1 . The longest rail link in the world and the first direct link between China and Spain is running after a train from Yiwu completed its journey of 8, 111 miles to Madrid. On the way, it passed through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and France before arriving in Madrid. The railway has been considered as the “21st-century Silk Road” by Li Qiang, the governor of Zhejiang province, where Yiwu is located.
The first train was met by the mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella, and Spain’s minister of public works, Ana Pastor. It consisted of 30 containers carrying 1,100 tonnes of cargo —— mostly toys stationery (文具) and other goods for sale over Christmas across Europe. According to China’s ambassador to Spain, Zhu Banzao, it will return filled with wine, jamon and olive oil in time for the Chinese new year in February.
China is Spain’s biggest trading partner after the EU and it is also Spain’s third largest source of imports (进口产品), after Germany and France. About half of these imports are made up of mobile phones and clothing. The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, was in China in September, where he signed deals reported to be worth more than ￡6.3 billion.
A major advantage of the rail route is speed. The train took just three weeks to complete a Journey that takes up to six weeks by sea. It is also more environmentally friendly than road transport, which would produce 1l4 tonnes of CO2 compared with the 44 tonnes produced by the train —— a 62% reduction.
1. What is the main purpose of running the direct train link?| A．To exchange goods. |
| B．To celebrate festivals. |
| C．To improve environment. |
| D．To make sure of the safety of transport. |
| A．Green and fast. | B．Quick and expensive. |
| C．Changeable and productive. | D．Comfortable and fashionable. |
| A．News. | B．Environment. |
| C．Lifestyle. | D．Culture. |
2 . Ever since humans began adventuring into space, 227 astronauts have performed activities outside the spaceship. While 14 of those have been women, the female astronauts have always been with a male partner. On October 18, 2019, US astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir became the first all-female team to carry out a spacewalk to replace a failed battery controller.
The historic event began at 7: 38 a. m. when Koch and Meir set their spacesuits to battery power. Live-broadcast by NASA, it was watched by thousands of space fans, particularly young girls dreaming to be astronauts. The scientists, who spent seven hours and 17 minutes fixing the controller and completing other tasks for the station, were able to observe the Earth passing under their feet. Koch and Meir returned to the International Space Station at 2: 55 p.m., where they were welcomed with cheers by their four male workmates.
When asked about the importance of this spacewalk, Koch said, “In the end, I do think it’s important because of the historical nature of what we’re doing. In the past, women haven’t always been at the table. It’s wonderful to be contributing to the space program at a time when all contributions are being accepted and everyone has a role. That can lead in turn to increased chance for success. There are a lot of people who get encouragement from people who look like them, and I think it’s an important story to tell.”
Meir added, “What we’re doing now shows all the work that went in many years ago, and all of the women that worked to get us where we are today.”
1. What was the task of Koch and Meir?| A．Change a controller | B．Walk in space |
| C．Carry out an experiment | D．Watch the earth |
| A．It was a very adventurous task. |
| B．It was carried out by 227 astronauts. |
| C．It was all done by women astronauts. |
| D．It was watched by many young girls. |
| A．Women are still looked down upon. |
| B．Women should fight for equal rights. |
| C．Women can contribute as much as men. |
| D．Women have a better chance to succeed. |
3 . As the traditional Middle Autumn Day draws near, there are many moon cakes to choose from besides ham-pled cakes. Flower-pied, especially rose-pied moon cakes are preferred a lot by visitors to Yunnan. Baked with almost the same materials-flour, eggs, cooking oil, sugar, and honey etc, why do rose pastries (糕点) enjoy a high popularity?
The answer lies in the roses locally grown in Yunnan and used for making teas and cooking. The bushes can be found with ease in many parts of China, but Yunnan-which is known as “Kingdom of Plants” —— tops others in this respect. You might have noticed that 70 percent of fresh flowers traded in China have come from Yunnan province.
Among the dim sum —— like snacks of Yunnan, rose cakes can be a highlight. Cakes of this kind begin to be widely sold as early as April in stores, because farmers usually harvest the fresh rose crops for orders placed by food companies. You may also find dried roses sold all the year round in big stores.
