1 .

A．They were packing up their stuff.

B．They were watching a car race.

C．They narrowly escaped a car crash.

D．They got lost in the heavy traffic.

2 . Directions: Read the following three passages. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Birdsong and Mental Health

People often turn to nature as a healthy way to cope with stress. People also consider it relaxing to listen to audio recordings of running water, waves or singing birds. Sound can have an extensive effect on our sense of well-being. Accordingly, scientists have long sought to understand the effects of certain sounds on people.

In a recent study, scientists evaluated the effect that hearing birdsong had on hikers. They monitored a number of hiking trails in a public park with audio recording devices. This helped them create a bird count in the area. They then surveyed visitors to those trails about their impression of bird diversity. They also asked for a report on the visitors' sense of well-being.

The next part of the study took place on the same trails. But the scientists used hidden speakers to play recordings of birds singing. That gave the impression that there were more birds in the area. They then surveyed visitors who had heard the recordings.

The results of the study indicated that there was a direct relationship between hearing birdsong and an increased sense of well-being. This result builds on prior investigations into the effects of listening to recordings of natural sounds on people. Those studies have shown that recordings of natural sounds can help with stress relief and the ability to focus. However, the reason behind the benefit is not totally clear.

Perhaps listening to birdsong is connected to a sense of calm. After all, we encounter birdsong in the peaceful part of the morning or following a storm. Or it might relate to a sense of safety projected by singing birds. They sing when there are no predators nearby. Whatever the reason, listening to birdsong can improve our mental health.

The authors of the hiking study had an interesting observation. It was the perception of being in nature with a diversity of singing birds that helped. Therefore, they suggested that park managers encourage visitors to enjoy nature quietly as that provided the greatest benefit.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . You can tell a lot about people's general state of mind based on their social media feeds. Are they always tweeting about their biggest annoyances or posting pictures of particularly cute kitties? In a similar fashion, researchers are turning to Twitter for clues about the overall happiness of entire geographic communities.

What they're finding is that regional variation in the use of common phrases produces predictions that don't always reflect the local state of well being. But removing from their analyses just three specific terms — good, love and LOL — greatly improves the accuracy of the methods.

“We're living in a crazy COVID-19 era. And now more than ever, we're using social media to adapt to a new normal and reach out to the friends and family that we can't meet face-to-face.” Kokil Jaidka studies computational linguistics at the National University of Singapore. “But our words aren't useful just to understand what we, as individuals, think and feel. They're also useful clues about the community we live in.”

One of the simpler methods that many scientists use to analyze the data involves correlating words with positive or negative emotions. But when those records are compared with phone surveys that assess regional well-being, Jaidka says, they don't paint an accurate picture of the local zeitgeist.

Being able to get an accurate read on the mood of the population is no laughing matter.

“That's particularly important now, in the time of COVID, where we're expecting a mental health crisis and we're already seeing in survey data the largest decrease in subjective well-being in 10 years at least, if not ever.”

To find out why, Jaidka and her team analyzed billions of tweets from around the United States. And they found that among the most frequently used terms on Twitter are LOL, love and good. And they actually throw the analysis off. Why the disconnect?

“Internet language is really a different beast than regular spoken language. We've adapted words from the English vocabulary to mean different things in different situations.” says Jaidka. “Take, for example, LOL. I've tweeted the word LOL to express irony, annoyance and sometimes just pure surprise. When the methods for measuring LOL as a marker of happiness were created in the 1990s, it still meant laughing out loud.”

"There are plenty of terms that are less misleading," says Jaidka. "Our models tell us that words like excited, fun, great, opportunity, interesting, fantastic and those are better words for measuring subjective well-being."

1. The researchers turn to social media feeds to________.

A．help with the analysis of people's subjective well-being

B．locate the most-frequently used words

C．prove the disconnect between language and emotions

D．make the prediction method more effective

2. How did Jaidka know the analysis wasn't accurate?

A．It didn't reflect the mood of the entire geographic community

B．It didn't match the assessment result of the phone surveys.

C．It didn't consider the features of Internet language.

D．It didn't take the regional variations into account.

3. Which of the following statements will Jaidka most probably agree with?

A．Face-to-face communication is needed to ensure happiness.

B．Internet use is to blame for the decrease in subjective well-being.

C．Internet language should be abandoned as a source of scientific analysis.

D．Less misleading words should be used in assessing subjective well-being.

4 . Would you like to make our readers smile? Enter this funny story-writing competition and you could see your story printed in The Week Junior and published in a special downloadable book.

Things can feel quite strange and serious at the moment. Sometimes we all need a break from reality to escape into a story that makes us laugh out loud. That's where you come in. Guy Bass (author of Stitch Head and Skeleton Keys) want you to give him the giggles. Usually it's Guy's job to make his readers laugh, but now he's turning the tables as he searchers for the funniest young writers who can give him A WRITELAUGH. He's looking for nine funny stories written by children aged from five to 13, to publish in a special book.

