1 . By day, Robert Titterton is a lawyer. In his spare  time though he goes on stage beside pianist Maria Raspopova — not as a musician but as her page turner. “I’m not a trained musician, but I’ve learnt to read music so I can help Maria in her performance.”

Mr Titterton is chairman of the Omega Ensemble but has been the group’s official page turner for the past four years. His job is to sit beside   the pianist and turn the pages of the score so the musician doesn’t have to break the flow of sound by doing it themselves. He said he became just as nervous as those playing instruments on stage.

“A lot of skills are needed for the job. You have to make sure you don’t turn two pages at once and make sure you find the repeats in the music   when you have to go back to the right spot.” Mr Titterton explained.

Being a page turner requires plenty of practice. Some pieces of music can go for 40 minutes and require up to 50 page turns, including back turns for repeat passages. Silent onstage communication is key, and each pianist has their own style of “nodding” to indicate a page turn which they need to practise with their page turner.

But like all performances, there are moments when things go wrong. “I was turning the page to get ready for the next page, but the draft wind from the turn caused the spare pages to fall off the stand,” Mr Titterton said, “Luckily I was able to catch them and put them back.”

Most page turners are piano students or up-and-coming concert pianists, although Ms Raspopova has once asked her husband to   help her out on stage.

“My husband is the worst page turner,” she laughed. “He’s interested in the music, feeling every note, and I have to say: ‘Turn, turn!’ Robert is the best page turner I’ve had in my entire life.”

1. What should Titterton be able to do to be a page turner?

A．Read music.	B．Play the piano.
C．Sing songs.	D．Fix the instruments.

2. Which of the following best describes Titterton’s job on stage?

A．Boring.	B．Well-paid.
C．Demanding.	D．Dangerous.

3. What does Titterton need to practise?

A．Counting the pages.	B．Recognizing the “nodding”.
C．Catching falling objects.	D．Performing in his own style.

4. Why is Ms Raspopova’s husband “the worst page turner”?

A．He has very poor eyesight.	B．He ignores the audience.
C．He has no interest in music.	D．He forgets to do his job.

2 . Rome can be pricey for travelers, which is why many choose to stay in a hostel (旅社). The hostels in Rome offer a bed in a dorm room for around $25 a night, and for that, you’ll often get to stay in a central location (位置) with security and comfort.

Yellow Hostel

If I had to make just one recommendation for where to stay in Rome, it would be Yellow Hostel. It’s one of the best-rated hostels in the city, and for good reason. It’s affordable, and it’s got a fun atmosphere without being too noisy. As an added bonus, it’s close to the main train station.

Hostel Alessandro Palace

If you love social hostels, this is the best hostel for you in Rome. Hostel Alessandro Palace is fun. Staff members hold plenty of bar events for guests like free shots, bar crawls and karaoke. There’s also an area on the rooftop for hanging out with other travelers during the summer.

Youth Station Hostel

If you’re looking for cleanliness and a modern hostel, look no further than Youth Station. It offers beautiful furnishings and beds. There are plenty of other benefits, too; it doesn’t charge city tax; it has both air conditioning and a heater for the rooms; it also has free Wi-Fi in every room.

Hotel and Hostel Des Artistes

Hotel and Hostel Des Artistes is located just a 10-minute walk from the central city station and it’s close to all of the city’s main attractions. The staff is friendly and helpful, providing you with a map of the city when you arrive, and offering advice if you require some. However, you need to pay 2 euros a day for Wi-Fi.

1. What is probably the major concern of travelers who choose to stay in a hostel?

A．Comfort.	B．Security.
C．Price.	D．Location.

2. Which hotel best suits people who enjoy an active social life?

A．Yellow Hostel.	B．Hostel Alessandro Palace.
C．Youth Station Hostel.	D．Hotel and Hostel Des Artistes.