In historical records, the flower-pied cakes were first prepared by a master chef in the Qing Dynasty about 300 years ago. Sweet, fragrant, and believed to be “good for improving women beauty”, these cakes were once widely sold in Kunming and even the north of China such as Tianjin.
However, not all the rose flower is used for making cakes. The petals (花瓣) of such roses, and only the petals, are valuable in this regard, and that is mainly why they (rose cakes) are a little pricier than others. There are also records saying that rose-pied cakes were paid to the Qing Dynasty’s Qian Long Emperor as a gift.
Personally, I prefer rose cakes than any others. As for ham cakes, I really don’t like the taste. If you try ham cakes, it tastes quite weird, salty and sweet.
1. Why are rose-pied moon cakes so popular?| A．They go well with tea. |
| B．They are made with flour. |
| C．They can improve women beauty. |
| D．They are made with the best roses. |
| A．Rose cakes are the most expensive. |
| B．Rose cakes stand out from the others. |
| C．Rose cakes are ordered by many companies. |
| D．Rose cakes are best when served with dim sum. |
| A．They are prepared by master chefs. |
| B．They were bought by emperors as gifts. |
| C．They are widely sold home and abroad. |
| D．They are more expensive than other cakes. |
| A．Tell the history of moon cakes. |
| B．Introduce a special kind of moon cakes. |
| C．Encourage readers to buy flower moon cakes. |
| D．Compare traditional moon cakes with rose moon cakes. |
4 . How to Teach Kids to Be Calm
Children often get overwhelmed by emotions. There`re some gentle but powerful ways to bring your child to a state of peace and teach him how to calm himself.
Speak to your child about what has caused an outburst after he has calmed down. It’s much easier to address the causes of lack of calm when the child is in a state of calm. As soon as he is old enough to talk, encourage your child to express his feelings and explain what was wrong.
Teach your child to recognize the signs that he is about to lose his calm.
Teach your child a routine to go through when he or you recognize that he is starting to lose his calm. Find a quiet place where he can calm down. Show him how to take three deep breaths.
| A．Keep yourself calm. |
| B．Prevention is better than cure. |
| C．Stay close to your child when he is angry. |
| D．Listen patiently even if his problems don’t make sense to you. |
| E．An angry adult isn’t a good model for teaching a child calmness. |
| F．Or teach him a simple gentle song about happiness or calmness. |
| G．Set aside a time each day for you and your child to be calm together. |
5 . A sense of humour, God’s greatest gift to mankind, is universally considered the most valuable personality. It is born within every person’s heart, but has to be cultivated (培养). A person without humour is just like a spring without flowers, or like a dish without seasoning (调味品). In a sense, your personality lies in your sense of humour.
Humour can improve physical as well as mental well-being. It helps us bear our burdens, reduce our tension, overcome our frustration. With a piece of joke, all our worries and sadness disappear like smoke, and we are all full of energy once again.
Humour helps us live in harmony with others. It is unavoidable to have misunderstanding and tension with others during work and study. But humour can help us solve these problems more quickly than angry words or quarrels. With it you can always keep on good terms with others.
A sense of humour is really one of the keys to happiness. It gives fun and interest to life to make it worth living.
Here are five ways to improve your sense of humour.
1. Begin to cultivate an atmosphere of humour and laughter in your relationships.
2. Start association with humourous, fun loving people.
3. Learn to laugh at yourself.
4. Collect cartoons and jokes and share them with others.
5. Use humour to deal with conflict in your relationships:
Remember that a sense of humour is learned, not inherited (遗传). You can sharpen your sense of humour if you really want to.
1. What would be the best title for this passage?| A．A Sense of Humour—a Great Personality | B．A Sense of Humour—the Secret to Success |
| C．How to. Improve Your Sense, of Humour. | D．Humour Helps to Improve Our Health |
| A．a person without humour is dull | B．humour can make us happy. |
| C．humour can help us deal with worries | D．humour can help us solve all the problems |
| A．pleasing | B．interest | C．friendship | D．eager |
| A．learned | B．cultivated | C．inherited | D．improved |
6 . Every relationship has survived on apologies.
