1 . A group of university graduates visited their old professor. During their visit, the conversation turned to work. The graduates were complaining about their problems and stress in work and in life. After offering coffee to the guests, the professor went to the kitchen and came back with a coffee pot and a tray (托盘), crowded with many different cups: porcelain, glass, plastic and crystal.
Some cups were simple, other ones expensive. The professor asked them to pick out their cups first. When the graduates picked out their favorite cups, the professor explained: “Notice how all the beautiful cups were picked out and the simple and cheap ones were left.”
“Wanting only the best things for yourself is the source of your problems and stress. You need to understand that the cup doesn’t make the coffee better. Actually, all that you wanted was the coffee, not the cup. But you consciously (有意识地) chose the best cups, and then looked to see what cups other picked.”
“Life is the coffee. Your job, money, position in society...they are the cups. The type of cup doesn’t determine (决定) the quality of life. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cups, we forget to enjoy the taste of coffee. The happiest people are not those who have the best things, but those who enjoy life and make the most of what they have.”
Hearing this, the graduates were speechless. They had learned another important life lesson from their old professor- that true happiness means enjoying life and not worrying about unimportant things.
1. The professor offered different kinds of cups to ________.| A．give his students more choices to choose from | B．teach his students how to make coffee |
| C．show his students his collection of cups | D．teach his students about the meaning of happiness |
| A．chose the plastic and glass cups | B．did not choose heavy cups |
| C．preferred beautiful and expensive ones | D．preferred simple and cheap ones |
| A．资源 | B．根源 | C．起因 | D．解决办法 |
| A．Make the best choice you can. |
| B．Make the most of life and ignore small things. |
| C．Let others have some of the best things in life. |
| D．Your cup choice doesn’t matter when drinking coffee. |
My son starts school today. It’s going to be strange and new to him for a while, and I hope you will be nice to him.
You see, until now, he has been the boss of his home. I have always been around to take care of him and make him feel better.
But now, things are going to be different.
This morning, he is going to walk down the front steps himself, say goodbye and start a new journey that will be difficult.
To live his life in the world will require love and bravery.
So, World, I hope you will take him by his young hand and teach him the things he will have to know.
Give him quiet time to think about why there are birds in the sky and flowers on the green hill.
Teach him that for every villain, there is a hero; that for every enemy, there is a friend.
Teach him that it is better to fail than it is to cheat.
Teach him to believe in himself, even if everyone tells him that he is wrong.
Teach him gently, World, but don’t protect him from everything. Facing difficult situations will make him strong.
This is a big order, World, but see what you can do.
Yours,
A worried mother
1. What is the letter mainly about?| A．A mother’s suggestions to her son’s teacher. | B．A mother’s worries and hopes for her son. |
| C．Why school is so difficult sometimes. | D．A housewife’s boring life at home. |
| A．Reading is a good habit to have. | B．Her son should get more protection than before. |
| C．It is important to believe in oneself. | D．Experiencing difficulties can be useful. |
| A．the son is going to a middle school | B．the mother will send the letter later |
| C．the mother is the headmaster of the school | D．nobody will actually receive the letter |
3 . When you use crayons, you can color things any way you want. Life wasn’t always so colorful, though. A hundred years ago, all crayons were black. They were used in factories and shipyards. Kids couldn’t use them because they were toxic.
Then a company called Binney&Smith had an idea. They decided to make Crayola crayons for kids and teachers to use in schools. They figured out a formula (配方) that was safe, and they also decided to add colors. The first box of eight Crayola crayons included black, brown, blue, red, purple, orange, yellow and green. The box cost five cents. The crayons were a huge hit!
Today, many companies make crayons, but Crayola is still the biggest. They take crayons very seriously especially their colors. For example, Crayola has a team of seven chemists and chemical engineers who do nothing all day but develop new crayon colors. Their laboratory adds the unique (独一无二的), secret formula (秘方) to every crayon color. They blend different colors to come up with new shades (色度). Once the engineers discover a new color they like, they test it on hundreds of kids and parents to make sure it’s really useful. Only then is a crayon ready for the box.
