1 . The benefits of regular exercise are well documented but there’s a new bonus to add to the ever-growing list. New researchers found that middle-aged women who were physically fit could be nearly 90 percent less likely to develop dementia in later life, and as they did, it came on a decade later than less sporty women.
Lead researcher Dr. Helena Horder, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said : "These findings are exciting because it’s possible that improving people's cardiovascular （心血管的）fitness in middle age could delay or even prevent them from developing dementia. "
For the study, 191 women with an average age of 50 took a bicycle exercise test until they were exhausted to measure their peak （最大值的） cardiovascular capacity. The average peak workload was measured at 103 watts.
A total of 40 women met the criteria for a high fitness level, or 120 watts or higher. A total of 92 women were in the medium fitness category; and 59 women were in the low fitness category, defined as a peak workload of 80 watts or less, or having their exercise tests stopped because of high blood pressure, chest pain or other cardiovascular problems.
These women were then tested for dementia six times over the following four decades. During that time, 44 of the women developed dementia. Five percent of the highly fit women developed dementia, compared to 25 percent of the women with medium fitness and 32 percent of the women with low fitness.
"However, this study does not show cause and effect between cardiovascular fitness and dementia, it only shows an association. More research is needed to see if improved fitness could have a positive effect on the risk of dementia and also to look at when during a lifetime a high fitness level is most important. " She also admitted that a relatively small number of women were studied, all of whom were form Sweden, so the results might not be applicable to other groups.
1. What is on the ever-growing list mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．Positive effects of doing exercises. |
| B．Exercises suitable for the middle-aged. |
| C．Experimental studies on diseases. |
| D．Advantages of sporty woman over man |
| A．To predict their maximum heart rate. |
| B．To assess their cardiovascular capacity |
| C．To change their habits of working out |
| D．To detect their potential health problems |
| A．It aimed to find a cure for dementia. |
| B．Data collection was a lengthy process. |
| C．Some participants withdrew from it. |
| D．The results were far from satisfactory. |
| A．More Women Are Exercising to Prevent Dementia |
| B．Middle-Aged Women Need to Do More Exercise |
| C．Fit Women Are Less Likely to Develop Dementia |
| D．Biking Improves Women's Cardiovascular Fitness |
2 . The United States rose to global power on the strength of its technology, and the lifeblood that technology has long been electricity. By providing long-distance communication and energy, electricity created the modern world. Yet properly understood, the age of electricity is merely the second stage in the age of steam, which began a century earlier.
"It is curious that no one has put together a history of both the steam and electric revolutions." writes Maury Klein in his book The Power Makers, Steam, Electricity, and the Men Invented Modern America. Klein, a noted historian of technology, spins a narrative so lively that at times it reads like a novel.
The story begins in the last years of the 18th century in Scotland, where Watt perfected "the machine that changed the world". Klein writes, "America did not invent the steam engine, but once they grasped its passwords they put it to more uses than anyone else. "
Meanwhile, over the course of 19th century, electricity went from mere curiosity to a basic necessity. Morse invented a code for sending messages over an electromagnetic circuit. Bell then gave the telegraph a voice. Edison perfected an incandescent bulls that brought electric light into the American home.
Most importantly, Edison realized that success depended on mass electrification, which he showed in New York City. With help from Tesla, Westinghouse's firm developed a system using alternating current, which soon became the major forms of power delivery.
To frame his story, Klein creates the character of Ned, a fictional witness to the progress brought about by the steams and electric revolutions in America during one man's lifetime. It's a technique that helps turn a long narrative into an interesting one.
