Doing exercise is an important part of healthy lifestyle. But the novel coronavirus（新冠病毒）has kept millions of people from taking part in outdoor activities since late January. As a result, indoor activities have become an important way for people to keep healthy, especially during a special time like this.
These days, the sports community, medical experts and public health officials have all been actively suggesting indoor exercise to help people fight against the novel coronavirus. And ba duan jin, an easy-to-learn qigong exercise, is among the most popular exercises. After doing the exercise, people may feel like they are wearing a dress made of silk fabric, so it’s also called Eight Pieces of Brocade（锦缎）.
Created nearly a thousand years ago, ba duan jin has been practiced for centuries in China. Nowadays, it is almost as popular as Tai chi. especially among the old. The exercise doesn’t require much space or time. As long as people master special breathing and concentration（专注） skills, ba duan jin can help them keep both the body and mind healthy with eight well-designed movements.
This kind of qigong focuses on（聚焦于） the breathing. Through deep and slow breathing skills, it will allow the muscles to relax and empty the mind of all thoughts. The brain will get a chance to rest, and more oxygen will reach.
Ba duan jin is reported to be helpful to many health problems. What’s more, it can be learnt without a teacher. Although it may be practised by following a few pictures and instructions, success really depends on concentration, relaxation and daily practice.
1. What’s the writer’s purpose in writing the first paragraph?| A．To lead into the topic. | B．To show an opinion. | C．To give an example. | D．To make a comparison. |
| A．tiring | B．easy | C．difficult | D．excited |
| A．The young. | B．The rich. | C．The old. | D．The poor. |
| A．When was ba duan jin created? |
| B．How can ba duan jin keep people healthy? |
| C．How should people practice ba duan jin? |
| D．How long has ba duan jin been practised in China? |
Can laughing every day help keep the heart attack (心脏病) away? Maybe so. Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect people against the heart attack, according to a recent study from the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
“The old saying that ‘Laughter is the best medicine.’ seems to be true when it comes to protecting your heart,” said Michael Miller at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
In the study, researchers compared the humor responses (反应) of 300 people. Half of them had suffered a heart attack. The other 150 did not have heart disease. Researchers provided people from the first group with a series of multiple-choice (多选的) questions to find out how much or how little they laughed in certain situations. And the second group were given true or false questions to help researchers know more about anger.
Miller said the most important study finding was that “people with heart disease responded less humorously to everyday life situations” They generally laughed less, even in positive (乐观的) situations, and they showed more anger. “We know that exercising, no smoking and eating foods low in fat will help cut down on the risk of heart disease. Perhaps hearty laughter should be added to the list.” Miller said.
It may be possible to put laughter into our daily activities, just as we do with other heart-healthy activities, such as walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift. According to Miller, every one of us is supposed to read something humorous or watch a funny video, and try to find ways to take ourselves less seriously.
1. At the very beginning of this article, the topic is introduced by ________.| A．an example | B．a question | C．a problem | D．an experiment(实验) |
| A．Why they suffered a heart attack. |
| B．Whether they had heart disease or not. |
| C．What helped protect them against heart disease. |
| D．How much or how little they laughed in certain situations. |
| A．the first group of people generally laughed more | B．the second group of people showed more anger |
| C．exercising can keep people away from getting sick | D．laughing can help cut down on the risk of heart disease |
| A．It is time to take ourselves less seriously. | B．Laughter is as important as walking up the stairs. |
| C．Every one of us should do something to keep fit. | D．Laughter is the best medicine to keep heart healthy. |
From May 16 to May 23 in 2019, the Asian Cuisine Festival. Guangzhou was held to encourage communication among Asian countries.
During the festival, there were a number of activities showing Guangzhou culture and the beauty of Asian cuisine. Visitors have enjoyed all the best foods of Asia in one city, with a list of the 24 top restaurants in Guangzhou. Many famous people were invited to have morning tea, tasting the popular food like shrimp dumplings, beef or fish balls, chicken feet, etc.
