1. Who is Chris Hemsworth best known for playing?
| A．Loki. | B．Kim Hyde. | C．Thor. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. |
| A．She is a TV host. | B．She is a teacher. | C．She is an actress. |
| A．In 2010. | B．In 2012. | C．In 2015. |
2 . A self-described “girly girl”, nine-year-old Zandra Cunningham was constantly begging her parents for the latest beauty products. One day her dad simply told her “no”, which inspired her to make her own.
Zandra has been recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the youngest millionaires in America. When asked about her experience as a child entrepreneur (企业家), Zandra says, “It wasn’t frightening. When you’re young, you don’t have that fear mentality. ‘Maybe it’s not going to work’ never really crossed my mind.” For Zandra, it became a challenge to separate her personal interest from what her customers actually wanted. “There were a lot of things that I felt were good ideas, but they wouldn’t fit into the market,” she says. Being part of the market herself, Zandra felt she had a unique perspective that allowed her to truly listen and respond to her customers.
It started as a hobby for Zandra and her mom. They’d play around with different ingredients until they found formulas they liked “through trial and error”. Slowly, they started transforming the pastime into a brand. Zandra began selling her products at local markets, and a few years later—when Zandra was 12 years old — the family started a shop for Zandra Beauty. At the time, Zandra Beauty was one of the first brands to offer plant-based and organic beauty products at an affordable price. The 21-year-old has essentially grown up alongside her brand—but her goals have remained the same: “Our main focus is to push out amazing products that are safe for everyone and the earth.”
“There’re so many brands doing similar things, but there’s still so much room to grow,” says Zandra. “Your customers are out there, and you just have to find something that’s going to set you apart.”
1. What can be inferred from Zandra’s words in paragraph 2?| A．Her young mind made her fearless. |
| B．Her parents supported her greatly. |
| C．She had much precious experience. |
| D．She was always very caring. |
| A．Sharing her personal interests. | B．The diversity of hobbies. |
| C．Changing the global market. | D．The need of customers. |
| A．The one that is cheap and useful. |
| B．The one that is enjoyed by her mom. |
| C．The one that is created by trial and error. |
| D．The one that is reliable and eco-friendly. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Concerned. | C．Doubtful. | D．Relieved. |
3 . Six years ago, Jack Bonneau badly wanted the LEGO Star Wars Death Star, which cost $ 400, more than what he had in his wallet at the age of 8. So he set up a lemonade stand at his local farmers’ market. “In 12 weeks, I made $ 900 in profit,” he says. “I never knew anything like that was possible.”
He wanted to make it possible for other kids, too, and launched a one-stop destination for children’s commerce: For a $ 15 fee, Bonneau and his dad will help kids in the Denver / Boulder area set up a branded Jack’s Stands & Marketplaces stand. Over four years, hundreds of these kids have operated thousands of these stands around the city.
As he starts his freshman year of high school, Bonneau is changing Jack’s Stands & Marketplaces to a nonprofit organization; that way, it can partner with larger organizations and grow beyond Colorado, he says. He’s also working on his next big idea: Teen Hustl, an app that gives teens access to the gig economy. “My dad told me that back in the 1980s, millions of teens had their own paper routes and babysitting businesses,” Bonneau says. “ Now, because of the Internet, those jobs are being taken by adults. But teens are the most tech-savvy, so why not plug them into that?
Teen Hustl will operate as a sort of hyperlocal DoorDash or Postmates, serviced exclusively by neighborhood teens making deliveries on bikes or scooters within two to three miles of a store or restaurant. “Teen Hustl’s mission is to provide consumers, business, restaurants and grocery stores with the industry’s best delivery service in America! We’ve seen the challenges that all the delivery platforms have faced and we believe that instead of reacting to challenges that should have been forseen, we have the opportunity to lead the industry. Sometimes it takes youth to lead the way,” Bonneau says.