3. What is the disadvantage of Hotel and Hostel Des Artistes?

A．It gets noisy at night.	B．Its staff is too talkative.
C．It charges for Wi-Fi.	D．It’s inconveniently located.

3 . During an interview for one of my books, my interviewer said something I still think about often. Annoyed by the level of distraction (干扰) in his open office, he said, “That’s why I have a membership at the coworking space across the street — so I can focus”. His comment struck me as strange. After all, coworking spaces also typically use an open office layout (布局). But I recently came across a study that shows why his approach works.

The researchers examined various levels of noise on participants as they completed tests of creative thinking. They were randomly divided into four groups and exposed to various noise levels in the background, from total silence to 50 decibels (分贝), 70 decibels, and 85 decibels. The differences between most of the groups were statistically insignificant; however, the participants in the 70 decibels group — those exposed to a level of noise similar to background chatter in a coffee shop — significantly outperformed the other groups. Since the effects were small, this may suggest that our creative thinking does not differ that much in response to total silence and 85 decibels of background noise.

But since the results at 70 decibels were significant, the study also suggests that the right level of background noise — not too loud and not total silence — may actually improve one’s creative thinking ability. The right level of background noise may interrupt our normal patterns of thinking just enough to allow our imaginations to wander, without making it impossible to focus. This kind of “distracted focus” appears to be the best state for working on creative tasks.

So why do so many of us hate our open offices? The problem may be that, in our offices, we can’t stop ourselves from getting drawn into others’ conversations while we’re trying to focus. Indeed, the researchers found that face-to-face interactions and conversations affect the creative process, and yet a coworking space or a coffee shop provides a certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.

1. Why does the interviewer prefer a coworking space?

A．It helps him concentrate.	B．It blocks out background noise.
C．It has a pleasant atmosphere.	D．It encourages face-to-face interactions.

2. Which level of background noise may promote creative thinking ability?

A．Total silence.

B．50 decibels

C．70 decibels.

D．85 decibels.

3. What makes an open office unwelcome to many people?

A．Personal privacy unprotected.	B．Limited working space.
C．Restrictions on group discussion.	D．Constant interruptions.

4. What can we infer about the author from the text?

A．He’s a news reporter.

B．He’s an office manager.

C．He’s a professional designer.

D．He’s a published writer.

4 . You’ve heard that plastic is polluting the oceans — between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes enter ocean ecosystems every year. But does one plastic straw or cup really make a difference? Artist Benjamin Von Wong wants you to know that it does. He builds massive sculptures out of plastic garbage, forcing viewers to re-examine their relationship to single-use plastic products.

At the beginning of the year, the artist built a piece called “Strawpocalypse,” a pair of 10-foot-tall plastic waves, frozen mid-crash. Made of 168,000 plastic straws collected from several volunteer beach cleanups, the sculpture made its first appearance at the Estella Place shopping center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Just 9% of global plastic waste is recycled. Plastic straws are by no means the biggest source (来源) of plastic pollution, but they’ve recently come under fire because most people don’t need them to drink with and, because of their small size and weight, they cannot be recycled. Every straw that’s part of Von Wong’s artwork likely came from a drink that someone used for only a few minutes. Once the drink is gone, the straw will take centuries to disappear.

In a piece from 2018, Von Wong wanted to illustrate (说明) a specific statistic: Every 60 seconds, a truckload’s worth of plastic enters the ocean. For this work, titled “Truckload of Plastic,” Von Wong and a group of volunteers collected more than 10,000 pieces of plastic, which were then tied together to look like they’d been dumped (倾倒) from a truck all at once.

Von Wong hopes that his work will also help pressure big companies to reduce their plastic footprint.

1. What are Von Wong’s artworks intended for?

A．Beautifying the city he lives in.	B．Introducing eco-friendly products.
C．Drawing public attention to plastic waste.	D．Reducing garbage on the beach.

2. Why does the author discuss plastic straws in paragraph 3?

A．To show the difficulty of their recycling.

