1 . Four Interesting Science Museums
Polytechnic Museum, Russia
For many guests of the capital, some of the most vivid childhood memories are associated with this museum. A variety of technical fields are presented in 65 halls-Mining, Space, Energy, and Transportation, etc. And the exposition（博览会）is the only museum project in Russia about the history of the bike. The interactive division "Technoplay" is open, where you not only can but also need touch most of the exhibits with your hands. In addition to self-experimentation, for personal requests the museum's experts will show many entertaining experiments.
Eureka, England
The Eureka educational center is a huge complex where modern science and technology are becoming clear, even to kids. The main exhibition is devoted to the human body, the laws of physics and natural things. Visitors can obtain energy or create paper with their own hands. On the area of the Eureka educational park there is a botanical garden and a collection of minerals from the rock types of Finland is presented there.
Deutsches Museum, Germany
In this museum you can see more than 100 thousand different items from windmills（风车）to medical equipment. All aspects of industrial production appear before the eyes. Several museum rooms are arranged especially for children-there are exhibits that entertain kids starting from three.
NEMO, the Netherlands
The largest Dutch research centre stands ready to share its secrets with everyone. This immersion（沉浸）in the world of science and technology will not be dull. All significant information is presented in the form of exciting games. All exhibits are interactive; visitors are allowed to touch, pull and press on anything. The museum is for children from 6 to 16, as well as for their parents-it will be interesting to all.
1. What can visitors do at Polytechnic Museum?| A．Learn how the bike developed. | B．Touch all of the exhibits. |
| C．Watch entertaining movies. | D．Show entertaining experiments. |
| A．Polytechnic Museum. | B．Eureka. |
| C．Deutsches Museum. | D．NEMO. |
| A．It is specially designed for children. |
| B．It is the largest museum in the world. |
| C．It shows information of exhibits in games. |
| D．Some exhibits can be touched or pressed. |
2 . World’s loneliest marathon
Many of us know about Russia’s Lake Baikal from our textbooks, or by listening to Chinese singer Li Jian’s hit song, Lake Baikal. But over the past decade, the world’s deepest freshwater lake has been in the spotlight for an extreme sport.
Each March since 2005, about 150 people from around the world sign up for the Baikal Ice Marathon. They come to explore the lake’s breathtaking beauty and challenge themselves in unpredictable conditions.
The 26-mile (41.84-kilometers) journey starts on the lake’s eastern shore. In March, the ice is a meter thick and iron-hard. Runners cross this frozen surface, finishing on the western side of the lake.
Known as the “blue eye of Siberia”, Lake Baikal has exceptionally clear waters. This means its ice is almost perfectly transparent. “Seen from above, a runner on the ice looks as if he or she is jogging through space,” The New York Times noted.
The landscape might be beautiful, but it’s also harsh. Strong winds blast across the lake and frostbite can occur within half an hour. Runners say the cold climate is what draws them. They want to test their limits.
“When you are in such an environment, you don’t have cars around you, you don’t have the noise around. I think these extreme races allow you to be alone with nature,” Alicja Barahona, a 64-year-old runner from the US, told ABC News.
The location offers some strange and unique characteristics for this marathon. The finish line is visible from the start, but the endless white offers no progress markers. The race also ends with little fanfare (喧闹). Tourists crowding the ice are mostly addicted to snapping selfies (自拍) and just ignore the runners.
For some runners, the absence of spectators (观众) makes the race more challenging, because it’s lonely. They must fight with themselves. “You are alone on Baikal. It is your race. You are alone with yourself. All you need to do is to defeat yourself,” Veronique Messina, a French runner, told the Telegraph.
1. What can we know about the Baikal Ice Marathon from the article?| A．It takes runners from the northern end to the southern end of the lake. |
| B．It involves extreme weather and beautiful scenery. |
| C．It attracts more and more participants each year. |
| D．It is about 26 kilometers in length. |
| A．interesting | B．mysterious |
| C．severe | D．safe |
| A．Only men are allowed to run in this race. |
| B．The runners can see the finish line from the start. |
| C．The runners are often distracted by tourists. |
| D．There are many progress markers on the ice. |
| A．Loneliness. | B．The long distance. |
| C．The cold climate. | D．Noisy surroundings. |
3 . If Confucius(孔子)were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and
philosophy(哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks(缺陷)of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
1. The opening paragraph is mainly intended to______________.| A．provide some key facts about Confucius |
| B．attract the readers' interest in the subject |
| C．show great respect for the ancient thinker |
| D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations |
| A．have a great interest in studying Chinese |
| B．take an active part in Chinese competitions |
| C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams |
| D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese |
| A．Forgotten Wisdom in America |
| B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language |
| C．Chinese Culture for Westerners |
| D．Old Thinker with a Big Future |
| A．a personal biography | B．a history paper |
| C．a cultural newspaper | D．a philosophy textbook |
4 . In the latest romance-drama, Descendants of the Sun (《太阳的后裔》), a handsome soldier Yoo Shi-jin（柳时镇） (Song Joong-ki)(宋仲基) meets the pretty doctor Kang Mo-yeon（姜暮烟） (Song Hye-kyo)（宋慧乔） in a hospital, and he doesn’t hesitate to hit on her.
