【推荐1】Five hundred years ago, Europeans arrived on a new continent. They brought new cultures and languages to this place which they called America. However, there were already people living here who had their own cultures and languages, so a terrible part of history began.

As more Europeans arrived, there was a fight with the Native Americans for the land and by the end of the nineteenth century, the native tribes were moved to reservations. A lot of their children were taken away to boarding schools and taught to speak English. By the end of the twentieth century, more than half of Native Americans were living in cities. They gave up speaking their old tribal language and only used English. As a result, many Native American languages disappeared, and with them, their culture.

Some Native American languages are still used today, but they are usually spoken by the older members of the tribes who still live on the reservations. For most of the younger members of the tribe, the everyday language is English.

The good news is that some of these “last speakers” are keeping their culture and language alive. They are also receiving help from the National Geographic Society’s Enduring Voices Project which aims to keep languages around the world from dying out. Linguists and experts meet with these “last speakers”, interview them, and record video, pictures, and audio of them. The “last speakers” tell old stories which are written down in English so people can learn more about the culture.

Recording the language and culture is only part of the project. The next stage is to pass on the language to the next generation. Some children pick it up from their parents or grandparents, but many tribes now offer courses. The Salish tribe is an excellent example. They live on Montana’s Flathead Reservation and their language is spoken by about 50 people over the age of 75 and no one under 50. So the tribe has set up a school. It has 30 students aged two to twelve during the day and offers courses for adults in the evening. Schools and projects like these hopefully will save languages for the future.

1. What’s the purpose of the author by mentioning Europeans’ arrival?

A．To tell a terrible part of history in America.

B．To state the native tribes’ being moved away.

C．To explain a fight with the Native Americans.

D．To introduce Native languages’ disappearance.

2. Why is English common for the young members of tribes?

A．They are forced to speak.	B．They hate native languages.
C．They have a gap with the old.	D．They consider English popular.

3. What’s attitude of the author to keeping tribes’ languages alive?

A．Negative.

B．Objective.

C．Supportive.

D．Uninterested.

4. What directly drives the Salish school founded?

A．The aging situation of “last speakers“.

B．The record of their language and culture.

C．The children and adults’ strong desire.

D．The distance and poverty of their reservation.

【推荐2】If you were to travel back in time to the tenth century, you probably wouldn’t be able to understand a sentence that anyone said to you. They’d be speaking Old English. Talking to a tenth-century Englishman, you’d probably only be able to understand a few words like “a” or “the”. Only about one-sixth of today’s English words have an Old English root(词根) , with the rest having foreign influences.

Gradually Old English turned into the Middle English that Chaucer wrote in—but still the official language of England was French! It was only in 1362, during Chaucer’s lifetime, that English was used at the opening of Parliament(议会) for the first time. During the same year a law called the “Statute of Pleading” was passed, making English the official language in Parliament in 1399, King Henry IV became the first king of England after the Norman Conquest whose mother tongue was English.

English was still a language of low status(地位)—especially when it came to writing poetry(诗歌). During the 14th century, the Italians and French were creative. Great poets like Dante were writing in totally new ways. But English had no such great writer. This was where Chaucer made a difference. He took the language of the man in the street and turned it into many famous works, such as The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer proved poetry written in English could be every bit as good as books in French.

Of course, the English language has continued to change since Chaucer’s day. For example, Shakespeare’s English is quite different from Chaucer’s. And it is still changing now. Until just a few years ago, “C U L8R”(see you later) was just a set of letters and numbers, but now most people know what it means!

1. Why was Chaucer so great?

A．He first used formal English to write.

B．He had a big influence on poets like Dante.

C．He was a pioneer in writing English poems.

D．He encouraged people to read books in French.

2. Why did the author give the example of Shakespeare’s English?

A．To explain English is always changing.

B．To explain how the Middle English changed.

C．To show Shakespeare’s English is unusual.

D．To show how people respond to new words.

