1 . On Saturday, Jacob Kohut finally had breaktime during his 12⁃hour standing guard outside the U.S. Capitol. He could have spent his break resting. Instead, he sat in the back of a Humvee, teaching students via his laptop how to play Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, which meant he was on double duty, as an active member of the National Guard and as a devoted school band teacher.
“I’m a soldier for the National Guard, but I’m as much a solider for music education,” he says.
When on duty, Kohut’s days began in the morning with teaching his elementary class remotely from the drill floor of DC Armory, finishing the lesson minutes before his Guard shift started at 10 a.m. Later in the day, during his break, he would go online to teach his middle school students from the back of a Humvee.
Music has always been a driving force in Kohut’s life. He was a saxophone player throughout high school, and finally earned his Doctor degree in music composition at George Mason University.
“What I really wanted was to teach,” says Kohut, who is married and has a three⁃year⁃old son. “My mom, who is a single mother, was a music teacher. That’s why I do what I do. She is such a good role model.”
Kohut’s double duty has caught the attention of parents at Canterbury Woods Elementary School.
“I just wanted to share how impressed I am with Dr. Kohut this week,” Susi Britain said. “This morning he taught the band online from DC Armory, in his tiredness — which just seems so beyond the expectations of a teacher in these circumstances.”
But during the long and sometimes stressful hours of standing guard, Kohut said his teaching time offered comfort. As the 11 instruments were played by his virtual students, the familiar melody of “Ode to Joy” rang through the Humvee. In that moment, Kohut realized there wasn’t a timelier tune to teach his students
“It’s a symbol of unity and peace,” he says. “And that’s what the world needs right now.”
1. Where did the students study music from Kohut?| A．In the back of a Humvee. |
| B．At the drill floor of DC Armory. |
| C．In online courses. |
| D．Outside the U.S. Capitol. |
| A．Peace⁃loving and mild. |
| B．Enthusiastic and devoted. |
| C．Hopeful and positive. |
| D．Faithful and helpful. |
| A．He should teach the tune to his students earlier. |
| B．No tune was taught to students before. |
| C．It’s the time that he should teach the tune face to face. |
| D．The tune is the most suitable for students at that moment. |
| A．Jacob Kohut fights for the country and music. |
| B．Jacob Kohut wants to change his job. |
| C．Jacob Kohut has double duty at Canterbury Woods Elementary School. |
| D．Jacob Kohut is a virtual music teacher. |
2 . Close to the North Pole, the remote and rocky plateau mountain in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard seems an unlikely spot for any global effort to safeguard agriculture. In this cold and deserted environment, there are no grains, no gardens and no trees. But at the end of a 130⁃meter⁃long tunnel is a room filled with humanity’s most precious treasure, the largest and most diverse seed collection — more than a half⁃billion seeds.
A quiet rescue mission is underway. With growing evidence that unchecked climate change will seriously affect food production and threaten the diversity of crops around the world, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault represents a major step towards ensuring the preservation of hundreds of thousands of crop varieties. This is a seed collection, but more importantly, it is a collection of the traits (特点) found within the seeds: the genes that give one variety resistance to a particular pest and another variety tolerance for hot, dry weather.
Few people will ever see or come into contact with the contents of this vault. In sealed (密封的) boxes, behind many locked doors, monitored by electronic security systems, enveloped in below⁃zero temperatures, and surrounded by tons of rocks, hundreds of millions of seeds are protected in their mountain fortress (堡垒). Frozen in such conditions inside the mountain, seeds of most major crops will remain viable for hundreds of years, or longer. Seeds of some are capable of keeping their ability to grow for thousands of years.
Everyone can look back now and say that the Seed Vault has been a good and obvious idea, and that of course the Norwegian government should have approved and funded it. But back in 2004, when the Seed Vault was first proposed, it was viewed as a crazy, impractical, and expensive idea.
We knew that nothing would provide a definite guarantee. But we were tired and frankly scared of the steady, greater losses of crop diversity. The Seed Vault was built by optimists who wanted to do something to preserve options so that humanity and the crops might be better prepared for change.
The Seed Vault is about hope and commitment — about what can be done if countries come together and work cooperatively to accomplish something significant, long⁃lasting, and worthy of who we are and wish to be.
