| The traditional Chinese lunar calendar（农历）divides the year into 24 solar terms （节气）. It’s very useful for people’s life and work. Let’s have a look. | |
 | Start of Spring, the first solar term of the year, falls on February 4th this year. After Start of Spring, the daytime is becoming longer and the weather is becoming warmer. And people eat spring pancakes and spring rolls on the day. |
 | Summer Solstice, the 10th solar term, falls on June 21st this year. Summer Solstice is not the hottest time in a year. The hottest days often come 20 to 30 days later. People have a tradition of eating noodles on the day. |
 | Autumn Equinox, the 16th solar term, falls on September 23rd this year. On this day, day and night are of equal length（等长）. After this day, days get shorter and nights get longer in the northern hemisphere（北半球）. In South China, people eat Qiucai, a kind of wild amaranth（苋菜）. |
 | Major Snow, or “Daxue” in Chinese, is the 21st solar term, and it falls on December 7th this year. The arrival of Major Snow marks the beginning of midwinter. Daxue does not necessarily have more snowfall but the possibility of snowy days grows bigger. People have the custom to eat lamb（羊肉）and porridge. |
| A．6 | B．12 | C．15 | D．24 |
| A．February 4th | B．June 21st | C．September 23rd | D．December 7th |
| A．Start of Spring | B．Summer Solstice | C．Autumn Equinox | D．Major Snow |
| A．Spring pancakes. | B．Noodles. | C．Amaranth. | D．Lamb. |
2 . There are all kinds of clubs in US middle schools, such as the music club, the sports club, the chess club, the swimming club. But do you know the homework club? It is very popular（受欢迎的） in many US middle schools. Lots of students spend（花费） their afternoons at homework clubs. The US middle school students need a quiet place to study.
But games, computers and TVs are all around kids（小孩） at home, so the homework club is just for them to do their homework. The club is quiet and it’s good for students to study. Some teachers are there, too. They can answer students’ questions and help with their homework. After the students finish their homework, they can go home. Then they can play games or watch TV happily.
1. The students in US middle schools can go to the homework club ________.| A．in the morning | B．in the afternoon | C．in the evening | D．at night |
| A．公共的 | B．安静的 | C．舒适的 | D．嘈杂的 |
| A．The homework club is popular in US middle schools. |
| B．It’s good for students to study in the homework club. |
| C．All the US middle school students like the homework club. |
| D．The teachers in the homework club can help the students with their homework. |
| A．Clubs in US Middle Schools | B．Students and Homework |
| C．The Homework Club | D．Music and Sports |
3 . Hello, everyone. My name is John. I’m from America. I’m thirteen years old. This is my new school. It’s not big, but it’s very beautiful. There is a big playground. It’s in the middle of the school. The sports hall is next to the playground. In front of the sports hall is the dining hall. Teachers and students often have lunch(吃午饭) there. Look! This is our classroom building. And there are forty-eight classrooms in it. In my class, there are forty-six students. Twenty-eight of them are boys. And the rest(其余) are girls. On the right of the classroom building is the library. In the library, there are many books. I like reading books there. The office building is in front of our classroom building. I like my school very much.
1. What’s John’s school like?| A．Big and beautiful. |
| B．Small but beautiful. |
| C．Big and clean. |
| D．Small but clean. |
| A．48. | B．46. | C．28. | D．18. |
| A．In front of the science labs. |
| B．Behind the dining hall. |
| C．On the right of the classroom building. |
| D．Between science labs and the dining hall. |
| A．John is an English boy and he is thirteen years old. |
| B．Teachers and students often have lunch at the hotel. |
| C．There is a classroom building with 48 classrooms in the school. |
| D．The library is on the left of the classroom building. |
Fire can be very dangerous. We should be careful with it. This is what to do in a fire:
Shout out. Shout as loudly as you can, because people may be asleep.
Call 119. Don’t try to put out the fire yourself. Tell 119 where you are and what is on fire.
Keep down next to the floor. There is less smoke down there, so it’s easier to breathe(呼吸) and see where you are going.
Test the door. If the door is cool, open it carefully. If the door is hot, do not open it! Try to find a different way out.
Get out. Do not stop to pick up anything. A fire can become very big in a few seconds!
Don’t use the lift(电梯). Always use the stairs(楼梯). The lift may go wrong and keep you inside.
