1 . A recent study showed that the experiences children have in their first few years are important. These experiences affect the development of the brain. When children receive more attention, they often have higher IQs. Babies receive information when they see, hear and feel things, which makes connections between different parts of the brain. There are a hundred trillion connections in the brain o£ a three-year-old child.
Researcher Judit Gervain tested how good newborns are at telling different sound patterns. The researchers produced images o£ the brains of babies as they heard different sound patterns. For example5one order was mu—ba—ba. This is the pattern "A -B— B”. Another order was mu—ba—ge. This is the pattern "A-B—C”. The images showed that the part of the brain responsible for speech was more active during the "A—B-B” pattern. This shows that babies can tell the difference between different patterns. They also were sensitive（敏感）to where it occurred in the order.
Gervain is excited by these findings because the order of sounds is the base of words and grammar, "Position is key to language," she says. "If something is at the beginning or at the end, it makes a big difference： 'John caught the bear' is very different from 'The bear caught John.
Researchers led by scientist Patricia Kuhl have found that language delivered by televisions, audio books, the Internet, or smartphones——no matter how educational—— doesn't appear to be enough for children's brain development. They carried out a study of nine-month-old American babies. They expected the first group who'd watched videos in Chinese to show the same kind of learning as the second group who were brought face-to- face with the same sounds. Instead they found a huge difference. The babies in the second group were able to distinguish （辨别）between similar Chinese sounds as well as native listeners. But the other babies-regardless of whether they had watched the video or listened to the audio-learned nothing.
1. Why are early experiences so important to children according to the study?| A．They can show connections in their brains. |
| B．They can increase new information of IQs. |
| C．They can offer children more attention, |
| D．They can help to develop their brains. |
| A．By recognizing babies5 different appearances. |
| B．By producing images of new words for babies, |
| C．By testing how babies' brains learn to speak language. |
| D．By checking babies' brains to identify different sound patterns. |
| A．Grammar is important in learning languages, |
| B．Different orders of sounds have different meanings. |
| C．The order of words comes from its grammar meaning. |
| D．Different languages have different grammar rules. |
| A．Learning Chinese is of great benefit to babies' brains. |
| B．Babies are better than adults in learning a foreign language. |
| C．Face-to-face communication can improve babies' brains. |
| D．Babies learn a lot from television, audio books or the Internet. |
2 . Slowly but surely, we’re moving closer and closer to 5G world. From smart-home security to self-driving cars, all the internet-connected devices in our life will be able to talk to each other at lightning-fast speeds with reduced delay. Objectively speaking, the fastest 4G download speeds in the US top out at an average of 19.42Mbps. But by comparison 5G promises gigabit (千兆) speeds.
“5G is one of those heralds (使者),along with artificial intelligence, of this coming data age.” said Steve Koenig, senior director of market research for the Consumer Technology Association. The self-driving vehicle is a great emblem of this data age, and that is to say, it is a sign of time, because with one single task, driving, you have massive amounts of data coming from the vehicle itself, and a variety of sensors are collecting a lot of information to model its environment as it moves. It’s pulling in data from other vehicles about road conditions down the lane. It could be weather information, and also connected infrastructure (基础设施) construction. There’s lots of data behind that task, which is why we need the high speed.
And virtual reality glasses and headsets haven’t yet broken the mainstream, but tech companies are joyfully betting that these devices will eventually replace our smartphones. With 5G, that could actually happen. This is notable because companies such as Apple are reportedly developing AR glasses to assist — or even replace — smartphones.
Ericsson stated at February's Mobile World Congress how smart glasses could become faster and lighter with a 5G connection, because instead of being weighed down with components, the glasses could rely on hardware for processing power.
But don’t get too excited. There’s still a lot of work to be done in the meantime, including various trials to make sure the radios play nicely with hardware and infrastructure construction so 5G isn’t concentrated only in big cities.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The security of 5G. | B．The present world of 5G. |
| C．The future of 5G. | D．The super speed of 5G. |
| A．exhibition | B．symbol | C．sponsor | D．explanation |
| A．They will be heavier than present ones. | B．They will process power on their own. |
| C．They will bring a big fortune to tech companies. | D．They will take the place of smartphones. |
| A．How to fully expand 5G coverage. | B．How to effectively reduce 5G trials. |
| C．How to nicely operate 5G hardware. | D．How to widely construct 5G big cities. |
3 . High school often serves to prepare students for a college education, or it might be the last stop on the educational journey for some people. No matter which path one may select, high school life offers students the opportunities to achieve a great deal of learning, get to know themselves, or simply have fun.
