Section BDirections:Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)We’ve all heard the stories of an actor’s struggles before a career breakthrough: living a hard life, working part time, being a couch potato before getting that major role. Shelby, the star of “A Dog’s Way Home,” has a hard-luck tale that could top them all. Before her big break, she was living in a landfill, rooting through garbage for her next meal.Shelby’s big break came in April 2017, when animal-control officer Megan Buhler was driving in Cheatham County. Tennessee. Out on an unrelated call, Buhler spotted and approached what she recalled was a noticeably scared puppy emerging from the dump. “I knelt down and just said, ‘Oh, come here, baby,’” said Buhler. “She was so scared, but she came right up to me, and I was able to put her in my truck.” The pair headed to the county animal shelter, where the staff began calling the new resident Baby Girl.Buhler and others didn’t know that 3,200 kilometers away, Hollywood was looking for a dog to play Bella in a film written by Cathryn Michon. The find-a-Bella job went to freelance trainer Teresa Ann Miler. Her mission was to search shelters nationwide for a dog that could play Bella. One day, Miller spotted Baby Girl’s adoption photo. “Honestly, it was a really good picture, and she was flat - out smiling,” Miller said. Then she met Baby Girl, and assessed her on personality and the ability to respond to simple commands. After assessment, she adopted Baby Girl from the shelter, renamed her Shelby and took her to California for training. Miller and Shelby trained for just over three months before filming began. Then they were together each day on the set.Most of the film’s reviews have praised Shelby’s performance. Variety made the comments “an amazing dog, perfect performance!”Shelby has come a long way from the dump. But Buhler said she saw Shelby recently had needed only a second to compare the movie star with the dog she found from piles of trash. “She’s exactly the same,” Buhler said.56. Why does the author mention an actor’s struggle before a career breakthrough at the very beginning?A. To make a sharp contrast between an actor’s struggle and a dog’s struggle.B. To introduce a dog’s similar but even more striking experiences.C. To attract reader’s attention by giving dramatic examples.D. To clearly point out the main idea of the passage.57. What finally helped Baby Girl get the big role in the film?A. Her adoption picture.B. Her flat-out smiling.C. her personality and ability.D. Her miserable experiences.58. By saying “She is exactly the same” in the last paragraph, Buhler probably means __________.A. the dog returned to the piles of trash where she found itB. it took quite a lot of trouble for the dog to change her own fate.C. she’s really excited to see the dog she helped live such a happy lifeD. the dramatic change of the dog’s life hasn’t changed her inner quality59. What do you think may serve as the best title of the passage?A. The Success of “A Dog’s Way Home”.B. From a Landfill Puppy to a Movie Star.C. The Trainer and Her Star Dog.D. Shelby’s Hard-luck Story.Keys: 56 - 59 BCDBSection BDirections:Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them. There are four choices marked A, B, C and D. choose the one that fits best according to the Information given in the passage you have just read.(A)Katherine Jonson, winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, refused to be limited by society’s expectations of her gender and race while expanding the borders of humanity’s reach--President Barack Obama, 2015.Using little more than a pencil, a slide rule and one of the finest mathematical minds in thecountry, Mrs. Johnson, who died at 101, calculated the precise path that would let Apollo 11 land on the moon in 1969 and, after Neil Armstrong's history-making moonwalk, let it return to Earth Wet throughout Mrs. Johnson's 33 years in NASAN& Flight Research Division and for decades afterward, almost no one knew her name. She was just one of those unheralded women who, well before the modem feminist(女权)movement, worked as NASA mathematicians. But it was not only her gender that kept her long marginalized and long unsung Katherine Johnson, a West Virginia native, was also African-American.But over time, the work of Mrs. Johnson and her colleagues--countless calculations done mainly by hand, using slide rules, chart paper and inefficient desktop calculating machines--won them a level of acceptance that for the most competitive race.“NASA was a very professional organization, "Mrs. Johnson told The Observer of Fayetteville, N.C., in 2010.” They didn't have time to be concerned about what color I was. “Nor, she said, did she. “I don't have a feeling of inferiority,” Mrs. Johnson said on at least one occasion. “Never had. I’m as good as anybody, but no better."To the end of her life, Mrs. Johnson refused praise for her role in sending astronauts into space, keeping them on course and bringing them safely home. "I was just doing my job, "Mrs. Johnson repeatedly said so. But what a job it was--done, no less, by a woman born at a time when the odds were more likely that she would die before age 35 than even finish high school.56. The underlined word “unheralded” most probably means______.A. not adequately paidB. not previously mentionedC. not officially rewarded.D. not fast promoted57. It was ___________ put together that made Mrs. Johnson a miracle.A. her skin color, her gender and the facilitiesB. her gender, her intelligence and the facilitiesC. her skin color, her gender and her intelligenceD. her intelligence, her skin color and the facilities58. From Mrs. Johnson's comments on NASA and her own job, we can conclude that ____________.A. she was confident and modestB. NASA shows no interest in staff's racesC. She was superior to most women in her ageD. NASA is professionally organized and supportive59. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?A. Woman Made CalculationsB. NASA Marginalized MathematiciansC. Gender Divided OrganizationsD. Mathematician Broke BarriersKeys: 56-59 BCADSection BDirections:Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C, and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)To Be a Deaf DJI was born in England with perfect hearing. In 1990, when I was five, my family moved to the United States. I started getting ear infections every three months or so. We didn’t have health insurance at the time, and when I got a third infection, my parents couldn’t afford the treatment. I went deaf in my right ear and was left with 50 percent hearing in my left. Over time, my remaining hearing dropped to 20 percent, where it is today. My doctors predicted that I would be thoroughly deaf by now, so I think I’m doing pretty well.There was always music on in my house in my childhood. I loved listening to Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson. My dad was a DJ, so he played disco, folk, rock, and music from other countries. For my 18th birthday, my dad asked me to deejay at the restaurant be owned. After doing that for a few weeks, I was hooded. I desired to learn more. I e-mailed DJ Shiftee, a distinguished New York City DJ, when I was 25: “I know you like a challenge. How about teaching a deaf person to deejay?” He wrote back the next day; “Challenge accepted.” He tutored me twice a week for two years, helping me develop correct technique. I practiced four hours a day.Now when I’m performing, muscle memory takes over. When I started, I wouldn’t tell the club managers that I was deaf. I would just show up, introduce myself, and start playing music. At theend of the night, someone would say, “Oh, here’s the check.” And I’d say, “What? Oh, I can’t hear.”They were always so astonished. Sometimes I would bring doctor’s notes because they wouldn’t believe me. It was reassurance that they were giving me opportunities to perform because I was brilliant, no out of sympathy. Eventually people started calling me “that deaf DJ,” and the name stuck.What fascinates me about deejaying is the creativity. I use software that turns the music into lines of color on a computer screen. I’m visually hearing the music. The next time you go dancing, cover your ears, and you’ll start seeing that you’re able to hear the music in a different way. Music is not all about hearing. I pay all sorts of get-togethers now, from college parties to corporate events.I also go to elementary schools for the deaf and talk to the students about motivation and believing in themselves. I’m big on talking to the parents. I tell them, “My advice to you is let your kids chase their dreams. I’m a deaf DJ, so why not?”56. Which of the following might result in the author’s hearing loss?A. Monthly ear infection.B. Moving to the U. S.C. Family financial hardshipD. The doctors’ prediction.57. How did DJ Shiftee help the author during his youth?A. He taught him correct skills.B. He discovered his talent for DJ.C. He played at the restaurant for him.D. He cultivated his taste for foreign music.58. The underlined expression in Paragraph 3 “the name stuck” probably means that _________.A. the author was in low spiritsB. the author impressed people deeplyC. the audience felt disappointed by the playerD. the audience looked down upon the player59. We can conclude from the passage that the author loves deejaying because _________.A. working as a DJ involves innovationB. music helps him to see the world virtuallyC. he motivates the kids to realize their dreamD. he desires to challenge something impossibleKeys: 56-59 CABASection BDirections:Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have read.(A)When an editor called to ask if I could photograph a story about fireflies in Mexico, I didn’t check my schedule before I said yes. I’d seen these insects light up the forests in Tlaxcala once before, and I jumped at the chance to go back.I had three nights to capture the magical scene in the forest. Camera stand in hand, I hiked with my colleagues into the foggy forest at dusk. According to our guides, visitors are usually not allowed to photograph the fireflies because the presence of artificial light from electronics can affect their habits. As I started shooting, I adjusted my exposures constantly to account for the fading light. In order to get the composition that I wanted, I placed my camera stand on a steep, rocky path and had to steady it during the long exposures. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but the fireflies were very interested in the camera and, by extension, in me. I stood completely still while they crawled all over me—my arms, my hair, my face—and tickled (呵痒) my nose and cheeks. From what I observed, peak firefly presence happens for only about 20 minutes each night, so I had time for just a few tries.On the last night everything came together. The weather cooperated. I had improved my method for focusing and composing in the dark with quick flashes from a powerful flashlight—and I’d grown accustomed to insects on my face. I was rewarded with the image yo u see here. Each spot of light is one of several bursts that a firefly makes as it travels in a 30-second exposure. You can trace the insects’ paths: Some make small circles, like those in the bottom center of the frame, while others move steadily in one direction or another.The first time I visited the fireflies, I didn’t have the pressure of trying to capture and convey this astonishing scene. That will always be my favorite experience with these shining creatures.56. According to the passage, the author most probably is a(n) ______.A. field biologistB. insect observerC. expert photographerD. mountain hiker57. The author placed the camera stand on a steep and rocky path to ______.A. make up for the dying lightB. keep away from the annoying firefliesC. obtain an ideal imageD. catch peak firefly presence58. We can learn from the passage that the author ______.A. was accused of capturing wild firefliesB. endured physically to get first-hand firefly shotsC. was tired of the exposure to dark forestsD. got his most satisfying image on the second night59. What does the author think of his experience in the forest?A. Fascinating.B. Passionate.C. Surprising.D. Miserable.Keys: 56-59 CCBASection BDirections: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)Aristotle thought the face was a window onto a person’s mind. Cicero agreed. Two thousand years passed, and facial expressions are still commonly thought to be a universally valid way to judge other people’s feelings, irrespe ctive of age, sex and culture. A raised eyebrow suggests confusion. A smile indicates happiness.Or do they? An analysis of hundreds of research papers that examined the relationship between facial expressions and underlying emotions has uncovered a surprising conclusion: there is no good scientific evidence to suggest that there are such things as recognizable facial expressions for basic emotions which are universal across cultures. Just because a person is not smiling, the researchers found, does not mean that person is unhappy.This may raise questions about the efforts of information-technology companies to develop artificial-intelligence algorithms(算法) which can recognize facial expressions and work out aperson’s underlying emotional state. Microsoft, for example, claims its “Emotion API” is able to detect what people are feeling by examining video footage of them. Another of the study’s authors, however, expressed scepticism. Aleix Martinez, a computer engineer at Ohio State University, said that companies attempting to obtain emotions from images of faces have failed to understand the importance of context.For a start, facial expression is but one of a number of non-verbal ways,such as body posture, that people use to communicate with each other. Machine recognition of emotion needs to take account of these as well. But context can reach further than that. Dr Martinez mentioned an experiment in which participants were shown a close-up picture of a man’s face, wh ich was bright red with his mouth open in a scream. Based on this alone, most participants said the man was extremely angry. Then the whole picture was shown. It was a football player with his arms outstretched, celebrating a goal. His angry-looking face was, in fact, a show of pure joy.Given that people cannot guess each other’s emotional states most of the time, Dr Martinez sees no reason computers would be able to. “There are companies right now claiming to be able to do that and apply this to places I find really scary and dangerous, for example, in hiring people,” he says. “Some companies require you to present a video resume, which is analyzed by a machine-learning system. And depending on your facial expressions, they hire you or not, which I find really shocking.”56. We can learn from the second paragraph that __________.A. facial expressions are universal across culturesB. it is hard to recognize some facial expressionsC. emotions and facial expressions may not be relatedD. common facial expressions convey similar meanings57. In the passage, the word “scepticism” (paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to “__________”.A. similar interestB. fierce angerC. strong supportD. great doubt58. The experiment mentioned by Dr Martinez may prove that ___________.A. facial expression is an important way to communicateB. machine recognition of emotion is not reliable at allC. facial expression is not the only way to detect feelingsD. people may misread facial expressions for lack of context59. What does this passage mainly tell us?A. Facial expressions are among the most universal forms of body language.B. Computers can detect people’s mind by analyzing their facial expressions.C. Facial expressions may not be the reliable reflection of a person’s emotions.D. Companies can depend on machine recognition of emotion to hire people.Keys: 56-59 CDDCSection BDirections:Read the following passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or Unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A. B. C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)Brooke Martin’s golden retriever(金毛猎犬) Kayla hated being left alone or separated. She would howl, pace, and chew on things. Brooke learned that other people had the same problem with their pets. She