1 . It was 8:30 am. Traffic was at
An untidy boy of ten
The boy turned to the traffic, holding the old lady’s hand, and I
The old lady glanced around, determined to
The old lady safely
I watched with a lump in my throat and a(n)
A.full | B.broken | C.gentle | D.smooth |
A.hopefully | B.patiently | C.anxiously | D.casually |
A.car | B.road | C.figure | D.gap |
A.ignored | B.approached | C.introduced | D.matched |
A.nodded | B.shook | C.lowered | D.raised |
A.trust | B.weakness | C.relationship | D.embarrassment |
A.forgot | B.noted | C.delayed | D.accepted |
A.sped | B.flowed | C.grew | D.thinned |
A.praise | B.seek | C.protect | D.spot |
A.pushing | B.pulling | C.guiding | D.dragging |
A.heavily | B.finally | C.suddenly | D.pitifully |
A.relief | B.disappointment | C.exhaustion | D.kindness |
A.moved | B.lifted | C.abandoned | D.delivered |
A.doubt | B.expression | C.tear | D.stare |
A.memory | B.encounter | C.route | D.mistake |
2 . Scientists looking to uncover the mysteries of the underwater world have more valuable information thanks to an international team that has produced a list of species confirmed or expected to produce sounds underwater.
Led by Audrey Looby from the University of Florida, the Global Library of Underwater Biological Sounds working group collaborated with the World Register of Marine Species to document 729 mammals (哺乳动物), fishes, and invertebrates (无脊椎动物) that produce active or passive sounds. In addition, the list includes another 21,911 species that are considered to likely produce sounds.
“With more than 70% of the Earth’s surface covered by water, most of the planet’s habitats are aquatic, and there is a misconception that most aquatic organisms are silent. The newly published comprehensive digital database on what animals are known to make sounds is the first of its kind and can revolutionize marine and aquatic science,” the researchers said.
“Listening to underwater sounds can reveal a lot of information about the species that produce them and is useful for a variety of applications, ranging from fisheries management, invasive species detection to assessing human environmental impacts,” said Looby, who also co-created FishSounds, which offers a collection of fish sound production research records.
The team’s research was published in Scientific Data and involved 19 authors from six countries. “Understanding how marine species interact with their environments is of global importance, and this data being freely available is a major step toward that goal,” said Kieran Cox, a member of the research team.
“Most people are familiar with whale or dolphin sounds but are often surprised to learn that many fishes and invertebrates use sounds to communicate, too,” Looby said. “Our database helps demonstrate how widespread underwater sound production really is across a variety of animals, but we still have a lot to learn.”
1. Why is the data listed in paragraph 2?A.To show the types of biological sounds. |
B.To show the sum of documents on animals. |
C.To show the species of underwater animals. |
D.To show the number of the sound-producing species. |
A.Many mammals can live in water. | B.Most fishes cannot make sounds. |
C.Different species can communicate. | D.Ocean animals can’t get onto the land. |
A.To document ocean animals’ sounds. |
B.To set up a free database for scientists. |
C.To learn how ocean animals communicate. |
D.To publish the team’s research in Scientific Data. |
A.To call on people to protect ocean animals. |
B.To introduce the finding of a research team. |
C.To list the animals that can produce sounds. |
D.To describe the mysterious underwater world. |
3 . Every day, people share more than 2 billion photos on the Internet. While visual content provides a fun and expressive way for people to communicate online, consuming and creating it poses challenges for people who are blind or severely visually impaired (受损的). With more than 39 million people who are blind, and over 246 million who have a severe visual impairment, many people may feel excluded from the conversation around photos on the Internet. The researchers from Harvard University want to build technology that helps the blind community appreciate photos in the same way others enjoy them.
Automatic alternative text is a new development that generates a description of a photo using advancements in object recognition technology. People using screen readers on digital devices will hear a list of items a photo may contain as they click photos on the Internet. Before today, people using screen readers would only hear the name of the person who shared the photo, followed by the term “photo” when they came upon an image. Now they can offer a richer description of what’s in a photo thanks to automatic alternative text. For instance, someone could now hear “an image containing three people, smiling, outdoors”.
This is possible because of Harvard University’s object recognition technology, which is based on a network that has billions of parameters and is trained with millions of examples. Each advancement in object recognition technology means that the researchers will be able to make technology even more accessible to more people. When people are connected, they can achieve extraordinary things as individuals and as a community, and when everyone is connected, we all benefit from it.
They are launching automatic alternative text first on cellphone screen readers set to English, but they plan to add this functionality for other languages and platforms soon. While this technology is still nascent, using its current capabilities to describe photos is an important step toward providing our visually impaired community with the same benefits and enjoyment that everyone else gets from photos.
