1 . Passion (激情) is the strong feeling you have when doing something you love. This could be anything from listening to music, playing sports, drawing or getting lost in a book.
Dr. Block is an expert on feelings. He says that following your passion doesn’t mean trying to be the best at something. What matters is that you’re drawn to do something deeply because of how it makes you feel. “It’s something that touches your heart and mind,” says Block.
Passion is very helpful to us. When you’re doing something full of passion, you feel less stressed (有压力的) because you can forget your worries. You will also do things more carefully when your mind and body are completely caught by what you’re doing. When this happens, difficult thoughts and feelings disappear. Dr. Block says this can also build your confidence and help you overcome challenges.
“Finding passion sounds like easy. However, it often begins with a small spark (火花) of curiosity (好奇) and grows from there. This spark could be lit (点燃) by anything, like an interesting lesson or an exciting goal in a match. Following this spark can turn it into something meaningful that lifts your heart,” says Paul O’Keefe, another expert on feelings. So he suggests exploring (探索) diverse things. “You can discover a passion by keeping trying new activities,” he added.
Passion is a powerful thing. It is the fire that lights up our minds. Find your passion, share it with your friends and also help them find their passion, too!
1. How does the writer lead into the topic “passion” in Paragraph 1?| A．By explaining what is passion. |
| B．By making a survey about passion. |
| C．By using an old saying about passion. |
| A．we do the best at something |
| B．we develop new abilities |
| C．we are drawn to do something deeply |
| A．We may have difficult feelings of passion. |
| B．We should learn new skills with passion. |
| C．Passion can bring us many advantages. |
| A．popular | B．different | C．common |
A． | B． | C． |
2 . Do you like wearing colourful clothes? Today, we can get colourful clothes easily. But how about people in ancient times?
Tie-dye (扎染) is a very old way of dyeing clothes, which has a history of more than 1,000 years. During the Tang and Song periods, people gave tie-dyed clothes to the emperors as gifts. People make dyes by hand, and dyes usually come from plants.
In 2006, the tie-dye skill was added to China’s national intangible cultural heritage (国家非物质文化遗产) list. Anning city in Yunnan is known for tie-dye.
Yang Cheng, 52, is the inheritor (传承人) of tie-dye in Anning, Yunnan. He has learned the old skill of tie-dye. He learned the skill from his mother in the 1980s. And he has passed it down to his daughter.
To tie-dye, you first need to use ropes to tie your cloth together. Then you put the cloth into the dye. As the cloth is folded (折叠) and dyed, some parts become dark colours, while other parts have light colours. When you unfold the cloth, you’ll see beautiful shapes and colours.
Some might worry that machinery dyeing will take the place of tie-dye. But Yang doesn’t think so. “At the end of the day, machines can’t take the place of our creative hands,” Yang said.
1. The writer starts to introduce tie-dye by ______.| A．showing a fact | B．asking a question | C．giving an example |
| A．Soil | B．plants | C．animals |
| A．his grandmother | B．his father | C．his mother |
①Put the cloth into the dye.
②Use ropes to tie the cloth together.
③Get beautiful shapes after unfolding the cloth.
④Some parts become dark, while other parts are light.
| A．②①④③ | B．③④②① | C．④②①③ |
| A．Anning in Hunan is known for its dye. |
| B．Tie-dyed clothes were valuable in the Song Dynasty. |
| C．Machinery dyeing will replace tie-dye in the future. |
3 . While most Singaporeans can speak both English and Chinese, very few are good at both languages. In fact, most parents speak English as their first language, so their Chinese is getting weak and they face difficulties when it comes to teaching their children Chinese.
If you’ re a parent struggling to keep up with Chinese teaching in school, you are not alone. We spoke to some Singaporean parents about the challenges they face when teaching their children Chinese, as well as how they got their young ones to understand the importance of the language.
Emily, 37, says that it has been a bit of a challenge teaching Chinese to her two children as her husband and she don’t speak much Chinese at home. She says that this is the main reason why her two children, who are seven and four, are not confident of the language. Despite (尽管) this, Emily encourages her children to speak Chinese in school whenever possible so that they can practice. “People in Singapore speak many languages, and to be able to communicate with all of them, my children need to master different languages.”
She also tries to make Chinese learning fun for her children by telling them stories of certain Chinese words. Because her family is mostly English speaking, she is worried that her children may not be able to keep up with Chinese teaching in school.
Given that the Chinese language looks to be very important in the future, Emily also says that she may consider sending her children to a Chinese school on Sundays or online learning platform (平台) .
