1 . The Ming and Qing ______ (朝代) saw the appearance of the Four Famous Ink Stones—Duan Ink Stone, She Ink Stone, Tao Ink Stone and Chengni Ink Stone.(根据汉语提示单词拼写)

2 . I was exhausted after 3 kilometers of running, but I got a ______ after I passed the beach, and finally won the match.

A．second wind

B．selection

C．variation

D．creative juice

3 . When you find a fish on the hook (鱼钩), ______ your line in very carefully or the fish might get away.

A．throw

B．wind

C．apply

D．fix

4 . Is there actual evidence that a coin toss — the act of spinning a coin in the air with your thumb and catching it in your hand — tends to favor one side over the other? Or is a coin flip 50/50? A new study questions the fairness of the flip.

One side of the coin is, in fact, more likely to come up than the other, according to a team of scientists led by University of Amsterdam PhD candidate František Bartoš. Their study, which is still undergoing peer review, collected and analyzed the results of 350,757 coin flips in 46 different currencies and registered that the coins landed on the same side they started on 51% of the time. This research was done in an effort to confirm a hypothesis (假设) proposed earlier by Stanford University statistics professor Persi Diaconis and his team. According to that theory, “vigorously flipped coins tend to come up the same way they started.”

According to Diaconis’s team, when people flip an ordinary coin, they introduce a small degree of “precession”, meaning a change in the direction of the axis (轴) of turning throughout a coin’s track. Consequently, the coin tends to spend more time in the air with the initial side facing up. This makes a coin flip not quite 50/50.

In 2007, Diaconis’s team estimated the odds of a “same-side outcome” as approximately 51%. Nearly a decade and a half later, Bartos and his team found this very result. They published a preliminary report stating, “Our data lend strong support to the previous hypothesis — The coins landed on the same side more often than not.”

Moreover, this was true for both sides of the coin and for all of the different coins tossed. As Diaconis stated back in 1986, “The more you think about randomness, the less random things become. But sometimes, you can take advantage of a lack of randomness.” Indeed, when it comes to flipping a coin, the quickest shortcut to making your own luck might just be calling it literally as you see it.

1. What’s the purpose of conducting the study?

A．To find evidence for the fairness of a coin toss.

B．To prove an assumption put forward years ago.

C．To state the definite chance of one side of a coin coming up.

D．To analyze the result of over 300,000 coin flips in different currencies.

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

A．Progressing.

B．Spinning.

C．Bouncing.

D．Dropping.

3. Which of the following may Diaconis agree with?

A．There is no need to consider randomness too much.

B．We have to make good use of a lack of randomness.

C．Whatever coin it is, randomness turns out to be fair ultimately.

D．The harder we flip a coin, the greater chance we will gain its randomness.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Is a Coin Flip 50/50? A Perfect Randomness.

B．Is a Coin Flip 50/50? A Mysterious Guess.

C．Is a Coin Flip 50/50? Think Twice!

D．Is a Coin Flip 50/50? You Bet!

5 . Like most of her schoolmates in rural Zimbabwe, 12-year-old Melisa has just one type of food in the meal container she brings from home. Today she finds____sweet potatoes. Her friend Nyarai has plain rice. Others’ tins ____roasted nuts, dried fish. Or boiled corn. “We bring different foods, but nobody has a______meal,” explains Melisa. Kids with too little food have fainted in class or _____dropped out of school.

But now Melisa and her schoolmates are getting_____when it comes to what they and kids with too little food are getting more, because they are sharing what’s in their tins. At lunch, students_______around the schoolyard in small groups that they call “lunch-tin clubs.” With their parents’_____, they split up their food. Nyarai finds her rice tastier when she shares it with Farisai and Linnet, who share their drink or dried pieces of meat with her. “_________brings variety to the food we eat,” Farisai says. “And it is good for our health too. ”

The clubs also_____ new friendships. Although Dennis and Prince live near each other and are classmates, they_____talked or played together before. Now, Prince says, “We are best friends at school and at home.”

Irene, a student teacher, sees another____to the clubs. Kids now freely share school supplies without quarreling. The school does not have enough for everyone, so two kids may sit on one chair, and four may use the ____book. “It’s difficult to share food when you are________” Irene says. “If you can do that, it becomes_____to share many other things.” TheLunch-Tin clubs contributes to sharing food and forming_______.

