1 .
Chen Chen is 8 years old. For the Spring Festival this year he was given an iPad as a present and never goes anywhere without it.
Many children in China are suffering the same problem:
“There are about 30 shortsighted children coming every day,” said Hu Dali, a doctor at Guiyang Aier Eye Hospital. “Half of those children are suffering from reduced vision because they have played with mobile phones and iPads for too long.”
Experts say children’s version is not yet fully developed and their eyes get tired more easily.
The iPad uses a very bright LED backlight. A user’s pupils (瞳孔) have to keep getting used to the new light levels. If children stare at an iPad screen for a long time, their eyes do not have time to rest.
Experts suggest that users should hold their iPad between 40—60 centimeters away from them. The brightness of the screen should be made comfortable for children. Parents should also stop their children from using an iPad for more than one hour every day.
| A．IPad use is damaging their eyesight |
| B．A month later his eyesight has reduced to 300 degrees |
| C．Children go eye bad due to the iPad |
| D．How an iPad influences children |
| E．This will make their eyesight worse over time |
| F．It does harm to their eyesight |
| G．This means the iPad has a greater effect on their eyes |
2 . What must you do when you receive a present for your birthday? You have so sit down and write a thank-you note. The words “Thank you” are very important. We have to use them on so many occasions. We say them when someone gives us a drink, helps us to pick up things, hands us a letter, lends us a book or gives us a gift.
Another important word is “please”. Many people forget to use it. It is rude to ask someone to do something without saying “please”. We have to use it when we ask for something, too. It may be a book or a pencil, more rice or more sauce, help or advice. It may be in the classroom, at home, at the bus stop or over the counter. We have to use “please” to make requests pleasant.
We have to learn to say “sorry” too. When we have hurt someone’s feelings, we’ll have to go up and say we’re sorry. When we have told a lie and feel sorry, we’ll have to explain with that word, too. “Sorry” is a healing (和解的) word. We can make people forget wrongs by using it sincerely.
These three words are simple but important. Man had to use them long ago. We have to use them now. Our children will have to use them in the future. They are pleasing words to be used in any language.
1. When we receive a birthday present, we have to _________.| A．return it | B．do nothing |
| C．give it to one of our friends | D．write a thank-you note |
| A．thank him | B．say sorry to him |
| C．use the word “please” | D．not say nothing |
| A．When someone gives us a drink. |
| B．When we ask someone for a book. |
| C．When many people forget to use it. |
| D．When we are in the classroom. |
| A．you can tell a lie with it |
| B．it will hurt someone’s feelings |
| C．you can make requests pleasant with it |
| D．it can make people forgive you if you use it sincerely |
| A．thanks, hello and goodbye |
| B．yes, no and really |
| C．thanks, please and sorry |
| D．well, please and pardon |
3 . It was Sunday morning. A butcher (屠夫) heard the doorbell (门铃) and thought it must be a customer (顾客). But he was surprised to see that a dog was coming into his shop. The dog had $10 and a note in its mouth. The butcher took the note and read it. It said, “10 pork chops (排骨), please.” So the butcher took the money and put a bag of chops in the dog’s mouth.
Then he quickly closed the shop because he decided to follow the dog. He found the dog on the street. The dog was waiting for a green light. Then the dog walked across the road. The dog went to a bus stop. When a bus arrived, the dog checked (核对) the number and then got on the bus.
After a while, the dog stood up on his back paws (爪子) to push the “stop” button (按钮). The bus stopped and the dog got off. Then the butcher followed it to get off the bus.
The dog ran to a house and dropped the bag in front of the front door. It then began to beat its head against the front door. After a while, a big man opened the door and began shouting at the dog. The butcher ran up and shouted at the man, “What are you doing? Your dog is a genius (天才).”
The owner of the dog said, “Genius? No way! I always tell him to take the keys when he goes to the stores. But he never listens to me!”
1. Who was the customer that Sunday morning?| A．A big man. | B．A butcher. | C．A dog. | D．A little boy. |
| A．20 | B．10 | C．5 | D．62 |
| A．In the bag. | B．On its back. | C．In its mouth. | D．Around its neck. |
| A．The dog stood up on its back paws to push the “stop” button. |
| B．The butcher quickly closed the shop to follow the dog. |
| C．The big man was pleased with his dog. |
| D．The butcher thought the dog was a genius. |
| A．A customer. | B．A smart dog. | C．A butcher. | D．A big man. |
4 . Dorothy Lee and her husband were driving home from a study group one night when their car suddenly hit something. Mrs. Lee looked at her husband, who was driving, and saw his head move down and up several times and fall. In the next minutes Mrs Lee managed to avoid a serious accident while stopping the car, called 911 on her cellphone and tried to make her husband come back to life before an ambulance arrived. But at the hospital, soon after learning her husband had died of sudden heart trouble, Dorothy’s heart appeared to give out as well. She experienced sudden sharp pains in her chest (胸腔), lost senses and knew nothing.
