1 . Richard and Judy's book club has transformed sales figures for dozens of novels, and turned modest publishing successes into triumphs. And now the husband and wife team have turned literary talent spotters too, with competition for potential authors that could make a star of a grandmother and doctor from Bournemouth.

    1     She beat more than 4,000 other viewers who were asked to submit a summary and the first chapter to the show's Hot to Get Published contest. Her manuscript temporarily entitled The Olive Renders, was described as a love story of courage and saving from sin told by a young woman who writes from a dystopian（反面乌托邦的）future. Ms. Aziz said winning gave her “the luxury of having time to finish writing my novel” without worrying about money. Ms. Aziz, who was born in Yorkshire, has worked as a shop assistant, dental receptionist, factory packer, singer and cleaner, but her only experience of writing was as a news reporter for three years.     2    

    3     It comprised Joseph O'Connor, whose book Star of the Sea increased rapidly in sales after crazy reviews on Richard and Judy, Amanda Ross, the head of the television company which makes the show, and Maria Rejt, publishing director for Pan Macmillan, which will publish the winning story.

In a surprise move, Pan Macmillan also offered the three runners-up the chances to be published，with advances of E 20,000 each: Alison Penton Harper, 40, a mother of two from Northamptonshire; Rachel Zadok te Riele, 33, from South Africa, a waitress who lives in south London; David Fidimore, 60, who is married with two children and has with two unpublished novels and numerous short storied.     4    

A．Christine Aziz, 52, who left school at 15 with a single O-level in English, on the Channel 4 show's competition and will receive a 50,000 advance for her first novel.

B．The Channel 4 show's competition was funded by the publishing company Pan Macmillan.

C．Ms. Aziz said the money would be enough to support the rest of her life

D．Five aspiring authors made it on to the shortlist for judging by a panel.

E．She did not like the pressure of journalism, but now she must complete the work and prepare herself for sales and marketing treatment usually reserved for bestselling authors.

F．Ms. Rejt said the shortlist reflected “an extraordinary range of talent from the extremely commercial to the beautifully literary”.

2 . Commuter trains are often crowded, and they frequently fail to run on time. As if that were not bad enough, physicist Hondou published a paper in 2002 that gave commuters yet another reason to feel uncomfortable.

Dr. Hondou examined mobile phone usage in enclosed spaces such as railway carriages, buses and lifts all of which are metal boxes. His model predicted that a large number of passengers crowded together, all talking, sending text messages, or browsing the web on their phones, could produce levels of electromagnetic radiation that exceed international safety standards. That is because the radio waves produced by each phone are reflected off the metal walls of the carriage, bus or lift. Enough radiation escapes to allow the phone to communicate with the network, but the rest fills the inside of the carriage with bouncing microwaves.

This sounds worrying. However, in a paper published recently, Jaime Ferrer and Lucas Fernandez-Seivane from the University of Oviedo in Spain, question the truth of Dr. Hondon's findings. They conclude that the level of radiation is safe after all.

In their opinion, while each phone produces radiation that bounces around the car, the passengers absorb some of it, which has the effect of reducing the overall intensity. Dr Hondou's model, in short, was logical only in the case of a single passenger sitting in an empty carriage with an active mobile phone on every seat.

According to Dr. Ferrer and his colleagues, Dr. Hondon overestimated the level of electromagnetic radiation. When one is sitting on a train, they found, the most important sources of radiation are one's own phone, and those of one's immediate neighbours. The radiation from these sources far exceeds that from other phones or from waves bouncing around the carriage. And all these sources together produce a level of radiation within the limits defined by the ICNIRP, the international body that regulates such matters.

People concerned about the effects of mobile-phone radiation are unlikely to take much comfort from Dr. Ferrer's results. Indeed, Dr. Ferrer says he is surprised at how little research has been done in this area.

