1 . Humans have made the world less friendly to birds in many ways. One obvious example of this can be found in metal spikes (尖刺), or anti-bird spikes in buildings to prevent birds from landing and even nesting. However, a handful of birds have struck back.
Auke-Florian Hiemstra, a biologist researching animal architecture at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, Netherlands, studies how wild animals use materials made by humans. He has seen nests that include some unusual materials—things like plastic flowers and sunglasses. But he was surprised when seeing a picture of a magpie (喜鹊) nest, the top of which had anti-bird spikes.
Researchers had learned that the smart species, magpies and crows (乌鸦), were stealing anti-bird spikes as a nest-building material. The two species appeared to use the anti-bird spikes in slightly different ways. For the crows, the spikes seemed purely structural, a material used to fashion a solid foundation. But for the magpies, there was an additional layer of intention: They appeared to use the spikes like humans do-rounded covering over their nests to keep other birds from landing.
One recent study reported that nests with man-made materials have been found all over the world and that the man-made materials include all kinds of man-made materials, including knitting needles, candy wrappers, spiky wires, and cigarette ends. Although magpies and crows haven’t been documented doing this, other birds have. Scientists aren’t sure if birds are using artificial materials because they’re better, or simply because they’re easy to find. What is noteworthy is that human-made materials in bird nests can cause injuries. For example, anti- bird netting, often placed over garden plots, is known to be dangerous for birds, which often end up being entangled in it.
For Hiemstra, while the new discoveries are fascinating, he also highlights a broader issue: the unfortunate popularity of anti-bird spikes. “It’s kind of sad to keep fighting against nature instead of accepting it as part of the city,” he said.
1. Why was Hiemstra surprised when seeing the photo of a magpie nest?| A．A magpie decorated its nest with plastic flowers. |
| B．Magpies and crows are as intelligent as humans. |
| C．Magpies and crows cooperated to build the nests. |
| D．The magpie nest was equipped with metal spikes. |
| A．Crows use them for fashion. |
| B．Magpies use them for defence. |
| C．Crows use them to keep off other species. |
| D．Magpies use them to strengthen the nests. |
| A．Discovered. | B．Frightened. | C．Released. | D．Trapped. |
| A．Support birds’ using man-made materials. |
| B．Accept anti-bird spikes as part of the city. |
| C．Disapprove of humans’ using anti-bird spikes. |
| D．Stress the popularity of anti-bird spikes in birds. |
2 . Eradajere Oleata thinks she may have a partial solution called the Chip Bag Project for two of her country’s persistent problems: garbage and poverty. The 26-year-old student from Detroit is asking a(n)
Chip eaters
Since 2020, the Chip Bag Project has
Sure, it would be simpler to raise the money to buy new sleeping bags. But that’s only half the
Of course, repurposing these bags is meaningful.
| A．explanation | B．permit | C．proposal | D．favor |
| A．Other than | B．More than | C．Rather than | D．Less than |
| A．sell | B．recycle | C．donate | D．deliver |
| A．give away | B．drop off | C．cut off | D．throw away |
| A．scenes | B．destinations | C．locations | D．platforms |
| A．cleaned up | B．brought up | C．built up | D．set up |
| A．depending on | B．drawing on | C．dawning on | D．surviving on |
| A．saved | B．collected | C．extracted | D．prepared |
| A．responsibility | B．wisdom | C．theory | D．goal |
| A．addicted | B．glued | C．devoted | D．limited |
| A．entirely | B．environmentally | C．economically | D．globally |
| A．Somehow | B．Anyhow | C．Thus | D．Otherwise |
| A．powerful | B．chief | C．official | D．moral |
| A．development | B．damage | C．poverty | D．climate |
| A．reactions | B．connections | C．strategies | D．consequences |
3 . Electronic waste, also known as e-waste, consists of a discarded phones, printers, TVs, electric toothbrushes and many other electronic goods no longer in use.
A shocking 53. 6 million tons of electronic waste was generated worldwide in 2019 — less than a fifth of which was recycled, according to UN's Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report.
Of the total e-waste last year, Asia contributed the biggest amount — 46.4 per cent — followed by the Americas(24.4 percent), Europe (22.3 percent), Africa (5.4 percent) and Oceania (1.3 percent).
The combined heap of e-waste for 2019 averaged 7. 3 kg for every man, woman and child on Earth. The UK averaged the second-biggest in the world, at 23.9 kg, behind Norway, which averaged 26kg.
