1 . Japanese researchers placed electronic devices(装置)on seals(海豹)in Antarctic waters to collect surprising information about the environment there. Japan’s National Institute of Polar Research started the research project in 2017. The team recently reported its results in a study in the publication Limnology and Oceanography.
Eight Weddell seals were fitted with the devices,which have antennas(天线)to send electronic signals.The 580-gram monitoring devices were attached(缚上;系上)to the animals’heads. They were designed to measure data such as water temperatures and sea salt levels.
Investigative teams on ships have difficulty reaching important research areas in Antarctica. These include areas along continental shelf formations where ice is attached to the shore, the National Institute of Polar Research said in a statement. Nobuo Kokubun led the project. Since the seals are active year-round, Kokubun added, “I thought we should have them collect the data.”
He told Reuters that the research also helps scientists follow the seals’ behaviors and learn about their relationship to the environment. “During the summer, we can go to Antarctica on icebreakers to conduct actual research activities, so that we can collect data there.” Kokubun said. ”But during the winter. such things cannot be done in so many places.“
Information gathered from the seals showed that one of the animals traveled as far as 633kilometers from Japan’s Showa Station in Antarctica. Another dove to a depth of 700 meters.Kokubun said the scientists learned from the data that warm seawater from the upper levels of the open sea reached Antarctica from March through the winter of 2017. The water flowed below the ice, bringing in sea creatures like Antarctic krill, an important food for seals.
Kokubun and his team plan to keep finding new ways to further examine the effects of climate change on Antarctic coastal areas. Next, he hopes to make the device small enough to fit on other animals at the South Pole, such as penguins,“The advantage with penguins is that they come back to the same place and we can collect data from them immediately,”Kokubun said.
1. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?| A．The reasons why seals are a good pick. |
| B．The difficulties the researchers met with. |
| C．The disadvantages of the research. |
| D．The formation of Antarctic waters. |
| A．It challenges some traditional views. |
| B．It is an eye-opener for the researchers. |
| C．It is in urgent need of improvement. |
| D．It simply focuses on the seals’ behavior. |
| A．They will further study the penguins. |
| B．They will make use of the same device. |
| C．They intend to expand the research further. |
| D．They plan to help the endangered penguins. |
| A．Increasing Temperature of Antarctic Waters |
| B．Seals Help Researchers Study Antarctic Environment |
| C．Seals Are in Danger of Dying out Due to Global Warming |
| D．Climate Change and Its Far-reaching Consequences |
2 . Chen Yuzhu, a 29-year-old young man, opened his first Chinese beef rice noodles restaurant in 2014 in the neighborhood of New York City’s Queens borough. He then took the flavor of his childhood memory to three other states in the US, building a recognized brand.
Actually, he started his own catering (餐饮) business after he lost his job and found noway out. It was at that time that beef rice noodles of his home village flashed in his mind.
However, the early days of setting up his business were not that easy. He frequently worked 18 hours a day, transported food at 2 am and promoted (推销) the restaurant near the New York City subway entrance by yelling, “Special noodles from my hometown, Guizhou!” But it didn’t work well. During the first two weeks. daily sales were only $200 at most, which wasn’t enough to pay the rent. He felt so anxious that he tried every possible means. Two months later, his Chinese beef rice noodles finally gained great popularity. His store has become hot spots for vloggers (视频博主) and he has made himself famous among locals as the“Rice Noodle Prince”.
“At first, running restaurants was for survival, but then I felt a sense of achievements. I became more open, inclusive and made a lot of friends. And the process to learn, make efforts and get inspired was really cool.” Chen said.
1. For what purpose did Chen Yuzhu plan to open the restaurant at first?| A．To make a living. | B．To promote special Chinese food. |
| C．To become very wealthy. | D．To gain popularity. |
| A．Shy. | B．Cautious. | C．Generous. | D．Determined. |
| A．Chen Yuzhu sold noodles at the New York City subway entrance. |
| B．The noodles were rather welcome during the first two weeks. |
| C．Chen Yuzhu met with a lot of difficulties when he started his business. |
| D．The noodles Chen Yuzhu sold were delivered from Guizhou. |
| A．Chen Yuzhu has made a lot of Chinese friends. |
| B．Making a lot of money is due to his family’s support. |
| C．Chen Yuzhu has really benefited a lot from his business. |
| D．Chen Yuzhu wants to open more restaurants in the future. |
3 . India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday developed a series of new high-producing rice species, including herbicide-tolerant（耐除草剂的）rice that can be directly planted into the soil, cutting the huge expenses on water and farm workers.
