| A．brotherhood | B．brother | C．brothers | D．brotherly |
| A．loudly | B．shyly | C．politely | D．in a low voice |
| A．bathed | B．covered | C．swam | D．surrounded |
4 . Invent a piece of technology to help the planet
The yearly BT Young Pioneer Award (奖) is looking for the brightest technological youngsters in the UK to make a planet-protecting piece of technology. Enter to be in with a chance of winning £10, 000 to develop your idea.
The BT Young Pioneer Award is part of the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards, and this year BT is looking for new tech inventors to put their minds towards dealing with the problems of climate (气候) change.
If you need help, the “Count Us In” activity gives advice on ways you can take action to support the planet. You can find out how to help and what everyone's doing at count-us-in. org. The BT Young Pioneer Award is a key part of BT's Skills for Tomorrow programme, which provides free online resources (资源) to help people make the most of life — just visit bt.com/skillsfortomorrow to find out more.
What could you win?
BT will help the winner to develop their idea with up to £10,000 and the support of BT experts along the way.
How to enter
To give your entry (参赛作品), visit tech4goodawards. com, where you will be asked questions about the problem your project solves, how you plan to develop it and why you think you will win this year's BT Young Pioneer Award. The BT Young Pioneer Award is open to anyone based in the UK between the ages of nine and 18. Entry is free, and you can enter as an individual (个人) or as part of a group of up to five people. The closing date for entries is 9 May 2021.
1. What do we know about the BT Young Pioneer Award?| A．It is held every three months. |
| B．It will offer the winner at least £10,000. |
| C．It includes the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards. |
| D．It encourages young people to protect the Earth. |
| A．By visiting bt.com/skillsfortomorrow. |
| B．By sending an email to the organiser. |
| C．By making a call to BT experts. |
| D．By joining in “Count Us In”. |
| A．be in a group of over five people |
| B．sign up before 9 May 2021 |
| C．be older than 18 years old |
| D．pay for the entry |
5 . Some people will say that you can place a value on anything. We may know the price of milk. We can also find out the value of the most expensive building in the world. Do you think it is possible to put a price on the Earth or other planets?
You probably think this is impossible. Scientist Greg Laughlin thought differently. In March 2009, NASA sent the Kepler telescope (望远镜) into space to explore the Milky Way galaxy and to find Earth-sized planets orbiting (环绕) other stars. As there are billions of stars within the Milky Way, it could mean there were several thousand planets to discover. How could scientists decide which ones to study further and which ones to take no notice of?
Professor Laughlin used information received from the Kepler telescope to create a formula (公式) that puts a price on planets. The age and size of each planet, its temperature, and the energy (能量) it created were considered. Older planets were given a higher value. The most important consideration was whether or not it may be possible for life to live on the planet.
By using his formula, Professor Laughlin found that planet Earth was the most important. He gave it a value of five quadrillion (千的五次幂) dollars. Mars was given a value of US$16,500 and Venus was valued at zero. That’s because it’s impossible to support life on Venus because it is too close to the Sun. The professor said that any planet that had a value of more than US$100 million was worth studying further.
By November 2018, about 1,200 planets in total had been looked at. Most of them were worthless because of their unsatisfactory conditions. So should you run to the bank and borrow US$16,500 so you can buy Mars? Maybe not today. You should just enjoy the five quadrillion dollar planet you already live on — and learn how to look after it.
1. What purpose does the first paragraph serve?| A．To describe the prices of different things. |
| B．To bring up the topic of values of planets. |
| C．To introduce a scientific question. |
| D．To show a research result. |
| A．A planet’s temperature. |
| B．A planet’s age and size. |
| C．The amount of energy a planet creates. |
| D．The possibility for life to live on a planet. |
| A．Venus was valueless. |
| B．Venus is too close to the Sun. |
| C．Mars was much cheaper than Earth. |
| D．A planet was usually valued at over US$100 million. |
| A．To study space science. | B．To protect and love Earth. |
| C．To save money to travel in space. | D．To support scientific organizations. |
6 . Travelling with some of your favourite people is an exciting experience. If done well, group travelling can be the most thrilling experience ever, filled with games, laughter, and unforgettable memories.
Ideas are usually exciting when they are fresh. The longer you delay, the more you’ll find excuses not to go. Let all interested parties meet as soon as possible to decide on dates, locations and budget. It’s best to plan the trip three or four months in advance.
Assign roles
For the trip to be successful, it has to be well organized. You’re going on a trip far from home, not the shopping mall. This is why the group should assign a leader who would be responsible for planning and organizing the trip.
Budget pool
Create a flexible itinerary（行程）
An easy way to create and share an itinerary is through Google Docs. Add the group members to the document and give them permission to edit it. Suggest one or two optional activities per day which do not require advance bookings, such as a local hike or museum.
| A．Start early. |
| B．Get fresh ideas. |
| C．So how do you plan for your group trip? |
| D．Collect a set amount from everyone before your trip. |
| E．Don’t forget to create room for something unexpected. |
| F．Also, divide the other responsibilities as they arise so that everyone participates. |
| G．The group leader generally keeps in contact with everyone, handling most of the detailed work. |
7 . Years ago, I appeared on stage with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir (合唱团) in the Town Hall. There I was, my feet in plain shoes, sweat dirtying my clean white shirt, singing my heart out in front of the big organ. I still have a tape recording of that performance somewhere, where I swear I can hear myself singing, high and thin and possibly off-key.
But life got in the way and I stopped singing. Then, in the summer of 2019, I found myself facing some gloom in my own life. It felt as if it had been a long time between songs, as if there was something unsung, some absent music in my ears. I began to fear I might be making myself ill and unable to breathe in a normal way.
Could singing help me reclaim my voice and calm my fast-beating heart? Research from the Royal Society noted that “group singing can improve physical and mental health, as well as promote social bonds”. So, rather than letting my unsung tunes strangle (扼杀) me, I decided to take on a new choral experience, one being in the Big Feminist Sing, a community choir.
“If you don’t know what to sing,” the choir director said, “find someone who looks confident and go and stand next to them.” Find a friend if you’re in trouble; take a risk; use your voice; be part of something bigger than yourself. I’ve been singing in the choir ever since, because group singing gives me a sense of security — and each rehearsal (排练) is a lifeline, a connected thread, an intake of air working toward a collective voice. It doesn’t matter if I am a bit off-key to start with. Decades of unsung situations have changed, and I have flown.
1. How did the author feel during her performance in the Town Hall?| A．Thrilled. |
| B．Confident. |
| C．Nervous. |
| D．Curious. |
| A．Something unsung in author’s life. |
| B．Some difficulty in author’s life. |
| C．Some disease that stopped the author singing. |
| D．Some things affecting the author’s voice. |
| A．Finding a true friend is never easy. |
| B．The choir director’s position counts. |
| C．Teamwork has benefited her a lot. |
| D．Singing alone improves her health. |
| A．To get a sense of security out of singing. |
| B．To make changes from stage experiences. |
| C．To taste music in a choir. |
| D．To enjoy the amazing power of group singing. |
China's FAST telescope officially opens to global astronomers
China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world’s
The statement noted that FAST will provide its research facilities to the world with a more open attitude,
| A．black and white | B．black and blue | C．safe and sound | D．high and low |
| A．keep | B．protect | C．prevent | D．forbid |
