【推荐1】Meghan is a professional Instagram star. She gets paid to climb beautiful mountains, photograph their glittering summits and post about her adventures to her fans.

Meghan graduated from Seattle University’s School of Law in 2016. But she decided she didn’t want to become a lawyer. Her parents were shocked by her decision. “They were worried about what I was going to do, for it was an unstable job.”

But her legal (法律的) skills haven’t gone to waste. Once sponsors (赞助商) express an interest in working with her, there’s the challenging task of negotiation (协商). And the work is still unfinished even after she’s taken the photos. When Meghan returns from her adventures, she carefully edits the images and writes words to go along with them. Sometimes, although the posts are public, businesses don’t pay on time. That’s when she needs to follow up. Her least favorite problem is when she discovers that a sponsor has used her photos in a way that breaks the contract (合同). That usually leads to time-consuming email exchanges.

Social media influencing never seems that easy. The stress it creates even has its own name: creator burnout. Meghan used to repeatedly check her post’s performance, which she says will “drive you crazy”, so she stops. But if she doesn’t reply, fans will stop commenting. Without that engagement on her posts, sponsors won’t want to keep paying her. Therefore, she has to accept the fact that she’ll be glued to her phone as long as she’s in this line of work.

Beyond the day-to-day headaches of a career online, social media’s uncertainty also causes problems for creators. There are times when Meghan is staring at the calendar without another project in the works. In the long term, it can be risky to focus a career on a single platform, or even on social media itself.

Yet Meghan says it’s all been worth it, because the sponsorship allows her to spend much of her life in the mountains. Her ideal day starts with unzipping her tent at dawn so she can take pictures of the sunrise reflecting on snowy summits around her. Few jobs in the world would allow her to do that so consistently.

1. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The main work for an Instagram star is to exchange emails.

B．The difficulties that every Instagram star will meet.

C．How to deal with dishonest companies.

D．How Meghan’s legal skills help her work.

2. According to the article, all of the following are problems with being a social media influencer EXCEPT________.

A．There are a lot of difficult tasks when dealing with sponsors.

B．The work of photo-taking and image-editing is difficult to deal with.

C．The income is unstable and job’s advancement opportunities are uncertain.

D．It is stressful to check one’s phone and to interact with fans all the time.

3. According to the article, what is Meghan’s attitude toward her career as a full-influencer?

A．Worried.	B．Bored.
C．Satisfied	D．Confident.

【推荐2】When I began planning to move to Auckland to study,my mother was a little worried about the uncertainty of living in a place that was so different from India,where we lived. She worried particularly about the lack of jobs,the cultural differences and the chance that I would face racism.

Despite these worries,I came to New Zealand in July 2009. I have found the place and people very nice and supportive. Soon after I arrived,I realized the importance of getting a job to supply my living expenses.

Determined to do this on my own,I spent a whole day going from door to door asking for a job. However,I received little or no response. This became my routine every day after college for a few weeks.

One afternoon,I walked into a building to ask if there were any job opportunities. People there were very surprised,and advised me not to continue my job search in that manner. As I was about to leave,a clerk in the building,who had been listening to what the others had said,approached me and asked if I would wait outside. Fifteen minutes later,he returned. He asked me what my plans were and encouraged me to stay confident. He then offered to take me to the Royal Oak area to search for a job.

I was a little surprised,but had a good feeling about him,so I went along. Along the way,I realized that I had run out of copies of my resume (简历). The man stopped at his business partner's office to make me 15 extra copies. He also gave me tips on dressing and speaking,and added that I should give him a call if I ever needed anything. I handed out my resumes and went home feeling very satisfied. The following day,I received a call from a store in Royal Oak offering me a job.

It seems that the world always gives back to you when you need it. And this time,it was a complete stranger who turned out to be a real blessing.

1. After staying in New Zealand for a short time,the author ________.

A．decided to go back to his own country

B．felt the local people were not very friendly

C．had to find a job to cover his living expenses

D．wanted to get a job that needed practical skills

2. When the author went into a building to look for a job, ________.

A．a clerk gave him encouragement and advice

B．he was confident that he would find a good one

C．he found many college students like him already there

D．a clerk recommended him to the company he worked for

3. What is the story mainly about?

A．How a stranger offered the author a job.

