1 . This could be the perfect gift for the partner, who embarrasses you on the dance floor. Smart socks, which can teach to dance, may be the answer for anyone with two left feet.

The socks have been developed as a running tool to help runners improve their skills. Thanks to the socks, users can accurately record not only how far and fast they run but also how well. It means the user maximizes their performance, and reduces damage to body and prevents hurt. The hi-tech socks are made of special fibers that watch the movements of your feet. They look, feel and can be washed like normal clothes.

Sensors (传感器) record each movement and send it by an ankle transmitter (脚踝发射器) to a smart phone. Then a “virtual coach” application shows the information and can tell the user what they are doing wrong, and help to improve skill in any task with feet.

The socks should be useful to athletes and weekend joggers. “People think running is so easy and of course everybody can do it but not necessarily safely and well,” Dr. Davide Vigano said. A recent study showed that between 60 and 80 percent of runners got hurt per year. This is pretty much more than any other human activity. Researchers say the technology can also be developed to teach people how to dance, play sports such as golf, or even to help to teach women to walk better in high heels.

Mr. Vigano said, “People could all benefit from the idea. We have had interest from all sorts of sports, like skiing, football, cycling and golf. Anything where you have to use your feet can use it. It could even be put in high heels to help women walk in them safely.”

Socks are just the start, and the technology could be used in gloves, hats and boots. The socks, anklet and software package, are expected to be sold for around￡120, which will go on sale in March.

1. What does the underlined part “anyone with two left feet” refer to?

A．People who are disabled.

B．People who are interested in dancing.

C．People who are not good at dancing.

D．People who invented the socks.

2. What’s special about fibers that the socks are made of?

A．They feel much softer than normal clothes.

B．They can monitor the movement of feet.

C．They are expensive to produce.

D．They act as a smart phone for users.

3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the socks?

A．They can improve the skill of running.

B．They can help women walk better in high heels.

C．They can teach people to dance well.

D．They can be worn for days without washing.

4. According to Dr. Vigano, ________.

A．everyone can make good use of the smart socks

B．users can run as fast as they like with the socks

C．60 to 80 percent of runners would like to buy the smart socks

D．no runners will get hurt, thanks to the socks

2 . Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read the life story of a famous man, when short television program can tell you all that you want to know?

Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and enjoyment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are printed today as paperbooks (平装本), which are quite cheap. A paperback collection of short stories, for example, is always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or the theater, and you can keep a book forever and read it many times.

Books are a wonderful provider of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. A good encyclopedia (百科全书), though expensive, is useful, too because you can find information on any subject. Besides, you can have such books as history books, science textbook, cookbooks, and collections of stories and poems. Then from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favorite poets.

1. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．TV programs are a main provider of knowledge

B．cinemas are the best choice in getting information

C．reading is a cheap way of learning and having fun

D．newspapers are an expensive way to enjoy oneself

2. What does the sentences “Television has not killed reading, however” underlined in the second paragraph suggest?

A．People only need reading, though.	B．Reading is still necessary today.
C．Reading is more fun than television.	D．Watching television doesn’t help reading.

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Fewer and fewer people will buy books.

B．A good dictionary should be kept in every home.

C．Books with hard covers sell better than paperbooks.

D．More people like TV programs about famous men.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards books?

A．indifferent

B．objective

C．doubtful

D．supportive

3 . Most people can't wait for spring to arrive. It means flowers and warmer weather, all welcome changes from the dark winter days. Now we know that spring is arriving sooner in the Northern Hemisphere   (北半球）than it was in the past, thanks to a study published in Scientific Reports.

For example, Los Angeles may experience spring only a day earlier than it did 10 years ago, but further north, in Seattle or Chicago, spring will arrive four days earlier. If you lived in the Arctic, spring could arrive 16 days earlier than it used to.

