1 . In the past decade, the use of social media has grown in a way that no one could have guessed. It has turned some teenagers into celebrities and turned the famous into the infamous, overnight.
A key feature of social media, however, is its volatility. Trends come and go, disappearing almost as quickly as they appeared.
Short video apps such as TikTok and its Chinese equivalent (等同物) Douyin, took the world by storm. The Telegraph reported that TikTok was ranked 8th on Apple’s App Store in April. And Douyin had more than 300 million domestic monthly active users in June, CNBC said.
Why are these short videos — which are rarely longer than a few minutes — so popular? Jiang Yige, Singapore-based analyst at FengHe Fund Management, has a theory. “Short videos are just right to fill in the little gaps in our busy schedules,” he told CNBC.
These videos — apart from being very convenient — are important to teenagers because they allow them to express themselves, according to Teen Vogue.
Liza Koshy, a user of the US app Musical, who has over 2 million followers, said, “The sense of community that users of short video apps get is another appealing feature.”
Live streaming (直播) is a feature of our social media life that now seems as natural as sunrise. It’s a pretty neat idea: You can watch anyone, anywhere, live. However, China has taken live streaming to a whole new level. In China, more than 100 million viewers monthly watch a live streaming video. Forbes thought that a number of factors had led to the popularity of the live streaming. Among them is viewers’ ability to interact with unknown names.
However, the quick development of social media may be having side effects too. Fake news is one serious problem it causes. Materials shared on these platforms are often not checked for accuracy. The most basic content can be false and can mislead users one way or another. We use social media all the time, which doesn’t mean that we understand the influence it is having on us. We should be mindful of both the time we spend on it and its impact on our minds.
1. What does the underlined word “volatility” in Paragraph 2 possibly mean?| A．Being changeable. | B．Being steady. |
| C．Being promising. | D．Being violent. |
| A．They are very convenient. | B．They help people kill time. |
| C．They provide a sense of community. | D．They allow people to express themselves. |
| A．The information from social media is totally reliable. |
| B．When it comes to social media, people only know short videos. |
| C．People can’t communicate with each other without social media. |
| D．There is still much room for social media to make improvement. |
| A．Objective. | B．Subjective. |
| C．Favourable. | D．Disapproving. |
2 . If it had not been for Fan Jinshi and her team, the world cultural heritage of Dunhuang Mogao Caves in a remote Chinese desert might have long been destroyed by sand, weather or humans.
Born in Beijing and raised in Shanghai, Fan has spent half a century fighting an uphill battle to preserve the ancient Buddhist wall paintings at Dunhuang, in Northwest China’s Gansu Province. The 1,653-year-old Dunhuang Mogao Caves are a huge collection of Buddhist art—more than 2,000 buddha figures and 45,000 square metres of paintings spread among 735 caves. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Archaeologist Fan was sent to Dunhuang after graduating from Peking University in 1963. While in Dunhuang, a remote village in the desert then, Fan lived in an abandoned temple. At first, she did not even dare to go out to the toilet at night. To protect the treasures from sand and dampness, Fan and other workers put doors on the caves, planted trees and started monitoring temperature and humidity in the caves. They also controlled the number of visitors.
In the late 1990s, with tourism booming nationwide since national holidays were extended, the local government planned to go public with Dunhuang Mogao Caves, but found Fan firmly in_their_way. “The heritage would have been destroyed if it had been listed，” she said.
Dunhuang Academy has now photographed and cataloged online all the sculptures and paintings. “Despite our efforts to minimise damage, we can’t completely stop them from being eroded. But the digital database will last.”
Fan was grateful when her husband joined her in Dunhuang in 1986 after 19 years of separation. Her two sons grew up seldom with her accompany. “I have not been a good mother or wife. With regard to my family, I’m full of guilt，” she said. Fan, 81, retired four years ago as the director of Dunhuang Academy but continues her efforts as a national political adviser.
