1 . Most students of UR will spend at least one evening at Tin Roof, the only bar located a block away from campus before they graduate. Kaleb Chitaphong, who spent numerous nights there as an undergraduate, bought the place.
Chitaphong didn’t intend to own a bar after graduation, instead hoping to follow his Political Science education through to a Ph.D., and probably find a career in academia. But when his frequented place was facing closure last year during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (疫情), Chitaphong decided he couldn’t let that happen. “I grew up in this area, so when finding out the business was closing, I contacted the owner. Initially, I had no plans to buy it. But when we got talking more, things worked out and I was able to gain ownership,” he said.
Chitaphong has experience in the restaurant industry from his family. But even with background knowledge, he still had a crash course in owning a bar the hard way-learning the laws, earning his alcohol license, understanding requirements-all during the pandemic. Chitaphong reopened the restaurant this past February, starting small.
Although loved by students, Chitaphong’s hope for Tin Roof is to attract local residents as well. “It’s important for me to have a place where everybody can come and have a good time,” he said. While Chitaphong wants to have a bar that isn’t exclusive to just UR students, he also wants to remain close to campus life. “I want it to be a UR bar, in whatever way that means,” he expressed. “I’ve talked to sports teams of UR to get some jerseys (球衣) hung up.”
As COVID-19 limitation continues to ease up, Chitaphong has plans to host more events. In addition to Disco Tuesdays, he recently added Karaoke Fridays. He’s also planning cooperation with UR’s Standup Comedy to try out Stand-Up Wednesdays.
Despite his big plans, Tin Roof isn’t Chitaphong’s end game. He may open up another business. But right now he’s focusing on this space to make it the best time for as many people as possible.
1. What was the root cause of Chitaphong taking over the bar?| A．His intention of running a business. |
| B．His emotional attachment to the bar. |
| C．His positive attitude to the pandemic. |
| D．His friendship with the boss of the bar. |
| A．His family background. |
| B．His academic performance. |
| C．The characteristics of his restaurant. |
| D．Hard preparations of starting his bar. |
| A．Familiar. | B．Near. |
| C．Specific. | D．Harmful. |
| A．Tin Roof: The Home of UR Students |
| B．Chitaphong: A Business -minded Graduate |
| C．UR Graduate Brings New Life to Tin Roof |
| D．How Does a Bar Regain Its Appeal to the Public? |
2 . Announcing the 2021 Tiny Desk Contest
Every year, we ask unsigned artists to send us their songs. These artists invite us into their communities and spaces and share the music they’ve been working so hard on. Getting to be among the first people to hear a great new song feels like being let in on the best secret. Through the Tiny Desk Contest, we get to share those desired secrets with the world. We’re excited to announce that the Tiny Desk Contest is back for 2021!
Since we started the Tiny Desk Contest in 2014, we’ve discovered new music from numerous artists from across the country. Our winners have gone on to do remarkable things such as winning Grammy awards, playing sold-out tours around the world and signing to major labels and we can’t wait to celebrate even more great music this year.
Here are rules you should follow to prevent disqualification.
·We’ll start accepting entries next Tuesday, November 23, at 10 a.m.
·Entries close at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, December 20.
·You must be an unsigned musician and at least 18 years old to enter.
·To enter, record a video of yourself playing one original song at a desk and upload it to YouTube.
·Enter by submitting your entry at npr.org/tinydeskcontest.
·The winner will play their very own Tiny Desk concert.
While there will only be one winner, we’ll be sharing tons of standout entries on this blog, in our videos and on social media. When the Contest has closed and our judges have picked their favorites, then we’ll start Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf, a weekly livestreamed series where each judge will share their favorite entries on the NPR Music YouTube channel.
Big dreams have to start somewhere. Why not the Tiny Desk?
1. Which of the following will result in disqualification?| A．Entering as an unsigned elderly singer. |
| B．Mailing photos of a concert to YouTube. |
| C．Uploading your entry in early December. |
| D．Posting a video of playing your own song. |
| A．The audience. | B．The judges. |
| C．The social media. | D．The Grammy winners. |
| A．To entertain readers. |
| B．To show a cultural phenomenon. |
| C．To share secrets of the music field. |
| D．To call for participation in a contest. |
3 . When you walk on a sandy beach, it takes more energy than walking down a sidewalk, because the weight of your body pushes into the sand. It turns out that the same thing is true for vehicles driving on roads.
