1 . A culture’s values can be mirrored by its humor. Humor has been evaluated by many great minds such as Thomas Hobbes, who, in “On Nature”, disliked humor, “Laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from sudden thought of feeling far better than others.” He thought humor to be a negative quality of human narrow-mindedness.
However, Mordechai Gordon, Ph. D of Education, insists, “Humor allows us to view the world from an angle that is amusing rather than serious.” I agree with Gordon. Learning to look at the world through humor is important.
In the United States, every four years an election occurs. Without humor as a way to express their feelings, how else would Americans keep from clawing their eyes out (伤心欲绝) and going the way of lemming (盲目跟从) ? Television shows a joke “The Daily Show” have become important parts of American culture. They are mothering the masses by metaphorically (隐喻地) airplane-ing (用鼻子吸食大麻) politics into our mouths. They make politics fun.
Of course, politics is only one type of humor. Social humor helps people through the twists and turns of the human condition. American pop culture promotes an unhealthy self-image. On the topic of self-image, Hari Kondabolu stands out. He has a joke about the popular musical group “The Pussycat Dolls”, describing their hit song “Don’t Cha” as a negative representation of women. He points out an obvious offence in American culture.
A study from Loyola University of Maryland has shown that humor is one determining factor for selecting a mating partner. Amongst other things, mates look for an outstanding funny bone in a potential partner.
Of course, humor is not always used for good purposes. Humor can be linked to vulgarity (粗俗) and racism, but, like everything else, it has potential to unite human beings by allowing us to laugh at ourselves, our failures and our connection with one another.
Though life may seem tough and depressing at times, all I have to do is look in the mirror at my increased wrinkles to know that there is a comedy out there that even Chaplin wasn’t aware of.
With that in mind, remember to laugh with humanity and sometimes at humanity.
1. Hobbes believes that humor ______.| A．was for people to view the world from another angle |
| B．resulted in narrow-mindedness of human beings |
| C．had the power to mirror personal glory and national values |
| D．was only a way to laugh at others to make oneself feel better |
| A．by comparison | B．by process | C．by example | D．by classification |
| A．Worried. | B．Disappointed. | C．Curious. | D．Appreciative. |
| A．The author is determined to face life with a sense of humor. |
| B．The author feels helpless and sad about getting older. |
| C．Never be the one who laughs at other people. |
| D．Chaplin wasn’t aware of being laughed at. |
2 . Toilet paper as we know it today is a relatively modern invention that's only been around for about 150 years. It s natural to wonder what was used before modern toilet paper. Toilet paper in its ancient form dates back to China in at least the 6th century. Although paper itself appeared long before that time.
In ancient times, many kinds of materials(材料) were used instead of toilet paper. For example, sand was used by people who settled near the desert(沙漠); grass was used by people living in the grassland. Some other things known to have been used included: fur, leaves, rocks, snow, and so on. Of course, it wasn’t uncommon for people to go to the bathroom in a small river.
They might have used a cloth or their hands to clean themselves afterward. For many people, that might have been preferable to the method used by ancient Romans: a sponge(海绵)on a stick kept in saltwater...and shared by everyone using public bathrooms.
Luckily for us, Joseph Gayetty created the first toilet paper in 1857. His “Gayetty's Medicated Paper” didn’t become popular soon, however, since the public was used to using materials they got for free rather than spending money on toilet paper. The rolled toilet paper we’re familiar with today appeared in the 1880s. It wasn’t necessarily soft like we’re now used to, though. Paper production methods would often leave splinters(刺)in toilet paper. It wasn’t until 1935 that Northern Tissue said they had made “splinter- free” toilet paper.
Other improvements in toilet paper happened over the course of the 20th Century. Larger rolls with softer paper became more popular. Today, take a trip to your local supermarket and you will find many different kinds of toilet paper. For such a widely-used, necessary invention, it isn’t given much thought...until it runs out!
1. What might decide which material ancient people used after using the bathroom?| A．What they did. | B．Where they lived. |
| C．How old they were. | D．How long they used the bathroom. |
| A．Because the paper had splinters. |
| B．Because the paper couldn’t be shared. |
| C．Because people didn't want to pay for it. |
| D．Because people preferred rolled toilet paper. |
| A．By providing examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By telling an interesting story. | D．By following the order of time. |
| A．A great invention--toilet paper |
| B．Why was toilet paper invented? |
| C．Toilet paper vs water: which to choose. |
| D．What did people use before toilet paper? |
The water on the Earth keeps moving around and around in a cycle
The problem is that
Having water whenever we need or want is something we take for granted. Whenever we use it, we need to think about how we can save it. There are many small
4 . Masks that helped save lives are proving a deadly danger to wildlife, with birds and sea creatures trapped in the shocking number of thrown-away facial coverings. Single-use masks have been found around pavements, waterways and beaches worldwide. Worn once, the thin protective materials can take hundreds of years to decompose. “Face masks aren’t going away any time soon — but when we throw them away, these items can harm the environment and the animals,” Ashley Fruno of animal rights group PETA said.
