【推荐2】ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – One of the world’s most famous fossils (化石) – the 3.2 million-year-old Lucy skeleton (骨骼) unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974 – will go on an exhibition tour abroad for the first time in the United States, officials said Tuesday.
Even the Ethiopian public has only seen Lucy twice. The Lucy on exhibition at the Ethiopian National Museum in the capital, Addis Ababa, is a replica while the real remains are usually locked in a secret storeroom. A team from the Museum of National Science in Houston, Texas, spent four years discussing with the Ethiopians for the U.S. tour, which will start in Houston next September.
“Ethiopia’s rich culture of both the past and today, is one of the best kept secrets in the world,” said Joel Bartsch, director of the Houston museum.
The six-year tour will also go to Washington, New York, Denver and Chicago. Officials said six other U.S. cities may be on the tour. But they said plans had not been worked out.
Travelling with Lucy will be 190 other fossils.
Lucy, her name taken from a Beatles song that played in a camp the night of her discovery, is part of the skeleton of what was once a 3-foot-tall ape-man (猿人).
1. The author writes this text mainly to ___ .

A．introduce a few U.S. museums

B．describe some research work

C．discuss the value of an ape-man

D．report a coming event

2. What does the words “a replica” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．A painting of the skeleton.

B．A photograph of Lucy

C．A copy of the skeleton.

D．A written record of Lucy.

3. How many cities has Lucy’s U.S. tour plan already included?

A．Four.

B．Five.

C．Six.

D．Eleven.

4. What was the skeleton named after?

A．An ape-man.

B．A song.

C．A singer.

D．A camp.

【推荐3】When another old cave is discovered in the south of France, it is not usually news. Rather, it is an ordinary event. Such discoveries are so frequent these days that hardly anybody pays heed to them. However, when the Lascaux cave complex was discovered in 1940, the world was amazed. Painted directly on its walls were hundreds of scenes showing how people lived thousands of years ago. The scenes show people hunting animals, such as bison or wild cats. Other images depict birds and, most noticeably, horses, which appear in more than 300 wall images, by far outnumbering all other animals.

Early artists drawing these animals achieved a monumental and difficult task. They did not limit themselves to the easily accessible walls but carried their painting materials to spaces that required climbing steep walls or going on hands and knees into narrow passages in the Lascaux complex.

Unfortunately, the paintings have been exposed to the destructive action of water and temperature changes, which easily wear the images away. Because the Lascaux caves have many entrances, air movement has also damaged the images inside.

Although they are not out in the open air, where natural light would have destroyed them long ago, many of the images have deteriorated and are hardly recognizable. To prevent further damage, the site was closed to tourists in 1963, 23 years after it was discovered.

1. Which title best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

A．Wild Animals in Art

B．Hidden Prehistoric Paintings

C．Exploring Caves Respectfully

D．Determining the Age of French Caves

2. What does the underlined phrase “pays heed to” in paragraph 2 probably means?

A．discovers	B．watches
C．notices	D．buys

3. Why was painting inside the Lascaux complex a difficult task?

A．It was completely dark inside.

B．The caves were full of wild animals.

C．Painting materials were hard to find.

D．Many painting spaces were difficult to reach.

4. According to the passage, all of the following have caused damage to the paintings EXCEPT _______.

A．temperature changes	B．air movement
C．water	D．light

【推荐3】Winter solstice(冬至), an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, as the name implies, means the coming of winter. It generally occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, one year is divided into twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is the longest.

In Northern China there is a custom of eating dumplings during winter solstice. The tradition of eating dumplings during winter solstice has its origin in early times. It is said that dumplings were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a well-known doctor from the Eastern-Han Dynasty.

One winter, he noticed that many people’s ears were frozen, which made him sad. In order to prevent and cure the freezing injury caused by the cold, he asked his followers to boil mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties in a pot for fending off cold. After these were boiled, they ladled(舀取) the mutton and other ingredients out of the pot, cut them into pieces, and then wrapped them with dough skins in the shape of ears. Afterward, they put these into pots to boil again.