B．How a stranger turned out to be a real blessing.

C．How the author adapted himself to a new situation.

D．How the author was helped to get a job by a stranger.

4. What wasn't the author's mother worried about?

A．People might look down on the author.

B．The author couldn't speak the local language.

C．The author wasn't familiar with local customs.

D．It might be difficult for the author to find a job.

【推荐1】A recent study confirms that several turtle species(海龟种类) have either greatly dropped or disappeared from various sections of the Australian Murray River. “The problem is that the long life of turtles makes people unable to sense the seriousness of the situation,” says Ricky Spencer, a co-author of the study, which was published in February in Scientific Reports. “It’s human nature that only when something is gone do we start missing it.”

Spencer and his workmates recorded the population of three once common turtle species at 52 sites along the southern areas of the river. The researchers inferred the species’ population sizes from the number of individuals they caught in a given amount of time. They found the turtles have disappeared in places where they were previously rich, and most of the individuals they managed to catch elsewhere were large—and likely old—adults. Spencer and his workmates blame the losses on continuing nest predation(捕食) by foxes, accompanied by other problems, including a worse and worse environment and serious drought(干旱) in the 2000s.

“We have known about the sudden sharp drop of the population of the turtles for tens of years, and although media have covered a lot about the ‘trouble of our rivers’, nothing has been done,” says Rick Shine from Macquarie University in Sydney. “This paper is a wake-up call that unless we begin to do something about turtle protection, we may lose an attractive part of our native creatures.”

The turtles could recover quickly if action is taken to protect nests from foxes and bring back living areas, Spencer notes. But governments tend to respond only when losses reach crisis levels, and the Murray River species currently lack the government’s protection, he says. He and his workmates have a solution, however. “Our next step is to start designing community protection efforts for common turtle species,” he explains, “so people can actually do things without having to wait for the government’s support.”

1. Why are people unaware that turtles are in a very serious situation?

A．The government hasn’t taken action.

B．They know turtles have a long life.

C．Old turtles still have a large population.

D．Media haven’t done any report about it.

2. What is the greatest challenge for turtles according to Spencer’s team?

A．Foxes catch and feed on them.	B．The environment is getting worse.
C．The climate is extremely dry.	D．Human beings kill them in quantity.

3. Which of the following does Rick Shine agree with?

A．Media have already done their best.	B．The study gives people a warning.
C．Turtles are sure to disappear soon.	D．Turtle protection is a long process.

4. What do we know from the last paragraph?

A．It’s not possible that turtles can avoid disappearing.

B．The government is taking action against the crisis.

C．Community efforts to protect turtles will start soon.

D．People have to wait for the government’s support.

【推荐2】Pioneering research from the University of Portsmouth that aims to find a solution to the global plastic pollution crisis is to share in £15. 9 million of investment from the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The Solent LEP will use the Government's“Getting Building Fund" allocation to finance the expansion of the University's Centre for Enzyme Innovation (CEI),which takes enzymes(酶） from the natural environment and adapts them in the laboratory to recycle and reuse some of our most polluting plastics. The CEI will receive £1 millon investment from the Solent LEP.

The CEI is one of several projects that have been funded by the Solent LEP,which plays a leading role in determining economic priorities in the region. The projects will benefit the region's economic recovery in the present environment.

The CEI Expansion-Industrial Engagement Hub project will almost double the current size of the CEI and create three new specialist laboratories, to bridge the gap between the current research capabilities and what this technology needs to develop into in order to be adopted by industry.

In addition, the Industrial Engagement Hub will be a space for interaction between researchers and industry collaborators and become a testbed for growing local and national partnerships.

Professor Graham Galbraith,Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, said:“The CEI is a unique environment for industry and academia to work together to shape, refine,develop and test the new technologies emerging from this ground-breaking research.”