Doctor’s of that hospital were surprised at finding: There wasn’t any evidence of heart trouble. Finally, doctors thought that Mrs. Lee had suffered from a broken-heart syndrome (伤心综合症). The disease looks like heart trouble, but appears to have little connection with heart trouble. It is caused mainly by stress and other strong feelings. The disease is uncommon, making up for about 1% to 2% of people — and about 6% of women — who are likely to suffer such sudden heart trouble. It can be very dangerous sometimes, but for the most part patients recover quickly, with no lasting damage to their hearts.
If patients are hospitalized with the broken-heart syndrome, their hearts might be beating as little as 20% of what it should work. But within 48 to 72 hours, many recover to the 60% level that is considered healthy. It is uncommon.
Mrs. Lee’s heart was so weakened by her husband’s death that she nearly died. The 63-year-old woman needed a special balloon pump (球囊泵) during the first days in the hospital. But in spite of warnings by her doctors, she attended her husband’s funeral (葬礼) five days later.
1. What can we learn about the accident?| A．The husband died in it. | B．The wife died later in the hospital. |
| C．The husband died because time was wasted. | D．The husband died of heart trouble after it. |
| A．Her bad health. | B．Worry, anxiety and sadness. |
| C．Her seriously damaged heart. | D．The aging of the heart. |
| A．She was calm in case of emergencies. | B．She was unhealthy but strong minded. |
| C．She was easily hurt and moody. | D．She was caring and generous. |
| A．The broken-heart syndrome is less common among women. |
| B．Patients with the broken-heart syndrome can recover by themselves. |
| C．The broken-heart syndrome could come and go both quickly. |
| D．Most people may suffer from the broken-heart syndrome. |
5 . Look for the word “regenerative” at your local grocery store. Chances are that you’ll spot it on boxes of cheese, cartons of milks, or even bags of chips. Regenerative agriculture, also called carbon farming, has become the latest darling of everyone from food companies to universities. But what is regenerative agriculture?
In essence, regenerative agriculture is farming done in a way that helps build soil health, increase organic matter, store water more effectively, and draw carbon out of the atmosphere.
This isn’t exactly a new idea—farming with soil health in mind is a concept nearly as old as agriculture itself. It wasn’t until the 1980s, however, that the Rodale Institute began using the term, and it’s only recently become a buzzword. It’s a farming philosophy focused on healing.
“It’s soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness,” says Birgit Cameron, head of Patagonia Provisions. “It goes together with organic. You can call it regenerative or not, but you can’t have a truly regenerative system if organic isn’t attached to it.”
Patagonia Provisions partners with farmers and producers interested in regenerative agriculture that are already practicing organic farming, and the company has strong animal welfare and social fairness philosophies. While regenerative agriculture is something that many small farmers have long specialized in, that doesn’t necessarily make the practice an easy one.
It’s hard to compare the regenerative agriculture products you find at the supermarket because (for the time being) General Mills’ definition will be different from Patagonia’s, whose definition might be different from your local CSA farmer’s.
“If at all possible, see the farm and purchase from them directly,” said Pettinelli. “If you can’t visit, explore their website and ask questions about their practices. It’s challenging to see past the marketing.” You can explore more about the Regenerative Organic Alliance label on their website and shop for certified products there.
1. The author make an assumption at the beginning mainly to show ______.| A．the concept of regenerative agriculture |
| B．the function of regenerative agriculture |
| C．the application of regenerative agriculture |
| D．the popularity of regenerative agriculture |
| A．It’s a brand-new idea. |
| B．It is convenient to practice. |
| C．It is environmentally friendly. |
| D．It became a buzzword in the 1980s. |
| A．unrelated | B．closely linked |
| C．opposite | D．cause and effect |
| A．Farm direct selling. | B．Street markets. |
| C．Grocery stores. | D．Supermarkets. |
6 . A study by a team of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) psychologists has found a link between extraverts (外向的人) and their word choices. The finding highlights the need for stronger linguistic indicators to be developed for use in online personality prediction tools, which are being rapidly adopted by companies to improve digital marketing strategies.
Today, marketing companies use predictive algorithms (算法) to help them forecast what consumers want based on their online behaviors. For example, an extravert consumer might be attracted to marketing messages that match their personality, and retail brands could then choose to target such consumers by using more extraverted and creative language to advertise their products. However, personality prediction tools available today that are used by marketing firms are not entirely accurate due to a lack of theoretically sound designs. This may lead to a weakness affecting the performance of the machine learning algorithms. This begs the question—how should we create robust and accurate personality predictions?
