1 . The benefits of regular exercise are well documented but there’s a new bonus to add to the ever-growing list. New researchers found that middle-aged women who were physically fit could be nearly 90 percent less likely to develop dementia in later life, and as they did, it came on a decade later than less sporty women.
Lead researcher Dr. Helena Horder, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said : "These findings are exciting because it’s possible that improving people's cardiovascular （心血管的）fitness in middle age could delay or even prevent them from developing dementia. "
For the study, 191 women with an average age of 50 took a bicycle exercise test until they were exhausted to measure their peak （最大值的） cardiovascular capacity. The average peak workload was measured at 103 watts.
A total of 40 women met the criteria for a high fitness level, or 120 watts or higher. A total of 92 women were in the medium fitness category; and 59 women were in the low fitness category, defined as a peak workload of 80 watts or less, or having their exercise tests stopped because of high blood pressure, chest pain or other cardiovascular problems.
These women were then tested for dementia six times over the following four decades. During that time, 44 of the women developed dementia. Five percent of the highly fit women developed dementia, compared to 25 percent of the women with medium fitness and 32 percent of the women with low fitness.
"However, this study does not show cause and effect between cardiovascular fitness and dementia, it only shows an association. More research is needed to see if improved fitness could have a positive effect on the risk of dementia and also to look at when during a lifetime a high fitness level is most important. " She also admitted that a relatively small number of women were studied, all of whom were form Sweden, so the results might not be applicable to other groups.
1. What is on the ever-growing list mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．Positive effects of doing exercises. |
| B．Exercises suitable for the middle-aged. |
| C．Experimental studies on diseases. |
| D．Advantages of sporty woman over man |
| A．To predict their maximum heart rate. |
| B．To assess their cardiovascular capacity |
| C．To change their habits of working out |
| D．To detect their potential health problems |
| A．It aimed to find a cure for dementia. |
| B．Data collection was a lengthy process. |
| C．Some participants withdrew from it. |
| D．The results were far from satisfactory. |
| A．More Women Are Exercising to Prevent Dementia |
| B．Middle-Aged Women Need to Do More Exercise |
| C．Fit Women Are Less Likely to Develop Dementia |
| D．Biking Improves Women's Cardiovascular Fitness |
One morning, I was waiting at the bus stop, worried about
3 . Ten years ago, I went on a vacation in Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic (全景的) view of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.
Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.
Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn't want to mess with that. Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway.
Now when I look at the photo, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.
This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who "ruined" it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured and frozen on some strangers bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don't even know has been immortalized (使永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.
Perhaps we all live in each other's spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us. That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.
1. What happened when the author was about to take a photo?| A．Her camera stopped working. | B．A friend approached from behind. |
| C．Someone asked her to leave. | D．A woman blocked her view. |
| A．losing her patience | B．enjoying herself |
| C．waiting for the sunset | D．thinking about her past |
| A．The woman's existence in the photo. | B．The perfect positioning of the camera. |
| C．The rich color of the landscape. | D．The soft sunlight that summer day. |
| A．the need to be close to nature | B．the importance of private space |
| C．the shared passion for beauty | D．the joy of the vacation in Italy |
4 . At the foot of the Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang, a homestay (民宿) is attracting travelers from far and wide, which has won architectural medal at the 2021 German iF Design Awards.
The owners of the homestay are a couple in their late 30s who decided to return to their hometown three years ago. Li Xiumei used to be in charge of a division at a company in Hangzhou, and her husband was a sales director. It was an ordinary situation where Li’s husband was on business trips a lot and Li still worked on weekends. City life sometimes is not easy.
In 2018, they quit jobs and went back to Dongtianmu village, which lies in a forest of bamboo. The first time they drove into the village was one late afternoon. The cooking smoke was rising from the foot of the mountain, which gave them a very different feeling from the city.
The homestay was built beside her husband’s old countryside house. The old house is preserved (保留), while a brand-new building was built on its side and the whole site is made up of four courtyards. It has been updated to have a hall, a tea room, a kitchen, a dining room. Japanese cherry trees are planted in the east courtyard. A swimming pool is placed in the west courtyard, with a bar located on one side.
Li and her husband love gardening and music, and their new home gives them enough space to continue their interests and relax in the heart of nature. Li wants to share the quiet country life, so she makes her new home a homestay. In 2019, the homestay became an online hit after guests shared their experiences on social media. “The longer I stay here, the more I feel it was the right choice to come back, and this is more meaningful than making money,” Li says.
