1 . Parents may fear that if their high school student isn’t motivated (有动力) to do well in classes, there’s nothing that will change that. But a new study found that students’ learning motivation often did change and usually for the better.
1,670 students from grades 9 to 11 took part in the study in two school years, during which they completed several surveys that assessed their motivation. After each survey, the students were placed into six different profiles (档案), from worst — those who were not motivated at all, to best — those who had an inner desire to learn.
The study found about 67 % students did change their profiles during the two years and there was an overall positive change in students’ motivation. For example, 8% of the students were in the best profile — autonomously motivated — in the first year, and that increased to 11.4% in the second year. The worst profile, the not motivated, described 2.8% of the students in the first year, dropping to 2.1% in the second year.
“The other good news in the study was that if we can find better ways to motivate students, if we can get them in a better profile, they tend to stay there,” said Kui Xie, lead author of the study and professor of educational studies at the Ohio State University.
Why did students move in a positive direction? One reason may be simply because they’re a year older and more mature (成熟).
But the study did find two factors that impacted how likely they were to become more motivated. One was the previous achievement. Students who had higher grade the first year were more likely to remain in better profiles in the second year of the study. The other factor was school belongingness, with students who felt they were more a part of their school in the first year being more likely to move to or stay in a better profile in the second year.
“This may be one area where we can help students become more motivated,” Xie said. “Belongingness is something schools can change. They can find ways to help students feel like they are part of the school community.”
1. What did Kui Xie’s study discover?| A．Students’ willingness to study can be improved. |
| B．Teenagers’ inner desire to learn can be assessed. |
| C．Students from grades 9 to 11 are easy to be inspired. |
| D．Teenagers’ learning motivation is parents’ most concern. |
| A．The background of the study. |
| B．The influence of the study. |
| C．The purpose of the study. |
| D．The process of the study. |
| A．Their average ages. |
| B．Their previous scores. |
| C．Their personal profiles. |
| D．Their motivated schoolmates. |
| A．Schools should put students in better profiles. |
| B．Students should have their own assessment plan. |
| C．Schools should use motivation strategies to inspire students. |
| D．Students should improve their communication with their parents. |
2 . A Hug from a Teenage Boy
Fifteen years spent in the field of education have provided Nancy Marra with many treasured moments. One of the most endearing happened when she was teaching second grade.
That year, she decided to plan something special for the children: a Mother’s Day tea. After all the preparations were made for it, each child took home an invitation. Nancy was surprised and relieved to see that every mother was planning to attend. She even invited her own mother.
Finally, the day arrived. That afternoon, each child lined up at the classroom door expecting the arrival of his or her mom. As it got closer to starting time, Nancy looked around and her eyes quickly found Jimmy. His mother hadn’t shown up and he was looking upset.
Nancy took her mother by the hand and walked over to Jimmy. “Jimmy,” Nancy said, “I have a bit of a problem here and I was wondering if you could help out. Since I’m going to be really busy today, I was wondering if you could keep my mother company.”
Nancy’s mom and Jimmy sat at a table with two other mother-child pairs. Jimmy served Nancy’s mom her treats, presented her with the gift Nancy had made, and pulled out and pushed in her chair, just as they had practiced the day before. Whenever Nancy looked over, her mom and Jimmy were in deep conversation
Ten years later, Nancy was at a high school to take a senior class on a field trip, and there was Jimmy. On the way back, Nancy had the students complete an evaluation form of their trip. She collected and checked the forms one by one.
When she came to Jimmy’s evaluation page, he had written, “Remember our Mother’s Day tea we had in second grade, Mrs. Marra? I do! Thanks for all you did for me, and thank your mother, too.”
As they began unloading at the school, Jimmy made sure he was the last one to go. Nancy told him she really enjoyed what he had written. He looked rather embarrassed, mumbled (咕哝) his own thanks, and then turned to walk away. As the bus driver began pulling the bus away, Jimmy ran back and knocked on the bus door. He jumped back on board and gave Nancy a big hug. “Thanks again, Mrs. Marra. No one even knew my mom didn’t make it that day!”
