1 . The sound that woke Damian Languell at 8:15 am was so loud that he assumed it came from inside his house. As he got up to investigate, he heard another sound, this one coming most definitely from outside. Looking out of his bedroom window, he spied a tree engulfed (淹没) in smoke about 500 yards away. A car was wrapped around the tree’s base, its engine on fire.
Grabbing buckets of water, Languell and his girlfriend ran to the crash site. The wreck looked worse up close. The car, a 1998 Buick, was split nearly in two, and the tree was where the driver’s seat ought to have been, as if planted there. No one should have survived this crash, and yet there was 16-year-old Quintin Thompson, his terrified face pressed against the driver’s side window, in visible pain. Languell tried putting out the fire with his buckets of water with no success. When the flames got into the front seats, he realized he had to get the boy out of there.
In an act that a police report described as showing “complete disregard for his own safety”, Languell opened the Buick’s back door and crawled in. Thompson was struggling to get free, Languell says. “That’s when I noticed how bad his legs were.” Using a pocketknife he’d had the foresight to bring with him, he sawed through Thompson’s seat belt.
Now that Thompson was free, Languell pulled him out a back window of the vehicle, then dragged the teen to safety before the entire car was engulfed in flames.
Although Thompson suffered multiple fractures (骨折) to his legs, spine, and face, a social media post described him as “looking great, smiling, and joking.” Languell thinks about that day often. “My heart goes out to Thompson. When you are that close to that level of hurt, you feel it so directly.”
1. When Damian heard the big sound, ______.| A．he called 911 immediately |
| B．he stayed inside his house |
| C．he woke up his girlfriend |
| D．he got up to see what happened |
| A．the police had arrived |
| B．the whole car was completely in flames |
| C．Thompson was terrified and painful |
| D．Thompson was smiling and joking |
| A．brave | B．lucky |
| C．simple-minded | D．warm-hearted |
| A．His own bravery and persistence. |
| B．The several buckets of water. |
| C．The timely arrival of the police. |
| D．The pocketknife Damian carried with him. |
2 . Freeganism is an alternative philosophy for living, based on minimum participation in conventional economic practices by purchasing little or no goods, whether that is housing, clothing or even food. This philosophy comes from a very challenging idea for a consumer-oriented(以消费为导向的) society. That idea is: we already have enough.
Economists can often be heard to complain on TV that “the economy grew at a slower than expected rate last year”. But why do we care about growth so much? The economy grows when we produce and sell more things. In a society already rich in things, how can we possibly justify making and buying more and more? According to the freegans, our society’s simple answer to that question is to waste what we already have by throwing it into the dustbins.
This should not be controversial to anyone familiar with marketing. Last year’s hottest mobile phone looks old and outdated compared to this year’s model, doesn’t it? And who would wear baggy jeans anymore when skinny jeans are so clearly in? This market phenomenon is called “perceived obsolescence”. It relies on the idea that what is old feels inadequate or unusable, in order to encourage people to purchase replacements for perfectly good things that they already have.
As a solution, freegan communities consciously practice habits of non-consumption. Freegan behavior includes sharing tools, clothes or equipment between neighbors and friends, and the radical(过激的) practice of “dumpster diving”, which refers to seeking out waste food thrown away by groceries and supermarkets because of outward imperfections like a spot on the skin of an otherwise good apple.
Although making their next meal from “rescued” food may not suit everyone, the essence of the freegan message－to waste less, and to want less－is one worth holding on to.
1. What can be inferred from paragraph 2?| A．Our society practises strict economy. |
| B．Growth and waste tend to go hand in hand. |
| C．The freegans love finding faults with economists. |
| D．Producer-orientation promotes economic growth. |
| A．The change of marketing strategies(策略). |
| B．A waste of well-functioning products. |
| C．The decline of the fashion industry. |
| D．Great advances in mobile phone technology. |
| A．It requires communities to distribute goods equally. |
| B．It urges groceries and supermarkets to recycle food. |
| C．It is based on community group buying. |
| D．It ranges from the simple to extreme. |
| A．There is no such thing as a free lunch. |
| B．Giving sometimes produces nice results. |
| C．One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. |
| D．One’s disadvantages may prove to be advantages. |
3 . Liu Fang, who works as a media worker in Beijing, goes to a store specializing in selling near-expired (将要过期的) food in Sanlitun and returns with a bag of snacks or drinks every week.
