1 .
Spring allergies Spring means beautiful flowers and trees—and if you’re one of the millions of people who have seasonal allergies (过敏), it also means some annoying symptoms (症状). Here is some information about spring allergies and what you can do about them: | Common causes Pollen (花粉) Pet hair Dust mites (尘螨) Mold (霉菌)Symptoms   ·Itchy (发痒的) eyes ·Nasal congestion (鼻塞) ·Coughing ·Sneezing ·Itching | Prevention tips Take allergy medicine Change after going back home Wear a mask Wear glasses Keep windows shut Take a shower before bedtime |
| A．pollen | B．pet hair | C．mold | D．potatoes |
| A．Don’t take any medicine at will. | B．Open the windows to let fresh air in. |
| C．Take a shower before you go to bed. | D．Wear more clothes when getting out. |
| A．medicine | B．science | C．sports | D．business |
2 . In your spare time, do you help your parents with chores around the house? Can you cook for your family?
In order to stress the importance of labor（劳动）education among students of different ages, the Communist Party of China Central Committee recently released（发布）a guideline（指导方针）.
The guideline calls for students to respect labor work. Students should learn basic life skills and form good working habits through such education.
The government has been trying to stress the importance of labor education. But this has been overlooked（忽略）in recent years. Many teenagers do not value the importance of working hard and aren’t interested in doing so.
According to a study of nearly 3, 000 students that was done by China Evening News, only 22% of students help with everyday chores around the house. Schools and families play an important role in teaching students about the value of working hard, the guideline says.
Primary and middle schools should provide students with hard-working spirit classes every week, according to the guideline. School can also hold activities to give students real-world work experience. For example, schools can teach children how to plant trees on Tree-Planting Day.
As children’s first teachers, parents should also encourage children to learn how to do chores at home. Students should grasp one or two life skills every year. These skills can include cooking, washing their own clothes and tidying their rooms.
1. Why did the Communist Party of China Central Committee recently release a guideline?| A．To call for students to respect workers. |
| B．To help students pay more attention to English. |
| C．To teach students to help their parents. |
| D．To stress the importance of labor education. |
| A．About 3, 000. | B．About 1, 000. | C．About 660. | D．About 300. |
| A．Every day. | B．Every week. | C．Every month. | D．Every term. |
| A．Understand. | B．Explain. | C．Refuse. | D．Master. |
| A．The Guideline on Labor Education |
| B．How to Learn Life Skills |
| C．The Importance of Doing Chores |
| D．Tree-Planting Day |
3 .
| The proper ways to save a drowning（溺水）student | Dos | ★Shout loudly and ask adults for help. At the same time, call 110. ★Find the objects which can float, such as wood or bags filled with empty plastic bottles, and throw them to him or her. ★Look for branches or bamboo poles（竹竿）and throw them to reach for him or her, but lower the body to make sure not to be pulled into the water. |
| Don’ts | ★Don’t jump into the water to save him or her alone. ★Don’t try to save him or her if you are not skilled at swimming. | |
| The time during which a drowning often happens | ★On weekends. ★On holidays. ★On summer vacation. ★After school in the afternoon. | |
| The possible reasons which cause drowning | ★Swim in the river without adults. ★Swim in groups on a hot day. ★Play near the water or pick up things from the water. | |
| A．Wood. | B．Bags filled with books. |
| C．Plastic bottles full of water. | D．Some heavy and strong things. |
| A．On weekdays. | B．On holidays. |
| C．On winter vacation. | D．In the morning. |
| A．Swimming in the river with adults. |
| B．Swimming always with a swim ring. |
| C．Playing far away from the water. |
| D．Picking up things from the water. |
| A．Did the writer try to teach us to swim? |
| B．Did the writer want to sell anything? |
| C．Did the writer want to make friends with us? |
| D．Did the writer tell us how to keep safe? |
4 . What’s your dream job? How much do you know about it? A group of students from Tianjin found a problem among young teenagers: Most of them have little idea about their plans for jobs. There is too little help from their school or family.
To guide teenagers to make job plans, the students from Tianjin TEDA No. 1 Middle School started a project called “Dian Zhi Cheng Shi”. “Our survey shows that 72% of students want to know more about different jobs. Doctors and accountants (会计师) are the top two,” said Wang Xinran.16. the project leader. According to students’ needs. the team interviewed 32 professionals (专业人才) in different fields and posted their interviews on TV shows and newspapers. The professionals shared true stories behind each job, allowing students to learn about the jobs in depth.
