1 . Nasugraq Rainey Hopson is an author and illustrator (插图画家). She has written short stories and made art inspired by her Iñupiaq culture. The Iñupiaq people are native to Alaska, the US. Hopson’s first and only novel to date, Eagle Drums, is set in Iñupiaq tales about a great festival. The great festival is still celebrated locally today.
In the book, the hero Pina struggles with the suffering from losing his brothers, who have traveled to a nearby mountain and never returned. Pina decides to go to the same mountain, trying to uncover the facts, where he happens to meet Savik, who gives Pina a choice: To follow him or to meet the same fortune as his brothers. Pina’s decision takes himself on a journey that exposes himself to the dances and songs that are part of Iñupiaq culture. Eagle Drums describes aspects of Iñupiaq life as a world that doesn’t exist much in the current world, such as walking in the tundra (苔原) and imagining mythological beings and talking animals everywhere. It will definitely inspire the teen magical thinking in its beauty.
Hopson wants to write more Iñupiaq stories. “We have a lot of oral history and stories in our culture,” she says. Hopson explains that Iñupiaq people use their voices, facial expressions and movements to express emotions as they tell a story. “But you can’t do that when you’re writing,” she says. “It’s very uncomfortable, in a way, to have to write down something that is a performance.” But she’s up for the challenge.
Eagle Drums is for anyone who is looking for a vivid adventure. Hopson says that when Iñupiaq kids read her work, they get excited about seeing something from their own area and their own culture. Other kids who read her work tell Hopson they’re excited about experiencing a story they’ve never experienced before in a new place. “You know, that’s the best part, hearing feedbacks,” she says.
1. What do we know about Eagle Drums?| A．It is based on the author’s culture. | B．It is about a world-famous festival. |
| C．It is one of the author’s best novels. | D．It is rich in illustrations on each page. |
| A．Its intention. | B．Its background. |
| C．Its content. | D．Its comment. |
| A．The Iñupiaq people are poor performers |
| B．The Iñupiaq culture is too rich for words. |
| C．The Iñupiaq language is difficult to catch on. |
| D．The Iñupiaq stories are little known by people. |
| A．A news report. | B．A childhood story. |
| C．A diary entry. | D．A book review. |
2 . Learning a new language holds many benefits — it gains you respect, improves your self-confidence, and opens up new opportunities to make new friends from different cultures. Here are four language learning apps available that will teach you the language(s) of your choice.
Drops
Drops is a popular language learning app with more than 40 languages. Interesting drawings and cartoons, as well as interactive games, are used to improve memory. Drops is perhaps better for expanding your vocabulary because it does not touch on important matters such as grammar and punctuation.
Rating: ★★★★★
Price: Free.
Learn Laugh Speak
Learn Laugh Speak is a digital English language learning app for individuals who wish to improve their communication skills through pronunciation training. Children from 5 to 11 can also get a head-start practicing speaking skills through 6,000 interactive gamified classes.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Price: $24.99/month.
Hello Talk
The term “language learning” is yet misleading when describing the app. Calling it a “Language Exchange app” is closer to the mark. Instead of offering structured lessons, Hello Talk connects more than 40 million users speaking over 150 different languages who then teach each other their native languages.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Price: Free with in-app offers.
TripLingo
As the name indicates, TripLingo is primarily aimed at travelers who do not need to be fluent conversationalists. TripLingo focuses on practical phrases and words commonly used by travelers. In fact, TripLingo is much more than just a convenient phrasebook. It offers various features specifically designed to ensure trouble-free trips abroad.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Price: $ 19.99/month.
1. Which of the four apps is most suitable for kids?| A．Drops. | B．Learn Laugh Speak. | C．Hello Talk. | D．TripLingo. |
| A．It offers game-centred classes. | B．It is the best rated language app. |
| C．It matches users with native speakers. | D．It features personalized learning plans. |
| A．It keeps track of your progress. | B．It presents well-structured lessons in order. |
| C．It use cartoons to expand your vocabulary. | D．It aims to assist tourists while they’re abroad. |
Peter was a cheerful and warm-hearted person who was always ready to help others. When he was in college, he got along well with his classmates. After graduating from college, he hunted for jobs several times, but he failed. So he was a little unhappy during the period of time.
One day, when he was surfing the Internet, an advertisement came into his sight. He read the advertisement carefully, which was recruitment (招聘) information. To his delight, the position was in line with his major he studied in the university. The conditions and the pay the company offered were so attractive that Peter decided to have a try. Following the tips provided online, Peter went to the company. There were so many people waiting on the first floor of the building. What Peter didn’t expect was that the company was scheduled to hire not so many employees, but hundreds of applicants were there. Peter was a little worried.
