1 . A woman who has struggled to come to terms with her alopecia (脱发) since she was a teenager is now working as a ______.

“I first noticed it when I was standing in the mirror trying to ______ my hair in a ponytail (马尾辫) and saw a small patch with no ______ close to my forehead,” Hansson, 26, said, “I was young at the time so I was mostly ______ that it was cancer since that’s ______ the first thing you think of when you see hair loss.”

After her diagnosis, only Hansson’s closest friends and ______ knew about her condition as she tried to keep it a secret and ______ that she became “good at hiding it”. However, as she got older, Hansson learned to accept her aesthetic (美感) and says that she is now ______ going out in public without wearing a wig. In fact, she has even ______ a career in modelling, “Now I feel like I can be ______ and that I don’t need to ______ it anymore,” she explains.

Hansson ______ not accepting her alopecia sooner, and she says that she is now happy doing what she loves and ______ other sufferers to do the same. “Don’t hide,” she said. “It will only make you feel ______. A big stone of suffering will ______ your body if you can just be yourself.”

1.

A．doctor

B．model

C．writer

D．hairdresser

2.

A．tie to

B．fasten on

C．wrap up

D．put up

3.

A．hair

B．dirt

C．dust

D．spot

4.

A．surprised

B．worried

C．excited

D．unexpected

5.

A．specially

B．strangely

C．rarely

D．normally

6.

A．family

B．colleagues

C．relatives

D．fellows

7.

A．pretended

B．admitted

C．predicted

D．supposed

8.

A．confident

B．shy

C．nervous

D．delighted

9.

A．dreamed

B．planned

C．pursued

D．considered

10.

A．anyone

B．somebody

C．myself

D．everyone

11.

A．hide

B．face

C．cure

D．expose

12.

A．forgets

B．regrets

C．remembers

D．avoids

13.

A．suggests

B．stops

C．allows

D．urges

14.

A．happier

B．better

C．crazier

D．worse

15.

A．shape

B．press

C．leave

D．change

2 . 3D-Printed Violins

While professional violinists often have instruments that cost between $2000 and $10, 000, it is possible to have one that costs millions depending on how they were and who made them.     1     This can make it hard for many to access the instrument, especially for beginners and music classrooms.

However, the good news for them is that they will meet with low-cost and durable (耐用的) 3D-printed violins thanks to The Acoustical Society of America’s AVIVA Young Artists Program. The team’s inspiration roots in multiple places. Their goals were to explore the new world of sounds created by using new materials, to use the new technology of other fields, and to make music education accessible through the printing of more durable instruments.     2     The method of distribution has yet to be decided — it could involve shipping fully printed violins, sharing the 3D-printing files with makers, or a combination of both.

    3     The neck and fingerboard are printed in smooth ABS plastic to provide a comfortable grasp for the musicians, while the violin’s body is made of a plastic polymer substance, much like a typical acoustic (原声的) violin. The outcome is a violin that sounds darker and softer than traditionally built violins.     4    

“The next step is to lower the costs of production for making such instruments more widely available, especially in the field of education,” said Mary-Elizabeth Brown, director of the AVIVA Young Artists Program. Violins are not the only instruments that are produced through 3D-printing technology.     5     Effective results have been obtained from many of them.

A．Besides, the AVIVA violin is less damaged than its traditional wooden cousins.

B．3D-printed violins have been popular with beginners since they were invented.

C．The violin was built in two pieces using 3D printing.

D．The project is also to get violins to children that couldn’t otherwise afford them.

E．Indeed, even basic violins for students often cost $1000 or more.

F．Many instruments have been produced with a 3D printer before.

G．Most students have to give up learning the instrument due to the high cost.

3 . Prehistoric people may have used firelight to create the illusion (错觉) of movement in their art. An analysis of 50 carved stones dug out in France suggests that when the stones were placed near a fire, the light made the carved animals seem to move, researchers report April 20 in PLOS ONE. These stones, or “plaquettes” ware found in the 1860s in a rock-shelter called Montastruc, and are carved with animals such as horses and deer. The site was used by Magdalenian people, hunter-gatherers who inhabited (居住) the area between 23, 000 and14, 000 years ago.

