1 . My father was born in a small town in the US.He wasn't sure what he wanted from ______, but something told him to_____and begin a new adventure.

It’s easy to feel lonely____you’re on the road.We made lots of new friends on our trip—most of them are mechanics, since we often____hours in repair shops.But that was a way much ___than sitting by the roadside while waiting for the engine to____when it was 40 ℃ outside.

Getting along well sometimes seemed________.There were always a lot of_______，especially among us back seat passengers about who had to ___in the middle.But even if it was hard, we learned a lot about ____Sometimes, a seven-hour car trip would turn into a 16-hour one, which was mostly spent in_______.On occasions like that，we had to learn to let go of our anger.

This is why road trips were like____universities to us.We____our PhDs (博士学位)in how to get along with other people just____traveling in our old car.If only we had another____at life!

1.

A．move

B．life

C．experience

D．belief

2.

A．live up

B．struggle on

C．get out

D．walk around

3.

A．because

B．if

C．until

D．when

4.

A．wasted

B．worked

C．spent

D．chatted

5.

A．better

B．easier

C．safer

D．cleverer

6.

A．break down

B．cool off

C．clear up

D．turn over

7.

A．available

B．alternative

C．necessary

D．impossible

8.

A．arguments

B．fights

C．embarrassments

D．amusements

9.

A．settle

B．rest

C．sit

D．watch

10.

A．sharing

B．respect

C．communication

D．tolerance

11.

A．silence

B．doubt

C．return

D．disappointment

12.

A．unusual

B．common

C．free

D．mobile

13.

A．earned

B．expected

C．missed

D．valued

14.

A．on

B．by

C．like

D．beyond

15.

A．friend

B．service

C．route

D．chance

2 . A group of second-year college students have discovered hidden writing on a page from a book from the 1500s, using a special camera system they built.

Surprisingly, finding hidden writing on very old documents isn’t all that unusual. In fact, there’s even a special name for documents like this: a palimpsest (再生羊皮纸卷).

Long ago, writing was done on parchment — thin, dried animal skins specially prepared for writing. But parchment wasn’t easy to make and wasn’t cheap. So it became common to erase the old writing off a parchment and then reuse it for another piece of writing. That’s what creates a palimpsest.

The writing erased off the parchment can’t be seen directly, but scientists have learned ways to use special lighting to reveal the original writing. But it’s unusual for young college students to discover palimpsests.

Last year, first-year students at the Rochester Institute of Technology took part in a class that brought together many students to take on a project as a group. The project was to build a special camera system that could take pictures using different kinds of light.

Over the summer, the students working on the imaging camera managed to finish it. When they were done, they borrowed several old parchments from the collection at the school’s Cary Graphic Arts Collection. When they put one of the pages under their camera system with UV light, the hidden writing suddenly appeared. Under the UV light, handwriting in French could easily be seen behind the fancy writing and decorations normally visible on the page.

Zoe, a student involved in the project, said, “This was amazing because this document has been in the Cary Collection for almost 10 years and no one noticed it.” The students are even more excited because even though the parchment is no longer part of a book, they know where 29 other pages from the same book are. The students, who are now working with others to locate the other parchments, hope these, too, will have hidden writing and that they can figure out what it means.

1. What was parchment designed for in ancient times?

A．Writing.	B．Decorating.
C．Imaging.	D．Collecting.

2. What does the underlined word “reveal” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Heat up.	B．Bring out.
C．Adjust to.	D．Clear away.

3. What are the students expecting to do according to the last paragraph?

A．Make a handwriting-recognizing camera.

B．Identify what the parchments are made of.

C．Track the origin of the palimpsests in the Cary Collection.

D．Discover hidden writing and its meaning on more parchments.

4. What’s the purpose of this text?

A．To tell about a new discovery.	B．To recommend a special book.
C．To explain a cultural phenomenon.	D．To introduce an old document.

3 . If you want to help others and improve the world, you still can, without leaving the house. Many volunteer opportunities require only a computer or a phone. We’ve rounded up four websites offering a variety of choices.

Points of Light

Founded by President George Bush, this is the world’s biggest organization about volunteer service.

 History and garden lovers can help make collections more available by copying historic documents or tagging (加标签) images of American gardens by plant type in its database.