Yet both Dr. Hondon's results and Dr. Ferrer's are based on mathematical models. Their models make assumptions about the physical properties of train carriages and their passengers, and both assume that the radiation is regularly distributed rather than gathered into “hot spots”. But if the debate about the safety of mobile phone is to be resolved, there must be less focus on models, and more emphasis on physical experimental data.

1. The paper published by Dr. Hondon make the commuters worried because _________.

A．he argues that commuter trains do not meet international radiation safety standards

B．he thinks that the radiation from mobile phones bouncing around in enclosed spaces is harmful

C．commuters fear that the metal walls of the railway carriage will threaten their health

D．commuters are afraid that a ban on the use of mobile phones on trains is approaching

2. What is the commuters' reaction after learning about the new research by Dr. Ferrer and his colleagues?

A．They don't worry about the safety of mobile phone any more.

B．They expect Dr. Ferrer to carry out more researches in this area.

C．They still have concerns over the mobile-phone radiation.

D．They find the results of all the researches boring.

3. Dr. Hondon's research and that of Dr. Ferrer share the following similarities EXCEPT _________.

A．their findings are developed from mathematical model

B．they focus on a single passenger in the empty railway carriage

C．the models assume certain physical properties of train carriages and the passengers

D．their models are built in a way that the radiation in the enclosed spaces is regularly distributed

4. What is the author's attitude toward the research on the effects of mobile-phone radiation?

A．He is surprised that too little research has been carried out in this area.

B．He thinks that the most important thing for the researcher is to perfect their models.

C．He is quite satisfied with the progress made so far.

D．He thinks researchers have to depend more on physical experiments.

3 . WALLS OF FAME

Famous fortificatlons around the world

THE GREAT WALL CHINA Stretching from the shores of the Yellow Sea at Laolongtou in the east, curving around the top of Beijing and snaking across 5,500 miles of land to Lop Nur, the Great Wall of China, whose story began over 2,400 years ago is undeniably an historic achlevement of engineering and human effort to preserve political control over the population and keep out the invaders.
		HADRIAN's WALL ENGLAND Stretching 73 miles, coast-to-coast across northern England, this wall was built in six years (AD 122-28) during the rule of Emperor Hadrian, and marked the northern limit of the Roman Emplre. Although commonly thought to have been a line of defence to keep Anclent Britons, many historians belleve it may have been designed more to stop the stealing and illegal transportation of cattle.
WALIS OF BABYLON IRAQ The legendarily beautiful city of Babylon on the banks of the Euphrates River was a major city in ancient Mesopotamia, which was famously protected from invading enemies by richly decorated walls, reputed to be strong and thick enough for chariot (二轮战车) races to be held on top of them. Sadly, the walls did not prove unaffected by time, neglect and conflict.			THE BERLIN WALL GERMANY A concrete barrier swiftly erected by the German Democratic Republic in 1961, the Berlin Wall physically divided the city, cutting off West Berlin from communist East Germany for 28 years, until being torn down in 1989 — an event that marked the end of the Cold War.
	THE WALL OF JERICHO PALESTINE Featured apocryphally (虚构地) In the Bible (In which it collapses when the Israelites march around the city, blowing trumpets), the Wall of Jericho did exist. Dating to 8,000 BC, the remains make up the oldest city wall ever discovered.

1. The underline word “fortifications” in the subtitle is closest in meaning to ________.

A．battlefields rich in impressive legends

B．protective forces stationed around cities

C．walls built to defend a place against attack

D．works of engineering to honour emperors

2. Which of the following best fits in the timeline from 1 to 4?

1                                        2                                      4

Past                                                                                                                               Present

Walls of Babylon                         3

A．Walls of Jericho→ the Great wall→ Hadrian's Wall→ the Berlin Wall

B．the Berlin Wail → Hadrian's Wall →the Great wall→Walls of Jericho

C．the Great wall →Walls of Jericho→ Hadrian's Wall → the Berlin Wall

D．Hadrian's Wall →Walls of Jericho →the Great wall→Walls of Babylon

3. Which of the following is true about the features of the walls?

A．The five walls were built over long periods of time.

