1 . What do you think the future will be like? Here are some answers from some students.

Mary: If we don’t take good care of the earth now, our children and grandchildren will be born into a world with much pollution (污染). There will be fewer trees and more buildings, because there will be more people.

Jack: I agree with Mary. Things will be worse. The weather in the future will be much hotter. Humans won’t be able to live on the earth. We will have to look for another planet to live on.

Linda: I think the life in the future will be better. Most people in the world will use “green cars” by 2020, so there will be less pollution and people will live to be 200 years old. As for space travel, I would say, we will visit Mars (火星) in about fifty years.

1. They are talking about ________.

A．pollution

B．weather in the future

C．life in the future

D．water in the future

2. What does Mary think life will be like in the future?

A．There will be fewer trees.	B．Everybody will have a car.
C．People will live longer.	D．There will be less water and air.

3. What does the underlined word “planet” mean in Chinese?

A．飞船

B．岛屿

C．星球

D．火山

4. —Why does Jack think humans will have to look for another place to live on?
—Because ________.

A．there will be too many buildings	B．the earth will be too hot to live on
C．there will be too many people	D．there will be too much fresh air

5. How many things does Linda predict (预测)?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

2 .

Many of you have probably had this experience: You get on a train and are ready to take a nap or read a book, only to find that the passenger in front of you is watching a TV show on his tablet without headphones. The child next to you won’t stop crying. And the old lady behind you talks on her phone during the whole trip.

Wish the train could be less noisy? There might be a solution for you. The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, one of China’s busiest high-speed rail lines, have had “quiet” carriages starting since Dec 23, 2020.

In quiet carriages, on board videos are muted (静音) and announcements are made at a lower volume (音量). Doors at the ends of the carriage are kept closed to reduce noise from other carriages. Train attendants (乘务员) are responsible for making sure that passengers remain quiet and follow the rules.

Passengers who are willing to obey the rules can choose the quiet carriages when booking their tickets, according to China’s national railway operator.

Some people have pointed out that this kind of quiet environment should be offered in all carriages. They say that having quiet carriages might give people the impression that they don’t need to be quiet in non-quiet carriages.

Quiet carriages might be more enjoyable. While some internet users are in favor of the new service, it has also sparked discussion about just how quiet travelers should be in quiet carriages. Many people have raised questions such as “What if I snore (打呼噜)?” and “Can we talk to our travel companions if we need to?”

1. Para. 1 is written to show that _________.

A．people do all kinds of things on trains	B．people watch TV shows on trains
C．traveling by train is very common	D．people on trains are never very noisy

2. Para. 2 mainly tells that to keep the train _________.

A．much busier is in Shanghai	B．less noisy is possible in China
C．quiet stared before Dec 23, 2020	D．fastest has achieved in Beijing

3. From Para. 3, how do quiet carriages work?

A．The doors of these carriages stay closed.

B．No one makes sure passengers follow the rules.

C．Passengers aren’t allowed to watch videos.

D．Train attendants don’t make any announcements.

4. Which of the following best explains “in favor of” underlined in the last para?

A．in need of	B．in place of
C．in search of	D．in support of

5. What do we know about quiet carriages from the last paragraph?

A．The rules should be made much clearer.	B．Most people don’t like the service at all.
C．The service is better for solo (单) travelers.	D．It’s hard to make trains perfectly quiet.

4 . When you visit a restaurant, you may see some people eating on their own. In the past, these people might feel embarrassed (尴尬的) about eating alone, because this might show that they had no friends or disliked making friends with others. However, that’s changing.

According to a new survey of a US-based company, the adult eats six meals alone each week and 387 meals each year on average. That means eating alone is a new fashion. In China, eating alone is also growing in popularity. “Eating alone can allow people to enjoy dinner in a private space freely,” China Daily reported.

It is true that when people choose to eat with other people, they must be affected by the diners who accompany (陪伴) them. If the diners share similar habits, they are lucky and can enjoy a satisfying meal. If not, they must deal with the embarrassing experience of bad table manners, and boring conversations. So eating alone can help people get away from bad dinner dates, embarrassing groups and boring conversations and let them enjoy the exclusive experience. Wang Kerui, a freshman from Beijing Normal University, is a good example. “Eating alone doesn’t mean I’m lonely. Instead, it can help me enjoy ‘me-time’ and think about the challenges I have met in my studies,” she told TEENS.

Eating alone also shows that young people pay more attention to realizing their dreams and looking for a higher quality of life. Now, many young people with fixed incomes (固定收入) are beginning to re-examine their roles in society. Zhao Lianxue, 28, a media worker, says she enjoys her life alone. Without the task of cooking for a family, Zhao often eats alone in restaurants. In her spare time, she can read her                                 favorite books, go sightseeing or shopping. It’s not hard to see that eating alone for many young people doesn’t mean they feel lonely. It is more about freedom and independence (独立).

