【推荐1】Each year Canada Chocolate Town, St. Stephen, New Brunswick, celebrates our community’s rich and delicious heritage with our annual Chocolate Fest. Now in its 30th year, this week-long, family-oriented festival is “choc-full” of activities, fun events, and all things chocolate-related. Our beloved mascot, the Great Chocolate Mousse, and his lovely wife Tiffany, invite you to join us this August for the sweetest festival of the year — Chocolate Fest!

Carma Charlotte County Coffee Morning

9:30 a.m. to 12 noon

Location: St. Stephen Town Square

Come out and join us for a Starbucks coffee, cup of tea or juice and scrumptious home-baked goods, many featuring chocolate. Sponsored (赞助) by Carma Charlotte County and adoption programs — caring for homeless and feral cats.

Dots Delecto Birthday Party

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Location: Boys and Girls Club of Charlotte County

Who does St. Stephen love? Dot Larsen! Please join us for chocolate cake and chocolate milk and help celebrate Dot’s birthday. Come and play in our indoor/outdoor playground, have your face painted and enjoy a barbecue to help raise funds for the Barracuda Swim Team. For details call BGCCC, 466-4300.

Lucy the Lady Bug’s Birthday Party

12 noon to 3 p.m.

Location: Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews

Come to celebrate with Lucy and her friends for a picnic on our front lawn (草坪) — bring your own picnic or have lunch at our Garden Cafe. At 2 p.m., join Lucy and her friends for an amazing race adventure through the big maze (迷宫), find treasure in the fantasy garden!

Cost: $38/Family Day Pass, $16/Adult, $12/Students and Seniors, Free/Children 6 and younger.

1. When is it available if you are interested in barbecue?

A．9:30 a.m.

B．2:30 p.m.

C．12:00 a.m

D．3:00 p.m.

2. How much should a couple with a girl aged 4 pay to join Lucy the Lady Bug’s Birthday Party?

A．$12.

B．$44.

C．$38.

D．$32.

3. What’s the author’s purpose of writing the text?

A．To compare the three activities.

B．To raise funds for a swimming team.

C．To introduce a popular festival.

D．To appeal to people to care for homeless cats.

【推荐3】

	Price: $ 14.9   Number of pages: 127 Storyline: Bean and her best friend, Ivy, decide to create their own camp. They think up all the activities and, of course, they make the rules… Recommendation: I’d give this book a 10 because I love the characters. They are funny and creative.
	Price: $ 15.9   Number of pages: 128 Storyline: Zoe and Alice’s mother might just have the coolest job ever. She saves great pyrenees dogs(大白熊犬)… Recommendation: I’d give this book an 8 because it is a little sad. I think kids who love animals and a good story will really like it.
	Price: $ 12.9       Number of pages: 192 Storyline: A dog lives in an empty pipe under Highway 16. He has four dog friends. One day, they decide to go on an adventure to steal the food from a human family… Recommendation: I’d give this book a 9. It is funny. I was laughing out loud at all the funny scenes.
	Price: $ 15.9     Number of pages: 160 Storyline: After their parents are killed in a car accident. Jayna and her elder brother Rob are each other’s only family. Soon, Rob goes off to serve in the navy. Recommendation: I’d give this book a 9. I’m interested in romantic novels and science fiction, but not so much in historical fiction. Gingersnap really changed my opinion.

1. _______ has the most pages.

A．Ivy and Bean Make the Rules	B．White Fur Flying
C．Stick Dog	D．Gingersnap

2. White Fur Flying ___________.

A．tells us about the life of four dogs

B．is a historical fiction

C．is a book about saving dogs

D．shows us the camp life

3. Tom wants to buy a copy of Ivy and Bean Make the Rules and a copy of Gingersnap. He should pay ______ for the two books.

A．$ 14.9

B．$30.8

C．$ 12.9

D．$15.9

【推荐1】FAMOUS CHINESE PAINTINGS, ARTISTIC TREASURES

Over many centuries, Chinese artists have created paintings that are now in the hearts of more than a billion people.

Nymph of the Luo River — Gu Kaizhi

Legend has it that Cao Zhi, a prince of the state of Cao Wei, fell in love with the governor’s daughter. However, she married his brother, Cao Pi, and the prince became upset. Later, he composed an emotional poem about the love between the goddess and common people. In the 4th century, Gu Kaizhi, a Chinese artist, was moved by the story and illustrated the poem.

Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers — Zhou Fang

During the Tang Dynasty, the genre of “beautiful women painting” enjoyed popularity. Coming from a noble background, Zhou Fang, a Chinese artist, created artworks in this genre. In his painting, the ladies stand as though they are fashion models, but one of them is entertaining herself by teasing a cute dog.

Along the River During the Qingming Festival — Zhang Zeduan

Zhang Zeduan painted the landscape in his work Along the River During the Qingming Festival. However, instead of concentrating on the vastness of nature, he captured the daily life of the people of Bianjing, present-day Kaifeng. His work shows much about life in the Northern Song Dynasty.

A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains — Wang Ximeng

Wang Ximeng, a prodigy (神童), painted his masterpiece A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains when he was only seventeen years old. He died several years later, but he left one of the largest and most beautiful paintings in Chinese history.

1. Where do you think this text is taken from?

A．A novel.

B．A travel journal.

C．A magazine.

D．A book review.

2. What can we learn from this passage?

A．Wang Ximeng created his masterpiece in his teens.

B．Nymph of the Luo River is a poem written by Cao Zhi.

C．Zhou Fang painted fashion models in his painting.

D．Zhang Zeduan’s painting describes daily life of officials.

3. Which is your best choice if you want to enjoy a painting with the beauty of nature?

A．Nymph of the Luo River — Gu Kaizhi.

B．A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains —Wang Ximeng.

C．Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers — Zhou Fang.

D．Along the River During the Qingming Festival — Zhang Zeduan.

【推荐1】Smart Home Products for Living a Connected Life

What makes something a smart home product? Generally, it’s defined by its ability to connect to a Wi-Fi network, allowing users to interact（互动）with it from their smartphones.We’ve rounded up some cool, diverse offerings that you’ll love to have in your home.

Nest Cam IQ

walmart.com

$299.00

The Nest Cam IQ is a beautifully designed home security camera that can recognize faces. It can warn you if there’s a stranger in your home. The device also supports two-way communication via built-in microphones and a powerful speaker.

Logitech Harmony Elite

amazon.com

$249.99

The Logitech Harmony Elite is one of the best universal remote controls available on the market. It can control just about every piece of electronics you own（it supports over 270，000 devices！）in every room of your house or apartment, including TVs，streaming devices, and sound systems.

Apple HomePod

bhphotovideo.com

$349.00

The Apple HomePod has better audio quality than any other smart speaker available today. Available in white or space gray, the Siri-powered device also allows you to control a number of devices with your voice.

August Smart Lock Pro

amazon.com

$279.99

The August Smart Lock Pro is compatible（兼容的）with most locks. A mobile app allows you to manage access to the lock, check its usage history, and get informed when someone opens the door. You can control it and check on the state of your door with voice commands.

1. What can the Nest Cam IQ help you do？

A．Properly use your smartphone camera

B．Control electronics with your voice.

C．Check the locks of your house.

D．Keep your home safe.

2. Which device can help you operate almost all your electronic equipment remotely？

A．Nest Cam IQ.

B．Apple HomePod.

C．August Smart Lock Pro.

D．Logitech Harmony Elite.

3. Which column of a website is the text most probably taken from？

A．Technology.

B．News.

C．Society.

D．Education.

【推荐2】In July 2017, the American Space Agency（NASA）admitted to not having enough financial means to send man on Mars for the purpose of exploring it. The news had the effect of a bomb after five years of communication and development for this space exploration project. And yet, a few months before this announcement, the two houses of the US Congress voted a law to guide future NASA tasks. Among these tasks was an inhabited trip to Mars in 2033.

In the meantime, NASA is focusing on the Mars 2020 mission by building its rover （漫游者）, which will be equipped with a series of new scientific instruments. This new machine will also look a lot like Curiosity which landed on the red planet in 2012. The mission Mars 2020 aims to assess the livability of the planet and possibly identify potential tracks of life yesterday and today.

At a recent press conference, former US astronaut Tom Jones announced that NASA’s current budget could not solve some technical problems for 25 years. Thus, it postpones the first inhabited mission of the agency to Mars in 2043. The subject concerned mainly mentioned many damages that will affect the body of astronauts.

Indeed, the trip to Mars could be completed in nine months by considering the current technologies and the moment when the planets are closer to each other. However, periods of weightlessness that are too long may, in particular, cause a lack of calcium. In fact, it influences the bones of astronauts. In addition, this can lead to significant damage of vision.

