1 . How to Travel to Machu Picchu

Mysterious. Brilliant. Powerful. These words describe the Inca (印加). Every year, visitors rush to the Incan citadel (堡垒) of Machu Picchu (meaning “the ancient peak”) in search of the lost civilization. But getting to this UNESCO World Heritage site isn’t cheap and easy. Here’s how to expertly navigate your way to Peru’s most famous destination.

Hiking to Machu Picchu

* The most famous way to hike to Machu Picchu is along a section of one of the Incan roads built as the empire expanded. Dozens of tour operators offer Inca Trail hikes with varying durations and levels of comfort (though all require camping).

* For those who would like a less crowded experience, there are a number of diverse hiking alternatives, one of which is around Salkantay Mountain, one of the most imposing peaks in the Peruvian Andes. Several tour companies offer the treks, but Apus Peru offers an express Salkantay trek, which shaves a day off the normal itinerary for those eager to push their physical limits on their way to Machu Picchu.

* Travelers interested in archaeology should consider the Choquequirao Trek with a Machu Picchu extension. This itinerary includes spectacular hiking in the less-traveled steep Apurimac Canyon and exploration of the Choquequirao archaeological site before heading for Machu Picchu. Note that the trail is closed in December every year for regular maintenance.

Tips for Visiting

* Getting Acclimated (适应水土): Where you`re coming from is probably much lower than Machu Picchu. We highly recommend you go to Aguas Calientes first, and spend a night getting used to it before exploring Machu Picchu. Meanwhile, avoid alcohol and physical exertion to help your body slowly adjust to the thinner air.

* Entrance tickets: If you’re traveling independently, you can buy individual entrance tickets, though you should note that you’ll be required to hire a local guide before entering the site. If you book a tour package through a travel agency, all services should be included. Moreover, all entry tickets are timed, allowing entrance on the hour, and you’re allowed to stay at the site for up to four hours.

*Bring: Water and a rain jacket, even if it looks like a beautiful sunny day. And speaking of sun, remember that the ozone layer (臭氧层) over Peru is compromised. That, combined with the elevation, makes the sun extremely strong, so wear a hat and use high SPF sunscreen.

* Don’t bring: Drones, walking sticks, trekking poles or umbrellas since they’re all prohibited at Machu Picchu. Travelers who require sticks for mobility can bring them in but only with protective rubber tips over the ends.

1. Andy is a college student majoring in archaeology. He is also a keen lover of extreme sports and a seasoned hiker eager to explore the unbeaten track. Now he is considering hiking to Machu Picchu this Christmas. Which of the following routes is he most likely to choose?

A．The Inca Trail.	B．The Apus Peru Trek.
C．The express Salkantay Trek.	D．The Choquequrao Trek.

2. Which of the following information is TRUE for travelers to Machu Piccu?

A．Vigorous exercise isn’t recommended during the hike for fear of altitude sickness.

B．Visitors should bring rain jackets or umbrellas due to the changeable weather there.

C．Visitors can enter the site anytime during the opening hours and stay for four hours.

D．Tour guide services are necessary for individual and group visitors to enter the site.

3. The underlined word “compromised” can be best replaced by ________.

A．harmed	B．strengthened
C．detected	D．lowered

2 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Why more young Americans are cyber-bullying themselves

On a Friday night in 2016, Natalie Natividad, a 15-year-old in Hebbronville, took an overdose of pills after enduring months of cyber-bullying. Most of the alleged taunts(所谓的嘲弄)—that she was ugly, that she should kill herself—came on After School, an app    1     allows classmates to discuss one another anonymously(匿名地). Her act led to an investigation. The app’s operators tracked which accounts had sent the abuse, while officials interviewed teachers and students. “We just want some justice,” said Natalie’s sister. “     2     is bullying, I hope that they stop.”

There were no bullies to find. The inquiry revealed that Natalie     3    (send) the abusive messages to herself secretly. Such anonymous “digital self-harm” is increasingly common. But why do it?

Ana, a 20-year-old from Alabama, says she wanted to see     4     someone would stand up for her. At 14, she anonymously posted insults about her appearance to Ask. com, a public question-and-answer site. Then she waited for other people     5    (defend) her. Her motivations, to express self-loathing(厌恶) and to get a reaction, are some of the most common among children who abuse themselves online. In fact, over half of those     6    (interview) say digital self-harm achieved what they had hoped for.

However, much about digital self-harm is still poorly understood. Even the reason for its recent increase has puzzled researchers. Mr Hinduja guesses that the rise is related to increasing emotional instability among adolescents. That     7    (reflect) in a host of other online trends. Some young people turn to a less direct version — seeking out existing self-destructive content.     8     hint that they want a response by posting emotional confessions on social media in the hope that friends will comfort them.

