1 . When the COVID-19 hit and supermarket shelves were empty, Chris Hall and Stefanny Lowey decided they no longer wanted to depend on others for food. They, who live on Pender Island（片打岛） in British Columbia（不列颠哥伦比亚）, Canada, decided to start a year-long challenge where they wouldn't buy a single thing to eat. Instead they would grow, raise or catch everything—right down to sugar, salt and flour（面粉）. Now, five months in, they say the challenge has changed their lives.

Chris, 38, said, “It has always been something that we have wanted to do. We have had a garden and grown vegetables for a long time already. When the COVID-19 hit, it gave us that extra push that we needed to do it. We were both out of work when we started, and with the reality check of grocery stores running out of items, it gave us even more energy to see if we could look after ourselves.”

The pair spent the months before building a house for chickens, ducks and turkey as well as studying as much as possible to figure out where they would get all the things they needed. Chris adds, “We had to learn so many new things like how to grow mushrooms（蘑菇）, process our Stevia plants, and harvest salt from the ocean. We spent a lot of time reading and studying online to find out all the things we were going to need to do.”

Now after five months, they both feel it’s been going well but Chris admits the first few weeks were difficult. “The first three weeks were very challenging as our bodies adjusted to cutting out coffee, wine and sugar all on the same day,” he says. “After three weeks our energy levels balanced out and our wishes reduced and now we feel great.” Now February has ended. As they come through winter, they feel positive about continuing with this way of living, with their challenge officially（正式地） ending in August.

1. Why did the pair decide to produce foods on their own?

A．They were isolated（隔绝的） by Pender Island.

B．They couldn't afford to buy them because they lost their jobs.

C．They wanted to be independent.

D．They could hardly buy them in shops.

2. Which words can be used to describe the couple?

A．Positive and self-supporting.	B．Helpful and positive.
C．Motivated（有动力的） and brave.	D．Rich and generous.

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．They had difficulty because they wanted to continue.

B．They couldn't get used to the special way of living at first.

C．Their challenge may last about six months in total.

D．They were discouraged by the difficulty at first.

4. What do we know about British Columbia?

A．It’s in Britain.	B．It’s in America.
C．It’s in Canada.	D．It’s near Britain.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In early December this year, Zhang Guimei was named a national outstanding(杰出的) member of the Communist Party of China for her    1     (devote) to education in rural China.

About 20 years ago, while on the way to visit a student's house, Zhang Guimei, then a teacher in Huaping, Yunnan province, noticed a girl     2    (sit) on the hillside. The girl, 13, told Zhang she was about to get married. It was decided by her parents. "But I want to go to school." the girl said. Zhang went to her house and tried     3     (persuade) her parents to let the girl return to school and promised to pay for the school     4     (fee) herself. However, they didn’t agree.

From then on, Zhang dreamed     5    building a free high school for girls. After years trying to raise money,     6    (final) in 2008, Huaping High School for Girls, a free public high school, was founded at the foot of the Shizi Mountain in Huaping,     7    Zhang is the headmaster. Her efforts have been worth it. Since 2008, more than 18,000 students     8    (admit) to college, which is considered a “miracle” in that distant area.

Zhang plays     9     active part in local education. It is reported that shewill be given(give) the honor of the country's “role model for teachers”in February, 2021. Her     10    (move) stories encourage thousandsof people.

3 . Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.

“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”

Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.

Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent-child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood.

No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”

But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”

Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a say.

“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”

1. The underlined word “gulf” in Para. 3 most probably means ________.

A．interest	B．distance
C．difference	D．separation

2. Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?

A．Parents help their children develop interests in more activities.

B．Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities.

C．Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs.

D．Parents share more interests with their children.

3. The change in today’s parent-child relationship is ________.

A．more confusion among parents

B．new equality between parents and children

C．less respect for parents from children

D．more strictness and authority on the part of parents

4. The purpose of the passage is to ________.

A．describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with

B．discuss the development of the parent-child relationship

C．suggest the ways to handle the parent-child relationship

D．compare today’s parent-child relationship with that in the past

4 . Children are excited to find brightly wrapped(包装的) presents under the tree on Christmas morning. They can’t wait to open the wrapping and get the toys that were on their wish lists such as toy cars. But after the excitement wears off, those toys are usually left to the corner of the toy box and the kids are searching for something else to do. But it doesn't have to be that way.

A study from the University of Toronto found that giving your child experiences as a gift, instead of toys, improves your child’s intelligence and makes stronger parent-child bonds. “Often the focus is only on whether someone likes a gift rather than focusing on a main purpose of gift giving. Knowing that will foster(培养) relationships between the giver and the receiver,” said lead researcher Cindy Chan.

Chan suggested that when you are buying a holiday gift or birthday gift, you should buy something that kids can experience with you. This can be movie or concert tickets, a CD from a performance you already saw to keep the memory alive. For example, for Kids, a trip to a museum, going ice-skating or a book that the family can read together over and over again are valuable gifts.