What you win

 There are three age categories: 5-7 years, 8-10 years, and 11-13 years. There will be a first, second and third-placed winner in each category.

 The Week Junior's editorial team will be selecting one of the winning stories to publish in the magazine.

 Each of the nine winners will have their story included in a special e-book that will be available online.

 Also up for grabs are stacks of funny books, and a year's subscription to The Week Junior magazine for the overall winner.

HOW TO ENTER

 Stories should be no more than 500 words long. They can be on any topic, but they must make the judges laugh out loud.

 Ask a parent or guardian to send your entry to awr itelaugh@littletiger co.uk       Don't forget to include your name and age.

 Before you enter the competition, make sure your parent or guardian has read the terms and conditions.

 The dosing date for entries is midnight on Friday 31 December.

Not sure where to start? Guy has asked lots of his author friends to supply hints and tips to help get your creative juices flowing. Visit authorfy.com/masterclasses/awr itelaugh to watch video from Guy Bass, Liz Pichon, A. F. Harrold, Swapna Haddow and many more!

*Team & Conditions: A Write Laugh (the "Competition") is organized by the Little Tiger Group. To view the full terms and conditions and rules for entry please go to littetiger.co.uk/a-write-laugh

Privacy: Any personal data relating to entrants will not be disclosed to third party without the individual's permission. We will only use the information you provide to determine your admissibility and to contact you in relation to your entry. Data relating to entrants will be kept by Little Tiger Group for a reasonable period of time after the competition closes, to assist Little Tiger Group to operate the competition in a steady manner and to deal with any inquiries on the competition.

1. To enter the competition, the entrants must________.

A．send his/her story to awritelaugh@littletiger.co.uk

B．hand in his/her entry on Friday 31 December

C．use ideas from authofy.com/masterclasses/awritelaugh

D．write a short funny story on the topic given by Guy Bass

2. What are the prizes for the winners?

A．All the first-placed winners' stories will be published in The Week Junior.

B．The winners will see their stories included in an e-book.

C．The winners will have the chance to talk with famous authors.

D．The winners can subscribe to The Week Junior at a discount.

3. According to the terms and conditions,________.

A．personal data won't be disclosed under any circumstance.

B．Little Tiger Group owns the copyright on all the stories

C．personal data will be used in relation to the competition

D．Litter Tiger Group will remove all data right after the competition

5 . A 47-year-old Frenchman had an unfortunate experience while walking around Cannes. Here he is to tell us all about it.

The Black Hole

I work in the philosophy department at the university. Just last week, I had some drinks with some friends in a bar. After a few glasses of wine, but not too many, mind you, I felt. It was about six in the evening, and it was starting to get dark. It had been raining heavily the past few days, but that night it was pleasant so I decided to walk home. However, I'd just turned the corner into my street when all of a sudden, "whoosh", I fell down an uncovered manhole.

Flying

It was an incredible experience. It was as if I was flying through the air. I could feel the cold, wet sides of the drain. Eventually my back was rubbing along the side, until "splash", I fell into a pool of running water.

A Water Ride

Now I was moving quite fast. The current was very strong — I guess it was because of all the heavy rain that had flooded the drain. Luckily the water wasn't very deep so I could keep my head above water. There was nothing I could do, so I lay back, with my hands behind my head, as if I was on slide in a water park, and just let myself go. It was quite pleasant really, except for the occasional mouthful of sickening water, and a horrible smell. When was it going to end? I was about to find out.

The End of the Ordeal

All of a sudden, I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. It started off quite small, but then it got bigger and bigger. A few seconds later I was shot up violently out of the drain, and onto the beach, right below the luxurious Majestic Hotel. I lay there for a few second, shaken, but unharmed. Then I picked myself up, walked up to the hotel and told them what had happened. Of course, at first it was hard to convince them that this dirty, wet middle-aged man with a horrible smell on him was in fact a dignified university professor. Anyway, they eventually believed me and allowed me to clean myself in one of the rooms.

Recovery

Miraculously, I was uninjured after my 30-minutes ride. I am currently in the process of charging the local council with failing to warn the public about the unmarked manhole.

Meanwhile, the town mayor has blamed "unusually strong rain fall" for the situation.

1. Why did the man fall into to manhole?

A．He was walking too fast.	B．He had drunk too much wine.
C．The manhole was uncovered.	D．The heavy rain blocked his vision.

2. The underlined word "ordeal" probably means________.

A．suffering

B．spinning

C．overflow

D．offence

3. What can be learned about the man?

A．He blamed his misfortune on the unusually heavy rain.

