1 . We often hear about schools cutting back on bus routes to save money, yet plenty of communities have their buses stopping almost as often as the mail truck. While the presence of sidewalks, and the safety of area roads, play a role in who gets house-to-house pickup or end-of-the-street pickup, Peter Mannella, director at the New York Association for Pupil Transportation says community culture can play an even larger role in the transportation situation.
For example: Several years ago, Bethlehem tried spacing out its stops, says Mannella. The parents were unhappy, expressed as much and, within three days, the routes were back to their original frequency. “You can say ‘We are going to save $100,000 by not stopping at every house,’ but parents don’t want their kids walking,” Mannella says. As you’d expect, this is especially true in bad weather or during winter.
As a student in the 1980s, we walked to our stops. The neighborhood wait-spot was a good quarter mile away. Parents didn’t make a fuss (大惊小怪), and no child was injured. In fact, the walking was good — it woke us up each morning. Not to mention, the sense of community that came with hanging out together each morning waiting for bus No. 23 to roll up and take us all to school.
Thing is, a lot has changed since the 1980s. Too many people are texting and driving, making them as dangerous on the roads as drunken drivers. And, with reduced work forces at many companies, parents often work longer hours, meaning they aren’t around to guard their kids to and from stops like many parents did when we were growing up.
So I’ll give them an understanding pass on not wanting their children to walk a mile each way to get to and from school. I can’t agree with the complaints of having kids walk to a community neighborhood stop, though. If you worry they’re going to be cold, get them a hat. If you fear they may miss the bus, send them out the door five minutes earlier.
1. What do we know about Bethlehem’s plan?| A．It ended up in failure. |
| B．It lasted for a long time. |
| C．It wasn’t put into practice. |
| D．It saved a lot of money. |
| A．They woke up early in the morning. |
| B．They were driven to school by parents. |
| C．They usually hung out with their neighbors. |
| D．They benefited by walking to a neighborhood stop. |
| A．Drivers do not concentrate on driving. |
| B．The weather conditions are awful in winter. |
| C．Children might be late for school. |
| D．The house-to-house pickup is available. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Cautious. | C．Supportive. | D．Critical. |
2 . On Tuesday, Chinese health authorities confirmed the sixth death from the coronavirus which shares genetic similarities with the one responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome, and revealed that 15 medical workers in Wuhan had been infected, with one in a critical condition. The number of people known to be infected continues to rise with new cases still being reported.
With the head of the Chinese government expert team saying on Monday that human-to-human transmission has been confirmed and the Spring Festival travel rush under way, in which hundreds of millions of people will be crisscrossing the country and traveling overseas for the holiday, it is widely expected that more cases, and even deaths, will be reported in the days to come.
The new coronavirus has already been classified in the same category as the SARS outbreak, meaning compulsory isolation for those diagnosed with the disease and the potential to implement quarantine measures on travel, which shows that the authorities are prepared and resolved to safeguard people's health.
The World Health Organization has so far given a thumbs-up to Chinese efforts. It said earlier this month that it was "reassured of the quality of the ongoing investigations and the response measures implemented in Wuhan, as well as the commitment to share information regularly".
The coronavirus has so far spread to three other Asian countries, which indicates the urgency for medical scientists all over the world to work together against the common threat to human health. Epidemics know no borders and a local disease could easily morph into a global crisis, which is why the WHO is holding an emergency committee meeting on Wednesday to decide whether to declare an international public health emergency.
The speed of response is testimony to improved global preparedness for such epidemics. Now concerted efforts based on the experience accumulated by Chinese health experts and their foreign counterparts during the joint fights against such epidemics as SARS, swine flu and avian flu are needed to win the fight against the latest health hazard.
