1 . Marriages in Egypt are somewhat different from those in the West. They will discourage dating if single men and women aren’t related. Among the middle and upper classes, the man and woman know each other from schools or universities, where young people gather in groups like in the West.     1     Sometimes families negotiate a marriage for an unmarried son or daughter.

However, the steps toward marriage are the same as those in the West.     2     The discussion usually covers such topics as the dowry (嫁妆) and wedding expense, etc. The two families then arrange a meeting between the potential bride and groom.     3    

The wedding usually takes place quickly, unless the groom-to-be is going abroad to work or study, in which case the marriage may be postponed. The marriage may be very simple, consisting only of the mosque priest (清真寺牧师) to declare the marriage contract between the groom and the bride’s father, who speaks on behalf of his daughter.

    4     According to Egyptian law, both men and women have the right to ask for a divorce. Upon divorce the father is granted custody (监护人) of any children. Any dowry paid by the groom to the bride’s family must be returned.

Egypt is trying to bridge the difference between traditional interpretations (方式) and modern models. At one time, Egypt gave women the right to ask for a divorce only in certain circumstances, such as her husband’s being mentally ill.     5     Now in Egypt and other countries, traditional interpretations are being challenged.

A．Either one can say no to the marriage.

B．Weddings are a time of celebration as in the West.

C．The two families need to discuss the terms of the marriage.

D．Since revolution, women have entered the work place in force.

E．Divorce is not very common in Egypt, although it does still happen.

F．In the lower classes, the chance for socializing with the opposite sex is rarer.

G．A woman’s right to ask for a divorce in any case was put into law in Egypt in 1999.

2 . Pluto(冥王星) is a cold world far from us in the outer part of our solar system. But researchers believe Pluto may have been born as a much warmer place. They say it may even have sheltered(隐藏) a subsurface or underground ocean—one that still exists today.

A report on Pluto appeared in the scientific journal Nature Geosciences. The lead author was Carver Bierson, a planetary scientist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In the report, researchers pointed to evidence for a “hot start” situation at Pluto’s beginning, some 4.5 billion years ago.

Their study was based on images of the dwarf(矮小的) planet’s surface as well as computer models of the subsurface. “When Pluto was forming, new material would have been coming in and impacting its surface,” Bierson said. “Each impact is like an explosion that would warm the nearby area.” Bierson explained that if Pluto had formed slowly, the surface would have cooled between each impact and generally stayed very cold. But if Pluto had formed quickly, the surface may not have had time to cool down.

“If Pluto formed in less than 30,000 years, the heat from these impacts could have been sufficient to lead to an early ocean. Pluto may have an icy outer shell hundreds of kilometers thick on the top of an ocean of water, possibly mixed with salts and ammonia(氨). A solid rocky core could lie below,” Bierson said.

The researchers believe that parts of the ocean would gradually freeze over time. Water expands as it freezes, and cracks on Pluto’s surface may be evidence of this. At present, Pluto’s surface temperature is about minus 230 degrees Celsius.

A subsurface ocean could make Pluto a possible, although unlikely, candidate for having living organisms. Bierson said it was possible that contact between water and the rocky core could have created certain chemical elements. “Are those the right elements for life? We don’t know. We need to learn more about how life forms, or how life could form, to find these answers,” Bierson said.

1. According to Bierson, what may result in the underground ocean?

A．Something like an explosion.	B．Long distance from the sun.
C．Salts mixed with ammonia.	D．Low temperature.

2. Why are there many cracks on Pluto?

A．Life on it had made them.

B．Planets crashed billions of years ago.

C．Aliens from other planets created them.

D．There might be water and it expands when freezing.

3. What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?

A．Pluto used to have life.

B．Pluto has living organisms.

C．Scientists are working to figure out the origin of life.

D．Chemicals created by water and rocky core are the right elements for life.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Pluto Was Born with a Universal Explosion

B．Pluto May Have Ever Started Out Very Hot

C．Pluto Lies at the Edge of the Solar System

D．Pluto Is a Cold World

3 . In the west of the city Seville in Spain, a sea of giant mirrors is reflecting the sun’s energy to provide “concentrated solar power (CSP)” while brightening the path to a new wave of green energy projects.

The 624 carefully positioned mirrors reflect the sun’s heat towards a 50-meter-tall central tower where it is concentrated and used to boil water into steam. The superheated steam is then used to turn a turbine (汽轮机) that can produce up to 11 megawatts of electricity—enough power for 6,000 homes—according to Solucar, the Spanish company that has built the power plant.

The Spanish tower, known as PS10, is the first stage of an ambitious development. By 2025 it is hoped that additional towers will create “a solar farm” with an output of 500 megawatts, which would be enough power for 180,000 homes, almost the entire population of nearby Seville.

CSP produces no greenhouse gases and the only pollution is visual. There is also the possibility that production can keep going around the clock-even when the sun has gone down. Solucar is currently testing technology at a plant near Granada that will pump 50 percent of the electricity generated in the day into the Spanish national grid (国家输电网), and use the other 50 percent to melt salt, which will then act as a kind of battery, storing the sun’s power. When dusk falls, the heat stored in the molten salt can be used to generate power through the night.

