1 . In January, Rio Verde Foothills, an Arizona desert community, found itself in a bad situation: The water supply was cut off.
The community is made up of about 2,000 homes. For years, many in the community have depended on water trucked in from the nearby city of Scottsdale. which gets its water from the Colorado River. But the river is drying up Scottsdale says it has to save water for its own. Now people in Rio Verde Foothills must find a solution.
Some experts say the solution is to bring water from outside of the state. One idea is to build a desalination (海水淡化) plant on Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. The plant would take away salt from the water and supply that water to Arizona through a 200-mile pipeline (管道). Supporters say this could provide fresh water for about ten years.
Environmentalists say the desalination project would harm the planet in several ways. Some of the salt taken out of the Sea of Cortez might end up back in the ocean, harming wildlife. The pipeline would be harmful to land where people and animals live. And the desalination process uses lots of power. This would create greenhouse gases, which are causing the conditions that have led to Arizona’s water problems.
Margaret Wilder, a professor at the. University of Arizona, says the government should focus on cutting water demand (需求) rather than increasing supply. That would mean taking water-saving measures and controlling how many homes are built in the desert. “We need to start asking questions when people present us with unproblematic and carefree solutions to the water problem,’ says Wilder.
People in Tucson, Arizona, have found a solution to the city’s water shortage: rainwater Thousands of households are collecting it and using it for cooking, for drinking, and in their gardens.
1. Why did Scottsdale cut off the water supply to Rio Verde Foothills?| A．The locals wasted plenty of fresh water | B．Mexico’s, Sea of Cortez has been, polluted |
| C．The water level in Colorado River has fallen. | D．More and more people move to the community. |
| A．It could improve people’s well-being. | B．It won’t solve the water shortage. |
| C．It can’t meet the community’s needs. | D．It might be bad for the environment |
| A．Increasing the water supply. | B．Taking action to save water. |
| C．Making the most of rainwater. | D．Planting trees, on the river bank |
| A．A newspaper. | B．A guidebook. | C．A diary. | D．A novel. |
2 . It happens in every disaster (灾难): For those in need, people often donate (捐赠) things that turn out to be more of a trouble.
Juanita Rilling remembers it happened in 1988 when she was a disaster expert trying to help people suffering from a hurricane (飓风) in Honduras. “One morning I received a call from one of our logistic operators (物流运营商), and he explained to me that there was a plane carrying medical supplies that needed to land,” says Rilling. “But the ground was full, with lots of donations that no one had required. The plane—full of needed supplies—had to find someplace else to go. And it ended up stopping everyone’s plans by about 48 hours, which is important time in a disaster.”
Rilling now runs the Center for International Disaster Information, which is trying to make sure things like that don’t happen again. So when Superstorm Sandy hit, Rilling’s group started a project to encourage money donation. “Even a small donation can make a big difference and can quickly become exactly what people affected by a disaster need most,” Rilling says. But despite this, donators do that over and over. About 60% of the things donated after a disaster couldn’t be used. Often it’s old clothing or food.
Meghan Hara, who deals with kind donations for the American Red Cross, says she knows that some people are careful with giving money. And she doesn’t think that the need to give something concrete (实物) should be completely stopped.
“Part of what people are doing is that they’re helping, and they’re trying to help. What we need to work out is how to effectively deal with that,” Hara says.
1. What caused needed supplies to be put off after the hurricane in 1988?| A．Workers on the plane. | B．A weather report. |
| C．Useless donations on the ground. | D．The call from the operator. |
| A．Clothing. | B．Money. | C．Medicine. | D．Food. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Uncaring. | D．Worried. |
| A．Studies on natural disasters. |
| B．The benefits of helping others. |
| C．Tips on choosing useful donations. |
| D．The ways of managing people’s donations. |
·When and why were you in the reading-room?
·What did you notice there? (eg. students talking loudly, …)
·What is your opinion?