1. What do we know about the coronavirus according to the passage?| A．It is the same virus that led to SARA. |
| B．The Spring Festival travel rush will not worsen the control of the virus. |
| C．Whether it can be transmitted from person to person is still not known. |
| D．Carriers diagnosed with the virus should be quarantined. |
| A．Translate. | B．Crash. | C．Change. | D．Divide. |
| A．Dissatisfactory. | B．Favorable. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Unpredictable. |
| A．The entire world is now being threatened with coronavirus. |
| B．The speed of response and preparation for emergency should be largely improved. |
| C．More experienced experts are needed to ensure the victory of the battle against the virus. |
| D．Combined efforts from home and abroad should be made to fight against the epidemics. |
3 . A New Jersey couple and a homeless man have been accused of making up a feel﹣good story that raised more than ＄400,000 through GoFundMe.
The couple, Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico, and the man, Johnny Bobbitt Jr., face a charge of second-degree theft, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said Thursday.
The couple said they met Bobbitt when he gave his last ＄20 to McClure, who was stranded on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, so she could put gas in her car，then started the GoFundMe campaign as a way to thank him.
The paying-it-forward story that drove this fundraiser might seem too good to be true, Coffina said at a press conference.
Unfortunately, it was. The entire campaign was based on a lie.
After fees, the money of the campaign netted about ＄367, 000, all deposited into McClure's accounts, Coffina said. Bobbitt received ＄75,000, and within months McClure and D'Amico had wasted their share on buying a car, high-end handbags and trips, Coffina said. They also used it at casinos(赌场), he said.
Coffina stressed that while Bobbitt, a veteran (老兵), deserves thanks for his service to the country and sympathy for his situation; he was fully involved in the crime, using media to help "promote the dishonest campaign".
According to Coffina, McClure and D'Amico first met Bobbitt at an off-ramp（驶出匝道）near a casino they regularly went, at least a month before the GoFundMe campaign went live.
They went back to the spot a month later, Coffina said. D'Amico took a picture of McClure and Bobbitt that became the face of the GoFundMe campaign that they started hours later, Coffina said.
1. What's the actual purpose of the GoFundMe campaign started by the couple?| A．To express their appreciation for Bobbitt's help. |
| B．To help Bobbitt pay off his heavy debt. |
| C．To raise money for their own benefit. |
| D．To make people believe in Bobbitt's generosity. |
| A．Impossible to finish. |
| B．Unable to move. |
| C．Without any choice. |
| D．Out of service. |
| A．About ＄292, 000. |
| B．About ＄367, 000. |
| C．About ＄325, 000. |
| D．About ＄400, 000. |
| A．Pretending to be a veteran. |
| B．Robbing the couple of ＄75, 000. |
| C．Failing to serve his country. |
| D．Helping invent the story. |
4 . Regardless of whether or not you are young, there are particular habits that give away your true age. Like falling asleep on the very thought of a second glass of wine, some issues simply sign to the world that you are just over 40. Now, a brand-new study reveals that there is one factor you do along with your smartphone that reveals your age: turning to a PIN(personal identification number) to unlock your telephone rather than a fingerprint or facial recognition means you are of an older technology.
The study, carried out by researchers on the University of British Columbia, explored the links between age and smartphone use by remotely monitoring smartphone customers' habits. “As researchers working to protect smartphones from illegal access, we need to first understand how users use their devices,” defined Konstantin Beznosov, a professor involved in the research.
To get more information, the researchers selected 134 volunteers, ranging in age from 19 to 63, and had them set up a tailored app to their Android telephones for two months. The app recorded all of their lock and unlock occasions, together with whether or not they choose auto or guide lock, and the actions of the telephone on the time of unlocking. This is how they found the generational variations in unlocking habits.
The researchers additionally collected information on the size of consumer periods. The staff discovered that along with an individual's most popular technique for unlocking their telephones, the period of time spent on the telephone additionally related with age.
As one report on the study explains “Study showed that older users used their phone less frequently than younger users. For every10-year- interval in age, accordingly there was a 25 per cent decrease in the number of user sessions. In other words, a 25-year-old might use their phone 20 times a day, but a 35-year-old might use it only 15 times.”
So, in case you unlock your smartphone by hand, you may chalk it as much as a generational desire.