"The weight of the vehicles creates a very shallow indentation（凹陷）in the pavement, and it makes it such that it's continuously driving up a very shallow hill," said Jeremy Gregory, a scientist at MIT. He modeled with his teammates how much energy could be saved, and greenhouse gases avoided, by simply hardening the nation's roads and highways.
And they found that hardening 10 percent of the nation's roads every year could prevent emissions equal to 440 megatons of carbon dioxide over the next 5 decades—that amount is equal to how much CO2 you'd spare the planet by keeping a billion barrels of oil in the ground or by growing 7 billion trees for a decade. It reduces 0.5% of projected transportation emissions over that time period.
As for how to harden roads, Gregory says you could combine small amounts of certain fiber with high technology into paving materials. Or you could pave with specially-made concrete, which is harder than ordinary construction materials.
This system could also be a way to shave carbon emissions without some of the usual barriers. "Usually, when it comes to reducing emissions in the transportation department, you're talking about changing policies related to vehicles and also driver behavior, which involves millions and millions of people---as opposed to changing the way we design and preserve our pavements. That's just on the order of thousands of people who are working in transportation agencies." And when it comes to improving our streets and highways, those agencies are where you might say the rubber meets the road.
1. What's the main idea of Paragraph 3?| A．It's valuable to harden roads. |
| B．It's necessary to reduce carbon dioxide. |
| C．We should harden roads to protect oil and trees. |
| D．We should take measures to prevent CO2 emissions. |
| A．Using regular building materials. |
| B．Creating hi-tech computer models. |
| C．Changing traditional paving materials. |
| D．Mixing fiber with special-made concrete. |
| A．It profits transportation agencies. |
| B．It avoids involving too many people. |
| C．It offers people more job chances. |
| D．It creates new policies on vehicles. |
| A．How to Harden Roads. | B．Sandy Beaches or Sidewalks? |
| C．Harden Roads to Save Energy. | D．Ways to Cut Down Carbon Emissions. |
4 . Ways to Show Gratitude (感激)
COVID-19 has a way of making people feel like their world was turned upside down overnight. They struggle with feeling frightened and feeling like everyone is overreacting (反应过度).
Give thanks for everyday things
One way to make gratitude a regular part of your day is to make it a habit to think of three things you are thankful for each day. It doesn’t really matter whether you perform this exercise first thing in the morning or just before you go to bed. The important thing is that you’re taking time and reflecting on what you are grateful for.
Keep track of everything you’re grateful for
Using a phone app like Gratitude Plus, you can record the things you’re grateful for. Another option is to use social media or even post-it notes to express your gratitude.
Reflect on past negative experiences
Look back on the worst moments in your life.
| A．Make gratitude a daily habit. |
| B．Stick to expressing gratitude in public. |
| C．Then, compare those with where you are now. |
| D．Gratitude doesn’t have to be over the top or something significant. |
| E．You can hardly stay strong while recalling the moments that ever happened. |
| F．But learning to practice gratitude every day can bring some changes to your life. |
| G．The key is to use a method to help you remember the things you are grateful for. |
5 . According to a Facebook post by Kevin Leslie, a man was traveling with his young daughter when he was told he had to buy her a plane ticket or she could not board.
"This woman needs to be recognized," Leslie wrote. "A gentleman was checking in for his flight when the agent asked how old his daughter was. He said she had recently turned two. The agent then asked if she had a ticket, The man was confused because he was under the impression she could ride for free. He was hit with emotion. He mentioned he couldn't afford to rebook this flight or get her the ticket with such short notice. He stepped aside and tried to make a few calls. Hugging his daughter and grabbing his head, you could tell he was heartbroken. This woman next to him at the front counter heard the whole thing. She walked over to him and asked what was wrong. After they talked for a bit they walked up to the counter together. She pointed back at his daughter and said, ‘I wanna buy her ticket.’ The agent said ‘You know how much this ticket costs right?’ The woman responded ‘$700 something?’ ‘$749’ the agent said. The woman said ‘that's fine’ and pulled out her credit card.”