注意：(1) 短文须包括上述全部要点，应适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
(2) 词数：100左右。短文开头已给出（不计词数）。
Rules are important in our daily life. Following rules actually starts with very small acts, in the school reading room for example.
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| A Some students are just crazy about computer games. People have to accept the fact that these machines are having a terrible effect on students’ reading ability. Students are no longer interested in reading these days. Instead, they just stare at the computer screen, pushing those buttons. They don’t have to use their brains or their memory. Obviously, these machines are the cause of so much underachievement in today’s society. | B Game developers worry about how to prevent people copying the games illegally. Some companies have been trying to make sure that everyone who plays the game is a legal user. For example, you might have to have an internet connection to play. This is a problem for some people if their internet connection isn’t reliable. So they would rather buy pirated versions (盗版) which don’t have these limits. |
| C I realize that a lot of these play-for-free games are designed to make money. You play for free, but once you’ve devoted time and effort to your game, you start paying real money to progress further into the game. With people spending lots of money on virtual (虚拟的) items, I can see why governments might want to make rules for games like these. | D A lot of games are attractive because the virtual world is fairer than the real world. Your success isn’t determined by your age, social position or education. Besides, the sense of being together in the gaming world is really strong. Therefore, people should stop blaming these games and start thinking about how we can bring the good things of gaming into our real lives. |
5 . Cuba’s first all-female umpire(裁判)team is winning praises by umpiring at top-tier baseball games in a sport that is a national obsession on the island and long dominated by men.
Former baseball and softball player Janet Moreno has been the only one for 18 seasons as Cuba’s first top-league female umpire, but was joined by three others a few months ago. “Things are starting to change,” said Moreno, 49, wearing her black garb ahead of a recent game at Havana’s Latinoamericano Stadium. “This is the first time in the Americas that a team of women works the top league of a country.” On the field, Moreno wears dark sunglasses, firm and unflappable as Industriales and Pinar del Rio fight against each other. “The players have shown her great respect,” said Industriales catcher Oscar Valdes. “What matters is not your gender but who you are on the field and your passion for excellence.” The Cuban four, including Miroslava Cumba, Yalili Acosta and Milagros Quinones, are the only such group in global baseball, according to Cesar Valdes, head of rules and officiating for Cuba’s national baseball league. “We wanted to be ahead,” he said. Even in Major League Baseball, the world’s most watched baseball tournament, there has never been a female umpire.
Preparing for another game this week, the four women swapped jokes and said such camaraderie has helped their success. “I stay focused on my work on the field. I blank out what’s going on in the stands,” said Cumba, 43, who spent eight years previously umpiring youth baseball. Baseball is not the only sport becoming more inclusive: Cuba late last year staged its first official female boxing matches since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. Moreno, who dreams of someday umpiring the Olympics or World Baseball Classic, jokes that her newfound fame does not mean she must give up her femininity. “When we go out (to umpire)we wear perfume, so that it feels like there is a flower on the field and the flower should not be mistreated,” she said.
1. What’s the purpose of Paragraph 1?| A．To explain the situation of baseball in Cuba. |
| B．To inform us of some famous women players in Cuba. |
| C．To introduce the topic of this passage. |
| D．To tell us some well-known baseball matches. |
| A．A kind of clothes. | B．A kind of sports. |
| C．A kind of league. | D．A kind of rules. |
| A．Janet Moreno. | B．Miroslava Cumba. |
| C．Yalili Acosta. | D．Cesar Valdes. |
| A．Moreno has umpired the Olympics. |
| B．Cumba spent eight years in umpiring youth baseball before. |
| C．Oscar Valdes is a player of a baseball team. |
| D．Cesar Valdes is in charge of rules and officiating for Cuba’s national baseball league |
6 . We always put into children’s minds that learning to read is extremely important to their future success. But we don’t put that same urgency(迫切性) on adults, even though a large percentage of American adults have a low reading or writing ability.