The researchers analyzed heat damage on the stones, which indicated them being directly exposed to high temperatures for a long period, and created 3-D models of the stones. Those models were imported to a virtual reality software   where they were placed next to a virtual hearth (壁炉炉床) so that the areas of heat damage were closest to the flames, mimicking (模拟) how the stones might have been placed in real life. The researchers then observed the visual effects of the virtual reality light.

It was surprising to see how dynamic the art was and “how changed your experience of the art was by a simple thing, just putting it close to a fire,” says Andy Needham, an archaeologist at the University of York in England. The work suggests that the artists purposely carved along the outline of the rock to influence viewers to see meaningful movement through the random pattern of firelight, he says.

The finding adds to archaeologists’ understandings of the relationship between early people’s artwork and fire. Another recent study found that Stone Age humans created “hidden” art in dark caves which could be lighted and made visible only with the help of the right lighting.

1. What happened when the 50 prehistoric stones were placed near a fire?

A．The animals carved on them seemed to move.

B．The fire took on the shapes of different animals.

C．The animal drawings on them became much clearer.

D．Animals nearby such as horses and deer were attracted.

2. What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The reason for the heat damage on the stones.

B．The function of the software in the research.

C．The way in which the research was conducted.

D．The conclusion that was drawn by the researchers.

3. What does Andy Needham think of the prehistoric artists who worked on the 50 stones?

A．Hardworking.

B．Ambitious.

C．Dependable.

D．Creative.

4. Which is the best title for the text?

A．Ancient People Must Have Used Fire in Various Ways.

B．Different Ways of Using Fire Have Been Discovered Now.

C．Prehistoric People May Have Used Fire to Create Movable Art.

D．Ancient Artists Were More Innovative than We Normally Though.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why does the man speak Chinese well?

A．Because his colleagues are Chinese.

B．Because he likes watching Chinese movies.

C．Because his company does business with Chinese firms.

2. What kind of Chinese movies does the man especially like?

A．War films.

B．Comedies.

C．Action movies.

3. What does the man suggest the woman do?

A．Check movie reviews.

B．Speak Chinese more often.

C．Watch the movie herself.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What will the woman probably do at Christmas?

A．Stay at home alone.

B．Go shopping with her son.

C．Have dinner with the man’s family.

2. Where is the man likely to shop?

A．At the mall.

B．At the bookstore.

C．At online shops

3. What present will the woman give the man?

A．A tea box.

B．Books.

C．Chinese tea.

8 . 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。

Traditional Chinese Ink Painting

Traditional Chinese ink painting, also known as brush painting or shui mo hua,     1    (be) an art form that has a long-standing history in Chinese culture. It is characterized by     2     use of black ink and fine brushwork to portray scenes from nature.

Often associated    3     the concept of balance and harmony, ink painting requires precision and     4    (patient),     5    (demand) thorough brush control and a deep understanding of composition by minimal brushwork. Such is the essence captured by artists     6     it allows for the viewers’ imagination to fill in the details themselves.

The subjects     7    (present) in Chinese ink painting cover a wide range of natural elements, ranging from majestic mountains and     8    (flow) rivers to delicate flowers and graceful birds. Certain techniques     9    (employ) to create depth and visual interest based on them,     10     normally include the use of shading, texture, etc.

Above all, Chinese traditional ink painting showcases the timeless beauty of nature and embodies the profound artistic expression of the traditional Chinese culture.

9 . Consider the possibility that all human technology started with a mistake — or at least a lack of hand-eye coordination. In a new study published on Friday in Science Advances, Lydia Luncz and Tomos Proffitt, both at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, argue that mistakenly created flakes (薄片) may have been our ancient ancestors’ or other now-extinct early human relatives “first step toward creating the sharp-edged tools that they used to butcher animals and cut edible plants.

To do their research, Luncz and Proffitt traveled to an abandoned oil palm plantation near Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay and collected more than 1, 100 pieces of nut-cracking stones used by a troop of long-tailed macaques (猕猴). Macaques crack open oil palm nuts by placing them on a flat stone and striking their shell with another stone. These monkeys often miss the nut and accidentally break the stones, producing sharp flakes. Luncz and Proffitt analyzed these stones, which revealed a surprising fact: The flakes that the macaques unintentionally produced looked a lot like the oldest stone tools that were intentionally made by hominins (古人类).