1. What happened to Jack Bonneau when he was 8?| A．He earned $ 900 within 10 weeks. |
| B．He helped kids to start Jack’s Stands & Marketplaces stand by himself. |
| C．He launched a lemonade stand. |
| D．He didn’t get the Lego Death Star model at last. |
| A．Jack’s Stands & Marketplaces has been a nonprofit organization. |
| B．Teen Hustl is actually a lemonade stand. |
| C．Paper routes and babysitting business are out of date. |
| D．Teen Hustl is helpful to teens for jobs. |
| A．Youth will replace adults in time. |
| B．Jack Bonneau is confident of the future of Teen Hustl. |
| C．Teen Hustl’s delivery service will be the best all over the world. |
| D．Teen Hustl will earn Bonneau a lot of money. |
| A．Ambitious and successful. | B．Brave and cautious. |
| C．Honest and modest. | D．Tough and generous. |
4 . Uygur musician, Sanubar will give two concerts in Beijing and Shanghai on Jan. 13 and 14, featuring songs with dutar — a traditional folk instrument, which her father loved playing at home. “The instrument was hanging on the wall at my home and my father often played it for fun. My mother always sang along and we danced together,” recalls Sanubar, who was born into a Uygur family in Xinjiang. When her father died, Sanubar, who was 8 years old, composed her first song to honor him.
One of the songs she will perform is White Horse, adapted from an old Xinjiang folk song and telling a love story. “I get inspired by poems. Poems are as rhythmic as music. So when I read a beautiful poem, I easily connect it with its sounds, which allows me to turn the poem into a song,” says Sanubar. Some other songs are selected from the Xinjiang Uygur Muqam recorded on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008 by UNESCO, which includes songs, dances, folk and classical music.
Sanubar learned to play dutar at Xinjiang Arts University and, after graduation, she joined the Xinjiang Art Theater Muqam Art Troupe. From 2003 to 2005, she came to Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music to study music production. In 2010, at the age of 39, Sanubar enrolled in the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she spent four years learning to compose and got her Bachelor’s degree.
So far, Sanubar has written over 100 songs and released about 10 albums. She teaches dutar at an art school in the regional capital Urumqi. Sanubar and other folk musicians sang and danced with smiling faces. “I notice that many young people in Xinjiang are learning traditional instruments and singing old songs, which makes me very happy.” says Sanubar.
1. What originally inspired Sanubar’s music career?| A．The rhythm of poems. | B．The impact of her father. |
| C．The honor of her first song. | D．The company of her mother. |
| A．She promoted the beauty of traditional folk art. | B．She wrote many beautiful poems from old songs. |
| C．She gained reputation both at home and abroad. | D．She helped complete the Xinjiang Uygur Muqam. |
| A．Sanubar’s main achievements. | B．Sanubar’s learning experiences. |
| C．The composition of folk songs. | D．The preservation of local music. |
| A．Intelligent and sensitive. | B．Elegant and reliable. |
| C．Energetic and productive. | D．Motivated and cautious. |
Eleven years after having Alzheimer’s (阿兹海默病) disease, 91-year-old Wu Mingzhu sometimes fails
Born in Hubei Province, she
Though local watermelons and muskmelons (甜瓜) tasted sweet, Wu found that the local farmers mainly relied on
Starting in 1956, Wu and her colleagues
She developed new resources-10 watermelon varieties and 19 muskmelon varieties, featuring characteristics like better disease resistance, finer fruit quality, and greater adaptability,
6 . Four Famous Educators
John Dewey
Birthplace: Burlington, Vermont, United States
A faithful advocate of progressive education and liberalism, the American philosopher was the founder of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. John Dewey’s famous writings included The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology and Human Nature and Conduct. According to him, passion for knowledge and intellectual curiosity were central to a teacher.
Savitribai Phule
Birthplace: Naigaon, India
Savitribai Phule was a revolutionary social reformer who devoted her life to educating girls and bringing about gender (性别) equality in the face of resistance from the conservative Indian society. Phule, who was illiterate (文盲) until her marriage, went on to become a teacher, an achievement accomplished first by an Indian woman. With her husband, she established schools for girls in Maharashtra.
