1 . Australia, France or… Mars? When considering a place to emigrate to, Mars might not be the best choice in your list, but according to an online survey, more than one in ten of British would accept a one-way ticket there. Yes, you read that correctly —because the Mars One mission is looking to emigrate to Mars, the first voyagers will not be able to return back to Earth. The organizers suggest applicants think over their applications, because the agreement didn’t come with a return ticket. But still thousands of people agreed to it.

The Mars One aims to construct a human settlement on Mars. Thankfully, applications for the program are entirely voluntary and potential astronauts can back out at any time during the strict selection process.

In order to apply, the candidate must be over 18, have A2 English level and be adaptable and curious. The following selection process consists of four rounds.

The first round is an online application including general information and a one-minute video in which the applicant answers some given questions and explains why he or she should be among the first humans to set foot on Mars. At the end of the first round, a team of Mars One experts will decide which applicants will pass to the next round.

The remaining applicants must then provide a medical statement from their doctor stating that they have met all the requirements. Successful candidates will then be briefly interviewed by Mars One’s chief medical officer Norbert Kraft.

One-hundred healthy, smart candidates are then in the third round which will test their team work ability and communication skills through a series of group challenges.

The final part of the testing process is the ability to stay alone. Even the best astronauts in history can hardly enjoy the silent space. Following this challenge, the forty remaining candidates will be reduced to thirty who will then undergo the Mars Settler Suitability Interview. Following on from the first selection series, international crews of up to six groups of four will become full time employees of Mars One.

1. What is the organizers’ attitude towards the online survey result?

A．Understandable.

B．Satisfied.

C．Unexpected.

D．Doubtful.

2. What does the underlined phrase “back out” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Stop carrying out the agreement.	B．Move out of space backwards.
C．Drive aircrafts backwards and leave.	D．Fail to pay attention to the advertisement.

3. What do the Mars One experts mainly do in the first round?

A．Test the candidates’ English level.	B．Check the basic information of participants.
C．Interview the candidates and collect the forms.	D．Determine whether candidates are eager to learn.

4. What is the most challenging for the participants?

A．Their skills to communicate with others.	B．Their excellent physical health at present.
C．Their abilities to cooperate with the team.	D．Their long-time adaptability to being alone.

2 . More Americans say they are on a special diet compared with Americans about 10 years ago. The increased dieting comes at a time when obesity levels continue to rise. 17 percent of Americans said they were on a diet in 2017 — up from 14 percent about 10 years earlier. Over the same period, obesity levels increased in the U.S. to 42 percent — up from 34 percent.

About half of American adults have diet-related health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. Overall, more women reported being on a diet than men. The heavier and more educated people were, the more likely they were to report being on a special diet.

Between 2007 and 2017, diets described as “weight loss or low calorie” grew in popularity. Low-carbohydrate diets became more popular, while low-fat and low-cholesterol diets became less popular.

The findings were part of an ongoing national survey. People who took part in the survey were asked the following question: “Are you currently on any kind of diet, either to lose weight or for some other health-related reasons?”

Becky Ramsing is a dietician and program officer at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. Ramsing said that people made very different kinds of choices in the hopes of losing weight. In some cases, she said people might not understand why the choices they made could not help them lose weight. “They won't eat bread, but then they' eat a lot of other things that are higher in calories,” she said.

Ramsing added that many American diet trends banned some foods. But to make lasting changes, she said people should consider their eating overall. “That will help them deal with another problem of diets,” she noted. “Diets are hard to continue doing over time.”

1. What can we learn about according to Paragraph 1?

A．The popularity of dieting in America.	B．The sharp rise in obesity worldwide.
C．The potential benefits of a special diet.	D．Traditional eating habits of Americans.

2. Why did people fail to lose weight by dieting according to Ramsing?

A．They ignored experts’ advice on nutrition.	B．They were misled into making wrong choices.
C．They forgot their initial goals of losing weight.	D．They failed to have a healthy and balanced diet.

3. What does Ramsing think of sticking to a long-term diet?

A．Wrong.