In Britain, a gull was rescued by the RSPCA after its legs became tangled in the straps of a mask for up to a week. The animal welfare charity took it to a wildlife hospital for treatment before its release.
The biggest effect may be in the water. More than 1.5 billion masks made their way into the world’s oceans last year, accounting for around 6,200 extra tonnes of ocean plastic pollution, according to environmental group Oceans Asia.
Conservationists in Brazil found one mask inside the stomach of a penguin after its body was washed up on a beach, while a dead puffer fish was discovered caught inside another off the coast of Miami. French campaigners found a dead crab trapped in a mask near the Mediterranean.
Masks and gloves are “particularly problematic” for sea creatures, says George Leonard, chief scientist from NGO Ocean Conservancy. “When those plastics break down in the environment, they then enter the food chain and impact the entire ecosystems,” he added.
There has been a shift towards greater use of reusable cloth masks as the pandemic has worn on, but many are still using the lighter single-use varieties. Campaigners have urged people to bin them properly and cut the straps to reduce the risk of animals becoming trapped. Oceans Asia has also called on governments to increase fines for littering and encourage the use of washable masks.
1. What does the underlined word “decompose” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Burn away. | B．Produce. | C．Break down. | D．Improve. |
| A．The environmental group saves many animals. |
| B．Sea wildlife is fond of feeding on face masks. |
| C．Measures should be taken to protect sea wildlife. |
| D．Masks thrown around finally do harm to human. |
| A．By increasing fines for throwing masks. | B．By preventing the public using single-use masks. |
| C．By working with campaigners’ groups. | D．By washing face masks frequently. |
| A．Wildlife Faces a Threat from Face Masks | B．Face Masks can Harm the Environment |
| C．Animal Protection Organizations Matter | D．Government should Ban Littering Face Masks |
The Internet makes shopping at home convenient. However, for many, the attraction of shopping can turn into
Researchers from the Hannover Medical School have termed the illness “Buying Shopping Disorder” (BSD). The researchers say this condition should be recognized by the medical profession as an illness and should not
Last month, Dr. Megan and her team
6 . People visit a shopping mall more often nowadays because malls provide goods and services such as food, clothing, and things for their houses, entertainment, even medical services. However, environmental activists say that consumers’ behavior is causing a huge environmental disaster: the side effect of their shopping—urban sprawl (扩大).
Social scientists agree that patterns of development have changed the landscape a great deal in the last half century. Before 1950, most people lived in towns or cities and either walked to work or took public transportation. Only very wealthy people had automobiles. Farmers lived in rural areas or isolated villages and came into town only when they needed things they couldn’t produce themselves. If you gazed at the landscape you would see towns surrounded by countryside.
Then a massive change occurred. Automobiles became affordable and people were quick to adopt them. Now ambitious workers could live in the suburbs, the areas just outside cities, which started to grow rapidly. As long as there was lots of cheap land in the suburbs, no one paid much attention to the usage of that land. Malls, fast food restaurants, cinemas, and car dealerships spread out in large, flat buildings. These one-storey buildings and their parking lot took up a great deal space. Well-meaning farmers thought they were better off selling their land than growing crops. In ignorance, no one realized that once the land was built up in urban sprawl, the good farming land would be ruined forever. There was no way to preserve it.
Only in recent years have people come to mourn the old way of life as they have developed insight into the problems. Now people realize that urban sprawl has come with serious environmental problems. The negative aspects of sprawl include air and water pollution, loss of agricultural land, traffic jams, and the death of businesses in the old town centers. Many scholars think the time has come to analyze the problems better so we can develop appropriate policies to control further sprawl. Some think the best way to do is to educate citizens about their priceless environment.
1. What does the passage mainly talk about?| A．Shopping malls. | B．Consumers’ behavior. |
| C．New Automobiles. | D．Urban Sprawl. |
| A．shopping malls. | B．massive changes. |
| C．cheap automobiles. | D．ambitious workers. |
| A．the death of people. | B．air and water pollution. |
| C．loss of land. | D．traffic jams. |
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. | C．Respectful. | D．Doubtful. |
7 . The Rockford police chief and some city officials want to put video cameras in all 100 police cars. They think this will reduce the number of lawsuits (诉讼) filed against the city. In the last five years, Rockford has paid out more than five million dollars to settle about four lawsuits.
