1 . Have you ever been in a bathroom, dressing room or another private area with a mirror and had that feeling that someone is watching you? You can check to see if a mirror is transparent by observing how it is installed and using a few simple techniques to determine if there’s a wall behind it.
Check out the lighting. For a two-way mirror to be effective, the light on the mirrored side needs to be 10 times brighter than the light on the other side. If the lighting is dimmer, it’s possible to see through the glass to the observation area. Look around and determine whether the lighting seems extraordinarily bright.
Sound it out. The sound of tapping a two-way mirror has also been described as bright or sharp as opposed to a thud (砰的一声) from an everyday mirror. Tap on the surface of the mirror with your knuckle (指节).
| A．Turn off the lights. |
| B．Try to look through the glass. |
| C．Observe how the mirror is installed. |
| D．If so, you might be looking at a two-way mirror. |
| E．There are some accurate ways to tell if a mirror is two-way or not. |
| F．A normal mirror will produce a dull, flat sound, since it’s placed in front of a wall. |
| G．People standing on the other side of the wall can observe someone looking in the mirror. |
2 . Natural disasters may claim thousands of lives or destroy millions of homes. What can we learn from disasters?
Sometimes, there are no real answers. Everyone has lost something and someone, and they keep on asking what they have done to deserve this cruel fate. It’s okay to hold on to these questions, but no matter how hard and painful it is, you should keep moving, breathing and living.
Even strangers can teach you kindness. There may be millions of selfish people in the world.
Family is everything. Sometimes we forget to love our family, just because we’re too busy with our own lives.
Every day of your life should be spent loving and living. Don’t be angry at the world for letting you live an unbearable life of heartbreaks and frustrations.
| A．You’ll find your way someday. |
| B．Your money won’t matter in the end. |
| C．Life is too short to live in its imperfections. |
| D．However, it’s not a reason to lose hope in humanity. |
| E．You shouldn’t be a victim forever——be a survivor. |
| F．You have to help yourself first before you can help others. |
| G．At times, we take them for granted because we think they’ll always be there. |
3 . Americans spend billions on vitamins, multivitamins for their health, but a review of numerous studies concluded there is little to no evidence that some of those vitamins prevent heart disease, cancer or death.
The report, released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force last week, concluded that “recent evidence is not enough” to determine whether vitamins actually help or hurt your health, based on 84 studies, 52 of which were done since 2014. Vitamins examined included vitamins A, B, C, D and E, as well as other multivitamins.
“Our suggestion is neither for nor against taking vitamins, or combinations of those nutrients (营养物质). We just don’t have enough evidence,” said Dr. John Wong, a doctor in the Department of Medicine at Tufts Medical Center who was involved in the report.
While the finding is that vitamins don’t have any benefits to “healthy, non-pregnant (未怀孕) adults”, it doesn’t apply to “children, people who are pregnant or may become pregnant, or people who are hospitalized.”
The Task Force admitted it makes sense that people would take vitamins in hopes of health benefits, as some shortage may lead to illness. But experts agreed the best way to get good health and prevent cancer is a balanced diet and regular physical activity.
“The suggestion across all organizations about vitamins is to eat a balanced diet, and then the key tends to be on plenty of fruit and vegetables and less junk foods,” Wong said.
Wong added people should refer to their health doctors to determine if any vitamins are worth taking. He said this suggestion should also serve as a need to further research into proving the official benefits and risks for each vitamin.
1. Why can’t we say whether vitamins really benefit or harm health?| A．Because they really have no benefit. |
| B．Because many studies have proved it. |
| C．Because evidence is not enough at present. |
| D．Because Dr. John Wong wasn’t involved in the research. |
| A．Vitamins are of no benefit to anyone. |
| B．Vitamins are beneficial to healthy adults. |
| C．Children can’t take vitamins though they are in hospital. |
| D．People could take vitamins if lack of vitamin may tend to illness. |
| A．Taking enough vitamins. |
| B．Eating more packaged foods. |
| C．Following their health doctor’s advice. |
| D．Having a balanced diet and doing exercise. |
| A．Taking Vitamins: No Benefit to People |
| B．Doctor’s Advice on Buying Vitamins |
| C．Taking Vitamins: Likely to Waste Money |
| D．Americans Spending More Money on Vitamins |
4 . In looking through your social media, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed pictures accompanied by texts. The pictures are likely made possible by a text-to-image program called DALL-E. For example, Twitter user posted a tweet with the text, “To be or not to be, rabbi holding avocado, marble sculpture.” Then a matching picture appears below.