1. When was Fan separated from her husband?| A．In 1963. | B．In 1967. |
| C．In 1986. | D．In the late 1990s. |
| A．Go to a place. |
| B．Be in favour of something. |
| C．Reject something. |
| D．Give in to something. |
| A．The history of Dunhuang Mogao Caves. |
| B．The attractions of Dunhuang Mogao Caves. |
| C．Fan’s devotion to preserving Dunhuang Mogao Caves. |
| D．The appeal for the protection of Dunhuang Mogao Caves. |
| A．Considerate. | B．Kind. |
| C．Humorous. | D．Devoted. |
3 . Ants know when an earthquake is about to strike, researchers have discovered. Their behavior changes greatly before the quake and they resume normal functioning only a day after it. Gabriele Berberich of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany presented these findings according to Live Science.
Berberich and her team discovered that red wood ants preferred to build their homes right along active faults (断层)in Germany. They counted 15,000 mounds (土堆)lining the faults. These faults are the places where the earth breaks in earthquakes.
Using a special camera that tracked changes in activity, Berberich and her team tracked the ants round the clock for three years. They found that the ants’ behavior changed only when the quake was over magnitude 2.0. There were 10 earthquakes between magnitude 2.0 and 3.2 during this period, and many smaller ones. Humans can also sense quakes over magnitude 2.0 only.
According to Berberich, normal ant activity is made up of going about collecting food during the day and resting in the night. But before an earthquake, the ants didn’t go back to their mound in the night and moved around outside it. This strange behavior continued till a day after the earthquake, Berberich told a news conference, according to Live Science.
How do ants know an earthquake is coming? Berberich suggested that they could either be picking up changing gas or noting small changes in the earth’s magnetic fields (磁场). “ Red wood ants have special cells which can sense changes in carbon dioxide levels. They also have special cells for discovering electromagnetic fields,” she said. Berberich and her team are planning to continue the research in areas where there are more and bigger earthquakes.
1. The underlined word “resume” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”| A．present | B．recover | C．quit | D．improve |
| A．To bring in the main topic. |
| B．To make the text interesting. |
| C．To introduce a famous researcher. |
| D．To tell how to predict an earthquake. |
| A．They are too excited to rest. |
| B．They don’t collect their food. |
| C．They get lost on their way home. |
| D．They refuse to go inside their mound. |
| A．They can only sense smaller earthquakes. |
| B．They have two ways to predict earthquakes. |
| C．They can be depended on to warn people of earthquakes. |
| D．They like to build their homes where earthquakes happen. |
4 . Most teens are trying to find their purposes in life. However, Gitanjali Rao, a 15-year-old girl has been coming up with creative solutions to worldwide problems since she was 10. It is, therefore, not surprising that the teen has won the honor of “America’s Top Young Scientist”.
In the 3rd grade, Rao was inspired to do something after seeing the city’s primary water supply in her hometown was polluted by a factory nearby and that high levels of lead (铅)made its way into people’s drinking water.
After 2 months’ research, Rao designed a tool that used sensors to instantly discover lead in water. Called Tethys, after the Greek Goddess (女神)of freshwater, it informs the residents via an app if their drinking water contains lead. The design earned her the 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2017. She is now working with scientists and medical professionals to test Tethys’ potential and hopes the device will be ready for market in the near future.
Later, Rao took on another social issue — drug (毒品)addiction. Her app, called Epione, which won the Health Pillar Prize in May 2019, is designed to catch drug addiction in young adults before it’s too late.
More recently, the teen has developed an app named Kindly, which uses AI technology to find possible signs of cyberbullying (网络欺凌). When users type in a word or phrase, Kindly is able to pick it up if it’s bullying, and then it gives the choice to edit it or send it the way it is. It gives them the chance to rethink what they are saying so that they know what to do next time.
Gitanjali Rao has been selected from 5, 000 equally impressive nominees (被提名人)for TIME’s first-ever “Kid of the Year”.
