Here are 4 extreme sports which are popular in the west countries among the young.

Volcano Boarding

Racing down an active 2,380 ft volcano at speeds 50 mph with only a board for protection is considered by many thrill-seeking sports fans as the coolest.

Thousands of travelers head to the foothills of Nicaragua’s Cerro Negro Mountain every year to take part in the new sport. Surfers, dressed in protective jump suits, knee-pads and helmets, can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h on their special boards. Since its creation, in 2005, the volcano boarding has attracted more than 10,000 participants.

Cliff Diving

Cliff diving is defined as the perfection of diving into water from a high cliff. From the rough rocks, divers take a jump into the water beneath.

This dangerous sport originated from the Hawaiian Island of Lanai in 1770, Kahekili, the king, demanded that his men leap off high cliffs and enter the water to prove their courage and loyalty. Today, after centuries, the activity has expanded into a sport.

Slacklining

A balance sport, slacklining uses nylon ropes (尼龙绳) stretched tight between two fixed points. It is different from tightrope walking—it is like a large rubber band. The line’s tension can be adjusted to suit the performer and different types of movement.

Christian Schou holds the Guinness World Record title the highest slackline at 3,280 feet(1000 meter)—3 Eiffel towers high.

Zorbing Ball

Effectively throwing yourself down a slope in a giant ball, or “zorbing”, is one of the latest extreme sport. This bizarre sport, invented in 2000, involves a giant plastic ball, which has two skins, one inside the other. The person zorbing is in the area between the skins. Then others will roll the ball down a hill.

1. Why does Nicaragua’s Cerro Negro Mountain attract many tourists every year?

A．Because it has beautiful scenery.

B．Because it is a perfect place for mountain climbing.

C．Because people can appreciate the sudden eruption of the volcano.

D．Because it is an active volcano for volcano boarding.

2. Which sport can you experience when you visit Hawaii?

A．Zorbing ball	B．Slacklining
C．Cliff diving	D．Volcano boarding

3. What is most needed during the performance of slacklining?

A．A good tightrope.	B．A sense of balance.
C．A large rubber band.	D．A sense of direction.

So many of us hold on to little resentments (怨恨) that may have come from an argument, a misunderstanding, or some other painful event. Stubbornly, we wait for someone else to reach out to us—believing this is the only way we can forgive or rekindle a friendship or family relationship.

An acquaintance of mine, whose health isn’t very good, recently told me that she hadn’t spoken to her son in almost three years. She said that she and her son had had a disagreement about his wife and that she wouldn’t speak to him again unless he called first. When I suggested that she be the one to reach out, she resisted initially and said, “I can’t do that. He’s the one who should apologize.” She was literally willing to die before reaching out to her only son. After a little gentle encouragement, however, she did decide to be the first one to reach out. To her amazement, her son was grateful for her willingness to call and offered an apology of his own. As is usually the case when someone takes the chance and reaches out, everyone wins.

Whenever we hold on to our anger, we turn “small stuff” into really “big stuff” in our minds. We start to believe that our positions are more important than our happiness. They are not. If you want to be a more peaceful person, you must understand that being right is almost never more important than allowing yourself to be happy. The way to be happy is to let go, and reach out. Let other people be right. This doesn’t mean that you’re wrong. Everything will be fine. You’ll experience the peace of letting go, as well as the joy of letting others be right.

You’ll also notice that, as you reach out and let others be “right,” they will become less defensive and more loving toward you. They might even reach back. But if for some reason they don’t, that’s okay too. You’ll have the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your part to create a more loving world, and certainly you’ll be more peaceful yourself.

4. The underlined word “rekindle” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.

A．develop	B．recover
C．accept	D．replace

5. According to the passage, the author’s friend never spoke to her son for three years because ________.

A．she had got an argument with her husband

B．she had disagreed about her son’s marriage

C．she had got an argument about her daughter-in-law

D．she had disliked her son’s wife for many years

6. Which of the following is NOT the reason for people to be unwilling to apologize first?

A．People believe that they are right.

B．People always wait for others to offer an apology first.

C．People consider the position more important than happiness.

D．People want to get an inner satisfaction.

7. The purpose of the passage is to ________.

A．instruct the readers how to apologize

B．teach the readers how to gain inner peace

C．tell the readers to reach out first when there are painful events

D．inform the readers the importance of being forgiving

Mostly, only a single answer is correct to a question. But there is a question that has numberless correct answers. That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.

Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?.

People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the names of a grandparent or other members of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.

Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.

The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near a brook; someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.

Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, Smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter—a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter—a person who made pots and pans.

The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.

Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village. the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John who was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.

Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac- or Mc- or O-. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.

8. Which of the following is NOT covered in the surnames of the passage?

A．People’s occupations.	B．People’s characters.
C．Places where people lived.	D．Talents that people possessed.

9. According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably________.

A．made kitchen tools or containers.(容器）	B．made things with metals
C．owned or drove a cart	D．built houses and furniture

10. Suppose an English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named______.

A．Beatrice Smith	B．Leonard Carter
C．Donald Greenwood	D．George Longstreet

11. The underlined word “descendants”.in the last paragraph means a person’s_______.

A．ancestors (   祖先   ）	B．later generations
C．friends and relatives	D．colleagues and partners

It is becoming a growing trend that more and more consumers across the country are using cashless payment methods. The rapid development of third-party mobile payment tools is helping to boost cashless payments across the country, said Dong Ximiao, a researcher at the Renmin University of China.

Transactions (交易) involving third-party mobile payments rose by 46.8 percent in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the previous quarter to 18.8 trillion yuan, according to a report released in May.

Although there were 3.4 billion third-party payment accounts in total in China in 2016, China is not the first country to seek a cashless society. Developed states like Sweden, Denmark and Singapore are also witnessing that increase.

However, the rapid development of cashless payments does not mean there are no challenges and criticisms. Alibaba’s Hema store, where customers can shop, dine and order commodities for delivery from their mobile phones via Alipay, have come into the spotlight recently. Media reports said that consumers can’t purchase goods with cash there, which would be considered illegal.

Alipay and WeChat Pay, the nation’s two major third-party mobile payment tools, also launched campaigns this month to encourage more merchants and customers to use cashless payment methods, which caused concerns over whether cash will soon disappear.

“Some offline sellers refuse to accept cash, which impacts the natural circulation of yuan,” said Dong. He emphasized that a cashless society would not mean that cash would completely disappear. As the economy grows, the circulation of cash is still very huge, noted Dong. Also, it’s important to remember that nearly half of China’s population live in rural areas, especially in undeveloped western regions, unable to enjoy innovation (革新) brought by the Internet, Dong said. And when it comes to China’s senior citizens, most of them prefer to use cash in their daily lives, he added.

“It’s ridiculous to question digital payment tools’ contribution toward financial development. In the long term, various payment methods will be used by consumers, and merchants should respect consumers’ payment habits,” Dong noted.

12. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 3 probably refer to?

A．Economic activity	B．Large amount of payment
C．Development of economy	D．Cashless payment

13. Why has Alibaba’s Hema store become a focus?

A．It fights against illegal activities.

B．Customers are not permitted to use cash there.

C．It provides comprehensive services.

D．It starts campaigns to encourage mobile payment.

14. Which of the following will Dong find reasonable?

A．Various payment methods ought to be respected.

B．People should be encouraged to use mobile payment.

C．Most elderly people have no access to mobile payment.

D．Mobile payment isn’t beneficial to a cost-effective society.

15. What is the text mainly about?

A．China’s cashless trend	B．The research on mobile payment
C．The reasons to use mobile payment	D．China’s cashless future