1 . ①Have you ever paid for educational podcasts (播客) or live videos? Ask some people and most of them will say yes. The “pay-for-knowledge” has been a popular thing these years. You can find everything you want to know online.

②Why is “pay-for-knowledge” industry (产业) developing so quickly? First, it’s because of the Internet. With a fast network and a smartphone, anyone who has passed the identity (身份) check can be an online teacher, and anyone with an online account (号) can buy “pay-for-knowledge” products (产品). Second, people are afraid to miss any information. They hope for more useful and unknown information. What’s more, the need to learn new skills also pushes people to learn on such educational podcasts.

③Many facts have shown that the industry of “pay-for-knowledge” is lucrative. It is a good way to turn information into money. It is good for the development of our country and it can help sellers make lots of money. Besides, buyers can enjoy self-growth from it.

④However, “pay-for-knowledge” also causes a few problems. For one thing, the market is full of eye-catching words such as “How to be a good CEO?” It sounds like if you pay for it, you are sure to succeed. For another, many buyers buy them just for showing off.

⑤In a word, the best is the one that is right for you most. The “pay-for-knowledge” may be used as a good start for self-growth. But be careful when you make a choice, or your dream of success may not come true.

1. The “pay-for-knowledge” industry is developing quickly NOT because ________.

A．people today don’t want to miss information

B．the traditional education system (系统) doesn’t work

C．today’s job market needs people to be more skilled

D．there is a fast network and smartphones today

2. The underlined word “lucrative” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.

A．making lots of money	B．getting much information
C．causing a few problems	D．enjoying self-growth

3. The structure of the passage may be ________.

A．

B．

C．

D．

4. The best title for this passage may be “________”.

A．Learn knowledge by ourselves online

B．How to buy “pay-for-knowledge” products

C．Stop tying any of the “pay-for-knowledge” products

D．Choose “pay-for-knowledge” products properly

2 . 根据下面短文内容，在短文的空格处填上一个恰当的词，使短文完整、通顺。

It’s 5:30 a.m., and your phone rings. A police officer says someone broke into a store and took something expensive away. They need you right away. It is your job to study the whole scene for information that will help catch the thief. You are a crime scene investigator (调查员), and the game is on.

Outside the store, you see a     1     window, but there is no glass on the street. There are shoeprints, and marks made by a car’s tires (轮胎). You look at the shoeprints. They’re large, so you’re likely     2     for a man. You take photos of the shoe’s patter. This can tell you the type of shoe. You then measure (测量) the space     3     the shoeprints. You now know how long the person’s steps were. This gives you an idea of how     4     the thief was.

As you follow the shoeprints over to the tire marks, the spaces between the steps get bigger.     5     lead to the passenger’s side of the car. Now you know the thief probably didn’t work     6    . You take photos of the tire marks. They can help you find out the type of car and the     7     it went.

The most important information will come from a person’s body. You find a hair. You keep it,     8     you know hair has a person’s DNA. You can compare this with other people’s DNA. If you find a match for the DNA, you may know who was in the store.

Will you find the thief? You now have a lot of information, so it’s possible. For a crime scene investigator, it’s all in a day’s work.

3 . Is there a connection between music and language? According to recent studies, the answer is yes: Music boosts certain language abilities in the brain. Here are two examples.

Music and Hearing

A study from Northwestern University shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person’s hearing ability. As a part of the study, two groups of people listened to a person talking in a noisy room. The people in the first group were musicians, while those in the second group had no musical training. The musicians were able to hear the talking person more clearly.

Musicians hear better, says study leader Nina Kraus, because they learn to pay attention to certain sounds. Think about violinists in an orchestra. When the violinists play with the group, they hear their own instrument and many others, too. But the violinists must listen closely to what they are playing, and pay no attention to the other sounds. In this way, musicians are able to focus on certain sounds, even in a room with lots of noise.

Music and Speech

Gottfried Schlaug, a doctor at Harvard Medical School, works with stroke patients (中风病人). Because of their illness, these people cannot say their names, addresses, or other information normally. However, they can still sing. Dr. Schlaug was surprised to find that singing words helped his patients to finally speak. Why does this work? Music seems to activate different parts of the brain, including the sick parts. This somehow helps patients use those parts of the brain again.

Music, therefore, is not only enjoyable; it’s also good for us in many ways.