wondered: ―What if you could talk to your dog if you were gone?Working with her father in their garage, the 16-year-old came up with several ideas. Finally, she invented a device that allowed pet owners to video chat with their pets! She calls the device iCPooch. “The dog doesn’t have to answer the call,” explains Brooke. “It comes up immediately on the screen on their end. It’s a two-way audio and video—you can see and hear each other. With a click of a button you can even send the dog a treat!”Her invention has earned her a spot competing against nine other finalists in a young scientist competition for middle-school students. These finalists, selected based on their short video presentations, are working with mentors over the summer before heading to the final competition in St. Paul, Minn.After Martin’s video put her among the 10 finalists in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, she was paired with Delony Langer-Anderson, a product development scientist in 3M’s consumer health care division. “I just lead her down the product development path,” Langer-Anderson told Live Science. This path includes guidance on how to test the potential product, which combines a video chat device that answers immediately on the dog’s end with a dog treat device theowner can remotely activate.“One thing I have thought about a lot is, what happens if while the device is on the floor, what if your dog knocks it over, or scratches the screen?” Martin said. She and Langer-Anderson discussed this, and Martin is now testing materials at a local dog shelter by taping them to the dog house floors to see how well they withstand sharp teeth and claws.The finalists create models they can test, with the guidance from a mentor. Their projects include a fuel cell that transforms cut grass into electricity and an app that rewards drivers for not texting or calling. Langer-Anderson tries to help the students work through the scientific method, testing their hypothesis, in a determined way. “So the kids don’t get buried in data,” she said.56. Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?A. “iCPooch” wins in a young scientist competition.B. A 16-year-old girl invents a device for dog hunger.C. A man-made device lets people chat with their pets.D. A kid-invented device calm dogs’ separation anxiety.57. “iCPooch” calms pet dogs by.A. allowing video chatB. making dogs sleepC. answering the callD. giving them food58. What is the probable meaning of the underlined word “mentors”?A. competitorsB. assistantsC. instructorsD. companions59. What do the inventions of the finalists have in common?A. They are all new inventions dealing with pets.B. They are possible solutions to everyday problems.C. They cope with the problems related to computers.D. They are all accomplished through individual work.Keys: Keys: 56-59 DACBSection BDirections:Read the following passages. Each passage is followed by several questions orunfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)One spring day, once the flowers have begun to open, a bee will hover(盘旋)and zip through your yard and dive-bomb your picnic table. While you're thinking about avoiding an attack, that bee is focused on something else entirely: me.A honeybee has about six weeks to live. Today, like most days, her task is to fly as many as three miles from home, stick her long, straw-like tongue into a hundred or so flowers. When the bee has had her fill, she'll fly home. There the bee will deposit what she has got into the mouth of one of her co-workers, who will relay it to another, and so on for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is ready to be placed into the comb. Then she and her 50,000 or so mates will hover in the dark all night every night, flapping their wings to create hot, breezy conditions to remove the water from the mixture. Several sunrises later, they will seal me off in a golden cell of beeswax. In her lifetime, our bee may visit 4,000 flowers, and yet will produce only one-twelfth of a tea spoon of me.The average American consumes nearly a pound and a half of me every year, in tea, on toast, and beyond. If I do say so myself, I am a timeless treasure. Literally--I never go bad.Unfortunately, my good health is not guaranteed. The problem lies in the growth of industrial agriculture and the use of pest control chemicals, as well as changes in weather patterns, all of which reduce the number of flowers bees have to visit. I'd appreciate your letting your own garden grow just a little wild. My future depends on all of us fostering spring and summers wild flowers, thus helping the bees, who give so much--to you, to me--without ever asking for anything in return.56. What does “me” refer to in the passage?A. The flower.B. The bee.C. Water.D. Honey.57. What is the 2nd paragraph mainly about?A. Bees' special talent.B. Bees' hard work.C. Bees' living environment.D. Bees' social behavior.58. Which one of the following is true according to the passage?A.A bee will always prioritize attacking picnic lovers.B. Before “me” is sealed off in beeswax, the drying process can take a few nights.C. The lifework of a bee satisfies the average demand of an American consumer annually.D. Bees are more likely to visit those deliberately pest-controlled gardens.59. What is the purpose of the passage?A. To appeal for help for honeybees.B. To talk about the history of a treasure.C. To put forward techniques for gardeners.D. To argue against