Macaques don’t use the sharp flakes they create for anything, Luncz adds, noting that the monkeys have sharp teeth and don’t need cutting tools. The similar ancient stone tools collected from some of the earliest known sites, however, show evidence of being used for cutting tasks. For example, in Oldowan, a site dating between 3.3 million and 1.5 million years ago, researchers analyzed use-wear patterns on the tools and found that some of the flakes showed damage along their edges, indicating that they had been used for cutting. Cut marks on some fossils revealed that hominins had used stone tools for butchering the animals, making it clear that the sharp stone tools were anything but unintentional by-products of other pounding activities.

Despite the findings, to reveal the mechanism for the emergence of flake technology, researchers still need to learn how hominins made the leap from accidentally producing sharp flakes to picking them up and using them. Luncz and Proffitt hope to find the missing link in further studies.

1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?

A．The two researchers went to Thailand and collected 1, 100 flakes.

B．Long-tailed macaques used the flakes to crack open oil palm nuts.

C．Macaques deliberately produced flakes for cutting by breaking stones.

D．The flakes produced by macaques were similar to hominins’ stone tools.

2. Why does the author mention the Oldowan site in paragraph 3?

A．To provide specific proof.	B．To clarify a complex concept.
C．To present an interesting fact.	D．To make a detailed comparison.

3. What will Luncz and Proffitt probably focus on in their future study?

A．Why macaques create flakes.	B．Why hominins used stone tools.
C．How macaques cut food with flakes.	D．How hominins began using flakes.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．A mistake: the origin of human technology.

B．Flake technology: from macaques to hominins.

C．Pounding activities: on human evolutionary course.

D．A missing link: long-tailed macaques create flakes.

10 . Having spent more than a decade on the dance floor, ROME — Niccolo Filippi, a 23-year-old Italian dance performer, recently decided to explore Chinese culture and its traditional dance forms and believes that this experience will not only boost his career, but also broaden his horizons beyond the world of dance.

His interest in diversifying his skills grew after he stumbled upon a short video of traditional Chinese-styled dance on YouTube. “I saw it as an art that combines tradition and modernity, which was mostly the reason why I liked it,” says Filippi.

Ever since, he has been closely following Chinese dance performers and watching numerous videos to learn more about the traditional style that he admires. “I prefer the traditional style because of its light movements. It also reflects my personality with elegance,” he adds.

Filippi’s chance came when he was invited to perform for a Chinese New Year celebration in the central Italian city of Florence. He has since fully committed himself to the art form, learning several pieces and putting his newfound passion into practice.

“The biggest difference that I found (compared to other disciplines) is the change of mood and emotional expressions among dances,” says Filippi, adding that he needed to shift from the dynamic moves of hip-hop to the graceful and fluid movements of Chinese dance. Despite various obstacles, Filippi’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Two of his friends shared videos of his performances on social media, and the response was overwhelming. One video garnered 500,000 views, while the other received 200,000 views.

Filippi believes that learning about different cultures is priceless, and he sees it as a means of personal growth. “I like to think of a person as a book,” he says. “Embracing different traditions and cultures, such as Chinese culture and many others, is like adding new chapters to my book, making it more diverse and wonderful.”

1. What is the main reason why Filippi falls in love with traditional Chinese dance?

A．Its potential to boost his career.	B．Its mix of traditional and modern elements.
C．Its graceful and light movements.	D．Its true reflection of his elegant personality.

2. How does the author illustrate the popularity of Filippi’s videos?

A．By listing numbers.	B．By giving an example.
C．By sharing a story.	D．By making a comparison.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Filippi thinks little of learning from other cultures.

B．People prefer to write down their past experiences.

C．Accepting various cultures boosts personal growth.

D．A book with chapters on traditions is more wonderful.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Chinese-styled dance videos go viral on social media.

B．An Italian’s dance journey towards specialization starts.

C．Filippi’s desire for Chinese culture extends beyond dance.

D．An Italian dancer shows passion for Chinese-styled dance.