1 . Recently，I took a trip home by train．I got a seat opposite a middle-aged man with sharp eyes，who kept
As the night wore on，people began to close their eyes，but the seats were so uncomfortable that only a very heavy sleeper could manage to get any
The train moved on．The little boy was
The
| A．guiding | B．bothering | C．watching | D．monitoring |
| A．adjusted | B．changed | C．packed | D．waved |
| A．air | B．joy | C．space | D．rest |
| A．nervous | B．embarrassed | C．angry | D．disappointed |
| A．almost | B．still | C．hardly | D．even |
| A．drag | B．climb | C．knock | D．push |
| A．grabbed | B．rocked | C．touched | D．picked |
| A．alarm | B．quarrel | C．risk | D．noise |
| A．sorrow | B．relief | C．panic | D．pain |
| A．astonished | B．confused | C．concerned | D．inspired |
Recent research suggests that if an argument gets resolved，the emotional response tied to it is significantly reduced or almost completely erased．Thus，it may be worth bringing up issues with your friends， family members，or classmates rather than holding them back．
There is a difference between arguing and fighting．Arguing is that you and your opponent present your concerns and discuss the feelings and issues related to those concerns．You can engage in an argument respectfully without stirring up（激起） anger．Fighting，however，usually involves personal attacks，raising of voices， and storming out．Discussing your issues and resolving them instead of stuffing them down can improve your emotional health．In a study，2.000 people were asked to record their feelings and experiences for eight days in a row．When people had an argument that they considered resolved， they had half the reactivity （情绪反应） of those who avoided an argument．Reactivity is an increase in negative emotions or a decrease in positive emotions．In other words，resolving an argument cuts your negative feelings by half．One day later， people who had a resolved argument reported no increase of negative emotions compared with those who avoided an argument． This means that resolving an argument can feel like you have reached a state of resolution——and you are less likely to be annoyed．
Moreover，the older you are，the more likely you will come to a resolution after an argument．This may be because more life experience usually leads to more defined priorities．You are more likely to distinguish between what matters and what does not．
It is easier to avoid a discussion，but risking talking about it may eventually lead to a better outcome．
1. According to this passage，what is arguing？2. Why is it that“the older you are， the more likely you will come to a resolution after an argument”？
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement，then underline it and explain why．
Resolving arguments can improve your emotional health，because it increases your reactivity and reduces the chance of you getting angry．
4. In addition to improving emotional health，what do you think are some other benefits of resolving an argument？ （In about 40 words）
A few weeks ago, I accidentally dropped a plate and it broke into a billion pieces! I’d had it for about 40 years. This morning, we had a parcel
Five-year-old Naomi lost her teddy bear on a hiking path
5 . I love animals. So when Dr. Vannini said his vet hospital needed help, I was
I volunteered to clean up and help in several medical procedures. But the moment I will never
A retriever (寻回犬)was in deep
Near the end of the surgery, something caught my eye. I thought I saw the
The experience was especially meaningful for me because a week earlier I had witnessed the
| A．shocked | B．puzzled | C．delighted | D．depressed |
| A．suspect | B．forget | C．encounter | D．seize |
| A．confusion | B．thought | C．suffering | D．sorrow |
| A．survived | B．jumped | C．barked | D．waked |
| A．support | B．response | C．comfort | D．surgery |
| A．homeless | B．lifeless | C．careless | D．faultless |
| A．quickly | B．finally | C．softly | D．roughly |
| A．ashamed | B．formal | C．bored | D．incredible |
| A．event | B．growth | C．opposite | D．accident |
| A．made | B．gave | C．lifted | D．held |
6 . Artificial intelligence is one of the most concentrated industries in the world, which influences education, criminal justice, hiring and welfare, But so far the industry has escapedregulation (管理), despite affecting the lives of billions of people, even when its products are potentially harmful.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sped this up. Many Al companies are now promoting emotion recognition tools (ERTs) for monitoring remote workers. These systems map the “micro-expressions”in people’s faces from their video cameras. Then they predict internal emotional states drawn from a list of supposedly universal categories: happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, surprise and fear. However, there is scientific doubt whether emotional states are accurately detected at all. “It is not possible to confidently infer happiness from a smile, or sadness from a frown,” a 2019 review stated.