“The price tags on these goods have caught my eye. They are often sold at 10 percent to 30 percent of the market price,” Liu said. “More importantly, most of them are from big brands. Why wouldn’t I love them?”
Liu is among the increasing number of Chinese people who enjoy purchasing near-expired food at much cheaper prices. According to the latest report by iiMedia Research, the near-expired food industry had a market size of over 30 billion yuan in 2020. Young consumers aged between 26 and 35 accounted for 47.8 percent.
Unlike the traditional thinking that buying such goods is embarrassing, more and more young people regard it as a kind of sustainable consumption that can help reduce food waste.
“I don’t care much about the date as long as I can eat it before its expiry. It meets my demand while saving resources and protecting the environment, which is a good thing,” Wu Lin, a 19-year-old college student and a fan of near-expired food, told Xinhua.
Indeed, food waste is a great challenge for China and other countries. According to a 2020 report from the National People’s Congress, about 18 billion kilograms of food is wasted every year in China’s urban catering industry (餐饮业).
“As more Chinese people choose to buy near-expired food, the food waste will be reduced,” said Liu.
According to CGTN, China had the tradition of saving food over the decades leading to the 1990s.
As people’s lives improved greatly, many began to make or order more food than could be consumed, CGTN reported. But the trend of buying near-expired food may suggest that the Chinese virtue of frugality (节约) is staging a comeback.
“I’ve been very frugal all my life. Living through a serious famine (1959-61) (饥荒), I’m used to saving every grain and every penny,” Zhang Xin, a retired woman born in the 1950s, told CGTN. “I’m happy to see more young people, who used to spend extravagantly(奢侈地), joining our ranks."
1. What does the author want to show by telling Liu Fang’s story?| A．To show the characteristics of near-expired food. |
| B．To introduce the trend of buying food in Sanlitun. |
| C．To explain where people can buy near-expired food. |
| D．To show the recent growth in popularity of buying near-expired food. |
| A．It is a fashionable lifestyle. | B．It is a safer shopping choice. |
| C．It is environmentally friendly. | D．It offers her new shopping experiences. |
| A．People’s desire to buy less. | B．China’s economic prosperity. |
| C．The return of the Chinese virtue of frugality | D．People’s reduced concern about a product’s quality. |
| A．The Comeback of an Old Lifestyle | B．A New Food Trend among Young Consumers |
| C．The Success of the Near-expired Food business | D．The Pros and Cons of Buying Near-expired Food |
4 . Despite the fact that there were a lot of great Hong Kong movies and singers in the 1990s, Hong Kong has been called a cultural desert for quite a long time.
But since the handover, the situation has changed. Currently known as one of the world’s top international financial centers, Hong Kong also wants to achieve the status of a global art center.
Galleries from the Chinese mainland began to come to Hong Kong in 2008. After three years, international galleries also set their sights on Hong Kong. Within three months, 10 international galleries opened locations.
After Art Basel, an international art fair, launched in Hong Kong in 2013, the region became one of the three global art markets, after New York and London. The Hong Kong Tourism Board seized the opportunity to make art the region’s new cultural and tourism product. “Art March” became a regular art festival along with Art Basel and Art Central, an event showcasing talent from innovative galleries.
In just 25 years, commercial art in Hong Kong has seen a lot of development. The number of galleries has increased from 10 to hundreds. Famous auction（拍卖）houses have also set up offices in Hong Kong, all of which represent Hong Kong’s flourishing art trade.
In the past couple of years, Hong Kong’s museums and art galleries have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.
In 2021, Hong Kong’s new landmark cultural and art project - the M+ Museum - officially opened. It has received positive feedback from people in Hong Kong. It is the world’s largest museum dedicated to modern visual art from Asia.
What’s more, in July this year, the Hong Kong Palace Museum will also be completed. With a new curatorial （策展）approach of presenting both global and local perspectives, it will promote the public’s appreciation for Chinese art and culture.
