1 . For those of us who grew up watching Star Trek, exploring space has been about discovering strange new worlds. And there are plenty of worlds to explore in time, but we still need major technological advancements to reach planets that are light years away.
What we are doing in space today is providing unbelievable benefits right now, right here on Earth. From space, we can monitor, manage and care for our planet. Satellite-based sensors show us the short- and long-term effects of human activity on our environment. Many companies are using their interest in space to help solve problems here, from using hyperspectral imaging(高光谱成像), which enable us to map vegetation(植被) and rain forests, to microsatellites that provide global connectivity for the network of things.
My company, OneWeb, is focusing on what I believe is one of the world’s most important issues: the need for equal access to the Internet. The Internet has become our economic lifeblood. And yet, nearly half of the world’s population doesn’t have Internet access. Space is playing a key role in bridging this digital divide. OneWeb is launching 1,980 satellites to help bring Internet access to people everywhere, and our first production satellites are already flying in space and have shown very high download speeds.
Fiber and cable Internet access technologies already cover most financially viable(可行的) major cities. Similarly, these regions will also be the first to be served with 5G. Poor communities are the last to get connected, and without connectivity, those communities have no chance to lift themselves from poverty. OneWeb’s satellites will reach every community in the world and enable equal access to the Internet for the world’s less developed places.
Fifty years from the day when man first walked on the moon, we are still only approaching the possible. There will be tens of thousands of new satellites, space stations and factories in the coming years to bring advancements in communications, scientific research, monitoring the earth, exploring space and more. This is exciting, but we must take action carefully.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．Benefits space exploration can bring to us. |
| B．Problems space exploration leads to. |
| C．Steps of space exploration requires. |
| D．Equipment space exploration needs. |
| A．Increase download speeds. |
| B．Narrow the gap in Internet learning. |
| C．Help people set up and maintain a website. |
| D．Enable people to make use of the Internet equally. |
| A．More than six decades ago, man first walked on the moon. |
| B．More than half of the world’s people have no access to the Internet. |
| C．OneWeb’s satellites will make it possible for most people to be served with 5G. |
| D．Without the Internet, poor communities can hardly help themselves out of poverty. |
| A．The risks of furthering space exploration. |
| B．The value of setting up space stations. |
| C．The way we could monitor our earth. |
| D．The features of microsatellites. |
2 . Paris is full of cultural significance. Yet, despite its wealth of cultural hotspots and architectural delights, some tourists who explore the City of Light experience “Paris syndrome (巴黎综合征), a psychological condition that often results in nausea (恶心) and increased heart rates. An interesting phenomenon is that Paris syndrome is “most common among Japanese tourists”. Why?
Many Japanese visitors go with a deeply romantic picture of Paris----the beauty of French women, the high culture and art. But when the reality of the modern city of Paris sets in, with its seemingly unfriendly service and confusing public transport, some tourists simply find their hope falling through.
“An encounter with a Parisian waiter who shouts at customers might be laughed off by those from other Western cultures. But for the Japanese —used to a society where politeness is valued and voices are rarely raised in anger-----the experience of their dream city turning into a nightmare (噩梦) can simply be too much,” said Rodanthi Tzanelli, a professor of cultural sociology.
So Paris syndrome should be regarded as an extreme form of culture shock, which is an illness resulting from the loss of meaning when people find themselves in a different symbolic reality, according to Rachel Irwin, a senior researcher. The symptoms (症状) associated with culture shock are similar to those experienced by someone who is feeling anxious. According to the analysis (分析) of Calm Clinic, a mental health resource platform, when someone is experiencing anxiety, signals that are related to the fight or flight response will be sent to the stomach. The signals change the way the body processes food, causing nausea.
Besides, Tzanelli points out that the syndrome is not specific to Paris and nobody can be free of culture shock as long as they go to new places. The syndrome is likely a “general phenomenon”, as younger generations tend to travel to different countries, and are likely to be more aware of what they’ll encounter at a destination. Therefore, they’re unlikely to be bitterly disappointed when they’re there.