In America, high school is a special experience with a culture of its own. Public high schools exist in all communities. Every community in the United States has a public school system, teaching children at primary and secondary levels. These schools are free and supported mainly by taxes, with additional aid from states and governments. Private high schools are a choice for parents who want to give their child a better education. They are often very expensive. Private schools are usually famous for their academic reputation (学术声望). This academic reputation is related to college preparation.
In high school, students study various academic subjects such as English, literature, foreign languages, maths, science, history, geography and so on. Some large high schools have classes that teach job-related subjects like auto mechanics, cooking and others, in order to provide students with skills needed for certain jobs. High school might also offer “honours classes” for particularly smart and sharp students.
Some states give basic skills exams during the last year of the high school process to make sure that certain academic standards are met, but, again, high school curricula (课程) vary greatly among communities.
High school sports, particularly basketball and football, are often organised. Inter-city and cross-town competitions are often held. These competitions are popular, especially in communities that do not have their own professional sports teams. Nearly all high school teams have nicknames: the Knights and the Tigers being some famous examples.
1. Which of the following is not the supporting source of public school?| A．Taxes. | B．States. |
| C．Community. | D．Governments. |
| A．Private schools are a better choice for parents than public schools. |
| B．All private high schools in the United States are very expensive. |
| C．Private schools can usually provide better college preparation. |
| D．There is a private school system in every community. |
| A．Some schools have special classes for smart students. |
| B．Some states set academic standards in the first year. |
| C．Sports competitions are only in the city or town. |
| D．All communities have their own professional sports teams. |
| A．Life in the USA |
| B．Education in the USA |
| C．Public Schools and Private Schools in the USA |
| D．High Schools in the USA |
This program is planned for teenagers who have special needs with the goal of meeting within a community with other peers (同龄人). The purpose of the program is that it will lead to a better understanding of friendships. Gym, Swim, Surprise Guest, and Pizza are included. Ages 12-18, numbers of members are limited. Contact: Gloria Bass. This program is held 2 Fridays per month.
Fees: $65/$85
Club Saturday Swim
This program is available to anyone aged 5-14 who is challenged by mental, physical or emotional trouble. The program will be held each Saturday afternoon, 12:00-12:30 pm or 12: 30-1:00 pm.
Fees: $136/$260
Sibshops (Ages 10-13)
Sibshops is a program for siblings (兄弟姊妹) of children with challenges. It includes group activities and talk treatment ways with the focus on improving sibling relationships and whole family happiness. Location: Hope Church, Wilton CT. Wednesday: 4:00-5:00 pm.
Fees: $50/$65
Banana Splits
Banana Splits is an educational support group for children in family trouble. Children aged 9-13 will have the opportunity to meet other children whose parents have separated or divorced, learn to recognize feelings, think of healthy coping skills and have a place to share their struggles through verbal (语言的), physical, and artistic experiences. Location: Hope Church, Wilton CT. Tuesday: 4:30-5:30 pm.
Fees: $50/$65
1. If you have free time only on Saturday, you can go to ______.
| A．Friends and Buddies | B．Club Saturday Swim |
| C．Sibshops (Ages 10-13) | D．Banana Splits |
| A．2 Fridays per month |
| B．12:00-12:30 or 12:30-1:00, Saturday afternoon |
| C．4:00-5:00 pm, Wednesday |
| D．4:30-5:30 pm, Tuesday |
| A．meet with other peers | B．solve your mental problem |
| C．improve sibling relationships | D．think of healthy coping skills |
5 . Anyone who commutes(通勤)by car knows that traffic jams are an unavoidable part of life. But humans are not alone in facing potential backups.
Ants also commute—between their nest and sources of food. The survival of their habitats depends on doing this efficiently.
When humans commute, there’s a point at which cars become dense(稠密) enough to slow down the flow of traffic, causing jam. Researchers wanted to know if ants on the move could also get stuck. So they regulated traffic density by constructing bridges of various widths between a colony of Argentine ants and a source of food. Then they waited and watched, trying to find out at what point they are going to have a traffic jam.
But it appears that that never happened. They always managed to avoid traffic jam. The flow of ants did increase at the beginning as ants started to fill the bridge and then levelled off at high densities. But it never slowed down or stopped, even when the bridge was nearly filled with ants.
The researchers then took a closer look at how the behaviour of individual ants impacted traffic as a whole. And they found that when ants sense overcrowding, they adjust their speeds and avoid entering high-density areas, which prevents jams. These behaviors may be promoted by pheromones, chemicals that tell other ants where a trail is. The ants also manage to avoid colliding(碰撞) with each other at high densities, which could really slow them down.
