1 . Happy Rain on a Spring Night

DuFu

Good rain knows its time right;

It will fall when comes spring.

With wind it steals in night;

Mute, it moistens (使湿润) each thing.

O’er wild lanes (小路) dark cloud spreads;

In boat a lantern looms.

Dawn sees saturated reds;

The town’s heavy with blooms.

Translated By Xu Yuanchong

This famous poem, with four couplets (对句), was written by Du Fu (712-770, Tang Dynasty) when he was living and farming in Chengdu. This farming experience taught him to be thankful to nature.

The very first word, “good”, shows the poet’s joy and love for the spring rain. The rain is good because it “knows” the proper time to come. Here the poet uses personification (拟人), as if the rain was smart enough to come in time for the farmers’ busy season.

When the rain comes, it appears during the night without making any noise. Unlike the summer storms, the spring rain finishes its task without being known.

In the third couplet, the poet describes peaceful scene to us. In the night sky, the clouds look dark and heavy. It’s a sign that there will be enough rain during the night. The light from the riverboat makes the dark scene a bit bright.

Lastly, the poet starts to imagine. Tomorrow morning, he thinks, the city of Chengdu will become beautiful when all of the flowers bloom (盛开) after the rain.

1. What’s the Chinese title of the poem Happy Rain on a Spring Night?

A．《春望》

B．《春夜喜雨》

C．《夜雨寄北》

D．《旅夜书怀》

2. Why does Du Fu say “Good rain knows its time right”?

A．Because it comes quietly without any noise.

B．Because it’s just right for this busy farming season.

C．Because it appears during the night.

D．Because it has enough energy to make the whole city dark.

3. Which word can be used to describe the rain in this poem?

A．Busy.

B．Dark.

C．Quiet.

D．Heavy.

4. Which of the following uses personification (拟人)?

A．With wind it steals in night.

B．In boat a lantern looms.

C．The town’s heavy with blooms (blooming flowers).

D．O’er wild lanes dark cloud spreads.

5. Which question could best help us find out the writer’s purpose?

A．Did the writer show his thanks to nature?

B．Did the writer love and enjoy farming?

C．Did the writer expect the flowers to bloom?

D．Did the writer miss his hometown?

2 . 5G networks have been considered as one big thing for this century. They allow people to get faster services. Downloading information takes only seconds, instead of minutes.

But no true 5G phones are able to be used now. It won’t work with 5G until such services are built.

Users will need an adapter to bring in 5G signals. There’s completely no need for users to worry about the safety of 5G signals.

Where will we probably see 5G first? The answer is in our living rooms. The speeds, about 20 times faster than the standard home Internet connection, are very likely to do wonders in our living rooms. Many users are tired of spending $100 or more monthly in booking cable (有线的) TV. They no more choose cable TV and begin to use streaming (在线播放) services connected to their broadband (宽带) service instead.

Besides faster access, connectivity might get a little cheaper in future for users only if a complete 5G network is set up. However, the cost of programs and apps will go up. Meanwhile, users are in great need of ordering more monthly services. Comparatively speaking, users are likely to pay more for 5G services. So far now, it’s mainly used at home.

1. People can feel 5G’s advantage directly by its ________.

A．surprising speed	B．comparatively low cost
C．powerful function	D．convenient Internet connection

2. Why are 5G phones not widely used today?

A．Because services are limited.

B．Because special equipment isn’t built yet.

C．Because 5G signals are not strong enough.

D．Because the safety of 5G signals is not for sure.

3. Where does this passage probably come from ________.

A．A story book	B．A science fiction
C．A popular science book	D．A research report

3 . Some people don’t like storms, but I think they are very exciting.

There are often storms at the end of a hot summer day. The clouds are small and white at first.

However, they get bigger and bigger until they make one large black cloud. The sky gets dark and it starts to rain hard. And then the streets are like swimming pools. There is a flash of bright light in the sky and then, after a few seconds, you can hear the loud “bang” of thunder.

Light travels very fast, so we always see the lightning (闪电) before we hear the thunder. If the clouds are one kilometer away, you can count to three, between the lightning and the thunder.

Lightning is very beautiful but it can also be dangerous. Lightning is electricity (电流) “jumping” to the ground from a cloud. It usually hits tall things, so if you are outside when there is thunder and lightning, don’t stand under a tree or tall building. You’d better stay in a car.

