D. He enjoys working as a journalist.
27. What’s the writer’s intention of writing this passage? A. To express gratitude to Mrs. Virginia. B. To give an oral report on selecting a career. C. To show challenges he met as a reporter. D. To look for his previous classmates.
C
Life on Earth evolve(进化)through the passing on of genes. How does culture evolve? The evolution biologist, Richard Dawkins, coined the term “meme” in his book The Selfish Gene. According to Dawkins, while genes are the pieces of biological information from our parents which determines our appearance and how we grow, memes are units of cultural information—ideas and beliefs—that “pass from brain to brain”. Like genes, memes must compete for survival—if a meme cannot gain our attention, it disappears.
Basically, any shared idea related to culture is a meme. Myths, for example, are memes. Every society has its own stories that have survived, with some variations, for hundreds or thousands of years. The mythological dragon in Chinese culture is an idea that has been successfully passed between people for generation, and is therefore also a meme.
Historically, memes have spread very gradually by word of mouth. Within Internet culture, though, a successful idea can be shared between millions of people within a few hours. Internet memes (which may, for example, take the form of an image, a video or a website) may not last long, but they are particularly catching. They are shared, “liked”, copied and thus rapidly grown.
Then why do some ideas succeed in gaining our attention while others fail to attract us? It’s difficult to say, but humour is generally a factor(因素). People are most likely to forward something to their friends if they think it is funny, the easier it is to digest, the further the meme travels. Other memes may gain ground because they are something out of the ordinary. Aside from pure entertainment, Internet memes have a commercial aspect. Given their mass appeal, it is no surprise that advertisements turn up alongside them.
28. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “coined” in Paragraph 2? A. Accepted.
B. Preferred.
C. Invented.
D. Understood.
29. What do we learn about memes?
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A. They are genes passed down from our parents. B. They are cultural units that spread among people. C. They belong to myths in different cultures. D. They determine the development of the Internet.
30. How does a meme within Internet culture differ from one in history? A. It spreads faster and wider. C. It’s harder to digest.
B. It takes fewer forms. D. It lasts longer.
31. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about? A. The distance a meme can travel. C. Reasons for the success of memes.
D
Anjan Contractor’s 3D food printer might inspire the imagination of the food needed for future space travel. His company, Systems & Materials Research Corporation, just got $125,000 from NASA to create a model machine of his universal food synthesizer(合成器).
But Contractor, a mechanical engineer with a background in 3D printing, expects a much more common—and finally more important—use for the technology. He sees a day when every kitchen has a 3D printer, and the earth’s 12 billion people feed themselves customized, nutritionally-appropriate meals synthesized one layer(层)at a time, from cartridges(筒)of powder and oils they buy at the corner grocery store.
Pizza is an obvious candidate for 3D printing because it can be printed in distinct layers, so it only requires the print head to spray one material at a time. It works by first “printing” a layer of dough(面团), which is baked at the same time it is printed, by a heated plate at the bottom of the printer. Then it lays down a tomato base. Finally, the pizza is topped with a “protein layer”, which could come from any source, including animals, milk or plants.
In the future, we’ll all be able to trade recipes directly, as software. This will be possible because Contractor plans to keep the software part of his 3D printer entirely open-source, so that anyone can look at its code, take it apart, understand it, and adjust recipes to fit.
“One of the major advantages of a 3D printer is that it provides personalized nutrition,” says Contractor. “If you have special dietary needs, you can program your needs into a 2D printer, and it can print exactly the nutrients you require.”
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B. Achievements of Internet memes. D. The uniqueness of a meme.
Contractor’s “pizza printer” is still at the conceptual stage. And while Contractor and his team are initially focusing on applications for long-distance space travel, his eventual goal is to turn his system for 3D printing food into a design that can be licensed to someone who wants to turn it into a business.
32. What is a characteristic of 3D-printed food? A. It has three layers.
B. It has fixed recipes. D. It can meet individual needs.
C. It is sold at grocery stores.
33. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to? A. The dough. plate.
