1 . Grown-ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since. A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. He can play catch and hit a ball as well as his son. A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” or remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

One explanation is the law of overlearning, which can be stated as follows：Once we have learned something, additional learning trials（尝试）increase the length of time we will remember it.

In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as “Twinkle, little star” and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overlearn.

The multiplication tables（乘法口诀表）are an exception to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.

The law of overlearning explains why cramming（突击学习）for an examination, though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little overlearning, on the other hand, is really necessary for one’s future development.

1. What is the main idea of paragraph 1?

A．People remember well what they learned in childhood.

B．Children have a better memory than grown-ups.

C．Poem reading is a good way to learn words.

D．Stories for children are easy to remember.

2. The author explains the law of overlearning by ________.

A．presenting research findings

B．setting down general rules

C．making a comparison

D．using examples

3. According to the author, being able to use multiplication tables is ________.

A．a result of overlearning

B．a special case of cramming

C．a skill to deal with math problems

D．a basic step towards advanced studies

4. What is the author’s opinion on cramming?

A．It leads to failure in college exams.

B．It’s helpful only in a limited way.

C．It’s possible to result in poor memory.

D．It increases students’ learning interest.

2 . Guangdong Province plans to make swimming lessons compulsory (必修的) in primary schools starting from 2021. And the courses will be given from the fourth grade. Do we need to make swimming compulsory in schools? Forum readers share their opinions.

White Bear (Poland)

I think there should be the. swimming lessons for kids. It is a lifesaving skill. In Poland, swimming lessons are not compulsory, but most of the schools have them. And I will start to learn swimming next term.

Mister Panda (France)

I come from France where swimming lessons in school are compulsory (dating back to Charlemagne!). I even got my lifesaving certificate in school!

Jet Feng (China)

As a boy born in rural area, I learnt swimming in a river near my home when I was 7 or 8 years old. I used to play in the river with boys of my same age every summer, andiweienjoyed.it so much! After I entered university, I got a chance to improve my swimming skills in PE lessons. Compared with my classmates, L felt lucky because most of them couldn't swim.

I think it's: a good idea for schools to teach students to swim. But in fact, not every school in China has the conditions to do that. In some less-developed areas, there is not even a swimming pool fora whole county with a population of half a million people.

Boilermaker 21 (Expat in China)

There are swimming lessons in my city, but I was very disappointed in how they were taught. The kids spent 45 minutes of the one hour lesson practicing strokes ON DRY LAND. They only spent 15 minutes in the water. All of the children panicked and sank immediately to the bottom. Then all of the parents were angry with the children, telling them that they weren't paying attention to the teacher and that they were failures.

1. According to the passage, ________ can swim.

A．White Bear and Mister Panda

B．Mister Panda and Jet Feng

C．Jet Feng and Boilermaker21

D．Boilermaker21 and White Bear

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Swimming is compulsory in Poland and France.

B．Jet Feng started swimming at an early age.

C．Boilermaker21 can’t swim because the teacher didn't teach well.

D．Swimming courses will be given from the fifth grade in Guangdong in 2021.

3. How did Boilermaker21 feel about the swimming lessons in his city?

A．He thought highly of the lessons.

B．He believed the kids were taught in a wrong way while learning swimming.

C．He was angry with the kids because they weren't paying attention to the teacher.

D．He thought the lessons were compulsory.

4. The best title of the passage should be “ ________ ”.

A．Make Swimming Lessons Compulsory?	B．Hot Discussion on Swimming
C．Swimming Lessons All Over the World	D．A Lifesaving Skill

3 . American schools are quite different from those in China. In America, at the beginning of the term, students must select their subjects and teachers first.

Selecting is very important for your marks in America. So at the first term, don’t select too many subjects, or you’ll feel very tired. Then you have to ask for some teaching plans. There is some information about subjects, timetables, marks and textbooks. At the same time, you must choose the teachers. Different teachers have different teaching methods. If the teacher is called “killer” by the last grade, many students will give up choosing him, because this kind of teacher will leave too much homework, too many exams and give too low grades.

