1 . There are always times when your children get bored with studying. There are also moments when you are looking for something educational (教育的) yet funny and easy to do. With a few things and a little preparation, you can easily entertain (娱乐) and educate your children.
Do you read any magazines with pictures? Keep them. They can make a funny family game.
Sit with your children and look at the pictures. You can cut out interesting pictures and ask your children to lay (放置) them out. Use as many pictures as possible. For example, if it is a picture of a book, cut it out; even if it is an action, such as washing clothes, cut it out. Try to get as many different pictures as possible.
In this game, you are going to use the pictures to let your children make up their own stories. Then take any kind of table, even the kitchen table, and let your child lay out the pictures any way they wish. They don’t need to use all of them, just as many as they want.
After they have laid out the pictures, have them tell a story. If some pictures don’t fit in with their stories, don’t use them. If they find a different picture to add another part to their story, let them do it. The more pictures you have, the more creativity (创造力) will come from your children.
1. What’s the passage mainly about?| A．How to enjoy pictures with children at home. |
| B．How to entertain your children by drawing pictures. |
| C．How to educate children in an interesting and easy way at home. |
| D．How to tell stories to your children at home. |
| A．ask their parents questions |
| B．find a table to play the game |
| C．lay out the pictures |
| D．change the pictures |
| A．match | B．cover |
| C．mean | D．Entertain |
| A．cut out pictures from magazines or books |
| B．read magazines or wash clothes |
| C．make up stories about the pictures |
| D．make up stories with their parents |
2 . On November 4th, 2020, the draft that math should be listed as a major national project during the 14th Five-Year Plan(2021—25)period was adopted at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, reported China Daily.
Katherine Johnson (1918—2020), a former NASA mathematician who calculated and analyzed flight paths for many missions, once said: “Some things will drop out of the public eye and go away, but there will always be science, engineering, and technology. And there will always, always be mathematics.” This may be one of the reasons why our country has listed math and its applications as a major national project into the next Five-Year Plan.
“The policy and financial support for the field of mathematics will be greatly improved between 2021 and 2025 compared with the past five years—it’s unprecedented,” said Yuan Yaxiang, a mathematician and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He also stressed that mathematical research matters because it can help overcome some current technology bottlenecks.
According to Science and Technology Minister Wang Zhigang, basic scientific research, including mathematics, will have a larger focus during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with funding expected to reach over 8 percent of all research and development (R&D) expenses.
The math project is expected to receive 1.5 billion yuan in funding, according to Yuan. The funding will be used to build new institutions for scientific research and support the current ones with new experimental equipment. More training for young mathematicians has also been urged.
Thịs year, Tsinghua University carried out a leading talent training program in math. It recruits hundreds of outstanding middle and senior high school students from across the country to cultivate leading talents in mathematics and related fields. The “strengthening basic disciplines plan” was launched in 2020 at 36 top universities.
According to the German newspaper Die Welt, China leads the way as far as those with an aptitude for math. Of all those born in China between 2005 and 2009, 24 million have exhibited a talent for math. The number is 1.8 million and 940,000 in Japan and South Korea, respectively. That's why many international companies like Apple have set their research centers in China.
1. Why has our country listed math as a major national project in the 14th Five-Year Plan?| A．Because math has dropped out of the public eye. |
| B．Because the government intends to arouse the public’s interest in math. |
| C．Because math is the basic science that will always be there. |
| D．Because some mathematicians attach importance to it. |
| A．A middle school student talented in politics. |
| B．A high school student good at physics. |
| C．A primary school student gifted in mathematics. |
| D．A postgraduate with a natural gift in chemistry. |
| A．We will overcome current technology bottlenecks. |
| B．China will give unprecedented financial support to math researches. |
| C．1.5 billion yuan will be used to train more young mathematicians. |
| D．Many international companies will set up research centers in china. |
| A．Math has played an important role in the development of a country. |
| B．China carried out some policies to overcome difficulties in math. |
| C．Math has been listed as a major national project in the 14th Five-Year Plan period. |
| D．Leading talents will be admitted for further training. |
3 . Nowadays, the Internet is usually one of the first places a lonely heart turns to as the following story shows.