1. Does a musical training help people hear more clearly?
_____________________________________________________________
2. How does Gottfried Schlaug help stroke patients speak?
_____________________________________________________________
3. What can music do to people according to the passage?
_____________________________________________________________
4. Nowadays many students believe listening to music help them to focus on doing homework. Is that true to you? Give the reason.
_____________________________________________________________

5 . 根据下面短文内容，在短文的空格处填上一个恰当的词，使短文完整、通顺。

One day, many people living near Jinyun Mountain woke up to the smell of wildfire (野山火) smoke (烟) the summer before last. Some are wondering: Is it dangerous? How can we protect ourselves? Here are the     1     to the questions.

Is wildfire smoke dangerous?

Of course it is. The smoke can easily     2     your eyes, nose and throat painful (痛苦的). Smelling the smoke, you’ll probably have a bad cough and even have trouble breathing. The more time you spend outdoors, especially when doing sports, the     3     you’ll feel.

How is it different from campfire smoke?

Some people like spending summer around a campfire. The difference     4     campfire smoke and wildfire smoke is that wildfire smoke is harder to avoid (避免). When people are camping, they typically do’'t stay in front of a fire for too long. If it’s really smoky, they’d sit upwind from the smoke or take a break.     5    , wildfire smoke is always everywhere and lasts for a long time, so it can be more dangerous.

How to stay safe? Stay inside.

The best thing for you to do is not to go outside w    6     wildfire smoke is in the air. It’s especially important for kids who are very active to stop outdoor activities. It’s not the proper time for them to run, play soccer and other sports. In those activities, you need to breathe harder and deeper, which may make you more dangerous.

Other steps you can take.

It’s best to close the windows and doors when inside. N95 masks can also     7     a little, but you need to wear them correctly. You can also use an air conditioner (空调) if you have o    8    , to filter (过滤) the air more.

In fact, unlike other natural disasters, wildfire, is often caused by people. Helping prevent wildfire is the most useful way to stay away from the dangerous smoke.

6 . ①Do you have trouble trying to create the next big idea? Why not try sitting back, relaxing and letting your mind wander? Yes, you heard that correctly. If you are in need of a new idea, try daydreaming.

②Daydreams allow your mind to run freely and even increase productivity in some situations. Daydreaming develops creativity which is why you have an ah-ha moment. Daydreaming allows you to come up with thoughts and ideas you did not realize you even had.

③Researchers from the University of California found relation between daydreaming and creative problem-solving. Their study includes making participants (参与者) first do an “unusual-use task”. It makes them try to think of as many different ways to use an object as they could.

④Then, the participants chose to do one of the following four things before doing the “unusual-use task” again: finish a difficult task, finish an easy task, take a 12-minute break, or skip (跳过) a 12-minute break and move right on to the task exercise again.

⑤Surprisingly, the group that performed best was the one that finished the easy task. Many participants reported that they were daydreaming while performing the easy task. So the researchers believed that this daydreaming might have helped unlock their creativity.

⑥But how could daydreaming help the brain come up with creative ways? The answer is your “unconscious thought”. Even when you are not actively working to solve a problem, it is still in the back of your mind. Your brain is still thinking about the problem, but in a much more subtle (不易察觉的) way.

⑦When you daydream, your mind is allowed to think in ways it normally would not. Because it is free of control (控制), it can create completely new and out-of-the-box ideas. Great ideas never come easily, but that does not mean you always have to work hard to get them. Feel free to do what you want and let your mind wander.

1. The writer starts the passage by ______.

A．telling a story	B．giving examples
C．asking questions	D．comparing differences

2. According to the passage, the “unusual-use task” makes participants ______.

A．find different uses for an object	B．finish a very hard task
C．do a very simple task	D．have a rest every 12 minutes

3. The underlined phrase “unconscious thought” in paragraph 6 means “______” in the passage.

A．stop dealing with information from the outside world

B．think about a problem without even knowing it

C．know clearly what you’re thinking and doing

D．think in a subtle way under your own control

4. What’s the best structure (结构) of this passage?

A．	B．
C．	D．

7 . ___a___Snacks are many people’s favorites, especially children and young women. Nowadays, more and more young people like to have snacks during the middle of the night. A recent study shows that midnight snacks could bring some health problems. Namni Goel, lead scientist of the study, said, “Midnight snacks will break your normal life habits. ___b___ They will make you put on weight easily and make you get heart problems easily. Also they will greatly influence (影响) your feelings.”