A quarter of a century is needed to develop new technologies to solve these problems. For example, there is the question of developing nuclear propulsion（推进）systems. Indeed, it could reduce travel times. Finally, there is also the idea of designing something to allow astronauts to hibernate（冬眠） during the trip!

1. What made NASA put off its inhabited mission?

A．Objection of scientists.	B．The living conditions.
C．The damage to health.	D．A shortage of funds.

2. Which is right about the Mars 2020 Mission?

A．It has been put off.

B．It is to evaluate the possibility for our living.

C．Its aim is to send man to Mars.

D．Its purpose is for man to walk on Mars.

3. What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．The problems existing nowadays.	B．The accuracy of travel times.
C．The time to develop technologies.	D．The update of new devices.

【推荐3】If you’ re after cheap UK train tickets, check the suggestions below and see how you could bag yourself a bargain. We'll even highlight the cheapest prices!

·Booking in advance

Train tickets in the UK usually go on sale 3 months before the date of travel. Look out for advance tickets, as these tend to be cheaper when they 're first released. Be quick though, as they may sell out on busier routes.

Find out more about our advance ticket alert tool.

·Traveling off-peak

When travelling by train in the UK, you can benefit from reduced fares by choosing the time periods of day that are less busy. When searching for tickets with us, we'll display all available tickets and options, highlighting the cheapest ones.

Learn more about off- peak train time from our website.

·Using the price prediction tool

Our clever little price prediction tool will predict the future and let you know when ticket prices are about to go up, meaning you’ll never miss out on the best value fares. Beat the rush and save on price too (Currently available in the UK app only).

Discover the magic of price prediction.

·Choosing the season ticket calculator

If you travel on the same route more than three times a week, then season tickets could help you to save both valuable time and money. Besides that, they're also available in a number of flexible options to suit different time frames.

Check out our season ticket calculator today to get started.

1. What is the feature of traveling off- peak by train in the UK?

A．The trains are too crowded.

B．Train tickets are often sold out.

C．There are more passengers at this time.

D．The travel time periods are relatively unoccupied.

2. What can visitors do if they want to know when train fares will rise?

A．Call ahead and ask.

B．Check the American app.

C．Refer to the price prediction tool.

D．Download the season ticket calculator.

3. What is the author’s main purpose in writing the text?

A．To advertise train services.

B．To encourage passengers to travel abroad.

C．To help visitors spend less money on railway tickets.

D．To offer services to the train passengers on the way.

【推荐1】Dear Editor (编辑) Buddy,

On my way to work every morning I drive by a farm where I can see some horses off the woods. They are there every morning no matter how cold or rainy or windy it is. There is a shed (牲口棚) on the farm, but it doesn’t seem that the horses are ever taken into the shed. Is this right? I don’t think horses should be treated (对待) like that.

Sam

Dear Sam,

Thanks for taking an interest in those horses. The care of horses is different from that of cats and dogs. Think of wild horses that spend their whole lives outdoors finding food and shelter (遮蔽) on their own. The point is that horses don’t require as much shelter as other farm animals. However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t need shelter.

It is hard to tell from your letter whether the situation for those horses is unacceptable. Do you know the people who own the horses well enough to just talk to them? Maybe they will tell you that the horses do go in the shed at night. If direct contact (联系) is not a choice and you can see that the horses’ situation is poor, then call 911 and report it.

If you just can’t see enough to prove such a report, call the Oswego County Humane Society at 207-1070 for help from the Large Animal Assistance Project (LAAP). A volunteer from the project will help solve the problem.

Speaking of volunteers, since you appear to be a horse lover, why not talk to the LAAP about volunteer opportunities for yourself? The project always needs knowledgeable horse people to help.

Buddy

1. Sam writes to Editor Buddy in order to________.

A．ask how to keep horses outdoors

B．discuss if those horses are badly treated

C．report several wild horses he has seen

D．show his strong interest in keeping horses

2. According to Editor Buddy, horses ________.

A．need less shelter than other farm animals

B．know the changes in the weather

C．like finding food by themselves

D．prefer living indoors

3. What does Editor Buddy advise Sam to do first?

A．To call 911.

B．To turn to the LAAP for help.

C．To contact the horses’ owners directly.

D．To call the Oswego County Humane Society.