In India, the world's biggest rice exporter, the traditional method of rice growing requires farmers to grow seeds in nurseries, and then wait for 20 to 30 days before transplanting the small plants by hand into the fields that are ankle-deep in water.
With the new seed species, developed by the state-run Indian Agricultural Research Institute, farmers only need to water the field once to moisten（使湿润）the soil before planting the rice. Besides, the traditional method also uses a lot of water to control weeds as herbicides are costly and often do not distinguish between the rice and the unwanted weeds.
Government scientists said the new rice species contains a gene that would allow farmers to use a common, inexpensive herbicide without worrying about any side effects. “Our focus is very high on new seeds that can be adapted to new conditions, especially in changing climates,” Modi said.
Water conservation is likely to be the main attraction of the new rice species in India, where farmers rely heavily on monsoon（季风）rains. “The traditional method uses 3,000 to 5,000 liters（升）of water to produce 1 kg of rice. The new species could cut water use by at least 50% to 60%,” farmers and government officials say. "For farmers like us, the main concern was the management of water, and the new species takes care of that concern," said Ravindra Kajal, who grows rice on his 9-acre farmland in the northern state of Haryana.
1. What is the advantage of the new rice species?| A．It can remove all the weeds. | B．It can be planted in any field. |
| C．It needs less water to grow. | D．It needs less soil to grow. |
| A．Because the new crop species contains herbicide itself. |
| B．Because the new crop species resists a common herbicide. |
| C．Because the common herbicide is relatively cheaper. |
| D．Because the common herbicide can moisten the soil. |
| A．Its climate. |
| B．Its plentiful funds. |
| C．Its tradition. |
| D．Its lack of herbicide. |
| A．India has completely changed its rice species. |
| B．The farmers prefer planting new rice species. |
| C．India is trying to promote its new rice species. |
| D．The new rice species produces the most rice in India. |
4 . I'd shared my home with scorpions（非洲蝎子）in Africa before. But when we moved to Costa Rica which was an insect center, there were scorpions under the fridge, a stick insect and a tarantula（狼蛛）, the size of a dinner plate, wandering around the courtyard.
To begin with, I was scared to death, and got away from them as quickly as possible. But slowly things changed. With no TV, no radio and often staying at our house for days in this rainforest, I started to get used to these uninvited visitors. It was for a long time that I was gradually used to them. Then I kept an eye out for them and finally was delighted to see them no matter what they were.
Soon when a creature came to visit, I'd call the kids over, take photos and even pose with them. We'd try to work out what these creatures were doing, see where they were going and pick them up if they seemed safe. Not all the wildlife was traditionally frightening. We gently held panic-stricken hummingbirds that were trapped in the house and set them back in the wild. We listened out for the woodpeckers（啄木鸟）that decorated our garden. We practiced shouting like howling monkeys. Those feathered and furry creatures were easy to love, and we also grew to love the seemingly unlovable when traveling in Costa Rica.
Sweeping away the terror from this fresh new love, I started emailing photos of my new insect friends to human friends and family overseas. I was as proud as any new mother with my latest discoveries. Then when their replies came back saying “Disgusting!", “Ewww” or “Nasty”, I was saddened, and I could hardly remember that not so long ago I would also have been disgusted by the sight of a ten-inch cricket（蟋蟀）on my dining table.
Travel changes you in ways you never expect, and changes things you never want to change. You may not imagine you could find beauty in an insect, if you look closely at it there. You may not think you could love the unlovable. And if you take time to wonder and open your heart to the possibility, love can spread in anywhere.