There is another thing after you select the subjects and the teachers. How to buy textbooks makes each student feel hard. The textbooks in America are very expensive. Each one is about $30-50. In order to save money, many students buy some used textbooks, and some students usually borrow textbooks from the school library.

In class, discussion is very important. The teacher encourages you to ask questions or show your own opinions. They don’t usually ask you to sit well. Instead, they allow you to sit or stand everywhere you like.

1. What does the underlined word “select” mean?

A．choose

B．like

C．treat

D．take

2. According to the text, American students ________.

A．don’t have to ask for teaching plans

B．don’t have to choose teachers

C．would like to choose strict teachers

D．usually buy some used textbooks in order to save money

3. What is important in American class?

A．Reading.

B．Writing.

C．Discussing.

D．Listening.

4. The passage is mainly about ________.

A．the differences between American and Chinese schools

B．American schools

C．the differences between American and Chinese students

D．American school subjects

4 . Sometimes people come into your life and you know that they were sure to be there at once. They may come for some reasons teach you a lesson or help to find out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people maybe: your classmates, neighbor, teacher, long-lost friend or even a real stranger. But you know that they will affect (影响) your life in some serious ways.

Sometimes things happen to you. Maybe they seem terrible, painful(痛苦的) and unfair at that time. But later, after getting over those difficulties, you may realize your further ability. Everything happens for a reason and nothing happens by chance or with good or bad luck.

The people you meet may affect or change your life, your success, your failure and create who you are. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are possibly the most poignant and important ones.

Enjoy every day, even every moment for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people you have never talked to before, and really listen. You should set your sights high, try to learn more, hold your head up, tell yourself you are a great one and believe in yourself.

You can make your life anything you wish. Create your own life, go out and enjoy it.

1. The people we meet ________.

A．all know where to find us	B．come for no reasons
C．won’ t become our neighbor	D．may change us in some ways

2. From the passage, we know that bad things may help us ________.

A．meet bad luck	B．realize our further ability
C．find no serious success	D．possibly enjoy every moment

3. The underlined word “ poignant ” in the passage means ________.

A．平淡的

B．无聊的

C．深刻的

D．有害的

4. The writer’ s advice is that we should ________.

A．never talk to strange people	B．learn as much as we can
C．never get over difficulties	D．not believe ourselves but others

5. Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Create and enjoy your life	B．Hold your head up
C．People you meet in your life	D．Things happen to you

5 . Climate change is a serious problem all over the globe. In order to prevent it, one of the best ways is to plant more trees. Because trees can take in carbon dioxide and prevent global warming.

“The earth is getting greener,” according to a recent study by Chi Chen. “China and India are doing a great job of ‘greening’ the world.”

Chi Chen, a doctor student at Boston University, has been working with NASA to monitor the earth’s vegetation (植被). He and his fellow researchers have used a special NASA camera to see how many new trees have grown, NPR reported.

Chi Chen and his team have found that China and India have greatly expanded (增加) their forest area. “China and India account for one-third of the earth’s expanded greening,” Chin Chen said in a statement.

The data they collected from 2000 to 2017 showed that China was responsible for 25 percent of the global increase in green vegetation during the period, according to CNN. That’s about one-quarter of the size of the entire Amazon rainforest.

The growth mainly resulted from forest protection and expansion programs that China created to fight soil erosion (水土流失) and air pollution, NASA said.

For example, since 1962,China has been planting trees in Saihanba in Hebei Province. It covers an area of 92,000 hectares (公顷), which was once a barren (贫瘠的) area. After overcoming many difficulties, forests have turned the area into China’s largest man-made forest.

Another example is the Mu Us Desert, one of four major deserts in China. It was once known for its sandstorms. But now, one-quarter of the desert has been turned into forest, Guangming Daily reported.

