1 . Dear Audrey,

You are much older now, and hopefully wiser, although sometimes that’s not the case. You have probably forgotten about me.

I’m 12-year-old you struggling with anxiety, hating online learning, in this terrible Coronavirus（冠状病毒）.

I’m writing a letter to you that I hope you read every year on New Year’s Day, or New Year’s Eve.

I’ve come from 2020 to remind you not to forget. I am sitting on my bed right now, tears still on my face from a fight with my mom (I love her more than anything or anyone, but we’ve spent too much time together), and looking at the light blue masks hanging on the hooks next to the door in my kitchen. In a way, it still feels like March, when this whole crazy thing started. I’m sick of it.

I am begging you to remember. I didn’t get to spend Thanksgiving with my beloved grandparents, when I’d been waiting so long to act normally with them. Now, it looks like I won’t be spending Christmas with them normally either. In America (where I live), the Coronavirus numbers are higher than they’ve ever been. I am hoping and am going to pray for a Christmas miracle, but I have my doubts because I hoped for an Easter miracle and that didn’t happen.

I am struggling and would do anything to get out of 2020 and this Coronavirus, to see my friends and family normally. You are able to do that. You have what I want so badly. So please, I urge you to enjoy your life, your friends, your family, your experiences.

Remember — everything is replaceable and unimportant, but people are the only true thing that matters in this modern-day world.

Love your life, and be filled with joy this year.

Sincerely,

You, aged 12, Audrey in 2020, the Pandemic Year.

1. Which of the following is NOT the reason that the writer hates the Coronavirus?

A．She couldn’t go to school.

B．She doesn’t love her mom.

C．She has to stay at home with her mom.

D．She couldn’t spend Thanksgiving with her grandparents.

2. What does the writer want badly?

A．Meeting people normally.

B．Praying for a Christmas miracle.

C．Going to the future.

D．Continuing online learning.

3. What is the writer’s purpose of the letter?

A．To remind her future self to treasure the people and enjoy life.

B．To complain that her present life is terrible.

C．To tell her future self that she is sick of the Coronavirus.

D．To persuade her future self to remember the Coronavirus.

2 . When almost everyone has a mobile phone, why are more than half of Australian homes still paying for a landline (座机)?

These days you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Australia over the age of 15 who doesn’t own a mobile phone. In fact plenty of younger kids have one in their pocket. Practically everyone can make and receive calls anywhere, anytime.

Still, 55 percent of Australians have a landline phone at home and only just over a quarter (29%) rely only on their smartphones according to a survey (调查). Of those Australians who still have a landline, a third concede that it’s not really necessary and they’re keeping it as a security blanket — 19 percent say they never use it while a further 13 percent keep it in case of emergencies. I think my home falls into that category.

More than half of Australian homes are still choosing to stick with their home phone. Age is naturally a factor (因素)— only 58 percent of Generation Ys still use landlines now and then, compared to 84 percent of Baby Boomers who’ve perhaps had the same home number for 50 years. Age isn’t the only factor; I’d say it’s also to do with the makeup of your household.

Generation Xers with young families, like my wife and I, can still find it convenient to have a home phone rather than providing a mobile phone for every family member. That said, to be honest the only people who ever ring our home phone are our Baby Boomers parents, to the point where we play a game and guess who is calling before we pick up the phone (using Caller ID would take the fun out of it).

How attached are you to your landline? How long until they go the way of gas street lamps and morning milk deliveries?

1. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about mobile phones?

A．Their target users.	B．Their wide popularity.
C．Their major functions.	D．Their complex design.

2. What does the underlined word “concede” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Admit.	B．Argue.
C．Remember.	D．Remark.

3. What can we say about Baby Boomers?

A．They like smartphone games.	B．They enjoy guessing callers’ identity.
C．They keep using landline phones.	D．They are attached to their family.

4. What can be inferred about the landline from the last paragraph?

A．It remains a family necessity.

B．It will fall out of use some day.

C．It may increase daily expenses.

D．It is as important as the gas light.

3 . Some of the world's most important scientists think the idea of people living on Mars will come true one day. Stephen Hawking believed humans must move into space to survive. “Once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe,” he said.

However, scientists will need to terraform Mars for people to be able to live. One of the main goals of terraforming Mars is to warm it up because the average temperature there is about -60. One idea for warming Mars is to build factories there that produce greenhouse gases. This could take many centuries. However, it should lead to rainfall and the growth of plants, resulting in more air that people can breathe.

Another big concern for scientists is whether humans can move to Mars and still stay healthy in mind and body. As a test, six people lived in a Mars-like environment in Hawaii for a year before “returning to Earth” recently. It was a 1,200-square-foot room that was on the side of a volcano and used the sun for energy. Christiane Heinicke, one of the people who lived there, said that one of the biggest issues was feeling bored. So humans on Mars would always need to keep themselves busy with various activities. Another important finding was that the people living together should all be able to get along and work together.

One particular organization based in Europe is planning to send the first humans to Mars before 2030. The organization believes that its project is giving people worldwide the chance to be part of the first human crew ever to live on Mars for good. However, many experts think the project’s cost of US$6 billion is too low for it to be successful. The American space agency NASA believes that sending people to Mars would cost about US $100 billion, although this estimate is based on bringing them back to Earth, too. Regardless, it seems that humans living on Mars may well happen a lot sooner than most people believe.

1. What's Stephen Hawking’s opinion about settling on Mars?

A．It makes sense to live on Mars.

B．There is no need to spread out into space.

C．Moving into space is a dream impossible to fulfill.

D．Our future will not be secure unless independent kingdoms are built.

2. What does the underlined word ‘'terraform” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Warm up Mars.

B．Make Mars more like Earth.

C．Build more factories on Mars.

D．Accelerate the growth of plants on Mars.

3. What does the author think about living to Mars?

A．Living on Mars is boring but good.

B．It is too costly to send humans to Mars.

C．Humans' health will be greatly affected.

D．Moving to Mars is expected in the near future.

4. Which can be the best title of the passage?

A．Safe on Mars?	B．Boring on Mars?
C．Homes on Mars?	D．Challenges on Mars?