34. What can we conclude from the passage? A. Contractor has sold a printer to NASA. B. The 3D printer can turn food into powder. C. Contractor keeps the software a secret. D. The 3D food printer does not come into being. 35. What’s Contractor’s final goal? A. To provide food for space travel. B. To sell recipes and 3D printers. C. To open a 3D-printed pizza restaurant. D. To make the 3D-printed food an industry. 第二节(共5小题;每小题2分,满分10分)
根据短文内容,从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
How to Deal with Low Spirits
Dealing with low spirits requires action, but taking action when you’re blue can be hard. However, you can get there by making positive choices for yourself each day.
◆Write
Each day, write freely about what most bothers you. 36 Just write! Write five things you are most grateful for each day. Gratefulness can help you begin seeing life as half full rather than half empty. Write letters to your friends and family. Write notes to yourself as if you were
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B. The pizza. C. The 3D printer. D. The heated
talking to a much beloved friend.
◆Watch your language
37 Stay away from negative words. Avoid sayings like, “Nothing ever goes right for me” or “What should I expect? Life isn’t fair.” Your words can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy(预言). Let your self-talk be positive, optimistic and helpful.
◆ 38
Taking painting lessons. Start learning how to play the piano, the guitar or the violin. Walk around town taking photographs. Write a children’s story, a novel, a poem or a song. Let your creative self explore and revel(陶醉)in the joy of creation.
◆Start exercising.
Exercise can help your body make and give out those “happy chemicals” that keep you feeling good. 39 Start swimming. Start climbing.
◆Eat healthy.
The chemicals, or lack of them, in our brain and body can either make us happy or sad. Buy a juicer and begin making vegetables and fruit drinks. Take multi-vitamin. Make sure you get enough amount of Vitamin C, E, and B. 40 Take action and you’ll make it! A. Get creative. B. And never be careless. C. Join a local walking club.
D. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar.
E. Your language must always be interesting enough. F. The words you use can sometimes make you down. G. Make it your goal to eat four vegetables and two fruits a day. 第三部分 英语知识运用(共两节,满分45分)
第一节 完形填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My co-worker Jan lives in an electric wheel-chair. A few years back, she 41 her leg above the knee in a traffic accident and her life changed 42 . As long as I have worked with
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her, I have had a hard time 43 how she keeps such a good 44 given what has happened to her and how 45 her life is now.
But life goes on. One particularly 46 day we were working together in customer service. She is very good at customer service and details. People 47 to work with her. But the customers this day could hardly be 48 . Finally when there was a pause in the complaints, Jan said she would be 49 for a few minutes.
“Is it finally time for a break?” I 50 , knowing it was hours past the break time. “No,” said Jan. “It is time for the reset button.”
She 51 in her electric wheelchair. I didn’t recall seeing any reset button on her chair. It wasn’t very long and Jan was back with a 52 on her face. Noticing my 53 look, she asked what I was thinking.
“Well, you said you were going to 54 the reset button. You came back with a smile on your face, like things have 55 .”
Jan had a 56 like a fairy. “The reset button is my way of saying that I need to 57 to reassess things and realize I have a lot of good people to be 58 for in life. I needed to adjust my attitude to 59 , not just a few hours this morning that were miserable. It makes 60 go much better. 41. A. bowed 42. A. greatly 43. A. expecting 44. A. job
B. kicked B. slightly
C. moved
D. lost D. constantly D. describing D. sense D. amazing D. peaceful D. love D. satisfied D. operated D. praised D. zoomed off D. scar D. funny
C. gradually
B. understanding C. seeing B. reputation B. hopeless B. boring B. hesitate B. charged B. gone B. blamed B. crashed B. smile B. angry
C. attitude C. elegant C. stressful C. intend
45. A. inconvenient 46. A. exciting 47. A. refuse 48. A. attracted 49. A. educated 50. A. teased 51. A. travelled 52. A. tear
C. respected C. assisted C. added
C. passed by C. line
53. A. cheerful C. puzzled
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