The AI models come from Google’s Imagen software as well as OpenAI. a start-up backed by Microsoft. On its website, OpenAI calls DALL-E “a new Al system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.” But most of what’s happening in this area is coming from a relatively small group of people sharing their pictures. That’s because Google and OpenAI have not made the technology broadly available to the public.
The text-to-picture services identify the most important parts of a user’s text and then guess the best way to picture those terms. There’s generally a text box, a button to start the generation process and an area below to display images. To indicate the source. Google and OpenAI add watermarks in the bottom right comer of images from DALL-E and Imagen.
Engineers trained the models on various collections of words and pictures from the web. OpenAI recognizes the potential for harm that could come from a model. To avoid the risk, employees removed violent content from training data, and there are filters（筛选）stopping DALL-E from producing images if users submit（提交）violent or illegal content.
Boris Dayma, a developer from Texas spelled out the problems in an explanation of their software. Despite the risks, Dhariwal, a research scientist at OpenAI, said it could open up creative opportunities for individuals and could help with commercial applications for dressing up websites. Results should continue to improve over time.
| A．Beautifying pictures at users’ request. |
| B．Producing pictures from human words. |
| C．Changing pictures into vivid descriptions. |
| D．Providing pictures for users to choose from. |
| A．Its users’ rights. | B．Its operating conditions |
| C．Its working process. | D．Its company’s prospect. |
| A．All images come from a unified model. |
| B．The training data is selected beforehand. |
| C．Improper requests can’t be submitted. |
| D．Filters remove the unhealthy description. |
| A．Positive. | B．Objective. | C．Uncertain. | D．Worried. |
5 . Picture the scene: you’ve spent years working towards a very specific goal. You’ve put in countless hours of work and made many efforts along the way, but now that you’ve got there it doesn’t feel quite like you imagined. Instead of celebration, you feel emptiness, confusion and doubt.
Welcome to the anti-climax. The often-experienced but seldom-discussed downside of achieving life’s biggest milestones. Many of us work tirelessly towards our goals. We may spend our lives dreaming of the day we get married, publish our first hook or buy our first home. However, oftentimes, when we achieve these things it doesn’t feel quite as expected. In fact, the achievement of these goals feels a bit of a letdown.
So why do we often experience an anti-climax with big goals, even though we’re happy to achieve them? “An anti-climax can be an unexpected by-product of a milestone achievement. Usually, the more significant the milestone, the greater the anti-climax may be. The intensity（强度）of an anti-climax often relies on what we expect of this achievement.” says Rachel Vora. a psychotherapist（心理治疗师）.“The journey to achieving a milestone can he exciting and tiring in addition to giving us a sense of purpose and focus. Therefore, when this disappears overnight. we can often feel lost and confused, in spite of feeling proud of our achievement.
When this happens it can contribute to a mixture of emotions. We often falsely believe that we’ll feel completely different afterwards or that our feelings of low self-worth will disappear, but this is rarely the case. “Clients（客户）often present to me with an extremely great sense of ‘is this it?’ and ‘what now?’.” says Vora. “These feelings of confusion and disappointment, if let ignored, have the potential to cause clients to be in low spirits, or even worse.”
1. Why does the author mention the examples in paragraph 2?| A．To present a fact. | B．To prove a rule. |
| C．To explain a term. | D．To make a prediction. |
| A．Low self-worth. | B．High expectations. |
| C．Sense of purpose. | D．Unexpected achievements. |
| A．Amy felt empty before giving a speech. |
| B．Jack felt lost after his first novel came out. |
| C．Mary felt proud when she joined a ballet club. |
| D．Tom felt doubtful about taking further education. |
| A．How to hold back feelings. |
| B．How to improve self-worth. |
| C．Hon to identify the anti-climax. |
| D．How to deal with the anti-climax. |
6 . When water is cold, people will find it uncomfortable to swim. Wetsuits(潜水服）can help keep people warm.