Besides, “My Favorite Asian Cuisine" was held in Guangzhou to choose the best restaurants and dishes. A 1.2-meter-long hand-painted picture was published. The picture was about the cuisine choices along the Pearl River. Food and technology companies were also invited to show how to make traditional food by using modern technology. Visitors could buy other products about traditional food and culture, such as books, postcards and stamps.
The slogan (口号) of the festival is “Enjoying Asian Cuisine and Savoring the Taste of the Millennium Flower City”. Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, is well-known for its rich food and its culture. The director of the festival said that one would need a year or two, rather than a day or two, to fully enjoy the best of Guangzhou cuisine.
Information Card
| The purpose of the Asian Cuisine Festival Guangzhou | |
| The number of the top restaurants on the visit | |
| The thing that the hand-painted picture was about | |
| The way to make traditional food in this festival | |
| The things that Guangzhou is well-known for |
4 . “Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD(公元) 53 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?
Picture this. You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave(微波炉), computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy(赶时髦的), beer-drinking granny”, to one who cooked things.
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。
1. The writer uses the quote(引号) at the beginning of the story to ________.
| A．tell us a truth about our lives |
| B．tell us what life was like long time ago |
| C．point out what causes such a thing to happen |
| D．point out some problems we will meet in the life |
| A．have speeded up our lives | B．have improved the quality of our lives |
| C．may make people feel very happy | D．may bring people some trouble |
| A．they loved to live simple lives |
| B．they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions |
| C．they were troubled by modern inventions |
| D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them |
| A．People who live far away from noisy cities often seem to be happier. |
| B．An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better. |
| C．The family had some changes when they lived in a 1940s house. |
| D．With the improvement of our lives, we often feel stressed and tired. |
| A．problems with technology |
| B．improvements of our lives with technology |
| C．changes happening to technology |
| D．the importance of technology |
5 . What should you do or not do when you are eating in Britain?
The British generally pay a lot of attention to good table manners. Even young children are expected to eat with knives and forks in a proper way. They eat most of their food with a knife, fork, or spoon. The foods that they don't eat with them include sandwiches and fruit.
Things you should do
If you cannot eat a certain kind of food or have some special needs, tell your host several days before the dinner party.
If you are a guest, it is polite to wait until your host starts eating or invites you to do so. It shows your respect for the host.
Always chew (咀嚼) and swallow (吞下) all the food in your mouth before taking more or taking a drink.
Always say "thank you" when served something. It shows you're grateful.
You may eat things like chicken with your fingers if you are having a picnic with friends or on very informal occasions (场合). Otherwise always use a knife and fork.
When eating a bread roll, break off a piece before you spread butter (黄油) on it. Eating it whole shows poor taste. On formal dining occasions, it is good manners to take some butter from the butter dish with your bread knife and put it on your side plate. Then spread the butter on pieces of the roll. This keeps the butter in the dish from getting full of small pieces of bread as it is passed around.
In a restaurant, it is normal to pay for your food by putting your money on the plate that the bill comes on.
1. Who will find the text most helpful?| A．Host families. | B．New comers in Britain. | C．British travelers. | D．Waiters in a restaurant. |
| A．Cutting butter into small pieces. | B．Eating fruits with a knife and fork. |
| C．Taking a drink while having food. | D．Waiting for the host to start first. |
| A．without butter | B．with your fingers | C．piece by piece | D．on your side plate |
| A．careful | B．helpful | C．thankful | D．hopeful |
| A．table manners | B．eating habits | C．social rules | D．traditional food |
6 . Here are some tips on listening. We hope they can help you in one way or another.
●Relax yourself.
Before you start to listen to something, you need to relax. Don't get nervous or excited. This will help you with your listening.
●Listen carefully to the first sentence.
The first sentence tells a lot about the whole passage. For example, if at the very beginning, you hear "Many shops in many parts of China have decided to take away all kinds of Japanese goods off their shelves, but some people say it's not a good idea. Our reporter says..." you know you will hear a piece of news, not a children's story, or a science report.
