1 . “This world is so unfair!” my daughter shouted as soon as she entered the door. It turned out that she was caught talking with others while having a math class. And finally she was punished by the teacher. “There were other students talking in class, but the teacher only punished me,” she said angrily.
I asked her, “Should you be punished for speaking when your teacher is in class?” She nodded but also defended, “It is unfair for me because the teacher didn’t punish the other students who spoke!” “Let’s just talk about you. Was the teacher wrong to punish you?” I asked again. She lowered her head and said, “No.”
“That’s fair!” I said. “You know what the price of speaking in class is. You did it and got the punishment you deserved (应得). The teacher didn’t punish others because she could choose to forgive (原谅). From your point of view, it seems unfair, but for those students she has forgiven, there’s no unfairness. It depends on from which angle (角度) you look at the thing.”
People are often like this. When they look at themselves, they are very clear about what they are doing, knowing what their prizes and punishments should be, but they think differently after looking at others. Because comparison with others makes people confused and even becomes a stumbling block (绊脚石) in their life. The most important thing is to understand fairness in a deeper way, not from your point of view only!
1. Whom was the girl punished by that day?| A．Her mother. | B．Her father. |
| C．Her classmates. | D．Her math teacher. |
| A．Because she argued with her teacher. |
| B．Because her mother disagreed with her. |
| C．Because she had a fight with a classmate. |
| D．Because she was the only one to be punished. |
| A．建议 | B．辩解 | C．盼望 | D．承诺 |
| A．Fair. | B．Wise. | C．Unfair. | D．Common. |
| A．We should pay less attention to unfairness. |
| B．It’s good to compare ourselves with others. |
| C．We should understand fairness in a deeper way. |
| D．We should always be clear about what we are doing. |
| |||||
| 69% of the travelers try to put down their smartphones on vacation. | 1/3 of Americans always spend their time on the phone on holiday. | 16% of UK travelers always check their phones on vacation. | Most important objects USA: Mobile phone AUS: Camera UK: Sunscreen | ||
Holidays booking (预订) | |||||
| 3/4 of the travelers prefer to book trips online. | 84% of Americans say they are most likely to book online. | 3% of Australians book travel by phone. | |||
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
1. What do one third of Americans always do during trips?
| A．They always try to put down their phones. |
| B．They always use a lot of sunscreens. |
| C．They always take cameras with them. |
| D．They always spend time on the phone. |
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
①From social media users.
②From other travelers’ reviews.
③From family and friends.
④From travel companies.
⑤From travel guides.
| A．①④ | B．②⑤ | C．②③ | D．④⑤ |
| A．The text is written to change travelers’ habits. |
| B．UK travelers use mobile apps the least during trips. |
| C．Sunscreen is the most important object for a US traveler. |
| D．Most travelers like to communicate with their friends on vacation. |
3 . Some ants have figured out how to avoid getting lost: build taller anthills, according to a recent study.
Desert ants living in the hot, flat salt pans of Tunisia spend their days looking for food and reach as far as 1.1 kilometers from their nests. To find their way home, desert ants use a navigation system, relying on the sun’s position and counting their steps to track their location relative to their nest.
But this system becomes increasingly unreliable as the distance from the nest increases. “We realized that, whenever the ants in salt pans came closer to their nest, they suddenly pinpointed the nest hill from several meters distance,” says Markus Knaden, a researcher at Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. “This made us think that the hill serves as a nest-defining landmark.”
So Knaden and colleagues captured ants from nests in the middle of salt pans and from along their shorelines. Only salt-pan nests had distinct hills, up to 40 centimeters tall, whereas the hills on shoreline nests were lower or barely noticeable. Next, the team removed any hills and placed the captured insects some distance away from their nests. Salt-pan ants struggled more than shore ants to find homes. Shore ants relied on the shoreline for guidance and weren’t affected by the hill removal, the researchers concluded.
The team further conducted another study to see if desert ants were deliberately building a taller hill when their surroundings lacked any visible landmarks. So, the researchers removed the hills of 16 salt-pan nests and installed (安装) two 50-centimeter-tall blocks near eight of them. The other eight nests were left without any artificial visual aid. After three days, the researchers found that seven ants from the unaided nests had rebuilt their hills. But only two ants from the nests with man-made blocks nearby had bothered to rebuild.
“It implies that ants regularly assess the complexity of their environment and change their decisions based on their conclusion,” says ecologist Judith Bronstein of the University of Arizona.
