1 . Have you ever seen drones in the sky? What can they be used for? Can they only be used for taking fantastic photos? Can a small group of drones make the safety and reliability of railways and, at the same time, help railway companies save billions of euros each year? That is the very likely future of applying today’s “eyes in the sky” technology to make sure that the millions of kilometers of rail tracks and infrastructure worldwide are safe for trains all through the day.
Drones are already being used to inspect power lines. They could do exactly the same thing to inspect railway lines and other important aspects of rail infrastructure such as the correct position of railway tracks and switching points. The more regularly they can be inspected, the more railway safety, reliability and on-time performance will be improved. Costs would be cut and operations would be more efficient across the board.
That includes huge savings in maintenance costs and better protection of railway workers’ safety. It is calculated that European railways alone spend around 20 billion euros a year on maintenance for sending maintenance workers, often at night, to inspect and repair the rail infrastructure. That can be dangerous work that could be avoided with the help of drones.
By using the latest technologies, drones could also start providing higher-value services for railways, exploring faults in the rail or switches, before they can cause any safety problems. To perform these tasks, drones for rail don’t need to be flying overhead. Engineers are now working on a new idea: the rail drones of the future. They will be moving on the track ahead of the train, and programmed to let trains run automatically. Very small drones with advanced sensors and AI and travelling ahead of the train could guide it like a co-pilot. With their ability to see ahead, they could find any problem, so that fast-moving trains would be able to react in time.
1. The writer introduced the first paragraph by ________.| A．asking questions | B．listing numbers | C．comparing facts | D．telling a story |
| A．it’s safer to use drones |
| B．it’s cheaper to use drones |
| C．drones car do operations |
| D．drones can inspect power lines |
| A．workers safety |
| B．rail infrastructure |
| C．buying drones |
| D．inspection and repair |
| A．To help make more money. |
| B．To let trains run faster. |
| C．To make trains run by themselves. |
| D．To provide early warnings. |
2 . There are plenty of excellent museums in China, which are well worth visiting. Here are some of them.
 | The Palace Museum, Beijing The Palace Museum in Beijing is the most visited museum in the world, with tens of millions of people visiting every year. In 2016, a record 16 million people explored this museum. |
 | The World Expo Museum, Shanghai The World Expo Museum in Shanghai opened to the public on May 1 in 2017. Located on the former site of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the museum is the world’s only official museum for world expos, and the first of its kind to show the development history of the event. |
 | Maritime Museum, Tianjin The National Maritime: Museum in Tianjin shows China’s maritime civilization, the history of the maritime Silk Road and information about Chinese seas. The complex has been designed in the shape of flying fish as seen in the photo. |
 | Kaleidoscope Art Manor, Yunnan province The Kaleidoscope Art Manor in the Mile county in Honghe, Southwest China’s Yunnan province, is a wine bottle-shaped complex by using red bricks, representing the local red wine culture. Designed by Yunnan-born artist Luo Xu, the place serves as an art center. |
| A．the Palace Museum |
| B．the World Expo Museum |
| C．National Maritime Museum |
| D．Kaleidoscope Art Manor |
| A．sixteen million people visit the Palace Museum every year |
| B．National Maritime Museum is designed by Tianjin-born artist |
| C．Kaleidoscope Art Manor is designed to show Yunnan’s white wine culture |
| D．the World Expo Museum is the first one to show the history of world expos |
| A．A building ad. | B．A travel guide. |
| C．A health magazine. | D．An English novel. |
3 . Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in the US said parents should consider changing the diet of children instead of pushing them to go to bed. There are some studies on the relationship between diet and intelligence.
The researchers asked 541 school children aged between nine and eleven to fill in a survey about how much fish they ate and then tested their IQ. Their parents were then asked about kids’ sleep quality. The result showed increasing fish consumption led to better quality of sleep.
What’s more,the team found that children who ate fish weekly scored 4.8 points higher in the IQ tests than those who seldom or never ate fish. Those whose meals sometimes included fish scored 3.3 points higher.
The study in the past has shown that the omega-3 found in fish can improve intelligence and sleep. It was the first time that all three had been connected together. However, from the new study, the scientists believe that better sleep produced by omega-3 helps improve IQ rather than the omega-3 itself.
