1 . Gather together a couple of good friends and take a leisurely stroll through the streets — this is what many youngsters in China enjoy doing when they visit a new city.
To them, Citywalk means “roaming around the city” on foot. Participants can follow a distinctive urban route, soaking up the atmosphere, exploring old buildings, browsing boutique shops, sipping a cup of coffee, or indulging in authentic local snacks.
Citywalk can be a special guided trip for a small group of people, or simply a leisurely stroll for one or two to explore new areas, sticking to the key point: avoiding famous scenic spots and big crowds to gain a more inclusive experience of the places you visit. Besides interacting with a city, Citywalk provides young people with a new social scene, where they who share the same interests and ideas can easily make friends.
In China, the Citywalk trend is spreading from first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai to second and third-tier cities, encouraging more participants and event organizers to get involved. Some organizers invite folk culture researchers and enthusiasts to act as tour guides. Xiao Yiyi, a young entrepreneur in Changsha, recently launched six Citywalk routes in different cities on her social media account, with the aim of providing experiences for visitors to “walk in open-air museums”. Her Changsha route features more offbeat sights like historical architecture from the 19th century, artsy old alleys, and even a stop-off to sample the local spicy crayfish specialty.
Even though Citywalk is a relatively new phenomenon, it is offering a positive change to urban travelers as they can better choose the experiences based on their interests and needs. At the same time, Citywalk represents an opportunity for tour guides and travel service providers to offer a more tailored, professional service to meet with ever-changing market demands.
1. Why do young people choose Citywalk?| A．To enjoy a guided tour. |
| B．To cut down expenses. |
| C．To dig deeper into a city. |
| D．To make new friends. |
| A．Doing sightseeing on foot. | B．Avoiding hot scenic spots. |
| C．Taking a local tour guide. | D．Keeping a fixed urban route. |
| A．A tour guide | B．A culture researcher. |
| C．A Citywalk enthusiast. | D．An event organizer. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Dismissive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unclear. |
2 . The US tech giant Microsoft Corp and the leadership consulting firm DDI worked together on a new project on Thursday, with the goal of helping more than 1 million women in China improve their digital skills and embrace the digital future.
The Women Digital Future project came as reports show that women have been more negatively impacted by the COVID-19 than men, and an improvement in digital skills is expected to help them better deal with the bad results from it.
Microsoft said it will partner with a number of companies and organizations to help women in multiple ways, as COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation worldwide and women are faced with more challenges in both life and work.
Alain Crozier, chairman and CEO of Microsoft Greater China, said, “Microsoft has always placed a high value on the development of our female employees and strongly promoting the power of women to drive the world forward.”
Mindy Yeh, managing director of Greater China, said the company’s global survey shows that there are nearly double the number of female leaders at the top 20 percent of well-performing companies than in the bottom 20 percent. Moreover, they have clear advantages in terms of teamwork and interaction.
Cecilia Qi, general manager of GSK China, said, “Digital transformation is both an opportunity and a challenge for women. This is especially the case in the new era, which requires companies to provide women with more support to help them achieve better work-life balance and continue to gain success as they continue forward in their career. Success belongs to everyone, and I believe that, in the future, society will be more supportive of women and provide them with more equal career opportunities.”
1. What is the main purpose of the new project?| A．To help women fight against COVID-19. |
| B．To reduce the bad impacts from COVID-19 on women. |
| C．To help women better prepare for the digital future. |
| D．To promote the products of Microsoft Corp. |
| A．speeded up | B．lived up to | C．influenced | D．prevented |
| A．Women are more popular in good companies. | B．Women receive more support from society. |
| C．Women leaders have more advantages over men. | D．Women leaders perform better in some fields. |
| A．Women have no chance to succeed in the digital age. |
| B．Women are treated unfairly in pursuing a successful career. |
| C．Women need support to achieve a balance between work and life. |
| D．The world is too complex for women to achieve their dreams. |
3 . One of the problems damaging our planet is the number of things we throw away. Rubbish of all kinds is piling up in landfill and polluting our rivers and oceans. A more recent addition to the list of things we threw away is e-waste—electronic items that are broken and not recycled.
