1 . Social welfare programs, including quality early education, earned-income tax credit and health care, can change children’s lives. More importantly, recent studies show the benefits from these programs strongly influence the next generation, lifting them out of poverty.
The long-term impact of prekindergarten is well established and widely known. 50 years ago, 123 three-and four-year-old African Americans from low-income families in Ypsilanti, Michigan took part in an experiment. About half attended a pioneering early education program called Perry Preschool, while the control group did not. Researchers have been able to track the lives of most of these children ever since. The kids who went to Perry Preschool did better in school, made more money, and were healthier than the control group.
The benefits of Perry Preschool didn’t just stop with those children. A study published last summer by Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman and his colleagues takes the implications of Perry a giant step further. This research shows that the children of the Perry preschoolers are also better off because of their parents’ experience.
As the Perry preschoolers grew up, they became better educated and developed greater socio - emotional skills than the control group. They became better parents. Their children grew up in harmonious two-parent families that made, on average, about $ 10,000 more a year. It was enough to lift many of them out of poverty. This healthy upbringing has had a long-lasting effect on the children of the Perry preschoolers. Compared to the children of the control group, they were much less likely to have dropped out, and more likely to have graduated from high school.
Here’s another example. A Norwegian study demonstrated the decades-long impact on babies who, during their first year, benefited from their mothers’ having had the opportunity to sign up for free mother and child health care centers. In the following years, these youngsters grew taller and stayed in school longer than those whose mothers did not receive the same support. At 40, they are in better health.
1. What do we know about Perry Preschool?| A．It provided early quality education. | B．It divided the kids into two groups. |
| C．It received kids from all backgrounds. | D．It continued to track half of the kids’lives. |
| A．Truths. | B．Assumptions. |
| C．Effects. | D．Suggestions. |
| A．Perry preschoolers received less education. |
| B．It had no impact on the participants’ children. |
| C．Early education could bring economic benefits. |
| D．The children of the control group became healthier. |
| A．Early quality education matters most. |
| B．Social welfare can break the cycle of poverty. |
| C．Wealth can be passed down through generations. |
| D．Parents are important in shaping future generation. |
2 . For centuries, in the countries of south and Southeast Asia the elephant has been an intimate part of the culture, economy and religion, and nowhere more so than in Thailand. Unlike its African cousin, the Asian elephant is easily domesticated (驯化). The rare so-called white elephants have actually lent the authority of kingship to its rulers and until the 1920s the national flag was a white elephant on a red background. To the early Western visitors the country’s romantic name was “Land of the White Elephant”.
Today, however, the story is very different. Out of work and out of land, the Thai elephant struggles for survival in a nation that no longer needs it. The elephant has found itself more or less abandoned by previous owners who have moved on to a different economic world and a westernized society. And while the elephant’s problems began many years ago, now it rates a very low national priority.
How this reversal from national icon (圣像) to neglected animal came about is a tale of worsening environmental and the changing lives of the Thais themselves. According to Richard Lair, Thailand’s experts on the Asian elephant and author of the report Gone Astray, at the turn of the last century there may well have been as many as 100,000 domestic elephants in the country. In the north of Thailand alone it was estimated that more than 20,000 elephants were employed in transport, 1,000 of them alone on the road between the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Saen. This was at a time when 90 percent of Thailand was still forest — a habitat that not only supported the animals but also made them necessary to carry goods and people. Nothing ploughs through dense forest better than a massive but sure-footed elephant.
By 1950 the elephant population had dropped to a still substantial 13,397, but today there are probably no more than 3,800, with another 1,350 roaming free in the national parks. But now, Thailand’s forest covers only 20 percent of the land. This deforestation is the central point of the elephant’s difficult situation, for it has effectively put the animals out of work. This century, as the road network grew, so the elephant’s role as a beast of burden declined.
