1 . A new study from the Netherlands has found that an important factor in a child’s ultimate level of education, even more important than their own family’s economic situation, is whether they grow up with rich neighbors nearby.
Researcher Agata Troost and her colleagues at Delft University of Technology used a national database to track the address of every Dutch baby born in 1995, a total of 140,338 people, from birth to age 23. Using geolocating software, they drew up a socioeconomic profile (概况) for each child's immediate neighborhood, figuring the percentage of neighbors who were rich, middle class or disadvantaged.
After controlling a number of other factors, including parents’ earnings and levels of education, the researchers found that a child's own experience of wealth or poverty mattered less to their ultimate level of schooling than exposure to well-off neighbors. The data suggest that growing up in a rich area, with well-maintained parks, libraries and soccer fields, as well as interactions with educated neighbors, could boost a poor child's ability to see beyond their immediate horizons (眼界).
“Rich families create neighborhoods and activities that create opportunities,” said Ms. Troost, and these advantages are shared with other children who happen to live nearby. The finding echoes an earlier study by Mr. Chetty and his colleagues, which showed that having even one inspiring teacher in middle school can improve a student’s career prospects. Whether in the classroom or on the street, it seems that social interactions outside the family can start a young person's motivation and ambition.
At the same time, the study also stressed the importance of the home environment. When parents are well educated, children are likely to be, too. And that's the moral of the story: Neighborhoods can have different effects on different children, depending on how educated their parents are, whether they are male or female, and how much casual contact they have with people who are different from their own families. “Location, location, location” may be a old saying for buying a house, but we're learning that it also holds true for children's development.
1. What aspect of the research is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．Its purpose. | B．Its principle. | C．Its method. | D．Its result. |
| A．Goes against. | B．Agrees with. | C．Works for. | D．Relates to. |
| A．An advertisement. | B．A novel. | C．A magazine. | D．A guidebook. |
| A．The Benefits of Educated Parents | B．The Power of a Good Neighborhood |
| C．The Decisive Factor in a Child's Growth | D．The Location Your New House Should Have |
It was 1:00 a.m. Thursday in the town art gallery. A window suddenly opened and a figure flashed out. It was Harry Black, a thief. He drew out his knife and took the painting worth $1 million out of the frame skillfully and carefully. Then he went back across the hall to the window where he had just climbed in. In the darkness, he bumped into a table with a beautiful blue glass vase on it, falling on the floor and breaking into pieces. Harry murmured to himself, “Is this $1 million vase? But I didn’t mean to.” Running across the pieces of glass, he disappeared.
Harry had a room in Mrs. Allen’s rooming house. He went up to his room as quietly as a mouse. Mrs. Allen and her daughter Janay were sleeping soundly. Harry took the painting, put it in a newspaper, hid them under his bed and left.
The next morning, Janay was in the kitchen, old bottles put into a box. Every Friday morning, a recycling truck would come and she was used to taking botties and old newspaper for recycling from every room in the house.
On the TV, an anxious reporter was making a live report at the very art gallery. “It’s $1 million painting,” he was saying. “Here’s a photo of it.” Then he was introducing a blue glass vase, “It’s in 100 pieces now.” Janay looked at the photo of the vase carelessly, asking her mother if she had some old bottles.
Janay opened Harry’s door and looked into his room. “There’s a newspaper under Harry’s bed.” She felt as if she’d found a priceless treasure.
Meanwhile, Harry was whispering with a man on the phone. Finally, a smile came out of Harry’s face. It was obvious that they had finally settled the price of the painting. But when Harry came back to the house, he saw the recycling truck going away and Janay smiling. It suddenly occurred to him that today was Friday. “NEWSPAPER! Oh no!” he exclaimed in despair and chased after the truck, “Wait! Wait!”
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。
Janay watched him puzzled.
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Janay hurried home and dialed the police.
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A recently released
Over 1.48 million
An average adult would spend 23.13 minutes on average per day
Moreover, listening to audiobooks was another rising habit among Chinese readers,
Public reading services continued to meet the needs of Chinese readers, as 78.2 percent of the people
“In Hangzhou, for instance, reading venues, including public libraries, self-service libraries and rural reading rooms,
Reading on mobile phones also remained a habit among Chinese readers. According to the survey, 77.8 percent read on their phones last year, 0.4 percent
A man who was missing for 17 days after an earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province has been found alive, according to local media reports.