“The funding from the Solent LEP to support the development of the CEI will deliver significant economic and societal benefits and clearly delivers our ambitions for research with impact and sustainability(持续性） as set out in our vision for 2030.”

1. What's CEI' s experiment?

A．Collecting enzymes.	B．Making building material.
C．Removing waste land.	D．Recycling materials.

2. What's CEI' s aim of the project?

A．To get investment for the national program.

B．To help the Solent LEP manage its production.

C．To determine economic priorities in the region.

D．To get a chemical for the reduction of plastic pollution.

3. What can we know from Professor Graham Galbraith' s words?

A．It is hard to reduce polluting plastics.

B．The LEP funding has short-term benefits.

C．The CEI has connected research and industry.

D．Scientific research must need industries' support.

4. What's the best title of the text?

A．University Receives Funding for Plastics Recycling

B．What's the Best Way to Get Rid of Polluting Plastics

C．Local and National Partnerships Strengthen the Research

D．Industries' Support is the Key to Reducing Polluting Plastics

【推荐3】Seagrass meadows (海草床) are wonder plants growing beneath the sea. They feed and shelter sea life and are masterful at storing carbon. Thanks to the assistance of tiger sharks, a huge seagrass meadow in the Bahamas Banks has been discovered, offering the world a tool to fight climate change.

Seagrass has usually been detected by Earth-orbiting satellites that identify darker spots in the blue water. In a recent study, tiger sharks were selected as research tools due to their highly consistent associations with seagrass ecosystems. They spent 70% of their time in seagrass meadows. The team equipped eight tiger sharks with satellite labels, seven sharks with camera labels, and used a 360-degree camera on a shark for the first time ever.

The data researchers collected was astonishing. The world’s largest seagrass ecosystem, measuring at least 66,900 square kilometers, has been discovered. This reflects a 41% increase from previous estimates of global seagrass. Seagrass can capture (捕获) huge quantities of carbon by photosynthesis (光合作用) and stores it on the seafloor. In terms of climate change, this is excellent news; seagrass is 35 times faster at removing carbon than tropical rainforests. When referring to global seagrass carbon stock estimates, the study indicates that seagrass in the Bahamas may contain 19.2% to 26.3% of all the carbon stored in seagrass meadows on Earth.

Yet seagrass meadows are rapidly disappearing, with over 92% of meadows in the UK gone, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Scientists are collecting seeds and trying to grow new seagrass meadows through restoration projects. This new discovery offers optimism and proves the importance of the ocean for healing.

The sharks led us to the seagrass ecosystem in the Bahamas, which we now know is likely the most significant blue carbon sink on the planet. What this discovery shows us is that ocean exploration and research are essential for a healthy future. The undeveloped potential of the ocean is limitless. These meadows can be protected and can be copied, offering hope for climate change around the globe.

1. How was the seagrass meadow in the Bahamas Banks discovered?

A．By analyzing satellites images.

B．By keeping track of tiger sharks.

C．By using a 360-degree camera.

D．By carrying out restoration projects.

2. What is the benefit of seagrass in terms of climate change?

A．Seagrass provides food for tiger sharks.

B．Seagrass stores large amounts of carbon.

C．Seagrass absorbs wastes from the ocean.

D．Seagrass supplies a habitat to sea animals.

3. What is the main message conveyed in the passage?

A．Tiger sharks are a tool to detect seagrass meadows.

B．Seagrass meadows are disappearing at an alarming rate.

C．Scientists are making progress in restoring seagrass meadows.

D．Seagrass meadows have a great potential to fight climate change.

4. What is the writer’s attitude towards the discovery of seagrass meadows?

A．Concerned.

B．Positive.

C．Doubtful.

D．Indifferent.

【推荐1】The Austrian composer, Schubert, was born in Vienna. His father, a schoolmaster, was his first music teacher. When he was 11, he was fortunate in being chosen to one of the Vienna Boy’s singing group. There he received a free general education as well as music teaching. He began to compose in these years, mostly instrumental or orchestral compositions, but also a few songs. He spent more time in covering sheets of paper with these compositions than at his other studies.