1. What will a man in his sixties probably use to unlock his phone?| A．Passwords. | B．Fingerprint. | C．Facial recognition. | D．Voice control. |
| A．Gaining illegal access. | B．Checking their phones. |
| C．Using special app. | D．Recording with cameras. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．four. |
| A．Unlocking says your age | B．Secrets to smartphones safe |
| C．Smartphones change our lives | D．Ways to unlock your smartphones |
5 . Masks that helped save lives during the coronavirus pandemic(流行病) are proving a deadly danger for wildlife, with birds and marine creatures trapped in the incredible number of abandoned facial coverings littering on animal habitats.
Single-use surgical masks have been found thrown around pavements, waterways and beaches worldwide since countries began demanding their use in public places to slow the pandemic's spread. Macaques(猕猴) have been spotted chewing the straps(带子) off old and deserted masks in Malaysia a potential choking danger for the little monkeys. And in an incident that captured headlines in Britain, a gull(海鸥) was rescued in the city of Chelmsford after its legs became tangled（缠结）in the straps of a disposable mask for up to a week. The animal welfare charity was alerted after the bird was spotted motionless but still alive, and they took it to a wildlife hospital for treatment before its release.
The biggest impact may be in the water.More than l. 5 billion masks made their way into the world's oceans last year. accounting for around 6,200 extra tons of marine plastic pollution, according to environmental group OceansAsia. ? Already there are signs that masks are worsening threats to marine life. Conservationists in Brazil found one inside the stomach of a penguin after its body was washed up on a beach, while a dead pufferfish(河豚) was discovered caught inside another off the coast of Miami.
Masks and gloves are "particularly problematic" for sea creatures，says George Leonard, chief scientist from U. S. -based NGO Ocean Conservancy. "When it takes those plastics hundreds of years to break down in the environment, they form smaller and smaller particles," he added, "those particles then enter the food chain and impact entire ecosystems."
Fortunately, there has been a shift towards greater use of reusable cloth masks as the pandemic has worn on，but many are still choosing the lighter single- use varieties.Campaigners have urged people to throw away them properly and remove the straps to reduce the risk of animals becoming trapped. Oceans Asia has also called on governments to increase fines for littering and encourage the use of washable masks.
1. What role do masks play during the coronavirus pandemic?| A．They keep people free of the pandemic |
| B．They make people look more mysterious. |
| C．They help reduce the speed of the pandemic's spread. |
| D．They are of great helpful to wildlife. |
| A．The animals lack enough food |
| B．T hey enjoy playing with the straps |
| C．The deserted masks put them in danger |
| D．It's time for people to protect the animals |
| A．Marine creatures are in trouble. |
| B．Masks and gloves will finally threaten the whole ecosystems. |
| C．The plastics are easy to break down. |
| D．The particles masks and gloves form are smaller and smaller. |
| A．Animal protection |
| B．Marine plastic pollution |
| C．How to reduce the risk of abandoned masks |
| D．The deserted masks endangering wildlife |
6 . Social media is taking over our lives: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and now, TikTok. These social media platforms have transformed from a way to stay connected to an industry where even kids can make money off their posts. While this may seem like another opportunistic innovation, it’s really full of hidden false realities.
The median income (中位收入) recorded in the United States of America was about $63,000 in 2018. TikTokers can make anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 for a TikTok brand partnership, and TikTokers with over a million followers can make up to $30,000 a month — $360,000 a year. They are making more than the average person trying to feed their family and keep a roof over their heads, simply by posting a 15-second video.
This is mad in more ways than one. Not only is it an overpaid “job”, it promotes undeserved admiration from viewers and a false sense of reality. Many of these famous TikTokers are still teens, and the effects of fame at such an early stage in life might cause issues later in life, such as mental illness. Teens between the ages of 13 and 17 make up 27% of TikTok viewers, who can be easily influenced by what they are watching. They can put a false sense of self-value into who they look up to and what they represent: money, fame, being considered conventionally attractive.
While TikTok has become a great tool for marketing, it’s important to understand how this content affects young viewers. If we’re constantly consuming content that hsows us all we need to do to be successful is be conventionally attractive and post a 15-second video featuring a new dance, it will challenge our knowledge of what really makes someone successful and will in turn affect our individual work ethics (伦理). What about the people who miss birthdays and family holidays due to their jobs and aren’t getting paid nearly as much as these TikTokers?