1.

A．uncooked

B．eaten

C．boiled

D．incomplete

2.

A．hold

B．cover

C．press

D．roll

3.

A．specific

B．complete

C．similar

D．classic

4.

A．even

B．suddenly

C．hardly

D．ever

5.

A．advice

B．strength

C．money

D．variety

6.

A．walk

B．sit

C．look

D．gather

7.

A．attention

B．care

C．permission

D．hope

8.

A．Exploring

B．Sharing

C．Delivering

D．Working

9.

A．wish

B．suggest

C．encourage

D．change

10.

A．gradually

B．often

C．really

D．rarely

11.

A．benefit

B．help

C．way

D．success

12.

A．new

B．same

C．old

D．different

13.

A．sad

B．excited

C．hungry

D．comfortable

14.

A．wiser

B．easier

C．harder

D．calmer

15.

A．groups

B．habits

C．methods

D．friendships

6 . How to Host a Book Swap

If you love the written word, you probably have a pile of books somewhere in your home.     1    If you’re becoming alarmed at the price of new books, hold a book swap. The idea is pretty simple Guests bring books to share, and the accumulated books are then redistributed to new owners. If you’ve never held a book swap before, here are a few tips.

Send out invitations. A formal invitation should include the address, date and duration. A 2 to 3 hour party gives everyone a chance to enjoy the time and leave happy.     2    Three books is pretty standard. If you want extras around, don’t set a maximum.

Provide enough space. Some people use one large dining table and start piling up books when they run out of space.     3    They can offer people a chance to consider their selections without having to juggle piles of books while they’re doing it.

    4    To make sure guests can find what interests them, the easiest way to do this is to mart sections on the table for specific types of books. When people arrive, hand out a brief set of instructions, asking them to place their books in the right category.

Make it a party. When you’re in the planning stages, think party and you’ll be one step ahead of the game.     5    Create some good interactions with a little background music. Have an area set aside for coats and bags. Remember, you are hosting a party!

A．Organize books by types.

B．Prepare different kinds of books.

C．Offer food that’s easy to eat in a bite or two

D．However, the area around the book table may be small.

E．But there’s always a new book around that interests you.

F．Actually, a couple of tables can take care of the problem.

G．It’s also a good idea to limit the number of books guests bring

7 . Getting and staying focused can be a challenge even in the best of times. But with everything going on in the world, concentrating can often feel down-right impossible. Below are some tips to help you find your flow.

Distract (使分心) your brain. Schedule into every workday some breaks from all that focusing and allow your mind to travel into what’s called the “default (默认的) mode network” for a bit of freestyle activities.     1    . It’s the place where our minds find innovation and creativity and often make better decisions than the focused mind.

    2    . This involves first turning your attention inward. Try traveling with your mind to someplace enjoyable — maybe it’s a walk through an imaginary forest or sunbathing on a warm sandy beach. Doing this several times a day can offer your mind a fresh approach to the job at hand.

Block interruptions before diving into deep work.     3    . To help, turn off text messaging, notifications and social media alerts. Be vital when you want a deep dive into focus. Your important work benefits when you shut off or put away your phone and other screens.

Know your body clock. Whether you are sharp in the morning or a night owl, don’t spend your day — in particular your peak brain hours — doing busywork.     4    .

Try new hobbies. Engaging in hobbies not only is fun but can help us come up with new solutions to problems we’re facing at work or home.     5    .

A．Try to daydream what happened

B．We try to obtain focus but in vain

C．Engage in positive constructive daydreaming

D．Instead, reserve your best brain time for the big stuff

E．This network of the brain circuit is where magic happens

F．Our days are filled with distractions, from others and ourselves

G．Allowing your mind time to play is another way to invite innovation

8 . Many people are fascinated by the idea of being a journalist. They get to travel to different places, meet different people, and share their thoughts with a large audience. Peng Yixuan, studying digital media at the Communication University of China, has been a video journalist at China Daily for almost five years.

