1 . An international team of researchers led by Stanford University have developed rechargeable batteries that can store up to six times more charge than ones that are currently commercially available.

The advance, detailed in a new paper published on Aug. 25 in the journal Nature,could accelerate the use of rechargeable batteries and puts battery researchers one step closer toward achieving two top stated goals of their field: creating a high-performance rechargeable battery that could enable cellphones to be charged only once a week instead of daily and electric vehicles that can travel six times farther without a recharge.

The new so-called alkali metal-chlorine batteries(碱金属氯电池），developed by a team of researchers led by Stanford chemistry Professor Hongjie Dai and doctoral candidate Guanzhou Zhu, rely on the back-and-forth chemical transition from sodium chloride (Na/C12) or lithium chloride (Li/C12) to chlorine. When electrons travel from one side of a rechargeable battery to the other, recharging makes the chemistry return to its original state to await another use. Non-rechargeable batteries have no such luck. Once running out, their chemistry cannot be restored. “A rechargeable battery is a bit like a rocking chair. It tips in one direction, but then rocks back when you add electricity,” Dai explained. “What we have here is a high-rocking rocking chair.”

The researchers imagine their batteries one day being used in situations where frequent recharging is not practical or desirable, such as in satellites or remote sensors. Many otherwise usable satellites are now floating in orbit, failing to function due to their dead batteries. Future satellites equipped with long-lived rechargeable batteries could be fitted with solar chargers, extending their usefulness many times over.

For now, though, the first working design they've developed might still be suitable for use in small everyday electronics like hearing aids or remote controls. For consumer electronics or electrical vehicles, much more work remains to engineer the battery structure, increase the energy density (密度）， scale up the batteries and increase the number of cycles.

1. Why does the author mention “two top stated goals” in paragraph 2?

A．To clarify the cause of the research.

B．To describe the process of the research.

C．To explain the purpose of the research.

D．To illustrate the significance of the research.

2. How did Professor Dai explain how the new batteries work?

A．By listing figures.

B．By giving an example.

C．By making a comparison.

D．By drawing a conclusion.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．New rechargeable batteries have been put to use.

B．New rechargeable batteries will likely be used in remote sensors.

C．Non-rechargeable batteries can return the chemistry to its original state.

D．Solar chargers are of no benefit to rechargeable batteries in future satellites.

4. What is the author's attitude to the new batteries?

A．Objective.

B．Unconcerned.

C．Doubtful.

D．Ambiguous.

2 . When I was a boy, we lived 4 miles outside of town. We lived next to the forest and I would spend hours every day playing in it with the oak (橡树) and maple trees as my companions. I would climb up their limbs, sit in their shade, and feel their peace.

That is why it was so hard for me when I found myself to be a lumberjack as a young man. It wasn't just the back breaking work, the long hours, and the low pay. It was also seeing day after day beautiful trees that had grown for half a century being sawed (锯) up and cut into flooring. Still, I couldn't help but think that they looked a lot more lovely as living trees reaching up to Heaven than as dead flooring lying under my feet.

One afternoon after a long day's work, I was feeling particularly down and depressed.I decided to take a walk in the woods like I had as a boy in hopes of lifting my spirits and calming my soul. As I walked along with my aching back and tired body, I longed for those happy childhood days. I dropped my head frustratedly and looked down at the dirt. That is when I saw it: a single, red oak acorn (橡子) that had somehow survived the hungry deer and squirrels all winter long.Then I remembered something I'd read once: “Eventually an acorn becomes a forest!” I smiled, bent down, dug up a handful of dirt, and planted that little acorn, feeling peace and joy warming my heart. Then I walked back home happy once again to be a part of God's green earth.

In this life we all start out as an acorn, but whether we become a forest or not is up to us. God gives us this glorious life here to grow, learn, laugh, love,share, smile, and help others to do the same.Embrace this gift of life. Use it to every day stretch your soul towards Heaven and create a mighty forest of love.

1. Which of the following can best describe the author's childhood?

A．Carefree

B．Dull.

C．Plain.

D．Miserable.

2. What does the underlined word “lumberjack” mean in the second paragraph?

A．A person who plants trees.

B．A person who waters trees.

C．A person who cuts trees.

D．A person who protects the forest.

3. What did the author do when walking in the woods?

A．He climbed up an oak tree.

B．He planted a little oak acorn.

C．He came across a book he had ever read.

D．He found some hungry deer and squirrels.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Accepting the gift of life.

B．Taking a walk in the woods.

C．Experiencing a typical working day.

D．Refreshing the unforgettable memory.

3 . 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短文.续写的词数应为150左右.