3. How is the text developed?

A．By space.	B．By comparison.
C．By importance.	D．By time.

【推荐3】I’m sitting in my kitchen in London, trying to figure out a text message from my brother. He lives in our home country of Germany. We speak German to each other, a language that's rich in strange words, but I've never heard this one before: fremdschämen.

The experience gets me to consider: can we lose our mother language? Most immigrants (移民)know what it’s like to be not as good at their mother language as before. The process seems obvious: the longer you are away, the more your language suffers. But it’s not quite so straightforward. It turns out that how long you've been away doesn't always matter. Socializing with other native speakers abroad can worsen your own native skills. And emotional factors like trauma(精神创伤) can be the biggest factor of all.

In children, the phenomenon of language attrition (语言磨蚀)is somewhat easier to explain since their brains are generally more flexible and adaptable. Until the age of about 12, a person’s language skills are relatively easy to change. Studies on international adopters have found that even nine-year-olds can almost completely forget their first language when they are removed from their country of birth.

But in adults, the first language is unlikely to disappear entirely except in extreme circumstances. For example, Monika Schmid analyzed the German of elderly German-Jewish wartime refugees(难民) in the UK and the US. The main factor that influenced their language skills wasn't how long they had been abroad or how old they were when they left. It was how much trauma they had experienced as victims. Those who left Germany in the early days of Nazi occupation, before the worst violence, tended to speak better German – despite having been abroad the longest. Those who left later, tended to speak German with difficulty or not at all.

“It seemed very clearly a result of this trauma”, says Schmid. “Even though German was the language of childhood, home and family, it was also the language of painful memories”. The most traumatized refugees had held them back. As one of them said: “I feel that Germany betrayed me. America is my country, and English is my language.”

1. What does the first paragraph serve as?

A．A comment	B．A background
C．An explanation	D．An introduction

2. What do paragraph 4 and 5 mainly talk about?

A．How two languages coexist

B．The way to deal with adult’s trauma

C．The reasons behind adult’s language attrition.

D．Whether trauma leads to adult’s language attrition.

3. Why does trauma cause a person's mother language to disappear?

A．Because he can’t remember his mother language.

B．Because his ability to communicate is affected.

C．Because his country is far from him .

D．Because he chooses to escape from bad experiences.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Where does your native language come from?

B．Will you lose your native language?

C．How does trauma affect your first language?

D．How far are you from your mother tongue

【推荐1】Earth is far more alive than we previously thought, according to “deep life” studies that reveal a rich underground ecosystem beneath our feet that is almost twice the size of all the world’s oceans. Despite extreme heat, no light and intense pressure, scientists estimate it has between 15 billion and 23 billion tonnes of microorganisms. “It’s like finding a whole new reservoir (储藏) of life on Earth,” said Karen Lloyd an associate professor at the University of Tennessee.

Results suggest 70 percent of Earth’s bacteria and archaea exist in the subsurface. One organism found 2.5 kilometers below the surface has been buried for millions of years and may not rely at all on energy from the sun. Also, the methanogen (产甲烷菌) has found a way to create methane in this environment, which the methanogen may not use to reproduce or divide, but use to replace or repair broken parts. Lengths of their lives were completely different. Some microorganisms have been alive for thousands of years, barely moving except with shifts in earthquakes or eruptions. They’re just active inside, with less energy than people thought possible to support life.

The team consists of 1,200 scientists from 52 countries in disciplines ranging from geology and microbiology to chemistry and physics. A year before the conclusion of their study, they will present the findings before the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting opens this week, which they say are made possible by technical advances on drills and microscopes.

The scientists have been wondering about the point beyond which life cannot exist, but the deeper they dig, the more life they find. There is a temperature maximum—currently 122℃—but they believe this record will be broken if they keep exploring and developing more advanced instruments.

Questions remain, including how the microbes interact with chemical processes, and what this might reveal about how life and Earth coevolved.