1. Thailand was once called “Land of the White Elephant” because ______.| A．white elephant is rarely seen and thus very special |
| B．white elephant was a national symbol until the 1920s |
| C．white elephant has helped kings to gain the ruling authority |
| D．this name was so romantic that it was popular among visitors |
| A．Because the elephants are no longer useful to their owners. |
| B．Because their owners are westernized and neglect them. |
| C．Because the government pay s little attention to the problem. |
| D．Because there are too many elephants and too few jobs. |
| A．There were 100,000 domesticated elephants at the turn of the last century. |
| B．20,000 elephants were employed in transport in Thailand at the turn of the last century. |
| C．By 1950 the elephant population in Thailand has been quite small. |
| D．Today the elephant population is estimated at 5,150. |
| A．a travel magazine | B．a history book |
| C．a research report | D．an official announcement |
3 . Have you ever escaped taking on a role or opportunity because you didn’t feel confident enough? Perhaps the voice in your head asked: “Why me? I am not yet ready, not capable enough, or don’t have enough experience.”
If you can relate, you’re among the majority of women with whom I’ve worked. I recently asked more than 120 women, from areas including the U.S., UK, Australia, Georgia, Italy, India, Jamaica, and Bermuda: If you’ve ever avoided risks, what factors and reasons contributed to this? More than 70% reported that selfdoubt, or not having enough belief in themselves, their capabilities, or their skills, was a driving factor.
As one wellknown executive told me: “Every day I doubt myself. I doubt that I am good enough to be where I am.”
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. We know selfdoubt is a pervasive and often paralyzing concern, particularly for women. A study by psychologists at Cornell and Washington State highlighted higher levels of selfdoubt in women. Research has also shown that women will apply for a job only if they meet all of the qualifications, while men will apply when they fulfill only 60%. Another recent study identified a considerable gender gap when it comes to selfpromotion, with women providing less favorable assessments of their own past performance and potential future ability. Ultimately, men take more chances on themselves, and that pays dividends in the long run.
While this pattern of selfdoubt emerged again and again in studies, my interactions, and my client work, I also noticed another commonality: These women’s selfdoubts weren’t sabotaging their success. The vast majority of successful women leaders I’ve interviewed and coached have built exciting and satisfying careers even while facing selfdoubt.
What these women also had in common is courage in the absence of confidence—a trait that is often weaponized against women and used to explain why they fail to achieve career goals. My work has found that successful women take decisive action to move forward even while grappling with fears and doubts and questioning their own “readiness”.
“As women, we often feel like we have to be 100% ready in order to move forward. But, if you are 50% or 75% there, jump. Just do it,” said Megan Costello, former executive director of the Boston Mayor’s Office for Women’s Advancement.
1. What is the real factor for women to escape taking on a role?| A．Higher risks. | B．Different beliefs. | C．Inner feelings. | D．Related experiences. |
| A．They tend to be less optimistic. | B．They prefer to be well qualified. |
| C．They try to be favorably assessed. | D．They hope to be clearly identified. |
| A．Promoting. | B．Weakening. | C．Achieving. | D．Balancing. |
| A．They should be courageous and decisive. | B．They should keep themselves unprepared. |
| C．They should stop questioning their careers. | D．They should learn from famous executives. |
4 . Back in the 1980s when monkeypox(猴痘)was still an extremely rare disease, scientists kept warning: Over time, the monkeypox outbreaks will increase. At that time, there were only about 50 monkeypox cases a year in West and Central Africa where people caught the disease mainly from direct contact with wild animals. Infection between humans was very limited. But in 2022, the world is facing the first international outbreak, with more than 5,000 cases reported in 44 countries within six months.
So how could the scientists know in the 1980s that monkeypox would grow in size and spread internationally?
Their warnings were based on the successful campaign against smallpox(天花), one of the deadliest diseases in human history, which killed up to 30% of the people infected. Thanks to a worldwide campaign, smallpox disappeared in the late 1970s. However, the end of smallpox opened the door for monkeypox to emerge.
Monkeypox, whose present version kills less than 1% of people infected, is closely related to smallpox. Having a smallpox infection-or a smallpox vaccine(疫苗)-offers really good protection against smallpox as well as monkeypox. Perhaps about 85% protection. But in the late 1970s, the world stopped vaccining people for smallpox. So over the past decades, human resistance to smallpox and monkeypox has dropped sharply.