My mom is really a good cook （I bet all of us have this same claims） and she never really taught me how to cook.She enjoys experimenting various dishes and occasionally she will ask for my help to grind chili，onions or garlic.Basically all simple chores.I sometimes look at how she prepares the dishes and became more observant over the years.Every day she will buy meat or vegetables from a local market near us and just store it in the fridge to be cook later for dinner.She works for the government and she is not available to cook lunch.Every day after coming back from school I would always open the refrigerator and see what she bought and I can always tell what will be for dinner that night.If I see chicken，potatoes and shredded coconut，I would be very excited because I know she will make my favorite dish – Chicken Curry.

My parents do okay but we are by no means wealthy.I think we are comfortable in our daily basic needs but we definitely have no room for luxuries.But when it comes to our dinner，my mom will always make 3 dishes for dinner without failure.It’s almost like eating in a restaurant.I have to admit I was spoiled by my mom when it comes to my eating habits and have high expectations when eating somewhere else.      

One day my mom came back from work in the office and she was really in bad mood.She was complaining about how untidy we are and we （my siblings） never contributed in the household chores.To me that is not a fair statement as my elder brother and I took turns to wash the dishes.I was also given the privileged of ironing my mom and dad’s office attire each week.I was 14 at that time and being a boy，I have no intention of letting my friends know.Most of my friends have a maid to do all this but my parents simply couldn’t afford one.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答.
Back to the scenario（情形） where my mom was in bad mood and complaining about our lack of involvement with the chores.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I tried my best to remember what the taste were like if my mom were to cook it.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . Despite usually being associated with the Chinese, the Lunar New Year is also celebrated in other countries. Here are several places in America to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

New York City

New York City, which has one of the largest populations of ethnic（少数民族）Chinese people outside of Asia, is a great place to experience the Lunar New Year. There are around 10 different Chinatowns in New York City. Visitors will find parades, performances and foods in most of these areas but some of the festival characteristics are unique to the particular district.

San Francisco

San Francisco's lunar New Year celebrations are the longest runnings in America. They date back to the 1860s, during the “Gold Rush” period. Today, numerous events take place around the Bay Area, but the headline is the massive Chinese New Year Parade that draws as many as 1 million viewers.

Washington DC

Washington DC has a historic Chinatown. There is a parade here with floats, firecrackers, dancers and music. The Smithsonian American Art Museum can host hands on arts and crafts events that feature performers invited from China. The Kennedy Center stages themed performances, including folk music and symphonies from China.

Chicago

Despite low temperatures in January and February, Chicago celebrates the Lunar New Year in a big way. There are two parades, usually held on different days of the same weekend. One is in the city's traditional Chinatown on the South Side, and the other takes place on Argyle Street. Asian culture is on full display during these parades, and other Chicago com munities also take part.

1. Which city has the longest history of celebrating the Lunar New Year?

A．New York City.	B．San Francisco.
C．Washington DC.	D．Chicago.

2. What can the Smithsonian American Art Museum do on the Lunar New Year?

A．Serve Chinese food.	B．Show Chinese dancers.
C．Play Chinese court music.	D．Invite Chinese art performers.

3. What common activity is held in the listed cities on the Lunar New Year?

A．Festival parades.	B．English concerts.
C．The American culture weekend.	D．The American-style art exhibitions.

5 . 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短文。

I am a doctor, so I love my job. I always have, but I feel particularly proud to do it at the moment. With COVID-19 sweeping through Wuhan, people are avoiding hospitals as possible they can. However, pregnant women still need to come into the hospital. Babies still need to be born.

Right now, it is even scarier for these women, as they have to come in on their own, often feeling frightened. Their families are separated from them due to safety measures. We’ve always provided physical support, but now we are doing so on a different level — we also have to keep them company and offer emotional support. Unfortunately, some of the women have caught corona-virus, and being at the hospital puts me at risk. Personally, I feel protected because we have full personal protective equipment, which we wear all through our 13-hour shifts. You don’t know if someone is carrying corona-virus or not.

I didn’t want to put my family in danger by bringing the virus home and possibly passing it on to them. As a single parent to my children, Xiaohua, 12 years old, and Xiaoyong, 9, I realized I had to make a very tough decision about my family’s safety when the country went into lockdown. Giving up work wasn’t an option for me. I wanted to be able to look after the women who were feeling poorly and very scared, but I could not leave my little angels behind either.

At this point, my sister suggested that the children stay with her and her husband for the time being and leave me to my hospital duties. I thought it was a great idea, so we set a date for her to pick them up. When I explained the situation to my angels and told them they needed to stay with their aunt for a while, they both seemed upset, but agreed to go. On the day I saw them off, they kept looking back at me until they were too far to be seen.

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

After that, my workload increased because some of my coworkers fell ill.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A week later, it came to Xiaoyong’s birthday.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . My daughter was having trouble recently deciding on what to major in at college, so she asked for my _________. I told her the one thing I wish that I had been told at her age: “Find a _________ that you love and you will never work a day.” I didn't know how to answer, though, when she asked me what she should do if she had to take a job that she _________.