1. How did Li feel about city life?| A．Satisfied. | B．Noisy. | C．Attractive. | D．Tired |
| A．The forest of bamboo. | B．The smoke of cooking. |
| C．The fresh air in the village. | D．The feeling of loneliness. |
| A．It is ancient and broken. | B．It can hold many guests. |
| C．It must have been carefully designed. | D．It has been rebuilt by the couple. |
| A．Continuing their music dream. | B．Living in the countryside. |
| C．Staying at the old house. | D．Developing a city. |
5 . Kindness is a key value that God desires us to have. When you give kindness to others, it will be returned to you. Finally, we
I became friends with this young
When we went to
On the last day, I also bought him a
| A．risked | B．finished | C．hated | D．limited |
| A．drank | B．sold | C．tasted | D．supplied |
| A．carelessly | B．smoothly | C．slightly | D．difficultly |
| A．worker | B．traveller | C．neighbor | D．boss |
| A．though | B．because | C．before | D．unless |
| A．held back | B．gave up | C．came up with | D．put up with |
| A．done | B．produced | C．broken | D．replaced |
| A．arrest | B．blame | C．praise | D．pay |
| A．damage | B．protection | C．charge | D．entrance |
| A．thin | B．strong | C．welcome | D．wealthy |
| A．door | B．ticket | C．place | D．newspaper |
| A．ignore | B．punish | C．relax | D．judge |
| A．comfortable | B．terrible | C．strange | D．upset |
| A．sadness | B．appreciation | C．honestly | D．regret |
| A．office | B．shop | C．car | D．house |
6 . Online games are very popular among people. They make a large amount of money and have a large user base, including lots of teenagers. But now, new rules on online games have been introduced, which are aimed at fighting against addiction (成瘾) among underage players.
Adult players need to spend most of their time paying attention to work and family, and cannot play games as often as they want. However, underage players have more spare time, but less responsibility and self-control. Children without a clear purpose in life, where there is less family education and school management, might easily become addicted to all kinds of online games and online novels.
The most direct impact of an addiction to online games among underage players is on their psychological (心理) health. According to psychologists, people seriously addicted to games can become anxious, bad tempered, and avoid responsibility.
However, Chinese parents are more worried that their children will lack interest in studying if they become addicted to online games, as academic success is important for students. Additionally, when their children become addicted to such games, most parents do not know how to deal with the situation.
To carry out the new rules to the best effect, more specific issues need to be solved, such as managing foreign online games, ensuring that facial recognition technologies used by games companies have the wanted effect or making sure online game providers can only offer one-hour services to underage players on Saturdays and Sundays. While there are always loopholes (漏洞) in new rules, authorities should act quickly to close them.
There is no doubt that online games have harmful effects on young people. It is not acceptable for a large number of teenagers or those even younger, to become addicted to these games.
1. What’s the purpose of the new rules on online games?| A．To raise awareness of Internet safety. |
| B．To bring in new computer programs. |
| C．To reduce the grown-up user base. |
| D．To prevent the teenagers’ addiction. |
| A．They can learn more knowledge on the Internet. |
| B．They have more free time and less self-control. |
| C．They have purposes in life but lack higher education. |
| D．They maintain a sense of curiosity about the Internet. |
| A．How to reduce parents’ anxiety about kids’ study. |
| B．How to find loopholes in the popular online games. |
| C．How to control the service time of online game providers. |
| D．How to invent a facial recognition game for young players. |
| A．Confused. | B．Negative. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Uninterested. |
7 . He came from somewhere south of Rome. One Sunday evening I found him standing in the driveway, extremely thin.
“My name Tony and I mow (割) your lawn (草坪).” he said. It was hard to understand his
I
“I want to be an apprentice (学徒),” he said one day.
After about two years, Tony turned up at our usual meeting spot, much
Tony came to America seeking the American Dream. But he did not find it — he
| A．broken | B．fluent | C．standard | D．simple |
| A．designer | B．gardener | C．partner | D．survivor |
| A．decorated | B．dug | C．swept | D．blocked |
| A．award | B．advice | C．pay | D．leave |
| A．wandered | B．thought | C．worried | D．forgot |
| A．managed | B．happened | C．pretended | D．refused |
| A．ordered | B．stressed | C．requested | D．applied |
| A．However | B．Instead | C．Yet | D．Thus |
| A．Even if | B．Now that | C．In case | D．Ever since |
| A．regret | B．amazement | C．credit | D．disappointment |
| A．paler | B．heavier | C．stranger | D．thinner |
| A．amusement | B．confidence | C．confusion | D．annoyance |
| A．discovered | B．revived | C．appreciated | D．created |
| A．place | B．floor | C．step | D．stage |
| A．wasted | B．floor | C．treasured | D．explored |
8 . Michael Jackson was on the road of performing when he was five years old. As is known to all, the road to fame and fortune is a long, hard one.
Michael remembers those early years when lie was young. “My father was a machine operator,” he explained, “and he worked at a steel plant. My mother worked at Sears, a big department store. But they were both musicians.”