Your past. Your past might contain some mistakes which you aren’t proud of.
Being honest.
Taking me time. Let’s all agree that we need some time alone to figure out our life. Or many people prefer to be alone after a long day just to go through their day and think of times they are thankful for.
| A．Being yourself. |
| B．Apologizing for what you are. |
| C．Don’t feel bad about not lying. |
| D．Always don't say sorry for what makes you happy. |
| E．You need to let them go, because it’s your life and that was your decision. |
| F．Sometimes besides listening to people, we really need to relax and listen to our own thoughts. |
| G．After all, we are humans and take stupid decisions and do dumb things which annoy (使烦恼) the other person. |
7 . Research has shown that when we volunteer — where we devote ourselves to helping others — we actually end up benefiting too. Our happiness grows. We feel more satisfied with life. We even have more energy and creativity. Basically,we have more to give.
I’ve noticed a pattern with my friends. Sometimes,they get into the habit of gossiping about others. They will constantly complain about their bosses or coworkers. It seems as if they get caught in this loop(闭环) of complaining,and their frustration distracts them in other parts of their life. When this happens,they become uninterested in new events or become annoyed by their colleagues or things that happen at work.
Meanwhile,I’ve also seen other friends go out of their way to help someone on their team or to help out on a project that have very little — or even nothing — to do with their main work. Although it seems like they won’t receive anything in return,my friends benefit from these interactions. My friends have told me about the stronger relationships they’ve built at work and the fun they had working on new and interesting projects. They’ve told me about how the people they helped before have returned the favor later on. Not only that,but they have even talked about times where their boss recognized them for their work or when they were informed in advance about upcoming projects.
We often think that when we help someone else,we aren’t doing anything for ourselves. But we actually often end up getting back just as much as we give. When we step in to help someone,we often turn out to be helping ourselves as well.
| Research shows when we help others，we end up | Our happiness grows. We feel more satisfied. We are more We | We have more to give. We often turn out to be |
8 . Within the environmental movement, the question often arises whether global warming can be mitigated (缓解) by planting more vegetation. The idea is that the plants will consume carbon dioxide (CO2) that is causing the warming, while producing oxygen for us to breathe. This is acceptable on condition that global warming is indeed caused in some way by CO2 in the air.
However, actual scientific debate on the issue has shifted away from CO2 as the probable cause, especially after the findings that the temperatures changed 800 to 1000 years before carbon dioxide changed. In other words, CO2 levels are an indicator of temperature change, not a cause.
While there is nothing we can do to control the global climate, there is still a lot we can do to improve our local climates. Land use is the biggest decisive factor of local temperature and air quality. On clear days, the temperatures in big cities can be 5.6 degrees Centigrade higher than in the countryside around them. This is because the concrete (混凝土) of sidewalks and buildings and the asphalt (沥青) of roads take in sunlight and transform it into heat. Some get so hot, one could cook an egg on them! These vast surfaces of man﹣made stone also store lots of heat, which they radiate (散发) all night long. Just before sunrise, when the earth should be its coolest, roadways are still warm to touch.
If vegetation was blocking the Sun from the sidewalks and roads, the vegetation would absorb the sunlight, fueling the plants’ oxygen-making engines, and the rock would stay at surrounding temperatures. The easiest and most obvious choice is trees, particularly wide-reaching trees like the oak. Another possibility, especially outside the city centre, could be vine-covered trellises (棚架).Covering rooftops with grasses or other short vegetation reduces a building’s cooling cost as sharply as having trees or trellises that provide shade for windows does.
The reason why vegetation does not warm the air like rock does is that plants take water from the ground and evaporate (蒸发) it through their leaves. The Sun’s energy isn’t radiated as heat — it is used to change water into water vapor. The evaporative cooling works so well that the leaves stay 5.6 to 8.33 degrees Centigrade cooler than they would have been without water. While we can’t improve global climate, increased vegetation can help cool local climates.