Don’t go back. Even if your pet is still inside, do not go back for it. Animals have a very good sense(感觉) of smell. They often get away from buildings before people.
1. The passage tells us that we can_________ in a fire.| A．use the lift | B．try to put out the fire ourselves |
| C．shout as loudly as possible | D．open the hot door and go out |
| A．people may be asleep | B．people can find you easily |
| C．there is less smoke down there | D．you should look after your things carefully |
| A．it is too small | B．it may go wrong |
| C．it may keep you inside | D．both B and C |
5 . You may know a lot about smartphones. But what about smart cities?
Imagine living your life like this: When you wake up in the morning, you say “Open the window” to the computer and it opens the window. The sunshine is shining and the birds are singing. Then you finish breakfast and sit in front of your desk and begin to have classes through the Internet. With the help of building a smart city, this may become true one day.
A smart city uses digital technologies (数字科技) such as the Internet to improve city planning, save resources (资源) and make our lives easier. For example, people live in smart cities, where there is Internet almost everywhere. They can do many things at home, such as booking train tickets, paying water bills and shopping online. What a convenient life it is!
Now China is making some cities smarter. For example, Guiyang is going to build free Wi-Fi in the whole city. Tianjin plans to start a smart city program to solve traffic problems. Guangzhou is creating a smart city, so everyone in the city should play a role in creating a smart city.
1. According to the passage, we can do the following things with Internet at home EXCEPT (除了) ________.| A．booking train tickets | B．having classes |
| C．paying water bills | D．having breakfast |
| A．People in Guiyang can pay money for Wi-Fi in the whole city. |
| B．A smart city with digital technologies will use more resources. |
| C．People can open the windows through the computer. |
| D．Computers can make the sun shine and birds sing. |
| A．the smart cities | B．the future life | C．digital technologies | D．the smartphones |
6 . Monkey Business
Monkey Homes
There are about 200 different kinds of monkeys, and they live in many of the world’s forests and grasslands. Most monkeys spend their time up in the trees. They have long arms and are good at climbing. They can jump from tree to tree, high above the ground. Other monkeys, such as baboons (狒狒), live on the ground. They walk around on their hands and feet.
Monkey Bodies
Monkeys use their fingers to hold food when they eat. Monkeys’ feet look a lot like their hands. Most monkeys have long tails. Their tails help them balance (平衡). Monkeys are clever animals. They have good eyesight. They can hear well, too.
Monkey Meals
Monkeys spend a lot of time looking for food. Most monkeys eat almost anything: leaves, grass, fruit, nuts, birds, frogs, and other small animals. Some monkeys even fish for crabs.
Monkey Families
All monkeys live in groups. Some monkeys live in small family groups. Some monkeys live in large groups called troops. While resting, monkeys groom (清洁) each other. Grooming is one way that monkeys clean and care for each other.
Monkey Talk
If you visit a rain forest, you would hear “monkey talk.” Monkeys call to each other to keep in touch with their group. They call to warn (警告) each other of the danger. Monkeys talk by making sounds, clapping their hands, and jumping up and down.
1. Where do monkeys live?2. What are monkeys good at?
3. Can monkeys hear well?
4. What do monkeys do when they rest?
5. How do monkeys talk to each other?
Everyone likes to have fun, but not everyone has much money to spend for it. Here are some free or cheap ways for you to enjoy yourselves.
Try a hobby
While you’re out, take pictures of things you find. Taking pictures can make you find the beauty around you. And you’ll get interesting photos. If you don’t have a camera or a mobile phone that can take pictures, you can try drawing. Drawing only needs a pencil and paper.
Get outside
Going outside in good weather can be a lot of fun, especially if you go with a friend. Hike or ride a bicycle in a park. If you live in a city, you can also go window shopping.
Find an event(事件)
Libraries often give free public events, stop by one to find out what’s going on. And while you’re there, borrow a book or movie for free. Museums and universities also give free events.
Meet a friend
Relationships (关系) are the best things in life. Whatever you do, find someone to share it with. Ask a friend for a walk, an event or a time working on your hobby. If your friend comes in the afternoon, you don’t have to cook the meal. You can sit and talk, play computer games or card games or watch a movie.
1. How many ways are there in the passage for us to enjoy ourselves?2. What can make you find the beauty around you?
3. Which places can give free events?
4. What are the best things in our life according to the writer?
5. What’s the main idea of the passage?
8 . Good preparation means that you will learn more and do better in the test.
