1 . As prices and house costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) is popular in the U.S. “We needed furniture for our living room,” says John Ross, “and we just didn’t have enough money to buy it. So we decided to make a few table s and chairs by ourselves.” John got married six months ago, and the same as many young people these days, they are competing to make a home when the cost of living is very high. So he and his wife took a 2-week class for $280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim has three boys and his wife died. So he has a full-time job at home. He also has a full-time in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $420. “I was deeply upset about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”
John and Jim are usual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so that they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourselfer”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.
1. We can learn from the text that many newly married people ______.| A．find it hard to pay for what they need | B．have to learn to make their own furniture |
| C．take DIY courses run by the government | D．seldom go to a department store to buy things |
| A．makes shoes in his home | B．does his own car and home repairs |
| C．does extra work at night | D．keeps house and looks after his children |
| A．his car repairs cost too much | B．the car repair class was not helpful |
| C．he could no possible do two jobs | D．he had to raise the children |
| A．The Joy of DIY | B．You Can Do It Too! |
| C．Welcome to Our DIY Course! | D．Ross and Jim:Believers in DIY. |
The factory
3 . Even if vaccination (接种疫苗) is a powerful defense against disease, some voices are against it. In a recent letter, the American Medical Association (AMA) urged big social media including Amazon, Facebook and Google to take action to defend medical science on their platforms.
It said that vaccine -preventable diseases that do harm to the public health like measles (麻疹) are on the rise. Measles cases worldwide jumped more than 30% in 2017 compared to 2016, with the largest increases seen among nations in the Americas, Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Vaccine-preventable diseases are increasing largely because many people are unwilling to get vaccinated. And some of these people even encourage others to refuse vaccination. So this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the anti-vaccination movement a top 10-health threat.
“Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective ways of avoiding disease—it currently prevents 2-3 million deaths a year, and a further 1.5 million could be avoided if global coverage of vaccinations improved,” WHO said.
A research article published in 1998 in a medical journal suggested a link between a vaccine and the development of autism (孤独症) in young children. Although the research has been suspected and many other studies have proved that vaccinations do not cause autism, the article is still impressing people strongly today. Another reason for the growth in the anti-vaccination movement is widespread misinformation on social media, which can turn people against vaccination.” If a concerned parent consistently sees information in their Newsfeed that casts doubt on the safety of vaccines, it could cause them to disregard the advice of their children’s physicians and public health experts and refuse to follow the recommended vaccination schedule. So access to true information about vaccine safety is badly needed.
1. What does the AMA require social media to do on their platforms?| A．Stop vaccine misinformation. | B．Unite to develop new vaccines. |
| C．Give up the anti- vaccination movement. | D．Introduce Vaccine-preventable diseases. |
| A．To declare measles can be prevented , | B．To show the result of anti-vaccination. |
| C．To prove some countries refuse vaccination . | D．To explain the reason for avoiding vaccination. |
| A．The costs of vaccination. | B．The social media platforms. |
| C．The concerns of vaccine safety. | D．The articles about autism. |
| A．A novel. | B．A travel brochure. | C．A diary. | D．A science magazine. |
4 . TikTok has pushed a new safety update in November to its app that allows parents to take more control of their teenager's accounts, as social media companies come under increasing pressure to make their platforms safer for children.
The company said Tuesday that its “Family Pairing” feature now enables parents to turn off comments on their children's videos entirely or to limit them to friends only. Parents whose accounts are linked to their kids will also be able to set their accounts to private, turn off the search function for content, users or sounds, and limit who can see which videos their children have liked.
Launched (发布) in March, the Family Pairing tool lets parents see how long their children are spending on TikTok each day and limit the content they can see.
TikTok allows children to register and create an account if they're over the age of 13. All they need to do is provide their date of birth. However, because TikTok doesn't require registers to prove their identities, some children under 13 have registered by lying about their age，according to U. K. regulator Ofcom (英国通讯管理局).
Alexandra Evans, head of child safety public policy for TikTok in Europe, told CNBC that Family Pairing has “put itself in parents’ shoes” since it was launched.
“If we're thinking about it as a toolbox, we wanted to offer more tools,” she said on a video call ahead of the announcement.
