1 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Where will the majority of the photos be displayed?

A．In a gallery.

B．In a mall.

C．In a café.

2. How many hours is the exhibition on view every day?

A．5 hours.

B．8 hours.

C．9 hours.

3. How will the funds raised be used?

A．To develop the poor countries’ economy.

B．To teach local kids arts.

C．To help disabled children.

2 . Students who are better able to understand and manage their emotions effectively, a skill known as emotional intelligence (EI), do better at school than their less-skilled classmates, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

“It’s not enough to be smart and hardworking. Students must also be able to understand and manage their emotions to succeed at school,” said Carolyn MacCann, lead author of the study. MacCann and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 160 studies, representing more than 42,000 students from 27 countries, published between 1998 and 2019. The students ranged in age from primary school to college. The researchers found that students with higher EI tended to get higher grades and better achievement test scores than those with lower EI scores. This finding held true even when controlling for intelligence and personality factors. What was most surprising to the researchers was the association held despite different ages.

As for why EI can affect academic performance, MacCann believes a number of factors may come into play. “Students with higher EI may be better able to manage negative emotions, such as anxiety, boredom and disappointment, which can negatively affect academic performance,” she said. “Also, these students may be better able to manage the social world around them, forming better relationships with teachers, classmates and family, all of which are important to academic success.” Finally, the skills required for EI, such as understanding human motivation and emotion, may overlap with (与……重叠) the skills required to master certain subjects, such as history and language, giving students an advantage in those subject areas, according to MacCann.

However, MacCann cautions against widespread testing of students to identify and target those with low EI as it may stigmatize (给……打上烙印) those students. Instead, she recommends interventions that involve the whole school, including additional teacher training and a focus on teacher well-being and emotional skills. “Programs that integrate emotional skill development into the existing curriculum would be beneficial, as research suggests that training works better when run by teachers rather than external specialists,” she said. “Increasing skills for everyone — not just those with low EI—would benefit everyone.”

1. What surprised the researchers most during MacCann’s study?

A．Intelligence mattered more than EI for academic success.

B．EI had an effect on learning for students of all ages.

C．College students benefited more from EI than pupils.

D．Personality affected academic performance greatly.

2. What can be a reason for the conclusion of MacCann’s study?

A．High-EI students hardly experience negative emotions.

B．High-EI students seldom develop social relationships.

C．High-EI students tend to easily focus on their study.

D．High-EI students have helpful skills for certain subjects.

3. What does MacCann suggest in the last paragraph?

A．Equipping teachers with emotional skills.

B．Designing tests to identify students with low EI.

C．Developing special programs for students with low EI.

D．Employing emotional specialists to give training to students.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Should EI be taught in school?

B．How can students develop high EI?

C．Students with high EI do better in school

D．Good students do better in managing emotions

3 . A program at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is hoping to fight against loneliness brought on by the pandemic by forming friendships between students and seniors in the community. They’re making it possible through weekly calls.

“It’s been a thing I look forward to every week,” Miranda Savioli, a VCU medical student said.

The program is run by students involved with the American Geriatrics Society and pairs medical and health science students with seniors in the community.

VCU education administrator for the School of Medicine, Chuck Alexander, says it was formed to fight against loneliness and give students valuable interaction with that age group — something that’s been missing since training programs stopped earlier this year. “It’s mostly just social — just chatting,” Alexander said. “A lot of times they just need someone to talk to. A lot of times they feel that they have a connection with someone younger who is just entering a new phase in their career and that they have some wisdom to impart to them — medically and socially as a friend.”

So far, the volunteer program has paired around 40 students with seniors.

Every week, Savioli video calls retiree Joan Kerby, who lives in a retirement community in Henrico.

“It’s a really good connection because in lockdown you really don’t have long conversations with anybody,” Kerby said. Those long conversations soon turned into a visit. The two participants decided to meet in person back in November and Kerby said it was a special moment. “We talked for two hours. We probably could have gone on longer but we had to stop,” Kerby said.

Savioli says they plan to keep the program going, and encourages others to pick up the phone and call a loved one who may be isolated. “It was developed to help seniors with isolation, but mean, we all got isolated during this pandemic,” Savioli said. “It’s been nice to talk to someone every week.” The group has no plans to stop the program. “We’re going to keep the program going and as for Joan and I, we’ve established ourselves as lifelong friends,” Savioli said.

1. What can be learned about the program?

A．It is run by college teachers.	B．It asks students to write to seniors.
C．It charges participants for weekly visits.	D．It connects college students with elderly people.

2. What does Alexander say about the program?

A．It should involve families.	B．It should be more professional.
C．It reduces students’ training time.	D．It benefits both students and seniors.

3. What did Kerby feel about the two-hour talk?

A．It was boring.

B．It was stressful.

C．It was wonderful.

D．It was humorous.