She ended her workday with a hug from a teenage boy who had probably stopped hugging teachers years ago.
1. Why was Jimmy paired with Nancy’s mother?| A．Nancy was too busy to spend time with her. |
| B．Jimmy’s mother didn’t come to the event. |
| C．Nancy wanted Jimmy to get to know her. |
| D．Jimmy could get along well with her. |
| A．Near Jimmy’s high school. |
| B．At a Mother’s Day tea. |
| C．In Nancy’s classroom. |
| D．On a field trip. |
| A．Upset. | B．Embarrassed. | C．Grateful. | D．Satisfied. |
| A．No act of kindness is ever wasted. |
| B．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| C．A mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go. |
| D．The best teacher must be the best performer. |
1.表达安慰；
2.提出建议。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
4 . Henry Cavill: Bring Superman to Life
Henry Cavill knew that he wanted to be a star at 16 years of age, after a chance meeting with movie star Russell Crowe who inspired his passion for acting. But for the British-born actor, the bright lights and attraction of Hollywood were a long way away. Supported by his secretary mother and stockbroker father, he decided to study drama during high school. His journey to super star began.
Before gaining the international recognition he has now, Cavill tried out for roles in the Harry Potter and Twilight series but failed to get either. He would have to keep waiting for his big chance.
Determined as ever, Cavill took any acting jobs he could get his hands on and appeared in several low-budget horror movies and TV shows in hopes of getting noticed. It almost worked. In the early 2000s, at just 22 years old, he narrowly missed out on becoming the new James Bond. Finally, in 2007, his hard work paid off. He won a leading role as the first Duke of Suffolk in the period show The Tudors. The TV show was very popular and helped to raise Cavill's popularity in America.
In 2011, Cavil landed his breakout role, playing Superman in the DC Extended Universe. He hasn't looked back and has since starred in many hit films, such as Mission: Impossible- Fallout.
More recently, he stepped back on to the small screen. Since 2019, he has starred in the popular series The Witcher, adapted from the book series and video games of the same name. In the TV show, Cavill played a brave monster hunter named Geralt of Rivia, which was the perfect role for Cavill because he was a fan of the video games. Cavill also got a chance to play a classic English character — master detective Sherlock Holmes — in 2020's Enola Holmes.
However, Cavill isn't just a good guy on screen. His charity work also makes him a real-life hero. In 2014, he took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge while wearing his full Superman suit to support the ALS Association. Currently, he is an ambassador for the UK's Royal Marines Charity, which supports war veterans (退伍军人). Why does he do it? He love to make people feel good and bring smiles to people' faces. Indeed, Henry Cavill in living proof that you don't always need to wear a cape (斗篷) to act like a hero.
1. Why did Cavil act in low-budget film and TV works early in his career?| A．He was too polite to refuse. |
| B．He was hoping to get noticed. |
| C．He was encouraged to do so by his parents. |
| D．He was friends with the directors of the projects. |
| A．he had experienced hunting monsters |
| B．he had played the same role in a movie |
| C．he knew the writer of the books personally |
| D．he enjoyed the video games that the show was rooted in |
| A．Modest and friendly. | B．Determined and kind. |
| C．Talented and faithful. | D．Honest and considerate. |
| A．Being a successful actor. |
| B．Playing Superman on screen. |
| C．Devoting to charities. |
| D．Wearing a cape to take part in activities. |
5 . Who is a genius? This question has greatly interested humankind for centuries.
Let’s state clearly: Einstein was a genius. His face is almost the international symbol for genius. But we want to go beyond one man and explore the nature of genius itself. Why is it that some people are so much more intelligent or creative than the rest of us? And who are they?
In the sciences and arts, those praised as geniuses were most often white men, of European origin. Perhaps this is not a surprise. It’s said that history is written by the victors, and those victors set the standards for admission to the genius club. When contributions were made by geniuses outside the club—women, or people of a different color or belief—they were unacknowledged and rejected by others.
