【推荐1】Churchill, Manitoba is a small town. The northern winds roll through it from Canada's Hudson Bay. It might be just another point on the map if not for its seasonal settlers.

It happens like clockwork every fall that hundreds of polar bears make their way through the town to the freezing bay where they hunt for seals after the ice packs enough to support their weight. The animals have been connected with Churchill since at least 1619. That's when Norwegian explorer Jens Munk and his sailors recorded making a meal of one bear while they wintered in the area. “It was of good taste and did not disagree with us. ”That's what Munk wrote in his journal.

Over the years, the animals' coming has earned the town the name of“Polar Bear Capital of the World. ”Today, Churchill's bear population goes beyond its human population. There used to be about 7, 000 residents but now only 813 living there. There was no such thing as an organized tour group to see the bears until 1980. The town might have been in terrible financial hardships. But the growing bear tourism industry helped.

Today, some 10, 000 tourists come to the town to see polar bears for six weeks in autumn every year. But the reasons why they come are different from before. Everyone was happier and they had such a good time seeing polar bears. Now things have changed because the word is out that this Western Hudson Bay population of bears, Churchill Bears, are going to be the first population of polar bears to die out. So when the tourists come up, they all have a little bit of a lump in their throats（如鲠在喉）because they're looking at a beautiful bear, but they're also looking at a dying-out bear, which makes the whole attitude toward the bears different. Unfortunately, that's becoming the major part of the whole attraction of the tours as well. Come and see the bears before it's too late.

1. What can we learn about Churchill polar bears from the text？

A．They have eaten up the seals in the Hudson Bay.

B．They come to Churchill at the same time every year.

C．They move to Churchill to escape the northern winds.

D．They are so dangerous that most natives left their home.

2. What did Munk report in his journal？

A．They fed many polar bears.	B．Polar bears were dangerous.
C．They hunted a bear for food.	D．They found some seals in the bay.

3. How do polar bears benefit Churchill？

A．They make many people settle down.	B．They attract many hunters to come here.
C．They bring much tourist income.	D．They supply food to locals.

4. What is the main reason why tourists go to Churchill now？

A．To say good-bye to Churchill Bears.	B．To help polar bears become happier.
C．To take photos with Churchill Bears.	D．To stop polar bears going to the town.

【推荐2】The sharing economy, represented by companies like Airbnb or Uber, is the latest fashion craze. But many supporters have overlooked the reality that this new business model is largely based on escaping regulations and breaking the law.

Airbnb is an internet-based service that allows people to rent out spare rooms to strangers for short stays. Uber is an internet taxi service that allows thousands of people to answer ride requests with their own cars. There are hundreds of other such services.

The good thing about the sharing economy is that it promotes the use of underused resources. Millions of people have houses or apartments with empty rooms, and Airbnb allows them to profit from these rooms while allowing guests a place to stay at prices that are often far less than those charged by hotels. Uber offers prices that are competitive with standard taxi prices and their drivers are often much quicker and more trustworthy (值得信任的).

But the downside of the sharing economy has gotten much less attention. Most cities and states both tax and regulate hotels, and the tourists who stay in hotels are usually an important source of tax income. But many of Airbnb’s customers are not paying the taxes required under the law.

Airbnb can also raise issues of safety for its customers and trouble for hosts’ neighbors. Hotels are regularly inspected (检查) to ensure that they are not fire traps and that they don’t form other risks for visitors. Airbnb hosts face no such inspections.

Since Airbnb is allowing people to escape taxes and regulations, the company is simply promoting (引起) thefts. Others in the economy will lose by bearing an additional tax burden or being forced to live next to an apartment unit with a never-ending series of noisy visitors.

The same story may apply with Uber. Uber is currently in disputes over whether its cars meet the safety and insurance requirements imposed on standard taxis. Also, if Uber and related services flood the market, they could harm all taxi drivers’ ability to earn a minimum wage.

This downside of the sharing needs to be taken seriously, but that doesn’t mean the current tax and regulatory structure is perfect.

1. What is the positive thing about the sharing economy?

A．It is a global trend.

B．It is beyond regulations.

C．It draws on spare resources.

D．It brings in modest profits.

2. What: is the problem with Airbnb’s customers according to the passage?

A．They are closely inspected.

B．They are likely to steal from the hosts.

C．They have to pay heavy taxes.

D．They can be noisy to hosts’ neighbours.

3. What is the argument over Uber according to the passage？

A．Whether it guarantees customers’ safety.

B．Whether it provides reliable services.

C．Whether it lowers customers’ expenses.

D．Whether it can compete with standard taxis.

