1 . Every bookstore in Beijing used to have a massive fiction room piled to the ceiling with great books. These days, you’re as likely as not to find that those rooms have been shrunk down to the size of a solitary (单独的) table thickly covered with the latest releases and best-selling novels. This, however, begs the question: Is fiction dying out, or is print media finally succumbing to (屈服于) its electronic and audio copy rivals (对手)?
Now that Kindle is leaving China, some say that maybe people will get back to traditional reading. I doubt it, however. This downward reading trend has been evident for a long time now. When Jeff Bezos first launched Kindle, Steve Jobs from Apple said it would fail because “people don’t read anymore. It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is.”
But I don’t think reading itself is dying. It is merely becoming more functional — in other words, something you have to do in order to get some tangible (实际的) benefit. Gone are the days when people just read for fun. Why lumber (迫使担负) through a musty old book when you can watch an action movie or play a video game? Of course, people know that these are poor substitutes (替代品) for a good book.
In fact, there is nothing better than getting lost in a great book. I remember reading Shackleton, the British polar explorer, when I was a boy. After turning over the last leaf of this extraordinary adventure, I felt as if I, too, had just been to the South Pole and back. This imaginary achievement translated into a sense of confidence which must have been infectious, as soon afterwards all of my friends were themselves picking up books to read for fun. Psychologists say that you are the average of the five friends you surround yourself with. We can learn from them and they can also come to have a profound effect on our own habits and mindset. In this way, a book, too, can be a mentor (导师). The ideas, advice, mindset, and experiences of other people living in other times can get transmitted to us down through the pages of a good book.
In the age of fragmented (碎片化的) information, the winners will be those who can stay focused. However, in a world that easily gets distracted, deep reading seems to be getting further away from us. Our biggest problem is not Kindle’s departure from China, but our own departure from reality. Great books transmit universal truths; get them read. How exactly you do so is up to you.
1. The author mentioned Kindle in the text to _______.| A．praise its convenience and popularity in reading |
| B．explore the reason for the decline of print media |
| C．highlight the decreasing trend of traditional reading |
| D．show our regret for its departure from China’s market |
| A．He is famous for imaginary writing. | B．He finds nothing better than an old book. |
| C．He visited the South Pole many times himself. | D．His adventure story influenced the author a lot. |
| A．we can be influenced by positive ideas | B．we’d surround ourselves with good friends |
| C．we can learn from other people’s experiences | D．we can develop good habits and ways of thinking |
| A．great books are more popular than action movies |
| B．we should avoid being distracted by modern technology |
| C．reading great books can help us stay focused |
| D．traditional reading will eventually disappear |
| A．It’s necessary to find a better substitutes for books like Kindle. |
| B．We should read more in order to escape from reality. |
| C．We need to face the reality that reading is becoming less popular. |
| D．We have to accept the fact that Kindle is leaving China. |
| A．To discuss the future trend of reading. | B．To advocate the benefits of reading. |
| C．To analyze the reasons for the decline of reading. | D．To compare different forms of reading. |
2 . It turns out that humans aren’t the only ones taking mathematics tests. A group of cognitive (认知的) scientists are training bees to perform simple addition and subtraction (减法).
For the experiment, the scientists lured individual bees with sugar water. “She flies back to the hive, gives it to the other bees, and two minutes later she’ll come back and do it again,” Dyer said, a scientist from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. They taught and tested 14 bees over the course of the experiment — one bee at a time.
To learn the rules, a bee first would be shown cards printed with a number of shapes in one of two colors: blue, if they were supposed to add one to the shapes on the card, or yellow, if they were meant to subtract one shape. Then, the bee would choose an answer to the problem by flying to one of two presented solutions. If it chose well, it found itself near a solution of delicious sugar water. If it chose poorly, however, it would be punished with a bad-tasting drink. The researchers found that each bee picked the correct answer in both addition and subtraction trials about 70percent of the time.
Dyer said, “Problem-solving requires both long-term memory and short-term memory. Long-term memory allows the bees to remember that blue and yellow equate to separate mathematical rules. Short-term memory lets them recall the actual numbers in a particular problem.”
“It is assumed that humans are very complex, and there’s a decreasing level of complexity going away from humans,” said Muth, an animal congnition researcher who wasn’t involved in this study. But in fact, complex awareness, like the mathematical problems solved by bees, can be made up of relativlely simple components.