1. What aspect of ants is the recent study mainly about?| A．Challenges of survival. | B．Landmarks of habitats. |
| C．Intelligence of navigation. | D．Comparison of varieties. |
| A．Explored. | B．Recognized. | C．Climbed. | D．Crossed. |
| A．To observe different ants’ reactions. | B．To prove impacts of various habitats. |
| C．To disturb desert ants’ navigation system. | D．To test anthills’ functions and significance. |
| A．Evaluate and make changes. | B．Visual aid is a must. |
| C．Cooperation brings victory. | D．No man-made blocks are used. |
4 . Kelydra Welcker has always loved the Ohio River, which flows by her hometown, Parkersburg. With a father who is a chemist and a mother who is a biologist, it seemed natural for Kelydra to learn how the world worked by doing scientific experiments.
At the age of six, Kelydra joined the Ohio River Cleanup campaign and came to realize how polluted the river was, which led her to set up her own lab later and study the chemicals in the river water. Kelydra was 15 when news broke about a chemical called C8, also known as APFO, in her town’s water supply that might cause cancer. She wondered what she could do to help.
Through repeated experiments, Kelydra created an inexpensive, reliable test for people in her town to measure the amount of APFO in water that they use at home. However, she didn’t just want to measure the problem—she wanted to solve it, so she continued to work on a way to remove APFO from the water.
Kelydra finally succeeded by using a device called an electrolytic cell (电解池), consisting of a dry cell battery and two electrodes (电极). Where did Kelydra get the high-quality electrodes for her experiment? They were her dad’s car wipers—minus the rubber attachments! Electrically charged, one of the electrodes became a stick that attracted the APFO in the polluted water. Then, Kelydra removed the stick and washed it off.
Using her invention, Kelydra developed a system people could use to treat their household drinking water. The system is being used by people in her community, and she hopes that it will be used more widely.
Kelydra went to college to study chemistry. “I hope to expand my horizons. I’m now looking at another chemical that may cause health problems.” She adds, “Technology helped create our problems and technology can help solve them. I want to be part of that effort.”
1. What can we learn about Kelydra from the first two paragraphs?| A．She had a scientific mind. | B．She enjoyed exploring nature. |
| C．She followed her parents’ path. | D．She wanted to practice medicine. |
| A．Content. | B．Determined. | C．Grateful. | D．Relieved. |
| A．To show the practical challenge. | B．To question Kelydra’s invention. |
| C．To illustrate Kelydra’s creativity. | D．To explain the chemical principles. |
| A．Teach chemistry in school. | B．Create new water treatments. |
| C．Promote the application of chemicals. | D．Address health issues through technology. |
5 . In 2019, the world generated 54.6 million tons of e-waste. However, just 17.4 percent of it was formally collected and recycled. Since 2014, the amount of e-waste recycled has grown by 1.8million tons a relatively small amount, considering that the amount of e-waste generated increased by 9.2 million tons in the same period.
Global reserves of some elements, such as platinum (铂), are supposed to be fully used up within 15 years if the proportion of recycled stocks entering production doesn’t increase.E-waste and EV batteries are currently recycled through processes called pyrometallurgy(火法冶金术) and hydrometallurgy (湿法冶金术) . However, they involve burning temperatures with a high energy demand and deep carbon footprint, and poisonous chemicals which are harmful to the environment. Alternatives are therefore being sought.
A team of scientists from the University of Coventry are extending one such alternative.They have been using non-poisonous bacteria to oxidize(使氧化) and recover the precious metals—a process known as “bioleaching”. They have shown that copper is widely recoverable from e-waste, and that all metals present in EV batteries can be recovered by using microbes(微生物).If extended, bioleaching facilities would mean that manufacturers of EV batteries and other electronic goods would be able to reco ver metals locally, relying less on costly exports to recycling centers abroad.
“At present, a key limitation for e-waste recycling is the lack of certification detailing the types and amounts of metals contained in electronic goods. But with an efficient recycling process appearing, manufacturers have the motivation to use more recycled material in their products, which will change the very design of electronics goods. It’s about closing the loop of a product’s life cycle,” said the leader of the Bioleaching Research Group, Sebastien Farnaud.
Ultimately, bioleaching technology is born out of the idea of creating a truly circular process for the things that we consume. We need to shift from a mindset and economy where we see waste as an end product, to one where there isn’t even a start or an end at all.
1. What do the statistics in paragraph 1 indicate?| A．The recycling rate of e-waste is comparatively low |
| B．People pay little attention to e-waste recycling. |
| C．E-waste has caused serious environmental problems. |
| D．The amount of e-waste is sharply increasing every year. |
| A．They only apply to certain e-waste. |
| B．They are not environmentally friendly. |
| C．They generate metals with a complex process. |
| D．They cause a sharp rise in local temperatures. |
| A．It has been applied abroad. | B．It releases no poisonous gas. |
| C．It promotes the local export trade. | D．It recovers metals by microbes. |
| A．A news report. | B．A fiction novel. | C．A scientific journal. | D．A health magazine. |
6 . Go For Goal With Your Poem
Football, the world’s most universally loved sport, unites people from all walks of life. Since its establishment in 1992, the English Premier League (EPL) has welcomed players from 115 different nations. This multicultural group reaffirms (重申) that regardless of our diverse backgrounds, we all share a common love for the beautiful game. In celebration of this unity, the league has launched an exciting poetry competition this year.