1. Why is the technology launched?A.There are so many photos on the Internet. |
B.There are many people suffering from blindness. |
C.Some digital devices are in need of the technology. |
D.People with vision problems fail to enjoy photos online. |
A.It can offer more photos to blind people. |
B.It can describe more about online photos. |
C.It can recognize the person who shares photos. |
D.It can satisfy the common needs of blind people. |
A.The photos on the Internet. | B.People’s care for blind people. |
C.People’s connections to each other. | D.The object recognition technology. |
A.Emerging. | B.Reliable. | C.Powerful. | D.Conventional. |
4 . The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyone's daily life. While our experiences were
Salons (美发厅) were closed for months, but our
We had
And I wasn't surprised when she said she was
When the salon finally
Any
She wanted a
Days later, as we stood in line at the post office to mail her hair, I looked at my daughter and felt
A.useful | B.important | C.interesting | D.different |
A.hair | B.population | C.weight | D.business |
A.remembered | B.continued | C.learned | D.decided |
A.kept on | B.succeeded in | C.talked about | D.benefited from |
A.knew | B.imagined | C.agreed | D.wondered |
A.safe | B.nervous | C.ready | D.busy |
A.thick | B.long` | C.strong | D.straight |
A.opened | B.moved | C.disappeared | D.failed |
A.hopelessly | B.carefully | C.regretfully | D.confidently |
A.guide | B.visit | C.help | D.invite |
A.worries | B.dreams | C.difficulties | D.comments |
A.silent | B.satisfied | C.frightened | D.strict |
A.bag | B.reply | C.job | D.change |
A.traveled around | B.walked out | C.ran away | D.broke in |
A.proud | B.tired | C.shy | D.ashamed |
5 . The cry of the fishing cat sounds like the quack of a duck, and the rest of this midsize cat also enables it to hunt (猎食) in the water. Its streamlined head is perfect for moves in the mangrove swamps (红树林沼泽地) and wetlands of South and Southeast Asia, and its pointy ears even fold (折叠) down when it jumps into deep water. The short and strong tail helps control its direction. The extra-thick coat keeps it warm and dry while swimming.
“I found fishing cats to be very ingenious,” says Tiasa Adhya, co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project, a research and conservation group based in eastern India. Her research recently showed that the animal has two methods of catching fish. In deep waters, the cat stays still on the banks for hours before jumping into the water for the kill. In shallow waters, though, the cat actively drives the fish out of their hiding places by moving about with heavy steps.
Now the fishing cat is facing another challenge: humans. The world has lost almost 90 percent of its wetlands since the 1700s, with Asia suffering the greatest loss. These days, industrialized fish farming, pollution and other human behaviors have destroyed the living condition of freshwater fish and set fishing cats against farmers, as the hungry cats steal farmed fish, and the farmers get even with them. Once found along river systems from Pakistan to Vietnam, the cats have disappeared from large areas of their range.
Researchers are testing new methods, including the commercial launch (商业化推出) of a type of native rice variety. Depending on nutrients (营养物) washed in by rains rather than on chemicals, the rice creates living space for the fishing cat and its food. The idea is that in healthy lakes where there is plenty to feed fishing cats and fishermen alike, killings will be unnecessary. “Nobody takes a loss,” Adhya explains, “when somebody takes a fish.”
1. What does the author want to explain about fishing cats in the first paragraph?A.Why they moved to South and Southeast Asia. | B.What helps them swim well in the water. |
C.What pushes them to live with ducks. | D.Why they love staying in the water. |
A.Friendly. | B.Picky. | C.Clever. | D.Lazy. |
A.The battle between fishing cats and humans. | B.The decision to protect freshwater fish. |
C.The importance of stopping pollution. | D.The method of increasing wetlands. |
A.It will do some harm to the environment. | B.It will create a win-win situation. |
C.It will increase food production. | D.It will cost a lot of money. |
6 . I had no idea that the Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) existed (存在) until I went to the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder club fair with my best friend in September. There was a stand that was run to find volunteers for the festival in the spring, and I signed up. I wasn't quite passionate (狂热的) about films but just wanted to do some volunteer work.
The first volunteer shift I had was before the festival started, and I got to organize all of the passes needed for the festival, including those of all the volunteers, sponsors, filmmakers, and VIP members. I even managed to get a picture of myself and Ale c Baldwin's pass.
During the festival, I worked as a vaccine (疫苗) checker, checking people's vaccination cards and giving out wristbands since BIFF required everyone to be vaccinated to enter the many halls. This job-wasn't terrible, except for the fact that we were outside most of the time and it was snowing. By the end, I could hardly feel my feet, but I kept in high spirits.
After finishing my volunteer work, I was able to see a few films for free. Besides some short films, I really enjoyed “The Last Mountain,” a documentary about the life and death on a mountain in 2019 of the British climber, Tom Ballard, and the mountaineering history of his family. While I was crying throughout most of the movie, it was an inspiring story about love and passion.
I really enjoyed my time at BIFF. It was well-organized and everyone working for the festival was passionate about making it a great experience for everyone alike. Next year, I hope to invite some of my friends to volunteer with me, or at least encourage them to watch a couple of amazing films!