 Help research cold cases of missing and unidentified people for the Doe Network.

Volunteer Match

This is a huge database of more than one million virtual (虚拟的) volunteer listings.

 Got a legal background? Lawyers can review online content for Illinois Legal Aid.

 Retired business owner? There are many opportunities to instruct small business owners in sales and marketing, business planning and product development.

Create the Good

AARP, the membership group for people 50+, operates this volunteer opportunities database for the 50+ age group.

 Offer career advice to high school students in poor families in fields from baking to handyman by email for Career Village.

 Raise awareness about scams (诈骗), especially those aimed at older people, identified by AARP’s National Fraud Team.

United Nations Volunteers

This group lists organizations for peace and development all over the world. You can:

 Research money and its sources for young people who start business in Asia and the Pacific.

 Brainstorm ideas to collect plastic waste in Cameroon.

Want to get involved? Click here to become a member or send an email to membership @seniorplanet.org to learn about opportunities.

1. What do all the volunteer opportunities have in common?

A．They are difficult to acquire.

B．They require no related knowledge.

C．They allow one to provide help at home.

D．They’re aimed at excellent professionals.

2. What can volunteers do through Create the Good?

A．Teach the elderly how to bake.

B．Raise money for poor families.

C．Provide job suggestions for poor students.

D．Train teenagers to run their own businesses.

3. Which website helps improve the environment?

A．Points of Light.	B．Volunteer Match.
C．Create the Good.	D．United Nations Volunteers.

4 . Flying can be stressful even for the most experienced business traveler. No matter how many times we _______ our pre-flight “to-do” list,sometimes the best plans go ________That's just what happened to one unlucky passenger who accidentally _______ a painting worth $340,000 at Dusseldorf Airport when he _______ his flight to Tel Aviv. The businessman had wrapped（包）the _______ carefully in cardboard. He immediately_______ airport authorities to ask them to look for the 16 x 24-inch work by French _______ Yves Tanguyart, but it seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

With no _______ coming, the businessman’s nephew decided to take matters into his own________ After taking a flight from Belgium to Dusseldorf in a hurry, the would-be detective （侦探）met with the police in person. ________ ,from that point on,________to the puzzle began to take shape. An investigator________that the cardboard-coated painting had found its way into a paper recycling bin. When, afterwards, a search was ________ in what might be the most valuable bin in history, the precious package was found,________, at the bottom of the bin. Tragedy （悲剧）avoided. Artwork saved.   

“This was definitely one of our ________ stories this year，” police spokesman Andre Hartwig said. “It was real detective work.”

1.

A．check

B．make

C．change

D．print

2.

A．wild

B．wrong

C．successful

D．creative

3.

A．bought

B．picked

C．recovered

D．left

4.

A．missed

B．boarded

C．booked

D．scheduled

5.

A．painting

B．passport

C．ticket

D．package

6.

A．comforted

B．credited

C．contacted

D．cheered

7.

A．musician

B．doctor

C．author

D．artist

8.

A．reports

B．mails

C．news

D．passengers

9.

A．hands

B．eyes

C．home

D．company

10.

A．Unluckily

B．Unusually

C．Thankfully

D．Obviously

11.

A．proposals

B．clues

C．descriptions

D．efforts

12.

A．agreed

B．remembered

C． decided

D．promised

13.

A．conducted

B．canceled

C．designed

D．quitted

14.

A．damaged

B．unharmed

C．well-decorated

D．well-received

15.

A．simplest

B．latest

C．saddest

D．happiest

5 . 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。

China is widely known for its ancient civilization     1     has continued all the way through into modern times. There are many reasons why this has been possible.

At the beginning, written Chinese was     2     picture-based language. Ancient Chinese people carved     3    （ symbol） on animal bones and shells. By the Shang Dynasty, a well-developed writing system had come into being. At that time, people lived in different places,    4     （ lead） to many varieties of dialects and characters.

Emperor Qinshihuang united the seven major states into one country where the Chinese writing system began to develop     5    one direction. The writing system was of great     6    （important） in uniting the Chinese people and culture. Even today, wherever Chinese people live or whatever dialect they speak, they can communicate    7     （free） in writing.

