【推荐1】As the days are getting colder, you might wish you could magically turn into a bear and spend the winter sleeping. In fact, scientists are looking for ways to let humans hibernate, too!

During hibernation, an animal’s heart rate and breathing slow down. They can save energy when there is little food in the winter months.

Japanese researchers have found the secret behind hibernation—the “Q neurons”. These neurons in animals’ brains can put them into a hibernation state. The researchers also did operations on mice after turning on the mice’s “Q neurons”. It turned out that during hibernation, the operations do less harm to the mice.

According to the team, humans’ “O neurons”cannot be turned on and off as easily as the mice’s. But they are confident in copying the mice’s hibernation in humans. That means we could let people “hibernate”when having operations, causing less damage to their bodies.

In recent years, more scientists are getting to realize the benefits of hibernation. US scientist Katherine Grabek found that when the thirteen-lined ground squirrel hibernates, it cleans out harmful brain plaques that are related to Alzheimer’s in humans. They hope to design some medicine for humans based on this finding. Besides, some studies in bats show that, during hibernation, their bodies age more slowly. This also provides new ideas for making humans live longer in the future, according to New Scientist magazine.

At the same time, scientists have found a lot of fun facts on animals. For example, a bat’s heart rate drops to 25 beats per minute during hibernation—down from 400 when it’s awake. Its breathing slows so much that it might not take a breath for up to an hour! Also, a black bear can go without eating, drinking or going to the bathroom for 100 days. During hibernation, their wounds even heal perfectly.

1. Paragraph 2 introduces _________.

A．what is needed for hibernation	B．where animals usually hibernate
C．what kind of animals hibernate	D．what happens during hibernation

2. What have Japanese researchers found?

A．Humans don’t have “Q neurons” as mice do.

B．It’s difficult to turn on the mice’s “Q neurons”.

C．It’s impossible for humans to copy the hibernation.

D．Doing operations in the hibernation state is less harmful.

3. What will happen in the future based on the scientists’ findings?

A．People can hibernate whenever they like.

B．People may hibernate to slow down aging.

C．People may use animals to create new medicine.

D．People can go without eating or drinking for 100 days.

4. The passage is written to _________.

A．share some findings on hibernation	B．introduce fun facts on hibernation
C．show the achievements in operations	D．present a new way of doing operations

【推荐1】

A study in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings says that owning a pet, especially a dog, may help keep your heart healthy.

The researchers compared dog owners with everyone else and found that no matter what their age, sex or education level, they benefited (受益) the most in terms of cardiovascular (心血管的) health. The findings has also shown that dog ownership leads to more physical (身体的) activity. ▲ People who walk dogs enjoy an average of half an hour more physical activity a day than those who don’t have a dog. What’s more, owning a pet in general reduces (减少) stress. A dog or cat coming up to you may bring a smile to your face. In addition, the pet ownership makes us more social. Almost 90% of pet owners said that having an animal brings joy to their life and helps them to feel loved. Two-thirds feel their pets connect them to other people, whether it’s meeting neighbors while walking a dog or having something in common to talk about with other cat or bird owners.

Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, one of the lead researchers on the team, said what makes this study so meaningful is that it showed the benefits of having a dog not only just increased physical activity. The study included many factors (因素) that influenced the health of the heart and arteries (动脉), for example, pet-owners have a healthier diet than people who don’t keep a pet — thus contributing to a better cardiovascular health.

1. ________ is the best to fill in the “ ▲ ” in Paragraph 2.

A．When your pet is hungry, you are responsible for filling the food bowl.

B．Most people, especially old people think that their pets provides happiness for them.

C．When your pet needs to go outside, you’re more likely to head into the fresh air and get moving.

D．When you are alone watching TV in the midnight, your pet is certainly your best company.

2. According to the passage, the advantages of owning a dog are ________.
①being more physically active
②having a healthier diet
③making us less social   
④reducing our stress

A．①②③

B．①②④

C．①③④

D．②③④

3. According to the passage, the researchers do the study mainly by ________.

A．listing reasons	B．using old sayings
C．giving examples	D．making comparisons

4. The main idea of the passage is that _________.

A．the research encourages people to keep dogs

B．owning a pet may help keep your heart healthy

C．pet ownership only increases physical activity

D．owning pets has no disadvantages

【推荐3】

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch (君主), died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, on Sept 8. Her eldest son, Charles, has now become Britain’s new monarch, known as King Charles III, reported the BBC. The UK began a 10-day mourning period (哀悼期) on Sept 9. Flags flying from government buildings were half-staff (下半旗). People have been able to see the queen’s coffin (灵枢), first in Edinburgh and London. There it would lie in state for 4 days for people to pay their respects before the state funeral (国葬) on Sept 19, reported the BBC.

