| 1. 难度：中等 | |
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The Houston Museum of Natural Science Founded in 1909, the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) has always been one of the most heavily attended museums in the United States. It houses a variety of permanent exhibit areas that examine astronomy, space science, Native American culture, energy, chemistry, gems and minerals, seashells, Texas wildlife and much more. In addition, the museum frequently presents traveling exhibitions on a variety of topics. The Museum is a major science learning center with over a half million school children visiting it annually, including every fourth grade and seventh grade class in the Houston Independent School District. Crowds The Museum can be quite crowded on weekends and weekday mornings, due to the hundreds of thousands of students that visit HMNS each year. Please call 713-639-4629 to inquire about the crowds that are anticipated during your intended visit. Opening Hours Monday-Sunday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (last entry at 4:30 p.m.) It’s closed on New Year’s Day and Christmas Day. PLEASE NOTE: Average museum visit takes 2 hours or more. Pricing Adult Ticket: $25 (ages 12 and up) Child Ticket: $16 (ages 3-11) Children aged 2 and under: FREE College Students with ID: $16 Seniors (62+): $16 Groups (10+): $10 Please Note Flash photography is ONLY allowed in the Grand Hall and the rainforest of the Coekrell Butterfly Center. Selfie sticks (自拍杆), tripods and camera stands are not allowed anywhere in HMNS. Photography is not allowed in certain exhibitions. Please check for signs by the exhibit entrance for more information or ask a museum employee. 1.When can people enter HMNS for a visit? A.At 8:30 a.m. on June 1st. B.At 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 3rd. C.At 14:40 p.m. on Oct. 15th. D.At 10:00. a.m. on Dec.25th. 2.How much should Tom and his two sons aged 8 and 13 pay in all to HMNS? A.$66. B.$57. C.$41. D.$30. 3.What can be known about HMNS from the text? A.It has a history of less than a century. B.Visitors aren’t allowed to take photos inside. C.It has the largest number of visitors of all American museums. D.People who enjoy quiet have better visit it on weekday afternoon.
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| 2. 难度：中等 | |
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It’s not every day that you see pigeons(鸽子)with cowboy hats on their tiny heads walking or flying around, unless you live in Las Vegas, where cowboy-hat-wearing pigeons are actually a thing people have been constantly taking about these days. It all started on December 5, when a Las Vegas citizen named Bobby Lee noticed two funny-looking birds walking near a dustbin. The pigeons drew his attention because they were wearing tiny cowboy hats — one red and one grey — so he took out his smartphone and started filming them. Later, he uploaded the video online, where is quickly spread. The next day, everyone was talking about Las Vegas’ cowboy-hat-wearing pigeons, and Lee was getting phone calls from agencies trying to license his video. It was only a matter of time before news outlets picked up the story and reported on the mysterious pigeon cowboys spotted around Las Vegas. The only link anyone could think of was the Wrangler National Rodeo Finals that were taking place in town at the time, but the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, which organized the event, denied any involvement. While some netizens just found the idea cute and jumped at the opportunity to catch the pigeons on camera if they spotted them around Vegas, others expressed concern about the birds’ well-being. They even mentioned animal cruelty. Hillman, the founder of local pigeon rescue Lofty Hopes, said that her organization was trying to track down the birds and remove their hats, but trapping them with food has proven very difficult so far. That’s because the two known cowboy-hat-wearing pigeons have become very popular around Las Vegas, and people are constantly throwing them much food. “When you see them today, you could see some loose feathers in the glue around the hat, and it’s surely a concern,” Hillman said, adding that she believed the hats had been glued on with a strong adhesive (粘合剂). 1.What has been a hot topic in Las Vegas recently? A.The return of cowboy hats. B.Pigeons approaching people. C.Pigeons wearing cowboy hats. D.The hobby of watching pigeons. 2.What made Bobby Lee film the two pigeons with his smartphone? A.Their unusual decorations. B.Their unique feather colors. C.Their great popularity online. D.Their strange way of walking. 3.What was netizens’ attitude towards the pigeon cowboys? A.They went too far about them. B.They thought nothing of them. C.They showed little interest in them. D.They had a mixed response to them. 4.Why is it hard to trap the two pigeons with food? A.Because they are rather particular about food. B.Because they always have abundant food to eat. C.Because they are smart enough not to be tricked. D.Because they are well protected by pigeon watchers.