1. Why did people feel embarrassed when eating alone in the past?

A．They didn’t like making friends.	B．They didn’t cook for their family.
C．They didn’t want to be affected by others.	D．Others would think they had no friends.

2. What does the underlined word “exclusive” mean?

A．Lonely.

B．Noisy.

C．Personal.

D．Fresh.

3. If a person wants to avoid embarrassing groups, he can ________.

A．find someone to help him

B．choose to eat alone

C．join in different activities

D．learn to be independent

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．An adult eats six meals alone each month and 387 meals each year on average.

B．When we have dinner with others, we can’t have a satisfying meal.

C．Zhao Lianxue has colorful activities in her spare time.

D．The richer young people are, the more independent they are.

5. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Live a Free Life

B．Learn to Be Independent

C．Learn about Table Manners

D．Enjoy Eating Alone

6 . John, a famous musician, took his priceless antique violin and played it in the crowded subway station. The music from the violin was delicately streaming throughout the whole station. However, during the one-hour play, only six or seven people were truly appreciating the charming music. A three-year-old kid was so fascinated by the music that he forgot everything around. John only got 52 dollars for his work that day.

However, in normal days, when John is about to hold a concert, one ticket can be sold at more than 100 dollars and it is extremely hard to buy a ticket even at such a high price. Therefore, later, many passers-by in the station that day felt deeply regretful for not recognizing the famous musician and missing such a valuable but cheap music feast (盛宴).

I have a very busy friend called Charles. He had totally changed after knowing that his wife came down with incurable illness. He cooked by himself for the family and took a walk with his wife every day. But even so, his wife still didn’t conquer the illness and passed away. After that, he often sighed. Due to his past busy life, he had missed a lot of beautiful time with his wife. But now, it is impossible to make up for it.

But it is no use crying over spilt milk. In our life, we have missed a lot of precious things without knowing to treasure them. The reason is less than simple. We had thought that we could still own them tomorrow.

There was a famous Buddhist monk saying that in many people’s lives, they have only done two things: waiting and regretting. The result is that they were always too late to treasure what they had before they lost it. We would often claim to do something when we grow up, or when we have money or when we become old, etc. However, when we reach the condition we have expected, we could no longer realize our wish, because we have lost it by then.

1. The reason why people often regret may be that ________.

A．they are too busy to notice the beautiful things

B．they are too careless to cherish precious things

C．they are lazy to observe the surroundings

D．they think that it’s none of their business

2. The word “conquer” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________”.

A．fight against

B．prevent from

C．get over

D．face with

3. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．the child was good at telling good music from bad one

B．Charles used to be too busy to spend time with his wife

C．it’s never too late for us to make our dreams come true

D．it’s available to make up for what we haven’t done before.

4. How do we understand the underlined parts “waiting and regretting”?

A．won’t treasure what they have until they lost them

B．can’t achieve anything great until they get older

C．are easy to take pride in what they are doing

D．expect to make progress but want to do nothing

5. The best title of this passage is probably ________.

A．Tomorrow Is a Mystery	B．Don’t Regret for Waiting
C．Never Cry over Spilt Milk	D．Fight for the Bright Future

7 . When we don't understand each other's language, we can talk with the help of signs.

A Frenchman was once travelling in England. He could not speak English at all. One day he went into a restaurant and sat down at a table. When the waiter came, he opened his mouth, put his fingers into it and took them out again. The waiter soon brought him a cup of tea. The man moved his head from side to side. The waiter took the tea away and in a moment he brought him a cup of coffee. The man again moved his head from side to side. Then the waiter brought him a lot of drinks, but the man moved his head from side to side. Of course, drinks are not food.

When the man was going away, another man came in. This man saw the waiter, and he put his hands on his stomach. That was enough. In a few minutes, there was a large plate of meat and vegetables on the table in front of him. How clever he was!

1. According to the passage, what should we do when we don't understand each other's language?

A．We should draw a picture.	B．We should speak English.
C．We should talk with the help of signs.	D．We should write it down.

2. The Frenchman wanted the waiter to ______.

A．translate the words	B．tell him what he said
C．bring him a cup of coffee	D．bring him some food

3. The waiter brought the Frenchman ________.

A．a cup of tea, a cup of coffee and a lot of other drinks

B．a large plate of meat and vegetables

C．a cup of water and a cup of coffee

D．a piece of paper and a pen for him to write down the words

4. Another man saw the waiter, and put his hands on his stomach. He meant ________.

A．he was hungry	B．he was very thirsty
C．he had a stomachache(胃疼)	D．he had enough food

5. What's the best title of the story?

A．The Waiter	B．A Frenchman
C．The Language in the Restaurant	D．The Language of Signs

8 . Being polite can improve your own quality of life. There are five good ways that being polite can improve your life.

◆It will cause others to like you more. When you're polite to people, it makes you seem more likable. This is because people view others who are polite as kind.

◆It will cause others to respect you more. Being polite can make others want to stay with you for a long time.