“I was right there and I just said to her, ‘God Bless You!’ and they printed out the ticket,” Leslie continued in the post. ‘The agent kept talking about her goosebumps（鸡皮疙瘩）while the man hugged the woman and asked for her name to repay her. The woman just kept saying, ‘Don't worry about it. 'She knew she wanted to help that man and his daughter no matter what the cost. Please share this story because people like this need to be praised.”
Although Bolton planned to stay anonymous（匿名的）and did not buy the ticket to receive attention, after the post went viral on Facebook, a number of people left comments that revealed her identity.
Some of her personal friends and co-workers left comments that this is exactly the kind of thing that she would do, and that they are proud to know her.
1. What can we infer about the man?| A．He wanted to save some money. |
| B．He repaid the woman as promised. |
| C．He was sad to part with his daughter. |
| D．He couldn't afford the ticket on the spot. |
| A．The woman wanted to stay anonymous. |
| B．It was the Flight Company that was to blame. |
| C．The agent was so excited to deal with the case. |
| D．The man was surprised when told to buy an extra ticket. |
| A．It was troublesome to be Bolton's friends. |
| B．It is natural for Bolton to take such an action. |
| C．Bolton's action is beyond their imagination. |
| D．They feel envy of Bolton's financial condition. |
| A．compare and evaluate | B．spread and advocate |
| C．argue and discuss | D．introduce and inform |
6 . 18-year-old Alison Sanger is an amazing student. Maybe too amazing— the book opens with Alison lying to her mother about having food poisoning so she can take a test on Shakespeare. More than getting good grades, her true motivation is to beat her opponent, Ethan Molloy.
Ethan has gone toe-to-toe with Alison on everything throughout school. They’re both honors students. They are co-vice presidents of the senior class. They both hope to get into Harvard. The fact that Ethan and Alison seem to always do everything at the same time turned into a competition a long time ago. Whoever does worse on an exam must do an unpleasant task of the winner’s choosing. If someone misses the exam, they forfeit.
This unfriendly competition is so famous that everyone at Fairview knows about it, students and staff. They’re even more annoyed by it than Alison. The principal takes matters in hand by asking the two to co-plan a previous class’s ten-year reunion after someone else dropped the ball. As you might imagine, tensions arise and passion is aroused. In a certain way, What’s Not to Love is a little like The Hunger Games. Like Katniss with Peeta, Alison is constantly evaluating her own emotions against Ethan’s supposed strategy.
While reading this book, I was forced to wonder exactly how healthy this relationship was. I assumed everyone’s intentions in the book were honorable—the authors themselves turned out all right in the end, and I’m incredibly glad for that. Wibbroka fans will not be disappointed—What’s Not to Love is story of soulmates and passion; its short chapters and tight pacing carry the reader along all the way to the satisfying conclusion. Despite its faults—which the text itself calls to attention—fans of enemies-to-lovers stories like How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days will feel right at home here.
1. Why does Alison lie to her mother?| A．To treat her food poisoning. |
| B．To prove that she’s also amazing. |
| C．To be able to be tested on schedule. |
| D．To please her friend with good grades. |
| A．Compete. | B．Withdraw. |
| C．Cooperate. | D．Succeed. |
| A．They prove their abilities separately. |
| B．They get the final result of their competition. |
| C．They set up a better relationship between them. |
| D．They use it as another chance to continue the competition. |
| A．Worth reading. | B．Useless. |
| C．Unreasonable. | D．Perfect. |
7 . The green movement is catching on in many pockets of the world. This is especially true in the construction industry. Today's buzz words, which include global warming and zero emissions（排放）, are causing everyday people to look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Purchasing an environmentally-friendly home is a good investment for those who care about their own health and the well-being of our planet. Based on this trend, entire districts, known as eco-communities, are being designed with the concept of green in mind. One of these communities is Dockside Green in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its goal is to become the world's first zero-emission neighborhood.
