1 . For many, Labor Day weekend signals the end of summer and an opportunity to host a socially-distanced barbecue (an outdoor meal). But this national holiday—celebrated every year in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September—has revolutionary (革命性的) origins.
By the late 19th century, the Industrial Revolution had made working life miserable for people around the world. In many places, workers toiled for at least 12 hours a day six days a week in mines, factories, railroads, and mills. This holiday actually originated in the US on May 1, 1866, in what came to be known as the Haymarket Riot, workers flooded Chicago streets to demand an eight-hour workday.
It would take another conflict in the American Midwest to make Labor Day a national holiday. On May 11, 1894, workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company, a railroad car manufacturer near Chicago, went on strike to protest their low wages and 16-hour workdays. In August 1893, James Kyle introduced federal legislation (立法) to make Labor Day a public holiday, but for ten months the legislation was put on hold. To quiet the strikers and their supporters, the Senate quickly passed the bill on June 22. The bill passed the House four days later and President Grover Cleveland signed it into law on June 28, 1894.
The holiday is more information May Day labor celebrations. Many observers relax at home or head to outdoor recreational activities, such as boating, barbecues, and camping. It may also be marked with fireworks shows and other events. Labor Day has also become associated with retail sales, as many shop owners try to take advantage of the customers’ day off. It is one of the largest sales events of the year. meaning retail employees actually have to work more on this day. Parades are the most common model of celebration, which often feature processions of labor groups.
1. What do we know about the workers in the late 19th century?| A．They were paid well. | B．They had long workdays. |
| C．They often had a barbecue. | D．Their contributions were recognized. |
| A．Put off. | B．Introduced. | C．Got through. | D．Protected. |
| A．On May 1, 1886. | B．On August 22, 1893. | C．On May 11, 1894. | D．On June 28, 1894. |
| A．The origins of Labor Day. | B．The labor groups achievements. |
| C．The ways to celebrate Labor Day. | D．The official activities on Labor Day. |
2 . Life on earth evolves (进化) through the passing on of genes. How does culture evolve?
The evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, coined the term “meme” in his book The Selfish Gene. According to Dawkins, while genes are the pieces of biological information from our parents which determines our appearance and how we grow, memes are units of cultural information — ideas and beliefs — that “pass from brain to brain”. Like genes, memes must compete for survival — if a meme cannot gain our attention. it disappears.
Basically, any shared idea related to culture is a meme. Myths, for example, are memes. Every society has its own stories that have survived, with some variations, for hundreds or thousands of years. The mythological dragon in Chinese culture is an idea that has been successfully passed among people for generations and is therefore also a meme.
Historically, memes have spread very gradually by word of mouth. Within Internet culture, though, a successful idea can be shared among millions of people within a few hours. Internet memes (which may for example, take the form of an image, a video or a website) may not last long, but they are particularly catching. They are shared “liked” copied and thus rapidly grown.
Then why do some ideas succeed in gaining our attention while others fail to attract us? It’s difficult to say, but humor is generally a factor. People are most likely to forward something to their friends if they think it is funny and the easier it is to digest the further the meme travels. Other memes may gain ground because they are something out of the ordinary. Aside from pure entertainment. Internet memes have a commercial aspect. Given their mass appeal, it is no surprise that advertisements turn up alongside them.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “coined” in Paragraph 2?| A．Accepted. | B．Preferred. | C．Invented. | D．Understood. |
| A．They are genes passed down from our parents. |
| B．They are cultural units that spread among people. |
| C．They belong to myths in different cultures. |
| D．They determine the development of the Internet. |
| A．It spreads faster and wider. | B．It takes fewer forms. |
| C．It’s harder to digest. | D．It lasts longer. |
| A．The distance a meme can travel. | B．Achievements of Internet memes. |
| C．Reasons for the success of some memes. | D．The uniqueness of a meme. |
3 . A double chin occurs when a layer of fat around your neck sags (下垂). Overweight and aging are closely related to double chins.
Pout (撅嘴)
It sounds a little odd, but stretching your head up to whistle at the ceiling can help strengthen your muscles. Tilt the head back and look at the ceiling while sitting.