1. What are most Singaporeans like these days?| A．They can speak two languages. |
| B．They find Chinese learning fun. |
| C．They are good at both Chinese and English. |
| A．They are too shy to talk to others. |
| B．They speak English most of the time. |
| C．They speak Chinese as much as possible. |
| A．Like. | B．Hear. | C．Learn. |
| A．Tell stories in Chinese often. |
| B．Write Chinese words every day. |
| C．Have Chinese lessons on weekends. |
| A．Singaporean parents work hard at their Chinese |
| B．Singaporean children are having a hard school life |
| C．Singaporean parents find teaching kids Chinese challenging |
4 . Travelling is interesting. There are many ways to travel: by plane, by train, by ship or by car. Let’s see what people think of these ways.
My favourite way of travelling is by car. I can bring my pet dog together. I can travel three hundred miles or only fifty miles a day. I can stop at a good restaurant to enjoy a good meal or at a hotel to spend the night. —Greg |
I love travelling by train best! It’s very exciting. I travelled to most of the countries in Europe in 5 months by train. It’s the best way to talk with local people and make new friends on the way. Trains even make the longest trip enjoyable. Travelling by train is just like a big moving party. —Grace |
I like travelling by ship. It is a very great way to spend a holiday. I can go to parties and watch movies on the ship, and enjoy the blue sky and clear water. —Eliza |
Planes are my favourite. It’s the fastest way of travelling. I can quickly get to another country. The seats on the planes are very comfortable. I can have something to drink and eat. I can also read some free magazines and newspapers. —Danny |
1. How many ways of travelling are talked about in the passage?
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. |
| A．Greg. | B．Grace. | C．Eliza. |
| A．Enjoyable. | B．Slow. | C．Boring. |
| A．Because he can make new friends. |
| B．Because the food is delicious. |
| C．Because it’s the fastest way. |
| A．A science report. | B．A story book. | C．A travel magazine. |
Thank you for choosing me as the best player in our college. I’m really happy to share with you what I do to keep fit. Doing sports in the gym is a good choice, but it costs too much. As a student, I have my own way.
First of all, I am a big fan of many sports, especially cycling. I often ride a bike to school in the morning. Besides, I’m interested in playing volleyball. Now I am on the school team. Every day we train hard. We all do our best to win the matches when playing against other schools. Believe it or not, we also do yoga (瑜伽) from time to time! It’s an effective (有效的) way to relax our bodies and clear our minds.
Sometimes, I take part in marathons (马拉松). On my twentieth birthday, I took part in a meaningful marathon. Through it, people hoped to raise money for charity (慈善). And some of the money went to protect animals in danger.
Do you want to become fit? The more sports you do, the healthier you will be.
Task 1: Finish the chart according to the article. Fill in each blank with no more than 3 words.
How to | ||
| Doing sports in a gym is good but costs | The writer rides a bike to school. She plays | She sometimes |
| 1. How does the writer go to school? 2. Does the writer love animals? How do you know? 3. Do you think the writer is a good player? Explain your reason(s) in about 20 words. |
6 . Earthquakes usually come without warning. What should you do if these happen to you? An earthquake is dangerous, but there are still things you can do to protect yourself.
☆Stay calm as the earth begins to shake. Your chance of survival in an earthquake will go up if you can keep calm. Staying calm is not easy, but it can save your life.
☆If you are inside when the earthquake starts, get under a table or a bed. You need to have something strong around you to protect you from falling objects. Do not stand near walls or windows and stay out of the kitchen. The kitchen is dangerous because of many glass objects.
☆If you are outside, get to an open area as fast as you can. Stay away from buildings and trees. If you are in a car, pull over to a place where there are no trees or tall buildings and stay in the car. If you are close to the sea, try to get as far away from the water as possible. Earthquakes can cause huge waves (海浪) that can really harm the nearby people.
☆When the earthquake is over, there is still plenty of danger. For example, fire often comes with an earthquake. If you see a fire, quickly move to an open area.
Always remember to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
1. What does the underlined word “survival” mean in Chinese?| A．坍塌 | B．废墟 | C．幸存 |
| A．To get under a table. |
| B．To get under a bed. |
| C．To stand near walls or windows. |
| A．To stay away from buildings and trees. |
| B．To run into a house quickly to take something valuable. |
| C．To run out of the car immediately. |
| A．snow | B．fire | C．rain |
| A．The ways to stay calm. |
| B．The ways to move to an open area. |
| C．The ways to protect yourself when an earthquake happens. |
7 . Elephants are very special animals. They are very clever and have different emotions, such as happiness and sadness. They can even cry. Elephants can learn many things, and in some countries, they work carrying heavy things.
There are two kinds of elephants: African and Asian elephants. African elephants are usually larger and they can be 7,000 kilos or more. All elephants eat a lot—up to 300 kilos of food a day. They can live for about 60 years.
