Life in 2050
What will life be like in the year 2050? No one knows, but of course it will be very different from it today. Here are some predictions(预言):
First, people will work fewer(更少的) hours, and robots(机器人) will do hard and dangerous work instead. So people will have more free time for sports and travelling.
Second, cars will run faster, and computers will control(控制) the speed instead of people. So there won’t be any accidents.
Third, people will be able to live in the sea(海边), because the cities on the land (陆地) is crowded and noisy.
Last, water will have become one of our most serious problems because there could be serious shortage(短缺). Some scientists predict(预测) that water could be the cause of war if we don’t act now.
1. No one knows what life will be like in the year 2050.2. People will do hard and dangerous work by the year 2050.
3. Computers will control the speed and there won’t be any accidents.
4. The sea will be too noisy and crowded for man to live in.
5. Water shortage could be serious in the future.
It’s necessary for us to have enough sleep. But some people like staying up late to watch TV. Some play and don’t go to bed until 11:00 or 12:00 p.m. All these can cause lack(缺乏) of sleep.
The next day, they would feel sleepy(困倦的) when they work. And they even don’t feel like eating anything. It can also make them ill in bed.
Sometimes it’s not easy for some people to fall asleep(睡着的). If you want to sleep easily(容易地) at night, you had better do more exercise during the day. For example, playing basketball or table tennis can help you fall asleep quickly. You’d better not drink coffee before going to bed. Follow my advice, enjoy a good night.
1. All people like staying up late.2. It’s important for us to get enough sleep.
3. If you want to sleep easily, you’d better do some sports at night.
4. It’s a good idea to drink a cup of warm coffee before you go to bed.
5. It’s helpful to do enough exercise during the day.
3 . As we all know, sugar painting has a very long history. It always plays a necessary role in our childhood which is a traditional Chinese form of folk art, and it used hot, liquid sugar to create figures. This delicious snack was the most popular among the children in the past.
In and around the southwestern part of China, one can often find folk artists producing sugar paintings with liquid sugar along the streets, in the parks and around the schools.
The artists sit before a table on which there is a board in the middle. On the side of the table is another board painted with different kinds of pictures in a circle such as a dragon, bird, dog and so on.
After paying about 5 jiao, or 1 to 2 yuan, the customers, usually kids, can choose one from the pictures for the sugar painting artist to make with sugar.
Before painting, the painter cooks white sugar to get liquid sugar for sugar painting. Then, the liquid sugar falls down from a big spoon as a thin line onto the board and after a short while an “animal” appears. At last the painter puts a wooden stick on the painting and gives it to the customer. Most kids would be excited to see the sweet art shining in gold under the sun.
As a special art for producing pictures of sugar, sugar painting is very different from common painting. First, since the hot liquid sugar could be hard if it cools, the painter has to produce his/her work very quickly. So the painter has to draw a continuous line into a picture of an animal. To learn the whole thing, the painter has to do some practice of common painting in the first place.
1. The underlined word “liquid” in Paragraph 1 means “________” in Chinese.| A．奶油的 | B．陈年的 | C．液体的 | D．固体的 |
| A．Teachers | B．Artists | C．Parents | D．Children |
| A．do practice of common painting | B．cook to get the liquid sugar |
| C．put a stick on the sugar painting | D．draw an animal on the board |
| A．A cultural introduction. | B．A weather report. |
| C．A travel guide. | D．A sugar advertisement. |
| A．A Sweet Art—Sugar Painting | B．How to Make Sugar Paintings |
| C．Customers’ Favorite Paintings | D．An Art in the Southwest of China |
4 . “Without music, life would be a mistake,” famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said over a century ago. Music is a big part of our lives. But in recent years, some US schools have cut music classes to control budgets (预算).
For example, Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired over 1,000 teachers. Among them, 10 percent of the teachers taught art or music, according to The Washington Times. In fact, this is not just a problem in the US. In other countries, such as China and the UK, music classes are not thought to be as important as ones like science, math and history. That’s partly because music is not seen as a very important life skill, and it isn’t tested. Many students are busy with schoolwork, so parents and students choose to focus on subjects that are tested more often.
However, learning music is beneficial in many ways. When playing music, you need different abilities to work together. It is not as simple as it looks, according to Kenneth Guilmartin of Music Together, an early childhood music Development program. For example, when playing the piano, people see music notes and decode (解码) them in their brains. They also use their fingers to make sounds. You need to deal with all these things at the same time.
Music has a special connection with science as well. You can see that many scientists are good at playing music: Einstein played the violin, and German physicist Max Planck did well in playing the piano.