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| 3. 难度：中等 | |
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Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed new artificial intelligence (AI) software to recognize and follow up the faces of individual chimpanzees (黑猩猩) in the wild. The new software will allow researcher and wildlife conservationists to greatly cut back on time spent analyzing videos, according to the new paper published today in Science Advances. “For species like chimpanzees, which have complex social lives and live for many years, getting photos of their behavior from short-term field research can only tell us so much.” says Dan Sehofield, researcher and DPhil student at Oxford University’s Primate Models Lab, School of Anthropology. “By taking advantage of the power of machine learning to unlock large video files, it makes it possible to measure behavior over the long term.” The computers model was trained using over 10 million images (影像) from Kyoto University’s Primate Research Institute (PRI) video files of wild chimpanzees in Guinea, West Africa. The new software is the first to continuously track and recognize individuals in a wide range of posed, performing with high accuracy in difficult conditions such as low lighting and poor image quality. “Access to this large video file has allowed us to use the newest deep neural networks to train models at a scale that was previously not possible,” says Arsha Nagrani, co-author of the study and DPhil student at the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. “Additionally, our new software differs from previous primate face recognition software in that it can be applied to raw videos with limited manual intervention (人工干预) or pre-processing, saving hours of time.” The technology has potential for many uses, such as monitoring species for conservation. Although the present application focused on chimpanzees, the software provided could be applied to other species, and help drive the adoption of AI systems to solve a range of problems in the wildlife sciences. 1.What’s the purpose of developing the new software? A.To save wildlife researchers’ time spent in the wild. B.To keep track of wildlife conservationists’ behavior. C.To protect chimpanzees and help them to live longer. D.To recognize and track the faces of wild chimpanzees. 2.What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refer to? A.Getting photos. B.Analyzing videos. C.The new AI software. D.A powerful machine. 3.What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about? A.The unique advantages of the new software. B.Some limitations of using the new software. C.The working principles of the new software. D.Controversial attitudes to the new software. 4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph? A.The new software has a quite bright future. B.The application of the technology can be tough. C.Technology is the final goal of scientific research. D.AI systems are widely used in the wildlife sciences.
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| 4. 难度：中等 | |
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Nail biting and hair pulling are two forms of body language. Both nail biting and hair pulling can be either conscious or subconscious body language gestures, each showing some interesting aspects of the character, emotion and inner working of the individual. Nail biting is a non-verbal gesture. In adults it’s often a habit adopted and carried through from childhood and can become apparent in stressful situations throughout adulthood. To most people, nail biting is associated with nervousness and shyness and is an involuntary response to certain social situations. In many cases, it’s an adaptor behaviour that channels nervous energy, inactivity or boredom and doesn’t disturb normal functioning. In severe cases nail biting can become a repetitive behaviour that is intentionally performed. It can result in great physical damage. So when we look deeper, in both adults and children, it has been suggested that severe nail biting is often referred to as a method of “self-heating”. This indicates that nail biting is a subconscious behaviour indicating increased anxiety and low self-confidence. Hair pulling can indicate a number of emotions and behaviors. For example, children who bite their nails or frequently pull their hair may be nervous or have low self-confidence. Hair pulling may be a comforting action for a child who is tense and anxious, and may become habitual later in life in stressful situations. Routine and severe hair pulling can be a compulsive disorder that may be linked to genetics, anxiety and depression. It’s most commonly thought to be a stress-related condition. However, hair puling is also another non-verbal body language that can signify different things in different situations. For example, in some situations, it can mean interest and desire. However, in other situations, it can suggest anxiety, incompetence, uncertainty or shyness. 1.What does the text say about nail biting? A.It doesn’t harm its doer physically. B.It stops its doer functioning normally. C.It isn’t a gesture only made by children. D.It is a commonly used way to avoid shyness. 2.According to the text, children who often pull their hair . A.may take no interest in something B.may feel quite sure of themselves C.must suffer from lack of desire D.may not feel at ease at all 3.The underlined word “signify” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “ “. A.explain B.indicate C.hide D.summarize 4.What is the best title for the text? A.How to Read Forms of Body Language? B.What Do Nail Biting and Hair Pulling Suggest? C.How to Express Ourselves with Body Language? D.What Are the Deep Meanings of Body Language?
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| 5. 难度：中等 | |
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Whether you’d like to loosen tight muscles, become more flexible, or just keep yourself tom getting injured when you exercise or play sports, stretching is important. With just a few minutes of gentle stretching, you can reduce the pain that comes from tight muscles, improve your posture, and increase your range of motion.1.With all these benefits, why not give stretching a try? 1. Hamstring (脚筋) (or Back-of-the-leg) Stretch The hamstring muscle runs down the back of your upper leg. Tightness in this muscle can lead to serious back pain, so its an important one to stretch.2.Working one leg at a time, lift your leg and rest the heel on the wall with your leg slightly bent. Gently straighten your leg until you feel a nice stretch. Pause there and wait. Then switch legs. 2. 3. Tight shoulder muscles can lead to neck and back pain as well as other problems. It’s important to keep these muscles flexible. You can raise straight overhead, then bend the elbow so that your right hand falls behind your head. Using your left hand, gently pull your right elbow toward the centerline of your body. Ideally, you want your right forearm to be straight up and town. Be sure to keep your head and neck straight, and don't let your right arm force the head down or forward in any way.4. 3. Neck Stretch This is very important for drivers! Stretch your neck one side at a time, beginning with the right. Tip your hear to the left.5.Do not pull hard. The neck is fragile, so you must be gentle with this stretch. Repeat on the opposite side. A.Arm Stretch. B.Shoulder Stretch C.Switch arms and repeat. D.Stand about an arm’s length away form a table. E.Stretching also improves your balance and coordination. F.For a gentle stretch, lie on the for near a doorway or wall comer. G.And use your left hand to very gently pull your head toward the front of your left shoulder.
