Pembral was a good boy. But he was always forgetting things. Big things, small things, important things, little things. His mother was a patient woman, which was a good thing. Pembral regularly tested her patience. She learned early on to remind him of everything: big things, small things, important things, even the little things. Once in a while the little things that didn’t seem important at the time became more important later.
Sometimes she thought that Pembral forgot things on purpose — things like washing behind his ears; or picking up his toys; or feeding the dog. It bothered (麻烦) her to remind him of these sorts of things. However, for the most part, she knew that his mind just wandered off and it was her job to bring it back.
Fall weather had arrived. The air was cool and fresh, especially in the morning, even if the skies were brilliant blue and the sun was shining brightly. The light of the morning made wisps (缕) of fog come up from the ponds. The trees were changing their summer greens to coats of brilliant yellow, orange and red.
This was a time when Pembral’s mother cooked things that smelled and tasted really good. It seemed like he was just hungrier in the fall or something, and he liked how the windows steamed up and how the kitchen smells filled up the whole house when his mother was cooking up something good at that time of the year.
Pembral’s mother was baking (烤) something special that day: a carrot cake. It was one of Pembral’s favorites. But she needed some things from the store, and sent Pembral to get them. “I need eggs, sugar and raisins (葡萄干),” she said. “Here’s some money,” she went on. “Put it in your pocket where you won’t lose it.”
Pembral pushed the money into his pocket, and headed toward the door. He went outside and down the street, kicking dry leaves on the sidewalk into the air and breathing in their smell, and watching flying birds.
注意：
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When he got to the store, he picked up a basket and went about shopping.
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He was reaching into his pocket for the change when his mother said, “Where are the eggs?”
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A robot is any machine that can work
In 1954, Unimate, a large robotic arm, became the world’s first
For a long time, robots were only found in factories or laboratories. But later, robots found
Some people fear that robots will take too many jobs away
3 . Armed with my camera and a face mask, I entered the COVID-19 quarantine ward (隔离病区) after having my temperature checked.
A quick look in any direction in the ward showed nurses
But what caught my
Due to the
The nurses, who are risking their lives caring for the
After spending about 30 minutes at the ward, I left with great
| A．slowly | B．suddenly | C．luckily | D．busily |
| A．get across | B．search for | C．look through | D．think about |
| A．safety | B．recovery | C．future | D．schedule |
| A．seek | B．invite | C．photograph | D．attract |
| A．company | B．spirits | C．order | D．positions |
| A．open | B．glass | C．dirty | D．picture |
| A．breath | B．ear | C．case | D．attention |
| A．taken | B．frightened | C．decorated | D．dressed |
| A．joke | B．dream | C．story | D．message |
| A．great | B．exact | C．limited | D．average |
| A．change | B．run | C．pull | D．break |
| A．contained | B．lost | C．expected | D．added |
| A．poor | B．sick | C．needy | D．old |
| A．choices | B．actions | C．disadvantages | D．difficulties |
| A．satisfaction | B．care | C．respect | D．regret |
4 . By 2050 we’ll be able to send memories, emotions and feelings across the Internet.
I’m talking about telepathy (心灵感应), really. We’ll still communicate the traditional way.
Medicine will develop fast, too. We will have cured certain forms of cancer, and we will have begun to treat the disease like the common cold. We’ll live with it. It will no longer be deadly.
| A．We will do a few tests. |
| B．People will live an easy life. |
| C．We won’t fear it like we used to. |
| D．Brain science will have changed communication. |
| E．We can already use human cells to grow skin, noses, ears, etc. |
| F．But communicating telepathically will avoid misunderstandings between people. |
| G．Our clothes will discover the beginnings of a heart disease, and advise us to get treatment. |
5 . Since I learned that shoppers who do less research are happier with their purchases (购买的东西), I’ve been proud of my “good enough” method of shopping. Unlike my husband, who does weeks of research, looking at various choices, and weighing his preferences compared to costs, I always buy the first item I come across that fits my needs and price range.