Maria Montessori
Birthplace: Chiaravalle, Italy
Maria Montessori was an Italian educator and physician best known for developing the Montessori method of education, a student-friendly method, which is being used in several public and private schools around the world. In 2020, she was nominated (提名) by Time magazine as one of their Top 100 Women of the Year.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Birthplace: Geneva, Switzerland
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, composer, and writer. His political philosophy influenced aspects of the French Revolution. He also helped develop modern economic, political, and educational thought. His writing inspired a complete change in French drama and poetry. His works also influenced such writers around the world as Tolstoy.
1. What was John Dewey famous as?| A．A philosopher. | B．A social reformer. | C．A teacher. | D．A writer. |
| A．John Dewey. | B．Savitribai Phule. |
| C．Maria Montessori. | D．Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
| A．In the US. | B．In India. | C．In Italy. | D．In Switzerland. |
7 . Njobati, a young woman from Cameroon, faced a challenging journey when she moved from her English-speaking area to a French-speaking area of the country to attend university. The sharp differences between these areas, once part of the British and French empires, made it difficult for her to fit in, which led her to examine her own identity—who she truly was.
Seeking guidance, she turned to her grandfather who also felt disconnected from his own culture. He expressed sadness about what the Nso had lost both culturally and materially, including Ngonnso statue. Ngonnso was the founder of Nso dating back to the 14th Century, whose statue was an important cultural symbol for the Nso. However, it was taken by the Germans in 1902 and has been housed in Berlin’s Ethnological Museum ever since.
Inspired by her grandfather’s desire and saddened by the loss of culture, Njobati made a promise to bring back the statue. She believed it would not only achieve her grandfather’s wish but connect her with her Nso heritage again.
Njobati did many researches about the statue and former unsuccessful attempts. She realized that restitution (归还) was actually about facing the colonial ( 殖民主义的) past. Njobati decided to try differently. To gather support online and offline, Njobati began a grassroots campaign. She organized meetings in community halls and churches, met people one-on-one, and used the power of social media.Through Twitter, she established contact with the Ethnological Museum.
Njobati’s tireless efforts paid off. She was told that a decision about Ngonnso statue was coming, which was an important moment for her.
“Finally, this is happening. Not just for me, but for the Nso people, and for Cameroon,” She cried. “This also lends a hand to other communities that are seeking justice for stolen culture relics.”
1. What made Njobati decide to bring back the Ngonnso statue?| A．Her interest in colonial history. |
| B．Her grandfather’s identity problem. |
| C．Her desire to reconnect with Nso culture. |
| D．Her experience in attending university. |
| A．She did wide and complete researches. |
| B．She turned to her grandfather for guidance. |
| C．She contacted the Ethnological Museum directly. |
| D．She organized meetings and using social media. |
| A．The fight for the statue. | B．The promise she made. |
| C．The grassroots campaign. | D．The return of the statue. |
| A．A fight against colonialism. | B．A cultural fighter. |
| C．A promise for grandpa. | D．A stolen cultural symbol. |
1. When did Beckham start his professional career?
| A．At age 13. | B．At age 19. | C．At age 17. |
| A．Beckham got married. |
| B．Beckham met Victoria Adams. |
| C．Beckham was a finalist for Player of the Year. |
| A．Her singing career. |
| B．Her modeling career. |
| C．Her fashion designs. |
9 . The story of Oprah Winfrey’s life is one of overcoming incredible odds and achieving great success. Born into poverty in Mississippi, Winfrey faced numerous challenges throughout her childhood. She was raised by her grandmother, who installed in her a love of reading and a strong work ethic. However, Winfrey was also the victim of abuse and neglect, both at home and in her community.
Despite these obstacles, Winfrey showed great promise from a young age. At age 19 she became a news anchor(主播) for the local television station, and in 1976 she was made a reporter and co-anchor for the ABC news in Baltimore, Maryland. She found herself limited by the objectivity required of news reporting, and in 1977 she became co-host of the Baltimore morning show People Are Talking.