1. What do the scientists find about the underground organisms?

A．They can’t reproduce and divide.	B．They’re the oldest living things.
C．Some of them consume no energy.	D．Some of them almost always keep still.

2. What can we learn about the research from paragraph 3?

A．It last for around one year.	B．It involves efforts from many fields.
C．It promotes technical development.	D．It is conducted in 52 countries.

3. Why does the scientists dig deep?

A．To break their previous record.

B．To find the depth limit of life.

C．To discover more ancient microorganisms.

D．To measure the highest subsurface temperature.

4. Which of the following can be the best title?

A．Earth Depths Are Full of Life.

B．Organisms Live Better Underground.

C．Earth Is Fat Beyond Human Exploration.

D．Subsurface Life Differs from That on Land.

【推荐2】Feel tired and want to have a break? People have many different ways to relax during break time at work or school. Smartphones are probably the number one choice for a quick mental vacation.

Although it might seem like a good time, looking at your cellphone may damage your mental power, according to a recent psychological study from Rutgers University in the United States.

For the study, more than 400 students were asked to finish a set of 20 word puzzles. Halfway through the task, the students were divided into three groups. One group was allowed to take a break and use cellphones to buy things online. The second group was asked to have a rest and buy things using a computer. The last group didn’t take any break at all.

Interestingly, the group that used their cellphones during the break went back to work feeling the most tired and least motivated to continue. They also had the hardest time solving the remaining word puzzles.

The cellphone group took 19 percent longer to finish the rest of the task, and solved 22 percent fewer problems than those in the other break conditions combined.

Terri Kurtzberg, co-author of the study, explained that they assumed looking at cellphones during a break would be no different from any other break – but instead, the phone may cause increasing levels of distraction that make it difficult to return focused attention to work tasks.

“Cellphones may have this effect because even just seeing your phone activates thoughts of checking messages, connecting with people, access to ever-refilling information and more, in ways that are different than how we use other screens like computers, and laptops,” Kurtzberg told Science Daily.

This is echoed (呼应) by a 2017 study from the US University of Chicago. It found that even if cellphones are turned off or turned face down, their mere presence reduces a person’s cognitive capacity (认知能力).

So, during your next break, try putting your smartphone away. Go out for a walk, get to know your classmates or even take a nap (小憩). You may be surprised by the result.

1. What did the study find about using cellphones during breaks?

A．It could make people more motivated at work.

B．It could reduce one’s ability to solve problems.

C．It could be beneficial both physically and mentally.

D．It could affect one’s relationships with others.

2. What does the underlined word “activate” probably mean in paragraph 7?

A．motivate

B．associate.

C．appreciate

D．imitate.

3. What can we learn about cellphones from Kurtzberg’s words?

A．They may influence people in the same way as computers do.

B．They may make it hard for people to concentrate on work.

C．Their negative influence is almost impossible to avoid.

D．They have become a necessary part of people’s lives.

4. What does the author suggest people do during break time?

A．Turn off their cellphones.	B．Keep their cellphones face down.
C．Replace cellphones with laptops.	D．Keep their cellphones out of sight.

【推荐3】Think of London and you will probably remember the bright red double-decker buses. Think of Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok, and the noisy tuk-tuks may come to mind. Think of San Francisco and you might see the city’s cable cars.

Imagining what these cities would look like without those is difficult. They are symbols of these cities that make them different. However, these city symbols are not always so well loved by their city leaders. City leaders want what is best for their city, which often means the most modern transport.

In Bangkok, city leaders have banned (禁止) tuk-tuks because they consider them noisy and polluting. However, the ban has largely been unsuccessful as it has not changed Thai people’s love for the cheap tuk-tuks over taxis.

In London the city’s first ever mayor (市长) removed the red double-decker buses, which he thought were old fashioned. His plan worked, but Londoners were unhappy to lose the nice old buses they believed represented the best of their city. They made their unhappiness felt when the mayor came up for re-election. Most Londoners voted for his competitor, who promised to bring the bus back.