1. What is Klein's understanding of the age of electricity?| A．It is closely linked to the steam age. |
| B．It began earlier than proper thought. |
| C．It is a little-studied period of history. |
| D．It will come to an end sooner or later. |
| A．He was born in New York City. | B．He wrote many increasing stories, |
| C．He created an electricity company. | D．He lived mainly in the 19th century. |
| A．A biography. | B．A book review. | C．A short story. | D．A science report. |
3 . Last year I decided to do some volunteer work. I began to
I was sent to the Coronado National Forest for my first 8-day
My job was to
Three days later, a beautiful stairway came into being. The
But on the last night we were
| A．calculate | B．negotiate | C．advertise | D．research |
| A．imagined | B．introduced | C．enjoyed | D．found |
| A．annoyed | B．surprised | C．scared | D．excited |
| A．arriving | B．sleeping | C．thinking | D．walking |
| A．confident | B．friendly | C．energetic | D．curious |
| A．funny | B．good | C．lucky | D．easy |
| A．tour | B．project | C．campaign | D．course |
| A．drop | B．make | C．carry | D．buy |
| A．nice | B．safe | C．long | D．quick |
| A．build | B．test | C．clean | D．guard |
| A．helped | B．ended | C．allowed | D．meant |
| A．hunted | B．trained | C．seen | D．fed |
| A．satisfaction | B．ambition | C．expectation | D．intention |
| A．work | B．memory | C．record | D．story |
| A．left | B．caught | C．attacked | D．separated |
| A．boiling | B．average | C．normal | D．freezing |
| A．tidy | B．dry | C．new | D．soft |
| A．By the way | B．Regardless of that | C．Needless to say | D．In either case |
| A．survived | B．resisted | C．escaped | D．recovered |
| A．smarter | B．stronger | C．happier | D．busier |
4 . Regardless of the weather or the distance, Paul Wilson will make sure low-income students in his neighbourhood arrive at their college classes on time.
A retired engineer, 76-year-old Wilson has been
Tina Stern
Wilson first worked as a driver through a student-support programme of the non-profit organisation. On Point for College. Although the
For many students, Wilson’s help is not only appreciated, it’s also entirely
| A．linking | B．sending | C．offering | D．distributing |
| A．donating | B．lending | C．delivering | D．volunteering |
| A．paved | B．covered | C．measured | D．wandered |
| A．arguments | B．interviews | C．negotiations | D．conversations |
| A．met | B．driven | C．addressed | D．greeted |
| A．even | B．ever | C．once | D．already |
| A．earned | B．received | C．assessed | D．demanded |
| A．transportation | B．style | C．time | D．communication |
| A．forced | B．awkward | C．ridiculous | D．suspicious |
| A．selects | B．recites | C．guesses | D．remembers |
| A．act on | B．settle on | C．check on | D．agree on |
| A．club | B．league | C．college | D．programme |
| A．far | B．around | C．beyond | D．forwards |
| A．assist | B．watch | C．urge | D．warn |
| A．expects | B．attempts | C．manages | D．hesitates |
| A．extra | B．unusual | C．necessary | D．adequate |
| A．share | B．fuel | C．repair | D．exchange |
| A．required | B．allowed | C．reminded | D．convinced |
| A．experience | B．arrangement | C．appreciation | D．employment |
| A．effort | B．ambition | C．privilege | D．convenience |
5 . No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own
I learned this lesson from a(n)
It was a tradition for the school’s old team to play against the
I started doing anything I could to help them build a little
Six months after suffering our
From the experience I learnt a lot about how the attitude of the leader can
Winners are made, but born.
1.| A．luck | B．tests | C．efforts | D．nature |
| A．experiment | B．experience | C．visit | D．show |
| A．operating | B．editing | C．consulting | D．coaching |
| A．successful | B．excellent | C．strong | D．new |
| A．cheer for | B．prepare for | C．help with | D．finish with |
| A．believe | B．agree | C．describe | D．regret |
| A．realize | B．claim | C．permit | D．demand |
| A．reacting to | B．looking for | C．depending on | D．caring about |
| A．decision | B．attitude | C．conclusion | D．intention |
| A．pride | B．culture | C．fortune | D．relationship |
| A．leaders | B．partners | C．winners | D．learners |
| A．rewards | B．vacations | C．health | D．honor |
| A．risked | B．missed | C．considered | D．practiced |
| A．defeat | B．decline | C．accident | D．mistake |
| A．relax | B．improve | C．expand | D．defend |
| A．shame | B．burden | C．victory | D．favor |
| A．chances | B．thrills | C．concerns | D．offers |
| A．surprise | B．serve | C．interest | D．affect |
| A．encouraged | B．observed | C．protected | D．impressed |
| A．honestly | B．individually | C．calmly | D．differently |
6 . Eight months after my father died, I saw some letters on top of my mother’s coffee table. They were tied with a silk ribbon and addressed to her decades ago in my father’s neat handwriting. I couldn’t imagine my serious father ever writing anything like love letters.