To determine how springtime is starting earlier, researchers looked at temperature records and 743 earlier studies over 86 years. These studies were about various biological indicators of spring, including birds migrating, plants flowering and amphibians（两栖动物）sounding their mating calls. Researchers then studied these data to see if they were occurring earlier. The result showed that not only is spring making itself known sooner but it's warmer, too.

Before you go out in a happy springtime hike, spring arriving sooner isn't so good. The livelihood of migratory birds, for instance, may be concerned.

“The food that birds rely on when they move to the north might not be reliable if the beginning of spring at these higher latitudes（维度）is expanded by future warming." said Eric Post. He is a fellow of the John Muir Institute and a polar ecologist.

Animals relying on Arctic sea ice, like polar bears, probably aren't crazy about things warming up sooner, either, because it impacts on their ability to hunt. Spring's early arrival could cause disorder in the delicate balance of various ecosystems~~not to mention how soon you'll need to buy allergy medicine.

1. We learn from the study published in Scientific Reports that.

A．spring comes earliest in Los Angeles

B．Los Angeles is further north than Seattle

C．spring comes 12 days earlier in Arctic than in Chicago

D．the further north a place lies, the sooner spring comes than before

2. Researchers made the discovery mainly by.

A．comparing related data available

B．conducting research and test

C．calculating the exact length of each spring

D．observing animal's behavior all year round

3. What do the last two paragraphs focus on?

A．Concerns over spring's early arrival.

B．Springtime emergence of creatures.

C．Early springtime's impacts on humans.

D．Disorder in the balance of ecosystems.

4. In which section of a magazine can we read this text?

A．Medical Report.	B．Survival Stories.
C．Scientific Discoveries.	D．Natural environment

4 . China is determined to land its astronauts on the moon and set up a scientific station there,according to a project leader.

Zhou Yanfei,deputy chief designer of China's manned space program,said on Friday that China wishes to use the manned lunar missions to carry out scientific surveys and technology demonstrations,explore ways to develop lunar resources and strengthen the nation's space capabilities.

＂A new wave of lunar explorations has been emerging in the world,with participants aiming to make sustainable missions to deepen knowledge of the moon and exploit resources there,"he said in a report delivered at the 2020 China Space Conference in Fuzhou,Fujian province."Unlike other nations,China must depend on its own science and technology to realize our goals."

The country is independently able to land its astronauts on the moon because it has the technologies,a group of well-trained,innovative professionals and high-efficiency research and management systems,Zhou said."However,our existing carrier rockets can't perform landing missions to the moon because they are not powerful enough.The Shenzhou- series manned spaceships are not suitable for lunar expeditions.We don't have a lunar landing capsule,"he said."Our ground support system was designed for operations in low-Earth orbit rather than on the lunar surface.

To solve the problem, we set out to produce a powerful launch vehicle. Zhou said researchers thought about two approaches-making a new heavy-lift rocket,or adjusting the next-generation rocket designed to carry astronauts,which is under development.Researchers prefer the latter approach because it would be easier to design and make and would become operational earlier.

The new rocket is being designed at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.Its main body will be 87 meters tall,with a diameter of 5 meters,which would make it almost twice as tall as the Long March 5,currently the biggest of China's rockets.

1. Which is NOT the goal of the manned lunar mission?

A．To explore lunar resources.

B．To perform scientific experiments.

C．To set up a scientific station.

D．To strengthen the national space power.

2. What is the main idea of paragraph 4?

A．China is not capable of pursuing the manned lunar program.

B．There are still difficulties in pursuing the manned lunar program.

C．There are a series of steps in the Manned Lunar program.

D．It is manageable to carry out the Manned Lunar program.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Nations must depend on themselves to explore the moon.

B．The Long March 5 is the biggest of China's rocket.

C．The newly-designed rocket will not carry astronauts.

D．Producing a powerful launch vehicle is the most difficult part in the program.

4. What do the figures in the last paragraph imply?

A．The new rocket is big enough to perform landing missions.

B．The new rocket is being made to launch lunar spaceship.