A study recently published by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender(性别)are “really, really smart.” Even worse, the study found that girls act on that belief: Around age six they start to avoid activities said to be for children who are “really, really smart.” Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn’t take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.
Here’s the good news. In a wired world with constant global communication, we’re all positioned to see flashes of genius wherever they appear. And the more we look, the more we will see that social factors(因素)like gender, race, and class do not determine the appearance of genius. As a writer says, future geniuses come from those with “intelligence, creativity, perseverance(毅力), and simple good fortune, who are able to change the world.”
1. What does the author think of victors’ standards for joining the genius club?| A．They’re unfair. | B．They’re conservative. |
| C．They’re objective. | D．They’re strict. |
| A．They think themselves smart. |
| B．They look up to great thinkers. |
| C．They see gender differences earlier than boys. |
| D．They are likely to be influenced by social beliefs |
| A．Improved global communication. |
| B．Less discrimination against women. |
| C．Acceptance of victors’ concepts. |
| D．Changes in people’s social positions. |
| A．Geniuses Think Alike | B．Genius Takes Many Forms |
| C．Genius and Intelligence | D．Genius and Luck |
1. 你是否经常外卖点餐；
2. 你对外卖点餐的看法或感受。
注意: 1.词数100左右；
2.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
7 . What role might arts play in response to climate change and related economic and ecological crises?
It’s often said that a novel, a painting, a song or a motion picture changed how a lot of people thought or felt about the world. Anthropologists (人类学家) and historians rightly argue that major changes in society have sprung up not from the arts, but from-our relationship to our environment. Nevertheless, artists’ efforts help shape the terms by which society adapts to such changes and their consequences. Think of how Beethoven marked the beginnings of modern democracy and the nascent (初期的) Industrial Revolution. Or how Hollywood writers and directors inspired massive support for the U.S. war effort during the early 1940s.
We have stepped into a century in which the societal systems have been built since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Our food system，transport system，energy system，financial system，and possibly our political and governance systems were designed during an era in which fossil fuels met the great quantity of our fast-growing energy demand. But fossil fuels are exhaustible resources, and their reduction will drive evermore desperate methods of extraction (提炼), create evermore environmental risk and require evermore capital-even as alternative energy sources they are also costly. Further, burning fossil fuels changes our planet’s climate. So, at the same time our economy will need to be redesigned to run on entirely different energy sources, and the natural world will be shifting around us in unprecedented (空前的) ways, with more frequent disastrous storms，floods，droughts etc.
Everything will be up for negotiation, redesign and change. And artists have the opportunity and duty to translate the resulting tumultuous (动荡的) human experience into words, images，and music that help people not just to understand these events mentally, but also to come to grips with them willingly. The economic and environmental shifts described above are currently being detailed in ever-greater specificity in hundreds of reports released yearly by climate and energy experts. What’s missing in their carefully worded journal articles is the human dimensions of imagination, joy or sorrow, inspiration, and passion. Art can help us cope with the possible effects of our collective challenges. It can help prepare society for a possibly painful future. It can give voice to suffering and loss, helping people deal with life’s unavoidable stress. And it can also offer beauty, which can be especially important in hard times.
Meaningful art can and must express the chaos we encounter and help us process it mentally and emotionally. To achieve this, artists need to dig deeper, observe more closely and help their audiences connect abstract explanations and forecasts with actual experiences.
1. The author mentions Beethoven to suggest that__________.| A．musicians can easily adapt to changes in society |
| B．music can control the social change of the world |
| C．anthropologists are right about major changes in society |
| D．art serves as a bridge for people to understand the world |
| A．start to create | B．begin to deal with |
| C．try to record | D．take an interest in |
| A．are expected to show human experience in works |
| B．deal with the unpleasant events willingly |
| C．help people forecast painful future |
| D．are the voice of suffering and loss |
| A．Art in Greater Need during Climate Change |
| B．The Relationship Between Society and Art |
| C．The Climate Clues Hidden in At History |
| D．The Best Ways to Change the World |
8 . Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, born on December 27, 1986, is a Jamaican track and field sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres.