The 28-year-old hydropower station employee Gan Yu had stayed behind with his colleague Luo Yong after an earthquake hit Sichuan on Sept. 5,
Gan did first aid for his colleague and helped prevent flooding by releasing water from the dam (大坝). Both Gan and Luo then stayed in the station for over a day without food or mobile signal. They attempted
However, Gan was discovered by
5 . Darrion Cockrell, who wasn’t much of a student, has been named Missouri’s Teacher of the Year—the state’s highest honor for educators, becoming the first male since 2015 to capture the state’s top award.
Cockrell—the child of “a drug-addicted mother” and a father who was killed when he was four years old—was in and out of the childcare centers and eventually became a gang (帮派) member. In his speech, he shouted out the special people who helped to guide him down the right path when he was going off track.
He thanked his teacher Ken who provided him with life advice while he lived in a boys group home. “He taught me it’s OK to be tough, but at the same time, it’s OK to be compassionate (富有同情心的),” Cockrell said. “He was like a father figure to me.”
The teacher—affectionately known as “DC”—also expressed his gratitude to the football coach that adopted him when he was in the 7th grade and helped to change his whole perspective (视角) on life. “When I changed the way I looked at things, the things around me started to change,” he said. “I had a lot of struggles and a lot of hurdles, and if not for those educators, I would not be here today.”
Now, Cockrell hopes to make an impact on the students at Lindbergh Schools’ Crestwood Elementary in St. Louis, where he’s been teaching physical education since 2015. Among his many accomplishments at the school is his development of the “Crest-Fit” training program for teachers, students and parents.
“Missouri is fortunate to have so many high-quality educators, and Darrion will be a wonderful representative as our state’s Teacher of the Year,” Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven said in a statement. “He guides his students towards long-term physical and mental wellness, and the connections he has established will impact Crestwood children for years to come.”
1. Which word can best describe Cockrell’s childhood?| A．Secure. | B．Fortunate. | C．Troublesome. | D．Promising. |
| A．He persuaded Cockrell out of the gang. |
| B．He put Cockrell in the childcare center. |
| C．He took Cockrell into his own football class. |
| D．He changed Cockrell ‘s way of looking at things. |
| A．His original teaching objective. |
| B．His role as a model for other teachers. |
| C．His father figure role in students’ development. |
| D．His long-term influence on the students’ health. |
| A．Appreciative. | B．Doubtful. | C．Apologetic. | D．Humorous. |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Because of the fact as is known to us all, many people are no longer going out see films. Instead, they are seeing wonderfully films at home. Quite a few studio have even put on their new films online. Cinemas are fun. But do we still need it? In my view, there’re many differences between going to the cinema and seeing a film at home. When people will go to the cinema, they can enjoy the film with being disturbed by anything that they have to do at home. If cinemas stay opening, they can employ more people. Then workers can earn money and struggled along. That will help the economy recovers.
7 . Castropignano, a hilltop town in Italy, is following in the footsteps of places like Cinquefrondi and Salemi, becoming the latest place to try to repopulate by attracting newcomers to buy empty buildings. The village is located inland between Rome and Naples, near mountains and delightful countryside. It’s topped by the ruins of an ancient castle, and has a sleepy atmosphere with just one restaurant and one bar—though that could all change depending on who buys the €1 buildings.
The new owners can turn the buildings into whatever they wish, from homes to shops. Instead of selling to the highest bidder (出价者), the locals are keen to match potential buyers with a building proper for their purposes. They welcome anyone who would like to buy a new home here and has a detailed plan of how they intend to restyle and what they would like to do with the building—make it a home, hotel, store or shop. They could also list any requirements they may have, like access for people in wheelchairs. The village is tiny and cars can’t run in the narrow alleys and on steps.