1. The passage probably comes from ________ in a newspaper.

A．Earth & Environment	B．Job Postings
C．People & Graduate Students	D．Professional Master’s Program

2. What did the Chi Chen and his team find out?

A．Planting more trees has slowed down global warming.

B．Asian countries are planting more trees than other countries.

C．China and Indian have greatly expanded their green coverage.

D．China and Indian are responsible for global warming.

3. What do we know from the passage?

A．Half of the earth’s forest area in China and India.

B．The earth’s green vegetation has increased by 25 percent.

C．The findings of Chi Chen’s team are based on 17 years of data.

D．Saihanba is the largest man-made forest in the world.

6 . In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts（主人）and the worst guests in the world. They’re not really bad guests, but because the guest-host relationship in China is much different than in some western countries, it appears they are not nice guests. And western host sometimes look rude（粗鲁的）in the eyes of Chinese guests.

In China, guests are almost like gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese person’s home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the west, generally the guest is not a god. Acting according to the host’s way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

My wife’s mother, a very kind elderly Chinese lady, doesn’t smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non-smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually I want to stop them directly, but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In most North American homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you could ask. “Is it OK if I smoke?” But, don’t be surprised if they say “No, you can’t smoke.” In our culture, if you smoke in their home, you are a bad guest, but if they do not allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude host.

Guests in China also have special habits. Some western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese,   so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your house, don’t be too surprised if they don’t bring you a gift.

In China, you probably won’t need to change the guest-host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.

1. Many foreigners think that Chinese hosts are the ________ in the world

A．best

B．worst

C．most natural

D．most different

2. When a western guest visits a Chinese family, he often ________.

A．buys some fruit	B．feels like a god
C．wants some gifts	D．takes a cup of tea

3. If the writer’s guests want to smoke in his house, what will he probably say?

A．It’s OK if you smoke here.	B．Let’s smoke together.
C．Sorry, you can’t smoke here.	D．Smoking is a bad habit.

4. What is the meaning of the underlined phrase “adapt to” in the passage?

A．think back to

B．get used to

C．look forward to

D．keep close to

5. What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Foreigners should learn from Chinese.

B．Hosts must do things in the guests’ way.

C．Western hosts are always nice to guests.

D．People should understand cultural differences.

8 . Do you like eating chocolate? Companies spend millions of dollars on tools and machines to make chocolate. With a little ingredients (原料), however, you can turn your kitchen into a chocolate factory. Today we will teach the Cocoa Powder （可可粉）Method（方法）, it is easier for beginners. Try it and make your own homemade chocolate.

Here are the ingredients you need: cocoa powder — 2 cups (220g) ; butter — 3/4 cup (170g); sugar — 3/4 cup (100g); milk — 2/3 cup (150ml); salt — a little bit ; water — 1 cup (235ml).

Now, please follow these steps. First, mix the cocoa powder and butter in a bowl until you have a smooth paste (酱). Then , add the cocoa powder mixture (混合物) to the hot water and stir（搅拌）. Allow the temperature to rise back up. Put the hot mixture into a bowl, stir the sugar mixture into the hot cocoa mix. Add milk, stir until smooth. At last, put the mixture into different containers（容器）. The chocolate will take the shape of the container. You can put it in the fridge to harden（使变硬）it.

We hope you can enjoy your homemade chocolate.

1. What is NOT necessary when we are making chocolate?

A．cocoa power

B．salt

C．water

D．egg

2. Which is the right order to make chocolate?
① Put sugar and milk into the mixture.
② Mix the cocoa powder and butter
③ Place the mixture into containers, and put it in the fridge.
④ Add hot water and stir.

A．②④①③

B．②①④③

C．②④③①

D．④②①③

3. What’s the best title of this passage?

A．How to Build a Chocolate Factory.	B．The Ways to Eat Chocolate.
C．How to Make Chocolate at Home.	D．The Cocoa Bean Method.