B．He was lucky enough to ge spotted by a hotel employee.

C．He had to swim against the strong current to survive.

D．He is engaged in a legal case against the local authorities.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the article?

A．A Frenchman's Night Encounter	B．A Ride down the Drain
C．Watch out for Hidden Dangers	D．Defend One's Dignity in Tough Situations

6 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. natural       B. substituting       C. stable       D. disappear       E. piece       F. transforming G. returned       H. regrowth       I. habitats       J. flat       K. pulled

Fire That Was Started 92,000 Years Ago

Human are actively changing landscapes across the globe, but shaping ecosystems is not just a modern activity.

An analysis of the northern shores of East Africa's Lake Malawi reveals ancient inhabitants used fire 92,000 years ago to prevent forest     1    . These Stone Age humans burned forest to make room for a growing population.

The Yale-led study discovered settlements in the area, along with charcoal deposits in the core of the lake, allowing researchers to     2    the story together.

Jessica Thompson, the paper's lead author, said: "This is the earliest evidence I have seen of humans     3    their ecosystem with fire. It suggests that by the Late Pleistocene（晚更新世）, humans were learning to use fire in truly new ways.

The work began in 2018. Researchers from Pennsylvania State University examined fossils, pollen（花粉）and minerals     4    from the bottom of the lake. The analysis showed environment changes that could not be explained with     5    factors.

Normally forest along the lake shore     6    during dry periods and recover when the lake reaches normal levels. But here researchers discovered that when wetter periods     7     and water levels became normal, forests along the shore did not recover, and the species richness went     8    .

Sarah Ivory from Pennsylvania State University said: "The pollen that we see in this most recent period of     9    climate is very different than before. Specifically, trees are no longer common and are replaced by pollen from plants that deal well with frequent fire."

It's not clear why people were burning the landscape. It's possible that they were experimenting with controlled burns to produce     10    . It could be that their fires burned out of control, or that there were simple a lot of people burning fuel in their environment that provided for warmth, cooking, or socialization.

7 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

How Much Understanding Opportunity Cost

Decisions, decisions! Every day we come across situations in     1    we have to make a choice. Economists have long realized that when we make decision, we are considering our unlimited wants     2    limited time, money, services, and opportunities.

    3    we choose, we not only have to think about the cost of one item we can have now, but we must take into account the thing we have to give up. Economists call this "opportunity cost," and you don't have to have a PhD in economics     4    (benefit) from knowing how the concept works and now it can improve our life choices.

A simple choice between buying a dinner in an expensive restaurant and at a     5    (affordable) food stand can illustrate opportunity cost. The money you spend on the high-class restaurant meal is certain to be more than the     6    at a food stand. If you choose the restaurant, you will enjoy a good meal and the enjoyment of fine dining. However, the extra money spent on the meal compared to the food from the food stand     7    (lose). You sacrifice cheaper meal for a costlier one. This is an example of "opportunity cost."

    8    you go to college? That would take at least four years plus the expenses for tuition, books, and other supplies. During that time you would probably not be earning any money. The lost opportunity of earning money is your opportunity cost of obtaining     9    college degree. Before you make your next purchase, whether for a house, car, college degree, or just coffee, consider     10    you must give up to make that purchase.

8 . From Oxford’s quads to Harvard Yard and many a steel and glass palace of higher education in between, exams are given way to holidays. As students consider life after graduation, universities are _______ questions about their own future. The higher education model of lecturing, cramming and examination has barely _______ for centuries. Now, three disruptive waves are threatening to shake established ways of teaching and learning.

On one front, a funding _______ has created a shortage of fund that the universities brightest brains are struggling to solve. Institutions’ costs are rising, _______ pricey investments in technology, teachers’ salaries and increasing administrative costs. That comes as governments conclude that they can no longer afford to subsidize universities as _______ as they used to. American colleges, in particular, are under pressure: some analysts predict mass bankruptcies within two decades.

At the same time, a(n) _______ revolution is challenging higher education’s business model. A(n) _______ in online learning, much of it free, means that the knowledge once a lucky few had access to has been released to anyone with a smartphone or laptop. These _______ and technological disruptions coincide with a third great change: whereas universities used to educate only a tiny elite, they are now _______ training and retraining workers throughout their careers. How will they ________ this storm—and what will emerge in their place if they don’t?

The universities least likely to lose out to online competitors are elite institutions with established reputations and low student-to-tutor ratios. That is ________ news for the Ivy League, which offer networking opportunities to students alongside a degree. Those colleges might profit from expanding the ratio of online learning to classroom teaching, lowering their costs while still offering the prize of a college education conducted partly on campus.

