1 . Scientists have discovered how plants manage to live alongside each other in places that are dark and shady. Plants in the deep darkness of a thick forest, where natural supplies are not very great in amount, won’t attempt to top their neighbors in growth as those in moderate (中度的) shade do. In deep shade conditions, it would be a waste of energy and harmful to survival because green shoots would never be able to top their larger neighbors in growth.

So how do plants prevent such growth in deep shade conditions? The secret lies in the clocks insides them, say scientists from the John Ines Centre and the University of Bristol.

They have discovered that when plants notice deep shade, this changes the expression of genes parts of the circadian clock (昼夜节律时钟) — the inner daily timer found in plants and other things. These clock parts perform an additional role in preventing plants from lengthening and overtopping neighbors.

The work identifies a previously unknown role of the circadian clock in controlling plant development and the findings may have possible effects on both natural plant populations and crops. Professor Antony Dodd of the John Innes Centre said, “The biological clock of plants plays a big part in their development and fitness. This work casts new light on a new role of the circadian clock in adapting plants to competition with other plants in their environments.” “It also gives us new insights into how plants adapt to very deep shade, where resources are very limited,” said Professor Kerry Franklin at the University of Bristol.

This work provides evidence for the firmness of the circadian clock in stressful environments, and information that may be useful in developing new generations of crops in a challenging climate.

1. What do plants normally do in moderate shade?

A．Struggle to preserve energy.	B．Compete for limited resources.
C．Try to outgrow their neighbors.	D．Depend on each other to survive.

2. How does the circadian clock affect plants?

A．By changing their gene expression.	B．By making them realize light change.
C．By helping them adapt to the darkness.	D．By controlling their growth in deep shade.

3. Why does the author write the text?

A．To share a new discovery about plants.	B．To introduce the role of the circadian clock.
C．To explain plants secret of living in forests.	D．To compare plants living in certain condition.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How plants face a challenging climate

B．Why plants respond to different shade levels

C．Why the circadian clock is vital to plants' growth

D．How plants become good neighbors in times of stress

2 . Most Famous Paintings in the World

Among the millions of paintings that are created and shown in galleries and museums all around the world, a very small number of them go beyond time and make history. Below are some examples.

The Persistence of Memory — Salvador Dali. Painted in 1931, The Persistence of Memory is one of the most recognizable pieces in art history. This work is known to make people reflect on their way of life and the way they spend their time, and it is also thought that Albert Einstein’s well-known Theory of Relativity gave Dali the idea for this wonderful painting.

Girl with a Pearl Earring — Johannes Vermeer. Considered by many to be “the Dutch Mona Lisa”, this beautiful painting features an unnamed young woman looking over her shoulder to stare directly at the viewer. It was completed in 1665 and is exhibited in the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Guernica — Pablo Picasso. The famous painting by Picasso was completed in 1937. It was painted in Paris following the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. The painting is on permanent display in the Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain.

Starry Night — Vincent van Gogh. Painted in 1889, Starry Night is one of the most famous paintings in modern culture, which is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It is based on van Gogh’s direct observations as well as his imagination, memories, and emotions and was the inspiration for the song Vincent (also known as Starry, Starry Night).

1. What do we know about The Persistence of Memory?

A．It was finished in the 1920s.	B．It centers on people’s lifestyle.
C．It reflects the painter’s memories.	D．It may be inspired by a famous theory.

2. Which painting is based on a true story?

A．The Persistence of Memory.	B．Starry Night.
C．Girl with a Pearl Earring.	D．Guernica.

3. What is the common feature of the listed paintings?

A．They are everlasting artworks.	B．They share the similar theme.
C．They are on permanent display.	D．They give ideas for music creation.

3 . How to Stop Spam Calls for Good

If you made a list of the little things that bothered you the most, phone call scams would no doubt be at the top. Telemarketers, or more often, automated robot-callers, have tricks for interrupting you at the worst possible moment.     1    

Fact is that robot-callers are never going to stop trying to reach you. Their schemes bring in hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars annually. And unfortunately, older people are more likely to fall prey to these scams.     2    

Sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry

Your first move: Join the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry. You can get on the list by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register.     3     To date, the agency has taken 51 legal actions against companies and telemarketers, recovering $112 million.

