1. 礼物名称；
2. 推荐原因。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
I’m no literary Luddite (反对新技术的人). I bought an iPad with my first paycheck from my first full-time job after graduating from college. But after two years of reading occasionally on the device, I gave it away to my brother. It just wasn’t the right reading experience for me.
Technology lovers choose e-readers over books because e-readers are more convenient. They’re right. It is objectively easier to carry a 7oz (盎司) tablet with thousands and thousands of books at your fingertips than it is to carry five books in your bag, which is exactly what I did on vacation.
But I don’t read for convenience. I read to learn more about the world and myself. I have made friends by seeing a book cover in a cafe and noticing that it was the same title that I was reading. I can trace my life by the books that have been my companions. When I open an old book and come across my previously scribbled notes — shaky ones when I’ve been reading on the subway, covered in sand if I read it at the beach, next to a train ticket if I was traveling — I am able to add an extra level of personal depth and experience to the story I am about to reread. It’s just not enough to simply consuming the story, which is what e-readers are great for.
When I read paper books, I hold onto them for long periods of time. I just purchased a new bookshelf specially for my “to be read” pile. Once in a while, I go through the process of deciding which books to donate, but usually the idea of parting with a book feels like giving away a part of my soul.
Physical books may not be the most efficient medium, but they are the most meaningful. So keep your Kindle, by all means. But I’ll be happy hoarding with my library.
1. Why did the author give his iPad to his brother?2. What can the author get when he sees his notes in an old book?
3. Please decide which part of the following statement is false, then underline it and explain why.
● The author loves physical books and he usually gives them away when he finishes reading them.
4. What is your favourite book? And why? (about 40 words)
3 . Have you ever found yourself in this situation: You hear a song you used to sing when you were a child—a bit of nostalgia (怀旧) or “blast from the past, ”as we say. But it is not a distant childhood memory. The words come back to you as clearly as when you sang them all those years ago.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh studied the relationship between music and remembering a foreign language. They found that remembering words in a song was the best way to remember even one of the most difficult languages.
Here is what they did. Researchers took 60 adults and randomly divided them into three groups of 20. Then they gave the groups three different types of “listen-and-repeat” learning conditions. Researchers had one group simply speak the words. They had the second group speak the words to a rhythm, or beat. And they asked the third group to sing the words.
All three groups studied words from the Hungarian language for 15minutes. Then they took part in a series of language tests to see what they remembered.
Why Hungarian, you ask? Researchers said they chose Hungarian because not many people know the language. It does not share any roots with Germanic or Romance languages, such as Italian or Spanish. After the tests were over, the singers came out on top. The people who learned these new Hungarian words by singing them showed a higher overall performance. They did the best in four out of five of the tests. They also performed two times better than those who simply learned the words by speaking them.
Dr. Katie Overy says singing could lead to new ways to learn a foreign language. The brain likes to remember things when they are contained in a catchy or memorable tune.
Dr. Ludke said the findings could help those who struggle to learn foreign languages. On the website of University of Edinburgh Dr. Ludke writes, “This study provides the first experimental evidence that a listen-and-repeat singing method can support foreign language learning, and opens the door for future research in this area.”
1. The “song” mentioned in the first paragraph is intended to ________.| A．recall the past | B．attract the readers |
| C．introduce the topic | D．compare the childhood with the present |
| A．singing is the best way to learn a language |
| B．Dr. Katie Overy and Dr. Ludke disagree with each other |
| C．a listen-repeat method is very effective for any language learner |
| D．the brain probably works best when the foreign language learners sing the words |
| A．An American is going to learn some Chinese. |
| B．A child is going to have his first music lesson. |
| C．A student is going to learn a new English song. |
| D．A mother is going to teach her baby how to speak. |
4 . Sophie became friends with the gray squirrels during her first week at Penn State, after spotting them running around and wondering what they would look like with tiny hats on their heads. Today, everyone at the university knows her as the “Squirrel Girl”.
Sophie tried bringing them food, and gradually they began to trust her. She managed to put a hat on a squirrel and take a picture. Thinking that her colleagues could do something to lift their spirits, she started posting similar photos on Facebook. The response was greatly positive, and before long Sophie and her squirrels became an Internet sensation (轰动).
Growing up in a neighborhood outside of State College, Sophie was always fond of birds and animals around her home, but she didn’t interact with people very much. She was later diagnosed (诊断) with Asperger's syndrome, but the squirrels changed that. “The squirrels help me break the ice, because I’ll be sitting here patting a squirrel and other people will come over and well just start like feeding the squirrels together and chatting about them,” she said, “I am a lot more outgoing.”
And in case you’re wondering how Sophie is able to get the squirrels to do what she wants for her photos, it has a lot to do with food. For example, whenever she wants them to hold or play with something, she puts peanut butter on the prop (道具), and they’ll grab it. In the beginning, she would throw peanuts up the trees on campus and invite the squirrels to come down and get them, but they hesitated to approach her. She had the patience to earn their trust, though.
This year, Sophie is graduating with a degree in English and wildlife sciences. She wants to be a science writer and educate people on how to preserve the environment. As for her furry friends, Sophie plans to stay in the area and visit them as often as she can.