1. What pushed TikTok to launch the new update?| A．The pressure from social media. | B．The concern about kids' online safety. |
| C．The force from government. | D．The increasing need of users. |
| A．The safety tips from TikTok. | B．New apps explored by TikTok. |
| C．New functions of Family Pairing. | D．The limits on Family Pairing. |
| A．The difficulty in opening an account. | B．The low age limit for users. |
| C．TikTok's failure to check identities. | D．The demand for users' birth dates. |
| A．Uninterested. | B．Objective. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Supportive. |
Do you find it hard not
As we know, when we do get the rewards: a like, a follower, comments or shares of
So, what are some of the ways we can break this addictive loop so that real life does not pass by? The first is to turn off all notifications on your phone so that you cannot
6 . With races delayed and outdoor exercise limited, COVID-19 has put the brakes on China’s previously booming marathon industry as event organizers struggle to make ends meet during the crisis. The sparse turnout（到场人数）of runners at Beijing’s Olympic Forest Park these days bears witness to the decline.
Despite the successful containment of the outbreak in China, fears over the potential risks of mass gatherings clearly remain within the running community, while the virus-enforced business shutdown has created a severe challenge to organizers and promoters involved in the sport. Event organizers are struggling to survive through the crisis with the majority of their source of income dried up.
Last Thursday’s cancellation of the 2020 Chengdu Panda Marathon showed that local governing bodies and organizers remain cautious against the virus despite a growing urge among the running community to get back to normality. With this year’s emptied spring schedule, industry experts expect that businesses face a daunting（令人生畏的）second half of the year even if races are allowed to restart.
“Due to the delay of events originally scheduled in the first half, the number of races will skyrocket in the second half if the government gives the green light,” said Chen Guoqiang, a sports sociology researcher at Shanghai University of Sport. “Event organizers will have to compete harder against each other to attract enough runners, sponsors and media exposure to make their races profitable.”
Bao Mingxiao, director of the China Sports Economic Research Center, suggests that race organizers and promoters should focus on improving race quality by providing more professional services and better online interactions with participants whenever events restart. “The rising public awareness of having a healthy lifestyle will only be strengthened after the coronavirus(冠状病毒) crisis,” Bao said during an online forum(论坛) earlier last month. “For the long term, the sport participation and consumption will be very likely to bounce back.”
1. What problem does the author talk about in Paragraph 1?| A．The marathon industry is suffering. |
| B．People are living beyond their income. |
| C．People’s health is worsening over time. |
| D．The popularity of outdoor sport is declining. |
| A．Recovery. | B．Treatment. |
| C．Control. | D．Prediction. |
| A．Most industries are facing difficulties. |
| B．The coronavirus is still very serious. |
| C．Less and less runners are interested in the races. |
| D．The government is still careful about the coronavirus. |
| A．Neutral. | B．Positive. |
| C．Negative. | D．Doubtful. |
7 . In the subway station, I notice a black teenage boy waiting for the train, sitting on a railing(栏杆) just in front of a moving escalator(扶梯). It’s a hot evening; there is no air in the station. This black kid is just sitting there, settled on the railing, and I’m just standing there about 10 feet away looking for the faraway lights of the oncoming train. Then suddenly a white police officer is asking the kid for identification. The kid turns a little annoyed and asks what he’s been bothering about. The officer doesn’t explain. The kid pulls out some I.D. and hands it to the officer who looks at it and then barks out a demand for something with an address on it, a driver’s license.
Unwillingly, the kid pulls out a second piece of identification. The officer looks at it and tells the kid to come with him. Nothing I have seen or heard explains the officer’s strict approach or why the kid is being led away.
I get up to the officer and politely ask what this guy did and where he is taking him. He looks at me like I’m armed and crazy and tells me that it’s none of my business and to stay out of this.
“Could I please take down your badge(警徽) number, sir, as I’d like to report all this,” I say.
“Take down my badge number and then you show me a piece of identification. What are you, some lawyer?”
I copy down his badge number and then show him my driver’s license, asking, “Could you please tell me what this is all for?”