4. What does the group want to do according to the last paragraph?

A．Stop face-to-face visits.	B．Reduce conversation time.
C．Inspire people to talk to each other.	D．Switch from weekly calls to daily visits.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where are the speakers?

A．In a car.

B．At home.

C．At Grandma’s house.

2. What is Grandma’s specialty for Thanksgiving?

A．Roast chicken.

B．Apple pie.

C．Fried fish.

3. How does the boy sound in the end?

A．Excited.

B．Surprised.

C．Calm.

4. What do we know about the boy’s dad?

A．He will go to Grandma’s house by himself.

B．He made some cornbread for Thanksgiving.

C．He has just finished a business trip.

5 . Soap (肥皂) might seem like a reasonable way to avoid mosquito bites (蚊子叮) on the basis that if mosquitoes can’t smell you, they can’t bite you. However, a recent study has found that rather than protecting you, certain soaps might actually make you more attractive to mosquitoes.

In the study, conducted at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, four volunteers were asked to wear a sleeve before and after washing with four different brands of soap. The researchers then watched female mosquitoes as only females feed on blood landing on the fabric sample to show their preference. They found that some people washing with some brands of soap, increased their attractiveness to mosquitoes, while washing with other brands of soap tended to repel (驱除) mosquitoes. The repellent effect of some soap may be due to its coconut scent, as coconut oil is known to act as a natural mosquito repellent. The reason behind this attraction is believed to be related to mosquitoes’ sugar intake. When mosquitoes are not feeding on blood, they add their diet with plant juice or sweet water from flowers, “The fact we are taking those flowery and fruity smells and putting them on our bodies means that now the same object smells like a flower and a person at the same time,” said Clément Vinauger, who led the study. It would be like waking up and smelling the smell of coffee and bread, very attractive.

Interestingly, the effects of the soap varied among people, possibly due to the interaction (相互作用) between the soap and each person’s unique body scent. “It’s remarkable that the same person that is extremely attractive to mosquitoes when he is unwashed, but he becomes even more attractive to mosquitoes with one soap, and then become repellent to mosquitoes with another soap,” said Vinauger. Further research is needed to better understand the interaction between different soap and body scents, as well as to develop more effective mosquito repellents.

1. What has the study found?

A．Soap attracts many mosquitoes.	B．Male mosquitoes feed on blood.
C．Some plants drive away mosquitoes.	D．Not all soap can stop mosquito bites.

2. How did the researchers conduct the study?

A．By observing the mosquitoes’ behaviour.	B．By exploring the history of mosquitoes.
C．By interviewing a lot of volunteers.	D．By examining old studies.

3. Why did Vinauger mention coffee and bread?

A．To stress the importance of breakfast.

B．To discuss their probable health benefits.

C．To compare the difference of objects used in the study.

D．To prove the attractiveness of some soap to mosquitoes.

4. In which section of a newspaper may the text appear?

A．Health.

B．Chemistry.

C．Sports.

D．Tour.

6 . People are always living with technology nowadays. Here comes a smart home, which is controlled by the touch of a button.     1     This acts like a remote control to activate household systems and monitor inside temperatures. If done successfully, a smart home system will be integrated so seamlessly that a household will appear to run itself.

Home automation is designed to introduce efficiency to a home.     2     An efficient smart home uses sensors to prevent over watering of outdoor gardens and control room temperatures, all of which can reduce expenses. In addition to cost savings, home automation often provides a sense of security to homeowners.

Families with children or elderly adults in the home may be reassured by some safeguards in smart home security, like fire alarms that alert the appropriate agencies in the event of a problem. Lighting activation runs on timers, which can be a life saver if an oven is left on when someone leaves the home.     3    

Home automation is not just for safety, however.     4     With a centralized control unit, a person does not have to leave the couch to turn down the blinds or even order groceries, which can be automated.

    5     Such a home becomes dependent on technology for routine tasks. If something goes wrong with the central automation unit, it is not just one appliance at risk as malfunctions can disrupt systems that are vital to running a home. As a result, for all people, a home can become a place of technical faults that repeatedly require repair.

A．A smart home doesn’t apply to all family members.

B．It achieves this by saving homeowners time and money.

C．There are some drawbacks with an automated home system.

D．It can also provide convenience for people living in the home.

E．Home automation depends on furniture and home temperatures.

F．Through home automation, an entire house can be connected via a smart controller.

G．Besides protecting people, it also offers security for expensive items inside a residence.

7 . The design theory behind a pair of tiny robots may one day find its way into environmental monitoring, as well as search and-rescue tasks. Modeled after a water strider (水黾), an insect, the two robots each weigh in at 8 and 55 milligrams, and may mark the smallest, lightest, and fastest fully functional micro-robots in the world, according to Washington State University (WSU).