The most vulnerable, according to Jim Lerman of Kean University in New Jersey, are the “middle-tier institutions, which produce America's teachers, middle managers and administrators.” They could be ________ in greater part by online courses, he suggests. So might weaker community colleges, although those which cultivate connections to local employers might yet prove resilient (有弹力的).

Since the first wave of massive online courses launched in 2012, an opposition has focused on their ________ and commercial uncertainties. Yet if critics think they are immune to the march of the MOOC, they are almost certainly wrong. Whereas online courses can quickly________ their content and delivery mechanisms, universities are up against serious cost and efficiency problems, with little changes of taking more from the public purse.

Without the personal touch, higher education could become “an icebound, petrified (石化的) cast-iron university.” That is what the new wave of high-tech courses should not become. But as a(n) ________ to an overstretched, expensive model of higher education, they are more likely to prosper than fade.

1.

A．answering

B．facing

C．settling

D．guessing

2.

A．reviewed

B．existed

C．substituted

D．changed

3.

A．situation

B．trend

C．crisis

D．relief

4.

A．owing to

B．apart from

C．except for

D．rather than

5.

A．patiently

B．generously

C．naturally

D．ignorantly

6.

A．technological

B．professional

C．educational

D．geographical

7.

A．difference

B．emphasis

C．harmony

D．explosion

8.

A．fundamental

B．administrative

C．financial

D．psychological

9.

A．responsible for

B．eager for

C．curious about

D．enthusiastic about

10.

A．observe

B．chase

C．witness

D．survive

11.

A．shocking

B．good

C．annoying

D．neutral

12.

A．promoted

B．replaced

C．maintained

D．marketed

13.

A．failure

B．projects

C．innovation

D．progress

14.

A．resist

B．release

C．adjust

D．resemble

15.

A．object

B．relation

C．implication

D．alternative

9 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. continue            B. prospering            C. matters            D. enrolling            E. sees            F. disastrous G. booming            H. victim                 I. souring             J. opposition          K. transform

In the normal run of things, late summer     1     airports in the emerging world filled with nervous 18-year-olds, jetting off to begin a new life in the rich world's universities. The annual journey of more than five million students is a victory of globalization. Students see the world; universities get a fresh batch of high-paying customers. Yet with fights grounded and borders closed, this migration is about to become the pandemic's latest     2    .

For students, covid-l9 is making life difficult. Many must choose between inconveniently timed seminars streamed into their parents' living rooms and inconveniently deferring (延缓) their studies until life is more normal. It is     3     for universities, who will not only lose huge chunks of fees from foreign students but, because campus life spreads infection, they will have to     4     the way they operate.

Yet the disaster may have an upside. For many years government funding and     5     demand have allowed universities to resist changes that could benefit both students and society, but they may not be able to do so for much longer.

Higher education has been     6    . Since 1995, as the notion spread from the rich world to the emerging one that a degree from a good institution was essential, the number of young people     7     in higher education rose from 16% of the age group to 38%. However, troubles are piling up. China has been a source of high-paying foreign students for Western universities, but relations between the West and China are     8    . Students with ties to the army are to be banned from America.

Governments have been turning against universities, too. In an age when politics divides along educational lines, universities struggle to persuade some politicians of their merit. President Trump attacks them for “Radical Left Indoctrination, not Education”. Some 59% of Republican voters have a negative view of colleges. In Britain universities' noisy     9     to Brexit has not helped. Given that the state pays for between a quarter and a half of tertiary education in America, Australia and Britain, through student loans and grants, the government's willingness     10    .

10 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Scientists and engineers     1     (prepare) for possible travel into interstellar space, the area in between stars, in the distant future. Experts believe it will likely take many years before the technology and equipment are developed     2     (send) humans to this unexplored area of space. But if it does happen, massive spaceships     3     carry humans on long trips to distant starts.

Two American researchers, Andrew McKenzie from the University of Kansas and Jeffrey Punske of Southern Illinois University, have explored one possible problem with such travel. They considered the possibility     4     changes in human language could develop over time, thus     5     (cause) major communication problems with people on Earth.

Languages naturally change as communities grow more isolated from each other, the researchers noted in the paper. The long isolation of a community could lead to enough differences in language to make     6     impossible for community members back home to understand. The researchers noted that in    7     (add) to new words being used, the language of people traveling on spaceships and living in colonies     8     (experience) many other changes. For example, the sounds of different letters would likely change over time, affecting not only individual words, but the whole grammatioal system.

The researchers say one possible solution to     9     (limit) communication problems would be to include language experts on spaceship crews. Another suggestion is to use sign language as a form of communication. McKenzie added that space travelers might question whether it is even worth trying to learn how to communicate with people on Earth. But he believe there will always be a need, even     10     it is very limited. “You have to learn a little Earth English to send messages back, or to read the instruction manuals and information that came with the ship,” he said.