As for San Francisco, several cable cars are still in use but mainly as tourist attractions. They are too slow to be used for anything other than scenic trips.

City transport symbols may have a place in their city people’s hearts, but it seems they are increasingly out of step with the modern world. As Londoners have proved, their continued life depends on people’s willingness to fight for their survival.

1. What’s the author’s purpose of writing the first paragraph?

A．To introduce some city transport symbols.

B．To explain why some cities are popular.

C．To talk about modern transport in some cities.

D．To attract more tourists to visit some cities.

2. The London double-decker bus is returning mainly because 　　　.

A．the new mayor loves it	B．Londoners fought for it
C．it is an improved transport	D．it is popular with tourists

3. Which proves the old city transport symbols are not loved by city leaders?

A．Only a few cable cars are still in use in San Francisco.

B．Bangkok city leaders tried to remove the cheap tuk-tuks.

C．The mayor who sold double-decker buses lost the re-election.

D．The new mayor will bring back improved double-decker buses.

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Modern cities should remove old city transport symbols.

B．The writer thinks highly of the old city transport symbols.

C．Old city transport symbols face the problem of survival.

D．Tourist cities will lose their attraction without the symbols.

【推荐1】A few months ago, it wasn't unusual for 47-year-old Carla Toebe to spend 15 hours per day online. She'd wake up early, turn on her laptop and chat on Internet dating sites and instant-messaging programs – leaving her bed for only brief breaks. Her household bills piled up, along with the dishes and dirty laundry, but it took constant complaints from her four daughters before she realized she had a problem.

"I was starting to feel like my whole world was falling apart – kind of slipping into a depression," said Carla. "I knew that if I didn't get off the dating sites, I'd just keep going," detaching (使脱离) herself further from the outside world.

Toebe's conclusion: She felt like she was "addicted" to the Internet. She's not alone.

Concern about excessive Internet use isn't new. As far back as 1995, articles in medical journals and the establishment of a Pennsylvania treatment center for overusers aroused interest in the subject. But as reliance on the Web grows, there are signs that the question is getting more serious attention: Last month, a study published in CNS Spectrums claimed to be the first large-scale look at Internet overuse. The American Psychiatric Association may also consider listing Internet addiction in the next edition. And scores of online discussion boards have popped up, on which people discuss negative experiences tied to too much time on the Web.

The new CNS Spectrums study was based on results of a nationwide telephone survey of more than 2,500 adults. Like the latest survey, this one was conducted by Stanford University researchers. About 6% of respondents reported that "their relationships suffered because of excessive Internet use." About 9% attempted to conceal "nonessential Internet use," and nearly 4% reported feeling " still occupied by the Internet when offline."

"The Internet problem is still in its early stage," said Maressa Orzack, a Harvard University professor. No single online activity is to blame for excessive use, he said. "They're online in chat rooms, checking e-mail, or writing blogs. The problem is not limited to porn (色情) or gambling websites.”

“Excessive Internet use should be defined not by the number of hours spent online but in terms of losses.”said Maressa Orzack. "If it's a loss where you're not getting to work, and family relationships are breaking down as a result, then it's too much."

Since the early 1990s, several clinics have been established in the U. S. to treat heavy Internet users. They include the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery and the Center for Internet Behavior.

The website for Orzack's center lists the following among the psychological symptoms of computer addiction:

● Having a sense of happiness or excitement while at the computer.

● Longing for more and more time at the computer.

● Neglect of family and friends.

● Feeling empty, depremssed or irritable when not at the computer.

● Lying to employers and family about activities.

● Inability to stop the activity.

● Problems with school or job.

Physical symptoms listed include dry eyes, backaches, skipping meals, poor personal hygiene (卫生) and sleep disturbances.

“People who struggle with Internet overuse maybe depressed or have other mood disorders.” Orzack said. When she discusses Internet habits with her patients, they often report that being online offers a "sense of belonging, and escape, excitement and fun," she said. “Some people say relief…because they find themselves so relaxed.”