The Competition
The competition invites young poets to express how football celebrates our differences while also serving as a joining-together force. This theme can be explored through any form of poetic writing, from traditional words to songs. The distinguished judges include poet Joseph Coelho, football star Rio Ferdinand, and beloved pop star Olly Murs.
The Prizes
The winning poems will be honoured with publication in a special poetry collection. There’s more: the winning class stands a chance to win an enriching poetry session, and even a visit from a Premier League champion to your school! The competition will recognize three first-place winners and ten second-place winners from Stage 1(five to seven years old)and Stage 2(seven to eleven years old)respectively.
How to Enter
The competition is heating up and the closing date is Friday 21 December. Teachers are encouraged to register their classes on PLPrimaryStars. com as soon as possible this week. The first 1,000 schools to enter will even receive a special gift bag filled with a selection of wonderful poetry books. So, don’t wait, and kick off your poetic journey today!
1. What is the goal of the poetry competition?| A．To interest global football players in poetry. |
| B．To celebrate the universal love for football. |
| C．To promote different forms of poetic writing. |
| D．To encourage young poets to address diversity. |
| A．3. | B．6. | C．13. | D．26. |
| A．Sign up for the competition soon. | B．Ask for advice from the website. |
| C．Help students prepare their bags. | D．Urge schools to buy poetry books. |
7 . Maybe you’re someone who runs 20 to 30 miles a week but regularly gets fast food for dinner. The idea of eating anything you want without consequences might sound like a good dream. But the reality is that exercise cannot completely change the effects of a bad diet, experts say.
“Skinny fat” is the unofficial term used to describe a person who looks slim but has a high percentage of body fat. A regular gym goer could have little subcutaneous fat—the fat right under your skin—but lots of visceral(内脏) fat. A buildup of visceral fat from eating processed food high in sugar and salt could lead to the same type of risks as an overweight person, according to Dr. Colin Carriker, an exercise physiologist from Highpoint University in North Carolina.
If you want to lose weight, the key is to develop a caloric deficit in which you burn calories more than what you’re consuming. But eating high calorie fatty food regularly can make this a hard nut. “You are overconsuming calories and will have to do more exercise than a person can sustain on a long-term basis,” Carriker said.
One idea would be to spend more time exercising or joining in a more intense workout. But this plan doesn’t really work, said Grace Derocha, a registered dietitian, because processed food like so da and candy have few nutrients, and with a lack of vitamins, protein(蛋白质) and fiber to fill you up, it’ll be hard to think about working out when you’re constantly feeling hungry.
Of course, being healthy doesn’t mean you have to give up all the food you enjoy eating. Instead of feeling guilty for ordering dessert, Derocha says you can think of food as more than just calories but as the kind of energy it can provide. If you’ve had enough fiber today, look at where you add in extra protein. “It’s not good or bad food; it’s just fuel,” she said. “When you look at it from an addition standpoint instead of a restriction standpoint, it’s a healthier approach to fueling yourself.”
1. What does Dr. Colin Carriker most probably agree with?| A．Gym goers like processed food best. | B．Visceral fat causes less harm to people. |
| C．People can look thin but still be unhealthy. | D．People exercising regularly are actually fit. |
| A．Disorder. | B．Target. | C．Trend. | D．Challenge. |
| A．They have little motivation or drive to exercise. |
| B．They are enthusiastic about intense workouts. |
| C．They obtain much more energy to burn calories. |
| D．They work productively due to being energetic. |
| A．Staying away from junk food. | B．Changing your views about food. |
| C．Being active to keep energetic. | D．Fueling yourself with strict diets. |
8 . SO THAT’S WHY WE CALL THAT THAT
In 1997, two smarty-pants, needing a name for their new data-index website, came up with “googol”, which is the number one followed by a hundred zeroes. Perfect! But as they typed Googol into a domain-name search engine, they committed a critical mistake. And the mistake stuck. Don’t believe us? Google it. Meanwhile, here are the stories behind other brand names.
Triscuit ► ELECTRICITY BISCUITS
Triscuit, a snack cracker, is short for “electricity biscuit”, because the first ones were proudly produced with hydro-electric power.
Häagen-Dazs ► NOTHING
Häagen-Dazs is short for... absolutely nothing. Reuben Mattus, who moved to Brooklyn from Poland, created the ice cream company in 1959. He wanted to give his company a Danish-sounding name in honour of Denmark’s reputation during the World War Ⅱ and settled on this nonsense phrase.
Nike ► VICTORY
Nike was named for the Greek goddess of victory. Legend has it that the shoe company’s famous “swoosh” logo represents the fleet-footed goddess’s wings.