Millions of tonnes of televisions, phones, and other electronic equipment are abandoned each year.
As many electrical items contain valuable metals, another solution is e-waste mining. An experiment at the University of New South Wales involves extracting these materials from electronic gadgets.
These projects make total sense, but collections of e-waste for recycling are decreasing.
| A．The demand for waste is on a high level. |
| B．Now two solutions can give them a new life. |
| C．Because it’s cheaper to replace them than fix them. |
| D．It’s impossible that people practice e-waste recycling. |
| E．Doing it could be more profitable than traditional mining. |
| F．And in countries without law on e-waste, much of it just goes to landfill. |
| G．However, there’s a growing trend for repair events to solve such a problem. |
4 . The slogan of a University of Northern Iowa clothing exchange also serves as the perfect description of a fashion currently popular among students: thrifting-trading clothes with friends informally or through campus events and websites such as Swapstyle or at a thrift store.
Students are becoming increasingly vocal champions of this creative and commercial effort and the culture it represents. The act of thrifting is at the heart of the rise in students’ do-it-yourself (DIY) fashion shows and themed parties in which clothes must be handmade-composed of older, organic or recyclable items.
More broadly, the thrifting movement represents a generational switch built on five basic beliefs: old is new, mixing is far better than matching exchanging beats shopping, the best things in life are free (or incredibly cheap), and social responsibility is the new black.
According to recent campus and professional press reports, more students are thrifting so they can remain fashionable during the economic downturn.
They are giving up brand loyalty. They are also increasingly unwilling or unable to buy things at full price. Instead, they are seeking discounted ways to stand out stylistically, including making certain classic clothes the next big things.
“It’s often hard to find two of the same clothing items in a thrift store. You can leave knowing that the special outfit you are getting for your major event, no one will have,” Saint Xavier University rising senior Sydney Bennett confirms. “Because a lot of the items in thrift stores are classic, you will have a chance to showcase a ‘recycled style’ that is just like new for our generation.”
To this end, Bennett calls thrifting “a treasure hunt and shopping experience rolled into one ”.
1. Which item of the following will disqualify you for DIY fashion shows?| A．A newly-bought dress. | B．A pair of washed-out jeans. |
| C．An out-dated sweater. | D．A second-hand cotton jacket. |
| A．It’ll damage economy. | B．It’s a temporary success. |
| C．It was started by the government. | D．It reflects a change in philosophy of life. |
| A．Getting anything for nothing. | B．Staying loyal to the brand. |
| C．Seeking out unique items. | D．Buying as many clothes as possible. |
| A．To evaluate a rule. | B．To clarify a concept. |
| C．To introduce a new trend. | D．To recommend a way of life. |
5 . In this modern age, most of us have forgotten to be patient and get angry very quickly over minor things like a traffic jam, a baby crying and such things. It often seems so easy to get what we want right away that when we have to wait even a little while, it seems like we are waiting for ages. We used to be happy to wait 10-15 minutes it took to reheat food in the oven (烤箱), but now we’re impatient when waiting two minutes it takes in the microwave.
With the convenience provided by modern society, is patience still a virtue (美德) in the fast-paced world? To begin with, I’d like to share the meaning of the word “patience”. Generally it means being able to tolerate delay without getting impatient. However, it isn’t necessarily a passive activity. It takes an active commitment, knowing when to take action and when not to.
So I would argue that patience is still — and always — a virtue. Sure. I used to be one of those who often stared at the microwave for the full two minutes it took to heat my food. And in the end, the food tasted bad. If l had had the patience to heat the food properly in the oven, I would have enjoyed a delicious meal.
Actually the benefits of patience go beyond just heating up our food. Patience is an exercise in self-control which shows that we can handle life problems when things get tough, and that we can exercise good judgment. Lack of patience can cause us to make wrong decisions that negatively affect our health and happiness, waste our time, put us under a lot of stress and affect our relationships in a very negative way.