Can ants help us solve our own traffic problems? Not likely. That’s because when it comes to getting from point A to point B as fast as possible, human drivers put their own goals first. Individual ants have to be more cooperative in order to feed the colony. But the research could be useful in improving traffic flow for self-driving cars, which can be designed to be less like selfish humans—and more like ants.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Surviving. | B．Commuting. | C．Finding food. | D．Avoiding jams. |
| A．Through closer observation. | B．By regulating their numbers. |
| C．By finding out the dense points. | D．By controlling the widths of their path. |
| A．They follow a special route. |
| B．They level off at high densities. |
| C．They never stop or slow down on the way. |
| D．They depend on their natural chemicals to adjust their speeds. |
| A．Traffic jams | B．Survival of an ant colony |
| C．Unavoidable? Not for ants! | D．Differences between human and ants |
6 . Only a few people in Toronto have the luck to live within walking distance from their workplace.For the rest of us， commuting (乘车上下班) is a rather unpleasant daily necessity.
So how do you avoid a traffic jam in Toronto？ You can do it in the old way and listen to one of the radio stations that give regular updates about the traffic situation in Toronto’s streets.Seeing the big picture of Toronto’s traffic and knowing when and where heavy traffic occurs is a must.From my own experience， there are situations where a quick decision can help you make it in time for an event or a meeting.That’s why we prepared three short videos showing the overall traffic situation in Toronto from dawn to night.You can click them and watch.
With the help of “Google Maps”， where you can watch the live traffic density all over the world and average traffic data based on past conditions， we were able to provide you with traffic maps for a typical (平常的) Friday.
Friday traffic in Toronto is quite fast in the early morning，with only a few hot spots showing up at the major junctions (交叉点) at 7：00 am.The morning traffic jam starts light at 7：30 and the traffic gradually slows down to reach a breaking point at 8：30.The roads are quite free afterwards， only Allen Road is likely to be jammed around lunchtime from 11 ： 30 am to 12：00 noon.It comes as no surprise that Friday afternoon brings heavy traffic as early as 1：00 pm， mainly on the Don Valley Parkway.You won’t have a good time getting away from the city from 4：00 pm to 6：30 pm， as there is a good chance to get caught in a traffic jam.The traffic in Toronto is quite heavy on a Friday night.I hope you will have a nice Friday night in the city and a safe journey home this Friday！
1. By saying “commuting is a rather unpleasant daily necessity”，the writer refers to the fact that ________.| A．buses are usually very crowded |
| B．they are often stuck in traffic jams |
| C．they have to travel a long way to work |
| D．they usually cannot do anything on the way to work |
| A．What the traffic in Toronto is like for a typical Friday. |
| B．How to avoid heavy traffic on Fridays. |
| C．Why the traffic is terrible on Fridays. |
| D．What “Google Maps” can do for us. |
| A．from 6：30 am to 7：00 am |
| B．from 8：30 am to 9：30 am |
| C．from 10：30 am to 11：00 am |
| D．from 4：00 pm to 6：30 pm |
| A．A TV program. | B．A radio program. |
| C．A website. | D．A travel booklet. |
7 . One theory is that kissing all began when cavemen began licking (舔) their neighbours’ faces for the salt on them. But whatever it might have been for, the fact remains that, in one form or another, kissing has been widespread, though it developed mostly in the West.
Ancient Greek and Roman parents kissed their children, and lovers or married people kissed each other, as did friends. In the Middle Ages (the period in European history between about 1100 and 1500 AD) knights kissed before doing battle. Early Christians were often kissed to express respect.
Kissing is very much a cultural practice, and rules and attitudes vary across the globe. The French, who have had quite a lot of kissing practice, have turned kissing into a fine social art, although these days, even they are not sure when or how to do it. Many French kiss one another three, or even more, times. It can sometimes go on for a long time. Italians are enthusiastic kissers at all times, and they have been for centuries. Arabic men greet one another with kisses, as do Arabic women. Russian men too are often seen greeting one another with kisses, and it is especially noticeable in the world of Russia, where the three-kiss greeting has become a social behavior. The British, though, remain shy about social kissing. The Japanese, along with many Asian peoples, consider kissing, at least in public, as a Western custom and sometimes even offensive (冒犯的). Kissing has, however, become more commonplace in some Asian countries in the past few years.
But kissing does seem to be on the increase. We kiss people we used to hug, we hug people we used to shake hands with, and we shake hands with those we used to nod to.
