阅读理解

Have your ever tried podcasts(播客)? If you wish to feel happier, or just learn random things, click here. Here are some of the most exciting podcast series that can help you through your learning journey.

Ten percent happier

It was created after Dan Harris, a journalist, had a panic attack on live national television. This led him to try meditation to heal. During this journey, he wrote the book 10% Happier, which talks about the stages of his development. After the book became a best-seller, Dan Harris created the podcast, inviting special guests, such as meditation teachers and scientists to talk about personal development.

Delicious ways to feel better

Ella Woodward is known as a writer and businesswoman who owns the blog "Deliciously Ella". She approaches a sensitive subject about our relationship with food. This podcast can help you fix your negative food experiences with positive ones, which can result in enjoying all types of food in moderation and respecting your body's natural hunger cues.

Power hour

Sometimes, it's challenging to see our true value within ourselves, which stops us from improving. If you've been down lately, you may want to check out this podcast. "Power Hour" was created by Adrienne Herbert, a wellness professional. She talks about motivation, trends, career paths and anything about self-improvement. Professionals are invited to discuss important matters.

Routines and ruts

Sometimes, keeping your habits in place when life is putting you down is not that easy. "Routines and Ruts" can help you make a significant change in your life. The podcast is produced by Madeleine Dore, a writer who likes to explore how we can spend our days in a balanced way that includes both productivity and relaxation. She also has some interesting guests.

1. （1） Where is this text probably taken from?

   A . travel brochure. B . A website. C . A course plan. D . A scientific report.
3. （2） Which podcast is targeted at people who are interested in diet advice?

   A . Power hour. B . Ten percent happier. C . Routines and ruts D . Delicious ways to feel better.
5. （3） What do the four podcasts have in common?

   A . They are based on popular books. B . They often invite famous professionals. C . They are all created by experienced writers. D . They may contribute to our personal growth.

阅读理解

It is hard to say I was a runner years ago. The longest I had ever run was 5 km. What's more, I didn't like running. No matter how hard I tried, every so often I would fasten my old shoes, walk out of the house with heavy steps, get less than a mile in and wonder why I was bothering, especially when there are many more satisfying ways of exercising.

Before last summer, I had never taken part in any kind of race at all. But at the end of July, I completed a triathlon(三项全能) after two weeks' training. At the end of it came the run—which ended up more like a walk. Then I realized something about it attracted me. The extremely painful fun of doing something I hated and was unprepared for turned out to be an excitement. The difficulty felt like something to test my abilities.

When an invitation of the Berlin Marathon dropped onto my desk a few weeks after the triathlon, it felt like a change of fate. After the triathlon, I didn't say I should start running at once. Was it because I hate running? In fact, in course of running I enjoyed the joy of exceeding my limits. I felt necessary to find out again where those limits might lie. So I said yes.

Training for a marathon often takes at least 20 weeks or more. The training plan becomes something to stop me worrying when the race seems too frightening. This worry feels impossible to avoid, but there is something equally sure about the training plan: if I follow it, then I have done everything I can; if I do everything I can, then I won't regret what comes at the end.

1. （1） What aspect of the triathlon drew the writer?

   A . The special feeling of facing a challenge. B . The fun of walking to the finish line. C . The excitement of winning a race. D . The two-week painful training.
3. （2） Why did the writer accept the invitation of the Berlin Marathon?

   A . He was eager to change his destiny. B . He wasn't supposed to stop running. C . He wanted to realize his full potential. D . He was keen on taking part in another triathlon.
5. （3） Which of the following words can best describe the writer?

   A . Patient and pessimistic. B . Courageous and determined. C . Helpful and persistent. D . Energetic and changeable.
7. （4） What can be learned from the text?

   A . A bad beginning makes a bad ending. B . Challenge ourselves to live without regrets.  C . Life is full of challenges that can't be avoided. D . Exercise is to the body what reading is to the mind. 

阅读理解

In Silent Spring, a book that she referred to as her "poison book", Rachel Carson revealed the damaging effects of the abuse of chemical pesticides on the environment. She focused mainly on the insecticide DDT, which had been considered "one of the greatest discoveries of World War II" for its ability to kill insects and was routinely used in homes and on crops.

Carson called for much greater caution against this great discovery. Though the scientific community already knew of the dangers, Carson was the first to make the information accessible to a mass audience in her book. "She wrote for the general public, not the scientific community," says Linda Lear, author of Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature. "Readers, including housewives who used a lot of these chemicals, were shocked at what they learned."

