5 . Anyone watching the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China over the last few days will have seen lots and lots of snow ----– man-made snow. Since the area gets little natural snow, this is the first time the Winter Olympics is taking place on almost 100% artificial snow.

This year’s Winter Olympics are being held in Beijing, China, and in two areas northwest of Beijing, Yangqing and Zhangjiakou. The areas get cold in the winter, but they don’t get a lot of snow. That’s because they’re not far from the Gobi Desert, and are generally very dry.

That meant some serious changes were needed to hold the Winter Olympics there. China took water from a reservoir which helps supply Beijing’s drinking water and sent it to a nearby river. To carry the water to the mountains for making snow, the country ran miles and miles of pipes. China says making the snow took about 49,000 gallons (185,500 liters) of water. Outside experts say it probably took a lot more water than that.

China hired an Italian company called TechnoAlpin to create the snow. TechnoAlpin created artificial snow at several earlier Winter Olympics. For the snow in this year’s Olympics, TechnoAlpin laid over 40 miles (64 kilometers) of pipe and brought in hundreds of snow-making machines. Even with all of those machines, making the snow for this year’s Games took seven weeks.

It’s useful to be able to make snow when nature doesn’t provide enough. But artificial snow isn’t the same as natural snow, which has more air and less water. An athlete used to natural snow might have to adjust their style on man-made snow.Still, the machines that make artificial snow are quite advanced. They can make several different kinds of snow depending on what’s needed for each sport. For example, the snow they make for downhill skiing is different from the snow made for cross-country skiing.

A few athletes have complained about the snow at this year’s Olympics. Most others say it’s been just fine.

In recent years, it has become more and more common to use artificial snow at winter sports events. That’s true even in places that used to have a lot of snow naturally. Some artificial snow was used in the Winter Olympics in 2010 and 2014 because of warm weather. In the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, roughly 90% of the snow was man-made.

As the world warms because of climate change, problems like this are expected to become far more common. Michael Mayr, who leads TechnoAlpin in Asia, says, “You could not have winter sports now without man-made snow.”

1. Why does the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics use artificial snow?

A．To save energy.	B．To keep athletes happy.
C．To provide enough snow.	D．To protect th eenvironment.

2. To create the snow, China first has to________.

A．built a reservoir	B．lay miles of pipes
C．find the source of water	D．carry the water to the mountains

3. TechnoAlpin was chosen to create the snow for________.

A．the friendship between China and TechnoAlpin	B．the request of the Olympic Committee
C．the lack of snow making company	D．TechnoAlpin’s rich experience

4. What does the author mainly want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．The reasons of climate change.	B．Some examples of warm weather.
C．The expectations of artificial snow.	D．The necessity of using artificial snow.

6 . Volunteering offers great help to people in need, but the benefits (好处) can be even greater for you, the volunteer.

    1    . Being a volunteer helps you make new friends and improve your social skills. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, especially if you are new to an area. It develops your ties to the community, broadens your support network and offers you chances to know people with common interests and fun activities.

    2    , others are shy and have a hard time meeting new people. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to practice and develop your social skills, since you are meeting regularly with a group of people with common interests.

Volunteering is good for your mind and body.     3    . Nothing reduces (减少) stress better than a meaningful connection to another person. Working with pets and other animals has also been shown to improve mood and reduce stress and anxiety. Studies have found that older volunteers are likely to walk more and find it easier to sleep regularly.     4    .

If you’re considering a new job, volunteering can help you get experience in your area of interest and meet people in the field.     5     , volunteering gives you the opportunity to practice important skills used in the workplace, such as teamwork communication, problem solving and organization. You might feel more comfortable stretching (伸展) your wings at work once you have improved these skills in a volunteer position first.

A．Volunteering increases self-confidence

B．Volunteering connects you to others

C．Even if you're not planning on changing your job

D．While some people are naturally outgoing

E．It provides many benefits to both mental and physical health

F．Many people volunteer in order to make time for hobbies outside of work

G．Volunteering can also reduce the risk of heart disease

7 . People will say firmly their childhood memory is real, offering amazing detail as proof that it must be, and getting upset if you suggest they are wrong.

But, for years, scientists have questioned whether these memories could actually be true, given what we know about neuroscience (神经科学) and the brain. The human brain grows and develops in clear stages. As it grows and creates and adapts, so different developmental stages are reached. These stages are the result of millions of years of evolution (进化). Now, finally, a study has proved this. Researchers from Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, reviewed decades worth of data to understand the earliest age at which lasting memories form and they have believed that it is around 30 months.

So people who think they remember something from when they were a baby are, I am afraid, mistaken. The problem with early memories is that they are very easy to fabricate, which is what I did.

I have a vivid image of standing in the garden, my mum holding a flower and laughing. It’s one of my first memories. I must have been 18 months old because we moved from that house before I was two. I could swear it was real.

Years ago, when I shared this memory with my mum, she shook her head and produced a photo. It showed her in a garden, laughing and holding a flower. But it was taken three years before I was born. That beautiful memory is a work of fiction (虚构): an old photo that used to hang on the wall.

I’ll admit to feeling shocked and robbed when I realized this memory was entirely false. It made me question other things I remember as a child, too. A study into this event published a few years ago found that around 40 per cent of us say that we have memories from before the age of two. But it’s the mind playing tricks on us taking old stories or photos and turning them into a memory.

While it can be disappointing to realize that a recollection you hold so dear might not be true, it does provide a good lesson in how changeable memory can be.

1. When is a child’s lasting memory formed?

A．When he is 18 months old.	B．When he is two years old.
C．When he is three years old.	D．When he is 30 months old.

2. What does the underlined word “fabricate” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Sign up.	B．Make up.
C．Concentrate on.	D．Bring back.

3. Why does the author mention his own experience?

A．To prove his argument.	B．To attract readers’ attention.
C．To show off his good memory.	D．To explain how memories form.

4. What can we infer from paragraph 6?

A．A study published a few years ago proved false.

B．Our mind is always fond of playing tricks on us.

C．The author is curious about everything during his childhood.

D．The author felt surprised realizing his childhood memory was false.

10 . 你校英语报正在进行“My Best Friend”的征稿，请你据此写一篇英语短文进行投稿，内容包括：
1. 他/她的基本信息；
2. 他/她所做的让你印象最深的一件事；
3. 这件事对你的影响或启示。
注意：词数100左右。
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