1. Why do Japanese tourists experience great discomfort in Paris?| A．Paris lacks real historical and cultural hotspots. |
| B．Paris fails to meet their romantic expectations. |
| C．They find Paris’ public transport less modern. |
| D．They cannot adapt to the local climate. |
| A．How culture influences the behavior of tourists. |
| B．How Japanese tourists react to Paris syndrome. |
| C．Why Paris syndrome particularly strikes the Japanese. |
| D．Why the Japanese value politeness and avoid conflicts. |
| A．People’s inability to adapt to new cultures. |
| B．The methods of overcoming culture shock. |
| C．People’s varied attitudes to different cultures. |
| D．The physical discomfort caused by culture shock. |
| A．To be prepared for new encounters in advance. |
| B．To focus on the positive aspects of a destination. |
| C．To visit new places together with young people. |
| D．To avoid going to unfamiliar destinations. |
When a person is “phubbing” (低头玩手机) , he/she is using his / her phone to surf the Internet, check messages, play games and so on, instead of focusing on the conversation or
Most people would agree that
Science has shown that phubbing is not good for us, but why do we do it? It might be because we are feeling bored,
4 . Most parents will remember their little ones grasping their leg or being unwilling to speak to someone new. But when does this stop being a natural part of a child’s growing up and become something to worry about?
Here, Heidi Gazelle, a senior lecturer in developmental psychology from the University of Melbourne, explains how shyness is of more concern if it is persistent rather than temporary.
Shyness with other children is of more concern than shyness with adults. It is common for children to be on the alert for adults, particularly men, but less common for children around their own age.
Children who engage in very little social interaction in comparison to children of their age are missing out on these important cumulative learning experiences. As a result, their social cognition, social skills and sense of self may be less mature than those of other children around their age.
Being excluded and bullied is damaging children’s emotional health and sense of self, especially when these conditions persist over time. Children need help from adults to stop exclusion and being bullied by other children. When parents become aware that their child is being excluded or bullied by other children at a childcare center or a school, they should contact the childcare center or school on their child’s behalf.
Shyness is of concern if it interferes with your child’s or family’s routines or activities, or if your child often appears miserable or complains of being lonely. For instance, if shyness prevents your child from attending other children’s birthday parties or school, or prevents your family from visiting friends, then you should consider seeking help from a child psychologist.
If a child is upset about a problem with a friend, parents can encourage the child to try to resolve the problem in a way that preserves the friendship, instead of ending the friendship, as well as encourage the child to develop other friendships.
1. What view does Heidi Gazelle hold with regards to shy children?| A．Persistent shyness is more worrying than temporary shyness. |
| B．Children’s shyness basically results from a disharmonious family. |
| C．They tend to have less shyness when meeting with unknown people. |
| D．It is more common for them to be alert when being with other children than adults. |
①Social skills. ②Sense of self. ③Overall intelligence. ④Power of observation. ⑤Social cognition.
| A．①③⑤ | B．②④⑤ | C．②③④ | D．①②⑤ |
| A．Consider transferring their child to another school or childcare center. |
| B．Get in touch with the childcare center or school. |
| C．Warn the children who bully their child. |
| D．Try to find his or her own faults. |
| A．Their child often complains about being lonely. |
| B．Their child is always ready to visit their relatives. |
| C．Their child wants to change the family’s original plan. |
| D．Their child is willing to attend other children’s birthday parties. |
5 . I decided to write the article on British Sign Language (BSL) being taught in school. This is because both of my parents are completely deaf which means they can’t hear at all and another reason I decided to do this topic is because I have realised how much of a problem it has become.
It might come to a surprise to learn that nearly all communication is non-verbal (非语言的) and only a little bit is verbal. Over half of the non-verbal communication is body language. Deaf pupils often struggle (挣扎) in school because they can’t get proper help from their teachers as they might not understand each other.