1. According to the passage, what’s the Seed Vault?| A．It’s a tunnel where the collected seeds are displayed. |
| B．It’s a stone room that contains the seeds of endangered crops. |
| C．It’s a seed gene bank that stores diverse seeds for future agriculture. |
| D．It’s a lab where researchers study how to keep the diversity of crops. |
| A．Mature. | B．Clean. |
| C．Alive. | D．Valuable. |
| A．How the seeds are preserved. |
| B．Where people keep the seeds. |
| C．Why the seeds are protected. |
| D．What people do to study the seeds. |
| A．the Seed Vault offers a solution to climate change |
| B．the Seed Vault was built by many countries |
| C．the Seed Vault is sure to prevent the loss of crop diversity |
| D．many people considered building the Seed Vault unwise and crazy at first |
3 . Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center mapped brain changes after a year of aerobic workouts and uncovered a potentially significant process: Aerobic exercise increases blood flow into two key areas of the brain associated with memory.
The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, showed this blood flow can help even older people with memory problems improve cognition, a finding that could guide future Alzheimer’s disease research, according to UT Southwestern Medical Center.
In the study, researchers followed 30 participants who were 60 or older and had memory problems. Half experienced a year of aerobic exercise while the other half did stretches. “We’ve shown that even when your memory starts to fade, you can still do something about it by adding aerobic exercise to your lifestyle,” said Binu Thomas, a senior research scientist of UT Southwestern Medical Center who led the study. “The aerobic exercise group showed a 47% improvement in some memory scores after a year; the other group showed slight change. Brain imaging of the aerobic exercise group, taken while at rest at the beginning and end of the study, showed increased blood flows into the specific brain areas that play important roles in memory function.”
Many teams across the world are trying to determine if aerobic exercise might fight memory loss. Evidence is growing that it could at least play a small role in delaying or reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. For example, a 2018 study showed that people with lower fitness levels experience faster retrogression of vital nerve fibers in the brain called white matter related to memory.
“Blood flow in the brain connected with memory improvement is still a part of the puzzle, and we need to continue piecing it together,” Thomas says. “But we’ve seen enough data to know that starting a fitness program can have lifelong benefits for our brains as well as our hearts.”
1. What is the study mainly about?| A．Old people have memory problems. | B．Aerobic exercise improves memory. |
| C．Aerobic workouts benefit physical health. | D．Alzheimer’s disease can be cured. |
| A．Earlier memories were refreshed. | B．Memory scores showed very small changes. |
| C．Brain imaging remained the same. | D．More blood flew into memory⁃related areas. |
| A．The memory problem. | B．One’s lifestyle. |
| C．Aerobic exercise. | D．Something useful. |
| A．Further research work requires doing. | B．More people experience memory loss. |
| C．The mystery of brain blood flow has been solved. | D．Signs of memory loss can be discovered earlier. |
4 . Teacher, Foreign Language (High School)
The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) offers teaching opportunities in some of the most amazing and culturally rich places in the world. Come and work for the DoDEA schools!
Salary: US$39,775-US$80,930 Per School Year
Open Period: 10/3/2020 to 7/31/2021
Department: Department of Defense
Agency: Department of Defense Education Activity
Position Info: Flexible Schedules, Flexible Appointment Types
Who may apply: US Citizens (prior teaching experience is required)
Food Inspector
The Food Safety and Inspection Service(FSIS) is the public health agency in the US Department of Agriculture responsible for ensuring that the nation’s commercial supply of meat and egg products is safe, wholesome and correctly labelled and packaged.
Salary: US$31,628-US$50,932 Per Year
Open Period: 7/18/2020 to 7/17/2021
Department: Department of Agriculture
Agency: Food Safety and Inspection Service
Position Info: Full⁃time, Permanent
Who may apply: US Citizens (graduates in Food Quality and Safety are preferred)
Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian(兽医)
This is an excellent opportunity to seek a greater leadership role and responsibility in public health. If you are a new employee, mid-career employee, or experienced professional interested in a Public Health Veterinarian (PHV) career, this job is for you!
Salary: US$57,928-US$90,344 Per Year
Open Period: 9/30/2020 to 9/30/2021
Department: Department of Agriculture
Agency: Food Safety and Inspection Service
Position Info: Full⁃time, Permanent
Who may apply: US Citizens and Nationals (no prior federal experience is required)
Veterinary Medical Officer—Veterinarian
The National Animal Health Emergency Response Corps (NAHERC) assists in the federal response to domestic(国内的) and international animal disease outbreaks, threats, or natural disasters.