1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The importance of kissing. | B．Kissing in the Middle Ages. |
| C．Different reasons for kissing. | D．The early development of kissing. |
| A．It influences other countries. | B．It seems a bit confusing. |
| C．It always changes. | D．It takes less time. |
| A．In Britain. | B．In Russia. | C．In France. | D．In Italy. |
| A．Kisses are more welcome than hugs. | B．People’s manners are getting friendlier. |
| C．Kissing is a better way to show respect. | D．There are many different forms of greeting. |
8 . Hanukkah (光明节) is a Jewish festival. It is celebrated on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (犹太教历), which is usually sometime in December. It is often called the festival of lights. The festival celebrates the time, over 2，000 years ago, when the Jewish people fought against an emperor who would not let them follow their own traditions and religion. When the Jewish people won back their temple in Jerusalem, they found there was only little holy oil to keep the sacred light burning for one day. However, to their surprise, this small amount of oil kept the light burning for eight days and nights until the people had time to make more oil.
At the center of the Hanukkah celebrations is a candlestick (called a Menorah) that holds nine candles. On the first night of Hanukkah the first candle is lit, and each day this candle is used to light another candle, until on the eighth day, the last day, all the candles are lit. During Hanukkah, people go to the synagogue (犹太教堂) to pray and to remember the miracle (奇迹) of the holy oil. Hanukkah is a time for family and friends to come together. People exchange gifts and greeting cards, and children go to parties. Parents often give their children money at Hanukkah. Potato cakes, called latkes, are a traditional Hanukkah food.
1. From the first paragraph we know that Hanukkah is a festival about ________.| A．Jewish month of Kislev | B．Jewish traditions and religion |
| C．how to make more holy oil | D．traditional Hanukkah food |
| A．Oil. | B．Money. | C．Cards. | D．Candles. |
| A．The war that they fought 2，000 years ago. |
| B．The God that they honored best. |
| C．The miracle of the holy oil that happened 2，000 years ago. |
| D．The church they built 2，000 years ago. |
| A．the history of Hanukkah and how it is celebrated |
| B．why Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah |
| C．why Jewish people protect their traditions |
| D．the miracle of the holy oil in the Jewish temple |
9 . 3rd Walk the Talk: The Health for All Challenge 2020
JOIN US VIRTUALLY
World Health Organization(WHO)is taking the 3rd Walk the Talk: The Health for All Challenge virtually this year. In the context of COVID-19, WHO, through several online platforms, will host exercise moments, information sessions, and live chats with experts on topics from physical and mental health to nutrition and healthy ageing.
While the first two editions attracted thousands of participants in Geneva, we hope to reach more people during the virtual edition. We look forward to working with the many partners who have supported the first two editions, including governments, civil society organizations, and scientific and academic bodies.
The event will also celebrate health and be a platform to promote the need for all people to have access to health services and for health champions to demonstrate how they are striving to promote and protect the health of people in their own way.
What is on offer?
The Virtual Walk the Talk will be held over 16-17 May 2020, people invited to join in from their homes wherever they are globally.
It will offer opportunities for people to participate in a variety of virtual, timed events yoga, exercise classes for all ages and abilities, meditation, walking in place(or in locations within the guidelines of your national authorities). The aim is to get people moving for their own health and that of others.
Purposes of the event
●To encourage healthy lifestyles, not only in the context of COVID-19, but as a long-term strategy for good health.
●To recognize the sacrifice of health workers caring for us in our whole life. 2020 has been designated as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, and we are seeing the global importance of health workers in the current response to COVID-19.
1. What is special about the 3rd Walk the Talk compared to the first two editions?| A．It appeals to many participants. | B．It offers various events. |
| C．It is an online virtual event. | D．It promotes health services. |
| A．Health experts from WHO. | B．Governments fighting COVID-19. |
| C．Scientific medical organizations. | D．Ordinary people around the world. |
| A．To collect more financial supports. |
| B．To give special recognition to health workers. |
| C．To set up an organization for the COVID-19 issue. |
| D．To encourage the sacrifice of health workers. |
10 . As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes（笔画）of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.
Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school(小学). And computer dependence is more wide-spread among university students. Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer.
All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.
It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that's why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.
"When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it."
"I'm not in the mood(状态) to write when faced with a pen and paper."
Many students don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?
Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei , the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said "Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic(审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer's emotion. Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them"
To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的)and in universities, some professors are asking students to hand in their homework and essays written by hand.
1. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?| A．The Importance of Handwriting and Typing. |
| B．To Type or To Hand Write |
| C．Writing By Computer Will Replace Writing By Hand |
| D．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters. |
| A．they are usually asked to e-mail their Homework and Essays |
| B．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently |
| C．they find it not easy to remember how to write a character |
| D．computers have become a trend and fashion in China. |
| A．Handwriting contains the writer's emotion. |
| B．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting, |
| C．Handwriting can impress people well and build one’s self-confidence |
| D．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value. |
| A．getting bored with | B．getting dependent on |
| C．becoming crazy about | D．getting curious about |