1. What do we know about the author when she arrived in Costa Rica?| A．She missed TV and radio very much. | B．She quickly got used to the life there. |
| C．She enjoyed sharing her home with insects. | D．She was afraid of the insects at first. |
| A．Because the insects looked really disgusting. |
| B．Because she was not so good at taking photos. |
| C．Because her love to insects was not understood. |
| D．Because she missed her friends and family overseas. |
| A．The insects are not poisonous as imagined. | B．Travel changes our views about the world. |
| C．Not all lives should be equally treated. | D．Travel helps us change nature as we like. |
| A．How did I fall in love with insects? | B．Welcome to the insects centre! |
| C．Search for fun in Costa Rica! | D．How did I start my travel? |
5 . Engineers at Deakin University have developed a new smart generation schoolbag that will end the days when students end up forgetting their homework, particularly since the smart schoolbag is capable of completing its own morning checklist.
According to a recent press release, the smart schoolbag comes with built-in hardware and software that works to ensure it is packed correctly for each day’s timetable, including lunch and sports equipment.
The bag was designed by Dr Hamid Abdi alongside Masters students at Deakin University. It uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags (标签) to detect items in the bag and Internet of Things (IOT) technology, which extends Internet connectivity to everyday objects. “RFID technology allows any user to detect items in the bag in a contactless way,” Dr Abdi says. The Internet of Things (IOT) technology is employed to check its contents against the daily school plan. Schools or parents can enter data about the activities of each day to the system’s IOT server. The server then links these activities to the RFID tags placed on the items needed. The smart school-bag can tell what items are not required, ensuring that the bag is no heavier than it needs to be.
The smart schoolbag will save a lot of time and stress that occurs when homework, hats or lunches are left home by mistake, especially if that requires parents to quickly race home to collect the missing item.
While the system can be fitted to any schoolbag, the team have designed a sample of the smart schoolbag that includes the smartphone application. Dr Abdi and his team are looking for commercial partners to take the project to the next level.
1. Why do the engineers develop the smart schoolbag?| A．To give a morning call. | B．To help homework correcting. |
| C．To reduce study pressure. | D．To remind pupils of school items. |
| A．Its application. | B．Its working principle. |
| C．Its advantage. | D．Its characteristics. |
| A．I’ll replace parental duties. | B．I’ll ensure academic progress. |
| C．I’ll reach consumers soon. | D．I’ll be environment-friendly. |
| A．A Smart Schoolbag Saves Time and Stress |
| B．A Smart Schoolbag Will Replace an Ordinary Bag |
| C．The Latest System of Detecting Missing Items |
| D．The First Generation of a Smart Schoolbag |
6 . From littering the highest mountain peak to the deepest sea, we have messed up the environment and not left a single spot clean. Plastic pollution was also the theme for the last year’s Environment Day, but has anything changed?
With a “hope” to change things, a 150 feet long and 12 feet high “Wall of Hope” has been constructed using 15,000 discarded bottles collected from various sources such as streets and roads in Mussoorie and the surrounding region, which encourages the tourists to keep the surroundings clean.
Mussoorie attracts armies of visitors from neighboring cities every month so that it sometimes gets choked by over-tourism. But then, people hardly paid attention to the “saving the environment” cried these days. So, in order to convey this message in a meaningful and beautiful way, the locals of Mussoorie came up with this unique concept to remind travelers of the litter they leave behind.
The wall was built by over 50 volunteers that are basically school and college students who stepped forward to help bring this idea to life. For establishing this, plastic bottles of different shapes, sizes, and colors have been collected and fixed in this wall. Seeing their tireless efforts, the village locals also joined in later to help turn this project into a success story and then it spread like wildfire. They are actually admiring this new addition to the landscapes of Mussoorie, saying that the town looks even more beautiful now!
The wall was designed by Subodh Kerkar, founder of the private art gallery Museum of Goa. Talking to Hindustan Times, Kerkar said, “The wall will draw structural strength from steel pillars (柱子) being fixed two feet deep into the ground. The structure is completely rain and wind proof. I hope the wall will inspire a sense of beauty and will add color to the peaceful background of the hills.”