The dialogue, which takes place early in the first episode( 集）, immediately indicates that this is no ordinary South Korean drama. There’s no family feud （不睦）, or love tangles, or guesses and misunderstandings. The 16-episode show is set in the fictional war-torn country of Uruk （乌鲁克）. Song Joong-ki is the leader of a special warfare command unit, while Song Hye-kyo plays a doctor who works for a humanitarian medical organization. Both are sent in the midst of disaster and disease as part of their work with UN peacekeeping troops. Both know and show clearly what they want and what they hate.
But what stands out the most are Song’s skills as a pick-up artist（撩妹技能）.
Boldness and creativity are the key weapons in his arsenal. When Kang invites Yoo to drink wine with her, Yoo , who is not allowed to drink alcohol as a soldier, says, “There is a way” before kissing her. Forget about the “eighth-episode rule” . This kiss happens in the fourth.
Humor also does the trick. On their first date in a cinema, Yoo says, “This is the most exciting moment of my life. The moment I am with a beautiful woman before the theater lights go out.” When Kang tries to give Yoo a hard time, Yoo jokes, “I mistook you for a beautiful woman because it’s dark.”
And actor Song Joong-ki, who just came back from two years of military service last May, makes sure he delivers his pick-up lines just right.
“In Deep Rooted Tree (《树大根深》) and The Innocent Man (《善良的男人》), he [Song Joong-ki] showed he had the steel to play fearless and heartless men – that he could be taken seriously as an actor, despite his pretty face. In Descendants, he hits the emotional core of every scene, whether he has to be bold and amorous, guarded and mysterious, or sad,” said critic Foong Woei Wan in The Straits Times.
1. What is the relationship between Song Joong-ki and Song hye-hyo?| A．lover | B．colleague | C．actor | D．doctor-patient |
| A．Because actors know and show clearly what they want and what they hate. | B．It broke the previous Korean old story. |
| C．It exits family feud and love tangles. | D．The pick-up artist is unique and special. |
① humor ② Boldness and creativity ③ bold ④ emotional
| A．①② | B．①②③ | C．②③④ | D．above all |
| A．Introduce a drama called the Descendants of the sun. |
| B．Song Zhongji could be taken seriously as an actor, despite his pretty face. |
| C．The Descendants of the sun open a new pattern to pick-up woman. |
| D．The reason why the Descendants of the sun gain success. |
5 . For your next out-of-this-world vacation, you now have the option of literally going out of this world—but it’ll cost you $ 40 million. Then again, can you really put a price tag on having the time of your life? According to a new report from Popular Mechanics, Russia is looking to build a luxury hotel in outer space. There you will wake up to a breathtaking blue planet—the earth! The hotel is expected to be stationed on the International Space Station (ISS).
While space tourism itself isn’t exactly a novel idea, the notion of building a hotel out there hasn’t been raised before. Really, other companies are still focused on the transportation part of the puzzle — after all, a trip to space is enough for most folks.
According to Popular Mechanics, the hotel will include a luxury orbital suite with big windows, personal hygiene (卫生) facilities, exercise equipment, and yes, WiFi. Because if you can’t share your experience on social media, did it really even happen?
Of course, the reasons behind the hotel aren’t just for fun and games. Apparently, space tourism might be able to help the Russians pay for another module to add to the international Space Station. Russian space contractor RKK Energia is currently building the first such module, which will give scientists a laboratory and power supply station from which to conduct tests.
If any of this is going to happen, however, Russia is going to have to hurry. With the ISS expected to be out of use in 2028, there’s little time to build the hotel and find wealthy tourists to actually buy a trip into outer space.
So if you’ve recently come into a fortune and are interested in investing in what could be the time of your life, ISS is calling your name.
