1 . One day, Vinod Menon, the head of the physics department at the City College of New York, who had to face the unpleasant task of going through almost a year of COVID-lockdown office mail, opened a 9-month-old package, only to find it contained $180,000.
Piled notes in 50s and 100s wrapped in paper bands, a letter, and a return address to an alias were all that accompanied the parcel addressed to “Head of the Physics Department.” “I’ve never seen this kind of money in real life in cash form except in movies,” Menon told CNN. “That really floored me, so I just did not know how to react.”
The sender evidently had unshakable faith in the US postal system, and desired to send the cash to poor students looking to pursue physics and other sciences. City College of New York is one of the most-productive public university systems, and the physics department is particularly outstanding. Three Nobelists in physics received their education there, and in 1921 Albert Einstein gave one of his first lectures at the campus.
“Assuming that you are a bit curious as to why I am doing this, the reason is straightforward,” the letter read, continuing to explain that its writer had, many years ago, taken advantage of the “excellent educational opportunity” available at City College to study physics, earn a master’s, and pursue a “long, productive, rewarding scientific career.”
The alias return address was to Kyle Paisley, a name absent from the university’s graduation logs, at a house in Pensacola, Florida, whose owners apparently had no idea of the donation. After a two-month long investigation revealing nothing linking the money to criminal activity, the Board of Trustees held a vote and decided to keep the money. Dr Menon noted that the gift would provide for two fully-funded scholarships every year for a decade.
1. How did Vinod Menon most likely feel when seeing the cash?| A．Shocked. | B．Ashamed. | C．Worried. | D．Excited. |
| A．To introduce Einstein’s achievements. |
| B．To prove that it is not easy to win a Nobel Prize. |
| C．To show the excellence of the physics department. |
| D．To tell that Einstein received education in the physics department. |
| A．Generous and grateful. | B．Athletic and cautious. |
| C．Brave and professional. | D．Cooperative and caring. |
| A．The writer of the letter was eventually found. |
| B．Dr Menon was in charge of keeping the money. |
| C．The school was careful when handling the money. |
| D．Kyle Paisley is a graduate of the physics department. |
2 . The 2022 Olympic Winter Games have come to an end but the legacy of this showcase event that took place over two glorious weeks will last a lifetime.
Chloe Kim wins in the snowboard halfpipe
USA snowboard star Chloe Kim entered Beijing 2022 as the youngest athlete ever to have won snowboard Olympic gold after claiming the halfpipe title at Pyenong Chang 2018. Kim scored 94.00 points on her very first run to take the gold on February 10.
Arianna Fontana becomes Italy’s most decorated Winter Olympian
Italy’s short track star Arianna Fontana began her Beijing 2022 campaign needing two medals to equal the record as the most-decorated Italian Winter Olympian of all time. Not only did she do that, but she also surpassed the mark with a silver in the 1500 m that put her in a league all of her own with 11 Winter Olympic medals.
Su Yiming thrills the hosts in men’s snowboard big air
The Winter Olympic hosts had something special to celebrate when Su Yiming won the first-ever snowboard gold medal for China. A pair of huge 1800s in his first two runs was enough to see the 17-year-old (now 18) beat off competition from seasoned competitors and take his place at the top of the Olympic podium.
Ireen Wust makes history in Olympic Winter Games
Qualifying for one Olympics is a big feat, but speed skater Ireen Wust of the Netherlands has won an individual gold medal at five different Olympics, becoming the first athlete in history to do so. The 36-year-old attended her first Olympics in 2006. Since then, she has 13 medals, six being gold.
1. How many medals did Arianna Fontana win in the 2022 Winter Olympics?| A．Eleven. | B．Three. | C．Two. | D．One. |
| A．Chloe Kim. | B．Arianna Fontana. | C．Su Yiming. | D．Ireen Wust. |
| A．Receiving the most popularity. | B．Being a champion in five Olympics. |
| C．Qualifying for the Olympics many times. | D．Winning the most medals in the 20220lympics. |
1. Where will the junior and senior competitions take place this season?
| A．At Queen’s Park. | B．At King’s Park. | C．At Royal Park. |
| A．Watch an awards ceremony. |
| B．Go to a party. |
| C．Attend a picnic. |
| A．Four teams will take part in it. |
| B．Players will wear red shirts this year. |
| C．The games will be played on Sundays. |
1. What advice was the woman given?
| A．Getting tested as soon as possible. |
| B．Going to the doctors. |
| C．Staying at home. |
| A．She has a fever. | B．She has a cough. | C．She has a headache. |
| A．On foot. | B．By bike. | C．By car. |
| A．A box. | B．Some food. | C．Some medicine. |
1. What does the woman hurry to do?
| A．Go to work. | B．Pick up James. | C．Repair the engine. |
| A．In the office. | B．Near Sarah’s apartment. | C．In James’s garage. |
| A．Find a repairman. | B．Consult his father. | C．Check the car. |
1. What will the woman do on the afternoon of April 7th?
| A．Watch TV. | B．See a play. | C．Go to Children’s Club. |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．5. |
| A．To learn about a club. | B．To ask about the show. | C．To have a talk with Sophie. |
1. Which is the last continent that Amanda wants to go?
| A．Asia. | B．Europe. | C．South America. |
| A．Because she wanted to improve her English. |
| B．Because her boyfriend was there. |
| C．Because she had a job there. |
8 . Nowadays, a multilingual voice app helping Indians shop online. India is a country where 1.3 billion people speak 22 officially recognized languages and hundreds of dialects, communication can be a problem online. Despite the number of Indian internet users who don’t speak English as a first language is large, 60% won’t buy online due to language barriers, according to a 2017 report.