“If the fish improves sleep, that is great. Because doing that can be a lot easier than pushing children about going to bed. If it also improves intelligence, like we’ve seen here, that is even better. It’s a double hit. “said Professor Adrian Raine.
Dr Jennifer Martin added, children should start eating fish by at least the age of two. Then, slowly add more fish into the diet, especially in a culture where fish is not as commonly served or smelled. That’s because it can make fish more acceptable. If children are not used to it, they may shy away from it.
Eating fish certainly has such excellent health benefits. It should be popularized and increased.
1. Which of the following about the study is TURE?| A．541 parents in total took the IQ tests. |
| B．Eating fish fails to improve sleep quality. |
| C．Some kids aged from 9 to II were surveyed. |
| D．People who sometimes eat fish scored worst. |
| A．omega-3 itself makes intelligence improve |
| B．high sleep quality is key to help improve IQ |
| C．going to bed early can improve sleep quality |
| D．omega-3 makes people often wake up at night |
| A．Changing the diet of kids. | B．Buying a comfortable bed. |
| C．Having intelligence classes. | D．Taking the IQ tests weekly. |
| A．Ask kids to eat fish before sleeping every day. |
| B．Introduce some good points of eating fish to kids. |
| C．Start to add fish into kids’ diet after the age of two. |
| D．Let kids eat fish early to make them accept it easily. |
Have you ever said “Aloha!” at a Hawaiian party, where you danced the “hula” and played “ukulele”? If you recognize these words, you have already known something about the Hawaiian language. These are some familiar words that English has borrowed from the islands.
Hawaiian did not become both a spoken and written language until the first pioneers arrived in the 1820s. The pioneers used 12 English letters to write out the words when they beard the natives speaking. Before that, the Hawaiians kept their history through songs, chants and poems.
Hawaiian is so pleasing to the ear that it has been called “spoken music”. It is also a language that is full of surprises for someone learning to speak it. Some words in Hawaiian are simple to pronounce: a, ‘a’a, and ‘a’a’a are all special words. More challenging is a word such as “humuhumuwakunukuapua’a”, which is the name of a very small fish. But with a few rules of pronunciation to guide you, you are even able to pronounce this long word successfully.
Hawaiian has five vowels, which are pronounced like this: “a” as in father; “e” as in obey; “i” as in machine; “o” as in so; and “u” as in rule. The seven consonants—h, k, l, m, n, p, w—sound like their pronunciations in English, though the “w” sometimes sounds like “v”. Every word or syllable ends in a vowel, and the one next to the last syllable is always stressed. For example, just say “hop-moo-hoo-moo-noo-koo-noo-koo-ab-poo-ah-ah” and stress the second ah! You can pronounce “humuhumunukunukuapua’a” without difficulty!
Here are some helpful words and phrases for you to learn if you want to spend a holiday in Hawaiian Islands. Practice them hard and you will sound like a native in no time!
1. Hawaiian language ________.| A．doesn’t sound quite pleasant |
| B．was written by native speakers |
| C．didn’t use all the English letters |
| D．became a written language in 1818 |
| A．the first I | B．the first ka | C．the last ka | D．the last hi |
| A．To explain why Hawaiian is called “spoken music”. |
| B．To teach readers simple rules of pronouncing Hawaiian. |
| C．To offer readers ways of spelling vowels and consonants. |
| D．To introduce the difference between Hawaiian and English. |
| A．An introduction about Hawaiian chants. |
| B．Useful vocabulary for tourists in Hawaii. |
| C．The development of the Hawaiian history. |
| D．More pronunciation rules given by native speakers. |
Do you know what an English first name means? Here is a list of British, American and Australian first names for boys and mothers often get names for their baby boys.
| Name | Meaning | Name | Meaning |
| Albert | bright | Bond | farmer |
| Austin | helpful | Bryant | big |
| Blaine | thin | Byron | bear |
| Curt | short | Dave | beloved |
| Douglas | dark | George | farmer |
| A．Thin. | B．Strong. | C．Short. | D．Bear. |
| A．Austin. | B．Bryant. | C．Byron. | D．Albert. |
| A．Bryant and George. | B．Blaine and Albert. | C．Bond and George. | D．Dave and Douglas. |
| A．Albert | B．Austin | C．Dave | D．Douglas |
| A．the school | B．the hospital | C．the hotel | D．the family |
6 . Do you want to learn a new language as fast as possible? If you want to speak like a native*, work hard, don’t be afraid of mistakes and you can be a good learner. Here are some ways to learn a new language.