B．Some walls stretch nationwide while others city wide.

C．The walls were strong since they were made of concrete.

D．Time, neglect and conflict caused the ruin of the five walls

4 . The three men sat in the truck, unaware of the hot Nevada sun. Their attention was focused on a fourth man, middle-aged, tall slender, and rather well dressed for the desert-like land of the Carson River Valley. He walked purposefully over the sandy soil, systematically covering the area of a gentle rise. In his outstretched hands was a Y-shaped tree branch.

“I feel silly about this,” one of the men in the truck said. “What he's doing is contrary to all my beliefs.”

“Just you wait” one of the other two told him. “Then you won't feel so silly anymore.”

At length, the man with the branch stopped his walking. The stick he carried by the two ends of the Y no longer pointed toward the sky. Instead, it was pointing to the ground with a definite swinging motion.

“That's it,” one of the men in the truck called. He jumped over the side and ran toward the man with the stick. Within minutes, a stake had been driven into the ground at the point where the forked stick was pointing. Early the next morning，a drilling rig (钻机) lowered its bit into the earth at the same point and mechanical digging began. Less than twenty feet down, the drill stuck something the man who said he felt silly had been seeking for months: water.

It had been an uncommonly dry summer, even for that part of Nevada. One well had gone dry, and livestock were thirsty. Previous attempts at well drilling had failed, government geologists and soil engineers had gone over the area with maps, testing equipment, and sounding device. The best they could accomplish for the farmer was a gloomy series of dry holes. All the farmer had to show for his faith in men of science was a considerable drilling bill and a thirsty herd.

He had felt silly because he had been pushed by desperation into listening to some of his neighbours who suggested he try a water witch: the man with the forked stick.

After the well was completed and plenty water flowed forth, the farmer smiled nervously as he paid the water witch his twenty-five-dollar fee. “It seems so crazy to be doing this,” he said. Perhaps part of the craziness came because the farmer was a university graduate, a teacher of science at a nearby high school. However, even odder was the water witch's request for anonymity. “I don't mind you telling people you had searched for water through the use of a diving rod,” the water witch had said, “but I'll be grateful to you if you don't mention my name in any way that gets into print. I don't think my boss would like it.”

1. The farmer occasionally expressed the feeling that _________.

A．geologists would be able to do a better job.

B．he was foolish to hire a witch to find water

C．he firmly believed in water witching

D．the water witch's fee was too high

2. The phrase “At length” in the 4 paragraph can be replaced by _________.

A．immediately	B．exactly
C．eventually	D．inevitably

3. According to the passage, the farmer's faith in men of science _________.

A．brought him innumerable benefits

B．helped him to overcome difficulties

C．enabled him to maintain his livestock

D．made him waste a lot of money

4. Before leaving, the water witch asked the farmer________.

A．to hire him for any future well drilling

B．not to reveal his name

C．to pay more for his service

D．not to tell people how he searched for water

5 . With Covid-19 Under Control, China's Economy Surges Ahead

As most of the world still struggles with the coronavirus pandemic, China is showing once again that a fast economic rebound is possible when the virus is brought firmly under control.

The Chinese economy ______ by 4.9 percent in the July-to-September quarter compared with the same months last year, the country's National Bureau of Statistics announced on Monday. The robust performance brings China almost back up to the roughly 6 percent pace of ______ that it was reporting before the pandemic.

Many of the world's major economies have climbed quickly out of the depths of a contraction last spring, when shutdowns caused output to ______ steeply. But China is the first to report growth that significantly surpasses where it was at this time last year. The United States and other nations are expected to report a third-quarter surge too, but they are still behind or just ______ to pre-pandemic levels.

China's lead could widen further in the months to come. It has almost no local transmission of the virus now, ______ the United States and Europe face another accelerating wave of cases.

