1 . Who is a genius? This question has greatly interested humankind for centuries.
Let’s state clearly: Einstein was a genius. His face is almost the international symbol for genius. But we want to go beyond one man and explore the nature of genius itself. Why is it that some people are so much more intelligent or creative than the rest of us? And who are they?
In the sciences and arts, those praised as geniuses were most often white men, of European origin. Perhaps this is not a surprise. It’s said that history is written by the victors, and those victors set the standards for admission to the genius club. When contributions were made by geniuses outside the club—women, or people of a different color or belief—they were unacknowledged and rejected by others.
A study recently published by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender(性别)are “really, really smart.” Even worse, the study found that girls act on that belief: Around age six they start to avoid activities said to be for children who are “really, really smart.” Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn’t take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.
Here’s the good news. In a wired world with constant global communication, we’re all positioned to see flashes of genius wherever they appear. And the more we look, the more we will see that social factors(因素)like gender, race, and class do not determine the appearance of genius. As a writer says, future geniuses come from those with “intelligence, creativity, perseverance(毅力), and simple good fortune, who are able to change the world.”
1. What does the author think of victors’ standards for joining the genius club?| A．They’re unfair. | B．They’re conservative. |
| C．They’re objective. | D．They’re strict. |
| A．They think themselves smart. |
| B．They look up to great thinkers. |
| C．They see gender differences earlier than boys. |
| D．They are likely to be influenced by social beliefs |
| A．Improved global communication. |
| B．Less discrimination against women. |
| C．Acceptance of victors’ concepts. |
| D．Changes in people’s social positions. |
| A．Geniuses Think Alike | B．Genius Takes Many Forms |
| C．Genius and Intelligence | D．Genius and Luck |
2 . Should schools report a student’s health to parents?
As if grades weren’t enough to worry about, some students now have weight on their minds too. The number of overweight children in the United States has more than doubled in the past 20 years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As a result, schools in several states, from California to Pennsylvania, have started sending home "BMI report cards". Those schools send home a report of a student’s body mass index (BMI). BMI is a calculation of weight and height that tells whether a person is overweight for his or her age.
Some lawmakers say BMI reports warn parents of their children s health problem help fight against obesity. In 2003, former Arkansas Governor. Mike Huckabee helped launch the first program to report students’ BMI.
| A．Should schools send home BMI reports? |
| B．Obesity rates in that state have since stopped increasing. |
| C．Since then children with heart disease have received the reports. |
| D．Not everyone thinks that reporting students’ BMI is a good idea. |
| E．Schools agree that more activities are required for students to control weight. |
| F．Being obese, or severely overweight, can lead to health problems later in life. |
| G．Some people argue that schools that label students overweight are acting unfairly. |
3 . Language Acquisition(习得)
Almost all humans acquire at least one language before the age of five. How do young children understand and produce complex sentences with complicated meanings? Do adults learn language differently from children? Most linguistic(语言学的) researchers agree that both nature and nurture(后天) are involved in language acquisition. They disagree， however， about how much linguistic knowledge children have from birth-and thus whether genetics or experience is more important in language acquisition.
For many linguists， biological factors are the most important in language learning. Some argue that some linguistic knowledge must exist in our brains from birth because children cannot possibly experience every feature of their language before the age of five. These linguists point out that nearly all children can produce the same kinds of complex sentence structures by the age of five， even without having heard them before.
Many researchers have theorized what this innate(先天的) linguistic knowledge must look like. One popular theory(理论) is universal grammar. This theory believes that all languages have the same basic structural foundation. That foundation is the innate knowledge universal to all humans. While children are not genetically tending to speak a particular language， a universal grammar gives them certain linguistic information as a starting point， which allows them to readily acquire the rules and patterns of whichever language they are exposed to.
Not all linguists， however， believe that an inborn ability for language is the most important factor in language acquisition. These researchers place greater emphasis on the influence of usage and experience. They argue that children are exposed to a wealth of linguistic structures over the course of five years. They gather data and determine language patterns and structures from what they have observed.
Linguists on both sides of the debate are still working to explain the different language learning abilities of adults and children. Early childhood seems to be an important period for mastering certain aspects of language. Children also tend to have a heightened ability to learn second languages. While adults may have some advantages when studying in a formal classroom， they usually do not learn second languages. While adults may have some advantages when studying in a formal classroom, they usually do not learn as quickly and easily as children. Are these different abilities a result of differences in how adults and children are exposed to a new language? Are they the result of biological changes， or do both biology and experience come into play?