The public's first taste of Silent Spring actually came in June 1962 when The New Yorker ran three excerpts(节选). By the time it was published that fall, it was in such high demand that it became an instant bestseller.

As expected, the reaction from the chemical companies was severe. One industry spokesperson dismissed Carson's claims as "absurd". Others accused her of being a terrible woman. The president of the company that made DDT said Carson wrote "not as a scientist, but as a crazy defender of the balance of nature."

Fortunately, Carson decided the personal risks were worth it. Shortly after her book was published, President Kennedy was asked at a conference if the government would look into the long-term effects of pesticides. He responded, "Yes, and I know they already are. I think, particularly, of course, since Miss Carson's book." Just as William Souder, author of On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson, says, "Carson changed the conversation about the environment, thinking of humankind as part of nature, not above it."

1. （1） Who might be the intended readers of Silent Spring?

   A . Environmentalists. B . Ordinary people. C . Scientists. D . Businessmen.
3. （2） What does the underlined word "dismissed" mean in paragraph 4?

   A . Criticized. B . Recognized. C . Abandoned. D . Praised.
5. （3） What can we infer from the text?

   A . The profit of human beings should come first. B . Silent Spring enjoyed great popularity before 1962. C . Carson was the first to discover the danger of DDT. D . William Souder thinks highly of Carson and her book.
7. （4） What can be the best title for the text?

   A . DDT: One of the Greatest Discoveries in the World B . Rachel Carson: Introducing Readers to the Natural World C . A "Poison Book": Awakening the World to the Danger of DDT D . Silent Spring: Winning the Approval of People from all Walks of Life

阅读理解

One key element of human language is the connection of words with meanings. Scientists had long thought that unlike our words, animal vocalizations(发出的声音) were involuntary, showing the feelings of the animal without communicating any other information. However, over the last forty years, many studies have shown that different animals have different calls with specific meanings. Interestingly, the most impressive are birds.

Many bird species use different alarm calls for different predators(捕食性动物). Japanese tits, which nest in tree holes, have one call that causes their young to lower down to avoid being pulled out of the nest by crows, and another call for tree snakes that sends the young jumping out of the nest completely. And black-capped chickadees change the number of "dees" in their calls to indicate the size and threat of predators.

Besides alarm calls, many bird species use recruitment calls that gather other members of their species. Japanese tits add alarm calls to recruitment calls to create a sort of call to arm, gathering their partner members to attack and drive off a predator. When the birds hear this call, they approach the caller while scanning for danger.

Scientists led by Professor Toshitaka Suzuki of Kyoto University discovered that the order of the combined calls matters to the Japanese tits. When Suzuki's team played a recorded "alarm+recruitment" call to tits, it gets a much stronger response than a "recruitment+alarm" call. However, this could simply be explained by the birds responding to the combined calls without knowing the parts of the combination, but the scientists tried to clarify this question from different angles.

1. （1） What do we know about animal vocalizations?

   A . They are produced unconsciously. B . They lack meaningful information. C . They are difficult for scientists to understand. D . They are connected with particular meanings.
3. （2） How does the writer develop paragraph 2?

   A . By the order of time. B . By the order of space. C . By providing examples. D . By making comparisons.
5. （3） What's the reaction of Japanese tits to a predator?

   A . They jump out of their nests immediately. B . They change the number of "dees" in their calls. C . They combine alarm calls with recruitment calls. D . They approach the predator while looking for danger.
7. （4） What will the text talk about next?

   A . Other reasons for the birds' different responses. B . Various habits and characteristics of Japanese tits. C . Diverse combinations of animals' vocalizations. D . The importance of the "recruitment+alarm" call.

七选五

Many of us fantasize about waking up in a home close to nature. But nowadays the dream seems even harder to fulfil. Besides, many people are addicted to the Internet and cellphones, which contributes to the habit of staying indoors.

A study on nearly 5000 participants from 10 countries suggests there's a direct relationship between the time spent in wilder places and the happiness one feels. Whatever we see, hear, and experience outside can lead to a more relaxed body and thus a state of happiness.

Recently, Covid-19 has forced everyone to change their habits and lifestyles. The virus is more infectious indoors than outdoors, according to scientists. Having access to the outdoors is crucial, particularly in this unprecedented period. It's potentially lifesaving.

The ability to connect with nature and reap its benefits can seem difficult, but it's not impossible. Go near the water. Our brains love the water: looking at it, and hearing it can produce happy molecules that only nature can supply. If you still find it hard to get close to nature, you can sip your wine by the open window to feel nature in your surroundings.

Whatever it is, find something to keep you connected with nature and give your brain an extra boost.