Sign Language is a language that uses hand gestures and body language. These are different ways of communication that deaf or hard of hearing people use to communicate with people. Some deaf people are what you might call “mute”, which means they use Sign Language but don’t use speech. Other deaf people may use speech, most of whom either use hearing aids or have a cochlear implant (人工耳蜗) which can help them hear.
By teaching BSL it would open doors for the deaf community and it would reduce a lot of language barriers (障碍) between deaf and hearing people. The more people learning BSL through education means that it would give deaf people more options for further education and good jobs. By teaching Sign Language in school it can help deaf awareness (意识). With young people growing up and learning it together there wouldn’t be a problem with getting jobs.
I think that deaf awareness is better than it used to be but it still isn’t good enough. In the end teaching Sign Language will be the best for everyone. There would be less language barriers, which means communication will be easier between hearing people and deaf people.
1. What made the author write the text?| A．His own hearing problem. | B．The difficulty of the deaf. |
| C．The school’s sincere invitation. | D．His parents’ encouragement. |
| A．They are too shy to ask for help. |
| B．Their classmates use body language. |
| C．Their teachers are unwilling to help them. |
| D．They have difficulty communicating with others. |
| A．We should offer deaf people good jobs. |
| B．Schools should teach British Sign Language. |
| C．Schools should provide further education for the deaf. |
| D．Young people should learn more about Sign Language. |
| A．It is nearly close to success. | B．It still needs to be improved. |
| C．It isn’t understood by hearing people. | D．It’s bad for breaking language barriers. |
6 . Am I the only one, or do other parents also wish there could be a period between high school and college when our kids could think what they want to be when they grow up? You know, that’s the time when they could be exposed to a variety of professions.
So why do teens need to take a sabbatical(休假) after high school? As a teenager with limited knowledge and experience, it’s really hard to decide what career path he/she wants to follow as an adult. After the period, they could be certain about it.
Some kids know what they want to do from an early age and they follow that track in college and end up in that field as adults. And that’s fantastic for them. But they’re the minority, because I found a statistic from an article that confirms that 80% of college-bound students have to choose a major. But they are also expected to pick out schools and apply to and start degree programs without clearly knowing where they want to end up. And that is shocking.
That’s why I’ve often thought it makes more sense to design a sabbatical, a time when high school graduates can go to sample a handful of careers before they head off to college. The time can give them a chance to examine different fields before they commit to one discipline for the next four years of their life and beyond.
What I’m talking about is different from the gap year, which is designed to let our kids take a step back between high school and college, so they can maturely consider the benefits of higher education. It’s a different kind of option altogether. I’m suggesting something more like a series of internships (实习期), for lack of a better word, in their potential fields of study, so they can really see first-hand what a career in education or law or nursing is like from the inside and not just from a lecture hall.
1. Which could be the benefit for teenagers taking a sabbatical after high schol according to the author?| A．Gaining some work experience. | B．Learning about the adult world. |
| C．Choosing a suitable career path. | D．Valuing the opportunity to study. |
| A．Students being expected to pick out schools. |
| B．Students ending up in an unwanted field as adults. |
| C．Some students starting degree programs after going to college. |
| D．Most students selecting a major without knowing about their future carers. |
| A．Taking a gap year. | B．Trying some different jobs. |
| C．Experiencing life at a college. | D．Visiting as many places as posible. |
| A．To provide teenagers with advice on how to choose a major. |
| B．To explain the necessity of a sabbatical after high school. |
| C．To inform teenagers of the importance of work experience. |
| D．To show differences between the sabbatical and the gap year. |
7 . Twenty-five years ago, most young Britons wanted a job in law, to be a doctor, or, if they were creative enough, to take up singing. But today, things stand differently.
According to a research by Tesco Mobile, a UK company, the “dream job” of young people aged between 16 and 25 in the UK is a video blogger, or “vlogger”. The research, carried out among 1, 002 people, found that as much as 40 percent of them put vlogger as their number one choice on a list of ideal careers.
This change is undoubtedly as a result of the Internet and social media. They have made it so much easier to reach audience around the world, without having to enter a career in show business in the traditional way.