●Think when you're listening.
When you're listening, try to do some thinking. For example, you can think of the following questions: What happened, when, where and how? What was the result and what did the speaker want to tell us? This way, you may understand the passage better.
●Listen to important facts.
It's important for you to remember some important facts. For example, if the passage is a science report, you should try to remember its findings and how the scientists got their results.
●Don't think about one or two words for too long.
You may hear some words that you don't know, but don't spend too much time on them. Very often, you'll find out what they mean later when you go on with the listening. But you can remember some words or sentences that you think are important, and you can use them when you're answering the questions.
1. This whole passage is mainly about ________.| A．tips on thinking | B．tips on finding the facts | C．tips on listening | D．tips on remembering words |
| A．excited | B．relaxed | C．nervous | D．worried |
| A．the first sentence of a piece of news | B．a tip on reading | C．the end of a piece of news | D．a tip on speaking |
| A．every word | B．every sentence | C．some important facts | D．the whole passage |
| A．Foreign language learners | B．Doctors | C．Scientists | D．Journalists |
7 . How much do you know about Albert Einstein?
Albert Einstein, born on March 14, 1879 in Germany, was a great scientist in the world. He was strange because he hated haircuts and new clothes. He believed in peace. All his life, he hated war. However, his most famous idea, E=me2, helped create the world’s most dangerous weapon（武器）. Many people think he was the smartest person in the world. But Einstein said that he thought like a child with many questions and unusual ideas.
What did he like?
Einstein liked learning sailing. He sailed in small boats all his life. He once joked, “Sailing is the sport that takes the least energy!”
When Einstein was a child, his mother made him take violin lessons. At first, he didn’t like the violin. But then he learned to love music and became a good violinist. Later, he said, “Love is the best teacher.”
Why is the sky blue?
In 1910, Einstein asked a question which many children often ask, “Why is the sky blue?” After his careful research, he answered the question like this: “It’s because light is made up of many colors, including blue. When light travels to Earth, gas particles（气体微粒）spread the blue light all over the sky.” His answer is true in physics.
1. According to the passage, Albert Einstein ________ haircuts and new clothes.| A．forgot | B．minded | C．liked | D．disliked |
| A．clever | B．imaginative | C．practical | D．childlike |
| A．was interested in | B．looked forward to | C．was known for | D．was bored with |
| A．mother teaches the best | B．without mother’s push, we can’t love anything |
| C．we should love our teacher | D．when we love something, we’d like to learn about it |
| A．magic | B．wise | C．scientific | D．careful |
8 . Artificial intelligence (人工智能) is set to benefit mankind in many ways. It will make everyday tasks easier and bring efficiency to many industries. It might be one of man's greatest inventions.
And yet, like any other technology, AI will also bring risks. In February 2018, a group of AI experts got together to discuss the possible disadvantages of AI. What they found was that "Every AI developed by the good guys is also helpful for the bad guys, too." according to Quartz.
Their biggest worry was that the bad guys could use AI for bad things. One of the areas they looked at was the use of AI to create websites that could be used to steal people's personal information. Another possibility is that AI programs could be used to hack software and break into computer secure systems (安全系统).
There are some other worries as well. It is possible that AI could be used to create fake imagines and videos. Baidu, in fact, has developed a program called Deep Voice that can "clone (克隆)" anyone's voice by studying a 3.7-second audio sample (音频样本).
Many leading people have expressed worries about AI. People like Bill Gates and Elon Musk have called for the industry to be more strictly controlled, as there are few laws right now on the use of AI.
However, this is set to change. In March 2018, the European Union plans to set up a group that will discuss the moral and ethical (伦理道德的) dangers of AI, which will help to keep it safe for mankind.