“It’s just so heartbreaking,” said Laura Lang, from Georgia, US, seeing the queen’s cortege (送葬队伍) pass her in Edinburgh. “Look, I know the queen is ‘Britain’. But she’s the queen of the world,” Laura told Sky News.

In her 70-year reign (在位), the queen spent her life serving her country and Commonwealth. She supported over 600 charities and had a close link with the public, noted Sky News. In the UK, every Christmas day, people would turn on their TVs to listen to the queen’s Christmas speech. She sent heartfelt messages about important things, like togetherness.

Her death has been felt across the globe. In Washington, the US flag was lowered to half-staff to mark the passing of the queen. In a statement (声明), French President Emmanuel Macron said, “The woman who stood alongside the giants (巨人) of the 20th century on the path of history has left to join them.”

1. How long did Queen Elizabeth II reign?

A．For 96 years.

B．For 10 days.

C．For 70 days.

D．For 70 years.

2. What do we know about Queen Elizabeth II?

A．Her funeral was set on Sept 9.

B．Her eldest son took over her position.

C．Flags were half-staff for one day to mourn her.

D．She became the UK monarch 96 years ago.

3. What can we learn from Lang’s words?

A．She doesn’t take the queen as her role model.

B．The queen once wanted to rule the whole world.

C．All countries should have such a queen.

D．People all over the world respect (尊重) the queen.

4. What does the writer want to show by the example of Christmas speeches?

A．The queen liked to do charity.	B．The queen loved giving speeches.
C．The queen was close to the public.	D．The queen often showed up on TV.

【推荐1】Long march exhibits. The Shenzhen History Museum is putting on an exhibition to mark the 81st anniversary of the Long March. On show are more than 220 photos and some other things that show how the Red Army made the Long March from Jiangxi Province and to northern Shanxi Province in the mid-1930s.
Time: 10:00 am --- 4:00 pm
Address: 1368 Shennan Road
Admission: 8 yuan for Chinese / 15 yuan for foreigners
Thai elephants. Eight elephants from Thailand are entertaining visitors at the Window of the World by riding bicycles, playing basketball, balancing on a beam (梁), dancing and blowing a harmonica (口琴). People are encouraged to lie on the ground and have the elephants step over them. The elephants give three shows a day at 9:30am, 3:30pm and 8:00pm and there is an additional(另外的) show at 1:30 pm at weekends.
Address: West Huaqiaocheng
Admission: 60 yuan
Dancing dolphins. Dolphins leaping from the water to touch a ball, waving their bodies to music, kissing people and doing maths by tapping their tails have made the delphinium(海豚水族馆) in Shenzhen Ocean Park an attraction for children. Seals and sea lions also perform. Hours: 10:30pm, 4:00am, and 7:30pm
Admission: 40 yuan for adults and 20 yuan for children.
1. Mr Smith, who comes from Australia, wants to visit the Long March exhibit. You, a Chinese student, will go with him as an interpreter (翻译). How much will you pay altogether for the admission(允许进入)?

A．16 yuan	B．23 yuan
C．30 yuan	D．20 yuan

2. At the exhibition, you'll see _____________.

A．many articles written by famous writers

B．many things left by the Red Army

C．books on the Long March

D．many photos and pictures about the Long March

3. Which of the following is not done by the Thai elephants?

A．Riding bicycles	B．Blowing a harmonica.
C．Doing maths	D．Dancing.

4. If you go to see the Thai elephants on Sundays. You'll see the show at ______.

A．9:30am, 3:30pm , 8:00pm and 1:30 pm

B．only 1:30 pm

C．9:30am, 3:30pm , and 8:00pm.

D．10:30am, 4:00pm , and 7:30 pm

5. The delphinium in Shenzhen Ocean Park is a hall where you can see _____.

A．not only dolphins but also seals and sea lions performing

B．only dolphins perform

C．seals and sea lions perform

D．only seals perform

【推荐2】Suzie goes to her art class on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. She always looks forward to those days when she can do creative things all afternoon. She loves making bowls and cups out of clay（粘土）.

Last month she learned to put pottery(陶器) into a hot oven（炉子）, called a kiln, to make it hard and strong. What Suzie likes best about art is the good feeling she gets when she has finished working on a piece of art. And then when she takes it home to show her parents she feels so proud of what she has made.

On Wednesday Suzie wrote an article about why she thought the school should have two short breaks a day rather than one long break. Lots of her friends thought that this would be a good idea too. Many teachers also agreed with Suzie’s suggestion.

The head teacher of the school asked everyone in the school to vote（表决）on Suzie’s suggestion. During the vote, each person in the school had one vote. Together, the school decided that two short breaks would be better than one long break. All of this happened because Suzie wrote about her idea in the school newspaper.

On the day the newspaper comes out, the first thing Suzie does is to check where her article is in the newspaper. And each month, at the beginning of her article, are the words: By Suzanne Jefferson.

