1 . During my first three years of college, I put on about 30 pounds of weight. Between classwork and a part-time job, I had zero time for _________. On top of that, I ate a lot of fast food. Not surprisingly, I _________ a fat stomach.

After leaving college, I _________ to take exercise. Invited by a friend, I _________ working out with exercise machines three times a week. I was the kind of person who did not try something _________. I ate the same food; I did the same things. Clearly, I _________ my routines（习惯）. My friend, however, became _________. One day, he said, “We’re not getting enough exercise. We should play tennis instead.”

Me? Play tennis? No way. I was strongly against his _________. I was not good at sports. Besides, I was _________ the exercise machines. __________, weeks later, I found myself standing on a tennis court（球场）. As I held my racket（球拍）, I felt __________. I gave my friend some looks that could kill. I ran after every ball he served to me, completely __________ about 90% of them, and hitting the rest into the other court. The first few months were quite __________. But one day, as the ball came flying toward me, my racket and the ball finally met in the place where it is most effective to hit a ball. I watched in __________ as my return landed where I had aimed（瞄准）it. I had finally __________ how to play tennis properly!

1.

A．games

B．holidays

C．research

D．exercise

2.

A．wanted

B．got

C．hated

D．protected

3.

A．decided

B．agreed

C．regretted

D．continued

4.

A．avoided

B．imagined

C．began

D．minded

5.

A．important

B．new

C．simple

D．similar

6.

A．liked

B．changed

C．wrote

D．thought

7.

A．busy

B．careless

C．bored

D．lazy

8.

A．rule

B．job

C．reply

D．idea

9.

A．worried about

B．happy with

C．sure of

D．ashamed of

10.

A．But

B．Additionally

C．Besides

D．However

11.

A．silly

B．relaxed

C．proud

D．satisfied

12.

A．controlling

B．throwing

C．missing

D．playing

13.

A．interesting

B．painful

C．different

D．easy

14.

A．secret

B．anger

C．fear

D．surprise

15.

A．asked

B．taught

C．learned

D．remembered

3 . Football is, I suppose, the most popular game in England: one has only to go to one of the important matches to see this. Rich and poor, young and old, one can see them all there, shouting and cheering for one side or the other.

One of the most surprising things about football in England to a stranger is the great knowledge of the game which even the smallest boy seems to have. He can tell you the names of the players in most of the important teams. He has photographs of them and knows the results of a large number of matches. He will tell you who he expects will win , and his opinion is usually as valuable as that of men three or four times his age.

Most schools in England take football seriously — much more seriously than nearly all European schools, where lessons are all-important, and games are left for private arrangements. In England, it is believed that education is not only a matter of filling a boy’s mind with facts in a classroom education also means character training. One of the best ways of training character is by means of games, especially team games, where the boy has to learn to work with others for his team, instead of working selfishly for himself alone. The school therefore arranges games and matches for its pupils. Football is a good team game, it is good exercise for the body, it needs skill and a quick brain, it is popular and it is cheap. As a result, it is the school's favorite game in the winter.

1. In England football is a game enjoyed________.

A．only by young people	B．by people of all ages and classes
C．only by boys	D．only by rich people

2. A stranger in England will be surprised to find that in that country________.

A．people have little knowledge of football	B．even small boys know a lot about football
C．girls are more interested in football than boys	D．children are not interested in football at all

3. There is a great difference between schools in England and those in Europe in that________.

A．European schools take football seriously

B．schools in England care little about lessons

C．European schools often arrange football matches for their pupils

D．schools in England believe character training to be part of education

4. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true of the football game?

A．It is not expensive.	B．It needs teamwork.
C．It makes people selfish.	D．it is good exercise for the body

4 . In 2010, my mother-in-law gave me her rather simple but graceful, antique “secretary desk”. The desk easily fit into the tiny room at the top of the stairs. I felt so secure, and confident when I sat down and began each writing session. Despite the desk’s appeal, its limited storage capacity meant that I often put file folders and books on the small floor space around me. After each writing session, I painstakingly gathered the tools of the trade and placed them on a nearby shelf until the next session.

A few years into my writing journey, we moved into a bigger home and I acquired my own office. My husband, Bill offered on more than one occasion to buy me a new desk for my office, but I ignored his offer.

One day, we stopped at the local office supply store. Bill found what he thought was the perfect desk for me. “I want to buy this for you, sweetie. My writer needs a bigger desk. ”He hugged me.

“Thanks, but I don’t want a bigger desk!” I said.

“Why don’t you want a bigger desk?” he said. “You must be afraid of something.”

“I’m not afraid of anything,” I said. “Like I said, I really like my little desk. So don’t ask me again.”

He didn’t.

A few weeks later, while working in my new office. I looked around at the folders, books and papers lying all over my office floor but couldn’t find what needed to meet a contest deadline. My heart raced. I looked around my office. The room basically swallowed the tiny desk, making it look slightly out of place. Maybe I did need a bigger desk. Was Bill right? Was I afraid of something?