A 63-year-old retired woman in Zhengzhou, Henan province made headlines two days after she posted an advertisement on her Wechat page, in which she said she wanted to find a young female companion for a trip to Sanya, China’s Southern Hainan island.
In the advertisement, the Chinese dama (Chinese term for middle-aged and elderly women) surnamed Li said she is in good health, and she is particularly looking forward to a sea trip this winter.
“I have a daughter who works outside, and I don’t want to disturb her. But I’m afraid of traveling alone, so I am looking for a sweet, happy young woman, preferably aged between 19 and 25 to travel with me.”
At the end of the advertisment, dama Li extended her sincerity by saying she would cover all the expenses of the trip, including accommodation（食宿）and air tickets, plus an iPhone 7 as a bonus gift. Li said all she wants is just to find a sweet “daughter” who could help her take a lot of photos. But Li’s recruitment (招募) has also received many online arguments.
1. Why did the retired woman post the advertisement on her Wechat page?| A．To show she was very rich. |
| B．To tell her daughter she was lonely. |
| C．To receive as many likes as possible. |
| D．To hire a young female companion for a trip. |
| A．Some people don’t agree with what the woman has done. |
| B．Many young girls want to be the woman’s companion. |
| C．The woman’s daughter is unwilling to travel with her. |
| D．What the woman did is just for fun. |
| A．The Internet is a good place for people to turn to |
| B．Lonely mother hires “daughter” for a trip |
| C．Traveling alone is not encouraged |
| D．Daughter should care for mother |
4 . Advertising plays a major role in the competitive business world. Many industries take advantage of the power of advertising to attract or to win customers away from their business competitors. The influence of advertising is so huge that it causes many people to buy things that they do not want at the start.
Advertising encourages people to buy things they don’t want through misleading ideas. Advertising is proven to be a successful tool to stress the features of their product to the public even though it is regarded undesirable (不受欢迎的) such as cigarettes, drugs, alcohol and so on. For example, Dunhill, a cigarette company which sponsors (赞助) many football teams, seems to be promoting cigarettes to the public. Without the sponsorship, the company will be less known to the public, resulting in fewer sales of cigarettes.
Besides that, advertising has a large influence on the decisions made by the people in their everyday life. Many businesses use advertising as a form of promotion to create awareness (意识，认知) about their product in the market. For instance, in a fast food industry, the introduction of a new flavor o f burger needs advertising to reach the public while the other burgers require advertising to increase sales. Children, especially, are easily influenced by the advertisement and will have the desire to dine at fast food restaurants after that. Although fast food is bad for health, it has successfully become attractive to the public through advertising
However, advertising plays a part in helping customers to compare a product in terms of price, quality, reliability (可靠性) and so on. Without advertising, it will be very difficult for customers to judge the worthiness( 价值) of a product. For example, advertisements published by various companies have given the customers the opportunity to choose wisely when buying an item. Without the power of advertising, customers will choose a brand (品牌) which may not offer the best choice.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Advertising. | B．The product. | C．Feature. | D．The public. |
| A．food industry is having a hard time |
| B．the information passed on in advertisements is unreal |
| C．children are easily influenced by the advertisement |
| D．advertisements influence people to make decisions |
| A．plays a role in fast food industry |
| B．helps industries attract customers |
| C．encourages people to make the right choices |
| D．makes people buy some unnecessary things |
| A．objective | B．supportive |
| C．uncared | D．doubtful |
5 . Mike has loved flying since he was small. When he was three years old, his father took him to an air show. Mike loved the sounds of the plane, he
Later Mike became a salesman. He hoped to get lots of money for flying school. He traveled
One morning, Mike
Mike pretended to use the washroom. On the way he met a hostess(空姐) and told her about the coming
The two men received a
Later Mike was given free flying training as a reward(奖赏).