The vigorous expansion of the Chinese economy means that it is set to dominate global growth— ______ at least 30 percent of the world's economic growth this year and in the years to come. Chinese companies are making up a greater share of the world's ______, manufacturing consumer electronics，personal protection equipment and other goods in high ______ during the pandemic. At the same time, China is now buying more iron ore（铁矿石）from Brazil, more corn and pork from the United States and more palm oil from Malaysia. That has partly ______ a rapid drop in commodity prices last spring and softened the impact of the pandemic on some industries.

______ China's recovery has done less to help the rest of the world than in the past because its imports have not increased nearly as much as its exports. This pattern has created jobs in China but placed a（n） ______ on growth elsewhere.

China's economic recovery has also been dependent for months on huge investments in highways, high-speed train lines and other infrastructure. And in recent weeks, the country has seen the beginning of a recovery in ______ consumption. The well-off and people living in export-centered coastal provinces were the first to start spending money again. But activity is resuming now even in places like Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the new coronavirus first _______.

Determined to keep local transmission of the virus at or near zero, China has resorted to ______ cellphone tracking of its population, weeks long lockdowns of neighborhoods and cities and costly mass testing ______ even the smallest outbreaks.

1.

A．dived

B．plunged

C．raised

D．skyrocketed

2.

A．advancement

B．growth

C．progress

D．promotion

3.

A．fail

B．jump

C．rise

D．expand

4.

A．arriving at

B．catching up

C．going beyond

D．running after

5.

A．as

B．when

C．while

D．since

6.

A．accounting for

B．holding up

C．pointing out

D．taking on

7.

A．exports

B．imports

C．inputs

D．outcomes

8.

A．accommodation

B．demand

C．need

D．supply

9.

A．eased

B．reserved

C．reversed

D．turned

10.

A．Besides

B．Nevertheless

C．Therefore

D．Thus

11.

A．accelerator

B．access

C．barrier

D．brake

12.

A．aboriginal

B．coastal

C．domestic

D．overseas

13.

A．accessed

B．controlled

C．disappeared

D．emerged

14.

A．comprehensive

B．popular

C．timeless

D．whole

15.

A．as opposed to

B．by means of

C．in response to

D．with reference to

6 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. open        B. briefly        C. significantly        D. remains               E. replacing F. home        G. violent        H. restored               I. constructed        J. changes        K. rulers

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is the most famous of all castles in England. The grand castle is still a（n）     1     of the British royal family, and is the largest and oldest residential castle in the world. It has been the site of a royal house for almost 1,000 years, since the time of William the Conqueror.

King Henry II     2     the first stone building on the site of Windsor Castle in the 1170s. King Edward III, who was born in the castle, pulled down most of Henry's buildings in the 1350s,     3     them with a new “round castle” in the center of the site. Edward's central keep（城堡主楼）has survived to this day though with major     4    .

St. George's Chapel is the main church on the site. It was begun during the reign（统治）of King Edward IV and was completed by King Henry VII, who was buried there along with nine other British     5    .

The most     6     part in the history of Windsor Castle took place during the English Civil War, when Oliver Cromwell's troops took over the castle from King Charles I and used it as a fortress and the headquarters. King Charles I was     7     imprisoned at Windsor Castle and it wasn't long before he was killed and buried here in 1648.

Windsor Castle remains a primary residence of the royal family, but much of it is now     8     to the public. Sights on a Windsor Castle tour include the daily changing of the guard. The public rooms contain a large number of paintings, decorative ceiling designs and antique furniture. A fire in 1992 destroyed parts of the royal apartments, which are open to a Windsor Castle tour when the Queen is not in residence, but these have been painstakingly     9    .A Windsor Castle tour should include a walk through the Windsor Great Park, which is a beautifully designed garden in the     10     of a royal hunting forest.

7 .     1    

We all know that Italy is the best place and it is well known for its unique boot shape size with a rich history and culture. When you're travelling to Europe there are more reasons to stay and go for a visit in Italy.

Enjoy the artwork and its history.

