【推荐1】Antarctica Desert

Antarctica is a continent (大陆) of ice. There is hardly any rain in Antarctica, so the Antarctic Desert becomes the driest desert in the world. It is also the world’s largest desert by area.

Sahara Desert

The Sahara Desert is the hottest of all the deserts on the earth. It covers most parts of North Africa and is similar in size to the land area of the USA. The word “Sahara” in Arabic means “desert”.

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert is in the USA. It is the driest desert on the North American continent. Death Valley, one of the hottest areas in the world, is in the Mojave Desert. Mojave comes from the Spanish word for “beside the water”.

Arabian Desert

The Arabian Desert is in Asia on the Arabian Peninsula. It covers almost the entire Arabian Peninsula. The sand here has a red-orange color and the surface of the Arabian Desert is covered mainly by sand hills, some gravel plains (砾石平原) and rocky plains.

1. ________ is the driest desert in the world.

A．The Antarctica Desert	B．The Sahara Desert
C．The Arabian Desert	D．The Mojave Desert

2. What is the Sahara?

A．It is the largest desert in the world.	B．It is the hottest desert in the world.
C．It is the coldest desert in the world.	D．It is the driest desert on the North American continent.

3. What color is the sand in the Arabian Desert?

A．red

B．orange

C．red-yellow

D．red-orange

【推荐3】In the most southern part of our planet, there's a place that's covered with snow and ice all year round. But it has the clearest and cleanest air. Amazingly, in this place, the sun sometimes hangs even in the midnight sky. This place is Antarctica (南极洲): the coldest, windiest and harshest (恶劣的)   place on the Earth.
As the world's least-known place, Antarctica is of great interest to scientists around the world. During 30 years, China has sent many scientists to Antarctica. They mostly look for the resources under the icy land and do research about climate change and marine (海洋的) biology.
Antarctica is a place with fantastic views. However, life there is very hard. Food is one of the biggest problems. Frozen food which can be heated easily is people's daily food. Fresh vegetables are hard to grow in the cold weather.
Sleep is also difficult. In Antarctica, summer lasts from November to March. During this period, Antarctica points to the sun and receives sunlight 24 hours a day. In order to get some sleep, scientists cover the windows with black plastic cloth to create "night".
Working in Antarctica is dangerous, especially when meeting gale-force (七级以上的) winds. They can easily blow people away. So there are ropes that connect buildings of some research stations. People can hold these ropes to keep their balance in forceful winds.
What's more, communicating with others is difficult. Without cables and Internet in some research stations, two-way radios are the only tools to communicate. If people want to say hello to friends and relatives, they can use satellite phones.
Although it is challenging to work in Antarctica, scientists' passion to learn about this mysterious land will never end. It is hopeful that one day they will step every corner of this icy land.
1. From the passage, we learn that Antarctica_______.

A．is covered with water

B．rains heavily from time to time

C．has little wind most of the time

D．has sunshine during every night for 5 months

2. Scientists from China go to Antarctica to _______.

A．find out ways to control water pollution

B．research climate change and marine biology

C．grow plants and vegetables in special condition

D．stop the hunters from killing the marine life

3. In order to sleep well in Antarctica, the scientists have to __________.

A．wear more clothes to keep warm

B．cover the windows with black plastic cloth

C．connect research stations with ropes

D．eat more fried and canned vegetables

4. We can replace (替换) the underlined word ‘passion’ in the last paragraph with _____.

A．strong love

B．full preparation

C．pleasant introduction

D．amazing imagination

5. The passage is mainly about__________.

A．views of Antarctica

B．exploring(探索) Antarctica

C．how to survive in Antarctica

D．climate changes of Antarctica

【推荐1】C

If you have a chance to take a walk in a park, look carefully at the people walking their dogs. You’ll probably find friendly-looking people with friendly dogs: quiet people with quiet dogs; large men with oversized dogs and long-haired women with long-eared dogs. As you’ve probably noticed, dogs and their owners look alike. Have you ever wondered why?

These similarities are so common that researchers have tried to explain them. There are two theories: the convergence (趋同) theory and the selection theory. The convergence theory says that as the owner and the dog spend more time together, they influence each other to the point where they grow similar. In other words, they “converge”. The selection theory, on the other hand, says that owners are interested in dogs that look like them, so they choose those dogs as pets.