Richard Colyer, president and creator of Metaphor, Inc., had his own view on this issue.
“It sounds great that kids can make money for doing the latest dance moves in a 15-second video, but we should feed the minds of kids and not just their bank accounts. TikTok can be great if used properly. Money alone is not good, technology alone is not good and connectedness can be bad if it’s only online.”
Again, as a fellow consumer of TikTok, I do enjoy the app when I have some time to kill and need a good laugh. I’m not against someone making a living on entertainment, but what does getting famous of a 15-second video teach young people?
1. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Social networking. | B．Making money on social media. |
| C．A job offered by TikTok. | D．Staying connected to the Internet. |
| A．They tend to live an adult life too soon. |
| B．They are forced to pay for certain services. |
| C．They may abandon other social media. |
| D．They are likely to develop false values. |
| A．TikTok can be a positive influence if teens employ it wisely. |
| B．Young TikTokers should be banned form making money. |
| C．It is better to involve education on investment in TikTok videos. |
| D．Contents of videos need checking before their release online. |
| A．Say No to TikTok. | B．Join Young TikTokers |
| C．TikTok — A Mine of Money | D．A Job vs An Entertainment |
7 . Bird pattern carved on Yubi in Chinese, comes alive and circles around, while an audio guide introduces the cultural relic and the bird’s connotation (寓意). Such is the experience of watching a cultural relic through a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses at the Liangzhu Museum.
The museum displays various burial objects found in the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City in Hangzhou, showcasing the civilization of prehistoric rice agriculture and a state-level society between 3,300 B.C. and 2,300 B.C. The site was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2019, providing profound and compelling evidence that Chinese civilization started 5,000 years ago.
Using AR to tell Liangzhu’s ancient story and let the young people sense and feel close to cultural relics through modern technology is an important task at the museum, making it a pioneer in using modern technology and a hot place for tourists.
“I found that most students were very curious about it, and it could inspire students to have the desire to learn more,” said Chen Xi, the AR glasses provider. “I’ve never seen this before. The illustration of the ancient wild birds above is not that clear. But with the AR glasses, I know what the ancient wild bird exactly looks like and how it is different from what we see on TV,” said Rong Mei, a visitor in her twenties. “Compared with traditional ways of appreciating a cultural relic, AR glasses guide has virtual images which help people visually understand the information behind the relic, such as in which life scenarios was the relic used, its function and its cultural connotation,” said Zhou Liming, director of the Liangzhu Museum.
From digitalization to intelligentization (智能化), the Liangzhu Museum took more than five years. It started to collect the digital information of the ruins and relics since 2015. It paves the way for the museum to deliver Liangzhu’s story through multimedia approaches to attract more people, especially the youth, as modern technology bridges the gap between young people and cultural relics.
1. What is the crucial significance of Liangzhu cultural relics?| A．Unearthing various prehistoric burial objects. |
| B．Representing the world’s earliest rice culture. |
| C．Enriching the UNESCO World Heritage List. |
| D．Confirming China’s 5,000-year-old civilization. |
| A．To inspire the curiosity of students. |
| B．To show the aim and effects of using AR glasses. |
| C．To highlight hi-tech brings people close to cultural relics. |
| D．To present opinions of appreciating cultural relics vary. |
| A．The discovery of the cultural relics. |
| B．The restoration of the ruins and relics. |
| C．The process of forming intelligentization. |
| D．The reconstruction of the Liangzhu Museum. |
| A．Stories behind the AR Glasses |
| B．Adventures in Liangzhu Museum |
| C．A New Chapter for Liangzhu Museum |
| D．An Encounter with the Prehistoric China |
8 . More than a third of small towns in Georgia lost population in the last year alone, highlighting the challenges of reviving rural areas. New census (人口普查) estimates show that Camilla fell below 5,000 residents. Sparks fell below 2,000, and Milan fell to 661 residents for a loss of 7% of its population. All three towns are in South Georgia.