A team member Lyu Jinyan said his most unforgettable interview was with a photographer. “I used to think being a photographer was cool. But now I know that they need to deal with lots of problems, such as a sudden change of weather or damage (损坏) to camera. They also need to communicate with different people, which is not easy.”
But the project doesn’t mean to let the students down by telling them the truth. “We want to show the professionals’ love and hard work rather than the bad sides,” said a group member Zhao Yajie. “The project’s name means to turn a job into a poem. We believe working is not just about bread and milk. It should be like a poem, full of love and beauty. And we hope our project can help students know that.”
1. Why do most students plan little for the future job?| A．They have no dream job. | B．They don’t want to work. |
| C．They are busy with study. | D．They don’t know how to do it. |
| A．Fully. | B．Easily. | C．Personally. | D．Differently. |
| A．Being a photographer was cool. |
| B．Communicating was truly not easy. |
| C．The weather mattered for a photographer. |
| D．Being a photographer wasn’t what he thought. |
| A．To help students turn a job into a poem. |
| B．To show the advantages of different jobs. |
| C．To help students know the meaning of jobs. |
| D．To let students communicate with different people. |
| A．A Creative Team of Students | B．Good and Bad Sides of a Job |
| C．A Helpful Project for Students | D．Different Jobs in Different Fields |
5 .
A speech competition needs you to use your speaking skills. While preparing, you should try to express your ideas clearly to make yourself understood. With growing competition, it is difficult to draw the attention of the listeners. But don’t worry! Follow the points below and you can do what you want to. | |
| ①Choose a topic Make the topic of your speech in one single sentence and then start to present. This will help you to make a better expression of your idea. Try to research more and learn what others say. | ②Organize your speech Before starting, always remember that the introduction is the most important part as you need to catch the attention of the listeners. Here you can raise funny questions, or an eye-catching fact. The middle part of your speech should be interesting. You can add stories and jokes. Each point should make a connection with the next. The ending should be made in a way that makes your listeners think and has a great influence on them. |
| ③Present yourself 1. Your voice should be clear and natural. Use a friendly tone(语气) and make sure that you are heard by everyone. 2. Keep looking at your listeners to bring a sense of connectivity between you and them. 3. Add pauses (停顿) to your speech and don’t start speaking quickly if you become nervous. 4. All body languages should show confidence. | |
| A．Make a topic in short. | B．Try to research more. |
| C．Learn what others say. | D．Prepare speaking skills. |
| A．Funny questions. | B．Eye-catching fact. |
| C．Stories and jokes. | D．Body languages. |
| A．Use a friendly tone. | B．Look at your listeners. |
| C．Try to speak slowly. | D．Show great influence. |
| A．Did the writer try to give us a speech? |
| B．Did the writer advise us to take a class? |
| C．Did the writer want to teach us some skills? |
| D．Did the writer call us to join a competition? |
6 . A promise can go a long way in personal relationships. It is a commitment (承诺) to follow through on your word. But what does it mean when you say “I promise…”, and how does this influence your relationships?
We all have heard “I promise…” time and time again. Promises help us get closer to those we love. Studies suggest that keeping promises holds a lot of emotional value. When we break them, there is a decline (降低) in trust. But why is it so important to keep a promise and how do we stick to it? Here are some important reminders of promises.
Promises are hard work, Usually, it is not easy to follow through on a promise. They require us to step outside of our wants and achieve something for someone else or challenge ourselves to break old harmful habits.
Promises are meant to be taken seriously. Do you remember the first time someone broke a promise to you? When a promise is broken, your reputations (名声), relationships and personal charm suffer. Take each promise you make seriously to make sure that you are not the one causing unnecessary distrust.
Promises are proofs (证明) of love, friendships, family and human connection. Actions speak louder than words. Promises are actions that affirm our love and connection with other people. Whether that connection is through friendships, family or strangers, promises affirm that we want to pass on our feelings to others.
Promises are a necessary part of building our relationships. Making and keeping promises plays an important role in our lives. So here’s a word of advice; always keep your promises.