1. Some schools in the US cut music classes, because ________.| A．they were too difficult to learn |
| B．students in the US weren’t interested in music |
| C．the schools wanted to control budgets |
| D．there weren’t enough music teachers in the US |
| A．Fired teachers. | B．Public schools. | C．Parents in Chicago. | D．Students in Chicago. |
| A．Playing the piano needs people to see music notes. |
| B．Playing the piano needs people to use fingers to make sounds. |
| C．Decoding music notes is needed while we are playing music. |
| D．Different abilities are needed to work together while we are playing music. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．Music is as simple as it looks. | B．Music classes should be cut in some schools. |
| C．Music is a big part of our lives. | D．Music isn’t a very important life skill for us. |
5 . For primary and middle school students, being able to cook has become a must. They will also need to learn how to plant vegetables, raise chickens or ducks and fix computers or fridges under new requirements for labor education. The MOE (教育部) brought out a new standard for labor education in schools last year. Starting from the 2022 fall term, students in primary and middle schools have to take courses on labor skills at least once a week.
Labor education helps students value hard work. The new standard includes three types of labor tasks: housework, school labor and community volunteer services.
Schools in China have traditionally placed more focus on studying, and many have seen housework as a waste of children’s time. But according to the MOE, labor education must be built up to help students improve social values and develop an interest in labor.
Liu Fang, a mother of 6-year-old twins in Beijing, strongly supports labor education. For the past year, she has trained her daughters to do housework and make simple dishes for the family.
“The main idea is to let them share duty as family members and become independent as they can,” said Liu. “Through doing housework, their hand-eye coordination (手眼协调), time management and organization skills can be trained and it’s also good to help them relax.”
Through such education, Liu said her twins have found fun in doing housework and are more independent.
1. What CAN’T a ninth-grade student learn through labor education?| A．How to plant vegetables. | B．How to be more careful in class. |
| C．How to fix computers or fridges. | D．How to raise chickens or ducks. |
| A．It started in the fall term of 2022. | B．It is for students from primary school to college. |
| C．Students have to take labor courses twice a week. | D．It includes two types of labor tasks. |
| A．let students do housework | B．let students study to cook |
| C．pay more attention to students’ health | D．pay more attention to students’ study |
| A．It’s too simple for students. | B．It is boring for students. |
| C．It helps students develop different skills. | D．It is a waste of students’ time. |
| A．New courses for primary school students. |
| B．Labor education for primary and middle school students. |
| C．New technologies used in primary and middle schools. |
| D．Ways to improve students’ studying skills. |
6 . Guyu is the last solar term (节气) in spring. When it is coming, it means the cold weather has basically ended, and the temperature rises faster. Besides, the amount of rainfall increases much than the day of “Rain Water”, which is very important for the growth of the crops. After this day, the cuckoo starts to sing, trees and grass turn green.
Picking tea is a custom in Guyu in the south of China. It’s said that drinking tea in Guyu will help people clear away heat, drive away evil spirits and improve eyesight. In the north of China, people eat Chinese toon (香椿) as a custom in Guyu. Guyu is also a perfect time or fishing. Fishermen often hold sacrifice ceremony (祭祀活动) for the sea to bless for safety and success on the sea. In some of the northwest areas, people take a shower in the water to be far away from the bad luck during Guyu period.
While we are busy with our outdoor activities in spring, more care is needed to deal with health. The clearest weather feature around Guyu is the big differences between morning temperatures and night temperatures. People should also pay attention to some health problems like catching a cold and so on.
1. From the first paragraph, what can we know about Guyu?| A．Guyu is the last solar term in a year. | B．When Guyu is coming, the weather becomes warmer. |
| C．There is less rain after Guyu. | D．After Guyu, the trees turn yellow. |
| A．Take a shower. | B．Plant tea. | C．Eat Chinese toon. | D．Pick tea. |
| A．Because they hope to drive away evil spirits. |
| B．Because sacrifice ceremony can make the fishermen healthy. |
| C．Because they want to be safe and successful on the sea. |
| D．Because sacrifice ceremony is important for the growth of crops. |
| A．do more outdoor activities | B．pay attention to health |
| C．plant trees | D．care about weather feature |
| A．Culture. | B．Environment. | C．Entertainment. | D．Health. |
Many of us don’t pay much attention to the importance of eye care. It is said that if you take care of your body, then you can surely be healthy. That is why our eyes should be given a lot of care. Natural eye care should be put in a number one place.
There are several causes leading to poor eyesight like not enough food, genes (基因) and aging (老化). Televisions, computers and reading are also the causes of having poor eyesight. If you happen to work in front of the computer, it is best to take a break every once in a while. Something dirty can cause redness and they will make you feel uncomfortable. It is bad for your eyes, too. If this happens, the best way is to clean your eyes by using cold water. You must also try your best to protect your eyes from harmful things. For example, sunglasses are not just for fashion but they can also serve as a great way to protect your eyesight from UV rays (紫外线).