Italy is a country which is decorated with overflowing art and specialized with a 40% artwork when calculated roughly. These various masterpieces will be seen from different art periods in museums all over the country when you visit Italy. Apart from the museums, you can also view fine examples of Medieval, Gothic, Baroque and Romanesque art in various churches.     2     Some few countries do not claim to have a capital city which was one of the most powerful empires in the world, nor can any match Italy as the birthplace of the European Renaissance.

Taste the good food.

Italian cuisine will be the best and most popular in worldwide dishes. Many visitors take this Italian food as their favorite. It comes as no surprise because of its rich and interesting flavors.

    3    

When considered with the fashions and more culture, this country will give a full fashion and can see cities like Milan which is considered to be the world's capitals for fashion and design.     4     They are particularly in the shopping center along the street of Montenapoleone, for buying trendy clothes, bags and shoes which are made up of excellent and genuine Italian leather.

A．Follow the culture and fashion.

B．Reasons for paying a visit to Italy.

C．Many people would like to visit Italy.

D．Italy has the best history for its artwork

E．It is a member of various international organizations

F．The best Italian and even international fashion houses can be seen everywhere.

8 . Teachers and parents usually call attention to the pictures when reading storybooks to preschool children. But a new study suggests that calling attention to print – the words and letters on the page may lead to _________readers.

The two-year study_________children aged 3 to 5 who were divided into two groups.The teachers helped each group to read in two different ways. Over three hundred students were considered to be likely to_________reading problems in future life, and they were_________ in a classroom setting. After reviewing the recorded lessons, the researchers found that those students whose teachers most often_________the print showed clearly higher skills in reading, spelling and understanding.

Professor Shayne Piasta, the study's author, says most teachers would find this method_________because it needs only a small change in the way they teach. They already read storybooks in class. The only_________ in the new method would be increased attention to the print.

Ms.Piasta says if adults can_________children in the stories and get them to pay attention to letters and words, it is certain that they will do better at_________recognition.But few parents and teachers do this in a(n)__________way by starting first with letters, then__________moving to words, sentences and paragraphs.__________,they habitually turn to the attractive pictures first, thus misleading the children.

Teachers and parents can point to a letter and outline its shape with a finger. They can point to a word and__________"This is 'dog'". They can discuss the meaning of the print to find how the words are combined to tell the story. And they can talk about the__________of the print, for example, how words are written from left to right. By__________ training in this way, the teachers will definitely raise the students’ ability to read.

1.

A．healthier

B．better

C．worse

D．happier

2.

A．compared

B．abandoned

C．adopted

D．accompanied

3.

A．miss

B．solve

C．have

D．raise

4.

A．found

B．locked

C．interviewed

D．observed

5.

A．twisted

B．discussed

C．tore

D．overlooked

6.

A．difficult

B．confusing

C．unbelievable

D．manageable

7.

A．difference

B．problem

C．affection

D．trick

8.

A．annoy

B．amaze

C．interest

D．puzzle

9.

A．word

B．voice

C．story

D．number

10.

A．easy

B．appropriate

C．different

D．familiar

11.

A．silently

B．suddenly

C．gradually

D．mostly

12.

A．Therefore

B．Instead

C．Otherwise

D．Moreover

13.

A．guarantee

B．propose

C．explain

D．admit

14.

A．organization

B．development

C．information

D．improvement

15.

A．regularly

B．gently

C．secretly

D．rarely

9 . The images were shocking, and the reaction was completely predictable. The sight of a polar bear lying hurt on a beach - blood matting the fur of its neck, with one huge paw folded under its body - received immediate criticism globally. By the shore in the background stand a group of guides, talking to each other. One of them had a gun hanging casually on his shoulder. This is not something that is taken lightly.     1     .

This powerful image raises questions about the motivations (动机) of this kind of tourism or ecotourism.     2    . Are there regions in the world where nature should be left completely untouched? Has our access to large animals in the wild, often driven by a desire for sensational images, led these animals to become accustomed to human contact? If so, the loser would surely pay a heavy price for such an approach.