As a technological matter, identifying digital self-harm is relatively easy. Usually this involves finding the computer or account that created the harmful material. The harder part is     9     to do after that, says Mr Patchin. Teachers and parents     10     treat digital self-harm as an indication of other underlying problems. The worst response, according to Ms Englander, would be to dismiss evidence of bullying simply because it might be faked.

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below. fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word: for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Hard Labour

When James returned from the hospital after the birth of his son, he was surprised to find a bottle of whisky and some cans of beer on his doorstep. The mystery was soon solved. Under covid-19 rules, James was allowed into the hospital     1    his partner Annie was due to give birth only once active labour had begun.

Thirty-six hours after     2    (admit)for an induction(生产), Annie found herself on a delivery ward in the early hours of the morning desperately trying to wake up her sleeping husband by phone. When that failed, she resorted to ordering a delivery from a local store in the hope     3    the doorbell would prove more effective. In the event, he woke before the booze arrived.

James made it to the hospital on time and all went well.     4    have not been so lucky. “I’ve heard real horror stories of what women have had to face alone,     5    it’s awful news at a scan or going through a difficult birth     6    your partner there,” says Joeli Brearley of Pregnant Then Screwed, a campaign group. As Britain locked down in March, hospitals limited the number of visitors allowed on their premises(场所). Non-essential retail reopened in June, followed by pubs and restaurants in July, but tight restrictions     7    (remain)in place so far limiting access to maternity services and post-birth visits by new fathers. A petition(请愿书)calling for the rules     8    (loosen)across Britain has received over 440,000 signatures and the backing of 60 MPs.

The Royal College of Midwives, a trade union and professional body, acknowledges that “the support of a partner during scans and labour is important”, but argues that restricting access to some services means that “maternity teams     9    continue to deliver good-quality, safe care, protecting pregnant women and the midwives who care for them.” Others are     10    (convinced). “It’s important to remember that the vast majority of birth partners live with the woman giving birth,” says Jeremy Davies of the Fatherhood Institute, a think-tank. Evidence suggests the presence of partners leads to better medical outcomes, partly because it reduces stress and anxiety during birth.

4 . 尽管教授由于疫情无法亲临会议现场，但他依然为在校师生们做了一场围绕科技发展的精彩绝伦的在线演讲。(such) （汉译英）

5 . The market is ruled by supply and demand, and as a consumer you can have a huge impact on the ________ side of the equation (等式). If all of us make individual changes in what we buy and use, it can ________ up to a lot.

But reducing your own carbon emissions isn’t the most powerful thing you can do. You can also send a signal to the market that people are ________ to pay for zero-carbon alternatives. When you pay more for an electric car, a heat pump, or a plant-based burger, you’re saying, “There’s a market for this stuff. We’ll buy it.” If enough people send the same ________, companies will respond — in my experience, quite ________. They’ll put more money and time into making low-emissions products, which will ________ the prices of those products. It will make investors more confident about funding new companies that are making the ________. Without that demand signal, the innovations that governments and businesses invest in will stay on the ________. Or they won’t get developed in the first place, because there’s no ________ incentive (刺激) to make them.

Here are some specific steps you can take:

Reduce your home’s emissions. Depending on how much money and time you can spare, you can ________ your incandescent lightbulbs (白炽灯泡) with LEDs, insulate (使隔热) your windows, or replace your heating and cooling system with a heat ________.

Buy an electric vehicle. Although EVs are not suitable for lots of long-distance road trips, and ________ at home isn’t convenient for everyone, they’re becoming more affordable. This is one of the places where consumer behavior can have a huge impact: If people buy lots of them, companies will make lots of them.

________ a plant-based burger. I’ll admit vegetarian burgers haven’t always tasted ________, but the new generation of plant-based protein alternatives is closer to the taste of meat than before. Buying these products sends a message that making them is a wise investment. ________, eating a meat substitute just once or twice a week will cut down on the emissions you’re responsible for.

1.

A．market

B．consumption

C．supply

D．demand

2.

A．look

B．take

C．add

D．live

3.

A．agreeable

B．indifferent

C．reluctant

D．willing

4.

A．data

B．signal

C．word

D．request

5.

A．quickly

B．easily

C．steadily

D．neutrally

6.

A．push up

B．drive down

C．check out

D．settle down

7.

A．breakthroughs

B．conclusions

C．calculations

D．consequences

8.

A．office

B．field

C．trade

D．shelf

9.

A．possible

B．alternative

C．economic

D．efficient

10.

A．purchase

B．recycle

C．abandon

D．replace

11.

A．bin

B．pump

C．oven

D．cooler

12.

A．transporting

B．manufacturing

C．maintaining

D．charging

13.

A．Improve

B．Search

C．Try

D．Prohibit

14.

A．great

B．terrible

C．strange

D．original

15.

A．In brief

B．For example

C．In addition

D．By comparison

6 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in NO MORE THAN 60 WORDS. Use your own words as far as possible.

