1 . Scientists have shown that bees have some surprising math skills. Now, new study shows that bees can even be trained to tell the difference between odd and even numbers. Before this, humans were the only animals known to have this ability.
In 2018, researchers in Australia discovered that bees could understand the idea of “zero”. The researchers were perplexed, since only a few animals, like dolphins, monkeys, and some birds, had shown that they understood zero. Later, the same scientists showed that bees could be trained to add and subtract (减).
In the study, researchers divided honeybees into two control groups. They showed bees cards containing printed shapes that numbered from one to ten. One group was trained to fly to even-numbered cards, which earned them a sugar water treat if they successfully completed the task. If they flew to an odd-numbered card, they received a sour liquid. The second group had a similar approach, but the numbers were reversed(相反的). An odd card would earn them a sweet treat and an even card would give them a sour liquid. Researchers continued this lesson until the bees succeeded at least 80% of the time.
Then, they added a new challenge. They had the bees choose between cards with 11 and 12 shapes on them. The bees had never seen these numbers in their training. Even so, they succeeded 70% of the time.
The reason for this study is that the scientists believe that studying bee brains might help us learn how to build better and faster computers. After all, a bee’s brain is about 86,000 times smaller than a human brain. How does it handle such complicated ideas? Unless the brain structures for processing numbers aren’t so complicated. Then, the scientists built an extremely simple computer system with just five connections called neurons(神经元) , and they were able to train it to tell the difference between even and odd numbers up to 40.
1. What does the underlined word ‘‘perplexed’’ in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Tolerant | B．Creative | C．Puzzled | D．Discouraged |
| A．By mixing the two drinks. | B．By drawing the right shapes. |
| C．By removing correct numbers. | D．By landing on specified cards. |
| A．Finding potential technology innovations. |
| B．Teaching bees different means of learning. |
| C．Speeding the learning behavior of humans. |
| D．Training bees to serve mankind more easily. |
| A．Bees Calculate Numbers like Humans | B．Scientists Train Bees to Count Numbers |
| C．Odds and Evens Are Significant to Bees | D．Bees Can Learn Odd and Even Numbers |
2 . This is Ella Stevens who, at just 13 years old, is fighting for a chance to drive for the most famous team in Formula 1 (一级方程式赛车)—Ferrari.
This fall Stevens faces a series of challenges, on and off track at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, with the ultimate prize a place on the famous Ferrari Driver Academy as its first female racer. “It’s a very good opportunity for me,” Ella, already a British karting champion, tells CNN. “We have to do a few fitness tests in the first phase so that they can see our driving. ”
The Academy is, in fact, a breeding ground for future racing stars. Its current crop includes Mick Schumacher, the son of legendary Ferrari driver Michael, Enzo Fittipaldi, whose grandfather Emerson was a double F1 world champion, as well as Arthur Leclerc, the younger brother of Ferrari’s current F1 racer Charles.
On the face of it, there’s no place for a 13-year-old girl from a small village in England—who already has a mountain to climb as a female in a sport still dominated by males. After all, a female has not raced in F1 for nearly 30 years, and just five women have taken part in a grand prix (大奖赛).
But Stevens is being supported by a popular figure in the F1 community, Rob Smedley. He worked as a Ferrari engineer for more than a decade and is now teaching Stevens through his own Electroheads Talent Academy.
Smedley describes Ferrari’s search for a potential female racer as a “huge step”. “Having a major player in the sport, with such a rich history as Ferrari, leading on this has to be applauded,” he tells CNN. “It’s absolutely amazing that they want to do this and they’re taking positive action to increase the gender diversity within the sport.”
1. What will Ella win after fighting off a series of challenges?| A．She’ll become a karting champion. |
| B．She’ll drive for Ferrari in Formula 1. |
| C．She’ll have to pass a few fitness tests. |
| D．She’ll become the first female racing champion. |
| A．To make people believe he’s a famous racing driver. |
| B．To show Ferriari Driver Academy is difficult to enter. |
| C．To introduce that he was once a double F1 world champion. |
| D．To prove Ferrari Driver Academy is home to the promising racing drivers. |
| A．won. | B．ruled. | C．placed. | D．grasped. |
| A．Ella Stevens: the First Female Racer |
| B．Ella Stevens: a Promising Racing Star |
| C．Formula 1—Ferrari: the World Top Race |
| D．Formula 1—Ferrari: a Race without Female |
3 . If you are someone who struggles with exam anxiety, know that you aren’t alone.
Some levels of stress are normal, and they do serve a purpose. Stress can improve your work performance, think more quickly and more efficiently.
Simply being aware of what is causing your anxiety -can help to lessen the effects. Try to take some time to reflect on what could be causing your anxiety.
Most of the time, the key to exam anxiety is making full preparations. Make an early start on your revision. Starting 6 weeks before the exam is usually recommended.