On the day of the winter solstice, the people whose ears were frozen were sent to eat the dumplings. People who ate it felt warm from head to toe and had their cold injury healed. Thereafter, every winter solstice people ate dumplings. Then there became a saying that if you eat dumplings during the winter solstice, then you won’t freeze your ears off.

Afterwards, Zhang Zhongjing died on the day of winter solstice. In order to honor him, every year on the day of the winter solstice every household makes dumplings.

1. Which of the following should be the best title of the passage?

A．The Custom Of Eating Dumplings	B．The Inventor Of Dumplings
C．The Importance Of Eating Dumplings	D．The Origin Of Winter Solstice

2. According to the passage, people make dumplings to eat every winter solstice because __________.

A．they want to honor Zhang Zhongjing, who invented dumplings to cure peoples freezing injury

B．they want to celebrate the important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar

C．dumplings boiled with mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties taste delicious

D．they can feel warm from head to toe and have their freezing injury healed

3. What does the underlined phrase “fending off” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Put off.	B．Put out.
C．Keep up.	D．Keep out.

4. According to the passage, which is TRUE about the following description?

A．Winter solstice is the most important among twenty-four solar terms.

B．Australia in the Southern Hemisphere has the longest period of daytime on Winter Solstice.

C．If people don’t eat dumplings, they will have their ears frozen off.

D．China has the longest period of daytime on Winter Solstice.

【推荐1】British scientists seeking to protect the environment have designed a biodegradable mobile phone cover that breaks down in soil when discarded and sprouts (发芽)a flower from a seed put inside the case. Researchers at the University of Warwick in central England said the novel device, made from a specially designed polymer (聚合材料),is a blessing for the environmentalists.

Millions of mobile phones are thrown away every year as the industry produces large quantities of new models without caring about the quality. “It is really original in the phone industry and consumers are happy because they feel they are doing something for the local environment,” said Keny Kirwan from the university of Warwick. Designers have made the hesitant users feel sure that the seed, put into a transparent window, only sprouts when the phone cover is discarded. “We put sunflower seeds into the covers of the samples, but we are working with gardening researchers to identify which other flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put poppies (虞美人)or roses next time,” said Kirwan.

1. Why is the new mobile phone unique?

A．It is popular with young people.

B．It is environmentally friendly.

C．The user can make it flower whenever he or she likes.

D．Its colour is beautiful.

2. What does the underlined word “ discarded” mean?

A．Thrown away.

B．Updated.

C．Cleaned.

D．Replaced.

3. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Good News for Environmentalists	B．Promising Mobile Phone
C．Changing Wastes into Valuables	D．Flowering Mobile Phone

4. In which section of a magazine may this text appear?

A．Entertainment.	B．Science and technology.
C．Education.	D．Health.

【推荐2】For top students from low-income families，the challenge of applying to colleges is particularly difficult. 1 in 4 deal with all of that—the writing，the studying，the researching and applying—completely on their own. One approach to make this whole process easier? Pair students up with an adviser.

That’s the idea behind CollegePoint，an initiative to help gifted students go to schools that match their intellectual(智力的)ability. When a high school student takes a standardized test—the PSAT，SAT or ACT——and they score in the 90th percentile，and their families make less than$80，000 a year，they get an email from the program offering them a free adviser. The advisers listen，guide and answer students’questions.

Connor Rechtzigel，an adviser in Minnesota，sees the importance of his role，for research shows that low-income students are far more likely to undermatch because they don’t think they have what it takes to get in and because many don’t even know what schools are out there. He helped high school senior Justice Benjamin，the first in his family to apply to college，think about what his ideal learning experience was. Finally，Justice narrowed in on smaller schools where he could study environmental science and made his final choice：Skidmore College in New York. He felt empowered by the process.