Not so long ago, most people didn’t know who Shelly-Ann was going to become. She was just an average high school athlete. There was every indication that she was just another teenager without much of a future. However, one person wants to change this. Stephen Francis observed then eighteen-year-old Shelly-Ann at a track meet and was convinced that he had seen the beginning of greatness. He decided to train Shelly-Ann strictly. Their cooperation quickly produced results. At Jamaica’s Olympic Games in 2008, Shelly-Ann beat Jamaica’s unchallenged queen of the sprint. Widely regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, her achievements on the track since 2008 helped to elevate Jamaican athletics on the international scene.
Shelly-Ann is a little woman with a big smile. She has a mental toughness that did not come about by chance. Her journey to becoming the fastest woman on earth has been anything but smooth and effortless. She grew up in one of Jamaica’s toughest communities known as Waterhouse, where she lived in a one-room apartment, sleeping four in a bed with her mother and two brothers. Waterhouse, one of the poorest communities in Jamaica, is a really violent and overpopulated place. Sometimes her family didn’t have enough to eat. Her mother Maxime, one of a family of fourteen, had been an athlete herself as a young girl but had to stop after she had her first baby. Maxime’s early entry into the adult world gave her the determination to ensure that her kids would get rid of poverty. Therefore, one of the first things Maxime used to do with Shelly-Ann was taking her to the track and she was ready to sacrifice everything.
When talking about her achievements and legacy, this incredible woman responded that her secret is just staying humble and just knowing who you are as a person and athlete and just continuing to work had. “I don’ pay much attention to where I fall in history. When I decide to leave the sport, I want to leave it better than I saw it. I want to make sure that other young athletes can see that you need to work hard, you need to stay humble, you need to stay focused, and the sky is the limit,” Shelly-Ann said.
1. When Stephen Francis first met Shelly-Ann at the track meet, ________.| A．he had already heard of her | B．he saw great potential in her |
| C．she had beaten the famous sprinter | D．she was admired by her schoolmates |
| A．was interested in sprinting herself |
| B．was a successful athlete previously |
| C．wanted her children out of poverty |
| D．wanted her daughter to be a world champion |
| A．is satisfied with her achievements in sprinting |
| B．hopes to set a good example for younger athletes |
| C．decides to retire after she reaches her full potential |
| D．determines to make sprinting the most popular sport in Jamaica |
| A．Warmhearted and generous. | B．Sympathetic and patient. |
| C．Creative and friendly. | D．Ambitious and determined. |
9 . A US government study has found that facial recognition technology is getting better at identifying people wearing masks. The study is part of an ongoing research by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The agency has examined the effectiveness of more than 150 facial recognition systems on people wearing face coverings . The systems are powered by machine learning algorithms (算法).
The first results of the study were announced in July, as health officials across the world urged people to wear masks to limit the spread of COVID-19. New findings were released this week . Police agencies have long used facial recognition technology to search for and help catch criminals. It can also be used to unlock phones or other electronic devices. Some robots use facial recognition technology to recognize the people they are communicating with. However, the wide use of masks in public has created major difficulties for such systems.
The study looked at facial recognition systems already in use before the pandemic. It also looked at systems specially developed to work on masked faces. The NIST said it processed a total of 6. 2 million images for the experiment People in the images were not actually wearing masks. So, the researchers digitally added different mask shapes to faces in the pictures for use in the study. In some cases, up to 70 percent of a person’s face was covered in the images. Overall, the research shows the top-performing facial recognition systems fail to correctly identify unmasked individuals about 0. 3 percent of the time and the failure rate rose to about 5 percent with masked images. Many of the lower performing algorithms, however, had much higher error rates with masked images — as high as 20 to 50 percent.
