Part III 阅读理解

Passage One

As 170 people sat down to dinner, I breathedasigh of relief: The conference was going well. Running it was part of my job asauniversity program manager, working onaproject to boost biotech collaborations between academia and industry. When Istarted in the roleafew years earlier, I thought that maybe, after years of career exploration, I had finally found the right job for me.

But at the conference, I found myself wondering whether that was really what Iwanted from my career, I'mascientist, not an event planner—but Ihad been too busy organizing the conference to appreciate the research being discussed. Was it time for yet another change? I started off asalab scientist, but then discovered that the highly focused nature of lab work wasn't for me.

My next job was atapharmaceutical company—conducting literature searches. I enjoyed the work, which allowed me to stay close to research and interact with a variety of people. But Iwas only offeredashort-term contract, so afterayear Ihad to move on. I then becameascientific journal editor.

I loved the breadth of science that Iwas exposed to, but the job requiredalengthy commute. So, I made another dramatic change and moved back to the ivory tower for my current job. It had becomeapattern: I spentafew years in each role only to find that it wasn't quite the right fit.

I also realized that maybe Iwas searching for something that didn't exist. I began to think about creative ways to add the scientific stimulation Isought to my work life. With my previous knowledge and my experience as an editor, I realized Ihad the skill set to do that through freelance science writing, such as news articles for journals and blogs.

With my former colleagues' positive responses, I finally decided Icould do my university job onaless than full-time schedule. Fortunately, my manager agreed. For the last year, I have beenauniversity program manager/freelance writer, and I've never been happier. Weaving the two roles together has beenabit tricky at times.

But Ifinally feel Ihaveacareer that is tailored to my needs. I've realized thatacareer doesn't need to be "off the shelf." Jobs can be mixed and matched to get to one that fits.

21. What did the author think of his conference organizing job in Paragraph 1?

    1. It gave himasense of achievement.
    2. It proved that he was making progress in his career.
    3. It was not as meaningful as scientific research.
    4. It was too challenging for him.

    答案 C

    推断题。题目问第一段中作者对于会议组织工作的看法。根据定 位的这两句来看，当作者几年前从事这个工作时，他认为自己终于找到了适合 自己的。但是在会议上，他开始怀疑这项工作是否是他真正想从事的职业。他 是一名科学家，而不是活动策划者，他没有时间去做研究，一直在忙于组织会议。 由此可知，作者认为现在做的组织工作并没有研究工作那么有意义。

22. The author left the job asascientific journal editor because .

    1. it demanded high work intensity
    2. he was offered onlyashort contract
    3. he was not satisfied with the pay
    4. it was too far from home

    答案 D

    细节题。题目问的是作者辞去科学期刊编辑工作的原因，根据定 位句可知，作者很喜欢那份工作，但是由于上下班距离远，要花费太多时间，所以 辞去了这份工作，

23. What does "something" (Para.3) possibly mean?

    1. A suitable role
    2. An ideal job
    3. A balanced life
    4. A fixed pattern

    答案 B

    推断题。题目问的是第三段"something"的含义。根据第三段可知，作 者一直在不停换工作的目的是要寻找他理想的工作，

24. What is the author's present job?

    1. He works inauniversity and also writes on the side.
    2. He is an event planner and alsoaprogram manager.
    3. He teaches inauniversity and also writes books.
    4. He isafull time manager and alsoafreelance writer.

    答案 A

    细节题。题目问的是作者目前的工作。根据第六段可知，作者做了 两份工作，一份工作是大学项目经理，还有一份工作是自由作家。再根据第五段， 作者说他决定用少于全职工作的时间(lessthanfull-time)来做大学的工作，所以可以判 断D项的full-time并不符合文章表述。只有A项的"在大学工作，同时兼职写作"更加 符合文义。

25. What is this passage mainly about?

    1. The author's clear career plan.
    2. The author's changing perception of career.
    3. The author's persistence in the face of obstacles.
    4. The author's failure in securingawork contract.

    答案 B

    主旨题。题目问的文章的主要内容。根据全文作者的工作经历可 知，从寻找一份合适的工作，到后来发现同时做大学项目经理和自由作家是更 适合自己的，作者对工作的看法是不断在变化的，

Passage Two

You've probably been seeing and hearingalot more about "eSports" lately. Major television networks are broadcasting competitions, and even more mainstream media coverage is planned for the near future. What are eSports and why are they so popular? Loosely defined, eSports are video game competitions.

These can be anything from a local tournament ( 锦标赛) inavideo game store to those staged in 25,000-seat arenas, watched live by millions of people around the world. In practical terms, "eSports" refers to the competitions engineered by global organizations that culminate in big-money championship tournaments—dollar figures that can exceed $1,000,000 for winners.