Learning those skills requires many levels of support. Take, for example, the three hours every day in a Louisville community center.
Ardo Ahmed and Yurilia Manzanares are among the people sitting in classrooms and listening to teachers. These three hours are about learning English. Yurilia came to the United States from Mexico, and Ardo from Somalia. “Everyone is coming here to learn English, to have the same kind of support as their children,” their teacher Meagan Lamb said.
Literacy(读写能力) among adults, specifically among moms, is a concern that reaches far beyond Louisville, far beyond immigrant communities. A Barbara Bush Foundation study found fewer than half of American adults can read beyond a 6th-grade level. A study supported by the National Institutes of Health stated “a mother’s reading skill is the greatest determinant of her children’s future academic(学业的) success.”
“There’s a stigma(耻辱) there,” said Felicia Cumings Smith, the new head of the National Center for Families Learning. “There’s quite a bit of funding that goes into literacy for K-12, but if students are not successful during those schooling years, that all comes to an end.”
These three hours, every day, make a difference. But they’re only possible because the community center where they take place provides childcare while the parents learn English.
The children are learning English, which creates even more stimulus for the parents to learn as well.
“The kids are speaking English in school every day,” Meagan said. “And then they go back home, and little by little Spanish doesn’t feel like their native language.” It’s why, in the last of these three hours, Yurilia and Ardo attend “Parent Time”. It’s where they practice not just the language but how to apply it.
1. What is the example used to mainly explain in Paragraph 3?| A．Adults actively promote their literacy. |
| B．Immigrants’ English literacy is worrying. |
| C．Many programs are aimed at adults’ literacy. |
| D．Teachers improve adults’ literacy in different ways. |
| A．Female illiteracy has affected their work. |
| B．Adult illiteracy is a widespread problem. |
| C．Adult illiteracy exists mainly among immigrants. |
| D．Female illiteracy is more serious than male illiteracy. |
| A．The service provided. |
| B．The flexible class time. |
| C．The support from their family. |
| D．The increasing need for lifelong learning. |
| A．Value. | B．Knowledge. |
| C．Evidence. | D．Encouragement. |
1. How often do the students learn repair skills in the shop?
| A．Once a week. | B．Three times a week. | C．Once a month. |
| A．The way of using tools. | B．How to fix a flat tire. | C．All the parts of a bike. |
| A．Difficult. | B．Boring. | C．Interesting. |
| A．A student. | B．A director. | C．A teacher. |
8 . We always hear that texting, which refers to the communicative practice of sending brief messages on cell phones or other personal digital devices, is a disaster. The idea is that texting leads to the fall of writing ability among young people because it is full of informal language. As a matter of fact, it isn’t true. In order to see that texting is actually a whole new way of writing that young people are developing, we have to look at what language really is.
Basically, if we think about language, it has existed(存在)for centuries, and it appears as speech. W. talked. That’s what we’re probably genetically determined. That’s how we use language most. Writing is something that came along much later. But writing has its advantage, When you write, you can make the content smooth, colorful and elegant with language, which is much less likely if you’re just talking. It is because writing is a conscious(有意识的)process and you can look backwards.
Informal speech is something quite different. Linguists have actually shown that when we’re speaking informally in an unmonitored way, we tend to speak in words 7 to 10 as a group. You’ll notice this if you ever have an occasion for recording yourself or a group of people talking. That’s what speech is like. Speech is much looser and less reflective(反思的)-very different from writing.
Texting is a new way of writing, because texters use writing skills before texting. People will process information in more creative uses of language during texting. When they use informal language in their texts, many understand there are different communicative situations. They try shortening language for correct spelling of a word or a phrase. Texting also allows texters much time to form their thoughts and provides many opportunities for them to revise their ideas Moreover, texting positively exercises texters’ rhetorical(修醇的)skills. Since texts are written in various styles, people must know how to match the style of a text with its message.
Now we have an overall understanding of texting.