C．China's scientific power has improved.

D．The new rocket will be put into use soon.

5 . Be a good tourist

Tourism can be good or bad. Yes, it brings in money for the local economy and creates lots of jobs for locals, but it may also bring some problems.

    1     Tourists have used paint, rocks or even keys to write on the Luxor Temple in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, Stonehenge in the UK, memorial stones at the bottom of Qomolangma, and many, many other places. Thousands of tourist sites are being destroyed by tourists who “love them to death”.     2     If you want to leave a mark on the world, do it by changing someone’s life with kindness and love. Pass kindness along to future generations, not destruction.

Another big problem in some places has been tourists disturbing the local people and life.       3     For example, Chang Mai University in Tailand and Yonsei University in South Korea have great numbers of tourists visiting their campuses and walking through their libraries and other public areas, taking pictures of students and disturbing their studies. I have three words for tourists like this: please be considerate.     4    

The number of problems from tourists is endless: walking in large groups without considering others who need to walk by, crossing roads without observing local traffic laws, and many more. The only way to solve the issue of the terrible tourist is to make sure that you not the one!     5    

Remember, whenever you step outside your country’s borders, you are representing your country to the rest of the world.

A．Just think from other aspects.

B．When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

C．Have fun in a way that does not disturb others.

D．Be the best, kindest, most polite tourist possible.

E．I have three words for people like this: please stop it.

F．One growing problem is tourists who want to prove that they have visited someplace.

G．Some tourists wander around and take pictures of local people without asking for their permission.

6 . The population of the capital Luxembourg City doubles every working day thanks to the flood of workers, and in the morning and evening rush hours, there often comes traffic block. It’s a familiar difficult problem but here they’ve come up with a novel solution.

From next year public transport will be free for everyone. The number of people taking the public transport is far from what is expected and so this idea has been brought up, which of course results in some argument.

This is what’s being built, a new tram system that will link trains in park-and-ride programs designed to make free public transport smooth and attractive. This is a big attempt by the Luxembourg government into whether people can be made to change the way they behave, because free public transport is great for existing commuters. But the question is whether drivers can be persuaded to change their cars and traffic jams for commuting on public transport.

The designer firmly believes the system is so good and effective. Everyone will want to use it. Everyone can use it, young or old, rich or poor, and everyone can say to themselves it’s better to leave the car at home. But others consider it questionable.

Taxi drivers don’t seem worried about trams stealing their trade. Businessmen who come here are never going to take public transport. They’ll take a taxi because they have meetings to get to.

So Luxembourg’s plan is really a test, and it’s one that plenty of bigger nations will be watching. As we know, the way we move around shapes our cities, our lives, our work and our environment. Luxembourg is a very small country but this could be a very big idea.

1. Why does Luxembourg City plan to make public transport free?

A．To reduce traffic jams.	B．To attract more businessmen.
C．To encourage people to avoid rush hours.	D．To help its citizens travel more comfortably.

2. What can we infer about the result of the plan?

A．Taxi drivers’ business will be badly affected.

B．More people will choose to drive to and from work.

C．People’s daily behavior will be completely changed.

D．Taking public transport can save money for commuters.

3. How does the designer feel about the system?

A．Hopeless.

B．Concerned.

C．Confident.

D．Regretful.

4. What’s the author’s purpose of writing the text?

A．To list the traffic problems Luxembourg faces.

B．To show how Luxembourg controls its population.

C．To give people advice on how to get around Luxembourg.

D．To introduce Luxembourg’s new public transport measure.

7 . The WHO says that 80% of the world’s teens don’t get enough exercise to live healthy lives. The report was based on research done with students aged 11 to 17 in 146 different countries.     1     It’s a pity that not much has changed since then, as the WHO reports.

Doctors say 60 minutes of exercise daily is needed for teens to build up their bone and muscle strength. It’s also hugely important for the health of the heart and lungs.     2     Besides, more and more research is showing that exercise doesn’t just help the body, but also the brain, improving thinking, test scores, and school grades.