Peng is well-known for her vlogs recording big national events and taking the audience along for the ride. But the process of his becoming a famous vlogger was quite accidental. “When I came up with the idea of recording two sessions in the form of a vlog with just my phone in 2019, the others on my team felt unsure about it,” Peng said. “But we decided to give it a try, and it went viral.”

Compared with traditional media journalists, those in new media are “almighty (全能的)”. “From Script (脚本) writing to video editing, we need to be competitive in each step of the video-making process,” Peng said. “We also need to react fast to the latest news and think of what young people are curious about. Bringing the serious-natured national event closer to ordinary people is what I believe to be the reason for success.

Also, it’s important to “care”. Peng said that only when you actually care about the people and the topic you are covering will you make the interviewees open up and touch the hearts of your audience. “I’m an ENFP-an extroverted (外向的) person. I’m always curious about the lives of others and want to engage with them,” she said. Once, Peng tried to interview an ambassador. She saw him reject many journalists before her. “I knew I couldn’t simply ask him to do the interview.” Instead, she said, “Your outfit is so cool! Are these traditional clothes from your country?” That’s what got him to start talking to her.

Peng’s job makes her see the necessity and power of international communication. “I can feel the changes in Chinese media over the past few decades,” Peng said. “We went from telling stories from abroad to telling the world our stories. As a journalist, it’s my honour to be a part of it.”

1. What do we know about Peng Yixuan?

A．She starts her journalist career this year.

B．She is only good at video editing skills.

C．She always seeks interactions with others.

D．She was sure that her vlog would go viral.

2. Which is NOT the reason for Peng’s success?

A．News-audience engagement.

B．Timely capture of latest news.

C．High writing and editing skill.

D．Curiosity towards young people.

3. Why did Peng Yixuan tell the story of interviewing an ambassador?

A．To show she is an outgoing and careful person.

B．To illustrate the importance of care in interviewing.

C．To prove she has more advantages than other journalists.

D．To show she likes communicating and engaging with people.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text

A．How to become a journalist	B．A new journalist and v logger
C．Reporting with her own style	D．Peng went viral in new media

9 . If people ______ the great works of the past, it is because these works no longer answer the needs of the present.

A．overuse

B．maintain

C．disregard

D．promote

10 . Researchers have proposed a novel method for counting and tracking vehicles on public roads, a development that could improve current traffic systems and help travelers get to their destinations faster.

Using the cameras already installed on campus buses at the Ohio State University, researchers proved that they could automatically and accurately measure counts of vehicles on urban roadways, detect objects in the road and distinguish parked vehicles from those that are moving.

In previous studies, Ohio State researchers found that using these mobile cameras provides much better spatial and temporal (时间的) coverage than relying on often temporarily placed sensors that don’t provide a view of many streets and roads in a city.

“If we collect and process more high-resolution (高清) spatial information about what’s happening on the roads, then planners could better understand changes in demand, effectively improving efficiency in the broader transportation system,” said Keith Redmill, lead author of the study.

“If we can measure traffic in a way that is as good or better than what is conventionally done with fixed sensors, then we will have created something incredibly useful extremely cheaply,” he said. “Our goal is to start building a system that could do this without much manual intervention because if you want to collect this information over lots of potential vehicles and lots of time, it’s worth fully automating that process.”

While still a long way from total implementation (实施), the study suggests the system’s results bear promise for the future of intelligent traffic surveillance. Transportation planners, engineers and operators make vital decisions about the future of our roadways, so when designing transportation systems to work over the next 30 to 50 years, it’s necessary that we give them data that allows them to improve the efficiency of the system and the level of service provided to travelers.

1. How can cameras on buses benefit travelers?

A．By shortening their travel time.

B．By making their schedules tight.

C．By decreasing their transport cost.

D．By improving their safety awareness.

2. What can we know about the sensors placed on buses?

A．They provide more spatial coverage.

B．They can’t detect objects on the road.

C．They cover less view of the urban traffic.

D．They accurately record the flow of traffic.

3. What does the underlined word “surveillance” in paragraph 6 mean?

A．Operation.

B．Monitoring.

C．Protection.

D．Arrangement.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．Transportation automation is on its way

B．It is time to improve the efficiency of traffic system

C．Transportation planners use cameras to make policies

D．Cameras installed on buses can better measure traffic