Unluckily, the number of wild elephants is going down. Many people kill them mainly for their tusks—the long pointed (尖的) teeth. People try to protect them, but it’s difficult.
1. How much food does an elephant eat a day?| A．300 kilos. | B．600 kilos. | C．2,000 kilos. |
| A．嗅觉 | B．才能 | C．情感 |
| A．For their ears. | B．For their teeth. | C．For their meat. |
| A．All the elephants live in the zoo. |
| B．The Asian elephants are usually larger. |
| C．Elephants can live for about 60 years. |
| A．A special tooth. | B．A special animal. | C．Kinds of elephants. |
8 . Ever since the 19th century, people’s search for improved ways of producing electricity has never stopped. Now a UK company has developed a new kind of floor. It is very special. There is a system that can produce a certain amount of electricity very cheaply using the energy from footsteps. When people step on this special floor, electricity is produced.
The inventor of the floor came up with the idea when he was a student and worked in an energy business. The business asked him to find ways to power up street lights in the city center using the energy from the sun, but it soon became clear that this might not work because many city centers don’t get enough sunlight because of tall buildings. Then he thought of a better plan.
Why not use the energy produced by people who walk past the street instead? The right technology could be used to convert this energy into electricity — right under people’s feet.
The floor could actually be very efficient (效率高的). This is especially true when it is used in very busy areas. And the reason is that a lot of energy is produced simply because of large numbers of people walking across the floor.
The floor can have other uses too, such as recording how many people visit a particular (特定的) place at particular times. This kind of information is very useful for certain people. For example, shop owners near the place would be interested in knowing what time of the day they have the highest customer numbers.
The technology was created out of a hope of making energy that is untouchable closer to people. The business also said it tried to find a way for people to further their understanding of problems of climate change and sustainability (可持续性).
1. How special is the new kind of floor?| A．It can be used in many busy areas in cities. |
| B．It depends on sunlight to produce electricity. |
| C．It produces electricity with the energy from footsteps. |
| A．Because the buildings are tall. |
| B．Because the weather is not good. |
| C．Because the environment is polluted. |
| A．Carry. | B．Change. | C．Collect. |
| A．The use of the floor may help solve the problem of climate change. |
| B．The more people walk on the floor, the more electricity can be produced. |
| C．The floor could be of little help to the shop owners near the street using it. |
| A．A Creative Business | B．A Discussion on Sunlight | C．A New Way of Producing Electricity |
Spring Festival is coming. You will buy new clothes and a lot of food. There are always some old clothes you don’t want. And there is always some food you can’t eat. What can you do? Send them to the two places.
Wall of Kindness (友善之墙)
You can see Wall of Kindness in many cities now, like Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen and Qingdao. People hang (悬挂) their old clothes on the wall. Poor people can take them away. You can always see jackets, sweaters, trousers and coats on the wall.
Share Fridge (共享冰箱)
China has its first Share Fridge. It’s in Shanghai. There is a lot of food in it, like cakes. The food is from some restaurants and stores. People don’t need to buy the food because it’s free. They can take it home.
1. The underlined word “them” refers to (指的是) ________.| A．clothes | B．cakes | C．fridges |
| A．some birthday cakes | B．an English book | C．a pair of old trousers |
| A．China has its first Share Fridge in Xiamen. |
| B．People who need the clothes on the wall can take them away. |
| C．People have to pay for (为……付款) the food in Share Fridge. |
| A．helpful | B．tidy | C．healthy |
| A．Wall of Kindness | B．Share Fridge | C．Do something for others |
Many students are not very healthy now. Most of them know it is good for them to play sports. But when they have time, they always don’t want to exercise. Some of them only watch sports games on TV. Allen is a 15-year-old boy. He likes basketball, but he never plays it. He thinks it is difficult for him. He likes many basketball players like Yao Ming and Kobe, but he doesn’t do sports like them.
Many boys and girls don’t like vegetables or fruit, either. They like eating junk food (垃圾食品) very much. But eating vegetables and fruit is good for our health. Students need to eat them every day. So if you want to be healthy, you should eat vegetables and fruit and exercise every day!
Task 1：Finish the chart according to the article. Fill in each blank with no more than 3 words.
Stay healthy
| Many students don’t like playing sports. They only watch sports games 1._______. Allen is one of them. He is 2._______. He likes basketball, but he never 3._______. |
| Many boys and girls like eating junk food. Eating vegetables and fruit 4._______ our health. Students need to eat vegetables and fruit and 5. _______ every day. |
2.
3.
4.
5.
Task 2：Answer the following questions.
6. Who knows it is good to do sports?
7. Does Allen play basketball? How do you know that?
8. How can students stay healthy? Explain your reason(s) in about 20 words.
