3 . Want to spend more time out of the house? You’re not alone. Many Americans are looking to beat the boredom and discover new family-friendly activities this spring. The latest Google search trends reveal that fresh-air activities are in demand.

Boating

Boating ranked as one of the top search terms related to outdoor activities this month. In the Northeast, there is pent-up (积压的) demand for getting back out on the water after a cold winter. 3A Marine in Hingham, Massachusetts, says its fleet of new and used boats has already sold out for the upcoming season.

Gardening

Searches for gardening and lawn supplies started to rise this month. A new report by TruGreen and OnePoll backs up the trend; 73% of Americans polled said spending time outdoors has helped people to feel better during the pandemic, “These numbers, coupled with 69% indicating the intention to spend more time outdoors as the weather gets warm. leaves us to believe that gardening will be on the rise,” said Brian Feldman, director of technical operations at TruGreen.

Roller skating

Back in the 1970s, gliding around wearing boots with small wheels was all the rage (十分流行) (insert disco music). Now, thanks to a social media surge (激增), skates are and manufacturers are playing catch-up on orders. “Interest in making a comeback, outdoor activities, even a neighborhood roller skating trip, has increased dramatically since the pandemic began because they are considered safer for reducing the chances of exposure to COVID-19,” says Mark Jackson,travel editor for Brad’s Deals.

1. What are people making preparations for as weather becomes warm?

A．Safe leisure activities.

B．Indoor children sports.

C．Outdoor family activities.

2. Which outdoor activity was once very popular and fashionable?

A．Roller skating.

B．Boating

C．Gardening

3. Why does Brian Feldman believe that gardening will be on the rise?

A．Because gardening can force people to go outside.

B．Because searches for gardening supplies began to change.

C．Because more and more people are eager to spend time outdoors.

4 . Matt Goldsmith first heard about metal detecting from watching videos online. The32-year-old decided to buy his own metal detector and joined the Sussex Metal Detecting Club and Peaky Finders Group.

Glen Darrell lost two rings — his wedding ring and another ring made in memory of his late mother — while going boating. After Goldsmith saw Darrell’s post, he reached out to offer help.

When we met up, the first thing he said was “You’re not going to find them”, but I said “ You’d be surprised ”, Goldsmith recalled.

Goldsmith said he came to the place where Darrell said he’d lost them, put his metal detector on the ground and took a few steps when the signal got stronger.

Goldsmith then reached down into the sand and pulled the two rings out. “I was really surprised that I found them and as soon as he saw them, he started crying,” Goldsmith said. “I welled up myself because I felt so much joy for him”.

Two days later, Goldsmith helped Robin Hallett find his missing ring on the beach. According to SWNS, Hallett lost a ring made for his mother who passed away last year. Just like Goldsmith’s first rescue, he was able to find Hallett’s lost ring within minutes.

“We all gridded (布置成网格结构) out an area and then within 15 minutes I couldn’t believe it. I found it,” Goldsmith said, “He was so excited and happy. You could see he was about to cry at once.”

“I couldn’t believe it. I was over the moon,” Hallett said. He’s a superhero.

1. How did Matt Goldsmith know metal detecting?

A．He read the newspaper.

B．One of his friends told him

C．He watched videos online.

2. What was Glen Darrell’s attitude towards Matt Goldsmith when they first met?

A．Darrell was suspicious of Goldsmith.

B．Darrell had complete trust in Goldsmith.

C．Darrell thought Goldsmith was mysterious.

3. What does the underlined phrase “welled up”in Paragraph 6 mean?

A．Cried.

B．Laughed.

C．Shouted.

4. Which of the following can best describe Matt Goldsmith?

A．Brave.

B．Funny.

C．Warm-hearted.

5 . When Purdue University researchers set out to develop a new paint, the goal was to create one that would reflect sunlight away from a building. It turns out they also set an official Guinness world record for the whitest paint on the planet.

“When we started this project about seven years ago, we had saving energy and fighting climate change in mind,” Professor Xiulin Ruan said.

The paint reflects 98.1% of solar radiation while also emitting infrared (红外线的) heat.

Because the paint absorbs less heat from the sun than it emits, a surface coated with this paint is cooled below the surrounding temperature without consuming power. Typical commercial white paint gets warmer rather than cooler, Paints on the market that are designed to reject heat reflect only 80%-90% of sunlight and can’t make surfaces cooler than their surroundings.

“Conventional air conditioners consume power that is often from burning fossil fuel. Meanwhile, while they move the heat from inside of a house to the outside, they turn the electricity into heat and leave even more heat to the surrounding and earth, further causing a heat island effect and warming up the Earth,” Professor Ruan told IFLScience.

“In contrast, our paint does not consume any power, and directly sends off all the heat to the deep space, thus helping cooling down the Earth. According to a previous model, painting 0.5-1% of the Earth’s surface (roofs, roads, cars, unused land, etc) with our paint will stop the warming trend. Painting many human made-structures would be a great way to fight the climate crisis in many ways. The paint is not yet available commercially and the scientists are working with a commercial company to speed up the paint production and put it on the market.

1. What’s the purpose of creating the whitest paint?

A．To make the street cleaner.

B．To help fight climate change

C．To remind people of climate warming.

2. What is unique to the whitest paint?

A．It sets an official standard for the whitest paint on the earth.

B．It turns the light into heat and makes the houses much cooler

C．It makes whatever it’s painted on much cooler than its surroundings.

3. How much solar radiation can the whitest paint reflect back?

A．About 80%.