1. Which of the following is True according to the passage?| A．With some effort, we can still affect global climate. |
| B．We can do a lot to improve the climate where we live. |
| C．Temperatures in big cities are usually lower than in the countryside. |
| D．The asphalt of roads throws back sunlight. |
| A．Planting full and wide-reaching trees. |
| B．Using vehicles that get better gas mileage. |
| C．Using energy-saving equipment. |
| D．Constructing dark-colored roofs on new buildings. |
| A．Darker colors absorb more sunlight and transform it into heat. |
| B．More thick materials store heat and give off it at night. |
| C．Human activity is changing global climate. |
| D．Vegetation is neither dark nor thick; thus, it reduces localized heating. |
| A．Encourage the next generation to increase vegetation. |
| B．Promote rooftop gardening. |
| C．Remove vines and trellises from buildings. |
| D．A and B above. |
9 . With mouth-watering thoughts of a tasty sandwich on your brain, you unwrap a loaf of bread and see a patch of green mold (绿霉).
Maybe you hear the voice of your mom or dad in your head, “Don’t be childish! Just eat around it!”“ Or you feel the guilt of food waste. By some estimates, about one-third of all the bread made in the U.S is never eaten.
Mold is a type of fungi, and comes from the same family as mushrooms. In fact, if you look at mold under a microscope, you will find that it looks like very skinny mushrooms, according to the USDA. It has a stalk with spores on top which form the blue-green moldy part that you see on food.
| A．Yes, you’d better throw that loaf away. |
| B．When throwing away moldy food, put it in a small paper bag or wrap it in plastic. |
| C．Do you cut off the disgusting part or throw away the entire loaf? |
| D．What you don’t see are root threads underneath that damage the foods they live on. |
| E．But science seems to overrule the guilt and parental pressure, at least in this case. |
| F．In some cases, a few molds produce poisons that make people and animals sick. |
| G．Besides, moldy food may also have invisible bacteria growing along with the mold, says the USDA. |
10 . Think mind reading is science fiction? Think again.
Scientists have used brain scanners to detect and reconstruct the faces that people are thinking of, according to a study accepted for publication this month in the journal NeuroImage.
In the study, scientists hooked participants up to an MRI (功能性核磁共振成像) brain scanner—which determines activity in different parts of the brain by measuring blood flow—and showed them images of faces. Then, using only the brain scans, the scientists were able to create images of the faces the people were looking at.
“It is mind reading,” said Alan S. Cowen, a graduate student at the University of California Berkeley who co-authored the study with professor Marvin M. Chun from Yale and Brice A. Kuhl from New York University.
The study says it is the first to try to reconstruct faces from thoughts. The photos above are the actual photos and reconstructions done in the lab.
While the reconstructions based on 30 brain readings are blurry, they approximate the true images. They got the skin color right in all of them, and 24 out of 30 reconstructions correctly detected the presence or absence of a smile.
The brain readings were worse at determining gender and hair color. About two-thirds of the reconstructions clearly detected the gender, and only half got hair color correct.
“There’s definitely room for improvement,” Cowen said, adding that these experiments were conducted two years ago, though they only recently were accepted for publication. He said he and others have been working on improving the process in the interim.
“I’m applying more advanced models to the brain scan results, so the results should get better,” he said.
To test out faces based on brain activity, the scientists showed participants in the study 300 faces while recording their brain activity. Then they showed the participants 30 new faces and used their previously recorded patterns to create 30 images based only on their brain scans.
Once the technology improves, Cowen said, applications could range from better understanding mental disorders, to recording dreams, to solving crimes.
“You can see how people perceive faces depending on different disorders, like autism—and use that to help diagnose therapies,” he said.
1. What is the possible meaning of the underlined word “blurry” in Paragraph 6?| A．confusing | B．amazing | C．unclear | D．Incomplete |
| A．300 participates were involved altogether. |
| B．The scan results will be better in the future. |
| C．The study was based on Professor Marvin’s theory. |
| D．Researchers got the study of the experiment published recently. |
| A．It can help analyzing dreams |
| B．It can help cure deadly diseases. |
| C．It can help improve one’s memory. |
| D．It can scan other parts of the human body as well. |
| A．Technology of Face Recognition | B．Application of Brain Scanning |
| C．A Way to Read Minds | D．Approaches to Solving Crimes |