| A．spoke | B．dreamed | C．heard | D．thought |
| A．little | B．easily | C．much | D．quickly |
| A．instead of | B．such as | C．because of | D．as well as |
| A．warning | B．talking | C．complaining | D．asking |
| A．difficult | B．cheap | C．expensive | D．enjoyable |
| A．along | B．around | C．through | D．towards |
| A．especially | B．widely | C．except | D．never |
| A．drove | B．came | C．moved | D．flew |
| A．work | B．rest | C．sleep | D．bed |
| A．loud | B．low | C．nervous | D．serious |
| A．ran | B．jumped | C．walked | D．dropped |
| A．awake | B．quiet | C．asleep | D．careless |
| A．saying | B．happening | C．discussing | D．changing |
| A．sad | B．careful | C．painful | D．angry |
| A．accident | B．story | C．plan | D．challenge |
| A．trouble | B．training | C．flying | D．danger |
| A．nearest | B．biggest | C．Safest | D．farthest |
| A．present | B．welcome | C．message | D．surprise |
| A．waiting for | B．looking for | C．asking for | D．talking about |
| A．Then | B．Since | C．Though | D．So |
6 . With fingers and wrists wrapped in medicated tape, Zhang Guimei, founder and principal of the first free high school for girls in China, was given the honor of the country’s “role model for teachers” and “outstanding woman”.
Zhang met her husband in Dali and worked as a teacher in a local school. Unfortunately, her husband died of cancer not long after their marriage. Sadly, Zhang decided to leave this place with which she was too familiar. After that, she volunteered to teach at a middle school in Huaping, a poverty-stricken county located in the mountains.
Over time, Zhang witnessed the gender gap in education up close in relatively poor rural areas. Urban and rural students already faced unequal chance to quality education, and the traditional belief of male superiority(优越) only worsened rural girls’ situation. She discovered that many female students would just disappear after studying for a while and some girls were even pulled out of class just before the college entrance exam. The reasons varied: to pay for the younger brother’s tuition(学费), the girl’s parents would have her quit and return home to earn money; the family received engagement gifts(订婚礼物)...
In 2002, Zhang came up with an idea which, to many, seemed crazy: to found a free high school for girls. Six years later, with help from the Party and the local government and personal donations, she founded the Huaping All-Girls High School. With the goal of never letting a girl fall behind in schooling, Zhang often works overtime despite suffering from several kinds of illnesses. She has walked to almost every household deep in the mountains, talking to the parents about the importance of education for girls.
The efforts paid off. Over the past 13 years, her school has sent 1,800 girls to universities. “To educate a girl is to change the destiny of three generations. A cultured, responsible mother won’t let her daughter drop out of school,” Zhang said.
1. What probably made Zhang Guimei decide to leave the local school in Dali?| A．Her loss of husband. | B．Her desire for exploration. |
| C．Her love for teaching. | D．Her eagerness for adventure. |
| A．Difficult examinations. | B．Gender inequality. |
| C．Local misunderstanding. | D．Teacher resignation. |
| A．Realistic | B．Generous. | C．Determined. | D．Modest. |
| A．A free high school for girls was successfully set up. |
| B．A woman with illnesses faces ups and downs in life. |
| C．The gender gap in education in rural China is bridged. |
| D．A woman’s devotion to girls’ education finally paid off. |
7 . Volunteer Teaching Abroad
TEACH AROUND THE WORLD AND MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF STUDENTS IN COUNTRIES WITH LIMITED RESOURCES
Join a teaching abroad program and help children access the education they need for a brighter future. We know that education is essential for breaking down the barriers of poverty and inequality. We see it every day on our Teaching Projects. By joining us on a volunteer teaching placement, you’ll be able to make this change happen yourself!
