1 . My 14-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat at the same time at a second-hand clothing store. It had a black velvet (丝绒) collar, delightful tailoring, a Fifth Avenue label and a(an)
John wore the coat to school the next day and came home wearing a big smile. “How did the kids like your coat?” I asked. “They love it.” He said, carefully
When I asked one of his teachers
John and I both know we should never
| A．special | B．reasonable | C．unbelievable | D．cheap |
| A．closed | B．shone | C．opened | D．lowered |
| A．buttoned | B．touched | C．held | D．obtained |
| A．feeling | B．looking | C．glancing | D．eyeing |
| A．gesture | B．expression | C．attitude | D．feeling |
| A．colour | B．price | C．fit | D．fashion |
| A．pressing | B．taking | C．throwing | D．folding |
| A．happiness | B．satisfaction | C．change | D．generosity |
| A．made | B．replaced | C．took | D．transformed |
| A．please | B．complain | C．admire | D．apologize |
| A．insisted | B．suggested | C．asked | D．commanded |
| A．what | B．when | C．that | D．how |
| A．watch | B．judge | C．mistake | D．consider |
| A．do | B．wear | C．speak | D．show |
| A．compare | B．fill | C．mix | D．match |
2 . Many people who live on Norway’s far-northern island of Sommaroey are campaigning to go “time-free”. They note that between May and July, the sun does not set there for 69 days.
To enjoy the bright summer months, they would like to ignore traditional business hours. For example, stores would be open when people are there to work at them. Schools would operate when teachers and students are ready. Kjell Ove Hveding is one of the local leaders of the campaign. He said the 350 people who live on the island already go mostly time-free. He said that in the summer at 2 in the morning, you might see “children playing soccer, people painting their houses or mowing their lawns, and teens going for a swim”.
To show their feelings about time, many islanders take off their watches. They leave them on a bridge that connects the island to the mainland.
Earlier this month, Hveding met with a Norwegian lawmaker. Hveding presented a formal request signed by people who live on the island. The request asked the government to declare the area a “time-free zone”.
Hveding noted that he understands going completely time-free would be too complex in a world that operates on schedules. And, as an article in the Smithsonian magazine says, people’s health depends on keeping a usual rhythm of being asleep and being awake.
But Hveding argues that letting go of time limits can also be good for people. He said the time-free proposal would permit the islanders to get used to the daylight and feel calmer. “The idea is also to chill out,” he said, “I have seen people suffering from stress because they were pressed by time.”
1. What does the underlined expression in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Islanders plan to abandon the working hours. | B．Islanders try to make full use of time. |
| C．Islanders hope to break the time limits. | D．Islanders want to save their free hours. |
| A．It was put forward by a lawmaker. | B．It was approved by the islanders. |
| C．It was rejected by the government. | D．It was about a “trade-free zone”. |
| A．To introduce the lifestyle of the islanders. |
| B．To present people’s suffering from time pressure. |
| C．To show the article’s view in the magazine is wrong. |
| D．To prove going time-free would be beneficial to the islanders. |
| A．A news report. | B．A travel brochure. |
| C．A health magazine. | D．A science fiction work. |
Grandpa Cecil Rodgers has narrowly escaped a phone scam (欺骗). It all began with a telephone call…
Cecil is an elderly man from Cincinnati, Ohio, who was looking forward to spending time with his family over the holidays. They were all coming to visit him at his Elmwood Place home, including his adult grandson David. One afternoon, while napping in bed, he was awakened by the sharp ringing of his telephone.
“Who will ring me up at this time?” He wondered. Peering towards the phone, he hesitantly picked it up. From the receiver came an urgent voice. “Grandpa, this is David. I am in trouble.” Before Cecil could ask him any question, he continued, on and off, half crying, “I hit a woman’s car and she was seven months pregnant. And they charged me with drunken driving and I’m in prison...” He sobbed loudly. His voice was so broken that Cecil could hardly match it with the gentle and warm voice of his grandson. Poor David! He must be suffering! Cecil panicked immediately.
