【推荐1】Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Shanghai Hengyuanxiang Drama Development Company and Netherlander Worldwide Entertainment signed a deal last November that would see Shimmer (《犹太人在上海》) become the first Chinese musical to have an open-ended run on Broadway in 2019.     1    

Directed by Xu Jun, Shimmer is a musical in both English and Chinese. Shimmer, which tells a story about Jews who fled to Shanghai to escape Nazi persecution (迫害) during World War II, was first shown at the Shanghai Culture Square in 2015.     2     The musical’s scheduled open-ended run in 2019 will be one of the events to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. With this play being shown on Broadway, the ties between Chinese people and Americans will be firmly strengthened. And through this drama, the audience can feel the charm of Chinese culture.

    3     To deal with the problem, many production companies in Shanghai have pointed out that they should keep striving for improvement by creating more Chinese musicals and by creating more audiences. Currently, those who watch Western musicals in China are limited to a small group — people who have received a university education or have had overseas working experiences, white-collar and even gold-collar workers. There are only a handful of people who understand foreign languages and you have to find a way to motivate the public and get them into the theater.

    4     There has been a handful of successful musical stories in Shanghai. The Chinese editions of Broadway musicals Cats and Mamma Mia, both of which had hundreds of shows across China, are among the top box office hits.

A．What do you think we can do to prevent Chinese musicals from declining in popularity?

B．At that time, the musical was chosen as the opening show for the 17th China Shanghai International Arts Festival.

C．The box office is expected to be twice higher than that of last year, reaching $1 million in total.

D．The small audience size hasn’t discouraged local artists from producing outstanding works.

E．The deal is a milestone for Shimmer in its goal to further spread its influence to the world.

F．Despite the huge success of Shimmer, the team is facing a limited market.

【推荐2】A 16﹣year﹣old boy finds himself on a boat in the Pacific Ocean after escaping a shipwreck（海难）．Even worse，he is left with a huge tiger for company．But he manages to survive after 227 days of fighting against all the hardships of the sea．

Pi，the lead character in Oscar---winning Ang Lee's new movie Life of Pi，went through an inspiring journey of growth and self﹣discovery．So did 19-year-old Suraj Sharma，the Indian actor who plays him．

But it was a lucky chance that opened up the opportunity for the new star．Sharma was a regular student who lived with his mathematician parents in Delhi，India．As the director traveled to Mumbai to find his Pi，the teenager went along with his younger brother，who had acted in a couple of movies，to audition（试镜）．But little did Sharma know that he would end up winning the role from 3，000 hopefuls．

Lee said he saw Pi in Sharma："Not only does he have a compelling（引人入胜的） and wise look．He has this talent．"The director said that in the final round，Sharma gave one of the"most compelling readings we had．In the end，he was in tears．"Understandably，Sharma didn't want to let Lee down．"He （Lee） had given me this opportunity．I had to give it my best，"Sharma told the Philippine Daily Inquirer．

Sharma swam for four or five hours a day until he was completely comfortable with the water．He also worked on his body because he had to first gain weight and then quickly lose weight as the story developed．He even had rats run all over him to prepare for his role．Lee was impressed by the teenager，especially his endurance（耐力）and patience in staying in a water tank for many hours each day．Sharma was only 16when Lee signed him．After three years of shooting，Sharma said he had matured with Pi's journey．

1. What is the function of the first paragraph？

A．To introduce the topic of the passage．

B．To appeal to readers to watch a movie．

C．To attract readers to continue reading．

D．To suggest the theme of this passage．

2. We can know from the passage that     ．

A．Sharma wanted to become a mathematician

B．Sharma had acted in a couple of movies

C．Sharma was sure to win in the audition

D．Many teenagers wanted to act the role Pi

3. Which of the following words can be used to describe Sharma？

A．Confident and brave．

B．Talented and diligent．

C．Strong and courageous．

D．Patient and easily﹣excited．

【推荐3】Follow this four-day route, and you’ll lose yourself in the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

Day 1 Overview Edinburgh

It was in Scotland’s capital city that J. K. Rowling started to plot the adventures of Harry and his pals. With stoned streets, winding alleys and medieval (中世纪的) architecture, the city certainly has a few things in common with the settings from the books and films. She wrote the early chapters in various cafes around the city’s Old Towns.

Day 2 Overview travel to Fort William

Travel by train from Edinburgh to Glasgow. From there, you can take the West Highland Line toFort William. This is a great way to see some famous spots from the window, including the mysterious Rannoch Moor, the place where Death Eaters board the train in the movie Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.

Day 3 Overview all aboard the Hogwarts Express

Witness the sweeping cinematic scenery of the movie Harry Potter by booking a seat on the Jacobite Steam Train. Stop for lunch in Mallaig and then make the return journey to Fort William. Please be sure to book the steam train in advance, as it is exceedingly popular. By the way, it runs seasonally.

Day 4 Overview lakes and glens (峡谷)

In the films, mysterious, misty landscapes frame the background of Harry’s tale, so it’s no surprise that the film producers chose the Highlands for many scenes. Spend a day wandering through some of these beautiful spots and feel the magical atmosphere.

1. Where did J. K. Rowling create Harry Potter at first?

A．In Edinburgh.	B．In Mallaig.
C．In Glasgow.	D．In Fort William.