1. Where did the author find out about BIFF?A.At a volunteer event he had attended. | B.At the CU Boulder club fair. |
C.From a volunteer of BIFF. | D.From his best friend. |
A.He guided people to different places at the festival. |
B.He made wristbands for people who asked for them. |
C.He gave out passes to filmmakers and VIP members. |
D.He made sure everyone attending the festival was vaccinated. |
A.It is about a wealthy British family. | B.It is difficult to understand. |
C.It is a sad story. | D.It is really short. |
A.To introduce a special film festival. |
B.To share his experiences at a film festival. |
C.To show how he developed an interest in films. |
D.To discuss the benefits of volunteering at film festivals. |
7 . Mei Lum is the fifth-generation owner of Wing on Wo & Co. in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
For Lum, the oldest-running business in Manhattan’s Chinatown sees the neighbourhood growing larger and larger and is an informal living room where she came of age. In the store on Mott Street, she shared meals with her family, took Chinese lessons with her grandparents and helped clean the store as a young girl.
Wing on Wo was started in the 1890s. In the early days, Wing on Wo was a general store that mainly sold dried fish and canned (罐装的) goods. It was also an informal post office. When Lum’s grandmother, Nancy, took over in 1965, she decided to focus on porcelain (瓷器) specifically. Its heyday (全盛时期) was the late 70s to the late 80s. A lot of the goods came from Hong Kong, where Lum’s grandfather grew up.
In 2016, her grandmother planned to sell the porcelain specialty shop and its building. Lum, who was preparing to study international relations at Columbia University, decided to take over the store — not only to preserve (保护) its cultural value, but to create a community centre.
“I see the store as a place for conversation for Asian Americans. They want to learn about family history and tradition, and are curious about their cultural identity. I want them to learn about their identity through our porcelain,” Lum said.
Wing on Wo has remained a family business from its founding. Lum’s father, Gary, has been manning the counter (柜台) for the past 30 years. Her mother, Lorraine, processes orders and manages the website. Even her grandmother helps out with some work in the store.
The pandemic pushed Lum to start learning how to run an online store. She’s also added a lot of new activities, including youth programs, an artist residency and a ceramicist fair, to ensure that in addition to preserving tradition, the business is shaping the future of Chinatown.
1. What did the store mean to Lum according to paragraph 2?A.It gave her a chance to help her neighbours. |
B.It played an important role in her childhood. |
C.It helped her to develop a money-saving lifestyle. |
D.It had a great influence on her choice of university. |
A.She sold Wing on Wo. | B.She opened a new general store. |
C.She began selling only porcelain in the store. | D.She changed the store into a porcelain factory. |
A.To collect money for her college education. |
B.To learn business skills from her grandmother. |
C.To encourage young people to start a family business. |
D.To provide a historical connection for Asian Americans. |
A.Responsible and forward-looking. | B.Humorous and hard-working. |
C.Creative and honest. | D.Kind and patient. |
Facial surgery (手术) is a serious business, especially on children
This new
Researchers at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) could soon replace the ruler currently
MCRI’s Mr Harold Matthews said current
The project intends
9 . Ahmed was a middle-class businessman and used to go to his office in a car that he had bought seven years ago. Despite being
One weekday, Ahmed left his home to go to his office. It was raining heavily. Ahmed drove
The day passed quickly. When Ahmed drove back home, the rain had stopped. He saw a homeless man sleeping on the wet sidewalk.
Ahmed remained
A.physically | B.spiritually | C.intellectually | D.financially |
A.annoyed | B.ashamed | C.dissatisfied | D.discouraged |
A.things | B.faults | C.money | D.chance |
A.slowly | B.dangerously | C.absent-mindedly | D.self-confidently |
A.small | B.old | C.lovely | D.electric |
A.balance | B.breath | C.attention | D.imagination |
A.longing | B.marching | C.wandering | D.struggling |
A.aware of | B.excited about | C.anxious for | D.surprised by |
A.freely | B.comfortably | C.quickly | D.frequently |
A.hopeful | B.impressive | C.content | D.advanced |
A.awake | B.curious | C.disappointed | D.silent |
A.cared | B.wondered | C.worried | D.complained |
A.attitude | B.intention | C.identity | D.memory |
A.share | B.change | C.follow | D.appreciate |
A.missed | B.gave | C.learnt | D.observed |
10 . We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.
What’s the problem? It’s possible that along with the rapid development of society, we all focus on our phone and desktop, and therefore it results in our compromised conversational intelligence. However, it’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.
Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for small conversation. “Small talk is the grease (润滑剂) for social communication,” says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. “Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,” he explains. “The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.”
In a 2014 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction with its waiter; the other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. “It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,” says Dunn. “But interactions with peripheral (边缘的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.”
Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. “Small talk is the basis of good manners,” he says.
1. What does the underlined word “compromised” in paragraph 2 mean?A.Weakened. | B.Enhanced. | C.Secret. | D.Natural. |
A.Showing good manners. | B.Relating to other people. |
C.Focusing on a topic. | D.Making business deals. |
A.It made the coffee taste better. | B.It reduced waiting time in line. |
C.It improved people’s mood and experience. | D.It helped them bond with the server deeply. |
A.Elevator manners. | B.The importance of small talk. |
C.Smartphones and social media. | D.Developing deep relationships. |