1 . Researchers from University of Southern California (USC) may have found the biggest influencer in the spread of fake news: social platforms’ structure of rewarding users for habitually sharing information. The study involved 2,476 active Facebook users ranging in age from 18 to 89. They were asked to complete a decision-making survey about seven minutes long.

Surprisingly, the researchers found that users’ social media habits are closely related to the amount of fake news they shared. Frequent and habitual users spread six times more fake news than occasional or new users. Just 15% of the most habitual news sharers in the research were responsible for spreading about 30% to 40% of the fake news. Users’ habits were more influential in sharing fake news than other factors, including lack of critical reasoning.

The research team wondered: What motivates these users? As it turns out, much like any video game, social media has a reward system that encourages users to stay on their accounts and keep posting and sharing.

Users who post and share frequently, especially eye-catching information, are likely to attract attention. Due to the reward system of social media, users form habits of sharing information that gets recognition from others automatically, without considering consequences such as spreading misinformation.

Then, the team tested whether social media reward structures could be designed to promote sharing of true over false information. They found that incentives (鼓励) for accuracy rather than popularity doubled the amount of accurate news that users share on social platforms.

“We know from previous research that some people don’t process information critically, which influences their ability to recognize false stories online,” said Gizem Ceylan, who led the team. “However, our new study shows that the reward structure of social media platforms plays a bigger role when it comes to misinformation spread.”

1. What does the USC research mainly focus on concerning social media?

A．Its reward system.	B．The users’ age group.
C．Its attraction to users.	D．The reason fake news spreads on it.

2. Who is more likely to share false information on Facebook?

A．A new user.	B．A heavy user.
C．An occasional user.	D．An uneducated user.

3. What contributes to the habits of social media users?

A．The popularity of their posts.

B．The easy access to information.

C．The encouragement from other users.

D．The immediate money reward from the platform.

4. Which statement will Gizem Ceylan probably agree with?

A．Sharing of misinformation is unavoidable.

B．People shouldn’t use social media frequently.

C．Lack of critical reasoning is a common problem.

D．Social media reward structures should be improved.

2 . These popular children’s stories all have important birthdays this year.

How to Train Your Dragon
by Cressida Cowell
(Hachette Children’s)

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is a smallish Viking with a longish name. His Hairy Hooligan tribe thinks he’s useless but, with the help of a dragon, can Hiccup prove he’s a hero? Celebrate 20 years of a favourite story with this anniversary edition.

The Sheep-Pig
by Dick King-Smith
(Puffin Books)

When Farmer Hogget brings Babe home, the little orphaned piglet (成为孤儿的小猪) is raised by a kind-hearted sheepdog called Fly. Babe knows he can never be a sheepdog like Fly but could he learn how to be a sheep-pig? Famously made into the film Babe, this much-loved animal story turns 40 this year.

Emily of New Moon
by L. M. Montgomery
(Virago Books)

When Emily is sent to live at New Moon with relatives she’s never met, her imagination and ideas soon cause her to clash (争执) with her Aunt Elizabeth. Will New Moon ever feel like home? Written by the author of Anne of Green Gables, this story was first published in 1923 and is celebrating its 100th birthday this year.

The Dark is Rising
by Susan Cooper
(Puffin Books)

It’s Midwinter’s Eve, the day before Will’s 11th birthday. Strange things are happening in the snowy countryside around him and Will soon realises this will be a birthday like no other. First published 50 years ago, this classic adventure remains as exciting and magical as ever.

1. Whose book was Babe adapted from?

A．Susan Cooper’s.	B．Cressida Cowell’s.
C．Dick King-Smith’s.	D．L. M. Montgomery’s.

2. Which of the following books has been in print for a century?

A．How to Train Your Dragon.	B．Emily of New Moon.
C．The Dark is Rising.	D．The Sheep-Pig.

3. What do we know about The Dark is Rising?

A．It is made up of several stories.

B．It is published by Virago Books.

C．It is set around the character’s birthday.

D．It is based on the author’s personal experience.

3 . Beth Bonness talked into the mirror as her hairstylist cut her hair. Bonness was telling a funny story about a trip to Rome. Suddenly, the stylist started moving her hands around in the mirror. “Beth. Beth. Beth. Can you hear me? ” she said. Bonness asked her what was wrong. In her mind, the words were coming out of her mouth. But she could see in the mirror that her lips weren’t moving. She started seeing bursts of light in the sides of her vision (视野). Then suddenly, the sensations disappeared.

Tests indicated Bonness had a transient ischemic attack (短暂性脑缺血发作) (TlA). About a third of people who have a TIA go on to have a more serious stroke (中风) within a year.