①Think about what you need to know
What will be in the test? Make a list. How well do you know each subject? Which subject do you need to review most?
②Choose the right place
Make yourself comfortable! Some people work best alone, some people work best with other people. Some people love silence, other people like music playing.
③Review（复习）in different ways
You can prepare yourself in different ways and you can help yourself to remember in different ways. Here are some ideas.
● Learn things “by heart”.
● Read it aloud.
● Read and then write it in your own words.
●Tell someone else about what you have to read.
●Test yourself. See ④.
● Read it aloud on to a cassette（录音带）and then listen to it.
④Test yourself
Don’t be surprised in the examination—test yourself first. Use the Help-Yourself-List to make some exercises for yourself. You can also ask someone else to test you.
1. Good preparation means that you will ________ in the test.| A．learn things by heart |
| B．know each subject well |
| C．make some exercises |
| D．learn more and do better |
| A．4 | B．5 | C．6 | D．7 |
| A．choose the right place |
| B．read it aloud |
| C．test yourself first |
| D．make a list |
9 . A scientist goes to a forest to study monkeys. He or she wants to study their habits. But the first problem is: how to know who’s who?
In the past, scientists had to make marks on each of the animals to tell them apart(分辨). But in the future, they may have a much easier way, thanks to facial recognition technology(面部识别技术).
A research team from China’s Northwest University is using facial recognition technology to recognize thousands of monkeys that live on Qinling Mountain in Shanxi province. It’s quite like human facial recognition and it uses the facial features(特点) of the monkeys to create a database(数据库) that includes every monkey. “When the system is fully developed in the future, we can connect it with cameras set up in the mountains. The system will recognize the monkeys, name them and try to understand their behavior,” said Zhang He, a member of the research team. “The recognition success rate is 94 percent.”
Compared with facial recognition technology for humans, facial recognition technology for monkeys is more complicated (复杂的) because monkeys have faces with hairs. The color of their hair causes them to blend (融入) into their environment. These factors make it harder for computers to do the job. Besides, monkeys do not work with researchers in the same way humans do. It is difficult to take high-quality pictures and videos of them, which are needed to improve the system.
1. To study monkeys in a forest, what is the first problem for the scientist?| A．How to tell them apart. |
| B．How to make marks on them. |
| C．How to understand their behavior. |
| D．How to use facial recognition technology. |
| A．It has already been fully developed. |
| B．It works like human facial recognition. |
| C．It has a much higher success rate. |
| D．It takes high-quality pictures of monkeys. |
| A．What facial recognition technology is like. |
| B．How the facial recognition system works. |
| C．What difficulties the researchers face. |
| D．How researchers will solve the problems. |
10 . All countries around the world have their ways to celebrate the coming year. Here are some unusual new year traditions around the world that you must know.
 | In Canada, they have an unusual new year tradition known as the Polar Bear Swim. Peter Pantages started this event in 1920 in Vancouver when his friends jumped in the freezing waters of the English Bay. Now, it is held in many places. But why do they do that? Many participants say that it starts off their year right since the icy water clears their heads—a cleansing for the mind and soul. |
 | At midnight, people go to the streets and dance to drum beats to welcome the New Year. The London Eye stands in bright colors for the fireworks show at midnight. For hours before the clock strikes 12, people come together to watch shows. The London Eye is lit up each year for New Year’s celebrations. |
 | On New Year’s Eve in Venice, Italy, the most popular celebrations are setting off fireworks in the street and the fireworks displays are great ways to send off the old year and welcome the new one. As the clock strikes midnight, the boat parade（游行）begins. People often enjoy a glass of wine on the boat to celebrate the New Year. |
 | In Thailand, they have the January New Year’s celebration by exchanging gifts with friends and family members. Then they get together to enjoy a traditional New Year’s Eve rice cake. Thai people also celebrate Songkran, or the Thai New Year in April. The first day in Bangkok, people often have a big water fight because they believe that water washes away bad luck. So throwing water is a sign of well—wishing and respect. |
| A．In 1920. | B．In 1930. | C．In 1940. | D．In 1902. |
| A．In Vancouver, Canada. | B．In London, Britain. |
| C．In Bangkok, Thailand. | D．In Venice, Italy. |
| A．They watch shows in the street. |
| B．They have a big water fight. |
| C．They often exchange gifts with others. |
| D．They often enjoy a glass of wine on the boat. |