1. How does writing differ from speech?| A．It came before talking. | B．It is an unconscious process. |
| C．Its style is less strict. | D．It can be improved again and again. |
| A．Stricter. | B．Richer. | C．Freer. | D．Harder. |
| A．What is speech exactly. |
| B．How texters learn to write. |
| C．How texters send message successfully. |
| D．The relationship between writing and texting. |
| A．It is another form of writing. | B．It is less reflective. |
| C．It is the same as speaking. | D．It is a disaster. |
9 . As employees’ attitudes toward work change, new forms of employment are appearing. Workers want flexibility in where, when and how they are employed. Many people,
Young people nowadays grow up in a more open-minded network society with more
After breaking up with her boyfriend, Tang Xue, 24, gave up her job six months ago to buy a
“I believe it is important to do things on impulse sometimes, as I did earlier this year. I chose to
Tang saw a farm in Jinhua, Zhejiang, advertised online, and was
“I thought that changing the course of my life might be a
To realize her dream of buying a farm, she took an online
| A．especially | B．slightly | C．definitely | D．unluckily |
| A．familiar | B．inspiring | C．responsible | D．flexible |
| A．fears | B．benefits | C．exchanges | D．failures |
| A．response | B．honour | C．information | D．account |
| A．generosity | B．freedom | C．energy | D．pressure |
| A．fail | B．refuse | C．disagree | D．decide |
| A．farm | B．platform | C．video | D．course |
| A．guard against | B．depend on | C．take control of | D．smooth out |
| A．satisfying | B．meaningless | C．challenging | D．voluntary |
| A．worried | B．scared | C．shocked | D．attracted |
| A．respecting | B．desiring | C．escaping | D．experiencing |
| A．chance | B．risk | C．contribution | D．measure |
| A．audience | B．strength | C．doubt | D．abilities |
| A．training | B．language | C．designing | D．debate |
| A．business | B．trees | C．produce | D．flowers |
10 . The new school year has started and it looks much different for many teachers and students. With the COVID-19 pandemic still causing shutdowns, remote learning has become the new normal for schools around the country. Teachers already have the challenge to make lessons engaging for a classroom full of students. As kids are trying to learn from home, some teachers are getting extra creative to get students’ attention.
Bob Moss, a US history teacher at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, decided to make the most out of the unusual classroom environment and make his subject come to life for his students. He decided to set out on what he called his “Great American History Road Trip.” He not only held remote classes on location at historic sites, but also posted aspects of his adventure on social media. He created a 15-day travel schedule of major historic sites around the county and filmed instructional videos for his students to watch and enjoy, starting on Aug. 21.
“This is something I’d never be able to do in a normal school year,” Moss said. “I was just trying to figure out, how can I make this school year interesting and fun for kids? I mean, I don’t know how to do remote teaching. I wasn’t trained to be an online teacher … So I figured, what if I teach history from the places where it happened? Maybe that would at least make them want to log in to find out where their teacher is every day.”
The 26-year-old experienced teacher used his personal savings to fund the trip. He loaded up himself with a few personal belongings and a lot of equipment to make sure he could capture each of the locations where history happened.
In the end, though, it was not only a unique learning opportunity for his students but also a way for him to find his passion for teaching once again in a challenging time.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．Students become more creative than usual at home. |
| B．Making students interested in learning is a challenge. |
| C．Students prefer to study at home rather than at school. |
| D．Most teachers refuse to teach in a classroom full of students. |
| A．To promote American history. | B．To get trained to be an online teacher. |
| C．To become well known during shutdowns. | D．To make lessons more attractive to students. |
| A．By using his own money he saved. |
| B．By receiving donations from his school. |
| C．By filming instructional videos to earn money. |
| D．By advertising the locations where history happened. |
| A．Education is the key to success. | B．Nothing is difficult to a willing heart. |
| C．A good beginning makes a good ending. | D．A man becomes learned by asking questions. |
