1 . One day, Vinod Menon, the head of the physics department at the City College of New York, who had to face the unpleasant task of going through almost a year of COVID-lockdown office mail, opened a 9-month-old package, only to find it contained $180,000.
Piled notes in 50s and 100s wrapped in paper bands, a letter, and a return address to an alias were all that accompanied the parcel addressed to “Head of the Physics Department.” “I’ve never seen this kind of money in real life in cash form except in movies,” Menon told CNN. “That really floored me, so I just did not know how to react.”
The sender evidently had unshakable faith in the US postal system, and desired to send the cash to poor students looking to pursue physics and other sciences. City College of New York is one of the most-productive public university systems, and the physics department is particularly outstanding. Three Nobelists in physics received their education there, and in 1921 Albert Einstein gave one of his first lectures at the campus.
“Assuming that you are a bit curious as to why I am doing this, the reason is straightforward,” the letter read, continuing to explain that its writer had, many years ago, taken advantage of the “excellent educational opportunity” available at City College to study physics, earn a master’s, and pursue a “long, productive, rewarding scientific career.”
The alias return address was to Kyle Paisley, a name absent from the university’s graduation logs, at a house in Pensacola, Florida, whose owners apparently had no idea of the donation. After a two-month long investigation revealing nothing linking the money to criminal activity, the Board of Trustees held a vote and decided to keep the money. Dr Menon noted that the gift would provide for two fully-funded scholarships every year for a decade.
1. How did Vinod Menon most likely feel when seeing the cash?| A．Shocked. | B．Ashamed. | C．Worried. | D．Excited. |
| A．To introduce Einstein’s achievements. |
| B．To prove that it is not easy to win a Nobel Prize. |
| C．To show the excellence of the physics department. |
| D．To tell that Einstein received education in the physics department. |
| A．Generous and grateful. | B．Athletic and cautious. |
| C．Brave and professional. | D．Cooperative and caring. |
| A．The writer of the letter was eventually found. |
| B．Dr Menon was in charge of keeping the money. |
| C．The school was careful when handling the money. |
| D．Kyle Paisley is a graduate of the physics department. |
2 . The 2022 Olympic Winter Games have come to an end but the legacy of this showcase event that took place over two glorious weeks will last a lifetime.
Chloe Kim wins in the snowboard halfpipe
USA snowboard star Chloe Kim entered Beijing 2022 as the youngest athlete ever to have won snowboard Olympic gold after claiming the halfpipe title at Pyenong Chang 2018. Kim scored 94.00 points on her very first run to take the gold on February 10.
Arianna Fontana becomes Italy’s most decorated Winter Olympian
Italy’s short track star Arianna Fontana began her Beijing 2022 campaign needing two medals to equal the record as the most-decorated Italian Winter Olympian of all time. Not only did she do that, but she also surpassed the mark with a silver in the 1500 m that put her in a league all of her own with 11 Winter Olympic medals.
Su Yiming thrills the hosts in men’s snowboard big air
The Winter Olympic hosts had something special to celebrate when Su Yiming won the first-ever snowboard gold medal for China. A pair of huge 1800s in his first two runs was enough to see the 17-year-old (now 18) beat off competition from seasoned competitors and take his place at the top of the Olympic podium.
Ireen Wust makes history in Olympic Winter Games
Qualifying for one Olympics is a big feat, but speed skater Ireen Wust of the Netherlands has won an individual gold medal at five different Olympics, becoming the first athlete in history to do so. The 36-year-old attended her first Olympics in 2006. Since then, she has 13 medals, six being gold.
1. How many medals did Arianna Fontana win in the 2022 Winter Olympics?| A．Eleven. | B．Three. | C．Two. | D．One. |
| A．Chloe Kim. | B．Arianna Fontana. | C．Su Yiming. | D．Ireen Wust. |
| A．Receiving the most popularity. | B．Being a champion in five Olympics. |
| C．Qualifying for the Olympics many times. | D．Winning the most medals in the 20220lympics. |
3 . China’s famous museums include ancient buildings and world class modern museums with big collections. They are excellent places for sightseeing and learning about China.
Sanxingdui Museum
The museum is on the path less beaten by tourists, but it makes one of the top museums for the 3,400-year-old artworks. If you’re an ancient history fan, this place will attract you. If you love art, its style will surprise you a lot.
The Palace Museum
The museum is one of the largest old building kept in the country with a history of 600 years old. Built at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty between 1406 and 1420, it was the home of 24 rulers and their courts. It is one of the fines buildings in China and a good place to study Chinese history.
The Shanghai Museum
The big modern museum is popular with foreign tourists. It is probably the most modern museum with the focus on creative art displays about the history of the whole area. Most famous for its huge collection of china, it is in People’s Square which is also a popular tourist attraction.
The Shaanxi History Museum
Since 14 historical dynasties founded their capitals and developed in Shaanxi Province, the museum may have the oldest treasure of all museums in Chins. The artworks show the greatness of the museum, and the displays are modern and well laid out.