According to Barry Schwartz, author of the book The Paradox of Choice, my method of shopping is called “satisficing,” while my husband engages in (参与) “maximizing.” Maximizers want the best and believe that there’s a perfect one of whatever they’re looking for. Satisficers, on the other hand, focus on what will be good enough to meet their minimum (最低的) standards.
I recently purchased a desk chair. I wanted one that offered more lumbar (腰部的) support, so I went to a store and picked out a chair that felt comfortable and was within my price range. I was happy with my purchase for six months, until the day I put just a little weight on the back of the chair, and it broke. Turned out that the chair’s back was made of particle board and it was just a matter of time before some weight broke the board. Now I have to buy a new one. It would have been less expensive if I’d researched various chairs, even if I’d ended up with a pricier chair.
While I am very much a satisficer, there are purchases that bring out the maximizer in me. One of them is blank notebooks. Recently I spent nearly two hours looking through the notebooks at a store to find the perfect one for a creative project. While I could use any notebook to take notes and draw pictures, the one I found fitted the project I had in mind.
While I’m always glad to be a satisficer, I admit my satisficing ways can sometimes prevent me from getting the satisfaction of finding exactly what I want. I know making sure that I raise my standards and get the enjoyment of finding the right choice for me will help me to enjoy the best of both worlds.
1. What can we learn about the author from paragraph 1?| A．She dislikes shopping at all. |
| B．She wants every purchase to be perfect. |
| C．She is proud of every choice she has made. |
| D．She is a quick decision-maker when shopping. |
| A．To suggest that satisficing can save time. |
| B．To show that satisficing can often be silly. |
| C．To show that satisficing can be expensive. |
| D．To prove that satisficing can bring happiness. |
| A．She regretted buying it. | B．She felt satisfied with it. |
| C．She thought it was affordable. | D．She found it was not good enough. |
| A．It pays to be a patient shopper. |
| B．Shopping can provide pleasure. |
| C．Spending wisely saves one trouble. |
| D．One never wastes time on what to buy. |
6 . Gerty Cori, the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, was born Gerty Theresa Radnitz in Prague in 1896. Gerty decided at the age of sixteen to study medicine. She entered the Realgymnasium at Tetschen, from which she graduated in 1914, and then went to the Medical School of the German University of Prague. While in medical school, Gerty met Carl Cori, a classmate who shared both her love of skiing and mountain climbing and her interest in laboratory research. In 1920, the two published the results of their first joint research, received their medical degrees, and married each other.
Gerty’s first research position was as an assistant in the Karolinen Children’s Hospital in Vienna. In 1922, Carl Cori moved to the United States to join the staff of the New York State Institute for the Study of Malignant Diseases in Buffalo, New York. Gerty Cori moved a few months later, starting as an assistant pathologist ( 病理学家) at the Institute and later rising to an assistant biochemist. In 1928, the Coris became US citizens.
In 1931, Carl Cori accepted the position of chairman of the Department of Pharmacology of the Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM), while Gerty Cori was hired as a research fellow. In the early 1940s the Coris moved to the Department of Biological Chemistry. Gerty Cori was made an associate ( 副) professor of Research Biological Chemistry and Pharmacology in 1943. She was elevated to the rank ( 级别) of professor of Biological Chemistry in July 1947, the same year she and her husband were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work on the metabolism of glycogen (糖代谢).
In 1947, Gerty Cori began showing the signs of myelofibrosis, an unusual blood disease. She fought the disease for ten years, refusing to give up her research until the last few months of her life. Gerty Cori died on October 26, 1957.