Recently, researchers at the University of California decided to test the two theories by taking pictures of 45 dogs separately from their owners. Then they asked some students to match the dogs’ photos with their owners. The students were quite successful with purebred (纯种的) dogs: They correctly matched 16 out of 25 with their owners. However, they had almost no success connecting mixed-breed dogs with their owners. When owners select a purebred dog, they can easily predict what it will look like later. But that is not true with mixed-breed dogs because it’s hard to predict what a mixed-breed dog will look like when it grows up. And since it was the purebreds not the mixed-breeds that looked like their owners, the research seems to prove the “selection theory”.

But one bit of warning: Although many people look like their dogs, not all dog owners enjoy having the similarity pointed out to them. So, even if the similarity is amazing, don’t go up to a stranger and say, “Wow, you look just like your dog!”

1. The convergence theory explains that the similarity between dogs and their owners ________.

A．decreases with the age of them

B．decreases with increasing differences

C．increases with the period of ownership

D．increases with increasing attractiveness

2. According to the selection theory, why do dogs look like their owners?

A．They influence each other.	B．They often do the same thing.
C．Dogs follow what their owners do.	D．Owners pick dogs that look like them.

3. What’s the purpose of the research?

A．To test two similarity theories.	B．To prove the selection theory.
C．To help people choose proper dogs.	D．To show the differences between dogs.

4. What can we learn from the research?

A．Purebred dogs have predictable appearance.

B．Most owners want their dogs to look like them.

C．Mixed-breeds and their owners share similarities.

D．Most owners prefer purebred dogs to mixed-breeds.

5. Where may this article be taken from?

A．A novel.

B．A newspaper.

C．A fashion magazine.

D．A science fiction.

【推荐2】阅读短文，把方框中的五个句子分别放回到文中正确的位置上，以恢复文章的原貌。

Some people believe that colours can influence our moods. You may wonder whether it is true. In fact, colours can change our moods and make us feel happy or sad, energetic or sleepy.     1    

●Calm colours

Have you ever walked into a room and felt relaxed? It could be because the walls were painted blue. Blue is a calm colour. It brings peace to our mind and body. Blue can also represent sadness, so you may say “I’m feeling blue” when you are feeling sad.     2     It is also the colour of purity. Many women like to wear white on their wedding day.

●Warm colours

Some colours, such as orange and yellow, can make you feel warm. People in cold areas prefer warm colours in their homes to create a warm and comfortable feeling. Orange represents joy. It can cheer you up when you are feeling sad. Yellow is the colour of the sun, so it can remind you of a warm sunny day.     3     Some people prefer this colour when they hope for success.

●Energetic colours

When you feel tired or weak, you should wear energetic colours like green. Green can give you energy, as it is the colour of nature and represents new life.     4    

●Strong colours

If you require strength in either body or mind, red may be of some help to you. Red is the colour of heat. It represents power and strong feelings.     5     This may help when you are having difficulty making a decision.

A．White is another calm colour.

B．Yellow is also the colour of wisdom.

C．Wearing red can also make it easier to take action.

D．This article explains what colours can do and what characteristics they represent.

E．However, it is also the colour of envy, so we may say someone is “green with envy”.

【推荐3】On May 5，2017, China’s home-made passenger aircraft (飞机）G919 completed its 90-minute first flight and landed safely back at Pudong Airport in Shanghai.

G919 is developed by COMAC, a Chinese aircraft company. It is designed to compete with Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. The first C919 aircraft can carry 168 passengers and is able to fly a distance between 4,075 and 5，555 kilometers. It's reported that a C919 costs around 50 million dollars，less than half of a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320. Up to now, more than 570 aircrafts have been ordered from 23 customers，mostly Chinese，but also American and Thai companies or airlines. COMAG aims to take one fifth of the world’s narrow-body aircraft market and one third of the Chinese market by 2035.

The name G919 has its special meanings. The letter C stands for both “COMAC"“China”. The number 9 is pronounced as jiu in Chinese, which means “forever”. And the number 19 refers to its capacity (容量）of 190 passengers.

The large passenger aircraft is praised as “ the flower of modern industry ”. It is a symbol of the nation’s industrial and technological standards as well as the comprehensive (综合的）power. In order to realize the century dream of flying in the sky and the strategy (战略）of the nation, COMAC bears the nation’s dream and people’s trust. China considers it as a national pride.

1. G919 is produced by________.

A．Boeing	B．a Thai aircraft company
C．Airbus	D．a Chinese aircraft company

2. Which of the following is TRUE about the first C919 aircraft?

A．It can carry 190 passengers at most.	B．It can only fly a distance of 4,075 km.
C．It costs less than half of a Boeing 737.	D．It costs more than half of an Airbus A320.