B．About 90%.

C．About 98.1%.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．The World’s Whitest Paint

B．Paint the Earth White

C．A Wonderful Invention

6 . In 1982, Chuck Feeney, a rich businessman, quietly set up a charitable foundation(慈善基金会). His goal was to secretly give away all of his money. Now he has achieved his goal at the age of 89.

Chuck Feeney made his money in the shopping business, building a nest egg(储备金) of $ 8 billion over the course of his life. Though he is rich, the Irish-American does not own a car. He rents a small apartment, he flies economy class, and he owns only one pair of shoes. The elderly businessman told reporters that he was very happy with “completing this on my watch” He called on other rich people not to wait until after they have passed a war to experience the joy of giving away their money. In explaining what inspired his generosity(懒慨), the shopping businessman said “Wealth brings responsibility. People must feel a responsibility to use some of their money to improve the lives of their fellow humans, or else deal with problems for future generations.”

Feeney has given away $ 3.7 billion to universities, including close to $1 billion to Cornell University alone. He has also given away $ 1.9 billion to fund many projects in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, where he helped found the University of Limerick.

The businessman’s charitable actions inspired Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to set up the “Giving Pledge(誓言)” for the world’s richest people. Those who take the pledge devote themselves to giving at least half of their money away to the charity.

1. What can we learn about Chuck Feeney?

A．He set up his foundation at the age of 89

B．He called on people to follow his example.

C．He doesn’t spend more money than necessary.

2. Why did Feeney give away his money?

A．He thought it was his duty.

B．He treated his own money as dirt.

C．He thought he would pass away soon.

3. What is the money Feeney gave away used for?

A．Higher Education.

B．Projects in America

C．The ”Giving Pledge“ program.

4. What influence does Feeney have?

A．He has offered financial advice.

B．He has solved income differences.

C．He has encouraged the charity work.

D． He has protected human rights.

8 . 阅读下面知文，从选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。

A. which B. what C. known D. dangerous   E. development F. rapidly G. to adapt H. patients’   I. the J. like

When the corona virus crisis took hold in early 2020, a group of roboticists (机器人专家) saw an opportunity: Robots are     1     perfect co-workers in a pandemic. “Engineers must use the crisis” they argued in a newspaper, “to speed up the     2     of medical robots,     3     never get sick and can do the dull, dirty, and     4     work that puts human medical workers in harm’s way.” Robot helpers could take     5     temperatures and deliver drugs, for instance. This would free up human doctors and nurses to do     6     they do best: problem-solving and being empathetic (感同身受的) with patients, and skills that robots may never be able to copy.

The     7     developing relationship between humans and robots is so complex that it has developed its own field,     8     as human-robot interaction (相互作用). The primary challenge is this: It’s easy enough     9     robots to get along with humans-make them soft and give them a sense of touch-but it’s another issue entirely to train humans to get along with the machines. With Tug the hospital robot, for example, doctors and nurses learn to treat it     10     a grandparent--sweep all the obstacles of its way and help it get unstuck if you have to.

9 . 阅读下面短文, 从选项中选出能填人空白处的最佳选项。

A. to see B. was built C. that D. which E. its F. kindness G. but H. poorly   I. asking J. on

If you’re in Wuhan, an absolute must-see is the Yellow Crane Tower. Regarded as one of the Four Great Towers of China, the tower stands on the banks of the Yangtze River at the top of Snake Hill. It is very beautiful and     1     cultural significance led to its being made the symbol of Wuhan city. It goes without saying     2     it is one of Hubei’s most popular tourist attractions

According to legend, Yellow Crane Tower     3     by the family of an old pot house (酒馆) owner living in Wuhan city long ago, named Old Xin. One day, a     4     dressed Taoist priest came to the pot house and asked for some wine. Old Xin paid no attention to     5     for him, his son was very kind and gave the Taoist some wine without     6     money. The Taoist priest visited the pot house regularly for half a year when one day the Taoist said to the son that in order to repay his     7    , he would like to draw a crane     8     the wall of the pot house,     9     would dance at his request. When people in the city heard of this, they came to the pot house     10     the dancing crane. The Xin family soon became rich and they built the Yellow Crane Tower as a symbol of gratitude to the Taoist priest.

10 . The Three Kingdoms Period played an important part in Chinese history.     1    . For example, Guandi Miao is a temple for the memorial to Guanyu, a general defending Jingzhou for one of the three kingdoms-Shu.

    2    . It was said that when Guan Yu guarded the city, he met nine fairies flying down to the earth, who said that they were commanded by the Empress of Heaven to take the city back because there were too many quarrels.     3    . He suggested the fairies compete to build a city from the dark to the crowing in the next morning and the winner could manage the city.     4    . Then they began to build the city with the earth brought by their skirts while Guan used the reeds (芦). Guan quickly finished first but the time was not up. Then Guan shook the reed roosts (窝) of the roosters, which made them crow.     5    . It was also said that Zhang Fei, the sworn little brother of Guan, also came to help but was late, so he dropped the earth outside the gate, hence the Mound (小广) is also called Zhang Fei’s load of Earth’

A．The fairies agreed

B．So the fairies had to fly up to heaven shyly

C．Not willing to lose the city, Guan thought hard and then an idea occurred to him

D．Here is a legend where the ‘Jiunu Zhuo’ (Nine Girls Mound) beside the city gate originates

E．Jingzhou, as the focus of quarrels then, has left many cultural relics that are related to the stories of Three Kingdoms