“We’re actually at a point where our immunity against monkeypox is the lowest in thousands of years,” says Jo Walker of the Yale School of Public Health. Without some resistance against the disease, people are more likely to catch monkeypox from animals and spread it to someone else. So it is time that people who might come into contact with infected people were vaccined for monkeypox. Otherwise, it could become a permanent presence in the world, since every time there’s an outbreak the virus has a chance to figure out how to spread more quickly among people.
Indeed, this new outbreak in Europe may be a sign that the virus has changed-even if just a bit-and may be increasing its ability to spread among people.
1. What can be learned about monkeypox?| A．It can be more dangerous than smallpox. | B．It rarely spread from animals to humans. |
| C．The outbreaks were not serious in the 1980s. | D．Scientists are surprised by the present outbreaks. |
| A．The cause of the present outbreaks. | B．The disappearance of smallpox. |
| C．The potential danger of smallpox. | D．The treatment of monkeypox. |
| A．Kill all the infected wild animals. | B．Develop a special vaccine for treatment. |
| C．Lock down the infected countries. | D．Vaccine those in possible contact with the infected. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Worried. | C．Overjoyed. | D．Uncaring. |
5 . People today are not unfamiliar with term such as "going eco-friendly" and "sustainable lifestyle". However, there exists a group of sceptics（怀疑论者）who believe that going eco-friendly is merely a fad（一时的风尚）. I disagree with this viewpoint, Going eco-friendly is not merely a fad and it does, in fact, change the beliefs and attitudes of people.
The long-term presence of environmental organisations shows the efforts that people have made towards going eco-friendly. Organisations such as World Wildlife Fund advocate people to go eco-friendly. The high involvement of the organisations and the participants is thus a strong indicator that going eco-friendly is not merely a fad but a trend that can last decades.
Another strong indicator is the emergence of sustainable products in many industries, such as organic produce and electric vehicles. The consumer demand, coupled with eco-conscious（环保意识的）businesses, is behind the sharp increase in such products. This shows a shift in the beliefs and attitudes of people towards adopting a sustainable lifestyle. Thus, it seems quite certain that going eco-friendly is not merely a fad.
While some people who broadcast their eco-friendly practices are criticised for just hoping to project an eco-conscious image, there are a number of celebrities who have been practising the zero-waste lifestyle for years. For those who do so for years, and not mere days or months, it is indeed a commitment that can only come with a true change in beliefs and attitudes towards caring for the earth.
The call to save the earth looks set to stay. With the development of technology and the appearance of many platforms advocating going green, people are more willing to change their beliefs and attitudes when they can learn about and appreciate the positive impact of the work of different environmental organisations and individuals. It is hoped that these effects will go a long way in ensuring that our planet will remain a suitable place to live in.
1. Why does the author mention World Wildlife Fund?| A．To appreciate its environmental efforts. |
| B．To encourage people to go eco-friendly. |
| C．To evidence the universal recognition of going green. |
| D．To highlight the difficulty in changing people's attitudes. |
| A．Sudden disappearance. | B．Sharp increase. |
| C．Gradual development. | D．Limited application. |
| A．It may discourage people from sustainable lifestyle. |
| B．It may boost the business of organic produce. |
| C．It will be used to project an eco-conscious image. |
| D．It will promote environmental awareness. |
| A．To prove going eco-friendly a lasting trend. |
| B．To popularize the eco-friendly products. |
| C．To offer strategies to go eco-friendly. |
| D．To advertise for eco-friendly platforms. |
6 . Old Computers Make for Unhappy Workers
LONDON (Reuters)-----Dealing with the dissatisfaction of aging and unreliable office computers leads to workers,unhappiness and more sick -leave, a survey showed on Wednesday.
A survey carried out by carefree. net of over 2, 700 European office workers from the UK,France and Germany found that workplace dissatisfaction increased greatly with the age of the computer equipment.
“We do know that job satisfaction is falling in Britain and most advanced nations, "said Stephen White, a researcher from the Work Foundation. “The actual reasons for this are the subject of very heated discussion. It's certainly one interesting theory that technology may be the cause of this in some way,”White added.
A quarter of those using outdated computers in Britain said they were"quite" or " very dissatisfied"with their everyday job compared to 16 percent of those who had enjoyed an advantage from up-to-date technology.