Looking at me over and again asking if I’m a lawyer, he tells me he’s taking the kid in for blocking the escalator and me in for “obstructing a police action.” Another black man hearing all this asks what’s going on and the officer gets very nervous. So I decide to go with him to his office. Then the officer gives his version of what happened and I politely interrupt to explain that the kid was in no way blocking the escalator traffic and that I was in no way “obstructing a police action”, not adding that I thought the way the officer handling the situation was racist and unnecessarily strict.
After this experience in the police station, I’m still wondering whether a well-dressed white man will be faced with a sharp command for identification for sitting on an escalator railing waiting for a train? If a bystander does want to get involved and inquire about an apparently unfair arrest, is a policeman’s only response a second arrest? Will our police officers always be seen by black kids as evils? Is my charge with racism too strong?
1. What is the black teenager doing at the train station?| A．He is blocking the escalator. |
| B．He is escaping the police. |
| C．He is waiting for the train. |
| D．He is damaging the escalator. |
| A．He is a racist. |
| B．He is not afraid to get involved. |
| C．He is black. |
| D．He has a sense of justice. |
| A．The black boy doesn’t obey the police officer. |
| B．Subway stations are good places to hang about. |
| C．The white policeman thinks ill of the black teenager. |
| D．Situations like this in the passage will never change. |
| A．blame. | B．forbid. | C．prevent. | D．defend. |
8 . Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese-style spelling bee. In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.
Perhaps the show’s popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy(书法) to be one of their primary contributions to civilization. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet. The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It’s possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them.
But there’s still hope for the paint brush. China’s Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write.
In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six-year-olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher’s examples before carefully attempting to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. “If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?” we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. “The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture,” she reasons. “Students must learn now so they don’t forget when they grow up.” says the teacher.
1. What can we learn about the Character Hero?| A．It’s open to people of all ages and all walks. |
| B．It’s the most-viewed TV programs in China. |
| C．It aims to spread Chinese culture to the world. |
| D．It draws great public attention across the country. |
| A．Chinese people don’t refer to dictionaries very often. |
| B．Chinese people no longer use brush pens or practice calligraphy. |
| C．Chinese people are using the Latin alphabet instead of the characters. |
| D．Chinese people needn’t write by hand as often with the help of technology. |
| A．necessary for adults to survive in China |
| B．a requirement made by the Education Ministry |
| C．helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive |
| D．an ability to be developed only when you are students |
| A．A news report. | B．A science report. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．Children’s literature. |
9 . Rock music consists of many different styles. Even though there is a common spirit among all music groups, they make very different music.
After they were given an invitation to appear live on BBC, the Beatles quickly became famous in Britain with nationwide tours. By mid-1963, the Beatles had been extremely popular in England.
| A．They decided on a tour to the United States in 1964. |
| B．Even their hairstyles became major trends at that time. |
| C．Rock music developed in the 1950s and the early 1960s. |
| D．However, their songs changed the lives of generations to come. |
| E．Many rock bands were able to follow in the footsteps of the Beatles. |
| F．They appeared in the films A Hard Day's Night(1964)and Help！(1965). |
| G．They performed their first concert in America at CBS television’s 53rd street studio. |
There has always been a gap between generations, but more people talk about it now. Old Mr. Ellis thinks he understands what has happened.
“When I was a boy, I thought the world was a beautiful place. My life was very pleasant. But when I was older, I learned about people who were treated badly and people who didn’t have enough to eat. I wanted to help them, and I married a girl who wanted to help them, too. We went to meetings and talked a lot, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. ”
“Our children grew up in a world at war. They didn’t know when the fighting would stop. They wanted their children to have nice clothes and toys. They didn’t want to think about the future. They thought nothing could be done about it.”
“Now I have grandchildren, and they have their own ideas. They are trying to make the world better. They are trying to help other people. They’re making people listen to them. I am proud of their generation.”
1. The wise man mentioned in the text told people to bury him on his face so that when everything is turned upside down he will _____.
| A．lie on his stomach | B．lie on his back |
| C．stand quietly | D．sit in peace |
| A．Mr. Ellis’ generation |
| B．His children’s generation |
| C．His grandchildren’s generation |
| D．None of the above. |
| A．Mr. Ellis’ generation. |
| B．His children’s generation. |
| C．His grandchildren’s generation. |
| D．None of the above. |
| A．Unacceptable. | B．Awful. |
| C．Funny. | D．Common. |