In the latest findings, researchers included results from 65 new facial recognition systems that have been developed since the start of the pandemic. “Some of these systems performed “significantly better” than the earlier ones，” Mei Ngan, a lead researcher on the project, said in a statement. The study also found round-shaped masks — which cover only the mouth and nose — led to fewer errors than wider ones that stretch across the cheeks. The new study also ran tests to see whether different colored masks would affect error rates. The team used red, white, black and light blue. The research findings suggested that generally, the red and black masks led to higher failure rates than the other colors.
1. How does the author mainly present the study finding?| A．By giving definitions and examples. |
| B．By giving examples and a brief description. |
| C．By presenting data and making a comparison. |
| D．By giving definitions and presenting data. |
| A．The speed of the machine learning algorithms. |
| B．The operators’skill in performing algorithms. |
| C．The number of the tested people. |
| D．The diversity of face coverings. |
| A．A girl wearing a white round-shaped mask. |
| B．A lady with a red mask stretching across her cheeks. |
| C．A man wearing a light blue mask covering his mouth and nose. |
| D．A man wearing a black mask with his nose and mouth covered up . |
| A．Objective | B．Negative |
| C．Uncaring. | D．Doubtful. |
10 . It may seem as if Mother's Day was invented by a company named Hallmark, but people have been taking time on the calendar to give a shout-out to Mom for a long time. The Greeks and Romans had mother goddess festivals — although their celebrations didn't involve the menfolk taking their underappreciated mothers out to dinner. A more recent tradition was Mothering Sunday, which developed in the British Isles during the 16th century. On the fourth Sunday in April, young men and women who were living and working apart from their families were advised to return to their mothers’ houses.
Mother's Day as it is observed in the United States started in the 1850s with Ann Jarvis, a West Virginia woman who held “Mothers' Work Days” to promote health and hygiene(卫生 ) at home and in the workplace. During the Civil War, Jarvis organized women to improve sanitary conditions for soldiers on both sides, and after the war she became a peacemaker, furthering the cause by bringing together mothers of Union and Confederate soldiers and promoting a Mother's Day holiday.
Jarvis's work inspired another 19th-century woman, Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe published her “Mother's Day Proclamation”, which envisioned(设想) the day not as appreciation of mothers by their children but as an opportunity for women to exercise their collective power for peace. Howe started holding annual Mother's Day celebrations in Boston, her hometown, but after about a decade she stopped footing the bill and the tradition faded away.
It was Jarvis's daughter Anna who succeeded in getting Mother’s Day recognized as a national holiday. After her mother died, in May 1905, Anna started holding yearly ceremony on the anniversary and conducting a tireless PR campaign to have the day made a holiday. In 1908 she succeeded in enlisting the support of John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia department store magnate and advertising pioneer, and by 1912 West Virginia and a few other states had adopted Mother's Day. Two years later, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution declaring the second Sunday in May a national holiday.
It wasn't long, though, before whatever ideals the day was supposed to celebrate were buried under an amount of greeting cards and candy. By the 1920s Anna Jarvis was campaigning against the holiday she had been instrumental in creating. “I wanted it to be a day of emotionalism, not profit,” she said.
1. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that .| A．mothers didn't get enough appreciation in the past |
| B．Mother's Day was invented by Hallmark |
| C．young people all returned to their mothers' houses |
| D．Greeks and Romans were the first to celebrate Mother's Day |
| A．Ann Jarvis. | B．Julia Ward Howe. |
| C．Woodrow Wilson. | D．Anna Jarvis. |
| A．Because it was extremely emotional. |
| B．Because the festival was not profitable. |
| C．Because the celebrations went against the original spirit. |
| D．Because the day was celebrated in the form of exchanging greeting cards and candy. |
| A．The Definition of Mother’s Day |
| B．The Argument on Celebrating Mother's Day |
| C．The Story Behind the Creation of Mother's Day |
| D．Different Forms of Celebration on Mother's Day |