Hopefully, you will be free from exam anxiety in the future.
| A．Also, try not to neglect your self-care. |
| B．In addition, your mental health matters the most. |
| C．It is completely normal to experience exam anxiety. |
| D．Once you address the causes, it puts you in a better position to treat it. |
| E．That being said, sometimes stress can turn into anxiety, which is overwhelming. |
| F．But this can change depending on where you feel you are in your studies and the study level. |
| G．This often means you set yourself up for failure, due to the fear of never feeling “good enough”. |
4 . When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation (住所). I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.
“We didn’t stay at ‘bed and breakfast houses’,” they said, “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”
I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”, because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to the house where the sign outside said “VACANCIES”, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to the house where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels!
We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word” DIVERSION” means fun. In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign, the thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hole.
English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris, when someone offered me some more coffee, I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more. However, to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that ‘Thank you’ in French means “No, thank you.”
1. My Spanish friends wanted advice about ______.| A．driving their car on English roads | B．going to England by car |
| C．finding places to stay in England | D．learning English |
| A．Because it would be much cheaper than staying in hotels |
| B．Because It would be convenient for them to have dinner |
| C．Because they would be able to practice their English. |
| D．Because there would be no problem in finding accommodation there |
| A．Free rooms. | B．No free rooms. |
| C．Not away on holiday. | D．Holidays. |
| A．wanted them to take the coffee pot away |
| B．didn’t really want any more coffee |
| C．wanted to express my politeness |
| D．really wanted some more coffee |
5 . English is full of funny expressions that don’t always make sense. Idioms are phrases and sentences that do not mean exactly what they say. Even if you know the meaning of each word, you may not understand the idiom because you don’t understand the culture behind it. Here are some English idioms based on animals.
When children jump around and act silly, their parents may tell them to stop “monkeying around”.To “monkey around” means to do things that are not useful or serious, or to simply waste time.
Many American families have and love pet dogs. But for some unknown reason, Americans use “dog” in a phrase that means to feel unwell. If you are “as sick as a dog”, you’re really, really sick.
Sometimes you may also hear cats mentioned in conversations, “I told you to keep that secret, but you have just ‘let the cat out of the bag’!” You probably guessed it — that idiom means to reveal a secret or tell facts that were previously unknown.
Dogs and cats don’t always get along, but they appear side by side in a commonly used idiom. When it rains heavily, people might say it’s “raining cats and dogs”．
Heavy rain often ruins people’s plans for outdoor activities. But on a lovely day, you can have a picnic. If a swarm (一群) of tiny bugs love your food and start to hover (盘旋) around you, it would be really annoying. That experience perfectly explains why people often tell someone who keeps bothering them to “stop bugging me”．
Idioms are very common in both spoken and written English. If you want to have a better understanding of English, you have to learn idioms.
1. According to Paragraph 1, which is right about idioms?| A．Expressions which are based on animals. |
| B．Expressions with rich cultural background. |
| C．Expressions that always make sense. |
| D．Expressions which are easy to understand. |
| A．Children jump around and waste time. |
| B．Children do something useful and serious. |
| C．Children play with monkeys with their parents. |
| D．Children spend time playing with their family pets. |
| A．Dogs and cats always get along nicely. |
| B．Bugs can be used to show your annoyance. |
| C．Americans believe cats can give away secrets. |
| D．Americans use the idiom “as sick as a dog” to describe a healthy man. |
| A．By sharing experiences. |
| B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By giving examples. |
| D．By listing figures. |
6 . People who frequently eat fruit are more likely to report greater positive mental health and are less likely to report symptoms of depression than those who do not, according to new research from the College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University. The team also found that people who eat savoury (咸味的) snacks such as crisps (薯片), which are low in nutrients (营养) , are more likely to report greater levels of anxiety.
Published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the study surveyed 428 adults from across the UK and looked at the relationship between their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweet and savoury snacks, and their psychological(心理的) health. The research found that both nutrient-rich fruit and nutrient-poor savoury snacks appeared to be linked to psychological health. They also found that there was no direct association between eating vegetables and psychological health. Based on the survey, the more often people ate fruit, the lower they scored for depression and the higher for mental health, independent of the overall quantity of fruit intake. By contrast, there was no link between these everyday memory lapses (差错) and fruit and vegetables intake or sweet snacks, suggesting a unique relationship between these nutrient-poor savoury snacks, everyday mental lapses, and psychological health.
Lead author, PhD student Nicola-Jayne Tuck commented, “Very little is known about how diet may affect mental health, and while we did not directly examine causality here, our findings could suggest that frequently snacking on nutrient-poor savoury foods may increase everyday mental loss, which in turn reduces psychological health.”
“It is possible that changing what we snack on could be a really simple way to improve our mental health. It is also possible that the future limit of processed (特殊处理的) snacks at checkouts, could not only improve the country’s physical health, but mental health too.”