That doesn’t explain why bees might have evolved the ability to figure out mathematical problems, though. One possibility is that bees didn’t evolve to do addition and subtraction. They just evolved to be smart enough to figure it out.
Dyer said that observing a tiny animal with a brain that has less than a million neurons (神经元) learn a very complex task makes him think, “Wow, what can humans achieve?”
1. What are the scientists training bees to do in the experiment?| A．Flying on blue and yellow cards. | B．Adding shapes to different cards. |
| C．Solving simple mathematical problems. | D．Tasting water of two flavors. |
| A．They would be punished with a bad-tasting drink. | B．They would be treated with sugar drink. |
| C．They would be permitted to leave the hive. | D．They would be given a beautiful shape card. |
| A．Long-term memory plays a bigger part. |
| B．Long-term memory contributes to recalling. |
| C．Short-term memory facilitates remembering. |
| D．Short-term memory is as important as long-term memory. |
| A．Bees are as complex as man in many aspects. |
| B．Bees are by nature good at mathematics. |
| C．Complex awareness can consist of simple components. |
| D．Bees learn to solve maths problems under certain pressure. |
| A．Human achievements can be limitless. | B．Human brains deserve good study. |
| C．Humans must fully develop neurons. | D．Humans are good at observation. |
3 . Alone in my office one afternoon, I unpeeled (打开) the wrapper from a square of chocolate with a deliberate curiosity. The words printed inside the wrapper
I would normally not say yes to
Walking home from work, I
An awkward
“Oh. Ugh,” I was
The answer: a coded linguistic (语言的) invitation.
Up until that candy wrapper advice, I hadn’t
In trying out the supposed right way to accept a compliment, I learned what such a pleasant commentary really signals for people: connection and
| A．read | B．inform | C．perform | D．sign |
| A．invitations | B．presentations | C．predictions | D．suggestions |
| A．afraid | B．alone | C．ready | D．serious |
| A．Fully | B．Partially | C．Shortly | D．Specially |
| A．congratulation | B．acknowledgement | C．instruction | D．judgement |
| A．forget | B．deny | C．try | D．review |
| A．promised | B．challenged | C．imagined | D．encountered |
| A．handle | B．neglect | C．practice | D．share |
| A．gesture | B．silence | C．manner | D．sound |
| A．determined | B．strict | C．worried | D．innocent |
| A．meant | B．intended | C．prepared | D．lost |
| A．applied | B．changed. | C．mentioned | D．missed |
| A．given much thought to | B．put an end to | C．taken a look at | D．made every effort with |
| A．respond | B．object | C．attend | D．answer |
| A．obtain | B．ignore | C．loosen | D．shift |
| A．downgrade | B．highlight | C．update | D．underline |
| A．method | B．request | C．permission | D．discipline |
| A．In other words | B．A’s a result | C．In addition | D．After all |
| A．appreciation | B．conversation | C．expression | D．inspiration |
| A．Besides | B．However | C．Otherwise | D．Therefore |
4 . Twenty years ago, Charlotte attempted to call her sister in Bath, England. She intended to share the challenges and sorrows in her life with her sister. However, when she dialed the area code 01225, she accidentally punched in 01275 instead. This innocent mistake led her to reach Jones in Bristol, England.
Recalling about the fateful phone call, Jones said: “When Charlotte realized her error, she apologized sincerely. She was extremely polite and charming. Besides, Charlotte’s warmth and openness were immediately evident.”
In the following weeks, they called each other several times. Through their conversations, Jones discovered that Charlotte, who lived in Cornwall, England, had been trying to reach her sister.
Charlotte told that during a divorce with her husband, Jones had become a source of comfort for her. She expressed gratitude because Jones’ kindness and encouragement as a stranger had lifted her spirits. Over the next several years, the two forged a strong friendship through their phone conversations, discussing their children — Charlotte, a mother of two, and Jones, a father of three.
On Thanksgiving Day, Jones and his wife and children traveled to Cornwall. Finally meeting face-to-face, Charlotte exclaimed, “Oh, it was an remarkable day. The happiest Thanksgiving of my life, which I will never forget!” The sun shone brightly that day, warm as spring. It was a perfect day.
After their encounter, Jones posted a photo of himself with Charlotte on Facebook, along with a heartfelt message: “The distance between people in this world is just a wrong phone number. It’s truly unbelievable.”