B．To explain why they are useful.

C．To voice his views on modern art.

D．To find a substitute for them.

3. What effect would “Truckload of Plastic” have on viewers?

A．Calming.	B．Disturbing.
C．Refreshing.	D．Challenging.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Artists’ Opinions on Plastic Safety

B．Media Interest in Contemporary Art

C．Responsibility Demanded of Big Companies

D．Ocean Plastics Transformed into Sculptures

5 . The Biggest Stadiums in the World

People have been pouring into stadiums since the days of ancient Greece. In around 80 A.D., the Romans built the Colosseum, which remains the world’s best known stadium and continues to inform contemporary design. Rome’s Colosseum was 157 feet tall and had 80 entrances, seating 50,000 people. However, that was small fry compared with the city’s Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.

These days, safety regulations-not to mention the modern sports fan’s desire for a good view and comfortable seat — tend to keep stadium capacities (容量) slightly lower. Even soccer fans tend to have a seat each; gone are the days of thousands standing to watch the match.

For the biggest stadiums in the world, we have used data supplied by the World Atlas list so far, which ranks them by their stated permanent capacity, as well as updated information from official stadium websites.

All these stadiums are still functional, still open and still hosting the biggest events in world sport.

·Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang D.P.R. Korea. Capacity: 150,000. Opened: May 1,1989.

·Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U. S. Capacity: 107,601. Opened: October 1, 1927.

·Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania, U. S. Capacity: 106,572. Opened: September 17, 1960.

·Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U. S. Capacity: 104,944. Opened: October 7,1922.

·Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, U. S. Capacity: 102,512. Opened: September 24, 1927.

1. How many people could the Circus Maximus hold?

A．104,944.

B．107,601.

C．About 150,000.

D．About 250,000.

2. Of the following stadiums, which is the oldest?

A．Michigan Stadium.

B．Beaver Stadium.

C．Ohio Stadium.

D．Kyle Field.

3. What do the listed stadiums have in common?

A．They host big games.	B．They have become tourist attractions.
C．They were built by Americans.	D．They are favored by architects.

6 . It can be very easy to stick with what you know, instead of trying to meet people who are different from you.     1    Here's what you can do:

Become self-aware.     2    This includes biases(偏见）about your own cultural background. It can be confronting, but by doing this you'll be able to think about how these traits might impact on your approach to and understanding of differences. You could try: Think about what assumptions you make about your friends, peers, and people you work with.

Talk to someone from a different cultural background. Try and get to know someone from a different cultural background better.     3    You'll automatically find out more about their life and experiences. Just being curious and open-minded can be helpful.

Be more accepting. Sometimes, for one reason or another, it's not all that easy to understand some cultural differences.     4     In other words, you don't have to understand, or even agree with, someone in order to accept them.

    5     One of the biggest difficulties to overcome in understanding cultural differences is making judgments based on one opinion. You should do some research to actually learn about people, instead of making broad-brush assessments. Stereotyping(模式化）people from different cultural backgrounds can impact their quality of life and opportunities.

A．Do your own research.

B．Think beyond stereotypes.

C．Practice being sympathetic towards people.

D．Work out your own beliefs, values and personal biases.

E．Instead of asking them questions directly, treat them as friends.

F．And the best approach is to acknowledge people are different and to accept that's okay.

G．However, trying to understand people from other countries can help you experience more.

7 . When you hear the beginning of your favorite song from the radio, suddenly your neck is covered in goose bumps.

It's such a thing that a group of scientists call “skin excitement”—a feeling of cold caused not by a drop in temperature or sudden scare, but by the sense of beauty. “Skin excitement” can come from a song, a painting, a moving movie scene, or even a beloved memory-pretty much anything that causes the giving out of pleasure-soaked dopamine in your brain. But it does not come for all of us.