1. What can we infer from the passage?| A．Sophie was fonder of squirrels than any other animals. |
| B．Sophie is known as the “Squirrel Girl” in the community. |
| C．Sophie and squirrels received great attention on the Internet. |
| D．Sophie wishes to educate people on how to protect the animals. |
| A．She was more outgoing than before. |
| B．She got lots of friends due to squirrels. |
| C．She lived in the far countryside when young. |
| D．She used to be a popular girl in her childhood. |
| A．By dressing like squirrels. | B．By putting them in cages. |
| C．By playing music to them. | D．By attracting them with food. |
| A．Patient and caring. | B．Tolerant and strong. |
| C．Sociable and healthy. | D．Traditional and hard-working. |
China plans to complete the construction of a space station and have it put into operation around 2022, said Zhou Jianping, the chief designer of China’s manned space program, at a forum (论坛)
One evening I was going back from a supermarket. As I approached my car, I noticed one person
7 . Jake and Max Klein are twin brothers who have a passion for volunteering. Their family have always done community
So, Kids That Do Good was
Jake and Max are
| A．surveys | B．services | C．duties | D．businesses |
| A．sort out | B．play with | C．give up | D．put away |
| A．Unfortunately | B．Happily | C．Honestly | D．Gratefully |
| A．task | B．ability | C．chance | D．determination |
| A．joked | B．blamed | C．denied | D．praised |
| A．advised | B．allowed | C．named | D．created |
| A．judgment | B．difference | C．comment | D．decision |
| A．pleased | B．satisfied | C．amazed | D．interested |
| A．connected | B．exposed | C．contributed | D．attracted |
| A．familiar | B．patient | C．busy | D．content |
The protection of the Yellow River is one of the top concerns for Chinese leadership. In the past two decades, the Chinese government
9 . See the Great Smoky Mountains in an amazing and unique way—from the air on a scenic helicopter tour! Passengers will get to fly over the Great Smoky Mountains for a birds eye view of the top sights in the area. These tours offer breathtaking views of your favorite Gatlinburg landmarks so be sure to pursue one!
Lake View Tour
Available Now until 12/21
Explore Douglas Lake as well as the Great Smoky Mountains on this 12 mile journey through the skies. Visitors will be treated to glorious views of the French Broad River and Douglas Lake. Other highlights on this tour include Smokies farmland and Douglas Dam, a World War II era dam. The experience lasts approximately 6 minutes.
Mountain Valley Tour
Available Now until 12/24
This 24 mile tour, is the perfect addition to your sightseeing adventures in the Smokies. During this flight, you’ll see the gorgeous Tennessee Valley, the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and Bluff and Sugarloaf Mountains. This is the best flight to choose if you want to get amazing mountain views. The entire experience lasts approximately 12 minutes.
National Park Tour
Available Now until 12/28
This 50 mile National Park Tour which lasts approximately 25 minutes is an amazing adventure through the Great Smoky Mountains and surrounding areas. As for natural wonders, the tour is sure to impress and is a must-have!
Gatlinburg Tour
Available Now until 12/30
Gatlinburg, TN is one of the most gorgeous cities in the Smoky Mountain area. Take to the skies to get the best views of the beautiful city, Gatlinburg. The tour lasts for 40 miles and approximately 18 minutes.
1. What is the purpose of this text?| A．To introduce the Great Smoky Mountains’ amazing views. |
| B．To explain what you can see in Helicopter Tours. |
| C．To advertise Great Smoky Mountains Helicopter Tours. |
| D．To recommend some good travel destinations. |
| A．Lake View Tour. | B．Mountain Valley Tour. |
| C．National Park Tour. | D．Gatlinburg Tour. |
| A．They are unforgettable for the tourists. | B．They last approximately equal time. |
| C．They can be taken on any day in December. | D．They cost more than common ones. |
10 . A US government study has found that facial recognition technology is getting better at identifying people wearing masks. The study is part of an ongoing research by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The agency has examined the effectiveness of more than 150 facial recognition systems on people wearing face coverings . The systems are powered by machine learning algorithms (算法).
The first results of the study were announced in July, as health officials across the world urged people to wear masks to limit the spread of COVID-19. New findings were released this week . Police agencies have long used facial recognition technology to search for and help catch criminals. It can also be used to unlock phones or other electronic devices. Some robots use facial recognition technology to recognize the people they are communicating with. However, the wide use of masks in public has created major difficulties for such systems.
The study looked at facial recognition systems already in use before the pandemic. It also looked at systems specially developed to work on masked faces. The NIST said it processed a total of 6. 2 million images for the experiment People in the images were not actually wearing masks. So, the researchers digitally added different mask shapes to faces in the pictures for use in the study. In some cases, up to 70 percent of a person’s face was covered in the images. Overall, the research shows the top-performing facial recognition systems fail to correctly identify unmasked individuals about 0. 3 percent of the time and the failure rate rose to about 5 percent with masked images. Many of the lower performing algorithms, however, had much higher error rates with masked images — as high as 20 to 50 percent.
In the latest findings, researchers included results from 65 new facial recognition systems that have been developed since the start of the pandemic. “Some of these systems performed “significantly better” than the earlier ones，” Mei Ngan, a lead researcher on the project, said in a statement. The study also found round-shaped masks — which cover only the mouth and nose — led to fewer errors than wider ones that stretch across the cheeks. The new study also ran tests to see whether different colored masks would affect error rates. The team used red, white, black and light blue. The research findings suggested that generally, the red and black masks led to higher failure rates than the other colors.
1. How does the author mainly present the study finding?| A．By giving definitions and examples. |
| B．By giving examples and a brief description. |
| C．By presenting data and making a comparison. |
| D．By giving definitions and presenting data. |
| A．The speed of the machine learning algorithms. |
| B．The operators’skill in performing algorithms. |
| C．The number of the tested people. |
| D．The diversity of face coverings. |
| A．A girl wearing a white round-shaped mask. |
| B．A lady with a red mask stretching across her cheeks. |
| C．A man wearing a light blue mask covering his mouth and nose. |
| D．A man wearing a black mask with his nose and mouth covered up . |
| A．Objective | B．Negative |
| C．Uncaring. | D．Doubtful. |