Everything in life happens for a reason. Sometimes we face an obstacle (障碍) because we need to grow in ways we didn’t realize. It’s not always obvious when that was happening, but with patience we will soon see clearly why it happened; and what we were meant to learn from it.
Taking time to think about our actions and being patient are a small price to pay when we determine the best possible solution to any problems.
1. The author uses the example of reheating food to show that .| A．people have no time to enjoy the meal | B．high technology brings more benefits |
| C．more people lack patience now | D．the fast-paced life makes people stressed |
| A．People under stress tend to get angry. |
| B．Patient people are more likely to make better decisions. |
| C．People with self-control are easier to succeed. |
| D．Patient people are unlikely to make mistakes. |
| A．A wise man learns from experience. |
| B．A brave man is not afraid of challenges. |
| C．A man should find out reasons for what happened. |
| D．A man should be patient to deal with difficulties. |
| A．The causes of impatience. | B．Ways to exercise patience. |
| C．Is patience really a virtue? | D．What does “patience” mean? |
6 . Something strange is happening to the millennial workers of America. After a year spent with their computers, they are turning over the carefully arranged chessboards of their lives and deciding to risk it all. Some are giving stable jobs up to start a new business, while others giving up the career altogether.
If this movement has a battle cry, it’s “YOLO” — “you only live once”. The term is used when people are making irresponsible bets that sometimes pay off anyway. More broadly, it has come to characterize the attitude that has captured a certain type of bored office worker in recent months.
“It feels like we’ve been so locked into careers for the past decade, and this is our opportunity to switch it up,” said Nate Moseley, 29, a buyer at a major clothing retailer. Mr Moseley recently decided to leave his US$130,000-a-year job. He created an Excel spreadsheet called “Late 20s Crisis”, which he filled with potential options for his next move: Take a coding class, start mining Ethereum, join a 2022 political campaign and open a tourism business. “The idea of going right back to the pre-Covid set-up sounds so unappealing after this past year,” he noted. “If not now, when will I ever do this?”
It’s possible that some of these YOLOers will end up back in stable jobs if they spend through their savings, or their new jobs fail. But an adventurous spirit seems to be infecting even the kinds of risk-averse overachievers who typically hold on to the career ladder.
One executive at a major tech company said she and her husband had both been discussing quitting their jobs. The pandemic, she said, had taught them that they’d been playing it too safe with their life choices, and missing out on valuable family time. The executive then sent me a quote from the Buddha about impermanence, and the value of realizing that nothing lasts forever. Or, to put it in slightly earthier terms: YOLO.
1. What strange things are US millennial workers doing?| A．They prefer doing work online. | B．They are taking more risks. |
| C．They enjoy playing chess more. | D．They are making extra money. |
| A．To encourage people to take brave moves. | B．To stop people making silly decisions. |
| C．To cover up a person’s past failure. | D．To gain trust from other people. |
| A．It didn’t pay well enough. | B．The business was in a crisis. |
| C．He missed the pre-Covid set-up. | D．He was eager for new changes. |
| A．The bad effect of the pandemic. | B．The significant influence of YOLO. |
| C．The potential danger of changing jobs. | D．The future development of different careers. |
7 . 17-year-old Norwood was driving three friends home in St. Petersburg, Florida, on February 20. As they
As smoke
The impact had caved in Norwood’s driver’s side door, jamming it
But halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood ran back and found Simmons in the back
She started
| A．came | B．referred | C．pointed | D．led |
| A．turned | B．broke | C．looked | D．crashed |
| A．rose | B．burnt | C．blew | D．cleared |
| A．Get out | B．Stand up | C．Make out | D．Put up |
| A．full | B．shut | C．still | D．open |
| A．stepped | B．drove | C．climbed | D．ran |
| A．attempted | B．proposed | C．managed | D．intended |
| A．car | B．yard | C．door | D．seat |
| A．threw | B．picked | C．lifted | D．pulled |
| A．destination | B．safety | C．shelter | D．emergency |
| A．goal | B．record | C．sign | D．danger |
| A．Obviously | B．Fortunately | C．Hopefully | D．Surely |
| A．touching | B．hurting | C．pressing | D．checking |
| A．response | B．trouble | C．worry | D．sense |
| A．inspired | B．moved | C．annoyed | D．frightened |
8 . If you picnic in a Texas park, chances are you’ll encounter fire ants — a kind of pest that can deliver painful bites. This invasive (入侵的) species, like many others, is not only annoying but also destructive.