Resistance to this highly controversial (有争议的) technology is growing; the influential.
Brookings Institute suggested ERTs be banned completely from use by law. The European Union becomes the first to attempt a proposal to regulate AI, but the draft AI act has its problems. It would ban most “real-time” biometric ID (生物识别) systems — but fails to define what exactly real-time means.
Clearly, we need far stronger protections and controls that address such harmful effects on society. However, too many policymakers fall into the trap of “enchanted determinism”: the belief that AI systems are magical and superhuman — beyond what we can understand or regulate, yet decisive and reliable enough to make predictions about life-changing decisions. This effect drives a kind of techno-optimism that can directly endanger people’s lives. For example, a review in the British Medical Journal looked at 232 machine-learning algorithms (算法) for predicting outcomes for COVID-19 patients. It found that none of them were fit for clinical use. “I fear that they may have harmed patients,” said one of the authors.
Many countries have strict regulations and thorough testing when developing medicines and vaccines. The same should be true for AI systems, especially those having a direct impact on people’s lives.
1. What can be inferred from paragraph 2?| A．The COVTD-19 pandemic has sped up the regulation of AI. |
| B．The internal emotional states are only limited to six basic categories. |
| C．There is no reliable link between facial expressions and true feelings. |
| D．People’s micro-expressions accurately reveal their internal emotions. |
| A．To show EU’s resistance to AI technology. |
| B．To show the difficulty in regulating AI. |
| C．To prove AI technology should be banned. |
| D．To prove the act is completely ineffective. |
| A．It shakes people’s confidence in technology. |
| B．It enables people to correctly predict future. |
| C．It misleads policymakers in making decisions. |
| D．It helps predict outcomes for COVID-19 patients. |
| A．AI: Products in Demand |
| B．AI: Strict Rules in Place |
| C．AI: Tight Control in Need |
| D．AI: Technology in Danger |
7 . Japanese automaker Toyota says it will team up with the country’s space agency to develop a vehicle called the Lunar Cruiser to explore the moon. The name comes from a popular Toyota vehicle called the Land Cruiser. The company said it plans to launch the vehicle in the late 2020s. After that, Toyota said the vehicle could assist people living on the moon by 2040 and could possibly be sent to Mars as well.
Takao Sato heads the company’s Lunar Cruiser project. He told The Associated Press the vehicle is based on the idea that people eat, work, sleep and communicate with others safely in cars. He hopes theLunar Cruiser can serve the same purpose in space. “We see space as an area for our once-in-a-century transformation, ” Sato said, “By going to space, we may be able to develop telecommunications and other technology that will prove valuable to human life. ”
Another company, Gitai Japan Inc., is partnering with Toyota to develop a robotic arm for the Lunar Cruiser. It will be designed to perform jobs such as carrying out inspections and maintaining the vehicle. The company said the arm will be built to work with different tools. These tools could be used to study the moon’s surface more closely.
Interest in space has been growing in Japan in recent years. Japanese space exploration company iSpace announced last April that it would transport an explorer belonging to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the moon in 2022. Japan’s iSpace will provide the lander to carry the UAE’s rover(探测器).
The company plans to launch the lander on a Falcon 9 rocket built by American company SpaceX. Japanese citizens followed the trip to space last year of billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. He spent 12 days aboard the International Space Station. Maezawa also plans in the future to orbit around the moon on a SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft.
Toyota engineer Shinichiro Noda said he thinks the lunar project can extend the company’s tradition of serving customers to a place beyond Earth. He said Toyota currently has vehicles almost everywhere. “But this is about taking our cars to somewhere we have never been, ” Noda said.