Figuring out how to pay for college is a major part of what，CollegePoint advisers do. Nakhle，an adviser in North Carolina，is working with Hensley，an Ohio high school senior who can’t get extra financial help from her family. They spent a lot of time comparing and analyzing her financial-aid award letters，which made her decision much clearer. Finally，the Ohio State University offered an option where she would pay nothing. Staying in-state wasn’t her first choice，but it was the best option for her.

1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．How CollegePoint works.	B．The goal of CollegePoint.
C．Ways to apply for a free adviser.	D．The challenge of choosing colleges.

2. What prevents low-income students from attending proper colleges?

A．Overestimating their abilities.	B．Knowing little about colleges.
C．Lack of enough learning experience.	D．Failure to get support from their families.

3. Why did Hensley finally choose the Ohio State University?

A．She didn’t want to stay far from home.

B．Her favorite major was provided there.

C．She would show her talents to the full.

D．The university met her financial needs.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How to Be a Financial Adviser

B．Steps for Top Students to Select Ideal Colleges

C．Advisers Help Poor Students Apply to Suitable Colleges

D．CollegePoint—a Program Helping Students Score High

【推荐3】Speaking, writing and reading are necessary to everyday life, where language is the major tool for expression and communication. Studying how people use language — what words they unconsciously choose and combine — can help us better understand ourselves and why we behave the way we do.

Linguists (语言学家) try to determine what is unique and universal about the language we use, how it is learned and the ways it changes over time. They consider language as a cultural, social and psychological phenomenon.

“Understanding why and how languages differ tells us about the range of what is human,”said Dan Jurafsky, chair of the Department of Linguistics at Stanford.

Stanford linguists and psychologists study how language is interpreted (理解) by people. Even the slightest differences in language use may show the biased (有偏见的) beliefs of the speakers, according to research.

For example, a relatively harmless sentence, such as“girls are as good as boys at math,” because of the statement’s grammatical structure (结构), suggests that being good at math is more common or natural for boys than girls, the researchers said. Language can play a big role in how we and others see the world, and linguists work to discover how words and phrases can influence us, unknowingly.

People speak about 7,000 languages worldwide. Although there is a lot in common among languages, each one is unique. Jurafsky said it’s important to study languages other than our own and how they develop over time because it can help linguists understand what lies at the foundation of humans' unique way of communicating with one another.

Linguists analyze how certain speech patterns influence particular behaviors, including how language can influence people’s buying decisions. Jurafsky said. “Understanding what different groups of people say and why is the first step in determining how we can help bring people together.”

1. What does the example mentioned in Paragraph 5 show?

A．Misunderstanding is common in daily life.

B．People should avoid using harmful sentences.

C．Speech patterns can show people’s biased beliefs.

D．Some grammatical structures are difficult to understand.

2. What does Jurafsky suggest in Paragraph 6?

A．Researching languages.

B．Learning from linguists.

C．Developing good learning habits.

D．Communicating with others frequently.

3. What is the main purpose of the text?

A．To show the power of language.

B．To give an introduction to Jurafsky.

C．To teach readers how to learn a language.

D．To call on readers to learn more languages.

【推荐1】Radio newsreaders and television hosts at Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE are very angry at being told to pronounce words according to the Queen’s English.

A report in The Irish Sun newspaper says that RTE’s workers have been given an A-Z style guide of words which instructs them on how to pronounce certain words in an effort to make sure they are clearly understood. The A-Z comes with videos containing lessons of how to “properly” pronounce the “problem” words. An official at RTE told the Irish Sun that producers gave the guide to keep up standards. “The guide is there for anyone who needs it.” he said, “RTE often get letters from the public over how certain words were mispronounced. The word ‘issue’ is a big one at the moment, people don’t like how it’s pronounced. There is an expectation that as the national broadcaster we are correct.”