Michael’s father Joe Jackson realized his sons had a lot of talent, and he knew he could train them to become fine musicians. In those days there were plenty of music groups and some of them were very good. He knew if his sons were to stand out, they would have to be the best.
Practice makes perfect. And the Jackson boys practiced! Gradually the group took shape. Then word of this group began to get around. Thus Michael got a chance to do some solo songs. In the following years, Michael was always on the top. One million records of his were sold in New Zealand, which had only a total population of three million!
When Michael was eighteen, he entered another field of his career—acting. “I plan to star in movies,” he told his friends, “but of course, my first love is music.”
Michael wrote a lot of his own songs. “Songs came about in the strangest ways,” he said “I’ll just wake up from sleeping and there is a whole song coming into my head. And then F put it down on the paper.”
Still, with all his success, Michael managed to keep his head calm. “I just do a different job from other people,” he said, “but it doesn’t make me think I’m better than other people.”
To be quite honest, his fans just love to hear and watch him!
1. What can we know from the text?| A．Michael Jackson’s parents enjoyed music a lot. |
| B．Michael’s mother worked in a factory when he was young. |
| C．Michael’s father spent a lot of time in drinking. |
| D．Michael began to earn money when he was only four years old. |
| A．no one would like to hear their songs | B．they only played music in the streets |
| C．they could not make money | D．they had a lot of practice in music |
| A．All of Michael’s songs were written by other people. |
| B．Michael thinks that he is much more clever than others. |
| C．Michael began to act in films when he was five years old. |
| D．A great number of New Zealanders bought a record of Michael’s. |
| A．How Mr. Jackson trained his children. |
| B．How the Jacksons became successful. |
| C．Why Michael is so popular all over the world. |
| D．How Michael becomes so popular all over the world. |
9 . Why play sports? You might say “to get exercise” and you would be right. To have fun? That's true, too. But there's more.
Girls who play sports do better in school. You might think that athletics will take up all your study time.
Girls who play sports learn teamwork and goal-setting skills.
Sports are good for a girl's health. In addition to being fit and keeping a healthy weight, girls who play sports are also less likely to smoke. And later in life, girls who exercise are less likely to get breast cancer or osteoporosis(骨质疏松症).
Playing sports improves self-confidence.
| A．Exercise cuts the pressure. |
| B．Sports teach valuable life skills. |
| C．Regular exercise increases quality of life. |
| D．In fact, there are at least five more reasons. |
| E．Girls who play sports feel better about themselves. |
| F．Playing sports offers children more than just physical benefits. |
| G．But research shows that girls who play sports do better in school than those who don't. |
10 . In a classic episode(片段) of The Simpsons, Homer's class reunion ends in shame when one of Homer's guilty secrets is exposed: he never graduated from high school. To get his diploma, he must pass a science test. As he sits down to retake the exam, he holds one of his trademark dialogues with his brain. “All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you. But let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.”
Many a true word is spoken as a joke. Homer Simpson's Everyman character really is an Everyman. For most people, engaging in the kind of effortful thinking that is required to pass a science test feels too much like hard work. It is so much easier to quit and let the brain's autopilot take over.
And no wonder. Evolution has blessed the human brain with all kinds of mental shortcuts that make life manageable. If we had to think about every action or weigh up every decision, we would break down. As a result, certain ideas and modes of thinking come naturally to us, such as effortless thinking.
But at huge cost. Our mental shortcuts work fine at the level of individuals and small-scale societies, but in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, they are a danger to society. Effortless thinking is at the root of many of the modern world's most serious problems; terrorism, hatred, inequality and religious extremism. All are caused by people disengaging their critical thinking and going with their gut(非理性的) feeling.
Everybody is capable of gut feeling, but also of the critical thinking. Both thinking styles are needed to make the world go round. Unfortunately, the latter requires training that is unavailable or unappealing to many people.
One of the bright spots in 2017 was the start of a movement called the March For Science. Those who believe in the power of science need to keep on marching, or give more power to people who don't much like their own brains - or other people's.
1. What does the author want to convey through Homer's story?| A．Feeling is very important. |
| B．Drinking beer is harmful to one's brain. |
| C．Most people hate effortful thinking like Homer. |
| D．High school seniors should work hard. |
| A．Some people are only able to have gut thinking. |
| B．Gut thinking is expensive for people. |
| C．Critical thinking is better than effortless thinking. |
| D．People prefer effortless thinking to critical thinking. |
| A．It makes the world go round. |
| B．It leads to the March For Science in 2017. |
| C．It works fine at the level of personal affairs. |
| D．It needs necessary training. |
| A．We Need to March towards Science | B．Critical Thinking Is Urgently Needed |
| C．Effortless Thinking Is out of Date | D．Thinking Contributes to Social Problems |
