2 . When was the last time someone did something unexpectedly nice for you? Not someone you knew, but a total stranger? It happened to me a few times, but two examples really stand out.

A few years ago, I was dining out with a person who kept going on and on about himself, completely not aware of the fact that I was sitting there in misery. It wasn’t his company that disappointed me. I was recovering from a broken heart, and just sitting down to dinner reminded me of my last relationship. I could have burst into tears right there at the table.

When we picked up the check, the waitress said, “Your meal was already paid for.” My friend and I didn’t have a clue how it happened, Then I remembered a man coming in out of the corner of my eye. He was dressed in mostly white, sat down at the bar, had a glass of wine, stayed for maybe ten minutes, and then left. The waitress said, “Yes, the gentleman who was in here a while ago paid for you.”

Just last year, I was running a half-marathon. With just 1 mile to go, I was out of gas. Runners call it “hitting the wall”; I thought I couldn’t move another muscle. Out of nowhere, a teenager jogs up next to me and says, “What’s your name, sweetie? Jennifer? Okay, Jennifer, let’s go! Come on! It’s just around the comer! You can do it!” And he ran with me until I picked up ray pace. I found him at the finish line to thank him for the encouragement only to learn he wasn’t even supposed to be in the race that day. He was running in place of someone else. I still shake my head when I think of these momentary angels that came to me at my point of need. Do you have any experiences like this?

1. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．The Kindness of Strangers.	B．Valuable friendship.
C．Two Special Experiences.	D．Helping others is worthwhile.

2. The underlined expression in the passage means “______”.

A．being hurt by the wall	B．winning the game
C．taking a deep breath	D．running out of energy

3. A stranger helped the author during a half-marathon by ______.

A．giving her a bottle of water	B．running with her and encouraging her
C．showing her the right way	D．keeping her cool and awake

4 . Modern inventions have speeded up people’s lives amazingly. Motor-cars cover a hundred miles in little more than an hour, aircraft cross the world inside a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. Every year motor-cars are produced which go even faster and each new computer boasts(吹嘘) of saving precious seconds in handling tasks.

All this saves time, but at a price. When we lose or gain half a day in speeding across the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so. We get the uncomfortable feeling known as jet-lag: our bodies feel that they have been left behind in another time zone. Again, spending too long at computers results in painful wrists and fingers. Mobile phones also have their dangers, according to some scientists: too much use may transmit harmful radiation into our brains, a consequence we do not like to think about.

However, what do we do with the time we have saved? Certainly not relax, or so it seems. We are so accustomed to constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing, or even just one thing at a time. Perhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world.

There was a time when some people’s lives were devoted simply to the cultivation of the land or the care of cattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives went on at a much gentler pace and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestors faced: they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone. Modern machinery has freed people from that primitive existence.

1. What does the underlined words “the days” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Simple life in the past.	B．Imaginary life.
C．Times of inventions.	D．Time for constant activity.

2. What is the author’s attitude towards modern technology?

A．Objective.	B．Critical.
C．Optimistic.	D．Doubtful

3. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A．Machinery and human beings.	B．The present and past times.
C．Imagination and inventions.	D．Modern technology and its influence.

5 . My fifteen-year-old son has just returned from abroad with rolls of exposed film and a hundred dollars in uncashed traveler’s checks, and is asleep at the moment. His blue duffel (粗呢) bag lies on the floor where he dropped it. Obviously, he postponed as much sleep as he could, when he walked in and we hugged, his electrical system suddenly switched off, and he headed directly for the bed, where I imagine he beat his old record of sixteen hours.

It was his first trip overseas, so weeks before it, I pressed travel books on him, and a tape cassette of useful French phrases; drew up a list of people to visit; advised him on clothing and other things. At the luggage store where we went to buy him a suitcase, he headed for the duffels, saying that suitcases were more for old people.

During the trip, he called home three times: from London, Paris, and a village named Ullapool. Near Ullapool, he climbed a mountain in a rainstorm that almost blew him off. In the village, a man spoke to him in Gaelic, and, too polite to interrupt, my son listened to him for tenor fifteen minutes, trying to nod in the right places. The French he learned from the cassette didn’t hold water in Paris. The French he talked to shrugged and walked on.