It is found that giving your kids too many toys can be counterproductive(适得其反) and make kids at a loss. The best way to make kids happy is to spend time together.

So, if you want happy and intelligent kids, spending time with them and making memories are the best you can give them. That's not to say that there shouldn’t be any toys but change the focus from getting things to making lasting memories.

1. How do children usually deal with toys after the excitement disappear?

A．They put them aside.	B．They give them to their friends.
C．They add them to the wish lists.	D．They throw them into the rubbish bin.

2. What should people focus on when buying gifts according to Cindy Chan?

A．The advantage of giving toys.	B．The purpose of giving gifts.
C．The excitement caused by toys.	D．The gift receiver's hobby.

3. What did Cindy Chan advise parents to do in Paragraph 3?

A．Do something together with kids.	B．Give kids well-wrapped presents.
C．Buy kids as many toys as possible	D．Encourage kids to do sport in school.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．A lesson from kids at Christmas	B．Gifts given, memories in mind
C．Valuable gifts: popular among kids	D．Move over, toys

5 . Every kid wishes to be an adult. Do you remember playing house as a child-pretending to be a grownup like your parents? Did you imagine you were a doctor, a soldier or a teacher? At that time, anything seemed more exciting than being young. But now some grownups become “kidults”（kid+adult), who participate in the culture and activities traditionally intended for children.     1    

Some kidults collect toys they once played with.     2    It is not unusual to see a 20- something woman with a big, Snoopy-shaped cushion(坐垫）on her sofa or a Hello Kitty mobile phone accessory(配件）。

    3     For example, Bloomsbury even published the Harry Potter novels with an adult cover. That way, no one else on the subway will know that an adult is actually reading a children's book!

“Kidults can be like vitamins to society. Adults who value their childhood and hold on to pure, childlike emotion may be needed in such a rough and dry society,”said Lee Sojung, professor of Foreign Studies at Hankuk University.     4    It could give children and their parents books; movies, and cartoon shows to enjoy together. He may be right.

Tim Greenhalgh, a professor in London explained that some kidults just refused to grow up.    5     Kidults would like to forget their age and openly show their fear of society and adulthood. “So, they can escape from increasingly complex and stressful lives that are hard to deal with,” Greenhalgh said.

A．They find they cannot leave childhood behind

B．Other kidults still enjoy children's stories and fairy tales.

C．Kidults often run into the problem of finding a job at their level.

D．They do so because life in a busy and stressful city frightens them.

E．Hello Kitty, Garfield, and Snoopy have many adult fans around the world.

F．He added that kidult culture may fill the generation gap between adults and kids.

G．They may not be great parents as well as able to take on adult responsibilities.

7 . How old is the man?

A．19

B．22

C．30.

8 . While the start of a new school year is always exciting, this year was even more so for some elementary school students in Auckland, New Zealand. They became the world’s first kids to be “taught” by a digital teacher, Will. Before you start imagining a human-like robot walking around the classroom, Will is just an avatar (化身) that turns up on the students’ desktop, tablet, or smartphone screen when called.

Thanks to a digital camera and microphone, the avatar not only responds to questions the kids may have, but also picks up non-verbal signals. For example, if a student smiles at Will, he responds by smiling back. This two-way communication not only helps draw the students’ attention, but also allows the program’s developers to monitor their involvement (参与) and make changes if needed.

Vector’s Chief Digital Officer, Nikhil Ravishankar, believes that Will-like avatars could be a novel way to attract the attention of the next generation. He says, “Using a digital human is a very popular method to deliver new information to people, and I have a lot of hope in this technology as a means to deliver rich and educational experience in the future.” Greg Cross, the Chief Business Officer for Soul Machines, states that kids who have grown up in this digital time adapt to new technology quickly, and he hopes to develop the idea of digital humans in the area of education further.

The program, in place since August 2018, has been a great success so far. However, no matter how popular it becomes, Will is unlikely to replace human educators any time soon. For one, the avatar’s knowledge base is severely limited. But more importantly, even the smartest digital avatars could never predict and react to all the unexpected situations that educators have to deal with on a daily basis. However, it could come in handy as a “personal teacher”, providing kids with one-on-one help on the subjects or even topics.

1. What is mentioned about Will in the first paragraph?

A．He is unlikely to replace human educators.

B．He is the first robot teacher in the world.

C．He will walk across the classroom to you when called.

D．He is a digital teacher teaching in a school.

2. In what way does the digital teacher help the students?

A．By taking part in discussion.	B．By communicating with students.
C．By changing teaching methods.	D．By monitoring students’ behavior.

3. What is Greg Cross’s attitude toward the digital teacher?

A．Doubtful.	B．Uncaring.
C．Supportive	D．Dissatisfied.

4. What can be inferred about the digital teacher from the last paragraph?

A．It has entered many homes as kids’ private teacher.

B．It will teach in class in place of human educators.

C．It’s good at handling unexpected situations.

D．It remains to be improved.