1. What opportunity did the Hong Kong Tourism Board seize to promote art?| A．The launch of Art March as an art festival. |
| B．The increased value of artworks auctioned. |
| C．The flourishing art market in Hong Kong in 2010s. |
| D．The Chinese mainland opening galleries in Hong Kong. |
| A．It officially opened in 2021. |
| B．It is the largest museum of its kind in Asia. |
| C．It received local and global positive feedback. |
| D．It aims to boost people’s love for Chinese art and culture. |
| A．The benefits art has brought to Hong Kong. |
| B．Hong Kong’s famous cultural and art projects. |
| C．The fast development of art in Hong Kong. |
| D．The factors that make Hong Kong a global art center. |
| A．City Development | B．Sports Express | C．Education of Arts | D．Science & Technology |
5 . Have you ever thought about what happens to people’s assets (资产) when they die? That’s where wills come in.
Traditionally, wills were only made by the elderly. Many young people think they don’t need wills if they don’t have kids or houses yet. But in recent years, this perception has started to change.
A while paper released by the China Will Registration Center in March revealed that more people in their 20s and 30s are now getting wills in China, reported China Daily.
The Daily Mail also reported that more young people are writing wills thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the UK, only 18 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds had wills in 2019, compared to 27 percent in 2021.
In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Emily James, 22, said the main reason she wrote a will was the pandemic. “In the current climate, you can’t really get away from death — it’s something my generation has never been faced with so distinctly before. The death count is broadcast every day, and most people know someone who has been affected by the virus, which starts to make you think and want to plan for your future.”
Apart from the pandemic, public knowledge of notable people’s health conditions, like the British royal family, has led to more people writing wills. The highest number of wills written on a single day in 2021 was on Feb 18, following the late Prince Philip’s admission to hospital, according to data from Farewill, one of the UK’s biggest death planning companies.
Farewill’s data also show that the legacies people leave in their wills are reflections of current society.
Music and pop culture collections were among the top things included in wills. The most common pop culture collections mentioned were Disney, Star Wars and Harry Potter memorabilia (纪念品).
The pandemic increased people’s likelihood of including a gift to a charity in their will. Furry friends are also not forgotten. Farewill’s data show nearly one-fifth of the people were making wills to ensure their pets were well looked after, with a total of 37 percent of will writers including plans for their pets.
1. What did the Daily Mail report?| A．More people in the West are writing wills. |
| B．The number of young will writers is increasing. |
| C．The UK saw the most young will writers in 2021. |
| D．People aged 18-34 made the most wills in the UK in 2021. |
| A．She was infected with COVID-19. | B．She felt hopeless during the pandemic. |
| C．She realized the future is unpredictable. | D．She was affected by the death of Prince Philip. |
| A．How the pandemic influenced young people. |
| B．How current society influences young people’s wills. |
| C．The impact pop culture has had on young people. |
| D．Why young people consider writing a will to be important. |
| A．Will after Death. | B．The Bucket List. |
| C．The Pandemic Effects. | D．Youth Leave Their Legacy. |
6 . If you’re someone who looks in the mirror every day and concentrates only on any minor flaw (缺陷), you’re not alone. For many people, struggling with body image issues is a continuous battle.
“How hostile (恶意的) is the world to unattractive girls?” became a popular topic on Sina Weibo in March.
The topic met with agreement among many girls who shared their personal experiences. One internet user talked about how her friends would often cut her image out of group pictures because they thought she was too fat. What became clear was that this feeling of insecurity and distance was all too common.
What promotes this anxiety among young people?
As the country’s economy has developed rapidly, people are easier to be influenced by what others think of them, noted CGTN.
Greater time spent online also means greater exposure to advertisements promoting “paper-thin waists” or “chopstick legs”. Such unrealistic ideals only further young people’s anxiety and lead to an unhealthy mindset of perfectionism.
The anxiety over appearance and shape has pushed some people into physical and mental illness. According to Beat, the UK’s leading eating disorder charity, the idealization of thinness is a key factor in worsening the illness and preventing recovery. Some people even go through surgery just to achieve what they believe society considers “beautiful”.
But beauty doesn’t come from a makeup brush or a thinner waist. Growing taller and having perfect skin isn’t the solution to insecurity. The fact that every person is different is something to be celebrated.
A line from China’s first female monologue (独白剧) drama called Hear Her says it perfectly: “I am not perfect. Perfection is dull. I am perfect when I fully realize myself.”