The report also reveals that just 17.4 percent of the e-waste was properly collected and recycled. E-waste is a health and environmental hazard (危害), containing hazardous substances such as mercury, which damages the human brain.
After a device is discarded and e-waste is warmed up, toxic chemicals are released into the air, damaging the atmosphere. E-waste in landfills can also seep (渗透) toxic materials into groundwater, affecting animals and plants.
Gold, silver, copper, and other high-value materials were collectively valued at $57 billion. However, they were mostly dumped or burned rather than being collected for treatment and reuse. In countries with developing markets, an increasing number of household electronics like refrigerators, air conditioners, and lamps are now being bought, leading to the rapid increase in e-waste. A global obsession with smart phones, which tend to be replaced by an updated model after a year, also helps build e-waste piles.
It's not that countries don't have policies to fight e-waste since 2014, the number of countries that have adopted a national e-waste policy has increased from 61 to 78, the report says. But advances are slow, enforcement (执行) is poor, and policies fail to encourage the collection and proper management of e-waste. The lack of effective policies around the world needs to be addressed (解决) as soon as possible.
1. According to official figures, how much e-waste was recycled in 2019?| A．53.6 million tons. | B．10.8 million tons. |
| C．9.3 million tons. | D．20.1 million tons. |
| A．health condition | B．electronic products |
| C．energy resources | D．environmental protection |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Indifferent. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Critical. |
| A．E-waste is increasing. | B．E-waste is being reduced. |
| C．E-waste is harmful to people. | D．E-waste is being encouraged. |
4 . A proud and happy all-female Delta flight crew lit up the skies earlier last October, flying 120 female students from Salt Lake City to NASA in Houston for tours of the facilities and to meet with female leaders in the industry.
The flight was part of the airline’s Women Inspiring our Next Generation (WING) program, which was created in 2015 to help close the gender gap in aviation (航空) and expose more young girls to STEM(Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers. This is the fifth WING flight, with more than 600 female students flying Delta so far through the program.
The flight was planned and executed (执行) completely by women, including pilots, ramp agents, gate agents and flight control.
“At Delta, we believe you have to see it to be it, “said Beth Poole, general manager of pilot development, who helped start Delta’s WING initiative, in a statement. “We’re taking ownership to improve gender diversity by exposing girls at a young age and providing a pipeline so that 10 years from now, they will be the pilots in the Delta cockpit (驾驶舱) inspiring generations of women who follow. ”
While the students, who ranged in age from 12 to 18, were in Houston, they met with female mentors in aviation. They toured NASA’s Mission Control Center, Johnson Space Center and other key facilities in areas of flight and space exploration.
“It didn’t seem realistic to go after a career in aviation, but today I realized, ‘Hey, I can do this too’, ” said Katelyn J, age 17, a 12th grader from Advanced Learning Center.
Delta has achieved 100% pay parity for employees in frontline jobs. In the past four years, 7. 4%of the airline’s newly hired pilots have been women. The WING program is one of the ways they’re hoping to increase those numbers.
“I’ve loved being able to look at all of the things these successful women have accomplished, ” said Shanae C., 17, a 12th grader from Jordan Technical Institute. “I think we ill learn from them and build on their foundation of success.”
1. What can we know from this text?| A．Female pilots receive their training at the early age. |
| B．More and more female pilots will take males’ place. |
| C．Male pilots are more likely to have air crash than female pilots. |
| D．The WING program is intended to train more youngsters in STEM. |
| A．Minority. | B．Diversity. | C．Equality. | D．Majority. |
| A．A poster. | B．A travel brochure. | C．A novel. | D．A newspaper. |
| A．The Gender Gap Is Closed | B．The Sky Has No Limit |
| C．Female Pilots Are Better Than Males | D．Gender Discrimination Exists in Aviation |
5 . Recently, the idea that listening to classical music can increase intelligence, especially in
In 1997, Don Campbell published a book about this
| A．scientists | B．musicians | C．adults | D．babies |
| A．joining in | B．dreaming of | C．talking about | D．listening to |
| A．improved | B．measured | C．provided | D．enjoyed |
| A．On the whole | B．As a result | C．On the contrary | D．In other words |
| A．common | B．natural | C．interesting | D．alarming |
| A．literature | B．music | C．world | D．education |
| A．cause | B．place | C．reduce | D．limit |
| A．began | B．dealt | C．agreed | D．followed |
| A．useless | B．priceless | C．available | D．changeable |
| A．tested | B．designed | C．searched | D．collected |
| A．By the way | B．In this way | C．On the way | D．All the way |
| A．born | B．lost | C．trained | D．invited |
| A．Besides | B．Therefore | C．Instead | D．However |
A．check | B．question | C．determine | D．evaluate |
| A．real | B．right | C．normal | D．doubtful |
| A．anxiety | B．material | C．research | D．argument |
| A．cheers | B．expects | C．remembers | D．believes |
| A．costs | B．health | C．disorders | D．intelligence |
| A．teachers | B．experts | C．parents | D．players |
| A．after | B．unless | C．before | D．as |
6 . Children think other youngsters who wear glasses look smarter and are more honest than those who don't wear glasses, according to a U.S. study of 80 children. In addition, the researchers found that children seldom judge peers wearing glasses in terms of appearance.