the control of chemicals.Keys: 56-59 DBBASection BDirections:Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)Tea, the most typical of English drinks, is a relative latecomer to British shores. Although the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium (一千年) BC in China, it was not until the mid-17th century that the drink first appeared in England. It was the Portuguese and Dutch traders who first imported tea to Europe, reaching the Continent by the way of Venice around 1560, with regular shipments by 1610.Curiously, it was the London coffee houses that were responsible for introducing tea to England. One of the first coffee house merchants to offer tea was Thomas Garway. He sold both liquid and dry tea to the public as early as 1657. Three years later he issued a broadsheet advertising tea at £6 to £10 per pound, touting (兜售) its virtues at “making the body active and lusty (健壮的)”, and “preserving perfect health until extreme old age”.Tea gained popularity quickly in the coffee houses, and by 1700 over 500 coffee houses sold it. This distressed the pub owners, as tea cut their sales of beer, and it was bad news for the government, who depended upon a steady stream of revenue (税收) from taxes on liquor sales. By 1750 tea had become the favoured drink of Britain’s lower classes.A 1676 act taxed tea and required coffee house operators to apply for a license. This was just the start of government attempts to control, or at least, to profit from the popularity of tea in Britain.By the mid-18th century the duty on tea had reached a ridiculous 119 percent. This heavy taxation had the effect of creating a whole new industry — tea smuggling (走私). Ships from Holland and Scandinavia brought tea to the British coast, then stood offshore while smugglers met them and unloaded the precious cargo in small vessels. The smugglers, often local fishermen, secretly moved the tea inland through underground passages and hidden paths to special hiding places. One of the best hiding places was in the local church!Even smuggled tea was expensive, however, and therefore extremely profitable, so many smugglers began to adulterate (掺假) the tea with other substances, such as willow and sloe leaves. Used tea leaves were also redried and added to fresh leaves.Finally, in 1784 William Pitt the Younger introduced the Commutation Act, which dropped the tax on tea from 119% to 12.5%, effectively ending smuggling. Adulteration remained a problem, though, until the Food and Drug Act of 1875 brought in severe punishment for the practice.56. According to the passage, tea drinking ________.A. is the favorite pastime of the DutchB. is an important British traditionC. was well-received by the Portuguese centuries agoD. could be found everywhere in the world in 156057. Who might be annoyed by the popularity of the tea?A. Coffee house owners.B. Wine sellers.C. Britain’s lower classes.D. Smugglers.58. Which of the following statements about tea smuggling is TRUE?A. Churches provided convenience for smuggling.B. Fishermen and farmers contributed a lot to tea industry.C. Underground passages and boats were ideal hiding places for tea.D. The government encouraged tea smuggling for taxes on tea.59. How was the order of the tea market finally restored in Britain?A. By passing an act related to a tax rise.B. By imposing mild punishment.C. By punishing those who sold fake tea.D. By mixing redried used leaves with fresh tea leaves.Keys: 56-59 BBACSection BDirections:Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)A growing number of American states are requiring schools to teach students “media literacy” skills. California is the latest state to pass such a requirement. Media literacy, also known as news literacy, is the ability to use critical thinking skills to recognize differences between real and “fake” news.The new law requires California’s Department of Education to provide materials related to media literacy on its website. Its goal is to give students a set of effective tools to “enable them to make informed decisions”.The media literacy efforts were based on a Stanford University study from 2016. It found that 80 percent ofU.S. middle school students failed to recognize an advertisement that looked like a real news story. The researchers also found that high school students had trouble telling the difference between a real and a fake news website.The study called for more efforts to help students recognize false information on the internet. It said that young people also need the skills to find out where news stories come from, and to be able to judge the trustworthiness of sources and writers.Carolyn Edy is a professor of communication at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. She said she has seen a clear change in her students’ abilities to judge news sources. Edy said that when students used to read printed newspapers, it was easier for them to recognize fact from opinion. Now, it’s necessary to teach students how to fully examine websites.One of Edy’s goals is to teach students how to research the news organizations responsible for the stories they are reading. One way to do this is for students to ask a series of questions. One example is, “What is the overall mission of the organization?”Edy said young people also need to judge whether news organizations identify any possible conflicts of interest. Another question to ask is, “What do they do when they get a story wrong?”。