At last, Peter filled out the form as required as many applicants did. A staff of the company told all the applicants to wait for their turns to attend the interview. They waited there excitedly and anxiously, wondering what on earth the interview was! At the moment, a man rushed toward them and said he had something urgent to do. Seeing as if it was going to rain, he could not find enough workers to unload the goods. He asked the group of people to help him. Hearing what the man said, some applicants thought that they should help the man. However, some thought they had something more important to do and they couldn’t spare time.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Peter stood there, considering whether to give a helping hand or not.
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When they were wiping the sweat off their faces, the man came up toward them.
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1. 人物简介；
2. 感恩的原因。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The Person I Appreciate Most
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Chinese chime bells are an ancient Chinese musical instrument consisting of a set of bronze bells,
They have
6 . If you find yourself signing up for things that, in reality, you don’t want to do, you’re not alone. Hershfield has found that we often agree to things we don’t want to do because we tend to hold a more brilliant version of our “future selves”.
Use your current schedule as a guide.
Are you still hesitated? Weigh the cost. If you are unsure about an event, weigh the benefits by asking yourself a few questions.
Treat your future self. If you’ve committed to an event, as a result, you know that life is going to become busy or stressful, be kind to yourself by practicing “pre-care”. What feels comfortable is different for everyone.
| A．Pretend the commitment is sooner |
| B．You should avoid anything unpleasant |
| C．Ask yourself if the commitment is attractive |
| D．Here are four tips on how to have a bright future |
| E．An empty calendar tricks us to have much free time |
| F．Let’s use these strategies to set a more realistic schedule |
| G．You might wonder whether saying yes brings more benefits |
7 . Microscopic particles (微观粒子) from outer space are also called space dust. They’re in the dirt on the ground and on your roof. They may discomfort your nose. They have settled all over our planet.
Despite their widespread presence, finding space dust isn’t easy. One place that the particles show up more easily is Antarctica. Around a decade ago, Matthew Genge at Imperial College London spent seven weeks searching for and collecting dust there.
The disadvantage of collecting dust from Antarctica is the high cost and complications of travelling there. That’s why Penny Wozniakiewicz of the University of Kent in the UK has focused on her research closer to home. The key is to collect material from a fairly undisturbed spot. She seeks the rooftops of old buildings in the UK as the source of her samples.
She focuses on these roofs because they are old and more untouched than modern buildings. What’s more, historic buildings usually have well-kept records that indicate when conservation and cleaning have been done. That makes it easier to determine how long space dust has been collected and gives researchers insight into what other particles might be present in the dust they collect. This allows them to more efficiently remove the Earth stuff, and focus on the space stuff.
“The idea is to actually take something you can barely see on your finger, and then make it much bigger so you can hold it in your hand,” says Wozniakiewicz. Each year, approximately 100 billion particles of space dust land on Earth, carrying secrets from outer space and offering glimpses into the formation of planetary systems. These particles not only contain water but also organic molecules (有机分子); they potentially serve as the building blocks for life on Earth. Space dust could, therefore, tell scientists about the complex relationship between these celestial bodies (天体) and Earth. It acts as a bridge, connecting us to the wider space.
1. What do we know about space dust?| A．There is much space dust in the UK. |
| B．It shows up more easily in Antarctica. |
| C．Space dust is easy to collect everywhere. |
| D．Space dust contains only organic molecules. |
| A．She doesn’t want to be too far away from home. |
| B．She wants to collect dust from modern buildings. |
| C．Travelling to Antarctica is expensive and complicated. |
| D．A fairly undisturbed spot couldn’t be found in Antarctica. |
| A．To uncover the secret of outer space. | B．To make collecting Earth stuff easier. |
| C．To help researchers find out space stuff. | D．To show how often buildings were cleaned. |
| A．How space dust comes into being | B．An extraordinary exploration to outer space |
| C．The relationship between space and humans | D．Space dust bridges outer space and humans |
8 . Underwater travel is difficult and dangerous, but many people have to stay deep under the ocean. Thus, humans have come up with a few designs of vehicles to move around under the ocean. But what if there was a better way to travel?
Hilary Bart-Smith, an engineer at the University of Virginia, thinks a vehicle that travels like a manta ray (魔鬼鱼) would be able to operate for long periods at sea. Manta rays which can grow up to 29 feet long are among the most efficient swimmers in the ocean. Different from animals and people pushing against water, manta rays swim by moving through the water with wing-like movements of their fins (鳍). Efficiency means using less energy to move farther.
Bart-Smith and other engineers at the University of Virginia had to find out what manta rays looked like on the inside to better understand how they move. They took X-rays to find out how a manta ray’s fins are built. They found that a web of cartilage (软骨) stretches across each fin.