Your favorite music uncovers a lot about your personality，and so does how you respond to that music. Studies suppose that as few as 55 percent of people experience “skin excitement” when listening to music. And if you count yourself among this group, the goose bumps on your skin aren't the only giveaway—scientists can read it in your brain, too. In a new study published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Harvard researchers performed brain scans on 10 students who said they reliably got cold when listening to music, and 10 students who didn't. They found that the cold-prone brains may really be excited by stronger emotions.

Cold-prone brains are generally more likely to show stronger emotional intelligence than no-cold brains. Cold-prone minds tend to have unusual active imagination, reflect more deeply on their emotions, and appreciate nature and the beauty of music and art to a stronger degree than no-cold brains.

So, what type of music causes the chills? It seems that the type is not so important; participants in the new study reported getting cold from songs of every kind. And any song connected with a strong emotional memory of the listener can produce the most reliable results. For me, that's the song Sailing to Philadelphia by Mark Knopfler, which I listened to as a kid in the car with my dad, on the way to the summer camp.

1. What can we learn about “skin excitement” in the text?

A．It helps to produce doparmine.	B．It is caused by the pain in the skin.
C．It can be experienced by every music listener.	D．It is the human body's reaction to something nice.

2. What does the new study by Harvard researchers mainly find?

A．The percentage of music lovers in students.

B．The solutions to the goose bumps on one's skin.

C．The differences between cold-prone and no-cold brains.

D．The relationship between one's music preference and personality.

3. What are people with cold-prone brains like?

A．Beautiful and intelligent.	B．Emotional and dishonest.
C．Imaginative and sensitive.	D．Brave and strong-minded.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Responses to Music Vary among People	B．A Feeling of Cold Is Caused by Horrible Music
C．Your Favorite Music Reveals Your Personality	D．Favorite Music May Bring Forth Goose Bumps

8 . What Are the Roots of Your Self-Esteem?

Self-esteem is a person's subjective assessment of his or her worth to himself or herself. Self- esteem covers various beliefs about oneself (such as 'Tm a failure" and "I'm beautiful") as well as physiological states, including sadness, joy, and shame. The more we believe that we are worthy of happiness and good things in life, the more self-fulfilled we will be. When we don't believe that we are worthy of these things, our ability to enjoy them can suffer.     1    

Healthy self-esteem as an adult can be a gift given in your childhood. It is a blessing that most people overlook. There are so many ways adults with high self-esteem were supported as children that resulted in them having high self-esteem. For instance, they were praised for what they had achieved.

    2    They likely experienced affection and were given enough attention. It is also possible that they excelled in studies or in sports and were admired for it by peers.

    3    As children, many of these people were criticized, yelled at, or abused in one way or another. There is also a high chance that they were given no attention by the adults who were supposed to care for them. In some cases, adults with poor self-esteem were often ridiculed for their shortcomings or bullied by peers.

It is common that these adults also believe that in order to be appreciated they need to be perfect.

    4    There are people who are obsessed with their careers or hobbies because in their mind they need to tie their worthiness to something concrete. Oftentimes these people have to pretend to be something they are not just to get approval.

How you feel about yourself impacts how you live your life. People with high self-esteem tend to have better relationships than those with low self-esteem.     5     So if you struggle to reach out for assistance, it could be rooted in your low self-esteem.

A．There is also a good chance that they were spoken to respectfully.

B．When we start to doubt what's important in life, we tend to do less of it.

C．Since self-esteem is connected to how we perform, it is important to work on it.

D．People with poor self-esteem, on the other hand, often experienced the opposite.

E．This creates an image in their mind that without accomplishment they are worthless.

F．They face failure too, but they understand that failure or success doesn't define them.

G．High self-esteem enables you to ask for help and support from the people around you when you need it.

9 . The beauty of the outdoors naturally encourages people to go outside. The drive toward the natural world is present in normal times. Now, as many people are locked indoors, spending hours in front of screens, the pull of watching wind blow branches of neighboring trees is hardly matched. Forest therapy is one way to satisfy the demand while improving personal health and well-being.

Inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing", forest therapy is a guided outdoor practice, which encourages people to experience the pleasures of nature through all of their senses and be present in the body.

Research on shinrin-yoku began in Japan in the 1980s when leaders there noticed a sharp rise in stress-related illnesses in the country, resulting from people spending more time working in technology and other industrial work. Specific settings were created to guide people in outdoor experiences. Research showed forest bathing may help reduce stress, improve attention, and lift moods.

Stress raises levels of cortisol, which plays a role in high blood pressure, heart disease and headaches. In test subjects, levels of cortisol decreased after a walk in the forest. Trees give off oils called phytoncides that have special properties and may influence immunity(免疫力). Exposure to natural tree oils helps lift depression, lower blood pressure. One study showed a rise in the number and activity of immune cells, which fight viruses and cancer, among people who spent three days and two nights in a forest compared with people taking an urban trip. This benefit lasted for more than a month after the forest trip!

Don't worry if you don't have three days to spend in the forest. A recent study showed spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature improved self-reported health and well-being. It doesn't matter whether the 120 minutes represents one long trip, or several shorter visits to nature. So, even as we are honoring physical distancing, it's possible and essential to get outside for 20 minutes every day and enhance our well-being.

1. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 1 imply?

A．Interaction between neighbors is rare.

B．The beauty of nature is often ignored.

C．People's urge to be outside is stronger.

D．Public physical condition is worsening.

2. Why did Japanese researchers start to study shinrin-yoku?

A．To find a way to help people work out.

B．To deal with a national health crisis.

C．To provide an effective exercise guide.

D．To get people away from technology.

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．What long-term stress could cause.

B．How long people should stay in nature.

C．How forest therapy affects the body.

D．Whether exposure to forests is helpful.

4. What is suggested in the last paragraph?

A．Limiting time spent outdoors properly.

B．Spending at least 2 hours in nature a day.

C．Making a plan to exercise every day.

D．Keeping our connection with nature.

10 . Wine and beaches, fireworks and music... our readers recommend some fantastic festivals.

Festa delTUva e del Vino, Italy

Set on the beautiful shores of Lake Garda, this grapes and wine festival takes over the small town of Bardolino for four days every October. With local wines, food, art projections, fireworks and live music. people come from miles around to celebrate. First and foremost，it’s about great wine，but it’s worth visiting to soak up the great atmosphere.

Free，1-5 October

Quest festival, Vietnam

This is a weekend camping festival held just a 40-minute drive from Hanoi, bringing together locals and visitors in a celebration of underground live and electronic music culture. Held in the beautiful Son Tinh campsite, there are usually about 30 local and international DJs and 10 bands. There are also workshops, pop-up cafes, fire performances, dancing and much more.

Weekend tickets about £25, 6-8 November

Estiv al Switzerland

This is a free festival of jazz which takes place in the first weekend in July in the pretty squares and lakeside beaches and parks around the southern Swiss town of Lugano. The palm trees and summer air to see some of Europe’s up and coming jazz bands and enjoy Swiss

Free, every July

Irish Redhead Convention, County Cork

A friendly gathering for all red-haired people is held in the small seaside village of Crosshaven where redheads from all over the world take part in light hearted events. There’s live music, art exhibitions, lectures and of course the traditional Parade of Redheads through the village led by the newly crowned Redhead King and Queen.

Free, Every August

1. Jennifer, a girl with red hair, may be interested in ________.

A．Estival.	B．Quest festival.
C．Festa deirtlva e del Vino.	D．Irish Redhead Convention.

2. What do these four festivals have in common?

A．They offer local food.

B．They have fireworks.

C．They are free of charge.

D．They have music activities.

3. Where can you probably find the text?

A．In a textbook.

B．In a magazine.

C．In a news report.

D．In a research paper.