1 . You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator (电梯) ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of strange,” Gray told the BBC. “Elevators are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want — it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
Newcomers to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple-look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space.” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed (理解) as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.
1. Why is Lee Gray known as the “Elevator Guy”?| A．Because his business is to sell the elevator to people. |
| B．Because he is the inventor of the elevator. |
| C．Because he has made it his research to examine the elevator. |
| D．Because he has overlooked this form of public transport. |
| A．turn around and greet one another |
| B．look around or examine their phone |
| C．make eye contact with those in the elevator |
| D．try to keep a distance from other people |
The point in the chart refers to one person.
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．judge | B．ignore | C．put up with | D．make the best of |
| A．someone’s odd behaviors | B．the lack of space |
| C．their unfamiliarity with one another | D．their eye contact with one another |
2 . A huge fire broke out on 2 September 1666 in London. The fire, known as the Great Fire of London, was the worst fire in the history of London. It burned down more than three quarters of the old city.
The fire started in the very early hours of Sunday morning in the house of the king’s baker. A strong wind blew the fire from the baker’s house into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
At that time, most of the buildings in London were made of wood, so it was easy for the fire to spread quickly. By eight o’clock, three hundred houses were on fire. By Monday, nearly a kilometre of the city was burning along the Thames River. On Tuesday, which was considered the worst day, the fire destroyed many well-known buildings, including the old St Paul’s Cathedral.
The fire burned until finally hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire were destroyed to create a firebreak. The fire then died out eventually with nothing left to burn.
1. Why is the fire of 1666 called the Great Fire of London?| A．The fire broke out in the capital of England. |
| B．The fire was the worst fire in the history of London. |
| C．People in England will never forget the fire. |
| D．The fire spread fast into Thames Street. |
| A．In the house of the king’s baker. |
| B．In Thames Street. |
| C．In the house of the baker’s neighbour. |
| D．In St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| A．It started in a baker’s house. |
| B．It broke out on a Sunday morning. |
| C．A hotel was next to the baker’s house. |
| D．Most of the buildings in London were wooden. |
| A．The old St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| B．Hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. |
| C．Hundreds of wooden houses. |
| D．All of the above. |
3 . The problem of robocalls has gotten so bad that many people now refuse to pick up calls from numbers they don’t know. By next year, half of the calls we receive will be scams (欺诈). We are finally waking up to the severity (严重性) of the problem by supporting and developing a group of tools, apps and approaches intended to prevent scammers from getting through. Unfortunately, it’s too little, too late. By the time these “solutions” become widely available (有效的), scammers will have moved onto cleverer means. In the near future, it’s not just going to be the number you see on your screen that will be in doubt. Soon you will also question whether the voice you’re hearing is actually real.
That’s because there are a number of powerful voice manipulation (处理) and automation technologies that are about to become widely available for anyone to use. At this year’s I/O Conference, a company showed a new voice technology able to produce such a convincing human—sounding voice that it was able to speak to a receptionist (接待员) and book a reservation without detection.
These developments are likely to make our current problems with robocalls much worse. The reason that robocalls are a headache has less to do with amount than precision. A decade of data breaches (数据侵入) of personal information has led to a situation where scammers can easily learn your mother’s name, and far more. Armed with this knowledge, they’re able to carry out individually targeted campaigns (活动) to cheat people. This means. for example, that a scammer could call you from what looks to be a familiar number and talk to you using a voice that sounds exactly like your bank teller’s, ricking you into “confirming” your address, mother’s name, and card number. Scammers follow money, so companies will be the worst hit. A lot of business is still done over the phone, and much of it is based on trust and existing relationships. Voice manipulation technologies may weaken that gradually.
We need to deal with the insecure nature of our telecom networks. Phone carriers and consumers need to work together to find ways of determining and communicating what is real. That might mean either developing a uniform way to mark videos and images, showing when and who they were made by or abandoning phone calls altogether and moving towards data-based communications—using apps like Face Time or WhatsApp, which can be tied to your identity.
Credibility is hard to earn but easy to lose, and the problem is only going to harder from here on out.