“Overall, it’s definitely worth trying to get into the habit of reaching for the fruit bowl.”
1. Which may lead to greater level of anxiety?| A．Savoury snacks. | B．Fruit. | C．Vegetables. | D．Grain. |
| A．Rich fruit appears not to be linked to psychological health |
| B．The more fruit people eat, the lower they score for depression |
| C．There is a relation between the nutrient-poor snacks and mental health. |
| D．There is a direct link between eating vegetables and psychological health |
| A．The relation between fruit and vegetables. |
| B．The relation between exercise and health. |
| C．The relation between snacks and mental health. |
| D．The relation between diet and mental health. |
| A．Eating habits can prevent disease |
| B．Eating unhealthy snacks often is harmful to health |
| C．Eating vegetables often can improve mental health |
| D．Eating fruit often may contribute to mental health |
7 . From train tickets to doctor’s appointments, there’s a growing expectation that consumers should include technology in everyday life. We take it for granted that technology brings us closer and improve our access to essential products and services. But people who can’t or don’t want to engage with the latest technology are being left behind.
Technology should not be allowed to drive people to the side of their own lives, as many facts suggest is increasingly the case. For example, there have been reports that some elderly people no longer drive to their local park, because they cannot download the parking app required. Evidently, age is one big predictor of digital exclusion (排斥). Only 47% of those aged 75 and over use the Internet regularly. Out of the four million who have never used the Internet in the UK, only 300,000 people are under 55. But older people aren’t the only ones feeling shut out.
Concerns about privacy can stop people using technology as well. A survey into consumers’ trust in business showed no industry reached a trust rating of 50% for data protection. Some people view “forced” digitalization as a symbol of consumer culture and limit their contact with it; also, many people take a “less is more” approach to technology simply because they feel it offers a more meaningful existence. They all belong to a population group that often slips people’s mind in related discussions. No one could discount, however, one factor－poverty. Some regions, particularly rural ones, even struggle for phone signals. The UK phone network’s plans for a digital switchover could cut off people who rely on their landlines.
The solution is not simply to give devices to those without smart technology. While there’s a need to provide affordable Internet access and technology, we need to recognize diversity in society. Services should provide non-digital selections that reflect equality. Local councils, healthcare providers and businesses should understand more about the diversity of consumers and develop services that meet the needs of all people. After all, access to and inclusion in society is a human right.
1. Why is the example of the elderly mentioned in Paragraph 2?| A．To provide a proof. | B．To introduce a concept. |
| C．To make a comparison. | D．To confirm a prediction. |
| A．Age. | B．Privacy. | C．Gender. | D．Attitude. |
| A．Inquiring opinions from diverse consumers. |
| B．Slowing the pace of the technological shift. |
| C．Offering services with online and offline options. |
| D．Bettering access to the Internet and technology. |
| A．Life sees two-edged effect from digitalization |
| B．Technology is excluding a significant minority |
| C．Social barriers result from technological shifts |
| D．Digital divide is becoming increasingly serious |
8 . A robot may be defined as a machine that can be programmed to perform acts automatically. With the increase in high technology, robots are taking over boring or inconvenient work in many areas of life.
One area where robots are making an appearance is farming. There is a robotic revolution going on in the milking industry, and cows, as well as farmers are experiencing the benefits. The advantage for the cows is that they can choose when and how many times a day they want to be milked. On the other hand, farmers no longer have to get up at 4 am every day to go to the milking sheds and this makes a huge difference to their way of life.
In traditional farming, cows are milked twice a day, in the morning and the evening, mainly because: this is the most convenient way for farmers to get two milking sessions completed in one day. However, this is not necessarily the best way for each individual cow. Because the robots are programmed to milk the cows whenever they arrive, the cows can be milked once, twice or even four times a day. It is an entirely voluntary system for the cows. They decide.
Farmers report that midnight is a particularly busy time at the milking shed. The interesting thing is the cows like the system once they get used to it. Farmers report that milk production increases, the cows live longer and they seem far more relaxed.
The computerized robotic system is entirely automatic. As the cows enter the facility, they are weighed, milked and productivity and health checks are carried out. The facility cleans itself at regular intervals(间隔)and if there is a problem, the robot sends the farmer a message.
Equipping a farm with robots is not cheap. However, farmers who have installed the robotic milking sheds, say they would never go back to the old system. The commonly reported sight of cows queuing patiently in front of their favourite robot must mean the cows like it too.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To talk about a kind of robot. | B．To tell the importance of robots. |
| C．To introduce the applications of robots. | D．To provide the definition of robotic system. |
| A．They can be freer to be milked. | B．They can be milked twice a day. |
| C．They can choose the day to be milked. | D．They can get up at 4 am to be milked. |
| A．The robotic system is entirely automatic except for health checks. |
| B．The robotic system is so expensive that farmers will never install one. |
| C．The robotic system is voluntary for cows to be milked of their own free will. |
| D．Morning and evening are the two most convenient milking sessions for cows. |
| A．A robotic revolution in milking | B．Cows favourite helper |
| C．Hands free for the farmers | D．An expensive milking shed |
9 . When Malaika Vaz was a kid, living in Goa, India, she was constantly surrounded by nature. Among her childhood experiences, she recalls journeys to the Arctic and Antarctic, climbing mountains, diving, and windsurfing.