1. What led to Rao’s inventing Tethys?| A．The accident of lead pollution. |
| B．The issue with drug addiction. |
| C．The shortage of water supplies. |
| D．The high cost of making water clean. |
| A．It’ll be fitted to cellphones. |
| B．It’ll win her a higher prize. |
| C．It’ll be put on the market soon. |
| D．It’ll remove lead from water. |
| A．Receive warning signals of threat. |
| B．Input words into a computer directly. |
| C．Choose from safe social networking sites. |
| D．Consider their words before posting online. |
| A．Professional and positive. | B．Creative and productive. |
| C．Inspiring and adventurous | D．Determined and amazing |
5 . Take time to walk in Shakespeare’s footsteps, without the usual crowds. Your visit to Shakespeare’s Birthplace will help us to make sure that Shakespeare’s heritage survives this difficult period for future visitors to enjoy.
To keep our visitors and staff safe, we have introduced a timed ticket system. All tickets must be booked in advance. Groups larger than 6 are not allowed to book unless they are part of the same household. See below for more details and read about the extra safety measures we’ve put in place.
Please note that Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Shakespeare’s New Place, Mary Arden’s Farm and Hall’s Croft are closed.
Pre-booking
We’ll be unable to allow you entry without a pre-booked timed entry ticket. Tickets will be sold every Friday, up to 2 weeks in advance.
Before your visit
Please remember the following things, and check our website and social media for updates before travelling.
●If showing COVID-19 symptoms (症状), please stay at home.
●Wear a mask in indoor spaces (unless noted).
●We conduct temperature checks.
●Bag checks are in operation.
●We do not offer baggage store facilities.
●Be ready for cashless payment.
NHS COVID-19 Test and Trace app
Visitors are encouraged to download the NHS COVID-19 Test and Trace app before arrival at Shakespeare’s Birthplace and “check-in” by scanning the QR code available at the ticket desk and entrance to the shop.
1. Which of the following places can you visit now?| A．Mary Arden’s Farm. | B．Shakespeare’s Birthplace. |
| C．Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. | D．Shakespeare’s New Place. |
| A．A ticket released on Friday. | B．A pre-bought season ticket. |
| C．A pre-booked timed entry ticket. | D．An online booked yearly ticket. |
| A．Get your bag checked. | B．Take cash with you. |
| C．Have your face covered. | D．Stay at home for two weeks. |
6 . The Intelligent Transport team at Newcastle University have turned an electric car into a mobile laboratory named “Drive LAB” in order to understand the challenges faced by older drivers and to discover where the key stress points are.
Research shows that giving up driving is one of the key reasons for a fall in health and well-being among older people, leading to them becoming more isolated and inactive.
Led by Professor Phil Blythe, the Newcastle team are developing in-vehicle technologies for older drivers which they hope could help them to continue driving into later life.
These include custom-made navigation (导航) tools, night vision systems and intelligent speed adaptations. Phil Blythe explains: “For many older people, particularly those living alone or in the country driving is important for keeping their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others.”
“But we all have to accept that as we get older our reactions slow down and this often results in people avoiding any potentially challenging driving conditions and losing confidence in their driving skills. The result is that people stop driving before they really need to.”
Dr Amy Guo, the leading researcher on the older driver study, explains, “The Drive LAB is helping us to understand what the key stress points and difficulties are for older drivers and how we might use technology to solve these problems.”
“For example, most of us would expect older drivers always go slower than everyone else but surprisingly, we found that in 30mph zones they struggled to keep at a constant speed and so were more likely to break the speed limit and be at risk of getting fined. We’re looking at the benefits of systems which control their speed as a way of preventing that.”
“We hope that our work will help with technological solutions to ensure that older drivers stay safer behind the wheel.”