The study found a correlation between extraverts and their tendency to use certain categories of words. The results showed a small strength of relationship between extraversion and the use of “positive emotion words” and “social process words.”
Positive emotion words are defined as words that describe a pleasant emotional state, such as “love”, ”happy”, or “blessed”, or that indicate positivity or optimism, such as “beautiful” or “nice”. Social process words include words containing personal pronouns except “I”, and words showing social intentions, such as “meet”, “share” and “talk”.
Moving forward, the NTU research team will investigate the relationship between extraversion and other word categories. They hope their work will provide clarity on the types of words that can help guide the development of more accurate machine learning tools for personality prediction.
1. We learn from the passage the findings of the study can be used to help ______.| A．observe consumers’ behavior |
| B．forecast the need of companies |
| C．create practical personality predictions |
| D．find correlation between extraverts and ads |
| A．Renewable. | B．Forceful. | C．Doubtful. | D．Variable. |
| A．Dispute. | B．Interaction. | C．Disaster. | D．Loneliness. |
| A．The direction of future research. |
| B．The theoretical basis of the study. |
| C．The strength of business strategies. |
| D．The development of machine learning tools. |
7 . Last year, I found myself in a situation: at a friend’s drinks, speaking to a total stranger. Not long into our conversation, my brain started searching for escape routes. I’m comfortable admitting that, before COVID-19, I didn’t think “meeting new people” was on my list of preferred pastimes. Maintaining relationships takes time, so why open myself up to someone new if there’s no obvious connection?
Then the pandemic hit. Like many people, I was restricted to a year of limited socializing with a very small circle of friends. I’ve met a handful of new colleagues over Zoom in the last 12 months—but I can’t remember one meaningful in-person connection with someone new.
To my surprise, I now have a strong desire for meeting new people. I’d love to connect with a friend-of-a-friend at the pub or a new colleague over a slightly-too-warm white wine after work. I miss having unexpected things in common with people, but also hearing new perspectives on issues outside my own experiences.
The sense of connection with a new person can be thrilling. A 2018 study explored what happened to the brains of young adults when they met new people, and found that even 10 minutes of social interaction with a new person boosts cognitive performance. Other studies have linked new social interaction to better social and emotional wellbeing and improved life satisfaction.
I may not have had a “lockdown glow up” in the aesthetic (美感) sense, but I have learned about myself. Before the pandemic, I hadn’t realized that new people were a vital part of my social ecosystem. As the end of lockdown approaches. I’m prepared to find the courage to show strangers a less guarded version of myself.
1. What can we learn about the author before the pandemic?| A．He loved being alone. |
| B．He was outgoing and sociable. |
| C．He enjoyed making new friends. |
| D．He had no desire to meet new people. |
| A．link new social interaction to better life |
| B．show the benefits of meeting new people |
| C．imply the anxiety caused by meeting new people |
| D．explain how the pandemic affects human brains |
| A．It pays to open yourself up to old friends. |
| B．It’s vital to guard yourself against strangers. |
| C．Meeting new people may bring excitement to life. |
| D．Zoom help people build close connections with strangers. |
| A．The author didn’t think well of the lockdown. |
| B．Lockdown enhanced the author’s aesthetic ability. |
| C．The author’s aesthetic ability needed to be improved. |
| D．The pandemic helped the author better understand himself. |
8 . If you’re prone to browse through Twitter, or can’t take yet another stressful headline in the news, Oprah Winfrey has some suggestions on what books to read next.
Song of SolomonBy Toni Morrison
American author Toni Morrison was one of Winfrey’s longtime friends. Winfrey described Morison as “a magician with language who understood the power of words” after her death in August 2019. The 1977 novel Song of Solomon tells the story of a fictional man from Michigan named Milkman Dead.
Between the World and MeBy Ta-Nehisi Coates
Winfrey called Ta-Nehisi Coates “a bearer of the torch, who carries on the legacy of our ancestors and is also entirely so original.” This nonfiction book, Between the World and Me, which won the National Book Award in 2015, is formatted as a letter to Coates’ son and grapples with inequality and race in America.
The Soul of AmericaBy Jon Meacham
Winfrey recommends this United States history book, written by Pultizer Prize-winner Jon Meacham, “to guide me and help me understand our current era and reassure that our country can bounce back from dark times.”
This book is especially prescient in light of the upcoming election. “In moments when public life feels unsatisfactory, then, it’s instructive—even necessary—to remember first principles,” writes Meacham.