2. What should you pay attention to if taking the Jacobite Steam Train?

A．Reviewing the movie early.

B．Booking tickets in advance.

C．Bringing lunch ahead of time.

D．Buying one-way ticket specially.

3. In which section of a newspaper will you read the text?

A．Current Affairs.	B．Technology.
C．Tours.	D．Biography.

【推荐2】Many cultures around the world have a grain that is not grown or even known outside its home area. Now, a staple grain native to Ethiopia, teff, is appearing on grocery shelves in America.

Teff has been an important part of the Ethiopian diet for thousands of years. Like rice and wheat, it is a cereal grass. Teff is known for its fine grain and used mainly to make flour. Teff flour is the key ingredient in injera, the large, spongy pancakes that make up a large portion of the Ethiopian diet.

Teff was introduced to the United States by a man named Wayne Carlson, who learned about teff while doing public health work in Africa in the mid-1970s. "I came to know teff because I was eating it all the time and hosted by teff farmers. " he said. In the late 70s, Carlson returned to the U. S. , married and settled in southwest Idaho. Then he came up with an idea to introduce teff grass to his home state. " Geologically, it is very similar to Ethiopia."

Wayne and his wife Elisabeth are not farmers, nor do they want to be. So they convinced actual farmers in Idaho to grow teff on contract for them. The Carlsons milled it themselves.

Wayne went through the Washington, D. C. telephone book and looked for the names that were Ethiopian. And that is how the business slowly grew. Over time, the Teff Company has outgrown four different mills.

Rich Roseberg is a food researcher at Oregon State University. He says teff production has exploded over the past decade in the U. S. He says most teff grown in the U. S. is fed to farm animals. In Idaho, however, where the Carlsons are based, Roseberg believes more of the teff production is for human food. Teff contains lots of calcium, iron, protein and fiber. Roseberg credits Wayne Carlson for being ahead of his time.

1. How do the Ethiopians mainly use teff?

A．By eating the cereal grass.	B．By using the flour made from it.
C．By adding the plant into injera.	D．By mixing it with rice and wheat.

2. According to Wayne, why is it possible for teff to grow well in Idaho?

A．Idaho is located close to Ethiopia.

B．Teff is easy to survive on its own.

C．Idaho has geographic features similar to Ethiopia.

D．Teff was originally introduced to Ethiopia from Idaho.

3. What can we infer from Paragraph 5?

A．Wayne's teff did not sell well at first.

B．Wayne's teff was sold only to Ethiopians.

C．Wayne sent teff to his Ethiopian friends.

D．Wayne lost control of his Teff Company.

4. What is Rich Roseberg's attitude to Wayne introducing teff into America?

A．Worried.	B．Disapproving.
C．Favorable.	D．Pessimistic.

【推荐3】The government of Norway is planning to build an unusual storage center on an island in the Arctic Ocean. The place would be large enough to hold about two million seeds. The goal is to represent all crops known to scientists. The British magazine New Scientist published details of the plan last month. The structure will be designed to protect the world’s food supply against nuclear war, climate change and other possible threats. It will be built in a mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The mountain is less than one thousand kilometers from the North Pole, the northernmost position on Earth.

An international group called the Global Crop Diversity Trust is working on the project. The director of the group, Cary Fowler, spoke to New Scientist. He said the project would let the world rebuild agriculture if in his words “the worst came to the worst”. Norway is expected to start work next year. The project is expected to cost three million dollars. Workers will drill deep in the side of a sandstone mountain. Temperatures in the area never rise above zero degrees Celsius. The seeds will be protected behind concrete walls a meter thick and high-security doors.

The magazine report says the collection will represent the products of ten thousand years of farming. Most of the seeds at first will come from collections at seed banks in Africa, Asia and Latin America. To last a long time, seeds need to be kept in very low temperatures. Workers will not be present all the time. But they plan to replace the air inside the storage space each winter. Winter temperatures on the island are about eighteen degrees below zero Celsius. The cold weather would protect the seeds even if the air could not be replaced.

Mr. Fowler says the proposed structure will be the world’s most secure gene bank. He says the plant seeds would only be used when all other seeds are gone for some reason.Norway first proposed the idea in the 1980s. But security concerns delayed the plan. At that time, the Soviet Union was permitted use of Spitsbergen. New Scientist says the plan won United Nations approval in October at a meeting in Rome of the Food and Agriculture Organization.

1. The project is meant to_____.

A．increase the world’s food production in the future

B．carry out some scientific experiments on plant genes

C．protect crop seeds from dying out in case of possible disasters

D．build an exhibition centre of the world’s plant seeds

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the above passage?

A．The government of Norway will perform the project alone.

B．Seeds to be collected there were produced ten thousand years ago.

C．Spitsbergen is chosen because it is away from the threat of unclear war forever.

D．Temperature is a major consideration when choosing the storage place.

3. We can infer from the text that_____.

A．People will get newly-developed seeds from the center every year

B．The storage center will greatly promote the development of world agriculture

C．Norway meant to have built the storage centre more than 20 years ago

D．There haven’t been any seed storage centers in the world before

4. What is probably the best title of the passage?

A．Noah’s Ark of Plant Seeds in Plan

B．The Best Place to Store Seeds

C．Concerns of World Food Supply

D．A New Way to Feed the World