B．Simple.

C．Difficult.

D．Effective.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Americans’ Myths About Special Dieting.

B．A Serious Obesity 'Trend in the United States.

C．More Americans on a Special Diet for Health Reasons.

D．Americans’ Diet-related Health Problems about Obesity.

3 . 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。

The water is sitting in around 1000 tanks at the former nuclear power station, but the amount is growing    1    (day) as rainfall and groundwater    2    (enter) the site continue to be polluted. With an average of 160 tonnes a day being added last year, the International Atomic Energy Agency expects existing capacity will be full by mid-2022.

That is     3     the Japanese government is reportedly going to approve a strategy    4    discharging the water to the ocean, as    5     (recommend) by scientific advisers. The release would start in around 2022 and continue for decades.

The news sparked immediate     6     (complain) from Japanese fishing groups and covering warnings that China    7    (ban) Japanese seafood imports. But are people right to be worried about the    8     (environment) and health effects of releasing such a large amount of contaminated water?

Much of the existing water     9     (filter) already by a process designed to remove more than 62 radioactive contaminants. The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the firm    10    runs the site, have emphasized that the main radionuclide(放射性核) remaining is tritium(氚). Francis Livens at the University of Manchester, UK, says this is very hard to separate because it is a radioactive isotope(同位素) of hydrogen, and so part of the water molecules themselves.

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How long does the industry average take for customers to receive their order?

A．3 minutes and 9 seconds.

B．10 seconds.

C．2 minutes and 59 seconds.

2. What reasons are not included for slow service in fast food?

A．More choices on the menu.

B．More complex products to prepare.

C．More drive-throughs to the fast food chains.

3. What is the most important factor to drive-through experiences in fast food chains?

A．Speed.

B．Accuracy.

C．Quality.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Fast food isn't as fast as it used to be.

B．Several reasons account for slowing fast food service.

C．The accuracy of fast food service is really high.

5 . Patagonia, a leading brand in outdoor clothing, is climbing a mountain in the clothing industry and reaching a new summit. Through several measures, the company inspires people to share, resell, repair, and recycle their clothes, producing less waste. Every second, about one garbage truck of used clothes is sent to the landfill (填埋区) or is burned. Patagonia is taking this alarming statistic seriously.

A few years ago, the fashion giant launched an independent online store called Worn Wear, which is a collection of refurbished (翻新的) clothing where customers resell their old clothes for cash or store credit and shop for second-hand goods. Now Patagonia is approaching a step further ― they are including a “buy used” option on their website, offering second-hand clothes alongside their newest designs.

The second-hand trend is here to stay. Other chains such as The North Face, Macy’s, Adidas, Burberry, and Made well have also accepted the new circular economy business model. Famous traditional retailers (零售商) are also becoming used clothing providers, and are transforming the way second-hand clothes are sold and sensed.

Even the most skeptical shoppers are now open to the idea of buying used quality items. As a result, it is no surprise that the total secondhand market is projected to grow to almost twice the size of fast fashion by 2029. Naturally, the most sustainable piece of clothing is the one that already exists. This “green” article of clothing doesn’t require using virgin (原始的) resources, it prevents used clothes from ending up in landfills, and it requires no plastic packaging.

According to a 2018 report by thredUP, buying a piece of used clothing extends its life on average by 2.2 years, which reduces its carbon, waste, and water footprint by 73 percent. So even though the development of innovative materials and processes in fashion seems promising, wearing second-hand clothes is the easiest and most immediate way to face the environmental challenges the fashion industry brings.

1. What does the author intend to tell us in Paragraph 3?

A．The second-hand trend is more commonly accepted.

B．Lots of second-hand clothes are of high quality.

C．Traditional retailers have a role to play in reducing waste.

D．Consumer attitudes towards second-hand clothes are changing.

2. What’s the author’s attitude to the future of secondhand market?

A．Skeptical.	B．Optimistic.
C．Urgent.	D．Unclear.