The Power of NowBy Eckhart Tolle
Winfrey said that The Power of Now by spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle “has changed the way I see life.” The book explores quandaries like: “How do you find peace when everything is in chaos?” Winfrey said.
1. In the eyes of Winfrey, Toni Morrison ______.| A．had excellent command of words |
| B．was an expert in American History |
| C．was spiritual mentor of modern people |
| D．inherit and develop the traditional literature |
| A．Song of Solomon | B．The Power of Now |
| C．The Soul of America | D．Between the World and Me |
| A．evaluate and improve oneself |
| B．learn to survive in troubled times |
| C．show oneself and gain confidence |
| D．face the reality and push the limits |
9 . The people of Hong Kong have always worked hard. Sometimes in the past, they had no time for rest or play. Today things have changed, and people have begun to learn how to play as well as working.
Over the past few years, the Government has built swimming pools and sports grounds all over Hong Kong. The Recreation and Sports Service has also played a big part in helping the people of Hong Kong to enjoy sports and outdoor activities. It has set up an outdoor recreation center in Sai Kung, and thousands of people have had short, active holidays with plenty of sports in the countryside. New holiday centers are being prepared in Tsuen Wan, Disneyland and Sai Kung, including a water sports center in Tai Po. The R.S.S. is also helping other organizations to set up holiday camps. The R.S.S. used to be part of the Education Department. Now it has become part of the Home Affairs Department. Students are not the only people who need recreation and sports.
At one time, only rich people could afford to sail, to join squash and tennis clubs, to water-ski, etc. Now more and more people are taking part in more different kinds of sports. Thousands have learnt to swim, or to play such popular games as tennis, football, squash and basketball. Many have discovered the joy of cycling or have learnt to sail. Gymnastics has become popular outside school. Walking and camping in the countryside or on the beach have become weekend activities to many more.
Many people live in small, crowded houses, and work long hours doing boring jobs in factories and offices. Their spare time should not be spent at the cinema or watching TV. They need fresh air and outdoor activities. The Recreation and Sports Service is making many people healthier and happier.
1. If you want to water-ski in Hong Kong, you’d better go to _________.| A．Disneyland |
| B．Tsuen Wan |
| C．Tai Po |
| D．The U.S.S. |
| A．an organization |
| B．sailing |
| C．a kind of game |
| D．a rich person |
| A．Gymnastics should be learnt at school. |
| B．One should visit the countryside on weekends. |
| C．It is good to watch TV after long hours’ work. |
| D．Outdoor activities can make people happier. |
10 . The Renaissance(文艺复兴)is generally considered to have started in Florence, Italy around the years 1350 to 1400. The start of the Renaissance also was the end of the Middle Ages.
Humanism
In the Middle Ages people thought that life was nothing but hard work and war. However, around the 1300s, the people in Florence , Italy started to think that people should be educated and that things like art, music, and science could make life better for everyone.
Florence, Italy
At the start of the Renaissance, Italy was divided up into a number of powerful city-states. One of the major city-states was Florence.
In the late 1300s, Florence had become a rich city. Wealthy businessmen had the money to hire artisans (工匠). This inspired competitions among artists and thinkers. Art began to flourish (繁荣)and new thoughts began to appear.
Petrarch and Humanism
Francesco Petrarch is often called the “Father of Humanism”. He studied poets and philosophers from Ancient Rome such as Cicero and Virgil. His ideas and poetry became an inspiration to many writers and poets throughout all of Europe as the Renaissance spread.
Giotto di Bondone
Giotto was a painter in Florence, Italy. He was the first painter to break away from the standard Byzantine style painting of the Middle Ages and try something new. Giotto is said to have started the Renaissance in art with his new style of realistic painting.
Dante
Another major contributor to the start of the Renaissance was Dante Alighieri. He lived in Florence and wrote the Divine Comedy in the early 1300s. This book is considered to be the greatest literary work ever written in the Italian language.
New Ideas Spread
This new way of thinking and style of art quickly spread to other wealthy Italian city-states. This early part of the Renaissance is often called the Italian Renaissance. Italy would become wealthy through trade and their new ideas soon spread throughout all of Europe.
1. In the Middle Ages people thought that _________ .| A．life was really hard |
| B．life could be enjoyable |
| C．they could be educated |
| D．they should live differently |
| A．Francesco Petrarch |
| B．Giotto di Bondone |
| C．Dante Alighieri |
| D．Cicero |
| A．What does the Renaissance mean ? |
| B．How did the Renaissance begin? |
| C．The artists in the Renaissance |
| D．Literature in the Renaissance |
| A．a book review |
| B．a history paper |
| C．a newspaper advertisement |
| D．a travel magazine |
