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    What is a family? Why does it_________? These questions seem_________important in the_______ season when it is often our tradition to celebrate together.

My mother was one of twelve_______. As they grew up, married and had kids of their own, most of them lived_______ enough in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina so that they didn’t need to travel a long way to see each other in the holidays.

I can’t recall getting many gifts from them._______, I remember the sense of being part of something that told me I was loved. The time we spent together was always filled with happiness.

I_______the laughing, playing and fighting with my crazy cousins.

I watched my granddad and uncles sit_______the door arguing about politics and trying to _______the problems of the world as if they were working in the White House. I listened to my grandmother, mother and aunts chat about their lives, hopes and dreams and gossip about any sister who failed to________so that we wouldn’t forget about them in their absence.

The food was always plentiful and delicious. But for me, the food was ________the highlight (亮点). The highlight was________being together.

However, they're all gone now. My parents and grandparents, my aunts and uncles have________ this world. My cousins are scattered (分散) here and there. And yet the memories________, along with the love that we shared.

I________ those memories as well as the things they taught me. They told me that families aren't________, but they prepare us to find our way in this imperfect world.

My husband and I are growing a________ family, while keeping close to our old families. Our life is a beautiful________ of kindness, traditions, nurturing and friendships, which grows year after year.

I hope this holiday season will fill you with lovely memories of the family that ________you, and surround you with all the people who ________“family” to you now.

1.A.mean B.change C.matter D.teach

2.A.especially B.possibly C.mainly D.precisely

3.A.business B.duty C.holiday D.harvest

4.A.parents B.children C.relatives D.members

5.A.near B.far C.quietly D.peacefully

6.A.Besides B.However C.Therefore D.Otherwise

7.A.hated B.ignored C.forgot D.enjoyed

8.A.on B.in C.by D.around

9.A.invent B.approach C.motivate D.conclude

10.A.carry on B.break down C.bring out D.show up

11.A.always B.never C.often D.sometimes

12.A.hardly B.fast C.easily D.simply

13.A.left B.gone C.passed D.come

14.A.look back B.fade away C.stick around D.get out

15.A.praise B.concern C.consider D.treasure

16.A.perfect B.wonderful C.terrible D.meaningful

17.A.small B.fresh C.new D.big

18.A.brand B.introduction C.separation D.mixture

19.A.prepare B.raise C.help D.praise

20.A.mean B.alarm C.guide D.allow

    Fearmongering (散布恐慌) against China more dangerous to global economy than coronavirus.

After weeks of attempting to make chaos and spread fear about the outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic in China, some overseas media outlets and individuals have shifted focus to another battlefield — the Chinese economy. They paint a rather dark picture not just for the Chinese economy but for the global economy.

1.People cannot help but panic about the global economy, which is already facing serious challenges like trade wars. It is easy to point fingers at China for “causing” such a mess for the world.

Anyway, these media outlets are right about a couple of things. 2. After all, consumers across the country are trapped in their homes and businesses and factories have been shut for a good part of this year. Second, we have to be fully aware of these challenges and risks in order to address the problem. The first step to solve a problem is to recognize there is one.

3. If not, why would they invest hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy if they weren’t aware of the problem? Why would they roll out a great number of measures to support businesses?4.

Regardless of how severe the impact will be, the epidemic does not change the fundamentals of the Chinese economy.5. There will be no reason that the vast Chinese consumer market will abruptly disappear or the world will suddenly no longer need products from the massive Chinese manufacturing sector, not to mention the country’s huge investment projects. So it can be safe to say that fearmongering against China is more dangerous to global economy than coronavirus.

A.With the effective measures taken by the whole country, the epidemic will be definitely under control.

B.Certainly, that paints a completely different picture we have seen from abroad.

C.First, the epidemic will make the Chinese economy suffer a little.

D.Still, there are many indicators to look for in assessing the potential damage on the Chinese and global economies.

E.Their articles are filled with scary headlines and exaggerated (夸大的) facts.

F.Why would they take extraordinary risks in encouraging factories to restart production?

G.Actually, Chinese officials have been very clear about the potential impact of the epidemic on the economy.

    For an old person, his brain may perform not so well as before. But a new study suggests that some parts of brain may already decline in young adulthood.

The study, which followed more than 2,000 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 60, found that certain mental functions — including measures of abstract reasoning, mental speed and puzzle-solving — started to dull as early as age 27. Meanwhile, the decline of memory generally became apparent around age 37.

On the other hand, indicators of a person’s accumulated knowledge — like performance on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge — kept improving with age, according to findings published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

The results do not mean that young adults need to start worrying about their memories. Most people's minds function at a high level even in their later years, according to researcher Timothy Salthouse. “According to these patterns, some kinds of flexibility in the brain decline relatively early in adulthood, but throughout adulthood the knowledge pool in one’s command and the effective combination with one’s capabilities may be on the increase without the attack of diseases.” Salthouse said in a news conference.

The study included healthy, educated adults who took standard tests of memory, reasoning and perception at first and at some point over the next seven years.

The tests are designed to detect subtle (细微的) changes in mental function, and involve solving puzzles, recalling words and details from stories, and identifying patterns in collections of letters and symbols.