However, Irish linguistics expert Professor Raymond Hickey called the RTE’s actions “internalized colonialism (内化殖民主义)”. He expressed his disbelief that Irish speakers were being asked to use words with an English accent. He said: “The basic problem is RTE expects its workers to speak as if they were English. Why? We have our own form of English, which is different but fully reasonable and accepted worldwide.” Professor Hickey specially talked of some examples of the words Irish hosts are being asked to pronounce with a British English accent. He said: “The Irish don’t pronounce the TH [in ‘birthday’] as a fricative, but as a stop with no breath…The same is true of ‘news’ — the Irish pronunciation is and always has been ‘nooze’.”

1. When told to speak the Queen’s English, RTE’s newsreaders and hosts showed great ________.

A．anger	B．interest
C．expectation	D．disbelief

2. Why did RTE provide its workers with an A-Z style guide?

A．Because some newsreaders and hosts were angry.

B．Because the workers expressed the need clearly.

C．Because it expected the workers to speak in the British way.

D．Because they often make mistakes when reading the letters

3. The official at RTE mentioned the letters from the public ______.

A．to make sure the guide is clearly understood

B．to explain why RET needed to take actions

C．to show how some words are mispronounced

D．to show how difficult it is to be a host

4. In Hickey’s opinion, the Irish way of the word “news” is ________.

A．internalized colonialism

B．to be changed into the Queen’s English

C．reasonable and accepted

D．the same as the British way

【推荐2】On Thursday, some scientists will find themselves in the media spotlight as the latest winners of a prize for discoveries celebrated the world over. No, it is not the Nobel Prize. It is the Ig Nobel Prizes, whose stated aim is to ''honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think''.

Since their launch in 1991 by a US-based science magazine Annals of Improbable Research, the ''Igs'' have become a highlight of the scientific calendar, taking place a few days before the announcement of the real Nobels. The prizes are handed out by real Nobel winners at Harvard University, with many of the winners turning up to accept their award in person.

The range of breakthroughs is certainly impressive. In 2001 the physics award went to Dr David Schmidt of the University of Massachusetts for his research into why shower curtains tend to billow inward, while the 2005 Ig for psychology went to a team at Keio University, Japan, for training pigeons to tell the difference between the paintings of Picasso and Monet. Not everyone has seen the funny side of the Ig Nobels, however. In 1995 a team of British researchers won the physics Ig for research into why breakfast cereal goes soft and wet, prompting some newspapers to ask why taxpayers' money was being wasted on such trivial(琐碎的,无价值的)research. In fact,the project had been funded by a leading cereal maker rather than the UK taxpayer.

Even so the controversy(争议)led Britain's chief scientist, professor Sir Robert May, to ask the organizers not to award any more Igs to UK researchers,who were emerging as embarrassingly frequent winners of the prizes. With maintenance of reputation being so important among scientists these days, Sir Robert's request was understandable. But it also ignores the fact that many major scientific advances have come from research into ''trivial'' questions.

The best-known example is Newton's discovery of the law of gravity after he saw an apple fall in his mother's garden. More recently, the sight of a plate spinning through the air in a university cafeteria was enough to set the American physicist Richard Feynman on his way to a Nobel Prize. Interested in its rapid wobbling(摇晃), Dr Feynman analyzed the problem mathematically and showed that as long as the wobbles are small, they occur at twice the spin rate of the plate. Delighted by his discovery, he told his friend and colleague Hans Bethe who thought it was all rather, well, trivial. Yet it inspired Dr Feynman to investigate the spin of the electron which, in turn, led to work on quantum electrodynamics for which he won a share of the 1965 Nobel Prize for physics.

Some of the scientists who find themselves awarded Igs on Thursday might prefer to have won the ''real'' thing. They might even worry about being looked down upon by their peers. Yet whether it is the spinning of a plate or the fall of an apple, the truth is that nature herself doesn't understand the meaning of ''trivial''.

1. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Ig Nobel Prizes?

A．They are given for researches which first make people laugh and then make them think.

B．They are presented by real Nobel winners at Harvard University.

C．They are awarded to winners a few months before the announcement of the real Nobels.

D．They were launched in 1991 by a science magazine which is based in the United States.

2. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word ''prompting'' in the third paragraph?

A．Causing.

B．Protesting.

C．Reminding.

D．Pumping.

3. In the fifth paragraph, the author illustrates the example of the spinning of a plate in order to______.

A．demonstrate the law of gravity was discovered by Newton accidentally.

B．show us how scientists investigated the spin of the electron.

C．explain reasons why Ig Nobel Prizes winners are looked down upon by other people.

D．prove that many major scientific advances have come from research into small questions.

【推荐3】Come and see the Snowman

Experience the magic of The Snowman in a whole new way this Christmas. Carrot Performers are the world’s most experienced performers of The Snowman film. They are delighted to be touring with their Christmas show again this December. The show will feature a live orchestra.

The concert will open with a Christmas Medley (集锦) followed by a fun introduction to the orchestra. All the instruments are presented in a fun way, offering young audience members the valuable experience of seeing – and hearing – the instruments individually.

Following this there will be one of two exclusive (独家的) films:

A Donkey’s Tale

The world premiere ( 首 映 ) of a brand new work created especially for us by Daniel Whibley. Set amidst the wild landscape (景色) of Connemara in the west of Ireland, it tells the heartwarming story of Dillon, an ordinary donkey with an extraordinary dream that takes him on a journey that will change his life.

The Bear and the Piano

This beautiful tale of music, friendship and adventure was first brought to the big screen in 2017. With music by Daniel Whibley played live by a professional orchestra, and a narration ( 旁 白 ) recorded by superstar Joanna Lumley this creation looks set to become a family favorite for the next generation.

● For CHESTER performances, please telephone: 01244 500959 (open 9-5 Mon-Sat)

● For WINCHESTER performances, please telephone: 01962 857275 (open 10-4 Mon-Fri, 11-4 Sat, closed Sunday and public holidays)

● For all other performances, please telephone: 0344 8000 410 (open 9-9 Mon- Sat & 10-5 Sundays and Bank Holidays. Calls will be charged at your local rate)

Tour dates & ticket prices

● Chester Cathedral (+A Donkey’s Tale)- 25/12/2018 2:00 pm

Center seats: Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £15; Adult £21

Rear seats: Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £11; Adult £19

Restricted (受限制的) view: Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £9; Adult £15

● Winchester Cathedral (+The Bear and the Piano)- 26/12/2018 5:00 pm

General Tickets: Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £16; Adult £19

Theatre Card Members: £16

● Beverley Minster (+The Bear and the Piano)- 27/12/2018 6:00 pm

Center seats: Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £15; Adult £20; Senior (Over 60) £15

North Aisle (走道): Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £10; Adult £16; Senior (Over 60) £10

South Aisle: Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £10; Adult £16; Senior (Over 60) £10

Rear seats: Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £12; Adult £18; Senior (Over 60) £12

● Durham Cathedral (+A Donkey’s Tale)- 28/12/2018 7:00 pm

Front seats: Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £16; Adult £20 Side Aisles: Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £14; Adult £18 Rear seats: Child (18 Months to 17 Years) £11; Adult £16

1. What do we know about the performances on The Snowman tour?

A．You can see three films with one ticket.

B．Joanna Lumley narrates A Donkey’s Tale.

C．It’s the premiere of The Bear and the Piano.

D．The Snowman is played live by a professional orchestra.

2. Which number should you call for the show at Durham Cathedral?

A．01244 500959.	B．0344 8000 410.
C．01962 857275.	D．01962 500959.

3. Where can you get a better ticket price with a membership card?

A．At Winchester Cathedral.	B．At Durham Cathedral.
C．At Chester Cathedral.	D．At Beverley Minster.