Salary: US$27.78-US$36.12 Per Hour
Open Period: 5/9/2019 to 5/1/2020
Department: Department of Agriculture
Agency: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Position Info: Full⁃time, Permanent
Who may apply: US Citizens and Nationals (no prior federal experience is required)
1. What should you do if you apply to be a teacher in DoDEA?| A．Have a good command of foreign cultures. |
| B．Be able to arrange work time flexibly. |
| C．Work for the Department of Agriculture. |
| D．Send in your application from July 2020 to July 2021. |
| A．Roger, who expects to get paid US$ 60,000 a year. |
| B．Mary, who is a US national and wants a part⁃time job. |
| C．Adam, who intends to resign to look for a new job in August 2021. |
| D．Lucy, who is an American and majored in Food Quality and Safety. |
| A．As a food inspector, you just need to ensure your food is safe. |
| B．Department of Agriculture recruits professionals passionate about a PHV career. |
| C．DoDEA welcomes US citizens and nationals without prior teaching experience. |
| D．NAHERC independently researches domestic animal disease outbreaks, threats, or natural disasters. |
5 . If you could change your children’s DNA in the future to protect them against diseases, would you? It could be possible because of technology known as CRISPR/Cas, or just CRISPR.
CRISPR involves a piece of RNA, a chemical messenger, designed to work on one part of DNA; it also uses an enzyme that can take unwanted genes out and put new ones in, according to The Economist. There are other ways of editing DNA, but CRISPR will do it very simply, quickly, and exactly.
The use of CRISPR could mean that cures are developed for everything from Alzheimer’s disease to cancer to AIDS. By allowing doctors to put just the right cancer⁃killing genes into a patient’s immune system, the technology could help greatly.
In April scientists in China said they had tried using CRISPR to edit the genomes (基因组) of human embryos. Though the embryos would never turn into humans, this was the first time anyone had ever tried to edit DNA from human beings. With this in mind, the US National Academy of Sciences plans to discuss questions about CRISPR’s ethics (伦理标准). For example, CRISPR doesn’t work properly yet. As well as cutting the DNA it is looking for, it often cuts other DNA, too. In addition, we currently seem to have too little understanding of what DNA gives people what qualities.
There are also moral questions. Of course, medicine already stops natural things from happening—for example, it saves people from infections. The opportunities to treat diseases make it hard to say we shouldn’t keep going.
A harder question is whether it is ever right to edit human cells and make changes that are passed on to children. This is banned in 40 countries and restricted in many others. However, CRISPR means that if genes can be edited out, they can also be edited back in. It may be up to us as a society to decide when and where editing the genome is wrong.
Also, according to The Economist, gene editing may mean that parents make choices that are not obviously in the best interests of their children: “Deaf parents may prefer their children to be deaf too; parents might want to make their children more intelligent at all costs.”
In the end, more research is still needed to see what we can and can’t do with CRISPR. “It’s still a huge mystery how we work,” Craig Mello, a UMass Chan Medical School biologist and Nobel Prize winner, told The Boston Globe. “We’re just trying to figure out this amazingly complicated thing we call life.”
1. According to the passage, what can we know about the technology of CRISPR?| A．It is very safe because it only cuts the DNA it is looking for. |
| B．It is banned in most countries and restricted in many others. |
| C．It could cause parents to make unwise choices for their children. |
| D．It could help us discover the link between DNA and the qualities it gives people. |
| A．All diseases could probably be cured through the use of CRISPR. |
| B．Scientists had never edited genomes before CRISPR was invented. |
| C．CRISPR is a technology that uses an enzyme to work on RNA and DNA. |
| D．CRISPR has proven to be the most effective way to protect children against diseases. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Worried. | C．Negative. | D．Objective. |
| A．What we can and can’t do with CRISPR. |
| B．How CRISPR was developed by scientists. |
| C．The advantages of CRISPR and arguments about its ethics. |
| D．Scientists’ experiments of using CRISPR to edit human embryos. |
6 . On June 9, 1870, Charles Dickens died at the age of 58. The next day, a headline in The New York Times read: “Death of the Great Novelist...Mourned by the People of Two Continents.”
Natalie McKnight is a professor of humanities who studies Dickens and his works. She explains why the novelist has remained so popular. One important reason, she says, is that Dickens wrote from his heart.