3. What is the biggest advantage of buying used clothing?

A．Keeping pace with fashion.	B．Satisfying consumers’ needs.
C．Lowering economic stress.	D．Protecting the environment.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Patagonia Is a Leading Clothing Brand

B．Clothing Waste Influences the Environment

C．Second-hand Clothes Draw Wide Attention

D．Patagonia Is Now Selling Used Clothes

6 . This week the bosses of seven large drug (药) firms (companies) were gathered together before the U.S. Congress to answer pointed questions about the cost of their medicines. The meetings come amid rising anger about unreasonable prices of their drugs. New laws are threatened. Concerns about the affordability of medicines are not only happening in America, they are also global.

Too rarely (not very often) raised in this discussion is one promising area where pill makers and governments alike could do more to fight diseases while also saving money. Drugs can be “repurposed”. That is, existing drugs can sometimes be used to treat diseases other than the ones for which they were first designed. This can be a cheaper way to develop new treatments. It could also help answer another criticism often thrown at drug firms: they do not invest enough in areas where the medical need is great but financial (economic) returns are unattractive. For 7,000 rare genetic conditions, only around 400 drugs have come out. Last year saw a record number of new drugs approved. The 59 new arrivals are welcome, but barely scratch the surface unmet needs.

Given the untapped potential in the 9,000 generic drugs, i.e. those which no longer have patent (专利) protection, found in America alone, this could be just the beginning. One charity says it has found evidence of anti-cancer activity in almost 260 drugs that treat other conditions. An expert supposes that one in five existing cancer drugs might be effective against other cancers. Big data makes it easier to identify promising leads.

For all its promise, however, repurposing is underfunded. Once a drug has lost its patent protection, it is difficult for a drug firm to attract the investment needed to test and relabel it for a new purpose. A doctor can prescribe a pill for “off label” uses without such trials. But patients may not trust a drug that is not approved for their condition; doctors may worry about being charged. Currently, only firms with permission to market a generic (无商标的) drug can get it relabelled. This means that repurposing charities are not able to work with regulators to speed up the arrival of new cures. They should be. They also deserve more of the public funding used to develop drugs.

1. What happened to the seven large drug firms?

A．They were facing the risk of closedown.	B．They were angered by the U.S. Congress.
C．They were under fire due to high drug prices.	D．They were forced to produce more new drugs.

2. What do the figures in paragraph 2 suggest?

A．Many drugs can be repurposed.	B．New drugs are in high demand.
C．Many new treatments are in doubt.	D．Types of rare diseases are increasing.

3. What may be a big problem with repurposing generic drugs?

A．Financial issues.

B．Technical problems.

C．Safety controls.

D．Marketing strategies.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．The significance of drugs firms	B．Changes in drug patent laws
C．The future of generic drugs	D．Old drugs in new bottles

8 . When Kristin Peck became CEO of Zoetis in January, the animal health company was growing rapidly, thanks in part to steady growth in spending on pets. Just a few weeks later, coronavirus lockdowns turned the global economy upside down. But they also got Americans to adopt pets in record numbers, enabling Zoetis and Peck to face their first big crisis with what you might call a tailwind.

Zoetis, which makes medicines and other products, was removed from Pfizer in 2013 and joined the Fortune 500 in 2019. (It' s now. No. 472.) It's the market-share leader in “companion” animal health, with 22% of the market, and in several livestock (家畜) categories too. With the coronavirus doing only minor damage so far to commercial livestock or pet spending, Zoetis's business has held up relatively well. The company' s stock is down roughly 5% this year, while the S&P 500 has fallen more than 9%.

The drug-maker has an “incredibly diversified business,” says   James Tierney, chief investment officer of concentrated U.S. growth at AllianceBernstein. Its portfolio (产品组合） is split roughly 50/50 between companion and livestock, with about the same split between U.S. and international sales. And unlike many human drug companies, notes Tierney, it isn't dependent on blockbuster drugs (畅销药）. Zoetis' s best-selling product, dog itch medication Apoquel, generated less than 10% of its total sales of ＄6.3 billion in 2019. Another promising product is a new combination of flea, tick, and heartworm medicine for dogs, Simparica Trio - currently the only such combo (组合套餐) product available in the U.S.