That question brought back a lot of _________ of jobs that I had over the years. I remembered one in particular. My young family was _________. We had no money, and there were no good _________ to be had in the area. My brother, _________, got me a job at a local lumber mill (木材场). The work was hard and meant constant pain for my back. Hours were spent loading and stacking (码放) wood. The pay was very _________. In the winter the skin on my fingers bled from the cold, dry air. In the several years I worked there, many people left. Only those of us who had families to support didn't leave to _________ something better.

Still, I also remembered singing to myself while working. I remember as I pushed the lumber carts, glancing out the window and __________ watching the leaves changing in the fall. I remembered how a __________ sandwich tasted like the greatest meal in the world after hours of hard work. I remembered being grateful for this job so I could __________ my family. Remembering all this gave me the answer I needed for my daughter. “Just __________ your love to your job then, sweetheart,” I said. “If you can't do what you love, then __________ what you do.”

In this life we work to __________ but we live to love. Without love, work is drudgery (苦差事). Yet, with love, work is joy.

1.

A．permission

B．advice

C．choice

D．expectation

2.

A．hobby

B．person

C．major

D．career

3.

A．hated

B．wanted

C．needed

D．enjoyed

4.

A．thoughts

B．regrets

C．memories

D．opinions

5.

A．improving

B．enlarging

C．moving

D．struggling

6.

A．stores

B．jobs

C．markets

D．universities

7.

A．however

B．instead

C．therefore

D．meanwhile

8.

A．good

B．low

C．promising

D．reasonable

9.

A．ask for

B．wait for

C．look for

D．prepare for

10.

A．boringly

B．anxiously

C．angrily

D．joyously

11.

A．different

B．simple

C．unique

D．healthy

12.

A．see

B．save

C．start

D．feed

13.

A．bring

B．prove

C．continue

D．put

14.

A．change

B．end

C．love

D．respect

15.

A．live

B．get

C．succeed

D．practice

7 . Greying Population Stays in the Pink

Elderly people are growing healthier, happier and more independent, say American scientists.

In the last 14 years, data have been gathered on the health and lifestyles of more than 20,000 people over 65. Researchers say high blood pressure and circulation problems and other diseases of old age are troubling a smaller proportion every year.     1     . It really raises the question of what should be considered normal ageing, because the problems with old people are often not appearing until they are 70 or 75.

    2    . But there may be other contributing factors. Improvements in childhood nutrition gave today’s elderly people a better start in life.

One interesting fact is that better-educated people are likely to live longer. For example, 65-year-old women with fewer than eight years of schooling are expected, on average, to live to 82. Those who continued their education live an extra seven years.     3    .

The survey also assessed how independent people over 65 were, and again found a striking trend. Their self-reliance is probably linked to an increasing use of home medical aids, such as raised toilet seats and bath seats.     4    .Those elderly people who were independent were more likely to stay healthy in old age.

    5    . Researchers found that elderly people who felt emotionally isolated maintained higher levels of stress hormones even when asleep. So they suggest that older people live best when they feel independent but know they can get help when they need it.

A．But independence can have drawbacks.

B．It is not surprising we see some effects.

C．If the trends apparent in the United States continues,

D．These developments also bring some health benefits.

E．Clearly, certain diseases can be prevented or cured because of medical advances.

F．And the rate at which these diseases are declining continues to increase.

G．Researchers say it is because educated people seek more medical attention.

8 . Facial recognition is a new technology built into all sorts of applications. It's also one of the more controversial technologies pioneered today, as it sets up deep questions regarding security versus privacy rights, and how these facial recognition applications can be safely and fairly applied.

Modern facial recognition is clearly dependent on specific technologies and algorithms (算法) that we've built during the machine learning and artificial intelligence era of the early 21st century. Specifically, most cutting-edge facial recognition programs feature a type of neural network called a convolutional (卷积) neural network (CNN). The system uses convolutions as well as other algorithm work in successive stages to do complex analysis of an image, and even identify people, animals, objects or settings through advanced analysis.

One primary piece of functionality in the CNN is feature detection. First, the face must be identified within the image context, so that the facial features can be analyzed. Methods such as the Viola-Jones are used to break down an image through color shift and local analysis of group pixels to find features like noses, ears, eyes, etc. The same facial recognition neural networks will often utilize ratios—such as the ratio from eyes to hairline, from ears to nose, or other stock facial ratios that can help with facial recognition. The image is then compared to all known faces to uniquely identify the identity of that person.

So, with all this winning technology the facial recognition engine can be surprisingly adept at learning how to recognize a particular individual’s face in a crowd. Facial recognition software is applied in payment processing to substitute cards with faces, for access and security purposes, and to identify criminals.