1. What is the purpose of the Drive LAB?| A．To explore new means of transport. | B．To design new types of cars. |
| C．To teach people traffic rules. | D．To find out older driver’s problems. |
| A．It keeps them independent. | B．It helps them save time. |
| C．It builds up their strength. | D．It cures their mental illnesses. |
| A．Ensure their safety with the help of technology. |
| B．Improve their diving skills. |
| C．Provide advice on repairing their cars. |
| D．Organize regular physical checkups. |
| A．A New Model Electric Car | B．Keeping Older Drivers on the Road |
| C．A Solution to Traffic Problems | D．Driving Services for Elders |
7 . When making choices, people assume that they pick what they like. However, research suggests that we like something strictly because we have chosen it. In other words, we dislike things we don’t choose. And this phenomenon has existed since we were babies.
In an experiment, US researchers brought several 10 to 20-month-old babies into a lab and gave them two same bright and colorful soft blocks to play with. They set each block far apart, so the babies had to crawl to one or the other—a random choice. After the baby chose one of the toys, the researchers took it away and came back with a new option. The babies could then pick either the toy they didn’t play with before, or a brand-new toy.
It turned out that the babies reliably chose to play with the new toy rather than the one they had not chosen.
In follow-up experiments, when researchers instead helped choose which toy the baby would play with, the phenomenon disappeared. “As if they were saying, ‘Hmm, I didn’t choose that object last time, because I guess I didn’t like it very much” said Lisa Feigenson, co-author of the study.
This is a very important phenomenon in life, Feigenson noted. Adults will less like the thing they didn’t choose, even if they had no real preference in the first place. It looks like babies do just the same.
It shows that the act of making choices changes how we feel about our options. The random choices might become our preferences. “They are really not choosing based on whether they are novel or what they prefer,” said Alex Silver, co-author of the study.
This new finding explains why adults build unconscious preference when they make choices between the same things. Justifying(证明有道理) choice is somehow fundamental to the human experience. “I chose this, so I must like it. I didn’t choose this other thing, so it cannot be so good. Adults make these inferences unconsciously,” Feigenson said.
Such tendency makes sense to us as we live in a consumer culture and must make so many choices every day, between everything from toothpaste brands to styles of jeans.
Next, researchers will look at whether too many choices could be a problem for babies as they certainly are for adults.
1. What is the purpose of the experiments?| A．To test whether people choose what they like. |
| B．To see why babies prefer new toys to old ones. |
| C．To explain how babies and adults make choices differently. |
| D．To study if too many choices could create problems for people. |
| A．Babies prefer bright and colorful toys. |
| B．Babies’ preference largely affects their choices. |
| C．Babies prefer adults to help them make choices. |
| D．Babies’ previous random choices affect their preference. |
| A．It entirely changes our styles to choose. |
| B．It helps us make wise decisions in a consumer culture. |
| C．It promotes the relationship between adults and babies. |
| D．It helps us understand our unconscious preference for choices. |
| A．Babies like what they choose | B．Random choices matter |
| C．Too many choices puzzle the adults | D．Preference affects the choice |
8 . Ways to Improve Participation (参与) in Your Virtual Classroom (虚拟课堂)
During remote learning this spring, students in Shai Klima’s high school class led their own discussions over Google Meet.
While students conversed（谈话） on video, Klima listened and drew lines on a sheet of paper tracking the flow of the conversation, resulting in a spider web. At the end of the discussion, Klima shared the drawing over video.
“It has been successful as a means to get kids to credit their peers with helping them come up with new ideas, which helps build a friendly relationship,” said kilma.
Kindergarten teacher Ruth Calkins, meanwhile, used Zoom chat when holding live lessons with her kindergarten students. She said they enjoyed typing “T” or “F” for true and false questions while answering math problems in the chat box.
| A．This strategy is terribly useful and significant. |
| B．Then he asked students to reflect on the experience. |
| C．Using chat to check for understanding is one useful strategy. |
| D．Before the live class, students answered questions independently. |
| E．Some even attempted to write sentences in response to the questions. |
| F．They decided as a group to use only one emoji at a time, for example. |
| G．They didn’t like to pay more attention to these questions. |
9 . As its name suggests, the common swift is a common bird that lives all across Europe and much of Asia, but their flight time is anything but common. It currently holds the record for the most time spent in the air per year, with data showing that some species can spend up to 10 months out of 12 without landing even once. They drink and eat in the air, feeding on any insects that they can catch in flight. They can mate in the air as well, and they can also sleep in the air by gliding on warm air currents known as “thermals”.