Peck, who grew up around animals (“We had horses, four dogs, two cats, birds,” she recalls), was an executive at Pfizer before joining Zoetis. She's adjusting to the new reality in part by putting more effort into advertising for pet products and building veterinary telemedicine partnerships. Peck says the new pet owners of the coronavirus period “engage differently”： They're largely digital-first people, she says, and are more likely to heavily research products before buying.

Like pet spending itself, Zoetis isn't entirely recession-proof, and the company recently lowered its growth forecasts for the year. Its livestock business faċes short-term challenges, especially in beef and dairy, where supply-chain problems have caused hardships. But Peck says she doubts the coronavirus will affect the long-term trend toward eating more protein. And if difficult times lead consumers to focus on cheaper meats, Zoetis could benefit from products like Zoamix, an additive that takes the place of antibiotics (抗生素）in chicken feed - one more example of diversification feathering the company' s nest.

1. How was Zoetis' s business going this January?

A．It was disappointing.

B．It was developing very fast.

C．It turned Zoetis upside down.

D．It enabled Zoetis to join the Fortune 500.

2. Why does the author mention Apoquel in Paragraph 3?

A．To stress it is a blockbuster.

B．To explain its contribution to Zoetis.

C．To uncover the reason for its unsatisfactory sales.

D．To reveal Zoetis' s profits are from various sources.

3. Why does Peck consider the new pet owners different?

A．They enjoy shopping for best-selling products.

B．They prefer to raise horses rather than keep birds.

C．They usually choose digital pets instead of real ones.

D．They do a lot of research online before buying something.

4. What is the possible use of Zoamix?

A．To reduce the cost of meat.	B．To make chicken feed tasty.
C．To serve as better antibiotics.	D．To increase protein in meat.

10 . Approximately 90 percent of the young Chinese participating in the latest survey conducted by the Global Times Research Center believe China should not “look up to the West” anymore.

Chinese analysts said the sustainable and fast development of China is the core (核心的) reason why more Chinese are becoming increasingly confident, and some key elements have sped up the process such as the rise of Trumpism (特朗普主义) in the US.

The survey, titled “Changing attitudes toward the West among young Chinese people,” showed that there has been a significant change in attitude among young people toward Western countries, as a growing number of respondents see them as equals while many previously looked up to them.

The survey showed 37.2 percent of the participants said that five years ago, they still believed they should “look up to the West”, but now, only 8.1 percent of these people have the same view. Meanwhile, the people who “look down on the West” rose to 41.7 percent while only 18.4 percent of them held the same opinion as they did five years ago. About 48.3 percent of the participants believe they should see the West equally now.

The core reasons that have driven such changes are mostly concerned with China’s achievements in recent years. For example, 53.8 percent of interviewees chose “China’s successful epidemic (流行病) prevention and control amid the COVID-19 pandemic”, 40.5 percent selected “China’s cooperation with other countries under the Belt and Road Initiative”, 37.6 percent said “China is the only major economy that keeps growing when the world economy is in a shadow”.

Viewing the West equally does not mean that China will be proud or will oppose the West. The survey also shows that the participants are realistic and rational as they are aware that the West still has advantages over China in certain fields. For example, 64.6 percent of the participants said China should still learn from the West in the fields of science and technology.

1. According to the passage, why are more Chinese becoming increasingly confident?

A．Because Trumpism is rising in the US.

B．Because China has been developing rapidly and steadily.

C．Because there are few patients with the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

D．Because China cooperates with other countries under the Belt and Road Initiative.

2. How does the author make comparisons to draw the conclusion?

A．By giving examples.	B．By listing figures.
C．By making remarks.	D．By showing facts.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．China will he the most powerful country in the world.

B．Most young Chinese are probably unwilling to go to the West.

C．Cooperation and win-win contributes to China’s development.

D．China’s economy is the strongest when the world economy is in a shadow.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards the survey?

A．Objective

B．Disapproving

C．Supportive

D．Subjective