At some point in her late teens, Vaz realized adventure didn’t really mean anything if there wasn’t an intention to protect the natural spaces we were exploring in. Motivated by her passion for filmmaking, she began to seek a way that would both satisfy her appetite for adventure and allow her to advocate the protection of the species and ecosystems she interacted with.
Today Vaz wears many hats in the filmmaking world, as a documentary director, producer, and presenter. After falling in love with manta rays (蝠鲼), she discovered they were being hunted illegally and started to dress herself as a seafood trader to get as close as possible to the issue. She traced sellers to figure out why the threatened species were being killed. She shared the shocking details in Peng Yu Sai, her Green Oscar-nominated film on the matter.
The subjects that grab her attention, Vaz admits, run the gamut. When she was asked to define her focus, she replied that she preferred variety. She always argues that the issues she looks into are more interrelated than they may initially appear. “I think that it’s exciting to dive into the different aspects of environmental stories,” she says.
Her work doesn’t stop at recording important stories; she also ensures the message is heard. From Vaz’s viewpoint, real improvement in planetary protection lies in the hands of each of us rather than just those of several environmentalists. “If you’re an engineer and you care about the natural world, you can change the kind of construction materials you use. If you’re a teacher loving nature, you can bring that into the learning for your class.” she says.
As a filmmaker, Vaz believes it’s important to figure out ways that attract the audience who can push for the protection of the natural world.
1. What did Malaika Vaz decide to do in her late teens?| A．Motivate children to get close to nature. |
| B．Make a film about her childhood experiences. |
| C．Develop a passion for an adventurous lifestyle. |
| D．Combine nature exploration with nature conservation. |
| A．The role of manta rays in the local economy. | B．Vaz’s personal life as a seafood trader. |
| C．The threatened species in India. | D．The illegal trade in manta rays. |
| A．Are quite popular. | B．Cover a wide range. |
| C．Make little progress. | D．Are hard to deal with. |
| A．Human beings are closely linked to nature. |
| B．Stories are effective in changing people’s behavior. |
| C．Everyone can make a difference to the environment. |
| D．Environmentalists play a big part in solving environmental issues. |
10 . In my memory, my dad always encouraged me to be my best self, explore the world, and believe in those who cared and loved me, which helped to make me who I am today. Besides, I’ve grown up with a pretty good model that my father always was.
One year, my father nearly lost his life. He was twenty-seven years old then. For several months, he’d been suffering from stomach pains. My dad was a former track star, so he knew how to handle pain. Convinced it was nothing serious, he just made a face until it was over whenever it flared up. My mom and dad were visiting his parents in Englewood, New Jersey when extreme pain struck my dad again. However, that time, the pain didn’t fade away although my father tried to take control of it. Meanwhile, my dad developed a high fever. My grandparents rushed him to a nearby hospital. The doctors in the emergency room were confused about his condition. My dad’s symptoms seemed consistent with appendicitis (阑尾炎), but the pain wasn’t localized to the lower part of his stomach, where the appendix (阑尾) is located. While they were debating what to do, a 33-year-old surgeon named Dr. Ibrahim, spoke up, “It must be an appendix.” Dr. Ibrahim guessed it was a rare condition and insisted that my dad should receive an operation immediately, although others were against his decision.
Dr. Ibrahim turned out to be very correct. My dad was wheeled into surgery and his appendix was removed just before it could burst and cause a deadly infection. At last, he got rid of danger.
What if my father hadn’t been in Englewood that day? What if young Dr. Ibrahim hadn’t considered? He was in the right place at the right time, and it saved his life. Now I am a father of two children. Like my father I will never forget Dr. Ibrahim.
1. What can we know about the author’s father?| A．He was in poor health in his younger days. |
| B．He seldom helped the author overcome troubles. |
| C．He set a good example to the author. |
| D．He liked to learn from others to improve himself. |
| A．To show off his father’s achievements. |
| B．To prove his father’s strong will power. |
| C．To emphasize the importance of taking exercise. |
| D．To explain why his father always suffered pains. |
| A．broke out suddenly. | B．slid quietly. |
| C．stayed for a while | D．disappeared gradually. |
| A．It was boring but beneficial. | B．It was terrible and disappointing. |
| C．It was interesting and unforgettable. | D．It was dangerous but fortunate. |