Charlotte’s innocent mistake taught us an important lesson about the unexpected connections that can arise in life. Taking the initiative to reach out can lead to meaningful relationships that enrich our lives in ways we never imagined. We are reminded to cherish the unexpected connections that come into our lives and embrace the beautiful moments that they bring.
1. Why did Charlotte make a mistake when dialing the phone number?| A．She was not familiar with the area codes. | B．She dialed the wrong area code accidentally. |
| C．The phone she used was not working properly. | D．Her sister gave her a wrong number on purpose. |
| A．Kind and open. | B．Calm and helpful. |
| C．Polite and warm. | D．Clever and brave. |
| A．Because he tried to help her to find her sister. | B．Because he comforted her every day by phone. |
| C．Because he helped her with a lot of housework. | D．Because he cheered her up during her hard time. |
| A．Charlotte went to see Jones alone | B．Charlotte called Jones again and again |
| C．it was sunny and warm that day | D．the two families met face to face |
| A．People can form a strong friendship through accidental connections. |
| B．Phone numbers can often lead to misunderstandings and mistakes. |
| C．Distance is a barrier to building friendships and relationships. |
| D．A person’s life can change dramatically because of the awful divorce. |
5 . I was born without arms. My parents bought me a full-length
In Year 2011 I swam in the inter-house carnival and a coach encouraged me to join his squad. It
I’m
| A．armchair | B．mirror | C．wheelchair | D．stick |
| A．responsibility | B．identity | C．similarity | D．disability |
| A．experience | B．experiment | C．treatment | D．movement |
| A．hated | B．refused | C．preferred | D．returned |
| A．adjusted | B．adopted | C．contributed | D．applied |
| A．lower | B．smaller | C．finer | D．dearer |
| A．got mad | B．got along | C．got used | D．got rid |
| A．spared | B．separated | C．compared | D．sparked |
| A．which | B．what | C．where | D．that |
| A．even | B．then | C．still | D．ever |
| A．emotion | B．ambition | C．potential | D．recognition |
| A．continuing | B．competing | C．improving | D．completing |
| A．smooth | B．ambiguous | C．upset | D．tough |
| A．walked | B．patted | C．touched | D．hugged |
| A．shocked | B．cried | C．sighed | D．shouted |
| A．earned | B．donated | C．handled | D．raised |
| A．kids | B．people | C．men | D．women |
| A．waste | B．expensive | C．worthwhile | D．empty |
| A．set about | B．set to | C．set off | D．set down |
| A．define | B．identify | C．direct | D．distract |
6 . In recent studies we have been investigating mirror writing by typical 4-to 6-year-old children. The term is used because the characters — numbered and letters — are reversed (颠倒), yet are correct when looked at in a mirror.
For quite a long time, the mainstream views on the phenomenon were supported by the observation of left-handed children writing reverse characters, which was insufficient and misleading as right-handed children do so as well. Even today, left-handedness is often the favorite explanation of teachers when children produce mirror writing.
We find mirror writing works on both the cerebral(relating to the brain) and the behavioral level. The former has long been limited to the simplistic 1925 theory by Samue Ort on that one of the cerebral hemispheres (大脑半球) (usually the left) would correctly store the letters while the other would store them in a mirrored form. More recently, however, it has been shown that the brain doesn’t consider orientation (方 向) (left or right) when storing images, a process called mirror generalization.
This mirror generalization process, which can be very useful — for example, to recognize a face by both its left and right sides —leads children to know, from memory, the shape of the characters, but not their left / right orientation. It is important to note that the learning of the form of characters by children is mainly visual, and that children produce almost entirely horizontal mirror writing.
At the behavioral level, when children write the characters from memory, they must give them an. orientation. In countries whose primary languages are written in Latin characters —written from left to right — children tend to reverse mainly characters that face the left, such as 7 and q. However, when children are required to write from right to left, they instead reverse the right-oriented letters. This suggests that children usually orient characters in the direction of their. writing.
Our explanation is supported by analyzing tens of thousands of writing samples from more than a thousand children. Nevertheless, many parents continue to believe that mirror writing might be the indicator of a disorder such as dyslexia (读写困难), as doctors may still suggest that mirror writing by children is a sign of a developmental issue. Our research on typical developing children does not support such claims.