Bonness said she was told it was a one-off incident, so she didn’t worry about future problems. Plus, only old people have strokes, she told herself. She was 49, healthy and fit. Even the doctors implied that she was too young to worry. But the same week, while having a meal with her family, she couldn’t speak clearly again.

Bonness went on disability for a few weeks, and returned to work full-time half a year later. In the beginning, she felt less confident about speaking. Later she threw herself into living as healthy as possible. In 2011, her doctor said she’d fully recovered. She stopped all stroke-related medication.

In 2014, Bonness retired. She ended up saving a historic craftsman-style home in her neighborhood by changing it into a small residential development. The process had so many twists and turns (意外的曲折变化) that Bonness began writing a book about her story.

Last year, she started sharing her writing. She also started a writing group for survivors of stroke and brain injury in the hope that they too might find the same insight (领悟) and comfort. “Maybe it’s about doing more talking and sharing,” she said. “Every experience you have, all that travels with you.”

1. What does paragraph 1 mainly tell us?

A．The reason for Bonness’ catching TIA.	B．The treatment course of Bonness’ TLA.
C．Bonness first experience of suffering TIA.	D．Bonness’ chat with her hairstylist about TIA.

2. What did Bonness think of her TLA at the beginning?

A．It would harm her eyesight.	B．It was nothing to worry about.
C．It might be a deadly disease.	D．It needed further examination.

3. Why did Bonness write her book?

A．To buy her family a house.	B．To have an active retirement.
C．To record some events in her life.	D．To support a housing development.

4. What has Bonness done recently?

A．She has traveled around the country.	B．She has gathered material for her book.
C．She has helped look after those with TIA.	D．She has encouraged survivors of TIA to write.

4 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的文章。

I was eleven years old. This was my first soccer game. With little knowledge of the rules of the game, I was nervous and uneasy, but still excited. With kids running at me from all directions, I observed the skills that many of my teammates possessed. Their motions appeared so suggest hand effortless, while their faces revealed their attachment to the game. I, however, lacked the spirit of playing aggressively that many of the other kids had.

To my knowledge, this game turned out to be an intense one. My team was falling behind the entire game, but toward the end, we tied it up. I watched as parents yelled and screamed, find to excitement and emotion. Many of the parents, with their waving arms and cheerful eyes, seemed more involved in the game than their children.

Suddenly, it was my turn to kick the ball. This was my chance to reveal that J was as good as everyone else. I brought my leg back and was ready to kick with all my strength. I gave a good, hard kick-one of my better—but unfortunately, I had kicked the ball in the wrong direction. Seeing the disappointed faces of the members of my team, I felt my face go from pale white to bright red; I wanted to run home, faster than I ever ran in a soccer practice.

Over the next few years, I continued to participate in a variety of sports, trying to find the one where I would be the center of attention for the right reasons. That never happened. Very often my father couldn’t wait to practise playing soccer around the backyard with me. Each time I somehow managed to trip on a shoelace (鞋带) or trip over a rock. My father continued to push me, and during my elementary-school years it seemed that I might become quite the athlete. At the same time, my little brother was suddenly not so little and began to control the family athletic field. His ability and passion for sports made me wonder why I was so different.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150个左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Eventually, I understood something all of a sudden.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It suddenly occurred to me what I should do with it next.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Cross-bridge noodles is the name of a special dish originating from Yunnan Province. The dish     1     (make) of stewed chicken or goose soup, slices of pork or fish, vegetables and rice noodles.

There’s a story behind the     2     (origin) creation of cross-bridge noodles. It’s said that there was     3     scholar during the Qing Dynasty     4     (study) every day on an island of Mengzi City in Yunnan. His favorite food was rice noodles, and his wife brought him a serving of them every day at his office.     5     she was disappointed when she realized the noodles would get cold on the way to the island.

One day she realized that when she took her husband chicken soup it stayed warm during the trip. She figured out that the oil layer on top of the soup separated it from the cold and     6     (keep) the heat inside.

The wife then came up with a     7     (solve). She tried bringing the chicken soup, rice noodles and other ingredients to the island     8     (respective), then combining them. The dish became known     9     “cross-bridge noodles” in memory of the wife     10     discovered a dish that would stay warm as she crossed the bridge to the island every day.

6 . My two-year-old daughter was playing with groceries in my shopping cart (购物车). A gentleman stood behind me with three ________ . He looked at his watch and me. While my daughter was ________ well, I knew she couldn’t stay there any longer. The man obviously was in a ________, and he’d be behind me a long time. I ________ to let him go first. “Thank you,” he replied ________ stepping ahead of me. His face lit up with ________ .