Developed by a team of WSU researchers, the robots’ tininess largely relies on a material known as a shape memory alloy (合金). Although shape memory alloys change form when heated, they can “remember” their original shapes and return to them after cooling. Because of this, the two micro-robots do not require standard motors, and they use light and small ones instead of bulky moving parts.

Both the robots’ motors are each made up of two shape memory alloys, allowing them to move their fins as fast as 40 times a second while also lifting over 150 times their weight. “They’re very technologically sound. The development of the very lightweight robots opens up new possibilities in micro-robotics,” said Conor Trygstad, a material engineering PhD student and study lead author. “Although the robots are impressive when compared to other robots, the pair still fall behind their biological relatives’,” Trygstad said. They can currently move at a speed of about six millimeters a second; a water strider, by comparison, speeds along at about a meter per second. For now, the robots also require wired (连线的) power sources, thus seriously preventing any real-world applications for the moment.

Going forward, however, the team plans to copy other small insect species while also creating a new water strider robot which can move at a higher speed. Depending on using small batteries could also greatly increase the robots’ areas of use, If the breakthrough designs continue improving, similar micro-robots could one day be employed to monitor hard-to-reachor dangerous environments.

1. What is the inspiration for the two robots?

A．A special monitor.	B．The lightest micro robot.
C．An insect species.	D．A search-and rescue task

2. What does the underlined word “bulky” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Cheap.

B．Huge.

C．Cool

D．Fast.

3. What might Conor Trygstad agree with?

A．Both robots can identify sound.	B．Both robots need wireless power sources.
C．Both robots work better than water striders.	D．Both robots have weaknesses besides strengths.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Robots Are Saving Environment	B．Shape Memory Alloys Are The Key
C．Human Beings Learn From Animals	D．Two Micro robots Can Play A Big Part

8 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How do scientists at University College London measure memory loss?

A．By recording the time people spend on TV.

B．By tracking people’s living habits.

C．By using memory and fluency tests.

2. What leads to memory decline in older people?

A．Watching television for hours.

B．Playing video games for hours.

C．Surfing the Internet for hours.

3. Why is participation in various activities good for older people?

A．It can maintain their mental function.

B．It can educate them on using the Internet.

C．It can help them relax.

4. What do the researchers suggest older people do?

A．Make more friends.

B．Sleep eight to ten hours per night.

C．Balance TV viewing with other activities.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Midwives bring new life into the world, and these midwifery students at London’s Middlesex University     1    (learn) a new way to do this now. Sarah Chitongo is the educator in this high-tech classroom. Her students use goggles     2    (equip) with augmented reality or AR, so trainee midwives can experience     3     simulated birth. AR is a digital overlay atop something real. It actually allows you     4    (engage) in that type of learning which is more visual than paper-based one.

The training helps prepare students for all the potential risks they might face during childbirth, including     5    (handle) a situation that is very complex. Educators say students’ exposure     6     AR makes them more comfortable using it in the classroom. It’s about giving the students the ability to engage with tools and things they have been used to and accustomed to,     7     within a serious learning space, so that they get a better     8    (understand) of it. Chitongo says it took her nearly a decade of midwifing before she     9    (see) a breech delivery. She says with AR technology in the classroom, students can better manage     10     happens in the real world and possibly even save a life.

10 . It’s never easy to say “no”, especially when we’re asked by someone close to us, Maybe a friend is asking you for a favor, or a co-worker is asking you to cover their shift for the afternoon     1    . Don’t worry, We’ve put together some tips to help you politely refuse a request without feeling guilty or hurting anyone’s feelings in the process.

Be kind but forthright. Though you can always just say “no” on your own terms, you might find more success by padding your refusal with positivity.     2    . There’s no need to hide the real reason why you’re saying “no”, as long as you can express it in a polite manner. People will appreciate it if you tell them kindly and quickly why you can’t accommodate them.

    3    . It’s important to set boundaries (界限) with co workers and close friends alike. People shouldn’t expect they can take advantage of you or you’ll drop everything for them at the last minute. Aim for relationships in which both of you feel glad to say “yes” when you can but are also understanding when one of you can’t.

Offer a brief explanation. Providing a concise explanation as to why you’re refusing a request is one polite way to say “no”. For instance, if you already have other work this week that would prevent you from hitting a pew deadline, let the person know that. You’d better avoid adding too much fluff (无价值的东西) to your explanation.     4     .

Know yourself. Knowing yourself and your needs will help you decide if you should say“no”. Have a brainstorming session about areas where you have too much on your plate.     5    . You need to be able to take care of yourself before you can show up for others.

A．Set healthy boundaries.

B．Be honest about your own needs.

C．When should you say “no” to them?

D．Set boundaries between work and your personal life.

E．That can very likely give the other person false hope.

F．You can try keeping your voice calm, welcoming and kind.

G．How can you stand your ground politely without feeling guilty?