An invasive species is any kind of living thing that isn’t native to an ecosystem and causes harm. Sometimes non-native species are imported by accident, like in the 1930s when ships from South America inadvertently took fire ants to North America. Other times non-native species are imported deliberately. Some types of Asian fish that were originally imported to the U.S. from China to clean fish farms escaped and entered rivers. Green iguanas were brought to China, as pets, but irresponsible owners released them.
Non-native species have even been imported for emotional reasons. A man once released dozens of European starlings (八哥) in New York in an effort to bring all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s writings to America. Today, millions of starlings cause over $800 million in damage to U.S. agriculture every year. Invasive species’ global economic influence is also enormous. The U.S. government assesses that invasive species cost the American economy over $120 billion every year.
Invasive species can damage their host habitats by unbalancing local ecosystems. They often lack natural enemies in their new environment and out-compete native species for food and other resources. They also might feed on local species. Invasive species can also carry diseases for which local species have no immunity (免疫力). This can result in the loss of an entire native species.
Invasive species are among the leading threats to native wildlife. About 42% of threatened or endangered species are at risk due to invasive species. Unless people take serious action, the economic and environmental costs of invasive species will become disastrous.
1. What does the underlined word “inadvertently” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Separately. | B．Regularly. |
| C．Temporarily. | D．Unexpectedly. |
| A．To satisfy his wish. |
| B．To raise them as pets. |
| C．To copy Shakespeare’s behavior. |
| D．To do agricultural experiments. |
| A．Food shortage for native people. |
| B．Serious economic imbalance. |
| C．Economic and environmental problems. |
| D．Dangerous diseases for humans. |
| A．Wildlife Conservation |
| B．Protecting Native Species |
| C．Environmental Protection Measures |
| D．Our Unwelcome Guests |
9 . There is a kind of climate pollution that we can’t see clearly. It isn’t in our rivers, lands or skies, it is in our minds. When climate disinformation goes unchecked, it spreads like wildfire, undermining the existence of climate change and the need for urgent action.
Like the biosphere that sustains us, the health of our information ecosystems is vital to our survival. As an artist, I feel a responsibility to create new ways of seeing the disinformation that has come to define the age of fake news.
Social media sites are honed to grab our attention. Using sophisticated algorithms, the corporations behind them decide what billions of people see around the world, dictated by what keeps you hooked, but also by what the companies paying social media sites choose to put in front of you.
Powerful corporate actors deploy clever influence campaigns via ads targeted at specific users based on what social media firms know about those people. Major oil and gas companies have spent billions of dollars over the years persuading consumers about their green proofs, when only 1 per cent of their expenditure in 2019 was on renewable energy. This is known as corporate greenwashing. Still, fossil fuel firms maintain that their climate policies are “responsible” and “in line with the science”.
To expose the scale of corporate greenwashing online, I was part of a team that recently launched Eco-Bot.Net. Co-created with artist Rob “3D” Del Naja of the band Massive Attack and Dale Vince, a green entrepreneur, Eco-Bot. Net’s AI-powered website ran throughout the COP26 climate summit, exposing climate change misinformation by releasing a series of data drops for heavily polluting sectors, including energy, agribusiness and aviation.
Academic definitions of climate disinformation and greenwashing were used to unearth posts across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visualize them on our website. Eco-Bot.Net then flagged greenwashing ads and posts on the original social media site with a public health warning.
By digging into our data, journalists have already revealed that companies are targeting specific demographics in order to influence public perceptions about climate change – and even alter government policy.