When the line moved forward I started ________ my cart. As I hurriedly opened my purse, my heart ________ :I forgot to bring my bank card. The gentleman had paid and was ________ his groceries. “Can you just put my ________ on the side please?” I was _________ . The gentleman said, “I’ll pay for her order.” But I _________, having over $250 worth of groceries. “You can just send me a check.” He ________ . “That’s too much of a car trip for the little girl.”

I was always willing to help others. However, there was a new feeling I ________ when I got help from others. I was shocked that a complete stranger would ________ another with a loan of that amount.

1.

A．toys

B．bags

C．items

D．dollars

2.

A．behaving

B．studying

C．eating

D．resting

3.

A．panic

B．hurry

C．mess

D．mood

4.

A．failed

B．offered

C．agreed

D．promised

5.

A．patiently

B．constantly

C．appreciatively

D．eventually

6.

A．respect

B．confidence

C．determination

D．pleasure

7.

A．unloading

B．unfolding

C．unwrapping

D．uncovering

8.

A．ached

B．broke

C．beat

D．sank

9.

A．picking up

B．looking over

C．handing out

D．giving away

10.

A．purse

B．card

C．daughter

D．stuff

11.

A．annoyed

B．discouraged

C．confused

D．astonished

12.

A．hesitated

B．panicked

C．regretted

D．rejected

13.

A．confirmed

B．joked

C．smiled

D．insisted

14.

A．remembered

B．feared

C．experienced

D．shared

15.

A．trust

B．praise

C．thank

D．reward

7 . How to Make Your Clothes Last Longer

We have to throw out some clothes that we love just because we’ve not taken good care of them. Four top tips can help you make your clothes last longer.     1    

●Reduce the times you wash your clothes. Washing your clothes less doesn’t mean wearing the same T-shirt tor a week. You can wear clothes like jeans and jumpers at least three times before washing. The exception, of course, is clothes worn for the gym. Besides, if you don’t wear clothes next to your skin, air them after wearing.     2     If they seem fine, you can wear them another day.

●Wash, our clothes inside out.     3     As the machine spins (旋转) the clothes around, they must each other. Turning your clothes inside out reduces wear on the outside surface of your clothes: This can help keep them from damage.

●Air your clothes dry if possible. Drying your clothes on a line is good for both your clothes and he environment.     4     When possible, just use the dryer at a low temperature.

●    5     Rather than throw something out because of a small hole or tear. Knowing how to use a needle and thread (线) and a few basic repairing techniques can be friendly to your clothes and your pocket. If the work is beyond your skills, you can find repair places nearby your houses.

A．Hang your jumpers on the clothes line.

B．Fixing your clothes is a wise alternative.

C．Use an app to find places for clothes repair.

D．Simply check your clothes for any spots or marks.

E．Your clothes are usually beaten hard during the wash.

F．In the meantime, it can also reduce the expense of the electricity.

G．They can also help save both your money and our environment definitely.

8 . Nobody knows yet what the best way of removing all that carbon will be, but scientists around the world are developing a new method. The Swiss company Climeworks is building big extractor (抽油烟机) fans to remove carbon.

But other scientists are looking to nature’s carbon cycle for inspiration. They’re looking for ways to improve it, speed it up and help it take more carbon out of the air permanently.

One of those scientists is Professor Luke Mackinder, a plant biologist at the University of York. His research into carbon removal is inspired by ocean algac (海藻). “About half of carbon absorption takes place in the ocean,” he says. “Algae are extremely efficient at absorbin g it.”

In order to do this, his team has studied the genetic code (基因密码) of algae to work out which genes play a vital role in carbon absorption. He believes they have now figured this out. “Now we have a list and we can start thinking about how to bring them together in different living things,” he says. “We place the genes into those of other plants. It’s genetic modification.”

Mackinder anticipates adding them to a range of crops and trees. The resulting increased production could be good for food security. Alternatively, they could help to enhance the influence of climate change. It all depends on what we do with the carbon once it’s trapped in those plants. Eating them would quickly return it to the atmosphere. But if instead we find ways to store it, we could keep it out of the atmosphere for good.

Dave Hillyard, chief administrator of the Carbon Technology Research Foundation that is funding Mackinder’s research, says that it is important to fund work on a wide range of carbon removal methods, because “some will not get the results they’re looking for and some will succeed. There are a lot of opportunities here but very little funding and research going into it.”

1. What is discussed in the first paragraph?

A．An approach to carbon removal.	B．A way to improve big extractor fans.
C．A means of joining a company.	D．A method of doing scientific research.

2. Why does Professor Luke Mackinder focus on ocean algae?

A．It is secure.

B．It is effective.

C．It is sufficient.