Some parts of the Internet seem to draw people in more than others. Internet gamers spend countless hours competing in games against people from all over the world. One such game, called World of Warcraft, is cited on many sites by posters complaining of a "gaming addiction."

Andrew Heidrich, an education network administrator from Sacramento, plays World of Warcraft for about two to four hours every other night, but that's nothing compared with the 40 to 60 hours a week he spent playing online games when he was in college. He cut back only after a full-scale family intervention (干预), in which relatives told him he'd gained weight.

“There's this whole culture of competition that sucks people in with online gaming, ”said Heidrich, now a father of two. People do it at the expense of everything that was a constant in their lives." Heidrich now visits websites that discuss gaming addiction regularly “to remind myself to keep my love for online games in check”.

Toebe also regularly visits a site where posters discuss Internet overuse. In August, when she first realized she had a problem, she posted a message on a Yahoo Internet addiction group with the subject line:“I have an Internet Addiction.”

“I'm self-employed and need the Internet for my work, but I'm failing to accomplish my work, to take care of my home, to give attention to my children,”she wrote in a message sent to the group. “I have no money or insurance to get professional help; I can't even pay my loan and face losing everything.”

Since then, Toebe said, she has kept her promise to herself to cut back on her Internet use. "I have a boyfriend now, and I'm not interested in online dating," she said by phone last week. "It's a lot better now."

1. What eventually made Carla Toebe realize she was spending too much time on the Internet?

A．Her daughter's repeated complaints.

B．Tiredness resulting from lack of sleep.

C．The poorly managed state of her house.

D．The high financial costs adding up.

2. What is the main idea of para4?

A．A study claimed to be the first large-scale look at Internet overuse.

B．The American Psychiatric Association plans to list Internet addiction in its edition.

C．There are heated discussions about negative experiences over internet overuse.

D．There is a growing concern towards internet addiction.

3. According to Professor Maressa Orzack, Internet use would be considered excessive if ______.

A．it seriously affected family relationships

B．one visited porn websites frequently

C．too much time was spent in chat rooms

D．people got involved in online gambling

4. According to Orzack, people who struggle with heavy dependence on the Internet may feel ______.

A．discouraged

B．pressured

C．depressed

D．puzzled

5. Andrew Heidrich now visits websites that discuss online gaming addiction to _____.

A．improve his online gaming skills

B．control his desire for online gaming

C．show how good he is at online gaming

D．exchange online gaming experience

6. Which of the following best describes the tone(口吻) of the passage ?

A．Humorous

B．Ironic

C．Objective

D．Casual

【推荐2】China became the first country to clone a monkey using non-reproductive cells, reducing the need to keep lab monkeys and paving the way for more accurate, effective, and affordable animal tests for new drugs.

By December of 2017, Chinese scientists had created two clone macaques named "Zhong Zhong" and "Hua Hua" by nuclear transferring of somatic cells -- any cell in the organism other than reproductive cells. This was the similar technology used to create the famous clone sheep Dolly in 1996.

Tetra, a rhesus monkey born in 1999, is the world’s first ever-cloned monkey, but it was done using a simpler method called embryo splitting, but it could only generate four cloned offspring at a time and cannot be genetically modified to suit experimental needs, said Pu Muming, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the director of Institute of Neuroscience, CAS. "Cloning a monkey using somatic cells has been a world-class challenge because it is a primate（灵长类）that shares its genetic makeup, therefore all of its complexity, with humans." Pu Muming said.

"For drug and other lab tests, scientists have to purchase monkeys from all over the world, which is costly, bad for the environment and produces inaccurate results because each monkey might have different genes, " Pu said. "By cloning monkeys using somatic cells, we can mass produce large numbers of genetically same offspring in a short time, and even change their genes to suit our needs," he added. "This can save time, cut down experiment costs, and produce more accurate results, leading to more effective medicine."