“Would you like me to read them to you?” Mom asked with a hint of a smile.
The letters were written in 1974 over the course of a month when my father traveled to Italy to care for his beloved, sick mother, leaving his wife and me, their newborn daughter, behind in Toronto, the city my parents called home after immigrating to Canada from Italy in 1956.
Growing up, my father was my hero and protector, but he was also a man of few words, part of a generation of immigrant men who worked hard for a better life.
I sat back while my mother read his letters to me, and thought, “Who is this guy?” My father used endearing terms I had never heard him say. He referred to my mother as “my dearesr” and “my companion” who was always in his thoughts. In each letter, he enclosed a Canadian one-dollar bill for me and declared, “You and your mother are my life.”
As children, we assume we know everything about our parents. But, sometimes, we find out that they were and are people with various facets.
My father was proud and stubborn, and he married a woman who was his equal in that regard. During their 58-year marriage, their stubbornness often led to conflict. So it was bittersweet to hear my father’s youthful sentiments read aloud by my elderly mother with a wistful (留恋的) tone. I knew she was thinking about what could have been and what had been once upon a time. After she finished reading the letters, I held them in my hands and examined them like they were fossils. Although a man I knew as economical with his thoughts, he had filled the front and back of several pages.
These letters are only part of their correspondence. My mother wrote back to my father. One day she will read those letters to me, she’s assured me. And just as with my father, they might help me discover another dimension of a parent I never knew before.
1. What kind of person did the author think her father was?| A．Optimistic. | B．Reserved. | C．Sensitive. | D．Romantic. |
| A．Her mother was the family’s provider. |
| B．She didn’t get on well with her father. |
| C．Her parents were emigrants to Italy. |
| D．Her parents shared similar personalities. |
| A．Interests. | B．Ideas. | C．Sides. | D．Possibilities. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Awkward. | C．Thrilled. | D．Heartbroken. |
| A．He was good at hiding his feelings. |
| B．He regretted not being with his family. |
| C．He was a loving husband and father. |
| D．He was stubborn from the inside out. |
7 . Gone are the days when a mother’s place was in the home: in Britain women with children are now as likely to be in paid work as their unburdened sisters. Many put their little darlings in day care long before they start school. Mindful that a poor start can spoil a person’s chances of success later in life, the state has intervened ever more closely in how babies and toddlers are looked after. Inspectors call not only at nurseries but also at homes where youngsters are minded; three-year-olds follow the national curriculum. Child care has increasingly become a profession.
For years after the government first began in 2001 to twist the arms of anyone who looked after an unrelated child to register with the schools, the numbers so doing fell. Kind but clueless neighbours stopped looking after little ones, who were instead herded into formal nurseries or handed over to one of the ever-fewer registered child-minders. The decline in the number of people taking in children now appears to have halted. According to data released by the Office for Standards in Education on October 27th, the number of registered child-minders reached its lowest point in September 2010 and has since recovered slightly.
The new lot are certainly better qualified. In 2010 fully 82% of nursery workers held diplomas notionally equivalent to A-levels, the university-entrance exams taken mostly by 18-year-olds, up from 56% seven years earlier, says Anand Shukla of the Daycare Trust, a charity. Nurseries staffed by university graduates tend to be rated highest by inspectors, increasing their appeal to the pickiest parents. As a result, more graduates are being recruited.
But professionalization has also pushed up the price of child care, defying even the economic depression. A survey by the Daycare Trust finds that a full-time nursery place in England for a child aged under two, who must be intensively supervised, costs £194 ($310) per week, on average. Prices in London and the south-east are far higher. Parents in Britain spend more on child care than anywhere else in the world, according to the OECD, a think-tank. Some 68% of a typical second earner's net income is spent on freeing her to work, compared with an OECD average of 52%.
The price of child care is not only eye-watering, but has also become a barrier to work. Soon after it took power the coalition government pledged to ensure that people are better off in work than on benefits, but a recent survey by Save the Children, a charity, found that the high cost of day care prevented a quarter of low-paid workers from returning to their jobs once they had started a family. The government pays for free part-time nursery places for three-and four-year-olds, and contributes towards day-care costs for younger children from poor areas. Alas, extending such an aid during stressful economic times would appear to be anything but child’s play.
1. Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?| A．Nursery education plays a leading role in one’s personal growth. |
| B．Pregnant women have to work to lighten families’ economic burden. |
| C．Children in nursery have to take uniform nation courses. |
| D．The supervision of the state makes child care professional. |
| A．the registered child-minders are required to take the university-entrance exams |
| B．the number of registered child-minders has been declining since 2001 |
| C．anyone who looks after children at home must register with the schools |
| D．the growing recognition encourages more graduates to work as child-minders |
| A．prevents mothers from getting employed |
| B．may further depress the national economy |
| C．makes many families live on benefits |
| D．is far more than parents can afford |
| A．Objective. | B．Skeptical. | C．Supportive. | D．Biased. |
| A．The professionalization of child care has pushed up its price. |
| B．The high cost of child nursing makes many mothers give up their jobs. |
| C．The employment of more graduates makes nurseries more popular. |
| D．Parents in Britain pay most for child nursing throughout the world. |
8 . Brian Hamilton used to occupy himself with a six-figure job, but his life changed in a prison when he was accompanying his friend, Reverend Robert J. Harris, who often went to local prisons to do his work. During the visit, Hamilton started talking to one of the prisoners and asked what he was going to do when he got out. “He said he was going to get a job,” Hamilton says. “I thought to myself, wow, that’s going to be difficult.”
The conversation made Hamilton consider how prisoners could benefit from operating their own business, something he thought about for years. Finally in 2008, 16 years after that initial conversation, Hamilton created Inmates to Entrepreneurs, a nonprofit organization that helps people with criminal backgrounds start their own small businesses. “Harris and I taught our first course at a prison called ‘How to Start Your Own Business When You Get Out’,” he says.
At the time, Hamilton was building his own company, Sageworks. He was the chairman and co-founder of Sageworks. As Sageworks grew, so did Hamilton’s time spent teaching at prisons throughout North Carolina.
Eventually, Hamilton decided it was time to change his focus to his true passion. In May 2018, he sold his stake (股份) in Sageworks, focusing his commitment on Inmates to Entrepreneurs.
“Now, anyone is able to access the course, either to become a teacher to go into prisons to teach it or to access it for themselves as a prisoner or part of the general population,” Hamilton explains. In addition, he visits middle schools and presents the course to at-risk students to lead the so-called bad students to the right path.
The free course is funded by the Brian Hamilton Foundation, which offers help to soldiers as they adjust to civilian life and provides loans to small businesses. “We’re giving prisoners something they can do independent of a system that isn’t working for them. If you can make people know that other people care about them, it will make a difference.”
1. What does Paragraph 1 mainly talk about?| A．Hamilton lost his six-figure job. |
| B．Harris often visited local prisons to interview. |
| C．Hamilton’s life changed after visiting a prison. |
| D．Harris was optimistic about prisoners’ job prospects. |
| A．It is often short of prison teachers. | B．It provides loans to at-risk students. |
| C．It’s independent of the social system. | D．Its course has been largely broadened. |
| A．He often went to prisons before 2008. |
| B．He tried to prevent possible crimes in advance. |
| C．He wrote a book titled “How to Start Your Own Business”. |
| D．He gave away his company to those who were released from prison. |
| A．Offering care to others. | B．Giving trust to strangers. |
| C．Showing respect for teachers. | D．Providing education for children. |
| A．A man made a fruitless visit to the prison. |
| B．A man sold his business to teach prisoners. |
| C．A man realized his dream of being a teacher. |
| D．A man successfully created two organisations. |
9 . One of the most stressful days of Susan McFrederick’s life was watching her son get wheeled away for surgery hours after he was born in 2011.
But after the operation, Susan burst into tears for a different reason: across the cut on their newborn sons back was a sweet winter scene, hand-drawn on his bandages（绷带）.
“There were rolling hills of snow, a pine tree and a snowman with a hat and broom, she recalled. It was extremely touching and comforting to know that somebody had taken the time to do that for my family. It was a moment I'll never forget.”
Susan soon learned the artist was her sons surgeon, Robert Parry, who discovered another way to use his hands in the mid-1980 s during his internship（实习期）at children's medical center. where he saw one of his colleagues cut out heart and shark shapes to decorate children’s bandages.