While our understanding of language acquisition is incomplete, this pursuit is well worth the effort. “We still don’t understand how a child learns its first language, why some children have language disorders, or how children and adults learn a second language,” explains Professor Joan Ma ling.
Explaining the process of language acquisition promises not only to help scientists answer these questions, but also to explain fundamental features of learning and the human brain.
1. What does the passage mainly talk about?| A．The control of nurture over nature in language acquisition. |
| B．The influence of universal grammar in language acquisition. |
| C．The best methods for children and adults to acquire language. |
| D．The role of biological and environmental factors in language acquisition. |
a. Studying language acquisition will help understand language and the brain better.
b. Some experts focus on the role of environmental factors in language acquisition.
c. Some experts believe innate factors explain children's language development.
d. Acquiring a language is complicated， and it involves both nature and nurture.
| A．abcd | B．dcba | C．dbca | D．adcb |
| A．present a general argument and then explain a specific theory |
| B．present a specific theory and then propose a new study to prove it |
| C．present a general argument and then disprove an opposite argument |
| D．present a scientific debate and then discuss what all linguists agree on |
| A．To raise open questions that all linguists have. |
| B．To present two different viewpoints on language learning. |
| C．To stress the importance of experience in language learning |
| D．To introduce adult language acquisition and show why it's unpopular. |
4 . It had been a hard week for Jack. His parents had to cancel the family’s spring vacation to Disney World.
Soft music with long, gentle notes is what many people play to relax. If you want to relax, try listening to nature sounds.
Music can do more than just help them relax. Playing music while studying helps keep your brain in shape. When you listen to a sound, it travels from the ear to the brain by electrical signal and it involves learning, memory, and emotions. Experts suggest playing slow music to help you concentrate while you study. It may even improve your memory.
No matter what style of music you like, you can use it to help you. The right music can add to a good mood or turn around a bad day. Just ask Jack. After listening to his favorite song, he put his tough week behind him and played a great game of basketball with his sister.
| A．Why does music have these powers? |
| B．It may help make people healthy again. |
| C．His basketball team lost an important game. |
| D．Why can music help you stay longer in a place? |
| E．Or look for music with a single instrument you like. |
| F．So try to match the type of music to the type of learning. |
| G．Music can be just what you need when you’re feeling down. |
5 . Every four years we get to see the best competing to win the Olympic medals. But sometimes the best inspiration comes from those who don’t win-- or even someone who came in dead last.
In 1988, Michael “The Eagle” Edwards became the first competitor since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping. How did Eddie do? He came in No. 58 out of 58. But it didn’t matter. His fans loved him for other reasons. He had no trainer, no money, no practice facilities--and some called him the great British loser. Eddie says, “I got my letter saying, ‘Congratulations, you can represent Great Britain in the Olympic Games’ when I was in a mental hospital in Finland. I wasn’t a patient. I was there because it was the cheapest place for me to stay.” On getting ready to do his jump, Eddie says, “There were about 85 or 90 thousand people in the ski jump area, and I thought ‘this is going to be really good, I’m really going to go for this,’ The Germans and the Swiss and the Italians were going down jumping, but the crowd were ignoring them and chanting, ‘Eddie! Eddie!’”
“And I got out and sat on the bar and they started cheering and cheering and it was great!”
“When you sit at the top of the ski jump, you look down, and you’re probably about 500 or 600 feet up from where you’re actually going to finish. You can see a million and one different reasons why you shouldn’t really go down. So you do have to be not a little crazy, but probably a lot.”
“You’re travelling at 65 or 75 miles per hour. Within about a second you’ll be 250 feet up from where you’re going to be landing. And you just try to relax and let your skis carry you to the bottom of the hill.”
“It’s the most exciting feeling in the world.”
Eddie’s British record jump of 71 meters landed him in 58th place--out of 58 competitors, 19 meters behind the jumper who was placed 57th. And if you ask anyone in Great Britain, “Who won the Olympic ski jump in 1988?” Almost no one could tell you. But if you ask, “Who is Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards?” They’ll tell you all about the crazy ski jump guy who they still remember and love to this day. The British people were so proud of him for just trying, that winning didn’t matter a bit. He dares to go where most of us won’t. Yes, he came in dead last, but he will be forever and fondly remembered by his country for doing what no one else had done in 60 years.