This is what you can expect from our teaching volunteer opportunities:
Work with children and young people in elementary schools, high schools or colleges
Learn from and support local teachers as a teaching assistant
Contribute to lessons and get real classroom experience
Get a first-hand perspective on global education and its challenges
We have short and long-term teaching abroad placements available. If you’re passionate about a specific subject or have the experience, let us know. We can make sure you’re at a project that’s the best fit for you. We have:
Programs for volunteers wanting to teach English
Placements for volunteers interested in teaching basic computer skills
Opportunities for volunteers wanting to teach physical education abroad
Our programs run year-round, and you can join a trip at any time. It’s ideal if you’re looking for summer teaching programs abroad, or interested in teaching during the school year.
Interested? Just click the following link to fill in an application form!
1. What can volunteers expect from the teaching volunteer opportunities?| A．Receive support from the local teaching assistants. |
| B．Choose any subject and work place as he like. |
| C．Experience the teaching process in person. |
| D．Help to deal with problems in global education. |
| A．Call on readers to be a volunteer teacher to teach abroad. |
| B．Introduce a volunteer organization. |
| C．Explain why teaching abroad is important. |
| D．Persuade the readers the importance of volunteering. |
| A．On a text book. | B．On a website. |
| C．On a travel guide. | D．On a newspaper. |
8 . Robots that can cook are in growing demand in the United States. The increased demand comes at a time when restaurants are trying to put some distance between their workers and customers during the COVID-19.
In a few weeks, White Castle restaurants will test a robot arm that can cook French fries and other foods. The robot, called Flippy, is a product of Miso Robotics, a company based in Pasadena, California.
Robot food service was becoming popular even before the coronavirus pandemic (冠状病毒). Hospitals, college dining areas and other places tried to meet demand for food while keeping labor costs low. Robot chefs appeared at places like Creator, a restaurant in San Francisco. Now, some say, robots may become necessary for the food service industry. “I expect in the next two years you will see much more robotic adoption (采用) in the food space because of COVID-19,” Jain said.
Some people say, robots can lower the demand for labor. At the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, cafe workers used to spend six hours per day making salads, notes Tonya Johnson, the school’s director of nutrition services. But two years ago, the university added a Sally, a kind of robot that now makes around 40 salads per day. By adding Sally, the school was able to cut a job opening in its cooking staff. Johnson said, “I think the pandemic has made us realize how much we need more equipment like Sally.”
Miso Robotics co-founder and chief Buck Jordan said fast food restaurants are already having trouble finding workers, partly as a result of a losing population of young workers. Jordan added that his company’s position is that “automation (自动化) is not a choice”. He added, “You must automate in order to survive in the future.”
1. Why is robot food service becoming popular?| A．It can take the place of human beings in the future. |
| B．It can shorten the distance between workers and customers. |
| C．It can make all kinds of delicious food in a very short time. |
| D．It can meet the demand for food and reduce the cost of labor. |
| A．It is just a common robot like others. | B．It is useless to improve the speed of work. |
| C．It helps the school employ fewer workers. | D．It makes as many salads as workers. |
| A．Worried. | B．Supportive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent |
| A．To tell us an increasing need for robot cooks in US restaurants. |
| B．To advertise robot cooks. |
| C．To introduce a new food service to deal with COVID-19. |
| D．To complain about the difficulties in finding enough labor workers. |
9 . If you’re a fan of fast fashion, your choices may become fewer in the near future.
At the end of 2020, fast-fashion giant H&M said it would close 350 stores worldwide. Recently, Spanish fashion giant Inditex said that it would close all its Bershka, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius stores in China. It all indicates that fast fashion is slowing down, said the website Fast Company.
A major reason is the change in the attitude of consumers. Millennials, those who were born in the 1980s or 1990s, are now the largest consumer group. Unlike their predecessors (前人), millennials are more financially stable, and thus low-priced fast fashion is not their first choice. According to The South China Morning Post, more people are starting to care about quality and the stories behind a product.