Then comes the hard part—figuring out what to name a new color. In 1993, Crayola introduced 16 new colors for its “Big Box” of 96 crayons. More than two million kids and adults wrote in to advise on the names of the colors, such as bright pink, gray, purple, bright green, light green, and light pink. Over the years, Crayola has changed the names of some colors. Around the globe, kids still say that red and blue are their favorite crayon colors.
1. What does the underlined word “toxic” mean in Chinese?| A．昂贵的 | B．黑色的 | C．多彩的 | D．有毒的 |
| A．the first box of Crayola crayons | B．the colors of Crayola crayons |
| C．a company called Binney&Smith | D．the price of Crayola crayons |
| A．They throw away all the other colors. | B．They test it on kids and parents. |
| C．They draw pictures with it. | D．They go out for lunch together. |
| A．some new color names suggested by kids | B．the colors developed by engineers |
| C．the making and naming of Crayola crayons | D．kids’ favorite crayon colors |
4 . How can cactus（仙人掌）help the world? It can provide a new kind of sustainable fuel（可持续燃料）. Nopalimex, a company in Mexico, has made one of the world's first cactus-powered factories. The idea came to Sosa in Nopalimex when he was looking for ways to save money for his food factory. He now powers his factory with cactus gas（气体）. The cost to produce the gas is half the cost of electricity.
Soon, the gas produced by Nopalimex will also be used in cars. Nopalimex's gas is made by using the prickly pear（刺梨）——a kind of cactus. To make the gas, the prickly pear is mixed together with manure（肥料）. Then the mixture produces the gas that can be used as fuel.
Why cactus? Fuel can be made from other plants such as corn. but there are a few reasons why cactus is a better choice. First, prickly pears need very little water and very little care, and grow well in hot temperatures. Today, these characteristics（特点）are key. Also, unlike corn, prickly pears don't need space that could be used for other food plants. They can grow in areas where many food plants can't grow. Last, after making gas from prickly pears and manure, their byproducts（副产品）can be used to help grow food.
Scientists still need to do more research on making and using prickly pear gas. As projects like Nopalimex show, we have the possibility to produce more sustainable fuel to power our lives.
1. How can cactus help the world?| A．By saving farmers' money. |
| B．By providing a new kind of sustainable fuel. |
| C．By taking the place of corn. |
| D．By producing a lot of electricity and gas. |
| A．Because he wants to save money for his food factory. |
| B．Because he has grown a lot of cactus and com in his town. |
| C．Because he wants to be well﹣known around the world. |
| D．Because he wants to grow cactus instead of corn. |
| A．The Nopalimex company. |
| B．The manure. |
| C．The prickly pear and manure. |
| D．Cactus. |
| A．How cactus is used to produce gas. |
| B．Where we can grow a lot of cactus. |
| C．What Nopalimex does with cactus. |
| D．Why cactus is a better choice to make fuel. |
5 . Do you know 5G? It is the fifth generation(代) of mobile network technology. These new networks are coming.
China just issued commercial licenses(发放商用牌照) for 5G on June 6th. This means that China’s telecom companies were soon able to offer 5G networks for mobile phone users.
Each mobile network generation is faster and more powerful than the one before it. 1G let us talk to each other. 2G let us send messages. 3G gave us data and the Internet. And 4G made all of these things faster. What’s special about 5G?
5G has a very short delay between sending and receiving information. Now, 4G takes about 100 to 200 milliseconds(毫秒) to send and receive data. But 5G will get it down to 1 millisecond or less.
This big change will not only make our mobile Internet faster, but also deeply change our lives. Read on to find out how.
5G + entertainment
5G networks are about 100 times faster than 4G. This means you can download a movie in seconds using 5G.
5G + transportation
5G will also bring us safer self-driving cars. These cars can send signals(信号) to each other. They also talk to traffic lights and road sensors(传感器). 5G will allow cars to react even faster than human drivers.