9 . How do we know the time? A clock, a watch or a mobile phone can help us. However, many years ago there were no clocks and knowing the time was not so easy. Over the centuries people have developed different ways of telling the time.

About 5, 500 years ago, the Egyptians invented the sun clock. This was a tall stone building. Its shadow(影子)showed the movement of the sun. So people were able to know midday. The Egyptians made a sundial about 3,500 years ago. It was smaller than the sun clock and could let people know the time for half a day. On cloudy days or at night it was impossible to tell the time with a sun clock or a sundial. Water clocks not were the first clocks not to use the sun. The idea is simple. Water flows(流动) from one bottle to another. When the water reaches a certain level, it shows the hours. The Egyptians used water clocks about 3,400 years ago. These clocks were popular in the Middle East and China. But they failed to make people know the exact time.

In the 13th century, the mechanical clock was invented. This was more exact, but it was expensive to make one. Over the next few centuries it was developed. For example springs(发条) were added around 1500. This enabled people to get the correct time and allowed clocks to be smaller. In 1927, the first quartz watch was developed. Clocks became cheaper to make. It’s also cheaper for ordinary people to own a clock. People began depending on them more and more to run businesses, markets and so on. More recently, in 1956, came the digital clock. And nowadays satellites send our mobile phones the time to the exact second.                                        

There has been a lot of progress in timekeeping. Clocks are always changing but some things never change. Many of us sill have trouble getting out of bed on time and not being late for school or work.

1. According to the passage, we can’t use a ________ tell the time on a rainy day.

A．water clock

B．sun clock

C．digital clock

D．mechanical clock

2. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “ordinary” in the third paragraph?

A．现代的

B．特殊的

C．富有的

D．普通的

3. How many kinds of clocks are mentioned in the passage?

A．Four.

B．Five.

C．Six.

D．Seven.

4. Which of the following shows the structure(结构)of the passage?
(①= Paragraph 1 ②= Paragraph 2...)

A．	B．
C．	D．

5. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The importance of time.	B．The development of timekeeping
C．The inventions of clocks.	D．The history of a digital clock.

10 . Happiness is important to everyone. Most people want to be happy but few know how to find happiness. Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness. Happiness depends on ourselves. In other words, we make our own happiness.

Some people believe that if they are wealthy, they will be able to do anything they want. which means happiness. On the other hand, some people believe that holding a high position in the government is happiness. In this way, you have not only money, but also many other things which can't be bought by money. However, other people believe that having lots of money is not happiness, nor is holding a high position in the government. These people value their beliefs, or their intelligence, or their health. They think these can make them happy.

Here are a few ways to help you be happier.

The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend so, much time thinking about the future, for example, getting into college or getting a good job, that we don't enjoy the present. You should enjoy life's simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have, close friends usually enjoy happier and healthier lives.

The second secret of happiness is to be active. Many people go dancing or play sports. People can forget about their problems and only think about the activity.

Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. According to studies, people feel   good when they volunteer their time to do many meaningful things for other people. If you want to feel happier, do something nice for someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to get food for an old neighbor, or simply help around the house.

Now maybe you know how to find happiness!

1. The underlined word “wealthy” means “________”in the article

A．pleased

B．healthy

C．excited

D．rich

2. Some people who hold a high position in the government think they can________.

A．get money and something they can't buy with money

B．do what they want to do at any time

C．enjoy health which makes them work hard

D．take an active part in all kinds of activities every day

3. The writer thinks the secret of happiness is that people________.

A．think about getting a good job	B．think of the present they don't like
C．often spend time with close friends	D．think about entering the college

4. Many people find it happy to________.

A．remember the old days and troubles	B．do some meaningful things for others
C．go shopping to buy some food	D．make much money and little success

5. The passage mainly tells us________.

A．how to find happiness	B．how to save happiness
C．to do something good for other	D．to value our beliefs or health