Before we answer these questions, we would consider the events that are of global concern. For me, I was definitely shocked. I have recently returned from a trip to Svalbard, and indeed stood two weeks ago on the very beach where the bear was shot.     3    . Was the beach examined from the ship offshore beforehand? Was there access to flares (信号弹) to scare off a bear that appeared suddenly? These are standard measures for a respectable operator, and the accident could be the result of a system failure.

However, images and events should not be used to criticize the concept of ecotourism. Ecotourism is an expanding market that brings benefits as well as challenges to the regions around the world in which it operates.     4    . The key is responsibility and research before booking. If ecotourism is done properly, the benefits are immediate and lasting.

A．The bear's death should never have happened.

B．The reality, however, is considerably more complex.

C．Simply closing off these regions is not the answer.

D．Should we be in these environments at all?

E．Visitors often become ambassadors (大使) for the endangered polar bear.

F．This can be by making financial decisions to conservation groups.

10 . In rich countries like America, the absence of professional waste-pickers presents a problem. The general public is not very good at sorting rubbish. Households and businesses serviced by municipal waste-management providers may actually have got worse at sorting in the past 20 years, says Peter Keller of Republic Services, America's second-biggest waste management firm, which runs Newby Island in San Jose.

Citizens of rich countries, where almost 100% of municipal waste gets collected, take such services for granted - unless the collectors go on strike (罢工),as happened in the Belgian city of Ghent in early August, leaving streets in a stink (恶臭) for days. In some industrialized nations, increasingly, residents are charged based on volume (known as "pay-as-you-throw") To encourage sorting, such schemes often exempt recyclables.

The volume of recyclables has reached 1,400 tons a day, a lot by American standards, says Mr. Keller. That should come as no surprise. After all, inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay area pride themselves on their recycling ability. San Francisco boasts a recycling rate of 80% one of the highest of any rich-world city. San Franciscans may therefore be shocked to learn that a lot of them, as Mr. Keller puts it, “aren't very good at it"

Two possible reasons account for Mr. Keller's remarks. The first is that many people do not know what is recyclable. Beer bottles and soft-drink cans are, he says. Egg cartons and magazines are not, for there is not market for the materials of which they are made. Some things are recyclable on their own, but not when combined, such as "paper" cups lined with plastic film. It is hard to blame consumers for feeling increasingly puzzled, he admits

The other problem is that residents only have to separate recyclables from non-recyclables Cans, bottles and papers are all thrown into one bin. This mix can, to some degree, be sorted at plants like Newby, enabled by clever technology which uses optical sensor;(光电感应器) and magnets to separate materials automatically. Anyway, these was no match for humans when it came to sorting.

As the volume of recyclables increased in America and Europe, the quality of recycled output decreased because everything was mixed in together. This did not trouble materials. recovery facilities (MRF) operators so long as they would offload their increasingly impure stock abroad. Then China announced it would not accept any plastics or carboard, and American waste-management companies have been struggling to find what to do with their poor-quality waste.

1. According to the passage, the biggest problem in rich countries caused by lack of professional waste-pickers is that ________.

A．waste collectors often go on strike regardless of people's needs

B．no one teaches people how to tell apart recyclable and non-recyclables

C．waste sorting by machine is far from perfect so far

D．citizens fail to deal with waste sorting properly

2. Which of the following best defines the word "exempt"(Paragraph 2)?

A．make no charge for	B．set aside
C．fully expect	D．set the standard for

3. What can be inferred from Mr. Keller's comments on San Franciscans" recycling ability?

A．More advanced waste sorting machines will be launched (推出) as soon as possible.

B．San Franciscans are not informed that there is no need to recycle egg cartons.

C．Recycling ability is not all about separating recyclables from non-recyclables

D．It's hard for San Franciscans to change their recycling habits in the new times

4. The paragraph that follows the passage will be probably about ________.

A．the reason why MFR is not worried about poor-quality waste

B．China's new policy to keep foreign rubbish out

C．efforts to teach residents how better to sort their rubbish

D．the components (成分) of the mixed waste in America