1 . Yawning (打哈欠) is something we all do — maybe because we’re bored carrying out boring tasks or because we’re tired. Sometimes, just seeing other people yawn can set you off.
Many of us think we open our mouths when we yawn to take in more air, but in fact there is no clear connection. A new research suggests it might be because yawning lower the temperature of the brain and prevents it from overheating, much like the fan in your computer. This might be why we’re more likely to feel sleepy and yawn in warm temperatures.
We yawn more when we’re tired and ready for a sleep, and we can’t control when we do it! But it’s also true that yawning is a very contagious behaviour. John Drury, a researcher from Sussex University, told the BBC that “it’s something that you can’t stop. Dogs yawn when their owners yawn, and animals yawn to each other. It happens whether you want to or not.”
His research into this behaviour showed that there is a connection with our social group and how close we are to the people in it. If we are closely connected with the person who has the behaviour, we are likely to copy it too.
Another research by the University of Nottingham found similar results. Researchers found people hardly avoided yawning when others around them yawned. They also found, when using electrical stimulation (刺激), that they were able to increase people’s wish to yawn. These findings could be useful because they could help treat other conditions like Tourette’s (图雷特氏综合症).
1. We may yawn in a warm house because ________.| A．yawning helps us take in warm air | B．yawning helps cool the brain down |
| C．the warm temperature makes us sleepy | D．yawning can make us have a clear mind |
| A．文明的 | B．常见的 | C．有传染性的 | D．可控制的 |
| A．We yawn more to take in more air. |
| B．We can’t control ourselves when we yawn. |
| C．Two universities found the similar result on yawning. |
| D．We will yawn when we are close to the people who yawn. |
| A．Why Do We Yawn | B．The Secret of Sleep |
| C．The Advantages of Yawning | D．How Does Yawning Influence Us |
2 . It’s no surprise that what you spend your money on depends on your age, where you live, how big your family is, and how much money you make. But do you know how people change their spending when a city starts to get richer?
Shenzhen, in China, has attracted (吸引) lots of talented people in the last few years, and the average income (平均收入) of common people in Shenzhen is more than that of common people in any other medium-sized city in China. So what do the people in Shenzhen like to spend their money on?
The first thing is education. This is very expensive in China, and rich people usually spend a lot on education. It is said that the money they spend on education is increasing (增加) year by year.
They also spend a lot of money on communications and houses. Some people have two smartphones and even their children have smartphones. And almost every family has a computer. People have started to buy bigger houses. They now have an average of twenty square metres in their apartments, and some have even had two houses.
The biggest change, however, is the number of people buying cars. In 1995 only four or five families in every one hundred owned a car. Now this number has increased, and there are well over four million cars in Shenzhen.
1. How does the writer start the passage according to Paragraph 1?| A．By telling a story. | B．By using some experts’ words. |
| C．By asking a question. | D．By using some numbers. |
| A．Paragraph 2. | B．Paragraph 3. | C．Paragraph 4. | D．Paragraph 5. |
| A．Parents usually don’t buy smartphones for their children in Shenzhen. |
| B．Many talented people went to Shenzhen to find better lives in the past. |
| C．In 1995 only two or three families in every one hundred had a car. |
| D．How much money we spend mainly depends on how much money we make. |
3 . The world needs help to make it a better place. What can we do to give others a hand?
Be kind to negative people. When people face trouble, they get unhappy and lose heart for life easily. Then they become negative. If you want to help, you can show kindness, care and love to those in need. Through your kindness, you can change their ideas about themselves and the world, and become their light in the darkness (黑暗).
Volunteer in your neighborhood. If you’re looking to help others, volunteering is your best way. You can volunteer to help people facing difficulties in many ways. Also, you might bring out the best in yourself when helping others.
Share your experience. Helping others isn’t just about giving money or useful things; you can help by sharing your experiences to help others when they feel lost. Your real-life experiences can provide useful lessons to help them solve life problems.