Use spam-filtering apps and tech

    4     A spam-filtering app can give you a second layer of protection and is a good add-on to your overall smartphone security. The app’s makers maintain a large database of user-reported robocalls. When one of those numbers dials you, the app blocks the phone from ringing and informs you the call is spam. Genius!

    5    

You probably know that a caller who insists you owe money to the IRS or says you’ll be arrested if you don’t settle a debt is a scammer. But your 10-year-old kid and your older parents and grandparents may be tricked. And remember: Knowing how to stop spam calls is just one step toward avoiding scams; don’t forget to explain how to stop spam texts to your loved ones, too.

A．Warn family members

B．Report to the police at once

C．Follow these steps to pull the plug on them once and for all.

D．If you have multiple numbers to input, register them at DoNotCall. gov.

E．Spam calls can reach you anytime and anywhere when you use your smartphone.

F．They’re annoying, but that’s not the only reason you should know how to stop spam calls.

G．The National Do Not Call Registry will prevent a lot of unwanted calls, but it won’t stop all of them.

4 . When I was growing up in Minnesota, Joe Versus the Volcano was one of my favorite movies. I ________ to be swept away to an island. But as I found myself in La Palma ________ on the Cumbre Vieja eruption in the Spanish Canary Islands, I quickly ________ that there’s nothing romantic about volcanoes or being trapped on an island.

I had come ________ — an N95 mask, baseball cap, and a swimming mask. But nothing could prepare me for the invasiveness of the volcanic ________ . It fell from the sky like a rainstorm, lining streets, ________ doorways and windowsills, and filling my ears.

It wasn’t long before the airlines canceled all flights. When ________ began panic, buying all the ferry tickets as I was interviewing residents about their futures, I realized I had ________ the boat.

For two days, I wandered ________ streets awaiting the resumption of travel, carrying a backpack and feeling progressively stuck and at times ________ . And then I realized I was being given the ________ for deeper insight. Here I was ________ what the local people were feeling: uncertainty, frustration, and tiredness from living next to an erupting volcano with no end in sight.

Like the people of La Palma, I ________ others to get me through — from the English woman who ________ me a bag of oranges from her garden to the minister of the church who let me use the bathroom after being trapped at the top of a mountain.

As I finally left, I realized how ________ I was to have experienced the humanity of the people in La Palma in the face of crisis. I know it’s what will pull them through it.

1.

A．seemed

B．pretended

C．refused

D．longed

2.

A．recording

B．checking

C．reporting

D．focusing

3.

A．guessed

B．realized

C．agreed

D．imagined

4.

A．excited

B．disappointed

C．prepared

D．confused

5.

A．rock

B．ash

C．lava

D．smoke

6.

A．covering

B．blocking

C．breaking

D．destroying

7.

A．managers

B．actors

C．tourists

D．residents

8.

A．driven

B．forgot

C．cleaned

D．missed

9.

A．broad

B．beautiful

C．empty

D．crowded

10.

A．panicked

B．satisfied

C．relaxed

D．inspired

11.

A．ability

B．chance

C．talent

D．right

12.

A．studying

B．noticing

C．writing

D．experiencing

13.

A．relied on

B．appealed to

C．dealt with

D．believed in

14.

A．lent

B．gave

C．sent

D．sold

15.

A．upset

B．smart

C．anxious

D．grateful

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。

Wang Tao, founder and CEO of TAORAY WANG believes that beyond beauty, fashion is about absorbing and using social energy.   As one of     1     most accomplished designers in China, she brought this vision into contemporary fashion with her collection, taoray taoray.

The taoray taoray Spring Summer 2020     2     (show) for the first time on the world stage of New York Fashion Week     3     tradition met modernity. The     4     (inspire)came to fruition when taoray taoray’s design team was introduced to Yi embroidery (刺绣). The Yi ethnic group has thousands of years of history, and its splendid culture is valuable in Chinese society. Embroidery is a(n)     5     (remark) part of the culture, which is a symbol and treasure of Yi people's art and culture.