When my son called, I sat down at the kitchen table and leaned forward and hung on every word. His voice came through clearly, though two of the calls were like ship-to-shore communication. When I interrupted him with a “Great!” or a “Really?”, I knocked a little hole in his communication. So I just sat and listened. I have never listened to a telephone so attentively and with so much pleasure. It was wonderful to hear news from him that was so new to me. In my book, he was the first man to land on the moon, and I knew that I had no advice to give him and that what I had a ready given was probably not much help.

The unused checks are certainly evidence of that. Youth travels light .No suitcase, not much luggage and a slim expense account, and yet he went to the scene, and came back safely. I sit here amazed. The night when your child returns with dust on his shoes from a country you’ve never seen is a night you would gladly turn into a week.

1. During the trip, the author’s son ______.

A．ran out of money	B．had inadequate sleep
C．forgot to call his mother	D．failed to take good pictures

2. According to the passage, which of the following could best describe the author’s son?

A．Polite and careless.	B．Creative and stubborn.
C．Considerate and independent.	D．Self-centered and adventurous.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Good parents should protect their children from potential dangers.

B．The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.

C．It’s a win-win choice to give a child space to experience and explore.

D．Communication between parents and children is extremely important.

6 . Researchers believe they have found an unknown kind of whale in waters off Mexico's western coast. If others verify the finding, the new whale will be an important discovery among giant animals.

The team of researchers came upon three unusual whales while following a rare group of beaked whales(喙鲸). The whales were near Mexico's distant San Benito Islands, about 500 km south of the U. S. border. Beaked whales usually avoid meeting humans.

Jay Barlow studies sea animals. He noted that it was a very unusual meeting. "It's very rare to even see a beaked whale, and to find a group of beaked whales, it's even rarer, " he said.

Barlow said he and other researchers did not realize that they were seeing a possible new kind of whale until later. The group saw something different about the whales' teeth when they studied the photos they took of the animals. The underwater recordings of the whales' calls also suggested they were different from all others.

The researchers are now waiting for test results on water they collected near the whales. There could be skin cells in the water from the whales. If so, they will examine the DNA to make sure whether the whales are a new species.

Though up to 5 meters long, the whales can be hard for scientists to see. That is because they usually swim and eat at depths of around 914 meters. They only come up at times for air. In the deep water, the animals can stay away from their main enemy—killer whales.

Barlow said that finding a new species is a rare event. His team has evidence about the whales that look like a new species. He said the DNA testing would help determine it and he hoped the whales could be determined as a new species. That would bring the number of known beaked whale species to 24.

1. What does the underlined word “verify” in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Value.

B．Refuse.

C．Prove.

D．Research.

2. What made the researchers believe that they might find a new whale species?

A．The whales’ huge size.	B．The shape of the whales’ mouth.
C．The whales’ sounds.	D．The whales’ friendly behavior.

3. What was Barlow’s attitude towards determining the beaked whales as a new species?

A．Uncaring.

B．Doubtful.

C．Worried.

D．Supportive.

7 . “When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?”

On Wednesday, poet Amanda Gorman read her poem, “The Hill We Climb”, at the inauguration(宣誓就职) ceremony of President Joe Biden.

By Thursday, the 22-year-old was a superstar.

Gorman is the youngest poet in U.S. history to mark the change of presidential power. Past inaugural poets include famous writers like Robert Frost and Maya Angelou.

Gorman is a native of Los Angeles, California, and in 2017 was named the country’s first Youth Poet Laureate（桂冠). She recently completed her studies at Harvard University.

On Wednesday, Gorman offered a hopeful future for a deeply divided country. ‘We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be. A country that is bruised(瘀紫的)but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free.

Her reading-and the ceremony as a whole-took place exactly two weeks after a violent mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked and occupied the U.S. Capito Building.

Gorman says she had completed a little more than half of “The Hill He Climb” before the January 6 attack at the Capitol.

“That day gave me a second wave of energy to finish the poem,” said Gorman. She chose not to make direct note of the attack, but her references to the event were clear: “We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it.”

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy(民主).

And this effort very nearly succeeded.

But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.

Hours after the inauguration her two books-which are to be released later this year-became number 1 and 2 on Amazon, com’s sales list. Gorman’s poetry collection “The Hill We Climb” and her children’s book “Change Sings” are set to be published in September.

