locker puts it everyone’s told to save money for their retirement and nobody’s taught to save their balance. But both are difficult to get back once they’re gone.	Just 15 minutes a day of practice can be beneficial, but do more if you have time Starting earlier helps: try the exercises below on a hard, level surface.
	Easy Level: Standing on one leg—with your hands resting on a work surface if you' re feeling unsteady — see how long you can maintain your balance. Do this one while you’re brushing your teeth.
	Medium Level: For this movement, start from standing and take a big step forwards, bending your front leg until your trailing knee just brushes the floor. Then push off your front leg and return to a standing position.
	Hard Level: Try step-ups on to a step or box: put one foot on to a box and push through that heel to step up so both feet end up together. To ensure you aren’t using your trailing leg to help ,keep your toes off the ground on that foot.

1. What does George Locker think of a lack of balance?

A．It is costly to get treated with drugs and surgery.

B．It is a minor issue that doesn’t affect one’s overall health.

C．It is a problem without any medical solution.

D．It is a problem that can be easily fixed by exercising.

2. Which of the following best illustrates the Medium Level practice?

A．

B．

C．

D．

3. What is the lesson conveyed in the passage regarding balance and health?

A．Balance is the top leading cause of sudden death from injuries.

B．It is essential for those affected by balance issues to seek help.

C．Taichi is the most effective way to improve one’s balance.

D．It is wiser to work on balance as early as possible.

9 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。1.

A．Most foods can’t be freeze-dried.	B．They don’t know how to do it.
C．They don’t have proper equipment.	D．This process is time-consuming.

2.

A．They are very light in weight.	B．They take up little space to store.
C．They don’t keep much nutrition.	D．They don’t taste as good as before.

3.

A．How to produce freeze-dried foods.	B．Why people like freeze-dried foods.
C．Advantages of freeze-dried foods.	D．Features of freeze-dried foods.

10 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。1.

A．They have put up their house for sale.

B．They have paid several visits to Spain.

C．They have informed her of their decision.

D．They have hinted at the plans several times.

2.

A．She hopes to return to her hometown.

B．She is tired of the fast pace of city life.

C．She has been longing to live in a bigger town.

D．She has always wanted to learn a new language.

3.

A．It is quite familiar to them.

B．It is a small but fast-paced town.

C．It is an ideal place to learn Spanish.

D．It is much different from where they are living.

4.

A．Take over the family business.

B．Move to Spain with her parents.

C．Assist her parents with the move.

D．Pack the luggage for her parents.