The survey also said that among workers dealing with outdated equipment, there was a 35 percent greater probability they would take six or more days of sick-leave per year compared with the average worker. In France, where more workers use old computers, the probability jumped to 55 percent.
Results also showed that women in the three countries were more likely to be using outdated equipment. In the UK, where more workers have up-to-date computers than in the other countries surveyed, the number of women using old equipment doubled that of men.
White pointed out that there were two sides to this problem, saying that continuously having to deal with new technology and equipment cap also be a source of worry. "Old and faulty equipment is a major cause of office dissatisfaction. There is no question about it; but you also have to say that the frequent change of equipment is also, or could be, a main cause of dissatisfaction.”
1. The underlined word"this"(paragraph 3) refers to____________.| A．computer use in most jobs | B．workplace dissatisfaction |
| C．the aging of office computers | D．the survey by cared free. net |
| A．16%. | B．35%. |
| C．25%. | D．55%. |
| A．Most office workers use old computers. |
| B．They do some of their work with computers. |
| C．They are easier to be satisfied with new technology. |
| D．Dealing with new equipment can cause anxiety. |
| A．Influence of technology in the workplace. |
| B．Research work of the Work Foundation. |
| C．Poor working conditions in offices. |
| D．Different attitudes to old computers. |
7 . The bed should be reserved as a place for sleep，but people tend to read an iPad a lot in bed before they go to sleep．
Charles Czeisler，a professor at Harvard Medical School，and his colleagues got a small group of people for an experiment．For five days in a row，the people read either a paper book or an iPad for four hours before sleep．Their sleep patterns were monitored all night．Before and after each trial period，the people took hourly blood tests to paint a day-long picture of just how much melatonin（褪黑激素）was in their blood at any given time．
When subjects read on the iPad as compared to the paper books，they reported feeling less sleepy at night and less active the following morning．People also took longer to fall asleep on the iPad nights，and the blood tests showed that their melatonin secretion（分泌）was delayed by an hour and a half．
The researchers conclude in today's journal article that gives the rise of e-readers and the increasingly widespread use of e-things among children and adolescents，more research into the"long-term consequences of these devices on health and safety is urgently needed．"Czeisler and colleagues go on，in the research paper，to note"Reading an iPad in bed may increase cancer risk．"
However，software has been developed that can reduce some of the blue light from the screens of phones and computers according to time of day，and there are also glasses that are made to filter（过滤）short wavelengths．While they seem like a logical solution for the nighttime tech users，it needs more research．
1. In Charles Czeisler's experiment，all the subjects were asked to ______ ．| A．sit in a row and receive the strict tests |
| B．have their sleep patterns observed all night |
| C．read a paper book and an iPad at the same time |
| D．have their blood tested per hour during the trial |
| A．feel less sleepy and tired in the day |
| B．fall asleep more easily after reading |
| C．have a lot more melatonin secretion |
| D．become less energetic the next morning |
| A．remove the blue light from your devices completely |
| B．help prevent eyes being harmed by short wavelength |
| C．weaken the harm done by doing nighttime e-reading |
| D．be used in all the e-things widely and safely |
| A．No e-reading in bed before sleep |
| B．New software for night e-readers |
| C．Wrong behaviors before bedtime |
| D．No games on iPad in bed． |
8 . Self-driving cars have been backed by the hope that they will save lives by getting involved in fewer crashes with fewer injuries and deaths than human-driven cars. But so far, most comparisons between human drivers and automated vehicles have been unfair.
Crash statistics for human-driven cars are gathered from all sorts of driving situations, and on all types of roads. However, most of the data on self-driving cars' safety have been recorded often in good weather and on highways, where the most important tasks are staying in the car's own lane and not getting too close to the vehicle-ahead. Automated cars are good at those tasks, but so are humans.
It is true that self-driving cars don't get tired, angry, frustrated or drunk .But neither can they yet react to uncertain situations with the same skill or anticipation of an attentive human driver, nor do they possess the foresight to avoid potential perils. They largely drive from moment to moment, rather than think ahead to possible events literally down the road.