The study included 42 girls and 38 boys, aged 6 to 10.Of those, 30 wore glasses, 34 had at least one classmate with glasses, and almost two-thirds had at least one parent who wore glasses. The study participants were shown 24 pairs of pictures of children. The children in each pair of pictures differed by gender and race, and each pair of pictures included one child with glasses and one child without glasses. The children were asked a series of questions about each pair of photos. About two-thirds said children wearing glasses looked smarter than those without glasses, and 57 percent said children wearing glasses looked more honest.
These findings may help comfort children as they're fitted for their first pair of glasses, lead author Jeffrey Walline, an assistant professor of optometry at Ohio State University, suggested in a prepared statement. "If the impression of looking smarter will appeal to a child, I would use that information and tell the child it is based on research. Most kids getting glasses for the first time are sensitive about how they're going to look. Some kids simply refuse to wear glasses, because they think they'll look ugly," Walline said.
1. What impression may a youngster wearing a pair of glasses leave on his classmate?| A．Ugly. | B．Easygoing. | C．Dynamic. | D．Intelligent. |
| A．Most of them wore glasses at an early age. |
| B．Most of them had one family member wearing glasses. |
| C．They observed children of different ages in each picture. |
| D．They were required to answer the same questions. |
| A．Because the study is carried out in a scientific way. |
| B．Because it convinces them of the necessity of wearing glasses. |
| C．Because it may help remove all their initial worries. |
| D．Because the children do care about being smarter. |
| A．Wearing Glasses, Smarter Looking. | B．Wearing Glasses, More Intelligent. |
| C．Concerns on Wearing Glasses. | D．Wearing Glasses, a New Trend. |
7 . Going to the movie theater is fun. However, in a time when technology has afforded us home video streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, many people choose to stay at home to have fun. And they believe movie theaters are going to have problems. Though those services might affect the theaters negatively, I don't believe they are going away anytime soon.
I don't doubt that staying at home to watch films can save you money. After all, the tickets for theaters aren't cheap. Besides, you can lie comfortably on a big sofa to watch films. And generally there's no limit on the time when you can watch films. And you don't need to be worried about others anger when you laugh aloud at a fun shot.
But the movie theater has the low lighting, the big screen, the surround sound, etc. War movies especially benefit from being watched in theaters. A good war movie combined with the theater setting can better show the reality of war. Viewers can more closely experience the war. In addition to war movies, action movies and superhero movies are also much better when viewed on the big screen.
And nothing beats gathering together your friends and family and going to see a good movie. However, nowadays many people like to lock themselves at home when they're free. That's why many people end up being lonely, having few friends and suffering from health problems. Therefore, instead of just watching a movie at home and then going to bed, you can hang out with your friends and share your latest news face to face based on going to see a movie.
Anyway, we are lucky enough to live in a time that benefits people who love to go out and those who love to stay at home. Netflix and other services will always be there for those who prefer to stay at home. But going to the theater offers better experience, and it helps theaters create more jobs. It's a win-win. So why not see a cool movie at your local theater?