The wetsuit doesn't have a long history. According to studies, the wetsuit only began during WWII when Italians started wearing wetsuits that were made of rubber. And it was widely believed in 1951, Hugh Bradner began working to improve the equipment.
Now there are many kinds of wetsuits. Contrary to what some may think, wetsuits do not work by keeping the diver(潜水员）dry; they are designed to let water into the suit. This thin layer of water is trapped（保存）between the diver and the suit. And it's allowed to move between the skin of the diver and the inside layer.
Wetsuits can also differ in thickness. They range from about 0. 5mm to 8mm in thickness. It's true that thicker wetsuits are more likely to affect your movement.
| A．But they're much better at giving you warmth. |
| B．As for the difference, wetsuits can differ in size. |
| C．The history of the wetsuit is an interesting story. |
| D．This led to the development of a kind of new wetsuit. |
| E．Many wetsuits are very light and easy to wear and take off. |
| F．As a result, the water gradually warms up to body temperature. |
| G．And they can provide protection from the sun and cuts from rocks. |
7 . Banff National Park is home to an amazing wildlife population. But the busy Trans Canada Highway that cuts through the park is a hazard to the lovely animals. To address the problem, Banff first put-up wildlife fencing on either side of the highway to discourage animals from entering the busy road. Then, since 1996, they’ve opened six wildlife overpasses and 38 underpasses to help the animals cross the highway in safety. I was fortunate to visit Banff’s Red Earth Overpass with Trevor Kinley, the project manager with Parks Canada. He told me that so far, they have documented 10, 000 safe animal crossings on this overpass alone. “ Some animals have learned how to use the crossings much more quickly than others. Black bears are the fastest learners, followed by deer. Wolves and lions take the longest to work out how to use them, ” Kinley said, laughing. “ But those animals that are slower to adapt are usually more capable and determined at figuring out the safest way to cross those overpasses and underpasses. ”
There is some criticism (批评) that channeling so much wildlife into a few bridges and tunnels is like making a trap for the animals, offering big animals an easy meal on either side. “ But research has shown that this is not the case, ” Kinley assured me. “ There are no more killings around the crossings than there are anywhere else in the park. ”
Walking over the Trans Canada and then walking underneath through one of the tunnels, I was amazed to see the fresh tracks of black bears, wolves, deer and many kinds of smaller animals. Somehow, all these animal footprints made me so happy, knowing that all this wildlife was passing safely under and over the longest road in Canada.
Hopefully, the success of the wildlife crossings in Banff will continue to inspire similar solutions around the world, where human pressure on wildlife continues to grow.
1. Which of the following best explains “ hazard ” underlined in paragraph 1?| A．Shelter. | B．Message. | C．Answer. | D．Danger. |
| A．They are stupid animals. | B．They are cautious learners. |
| C．They are very dangerous. | D．They are good at adapting. |
| A．There are too many bridges and tunnels. | B．Many animals will not use the crossings. |
| C．More killings might happen at the crossings. | D．Illegal hunting might be encouraged in the park. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Disappointed. | C．Shocked. | D．Delighted. |
8 . Sites for a family getaway
A selection of campsites perfect for a family break to enjoy time with the children.
Monkton Wyld Holiday Park
Monkton Wyld is the perfect campsite for children, yet maintaining a quiet atmosphere for adults to relax. here are walking routes from Monkton Wyld Holiday Park to Lyme Regis where little ones can enjoy the beaches and hunting for fossils (化石). Adults might wander selection of shops and restaurants.
High Moor Farm Park
High Moor Farm Park is situated four miles from Harrogate at High Moor Farm there is plenty to occupy all ages, including an indoor pool, nine-hole golf course, play area, pool tables and fishing lake. A 20-minute drive from the park is Knaresborough where there are many zoos including Yorkshire Dales National Park, Dartmoor Zoological Park and Paignton Zoo.
Polmanter Touring Park
This award-winning touring site is ideal for families looking for on-site entertainment and the convenience of the fishing town of St lves within waking distance.
For younger guests, there are two playgrounds indoor soft play and a games room. Practicalities are taken care of with an on-site shop, bar and restaurant, and four-legged family members have a devoted exercise field and shower.