4. What is likely to be talked about in the following paragraphs?

A．The benefits of the sharing economy.

B．Necessary improvements of current laws.

C．Further development of Airbnb and Uber.

D．More downsides of Airbnb and Uber.

【推荐3】Runners in a relay race pass a stick in one direction. However, merchants（商人） passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction. They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road.
The Silk Road was not a simple trading network. It passed through thousands of cities and towns. It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea. It was used from about 200 B.C. to about 1300 A.D., when sea travel offered new routes. It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway. However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path. They passed through what are now 18 countries. The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles. Only experienced traders could return safe.
The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product. Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods. But the traders carried more than just silk. Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia. Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China. Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods. Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West. Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome. The Chinese had learned to graft(嫁接) different trees together to make new kinds of fruit. They passed this science on to others, including the Romans. The Romans used grafting to grow the apple. Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web.The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods. They also shared their beliefs. The Silk Road provided pathways for learning, diplomacy(外交), and religion (宗教).
1. It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed ____________.

A．to remember the entire trade route

B．to deal with a lot of difficulties

C．to receive certain special training

D．to know the making of products

2. The Silk Road became less important because ____________.

A．it was made up of different routes

B．silk trading became less popular

C．people needed fewer foreign goods

D．sea travel provided easier routes

3. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．Silk was the most prized product.

B．The Silk Road led to world-wide business.

C．People traded many goods along the route.

D．The Silk Road used to be the world’s longest highway.

4. New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people ___________.

A．traded goods along the route

B．shared each other’s beliefs

C．learned from one another

D．earned their living by traveling

5. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Silk Road: East Meets West

B．The Silk Road: Past and Present

C．The Silk Road: Routes Full of Dangers

D．The Silk Road: Pathways for Learning

【推荐1】Contrary to popular belief, looking at someone’s face alone is not enough to tell us whether they are shouting in celebration or screaming in frustration, researchers claimed. While people may believe they have the ability to read each other’s faces, body language is the real clue that shows whether the strong emotions someone is feeling are positive or negative.

In one study, groups of participants were shown a series of facial expressions such as tennis players photographed just after winning or losing a point.

In some cases the volunteers were able to see the player’s full body, but in others they were only shown either their face or their body with the other removed.

Participants could clearly tell whether the players were winning or losing when shown the full picture or just the body, but their guesses were no better than chance when based on the face alone.

Those who were allowed to see the full image were convinced that they had made their judgment based on the players’ facial expressions even though results from the two other groups suggested otherwise.

The researchers carried out a second study where volunteers were shown a wider range of faces showing emotions including joy, pleasure, victory, pain and defeat.

Using photo editing software, the researchers attached the faces to bodies expressing the opposite emotions and asked participants to act out the emotions they saw in the photos.

The resulting poses(姿势) were like the body poses in the photographs but not the facial expressions, which means that people base their understanding of strong emotions on the body instead of the face.

Dr. Aviezer, who led the study, said, “These results show that when emotions become extremely intense, the difference between positive and negative facial expressions becomes unclear. The results may help researchers understand how the body interacts during emotional situations.”

1. Nowadays, what do most people tend to believe?

A．Someone’s body language has an effect on his feeling.

B．Reading someone’s face alone cannot tell us his feeling.

C．Someone’s body language is the only clue to his feeling.

D．Someone’s feeling can be read by his facial expressions alone.

2. In the first study, how many kinds of photos were shown to participants?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

3. What does the underlined phrase mean according to the passage?

A．Not clear.	B．Always perfect.
C．Almost not correct.	D．Quite different

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Facial expressions can reflect the emotions clearly.

B．Body language rather than facial expressions is the window of the soul.

C．Researchers link emotions to body language instead of eyes.

D．Two studies focus on the link between body language and facial expressions.

【推荐2】What if instead of clicking on link after link on a company’s website, you could type a question and get an immediate, customized (定制的) answer? Some companies are working to make this a reality using chat-bots, which are computer programs that can communicate with human beings by phone, on messaging apps or on websites.

Chat-bots can look up information, answer frequently asked questions and collect information from users. They can be used to manage payments for online purchases, to help users decide what they want to purchase and to schedule and manage appointments.

There are two types of chat-bots: open and closed. A closed chat-bot follows a script, which may or may not involve using AI to understand users’ messages. An open chat-bot uses AI both to understand what users want and to generate responses. Open chat-bots are able to learn from their conversations and thus improve their ability to communicate over time. Having a conversation with them feels more natural, but if they have not been correctly trained, users may have a bad experience with them.