After he left the singing group, Schubert became a schoolmaster to avoid being sent into the army, and he taught at his father’s school for 3 years. When only 17, he wrote his first great song, and during the next 2 years he wrote many of his finest songs. After his 3 years’ teaching, he lived with various friends, all as penniless as himself, composing all the time, sometimes writing eight songs in a day, and even sleeping in his glasses in case he might have an idea for a song during the night. Although he hated teaching, he earned some money by giving piano lessons.

Schubert never became widely famous outside Vienna during his life. It was late in his short life, and only after much persuasion, that publishers began to print and sell some of his compositions;   and Schubert received very little money for these. He had been able to be happy and free to compose, though extremely poor. But a cloud of sadness hung over in his late years. In 1827 he wrote his song-cycle for voice and piano. The Winter Journey and its sadness show his own state of mind. In the autumn of 1828 he fell ill for the second time in his life and died. Almost all his last words were of Beethoven, whom he loved and admired above all other composers. He was buried beside him.

Although Schubert died when only 32, he wrote a great amount of music. He had little academic training but a very sure musical talent. Much of his finest work he never heard performed.

1. Who first taught Schubert to learn music?

A．Vienna Boy’s singing group.	B．His father.
C．His teacher in a primary school.	D．His brother.

2. Why did Schubert work as a schoolmaster?

A．Because he didn’t want to join the army.	B．Because he liked teaching children.
C．Because he could earn more money.	D．Because he wanted to build his own band.

3. What can we know about Schubert according to the passage?

A．He was famous in his late life.

B．Publishers were willing to publish his works.

C．He didn’t have enough money all his life.

D．He heard many of his compositions performed.

4. How was the passage developed?

A．By following time order.	B．By giving examples.
C．By making comparison.	D．By giving definitions.

【推荐2】The very wealthy English Baron Fitzgerald had only one child,a son,who understandably was the apple of his eye. His wife died when the child was in his early teens. So Fitzgerald devoted himself to fathering the kid. Unfortunately the son died in his late teens.

Meanwhile, Fitzgerald’s wealth greatly increased. He spent a lot on art works of the masters. Later Fitzgerald himself because seriously ill. Before his death, he had carefully prepared his will as to how his wealth would be settled—to sell his entire collection at an auction(拍卖).

Because of the large quantity and high quality of his collection, a huge crowd of possible buyers gathered for the auction. Many of them were museum directors and private collectors eager to bid(出价). Before the auction, the art works were shown, among which was a painting of Fitzgerald’s son by an unknown artist.Because of its poor quality, it received little attention.

When it was time for the auction,the auctioneer gaveled(敲槌) the crowd to attention.First the lawyer read from Fitzgerald’s will that the first art work to be auctioned was the painting of his son.

The poor-quality painting didn’t receive and bidders...except one—the old servant who had served the son and loved him, and who for emotional reasons offered the only bid.

As soon as the servant bought the painting for less than one English pound,the auctioneer stopped the bidding and asked the lawyer to read again from the will. The crowd became quiet, and the lawyer read from the will: “Whoever buys the painting of my son gets all my collection.” Then the auction was over.

1. The English Baron Fitzgerald was______.

A．a museum director	B．a master of art
C．an art collector	D．an art dealer

2. Why did the old servant bid for the painting of Fitzgerald’s son?

A．He was devoted to the family.	B．He saw that no one bid for it.
C．He knew the content of the will.	D．He found it cheap for him to buy.

3. Fitzgerald’s will showed______.

A．his desire to fool the bidders	B．his invaluable love for his son
C．his sadness at the death of his son	D．his regret of having no children to take over his wealth

【推荐3】Kyle Cassidy and three other members of the Annenberg Running Group were stretching on the grounds of the University of Pennsylvania, waiting for a few slow members to start. The Penn colleagues and other community members meet three days a week for a roughly 30-minute jog and an occasional lecture. It's not your normal exercise chatter—during some runs, one of them delivers a talk; the topics range from the brain to Bitcoin（比特币）.