Dockside Green is a mostly self-sufficient community along the harbor front of Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. The community is home to around 2,500 people and it includes a variety of environmental features, some of which can't be found anywhere else.
The planners and builders of Dockside Green have the environment in mind with every choice they make. They ensure proper ventilation （通风） and guarantee residents clean air indoors. Building materials, such as paints and wood, are natural and green.
Energy efficiency is attached great importance to in eco-communities like Dockside Green. Not only do energy-efficient appliances reduce the environmental impact of heating, cooking and lighting, they also save residents money. Dockside Green claims that home owners use 55% less energy than the average Canadian.
Eco-communities also take the future into account by recycling waste and reducing carbon emissions. At Dockside Green, waste water is treated and reused on-site for flushing toilets, and a gas plant changes waste wood into a renewable form of gas for hot water systems, stoves and gas heaters. The community also reduces carbon emissions by using local suppliers for all their transport and maintenance（维修） needs, and residents are encouraged to join the community's car share program.
1. Who are likely to buy an environmentally-friendly home?| A．People interested in investment. | B．Those looking for carbon footprint. |
| C．Those concerned about their health. | D．People caring about their community. |
| A．an eco- community with over 2,500 people | B．a good investment for planners and builders |
| C．the world’s first zero-emission neighborhood | D．a self-sufficient community in British Columbia |
| A．Recycling waste and reducing carbon emissions | B．Encouraging people to join the car share program |
| C．Calling on people to reduce their carbon footprint | D．Equipping people with energy-efficient appliances |
| A．Climate scientists. | B．Natural gas companies. |
| C．Coal mining investors. | D．Architects and interior designers. |
8 . Teens who are preparing to take cosmetic surgery often have unrealistic expectations. The growing numbers of beauty treatment television shows which make cosmetic surgery seem simple have encouraged adolescents to pursue surgery to improve their physical appearance. As a result, more teenagers are going under the knife to achieve a desired look．
When teens feel the need to have cosmetic surgery, they believe that it is not a huge deal, but they may not be mature enough to make such a life changing decision. If teens feel inadequate before surgery, they will most likely feel disappointed afterwards. Not only is surgery complex and risky for mature adults, it is extremely dangerous for younger people, and some doctors are performing these procedures on kids as young as fourteen!
The cost of procedures can add up to thousands of dollars. Insurance does not cover the costs of these procedures. Teenagers often pay for surgery themselves ----- a very costly purchase for a young person. Not only can surgery become addictive for insecure teens, the consequence can be disappointing. When surgery takes an unexpected wrong turn, permanent damage can occur. Any surgery on a young, undeveloped person has a risk of complication (并发症) such as infection, which can lead to death. Even if there are no complications, there is no guarantee that surgery will provide the perfect nose or a desired shape body. No matter how minor the procedure, it is not as effortless as it appears．
Of course, there are cases where cosmetic surgery is appropriate. If a child has a serious injury or scarring from an accident, it can be beneficial. In all cases, parents must be involved in the process for the welfare of their child, and must guide them in the right direction. Fortunately, parents or legal guardians must sign documents allowing their child to have plastic surgery. Doctors also need to be a part of the decision. Most experienced and trust-worthy physicians turn down the opportunity to operate on a teenager unnecessarily．
Cosmetic surgery is a life-changing experience. Hopefully, more teens will realize that there is more to a person than physical beauty, and learn to accept themselves for who they are．
1. Teenagers are encouraged to have cosmetic surgery by _________．| A．some surgeons | B．TV show hosts |
| C．lots of TV programs | D．their teen friends |
| A．Cosmetic surgery being too costly for teens． |
| B．The hidden danger in having cosmetic surgery． |
| C．The development of techniques of cosmetic surgery． |
| D．Cosmetic surgery making teens prettier without effort. |
| A．has an ugly scar | B．is not very beautiful |
| C．is supported by their grandparents | D．has got a doctor’ s permission |
| A．Disapproving． | B．Supportive． |
| C．Doubtful． | D．Curious． |
9 . Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares if they are to remain relevant, but many publishers are too careful about piracy and lost sales to co-operate. Among the big six, only Random House and Harper Collins license e-books with most libraries. The others have either denied requests or are reluctantly experimenting.
Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money—neither the devices nor broadband connections come cheap. If these wonderful people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then? Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home. Digital library catalogues are often browsed at night from a; comfortable sofa. The files disappear from the device when they are due. Awkwardly for publishers, buying an e-book costs more, than renting one but offers little extra value.
You cannot resell it, lend it to a friend or burn it to stay warm. Owning a book is useful if you want to savor (品尝) it repeatedly, but who reads “Fifty Shades of Grey” twice?
E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible e-book formats, devices and licences. Most libraries use a company called Over Drive, a global distributor that secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by Over Drived market dominance, as the company can increasingly dictate fees and conditions.
Library boosters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers, and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work. Many were cheered by a recent Pewsurvey, which found that more than half of Americans with Horary cards say they prefer to buy their e-books. But the report also noted that few people know that e-books are available at most libraries, and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists, which may be what inspires people to buy.
So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance. The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.
1. What can be inferred from the first paragraph?| A．Libraries are eager to keep relationship with publishers. |
| B．Several publishers have sold e-books to most libraries. |
| C．Libraries care too much about piracy and book sales. |
| D．Most publishers hesitate to cooperate with libraries. |
| A．It can help save readers' expenses on devices and broadband connections. |
| B．It needs checking out and returning to the library via the Internet. |
| C．It enables readers to resell the book files or lend them to friends. |
| D．It has a time limit for the book files downloaded on the device. |
| A．It has the privilege to offer readers various brands of e-readers. |
| B．It distributes e-books and audio files to publishers. |
| C．Its market dominance threatens publishers and libraries. |
| D．It devotes itself to improving conditions of e-book market. |
| A．people with library cards have to wait to borrow popular e-books |
| B．E-books are accessible in libraries and full of exciting prospects. |
| C．more than half of Americans choose e-books over physical copies |
| D．the desire to collect a popular book inspires people to buy it |
10 . Drinking your daily cup of coffee may help to lower your risk of stroke（中风）and heart disease, according to a latest research. Researchers at the Heart and Vascular Centre, Budapest, Hungary have found that drinking up to three cups of coffee a day may help protect your cardiovascular（心血管的）system.
The team studied data from nearly 500,000 people registered in the UK Biobank with an average age of 56 and no signs of heart disease at the time of recruitment. They divided them into three categories according to their coffee drinking habits: non-drinkers, up to three-cup-a-day drinkers, and more than three-cup-a-day drinkers.
Considering influencing factors such as age, sex, weight height, physical activity, blood pressure, diabetes, socioeconomic status, and usual intake of alcohol, meat, tea, fruit and vegetables, they found that three-cup-a-day drinkers had a 12 per cent lower risk of death from all causes, a 17 per cent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and a 21 per cent lower risk of stroke
"To our knowledge, this is the largest study to systematically assess the cardiovascular effects of regular coffee consumption in a population without diagnosed heart disease," said study author Dr Judit Simon.
To further investigate the effect, the researchers used data from more than 30, 000 partic-ipants in the UK Biobank who had undergone MRI（核磁共振成像）scans to determine the structure and functioning capacity of their hearts.
Dr Judit Simon said, "The imaging analysis indicated that compared with participants who did not drink coffee regularly, daily coffee consumers had healthier sized and better func-tioning hearts. Our findings suggest that coffee consumption of up to three cups per day is associated with favourable cardiovascular outcomes. While further studies are needed to explain the underlying mechanisms, the observed benefits might be partly explained by positive changes in cardiac structure and function. "
1. What is the latest research mainly about?| A．The risk of heart disease. | B．The ways to avoid stroke. |
| C．The cups of drinking coffee. | D．The benefits of drinking coffee. |
| A．To show the difficulty of the research. |
| B．To show the reliability of the findings. |
| C．To introduce the process of the research. |
| D．To introduce the limitation of the findings. |
| A．They find coffee's positive effects on people. |
| B．They focus on negative changes in people's hearts. |
| C．They oppose coffee consumption. |
| D．They have been accepted widely. |
| A．Carefree. | B．Skeptical. | C．Favourable. | D．Tolerant. |