1. What’s the ultimate purpose of the Lunar Cruiser project?| A．To better human life. | B．To make safe vehicles. |
| C．To prove the previous idea. | D．To transform communication. |
| A．Japan’s enthusiasm in space. | B．Japan’s achievements in space. |
| C．Japan’s potential in space travel. | D．Japan ’s ambition to explore space. |
| A．Negative. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Positive. |
| A．Japanese Curiosity in Moon Travel Generated |
| B．Great Contribution Made in Exploring Mars |
| C．Rover Built by Toyota to Be Landed on Mars |
| D．Toyota to Help Develop Vehicle to Explore Moon |
8 . Working from home has been a long-held dream for many employees craving more flexible work arrangements and comfort. With the fantasy coming true because of the outbreak of COVID-19, however, quite a few people find it less romantic than expected. Amid the ongoing epidemic, a large number of Chinese companies have ordered employees to work from home, looking to control the spread of the virus as staff members return from the Spring Festival travel rush.
Allowing employees to work from home-even if they are not symptomatic-and enabling virtual meetings could help limit the spread of the virus and assuage employees’ fears about exposure.
But there’s another side to the coin. As millions of people started to work at home, people found video communication difficult. Many telecommuting platforms, including DingTalk, an all-in-one mobile workplace from Alibaba, went through temporary outages due to surging demand.
Fu Yangang, a product manager at a house trading company in Beijing, found he couldn’t receive any messages from colleagues during an online meeting at home on Tuesday, and neither could they. Similar problems arose when they switched to Zoom, a California-based video communication app which provides remote conferencing services.
Residences filled with distractions such as spouses, parents, kids or pets set up another obstacle for many employees working from home. Xia Baigi, who works for an Internet company in Beijing, was required to stay at home in Jilin Province until Feb.10, but has found what was an oft-wished for working style a hindrance to productivity. Her parents, who don’t have much to do, suddenly became concerned about her job and asked many questions. “I love my mom and dad, but their current behavior just adds stress and strain,” she said. “Sometimes I have to lock myself in my own room to avoid their enthusiasm.”
For people who are able to stay as productive as they would in an office environment, they came across a different problem： “surprisingly” longer working time at home. Working for an investment company in Shanghai, Zhang Fei felt he could never escape from his job working at home in Shandong Province, which makes time management a whole lot messier. “There is no longer a’ work’ and’ no work’ time. My work comes calling at all hours, which can keep me at a frenetic pace,” he said. With the return date drawing closer, he said, he never felt so excited about being back at the office.
1. Why many people can work from home in China?| A．Because many employees think it is a fantasy idea. |
| B．Because the employers think more highly of working from home than traditional working. |
| C．Because the COVID-19 occurred. |
| D．Because large number of Chinese companies want to avoid the Spring Festival travel rush. |
| A．Increase. | B．Ease. | C．Give up. | D．Find. |
| A．After Fu Yangang and his partners switched to Zoom, their problem was solved. |
| B．Xia Baiqi’s parents could give her more constructive advice. |
| C．Xia Baiqi locked herself in her own room to avoid distractions. |
| D．By saying “There is no longer a ‘work’ and ‘no work’ time.”, Zhang Fei meant he can work less time when at home. |
| A．Working from home has unexpected challenges |
| B．Working from home can save you a lot of trouble |
| C．How to avoid distractions when working from home |
| D．More flexible, less work time |
9 . Great Panda Center
Join GoEco on a 7-day volunteer program in China to help wildlife at a giant panda center!
Your schedule
Day 1: Arrive at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. The local team will be waiting to pick you up and transfer you to the hotel in Chengdu.
Day 2: Walk around Chengdu, visit Panda Breeding Center and enjoy delicious hot pot dinner.
Day 3-6: Transfer to Panda Base in the mountains and take part in rewarding volunteer work! Each day, volunteers will work for 4-6 hours and in the evenings, volunteers will take part in cultural activities ranging from dumpling making to Chinese language lessons.
Day 7: Take a bus to either the airport or Chengdu City Center if extending stay.