5G + smart homes
5G also makes the Internet of things possible. Internet of things is a large network that connects everything to the Internet. Smart homes are part of it.
For example, if the sensor feels the air becoming dry, a smart sprinkler(洒水器) could water your plants by itself.
1. What happened on the sixth day of June according to the passage?| A．5G came into use. |
| B．China issued commercial licenses. |
| C．Mobile phone users could talk to each other. |
| D．4G received information more slowly than 3G. |
| A．延时 | B．删除 | C．断开 | D．终止 |
| A．entertainment | B．transportation | C．smart homes | D．health |
| A．5G can make human drivers react faster than cars. |
| B．We can download a movie faster with 5G. |
| C．The plants can be watered by a smart sprinkler itself with 5G. |
| D．5G is faster and more powerful than 4G. |
| A．Mobile phone users can use 5G networks. |
| B．Each mobile network generation has their own advantages. |
| C．5G will change our lives in many ways. |
| D．5G will bring us safer self-driving cars. |
6 . Everyone needs friends. But how do you find real friendship and keep it?
The American writer Sally tells young students some smart ways to find friends. Sally says making friends is just like planting a tree. You plant the seed (种子) and take care of it to make it grow.
First, you should choose a friend. What is a good friend? A good friend is not a person who has money or good looks. A good friend should be kind and helpful. For example, if you have a bad day, a good friend could listen to your complaints and do his or her best to help you.
But things can not always be happy. Even the best friends may quarrel (吵架). What should you do when you have a quarrel with your friend? You have to talk to him or her. When there is no one around, have a good talk with him or her and tell him or her how you are feeling. If he or she doesn't want to talk, you can write a letter to say sorry. Tell your friend why you did this or that. Finally, remember that friendship is one of the most important things in our life.
1. The writer wants to tell us how to____________.| A．plant trees | B．keep healthy | C．find friendship and keep it | D．write a letter |
| A．have much money | B．be kind and helpful | C．have good looks | D．be smart |
| A．抱怨 | B．辩论 | C．宣布 | D．发言 |
| A．You should ask your teacher for help. |
| B．You should tell this to your parents. |
| C．You should make a new friend. |
| D．You should have a good talk or write a letter to him or her. |
| A．Making friends is just like planting a tree. |
| B．A good friend can do his or her best to help you. |
| C．The best friends never quarrel with each other. |
| D．Friendship is very important in our life. |
7 . Sometimes, I doubt whether there is any love between my parents. Every day they are busy trying to make money. They don’t act romantically the way couples do in books and on TV. They never say: “I love you.” It’s not their style.
One day, my mother was sewing (缝) a quilt (被子). I sat down beside her.
“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.
“What?” she asked while still working.
“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her.
She didn’t answer right away.
I thought I had hurt her.
“Susan, look at this thread (线),” she said finally. “Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. It makes the quilt strong. If life was a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere, but it’s still important.”
The next spring, my father suddenly got very sick. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month.
After they got back, she helped my father walk slowly down the road every day. My father had never been so fragile (脆弱的).
“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.
“Susan, don’t worry about me,” he said. “I just like walking with your mom.”
Once, I thought love meant flowers and gifts. Now, I know that love is the thread that holds a family together.
1. How did the writer’s parents appear to act at first?| A．They often argued with each other. |
| B．They usually acted romantically. |
| C．They were busy making money. |
| D．They always said “I love you”. |
| A．they never said “I love you” to each other |
| B．they didn’t take care of each other |
| C．they didn’t often read books together |
| D．they didn’t like to watch TV together |
| A．how to sew a quilt |
| B．how to express love |
| C．what true love is |
| D．what makes a happy family |
8 . Are fables (寓言故事) and fairy tales (童话故事) different or the same? They are both stories for kids, but fables are stories for adults as well.