1. Which of the following is on the less-frequently-visited road?| A．Sanxingdui Museum. | B．The Palace Museum. |
| C．The Shanghai Museum. | D．The Shaanxi History Museum. |
| A．Its founder. | B．Its building style. |
| C．Its collection of china. | D．Its home of rulers. |
| A．Modern art. | B．Ancient science. |
| C．Chinese historical culture. | D．Chinese modern building. |
1. Where will the junior and senior competitions take place this season?
| A．At Queen’s Park. | B．At King’s Park. | C．At Royal Park. |
| A．Watch an awards ceremony. |
| B．Go to a party. |
| C．Attend a picnic. |
| A．Four teams will take part in it. |
| B．Players will wear red shirts this year. |
| C．The games will be played on Sundays. |
1. What advice was the woman given?
| A．Getting tested as soon as possible. |
| B．Going to the doctors. |
| C．Staying at home. |
| A．She has a fever. | B．She has a cough. | C．She has a headache. |
| A．On foot. | B．By bike. | C．By car. |
| A．A box. | B．Some food. | C．Some medicine. |
1. What does the woman hurry to do?
| A．Go to work. | B．Pick up James. | C．Repair the engine. |
| A．In the office. | B．Near Sarah’s apartment. | C．In James’s garage. |
| A．Find a repairman. | B．Consult his father. | C．Check the car. |
1. What will the woman do on the afternoon of April 7th?
| A．Watch TV. | B．See a play. | C．Go to Children’s Club. |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．5. |
| A．To learn about a club. | B．To ask about the show. | C．To have a talk with Sophie. |
1. Which is the last continent that Amanda wants to go?
| A．Asia. | B．Europe. | C．South America. |
| A．Because she wanted to improve her English. |
| B．Because her boyfriend was there. |
| C．Because she had a job there. |
9 . Nowadays, a multilingual voice app helping Indians shop online. India is a country where 1.3 billion people speak 22 officially recognized languages and hundreds of dialects, communication can be a problem online. Despite the number of Indian internet users who don’t speak English as a first language is large, 60% won’t buy online due to language barriers, according to a 2017 report.
Niki, a voice-enabled e-commerce platform, is trying to solve this, providing a virtual assistant that lets people use voice commands to do their shopping, pay utility bills and users speak to the app in their preferred languages, getting products or services.
The company’s target market is people who don’t live in cities and do not speak English in the northern Indiana states. It is planning to introduce seven more languages and hopes to carry out its business in 10 more states.
Thanks to a machine learning algorithm, Nikiis able to understand variations and dialects within a language with increasing accuracy. When the app first appeared, it had a 65% accuracy rate. Now with a bank of 250 million conversations, Niki can process voice commands with 95% accuracy, he says.
The app differs from typical online marketplaces. It limits the number of buying choices. Rather than offering many similar products as the supermarkets do, Niki presents a few quality-controlled objects from providers. That is more like a local store.
1. Many Indian Internet users don’t shop online because________.| A．they aren’t able to use the Internet | B．they have trouble using apps |
| C．they like to shop in the local store | D．they have difficulty in communicating |
| A．There are more products for them to choose | B．They may like the way NiKi talks with them |
| C．It’s difficult for them to buy good products | D．It’s just like shopping in a big supermarket |
| A．New apps develop quickly in India | B．The voice app helps Indians shop online |
| C．It’s hard to change Indians’ shopping fashion | D．Indians become interested in online shopping |
| A．Population and environment | B．History and traditions |
| C．Sports and entertainment | D．Science and technology |
10 . The swan is a large, beautiful bird with a long neck, big white wings and wide feet. It is a great flyer because of its strong wings. It is also a good swimmer, swimming quickly and nicely through the water. But on dry land, it’s a different story—the swan’s heavy body and slow walk make it look a bit funny!
Swans live anywhere there is fresh water, like lakes and slow-moving rivers. They eat water plants and small fish. Swans are very territorial (地盘性的), which means that they protect their homes against any strangers. When swans want to look strong, they stand up tall, show their long necks and open their big wings while letting out big noises.
In spring, swans make a nest (巢) of tree leaves near the water. They often use the same nest year after year, repairing it when egg laying time comes round. The mother swan lays between five and eight eggs in the nest, and then sits on them to keep them warm and safe until about a month later, cygnets are born. Sometimes the father swan will take the first—born cygnets out onto the water while the mother stays to look after the other eggs. The cygnets are looked after by both parents, who will fight other animals, people or even boats if they think their cygnets are in danger!
1. To make them look strong, swans ________.| A．swim quickly | B．stand on one leg |
| C．move their necks often | D．open their wings |
| A．they build their nests after spring | B．they often use the same nest every year |
| C．they use the nests just for laying eggs | D．they build their nests under the water |
| A．cover the eggs with tree leaves | B．stay away and watch the eggs |
| C．stay to sit on top of the eggs | D．have the father look after the eggs |
| A．the swan nests | B．the father swans |
| C．the baby swans | D．the mother swans |