There are around 100 buildings in Castropignano that are in need of renovation (翻修), and the locals hope this plan will both make the village safer and ensure its future. Many younger people have left in search of work, meaning around 60 percent of villagers are over the age of 70. The locals said that they had got nothing great to offer except peacefulness, silence, original nature, oxygen-rich air, great views and fantastic food, perfect to get rid of the daily stress.
The deal is that buyers must renovate their old buildings within three years of buy, and a payment of €2,000 is required, which will be returned after the work has been completed. All you have to do is email at castropignano @ me. com with your plans, and a sweet Italian life could be yours.
1. What is Castropignano’s purpose of selling its buildings?| A．To reduce its population. | B．To increase the local income. |
| C．To keep the faraway town alive. | D．To protect the ancient buildings. |
| A．Those who offer the highest prices but don’t plan to live there. |
| B．Those who want to replace the old buildings with new ones. |
| C．Those who would like to spend only €1 on them. |
| D．Those who can make full use of the buildings. |
| A．It helps people relax physically and mentally. |
| B．All of its houses need rebuilding immediately. |
| C．It can provide villagers with a convenient modern life. |
| D．Its population composition contributes to fast development. |
| A．60 percent of the Italian population are over 70. |
| B．An Italian town is trying its best to rebuild a castle. |
| C．Another Italian village is selling buildings for just €1. |
| D．Some old buildings need renovation in an Italian town. |
8 . Are people less or more happy when they get older? A study in 2018 found that people generally become/happier and experience less worry after age 50. In fact, it found that by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were at 18.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the-study. His team found that levels of stress were the highest among adults between the ages of 22 and 25.
Happiness was the highest among the youngest adults and those in their early 70s. But the people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their 70s and 80s.
The survey also found that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But, they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
| A．Stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their 50s. |
| B．So why will happiness increase with age? |
| C．Researchers surveyed more than 150,000 American adults. |
| D．At that time, the people were between the ages of 18 and 85. |
| E．However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men. |
| F．Happiness is not the only thing that apparently improves with age. |
| G．The survey did find an increase during middle age, especially in women. |
Beer and fried chicken — this combo (组合餐)has recently become the
10 . In order to increase their job chances after college, Chinese students are turning to a special practice—Eiffel Tower nose jobs（鼻整形手术）. The latest trend in plastic surgery promises to create a nose that is similar to the curve of the Eiffel Tower.
Surgeon Wang Xuming said: “We are influenced by the beauty of the Eiffel Tower. We are not content to just add something to the nose; we reconstruct it.” The surgery costs about US$ 10,000 and involves the enlarging of the nose using tissue from the forehead.
Hundreds of posters advertising the procedure are put up all over Chongqing city, where surgeon Xuming runs his private practice. They show a Western-looking woman with an almost-too-perfect nose, against an outline of the Eiffel Tower.
Interestingly, many young women in China are eager to achieve a western appearance, as they believe it will give them an advantage in the highly competitive job market. “Some students face a lot of employment pressure after graduation. If their facial features are good, they’ll have more chances of finding a job,” said surgeon Xuming. “We’ve had students getting the Eiffel Tower nose; it’s helped them a lot.”
Apparently, Chinese employers are quite particular about appearances and prefer attractive candidates. Some of them even go as far as putting height and weight requirements in the ir employment ads. Plastic surgeons across the country are reporting an increase in the number of students choosing beauty “improvement”.
According to Mr. Li, hospital manager at surgeon Xuming’s clinic, most of their customers are female and the bill is taken care of by the family. “They usually come in with their mothers, and tend to be from well-off backgrounds.” he said.
Personally, I don’t think it so important to “improve” our appearance as long as we are skilled at our jobs. We can’t decide how we look, but we can decide how well we live and work.
1. What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 3?| A．The posters. |
| B．A nose job. |
| C．The Eiffel Tower. |
| D．A plastic surgery procedure. |
| A．employers are potential customers |
| B．attractive appearance seems to increase job chances |
| C．appearance is as important as height and weight |
| D．ads promote the plastic surgery |
| A．most families can’t afford the surgeon |
| B．the number of plastic surgeons is increasing |
| C．patients can be well looked after at the clinic |
| D．their customers are usually from wealthy families |