Once the engineers knew how a manta ray’s fin was constructed, they could build one of their own. They made a long row of metal struts with many hinges to imitate the manta ray’s web of cartilage. The engineers put their design inside a flexible cover, shaped like a manta ray’s fin. Then they tested it in the university swimming pool. They were happy to see that it swam just like a manta ray in the ocean.
Engineers and scientists are still learning and experimenting with how to imitate these amazing animals. For now, engineers study their movements and learn from the most efficient swimmers in the ocean. Perhaps someday engineers will be able to build manta ray robots that are big enough to transport people.
1. How do manta rays swim?| A．By moving like birds. | B．By swimming like humans. |
| C．By swimming like other fishes. | D．By pushing against water like animals. |
| A．Manta rays are the fastest swimmers. | B．Manta rays look like travel vehicles. |
| C．Manta rays can grow at least 29 feet long. | D．Manta rays’ fins consist of a web of cartilage. |
| A．To learn about their habits. | B．To build manta ray robots. |
| C．To design undersea vehicles. | D．To protect marine creatures. |
| A．Negative. | B．Supportive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Objective. |
9 . In 1997, the Hungarian biochemist Katalin Kariko met another struggling researcher, the American immunologist Drew Weissman, as they queued to copy scientific papers at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). Due to the lack of funding for their work, the two scientists found a common scientific interest and decided to cooperate. Then they jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. But while both scientists endured years of professional struggle on the way to the huge approval, Kariko had to overcome greater difficulties than Weissman.
Kariko worked in a few different research jobs before landing a junior position at the University of Pennsylvania. And for many years her career at the UPenn was fragile. She migrated from lab to lab, relying on one senior scientist after another to take her in. She never made more than $60,000 a year. She struggled to raise the funding essential for a scientific career and never had a stable position. Kariko said she endured being made fun of by university colleagues for her dogged pursuit. In 2013, she was kicked out from UPenn — forced to retire. She said in an interview that the university told her that she was unfit for her work. Yet the scientist’s commitment to her work did not falter. “When I was terminated (终止), I didn’t feel sorry for myself,” she said. “I have to focus all the energy on seeking out what’s next.”
In a news conference held at UPenn, she encouraged young scientists to love learning to solve problems and to be prepared for failure. Researchers in her field are full of admiration for her generosity and persistence. “She is really the soul of perseverance and what it takes to be a great researcher,” Elliot Barnathan, a cardiologist who hired Kariko, said.
1. What was the difficulty that Kariko faced at the UPenn?| A．Little support. | B．Being laughed at. |
| C．Working in different jobs. | D．Migrating from place to place. |
| A．Weaken. | B．Quit. | C．Fail. | D．Insist. |
| A．She retired from her scientific work. | B．She sought revenge against the university. |
| C．She focused on finding new opportunities. | D．She became discouraged by the challenges. |
| A．To tell Kariko’s story. | B．To show Kariko’s hardship. |
| C．To list Kariko’s achievements. | D．To highlight Kariko’s persistence. |
10 . Colorful Natural Wonders on Earth
The world can be kind of a boring place without the colorful natural wonders. So that’s what I’ve decided to treat you to!
Rio Tinto, Spain
Rising in the Sierra de Huelva mountains of southwestern Spain, this 62-mile river gets its stunning orange and red colors from copper, iron, and other heavy metals. The best way to enjoy the beauty is by visiting the small mining town of Nerva. Note that only about half the length of the river features these colors.
Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada
Known by Stoney Nakota First Nations folks as Ho-run-num-nay, this glacial lake located in Banff National Park gets its turquoise color from finely grained rock particles contained within the ice as it melts in the lake. If you’re a big fan of the movie Thelma & Louise, you’ll be happy to know that there also happens to be a Lake Thelma.
The Lavender Fields of Provence, France
Provence, a geographical region of southeastern France is famous in the summers for its lush lavender fields. To see them with your own eyes, mosey on up to the Luberon and Verdon plateau regions north of Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, or head east past Avignon. But the window is rather brief; they start to blossom around the beginning of June and then by mid-July they’re done-zo.
Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, Yunnan, China
Huge rice stan? Anyway, Yunnan, China is calling your name. With a history going back more than 1,200 years, this series of rice-growing terraces — covering territory more than one million acres — are located in the western part of the country. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. It sure took them long enough!
1. Where can you enjoy a multicolored river?| A．Spain. | B．Canada. | C．France. | D．China. |
| A．1 month. | B．1.5 months. | C．2 months. | D．2.5 months. |
| A．A journal entry. | B．A travel diary. | C．An introduction. | D．An advertisement. |