4. In the last paragraph of the second letter, Editor Buddy_______.

A．advises Sam to change his job

B．encourages Sam to join the LAAP

C．praises Sam for his good behavior

D．explains the importance of the LAAP

【推荐2】When homework and tests keep you up late at night, you may plan to make up for your lost sleep during the weekends. But is it useful?

A study published in the journal Current Biology shows that the habit of sleeping in on weekends doesn’t fix the damage that has been done by a lack of sleep during the week. Even worse, it may damage your health.

In the study, which was conducted over 10 days, 36 healthy young men and women with different sleep requirements were divided into three groups. The first group were asked to sleep nine hours a night and the second group five hours a night. The members of the third group slept for five hours on weekdays but rested as long as they wanted on the weekend.

The researchers found that people who lacked sleep ate more snacks and gained weight quickly. However, this wasn’t the case for the first group.

That could be partially due to the shifting of the biological clock and changes to certain body hormones, especially hunger hormones. In order to catch up on their sleep during weekends, people in the third group would eat later as a habit. So their biological clocks shifted, which also changed the production of hunger hormones.

“The hormone leptin(瘦素) decreases appetite(胃口), while the hormone ghrelin(饿素) increases appetite,” explained US researcher Vsevolod Polotsky. “Sleep shortage causes leptin to drop and ghrelin to rise, so you’re hungry and eat more.”

And even if they tried to sleep for as long as they wanted to during weekends, according to researchers, it was still not enough because they found it difficult to fall asleep.

Moreover, short and insufficient sleep schedules will lead to an inability to change blood sugar and increase the risk of metabolic(新陈代谢) disease in the long term.

1. Which of the following is true about the study?

A．Participants were divided into two groups.

B．Researchers studied 36 children and adults.

C．It lasted for more than two weeks.

D．Each group follow different sleep requirements.

2. What does the underlined word “shifting” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．increasing

B．lacking

C．changing

D．shortening

3. Why may people without enough sleep eat more?

A．They need to create more energy.

B．There is less leptin in their bodies.

C．They have a lower blood sugar.

D．Their bodies produce less hormones.

4. What can be a suitable title for this passage?

A．Appetite Affects our Sleep Quality

B．Sleeping in Causes Weight Loss

C．Catching up on Sleep Harms Our Body

D．Men and Women Sleep Differently

【推荐3】I received a private message on Facebook. It began harmlessly enough: “Hey, girl. Wanted to invite you to join my next challenge group—we’ll be focusing on fitting in 30 minutes of exercise and balanced nutrition.”

It was all becoming too much. Facebook was running my life, not me.

But what killed Facebook for me was when I posted a photo, and five minutes later my son asked me how many “likes” it had got. His question was a wake-up call.

“Likes” are signs of acceptance and approval. I had forgotten that acceptance and approval need to come from within and had unknowingly set him a bad example.

Before Facebook, surfing the internet was an occasional distraction and I spent a lot more time reading books and magazines. I checked in with friends through texts, emails and phone calls.

To recreate the simplicity of those days and set a healthier example to my son, I deactivated my Facebook account.

I’d been in the habit of checking Facebook many times a day, so I had to come up with some new habits. I carried a novel and a crossword puzzle book around with me. I rediscovered knitting. I started taking yoga classes.

I started to remember a few things. My body is fine just the way it is. I have friends who will help me out when I’m in trouble, and I will help them out. I do my best to be a good mother, and our son is happy and healthy. We are very lucky to be able to afford two vacations a year.

I stopped looking at the world through my cellphone. I felt completely present in the moment.

The break left me feeling better about myself, my family, my home and my life.

After a few weeks, I returned to Facebook. Now I look at the photos of my friends’ kids growing up and treasure how social media allows me to keep in touch with family far and wide. I look in on a daily basis, but no longer with the desire constantly to post updates.

It is not an addiction any more.

1. What was the author’s life like before her break from Facebook?

A．She enjoyed reading in her free time.

B．She spent much time on social media.

C．She didn’t get along well with her son.

D．She didn’t care what others thought of her.

2. The underlined word “deactivate” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to “________”.

A．close

B．update

C．keep

D．check

3. What did the author do to change her life?

A．She went to the gym as often as she could.

B．She developed some healthy habits.

C．She tried to make money for her holidays.

D．She traveled around a lot for a year.

4. What is the author’s attitude toward social media?

A．Critical.

B．Supportive.

C．Objective.

D．Indifferent.