A team of researchers at Lund University developed a new type of micro-data logger to track the birds’ movements, and fitted them to 19 common swifts that were later caught again. Without going into too much detail about the results of the study, the findings showed that common swifts spent over 99% of their time during the 10-month non-breeding period in the air.
“A few swifts in our study never landed during this period,” study author Anders Hedenström told Seeker, adding that he believed the birds somehow sleep while flying. The study didn’t analyze how common swifts can do that, but it’s supposed that it is through a mechanism similar to that of frigate birds and Alpine swifts, which also can stay in the air for months.
Common swifts are born to fly. Their bodies have adapted to the almost non-stop flight-their wings are long and narrow, their legs are short and light, and they have an almost perfect aerodynamic shape. They also change their feathers very slowly over a period of six months, so as not to affect their flight.
Swifts generally have a higher survivability rate compared to most birds, and their love of flight is believed to directly influence that. Being in the air for long periods of time means they don’t have to worry about meeting predators except those catching then by accident. Data shows that common swifts can reach ages of 20 years or more, and fly over three million kilometers. That’s seven round trips to the moon.
1. What can we know about the common swifts?| A．They fly in the air all the year around. |
| B．They are the only birds without landing for months. |
| C．They stay longer in the air than any other bird. |
| D．They can’t fly long without warn air currents. |
| A．To limit their flight range. | B．To catch more swifts. |
| C．To record their activity. | D．To measure their flight height. |
| A．Common swifts’ perfect flying body structure. | B．The reasons for common swifts’ long flight. |
| C．The speed of changing their feathers. | D．The differences of their movements. |
| A．Some swifts can fly far to the moon. | B．Swifts don’t have natural enemies. |
| C．Flight contributes to swifts’ long life. | D．The higher the swifts fly, the safer they are. |
10 . People have long called college the “great equalizer,” meaning it gives students from all backgrounds the same opportunities or similar chances for success. A study announced in February 2017 supports this idea.
The findings may not come as a surprise to some. For example, it showed a degree from an “Ivy League” or another highly selective school helps students from low income families a great deal. Ivy League is a term for eight private universities in the northeastern United States. Many people consider them to be among the best for higher education in the world.
The study found that about 60 percent of the lowest income students at lvy League schools earned as much as students from the highest income families later in life. But the high cost and strong competition to attend one of these schools can be a barrier (障碍) for many students.
What may be more interesting is what less widely known colleges can do. The study identified 10 less selective universities that also helped large numbers of students escape poverty. This proves that any given college can be a tool for success.
However, there are other things to consider. The study notes that Ivy League and other top schools are less likely to admit students from low-income families. On average, a young person from the highest income background is 77 percent more likely to attend one of the highest income background is 77 percent more likely to attend one of these schools than someone from the lowest income background.
Also, while a college education may help almost everyone, higher income students still have an advantage. The students born into the highest income families still earned at least two percent more after college than anyone else. This is because people from wealthier families have more connections that can help their children.
1. What finding attracts the author’s more attention?| A．Non-famous schools also benefit students. |
| B．t is quite competitive to enter famous schools. |
| C．College education has great effects on students. |
| D．Ordinary schools do better than well-known ones. |
| A．They bring too much stress on students. |
| B．They charge too much for education. |
| C．They look down upon poor students. |
| D．They offer more chances to the rich. |
| A．College major courses. | B．Different universities. |
| C．Family background. | D．Records of study. |
| A．You Don’t have to Choose the Most Famous Schools |
| B．Does a College Education Help All People Equally? |
| C．Is College Education a Must For Poor Students? |
| D．Well-Known Universities Help You Succeed |