1. What do we know about the hotel from the first paragraph?| A．It is quite affordable. |
| B．It will be built in Russia. |
| C．It will offer an amazing view. |
| D．It costs $ 40 million to build. |
| A．An orbital suite. | B．Space tourism. |
| C．Space exploration. | D．A creative idea. |
| A．Hotel guests won’t be able to see into space. |
| B．Visitors are required to take exercise each day. |
| C．Space travel is not possible without the Internet. |
| D．Tourists tend to share traveling experiences online. |
| A．fun and games | B．financial support |
| C．space contractors | D．more time in space |
6 . The Segway（平衡车）was invented by Dean Kamen, and was first shown to the public in 2001 by ABC’s Good Morning America program.
The Segway looks like a large stick with two wheels. The wheels are connected to a platform. The stick has handles for a person to hold. The person stands on the platform and holds the handles. The transporter moves forward or backward when the person moves his or her body in that direction.
However, the vehicle has not found acceptance from the general public.
| A．The history of the Segway has just begun |
| B．The driver turns the handles to go left or right. |
| C．If you have never experienced a Segway tour before, we expect you to join us . |
| D．Those who have ridden on the Segway say it is best used for short journeys. |
| E．As a result, the most popular use of the Segway is in tourism, particularly for city tours. |
| F．This unique invention was intended to help people travel throughout public city streets. |
| G．One reason is that the price is similar to other vehicles which they are more familiar with. |
7 . With the Covid-19 virus sweeping the globe, the science on quitting smoking offers welcome news for smokers who want to build up their defenses in case they contract the virus. Though it may still take many months for a smoker's lungs to heal from damage caused by long-term smoking, your health can noticeably improve in the days and weeks after quitting in ways that could make a difference against the virus. Covid-19 creates an added sense of urgency, and there's enough reason to believe that quitting smoking during the pandemic（流行病）could increases your opportunities of fighting off the virus.
If you make the decision to quit, the cilia（纤毛）in your lungs are one of the first parts of your body to heal. These hair-like projections wave back and forth like a brush as air moves in and out of your lungs. They help your body fight off colds and infection. They also help clear mucus（黏液）, so if they're not functioning as well as they should, mucus can build up in the lungs. Your body's tendency to cough during an infection helps inspire the bodily process of clearing out mucus. That's vital in fighting the Covid-19 condition. The elderly are at a greater risk for too much lung fluid that often limits breathing following coronavirus infection because they don't have a strong enough cough to clear it up.
A second short-term gain from quitting smoking comes from reducing ongoing inflammation（炎症）in your body, which can make you infect Covid-19 more easily. Having your lungs in as good of shape as you can in case of a corona virus infection is key.
Besides lung-related issues, quitting smoking can also deliver healthy benefits to the heart that could help prevent possible heart attacks, which are another cause of death in Covid-19 cases. After you quit smoking, your blood becomes thinner and less possible to setting. Heart attacks are less likely. One reason this happens is because smoking makes it harder for the heart to distribute blood throughout the body.
1. What is the use of the lung cilia?| A．Cleaning up the lungs. | B．Killing the Covid-19 virus. |
| C．Predicting lung infections. | D．Reducing breathing difficulty. |
| A．They cannot go out during the pandemic. | B．There is too much mucus in their lungs. |
| C．Most of them are heavy smokers for years. | D．They are lacking in the care of their children. |
| A．Strengthen the heart muscle. | B．Turn blood to be much thicker. |
| C．Make the blood flow smoother. | D．Speed the heartbeat up apparently. |
| A．Quitting smoking can help defend the Covid-19. |
| B．Ways to make a difference against corona viruses. |
| C．The Covid-19 virus is threatening humans worldwide. |
| D．Protecting the smokers' lungs to heal from damage. |
8 . As trees across the northern areas turn gold and deep red, you can find autumn colors in parks and woodlands, in the cities, countryside, and mountains. People are wondering what these colors are for. For years, scientists have worked to understand the changes that happen to trees in the autumn. Up to now there have been different explanations for why natural selection makes autumn colors so widespread.
Dr. Hamilton from Oxford University proposed that bright autumn leaves contained a message: they warn insects to leave them alone. In autumn, insects choose trees where they will lay eggs. When the larvae（幼虫）come out the next spring, they feed on the trees, often with a result of destruction of the trees. Dr. Hamilton suggested that trees could ward off these insects with poisons. They could have strong defenses by letting egg-laying insects know what was in store for their eggs.
Dr. Hamilton and students turned the theory into a mathematical model, which showed that warning signals could indeed drive the evolution（进化）of bright leaves. It was a first attempt to see what was out there.
A research team from the University of Wisconsin gave a quite different explanation. “If you are up here in Wisconsin, by the time leaves change, all the insects that feed on leaves are gone.” Dr. Hoch said. He believed that autumn colors served mainly as protection.