Unable to write, I pulled c. JoyBell C.’s book of poetry, All Things Dance Like Dragonflies (蜻蜓), from the bookshelf. I flipped through its pages, and her words about faith jumped off the page into my heart. She talked about how she had trained herself to love the feeling of not knowing where she was going, and just trusting that as she opened up her wings and flew off in an unknown direction, things would work out.

At that moment, I recognized that a bigger desk symbolized bigger possibilities, stepping out in faith, and leaving my comfort zone.

1. What was the limitation of the “secretary desk”?

A．It was too old to be functional.

B．It competed with the shelf for room.

C．It prevented the author focusing on writing.

D．It was a bit small in size.

2. When did the author want to buy a new desk?

A．After she was stuck in a mess.

B．When she finished writing a book.

C．When she moved into a bigger house.

D．After she missed an important contest.

3. What was the author afraid of before?

A．Unemployment.	B．Loss of inspiration.
C．Uncertainty.	D．Lack of trust.

4. What would be the best title of the passage?

A．My Writing Journey	B．On the Wings of Change
C．My Lifelong Faith	D．On the Desk of Fate

5 . In 2019, the world generated 54.6 million tons of e-waste. However, just 17.4 percent of it was formally collected and recycled. Since 2014, the amount of e-waste recycled has grown by 1.8 million tons—a relatively small amount, considering that the amount of e-waste generated increased by 9.2 million tons in the same period.

Global reserves of some elements, such as platinum, are supposed to be fully used up within 15 years if the proportion of recycled stocks entering production doesn’t increase. E-waste and EV batteries are currently recycled through processes called pyrometallurgy (火法冶金术) and hydrometallurgy (湿法冶金术). However, they involve burning temperatures with a high energy demand and deep carbon footprint, and poisonous chemicals which are harmful to the environment. Alternatives are therefore being sought.

A team of scientists from the University of Coventry are extending one such alternative. They have been using non-poisonous bacteria to oxidize and recover the precious metals—a process known as “bioleaching”. They have shown that copper is widely recoverable from e-waste, and that all metals present in EV batteries can be recovered by using microbes (微生物). If extended, bioleaching facilities would mean that manufacturers of EV batteries and other electronic goods would be able to recover metals locally, relying less on costly exports to recycling centers abroad.

“At present, a key limitation for e-waste recycling is the lack of certification detailing the types and amounts of metals contained in electronic goods. But with an efficient recycling process appearing, manufacturers have the motivation to use more recycled material in their products, which will change the very design of electronics goods. It’s about closing the loop of a product’s life cycle,” said the leader of the Bioleaching Research Group, Sebastien Farnaud.

Ultimately, bioleaching technology is born out of the idea of creating a truly circular process for the things that we consume. We need to shift from a mindset and economy where we see waste as an end product, to one where there isn’t even a start or an end at all.

1. What do the statistics in Paragraph 1 indicate？

A．People pay no attention to e-waste recycling.

B．The recycling rate of e-waste is comparatively low.

C．E-waste has caused serious environmental problems.

D．The amount of e-waste is sharply increasing every year.

2. What is the disadvantage of current ways of recycling e-waste？

A．They are not environmentally friendly.

B．They only apply to certain e-waste.

C．They generate metals with a complex process.

D．They cause a sharp rise in local temperatures.

3. What do we know about the bioleaching technology？

A．It has been applied abroad.	B．It releases no poisonous gas.
C．It recovers metals by microbes.	D．It promotes the local export trade.

4. The text is most probably a part of ______.

A．a travel guide	B．a fiction novel
C．a health magazine	D．a scientific journal

6 . Discoveries at the famous Sanxingdui ruins in Southwest China show that the region’s ancient Shu Kingdom Civilization shared similarities with the Maya.

The Sanxingdui ruins, located in the city of Guanghan, about 60 kilometers from Chengdu, belonged to the Shu Kingdom that existed at least 4,800 years ago and lasted more than 2,000 years, while the Mayan civilization built its city states around 200 AD.

The bronze-made remains of trees unearthed at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom resemble the sacred ceiba tree, which symbolied the union of heaven, earth and the underworld In the Mayan civilization. “They are very important similarities,” says Santos, a Mexican archaeologist, stressing that “the representations of tees in both cultures provide a symbolism that is very similar”.

One notable feature of the recent discoveries at Sanxingdui was the cross-subject work and technology applied by teams of Chinese archaeologists, which allowed the unearthing of artifacts as fragile as silk remains, which other types of less careful digging methods would not have been able to manage.

Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists could benefit projects in the Maya world, where the rainy climate and humidity are problematic for the conservation of ruins.

“Every time our cultural knowledge increases, regardless of whether we speak one language or another, what it shows us is that we continue to be sister cultures and, therefore, the exchange of such knowledge is fundamental,” says Santos.

1. What is a similarity between the Shu Kingdom and Maya civilization?

A．Their starting time.	B．Their historical origins.
C．Their cultural symbols.	D．Their ceremony traditions.

2. What is a common challenge for the conservation of both ruins?

A．Damp weather.	B．Positioning of ruins.
C．High latitude.	D．Language barriers.