But on this day last January, it would not be their normal run. The first sign was the man who ran past them very fast. "Probably running a 7:15 pace（per mile）," Cassidy thought admiringly.

Cassidy discovered why the man was so fast at running when another man ran by, yelling "Help! He took my phone!"

Hearing that, the group did what running clubs do: They ran, chasing the suspect down the streets until he quickly hid in a construction site. The runners split up. Cassidy ran around to the far side of the site to cut the thief off while the others wandered the neighborhood hoping he had abandoned the stolen phone in a backyard.

No luck. Then they asked the residents whether they'd seen the guy. When they knocked on the door of one house, they were in for a surprise. They didn't know the thief had already come out of the construction site and was hiding behind a bush by that very house. As the owner opened the door, the suspect suddenly rushed out from behind the bush and right into the arms of the campus police, who had joined the chase shortly behind the runners.

The members of this running group are not passionate（狂热的）runners. But they do understand the benefit of a little exercise. "Running is typically a useless sport where you turn fat cells into heat," Cassidy said. "But occasionally it can be useful, and here was one of those opportunities."

1. What does the running group do at times while exercising?

A．Share ideas.	B．Talk nonsense.
C．Help search for lost things.	D．Play with their smartphones.

2. How did Cassidy feel right after the thief ran past him?

A．Confused

B．Frightened

C．Motivated

D．Impressed

3. What does the underlined phrase "split up" refer to?

A．gave up.

B．stayed up.

C．got separated

D．ran away.

4. What message can we get from the story?

A．It's very important to keep fit.

B．Exercising can be socially beneficial.

C．Whatever you do, you should do your best.

D．Teamwork is more important than individual skills.

【推荐1】Applying to Stellinga College

Why Stellinga?

Thank you for your interest in Stellinga International College. As an international student, we are sure you will find our college an exciting place to study, with like-minded and ambitious people.

Preparing and submitting your application

We have tried to make the application process as easy as possible for you, but there are a number of procedures you must follow.

All our courses are taught in English, so first of all you will probably need to submit evidence of your English language ability. We require an IELTS score of 6.5. You will also have to send us your secondary school diploma, so that we can evaluate it.

We will also require a personal statement. This is a text of up to 1,000 words in which you introduce yourself, explain your interest in our college, and why you want to study your chosen course.

If you are from outside the European Union (EU), it is important that you have an entrance visa before you come to study in the Netherlands, but we will apply for this for you.

We now only accept online applications, so please ensure that you have all your documents ready to upload before you begin. Any documents that are not in English originally will also need to be translated and the translation also uploaded.

You will need a passport photograph; a copy of your passport; copies of all your certificates and diplomas; your proof of language ability; and your personal statement in English.

What happens next?

Your application will then be considered. If your initial application is successful, you will be invited for an interview. This will be conducted in English via skype, over the phone or on site. You will talk to two or three members of staff for up to 30 minutes. We aim to inform you of our decision in writing, within 4 weeks. There are several possible outcomes: you may not have been successful; you may be offered a place on the waiting list. You will need to reply to any offers within two weeks, otherwise your place may be offered to somebody else.

Good luck with your application.

1. Which is unnecessary for people inside the EU when submitting applications?

A．A personal statement.	B．An entrance visa.
C．Evidence of English ability.	D．A secondary school diploma.

2. If your first application is accepted, what is the next process?

A．You will have an interview in English.	B．You will get the reply over the phone.
C．You should make a decision within 4 weeks.	D．You should reply to the offer the moment you get it.

3. Where can we find the passage?

A．In a science magazine.	B．In a tourist brochure.
C．In an English teaching book.	D．On a university’s website.

【推荐2】Have you ever noticed that your fingertips are wrinkled (起皱的) when you’ve just finished swimming or washing dishes? It seems as if your hands have aged 30 years in a second. But is this an accident? Or is it something that nature has built into our bodies?