One data drop focused on the 100 biggest fossil fuel producers, companies that have been the source of 71 per cent of global carbon emissions. It found that 16 of these companies ran 1705 greenwashing and climate misinformation ads globally on Facebook and Instagram this year. In total, they spent more than £4 million creating influence campaigns that generated up to 155 million impressions.
Social media companies could end most of the harms from climate disinformation on their platforms if they wanted to. Flagging systems were swiftly introduced to warn users of posts containing disinformation about covid-19. The scientific consensus on human-caused global warming has been resolute for decades, so why can’t a similar flagging system be implemented for related disinformation?
It is true that Twitter and Facebook have both introduced climate science information hubs, but these are little more than PR exercises that fail to directly tackle climate disinformation on any kind of scale.
This epidemic of climate change disinformation on social media is eroding collective ideas of truth. In this post-truth age of disinformation, we hope that the public, the press and policy-makers will be able to use our data findings to see what is hidden by what we see online.
For the first time, we can witness the regional scale of corporate greenwashing. The era of climate denial and delay is largely over — except, as Eco-Bot.Net has revealed, on social media.
1. What does the word “undermine” in the first paragraph mean in the passage?| A．Dig holes in the ground. | B．Make sth weaker at the base. |
| C．Increase or further improve. | D．Put a stop to sth. |
| A．give the readers a precise definition of corporate greenwashing |
| B．show the dishonest claim by fossil fuel companies on their responsible climate policies |
| C．demonstrate the huge investment the corporations made to exert powerful influence on the targeted social media users based on algorithm |
| D．emphasize the tens of millions of dollars spent on renewable energy |
| A．energy | B．agribusiness | C．aviation | D．social media |
| A．They are willing to help but feel powerless to do so. |
| B．They have the ability to make a change but refuse to do so as there are controversies over climate changes. |
| C．They have the ability to make a change and have made some sincere but fruitless efforts on it. |
| D．They lose their integrity in face of the money from the big corporations. |
10 . When did you last write a letter? Properly write one—by hand? In a digital world, sending a text or email is far more convenient than using traditional mail. Well, some people claim that writing still has many benefits, so maybe it’s not time to throw away your ballpoint or fountain pen yet.
These days, when people request things in writing, a typed, electronic document will be accepted. Doing this on a computer means it could be saved, edited, copied and sent via email. But doing a handwritten document is unique: it requires planning and thought, and, as well as practicing your handwriting, it helps you to remember selling and punctuation.
Some experts believe your brain benefits from using old-fashioned pen and paper. This is particularly related to students, because typing notes into a laptop is thought to lack the “tactile feedback” (触觉回馈) to the brain. They think taking note by hand involve cognitive engagement (认知参与) in summarizing, paraphrasing organizing, concept and vocabulary mapping. They also agree that handwriting may improve fine movement skills in your hands and fingers.
There are everyday benefits to using pen and paper too. Writing notes, shopping lists or messages on the back of an envelope can still be useful, quick and convenient. But putting pen to paper in a letter to a friend or loved one can probably have the most influence. Pen pal writer Katherine Moller told the BBC: “In a word where it is so easy to get online email or to send a fast text, it is so personal and so precious to know someone choose to turn off the virtual world to spend some time with you.”
So, while digital skills remain important, don’t get rid of your pens and pencils yet-especially if your smartphone, tablet or laptop runs out of power!
1. Two questions are asked in paragraph 1 to ________.| A．offer background information | B．ask for opinions |
| C．show disagreement | D．lead to the topic |
| A．Because it involves planning, thought and handwriting. |
| B．Because it creates spelling and punctuation. |
| C．Because it does harm to hands and fingers. |
| D．Because it helps the brain recover from disease. |
| A．There are everyday benefits to using pen and paper. |
| B．Writing by hand to someone shows true emotion. |
| C．It is not easy to email or to send a fast text today. |
| D．Digital sills are always important and necessary. |
| A．It’s Time to Throw Away Your Pens |
| B．A World with Writing by Hand |
| C．Do We Still Need to Write by Hand? |
| D．The Birth of Writing by Hand |