1. What is a cause of young people’s anxiety about their body image according to the text?| A．The standard promoted by some media. |
| B．The fierce competition they face. |
| C．The struggle they have experienced. |
| D．Their desire for easier success. |
| A．The feeling of insecurity. | B．Other people’s opinions. |
| C．The desire for thinness. | D．The popularity of plastic surgery. |
| A．Have plastic surgery. | B．Accept their differences. |
| C．Work to realize their dream. | D．Stop wearing makeup. |
| A．Avoid Misleading Advertisements |
| B．Stop Wearing Makeup |
| C．Improve Yourself |
| D．Celebrate Imperfection |
7 . Aspirin was discovered in 1897, and an explanation of how it works followed in 1995. That, in turn, has encouraged some research leads on making better pain relievers through something other than trial and error. This kind of discovery—answers first, explanations later—is called "intellectual debt". We gain understanding of what works without knowing why it works. We can put that understanding to use immediately, and then tell ourselves we'll figure out the details later. Sometimes we pay off the debt quickly; sometimes, as with aspirin, it takes a century; and sometimes we never pay it off at all.
In the Age of Intelligence, while machine learning presents lots of problems and gets things wrong, at least we know enough to be wary of the predictions produced by the system and to argue that they shouldn't be blindly followed: but if a system performs perfectly（and we don't know why）, then we come to rely on it and forget about it and suffer consequences when it goes wrong.
It's the difference between knowing your car has faulty brakes and not knowing: both are bad, but if you know there is a problem with your brakes, you can increase your following distance, drive slowly and get to a mechanic as soon as possible. If you don't know, you' re likely to find out the hard way, at 80mph on the highway when the car in front of you comes to a sudden stop and your brakes give out.
We don't have much by way of solutions. Most important, we shouldn't trick ourselves into thinking that machine learning alone is all that matters. Indeed, without life value, machine learning may not be meaningful answers at all.
1. What is the purpose of mentioning aspirin in the first paragraph?| A．To present the research process of aspirin. |
| B．To introduce a similar situation machine learning faces. |
| C．To show the difficulty in explaining how aspirin works. |
| D．To prove we can use something even when we don't understand. |
| A．Negative. | B．Doubtful. | C．Anxious. | D．Watchful. |
| A．By telling a story. | B．By giving a definition. |
| C．By doing an experiment. | D．By making comparison. |
| A．It's OK as long as a system works well. | B．It's impossible to pay off Intellectual debt. |
| C．It's unwise to rely blindly on machine learning. | D．It makes no sense to pay attention to life value. |
8 . I work at a grocery store in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood, which gets a lot of regulars. On March 12, the Quebec government announced to close all public places to stop the spread of the pandemic(流行病)of coronavirus.
The next day the store was the busiest I've ever seen.The six cash registers had to be kept open from 10 a.m. until close. It was nuts. I didn't have time to eat lunch, and whenever one of us on cash had to use the bathroom, we'd have to bring in a coworker of the floor to cover for us.
Since then, the atmosphere in the store has been different. Customers are mostly considerate, but whenever someone coughs or sneezes, everyone turns around to make sure that person sneezed into their elbow. I've even seen customers come in wearing some strange get-ups. One guy even came in with a plastic Walmart bag wrapped around his entire head, with a slit cut out for his eyes.
A lot of my coworkers have left to avoid a public-facing job during the pandemic.grocery store workers across Canada are putting their health at risk every time they come in to work, but a lot of us are still making close to minimum wage. I realize that I feel more exhausted than normal even though I'm working the same hours.
There still have been some moments of kindness in the midst of the chaos.I've overheard people talking on the phone who sounded as though they were organizing grocery deliveries for those stuck at home. And this past weekend a very nice lady thanked us for continuing to work. I know everyone is worried, but it's useless having the same scary conversations day after day. Instead tell us a funny anecdote, or about something nice. We’ll appreciate the distraction, and you’ll make our day just a bit brighter.
1. What does the author intend to show by "It was nuts." in Paragraph 2?| A．The goods were in short supply. | B．The store was having a big sale. |
| C．The cashiers complained about their work. | D．The locals rushed to do shopping like crazy. |
| A．They prefer to shop here in costume. | B．They are panicky about the disease. |
| C．They are more friendly to each other. | D．They all protect themselves properly. |
| A．Aggressive. | B．Considerate. | C．Optimistic. | D．Conservative. |
| A．To present the kind moments in a time of chaos. |
| B．To describe what it 's like working in the pandemic. |
| C．To explain why it is hard to work at the grocery store. |
| D．To provide advice on how to protect oneself in the pandemic. |
9 . Humans are no strangers to widespread viruses,and each time a vaccine(疫苗）is developed, it gives us hope for the future. Now, the world is waiting for a vaccine to fight COVID-19.