1. What may happen if we break a promise?| A．We will feel nervous and worried. |
| B．Others won’t trust us anymore. |
| C．It’s easy to make another one. |
| D．Nobody thinks we are kind enough. |
| A．Many of them are our wishes or dreams. |
| B．We must live outside to keep them. |
| C．They need us to challenge ourselves. |
| D．We hardly get anything from them. |
| A．Our reputations, relationships and personal charm will be affected. |
| B．We won’t cause unnecessary distrust. |
| C．We will pass on our feelings to others. |
| D．We will get closer to those we love. |
| A．Take place. | B．Spend time. |
| C．Pay attention. | D．Make sure. |
| A．Getting Closer to Those We Love |
| B．Keeping Promises Matters |
| C．Breaking Old Harmful Habits |
| D．Taking Friendship Seriously |
7 . “That Susan is so funny...I need to wash my car tomorrow...Why is this person so loud...Here comes the Sun, doo-doo-doo.”We often find ourselves in an endless thought loop(圈). And every so often, we try to stop this endless flow of thoughts by telling ourselves to just stop thinking. But do we or can we ever really stop thinking?
It depends on your definition of “thinking”, according to Michael Halassa, a researcher at MIT, the US. We mainly go through each day in one of the two situations—we either realize that we’re thinking or we don’t. Our brains won’t stop thinking completely until we die.
“The brain never stops thinking in a way. Most thoughts are actually in the background so we don’t notice them. And there’s no real way to stop thinking,” Halassa said.
You can compare this to how a computer works. Even when you aren’t using your computer while it’s turned on, it is still running operations “in the background”. Your computer, much like your brain, is always “thinking”, even if you’re not actively using it.
“If you see a familiar face in a crowd and think you know him, you might not be able to come up with how you know him right away,” Halassa said. “But maybe hours later, you’ll suddenly remember. That’s a result of your brain thinking in the background.”
We even make decisions mostly unconsciously or without realizing them. For example, some of this background “thinking” results in what we call a “gut feeling(直觉)”. During our brain’s decision-making process, sometimes we create a story to explain the decision—sometimes it’s accurate (精确的), sometimes it’s not.
Even sitting here reading this, thinking about thinking is sending messages across a chain of neurons(神经元) in the brain. So if we somehow manage to stop ourselves from “thinking”, the brain won’t stop working. It will continue to have thoughts—we just won’t realize them.
1. When you are in an endless thought loop, you ________.| A．can think about a problem very clearly |
| B．keep thinking about one thing after another |
| C．cannot stop thinking about things in the past |
| D．keep thinking about one thing again and again |
| A．Because thinking is good for our mental health. |
| B．Because our brains are always at rest. |
| C．Because most thoughts are in the background. |
| D．Because few people care about their thoughts. |
| A．Human brains are thinking all the time. |
| B．A computer can think like a human brain. |
| C．Human brains work faster than computers. |
| D．A computer can deal with plenty of information. |
| A．carelessly | B．unknowingly | C．fearlessly | D．undoubtfully |
| A．Will We Continue to Have Thoughts After We Die? |
| B．How Do the Neurons in the Brain Work? |
| C．What Is the Definition of “Thinking”? |
| D．Can We Ever Really Stop Thinking? |
8 . Do you do team projects at school? I do a lot. I enjoy team projects because I like sharing ideas with other people. Of course, team activities aren’t always easy. You need to know how to work well together. Here are some suggestions to make team work easier.
 Know the goalsMake sure everyone understands the goal of the project. If you’re doing a class project, you need to check the teacher’s instructions carefully and ask questions whenever something isn’t clear. There’s a popular saying: If you don’t know where you’re going, you probably won’t get there. |
 Assign (指派) rolesEveryone should have a role in the team. For example, there should be a leader who helps everyone make decisions. There might be a note-taker who writes down the team’s ideas during meetings, and a time-keeper to control the time. There might also be a fact-checker or a group speaker. |
 Divide the workFor large projects, the work can be divided into smaller tasks. Then you can choose tasks that you do well or enjoy. Of course, you shouldn’t always do the same task. It’s good to try new things, even if they’re difficult! |
 Make a planAfter you divide the work, write down a plan on paper. You can use a calendar to help you. List all the tasks and think about when each one must be finished. It’s important for everyone to follow the plan. And if you can’t finish your part on time, tell the others as soon as possible. |
Try to be positive (积极的). Everything is easier when you’re enjoying yourself in the team.