Help around the house to help others. Helping others isn’t only about helping strangers (陌生人); it’s also about helping your family. In a family, it’s not only a person’s job to do housework. Try to do more housework even without being asked. Spend some time folding your clothes, preparing dinner, and so on. No one at home should serve as your servant. You’re a family member, just like the rest. Show your great love through helping your family.
So, tell me, how do you plan to help others?
1. What can we know about a negative person?| A．They often give away money. |
| B．They are kind to others. |
| C．They like to live in the dark. |
| D．They aren’t sure of themselves. |
| A．Because they’re more important than money. |
| B．Because they have many interesting things in it. |
| C．Because they can bring out the best in others. |
| D．Because they’re real with some useful lessons. |
| A．By giving them more money. |
| B．By sharing housework and showing more love. |
| C．By helping them solve their problems in life. |
| D．By sharing our experience with them. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
4 . 
As we all know, there is very short of water in lots of areas in Africa. However, there is a magical tree which can help to solve the water problem. It is called the “sacred (神圣的) tree of Africa”-baobab tree (猴面包树).
A baobab tree is huge like an upside-down carrot. It can grow so large that it requires more than 40 people holding hands to circle it. Actually, most baobab trees are not very tall, only about ten meters.
A baobab tree is full of treasures. It is said that if everyone in Africa had a 10-meter-tall baobab tree, it would solve more than 50% of their food problems. In hot Africa, water is the most needed. When the rainy season comes, the baobab tree starts to hold water in its body. The baobab tree is said to be the most water-holding tree. It can hold thousands of kilograms of water in its body. Local people usually cut a hole in the tree with a knife and get clean water from it. The baobab tree leaves are a bit like spinach (菠菜) leaves. True to its Chinese name, the fruit of the baobab tree tastes like bread. But it’s not like bread with cream. It tastes dry. Local people seldom get stomach problems because of eating it.
Baobab trees are not only useful for humans, but for animals in nature! Their fruit can be good food for monkeys, lizards and other African animals. Their leaves can also be eaten to get enough water. The branches of a baobab look like a root, making it a perfect home to birds.
Indeed, baobab trees are the “tree of life” for Africans. The tall, straight baobab trees act like lighthouses. As the African saying goes, “Baobab trees lit up against the dark ‘African Sky’.” They light up not only the night sky, but also our respect for nature.
1. Which of the following sentences is an opinion?| A．Many places in Africa are very short of water. |
| B．Most baobab trees are not very tall, only about ten meters. |
| C．Baobab trees are useful both for humans and animals in nature! |
| D．A baobab tree can hold thousands of kilograms of water in its body. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Africans in Need of Water | B．The Sacred Tree of Africa |
| C．A Magic Tree in Danger | D．The Most Water-holding Tree |
5 . Most American families are smaller than the families in other countries. Most American families have one or two parents and one or two children each. Children in the USA will leave their parents’ home when they grow up. They usually live far from their parents because they want to find good jobs. They often write to their parents or telephone them. And they often go to visit their parents on holiday.
Parents usually let their children choose their own jobs. Americans think it is important for young people to decide on their lives by themselves. Children are asked to do some work around their house. And in many families, children are paid for doing some housework so that they can learn how to make money for their own use.
1. How many children are there in most American families?2. Why are children paid for doing housework in many American families?
3. 翻译文中画线处句子。
4. 从文中找出与下面画线部分意义相近的短语。
My home is not close to the library.
5. In the passage, the underlined word “They” refers to
6 . There’s much to see under the sea, but you need to remember that light behaves differently in water than in air. The objects appear closer to you than they exactly are. You might find yourself reaching out to touch something and completely miss it.
Objects underwater will appear larger than they would on the surface, too. Be careful not to tell any stories about the big fish that got away. That fish might not be so big after all! It’s just because sometimes things can seem to be as much as about 33 percent bigger in water!
What’s more, in deeper water, colors just don’t seem as bright. In fact, it looks as if some colors are missing. Remember the color of an object results from the wavelengths (波长) of light that are reflected (反射) from its surface. And light is taken in as it moves down through the water.
