选择知识点

Stephen Wiltshire is a famous artist． His drawings - often drawn from memory and at great speed - are sketched （素描） on the spot at street level．
Stephen， who was born in London in 1974， didn't say a word as a small child， and found it hard to relate to other people． At the age of five， Stephen was sent to Queensmill School， London， where it soon became apparent that he communicated through the language of drawing． His teachers encouraged him to speak by taking away his art materials for a short time； eventually he said his first words - "paper" and "pencil" - but didn't learn to speak fully until the age of nine．
Stephen loved drawing and he was seldom to be found without pen and paper． Once he took part in art competitions， news of his great talent began to spread． Early fans included the late Prime Minister Edward Heath who bought his drawing of Salisbury Cathedral， made when Stephen was just eight．
But Stephen came to wider public attention when the BBC featured him in the programme， "The Foolish Wise Ones" in 1987， when he was introduced by Sir Hugh Casson （a past president of the Royal Academy）， as "the best child artist in Britain．"
After that， Stephen's reputation grew worldwide． A second BBC documentary in 2001 showed Stephen flying over London in a helicopter and later completing a detailed drawing of London within three hours， which included 12 historic landmarks （地标性建筑） and 200 other structures．
In 2006 Stephen was recognised for his services to the art world， when he was made a member of the Order of the British Empire． Today wherever Stephen goes， people are attracted by his outstanding talent．



What problem did Stephen have when he was a small child？ ______

A. No schools wanted him．
B. No teachers liked him．
C. He couldn't speak．
D. He couldn't spell．

When did Stephen become world famous？ ______

A. After his second BBC documentary．
B. After the programme "The Foolish Wise Ones"．
C. After he met with the late Prime Minister Edward Heath．
D. After Sir Hugh Casson bought his drawing of Salisbury Cathedral．

What is special about Stephen's drawing of London？ ______

A. It was his greatest work．
B. It was drawn in a helicopter．
C. It featured historic landmarks．
D. It was finished in a short time．

The text is likely to appear in ______ ．

A. a novel
B. a biography
C. an official report
D. a history paper

For my grandpa Tatay's 90th birthday， our family threw him a surprise-we decorated the backyard with Philippinesstyle and asked guests to wear traditional Filipino costume．
While I was jazzed to put on a sarong-like skirt and wrap， my white husband Darren， felt nervous in his barong， a traditional shirt for Filipino man． "I feel like this is cultural appropriation（文化挪用），" he said， "I honestly feel uncomfortable．"
I could understand Darren． Just over this past year， a number of well-known people have gotten into hot water for wearing the dress of other cultures． They had been blamed by the media and the public． But I felt wearing a barong to Tatay's birthday party was not appropriation．I reassured him that it was just a way to express support and a sense of unity with my Filipino family． And we were wearing these outfits as an act of kindness to Tatay． He is losing his memory， but barong is something that remains in his mind．
Still， I wasn't sure whether Darren was appropriating． I turned to an expert for advice．
Erich Matthes， a professor of philosophy， told me that there's no clear definition of cultural appropriation， "It's a really messy thing．"
"It was OK that Darren wore a barong to your family party， for he's been invited to do so． And it's an act of cultural union，"he says．"But it's not OK if you're wearing the clothing of another culture as part of a cultural exploration or education or to intentionally offend or make fun of the group．If you want to weara qipao to a party hosted by Chinese friends， but you are not a member of this group， you should ask the most relevant representatives of the culture． Last， be aware that wearing a culture's dress comes with great responsibility．"
What the expert suggested hit a big point home for me： What we choose to wear has real power．
Seeing Darren in that barong， I knew that he was making an effort to understand and connect with my family． And that， for me， was a beautiful thing．



The author asked her husband to wear a barong mainly because it ______ ．

A. makes him look great
B. helps show family unity
C. keeps a family tradition
D. gives her family a surprise

The underlined phrase "have gotten into hot water" in Paragraph 3 probably means " ______ "．

A. have gotten into trouble
B. have lost their tempers
C. have bathed in hot water
D. have become more popular

According to the article， wearing a culture's dress probably indicates ______ ．

A. accepting cultural education
B. expressing cultural exploration
C. supporting cultural appropriation
D. shouldering cultural responsibility

Which of the following can be the best title for the passage？ ______

A. How to Prepare a Birthday Party？
B. What to Dress in Different Cultures？
C. Wear Clothing of Another Culture？
D. Wear Traditional Shirts on Birthday？