D．It is accessible.

3. What can we know about the genes of algae from the fourth paragraph?

A．They bring about great side effects.	B．They are useless for carbon absorption.
C．They help increase food production.	D．They have been put into other plants.

4. What is required according to Dave Hillyard?

A．The government’s permission.	B．More scientists’participation.
C．Increasing experimental chances.	D．The input into the research.

9 . A middle-aged woman playing by herself in the snow is an undeniably odd sight, but maybe it shouldn’t be. New research suggests that modern adults are suffering from overmuch depression, so play may be as essential to our health as sleep. We’ve been in our nature to play, which is causing all kinds of problems—for ourselves, our children, and our planet.

It’s believed that adult play can lead to useful discoveries, which is supported by a study on Bali’s long-tailed monkeys. For her doctoral paper at the University of Lethbridge, animal researcher Camilla Cenni left two types of puzzle boxes for the monkeys to solve. To get the food inside, they had to drop a rock into the container or use it to hit the box. She found the monkeys that previously had been observed dropping rocks for fun were more likely to solve the rock-dropping puzzle, while those that had discovered the joy of tapping rocks together think of the answer to the tapping puzzle.

This finding also suggests that somewhere, deep in our evolutionary history, a playful proto-human(原始人) came up with the concept of stone tools. Even today, the urge to play underlies most of humanity’s greatest inventions, artworks, and scientific breakthroughs, Brown says. “When I interviewed Nobel winners, I was struck by how most of them didn’t separate work and play. Their labs were their playgrounds”.

“The opposite of play isn’t work; it’s depression,” says play researcher Stuart Brown, “Play is all about looking at a tough world with creativity and optimism. It gives us the ability to cooperate and get along with people who differ from us,” He goes so far as to declare that “adult play is necessary for our survival as a species.”

The next time I’m caught playing, I know exactly what I’ll say: “I am not wasting time, or acting immature. I’m doing nothing for the benefit of all humanity. You’re welcome.”

1. What is the phenomenon the author describes at the beginning of the text?

A．Playing with snow is strange.	B．Wild nature is difficult to find.
C．Many people are stressed out.	D．People enjoy living close to nature.

2. What is paragraph 2 of the text mainly about?

A．The necessity of the study.	B．The importance of adult play.
C．Main activities of monkeys.	D．Various functions of a rock.

3. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning a playful proto-human?

A．To explain the concept of play.	B．To compare two research findings.
C．To highlight scientific breakthroughs.	D．To offer some background information.

4. Which of the following best describes the author in the last paragraph?

A．Humorous.

B．Optimistic.

C．Caring.

D．Active.

10 . The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American tradition that dates back to an immigration (移民) wave in the 1900s. The Italian American tradition of the “Feast of the Seven Fishes” has appeared in movies and recently in the hit show The Bear. But talking of the origin, you’ll get many different answers. The Feast of the Seven Fishes is a dear tradition to many Italian Americans who enjoy at least seven different seafood dishes on Christmas Eve.

A vast majority of Italian immigrants to the United States were from rural Southern Italy at the turn of the 19th century. They came to America because there were jobs from building railroads to skyscrapers. Friends and families found success and brought their loved ones to the U.S. Some say fish was chosen for the Feast because it was plentiful for impoverished families in Southern Italy. Others say the sea represented Italian Americans’ connection between their old and new homes.

Writer and director Robert Tinnell made a comic in 2004 about his experience with the Feast of the Seven Fishes, which he later made into a 2019 movie. Growing up in North Central West Virginia, he fondly remembers his great grandmother organizing the Feast. After she died, his grandfather and other men in the family took over. That particular manly activity is something that the first Italian immigrants would have also performed out of necessity: men came to America first, without their wives and daughters.

However, knowledge about where to shop, when to prepare, how to cook, the history behind the meal and family traditions soon became the responsibility of mothers to pass down to their daughters, says Di Giovine, a professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. They are also likely the ones who have the final say in making changes to recipes. Over time, families often adjust the menu to make things easier, cheaper, more abundant, and more accommodating of dietary restrictions.

1. What do we know about the Feast of the Seven Fishes?

A．It relates to a story of Italians.	B．It’s made up of seven fishes.
C．It marks a vital historic event.	D．It’s about Americans in Italy.

2. What does the underlined word “impoverished” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Needy.

B．Unfortunate.

C．Extended.

D．Uneducated.

3. What can we infer about Robert Tinnell from paragraph 3?

A．He loves fishes.	B．He’s an editor.
C．He’s emotional.	D．He teaches writing.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．A Fish-making Method	B．A Festival Tradition
C．A Cookery Book	D．A Special Celebration