Chew gum
Not only is chewing gum a small exercise for the facial muscles, but it can also help you lose those extra pounds to rid you of your double chin. Studies have found that people who chewed gum felt more satisfied after their meal and were less likely to snack. By resisting the urge to snack, you’re reducing the amount of calories in the diet.
| A．Whistle at the ceiling |
| B．Stretch your neck forwards |
| C．Close your lips into the whistling position. |
| D．This will help you lose the fat causing your double chin. |
| E．This is an effective way to strengthen the jaw and neck muscles. |
| F．A bad posture can also weaken the muscles around the neck and the chin. |
| G．Doing facial exercises is a natural way to make your face look younger. |
4 . Cancer researchers urged people on Wednesday to take more vitamin D to lower risk of cancer, saying studies showed a clear link. “Our suggestion is for people to increase their intake, through diet or a vitamin supplement,” Dr. Cedric Garland said in a telephone interview.
Garland’s research team reviewed 63 studies, including several large long-term ones, on the relationship between vitamin D and certain types of cancer worldwide between 1966 and 2004. “There’s nothing that has this ability to prevent cancer,” he said, urging governments and public health officials to do more to fortify foods with vitamin D. Garland is part of a University of California at San Diego Moores Cancer Center team that published its findings this week online in the American Journal of Public Health. Vitamin D is found in milk, as well as in some fortified orange juice, yogurt and cheeses, usually at around 100 international units (IU) a serving. People might want to consider a vitamin supplement to raise their intake to 1000 IUs per day, Garland said, adding that it was well within the safety guidelines established by the National Academy of Sciences.
The authors said that taking more vitamin D could be especially important for people living in northern areas, which receive less vitamin D from sunshine.
African Americans, who don’t produce as much of the vitamin because of their skin colour, could also benefit significantly from a higher intake, the authors said.
1. According to the passage, people are advised to take more Vitamin D because ___________.| A．it is nutritious | B．it can’t harm people’s health |
| C．it can lower cancer risk | D．it is not taken enough every day |
| A．Having some sunshine. | B．Having more meat. |
| C．Having more fortified cheese. | D．Having a vitamin supplement. |
| A．A health researcher. | B．A doctor. | C．A scientist. | D．A public health official. |
| A．Milk. | B．Fortified orange juice. | C．Fortified yogurt. | D．All of the above. |
5 . It is not always easy to keep a conversation going in English. You might not be sure about what to say. Or maybe you are afraid that your pronunciation is not good. So how can we continue a conversation in English?
Listen and follow up
First, remember the importance of listening. Listen to the other person attentively, so that you can ask a follow-up question. For example, let’s say the other person tells you, “I just got back from a trip to Canada.”
How was the food there?
Avold simple “yes” or “no” questions
If you want to keep a conversation going, it’s a good idea to ask questions that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”. If the other person asks you a “yes” or “no” question, try to give a longer answer to help keep the conversation going.
For example, a friend might ask, “Hey, have you seen the new Star Wars movie?” You could just answer, “No, I haven’t.”
Do not worry about your pronunciation. If your pronunciation is a little different, the other person will still understand your message if you try speaking slowly and clearly. When you are traveling in an English-speaking country and have some free time, be brave and speak in English with someone who does not look too busy.
| A．Or, you could say more. |
| B．Be brave and practice often. |
| C．You can try the following ways. |
| D．Why did you choose the destination? |
| E．Then you may make a new friend. |
| F．Correct your pronunciation if possible. |
| G．You can continue with a question using where, what, why, or how. |
(1) 从下表中选择对你影响最大的一位伟人，描述他（她）的主要事迹；
(2) 谈谈该伟人对你产生的激励作用。
注意：
(1) 字数100-120； (2) 标题和开头结尾不计入总词数。
参考词汇：动物学家zoologist (n.) 黑猩猩 chimp (n.) 青蒿素artemisinin (n.) 杂交稻 hybrid rice
| Jane Goodall(1934-)，Britain | Tu Youyou(1930-), China | Yuan Longping(1930-2021), China |
| 动物学家, 前往非洲研究黑猩猩多年,在研究和保护野生动物方面做出巨大贡献。 | 药学家,多年从事中西药结合研究,创制了新型抗疟药青蒿素,首位获诺贝尔科学奖的中国人。 | 农业专家, 致力于杂交水稻研究, 在消除世界饥饿方面做出巨大贡献。 |
The Great Person I Admire
Ladies and gentlemen,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for your listening.
7 . Fast walkers may live longer than dawdlers (缓慢的人)— regardless of their weight, a new study suggests.