It’s meaningful to remember this great writer. Will you read(or reread)some of his famous works?
| A．Dickens’ early life was very hard. |
| B．Their works became the best sellers of that time. |
| C．The headline was not overstating the fame of Dickens. |
| D．A Tale of Two Cities has been sold more than 200 million copies. |
| E．He tried hard to produce emotional effects among his readers. |
| F．He used his pen to fight social inequality and give voice to the poor. |
| G．However, few of them worked as hard as Dickens to attract readers’ minds. |
7 . Science fiction writers create an imaginary world. The way things work in your imaginary world will be based on actual science. So it’s important for you to be familiar with the scientific principles and inventions that are related to your creation. For example, if you’re writing about humans living on a planet with zero gravity, then you need to know the effects of zero gravity on the human body.
Then you have to figure out the exact rules of your imaginary world. And you have to follow them. If humans have evolved to breathe underwater in Chapter 1, your character can’t drown in a swimming pool in Chapter 3. If your robots write poetry but not fiction, then you can’t throw a novelist robot into Chapter 8. The issue here is maintaining your readers’ trust. That means the reader is willing to pretend along with you. If you start out with an ordinary detective novel and then throw in someone breathing underwater in the 6th chapter, your readers’ reaction might be, “What the hell!” The imaginative spell is broken. You’ve pulled the readers out of their imagination. The same thing happens if you change the rules halfway.
Part of your preparation work for the novel is to map out its world for yourself in great detail. Decide: the history of the world, the geography, what possibilities it offers, how everything works in the new reality, and how all of these factors affect the way your characters think, feel, and react to things. You don’t have to tell your readers all the rules in the first chapter. But you have to let your readers know enough to understand what’s going on. This also allows you to work out logical problems and contradictions before you start writing.
When you are writing, remember to make it feel real. You are inviting readers to visit a new world. They will want to be able to see, hear, feel, smell, and even taste what it’s like. Whether your novel is about a world without disease or an undiscovered planet, help your readers feel like they’re actually there.
1. What’s the relationship between actual science and science fiction?| A．Science fiction promotes the development of actual science. |
| B．Science fiction often reflects the development of actual science. |
| C．Actual science provides basic principles for science fiction. |
| D．Actual science limits the imagination described in science fiction. |
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By analysing causes. |
| C．By following the time order. | D．By giving examples. |
| A．Readers of science fiction actually pretend the writers’ rules are true. |
| B．It is necessary to do some scientific experiments before writing science fiction. |
| C．It is more difficult to write science fiction than ordinary detective novels. |
| D．It is great to leave some contradictions in your science fiction. |
| A．How to do scientific research. | B．How to write science fiction. |
| C．What to expect from science fiction. | D．How to raise interest in science. |
8 . J. K. Rowling frequently shows there is magic every day. Her Harry Potter series has helped people through times of stress and depression and she is always there to deliver wise words of encouragement.
She is one celebrity who is very active on Twitter. So when a single dad named Matt Burke sent her a message thanking her for the series, she noticed. Her series had helped strengthen his relationship with his 9yearold daughter Bailey.
He included a link to his article titled Being a Broke Parent. He explained how he hadn’t found a level of financial stability that allowed him to pay bills on time and take his daughter on more activities and events. The family also doesn’t have the Internet or TV, which means there’s no “digital babysitter” and he has to rely on his own creative ways to bond with his daughter. Since he received the series, the main thing that has occupied them these days is reading books together.
Burke admits that he thought he was “too cool” for the books when they first came out and he was in his twenties, but he’s loving reading them now. “We switch off chapter by chapter reading them out loud，“Burke explains.” This not only allows her to get more used to reading aloud in front of someone, but it gets me directly involved in something she loves, and it gives me the chance to be very dramatic when I read my chapters and bring myself into the characters in the book, which has proven to be a ton of fun.”
After hearing Burke’s story, Rowling said how honored she was when Harry Potter was a part of his family’s life and offered Burke more books. Besides, people are also offering to send Burke more books as gifts. For Burke, this experience, far more than gifts, will be what he treasures.
1. Why did Burke thank J. K. Rowling according to the text?| A．She guided him how to write a good story. |
| B．She encouraged him when he was in trouble. |
| C．Her books helped him through times of confusion. |
| D．Her books helped him improve his bond with his daughter. |
| A．He has found it interesting to read the series. | B．He was too old to understand the series better. |
| C．He has chosen a better way of reading the series. | D．He hopes to play a role in the drama in the future. |
| A．Useless. | B．Normal. | C．Valuable. | D．Boring. |
| A．J. K. Rowling chooses to help improve kids’ health. |
| B．J. K. Rowling gives a magical gift to a single father. |
| C．J. K. Rowling has a deep influence on others’ growth. |
| D．Burke comes to know J. K. Rowling through her series. |
9 . Explore the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, which offers a relaxing setting for you to enjoy works of modern sculpture.