1. How does the author feel about the solutions to problem of robocalls?| A．Terrified | B．Confused. |
| C．Embarrassed. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．aim at victims precisely | B．damage databases easily |
| C．start campaigns rapidly | D．spread information widely |
| A．Honest y is the best policy. |
| B．Technologies can be double-edited. |
| C．There are more solutions than problems. |
| D．Credibility holds the key to development. |
| A．Where the Problem of Robocalls Is Rooted |
| B．Who Is to Blame for the Problem of Roboealls |
| C．Why Robocalls Are About to Get More Dangerous |
| D．How Robocalls Are Affecting the World of Technology |
4 . While English is getting more important in our schools, Chinese has become popular among foreign kids. But Chinese can be more difficult to learn. At least 16-year-old Piao Chenglong thinks so. “English is easier for me. Chinese characters (汉字) have too many strokes (笔画),” said Piao. “But I want to learn it. I want to study at Beijing University when I grow up.” Piao is from Korea. He came to China in 2008.
In Korea, there are more than 300, 000 Chinese learners like Piao. Some Korean students begin to learn to write the language on their first day at school. To help students learn Chinese, Korea holds speaking competitions for high school students every year.
Chinese isn’t just popular in Korea. People from all the world want to learn it. The Ministry of Education of China says that nearly 130 million people from 85 countries are learning Chinese. This number will be increasing to 800 million in the coming years.
In America, Chinese is the second most popular foreign language after Spanish. Some American middle schools have Chinese classes. Students learn to make jiaozi and tie Chinese knots (中国结). Some even try to write and draw in the Chinese way!
People want to learn Chinese because China is becoming such an important country. Foreign countries want to understand China better to help them with business. The Chinese government is also helping the world learn Chinese. It has sent more than 200 Chinese teachers to more than 60 countries in the world. Many more Confucius Institutes (孔子学院) will be set up in the world. These institutes will teach Chinese to foreign students.
1. Which of the following is the topic sentence for the text?| A．Chinese has become popular among foreign kids. |
| B．Chinese can be more difficult to learn. |
| C．In America, Chinese is the second most popular foreign language after Spanish. |
| D．Students learn to make jiaozi and tie Chinese knots. |
| A．China. | B．America. | C．Korea. | D．Spain. |
| A．making jiaozi |
| B．writing and drawing in the Chinese way |
| C．tying Chinese knots |
| D．singing Chinese songs |
| A．Because Chinese is getting more important in their schools. |
| B．Because Chinese characters have too many strokes. |
| C．Because the number of people learning Chinese will be 800 million. |
| D．Because China is becoming more and more important in the world. |
5 . How to Survive in the Woods
Getting lost in the woods can be a scary situation. Whether you’ve got lost on a hike, your car broke down on a wilderness road, or any other reason, surviving in the woods is difficult.
Don’t panic. Panicking can cause you to make poor decisions and affect your judgment. If you’re going to get out of the woods, you need to have a clear head.
Avoid using too much energy.
Signal your location with smoke signals. Build a fire and add a bunch of green leaves or pine needles to create a lot of smoke. Take a large branch with green leaves on it and cover the fire for 3-4 seconds to stop the smoke from escaping.
| A．Build a shelter. |
| B．Stay where you are. |
| C．However, it can be done. |
| D．Search for a source of fresh water. |
| E．Take deep breaths and focus on the tasks at hand. |
| F．It may be difficult for you to find adequate food and water. |
| G．Then, remove the branch to allow the smoke cloud to escape. |
6 . Cassie Thomas thought she was just meeting with the media at her lunch break. Instead, the nurse at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital near Danville got a surprise party from her workmates. It was her first day back to work after a family vacation in Clearwater, Florida, and what a vacation it was!
“Just as I looked up, there was this big pinks lightning that just came down and hit the beach, ” Cassie said. Cassie, her husband, and their two daughters were on their hotel balcony last week when they heard and saw the storm.
After Cassie saw the lightning, she saw two boys lying on the beach. So, she shouted to them. “Then one boy sat up and he just started shouting back, and I said, ‘Jay, call 911; I’m going. ” Cassie said. So the 31-year-old nurse sprang into action. She ran down 16 flights of stairs onto the beach where she found the two boys, Jansen and Cameron, who are from North Carolina. Cameron had no heartbeat.