Swimmers wear wet suits to keep warm underwater. Let’s take a bright red, yellow, and blue wet suit as an example. These colors are hard to miss on the surface of water. Watch carefully the changes in color as you descend in the water. The red part now looks almost black because the red light wavelengths, the longest among these three colors, are missing. As you go down deeper, the same thing will happen to the yellow part and in the end to the blue part. Even at a place of about 6 to 9 meters underwater, you will look terrible, like a ghost（鬼怪)! And you have to wait for your return to the surface to enjoy the bright colors again.
1. You miss the object underwater when you want to touch it because ________.| A．it disappears very quickly | B．it is not as close as it seems |
| C．you are not quick enough | D．your eyesight is quite poor |
| A．the weight | B．the position | C．the size | D．the color |
| A．下潜 | B．屏息 | C．增加 | D．上升 |
| A．You will see a ghost if you go as deep as 6 to 9 meters into the sea. |
| B．Much water will be taken in by the swimmer deep in the water. |
| C．The wavelengths of red light are longer than those of blue light. |
| D．A four-meter-long fish looks three meters long underwater. |
| A．The Behavior of Light Underwater | B．The Brightness of Color Underwater |
| C．The Direction of Light Underwater | D．The Standard of Color Underwater |
7 . Supermarket Sales Tricks
| Shelf placement Products displayed at eye level sell twice as much. That’s to say, the most expensive things are often placed there. Below them you will always find cheaper common things such as chocolate bars, chips and candies. |
| Necessary things Basic things are usually placed at the back. If you want to buy bread and milk, you will have to walk through the whole store to, get what you need. You are more likely to buy other things on the way there. |
| Fruit and vegetables Fruit and vegetables are located at the entrance to present a fresh and healthy image. People who use the fresh food areas also tend to spend more money in the store. |
| Top tips ·Take a shopping list. People who shop with a list tend to spend less. ·Shop alone. People who shop as a couple tend to put more in the trolley (手推车). ·Shop on Wednesday. It’s the least crowded day of the week. |
1. Products displayed at eye level are usually ____________.
| A．expensive | B．popular | C．pretty | D．cheap |
| A．at the entrance. | B．in the front | C．in the middle | D．at the back |
| A．By placing healthy food and drinks at the back. |
| B．By selling different kinds of new products every day. |
| C．By placing fruit and vegetables at the entrance. |
| D．By selling fewer chocolate bars and candies. |
| A．with a shopping list | B．on Sunday |
| C．on Wednesday | D．with a good friend |
| A．in a cook book | B．on the Internet |
| C．in a medical report. | D．in a novel |
How to Study For Exams
Taking exams is stressful, but you can make it easier by improving the way you study. Studying for your exams will keep you from feeling unprepared, and it will set you up for success!
This is easier said than done, but learning how to take good notes will help you once it comes time to study. Write down everything your teacher writes on the board or puts up on the screens. Try to record as much of what the teacher says as possible.
Studying in a dark room is not recommended (推荐). Add lights at night, or in the daytime, open the window coverings (open the window a little, too). People tend to study and focus better in a brighter room with little noise.
Think of your teacher: What is my teacher most likely to ask on the exam? What materials did the teacher once emphasize (强调) before exams? This may help you review the most important information for the exams.
If you don’t know the answer to the question, do the next one and come back to it at the end. Struggling and concentrating on a question you don’t know the answer to can be time consuming (消耗), which makes you lose marks.
| A. Take breaks B. Take good notes C. Turn on the light D Think of your teacher and review well E. Do the questions you know first |
1.
2.
3.
4.
第二节：请结合第一节的内容，回答下面问题。（约20词）
5. What other way do you have to study for exams? Why do you like it?
9 . As more people move away from petrol (汽油) cars, need for electric vehicles (EV) is rising. It’s not just the cars on our roads. Buses and trucks are changing into battery power, too.
That’s great news for the environment. But building enough charging (充电) stations for all these new EVs is a huge problem for many countries.