One significant advantage of chat-bots is that they are available all the time, even in the middle of the night. Plus, a single chat-bot can serve multiple users at once. Chat-bots have the potential to overcome several technological hurdles people face with ease. These include difficulty in navigating websites and trouble finding basic information and answers to simple questions.

However, in order for chat-bots to work, humans are still indispensable (必不可少的). Someone has to program the chat-bots at the very beginning, train them, and maintain and optimize (优化) the chat-bot system. Further, even open chat-bots may not have the answers to detailed questions, and many people simply prefer speaking to a human rather than a chat-bot. Thus, chat-bots are unlikely to completely replace human agents. Rather, they will help users solve simple problems so that customer service representatives can focus on more difficult issues.

Chat-bots have some limitations, but they are already revolutionizing the way customers interact with businesses and will continue to do so.

1. What is Paragraph Two mainly about?

A．The system of chat-bots.	B．The function of chat-bots.
C．The definition of chat-bots.	D．The management of chat-bots.

2. What does the underlined word “hurdles” mean in Paragraph Four?

A．Phenomena.

B．Innovations.

C．Affections.

D．Barriers.

3. What is the present situation between humans and chat-bots?

A．Chat-bots can totally take the place of humans.

B．As for chat-bots, humans are absolutely necessary.

C．Chat-bots are able to answer all humans’ detailed questions.

D．Humans can trust chat-bots to help them solve difficult problems.

4. How does the author find the chat-bots?

A．Perfect.

B．Honest.

C．Promising.

D．Hardworking.

【推荐3】A new study suggests that identical(同卵的) twins are not exactly the same genetically. Scientists in Iceland examined DNA from 387 pairs of identical twins, their parents, children, husbands or wives. The examinations led the team to find “early mutations that separate identical twins,” lead researcher and geneticist Kari Stefansson said.

Mutations are small changes in DNA that can happen when a cell divides in an attempt to copy itself. These small changes can influence a person’s physical appearance or control a person’s ability to fight a disease.

The newly-discovered mutations show that identical twins do have genetic differences. On average, identical twins have 5.2 of these early genetic differences, the researchers found. These differences represent a small part of each twin’s genetic material. But they could influence why one twin is taller or why one is at greater risk for some cancers than the other.

In the past, many researchers believed physical differences seen in identical twins were related mostly to environmental influences, such as nutrition or lifestyle behaviors.

Jan Dumanski is a geneticist at Sweden’s Uppsala University. He was not involved in the study. He praised the findings as “a clear and important contribution” to medical research. “The implication is that we have to be very careful when we are using twins as a model” for examining the influences of genetics or the environment, Dumanski said.

A 2008 paper in The American Journal of Human Genetics found some genetic differences between identical twins. The new study, however, goes beyond earlier work by including the DNA of parents, children, husbands and wives of identical twins. Studying family members permitted the researchers to examine when genetic mutations happened in two different kinds of cells: those present in only one individual and those passed on to the person’s children.

Stefansson said his team found twins where a mutation is present in all cells of the body of one twin, but not in the other twin at all. However, “sometimes the second twin may show the mutation in some cells, but not all cells,” he added.

1. What is a function of mutations?

A．Change people’s DNA.

B．Help a cell to copy itself.

C．Influence people’s physical appearance.

D．Increase people’s ability to fight diseases.

2. Why did the study include the DNA of family members?

A．To check when the mutations happened.

B．To identify the results of former research.

C．To find out where the mutations happened.

D．To examine the influence of the environment.

3. What is Jan Dumanski’s attitude toward the study?

A．Cautious.	B．Doubtful.
C．Concerned.	D．Positive.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．A Breakthrough in Identical Twins Study

B．Identical Twins: Not Genetically Exact Copies

C．Genetic Differences Caused by Family Members

D．DNA Decides the Difference between Identical Twins

【推荐1】Donald Watson was a man who thought very much about the food he ate. He was born in yorkshire， England , in September 1910. And he died in November 2005, at the age of 95. That is a very great age. Watson explained that it was because he never ate any food from animals.
When he was a boy , Watson stayed on a farm. .He loved to see the animals. He said that they gave so much to people. And all the animals were so friendly. Then , one day , he saw a man killing a pig . He was very sad. . From then on, Watson decided that he would never again eat meat . Twenty years later he decided that he wouldn’t eat anything from animals, such as milk, cheese or eggs. He became vegan (素食主义者).
Watson formed a group called “The Vegan Society”. In its newspaper, The Vegan Society thought it was terrible and wrong to eat food from animals. At first, there were not many people who agreed with him . They thought it was crazy to do____ .Most people thought it was too difficult and unhealthy. However, over time , more and more people began to agree with Watson and The Vegan Society.
People become vegans for many reasons. Watson and his friend stopped eating because they loved animals. They believed that it was wrong to hurt another living thing .
Now, people also become vegans for environmental reasons. Keeping animals takes a lot of resources(资源)， including water and food. Also, in some places, people are cutting down trees to create more land for cows. By avoiding food from animals, vegans hope to protect these forest areas.
Finally, just like Watson, some people believe that being a vegan is healthier. They believe that food from animals causes heart problems, a high body weight and many other health problems.
1. We know from the text that Watson __________.