1. Watch shows and listen to the radio.
We are not born with the language speakers around, that’s why we should build up the listening and watching environment* for learning. Doing these can help you quickly improve your listening and speaking skills. And it is interesting, isn’t it? Just turn on your computer and go to the Internet to get what you need.
2. Read kids’ books and easy ones loudly.
Kids’ books are super easy to understand, they can help you learn a new language well! You can read quickly. After reading, you can tell the story to your family or friends in the new language.
3. Start from the 100 most used words.
At first every word may be new for you, we should choose the most used ones. They are used every day and we can use them every day, so we can remember them more quickly and use them a lot. Sometimes you may not understand sentences, but knowing some key words can help you understand better.
4. Don’t worry about grammar.
We are afraid to learn when we think grammar is very difficult. Grammar is important, but they are not the first thing for a language. The language is for talking and sharing something with others. Don’t be afraid of the mistakes.
If you want to get some more tips, just visit www.wikihow.com!
1. Which is a right way to learn a new language?| A．Read books with difficult words. | B．Learn the 100 most key words. |
| C．Watch shows on the computers. | D．Making more spelling mistakes. |
| A．Kids’ books are not easy to understand sometimes. |
| B．Watching shows is as interesting as listening to music. |
| C．Grammar is often easy when we begin to learn a new language. |
| D．It’s helpful to tell the story in the kids’ books to others after reading. |
| A．Use them as much as possible. | B．Choose them from kids’ books. |
| C．Remember them by making sentences. | D．Understand them by listening to the radio. |
| A．To help people learn a new language. |
| B．To help teachers teach a new language. |
| C．To introduce the website: www.wikihow.com. |
| D．To show the difficulties in learning a new language. |
Do you know koala? It is an animal living in the forests of eastern Australia. The koala spends most of its life in the trees, eating at night and sleeping for up to 18 hours a day. Koalas spend most of the night feeding on eucalyptus leaves. A koala needs 100 trees!
In the wild, koalas can live up to 20 years. They can only grow up to 9 kg and between 60 to 85 cm. The first Englishman reached Australia, there were over ten million koalas. However, there are only 58 thousand today. How could this happen? The wild fires, the change of the weather and traffic.
The koala may look like a bear, but it is a marsupial which carries its young in a pouch. They have a lot of fur which protects them from hot and cold days.
Female koalas give birth to their young after 35 days. Baby koalas are called joeys and live in their mother’s pouch for 5 to 7 months, feeding on her milk. After seven months the joey leaves the pouch and stay on to its mother’s back or belly. It lives with its mother for up to a year until it can get itself food.
1. How tall may a koala be when it grows up?| A．35 cm. | B．58 cm. | C．71 cm. | D．100 cm. |
| A．There are more and more joeys now. |
| B．They stay for 35 days in their mother’s pouch. |
| C．They drink their mother’s milk for over a year. |
| D．They live alone when they can get food themselves. |
| A．Sports. | B．Nature. | C．Story. | D．Family. |
In our life, we might cry because of the loss of loved ones or the loneliness of staying at home alone, but we also cry over onions. So where does all that crying come from?
Lauren Bylsma, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, explains that crying in humans is an evolution of vocalizations used by young animals to keep parents nearby. In other words, babies would cry to get care from their parents. “But the special thing about humans is that this crying can also continue into adulthood,” she said.
“Of course, they haven’t explained all the tears. There are also tears that help to protect the eyes. Basal tears help keep the eyes wet, and are important for animals to protect their eyes. Reflex tears—like the tears someone might get from cutting an onion—are used to get something out of the eyes. Emotional tears are only for humans. That kind of emotional crying becomes less vocal as humans develop. That could be because less vocal crying is safer compared to vocalizations—the loud crying might catch unwanted attention. After a certain point in development, the tears change from vocal tears to less vocal tears because those are less likely to catch the attention of enemies,” said Bylsma.
We may cry when something good or something terrible happens. We haven’t studied much about crying over happy things because it’s not seen very often. Men are more likely to cry over something good. But in Western cultures, men cry between zero and one time a month, while women cry between two and five times per month. No matter how many times you cry a month, it’s quite natural to cry, as long as it’s not harmful to your health.” said Bylsma.