“If your finger’s wrinkling up had no use at all, it wouldn’t need to.” Professor Tom Smulders from Newcastle University UK told BBC News. By studying wet fingers closely, Smulders and his partners found that the wrinkles looked a bit like the patterns on the car tire or the bottom of the running shoes. So they made a guess that wrinkles on fingers might be able to help the hand hold things more tightly.

To test this, researchers asked 20 people to pick up marbles (大理石) from water with their hands. But before they started, some of the people had to keep their hands in water for half an hour. The researchers found that the people with wrinkled fingers completed the task faster than those with dry hands. But when they were asked to move dry marbles, all the people performed equally well no matter they had the wrinkled fingers or not. Researchers said our ancestors might not have played with marbles but wrinkled fingers could have made it easier for them to climb around in the wet forests and catch fish from rivers. Similarly, our toes also get wrinkled in water. This may have developed from our ancestors need to run on wet ground.

But the question is if wrinkled fingers are so helpful, why don’t our hands just stay that way all the time? Researchers explained that wrinkling had its disadvantage: wet fingertips are far less sensitive than smooth ones, reducing our sense of touch.

1. What does the underlined word “this” in the third paragraph refer to?

A．Whether fingers have wrinkles after they are put in water.

B．Whether wrinkled fingers can hold things more tightly.

C．Why keeping things in water makes them wrinkled.

D．Why wrinkles help hands hold things more tightly.

2. The test shows that _________.

A．wrinkled hands hold dry things more tightly than dry hands do

B．dry hands hold dry things more tightly than wrinkled hands do

C．wrinkled hands hold wet things more tightly than dry hands do

D．dry hands hold wet things more tightly than wrinkled hands do

3. What might be the disadvantage of wrinkled fingers?

A．They are too sensitive to be touched.

B．They might be more likely to get hurt.

C．They cannot hold things tightly enough.

D．They are not so sensitive as dry fingers.

【推荐3】Cyclist Alain Such has been dropped from the Ingotel cycling team for two years after a positive drug test at the Institute of Drug Free Sport. "I was flabbergasted, "said Vidier Garcia, from Team Ingotel. "Alain joined our team last month and we had no idea that he was being examined."

It’s a story that has become more and more familiar in recent years. Dr Mohammad Farnood, a leading sports scientist from Cairo, Egypt, said, "It is thought that some athletes will look for other ways to improve their performance in addition to using drugs."

However, it has not always been against the law. In the Olympics in 1994, Thomas Hicks won the marathon after using drugs in the middle of the race. In fact, the first one didn’t make him feel better for long, so he was given another and, as a result, he fell down soon after finishing and knew nothing. Another one may well have killed him.

Things are very different today. Some scientists are considering the possibility of using genetic engineering to further develop athletes’ abilities. "If it works with no risk of discovery, "said Dr Farnood, "then it’s likely to become common practice for athletes."

Researchers are looking at the possibility of identifying "athletic" genes and correcting weak ones. Put into practice, this would make a person healthier and stronger. Once scientists understand what the genes of top athletes look like, it might even become possible to identify "athletic" genes in young people, and then money could be spent on children who have the most promising genes.

"People are beginning to recognize that it can do good to our society, for example in saving lives and in creating better quality food for people," Dr Farnood said. "So, is it fair to use genetic engineering in sport? You could ask if it's fair for some runners to use the latest scientifically developed footwear. The key question is whether it’s available to everyone.’

1. What does the underlined word "flabbergasted" in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Shy.	B．Proud.
C．Excited.	D．Surprised.

2. What happened to Thomas Hicks in 1994?

A．He was badly hurt in training.	B．He broke the law when running in a race.
C．He took drugs and almost got killed.	D．He lost the match in the Olympic Games.

3. Who may show the greatest concern about using genetic engineering in sport?

A．Vidier Garcia.	B．Thomas Hicks.
C．Alain Such.	D．Dr Mohammad Farnood.

4. What can we learn from Paragraphs 5 and 6?

A．The possibility of identifying " athletic" genes has become available.

B．It’s not clear whether it is fair to use genetic engineering in sport.

C．The practice of using drugs in sport has a long history.

D．It’s dangerous to use drugs in sport.