On the way home from school yesterday, Suzie got to think about how much art and writing are the same. In art class she thinks of creative things to make, and then spends a lot of time making it look just right.

And when she writes articles for the school newspaper, she thinks of creative things to say, and then spends a lot of time making it sound just right. And when she has finished writing a really good sentence, she feels almost as if she has made a beautiful piece of art.

Suzie rushed home so she could write something shortly before dinner. She already had lots of ideas for next month’s newspaper. And she wanted to make sure that none of her creative ideas floated away before she wrote them down on paper

1. What does Suzie like making ____out of clay?

A．plates

B．ovens

C．bowls and cups

D．newspaper

2. The article that Suzie has written is about ____.

A．creative things should be learned

B．the school should have two short breaks a day

C．everyone in the school to vote on Suzie’s suggestion

D．students should write something

3. The underlined word”it” refer to ____

A．writing articles

B．making pottery

C．a piece of art

D．creative things

4. According to Suzie, what’s the same thing between making pottery and writing articles?

A．They are both done easily.	B．They are both done difficultly.
C．They both need to be shown.	D．They both need creative ideas

【推荐3】It was a sunny winter day. I walked down the tower(塔) when a blind man came toward me. He kept close to the wall, touching it lightly with his arm. I stood quietly and looked at him walking toward the tower.
“Why does a blind man want to climb up the tower？” I wondered. “Not the view(景色) certainly, maybe he wants to jump.” Thinking of some terrible reasons, I thought I should follow him.
He went up slowly and stopped from time to time. I followed him a few steps behind. When he got to the first corner of the bell tower, I came close to him. “Excuse me，” I said as politely as I could, “but I wonder why you came up.”
He smiled, “Probably climbing up the tower. You have noticed—and yet, not being blind, perhaps you won't—how the sun shines into the tower through the windows here and there, so that one can feel the cool steps suddenly become quite warm, even in winter. But behind the wall there is shadow(阴影). There is no place as good as this for feeling the difference between light(光亮) and darkness. Though I'm blind, I also want to feel the happiness brought by the sunlight. In fact, it isn't my first time to be here.” He said and seemed as glad as a child.
I never thought that even a blind man could have his way to enjoy the beautiful life. But we often pay no attention to its value(价值) because we never notice it. We went down the tower together and I left him. What the blind man said made me think a lot...
1. The underlined word “blind” probably means ________.

A．瞎的

B．聋的

C．瘸的

D．哑的

2. The writer followed the blind man to ________.

A．see the beautiful view on the top

B．enjoy the sun shines through the windows

C．find out why a blind man climbed

D．look for the shadow behind the wall

3. The blind man climbed the mountain to ________.

A．find the difference between light and darkness

B．enjoy the beauty of sunlight in a special way

C．make his body strong and healthy

D．see the sun shines into the tower through the windows

4. We learn from the passage that we should ________.

A．be friendly to blind men	B．be always happy like a child
C．enjoy the beautiful sunlight	D．find and love what life gives us

【推荐1】Give yourself a test. Which way is the wind blowing? How many kinds of wildflowers can be seen from your front door? If your awareness is as sharp as it could be, you’ll have no trouble answering these questions.

Most of us observed much more as children than we do as adults. A child’s day is filled with fascination, newness and wonder. Curiosity gave us all a natural awareness. But differences that were sharp to us as children become unclear; we are numb (麻木的) to new stimulation (刺激), new ideas. Relearning the art of seeing the world around us is quite simple, although it takes practice and requires breaking some bad habits.

The first step in awakening senses is to stop predicting what we are going to see and feel before it happens. This blocks awareness. One chilly night when I was hiking in the Rocky Mountains with some students, I mentioned that we were going to cross a mountain stream. The students began complaining about how cold it would be. We reached the stream, and they unwillingly walked ahead. They were almost knee-deep when they realized it was a hot spring. Later they all admitted they’d felt cold water at first.

Another block to awareness is the obsession (痴迷) with naming things. I saw bird watchers who spotted a bird, immediately looked it up in field guides, and said, a “ruby-crowned kinglet (红冠戴菊鸟) “ and checked it off. They no longer paid attention to the bird and never learned what it was doing.

The pressures of “time” and “destination” are further blocks to awareness. I came across many hikers who were heading to a distant camp-ground with just enough time to get there before dark. They seldom walked around a bit, to take a moment to see what’s around them. I asked them what they’d seen. “Oh, a few birds,” they said. They seemed to only pay attention to their destinations.

Nature seems to unfold to people who watch and wait. Next time you take a walk, no matter where it is, take in all the sights, sounds and sensations. Think in this way and you will see a new world in your life.