The chief said, “If cameras had been in those cars, we wouldn’t have had to pay any money. We’re always pulling over drunks of drug users who try to fight the police officers or shoot them. Then they always say that the police started basting them first or started shooting at them first.”
The cost of fixing cameras will be about $500 per car. The city council (市正厅) will make a final decision on the proposal (提议) next Monday. Ten of the 13 council members, when asked about the proposal, said that they liked the idea. One member said that it is money-saving and it makes common sense. If this is agreed, cameras can be fixed in all the cars within six weeks.
The police officers fully support camera use. One office said that too many people think the police are liars; cameras would show citizens that the police tell the truth. “The money that we’ve been spending on lawsuits will be better spent our more cameras,” said one officer.
The citizen response to the idea of police car cameras is mixed. One person said that the police should have started doing this years ago when video cameras were invented (发明). But an elderly man said that cameras might be misused. “These police are trying to stick their nose into everything,” he said. He was going to attend the council meeting to stop the proposal. He hoped that other citizens would join him.
1. What is the purpose of fixing video cameras in cars?| A．To help settle about 40 lawsuits. | B．To reduce the number of crimes. |
| C．To please officials of the city council. | D．To collect evidence in favor of the police. |
| A．The council will turn it down. | B．Most council members support it. |
| C．Ten council members question it. | D．Ten council members will tell the truth about it. |
| A．He makes no comment. | B．He is strongly against it. |
| C．He thinks it needs to be improved. | D．He doubts whether it is practical. |
Every Saturday, 73-year-old Zhao Guihua takes a special course. In a classroom located in a residential community in the city of Hefei, Anhui, Zhao and her classmates, all seniors, most
“We offer a course
Liu has been providing services for the elderly for 10
Official data show that by the end of 2019, some 150 million seniors at or above the age of 60 in China hadn't had the opportunity
“During COVID-19, scanning a health-tracking QR code
Instructor Huang Zhen said the course started with the basics of smartphones and that the learners were all crazy about it. Over several months. The number of learners grew rapidly, with ages ranging
“Now I can read news, buy train tickets and book tickets for tourist attractions on my smartphone,” Zhao said
9 . Some Questions About Coronavirus
How long does coronavirus last?
Every case of coronavirus is different, but experts have a general idea of how long the typical course of the illness lasts. Most people can expect to recover within two weeks after the onset of symptoms, but more severe cases could last up to six weeks — and for some, dubbed “Covid long haulers,” symptoms can linger for months.
What are the symptoms of the coronavirus?
Symptoms of the coronavirus can seem a lot like the flu. Initially, a fever, cough, and shortness of breath emerged as the three most common symptoms of COVID-19. Now, other signs such as muscle pain, fatigue, and loss of taste and smell are on the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) symptoms checklist.
How long does coronavirus live on surfaces?
Though the conronavirus is typically transmitted through the air via respiratory droplets (from an infected person sneezing or coughing) rather than by touching objects and materials, the virus can still remain viable on variety of surfaces, according to the CDC, though it’s not exactly clear for how long.
How is coronavirus spread?
According to the CDC, COVID-19 is spread mainly from person to person, usually through close contact (within six feet). Being near an infected person who coughs, sneezes, or talks can expose you to their respiratory droplet carrying the virus — and they can spread the virus even if they don’t have any symptoms yet. If those virus-containing particles are inhaled (吸入) or land in your eyes, nose or mouth, you could become infected.
1. How long does coronavirus stay on surfaces?| A．Two weeks. | B．Six weeks. | C．Months. | D．Unclear. |
| A．contacting close (within six feet) |
| B．being near an infected person |
| C．talking with a healthy person |
| D．inhaling some virus-containing particles |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Health. | C．Education | D．Travel. |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词：
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
As we all know, most people, especially students, use to go to the library or borrow books, such as reference books and novels. Therefore, with the rapid development of the Internet, nowadays fewer or fewer people will go to the library. That’s because they can easy get the information when they need from the Internet. What’s the more, mobile phones and computer have played major roles.
Personally, even though we can do reading from the phones or computers, we are not supposed to spend too much time fix our eyes on the electronic screens, which is not beneficial to his eyes. I strongly suggest we should make full use of our spare time go to the library.