Sun Qiang, director of the non-human primate research facility at the institute, said most of the drug trials are currently done on lab mice. However, drugs that work on mice might not work or even have severe side effects on humans because the two species are so different. "Monkeys and Humans are both primates, so they are much closely related and testing on Monkeys is supposed to be as effective as testing on humans," he said. This is especially useful in testing drugs for neural diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, metabolic and immune system disease, and tumor, he added. "This achievement will help China lead the world research in an international science project related to neural（神经的）mapping of primate brains，”he said. However, bio labs from the United States, Japan, and European countries are also very able, and they will quickly catch up to China after the monkey cloning technology is made public, Sun added. " This means we have to innovate continuously and work extra harder this year to stay ahead," he said.

1. What is special about China's cloning monkey?

A．It transferred cells in the lab.	B．It creates two monkeys at a time.
C．It adopts a method of embryo splitting.	D．It uses non-reproductive cells.

2. Why do scientists clone monkeys?

A．To keep monkeys from being endangered.	B．To test new medicines on them.
C．To find the side effects of medicines.	D．To find a cure for mental diseases.

3. Which of the following is True?

A．Cloning a monkey using somatic cells is easy.

B．Scientists have easy access to monkeys.

C．Using somatic cells is more expensive to clone.

D．Using somatic cells to clone monkeys makes it possible to produce more effective medicine.

4. What Sun said in the last paragraph suggests__________.

A．they are determined to catch up to America

B．they try to avoid competition from other countries

C．they aren't satisfied with what they have achieved

D．they have to keep the monkey-cloning technology a secret

【推荐3】Telemedicine is the name for when doctors give advice to patients by telephone or the Internet, or when health care providers in rural areas connect with specialists in big cities.
Telemedicine has existed for a long time, but the rise of smart phones, tablets and webcam-equipped computers is raising telemedicine to new levels. Some health care systems in the United States now offer Virtual Urgent Care, patients see a doctor by video chat without having to leave home.
Diana Rae is a nurse educator in the western state of Washington. She recently showed how Virtual Urgent Care works. She used an iPad tablet and skype — the video chat service.
Doctor Green has the patient describe her symptoms, then the doctor performs a physical exam by demonstrating what he wants her to do. Doctor Green decides that the problem is a silence infection. For medicine, he prescribes an antibiotic. He says about 3 out of 4 patients have health problems that can be treated like this —through Virtual Urgent Care, that means a video chat could replace a visit to the doctor's office.
The Franciscan Health System is based in Tacoma, Washington. Franciscan charges $35 for this kind of virtual house call, that is much less than the cost of going to an emergency room, a doctor's office or an urgent care clinic.
After trying the video conference, Diana Rae says, “I would've paid twice that for the convenience of getting taken care of without having to sit in a waiting room, wait, and get exposed to everyone else's germs.”
Franciscan has a deal with a company called Carena to add virtual urgent care by Skype or phone. Carena is one of several companies doing this kind of work around the country. But a company official says state rules have not kept progress with developments in telemedicine. The workers who provide virtual urgent care must be separately licensed in each state where the company does business. For now, that means Carena doctors can treat patients in Washington state and California for example, but not in neighboring Oregon or Idaho.
1. The second paragraph is mainly used to show ________.

A．why telemedicine becomes popular

B．the advantages of telemedicine

C．many factors contribute to telemedicine

D．what telemedicine is

2. Doctor Green decides that the problem is a silence infection ________.

A．through his observation of the patient

B．through a careful examination

C．by knowing what he wants her to do

D．by prescribing an antibiotic

3. The major health problems, in Doctor Green’s opinion, _________.

A．are tough to deal with

B．can be treated through a video chat

C．should result from work pressure

D．nearly cost little to recover

4. By mentioning what Diana Rae says, the author wants to show _________.

A．he finds it convenient to see a doctor by using a video chat

B．he sings high praise for this kind of treatment form

C．he must be tired of waiting too long in the hospital

D．it should be very unhealthy while staying in hospital