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| 6. 难度：中等 | |
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The dawn of a new school year is often full of exciting-and occasionally overwhelming-”firsts”for students. That perhaps explains why a “beautiful”_______of a school bus driver, Isabel Izzy Lane,_________a crying 4-year-old boy on his first day of school has gone viral(疯传)online. Last Monday, Amy Johnson’s young son Axel_______to preschool in their hometown, and felt “super_________” for the big day-until it was time to get on the_______that morning. As soon as the bus_______the corner, her youngster fell silent_______bursting into tears when the bus doors_______. His mother got him on the bus. As the youngster got_______in his seat directly behind Lane, tears rolling down his face, the merciful driver________to offer a hand for the boy to________, which Amy immediately caught on camera. The small act of kindness________a whole lot to Axel, who finally calmed down and felt ________enough to take the bus on his own the next day. “ I didn’t think it was that big of a deal__________, just I guess, but it’s just something that I would do.” Lane later told WEAU. “The day after that, he was waiting at the bus stop all by himself.” Lane said. In a larger________, Lane hopes the simple________reminds others that the smallest acts of kindness can often have the biggest effects on other people’s lives. “ You don’t have to say anything, but just to________someone you are there,” she said. “That makes a big________to someone’s day.” In the days since, Johnson’s photo of the________back-to -school moment has been shared by social media, receiving more than 1,200 likes and more than 220________on Facebook. 1.A.shadow B.sculpture C.picture D.exhibition 2.A.questioning B.comforting C.praising D.scolding 3.A.headed B.subscribed C.appealed D.wandered 4.A.frightened B.doubtful C.curious D.excited 5.A.passage B.bus C.bridge D.website 6.A.disappeared around B.took up C.broke down D.rolled around 7.A.after B.if C.before D.once 8.A.locked B.opened C.dropped D.folded 9.A.settled B.lost C.changed D.interested 10.A.struggle B.declined C.reached D.hesitated 11.A.ware B.bite C.greet D.hold 12.A.Meant B.mentioned C.convinced D.adapted 13.A.clever B.brave C.hopeful D.elegant 14.A.universally B.theoretically C.personally D.gradually 15.A.sense B.affection C.framework D.imagination 16.A.assessment B.talent C.action D.topic 17.A.show B.warn C.advise D.persuade 18.A.impression B.decision C.distinction D.difference 19.A.embarrassing B.touching C.troublesome D.unexpected 20.A.designs B.outlines C.shares D.receptions
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| 7. 难度：中等 | |
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阅读下面材料，在空白处填人1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。 Every minute, people around the world purchase 1 million plastic bottles,1.adds up to roughly 526 billion bottles every year. Much of the plastic2.(end) up in landfills (填埋场), rivers or oceans, often with destructive effects on wildlife. Many people are now trying to cut down on plastic use, while also turning the single-use plastic into something3.(use) — like auto parts. Recycles plastic is ideal for automotive parts due to its light4.(weigh) that offers additional benefits such as5.(improve) a vehicle’s aerodynamics (空气动力) and reducing cabin noise. The use of plastic in vehicle parts has grown a lot since the last decade, especially in underbody shields (车底护板).6.is assumed that around 1.2 billion recycled plastic bottles are used every year — that’s about 250 bottles per vehicle7.average. How exactly does your plastic water bottle turn into an aerodynamic auto part? After you put the bottle into the recycling bin, it’s8.(eventual) combined with thousands of others and cut into tiny pieces. Then, these pieces9.(sell) to a supplier, who turns them into a fiber by melting them. This fibers mixed with other elements (元素) in a special process, and then were used 10.(create) a sheet of material that can be formed into vehicle parts.
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| 8. 难度：中等 | |
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。 增加：在缺词处加一个添字符号（∧），并在下面写出该加的词。 删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。 修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。 注意： 1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词； 2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。 I had a chance to go Shanghai by air last week. I had often gone there by train ago and then came the day when I could experience travelling by air. After checking in, I waited patient for a while before my flights was announce. The plane was waiting on the runway and soon I found my on board. After fastening on my seat belt, I looked out of the window or waited for the plane to take off. When the plane was in the sky, I looked down and saw some houses, what resembled small to-houses. A s the plane went down, I realized that it is landing. It was a shrilled experience.
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| 9. 难度：中等 | |
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假定你是校学生会主席李华，今年年初暴发的新冠肺炎疫情让全民开始关注自己的健康状况，因此你校将于近期举行跳绳比赛（the 2020 Student Rope skipping Match）。请你代表学生会给外教Mr. Smith写一封电子邮件，邀请他作裁判。内容包括： 1. 写信目的； 2. 比赛时间和地点； 3. 注意事项。 注意： 1. 词数100左右； 2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。 Dear Mr. Smith, _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Yours sincerely, Li Hua
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