Some of your tasks include
• Preparing food for the pandas
• Cutting down and carrying bamboos
• Cleaning panda enclosures
• Occasionally participating in observation and research
Requirements
• Ages 18-50 (This project may accept volunteers who are under 18 with a letter of consent（同意）from a parent)
• Basic English and/or Chinese
• Motivation to work with animals
Total project cost: $1200
• What’s included
Room: Shared hotel room
Food: Three meals a day
Airport transfers: Airport transfers upon arrival and departure
• What’s not included
Flights, travel health insurance, personal expenses
Important note: Please apply for this program 1-2 months in advance. Families upgrading to private accommodations must pay an additional charge.
1. What might volunteers do on the sixth day?| A．Visit Panda Breeding Center. |
| B．Clean panda enclosures. |
| C．Travel around Chengdu. |
| D．Depart from Panda Base. |
| A．Accommodations. | B．Personal expenses. |
| C．Travel insurance. | D．The air ticket. |
| A．Being fluent in both English and Chinese. |
| B．Having experience of working with animals. |
| C．Applying for the program in advance. |
| D．Being at least 18 years old. |
10 . It was widely believed that, in order to get the first languages off the ground, our ancestors first needed a way to create novel signals that could be understood by others, relying on visual signs whose form was directly similar to the intended meaning. Some gestures can be understood almost anywhere: pointing to direct someone’s attention, for instance.
However, an international research team, led by experts from the University of Birmingham and the Leibniz-Centre General Linguistics (ZAS), Berlin, have discovered that certain vocalizations (发声法) can also be iconic and recognizable to people around the world — even when a speaker is not simply imitating a well-known sound. These findings, published in Scientific Reports, may help explain the rise of modern spoken language.
In 2015, language researchers challenged some English speakers to make up sounds representing various basic concepts (“sleep”, “child”, “meat”, “rock”, and more). When other English speakers listened to these sounds and tried matching them to concepts, they were largely successful. But “we wanted to be able to show that these vocalizations are understandable across cultures,” says study co-author and University of Birmingham cognitive scientist Marcus Perlman.
So Perlman and his colleagues conducted online and in-person experiments in seven countries, from Morocco to Brazil. They recruited more than 900 participants, who spoke a total of 28 languages, to listen to the best-understood vocalizations from the 2015 investigation and select matching concepts from a set of words or images. Vocalizations that called forth well-known sounds — for example, dripping water — performed best. But many others were also understood at rates significantly above chance across all languages tested, the team found. “There is a notable degree of success outside of just onomatopoeia (象声词),” Perlman says.
This is likely because certain patterns related to sound are universal, the team suggests. For example, short and basic sounds often convey the concept of “one” and repeated sounds are typically associated with “many”. Likewise, low-pitched sounds accompany something big, and high-pitched sounds convey small size. These findings of “iconic” sounds could help scientists understand how human ancestors started using rich acoustic (传音的) communication, says co-author Aleksandra Ćwiek, a linguist at the Leibniz-Center General Linguistics in Berlin. The human voice, she says, might “afford enough iconicity to get language off the ground.”
University of Tübingen linguist Matthias Urban, who was not involved in the research, agrees. “It’s unclear how words came into being in the first place,” he says. Iconic vocalizations are “potentially one pathway that could have been involved.”
1. What does the underlined word “iconic” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Symbolic. | B．Comic. | C．Magic. | D．Classic. |
| A．well explain the rise of English culture |
| B．throw light on the origin of spoken language |
| C．demonstrate that onomatopoeia may be popular |
| D．show how our ancestors imitate unknown sounds |
| A．The English language is universally understood. | B．Sound patterns may be related to their meanings. |
| C．Sign language appeared earlier than spoken language. | D．Words were evolved from vocalizations in ancient times. |
| A．From Hand to Mouth: The Origins of Language |
| B．Iconic Vocalizations are Created for Communication |
| C．Made-up Sounds Convey Meanings across Cultures |
| D．How Language Began: Gesture and Speech in Evolution |