1. The streets are like swimming pools because ________.

A．the cloud is large and dark	B．the sky gets dark
C．it rains hard	D．it’s a hot summer day

2. If the clouds are three kilometers away, you can count to ________ between the lightning and the thunder.

A．three

B．six

C．nine

D．twelve

3. What should you do when there is thunder and lightning?

A．Climb up a tree.	B．Stand under a tree.
C．Stand under tall things.	D．Stay in a car.

4 . Some people think only school children do not agree with their parents, however, it is not true. Communication is a problem for parents and children of all ages. If it’s hard for you to communicate with your parents, don’t worry about it. Here are some advice for you to bridge the generation gap (代沟).

Don’t argue with your parents. Don’t get to your parents when you are angry. Your parents probably won’t consider your ideas if you are shouting at them. And you can’t express (表达) yourself well if you are angry. Go some places to cool off. Make sure you understand why you are unhappy. Then think about what you want to say to your parents. If you don’t think you can speak to them at the moment, try writing a letter.

Try to reach a compromise (和解). Perhaps you and your parents disagree on something. You can keep your disagreement and try your best to accept each other. Michael’s mother didn’t agree with him about buying a motorcycle. They argued over it. But they finally came to a compromise. Michael bought the motorcycle, but only drove it on certain days.

Of course, your parents might refuse to compromise on something. In these situations, it is especially important to show love and respect (尊重) to them. Showing respect will keep your relationship strong.

Talk about your values (价值观). The values of your parents are probably different from those of your own. Tell your parents what you care about, and why. Understanding your values might help them see your purposes in life.

A good relationship with your parents can make you a better and happier person. It is worth having a try!

1. According to the passage, who have a communication problem?

A．Parents and other people.	B．Only school kids and their parents.
C．Teachers and their students.	D．Parents and children of all ages.

2. The underlined phrase “cool off” in the passage means “_______”.

A．to make yourself happy	B．to get yourself quiet and relaxed
C．to have a good rest	D．to hide yourself quickly

3. What should we do when parents don’t compromise?

A．We should write a letter.	B．we should express ourselves well.
C．we should show our respect and love.	D．we should tell them our values.

4. The best title of the passage is _______ .

A．How to Bridge the Generation Gap	B．How to Deal with Family Problems
C．How to Be Good Parents	D．How to Be a Good Child

6 . Do you know what a team needs most? If people on your team are not good at communication, you may often feel terrible. To create a successful team, good communication is the most necessary for both the team members and the leader. Here are some helpful suggestions.

❶Don’t criticize (批评) other people. When someone on your team does something wrong, don’t criticize them. You can help them to find the reasons and then help them to solve the problem. Criticizing your team members too often may make them want to keep away from you. As a result, you may feel lonely.

❷ Listen to other people actively and think about their ideas carefully. When someone tells you about their ideas, you should listen to them actively and think about their ideas carefully, no matter how silly they may seem. This shows you are interested in their ideas and makes them feel good. If you are unclear about something, you should ask them about it. By doing this you can clear up any confusion (困惑) before moving on.

❸Share your own ideas with other people. When you have a new idea, talk about it with your team members. This helps to make the idea better. Besides, it also helps to make your relationships with your team members better.

❹ Create an environment where everyone feels comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions without fear. This builds trust, leading to a more harmonious (和谐的) team. By the way, regular (定期的) team meeting s should be held to discuss something important and necessary.

1. How does the writer start the text?

A．By telling a story.	B．By showing a saying.
C．By asking a question.	D．By explaining an idea.

2. What is the writer’s advice if someone shares their ideas with you?

A．To take notes while listening.	B．To ask them to move on quickly.
C．To share my interest with them warmly.	D．To listen to them actively and think carefully.

3. Which of the following does the writer probably agree to do?

A．Show no interest in others’ silly ideas.	B．Keep your new and creative ideas as secrets.
C．Let others find their problems by themselves.	D．Try to create a friendly and comfortable environment.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Leaders should communicate with the members.	B．Personal ability is more important than teamwork.
C．Communication is the key to a successful team.	D．Team leaders play a more important role in a team.

8 . Let’s say you are taking a walk along the road and you happen to see one or two waste bottles lying on the grass beside the road. What would you do?