In the past, the biggest stars were trained by the Hollywood studios; now, anyone with a computer camera can become a star. Vloggers are the big stars of today because they are normal people interacting with their fans about everyday life.
However, what people see is only the bright side of being a vlogger and they fail to notice the fact that only those who are successful earn fame and money. For every success there are hundreds of others who never get off the starting line. There are the dreams that come true and the dreams that remain dreams forever.
Although being vloggers is popular, some young people choose to follow careers that don’t necessarily earn them fame, but allow them to make good use of the Internet to share their hobbies. Young Israeli David Leshaw, for example, runs a business called the Finishers Club. It’s an online platform for runners to keep a record of their races. His job allows him to express his fun and is always a learning experience. And that’s enough for him.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Most young Britons choose to be vloggers as their job. |
| B．The Internet is influencing young Britons’ career choice. |
| C．The Internet is taking the place of traditional studios. |
| D．Young Britons cannot find jobs without the Internet. |
| A．Vloggers can earn more fame and money on the Internet. |
| B．There is too much competition in the traditional show business. |
| C．The Internet makes it convenient to enter show business. |
| D．Anyone with a computer will surely become a star. |
| A．Only a few vloggers can be famous and wealthy. |
| B．A vlogger cannot earn fame and fortune. |
| C．All vloggers start at the same starting line. |
| D．Dreams will always remain dreams. |
| A．Learn from others. | B．Become an online hit. |
| C．Hold running races. | D．Combine jobs with hobbies. |
8 . Keeping fit often means sharing a busy pathway with cyclists,runners and walkers,but imagine facing the task of doing it all without being able to see or hear.It is a challenge many disabled athletes face,unless someone agrees to be their eyes and ears.
Newly formed group Achilles Brisbane pairs visually and audibly impaired (视觉和听觉受损的) athletes with people who would like to guide them.
Jane Britt,president of Achilles Brisbane,who is—vision and hearing—impaired,said,“When we go out,it’s much less frightening to have someone beside us that has full hearing to listen for us and tell us what’s there.”
Ms.Cullen and Ms.Britt meet up most Saturday mornings to take part in the five-kilometer park run.Their partnership is built on trust,but Ms.Britt said that it took time to develop.
Ms.Britt said it took an unexpected storm for her to trust Ms.Cullen completely.“There was violent rain,my glasses were broken and we were walking together.I suddenly had to tell her I couldn’t see anything,and I was going to have to completely trust her.From that time I knew it was going to work because she was so good about dealing with the special situation we both found ourselves in,” she said.
Isabella Allen and her seeing eye dog Tatum are two new additions to the Achilles Brisbane.Ms.Allen kept active by rowing,running and cycling but found it difficult to keep going as her vision became worse.After nearly giving up completely,she worked up the courage to ask Achilles Brisbane to find someone to share a boat with her.
Ms.Allen said the fear of not finding anyone to row with almost stopped her from reaching out to Achilles Brisbane.“But,they found people and matched me to them,” she said.“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
1. How does Jane Britt feel about going out alone?| A．Relaxed. | B．Excited. | C．Worried. | D．Bored. |
| A．She developed a strong sense of teamwork. |
| B．She led Ms.Cullen forward on the road. |
| C．She began to rely on Ms.Cullen as her guide. |
| D．She fell down on the ground. |
| A．Asking Achilles Brisbane for help. |
| B．Working in Achilles Brisbane. |
| C．Exercising non-stop. |
| D．Meeting Tatum. |
| A．The danger of walking on a busy road. |
| B．The difficulty the disabled athletes face. |
| C．The exercise people do to keep fit. |
| D．The necessity of building roads for the blind. |
9 . Corporate (公司) culture is the values and beliefs a company develops over time. The role of corporate culture is to improve a company’s mission and strategies, with long-term hopes of improvements in a company’s profit. Mostly corporate culture comes from a company’s top management.