A．lived a very long life

B．refused to eat meat at 20

C．helped kill a pig on a farm

D．enjoyed good food very much

2. The underlined word “it’ in paragraph 3 means “ ________”.

A．agreeing with Watson

B．publishing a newspaper

C．forming “The Vegan Society”

D．avoiding all food from animals

3. Watson refused to eat meat ______.

A．because of his love of animals

B．because of environmental reasons

C．because he had a lot of health problems

D．because keeping animals needs lots of resources

4. What’s the best title (标题)for the text?

A．Donald Watson : a new way to eat

B．Animal protection in England

C．The Vegan Society：a special group

D．Healthy eating habits

【推荐2】Make the world your classroom!

Travel fuels curiosity, offers fresh perspectives, and gives students the opportunity to discover life beyond their backyards. Our educational tours keep students aged 11-15 interested and actively learning with specially-designed, hands-on activities in exciting destinations.

Explore Italy

Duration: 9 or 11 days

Destination: Venice, Florence, Rome

Italy has always been an icon of rich culture and traditions. This interactive tour includes Italy's top hits. Discover the country's ancient past in sites such as the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, stare up at Michelangelo's masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel(小教堂), walk across Florence's famous medieval bridge, and take a ride down Venice's winding canals.

Total cost: $3, 519

Hello London

Duration: 7 days

Destination, London

Royal traditions? Check. Picturesque landmarks? Check. World-class museums? Check. Mysterious ring of heavy rocks that's puzzled historians for ages? Check. London has it all. Discover the complex history of this international city at sites such as the Tower of London, which also houses the famous Crown Jewels. Take a day trip to Wiltshire to get a glimpse of Stonehenge, and try to guess how the giant monument first appeared.   

Total cost: $3, 085

New York City: The Big Apple

Duration: 5-7 days

Destination: New York

Bursting with an energy all its own, New York City provides a unique look into American life and culture. Explore the very best of the Big Apple, from the bustle of Times Square to the skyline view from the Empire State Building. Get to know one of the most exciting cities even better!

Total cost: $2,746

Click here for more information about: Language &culture in Spain, Rome and Pompeii, Washington D. C.: The Capital Tour...

1. What can you do on the tour in Italy?

A．Visit ancient museums.	B．Appreciate artistic works.
C．Experience royal traditions.	D．Enjoy bike riding.

2. Which tour will you choose if you have 7 days off with a budget up to $3,000?

A．Explore Italy.	B．Hello London.
C．New York City: The Big Apple.	D．Rome and Pompeii.

3. This passage is most probably from ______________.

A．a travel magazine

B．a geography textbook

C．an education report

D．an agency's website

【推荐3】NIGHT after night, she came to help me sleep, even long after my childhood years. I don't remember when it first started annoying me—my mom's hands pushing my hair that way. But it did annoy me, for they felt rough against my young skin. Finally, one night, I shouted at her: "Don't do that anymore—your hands are too rough!" She didn't say anything, but she never did it again.

Years later, I missed my mother's hands and her goodnight kiss on my face. I'm not a little girl anymore. My mom is in her mid-70s, and her rough hands are still doing things for my family and me.

Now my own children have grown up. It was late on Thanksgiving Eve. As I slept in my bedroom, a familiar hand ran across my face to push the hair from my head. Then a kiss, ever so gently, touched my brow.

Taking my mom's hand, I told her how sorry I was for that night I shouted at her. But my mom didn't know what I was talking about. She had forgotten it long ago. That night, I fell asleep with a new appreciation for my gentle mother and her caring hands. And the guilt that I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found.