So what daring thing are you afraid to do? Take Eddie’s example and just go for it.
You might just become a legend.
1. The competitor who was placed 57th kept the record jump of ________meters in 1988.| A．52 | B．77 | C．90 | D．129 |
| A．Eddie represented Finland in Olympic ski jumping. |
| B．Eddie trained himself with good practical facilities. |
| C．Eddie thought it didn’t matter to be in dead last. |
| D．Eddie thought himself to be a legend in Britain. |
| A．He became the first British competitor in Olympic ski jumping. |
| B．He did what no one else had done in 60 years for his country. |
| C．He could ski jump at the speed of 65 or 75 miles per hour. |
| D．He has got a great deal of British sport fans. |
| A．The Eagle | B．Getting to the medal |
| C．The Importance of Failure | D．When Last Place is Really First |
6 . Researchers at CU Boulder have developed a wearable device that changes the human body into a biological battery. The device is stretchy(弹性的) enough that you can wear it like a ring, sport band or any other thing that touches your skin. It also taps into a person's natural heat-employing thermoelectric generators to change the body's internal temperature into electricity. "In the future, we want to be able to power your wearable electronics without having to include a battery," said Jianliang Xiao, an associate professor at CU Boulder.
The concept may sound like something out of The Matrix film series, in which a race of robots have enslaved humans to harvest their precious organic energy. Xiao and his colleagues aren't that ambitious: Their devices can generate about 1 volt (伏特) of energy for every square centimeter of skin space-less volt per area than what most existing batteries provide but still enough to power electronics like watches or fitness trackers.
Scientists have previously experimented with similar wearable devices, but Xiao's is stretchy, can heal itself when damaged and is fully recyclable-making it a cleaner alternative to traditional electronics. "Whenever you use a battery, you're depleting(消耗) that battery and will, eventually, need to replace it," Xiao said. "The nice thing about our device is that you can wear it, and it provides you with constant power."
Just pretend that you're out for a jog. As you exercise, your body heats up, and that heat will radiate out to the cool air around you. Xiao's device captures that flow of energy rather than let it go to waste. "The thermoelectric generators are in close contact with the human body, and they can use the heat that would normally be sent into the environment," Xiao said.
1. What does Xiao expect of his device at present?| A．It will be used for medical purposes. |
| B．It will be made smaller and wearable. |
| C．It will change natural power into electricity. |
| D．It will supply constant power to wearable devices. |
| A．To give an explanation. | B．To make a comparison. |
| C．To introduce a topic. | D．To analyze the cause. |
| A．The strengths of Xiao's device. |
| B．The convenience of using a battery. |
| C．The replacement of wearable devices. |
| D．The development of traditional electronics. |
| A．It operates with plenty of power. |
| B．It is designed for practical use. |
| C．It benefits people's health in a way. |
| D．It's based on traditional electronics. |
7 . A character in one of Shakespeare's plays once said, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." Any of these could apply to the modern day sportsmen. Many still argue about the nature of talent. Some claim that people are born to be sportsmen, while others say it is only through devotion and hard work that they achieve their abilities. Arguably though, it is not until their talents are acknowledged by the public that they truly have greatness fallen upon them.
With this acknowledgement of their "greatness" come all the trappings of modern day celebrity：money, power, influence and responsibility. For better or for worse, like it or hate it, modern sportsmen are the role models of children everywhere. These children will grow up admiring their heroes, devoting their lives to copying their every move, and wanting above all to be like them. Due to this fascination，particularly with the massive influence of the media, it is more important than ever for these sportsmen to acknowledge their responsibility.
In the past few months alone, there have been many examples of questionable behaviors from sports icons. Sport stars of the present day are often mirroring the very worst aspects of society, a fact that the self-righteous(自以为是的) anger of the modern press has been quick to point out. It would be wrong for us to expect sportsmen to be saints. It would also be wrong for us to think that their behavior is markedly different from the sportsmen they grew up watching, but with the all-seeing eye of modern media it is a different world，and different standards must be expected.