Researchers at Leicester University analyzed data on 474, 919 people with an average age of 52 in the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2016. They found women who walked briskly had a life expectancy of 86.7 to 87.8 years old, and men who kept up the pace had a life expectancy of 85.2 to 86.8. Slow walkers hadn’t much encouraging prospects (前景): women had a life expectancy of 72.4, and men of 64.8 years old, if they were more leisurely in their movements. According to the paper, published last week, that ratio held true even if the fast walkers were severely overweight. It does not necessarily mean fast walkers will live longer. Experts say it suggests walking speed could be a simple way for doctors to judge their patients’ general health alongside other tests.
It is hardly the first study holding up walking speed as a powerful evidence that appears to improve and determine our health.
In 2011, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study by Stephanie Studenski, who found the same: walking speed was a reliable predictor of life expectancy.
In 2013, US researchers found walking pace was linked to lower heart disease risk and longer life expectancy. In 2018, a study from the University of Sydney found picking up your walking pace to even an “average speed” could cut your risk of premature death by a fifth.
And Tom Yates, the physical activity professor at Leicester who's behind the latest study, has been publishing findings on this connection for years.
In 2017, he analyzed the same UK Biobank data and found walking speed appeared to affect the risk of dying from heart disease — concluding that the slowest walkers were twice as likely to suffer a heart-related death compared to quick walkers.
1. What does the underlined word “briskly” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Casually. | B．Quickly. | C．Actively. | D．Energetically. |
| A．Most fast walkers are overweight. |
| B．Fast walkers have a simple way of living. |
| C．Walking speed can help doctors know about their patients’ general health. |
| D．Doctors will surely have better ways to cure their patients of their illness. |
| A．Walking slowly is bad for people's health. |
| B．Walking speed can predict a person’s life expectancy. |
| C．People won't die early by increasing their walking pace. |
| D．Lower heart disease risk is determined partly by walking pace. |
| A．Fast Walkers May Have a Long Life Expectancy |
| B．Life Expectancy Is Determined by Exercise |
| C．Researchers Try to Improve Life Expectancy |
| D．The Public Doubt Researches on Walking Speed |
注意:1）每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2）只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Last Saturday I went to the library as usually. At noon, I was enjoying my reading near a lake when suddenly I hear someone crying for help. I went up to see what was happened. I was shocking to find a little child struggling in the water while many people were standing by without doing anything. With any hesitation（犹豫）, I had pushed through the crowd but jumped into the water quickly. I managed to reach him and carry him back to safety. Lucky, the kid saved. I was proud of that I had done. I hope everyone can give a hand when someone else is in the need.
10 . Recent research discovered that a low-cost computer training program can help older persons drive less dangerously.
“We developed a training program, called Drive Aware, which could be used by anyone who has a computer,” says Jing Feng, co-author of the study and a professor of psychology at NC State. “Drive Aware is a cognitive (认知的) training program for older persons that helps them notice traffic risks more effectively. The purpose of our recent study was to see how much Drive Aware changes trainees’ driving behaviors once they get behind the wheel.”
The researchers found 27 persons aged 65 and up to test Drive Aware. In a driving simulator (模拟器), all of the study participants (参与者) experienced a basic driving exam. The “active training” group was made up of nine of the study participants. Every two weeks, the active training group had two Drive Aware trainings. A group of nine additional study participants was asked to take “passive training”. This group watched videos of others receiving the Drive Aware instruction. This happened twice, with each lasting about a week. The control group, which was made up of the remaining nine study participants, received no training. After that, all 27 study participants performed a second driving exam in the simulator.
The study participants in the active training group experienced 25% fewer “unsafe incidents (事件)” following the training, according to the researchers. There was no obvious change in the number of dangerous incidents among study participants in the passive training and control groups.
“This testing was done with a fairly limited number of study participants,” Feng says. “If we can succeed in getting the fund, we’d like to further our testing with more people to clearly prove how effective this training is at reducing accidents among older drivers.”
1. What does the underlined phrase “get behind the wheel” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Take a risk. | B．Start a program. |
| C．Drive a car. | D．Use a computer. |
| A．Experience no training. | B．Receive two Drive Aware trainings. |
| C．Take three driving tests. | D．Observe videos of Drive Aware trainings. |
| A．By quoting former figures. | B．By investigating car accidents. |
| C．By operating the driving simulator. | D．By comparing participants’ performances. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Worried. | C．Positive. | D．Doubtful. |