You may have different choices. Firstly, you can leave the bottles there as they are. It wasn’t you who threw them away. Why should you do something about it? This is quite OK. Secondly, you can pick them up and throw them into a dustbin (垃圾箱). By doing this, you have walked a step further to help make our home clean. This action is a better choice. Thirdly, you might want to pick them up and give them to an old man or woman who collects waste for a living. If this is your choice, you have walked even further. You’re not only thinking about doing something for the environment, you’re also developing yourself to be a person who would think of others and help them.

As for young kids, they may always have such a question: “When do I grow up?” When does a child grow up? And how can a kid know he or she has grown up? These are interesting questions. As for us, 15-year-olds, who are finishing middle school, we’re no longer younger children. We should know whether or not we have grown up. When we start to have a sense of offering a helping hand for a cleaner and greener world, and when we have a loving heart to think more of others than of ourselves and are ready to help them, we can say that we have grown up.

Remember: If we help others, others will help us. If we do our best for nature, nature will offer its best to us in return!

1. What does the writer do at the beginning?

A．Do a survey.

B．Tell a funny story.

C．Make up a situation.

D．Show a piece of advice.

2. What does the underlined word “home” refer to (指的是)?

A．House.

B．Earth.

C．Country.

D．Family.

3. What idea does the writer show in Paragraph 2?

A．You can collect waste for a living.	B．You shouldn’t pick up the bottles.
C．It’s the best to give the bottles away.	D．You must throw the bottles into a dustbin.

4. What means that we have grown up?

A．We stop asking others for help.	B．We start to ask many questions.
C．We are finishing middle school.	D．We start to care for others and nature.

5. What does the writer want us to do by the text?

A．Make our own decision.	B．Thank the nature for its offer.
C．Learn to depend on ourselves.	D．Make a cleaner and warmer world.

9 . It takes time to practice critical (批判性) thinking, but it’s never too late to start. The following steps will help people to become critical thinkers.

	Step 1: Ask Questions Critical thinkers start by asking questions. They ask themselves: If this, then what? If that, then how will the result be different? They may think about all possible ideas before they make decisions.
	Step 2: Look for Answers Critical thinkers search for answers. They make use of all possible tools or interview people for information. Then they analyze (分析) the information with an open mind. They compare and decide what the best answers are.
	Step 3: … After critical thinkers get new ideas to work out problems, they share these ideas with their teammates and get support from them. During communication with others, better ideas often come up.

1. What must a critical thinker like doing?

A．Questioning.

B．Speaking.

C．Copying.

D．Agreeing.

2. What does a critical thinker need to have when analyzing information?

A．A clever head.

B．An open mind.

C．A young age.

D．A standard rule.

3. Which could be Step 3?

A．Make Plans.

B．Share Ideas.

C．Solve Problems.

D．Compare Information.

10 . 5G technology would be widely used by 2020, causing some experts to say the “5G epoch” is coming. Yet, when reporting about 5G, many reporters only described it as a “much faster” technology than 4G. As a result, what people know about 5G is that they could “download a movie within one second”.

Actually, 5G technology has many more advantages than 4G besides the speed. It can be used for at least two purposes—for connecting everything and removing delays (消除网络延时).

Connecting everything is one of the strongest functions of 5G. It makes the Internet Things possible. Take driverless smart cars as an example. 5G technology can connect all parts of a transportation system including traffic lights, CCTV cameras and cars to build up perfect coordination (协调). In this way, these cars can avoid obstacles (障碍) and move on driving routes, which will help improve self-driving technology. And removing delays might be useful especially in online games. Factories can produce more macro base stations to allow more people to use. The more users, the lower cost. Therefore, 5G technology won’t cost as much as they thought.

1. The underlined word “epoch” in Para 1 means ________.

A．technology	B．age
C．equipment	D．sign

2. 5G technology can help improve self-driving technology because ________.

A．it makes the self-driving car run much faster.

B．it helps to connect the cars with the Internet

C．it helps the cars avoid obstacles and move on driving routes

D．it helps the cars control the traffic lights and CCTV cameras

3. Factories can produce more macro base stations so that ________.

A．people can pay less for 5G	B．5G can be compared with 4G
C．the “5G epoch” can come sooner	D．few people can enjoy the 5G technology

4. According to the passage, we can know that ________.

A．people know a lot about 5G

B．5G is much faster but more expensive than 4G

C．connecting everything is the strongest function of 5G

D．online game players can enjoy continuous high speed of 5G

5. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．The “5G Epoch” is coming.	B．The latest 5G products have been invented.
C．5G costs less with higher speed.	D．5G is more than about high speed.