The lost art of listening

Do you think you’re a good listener? Chances are that you do. But studies show that most people seriously overestimate their ability to listen. The truth is we are generally not good at listening, and our listening comprehension declines as we age.

This was proven by Dr. Ralph Nichols, who conducted a simple experiment to test students’ listening skills. He had some Minnesota teachers stop what they were doing mid-class, and then asked students to describe what their teachers had been talking about. While older kids with more developed brains, are usually assumed to be better listeners, the results, however, showed otherwise: While 90 percent of first-and second-graders gave correct responses, this percentage dropped rapidly as the students got older.

One reason for our poor listening concerns the speed at which we think. The adult brain can process up to around 400 words per minute, more than three times faster than the speed an average person speaks. This means we can easily think about something else while someone is talking to us, allowing our mind to wander or get sidetracked. The younger students in Dr. Nichols’s experiment were better listeners partly because their brains were less developed — they lacked the extra brain power to be distracted.

Another factor that contributes to our poor listening is our ever-decreasing attention span. According to a Mircrosoft study, the age of smartphones has had a negative impact here. In 2000 — around the time the mobile revolution began — the average human attention span was 12 seconds; by 2013, it had fallen to 8 seconds. Even a goldfish — with an average attention span of 9 seconds — can hold a thought for longer!

More and more people now realize that listening is a skill that can be developed through practice. Learning to observe a speaker’s body language and emotions, for example, can improve our active listening. Even the simple act of note-taking or making eye contact can help us stay focused while listening.

7 . 警察已经基于一定证据,开始对此案件进行调查。(launch) (汉译英）

8 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. appointments        B. friendly       C. address        D. consequences       E. urging             F. launched G. severely             H. debating        I. cover             J. touch                    K. implication

Let's wage a war on loneliness

Social isolation poses more health risks than obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to research published by Brigham Young University. The     1     is that loneliness is a huge, if silent, risk factor.

Loneliness affects physical health in two ways. First, it produces stress hormones that can lead to many health problems. Second, people who live alone are less likely to go to the doctor     2    , to exercise or to eat a healthy diet.

Public health experts in many countries are     3     how to     4     widespread loneliness in our society. Last year Britain even appointed a minister for loneliness. "Feelings of loneliness     5     almost every one of us at some point," its minister for loneliness Baroness Barran said. "Loneliness can lead to very serious health     6     for individuals who become isolated and disconnected."

Barran     7     a "Let's Talk Loneliness" campaign that sparked difficult conversations across Britain. He is now supporting "     8     benches," which are public seating areas where people are encouraged to go and chat with ore another. The minister is also     9     that public transportation should be stopped from being cut in ways that leave people isolated.

More than one-fifth of adults in both the United States and Britain said in a 2018 survey that they often or always feel lonely. More than half of American adults are unmarried, and researchers have found that even among those who are married, 30% of relationships are     10     strained. A quarter of Americans now live alone, and as the song says, one is the loneliest number.

9 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word: for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Walmart has a plan to tackle the climate crisis. Can it pull it off?

Every day a seemingly never-ending stream of toothbrushes, toilet paper, tape, thumbtacks, toys and     1       products criss-cross the globe from a network of suppliers to Walmart's more than 10,500 stores.

The retailer, which was for many years     2     (big) in the world until Amazon took

    3     crown in August, has a supply chain almost unfathomably complex. And it comes with a huge carbon-footprint. In 2019 the company emitted 17.56m metric tons of greenhouse gases.

Walmart has declared its mission     4     (tackle) these climate impacts, which means focusing on every part of the chain-from the electricity sourced in its stores to the palm oil in the candy bars sold on its shelves. But     5     some experts celebrate the scale of the retailer's efforts, others wonder whether they go far enough.

Over the past years, Walmart     6     (come) out with a slew of climate promises. In 2017, it launched "Project Gigaton", pledging to cut 1bn metric tons of carbon emissions from its supply chain by 2030. Last year it announced a goal to reach zero emissions from its global operations by 2040 without relying on carbon offsets - where companies "cancel out" some of their impact by funding projects that reduce carbon emissions. It's also promised to be a 100% renewably-powered, zero waste and "regenerative" corporation that does more good than harm.

"It's extraordinary," said Michael Vandenbergh, co-director of the Climate Change Research Network at Vanderbilt Law School,     7     we're talking about is one of the largest and most conservative companies in the world     8    (make) a range of commitments     9       government is not requiring them to make."

Yet it's an uphill task for a retail giant with a business model based on providing tens of millions of low-priced products to a growing number of customers. The big question will be     10     this type of business model can persist in a way that aligns with climate science, said Simon Fischweicher, head of corporations and supply chains for environmental nonprofit CDP North America.

10 . 意识到塑料污染的问题后，他呼吁公众提升用水权的意识，增加可重复使用水瓶的使用，促进社会的可持续发展。(aware) （汉译英）