According to Dr. Hoch and his team, autumn colors might be able to protect the leaves from sun damage or frost（冰冻）injury—in other words, they actually act as a sunscreen to avoid the destruction to the leaves. Besides, autumn colors might protect the leaves from water loss. If the cells in the leaves become dry, the connections between the cells will be weakened and leaves will break off.
Although there are different explanations about autumn colors, it has really given them a deeper concern for this time of year. “People sometimes say that science makes the world less interesting by just explaining things away,” one famous biologist said. “But with autumn leaves, the more you know about them, the more amazed you are.”
1. According to Dr. Hamilton, there is a connection between________.| A．the size of leaves and the survival of insects |
| B．the size of leaves and the behavior of insects |
| C．the size of leaves and the quality of insects |
| D．the size of leaves and the number of insects |
| A．Climate has an influence on the color of the leaves |
| B．Sun damage and frost injury drive the insects away |
| C．the color of autumn leaves has a protective function |
| D．Autumn colors bring great destruction to the leaves |
| A．catch |
| B．attract |
| C．ignore |
| D．prevent |
| A．The evolution of colorful leaves |
| B．The secret to autumn leaves’ changes |
| C．The charm autumn colors |
| D．The role of leaves’ being protection |
9 . Traditional Chinese Culture
Chinese culture is over 5000 years old.
The spirit of the tea ceremony
Xi Hu Long Jing （West Lake Dragon Well） and Yunnan Pu'er have long been, world famous.
A handful of good tea leaves with some boiling water and a set of lovely tea ware are the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon and gain some insight into the wisdom of this ancient civilization.
During the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, many different flavors, styles, and cuisines （烹饪）have developed based on traditional philosophy and culture. This ancient food culture has had a direct impact on the countries, such as Japan, Mongolia, South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore. It has benefited billions of people around the world through such innovations as Chinese vegetarian culture, tea culture, vinegar, pasta medicated diets, ceramic tableware, and the use of soybeans in the diet.
Chinese Confucianism
Confucianism has flourished during the last 2,500 of China's 5,000-year history.
| A．Chinese cuisine |
| B．Traditional Chinese culture |
| C．It has been the mainstay （支柱〉of this ancient civilization |
| D．They are pretty popular due to their superior color and flavor |
| E．The following three items of traditional Chinese culture have had a worldwide impact |
| F．This wonderfully rich food culture has also had an impact on Europe, America and Oceania |
| G．This would provide long lasting benefits for man, helping to ensure a peaceful and happy life |
10 . When Sarah Wishnia received an iPad from her daughter, “It was like Greek to me.” Max Rosenblum showed her how to socialize on Facebook and shop on Amazon with her new device.With Max's help, Elena learned to give orders to Siri, Mike familiarized himself with Waze and Honey began searching for information about movies, restaurants and books on her smartphone.Max is 16, a rising junior in Davie. His students are residents of Coral Gables, fascinated by technology and eager to learn about this brave new frontier. Max began offering his tech coaching for seniors a year ago, after he helped his grandmother with her iPhone and iPad. He taught her how to text and use Faccbook. He also downloaded a Scrabble app for her to play. “She loved it,”he said, not without a trace of pride.
That experience inspired him and his parents, Adam and Heather. They reached out to a connection at Coral Gables and launched a website, techmaxed. com. He also recruited(招募)other teens to teach the one-on-one lessons in Coral Gables. These youths go to the retirement communities at least once a month. Though teaching a class might appear to be more expedient,soon Max found out that group sessions simply didn't work.“People are at different levels,and it was hard to teach that way," he said. “It's much better to give them individual help.” “Most people come more than once,” he added. “I have my regulars.”
“First he showed me how to get my email on the phone,” Rosen, 88, said, “and then he wrote up a short step-by-step guide for me so I could remember.” Max admits that teaching older adults takes time, but he figures he's also paying it forward.
“Maybe when I'm 87 and there's new technology,” he said, “somebody will teach me, too.”
1. What can we infer about Sarah Wishnia when she received the iPad?| A．She had no interest in it. | B．She could not shop on Amazon. |
| C．She had some difficulty using it. | D．She managed to use it by herself. |
| A．Because he was familiar with the new frontier. |
| B．Because he enjoyed talking with senior residents. |
| C．Because he wanted to apply the new technology. |
| D．Because he got inspired after teaching his grandma. |
| A．Exhausting. | B．Practical. |
| C．Profitable. | D．Creative. |
| A．A science book. | B．A travel guide. |
| C．A local newspaper. | D．A product introduction. |