Written Chinese has also become an important means by which China's present is connected with    8    （it） past. People in modern times can read classic works that    9    （write） by Chinese in ancient times. The high regard for the Chinese writing system can be seen in the development of Chinese characters as an art form,    10    （ know） as Chinesecalligraphy, which has become an important part of Chinese culture. Today, the Chinese writing system is still an important part of Chinese culture.

6 . As the pandemic separates us from loved ones, many of us are trying to stay connected through texting, email, and social media, even taking the opportunity to reconnect with long-lost friends.

But if our goal is to feel closer to people and enjoy our conversations more, we’d better pick up the phone, according to a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

In the study, participants (参与者)imagined having a conversation with a friend they hadn't been in touch with for at least two years and made predictions (预测) about how it would feel to connect by phone versus(对比)email. "We think it's going to be awkward to talk to somebody, but that just turns out not to be the case," says lead author Amit Kumar. "Instead... people form stronger connection when they're talking on the phone than when communicating over email. ”

The same result held true when the researchers had participants do a conversation exercise with strangers using either video chatting, audio(声音的),only chatting, or text-chatting. People who used media that included the voice had more satisfying exchanges and felt closer to their new friends than the text-chatters.

Why? Likely it's because our voices communicate a variety of emotions, helping others to read us better and to feel like they really know us. Hearing someone's voice helps understand each other better —in some cases, even better than video chatting.

So, while texting can be useful, it's not the best way to get the most out of socializing. If we're looking for greater happiness and connection, we should give someone a call.

1. What do the underlined words “the case” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Stronger connection is possible.

B．Predictions agree with the results.

C．Talking on the phone is awkward.

D．Communication over e-mail is effective.

2. Why do participants communicating with voice feel closer?

A．They can talk more quickly.

B．Voices show more emotions.

C．Voices are easier to understand.

D．They are more familiar with voice.

3. How do researchers get the study result?

A．By quoting experts' words.	B．By telling stories.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By introducing theories.

4. What is considered the best way to connect with someone?

A．Text chatting.	B．Sending emails.
C．Making calls.	D．Writing letters.

7 . Salad seeds（生菜种子）that went on a round trip to outer space and back grew at a slightly slower rate than the ones on earth, scientists have found, thanks to thousands of young people who helped conduct an out-of-this-world experiment.

The project started in 2015, when British astronaut （宇航员）Tim Peake took a million rocket seeds with him on his journey to the International Space Station （ISS）. The seeds spent six months there before they were sent back to Earth in 2016. In a message sent from the ISS, Peake said the science experiment was to find out if the conditions in space affected the seeds' ability to grow.

Around 600,000 pupils at 8,600 schools in the UK were then asked to grow the rocket seeds that had been to space, along with regular seeds that had never left the planet. Peake described the experiment as "one of the largest and most inspirational experiments of its kind".

The results of the study, which have just been published, found that the space seeds grew more slowly than the ones that had stayed on Earth. Researchers on the experiment said this was due to the stresses of space travel, such as the zero-gravity （零重力）atmosphere and high levels of cosmic rays（宇宙射线）,which slowed the growth of the plants.

Now researchers are hopeful that if the seeds are properly protected, it might be possible to grow plants during future space tasks to other planets. Dr Jake Chandler, from University of London, who led the study, said,“ The possibility of eating home-grown salad on Mars may be one small step closer.

1. Why did Tim Peake take seeds to ISS?

A．To explore the secret to gravity.

B．To have astronauts grow salad in ISS.

C．To promote young kids，interest in salad.

D．To test the space's influence on seeds growth.

2. How did Tim Peake feel about the experiment?

A．Encouraged.

B．Disappointed.

C．Confused.

D．Concerned.

3. From which part of a website is the text probably taken?

A．Health.

B．Science.

C．Educatn.

D．Business.

4. What could be the best title of the text?

A．Space study, a hot topic

B．Salad growing, a hit among students

C．Your salad, grown on Mars, may soon be a reality

D．Man's exploration to Mars, a big step forward

8 . My Ph. D. adviser called me into his office, saying I needn't bring my notebook. After 15 minutes of listing my positive things, he looked me in the eye and said,“You are fired from the lab.”