A fable is a story, passed_down from grandparents to parents and then to children.People can learn much from it.The characters are mostly animals and nature.They can talk and act like humans.The most famous fables were written by a man called Aesop.There are around 600 fables in Aesop's Fables.The Fox and the Grapes and The Tortoise and the Hare are two examples.
Fairy tales are usually stories for children, often about magic characters such as fairies (仙女) and giants (巨人). Sometimes the characters are animals.We are able to enjoy these fairy tales because about 200 years ago, Brothers Grimm traveled all around Germany and collected these stories before people forgot them.There are many fairy tales in Grimm's Fairy Tales, such as Cinderella and The Frog Prince.
1. What does the passage mainly talk about?| A．Famous fables and fairy tales. | B．The skill at reading fables. |
| C．The reason why adults can read fables. | D．Differences between fables and fairy tales. |
| A．流传 | B．分享 | C．编辑 | D．记录 |
| A．People can learn nothing from fables. | B．There are about 60 fables in Aesop's Fables. |
| C．Children usually love fairy tales. | D．Aesop collected fairy tales before people forgot them. |
①The Lion and the Mouse ②Snow White ③The Tortoise and the Hare
④The Fox and the Grapes ⑤Cinderella
| A．①②③④⑤ | B．①③④ | C．①②④ | D．②③④⑤ |
9 . Like you，plants need good things like food，water，and minerals in order to grow. Usually they get these important nutrients(营养) from the rich soil(土壤) in which they're planted. But there's another way to grow plants that doesn't use soil. It's called hydrogenic gardening.
“Hydrogenic” means “working with water. ” In a hydrogenic garden，plants grow with their roots in water， not in dirt. The water is filled with special food for the plants that gardeners have carefully measured and prepared.
Hydrogenic plants grow quickly. In ordinary gardens，plants need time and energy to grow long roots that search the soil for food and water. In a hydrogenic garden，plants can use their energy to grow tall instead. And because there is no soil， there are no weeds and few insect pests(害虫). Gardeners don't need to spray(喷洒) plants with dangerous chemicals. Both the plants and the environment stay healthy.
Scientists hope that，one day，hydrogenic gardens may be able to help hungry people all over the world grow enough food-even in countries that have bad soil，or weather that is too hot，too cold，or too dry. And astronauts hope to take hydrogenic gardens with them to the spaceship they fly to Mars，so that they will always have fresh vegetables，and the fun of growing a garden without dirt.
1. What's the meaning of the underlined word “dirt” in the second paragraph?| A．soil | B．water | C．insect | D．food |
| A．Plants need water and other nutrients to grow. | B．There are no weeds inhydrogenic gardens. |
| C．Hydrogenic plants cannot grow in too hot weather. | D．Astronauts hope to take hydrogenic gardens to space. |
| A．Plant growing. | B．Space farming. | C．Scientific watering. | D．hydrogenic gardening. |
The research suggests that we don’t have to do all the 14 things every day. We can choose some of them to start the day. Here are some examples.
Get up early. According to Laura, 90% of CEOs wake up before 6 am on weekdays. PepsiCo CEO(首席执行官) Indra Nooyi, for example, gets up at 4 am and is in the office no later than 7 am. At the same time, Disney CEO Bob gets up at 4:30 to read, and Twitter and Square CEO Jack gets up at 5:30.
Drink water instead of coffee. Drinking water in the morning makes you more active and speeds up your metabolism(新陈代谢).
Make your bed. This leads to a happier and more productive day.
Exercise. Exercising in the morning helps reduce stress.
Make a plan for the day. Using the morning to make a plan for the whole day can help you decide what you will do first.
1. What might successful people not do in the morning?
| A．Sleep late. | B．Exercise. | C．Get up early. | D．Make a plan. |
| A．At 4 am. | B．At 6:50 am. | C．At 7:30. | D．At 8 am. |
| A．Drink coffee. | B．Drink water. | C．Exercise. | D．Make the bed. |
| A．Exercising is great. | B．Make the plan early. |
| C．It’s important to eat healthily. | D．Put mornings to good use. |