Of course there is no obligation for sportsmen to be good role models. There are no prison sentences, no fines, no community service—unless their behaviors are illegal. Unless they break the law, it is entirely up to them as to whether or not they think their behavior is appropriate. Furthermore, measuring the true influence their decisions have on their followers is absolutely impossible. Some will rise against their idols, seeing them in a new light and condemning their actions. Others may copy their heroes' actions, using them as a shield when accused of the same crimes.
It is undeniable that the actions of sportsmen will influence the lives of those who worship them. Modern day sportsmen are almost ideals of today's world, and their actions are watched carefully by millions over the world. Some may complain against it, denying their influence on these children's lives. Others may be aware of it but not respect it, while many may both be aware of it and respect it. In a word, you do not choose whether you are a role model. All you can do is to decide how to act when greatness is thrust upon you.
1. In Paragraph 1, the author tries to emphasize________.| A．sportsmen become great when their gifts are recognized by people |
| B．sportsmen achieve greatness through their devotion and efforts |
| C．different ways for sportsmen to achieve success and greatness |
| D．the core characteristic to become great sportsmen nowadays |
| A．role models usually have positive influence on their fans |
| B．sportsmen have the right to behave freely within the law |
| C．all the fans will follow their heroes' actions |
| D．no obligation is given to sportsmen |
| A．palled off | B．removed from | C．related to | D．forced on |
| A．To advise the media to choose proper events to report. |
| B．To inform the public that sportsmen are no role models. |
| C．To remind the sportsmen of their social responsibilities. |
| D．To argue that sportsmen should not be expected as herons. |
| A．applied | B．appropriate | C．appealing | D．appreciative |
9 . According to statistics published by the BPI (Buying Power Index) a couple of months ago, digital streaming (流媒体) now accounts for 80 percent of the music consumption in the UK. Despite the incredible growth of online streaming platforms like iTunes, Apple Music and Tidal over the past 15 years, a more traditional medium has also seen a return of interest and sales in the music industry. In 2020, almost one in five of all albums purchased in the UK is vinyl (黑胶唱片), and it has once again become the most popular physical musical medium.
With digital streaming so easy and convenient, why are so many people drawn to traditional records? Some experts claim that vinyl is a physical medium for experiencing music, something tangible (有形的) to hold and own. For most people, having something tangible and interacting with it gives depth to the experience of music. Listening to an album and touching it the way the artist intended can make them feel more connected to the music and the artist. Records are physical products that can be not only displayed but also gifted, shared, traded and passed down through generations.
Sound quality is another hot topic. A lot of music lovers feel that the analogue sound (模拟声音) vinyl offers is superior to modern digital audio, particularly with regards to the compressed formats streaming platforms use. There’s a common belief that old-school analogue audio has a warmer, fuller sound than digitised music. For vinyl followers, the very defect traditional recorders often have, such as the familiar crackle (劈啪作响) when the record starts, bring the music to life in a different way.
There’s a ritualistic aspect to vinyl that a lot of people are drawn to, too. The act of putting a record on—carefully removing the record from the sleeve, placing it on the record player and gently dropping the needle on the right groove (凹槽)—is a more assiduous (一丝不苟的), mindful way of engaging with music. When you’re listening to vinyl, you can’t tap a button and go about your day while the streaming service provides hours of music. You need to stay close to the record player to move the needle and flip the record over.
It’s clear that the vinyl interest is well underway, and vinyl records are truly making a comeback. In an increasingly digital society, there’s something to be said for analogue experiences. Perhaps one of the great things about being alive in the 21st century is our ability to have the best of both worlds—the timeless appeal of physical records alongside the easy access to vast music libraries that streaming offers.
1. What are the statistics published by the BPI used to show?| A．An increase in music consumption. |
| B．The recovery of music industry. |
| C．A comeback of a physical medium. |
| D．The acceptance of online streaming. |
| A．It attracts people by its realistic feel. |
| B．It offers simple access to different music. |
| C．It shares a new way to enjoy music. |
| D．It provides people with perfect sound effect. |
| A．Overlooked by society. |
| B．Updated very frequently. |
| C．Performed as part of a ceremony. |
| D．Kept for a long time without changing. |
| A．Traditional records will get underway. |
| B．The analogue experiences may matter more. |
| C．Vinyl sales will boom with technological advance. |
| D．There should be a good mix of old and new. |
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