To a self-driving car, a bus full of people might appear quite similar to an uninhabited corn field. Indeed, deciding what action to take in an emergency is difficult for humans, but drivers have sacrificed themselves for the greater good of others. An automated system's limited understanding of the world means it will almost never evaluate ( 评估) a situation the same way a human would. And machines can't be programmed in advance to handle every imaginable set of events.
Some people may argue that the promise of simply reducing the number of injuries and deaths is enough to support driverless cars. But experience from aviation (航空) shows that as new automated systems are introduced, there is often an increase in the rate of disasters.
Therefore, comparisons between humans and automated vehicles have to be performed carefully. To fairly evaluate driverless cars on how well they fulfill their promise of improved safety, it's important to ensure the data being presented actually provide a true comparison. After all, choosing to replace humans with automation has more effects than simply a one-for-one exchange.
1. What makes the comparison between self-driving cars and human-driven cars unfair?| A．Self-driving cars never get tired. | B．Statistics are collected differently. |
| C．Machines can make decisions faster. | D．Self-driving cars know the world better. |
| A．Dangers. | B．Self-driving cars. | C．Pedestrians. | D．Human-driven cars. |
| A．Driving steadily. | B．Climbing steep slopes. |
| C．Evaluating the cost of loss. | D．Making complex decisions. |
| A．A poster. | B．A novel. | C．A brochure. | D．A magazine. |
9 . Student loan (贷款) debt has become a worldwide problem. In America, the country's overall student debt reached a record of $1.6 trillion in 2019. The average person with student loan debt owed between $20,000 and $25,000. A recent Japanese government report says it has been lending over $9 billion yearly to students since 2010. Similar conditions exist in Africa and South America.
Several factors account for high student loan debt. One is that employers everywhere have increased their demands for skilled workers, making higher education a requirement for many jobs. The students, however, after graduation, often find that their country's economy is not strong enough to support their financial needs, so their ability to pay back the loan becomes a problem.
To solve the problem, many countries are seeking their ways. Australia has developed a system where students do not have to pay anything back until they are earning at least $40,000 a year. In America, several candidates running for president in the 2020 election have offered more extreme solutions that all or at least some of these loans will be forgiven.
Some professors in several universities recently studied what the effects of debt forgiveness might be. They found that, overall, sudden debt relief greatly improved the borrowers' lives. Not only did they have more money, but they were more likely to move to a new area and seek better paying work.
Yet the professors' research doesn't include what might happen to financial institutions or the overall economy if debt were totally forgiven. It only looks at how debt forgiveness would help the borrowers. They warn of some other possible negative effects. If a borrower knew that if he ran into any trouble he would be saved because he could get the debt relief, then he might actually become more reckless (轻率的) with his borrowing in the future.
No matter what, the professors agree that if countries do decide to approve some student debt relief the neediest students should be helped first.
1. How does the author introduce the problem of student loan?| A．By making a comparison. | B．By making classifications. |
| C．By presenting some statistics. | D．By setting down general rules. |
| A．It will surely provide some benefits to borrowers. |
| B．It has already been carried out in the United States. |
| C．It aims to encourage more students to borrow money. |
| D．It will prevent a person from landing a well-paying job. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Positive. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Student loan debt is the most serious problem worldwide. |
| B．Growing global student debt fuels search for solutions. |
| C．Student loan debt tends to pull the needy out of trouble. |
| D．People hold different opinions on debt forgiveness. |
10 . Voluntourism --- New Trend in Travel
Volunteering to help people in need combined with travelling to faraway places is a new trend in the travel industry. It is called voluntourism.
Recent statistics show that in the past few years voluntourism has been one of the fastest-growing areas of tourism.
Not everyone sees voluntourism in a positive way. Critics (评论家) say that if people really want to help those in need there are many opportunities in their own community to do this.
| A．voluntourism has been expanded into many countries. |
| B．There are many reasons why people engage in voluntourism. |
| C．However, many voluntourists do not see volunteering as what it is. |
| D．Besides, volunteers are often not skilled enough in the tasks that they do. |
| E．More than 1.6 million people around the world are volunteers in other countries. |
| F．Standard development programs are often sponsored by international organizations. |
| G．People travel to other places, learn languages and other cultures and gain new experiences. |