The second question—"Why are they getting so popular?" — is more nuanced. The biggest reason is that fans of games enjoy watching them played at the highest level. It's fun seeing the top players in the world do what they do best. There are plenty of other reasons the eSports community is growing.

All of the controversies, drama, and compelling individuals from the mainstream sports world exist in eSports as well. Top players move from team to team like free agents, retire and return to competition unexpectedly, and experience unlikely come-from-behind victories and crushing defeats.

New challengers consistently emerge on the scene, ready to take down championship teams and generate compelling rivalries. The parallels with traditional sports and eSports are more numerous than many realize. Perhaps the biggest difference between traditional sports and eSports is the viewers.

Unlike mainstream athletic competitions, which appeal toabroad range of demographics, consumers of eSports are overwhelmingly young and male. For example, over 70 percent of League of Legends (the most popular eSports game in terms of dollars and participants) viewers are males, and the vast majority of them are under 26.

This meansacouple of things, both of them appealing to advertisers looking to reach this young and lucrative market...the audience will grow as more youngsters are introduced, and as they get older, their purchasing power increases.

26. It is stated in Paragraph1that eSports have .

    1. caused competition among media
    2. drawn an increasing number of youths
    3. created many broadcasting companies
    4. attracted major television networks

    答案 D

    细节题。题目问的是第一段中提出电子竞技的哪个方面。根据定 位句知，主流电视网络正在播放比赛，甚至有很多的主流媒体也计划在不久的 将来进行报道，说明电子竞技吸引了许多主流媒体的注意，

27. According to Paragraph 2, eSports .

    1. can be staged only in local stadiums
    2. can lead toahuge sum of award
    3. may be hard to define precisely
    4. may be loosely linked to video games

    答案 B

    细节题。题目问第二段说了关于电子竞技的什么内容。根据文章， 第二段主要从两个方面对电子竞技进行解释并提到电子竞技的奖金非常丰厚，

28. The word " nuanced" (Para.3) most probably means " .

    1. strange
    2. outstanding
    3. specific
    4. complicated

    答案 D

    释义题。题目问的是第三段"nuanced"的意思，根据第三段可知， 关于电子竞技受欢迎的原因有很多，所以可以推断出，问题的答案是很复杂的， 其他三个选项的词义，均不符合文章内容。

29. Which of the following is NOTareason for the growth of the eSports community?

    1. The stories about the top players
    2. The fun of watching top-level performance
    3. The investment from governments
    4. The parallels with the mainstream sports

    答案 C

    细节题。题目问的是哪个不是电子竞技发展迅速的原因，ABD三 个选项中提到的原因第三段中都提到了，C项"政府的投资"文中并没有提及，

30. Traditional sports and eSports are different mainly in .

    1. their rules
    2. their importance
    3. their profits
    4. their audiences

    答案 D

    题目问的是传统体育和电子竞技的最大不同是什么，根据定位句 可知，它们的最大不同在于观众，

Passage Three

Sen. Kamala Harris was half right in her speech launching her 2020 presidential campaign, when she said we need to address climate change based on "science fact, not science fiction." The truth is, we need both. Science fiction has an important role to play in rescuing the future from the huge challenges we're facing—and the responses to Harris' statement illustrate this perfectly.

When the California Democrat's statement about climate change went out on social media, a number of people pointed out the truth: Science fiction has been helping us to prepare foraworld of potentially disastrous climate upheaval for years. But an equal number of loud voices took issue with Harris' warnings about climate change, because in our posttruth era, the scientific consensus about what humans are doing to our planet is still somehow a matter of opinion.

And that's why science fiction is more important than Harris gives it credit for. No amount of scientific evidence will convince deniers—or the vast number of people who merely live inastate of denial. We live inapost-truth era in which facts and fiction are blurring into an indistinguishable mess and power belongs to whoever can tell the best story, true or not.

What matters is just how something makes us feel? Which is why we need better stories, that, in the words of author Nell Gaiman, "lie in order to tell the truth." Stories about climate change might be fiction, but they can help to sway people's hearts and minds inadifferent way thanarecitation of the undeniable facts.

Science fiction creators have been looking for ways to restore people's faith in the future. Authors such as Alexandra Rowland have startedaconversation about creatinganew type of stories called "Hopepunk" that show people reasons to believe we really can do the hard work of fixing our problems.

Some other authors are creatinganew genre called "Solarpunk" that aims to tell stories about using technological and scientific innovation to help the environment. When the truth becomes near-impossible to distinguish through the fog of disinformation and "alternative facts," people tend to feel powerless to change the world.

Activist LA. Kauffrnan says people need to be reminded that they "have more collective power than they realize." Adds Kauffman, "There are truths we can get to through the imagination that are hard to get to through purely factual accounts."