Eating healthy food will do good to your eyesight. Remember that vitamins A, C and E are good for eyes. Try to eat food groups that have these vitamins. And you should do eye exercises because exercises protect your eyesight, too. If a person exercises regularly and eats the right kind of food, his eyes will stay in good condition for a long time.
All above are natural ways of eye care that help us keep healthy eyes. In a word, eye care is very important, no matter how old a person is.
1. If you take care of your eyes, you will be surely healthy.2. If you need to work in front of the computer, you’d better take a break every once in a while.
3. Wearing sunglasses is just for fashion.
4. Eating healthy food and doing eye exercises are good for our eyesight.
5. This passage mainly talks about some ways of eye care.
8 . Honeybees (蜜蜂) are great dancers, but they don’t just dance for fun. Dancing is also their way of communicating. The bee dance is called the “waggle dance” (摇摆舞).
Waggle dance helps bees find food. If a bee finds something to eat, it will start dancing. First, the bee’s position shows other bees which way to go. Second, if the bee shakes a lot, that means the food is far away. Less shaking means the food is closer. Third, if the bee dances for a long time, it means the food is very delicious.
A research team studied honeybee dance moves. The scientists are from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园). They found out how bees learn the waggle dance. Young bees learn from older bees.
The scientists recorded videos of bees in a laboratory. Then they compared two groups of young bees. The bees were only 10 days old. In one group, young bees could watch older ones dance. These young bees became good dancers. In the other group, young bees could not watch older dancers. These young bees could not dance as well as the first group.
This study changed how scientists think about bees. They used to think all bees could do the waggle dance without having to learn it. Now they know young bees learn it by watching the older ones.
1. ________ is a way of communicating for honeybees.| A．Fighting | B．Flying | C．Speaking | D．Dancing |
| A．the food is closer | B．the food is terrible |
| C．the food is far away | D．the food is delicious |
| A．By recording videos. | B．By learning from older bees. |
| C．By dancing for 10 days. | D．By learning from scientists. |
| A．Scientists compared two groups of young bees. |
| B．Young bees could never dance as well as older bees. |
| C．All bees can do the waggle dance without having to learn it. |
| D．Now scientists still know nothing about how bees learn the waggle dance. |
| A．novel | B．guidebook | C．storybook | D．science magazine |
9 . Lisa, a 14-year-old girl, from the USA, used an app to make her dream come true. She tried it out on a childhood photo of her mother. Guess what? In the old photo, her mother, a little girl at that time, began to smile at her. It sounds like Harry Potter’s moving photos, doesn’t it?
It’s not magic, but a real thing. The app that Lisa used is called My Heritage. By using an AI（人工智能）technology, the app allows users to animate（使……成为动画）still photos. The technology is the work of D-ID, an Israeli（以色列的）company. At the beginning, they designed it to bring photos of people in history to life. This means you can see them blink（眨眼）, and even turn their heads. Now Americans find it fun and many are giving it a try with their old photos. Millions of users have watched their loved ones come to life in old photos.
The service is easy to use. First download（下载）the app. Next, click（点击）on the menu and choose “photo” from the list. Then upload（上传）the photo you wish to animate. The AI technology will take around 20 seconds to work its magic on the photo. Then it’s done!
1. From Paragraph 1 we learn that Lisa’s dream is to ________.| A．invent a new app | B．see her mum smile at her |
| C．see her mum as a child | D．act in a Harry Potter movie |
| A．It can make people in a photo smile. | B．It comes from an Israeli company. |
| C．The service is difficult to use. | D．Many Americans have used it. |
| A．仍然 | B．静止的 | C．稳定的 | D．陈旧的 |
| A．animals | B．plants | C．buildings | D．people |
| A．AI Brings Old Photos to Life | B．Lisa’s Dream Comes True |
| C．A New App Changes Our Life | D．Everybody Loves My Heritage |
10 . These days many people enjoy playing video games so much that they can’t put them down. But it isn’t a healthy habit. The World Health Organization（WHO）considered “gaming disorder（障碍）” as a mental（精神的）disorder.
“Gaming disorder” means the lasting or repeating video-gaming behavior, whether online or offline. It has three main characteristics（特征）. The first sign is when the player loses control over his or her gaming habits. The second is when playing games becomes more important than other activities for the player. The third is when the condition leads to serious problems in the player’s personal and family life.
Some countries are already working to solve this problem. South Korea made a law preventing children under 16 from playing online games between midnight and 6 a. m. And children under 12 have to be watched by their parents while using the Internet.
判断正误（正确“T”，错误“F”）1. Playing video games anytime and anywhere is healthy.
2. Gaming disorder means people can’t put down their games only online.
3. Players who have this disorder think playing games is more important than other activities.
4. Children in South Korea can play online games between midnight and 6 a. m.
5. We must take action to help control gaming disorder.