3. Which picture shows COMACs aim to take the narrow-body aircraft market by 2035?

A．

B．

C．

D．

4. The letter C in C919 stands for______.

A．“company”	B．both “COMAC” and “China”
C．“customer”	D．both “cost” and “capacity”

5. The news report is written mainly to ___________.

A．introduce the design of C919

B．describe the first flight of C919

C．explain “the flower of modern industry”

D．show China’s achievements in aircraft industry

【推荐2】Electives (选修课) are always popular with students because they offer the chance to learn something exciting, and they’re a welcome break from regular courses like math and physics. Here are just a few of the exciting electives lucky teenagers can take in some of China’s middle schools.

Self-defense (防卫) skills A school from Chongqing The school offers a self-defense course-just for girls. Those who attend the lessons have the chance to study basic self-protection skills in a one-on-one practice. They learn how to get away when they need to and defend themselves against attacks. “I feel safer by myself now,” said Zhang Yi, 15, a girl student.

Pottery A school from Tianjin The famous pottery scene in a movie called Ghost is a lasting memory for many movie-goers. Young artists at the school love to get their hands dirty creating beautiful pieces. Students learn how to design and make various clay projects. At the end, they have the skills to make their own clay bowls, cups, vases and pots.

Horse riding A school from Beijing Equestrians (马术) can look pretty cool, can’t they? Teenagers at this school can now choose a course in riding skills. They’re taught to communicate with their horses and how to use reins (缰绳).To ride a horse in the proper way, a student must hold the head forward and keep his back straight. Students come away from this elective not only knowing how to ride a horse gracefully, but also physically fitter!

Couplets(对联) A school from Nanjing         How many of you can write a couplet? This old literary (文学的) form is slowly disappearing, but Chinese culture lovers at the school are trying to make it alive. For their elective, teenagers study old couplets and try to rhyme (押韵) their own lines. Many of this year’s students can’t wait for the Spring Festival, when they’ll be able to show off their new skills.

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
1. Which elective course is especially designed for girl students?

A．Pottery.

B．Couplets.

C．Self-defense skills.

D．Horse riding.

2. How many electives in Chinese middle schools are introduced in the article?

A．Seven.

B．Six.

C．Five.

D．Four.

3. What are the common advantages of “self-defense skills” and “horse riding”?

A．Both of the electives enable students to become fitter, stronger and more confident.

B．Both of the electives enable students to know how to ride a horse gracefully.

C．Both of the electives enable students to communicate with their horses and how to use reins.

D．Both of the electives enable students to learn how to get away when they need to and defend themselves Against attacks.

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Girls who take self-defense skills electives may feel safer.

B．Math and physics are electives in middle schools of China.

C．When students take electives, they can take a break from schoolwork.

D．The famous pottery scene in a movie called Ghost is a lasting memory for many movie-goers.

5. The following are probably the reasons why some Chinese culture lovers choose the elective “couplets”, except for “________”

A．They can make the disappearing skill alive.

B．They can learn the traditional way of writing couplets.

C．They can try creating new couplets in the coming Spring Festival and show the beauty of traditional Chinese skill.

D．They can master the skill to have their own clay bowls, cups, vases and pots.

【推荐3】

As the Internet is developing fast, more and more new words and phrases(词语) have been created(创造) in Chinese. Here are some examples.

One of the most popular words is Dianzan, which is often used when you quite agree with someone. Another example is Renxing. When you say somebody is Renxing, you mean that they will do whatever they like. The phrase Miaosha first came from online shopping, which means you can complete your shopping orders before others. But now it's widely used when you achieve(实现) your purpose in a very short time. If you describe somebody as a Tuhao, you mean that he is very rich.

You can find lots of such new Chinese words. Keep learning and you'll know more about Chinese culture.

1. When you quite agree with someone, you may say ______ .

A．Renxing

B．Miaosha

C．Dianzan

D．Tuhao

2. What does Renxing mean in English? ______

A．Someone can complete his/her shopping orders before others．

B．Someone will do whatever he/she likes．

C．He/She is very rich．

D．You can complete your shopping orders before others.

3. How many kinds of Internet language are mentioned in the passage? ______

A．Three

B．Four

C．Five

D．Six

4. What does the underlined word "purpose" mean in Chinese? ______

A．目标

B．讨论

C．成功

D．标题

5. Which of the following is RIGHT according to the passage?______

A．Now, fewer and fewer words and phrases have been created in Chinese．

B．Miaosha has two meanings in Chinese．

C．You can find lots of new Chinese words without learning．

D．Tuhao means that he is very poor.