Another factor is the growing concern over the fashion industry’s effect on the environment. As The New York Times mentioned, the fashion industry is one of the largest polluters of clean water and three-fifths of clothes produced in a year end up in landfills (垃圾场). As there is more awareness of the climate problems, younger people are preferring more eco-friendly choices.
Molly, 22, is one of them. Before she went to college, she used to frequent fast-fashion shops like Forever 21 and H&M. But after taking a class that focused on the environmental influence of clothing production, her preference changed.
Now, she tries to shop in a way that is both sustainable (可持续的) and affordable: She shops second-hand. “My friend showed me how easy it was to be thrifty (节约的), and I developed a new personal style that focused less on fashions but on basics that don’t go out of style,” she told MTV News.
In order to survive in the competitive market, many fast-fashion brands are making changes as well. For example, Inditex said that the company plans for all of its clothes to be sustainable by 2025.
“Sustainability is a never-ending task in which everyone here is involved,” said Pablo Isla, CEO of Inditex.
1. Why is fast fashion unpopular among millennials?| A．Millennials follow predecessors’ style. |
| B．Millennials pay more attention to quality. |
| C．Millennials prefer cheaper clothes. |
| D．Millennials like products with a long history. |
| A．She likes thrifty brands. | B．She prefers fashionable clothes. |
| C．She buys used clothes. | D．She buys only necessary clothes. |
| A．how a major company can change their products to fit the market |
| B．how sustainability has become the top choice for most fashion companies |
| C．how the fast-fashion industry is suffering a big loss |
| D．how competition is becoming more violent in the fashion industry |
| A．a storybook | B．a science report |
| C．a textbook | D．a newspaper |
10 . Primary and junior-high school students and their parents across the country have seen some changes since the new school year started on September 1. Students have less homework, and their parents no longer need to correct the homework of their children. At the same time, the number of after-school tutoring institutions for primary and junior-high school students is reducing. These changes are the result of national guidelines to ease the burden(负担）of excessive homework and off-campus tutoring for students during the nine years of compulsory education(义务教育）.Known as the“double reduction”policy(双减政策），the guidelines were issued at the end of July,and took effect this semester.
The policy is an important step in China's boosting of more well-rounded educational practices. In addition to providing compulsory education, China is also working to develop an education system that enables young people to create a moral, intellectual, physical and mental grounding. China's education system had become increasingly exam-oriented(应试教育）in recent decades due to the desire of achieving high scores in high school and the college entrance examinations. In addition, the extracurricular tutoring companies,most of which privately funded, were producing social anxiety in the name of creating a better future for children. Each of these factors contributed to an excessive burden on primary and junior-high school students, and made education a results-oriented tool serving short-term interests, endangering the entire education system and even the mental health of the future generations.
The policy of easing study burden aims to help education recover its essential purpose with schooling as the cornerstone of the system, social education as the supplement and family education as the foundation, so as to better educate high-caliber talents for the country.
The policy may bring back well-rounded education; however, the motivation to receive and offer exam-oriented learning will last as long as exam scores remain the standard for entry to high schools and colleges. There is still a long way to go for China to change fromexam-oriented to well-rounded education.
1. What change has taken place since this September?| A．Students have no homework. |
| B．Parents have to correct homework. |
| C．After-school tutoring institutions disappear. |
| D．The burden of students becomes less. |
| A．An education to develop students in many ways. |
| B．An education to encourage students to achieve high scores. |
| C．An education to train students to deal with exams. |
| D．An education to put young students' health in danger. |
| A．To welcome the new policy. |
| B．To introduce the new policy. |
| C．To question the new policy. |
| D．To support the new policy. |
| A．In a text book. |
| B．In a novel. |
| C．In an education magazine. |
| D．In a diary. |