Niki, a voice-enabled e-commerce platform, is trying to solve this, providing a virtual assistant that lets people use voice commands to do their shopping, pay utility bills and users speak to the app in their preferred languages, getting products or services.
The company’s target market is people who don’t live in cities and do not speak English in the northern Indiana states. It is planning to introduce seven more languages and hopes to carry out its business in 10 more states.
Thanks to a machine learning algorithm, Nikiis able to understand variations and dialects within a language with increasing accuracy. When the app first appeared, it had a 65% accuracy rate. Now with a bank of 250 million conversations, Niki can process voice commands with 95% accuracy, he says.
The app differs from typical online marketplaces. It limits the number of buying choices. Rather than offering many similar products as the supermarkets do, Niki presents a few quality-controlled objects from providers. That is more like a local store.
1. Many Indian Internet users don’t shop online because________.| A．they aren’t able to use the Internet | B．they have trouble using apps |
| C．they like to shop in the local store | D．they have difficulty in communicating |
| A．There are more products for them to choose | B．They may like the way NiKi talks with them |
| C．It’s difficult for them to buy good products | D．It’s just like shopping in a big supermarket |
| A．New apps develop quickly in India | B．The voice app helps Indians shop online |
| C．It’s hard to change Indians’ shopping fashion | D．Indians become interested in online shopping |
| A．Population and environment | B．History and traditions |
| C．Sports and entertainment | D．Science and technology |
9 . The sun is setting, brightening your kids’ faces as they play in the waves. You reach for your phone for this perfect moment. But before you do, here’s a bit of surprising science: Taking photos is not the perfect way to keep memory as you think.
Taking too many pictures could actually harm the brain’s ability to keep memories, says Elizabeth Loftus, a psychology professor at the University of California. So we get the photo but kind of lose the memory.
Photography “outsources” memories. It works in two ways: We either shake off the responsibility of remembering moments when taking pictures, or we’re so distracted by the process that we miss the moment altogether.
The first explanation is the loss of memory. People know that their camera is recording that moment, so they don’t try to remember. The other is distraction. We’re distracted by the process of taking a photo-how we hold our phone, composing the photo, such as smiling faces, the background to our liking and clear image, all of which uses up our attention that could otherwise help us memorize.
However, taking photos can help memory when done mindfully. While taking a photo may be distracting, the act of preparation by focusing on visual details around has the opposite. When people take the time to take clear pictures, memories become strengthened.
Another advantage is that we recall moments more exactly with the photos. Memory has been reshaped with the help of new information and new experiences. Thus, photos or videos help us recall moments as if they really happened.
Memories die away without a visual record backing them up. Therefore, a photo is an excellent tool to help remember when done purposefully, which is worth exploring further.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic. | B．To make us recall similar experience. |
| C．To show the interest in taking photos. | D．To call on readers not to take photos. |
| A．Taking photos is helpful for us to memorize. |
| B．Photos are more detailed than memories. |
| C．People depend more on photos to remember than their brains. |
| D．Many sources influence people’s memories during photo-taking |
| A．When taking photos is better. | B．When distraction is likely to happen. |
| C．How to stay focused while taking photos. | D．How to use photo-taking to memorize better. |
| A．Photography Does Help to Memories |
| B．Remember the Moment and Take Photos Properly |
| C．Too Many Photos Taken Result in Poor Memories |
| D．The Fewer Photos We Take, the Better We Will Remember |
10 . CREATIVE SUMMER CAMPS
Video Game Design
This international organization is aimed at inspiring girls to explore the world of games and build their confidence in the areas of math and technology. Students are grouped based on skill levels. Girls at all levels are welcome!
Time: June 15-26Age: 7-15
Fees: $ 160 each one; $ 128 members
Contact: Call Children’s Creativity Museum at 415-820-3320 or visit www. creativity. org.
History Summer Camp
Each day, kids will have a task to explore a different aspect of past life, including food, work, music, art through games, storytelling and even silent films.
Time: June 22-26Age: 8-12
Fees: 200 each one; 160 members
Contact: Call at 252-1770 or visit www.historiccolumbia.org.
Adventures in Creative Writing
This helps improve your writing skills if you have already mastered the basics of good writing. You’ll discover new techniques and polish your writing.
Time: June 21-26Age: 9-12
Fees: $ 500 each one
Contact: Call at 777-9444 or visit www.saeu.sc.edu/adventures.
Heathwood Hall Guitar
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced guitar player who wants to improve your skills, Heathwood Hall Guitar provides top-quality guitar instruction using a variety of fun games and exercises.
Time: June 15-19; July 13-17; Aug. 3-7Age: 3-12
Fees: 150 each one
Contact: Call Heathwood Hall at 231-7710 or visit www.heathwood.org.
Basic Drawing Writing Camp
This camp helps beginners discover the basic skills of drawing and writing and how to make it come to life on paper.
Time: June 8-11Age: 6-12
Fees: $ 350 each one; $ 300 members
Contact: Call Ladybug Art Studios at 603-7312 or visit www.ladybugartstudios.com.
1. What do we know about Video Game Design?
| A．It groups students by age. | B．It accepts no boy students. |
| C．It welcomes only experienced students. | D．It mainly develops students’ team spirit. |
| A．www.heathwood.org. | B．www.historiccolumbia.org. |
| C．www.saeu.sc.edu/adventures. | D．www.ladybugartstudios.com. |
| A．Charging the same fees. | B．Putting students into groups. |
| C．Offering professional instructions. | D．Letting students learn through games. |