Scientists worldwide have been rolling up their sleeves to work toward an effective novel coronavirus vaccine.
Under the coordination(协调）of the World Health Organization (WHO),up to 172 countries have been engaging with the "largest and most diverse COVID-19 vaccine portfolio",a plan known as the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility.
COVAX is a system for joint purchasing and balancing the risks of multiple vaccines. When a vaccine proves to be safe and effective, all countries within the facility will be able to access it, according to Xinhua.
The plan is aimed to ensure that all countries, no matter their economic status, can get the vaccine in a timely manner when one is available. It also makes sure that prices will be kept as low as possible.
＂A number of vaccines are now in the final stage of clinical trials," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Aug 24,adding that the goal of COVAX is to deliver at least 2 billion doses of a vaccine by the end of 2021.
According to the WHO, at present, nine potential vaccines are part of the portfolio.
To guarantee the equal access and fair assignment of COVID-19 vaccines,the WHO has said that the world needs to prevent vaccine nationalism-countries putting their own interests ahead of others in trying to secure supplies of a possible vaccine.
＂Vaccine nationalism only helps the virus,"Tedros said, warning that it would lead to a prolonged pandemic(疫情） if only a small number of countries got most of the supply.
＂Like an orchestra,we need all instruments to be played in harmony to create music that everyone enjoys," he said.
Vaccine development looks promising,as several countries have made great progress. Russia began production of its first batch of a COVID-19 vaccine on Aug 15, according to its health ministry. It's the world's first registered vaccine. Four Chinese vaccine candidates have started international stage-3 clinical trials.
1. Which of the following is true according to the passage?| A．Russia is the first country to have made progress in fighting COVID-19. |
| B．COVAX ensures all the countries get the vaccine at the same time. |
| C．WHO plays an important role in fighting COVID-19. |
| D．Scientist have produced 2 billion doses of vaccines. |
| A．Supportive. |
| B．Critical. |
| C．Optimistic. |
| D．Sympathetic. |
| A．show his deep love for music |
| B．make the passage more interesting |
| C．illustrate the similarities in between |
| D．stress the importance of cooperation |
| A．United for vaccine |
| B．Vaccine on the way |
| C．Fighting against COVID-19 |
| D．Say goodbye to COVID-19 |
10 . When we walk through the city, we all experience a kind of information overload but we pay attention only to those that are important to us. We don’t stop, we keep our faces expressionless and eyes straight ahead, and in doing so, we are not just protecting ourselves but are avoiding overloading other people as well.
We make use of stereotypes (刻板的模式) as convenient ways to make quick judgements about situations and people around us. They may not always be accurate, and they can often be dangerously wrong, but they are used regularly.
The problem with the stereotypes is that they restrict experiences. By using limited clues to provide us with a rapid opinion of other people or places we may choose to limit our communication. We may decide not to go to certain places because we believe they will not offer something we enjoy.
In the city, styles of dress are particularly important with regard to self-presentation. Different groups often use clearly identifiable styles of clothes so that they can be easily recognized. It is becoming increasingly common for brand names to be placed on the outside of clothes, and this labeling makes it easy to send out information about fashion and price instantly, and lets others tell at a distance whether an individual has similar tastes and is a suitable person to associate with.
In England, where social grouping or class continues to make social distinctions（区分）, clothes, hairstyles, people’s pronunciation and the manner of speaking are all clues to our social group. Class distinctions tend to be relatively fixed, although in the city where greater variety is permitted, they are more likely to be secondary determining factors of friendship and association.
1. People walking in cities ignore the surroundings because __________.| A．they do not wish to talk to other people | B．everyone else is expressionless |
| C．the environment is already familiar to them | D．there is too much information to take in |
| A．are likely to lead us into dangerous situations |
| B．may make us miss some pleasant experiences |
| C．can rarely be relied on |
| D．make us mentally lazy |
| A．stereotypes can help to understand people fully |
| B．people are becoming more interested in fashion |
| C．dressing can send messages about individuals |
| D．stereotypes can do more harm than good to people |
| A．might be less important in making friends in a city |
| B．is mainly determined by his pronunciation |
| C．plays less of a role than it did in the past |
| D．is something that can be changed easily |