A.It's no longer just fun to be outside.

B.The endless work keeps us away from nature.

C.Here are some easy ways to connect with nature.

D.However, getting close to nature is of great benefit to us.

E.The longer we stay outdoors, the more successful we'll be.

F.As the time in nature increases, so does the level of happiness.

G.To get back to nature, we don't necessarily need to walk five miles.

完形填空

When I started my company, a customer service number was put on the company's website to better the communication with users. Somehow it rarely rang. So we abandoned it.

However, I thought phone support would have made sense. So, last year, I1putting another service number on our homepage. 

"Again? We tried this before, but it didn't work!" they responded, casting2on me.

"But companies evolve; circumstances change." I argued.

Late last year, I convinced my company to give it a shot. So we started a two-week3. During the first few days, the volume of calls, around    per day, was not much but4. Then, over the following days, the volume increased dramatically, which5them all. So successful was it that we finally decided to adopt the service phone number6.

This experience reminded me of the elephant-and-rope story. Baby elephants were7with a small rope. Because they're too8to break free from the rope, they grow up being conditioned that the rope is stronger than they are. So, as adults, they think they can still be9by the rope. In my company, those who thought we couldn't because we once10were like a baby elephant who was living with a11mindset. They drew a conclusion based on specific12, but they forgot to revise it when things changed.

In business, not to mention life, all sorts of invisible mental ropes may hold us back. It results in missed opportunities and wasted13. So don't hold onto the14that you can't grow or learn from past failures. All it takes is15eyes to reexamine the situation.

短文填空

What's the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of wheat straw? A pile of waste in a farmer's field? Wu Cui, intangible cultural inheritor, can turn the straw left over from harvested wheat into beautiful and eye-catching functional artworks.

The (early) straw-woven(草编的) products were discovered at Hemudu Cultural Ruins located in eastern China's Zhejiang province. The Book of Rites, one of the classical works of Confucianism, also records that there (be) mats made of cattail grass and professional straw-weaving craftsmen during the Zhou Dynasty.

Wu recalls that, when she was a child, woven straw items could (find) almost in every household in the countryside, most of are daily items like hats, shoes or baskets made from straw, or straw artworks modeled after insects.

(fortunate), due to the impact of industrialization, manufactured goods have replaced such products, and there are only about 100 individuals (involve) in the work across the country.

"Straw weaving should win the (recognize) of customers by responding to people's preferences and needs, while still (draw) inspiration from traditional culture," she says. Hopefully, more people will understand the culture behind the techniques, and more craftspeople will devote themselves to it as a career great enthusiasm.

五月一日是国际劳动节。假定你是学生会主席李华，请以"Labor Creates Happiness"为题，为校英文报写一封倡议书，呼吁同学们过一个有意义的劳动节，内容包括：
1. 劳动的意义；
2. 具体建议(至少两条)；
3. 发出呼吁。

注意：
1.词数80左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Labor Creates Happiness

Dear fellow students,

The Student Union

阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

One day an elderly, barefoot postman knocked on the door of a house and said, "Your letters come." As soon as he said this, a little girl's voice echoed from inside, "I'm coming now. Please wait."

But 5 minutes later, no one turned up. The postman said again, "Is there anyone to take your letter? I have many places to go ..."

The girl replied, "Sorry, if you are in a hurry, please put the letter under the door. I am coming; it will take some more time..."

The old postman replied, "No, I have to wait. It's a registered letter, so someone's signature is needed." After about 10 minutes, the door finally opened.

He was about to shout at the girl when he was shocked to find that in front of him was a little, legless girl on a wheelchair. The postman quietly gave her the letter, took her signature and left. That day, he got her name Melka.

Melka often lived alone during the daytime, as her mother passed away and her father worked far away with only a maid taking care of her in the morning and evening.

After that day, whenever mails came, the postman would knock and then wait patiently at the door. Little by little, interaction and closeness grew between them. The postman knew that this lonely girl seldom went out and she was crazy about everything to do with nature. Melka also noticed that the postman always came with no shoes. On a rainy day, when the postman left after giving the girl her letter, his footprints were left on the wet soil. Melka came out with a piece of paper, put it on the ground and took down pictures of the feet. 

Diwali, known as a festival of lights, was about to come and people were busy preparing gifts for their family and friends. The postman also started thinking that he shouldn't meet the girl empty handed. After much thought, he decided to give her a special present. But due to his tight budget, he had few choices.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式作答。

Suddenly he thought of the wild flowers along the road and an idea struck him.

After a while, she returned with a big box.