I had moved to Israel from my native India the year before, excited to experience a new culture and study for a Ph. D.   At first things went well in my new lab. Then, 3 months before I was fired, I ran into some problems. I made a few mistakes in the lab that slowed my research, but I wasn't aware that my adviser noticed them, and he never spoke to me about any concerns. I’m still not sure why he fired me, but I guess it was because of those mistakes. He wasn't confident that I could complete my research in time as we'd planned.

The first few days after I was fired were especially difficult. I spent hours staring at my computer screen, unable to get anything done. One day all I could do was sit on a beach, crying. I tried to change his mind with promising results, but he stuck to his decision. I could not break the news to my family in India, as the fear of disappointing them overwhelmed （压垮）me. I soon got into a state of sadness and anxiety. Meanwhile, the date for me to leave the country was drawing near, as my visa required me to be registered as a student. I was lonely and without hope.

Around that time, I watched Dasvidaniya, a Bollywood movie that's about a man who has 3 months to live. One line from the movie stuck out to me :“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade（柠檬水）” .What kind of lemonade could I make out of my present situation? My desire to complete a Ph. D. was never in doubt. After much reflection, I told myself that one failed attempt was not the end of the world, and that I needed to give it another try. With renewed confidence, I emailed expected advisers and applied to other programs. Within 2 months, I landed an offer from a Ph. D. program in Italy. I accepted it and relocated to Europe, happy that my goal of completing a Ph. D. was alive once again.

I’m thankful that I didn't give up on my dream and that I found another professor willing to take me on.

1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The personality of the adviser.

B．The author's problems in study.

C．The possible reason for the author's being fired.

D．The author's difficulty in adapting to a new culture.

2. What did the author do after being fired?

A．He applied for a new visa.

B．He got addicted to computer games.

C．He tried to change the adviser's mind.

D．He shared the news with his family in India.

3. What kind of "lemonade” did the author make out of the difficult situation?

A．Persuading the adviser to let him stay.

B．Being responsible for different programs.

C．Holding the belief to get a doctor's degree.

D．Getting accepted by another Ph. D. program.

4. What lesson can we learn from the story?

A．Direction is more important than effort,

B．Turn to movies for comfort when in trouble.

C．A doctor’s degree is important for the future.

D．Difficulties in life can be turned into something positive.

9 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

In a small farm lived three close friends, Charlotte, a spider, Templeton, a rat and Wilbur, a pig. When Wilbur was told that he was going to be killed and eaten at Christmas, he turned to Charlotte for help. Charlotte had the idea of writing words in her web to express Wilbur’s excellence, reasoning that if she could make Wilbur famous, he would not be killed.

In the cool of the evening, when shadows darkened the Fair Grounds, Templeton, the rat, climbed out from his cave and looked around. Wilbur lay asleep in the farm. Charlotte was building a web. Templeton’s keen nose detected many fine smells in the air. He decided to go exploring. Without saying anything to anybody, he started off.

“Bring me back a word!” Charlotte called after him. “I shall be writing tonight for Wilbur’s survival.” “Got it,” the rat said, disappearing into the shadows.

After the heat of the day, the evening came as a welcome relief to all. Templeton kept out of sight. In the tall grass behind the cattle farm he found a folded newspaper. Inside it was remained food from somebody’s lunch: a half sandwich, a piece of Swiss cheese, part of a hard-boiled egg, and the core of an apple. The rat went in and ate everything. Then he tore a word out of the paper, rolled it up, and started back to the pig farm.

Charlotte had her web almost finished when Templeton returned, carrying the paper. She had left a space in the middle of the web. At this hour, no people were around the farm, so the rat and the spider and the pig were by themselves. “I hope you brought a good word which would let Wilbur alive when Christmas comes.” Charlotte said. “Here,” said Templeton, showing the unrolling paper.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
“What does it say?” asked Charlotte. “You have to spell the word for me.”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wilbur said, “Charlotte, do you really think my master will not kill me with the help of the word?”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . 假定你是李华，你校为来自英国的交流生举办了一场介绍中国传统节日的欢迎宴会，请你代表学校向他们介绍一个你认为最重要的中国传统节日。内容包括：
1.节日庆祝时间和方式；
2.节日象征意义。
注意：
1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Good morning, my dear friends. I’m Li Hua.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for your listening.