◆You'll feel better about yourself. When you're kind to people you care about, your friends, family or relatives, you feel better about yourself.

◆It'll bring those close to you closer. Being polite to those closest to you, is sometimes more difficult than it is with strangers because of the feelings of familiarity(熟悉). If you're polite with those closest to you, you'll find they will also like and respect you more.

◆It'll make you see the world a little differently. If up to now you haven't been the most polite person around, you'll find you begin to see things around you that you didn't before.

1. Where may this passage come from?

A．The history text.

B．The news.

C．The Ads.

D．The magazine.

2. How many ways are mentioned in this passage?

A．Four.

B．Five.

C．Six.

D．Seven.

3. If you are polite, others may ________.

A．spend less time with you	B．give you some money
C．spend more time with you	D．respect you less

4. When you are kind to someone, you may feel ________ about yourself.

A．nervous

B．better

C．serious

D．funny

5. Who should we be polite to?

A．Only the old people.	B．Only the strangers.
C．Only the one you like.	D．Almost all the people around.

9 . Now if you go out or surf the Internet, one word is very popular among young people. That is the word “fashion”. But lots of young people don’t know what it really means. They just think an iPhone 11 is fashionable, new hair style is fashionable, a new kind of clothes is fashionable and even smoking or drinking is fashionable. So they just try to do something to make themselves look fashionable.

These young people often do something wrong. Some children buy cigarettes (烟) and smoke them without letting their teachers or parents know. Some students learn to drink and it costs them a lot of money. Some children want their parents to buy them mobile phones, but they just use their phones to play games and chat with their friends. Some young students like to run after “fashionable” stars. They often do their best to see music stars and sometimes they have to go far away to see the stars face to face. They often have to look everywhere for the information (信息) of the “fashionable” stars.

But many other people don’t think so. They think fashion means everything modern and useful things to people around us. Children should try to be really fashionable.

1. What does this passage mainly tell us?

A．Smoking is wrong.	B．We shouldn’t drink.
C．What is real fashion.	D．We can’t play games.

2. What do some children want their parents to buy for them?

A．Mobile phones.	B．Cigarettes.
C．Clothes.	D．Computer games.

3. What does the writer think of the children’s actions (行为) in the second paragraph?

A．They’re wrong.	B．They’re fashionable.
C．They’re right.	D．They’re cool.

4. How do some young students do for their stars in the passage?

A．Buy their CDs.	B．Collect photos of them.
C．Go far away to see the stars face to face.	D．Sing their songs.

5. Fashion means something ________ according to (根据) the 3rd paragraph.

A．new	B．loved by many people
C．expensive	D．modern and useful

10 . The more books you read, the better your life will be. If you don't believe me, please consider the following reasons to read more books.

You will have strong brain power better.

Studies suggest reading makes you smart. Unlike watching television, which requires no thought process （过程）, reading is an active learning experience that will keep your mind sharp (even in old age)．

You will travel to a new world.

Sometimes our daily life can start to get boring. At times like this, I like to dive into a good fiction book, where I can forget about whatever problems are stressing me out. I'll come back refreshed after my mini-vacation to a fresh and exciting place in the world of words.

You will improve your vocabulary.

The more words you're able to use, the better you will become at expressing your thoughts and feelings. I couldn't imagine how I would write articles like this if I didn't actively aim to improve my vocabulary, because using the same few words to express myself would get awfully boring in a hurry.

You will entertain yourself at a low price.

If you're looking for entertainment without much money, reading is your best choice. Thanks to the popularity of electronic reading devices(设备）, it's never been easier to entertain yourself for hours at a time, for the low cost of a few dollars.

You will discover surprising new ideas.

Reading introduced me to concepts like mindful eating, relaxation exercises, and the importance of loving yourself. If I didn't read, I wouldn't realize these ideas. If you don't read, you will miss many surprising new ideas.

You will become an expert in your field.

Don't you think reading articles and books by experts in your field might make you better at what you do? If you don't learn more about your profession, then your lack of passion could be a sign that you're in the wrong field. I firmly believe that reading has changed my life. I hope these reasons can encourage you to read more books.

1. How many reasons are mentioned in the passage?

A．five

B．six

C．seven

D．eight

2. What kind of books does the writer read when he feels bored?

A．science book

B．fiction book

C．history book

D．story book

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Reading is an active learning experience.

B．Electronic reading devices make it easier to entertain yourself at a high price.

C．If you don't read, you will miss many surprising new ideas.

D．The writer firmly believes that reading has changed his life

4. From the passage we know that ________.

A．Studies suggest watching TV makes you smart

B．The fewer words you’re able to use, the better you will express yourself.

C．The more books you read, the better your life will be.

D．Reading won’t change your life.

5. What's the purpose of the writer in the passage?

A．He wants to travel to a new country.

B．He wants to become a reporter.

C．He wants to find a good job.

D．He wants to encourage readers to read more books.