“I rolled Cameron over and I just started compressing(按压),”Cassie said. She didn’t realize it at the time, but she-was risking her own life to save the teenage boys.
“My daughters were on the balcony and it was a very dangerous situation to put myself in. I just wished to keep me safe because I was going, ” Cassie said. “It just goes to her character to help others. And you know what? When it’s your kid, you’d want someone to be coming in and saving his life, ” one of her workmates said.
Cassie was there when Cameron got out of the hospital. “He just said, ‘Thank you; thank you; thank you.’ He gave me so many hugs, ” Cassie said. “A nurse never truly goes on vacation. I just keep telling everybody the same thing. It’s just what you do. ”
Cassie and two other people got Good Samaritan awards from the Clearwater Police Department for saving Cameron’s life. Cassie’s workmates said they couldn’t be any prouder of this-life-saving nurse.
1. Why did Cassie’s workmates give her a surprise party?| A．To welcome her back to work. |
| B．To see her off for her vacation. |
| C．To honor her for her heroic act. |
| D．To congratulate heron the interview. |
| A．They were pulled into the sea. |
| B．They were hit by lightning. |
| C．They fell off from the balcony. |
| D．They got caught in a rain. |
| A．She called 911. |
| B．She took them to a hospital. |
| C．She jumped into the sea to save them. |
| D．She gave first aid to one of them. |
| A．Nurses have no time to go on a vacation. |
| B．Nurses are ready at all times to help others. |
| C．Nurses don’t like to go on a vacation. |
| D．Nurses may be called back to work during vacation. |
7 . One of the most important things of the U. S. government’s routine in 2020 is to raise the federal (联邦) legal age for buying tobacco from age 18 to 21.
Beginning in the summer of 2020, it will be against the law to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 21. Since 1990, the legal age permitted to buy cigarette is at least 18. The law also includes e-cigarette, not just traditional tobacco products like cigarettes and cigars, adding regulation to this industry, which has developed largely unchecked.
The use of E-cigarette has increased sharply among U. S. teenagers. According to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 27.5% of U. S. high school students have used e-cigarette in the past month. Raising the age one can buy tobacco is intended to avoid what many people are calling an epidemic, which is doing great harm to the health of American teenagers.
A recent outbreak of the disease related to e-cigarette has raised even more concern about e-cigarette products , although the disease is largely linked to cartridges (药筒) filled with addictive Vitamin E acetate sold in black market.
In a statement to TIME, the American Lung Association considered raising the age one can buy tobacco as an easy way to protect children’s health and prevent them from getting addicted to nicotine.
Those in favor of e-cigarette have made it clear that they support raising the legal age permission for buying and using tobacco, arguing that e-cigarette products are never designed for young people. Some anti-cigarette (反对吸烟) people have expressed their doubt of this opinion.
At present, twenty states have already raised the legal age to buy cigarette to 21.
1. What can we learn about the new law for buying tobacco?| A．It’s good for the tobacco market. | B．It also works for e-cigarette. |
| C．It aims to stop selling cigarette. | D．It’ll be illegal to buy cigarette. |
| A．Crime. | B．Shoplifting. | C．Disease. | D．Burglary. |
| A．E-cigarette products are aimed at young people. |
| B．Cigarettes only do harm to young people. |
| C．E-cigarette should not be allowed. |
| D．People don’t have to obey the legal law. |
| A．Science. | B．Culture. | C．Health. | D．Economy. |
8 . An idea that started in Seattle’s public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched the “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book” project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.
In Chicago, the mayor (市长) appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the “One Book, One Chicago” program. As a result, reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, it appeared that parents and children read to each other at night and strangers chatted away on the bus about the stories and character.
The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse (多样的) population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity can be achieved or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
Finally, as Nancy points out, the level of success is not judged by how many people read a book, but by how many people are benefited by the process, or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not have shared a word.