Detroit, in the United States, will soon be trying out an idea that could help. In the center of the city, there will soon be a main road that can wirelessly (无线) charge electric vehicles while they are running. No parking. No plugging in (插上插头). While the vehicles are on the road, they can get charged up.
Oren Ezer set up Electreon with his partner, which is the company behind the idea. He said, “The possibility of charging roads and cities is almost endless. We are reshaping the future of transportation.” It’s not just in Detroit. The company is already working on projects in some European countries, too.
Some mobile phones can charge wirelessly. You just place them on charging pad and the battery refills without needing to plug them in. Electreon’s road technology charger is similar to this idea. Coils (线圈) are fixed under the surface of the road. Electric vehicles are fitted with special receivers. When the vehicles drive over the coils, their batteries get power.
As well as helping encourage more people to use EVs, it’s hoped that the technology could allow for smaller batteries. The most expensive part of an EV is its battery. Trucks, for example, require big batteries so that enough charge can be stored to take a vehicle hundreds of kilometers before the next recharge. But if a vehicle could charge on the move, then a smaller battery might be all that’s needed.
Maybe, before too long, we will all be riding around in self-charging, self-driving cars.
1. What problem do many countries face with the rising need for EVs?| A．Wasting too much petrol. |
| B．Not having enough charging stations. |
| C．Having a few parking lots. |
| D．Polluting the environment. |
| A．It’s impossible to build roads that can charge EVs. |
| B．They are changing the appearance of vehicles. |
| C．They will make endless effort to improve roads. |
| D．There is a bright future for the idea of road charging. |
| A．Parking. | B．A charging wire. |
| C．Plugging in. | D．A special receiver. |
| A．To introduce a new idea on charging EVs. |
| B．To provide much information about EVs. |
| C．To encourage readers to buy and drive EVs. |
| D．To share a company behind the self-charging idea. |
10 . The directors of Tourism Bureau (旅游局) are trying to make their provinces and areas more well-known through social media. They appear in short videos, wearing special costume or even a space suit. Their short videos are all set in breathtaking locations and the performances have been warmly welcomed.
In one popular short videos that attracted tens of thousands of likes, a woman is wearing white headwear and an all-white dress of the Orogen ethnic group (鄂伦春族) and walking in a snow-covered forest. Du Bo, head of her local bureau of culture and tourism in Heilongjiang Province, filmed herself as such to show Orogen ethnic customs. Du said she spent two hours shooting and shivering (颤抖) outside as temperatures were -20℃ during the filming, which was finally cut to under a minute. She said she hoped to show the beauty of snow and ice with the short video.
Liu Jiehua, a director in Anyang City, Henan Province, dressed as China’s first recorded woman general in the Shang Dynasty to speak for the historical place and encourage more tourists to visit. Chen Guanyu, director in Artux City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, sent out the invitation to his hometown on horseback. With many other directors dressed in special clothing, director Dorje in Daofu County, Sichuan Province had come up with something unusual. One of his most famous photo shoots is in an astronaut suit.
From riding horses and dressing like astronauts to wearing special ethnic costumes, the normally serious officials are going all out to make local tourism come alive. Most people online welcome this creative competition in the group of these officials, as they help viewers know more about local places of interest in small counties and faraway places.
1. What effort did some officials make for their work according to the passage?| A．Directing some interesting videos. |
| B．Visiting local historical places. |
| C．Organizing some ethnic activities. |
| D．Dressing up like film characters. |
| A．What customs the Orogen ethnic group had. |
| B．Why Du Bo expressed the beautiful scenery to the public. |
| C．How Du Bo made efforts in filming the popular short video. |
| D．Where the popular short video with nice snow and ice was shot. |
| A．Du Bo. | B．Liu Jiehua. | C．Dorje. | D．Chen Guanyu. |
| A．Creative Competitions among Tourism Directors |
| B．Short Videos by Tourism Directors for Their Hometown |
| C．Well-known Places of Interest in China to Visit |
| D．Tourism Directors and Local People in Short Videos |