Primarily, companies that have used abundant public Internet images to pull together training sets for sophisticated facial recognition programs face blowback and resistance from some of their customers, including law enforcement departments, and from U.S. legislators, consumer advocates and citizens at large.

1. What are paragraphs 2 and 3 mainly about?

A．How facial recognition works technically.

B．How facial recognition is applied in society.

C．When facial recognition gets increasingly significant.

D．What the primary function of feature detection is.

2. How can facial recognition engine recognize individual’s face?

A．By comparing the image to all known faces.

B．By learning how to recognize a particular face.

C．By using convolutional neural network.

D．By identifying face within context.

3. What may be some customers’ attitude towards companies using facial recognition?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Ambiguous.	D．Indifferent.

4. From the passage, we know that ________.

A．facial recognition is a new debatable world technology

B．convolutional neural network is intended for feature detection

C．facial recognition is mostly employed to identify criminals

D．there’s still need for facial recognition to prove accuracy

9 . The European commission has unveiled a "digital green certificate" that could allow EU citizens who have been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from Covid-19 to travel more freely this summer.

The plan would also allow southern states such as Spain, Greece and Portugal, whose economies are most reliant on tourism, to make bilateral arrangements with non-EU members – including Britain – providing the deals are approved by the commission."We aim to help member states reinstate the freedom of movement in a safe, responsible and trusted manner,” the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said as the scheme was unveiled on Wednesday,which was actively promoted by southern European holiday destinations whose economies have been devastated by the pandemic.

The digital document, containing a QR code and carried on a mobile phone, has deliberately not been called a "vaccine passport" because some member states felt that would discriminate against those who had not yet been offered a shot.

The certificate is "not a passport ... but a document that will describe the medical situation of the individuals who hold it", the commission spokesman, Eric Mamer, said.The certificate, should mean travellers will not need to quarantine(检疫,隔离) would be available to all citizens who can provide evidence that they have either been vaccinated against Covid-19, have recently tested negative, or have acquired antibodies after recovering from the virus.

The EU aims to vaccinate three-quarters of its adult population by the end of summer and officials remain hopeful that if national delivery speeds up, many restrictions could be lifted in time for the holidays.

1. What does the underlined word “reinstate” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Recover.	B．Contain.
C．Adopt.	D．Desire.

2. Why did southern European holiday destinations strongly support the plan?

A．Because their economies hardly depend on tourism.

B．Because travellers will not need to quarantine in any country.

C．Because they hope to promote economic recovery.

D．Because the European commission has unveiled the scheme.

3. Who can get a “digital green certificate”according to the commission?

A．Any EU citizen.	B．A citizen vaccinated.
C．A British.	D．A citizen obtaining antibodies.

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

A．The EU’s new scheme

B．A new way to resist pandemic

C．Digital green certificates for travelling more freely

D．Digital green certificates for vaccinated citizens

10 . We had to put our Belgian sheepdog Shadow to sleep yesterday. He was hands down the worst dog I have ever had—not so much a superdog as a superbad dog. For the first two years of his life, we worked relentlessly to train him to do the basic things. He balked at all of it. When made to lie down, he would roll his back and cry out as if he were being beaten. If pushed too hard, he would bite — never to draw blood, but enough to let you know who was in charge.

Frustrated, we sent him to a professional trainer, who took him into his home to work with him one-on-one. After the agreed-upon two weeks of training, the handler called and sheepishly asked for another two weeks with Shadow, free of charge, as he had been unable to make any progress. In another two weeks, we got the same phone call. So, after six weeks, the dog trainer returned our dog with apologies, stating that this was the first dog that he’d ever deemed untrainable. Shadow appeared quite pleased with himself.

For all of his 13 years, Shadow bested us, allowing us the privilege of living in his home. On his last day, my daughter commented, “Mom, I know he doesn’t feel good because he is not growling at me when I kiss his face.” That was him. Shadow was a genius. How else could he have compelled us to love the worst dog.

1. Shadow would bite when we push him too hard ________.

A．to make us bleed

B．to beat us

C．to train him

D．to show dissatisfaction

2. Why did the trainer ask for more time with Shadow?

A．Because he wanted to work with Shadow.

B．Because he wanted to charge more money.

C．Because he failed to train Shadow well within the agreed time.

D．Because Shadow was quite pleased with himself.

3. Which of the following is NOT true about Shadow?

A．He didn’t like being trained.

B．He spent twelve weeks altogether with the trainer.

C．He became the first dog that the trainer failed to train.

D．He would growl at our daughter when she kissed him.

4. According to the author, Shadow is ________.

A．naughty and intelligent	B．friendly and trainable
C．unkind and untrainable	D．superbad and disobedient