In order to create the collection, Wang and her team went to Chuxiong in Yunnan Province and     6     (dig) into the culture and history of Yi’s craftsmanship (技艺) to gain insight into the essence and symbolism of Yi embroidery.    7    (aim) to recall tradition, the design team applied the     8     (pattern), colors, and techniques of Yi's culture     9     their contemporary fashion design, including T-shirts, jackets, shirts and other essentials.

The taoray taoray collection     10    (be) a reflection on how the designers are preserving culture to remind people of the beauty of tradition in daily life!

6 . Investigations have indicated that the virus was most likely to o________ (起源)from the seeds. （根据中英文提示填空）

7 . Piñatex is made from pineapple leaves that are left over after the fruit is harvested. It is an innovative way of using a product that would otherwise be thrown away, which reduces the amount of organic waste going to landfill and thus the methane emissions (沼气排放) that would result. Tough and durable, it is commonly used as an eco-friendly material for vegan leather by fashion designers.

Piñatex was developed by Dr. Carmen Hijosa, a Spanish leather goods expert who grew horrified at the environmental impact of leather production while working in the Philippines in the 1990s. Nor did she approve of the petroleum-based alternatives that are commonly used. At the same time, Hijosa noticed how some traditional Filipino garments（服装）were made from pineapple fibers, which kickstarted her research into how such a resource could be transformed into something more widely usable.

The fabric is made by extracting (提取) fibers from the pineapple leaves after harvest. They are washed and dried in the sun, then undergo a purification process that results in a soft fiber. This is mixed with corn-based polylactic acid (PLA) and turned into a non-woven product called “Piñafelt”, which is the base for Piñatex products.

Around 480 leaves from 16 pineapple plants go into the creation of a single square meter of Piñatex, which weighs and costs less than a comparable amount of leather. Because the fabric is natural, it is breathable, as well as flexible; it can easily be printed on and sewed. It’s produced in a roll, which means less waste than when an irregularly-shaped animal hide is used. But best of all, it can replace animal leather.

Piñatex is a multi-use material that is suitable for footwear, bags, clothing, pet leashes, and more. It has already been adopted by 1,000 shoe companies, fashion labels, and hotel chains around the world, including Hugo Boss, H&M, and the Hilton Hotel Bankside. The number of partnerships is likely to grow as more designers and consumers discover its benefits.

1. What can we infer about Dr. Carmen Hijosa?

A．She resists Spanish leather production.	B．She disapproves of any leather alternatives.
C．She is devoted to designing Piñatex garments.	D．She has got inspiration from a Filipino tradition.

2. What is the main idea of paragraph 3?

A．Advantages of Piñatex.	B．Ways to treat Piñafelt.
C．Purification of Piñatex.	D．Process of making Piñafelt.

3. How does the writer think about the future of Piñatex?

A．Ambiguous.

B．Promising.

C．Doubtful.

D．Negative.

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

A．Piñatex, From Rubbish to Treasure	B．Piñatex, New Use of Vegan Leather
C．Piñatex, New Hope of the Earth	D．Piñatex, Innovation to Rid Rubbish

8 . Most young people are always on their phones, which may upset many people. ___________, a group called Girl Scouts are receiving _________ for setting up their first walk-in clinic for elderly people, who have difficulty understanding how to ___________ the secrets of their smart phones.

Each teen spent at least an hour of one-on-one time with their oldsters. Based on their _________ knowledge, each Girl Scout was assigned to ___________ different aspects of Android and Apple phones.

Some of the oldsters actually wanted to take part in e-commerce (电子商务), and needed help to _________ a payment account on their smart phones while others simply had _________ when learning how to send messages to their family members. "I was teaching this older woman how to _________, and the first thing she did was to send a message to her daughter,” one of the Scouts said. “How ___________ it was! It just made me feel really, really happy.”

In addition to arranging group lessons for all of the seniors to ____________ together at the end of the clinic, the youngsters even printed out brochures and guides for the seniors to take home in case ____________ seniors would encounter problems with their smart phones in the future.

