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Expect the unexpected

“Nothing is ever easy!” A couple of days ago, my grandfather was_________his favorite expression. The following day, as I completed my work, I_________a bee on the skylight（天窗）Though the skylight was particularly high, I thought_________the bee would take only five minutes. An hour later, the bee still remained. What had changed was that the room was messy and that I was_________from looking up into the sunlight. I didn't expect to waste an hour on an insect so_________. but by doing so, I understood what my grandfather meant.

It is not only time we tend to underestimate—we don't_________unexpected costs. We often imagine what work in our_________, but seldom consider negative things that could_________us. However, it is important to remember that things might not go as_________, which is normal. It is__________acceptable to feel challenged—even a simple task, because that is part of life.

If you accept that, life might seem more__________. In middle school, I thought high school might be easier because I could choose the__________I wanted to take. In high school, I thought__________might be easier because I would have a__________suited for myself. Yet each time, I was wrong and__________. After accepting school wouldn't be easy, I found myself with a more__________attitude.

Certainly, there should be preparations to take__________and time into consideration. It can help you__________your goals in a better way. However, there is no__________to blame ourselves when something stands in our path. Maybe we cannot see a bee coming our way, but we can give ourselves the__________time to catch it.

1.A.studying B.proving C.explaining D.teaching

2.A.felt B.saved C.spotted D.searched

3.A.moving B.removing C.keeping D.protecting

4.A.dizzy B.sick C.afraid D.pleased

5.A.lovely B.tiny C.busy D.dangerous

6.A.account for B.give up C.cut down D.improve on

7.A.life B.turn C.mind D.favor

8.A.affect B.inspire C.entertain D.cheat

9.A.known B.planned C.confirmed D.mentioned

10.A.rarely B.occasionally C.perfectly D.slightly

11.A.reasonable B.manageable C.unbearable D.changeable

12.A.measures B.books C.notes D.classes

13.A.college B.work C.life D.marriage

14.A.career B.dream C.experience D.schedule

15.A.delighted B.amazed C.disappointed D.frightened

16.A.objective B.conservative C.selfish D.positive

17.A.costs B.value C.worth D.prices

18.A.share B.set C.evaluate D.accomplish

19.A.possibility B.importance C.need D.way

20.A.limited B.extra C.equal D.precious

    When you think of the Arctic, you imagine an icy land of pure white snow. Others imagine it as the last really clean place left on Earth. We have polluted the deepest oceans with plastic trash, 1.

German scientists have recently found microplastics in Arctic snow. 2.Sadly, the scientists found 1,800 pieces of microplastic per liter of snow.

How is plastic pollution reaching the Arctic? According to scientists. "It's apparent that the majority of the microplastics in the snow comes from the air." They fall off plastic objects and are moved by the wind, just like dust. 3.Finding these plastics in Arctic snow means that we may breathe them in. An even higher amount of microplastic was found in the snow around cities.

The high concentrations found in snow samples suggest microplastics, which contain rubber or chemicals used in synthetic fabrics（混合纤维）, may cause significant air pollution.

4.Scientists cannot answer this question for now, according to the world Health Organization. We do know that our bodies cannot take in "large" pieces of microplastics. However, if the plastics are small enough, they can find ways into our bodies and stay there for a long time. What's more, earlier studies have shown that microplastics may contribute to lung cancer risk, heightening the need to further assess the risks of taking them in, the study said.

Microplastics have also been found in rivers and oceans around the world. Previous research has found that they flow over long distances and into our oceans, damaging ecosystems along the way.5.The waste water then flows into rivers and out to sea, where they are eaten by sea animals. If people then eat these animals, it means that we're eating the plastic as well.

A.Are they bad for us?

B.and now it's the Arctic's turn.

C.so we should take action to protect the world.

D.They mix with ice in the air and fall to the ground as snow.

E.Microplastics are pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters.

F.They start in our water when we wash clothes with plastic fibers.

G.Is plastic pollution doing great damage to our global economy?

    A butterfly's wings can have many jobs besides keeping the insect in the air. They may be called on to attract mates, to warn potential enemies to stay away, to do other animals or even to provide disguise（伪装）.

All of these roles, though, depend on their colouration—which is unchanging. This plays into the idea that butterfly wings are dead tissue, like a bird's feathers or a mammal's hair. In fact, that is not true. For example, in some species males' wings harbour special cells that release chemicals which attract females.

Nanfang Yu, a physicist at Columbia University, in New York, has been looking into the matter. One of his interests is the optical（光学的）properties of biological materials. That has led him to study butterfly wings in more detail. And, in cooperation with Naomi Pierce, a butterfly specialist at Harvard University, he has now shown, in a paper published this week in Nature Communications, that butterfly wings are, indeed, very much alive.

Initially, Dr Yu and Dr Pierce wanted to know how the insects keep their body temperatures up without their wings overheating.

Unlike birds and mammals, butterflies do not produce enough internal heat to metabolize（新陈代谢）. Instead, they rely on outside heat sources—usually the sun—to bring their bodies up to speed. But their wings, being thin protein membranes（膜）, have a limited thermal capacity. Those wings can therefore overheat quickly if the insects are exposed to the sunlight too long, or, oppositely, can cool down too rapidly if they are flying through cold air.