1. The writer once got angry with her mother when___________.

A．she found her mother was in poor health	B．her mother ordered her to go to sleep early
C．her mom's rough hands touched her skin	D．her mother touched her too much

2. The writer missed her mother's hands years later because___________.

A．she knew her mother was too old to support herself

B．she couldn't cook food as well as her mother

C．her mother didn't get angry at her impolite words

D．she was thankful for her mom's love and hard work

3. The underlined phrase “ran across” means___________.

A．met

B．found

C．passed quickly

D．across

4. The sentence "Then a kiss, ever so gently, touched my brow" means that___________.

A．her mother hadn't touched her brow before	B．her mother loved and cared for her
C．her mother didn't love her as much as before	D．her mother kissed her on the cheek

5. We can infer from the text that___________.

A．the writer's mother felt sorry for her behavior

B．the writer liked staying with her mother at night

C．the writer felt sorry about her attitude to her mother

D．the writer was single and lived with her mom

【推荐1】Each year. Time magazine picks the best of the year's inventions that will change how we live, work, and play.

Aira

For people who are blind, everyday tasks such as walking to school or doing laundry can be tough. What if they could "borrow” the eyes of someone who can see? That's the thinking behind Aira. Aira is a service Users send live videoes of their surroundings to an agent This is done with special glasses or a smartphone app The agents are always available. They can answer questions, describe objects, and guide users through a location.

3M Smog-reducing Granules

Smog is a type of air pollution. It comes from car and factory emissions. The company 3M has created a new material, 3M smog-reducing granules (微粒)，which can break down smog granules in the air. The broken-down granules are washed away the next time it rains The granules will help reduce air pollution.

The Whill Model CI

More than 3 million Americans use wheelchairs to get around. But most wheelchairs are hard to move on many surfaces. The Whill Model CI is different. It is a new electric wheelchair. It can climb obstacles two inches high and move around in tight spaces. The wheelchair can also be taken apart in minutes. This makes it easy to transport.

Allbirds

Many shoe parts are not eco-friendly. Allbirds is trying to change that It is testing a new material called Sweet Foam, which is made from parts of the sugarcane (甘蔗)plant that would be thrown away. Allbirds has started using Sweet Foam in a line of flip-flops (人字 拖).It plans to use the material in more of its product lines.

1. Who is Aira fit for?

A．Laundry workers.	B．Blind people.
C．High school students.	D．Service agents.

2. What's the aim of designing the Whill Model CI?

A．To drive a car easily.

B．To reduce traffic accidents.

C．To overcome obstacles in life.

D．To offer the disabled convenience.

3. Which inventions are environmentally friendly?

A．Aira and the Whill Model CI.

B．The Whill Model CI and Allbirds.

C．3M Smog-reducing Granules and Allbirds.

D．Aira and 3M Smog-reducing Granules.

【推荐3】“How are you feeling, Klinker?” Dr. Blooper asked his new robot.

“Well, I can see out of one eye,” said Klinker. “I can hear out of one ear. But my fingers are missing something at the ends. Otherwise, I feel fine.”

Dr. Blooper laughed. “I have made a list of your missing parts,” he said. “Finishing my experiment in the other room, I will buy them.” And Dr. Blooper left.

Feeling bored after a few minutes, Klinker moved around and saw the list: 1 eyeball, 1 eardrum, 10 fingernails. Looking at the list, Klinker suddenly had an idea. “I will surprise the doctor and buy these things myself,” Klinker thought to himself. “When he finishes, all these parts will be waiting for him.” Klinker walked out, but Dr. Blooper didn’t notice.

Klinker’s first stop was the toy store. He chose a small ball and a toy drum and gave them to the clerks. “Dr. Blooper will pay for these,” he said. Then he crossed them off the list. “This is easy,” he said. “One thing is for sure—I have a good brain.” Next Klinker reached the hardware store. He chose ten long steel nails. After that he hurried home, singing.

When Klinker got back, Dr. Blooper was still working. Then he had another idea. “I will put all my parts together,” he said,“What a surprise Dr. Blooper will have!” So Klinker fixed the ball into his eye socket, the drum into his ear, and the nails onto his fingers.

Then Dr. Blooper walked into the room. He stared at Klinker. “No wonder you are so surprised,” said the happy robot. “I have bought everything and finished myself. I have everything, but I still don’t feel quite right.”

“I will fix it right away,”he said. “But I will fix your brain first.”

1. Which of the following seemed to be Klinker’s problem?

A．He needed fingernails.	B．He failed to make a list.
C．His brain was seriously damaged.	D．His eyes were unable to see.

2. What did Klinker want to do at first?

A．To help with the experiment.	B．To get back his missing parts.
C．To prepare his necessary parts.	D．To surprise the doctor by leaving.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Klinker was quite helpful in repairing itself.	B．Klinker misunderstood the things on the list.
C．Dr. Blooper left the missing parts on purpose.	D．Dr. Blooper was very happy at the robot’s behavior.

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

A．A Great Brain	B．Dr. Blooper’s Experiment
C．A Typical Shopping Day	D．The Unfinished Robot