“My first reaction was, 'What is he doing? Hey, that’s kind of neat,’ ” Parry recalled. “I especially liked the reactions of the parents and the patients when they saw his artwork. The smiles took everyone's attention from the surgery. Then I decided to follow suit.”
Parry quickly graduated from his early hearts and sharks, and started to surprise families with drawings that captured young patients' personalities. From Snoopy to Spider-Man and bears to butterflies, there isn’t much he hasn’t drawn. Most kids want superheroes sports team logos or princesses, while babies often receive scenes with flowers trees and sea creatures During the last 30 years, Parry estimates he has left examples of his handiwork over the stitches（伤口缝线） of more than 10, 000 children.
“During a time of stress for families, it's nice to be able to help them smile and laugh," Parry said. This is something positive that I can do for them, which is what I like most about it.”
For Parry, the reward is knowing he hopefully made a difference in a child’s life, and except for his drawings on bandages, they can go on and live their lives and never know I was in it.” he said.
He's not ready to retire, but he's found a new hobby to keep his hands skillful in the years to come.
“I've taken up knitting（编织）,” Parry said. “Hats, sweaters, gloves---I enjoy it all. But mostly, I enjoy giving everything away.”
1. Susan burst into tears after her baby's operation because she was__________.| A．moved | B．amused |
| C．stressed | D．heartbroken |
| A．He was motivated by his patients. |
| B．He was inspired by his colleague. |
| C．He was required to learn the skill during his internship. |
| D．He was encouraged by Susan to show his genius for art. |
| A．devoted himself more to art than to medicine. |
| B．knew more about his patients than their parents. |
| C．took into consideration the tastes of individual patients. |
| D．created a large number of works beyond his expectations. |
| A．To get a reward from the artistic circle. |
| B．To win the admiration of his colleagues. |
| C．To make a difference in his dull medical career. |
| D．To lift the spirits of his patients and their parents. |
| A．He is eager to show others his new skills. |
| B．He enjoys trying new ways to help others. |
| C．He is looking forward to life after retirement. |
| D．He is more interested in knitting than drawing. |
10 . No business would welcome being compared to gambling. Yet that is what is happening to makers of video games. For years parents have complained that their children are “addicted” to their video games and smartphones. Today, however, even more doctors are using the term. On January 1 this year, “gaming disorder” — in which games are played uncontrollably, despite causing harm — gained recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Are games really addictive? Psychologists have different opinions. Those who don’t think so say that this is just another moral panic. Similar warnings have been given about television, rock’n’roll, jazz, comic books, novels and even crossword puzzles, but it turns out that they are not as harmful as expected.
However, supporters argue that game developers have the motivation and the means to design their products to make them extremely attractive. For one thing, the business- model has changed: In the old days, games were bought once and for all. But these days, games are free and money is earned from purchases of in-game goods, which ties playtime directly to revenue (收益). For another, game-makers combine psychological theory and data, which helps them maximize the playtime. Smartphones and modern video game machines use their permanent Internet connections to send gameplay data back to developers. In this way products are constantly adjusted to encourage players’ spending. The biggest spenders are known as “whales”, a term that originated in casinos (赌场).
The gaming industry should realize that, in the real world, it has a problem, and that problem is growing. Now that gaming addiction comes with an official WHO recognition, diagnoses will become more common. Anyway, being put together with gambling in the public mind, fairly or not, will not do the industry any good.
1. What do we know from Paragraph 1?| A．It is not suitable to compare video games to gambling. |
| B．Parents complain about their children’s addiction to gambling. |
| C．Gaming addiction was officially recognized as a disease. |
| D．More doctors are against the use of the term “addicted”. |
| A．Unexpected addiction caused by science and technology. |
| B．Wrong judgment on how harmful something is. |
| C．Trouble caused by someone’s immoral behavior. |
| D．An astonishing claim of the unexpected panic. |
| A．They don’t charge players for in-game goods. |
| B．They keep players’ video game machines updated. |
| C．They reward big spenders with a unique title. |
| D．They adjust products based on received data. |
| A．offer a suggestion |
| B．make a prediction |
| C．give a warning |
| D．put forward a solution |
| A．Addiction: A Warning to the Gaming Industry |
| B．Addiction: Not a Blame on Games |
| C．Games: A New Kind of Gambling |
| D．Games: The Cause of Mental Disorder |