Many of the young people in these communities graduate from high school and don’t come back. “They go to college, whatever, they don’t come back,” said David Bridges, head of its Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation in Tifton.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s cities are growing, having no problem drawing people from small towns and other cities. Atlanta grew more than 1% in the past year and is now nearing the half-million-resident mark.
The trend of people moving from rural to urban areas is hardly a new one — it’s been going on worldwide for more than a century. But continued population losses have raised questions about whether rural areas can do anything to reverse the tide.
Rural residents can face a number of challenges including access to good jobs, transportation and health care. Manufacturing jobs have dried up in many places, while modernization and new technology means fewer people are needed for farming. And many people are deciding to have smaller families than was typical a century ago.
“The older generation is dying, the younger generation is moving away, and because there are perceived to be fewer business opportunities, financial opportunities, etc. It’s very challenging to get inbound population.” Bridges said.
Demographers (人口学家) expect the shift from rural to urban to continue. But there are some bright spots in rural America still. Jackson County near Athens was recently named one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation by the Census Bureau. Amazon opened a large fulfillment center there a couple of years ago. And Young Harris, near the Georgia-North Carolina border, has grown by more than 80% since 2010.
1. What happened to the small towns mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．Their sizes grew rapidly. | B．Their population declined. |
| C．They drew more residents. | D．They raised challenges to locals. |
| A．People move from rural to urban areas. |
| B．Small towns draw people from cities. |
| C．Rural areas develop their economy quickly. |
| D．Population continue to grow in urban areas. |
| A．To offer more evidence. | B．To draw a conclusion. |
| C．To show his contribution. | D．To give part of the reasons. |
| A．Jackson County is the best town in the US. |
| B．Rural towns will keep growing to larger ones. |
| C．Others will follow the lead of these bright spots. |
| D．There can be measures to help rural towns grow. |
9 . Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.
In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money.
At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance.
The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics.
Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life.
Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving it to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.
1. What is special about children learning financial management by experience?| A．They learn more quickly. |
| B．They are not as likely to make mistakes. |
| C．Their mistakes won't matter so much. |
| D．They have plans made by their parents. |
| A．they will know how hard it is to learn budget |
| B．they will have an easy time learning the lesson |
| C．what they will learn is absolutely true |
| D．their parents will teach them a hard lesson |
| A．regularly twice every month |
| B．whenever he has run out of money |
| C．telling him to ask for permission before spending |
| D．without telling him what to spend on |
| A．borrow money from others | B．ask their parents for more money |
| C．get paid for their household routines | D．earn money by extra work |
10 . Music died here last spring，or rather，it was killed by members of the school committee who ignored the importance of music and drama as part of the high school curriculum.
The committee decide that teaching students how to take a standardized test is more important than a curriculum in which students can explore their interests in the arts.Because the school system is running out of funding，it needs to make sure that students pass the test or even more money will be lost.If students fail the state standardized test，it is not the fault of drama and music classes.They are failing because the“academic”classes are in deficiency in a way.
It is painful to think of how many students will be discouraged from singing，acting，and playing instruments because school programs are no longer offered.Many families cannot afford private music lessons，and many potential musicians and artists may not find their callings if they are not exposed to the arts in school.The fact that the school committee thinks the arts are not worth the investment will certainly make some students believe the arts are not worth their time or support and the cycle will continue.
Teaching for a test does not shape students into well rounded people.It blocks the natural sense to create and express feelings through the arts—there is more to life than the analytical thinking that math and English provide.What happens after a test？Sure，a student might graduate，but they will have limited knowledge—certainly not a good preparation for the real world.
1. Music and drama are removed from the high school curriculum in that________.| A．some students fail the state standardized test |
| B．fewer and fewer students love to attend them |
| C．the school curriculum has been changed |
| D．the school is afraid of losing financial support |
| A．Not enough. | B．Too many. |
| C．Too boring. | D．Not proper. |
| A．motivate students in creativity and expression |
| B．make students roundshaped people in future |
| C．provide students with careful thinking |
| D．prevent students from graduating from high school |
| A．Humorously. | B．Bitterly. |
| C．Excitedly. | D．Mildly. |