The Arizona desert is really dry． Anyone stuck in it without water would die from dehydration（脱水）within three days．Unless， that is， they had one of Omar Yaghi's next-generation water harvesters． Although daytime humidity（湿度）is only about 10 per cent， this rises to 40 per cent at night， which means there's enough water in the atmosphere to support life - if it can be changed into liquid form．
That's exactly what Yaghi's device does． It's a box about the size of a small microwave ovendesigned to suck the humidity from the air at night and turn it into drinking water the next day using only the heat of the sun as its power source． What makes it work is a powder called a metal-organic framework （MOF）， which at normal temperatures attracts water molecules （分子） onto its surface． Warm it up and the water is released， each harvest producing one-third of a cup of pure drinking water．"With further improvements， a device， the size of a washing machine， could produce enough water for the basic needs of a household，" says Yaghi， a chemist at the University of California．
One-third of the world's population lacks safe drinking water； for them such a device could be a lifesaver． But that's not the limit of the MOF technology．
Just as MOFs can help solve the problem of water shortage， they offer a way of reducing a lot of greenhouse gases．In April this year， the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit an 800，000-year high， contributing to climate change． Recent research suggests ways that MOFs might be able to help mitigate（缓解）this danger to the Earth's ecosystem．
An international team led by chemists from the University of Manchester， UK， reported in 2018 that they had developed an aluminum （Al）-based MOF that can selectively and repeatedly remove another gaseous pollutant， nitrogen dioxide （NO2）， from the surrounding atmosphere． This discovery could lead to air-related technologies that seize and change large quantities of other gases， such as carbon dioxide， to reduce air pollution．
In 2017， a MOF startup pioneer NuMat Technologies employed MOFs to safely store and deliver dangerous gases． For a given pressure， a tank containing a MOF holds more gas than one without． Or， to put it another way， if a gas tank has a MOF in it， then it does not need to be as highly pressurized in order to hold the same amount of gas， making it safer and less likely to explode， and possible less expensive．
Now， about two dozen companies in the past five years are known to be pursuing MOFs， from small startups to larger chemical and automobile companies． And QYResearch forecasts that the MOF market will grow from ﹩70 million in 2017 to ﹩750 million in 2025． "The potential here is just endless，" says Yaghi． "As cheaper materials come into focus， there will continue to be even more opportunities for commercialization．"



MOF changes the sucked humidity into water by ______ ．

A. lowering the temperature
B. collecting carbon dioxide
C. recycling dangerous gases
D. absorbing the heat of the sun

Aluminum-based MOF can be used to ______ ．

A. reduce greenhouse gases
B. produce household water
C. deliver dangerous gases
D. release water molecules

It can be learned that under the same pressure， a tank with a MOF will ______ ．

A. cost more money
B. cause more explosions
C. hold more gases
D. afford more crashes

The main purpose of this passage is to ______ ．

A. explain how to use MOF
B. describe the future of MOF
C. persuade people to buy MOF
D. introduce the functions of MOF

The last male northern white rhino in existence died this week．It marks the end for the entire subspecies and is yet another tragic reminder of how we are destroying our planet．Enough is enough．Please take action today and donate ￡25 to help save the critically endangered eastern black rhino．It's time to take a stand and protect the eastern black rhino．
The world is witnessing the extinction of the northern white rhino．This rare creature was once abundant across Central Africa，but unbelievable rates of illegal hunting for their horns wiped them out until just three individuals were left．With the recent death of Sudan，the last male，only two female northern white rhinos remain．This has to he our final wake-up call-we must stop the senseless killing of rhinos in the wild．Unless we act now，the eastern black rhino could suffer the same fate．It is on the edge of extinction with only 850 left in the wild．You can make a difference-right now．In 2004，Fauna &Flora International（FFI）helped to create O1 Pejeta Conservancy，a safe shelter for endangered animals in Kenya．O1 Pejeta is now home to over 100 eastern black rhinos，and with your support today，we can help keep them safe from illegal hunters．
By making a donation of ￡ 25 by 9 April，you could help us employ，train and equip guards to protect the conservancy and keep these rare animals safe．Your gift could help to protect the last few eastern black rhinos in O1 Pejeta．We must not bear witness to another extinction．Please complete the donation form to help save the eastern black rhino now．
Please return your form to：Freepost FAUNA&FLORA IN'IERNATIONAL，The David Attenborough Building，Pembroke Street，CAMBRIDGE CB2 3QZ，call 01223 749019 or go to www．Save A Rhino．org to donate online．



What's the present situation of the northern white rhinos？ ______

A. They face extinction．
B. 850 rhinos are left in the wild．
C. They are being hunted for their horns．
D. Two female rhinos are ready to produce young．

What's the money raised for？ ______

A. Protecting the eastern black rhinos in O1 Pejeta．
B. Educating people to live with animals in harmony．
C. Saving the endangered female northern white rhinos．
D. Gathering all the eastern black rhinos into a conservancy．

How many ways of donation are mentioned in the text？ ______

A. 4
B. 3
C. 2
D. 1