Chair Transformation Number 20B, made in 1996 — by Lucas Samaras
Here, Samaras explores the double meaning of “flight”, referring to both the starlike form created by the stacked chairs, and the movement of a single chair moving through space. From different viewpoints, the sculpture appears to be upright, leaning back, or springing forward. From the side, it even appears like a zigzagging (之字形的) line.
Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, made in 1998 — by Coosje van Bruggen
The artist chose the typewriter eraser as his model for this work based upon childhood memories of playing with the object in his father’s office. Here the brush arcs (作弧形运动) back, conveying a sense of motion, as if the wheellike eraser were rolling down the hill and making its way towards the gate of the garden.
Moondog, model 1974, made in 1998
1999 — by Tony Smith
The title itself comes from two sources: Moondog was the name of a blind poet and folk musician who lived in New York City, and Smith has also compared this sculpture to Dog Barking at the Moon, a painting by Joan Miro. He first created Moondog in 1974 as a 33inch cardboard model and cast it in bronze as a garden sculpture in 1980. This version was designed by Smith, but it was not completed until after his death.
Cheval Rouge (Red Horse), made in 1964 — by Alexander Calder
During the last two decades of his life, Alexander Calder devoted his greatest efforts to largescale mobiles and stabiles (立式抽象派雕塑), many of which have become popular public landmarks in cities around the world. Here the silky legs and tensile (张力的) upthrust “neck” recall the power of a horse. This stabile reflects Calder's statement: “I want to make things that are fun to look at.”
1. Which was based on its creator’s early life?| A．Moondog. | B．Cheval Rouge (Red Horse). |
| C．Typewriter Eraser, Scale X. | D．Chair Transformation Number 20B. |
| A．It was originally intended for a garden. |
| B．It was the only work of its creator. |
| C．It was inspired by a modern painter. |
| D．It wasn’t completed by its designer. |
| A．Tony Smith’s. | B．Lucas Samaras’. |
| C．Alexander Calder’s. | D．Coosje van Bruggen’s. |
10 . Although the weather is very hot now, the carnival of ice and snow is getting closer. The preparation work for Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which are expected to begin on Feb. 4, 2022, has entered its final stage. In January, 2021, the icemaking work on the “Ice Ribbon”, a landmark venue for the Beijing Winter Olympics, was completed.
In the Winter Olympics, where races can be won or lost by a small time gap, tiny imperfections in the ice can make all the difference. “It’s not just a hunk of ice like you’d normally think of, like ice cubes sitting in your freezer, ” told Kenneth Golden, a US mathematician who studies the structures of ice. “It’s a much more fascinating and complex substance than people would normally think.”
The first step for building any ice rink is to purify the water to remove dissolved solids like salts and minerals. Such impurities don’t fit in the regular hexagonal (六边形的) structure of ice that forms as water freezes. The more pure the water is, the more consistent the ice surface.
In addition to the need for excellence in the raw materials of icemaking, technology is also very important. As one of the most advanced technologies for winter sports venues, a carbon dioxide (CO2) cooling technology has been applied on a large scale for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. CO2 is not new when it comes to icemaking. However, it has been gradually replaced by the manmade refrigerant, like Freon.
With increasing attention toward climate change, the old refrigerant has come into use again. As an element of the atmosphere, CO2 doesn’t damage the ozone layer. Although CO2 is a greenhouse gas, its greenhouse effect is much lower than that of other synthetic refrigerants. The Winter Olympics venues adopted CO2 instead of Freon as a refrigerant in icemaking, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions greatly.
“We believe these technological innovations will bring Beijing 2022 to spectators all over the world in a more impressive way, ” told Gao Bo from the Media Operations Department of the Organizing Committee of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
1. What is the result of impurities in water for icemaking?| A．The water isn’t able to freeze completely. | B．The quality of the ice will be affected. |
| C．The ice surface will be more consistent. | D．It’s likely for athletes to fall on the ice. |
| A．It’s the most advanced technologies for icemaking. | B．CO2 is more efficient than other refrigerants. |
| C．CO2 is more environmentallyfriendly than Freon. | D．CO2 has already existed in the atmosphere. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Opposed. | C．Doubtful. | D．Favourable. |
| A．The Beijing Winter Olympic Games Is Coming | B．Beneath Olympic Ice |
| C．The Use of Refrigerants in Olympic Games | D．The Structure of Ice |