Winfrey excelled in the casual and personal talk-show format, and in 1984 she moved to Chicago to host the faltering(衰退的) talk show AM Chicago. Winfrey’s honest and engaging personality quickly turned the program into a success, and in 1985 it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. Winfrey’s warmth, intelligence, and empathy made her a beloved figure to millions of viewers. She used her platform to address important social issues, such as child abuse, domestic violence, and poverty.
Despite her success, Winfrey faced many challenges along the way. She struggled with her weight, and was often criticized for her appearance. She also faced many personal and professional setbacks in her life and work. However, Winfrey refused to give up. She continued to work hard, launching her own production company, Harpo Productions, and starting her own cable network, OWN. She also became a philanthropist, donating millions of dollars to charitable causes.
Today, Winfrey is one of the most successful and influential people in the world. She has won lots of awards for her work. She is also a best-selling author and a respected public speaker. Winfrey’s story provés the power of perseverance, hard work, and faith in oneself.
1. What did Oprah Winfrey start her career as?| A．A news anchor. | B．A talk show co-anchor. |
| C．A manager of a company. | D．A reporter of a TV station. |
| A．It was a TV program meant to help the local citizens. |
| B．Oprah Winfrey’s excellent qualities made it successful. |
| C．It called on viewers to fight against poverty and crimes. |
| D．It was a program designed only for Oprah Winfrey. |
| A．Winfrey faced many doubts about her hosting style. |
| B．Winfrey set up a company of her own. |
| C．Winfrey never gave up in face of difficulties. |
| D．Winfrey contributed lots of money to charities. |
| A．To tell us that our life has its ups and downs. |
| B．To share Winfrey’s life experience with us. |
| C．To encourage us to work hard in our careers. |
| D．To sing high praise for Winfrey’s success and qualities. |
10 . Zheng Xiaoying was born in Shanghai in September 1929. Her youth and passion for music helped her become a conductor in an art troupe (巡回演出团). In the early 1960s, Zheng was sent to the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory to study opera and symphony conducting, becoming the first professionally trained female conductor in China at that time.
As a student, she conducted the Italian opera “Tosca” in public at a large opera house in the Soviet Union and won great applause not only for the wonderful performance, but also for the Chinese woman on the stage. Recalling this experience, Zheng said it was of great importance for her to become an opera symphony conductor and served as one of the turning points in her life.
After return to China, she did her best to combine Western and Oriental music. In addition to lectures and performances, in 1998, she founded the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra. With the concept of “attracting more audiences to the concert hall to enjoy the beauty of music,” the musical orchestra has now gained worldwide recognition. It has also become a popular travel destination in the city of Xiamen.
Besides being a conductor, Zheng is also a teacher. As one of the most famous Chinese conducting professors, she has taught many famed musicians. Many of them are still active on stage, both in China and abroad. Still, as a daughter of the Hakka people, she follows the tradition of valuing education. The Hakka culture enabled her to create a Chinese symphony called “The Echoes of Hakka Earth Building” which promotes China’s cultural achievements in music. So far, the symphony has been performed 80 times in over 12 countries and regions.
Zheng not only promotes the Chinese symphony to the world, she also presents traditional Chinese music. She said the thought of spending her last few seconds on the conductor’s podium (乐队指挥台) would be what she calls “the most romantic” of a desirable career. Now in her 90s, Zheng Xiaoying is still active on the stage, sharing China with the world through her music.
1. What’s a turning point in Zheng’s life?| A．Joining in an art troupe. |
| B．Studying conducting in Moscow. |
| C．A job at a large opera house in Italy. |
| D．A public performance in the Soviet Union. |
| A．It is a characteristic of Xiamen. |
| B．Its concept is to draw people’s attention. |
| C．It combines Western and Oriental music. |
| D．Its aim is to inspire people’s music talent. |
| A．By asking questions. | B．By listing examples. |
| C．By analyzing reasons. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．Her desire for romanticism. | B．Her ideal of spreading musical ideas. |
| C．Her enthusiasm for music career. | D．Her achievement in music field. |