1. What message does Amanda Gorman intend to convey in her poem “The Hill We Climb”?

A．True freedom.	B．Race equality.
C．National unity.	D．Free speech.

2. What does the underlined word “shatter” mean?

A．Bear...in mind.	B．Set...on fire.
C．Put…into practice	D．Break...into pieces

3. What happened to Amanda Gorman after the inauguration ceremony?

A．She became a best-selling author.

B．She turned superstar in pop music.

C．She was attacked by a violent mob.

D．She published her book “Change Sings”.

8 . Reese Witherspoon was born on March 22, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the second child of the family. Reese spent the first four years of her life in Wiesbaden, Germany, where her father John Witherspoon served in the US Army Reserves. Shortly after, John moved the family back to the United States, settling in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reese was introduced to the entertainment industry at a very early age. At age 7, she began modeling. This led to appearances on several local television commercials. At age 11, she was placed first in a Ten-State Talent Fair.

In 1990, she landed her first major acting role in The Man in the Moon(1991). Her role as a 14-year old tomboy earned her good reviews. Roles in bigger films such as Jack the Bear (1993) and A Far Off Place (1993) followed shortly after.

Following high school graduation in 1994, Reese decided to have a pause in her acting career and attend Stanford University where she would major in English literature. However, her plans were shortly stopped when she accepted roles to star in two major motion pictures. Although neither film was a huge box-office success, they did help to make Reese a rising star in Hollywood and open the door for bigger and better film roles.

Her breakthrough role came as Elle Woods in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde In box office terms, the movie was a great success and made Reese one of the top female stars in Hollywood. In the year 2014, she produced both Gone Girl and Wild, for which she got nominated (提名) for a best actress Oscar again for her role.

Reese is actively involved in children's and women’s advocacy organizations. She is a longtime supporter of Save the Children, an organization that helps provide children around the world with education, health care and emergency aid.

1. Why did Reese stop her studies at Stanford University?

A．Because she starred in two successful films.

B．Because she was more famous in Hollywood.

C．Because she was involved in advocacy organizations.

D．Because she decided to take on roles in two important films.

2. What is the author’s attitude toward Reese?

A．Caring.	B．Defensive.
C．Confusing	D．Admiring.

3. How does the passage develop?

A．Following the order of time.	B．Using figures.
C．Giving examples.	D．Making comparison.

9 . Business meetings are a necessary part of any organization where people work collectively to accomplish a goal. But badly managed, meetings can be unproductive, boring and feel like a complete waste of time. In a recent survey conducted by governance technology firm e-Share, it was found that the average UK employee spends over 10 hours weekly preparing for and attending meetings-approximately 50% of which they consider unnecessary.     1    

It’s very likely for an AI (Artificial Intelligence) to be able to recognize when one person is hijacking a meeting, or if a discussion keeps returning to a single issue. If no new points are made after a while, the AI could suggest wrapping up. “If AI can do most of the hard routine work during meetings, that leaves more space for humans to think about strategy and vision,” believes Niki at the Big Innovation Center in AI.     2     The city of Osaka in Japan started using an AI as a minute taker to transcribe and summarize the 450 annual cabinet (内阁) meetings. It has divided the time needed to produce summaries and cut staff overtime.

    3     If a meeting with irrelevant subject matter is called, or if it's an inconvenient time, an AI could be used to decide who should attend the meeting and when it should be, says Elise Keith from a US-based meeting management platform.

One Stockholm company starts up Mentimeter (人机互动).    4     Using the software, participants can make open-ended responses, submit comments or vote in multiple-choice quizzes. “This has fundamentally changed the dynamics of a presentation,” says Austin Broad from financial services firm AFH Wealth Management.

While tools that can create agendas, send meeting invitations, distribute the minutes, and keep track of action items should improve effectiveness, they are still in development.     5    

A．This seems to be true.

B．But AI isn’t quite there yet.

C．AI can also help with the matter of attendance.

D．With AI, it will be easy for companies to be flexible.

E．It allows meeting attendees to give feedback about a discussion.

F．Let’s hope that if they do arrive, they will meet our expectations.

G．However, there are theories that technology, like AI, could improve things.