1. ________ might be one of man's greatest inventions according to the passage.| A．Many industries | B．AI | C．Baidu | D．Clone tech |
| A．保护 | B．对比 | C．入侵 | D．学习 |
| A．protecting computer secure systems | B．stealing people's personal information |
| C．controlling all the industry | D．cloning people's voice |
| A．Bill Gates and Elon Musk | B．The European Union |
| C．A group of AI experts | D．All of the mankind |
| A．The benefits of artificial intelligence. | B．How to use artificial intelligence. |
| C．People's worries about artificial intelligence. | D．The future of artificial intelligence. |
9 . Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence (智力) developed by our environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes. In some degree, our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no education can make a talent out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in a rich environment. Therefore, the limits (极限) of a person's intelligence are fixed at birth, whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This point of view now is held by most experts.
It is easy to show that intelligence is something that we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. If we take two strangers by chance from the population, it seems that their degree of intelligence will be completely different. If, on the other hand, we compare two twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that we take two twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory separately where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this shows that environment as well as birth plays an important role. This conclusion(结论) is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact(接触) with each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degree of intelligence.
1. How is man's intelligence given?| A．At birth. | B．Through education. |
| C．Both at birth and through education. | D．Neither at birth nor through education. |
| A．确定 | B．修理 | C．发展 | D．安排 |
| A．Become a genius. |
| B．Still become a genius if he should be given special education. |
| C．Reach his intelligence limits in rich environment. |
| D．Never reach his intelligence limits in his life. |
| A．The importance of their intelligence. | B．The role of environment on intelligence. |
| C．The importance of their jobs. | D．The part that birth plays. |
| A．No education can help make a genius. |
| B．Personality is as important as intelligence which was given to people at birth. |
| C．People who have similar degree of intelligence must be relatives. |
| D．Environment influences people in intelligence developing. |
Instead of pens and paper, students in the classrooms of the future will have headsets and rather than learning by rote (死记硬背）they will be encouraged to take a more hands—on experience to their studies.
Although in their early stages of development, schools in China are studying how they can put VR( virtual reality 虚拟现实)lessons into their classroom experience. One such lesson, by online game developer, Net dragon, uses VR to teach children fire safety. Students are put into a virtual environment where a fire has broken out. They must crawl (爬行）across the floor, avoid desks and chairs and so on, and escape carefully.
VR education tools are not just for school children, either. At the VR medical school under Sichuan University, a virtual system allows medical students to examine organs (器官）from different ways. They can even separate organs for closer examination. A virtual knife is now in development, which means students can practice their operation skills without the need for a real body.
Simon Leung, vice—chairman of Net Dragon, said the company has developed VR immersive(沉浸式的）classrooms and computers that send students to a 360 degree immersive digital world based around their curriculum. Moreover, the VR headsets can tell whether children are focused on the task at hand, Leung said.
VR School, a Beijing—based firm, developed an immersive education system, which is already being used by 10 schools. It begins offering courses to train teachers and instructors with the skills to use VR in their lessons.
Although Chinese parents are often more than willing to allow their children to use technology to help their kids, they are suspicious of VR as they are unsure if the technology will have any side effects.
Besides, the equipment comes at a price. A top—end VR headset and computer could cost upward of 10,000 yuan (1,475 U.S. dollars). “More must be done to develop the technology, which will lower the cost and improve the user’s experience,” said Huang Ronghuai, professor at the Smart Learning Institute under Beijing Normal University, “Still we are optimistic (乐观的）that we can really change the present model of education.”
1. In the future will be used by students in VR lessons.| A．pens and paper | B．VR headsets | C．online games | D．a real knife |
| A．It can be used to teach students fire safety. |
| B．It is a useful tool for children to play games. |
| C．It makes students examine organs more easily. |
| D．It can be used to practice skills in a real body. |
| A．doubtful. | B．afraid | C．proud | D．tired |
| A．The VR equipment is too expensive. |
| B．The VR education system is perfect now. |
| C．VR has changed the current model of education. |
| D．VR will make students study at home in the future. |
| A．To tell people how to build VR schools. |
| B．To show people how to use VR headsets. |
| C．To encourage more and more people to buy VR Headsets. |
| D．To show the development of VR technology in education. |