1. Where does crying in humans come from?| A．The sad things in life. | B．The onions in kitchens. |
| C．The evolution of vocalizations. | D．The loneliness of staying at home. |
| A．Tears that help to protect the eyes. | B．Three different kinds of tears. |
| C．The development from vocal tears to less vocal tears. | D．The reasons why less vocal tears are safer. |
| A．Vocal tears. | B．Less vocal tears. | C．Loud crying. | D．Emotional tears |
| A．dogs will cry when they are sad | B．men are more likely to cry |
| C．only emotional tears are real tears | D．we may cry if we are happy |
What are laws?
Our parents make rules for us at home, so does our government. The rules the government makes are called laws.
Why are laws important?
Laws are like rules. They keep people safe and make things fair for everyone, but they are even more important. Here are some examples of American laws on driving:
● Drive on the right side of the road.
● Drinking and driving is a very serious crime in the US.
● Both passengers and drivers in a moving car must wear seat belts.
● Teenagers who have got the driving licenses at 16 still can’t drive alone. An adult should accompany the young driver at least for another one year.
If we don’t follow these laws while driving, a lot of people could get hurt. So, laws keep us safe and make sure we have order in our towns and in our country.
How are laws made?
It takes a long time to make a law. First, government leaders listen to everyone’s ideas. The people tell the leaders what should become a law. Then leaders write something called a bill. A bill tells everyone why something should be a law. The other leaders in Congress have to read the bill. If the other leaders like the bill, they vote to pass it. This means they say yes to it. More than half the leaders must say yes to pass a bill. If the leaders pass the bill, it goes to the president. The president reads the bill and decides if he likes it. If he likes it, he signs the bill. Then it becomes a law. Some people have the job to make sure that everyone follows the law. Police officers work to keep our towns and cities safe.
1. The passage is mainly about ________ .| A．rules at home | B．laws in America | C．ways to keep safe | D．laws on driving |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five |
| A．stay with | B．agree with | C．compare with | D．deal with |
①Leader writes a bill. ②The president signs the bill.
③The bill goes to the president. ④The leaders vote for the bill.
⑤The bill goes to other leaders.
| A．①⑥③④② | B．①⑤④③② | C．①④⑤③② | D．①②④③⑤ |
It’s a popular belief that fish can’t remember anything for longer than seven seconds. It may seem sad to think that they don’t remember what they’ve eaten or where they’ve been, and they don’t know you or any of their friends—every moment in their life would be like seeing the world for the first time.
But don’t be so quick to feel sorry for them. A recent study has found that fish have much better memories than we used to think. In fact, certain kinds of fish can even remember events from as long as 12 days ago, reported BBC.
In the study, researchers from MacEwan University in Canada trained a kind of fish called African cichlids to go to a certain area of their tank to get food. They then waited for 12 days before putting them back in the tank again.
This suggested that they could remember their past experiences. Researchers used computer software to watch the fish’s movements. They found that after such a long break the fish still went to the same place where they first got food.
In fact, scientists had been thinking for a long time that African cichlids might have a good memory. An earlier study showed that they behaved offendedly in front of certain fish, perhaps because they remembered their past fights. But until the latest findings, there was no clear evidence.
“If fish are able to remember that a certain area has safe food, they will be able to go back to that area without putting their lives in danger.” lead researcher Trevor Hamilton told Live Science.
For a long time, fish were placed far below chimpanzes, dolphins and mice on the list of smart animals. But this study has given scientists a new understanding of their intelligences.
So next time you’re watching your pet fish from outside the tank, perhaps you should feel closer to them—they may remember who you are.
1. The study shows fish have better ________ than people thought.| A．experiences | B．skills | C．movements | D．memories |
| A．sadly | B．angrily | C．silently | D．politely |
| A．People have already known fish have better memories. |
| B．A special kind of fish can remember things for 12 days. |
| C．Researchers have trained fish how to survive in the wild. |
| D．Fish have been placed fourth on the list of smart animals. |
| A．it’s easy for fish to find a place with safe food |
| B．it’s dangerous for fish to fight for their friends |
| C．it’s necessary for fish to remember their home |
| D．it’s important for fish to have a good memory |