Adidas ► ADI DASSLER
Adidas is an abbreviation of “Adi Dassler”, one of two Dassler brothers from Germany who founded competitive shoe empires after the World War Ⅱ (Adi’s brother Rudi founded Puma).
Lego ► PLAY WELL
Lego, a children’s toy that consists of small colored bricks that fit together, is a contraction of the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning “play well”.
1. Why does the author mention the story of Google in Paragraph 1?| A．To arouse curiosity of the brand names. | B．To classify the following brands. |
| C．To introduce a wonderful search engine. | D．To help search for information. |
| A．Nike. | B．Adidas. | C．Triscuit. | D．Häagen-Dazs. |
| A．Adidas was founded during the World War Ⅱ. |
| B．The founders of Adidas and Nike were brothers. |
| C．The stories behind Lego and Häagen-Dazs relate to Danish. |
| D．The first Triscuit biscuits were proudly made with solar power. |
9 . Thirteen-year-old Kaylee has a lot of friends — 532, actually, if you count up her online friends. And she spends a lot of time with them.
But is it possible that Kaylee’s online friendships could be making her lonely? That’s what some experts believe. Connecting online is a great way to stay in touch, they say. However, some experts worry that many kids are so busy connecting online that they might be missing out on true friendships.
Could this be true? During your parents’ childhoods, connecting with friends usually meant spending time with them in the flesh. Kids played Scrabble around a table, not Words With Friends on their phones. When friends missed each other, they picked up the telephone. Friends might even write letters to each other.
Today, most communication takes place online. A typical teen sends 2,000 texts a month and spends more than 44 hours per week in front of a screen. Much of this time is spent on social media platforms (平台).
In fact, in many ways, online communication can make friendships stronger, “There’s definitely a positive influence. Kids can stay in constant contact, which means they can share more of their feelings with each other,” says Katie Davis, co-author of The App Generation.
Other experts, however, warn that too much online communication can get in the way of forming deep friendships. “If we are constantly checking in with our virtual words, we will have little time for our real-world friendships.” says Larry Rosen, a professor at California State University. Rosen also worries that today’s kids might mistake the “friends” on the social media for true friends in life. However, in tough times, you don’t need someone to like your picture or share your blogs. You need someone who will keep your secrets and hold your hand. You would like to talk face to face.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To summarize the text. | B．To tell about true friends. |
| C．To bring up a discussion. | D．To encourage online friendship. |
| A．In person. | B．In advance. | C．In any case. | D．In full measure. |
| A．Worried. | B．Positive. | C．Confused. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．It’s wise to turn to friends online. |
| B．It’s easier to develop friendships in reality. |
| C．Social media help people stay closely connected. |
| D．Teenagers need focus on real-world friendships. |
10 . The following are newly released devices all designed to help make your life more convenient, beautiful and vivid.
Tonal
$2,995 AT TONAL.COM
Tonal makes lifting and resistance training truly easy and accessible from your own home. It is great because I hate any sort of public weight training. Tonal has a remarkably easy user interface and gives data and feedback in a helpful manner. It also makes you feel great by keeping track of clear improvements.
Hisense 75” U800GR 8K ULED Roku TV
$1,800 AT BEST BUY
8k sounded like a luxury, but now that brands like Hisense, which focus on a more affordable end of the spectrum, have gotten some time with the tech, you can finally bring the deep color output and stunning detail into your living room. Calling it “affordable” may be a stretch, but compared to most 8k TV’s which all run over $5,000, it’s the most cost-efficient version of the tech we’ve got. It gets your money worth best.
VIVE Goggle
$499 AT VIVE.COM
Vive goggles will bring an extremely accessible and refreshing approach to the VR world. They are a pair of goggles not unlike something you’d wear to snowboard. They’re extremely lightweight with a lightning fast set — that’s connected with things like watching Netflix. It’s the calmest headset I’ve ever worn and uses cameras to let you control everything with just your hands. This one’s for the not-gamers.
Dyson Purifier Humidify+Cool Formaldehyde
$920 AT WALMART
For people who easily sneeze because of dog hair or something like that outside, Dyson has created a machine that saves them for time at home. This new purifier doubles as a humidifier, plus it has a cooling function, making it the end all be all for stuffy, hot, dry apartments.
1. Which device will get your money worth best?| A．Tonal. | B．Dyson Purifier Humidify+Cool Formaldehyde. |
| C．VIVE Flow. | D．Hisense 75” U 800 GR 8K ULED Roku TV. |
| A．They are user-friendly. |
| B．They help keep track of weight. |
| C．They appeal to gamers. |
| D．They are intended for who are allergic to dust. |
| A．A consumer review. | B．A magazine. |
| C．A novel. | D．A health report. |