In general, Salthouse and his colleagues found that certain aspects of cognition (认知能力) generally started to decline in the late 20s to 30s.The findings explain normal age-related changes in mental function, which could aid in understanding the process of dementia (痴呆), according to the researchers. “By following individuals over time,” Salthouse said, “we gain insight in cognition changes, and may possibly discover ways to slow the rate of decline.”

The researchers are currently analyzing the study participants’ health and lifestyle to see which factors might influence age-related cognitive changes.

1.According to the text, what is the common view of mental function?

A.It varies from person to person.

B.It weakens in one’s later years.

C.It gradually expands with age.

D.It indicates one’s health condition.

2.What does Timothy Salthouse say about people’s minds in most cases?

A.They tend to decline in people’s later years.

B.Their flexibility determines one’s abilities.

C.They function quite well even in old age.

D.Their functioning is still a puzzle to be solved.

3.Although people’s minds may function less flexibly as they age, what is their strength?

A.They may be better at solving puzzles.

B.They can memorize things with more ease.

C.They may have greater facility in abstract reasoning.

D.They can put what they have learned into more effective use.

4.According to Salthouse, how may their study help us?

A.It will find ways to stop mental functions dulling fast.

B.It will find ways to improve our memories.

C.It will help us understand the complex process of mental functioning.

D.It will help us understand the relation between physical and mental health.

    As the school year barely starts in Denver, French teacher Melanie is filled with worry that her students are always absent-minded. Yet, the problem isn’t messaging, enjoying video games or delivering notes. Surprisingly, the problem is about the ongoing heat wave in Denver.

“Today was a little bit hot, so I noticed kids were very sleepy and they were having to get up to drink water quite often.” said Melanie, who works at Denver’s East High School. “If you lose too much water, and you have to keep going to the water fountain, that can take away from their classroom experience.” While nodding off in class on a warm day may seem acceptable for the average teen, Melanie’s observation carries a bigger consequence than dry lips.

“There have been quite a few media reports about teachers noticing that students weren’t able to focus on hotter days,” said R Jisung Park, a researcher, “Does a hotter climate during the school year actually affect the rate of learning?” The drops in academic achievement couldn’t be explained by hotter weekends or hotter summers, but the trend was connected to higher temperatures on school days alone.

The connection between lost learning and a greater number of hot days is one more example of how climate change is already affecting our lives — and it’s an alarm bell for what we stand to lose in the future. Humans still have time to lessen the worst consequences of continued global warming. Without the unlikely important changes in the next 10 years, the globe will be trapped in an unavoidable era of heat waves that were unprecedented (前所未有的) for human beings.

1.What may cause students absent-minded according to the text?

A.Video games. B.Text messages.

C.Heat waves. D.Classroom notes.

2.What can be inferred from the second paragraph?

A.Kids often go to the water fountain for lack of water.

B.Extreme heat may lower a kid’s ability to learn.

C.Nodding off in class is a sign of respecting teachers.

D.Kids are more interested in drinking water than sleeping.

3.How does the author feel about dealing with the future global warming?

A.Optimistic. B.Uncertain. C.Worried. D.Indifferent.

4.What does the text mainly talk about?

A.The way that global warming continues.

B.The reasons why kids are absent-minded in class.

C.The hotter it grows, the more focused kids become.

D.The hotter it grows, the harder it will be for kids to learn.

    Upon first look, the world of business is no place for young women. And many people have told my cofounders and me that in many circumstances. Pessimistic though people are about women’s chances in conducting business, three of us female college students, without any experiences, started our business with a greatly aggressive goal: to set up a seaweed farm in North Carolina and grow as much seaweed as possible to help cut down carbon emissions (排放) and pollution filled with nutrition from agricultural activities.

In the beginning, our ideas were either ignored or mocked by the researchers from whom we sought help and advice. But we carried on with our research–if others wouldn’t provide us with answers, we weren’t afraid to try to work them out by ourselves. We experiment on species which could grow in warmer waters, and we had identified potential markets into which we planned to sell the product. We've spent the last two years setting up the first seaweed farm in NC, applying for a patent (专利) and competing with five final teams in front of the United Nations for 2 million.

Despite all of our efforts, many industry experts remained unwilling to take us seriously. But as often happens in business, the same characteristics we were ignored for were, in reality, our biggest competitive advantage. Our age gave us the strength to learn from failure, and our background as environmental scientists, rather than businesswomen, helped us find new marketing opportunities. For every 10 farmers who claimed nobody would ever want to feed their cows seaweed, we found one who was interested. For every 15 cosmetics producers who refused to answer our cold calls, we stuck to the one with an interesting idea for a seaweed lotion.

Over the course of our early business development efforts, we have had access to a wealth of resources, programs, and individuals who work constantly to help us succeed. By staying focused on bringing our ideas to light, our team has demonstrated that entrepreneurship (创业) is exactly the right place for the hopeful.

1.What was the major cause for their difficulty in starting business?

A.They were women. B.They were young.

C.They lacked experience. D.They suffered prejudice.

2.What did they do to make their business successful?

A.They expanded their seaweed farms.

B.They experimented on seaweed species.

C.They got their product officially recognized.

D.They consulted the United Nations.

3.What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A.How they got others interested in seaweed.

B.How they succeeded from their so-called weaknesses.

C.How they made themselves more competitive.

D.How they approached potential customers.

4.Which of the following can best describe the three women?

A.Innocent and simple-minded. B.Ambitious and self-centered.

C.Adventurous and persistent. D.Courageous and stubborn.