This isn’t the first time a study has shown that midnight snacks could be bad for your health. According to the common studies, the following four main problems were shown. ___c___That’s because it will make a difference to your future life.

First, midnight snacks can influence your memory. The study found that midnight snacks are even bad for your cognitive functions (认知功能). Second, they can make you have weird dreams. The sugar in midnight snacks will excite your brain at night and make you feel nervous. Then you will probably have dreams which are not usual in your life. ___d___Third, midnight snacks make you get heart disease easily. Scientists have found that midnight snacks could make you have high blood pressure. As a result, you will have heart problems. Finally, midnight snacks can make you feel hungrier than usual when you wake up the next morning.

It’s high time that the young thought about their eating habits more. After all, having good health is what everyone wants most.

1. _______ enjoy snacks most in everyday life according to the passage.

A．The young and old	B．Children and young women
C．Boys and fathers	D．Students and mothers

2. Where can we put the sentence “They may surprise you a lot, but you should really make a right decision now.”?

A．a

B．b

C．c

D．d

3. Which sentence can the underlined word “weird” be put in?

A．Jenny felt very ______ because nobody was at home but the TV was on.

B．If you want to live a ______ life, you must work really hard.

C．He is such a ______ person that everyone likes him in his village.

D．It’s ______ that you should really care about how to improve your reading skills.

4. What is the best title for this passage?

A．The Importance of Eating Habits	B．The Reasons for Heart Problems
C．Give up Midnight Snacks	D．Try Healthy Midnight Snacks

9 . 根据下面短文内容及部分首字母提示，在短文的空格处填上一个最恰当的词，使短文完整、通顺。请将完整的单词填写在答题卡上对应的位置。

March 22 is World Water Day. Believed to be the source (源头) of all l    1    , water plays a great role in the beginning of Chinese civilization (文明).

Chinese civilization is one of the world’s ancient r    2     civilizations. It b    3     thousands of years ago along the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, linking the culture to water from its beginning.

H    4    , the way people and water get along has two sides. Water is highly i    5     for life and growing things, but if you can’t control it, it can cause big problems. Knowing the s    6     power (力量) of water, Chinese people have always tried to use it in the best way possible. Yu, the first ruler of Xia Dynasty, controlled floods by c    7     and digging (挖) the waterways so that the water could easily go into the sea. The Dujiangyan irrigation (灌溉) system in Sichuan was also a good e    8    . It makes full use of the natural features of the area without harming the environment.

“As the most present element (元素) in daily life, water is the root (根) in Chinese culture that builds the Chinese civilization,” reported Medium website.

10 . Becky was in the bathroom. She was brushing her ________ and the tap (水龙头) was on. “Turn that tap off.” a voice came out. Becky was scared. She looked around, but saw no one. “Turn off that tap. You are ________ water!”

“Who...who are you?” Becky’s voice was ________.

“I’m a drop of water. Do you know ________ I’m from?”

“From the tap, I think,” said Becky.

“Yes. But a few days ago, I was in a cloud. Then I dropped into a river. The river carried me to a lake. Then I travelled to your city and it was time ________ cleaned up.”

“Get cleaned up?” Becky asked.

“Yes. I was ________ during my journey, so they must clean me up. Then I travelled ________ the pipes (水管) under the ground. I waited there ________ you called me, and here I am. After you’ve finished with me, I’ll go to a sewage plant (污水处理厂). Then they’ll push me into the river and I’ll go ________ to the sea again.”

“Again?”

“Yes, so ________ not to pollute me or waste me!”

1.

A．teeth

B．tooth

C．feet

D．foot

2.

A．waste

B．wasting

C．wastes

D．wasted

3.

A．sweet

B．normal

C．happy

D．weak

4.

A．which

B．what

C．where

D．why

5.

A．get

B．to get

C．getting

D．got

6.

A．dry

B．wet

C．dirty

D．clean

7.

A．in

B．on

C．under

D．near

8.

A．after

B．until

C．though

D．or

9.

A．through

B．over

C．across

D．back

10.

A．remember

B．ask

C．forget

D．invite