Without more detailed communication, the phone passed suddenly to another person--- David’s lawyer who had a deeper voice. Seemingly, he understood Cecil’s anxiety and attempted to comfort him with a solution. “Now the only way to help David is to go to Wal-Mart and transfer $2,300 to another store. I would pick up the money and then use it to post David’s bail (保释金).” “I am sure everything would be OK as long as the money is in place,” he added. Ultimately, he lowered his voice, “Don’t tell anybody. You don’t want to make your grandson look ugly in your neighborhood.” The lawyer hung up even before Cecil could give an answer.
注意：1. 续写词数应为 150 左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Cecil was totally at a loss.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The lucky part of Cecil’s day was when he stepped into cashier (收银员) Audrella’s line in Wal-Mart.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4 . Video calls are a common occurrence, but have you imagined being able to touch the person on the other end of the line? Scientists are making this a reality.
Researchers at the University of New South Wales, Australia, have invented a soft skin stretch device (SSD), a haptic device that can recreate the sense of touch. Haptic technology can mimic the experience of touch by stimulating localized areas of the skin in ways that are similar to what is felt in the real world, through force, vibration or motion.
Vibration is the most common haptic technology today and has been built into many electronic devices, such as one attached to the back of a trackpad in laptops. However, haptic feedback with vibration becomes less sensitive when used continuously. The existing technology also has great difficulty recreating the sense of touch with objects in virtual environments or located remotely.
The new technology overcomes issues with existing haptic devices. The research team introduced a novel method to recreate the sense of touch through soft, artificial “muscles”.
It works like this: imagine you call a friend in Australia. You wear a haptic glove with the SSDs and your friend also wears a glove with 3D force sensors. If your friend picks up an object, it will physically press against your friend’s fingers. And the glove with 3D force sensors will measure these interactions. The force signals can be sent to your glove so your device will generate the same 3D forces, making you experience the same sense of touch as your friend.
The haptic devices could be used in various fields, allowing users to feel objects inside a virtual world or at a distance. This could be especially beneficial during such times like the COVID-19 pandemic when people rely on video calls to stay connected with loved ones. Or it could be used in medical practices. Doctors can feel a patient’s organ tissues without touching them.
1. What does the underlined word “mimic” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Recall. | B．Strengthen. | C．Copy. | D．Repeat. |
| A．Limitations of the haptic technology. | B．Application of haptic devices. |
| C．Common use of continuous vibration. | D．Haptic feedback with vibration. |
| A．Tasting a dish on the video. | B．Feeling a dress being sold online. |
| C．Giving a telephone interview. | D．Receiving on-site medical treatment. |
| A．Unrealistic. | B．Conventional. | C．Innovative. | D．Adjustable. |
5 . Fauja Singh, 109, who broke marathon records and was called the “Superman” before hanging up his running shoes six years ago, will be the subject of a Bollywood film, Fauja, tracing his remarkable career.
Mr. Singh, born in India in 1911, was a keen amateur runner in his youth, but gave it up. Getting over a series of personal tragedies including the deaths of his wife and two of his children, he returned to his former passion in his eighties.
He moved to the UK soon after and now lives in Ilford, east London. He arrived for his first training session in Redbridge in a three-piece suit, and his first race was the London marathon in 2000. Three years later in Toronto, he broke the world record for the 90-plus. In the early 2011, when he turned 100, Mr. Singh set eight world records in a day. He ran the 100m in 23.14, then added the 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, the mile, the 3000m and 5,000m world records. Three of the events had never been attempted by anyone over the age of 100 before. Days later, he became the first centenarian (百岁老人) to complete a marathon, again in Toronto, with a time of 8:25:27.
Mr. Singh retired from competitive running in 2013 but continued jogging for pleasure. He owed his extraordinary longevity to a vegetarian diet and avoiding smoking, alcohol and fried food.
Of marathon running he has said: “The first 20 miles are not difficult. As for the last six miles, I keep talking to myself, ‘Keep it up, old boy!’”