The eighth graders earned their “Silver Award,, for their job. After experiencing the ____________ of their project, the girls hope to organize more ____________ in the near future. “Those girls were just great,” said Nancy, a great-grandmother who once ____________ the clinic. “They were ready for us and had a very mature attitude about answering our questions, and they ______________ the praise.

1.

A．Otherwise

B．Therefore

C．However

D．Besides

2.

A．service

B．praise

C．invitation

D．donation

3.

A．keep

B．untie

C．share

D．unlock

4.

A．technological

B．medical

C．psychological

D．physical

5.

A．record

B．teach

C．recall

D．investigate

6.

A．get back

B．set up

C．check out

D．pay off

7.

A．patience

B．luck

C．fun

D．trouble

8.

A．write

B．phone

C．text

D．read

9.

A．sweet

B．simple

C．rare

D．common

10.

A．play

B．live

C．talk

D．review

11.

A．amazed

B．experienced

C．confused

D．respected

12.

A．success

B．arrangement

C．change

D．pressure

13.

A．performances

B．clinics

C．clubs

D．competitions

14.

A．organized

B．managed

C．visited

D．funded

15.

A．needed

B．refused

C．enjoyed

D．deserved

9 . I began a new job in a new city six months ago. Big moments of changing like this have a way of dragging up deep, hidden fears we don’t face in our longer periods of stability.     1     .I was constantly losing sleep, had lots of panicky doubt, and even some regret when I thought about the job I just left.

Change is risk. Our primitive brains translate risk into danger, and our survival as a species depends on avoiding it. Though philosopher Nietzsche famously said, “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger”, the risk that it could kill you can easily cause anxiety.     2     . Me, no exception.

Unluckily, there are always big changes we must face at some point.     3     . The first thing I did when I doubted myself and my decision to take a new job and move to a new city was talk to people who know and care about me. So blinded was I by change-caused anxiety that I had lost sight of my common sense. I reached out to my friends and my old boss. They gave me so much good advice that I wrote it down and referred to it often in those early weeks.

    4     . Simply thinking about the past challenges where you came out on top is a reminder that you will do so this time as well. Sometimes our greatest difficulties become our greatest moments of success.

Change, while requiring adjustment—sometimes painful adjustment—often finds its way back to balance. Change and struggle are usually the only ways to get to someplace better.     5     . So, the sooner you discover what helps you adjust, restart, and succeed during change, the easier it will be to bag the next peak.

A．Crisis is also opportunity

B．Change also never goes away

C．I also managed to learn from the past

D．That’s how species and individuals live together

E．I managed poorly at the beginning of this change

F．That’s why we are so restless when faced with changes

G．That means finding the wisdom that helps us make the change

10 . Can People Really Learn to "Speed Read”？

There never seems to be enough time to read these days. With so many books and articles—especially on social media——the ability to read faster could be a life-changer.     1    The problem is that true speed reading without any loss in comprehension isn't supported by the science.

“Speed reading is not actually possible," said Elizabeth Schotter, a scientist at the University of South Florida.    2     You have to first see the word, understand its meaning, relate the word to its context, and then figure out where to point your eyes next.

Some books and classes train people to read whole passages all at once by scanning text in a zigzag（之字形）pattern. These methods suggest that our eyes make wasted movements when looking back and forth over words. But studies find that the limit to reading comprehension is the ability to recognize words.     3    

In recent years, numerous apps have claimed they can boost reading speed. These apps display text just one word at a time, one after another at a certain rate.     4     But again, the eyes sometimes have to go back and reread words to fully grasp text. Research has found that your eyes pick up important information beyond the word in focus, which is simply not possible if you can only read one word at a time.

    5    You probably can't dramatically increase your speed, but research suggests you can get a little faster by improving your vocabulary and simply reading more. Good thing there's plenty to read. Enjoy it.

A．So is there a way to become a faster reader?

B．Is the scientific community doubtful about speed reading?

C．So adjusting eye movements probably won't help you read faster.

D．Most people who claim to be speed-reading are actually skimming.

E．That way, your eyes are forced to focus on the word in front of you.

F．Reading is a complex task that requires cooperation between mental systems.

G．That is why so many classes, books and apps claim they can get you to read faster.