1. What does the author want to show by mentioning the left-handedness view?| A．The necessity of re-explaining mirror writing. |
| B．The role of teachers in addressing mirror writing. |
| C．The difficulty in adjusting children's handedness. |
| D．The challenge of writing faced by left-handed children. |
| A．It can recognize letters in a mirror forms. |
| B．It ignores the orientation during image storage. |
| C．Its ability to store visual images is quite limited. |
| D．Its left hemisphere is more active in storing letters. |
| A．Its pronunciation. | B．Its meaning. |
| C．Its orientation. | D．Its outline. |
| A．7, J and Z. | B．9, D and F. |
| C．6, B and R. | D．8, J and L. |
| A．Limiting children’s exposure to mirror writing. |
| B．Regarding mirror writing as something normal. |
| C．Encouraging children to overcome mirror writing. |
| D．Seeking professional advice on kid’s developmental issues. |
7 . I used to read tens of books every month. But as I grew up, things changed. I find it increasingly difficult to find the time and motivation to sit down and read a book from cover to cover.
To keep track of the books I’ve read, I turned to Goodreads, a social networking platform for book lovers. It’s a great way to share recommendations with friends and show off your literary progress. However, if we can’t achieve reading goals or can’t catch up with our friends, it can also exacerbate the feeling of “not doing enough” of your favorite hobby.
Halimah Begum, a literature editor from London, understands the struggle. “With Goodreads constantly tracking my reading, I am often worrying and feeling the pressure to read more books.” she says. “Sometimes, I feel under great pressure because I don’t want to fall behind on my goal and not reach it at the end of the year.”
I asked Nicole Villegas, an occupational therapist, about our obsession with tracking everything we do. She explained that it can give us a sense of control and provide us with a tool to measure our progress. “When we track things like the books we’ve read or the friends we’ve visited, we’re essentially gathering data about our hobbies,” she says. “It’s a powerful tool to help us look back on our progress and give us a sense of accomplishment.”
Unfortunately, the social aspect of apps like Goodreads doesn’t help. “Setting goals or tracking progress on public platforms adds a layer of extrinsic motivation that can also contribute to a sense of pressure to perform or give in to social comparisons,” Villegas says. “When it comes to reading, people may be tempted to finish books that aren’t a good fit instead of following their interests.”
Despite this, we often forget the point of doing hobbies in the first place. “Reading shouldn’t be something we have to ‘smash’, but just what we do for the joy of it. Maintain the feeling as you navigate your book-tracking app and if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or pressured, set it aside,” Villegas continues. “At the end of the day, it’s you and your book.”
1. What does the underlined word “exacerbate” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Worsen. | B．Affect. | C．Relieve. | D．Improve. |
| A．It is a waste of time. | B．It makes one feel stressed. |
| C．It encourages one to read more. | D．It helps one to enjoy reading. |
| A．To show off to our friends. | B．To try to spend our time wisely. |
| C．To find what suits us most. | D．To obtain a sense of achievement. |
| A．To avoid using it. | B．To use it reasonably. |
| C．To rely more on it. | D．To make full use of it. |
| A．The best way to track reading progress — Goodreads. |
| B．The necessity to ignore social media and focus on hobbies. |
| C．The positive and negative effects of tracking our hobbies. |
| D．The importance of setting goals to help people stay motivated. |
I still remember the days when I was a youthful student in an engineering school. I lived a casual life, without caring about the future. I smoked, drank with friends and made girlfriends. Little did I realized that casualness would certainly lead to loss.
Two years had passed and I was staring down a report card that highlighted FAIL in more than half the subjects. I didn’t care, at least not till my dad found out about it. You see, I studied in India and unlike the United States where the students are expected to finance their own education, my dad financed me.
Then came the day when my dad found out my habit of smoking. He lost his temper but he just told me, “son, your allowance is cut in half from this moment on.” It hit me like a roundhouse kick from Bruce Lee. I was jolted (震摇) out of my bones! I couldn’t comprehend how to pay off the debts that I had accumulated in college. I owed everybody money: the grocery store, the bars, the restaurants, and my friends. I was living a life filled with credit.
When I came back to college, I knew if I didn’t change the way I live my life I wouldn’t be able to pay everybody off. So I decided to make some changes, drastic changes. I quitted smoking, cut off from my friends who led me down the wrong road, starting hanging out in libraries and reading my engineering books.
One year later, I went from a miserable failure to a Cum Laude(优等成绩). Life was never the same again. This incident made me know that anything is possible if you take action and do something about it, however small or large. Even today it still motivates me when I feel that I’m about to lose or give up. It reminds me that I can do it!