1. What influence do home video streaming services seem to bring?| A．Theaters will soon disappear. |
| B．Movie theater business gets hurt. |
| C．Films have become much funnier than before. |
| D．Theaters begin to offer better services to customers. |
| A．Some theater rules to follow. | B．The author's love for staying at home. |
| C．The advantages of enjoying films at home. | D．Several opinions on choosing movie theaters. |
| A．Not all films are attractive to viewers. | B．There isn't an increase in films' types. |
| C．Movie theaters should suit different films. | D．Some films are less amazing when watched at home. |
| A．To persuade us to join outdoor activities as often as possible. |
| B．To present the advantage of watching films at home. |
| C．To show us the reasons for the decline of theater. |
| D．To advise people to go to the theater. |
8 . Most drinks stating that they are fruit flavored contain no fruit at all, while most of the rest contain only a small quantity of fruit, according to a study carried by the British Food Commission."Shoppers need to check the labels before buying drinks, though sometimes the actual content can be nonexistent," said Food Commission spokesperson Ian Tokelove. "Food production is highly competitive.
| A．They found that about 60 percent of them didn't contain any fruit at all. |
| B．Even products advertised as more natural often contained no fruit. |
| C．The products which contain real fruit are popular with people. |
| D．Actually the product contains just a tiny percentage of strawberry or even no fruit at all. |
| E．It is important and necessary to demand a small amount of flavoring in the products. |
| F．If companies can cut their costs by using flavoring, they are likely to do so. |
| G．The Food Commission suggested all flavors used in a product should be listed on the packaging. |
9 . Public bookshelves are appearing across Germany on street corners, city squares and in suburban supermarkets. In these freeforall libraries, people can grab whatever they want to read, and leave behind anything they want for others. There’s no need to register, no due date, and you can take or give as many as you want.“This project is aimed at everyone who likes to read. It is open for everybody, ” Michael Aubermann, one of the organizers of the free book exchange said.
The western city’ s latest public shelf was put up next to Bayenturm. It is the fourth free shelf that Aubermann’ s group, the Cologne Citizen’s Foundation, has placed outside.“We set up our other outdoor shelves last year and it’s been working really well, ” said Aubermann. The public bookshelves, which are usually financed by donations and cared for by local volunteer groups, have appeared independently of each other in many cities, suburbs and villages. Each shelf holds around 200 books and it takes about six weeks for a complete turnover, with all the old titles replaced by new ones.
Even commercial book stores and online book sellers seem to support the idea of free book exchanges.“We see this project rather as a sales promotion than as competition, ”said Elmar Muether. “If books are present everywhere, it helps our business, too.”
So far, the Cologne book group has had few problems with damage or other problems. Aubermann said, “Propaganda (宣传) is the only kind of literature we do not allow here.”
At another bookshelf in the Bayenthal neighborhood, the lower shelves are reserved for children’s literature only.“It is important that we make it easy for everyone to participate in this ‘reading culture on the street’—from old readers to kids to immigrants, ”Aubermann said.
While most of the shelves have so far been put up in upscale neighborhoods, Aubermann and the 20 volunteers who help look after the project are planning to put up future shelves in poor neighborhoods, where citizens often don’t have as much access to literature.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the public bookshelves?| A．People can take the books and leave their books at will. |
| B．People can’ t borrow books unless they donate books. |
| C．People can borrow whatever they like after registering. |
| D．People have to return the books according to the required time. |
| A．are financed by local volunteers | B．have been going well since their birth |
| C．were managed by the local government | D．will hold more books and take a shorter turnover |
| A．communities that have many people | B．communities that have many tall buildings |
| C．communities that are free to live in | D．communities that are of high grade |
| A．Public Reading Becomes Popular Worldwide | B．New Trends of Bookshelves in Germany |
| C．Public Bookshelves Spread Across Germany | D．Reading Culture on the Street in Europe |
Everyone knows that the Frenchmen are romantic, the Italians are fashionable and the Germans are serious. Are these just stereotypes or is there really such a thing as national character? And if there is, can it affect how a nation succeed or fail?
At least one group of people is certain that it can. A recent survey of the top 500 entrepreneurs (企业家) in the UK found that 70% felt that their efforts were not appreciated by the British public. Britain is hostile (敌意的) to success, they said. It has a culture of jealousy (嫉妒).
Scientists at Warwich University in the UK recently tested this idea. They gathered a group of people together and gave each an imaginary amount of money.
“It is not really success that the British dislike,” says Carey Cooper, a professor of management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. “It’s people using their success in a way that seems proud or unfair or which separates them from their roots.”
| A．This seems to prove that the entrepreneurs were right to complain. |
| B．The one who owns most money in the end is the winner. |
| C．As a result, the survey said, entrepreneurs were “unloved, unwanted and misunderstood.” |
| D．It is not true that British people are born jealous of others` success. |
| E．Some were given a little, others a great deal. |
| F．But instead of being happy they complain that nobody loves them. |
| G．Perhaps it is the entrepreneurs who are the problem. |