Elie Holiday Park
Elie Holiday Park occupies a location behind a wide expanse of dunes (沙丘) that lead to a vast beach on Scotland’s west coast. Appealing to those travelling with children, the coastal location is ideal for anyone who loves to be beside the sea.
Aldult guests can walk the coastal path, go rock-pooling, and look out for wildlife. Youngsters can go wild at the Robinson Crusoe Adventure Park and enjoy the arcades in the games room.
1. Where can you go if you are interested in animals?| A．High Moor Farm Park. | B．Dartmoor Zoological Park. |
| C．Monkton Wyld Holiday Park. | D．Robinson Crusoe Adventure Park |
| A．It is far from the fishing town. | B．It wins awards for entertainment. |
| C．It is an ideal place for running a bar. | D．It provides essential services for pets |
| A．Play adventure games | B．Hunt for wild animals |
| C．Make a study of dunes. | D．Search for the fossils |
9 . Parks around the world
Hyde Park, London, England
There are many parks in London. Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, which covers over 350 acres. There are paths for people on bicycles and there are often open - air concerts held in the park.
Park Güell, Barcelona, Spain
In this park, designed by Antony Gaudi, there are different houses in different colours. There are also things like a colourful dragon. At the top of the park is a terraced area where you can get a wonderful view of the city of Barcelona and the sea.
Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver is a city near the sea and mountains. There is beautiful Stanley Park in the city centre, covering an area of one thousand acres. It is the largest park in North America. There are First Nations totem poles (图腾柱) in the park.
Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan
Ueno Park is an old park in the city of Tokyo and there are hundreds of beautiful cherry trees. In April and May every year, the trees are pink or white.
Chapultepec Park, Mexico City, Mexico
This is the largest urban park in Latin America. It's a very important green space in this big city. Containing nine museums, a zoo, an amusement park, and a variety of green recreational spaces, Chapultepec Park is an invaluable place for the city residents and its visitors.
1. What can visitors do in Park Güell ?| A．Enjoy cherry trees. | B．Feed animals. | C．See the sea. | D．Ride bicycles. |
| A．London. | B．Barcelona. | C．Vancouver. | D．Mexico. |
| A．Chapultepec Park. | B．Ueno Park. | C．Stanley Park. | D．Hyde Park. |
10 . As more people move into their golden years, many families are welcoming their senior parents into their homes. While most seniors claim to prefer to age in their own homes, safety and health concerns don’t always make this possible.
If you are preparing to welcome a senior parent into your home, everyone will have an adjustment period. This type of move will have physical, emotional, and mental influences for the whole family. Here’re a few tips to help you open your heart and home to your senior parents.
You may be excited about having your senior parent move in, but that doesn’t mean they will share your enthusiasm. Being asked to move out of their own home can be very upsetting for your parents. So it’s important to be patient with them and allow them the time to adjust to their new environment.
It’s also important to give your parents a space of their own. Before you decide to bring a senior parent into your home, you need to consider if you have enough space for them.
Then, for adult children, offering a senior parent a safe home is a priority. Before moving, you will need to make some changes around your home to help your parents stay safe. For example, install grab bars in the bathroom, repair all stairways, add anti-slip mats to the kitchen and so on. And arm yourself with knowledge like First Aid courses.
In addition, your senior parent will be used to being in charge of their own home and is likely to feel like a bother as they begin to settle in your home. One effective way is to assign them a household responsibility. Ask your parents to look after the dog or cook a meal to make them feel like an active and important part of the family.
1. Who may be the intended readers of the text?| A．People moving into their golden years. |
| B．People having senior parents to take care of. |
| C．People wanting to age in their own homes. |
| D．Senior people having safety and health concerns. |
| A．Being patient with your parents. |
| B．Giving them enough space. |
| C．Making sure of their safety. |
| D．Assigning them a household responsibility. |
| A．To make them feel like a bother. |
| B．To make them think themselves useful. |
| C．To make them in charge of the family. |
| D．To encourage them to exercise actively. |
| A．Troubles to live with senior parents. |
| B．A good way to age for senior people. |
| C．Take your responsibility to adjust yourself. |
| D．Open your heart and home to your senior parents. |