The Sahara, the world’s largest desert, has always been seen as a problem. But with large-scale CSP projects, suddenly all that empty space, with its year round clear skies and hot sun, has a value that could transform local economies. It could potentially turn Africa into an exporter of energy to power-hungry Europe.

1. What is the Spanish tower PS10 used to do according to the text?

A．Store boiled water.	B．Generate electricity.
C．Reflect the sun’s energy.	D．Brighten the path nearby.

2. The underlined phrase “a solar farm” in paragraph 3 refers to a place where       .

A．towers like PS10 are set up

B．greenhouses are built to make profits

C．crops are grown with new technology

D．farmers mainly use solar energy at home

3. The plant near Granada melts salt in the day so that       .

A．molten salt works better than water when producing electricity

B．melting salt can reduce environmental pollution

C．some sun power can be saved for the night use

D．salt is easy to melt in the sun

4. Which word can best describe the author’s attitude towards the future of CSP?

A．Critical.

B．Doubtful.

C．Subjective.

D．Optimistic.

4 . Greg Dailey closed his picture frame store due to the coronavirus pandemic (冠状病毒大流行), and his second job of delivering newspapers became his primary source of income.

Dailey’s grocery trips began when one of his elderly customers asked him for a favor. “Mrs. Ross called me on Wednesday before my store shutting down and asked if I could throw the newspaper closer to her house,” he tells Yahoo Life. “A couple of days later, I was standing in a grocery, and I called her and asked if she needed anything from a grocery. She was astonished. Moments later, she called me back and asked if I wouldn’t mind grabbing something from Mrs. Miller across the street.”

Soon, Dailey’s 800 customers found a note he wrote tucked in with their newspaper, offering his help. “And the next day I just decided, ‘You know, what? If there are two people that live within a hundred feet of each other having issues getting the essential things they need, I’m going to put out a note.’”

The words spread not only to his community but to surrounding ones. Since then, Dailey, with the help of his family, developed a system to keep track of the orders. To date, Dailey has made more than 600 trips to the grocery for his neighbors and delivered everything to their homes for free. “These last three months has changed my life… I get emotional because some of them have become really special to me,” he says.

Dailey reopened his frame store on June 15, and he promised to continue to help seniors not only with groceries but with anything else they need. He knows those he helps will remain a part of his life going forward.

“It’s moments like this, we need to step back and take a look in ourselves and realize that we can do more… and it’s something I live by,” Dailey says. “If you have the opportunity to do something nice for someone, just do it.”

1. What favor did Mrs. Ross ask Dailey to do?

A．Go across the street.	B．Give things to Mrs. Miller.
C．Do grocery shopping for her.	D．Deliver the newspapers nearer to her house.

2. Why did Dailey put a note in the newspapers?

A．To help nearby neighbors.	B．To offer help to his customers.
C．To give his customers essential things.	D．To ask his customers to buy more newspapers.

3. What does the underlined word “something” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Dailey’s offering of help.	B．Dailey’s frame store.
C．Dailey’s reflection.	D．Dailey’s emotion.

4. Which word can best describe Dailey?

A．Helpful.

B．Friendly.

C．Practical.

D．Responsible.

5 . BOLTON SCHOOL SIXTH RORM GIRLS

2021-2022 HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION LECTURES

Historical Association branch meetings have been a regular feature in the Girl’s Division for the past six years. Each year, a series of seven lectures are delivered by a range of academics from different universities and research institutes. Attendees meet in the comfortable surroundings of the Sutcliffe Suite and enjoy a chat over tea and biscuits before and after the highly interesting and exciting lectures. Over the past years, attendees have enjoyed lectures on the American Civil War and Simon de Montfort. The branch welcomes pupils from a number of surrounding schools in particular at the Great Debate competition.

In order to allow for more time to adapt to ever changing circumstances with regards to COVID-19, the branch has decided to delay the start of the 2021 - 2022 season until January, 2022. There will be six lectures, running into June for the first time in the branch’s history.

While the branch has often provided comfort on cold winter nights, we do hope that members, new and old, will now join us as in the spring and summer of 2022. We hope to welcome lecturers who will be speaking about the Mayflower, the Jacobites and 17th Century Versailles. In the meantime, please follow@ boltonhistory on Twitter, or “Bolton Historical Association” on Facebook, for updates. Alternatively(或者), please speak to Mr. Owen, Head of History, in school.

1. What can students do during the lectures?

A．Hold a debate competition.	B．Have a chat with peers.
C．Learn from experts.	D．Eat biscuits.

2. When will the first lecture of the 2021-2022 season will start?

A．In January, 2021.	B．In January, 2022.
C．In June, 2021.	D．In June, 2022.

3. How can students find out if there is a change in the schedule of the lectures?

A．By following up on Twitter.

B．By updating their Facebook.

C．By contacting Bolton Historical Association.

D．By talking to Mr. Owen about school history.