1 . The new coronavirus is the latest example of a disease that jumped from animals into humans. When infections do this they can be deadly — and COVID-19 is no exception.

Many viruses that jump into people, like MERS, seldom spread from person to person. They can still infect thousands, though; rabies (狂犬病) is mostly passed on by dog bites, but kills 60,000 people a year. Others, such as Ebola, can spread from person to person, but aren’t very good at it and so cause relatively small outbreaks. COVID-19, by contrast, appears quite good at spreading from person to person. While we don’t know how deadly it is, Chris Coleman, a professor at the University of Nottingham, the UK, says, “It’s not the most deadly coronavirus we’ve ever had.”

To trace the new virus’s origins, researchers have been comparing its genome to that of other coronaviruses. This showed that it possibly derives from a strain that infects bats. “It’s highly related to bat coronaviruses,” says Vaithilingaraja Arumugaswami at the University of California, Los Angeles. This makes sense as bats are known to harbour many viruses, including coronaviruses. Viral infections are especially likely to spread among bats as they can fly long distances and roost close to each other. Bats also seem able to carry infections without getting ill, which helps spread the viruses.

The new coronavirus might have jumped from bats into another animal a few months or even a few decades ago, and then from that intermediate host into humans. We know that the coronavirus behind the SARS outbreak of 2002 to 2003 spread from bats into palm civets (狸猫) before infecting people.

Viruses that normally circulate among people can gradually become less lethal, as this helps them spread. “They don’t want you to drop dead within a day because you won’t pass it to anyone else,” says Chris Coleman.

Coleman thinks there is little we can do to stop people coming into contact with animals that may carry dangerous viruses. “It’s very difficult to control that,” he says. Instead, he says we need to have vaccines ready in advance. This could mean creating vaccines that are effective against a wide range of viruses or vaccines that require only minor tweaks to work against a new viral strain, much like annual flu vaccines.

1. What’s the second paragraph mainly about?

A．The intermediate host of viruses.	B．The mode of virus transmission.
C．The outbreak of the deadly COVID-19.	D．The serious consequence of COVID-19.

2. Why does the author mention SARS in the text?

A．To support an idea.	B．To study virus infections.
C．To trace the coronavirus’s origins.	D．To map the new virus’s genome.

3. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “lethal”?

A．Complicated.

B．Active.

C．Healthy.

D．Deadly.

4. According to Coleman, what do we need to do to fight against viruses?

A．Seek right medicine for each virus.	B．Develop widely applicable vaccines.
C．Get away from animals carrying viruses.	D．Prevent viruses spreading among people.

2 . 短文填空

The Chinese Spring Festival is    1     (一个全家团聚的特殊时刻). But     2    (2020年的春节不一样, 在此期间, 全家人都要待在家里). We could not go out to pay a visit to our relatives or     3    (去人多的地方).     4     (我们这样做是因为中国发生了新冠肺炎). To fight against the virus,    5     (我们必须待在家里, 家里更安全).

3 . 语法填空

Is artificial intelligence the greatest human achievement or the biggest threat to our     1    (exist)? People in the Technology of Tomorrow Forum have different views. Millenniumbutterfly thinks that his daily life is more    2    (convenience) with the advance of artificial intelligence. For example, he has got his super-smart personal assistant    3    (build) into his phone. The assistant answers any question he puts to her    4    (immediate) and even uses his answers    5    (learn) more about his preferences. He hopes that more breakthroughs in AI will be made soon, so that people can enjoy more and more benefits. Popkid admits that more advanced AI could be helpful in    6    (solve) the world’s problems,     7     there is a high level of risk involved. Actually, none of us is    8    (prepare) for the challenges of AI. In Pink_haze’s opinion, people all need to coexist    9     AI technology whether they like it or not. We have no choice but    10    (embrace) and regulate it.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Olympic Flame    1     will be burning for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games started its journey after     2    (light) at the birthplace of the Games in Ancient Olympia, Greece on Monday.

Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou in the role of an ancient Greek high priestess used a concave(凹面的) mirror     3    (focus) the sun's rays and light the torch before the 2,500-year-old Temple of Hera, a goddess in ancient Greek mythology.

"In our fragile world, where separation, division and mistrust are on the rise, the Olympic Games always     4    (build)bridges and friendship," International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said in    5    (he) speech. Lannis Antoniou, a Greek skier, was the first torchbearer(火炬手) to receive the flame    6    the High Priestess inside the ancient stadium. The first Chinese torch bearer to receive the flame was Li Jiajun,     7    winner of five    8    (medal) in short-track speed skating at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Olympics.

The flame     9    （hand） over to the Beijing 2022 organizers on Tuesday at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens     10     it arrives in China on Wednesday.