1. What is the function of the question mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| B．To remind readers of the climate change. |
| C．To show the theme of the Environment Day. |
| D．To stress the bad effect of plastic pollution. |
| A．Abandoned. | B．Decorated. | C．Broken. | D．Donated. |
| A．It was made of certain equal- sized bottles. |
| B．It was designed by some college students. |
| C．It attracts fewer tourists to visit Mussoorie. |
| D．It raises tourists’ environmental awareness. |
| A．Towering and less known. | B．Common and well-received. |
| C．Unique and far reaching. | D．Huge and money consuming. |
7 . On Christmas Eve 2020, fire trucks rushed to Chittle’s home in the sleepy little town of Manton, Michigan. But it wasn’t because of a Christmas nightmare. Far from it.
Winters can be long and tough in this far north, Scott Chittle knew something had to be done to bring some cheer to the 1,555 people in Manton.
Chittle, 51, lives in a big yellow house with his mother and two children. When he was three, his father built an ice skating rink (溜冰场) in their backyard, where Chittle and his friends would spend endless hours over the coming years playing hockey. That, Chittle thought, is what the children in this community need.
One problem was that Chittle had no clue how to build an ice rink. Luckily, after watching a tutorial (教程) in YouTube, he smoothed out a 3,000-square-foot section of his yard and ordered a huge tarp (防水布) large enough to cover it. Now he needed the ice. That’s where those fire trucks came in. It took 12 of them to spray enough water to fill the plot. Then he waited for Mother Nature to do the rest.
It wasn’t long before Chittle’s backyard became a Manton hot spot. The smell of baked hot dogs and burning firewood filled the air. And the laughter and screams of children playing hockey made their parents smile.
But the kindness didn’t stop with Chittle. When word got out that he’d spent $1,400 out of his own pocket to build his rink of dreams, neighbors, strangers and businesses donated $3,000 to cover the costs and more.
For Chittle, the ice rink was always about more than kids blowing off some steam. It was about surviving even the darkest times. “I want to show the rest of the world,” says Chittle, “what a little effort one person and the community can do, not only for others but for the souls of all.”
1. Why did Chittle build the ice rink?| A．To develop a hot spot. | B．To play hockey himself. |
| C．To entertain local people. | D．To meet the businesses’ demands. |
| A．He was expert at building an ice rink. |
| B．He was injured in building the ice rink. |
| C．He built the rink completely by himself. |
| D．He enjoyed playing hockey in his childhood. |
| A．By supplying enough water. | B．By helping him cover a huge tarp. |
| C．By saving him from a terrible fire. | D．By rushing him to the nearest hospital. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unwilling. | D．Supportive. |
8 . Although attending college isn't already expensive enough, the cost of textbooks has been rising greatly in recent years. Textbooks are something students can't avoid, but thankfully a number of companies have stepped up with options to make them more affordable.
Amazon
Let's be honest: What can't you buy on Amazon? Through the online marketplace, you can buy, sell and rent textbooks and e-books. Not only are the prices generally well below those at your college bookstore, but with Amazon Prime Shipping, they can arrive on your doorstep in just two days with one-week free returns.
AbeBooks
AbeBooks has more than just textbooks. It has a wide variety of fine art, rare books and special editions. Thousands of independent booksellers list their textbooks for sale on abebooks. com. The site has new and used textbooks, academic journals, classic literature, reference books and even international editions. Any book priced $ 15 or above has free shipping policy.
ValoreBooks
ValoreBooks offers deep discounts on millions of titles, with a two-week free return shipping and a 30-day money-back guarantee. The site gives students the ability to buy or rent textbooks from over 18,000 sellers and rental providers. Plus, when you' re done with the book, you can sell it right back through valorebooks. com, making the process as easy as possible.
eCampus
Through eCampus. com, students can buy, rent and sell textbooks and e-books. You can enjoy free shipping on orders over $35, plus a 25-day free return policy. And the site runs an ongoing promotion where you can save an additional $5 on your order by texting the word BOOKS to 87955.