    3     They were also very different between boys and girls. In the US, for example, 64% of boys were not active enough, compared to 80% of girls. South Korea was the country with the lowest activity levels — 91% of the boys and 97% of the girls didn’t get enough exercise.

One big reason for the lack of activity in today’s teens is technology, such as smartphones, computers and TVs. Many teens find it hard to pull themselves away from them.     4    

So the WHO warns that teens need to do less playing in the digital world, and more playing in the real world. Teens should take part in sports, whether on official teams or just playing around on the playground.     5     For many people, walking or biking to school is one way to make that happen. It’s very important for young people to build these habits now, because the positive effects of those habits can carry through into adult life.

A．Exercise benefits you academically.

B．Activity levels vary from country to country.

C．The WHO has spared no effort in the research.

D．Such inactivity can severely affect their growth.

E．Exercise can also be built into a normal day’s activities.

F．Regular activity can help them control their weight, too.

G．The WHO has been studying teen activity levels since 2001.

8 . An airline passenger ensured a 20-year-old man was reunited with his lost wallet-along with a little extra something to make up for their time apart.

Hunter Shamatt first lost his wallet while he was on a Frontier Airlines flight from Omaha to attend his sister's wedding in Las Vegas earlier this month. On realizing his wallet was lost, he contacted the airline to see if anyone had turned it in—but to no avail. Since the wallet contained his ID, a signed paycheck, his debit card and $60 in cash, he “feared the worst”.

Shortly after the flight, however, Hunter was shocked to receive a package in the mail from an unknown sender. Inside was his wallet-along with an additional $40 in cash.

“Found this on a Frontier flight from Omaha to Denver-row 12, seat F stuck between the seat and wall,” read a letter in the package. “Thought you might want it hack. All the best. PS: I rounded your cash up to an even $100 so you could celebrate getting your wallet hack. Have fun!”

Hunter's mother, Jeannie, posted a photo of the letter to social media in hopes that they would be able to track down the sender and thank them for their kindness. All they had to go on was that the letter was sent from Applied Underwriters in Omaha and the sender's initials were signed: "T.B".

The Good Man was later identified as Todd Brown, a father-of-five who was delighted at the chance to "have a little fun" with helping out a hard-working stranger. Brown says that he often tries to do good deeds without any recognition, thus why he didn't sign his full name on the letter, but Jeannie later insisted on praising the Nebraska native on social media.

“I try to teach my children to do the right things in life, help people when you can despite the outcome,” she wrote on Facebook. “This story is more about restoring faith in people than anything”.

1. What does the underlined word "to no avail" in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Under discussion.

B．In vain.

C．Beyond belief.

D．At a loss.

2. Why did Jeannie upload a picture of the letter to social media?

A．To throw light on the truth.

B．To draw attention to Hunter's lost wallet.

C．To find out the sender to express gratefulness.

D．To sing high praise for the sender's generosity.

3. Which of the following best describes Brown?

A．Innocent.

B．Warm-hearted.

C．Romantic.

D．Easy-going.

4. What's the best title for the text?

A．Hunter Shamatt-a Lucky Man	B．Young Passenger Reunites with Sister
C．Helping Needy People Is a Great Virtue	D．Stranger Returns Lost Wallet with More Cash Inside

9 . For those who can stomach it, working out before breakfast may be more beneficial for health than eating first, according to a study of meal timing and physical activity.

Athletes and scientists have long known that meal timing affects performance. However, far less has been known about how meal timing and exercise might affect general health.

To find out, British scientists conducted a study. They first found 10 overweight and inactive but otherwise healthy young men, whose lifestyles are, for better and worse, representative of those of most of us. They tested the men’s fitness and resting metabolic (新陈代谢的) rates and took samples (样品) of their blood and fat tissue.