One role of corporate culture is to influence employee (员工) behavior, honesty, and compliance (服从). A company does not have to necessarily create a direct influence for these actions. A direct influence may be a set of written regulations or other policies, and while these may be in place, the corporate culture is usually more of an indirect influence.
While many companies try to create corporate culture through the use of written policies, its role is harder to define. The human factor has an influence on how corporate culture is expressed. The way upper management acts and reacts to various situations defines how lower-level employees will act, and this aspect may be more important than any written policy.
A company’s corporate culture can also extend beyond the walls of the business. Consumers who believe a company to be honest and forthright may be more loyal in their buying behavior. Employees in a company’s customer service department can also exhibit positive corporate culture to outside individuals. In this case, the culture creates a link between the company’s employees and its customers. How customers react may be a direct result from the company’s corporate culture.
Product quality can also be influenced by a company’s corporate culture. Companies that focus only on profits may decide to avoid high-quality materials in products, but try to suggest that the products are of higher quality than they really are. This negative culture can then result in lower brand loyalty with consumers.
1. What do we know about corporate culture from the text?| A．It is a set of rules and regulations. |
| B．It is the way the employees act. |
| C．It is the values and beliefs of a company. |
| D．It is the long term hope of a company. |
| A．Making a set of rules and regulations. |
| B．Setting an example for the employees. |
| C．Learning the corporate culture regularly. |
| D．Encouraging the employees to work harder. |
| A．The customer is always right. |
| B．Corporate culture has different functions. |
| C．Without corporate culture, a company will die. |
| D．Positive corporate culture can increase sales. |
| A．Creative. | B．Satisfying. |
| C．Dishonest. | D．Normal. |
10 . The rolling plains of the Maasai Mara in Kenya are home to Maasai people as well as some most rare animals on the earth.
When it became clear that COVID-19 would destroy the tourism industry of the Maasai living in the breathtaking Nashulai Nature Conservancy, they asked Avaaz, a website connecting local people-powered movements, to try and organize a response call for help.
As a result, 100,000 people raised money to help pay the rangers’ (护林人的)salaries, ensuring that the travel of Nashulai elephants remained safe from poachers(偷猎者). The money was also enough to secure medical supplies and food for the Maasai community to survive the COVID-19 storm.
In 2016, Nelson Ole Reiyia and Margaret Koshal Reiyia placed a project on Avaaz to turn their home into a Nature Conservancy. “Avaazers” around the world offered help with hearts and wallets to launch the Nashulai Maasai Conservancy, to innovatively help the Maasai maintain their traditional way of living in a harmonious way with the land.
The conservancy brought outside money into the community through offering traveling and camping, as well as cultural homestays and other events. People there also got access to better education as well as more comfortable living conditions.
The Maasai are famous warriors(战士) , and the conservancy built a powerful force against poachers. Professional rangers and young warriors called “moran” who are trained in bush practices, now serve as “The Warriors for Wildlife Protection”, monitoring the animal populations and protecting against poaching.
COVID-19 has put much of the conservancy in danger. The tourist infrastructure (基础设施), which 90% of all the Nashulai Maasai depend on for income, has completely fallen apart. The community library has been repurposed as a storehouse for medical equipment.
“We’ve worked hard to create this unique conservancy, and we want it to be there for the people in their deepest moment of need,” writes Nelson Ole Reiyia on the Nashulai website.
1. What did Maasai people get with the help of Avaaz?| A．Plans for education reform |
| B．Some financial support. |
| C．The way to set up a website |
| D．Tips on avoiding COVID-19 |
| A．Reasons for living harmoniously |
| B．Local people-powered movements. |
| C．Benefits from Nature Conservancy. |
| D．The good future of the conservancy |
| A．Fight against travelers. | B．Go to bush practices |
| C．Protect local animals. | D．Ensure people’s safety. |
| A．They have suffered a lot from COVID-19. |
| B．They are eager to restart farming economy. |
| C．They have lost the traditional way of living. |
| D．They are unwilling to work as warriors again. |