31. How does the author comment on Senator Harris statement about climate change?

    1. Really confusing
    2. Partially true
    3. Quite convincing
    4. Totally wrong

    答案 B

    细节题。题目问的是作者对卡玛拉·哈里斯对气候变化的态度。 根据定位句可知，作者认为她的观点有一部分是正确的，

32. The deniers in Paragraph3refer to those who deny that .

    1. science fiction is important
    2. we are inapost-truth era
    3. climate change isaserious issue
    4. our opinions actually matter

    答案 A

    细节题。题目问的是个人更可能选择的运动类型。根据定位句 可知，个人最终可能选择的体育运动往往是个人擅长和感觉舒服的运动。故 选D。

33. The author cites Nell Gaiman in order to emphasize that .

    1. fiction may better convey the truth
    2. it is difficult to tell the fact from fiction
    3. the power of fiction is overestimated
    4. fiction makes us feel better about ourselves

    答案 A

    细节题。题目问的作者引用尼尔·盖曼的话的目的是什么。根 据定位句可知，我们生活在一个后真相时代，真假分辨，权力属于任何能讲 出好故事的人，所以小说能更好地传递真相，

34. What do "Hopepunk" and "Solarpunk" have in common?

    1. A focus on technological innovation.
    2. A vivid description of the harsh reality.
    3. An intention to broaden our horizons.
    4. An optimistic outlook for the future.

    答案 D

    推断题。题目问的是"Hopepunk"和"Solarpunk"有什么共同 点，根据第四段可知"Hopepunk"和"Solarpunk"是两种新型的小说体裁， 前者向人们传达通过自身努力解决问题的信心，后者致力于探讨使用科技和 科学的创新来帮助解决环境问题，所以可以得出，两种体裁都对未来如何解 决环境问题充满了积极乐观的态度。

35. What might be Kauffman's attitude toward science fiction?

    1. Appreciative
    2. Concerned.
    3. Negative
    4. Unclear

    答案 A

    细节题。题目问的是考夫曼对科幻小说的态度，从定位句可知， 他认为人们可以通过想象得到一些真理，说明他对科幻小说是持赞成态度的，

Passage Four

Many people have looked to the stars and wondered what it would be like to takeatrip into outer space. Ever since the space program began, traveling beyond Earth has been a privilege foraselect few, namely, astronauts. The rest of us have had to imagine what it would be like, but that may soon change Those who favor expanding space exploration feel that it is time to go beyond the government-funded National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) program and to create opportunities for individuals and businesses to explore outer space.

Imagine privately financed research in space, missions to Mars, and mining operations on the Moon. The space frontier could indeed be the next gold rush! Imagine what it would be like to travel in space. Those who have been lucky enough to visit space have all called it an amazing experience.

The view of Earth and the stars must be spectacular, and the experience of living in "zero gravity" would be fascinating. The first American woman to visit space, Sally Ride, said that it was the greatest fun of her life. Imagine the thrill of bookingaflight foraweekend stay (or longer) ataspace hotel.

It turns out thataspace hotel would be much easier to design and build than the International Space Station; early estimates of the cost to build the hotels indicate that they would be less expensive if the orbiting hotels were built to accommodate large numbers of space travelers.

The space hotel and the other projects businesses might think up would allow people to see what is happening in space with their own eyes. That may lead to more support of NASA and its space research and greater appreciation of the funding that the space program now receives. Those who oppose expanding space exploration argue that the costs are overwhelming and unrealistic.

They point to the billions of dollars that would have to be raised through consumers or corporate sponsorship. In addition, civilian space travel is potentially dangerous, and there are many unknown risks involved. Who would determine the safety of commercial orbiting vehicles, and how would they be insured?

Issues like this require time for discussion among groups from many different businesses. Companies that specialize in manufacturing, travel, marketing, insurance, law, and finance would all have to be involved. Others believe there are simply too many unanswered questions to put civilians in space any time soon.

There are also those who question investing in space exploration when there are widespread problems like poverty and disease that need to be addressed on earth. For these people, commercial space travel will remain science fiction, at least for many years to come.

36. The expression "the next gold rush" (Para. 2) probably means that .

    1. gold might be discovered on remote planets
    2. space exploration could be the next investment hotspot
    3. investors are enthusiastic about gold mining in space
    4. private businesses are more interested in space travel

    答案 B

    推断题。题目问的是第二段的"the nextgoldrush"是什么意思，由第 二段可知，许多人向往着太空旅行，如果实现了私人太空旅行，那一定会像"淘金 热"那样引起许多人的关注，是下一个投资热点，

37. It can be learned from Paragraph3that .

    1. space visitors regret what they have done
    2. space hotels would be very uncomfortable
    3. Sally Ride enjoyed her visit to outer space
    4. the view of Earth and the stars is boring

    答案 C

    推断题。题目问的是从第三段可得知什么，第三段主要说了太空 旅行给人带来激动人心的体验，A项意为"太空旅行者后悔他们做的事",B项意为"太 空旅行不舒服",D项意为"地球和行星的景色很无趣",很明显是错误的，