1. What is the time range of free return shipping on Amazon?| A．7 days. | B．14 days. | C．21days. | D．25 days. |
| A．Amazon.com. | B．Abebooks.com. |
| C．Valorebooks.com. | D．eCampus.com. |
| A．By running a promotion. | B．By selling more e-books. |
| C．By texting "BOOKS" to 87955. | D．By spending more than $35. |
9 . When A33, a theater in Beijing, hosted a new stand-up comedy show（脱口秀), to the surprise of the organizers, nearly 250 people turned up and laughed together. Six years ago, that would have been unbelievable. Indeed, there were even cases of shows having more performers than viewers.
Wan Da, one of the performers, said, “Many people are worried about the future of stand-up comedy, a genre (类型) that is very popular in the U.S. after its introduction in China. Can it adapt itself here? But as the results show, there is no need to worry. We have survived and carried on some of the best American traditions.”
Programs such as Rock& Roast, a comedy talk show competition, which are thought to help people reduce their pressure, drive audiences to offline performances for a real laugh. “Generally, our audiences are in the 20-35 age group, but recently some older people are reported to go to the theatre,” said Song Qiyu, a performer and founder of Beijing Comedy Center.
Compared to traditional Chinese comedy performances, the stand-up comedy has a lower bar as it doesn't require years of professional training. This allows everyone to take part. Work experience and personal observations of life are the sources of their inspiration. Different lives and jobs make the performances varied, giving them unique individual colors.
Joe Wong, a humorist from Jilin province, whose performance in Washington, D.C. in 2010 attracted much attention across China's social media, is happy to see the development of the industry in China. However, he has a warning, too: There is huge space for the genre in China, but we should be careful of growing too fast as the market still needs good works.
In China, many fresh college graduates join. Through their efforts, the industry will improve its standards and popularity as well as influence.
1. What can we learn about the stand-up comedy from Paragraph 2?| A．It develops well in China. | B．It is created by Americans. |
| C．It faces an uncertain future. | D．It is very popular in Beijing. |
| A．They have a gift for talking. | B．It needs plenty of performers. |
| C．It needs no special backgrounds. | D．Most people have a sense of humor. |
| A．Learning from America. | B．Offering quality content. |
| C．Keeping creating works. | D．Employing fresh graduates. |
| A．The stand-up comedy: a rising industry | B．A33: a quickly growing comedy theatre |
| C．Why does the stand-up comedy get popular? | D．How does the stand-up comedy survive in China? |
10 . Who gets to decide what is content worth posting? Content worth engaging?
On social media, it’s an algorithm (算法) — a computer program that matches your particular likes and follows with others who have similar likes and follows. But even more than that, it’s based on how much content you create. If you don’t feed the social media monster on a regular basis, it refuses to expose what you post for others to see.
Thus, some bloggers share heavily filtered (过滤) photos of tourist attractions on the social media and lifestyle platform to get traffic. However, this practice sometimes disappoints other users of Instagram who go to those locations after seeing the pictures.
Since the bloggers don’t clearly state that their pictures are works of photography, they are considered as travel guides. After the viewers visit those places in person, they find a big gap between reality and what they have seen online, leaving them feeling frustrated.
Last week, one famous app issued a statement on its social media account, admitting that some users have “over-beautified” their online travel diaries.
The apology came after users complained on social media about their experience following travel guides on the app, only to find out on actual visits that the places are poles apart from the skilfully retouched images they saw. One of the most well-known cases involved the “pink beach” of Fuxian Lake in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, which often appears online in dreamy pink images, but in reality is more similar to the colour of red bricks.
“If it’s OK to photoshop promotion pictures for tourist sites like this, I can turn the bushes downstairs in my neighbourhood into a Norwegian forest in any minute,” one of the most upvoted (置顶) comments on the app said. Others argued that the problem lies with the bloggers rather than the platform.
1. Why do some bloggers post heavily filtered photos?| A．To show their creativity. |
| B．To get more online approval. |
| C．To advertise tourist attractions. |
| D．To promote the popularity of apps. |
| A．Envious. | B．Critical. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Frustrated. |
| A．By shooting the forest on actual visits. |
| B．By feeding the monster on social media. |
| C．By finding a gap between reality and net. |
| D．By skilfully beautifying the photo of bushes. |
| A．App users who are easily cheated. |
| B．Unreliable bloggers and travel guides. |
| C．The social media and lifestyle platform. |
| D．Different netizens have different views. |