In their experiments, the two researchers used a laser（激光）to heat up spots on the wings of dozens of butterfly species. When the temperature of the area under the laser reached 40℃ or so, the insects responded within seconds by doing things that stopped their wings heating up further. These actions included a butterfly turning around to minimize its exposure to the laser, beating its wings or simply walking away.

1.What's Dr Yu's discovery about butterfly wings?

A.They contain dead tissue.

B.They are too thin to store heat.

C.They have different functions.

D.They react quickly to high heat.

2.Which of the following is True according to the text?

A.Butterflies metabolize completely with its internal heat.

B.Chemicals from butterfly wings help drive away threats.

C.The color of butterfly's wings keeps fixed.

D.The researchers achieved big in optical properties.

3.How can a butterfly stop its wings overheating?

A.By providing heat itself.

B.By flying through cold air.

C.By removing the source of heat.

D.By adjusting their heating surface.

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

A.A Research into Butterfly Wings

B.The Jobs of Butterfly Wings

C.Butterfly Wings:  Dead or Alive

D.Butterfly Wings Temperature Changes

    Screen time increases by 300 percent between the ages of 1 and 3 according to a recent study. In a perfect world, parents would always choose outdoor time over screen time. But for many parents, decreasing screen time isn't as simple as it sounds. That's because screens are increasingly used as an entertainment and distraction（分心）tool for kids which parents think is necessary due to a lack of quality childcare.

The United States government defines affordable childcare as care costing no more than 7 percent of a family's total income, yet more than 40 percent of families say they set aside more than 15 percent of their total income for it, according to a 2019 survey published by Care. com.

Affordable childcare in America is a dream. “Screen time is used as a last substitute for childcare for many families,” says licensed child therapist（治疗师）Katie Lear. “Particularly for parents who work from home, it can be hard to justify hiring a caregiver or paying for daycare. And yet children need to be able to keep themselves occupied during important work calls. Turning on the TV can buy the parent some valuable time during what can be a very tiring day."

If affordable childcare wasn't just a daydream, if the system we have wasn't dependent on two incomes, if parents could actually afford not to work 50+ hours a week, if childcare centers could afford to pay their workers a desirable wage, then maybe, we'd see screen time decrease instead of increase. We know our kids should be interacting with something other than You Tube videos and flash games for hours a week. But before we fix our broken system and before affordable, quality childcare becomes a reality, parents and caregivers are going to do whatever they can to make it, and that includes using screens as passive childcare.

1.Why do parents allow their children to spend much time on screens?

A.To please their children.

B.To make up the lack of quality childcare.

C.To attract kids' attention to classes online.

D.To help children learn about necessary technology.

2.What do the statistics in Paragraph 2 indicate?

A.Childcare workers have high income.

B.Childcare centers are popular in America.

C.Childcare is a heavy burden for parents.

D.Childcare is supported by local government.

3.Why is Lear mentioned in the text?

A.To uncover the reason for screen time as childcare.

B.To prove the advantages of adopting c-products.

C.To present the ways of parents' improving childcare.

D.To explain the benefits of hiring a caregiver.

4.What's the key in reducing children's screen time?

A.Enough company time. B.High income in the family.

C.Turning off the TV. D.Hiring a caregiver.

    In the 1970s, chemist James Lovelock and microbiologist Lynn Margulis developed the Gaia hypothesis（盖亚假说）: all organic and inorganic components on the planet are part of one self-regulating system, working to maintain life on earth. Scientists agree that we need take significant action to control emissions（排放）. But where scientists and popular movements have thus far failed to convince the world to act, it seems that Mother Earth may have succeeded, with the never-before-seen COVID-19.

COVID-19 is estimated to have reduced carbon dioxide emission in China by a quarter. It caused factories to shut down, and slowed construction activities. Recent analysis shows a 70 percent drop in flights in February compared with January. And even getting into a car and going to a restaurant, shopping mall, or concert poses a risk of infection, which means that many people are choosing to stay at home and are consuming less, resulting in a significant reduction of their carbon footprints.

Of course, China and the rest of the world will hope to restart normal production and consumption as soon as the virus is under control. However, some positive measures have already been taken as a result of COVID-19. As the virus is thought to originate from wildlife, Chinese authorities are revising laws and regulations regarding the country's massive wildlife trade in order to prevent future epidemics（流行病）—a win for biodiversity.

The deaths of thousands of people worldwide should also serve as a lasting reminder of the fragility of life. We humans frequently ignore or repress uncomfortable thoughts of death and extinction. We would rather get on with our lives as usual, thinking everything will somehow work out in the end. Only in the face of suffering and death are we forced to view the bigger, longer-term perspective—and this is what is needed in order to react appropriately to climate change. COVID-19 has sent alarm bells ringing throughout the world.

1.What does the author mention the Gaia hypothesis for?

A.To tell the main idea of the text.

B.To introduce the topic for discussion.

C.To show the need to protect the planet.

D.To stress the importance of self-regulating system.

2.What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A.The unexpected benefit of COVID-19.

B.The economic influence of COVID-19.

C.The preventive measures for COVID-19.

D.The possible causes of COVID-19.

3.What does the underlined word "repress" in the last paragraph refer to?

A.Control. B.Hold.

C.Vary. D.Test.

4.What does the writer want to tell us in the text?

A.It's urgent to fight the virus.

B.The virus has caused many deaths.

C.Life is fragile in face of disasters.

D.Action is needed for climate change.