1. What’s the author’s attitude when he saw his report card? (no more than 10 words)2. At what time did the father cut the author’s allowance in half? (no more than 15 words)
3. Why did the author say he was living a life filled with credit? (no more than 15 words)
4. What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean? (no more than 10 words)
5. What can you learn from the passage? (no more than 15 words)
9 . High-speed Internet access is provided by fiber-optic cables (光纤电缆). In fiber-optic systems, light signals are carried over long distances with fibers covered by cables. They have excellent performance, but they also have their own problems. Many parts of the world — especially underdeveloped areas — are not able to afford to build fiber-optic networks. This prevents millions of people across the world from having access to the Internet.
A new system being tested in India and Africa offers a partial solution to this problem. It was developed by Alphabet. Like fiber optics, the system uses light to carry high-speed Internet signals. But the light travels as beams (光束) through the air, without the need for fibers or cables. The beams can transmit high-speed data between two points with the help of receiving devices attached to structures. The technology is called Free Space Optical Communications (FSOC).
The project is called Taara, using an FSOC system to transmit high-speed data signals between two large African cities — Brazzaville and Kinshasa. The two cities are only 4.8 kilometers apart from each other, separated by the Congo River. The transmission of data signals is possible as long as there is a direct line of sight between the system’s receiving devices.
The system can be affected by some kinds of weather, like heavy fog, or by birds or other animals getting close to the equipment. But the Taara team says it has already made progress in making the system adjust to such environments to avoid any service outages.
After adding its “pointing and tracking” equipment to beam connectivity across the river, Taara said the link provided nearly 700 terabytes of data in 20 days with 99.9 percent availability. It noted that that amount of data would be equal to that of watching a FIFA World Cup match 270,000 times. Baris Erkmen, the director of engineering for Taara, has reported similar results in tests of the system in India. He said the team admitted that it couldn’t expect to see “perfect reliability” in the system through all kinds of weather and conditions. However, he added, “We believe Taara’s links will continue to deliver similar performance and will play a key role in bringing faster, more affordable connectivity to people living in these cities.”
1. What can we say about fiber-optic systems?| A．Safe and adaptable. | B．Complex but popular. |
| C．Effective but expensive. | D．Demanding and reusable. |
| A．Their signal quality. | B．Their coverage area. |
| C．Their transmission speed. | D．Their transmission medium. |
| A．Aging. | B．Failure. | C．Updating. | D．Exposure. |
| A．To show the successful improvement to Taara. |
| B．To describe the competitive World Cup match. |
| C．To prove the convenience of beam connectivity. |
| D．To introduce the perfect reliability of the system. |
| A．Positive. | B．Cautious. | C．Doubtful. | D．Concerned. |
When Li Toh first came to China to pursue his flute (长笛) dream, the Malaysian man had never expected that his dream could take root in China.
Toh’s love for the Chinese bamboo flute began in primary school when his elder brother joined the Chinese orchestra in middle school to learn to play the musical instrument. He said the clear sound of the bamboo flute guided him onto the road of flute learning. As he got older, Toh went to Singapore for further study.
According to Toh, there were few professional Chinese bamboo flute teachers in Malaysia, and the learning environment for bamboo flute players was limited. In 2005, Toh made a bold decision. He applied for retention (保留) of his admission qualifications to the university he had already attended, and set off for Beijing. A new chapter of his life thus began.
After getting his bachelor’s degree, Toh started to teach the Chinese bamboo flute in Malaysia and Singapore. His desire to improve his performance skills and his thirst for knowledge drove him back to Beijing to continue his studies.
Toh had planned to return to Malaysia after graduation, but upon graduation, Guangxi Arts University offered him a job. During his stay in China, he has also joined teams and performed in countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia. They tried to combine the Chinese bamboo flute with local musical instruments. Communication and innovation promoted the development of diverse art culture and enriched the cultural layers of art.
In recent years, Toh would return to Malaysia during holidays to promote the art of the Chinese bamboo flute. Having been in China for more than a decade, Toh’s love for the country has long been rooted in his heart, and he is looking forward to the prosperity and development of cultural industries in China.
1. What made Toh start learning the bamboo flute? (no more than 4 words)2. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 3 mean? (1 word)
3. Why did Toh return to Beijing? (no more than 13 words)
4. What did Toh do in China after graduation? (no more than 12 words)
5. What do you think of Toh? Please give your reasons. (no more than 20 words)