1. What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?| A．To invite authors to guide readers. | B．To encourage people to read and share. |
| C．To involve people in community service. | D．To promote the friendship between cities. |
| A．They had little interest in reading. |
| B．They were too busy to read a book. |
| C．They came from many different backgrounds. |
| D．They lacked support from the local government. |
| A．communicated with each other | B．discussed the meaning of a word |
| C．gained life experience | D．used the same language |
| A．the careful selection of a proper book |
| B．the growing popularity of the writers |
| C．the number of people who benefit from reading |
| D．the number of books that each person reads |
9 . From the day a person opens his or her eyes in this world to the point when success surrounds them, curiosity is something that never leaves their sides. It stays with them and instills (灌输) in them a sense of exploration; it pushes them to take risks, and uncover he hidden mystery. It is a powerful quality as it helps people develop an understanding of different aspects of the world.
Many parent get annoyed when their children ask too many questions. They do not realize that by not responding to the questions and curiosity of these ones, it might take away their chance to learn new things. Leaning is every individual’s right, and no one can take away one’s eagerness to explore, discover, and learn new things.
The former president of the United States, Roosevelt, once said, “I think, at a child’s birth if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to give it the most useful gift that gift would be curiosity.” If a child asks too many questions out of curiosity, parents must answer the questions with patience. The way they respond will determine whether a child grows up to be a smart learner and an explorer or not.
While some parents take these matter slightly, there are some who attend to the needs of their young ones’ hunger to learn smartly. Regina, a life coach and public speaker, instead of losing her calm on her daughter’s nature to frequently question everything, she tried to respond to her daughter with love and affection. Not only did she answer all her daughter’s questions, but she started thinking of other curious kids out there who were eager to discover the hidden secrets of this world.
1. What will happen if children get no response to their questions?| A．They’ll be less patient. | B．They’ll learn more smartly. |
| C．They’ll likely take adventures. | D．They’ll lose opportunities to learn new things. |
| A．To show children are gifted. | B．To state patience is necessary. |
| C．To stress curiosity is important. | D．To suggest parents be understanding. |
| A．Pay attention to. | B．Give way to. | C．Get tired of. | D．Make use of. |
| A．Regina became a life coach. | B．Regina explored new things. |
| C．Regina helped other curious kids. | D．Regina answered her daughter’s questions. |
10 . Do boys and girls really deal with people in different ways? With Leaper’s help, we carried out some tests that showed us yes.
We offered the kids brightly wrapped (包装) gifts which may be disappointing: socks and a pencil. The girls responded very politely. Courtney said happily, “Just what I need. Socks and a pencil!” Her words made me feel good, while the boys weren’t about to make me feel good. “What?” Raja said, “Socks and a pencil? Rip-off!” Jacob had a similar reaction.
Are boys and girls simply born different?
Susan Witt, at the University of Akron, says boys and girls respond differently in situations like these because we parent them differently.
Witt means parents and society treat kids differently. A famous study called “Baby X” designed by Phyllis Katz tested adults on how they treated babies based on what they thought the gender (性别) was. When adults thought they were holding a girl, they held her gently and gave her dolls. When they thought the baby was a boy, they offered him a football. In the 1970s, some people took this to argue boys and girls were born entirely the same, and they behaved differently only because parents and society taught them to. Now, however, it’s accepted that society and biology both create the difference.
Witt also offered a few tips for the parents of girls: Don’t help them so much. Research shows parents tend to help girls more than boys. This can make girls feel helpless and less confident.
In the case of the boys who were honest in our test, we saw that their parents gave them a lot of freedom to act out. “Maybe too much,” says Witt. Witt said Moms should discourage kids who scream out demands.
Finally, a caution (警告) about generalizing about gender. The differences between individuals are frequently bigger than differences between sexes. In our experiments, some girls did speak their mind, and some boys were very polite.
1. What was the boys’ reaction to the gifts in the test?| A．They liked the gifts. |
| B．They were very polite. |
| C．They responded honestly. |
| D．They tried to make others feel good. |
| A．tested adults on how they treated babies based on their gender |
| B．was designed to prove boys and girls are born different |
| C．was designed by Phyllis Katz from the University of Akron |
| D．proved that boys and girls are born entirely the same |
| A．give them more freedom |
| B．offer them more help |
| C．control them a little more |
| D．make them more confident |
| A．The results of the experiments are confusing. |
| B．There’s no need to notice the differences between the sexes. |
| C．Differences between boys and girls aren’t true for all individuals. |
| D．Differences between sexes are more important than those between individuals. |