1. Which title is suitable for the text?| A．Fauja Singh turns 109 this year |
| B．A professional runner |
| C．Fauja Singh hangs up his shoes |
| D．A centenarian runner |
| A．He lost his running shoes in 2015. |
| B．He starred in the Indian film, Fauja. |
| C．He set nine world records in 2011. |
| D．He got stuck in the personal tragedies. |
| A．Mr. Singh’s race achievements. |
| B．Mr. Singh’s practice in the U.K. |
| C．Mr. Singh’s training experience. |
| D．Mr. Singh’s attempts at sports. |
| A．His healthy lifestyle. |
| B．Smoking and drinking. |
| C．Competitive running. |
| D．His passion for marathon. |
1. What is the man?
| A．A coach. | B．A TV host. | C．A news reporter. |
| A．He won two national games. |
| B．He trained two teams to win. |
| C．He played for three different colleges. |
| A．She liked it. | B．She hated it. | C．She thought it was boring. |
| A．To help her improve. |
| B．To spend time with her. |
| C．To share their life experiences. |
In China, food deliverymen are always in a rush between traffic regardless of wind or rain.
8 . Highlights of the Current Affairs
Loneliness economy
China's younger generations are driving up the value of the country's industry. In recent years, businesses built around loneliness have appeared and boomed in China , presenting single people with the services they need. As furry animals occupy the personal lives of more and more people, the industrial chain established around pets is starting a market that might soon be worth hundreds of billions of yuan.
Following the catering industry, shopping and housekeeping services which turned to the Internet for modern solutions, the pet industry is also offering creative services, such as a call-out vet（兽医）service.
Alipay adds beauty filters（美颜）to face-scan
The Chinese mobile payment application, Alipay launched a new update that included "beauty filters" into its face-scan payment system. The "beauty filters" , which beautify users when they make payments via the application, have been well received by the market.
A survey run by news portal Sina Technology showed that more than 60% of respondents think they look uglier through the face-scan payments method than on a regular camera. The number of women users, in particular, increased by 123 percent after this technique appeared.
Future pocket money
Research has found that 84% of British parents currently give notes and coins to their children. But banks predict that by 2028 only one in ten businesses will be with cash. Children may not understand the value of cash because they never see it. Parents face a dilemma—finding a new way to offer pocket money, or maybe not bothering to pay it at all.
But whatever method a parent chooses to adopt, they need to teach their kids that money doesn't grow on trees!
1. What's the purpose of the passage?| A．To introduce the latest news. |
| B．To attract attention to Alipay. |
| C．To predict the disappearance of cash. |
| D．To promote the economic development. |
| A．Beauty filters can make women more beautiful. ' |
| B．Youngsters can ask for a call-out service for pets. |
| C．Single people can get furry animals treated for free. |
| D．Alipay can be turned to for getting rid of loneliness. |
| A．Encourage children to visit banks. |
| B．Teach children healthy attitudes to money. |
| C．Give notes to their children as pocket money. |
| D．Guide children to use Alipay face-scan payment. |
9 . Top Music Festivals in 2021
Coachella
Selling out fast every year, the Indio desert becomes a fashionable place where the coolest bands are watched by trendy people and celebrities. Near the top of everyone's bucket list of festivals, Coachella is a constant source of annual expectation and a hotbed for musical discussion.
When &. where: April 9-11 &. 16-18, 2021; Indio
Ultra Music Festival
Seen as the ultimate gathering for electronic music fans across the nation and globe, the streets of Miami turn into a bold and bumping party with popular DJs playing what will be the sounds of summer.
When & where: March 26-28, 2021; Miami
South By South West
Regarded as the ultimate trend-setter and launcher of careers, SXSW is an annual showcase of music, films and interactive highlights enjoyed through performances, showcases, talks, screenings and more. Virtually taking over the city of Austin, everyone in the world of music from fans to media flock here to discover the next big thing.
When &, where: March 16-20, 2021; Austin
The Governors Ball Music Festival
Another event which proves the music loving potential of Randall's Island Park is Governors Ball, an exciting and infectious mix of rock, hip-hop, electronic, pop and folk. Providing a variety of music and food tastes, whether you look to kick back and relax or dance to the beats, Governors Ball has what you want.
When & where: June 11-14, 2021; New York
1. Which music festival lasts the most days?| A．Coachella | B．Ultra Music Festival. |
| C．South By South West | D．The Governors Ball Music Festival. |
| A．It's held in a park. |
| B．It features electronic music |
| C．It's a gathering of popular DJs. |
| D．It's the most popular in the country. |
| A．Indio. | B．Miami. | C．Austin | D．New York. |
She is a professional
Several years ago, her close friend’s kid died of cancer. She tried to be supportive but felt
Three families from nearby Oklahoma towns immediately responded to her call. On the
"Watching them interact was