38. All of the following are objections to commercial space travel EXCEPT .

    1. overwhelming costs
    2. potential dangers
    3. unknown risks
    4. government opposition

    答案 D

    推断题。题目问的是以下哪个不是人们反对商业太空旅行的原因， 从第五段可知，反对商业太空旅行的人认为花费太过昂贵，太空旅行有潜在的危 险，还有许多未知的风险，D项政府的反对未提，

39. The author's attitude towards commercial space travel is .

    1. supportive
    2. opposing
    3. objective
    4. indifferent

    答案 C

    推断题。题目问的是作者对商业太空旅行的态度，从全文看，作者 从不同的行业角度列举了对商业太空旅游前景的看法，对商业太空旅行，作者只 是描述客观事实问题，并未发表自己的观点。

40. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

    1. Civilians in Space
    2. Future of Private Space Businesses
    3. Exploration of Outer Space
    4. Hotels in Space

    答案 A

    主旨题。题目问的是哪项适合作为这篇文章的标题，全文在探讨 的是平民在太空中旅行(商业太空旅行)的一些现实问题，

Blog and Comments

The blog and comments are followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and mark your answer on the Answer Sheet. If you try to contact Indy Cube (a provider of workspaces) after5p.m., you receive an automatic message that would makeagood demonstration for the fast-growing four-day week movement.

"We'll get back to you pretty quickly during working hours," it says, "if you're messaging us outside of these, we're probably busy with other things, like horse-riding, dancing, or good sleep." The firm is one ofagrowing number of employers giving their workers an extra day off for the same pay asafive-day week.

There is emerging evidence that it can boost productivity for bosses and happiness for workers. And it is not just small businesses that might be spottingachance to savealittle money by turning the lights off one dayaweek. One of the biggest organizations to make the switch is Perpetual Guardian whose shift has generated huge global interest, with 406 organizations from around the world asking it for advice.

"This week we have had people contact us from Japan, Canada, the UK, France, Switzerland." said its founder Andrew Barnes. The day off that each worker takes varies, depending on the team's needs at the time, but there has beenachange in culture with "less time surfing on social media and fewer unnecessary meetings." said Barnes.

However, Kate Cooper, policy director at the Institute of Leadership and Management argues the reasons behind increases in productivity are not yet clear. Cooper said that "the Hawthorne effect" may be in play, that is, people change their behaviour simply because they feel they are being observed—in this case they feel that by being grantedafour-day week they believe their bosses are interested in their work.

"How sustainable is that?" Cooper doubts.

41. What can we learn about Indy Cube?

    1. It is one of the biggest providers of workspaces.
    2. It is the first company start the four-day week.
    3. Its boss should be happy withahigher productivity.
    4. Its employees are worried about their future income

    答案 C

    推断题。题目问的是我们关于Indy Cube可知的是什么，根据定位句可 知，这样做可以提高老板的工作效率和员工的幸福感，由此可推知，老板会因为高工 作效率而开心，

42. Barnes thinks the four-day week schedule .

    1. will soon be adopted by other companies in the world
    2. has madeapositive impact on his company's culture
    3. benefits big companies more than smaller ones
    4. has greatly enhanced his workers' sense of wellbeing

    答案 B

    细节题。题目问的是巴恩斯认为四天的工作时间会 。根据定位句 可知，一周四天的工作时间使公司文化发生了变化，员工们浏览社交媒体的时间减 少了，不必要的会议也减少了，

43. By "the Hawthorne effect", Cooper suggests that the effect ofafour-day week is .

    1. obvious
    2. lasting
    3. beneficial
    4. uncertain

    答案 D

    推断题。题目问的是库珀提"霍桑效应"表明一周工作四天的效果 是根据定位句可知，"霍桑效应"是指人们在被观察的情况下会改变自己的行为，员工 目前工作效率高可能是由于此效应，所以真正的结果还不太清楚，

44. Which of the following suggests that the four-day week is currently enjoyed by only a small part of the work force?

    1. Comment 1.
    2. Comment 2.
    3. Comment 3.
    4. Comment 5.

    答案 B

    细节题。题目问的是哪个评论认为目前只有一小部分员工享受一周四天的 工作制，根据评论2可知，英国需要解决许多问题才能让它成为大多数人的选择，

45. Which of the following expresses the greatest concern about the four-day week?

    1. Comment 1.
    2. Comment 2.
    3. Comment 4.
    4. Comment 5.

    答案 D

    细节题。题目问的是哪个评论对一周四天的工作制表现出最大的担心， 根据评论5可知，现在一周休息三天，评论者说做好一周休息七天的准备吧!这表达了 作者对这种上四休三工作制的担心，害怕以后人们会倾向于不上班了。