Then, on two separate morning visits to the scientists’ lab, each man walked for an hour at an average speed that, in theory, should allow his body to rely mainly on fat for fuel. Before one of these workouts, the men skipped breakfast, meaning that they exercised on a completely empty stomach after a long overnight fast (禁食). On the other occasion, they ate a rich morning meal about two hours before they started walking.

Just before and an hour after each workout, the scientists took additional samples of the men’s blood and fat tissue.

Then they compared the samples. There were considerable differences. Most obviously, the men displayed lower blood sugar levels at the start of their workouts when they had skipped breakfast than when they had eaten. As a result, they burned more fat during walks on an empty stomach than when they had eaten first. On the other hand, they burned slightly more calories (卡路里), on average, during the workout after breakfast than after fasting.

But it was the effects deep within the fat cells that may have been the most significant, the researchers found. Multiple genes behaved differently, depending on whether someone had eaten or not before walking. Many of these genes produce proteins (蛋白质) that can improve blood sugar regulation and insulin (胰岛素) levels throughout the body and so are associated with improved metabolic health. These genes were much more active when the men had fasted before exercise than when they had breakfasted.

The implication of these results is that to gain the greatest health benefits from exercise, it may be wise to skip eating first.

1. The underlined expression “stomach it” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “______”.

A．digest the meal easily	B．manage without breakfast
C．decide wisely what to eat	D．eat whatever is offered

2. Why were the 10 people chosen for the experiment?

A．Their lifestyles were typical of ordinary people.

B．Their lack of exercise led to overweight.

C．They could walk at an average speed.

D．They had slow metabolic rates.

3. What happened to those who ate breakfast before exercise?

A．They successfully lost weight.	B．They consumed a bit more calories.
C．They burned more fat on average.	D．They displayed higher insulin levels.

4. What could be learned from the research?

A．A workout after breakfast improves gene performances.

B．Too much workout often slows metabolic rates.

C．Lifestyle is not as important as morning exercise.

D．Physical exercise before breakfast is better for health.

10 . According to a recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research, both the size and consumption habits of our eating companions can influence our food intake. And contrary to existing research that says you should avoid eating with heavier people who order large portions(份), it's the beanpoles with big appetites you really need to avoid.

To test the effect of social influence on eating habits, the researchers conducted two experiments. In the first, 95 undergraduate women were individually invited into a lab to ostensibly(表面上)participate in a study about movie viewership. Before the film began, each woman was asked to help herself to a snack. An actor hired by the researchers grabbed her food first. In her natural state, the actor weighed 105 pounds. But in half the cases she wore a specially designed fat suit which increased her weight to 180 pounds.

Both the fat and thin versions of the actor took a large amount of food. The participants followed suit, taking more food than they normally would have. However, they took significantly more when the actor was thin.

For the second test, in one case the thin actor took two pieces of candy from the snack bowls. In the other case, she took 30 pieces. The results were similar to the first test: the participants followed suit but took significantly more candy when the thin actor took 30 pieces.

The tests show that the social environment is extremely influential when we're making decisions. If this fellow participant is going to eat more, so will I. Call it the “I’ll have what she's having” effect. However, we'll adjust the influence. If an overweight person is having a large portion, I'll hold back a bit because I see the results of his eating habits. But if a thin person eats a lot, I'll follow suit. If he can eat much and keep slim, why can't I?

1. What is the recent study mainly about?

A．Food safety.	B．Movie viewership.
C．Consumer demand.	D．Eating behavior.

2. What does the underlined word “beanpoles” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A．Big eaters.	B．Overweight persons.
C．Picky eaters.	D．Tall thin persons.

3. Why did the researchers hire the actor?

A．To see how she would affect the participants.

B．To test if the participants could recognize her.

C．To find out what she would do in the two tests.

D．To study why she could keep her weight down.

4. On what basis do we “adjust the influence” according to the last paragraph?

A．How hungry we are.	B．How slim we want to be.
C．How we perceive others.	D．How we feel about the food.