1. According to Paragraph 2, compared with adults, children are more ________.

A．anxious to do wonders	B．eager to explore the world around them
C．likely to develop unpleasant habits	D．understanding to others' feelings

2. What can we learn from Paragraph 3?

A．To admit mistakes honestly.	B．To stop complaining all the time.
C．To follow the teacher's advice.	D．To avoid jumping to conclusions.

3. Why do the hikers take no notice of the surroundings during the journey?

A．They focus on arriving at the camp in time.

B．The natural beauty isn't attractive to them.

C．The forest in the dark is dangerous for them.

D．They are keen to see rare birds at the destination.

4. In the passage, the author wants to tell us we should __________.

A．open our mind to new things and ideas

B．get rid of some bad habits in our daily life

C．use our senses to feel the wonders of the world

D．try our best to protect nature

【推荐2】Interviewer: Tracy Lester is with us in the studio.Welcome Tracy! We are all interested to know about your life as a child actor.You’re only fourteen years old— yet you are already famous!
 Tracy: Yes. I'm really lucky to have a chance to do so many things that other young people haven't yet. 
Interviewer:So Tracy, the first question is—how old were you when you made your first movie, peanuts?
Tracy: Well, I was only four—so I didn't have a big part—and that movie wasn't really successful.
Interviewer: So what was your first successful movie then?
Tracy: Chocolate Aliens. Did you see it?
Interviewer: Yes. My favourite scene was when you cleaned out the fridge for your mum, and you found interesting chocolates in there.
 Tracy: Yeah—that was a cool scene, wasn't it?
Interviewer: Have you appeared in any commercials (商业广告) yet, Tracy?
Tracy: Yes, quite a few. The last one was for a chocolate company. I love chocolate, but they made me eat so much. I felt sick after that. I never want to eat chocolate again.
Interviewer: What a pity! Now, tell me about your latest movie—you haven't finished it yet. But do you think you might win an award for this one?
Tracy: Oh, I hope so. But if I don't win this time, maybe I will some day. I'll continue to work hard.
Interviewer:  And one last question Tracy—I'd like to ask you if you enjoy being famous. 
Tracy: That's a difficult question to answer. I'd like to tell all my young fans that it isn't easy being famous. Mostly, I miss being a kid. So enjoy being a kid, and don't grow up too quickly.
Interviewer: Thanks for coming, Tracy. You're a great kid. I wish you luck in the future.
1. Tracy Lester is            .

A．a fourteen-year-old actor

B．a four-year-old actor

C．an interviewer

D．a director

2. We can find a cool scene with interesting chocolates in               .

A．Peanuts

B．Chocolate Aliens

C．a commercial

D．her latest movie

3. Tracy appeared in the following except            .

A．Peanuts

B．Chocolate Aliens

C．Cartoons

D．Commercials

4. What does Tracy think of being famous early?

A．She thinks it’s easy to become famous.	B．She will enjoys being a kid though she is famous.
C．Being famous brings her all good things.	D．She feels unlucky to do more things than other children.

5. The interviewer asked Tracy Lester      questions in all.

A．three

B．four

C．five

D．six

6. We can read the material above probably from the       .

A．fashion

B．sports

C．news

D．advertising

【推荐3】If you have no special plans for your holidays, why not spend your time helping others?

Don't listen to people who say the young people today often think only of themselves. It's not true at all. More and more young people in the USA volunteer to spend their school holidays working for others, and they don't do it for money. Here are some of their stories.

Alice Hamilton,17

I'm going to help the Forest Center build new hiking paths in the mountains. It's going to be great-I' ll spend the whole summer living in the tent and breathing the clean mountain air.I'm going to sleep under the stars. It will be a nice sport, and I' ll be able to do something good at the same time.

Jason Moore,18

This summer,I'm going to volunteer with Special House Program. They build good, low-cost houses and sell them to families that are not very rich. They' ll teach me what to do, so I' ll help people and also have a chance to learn how to build houses.

Trish Anderson,16

I'm going to teach kids who have trouble reading.I' ll work for a program called Reading for Life. Every day,I'm going to help kids choose and read books that they like.I want to be a teacher, and I love children and reading, so this is going to be a great experience for me.

1. Young people in the USA volunteer to spend __________ helping others.

A．school holidays

B．weekdays

C．every day

D．every summer

2. Alice volunteer to __________ in summer.

A．sleep under the stars.

B．breathe the clean mountain air.

C．spend the whole summer living at home.

D．help build new hiking paths in the mountains.

3. From the passage, we know that Jason Moore __________.

A．likes reading

B．is 18 years old

C．isn't very rich

D．is good at sports

4. __________ wants to be a teacher.

A．Alice Hamilton

B．Jason Moore

C．Trish Anderson

D．None of them

5. Which is the best title for this passage？

A．Reading for Life	B．A Special House Program
C．The Forest Center	D．Young American Volunteers