3. What is the focus of Santos quote in the last paragraph?

A．The future of the China-Mexico cooperation.

B．The benefits of speaking a different language.

C．The importance of the exchange of cultural knowledge.

D．The increasing sisterhood in culture between China and Mexico.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．Ahistorical novel.

B．A newspaper.

C．A research review.

D．A guidebook.

7 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Festivals and celebrations of all kinds     1     (hold) everywhere since ancient times. Today’s festivals have many     2     (origin). Some religious, something seasonal, and some for special people or events. Some festivals are held     3     ( honor) the dead or to satisfy the ancestors. Festivals can also be held to honor famous people. In China, the Dragon Boat Festival honors the well- known ancient poet, Qu Yuan.

What’s more, harvest festivals can also be very happy events. China has the Mid -Autumn Festival, when people admire the moon and enjoy mooncakes. The most     4     (energy) and important festivals are the ones     5     look forward to the end of winter and to the coming of spring. At     6     Spring Festival in China, people eat dumplings, fish and meat and may give children lucky money     7     red paper. Some Western countries have very     8     (excite) carnivals, which take place forty days before Easter,     9     (usual) in February. Why are all these festivals popular? Because during the festivals, people can get together and have fun    10     (enjoy) everything with each other, forgetting the work for a little while.

8 . September 23 marks the start of a new season.     1     In Great Britain, the third season of the year usually has only one name: autumn. But if you travel across the Atlantic, you’ll find that people use both fall and autumn interchangeably when referring to this time of year, making it the only season in the English language with two widely accepted names.     2    

According to Dictionary.com, fall isn’t a modern name that followed the more traditional autumn. The two terms are actually first recorded within a few hundred years, with the term fall being used even a bit earlier.

    3     The word is of Germanic origin and meant “picking” or “collecting”, a nod to the act of gathering and preserving crops in the field before winter. In the 1500s, English speakers began referring to the season separating the hot and cold months as either the fall of the leaf or the spring of the leaf, or fall and spring for short.     4     By the end of the 1600s, autumn, from the French word “automne” and the Latin “autumnus”, had overtaken fall as the standard British term for the third season.

Around the same time England adopted autumn, the first-ever British American colonists (殖民者) were voyaging to North America.     5     While the former fell out of fashion overseas, it established itself in the local vocabulary by the time America won its independence. Today, using both words to describe the season before winter is still a unique American behavior.

A．With them they brought the words fall and autumn.

B．The Americans prefer using fall to using autumn.

C．However, what exactly you should call that season depends on where you are.

D．But for some reason, only spring had staying power in Britain.

E．It is time to gather apples, rice and other things for the farmers.

F．So what is it about the season that makes it so special?

G．Before either word appeared, the season between summer and winter was known as harvest.

10 . What do you plan to do when you retire? Keep working? Get more exercise? Or learn something new? You may put them on hold. There's a chance that, sooner or later, you might have to move further than you were thinking, as far as Mars.

On Thursday, National Geographic will show the first-ever Mars show home, giving earthlings (地球人)an idea of what their life could look like on the Red Planet. In the not-so-distant year of 2037, the igloo-shaped structure could be the home of your future.

It shows a house built using recycled spacecraft parts and Martian soil, called regolith, which has been microwaved into bricks. Some parts of the home are recognizable — a kitchen, a bedroom — but there are fundamental differences that are important to human survival.

As the Martian atmosphere is around one hundredth as thick as the Earth’s, people will need permanent (永久的) shelter from the sun；society will move largely indoors. Most buildings will be connected by underground passages and the houses won't have windows. The homes will have simulated solar lighting, or natural light that has been bent several times. Walls will need to be 10 to 12 feet thick, to protect people from dangerous rays (光线)that can pass through six feet of steel, and a double air-locked entrance to keep the home under proper pressure.

"We don’t think of our houses as things that keep us alive, but on Mars your house will be a survival centre, 99 says Stephen Petranek, author of How We’ll Live on Mars. This is not just the stuff of sci-fi. “10 to 20 years from now there will certainly be people on Mars,” Petranek says.

“We’ve had the technology for 30 years to land people on Mars, but we haven’t had the will, ”Petranek says. But two main factors have “completely swung public attitudes”.

The private companies’ participation has forced government agencies to speed up their game, and influential films such as Gravity and The Martian have caught society’s eye.

1. What do the underlined words "put them on hold" in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Put them off.	B．Give them away.
C．Carry them through.	D．Take them seriously.

2. What can we infer about the show home from the text?

A．It has no windows or doors due to security concern.

B．Its design presents the idea of environmental protection.

C．It has thick walls keeping the home under propel pressure.

D．Its underground passages connect all the buildings together.

3. According to Petranek, what has sped up the process of sending people to Mars?

A．The development of related technology.

B．The competition from private companies.

C．The great influence of the Mars show home.

D．The popularity of influential books on Mars.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Living on Mars: Possible or Not	B．Sending People to Mars: Yes or No
C．First-Ever Show Home: How Is It Made	D．Future Home on Mars: What Will It Be like