1. What can we learn about Gerty’s husband?| A．He shared the same interests with Gerty. |
| B．He moved to the USA later than Gerty. |
| C．He married Gerty while in medical school. |
| D．He studied pathology under the influence of Gerty. |
a. She moved to the USA.
b. She won the Nobel Prize.
c. She met her husband Carl.
d. She got a job in the WUSM.
e. She received her medical degree.
| A．e, a, c, b, d | B．c, e, a, d, b |
| C．e, c, a, d, b | D．c, a, e, b, d |
| A．Adapted. | B．Defeated. | C．Promoted. | D．Committed. |
| A．She was satisfied with her later life. | B．She was in poor health all her life. |
| C．She died of a common disease. | D．She was very mentally strong. |
7 . We’ve heard about several “poor students” in the past year. Cui Qingtao, a student from Yunnan, working with his parents on a building site when he got an admission letter (录取通知书) from Peking University.
Whatever kind of values you hold, such personalities are necessary for growth.
For them, few can choose their lifestyles.
| A．Life is full of ups and downs. |
| B．A girl named Wang Xinyi is another example. |
| C．“Poor students” are usually hard-working and caring. |
| D．And these experiences make me grow and become better. |
| E．Born in poor families, these students have a lot in common. |
| F．However, all of them can choose their attitudes towards life . |
| G．We can learn a lot from these “poor students”. |
8 . Now too much CO2 makes the Earth warmer and warmer, and brings bad effect to people. To save our Earth, a new lifestyle called low-carbon life becomes popular. Low carbon means low energy and no waste. It is necessary for everybody to learn to live a low-carbon life.
To live a low-carbon life, we’d better save as much energy as we can. For example, turn off the lights and TV when you don’t use them, use cold water to wash clothes or dishes; take a short shower and try to take a cold one when the weather gets warm; don’t do the cooking with electricity.
To live a low-carbon life, we should eat less meat. Being a vegetarian can help reduce (减少) one and a half ton of carbon dioxide a year, but keeping animals for food produces even more carbon dioxide than all the cars do in the world.
To live a low-carbon life, we should plant more trees. Trees are very important for us. They can not only produce oxygen for us to breathe and keep the air clean, but also take in the harmful gases from the air. To protect trees we should stop people from cutting down trees and plant as many trees as we can.
If we can keep them a habit in our daily life, the earth will become a safer planet for us to live on.
1. Why does low-carbon life become popular?| A．Because it can protect animals. | B．Because it can save the earth. |
| C．Because it can protect trees. | D．Because it can clean water. |
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．We can use cold water in our life. | B．We can try to use less water. |
| C．We can eat too much meat. | D．We can take a bath. |
| A．The ways to protect trees. | B．The ways to keep animals for food. |
| C．The ways to live a comfortable life. | D．The ways to live a low-carbon life. |
9 . Jack went to a barber’s shop and had his hair cut, but when he came out, he was not happy with the result. When his friend Bob saw him, he laughed and said, “What has happened to your hair, Jack?” Jack said, “I tried a new barber’s shop today, because I wasn’t quite pleased with my old one, but this one seems even worse.” Bob agreed. “Yes, I think you’re right, Jack. Now I’ll tell you what to do when you go into a barber’s shop next time: look at all the barber’s hair, find out whose hair looks worst, and then go straight to him.”
“Why shall I go to him?” Jack asked. “But that would be foolish!”
“Oh, no, it wouldn’t,” answered Bob. “Who cut that man’s hair? Just think it. He couldn’t cut it himself, could he? Another of the barbers cut it. So you know he can’t be the worst barber.”
1. “I tried a new barber’s shop today.” means _______.| A．this barber’s shop was a new one | B．this was the only barber’s shop in this town |
| C．Jack often went to this barber’s shop | D．Jack had not been to this barber’s shop before |
| A．the new barber’s shop was the best one |
| B．the old barber’s shop wasn’t so good as the new one |
| C．the new barber’s shop was worse than the old one |
| D．the old barber’s shop was the worst one |
| A．Because he was certainly the best barber. | B．Because he was free all the time. |
| C．Because he was the worst barber. | D．Because he wasn’t the worst barber. |
| A．it’s foolish to have one’s hair cut at a barber’s shop | B．barbers cut each other’s hair |
| C．barbers never have their hair cut | D．a barber always cuts his hair by himself |