1. How does the writer begin the text?| A．By telling a story. | B．By asking a question. |
| C．By showing a saying. | D．By sending a message. |
| A．Controlling the activity time. | B．Writing down the team’s ideas. |
| C．Making speeches for the team. | D．Helping the others make decisions. |
| A．Set a clear goal. | B．Work out a plan. |
| C．Decide everyone’s role. | D．Check the teacher’s examples. |
| A．Introduce the teacher’s instructions. | B．Give information about smaller tasks. |
| C．Explain the method to do team projects. | D．Describe the importance of creative ideas. |
9 . Many of us have this experience: we lie down in a bed, not our own, maybe at a friend’s house or in a hotel room, and find it difficult or impossible to fall asleep. Is it because the bed is uncomfortable? Maybe, but perhaps there can be other reasons.
According to a new study in Current Biology, an important reason is what the scientists call “first night effect (效应)”. They believe that it is because one side of the brains is more active. It forces us to stay awake on the first night in a new environment. The effect acts as a “night watch” to protect us from potential (潜在的) danger.
For the study, 35 young volunteers were asked to sleep in a sleep lab for several days. At the same time, researchers watched their brain activities.
According to the researchers, on their first night, the left brains were more active than the right brains and people had a hard time sleeping. However, left-brain activity reduced (减少) as days went by, falling even to the point of complete peace. In this process, the volunteers got an increasingly better sleep experience.
“At some level, the brain is continuing to analyze things, even though you can’t realize it.” US professor Jerome Siegel told Smith Sonian Magazine, “If something unusual happens—if a door opens or you hear a key in a lock—you can be alert (警觉的).” It works to protect us in a dangerous environment. More surprisingly, this is similar to the way some animals sleep. Whales, dolphins, and many birds can sleep with half of their brain while the other half stays awake, with its one eye staying open.
If you have ever had what you think is “first night effect”, researchers suggest that you bring your own pillow (枕头) or sleep in a room similar to your bedroom next time you sleep away from home.
1. Why do we have “first night effect”?| A．Because the left brains begin to relax. | B．Because the right brains have a hard time. |
| C．Because one side of the brains is more active. | D．Because two sides of the brains need more rest. |
| A．helps animals sleep better | B．protects people from danger |
| C．causes something unusual | D．influences less in the daytime |
| A．Their left brains were more active on the first night. |
| B．Their right brains kept them awake the whole night. |
| C．They slept much better in the sleep lab than at home. |
| D．Their right brains became more active as days went by. |
| A．To reduce your left brain activity with the familiar things. |
| B．To create a safe environment for yourself to fall asleep at once. |
| C．To tell your brain that you are safe and stop your left brain activity. |
| D．To show that your pillow is much more comfortable than other ones. |
| A．Sport. | B．Travel. | C．Science. | D．Culture. |
10 . Imagine that you have woken up on the first day of your vacation. You enjoy a delicious breakfast, take a walk on the beach, and read the morning newspaper as you drink coffee. You are feeling happy and relaxed. But you may start to feel bored by the time the late afternoon comes around!
If you have ever felt like this, you’re not alone. It turns out that having unlimited（无限的）free time is not always as great as we expected. What is the best amount （数量） of free time for our happiness?
Researchers tried to answer this question by surveying tens of thousands of people, collecting data（数据）on how they spent their time and how happy they were. After looking at the data, the research team found that having less than two hours of free time a day was not enough to be happy. People with under two hours of free time a day usually had more stress （压力）. It means that they were simply too busy with work to get their happiness.
The fact that being too busy cuts happiness is true. It might lead to the answer that more free time is simply better. Surprisingly, having a lot of free time is not a panacea for happiness. People surely get a certain sense of joy from finishing tasks. Having more than five hours of free time a day makes us lose the sense of joy. It is in fact cutting our happiness. But I think it is how we spend our free time that matters. When free time is used in more active ways, like playing a team sport, then five or more hours a day can keep of even produce happiness. However, spending five or more hours of free time alone can stop happiness.
1. What may make people feel bored during the vacation?| A．The morning newspaper. | B．The delicious breakfast. |
| C．The unlimited free time. | D．The walk on the beach. |
| A．People’s ages. | B．People’s jobs. | C．People’s feelings. | D．People’s hobbies. |
| A．Good person. | B．Good medicine. | C．Good example. | D．Good prize. |
| A．A longest vacation. | B．An unexpected surprise. |
| C．A certain sense of joy. | D．Ways of enjoying free time. |
| A．What Should Our Vacation Be Like? | B．Why Do We Need More Free Time? |
| C．How Can We Spend Our Daily Free Time? | D．How Much Free Time Do We Need to Be Happy? |
