He was a journalist (记者) and a political critic (评论家). But to most people, he is the most influential martial arts novelist in the Chinese-speaking world.
During his lifetime, Louis Cha Leung-yung, better known by his pen name Jin Yong, wrote 15 martial arts novels. Over 300 million copies of his books have been sold around the world. He also created some of the most famous characters in the history of Chinese literature, including Guo Jing, Wei Xiaobao and Linghu Chong.
Jin Yong was not the first person to write about the martial arts world known as jianghu, but it is believed that he has written some of its best stories. His works were not only a joy for people to read, but also helped to shape Chinese people’s spirit and values in recent years.
Jin Yong once said, “Wuxia (martial arts novels) is not so much about wu (kung fu), but mainly about xia, something of bravery, justice (正义) and self-sacrifice (自我牺牲).” These values have been passed on to generations of Chinese through his books as well as the countless movies and TV series that have been adapted from his novels.
Jin Yong’s books are not only about heroes who fight for justice. They also show people the beauty of almost every aspect of Chinese culture.
“It is difficult to talk about Jin Yong’s cultural influence. He turns novels into an encyclopedia of Chinese history, medicine, geography, mathematics...” Boston University professor Petrus Liu said.
Jin Yong once said that he hoped people would still read his books even 100 or 200 years after his death. It is probably safe to say that as long as the noble (高尚的) qualities mentioned in his stories never die out, neither will his great works themselves.
1. From this passage, we can know Jing Yong is better known as a ________.| A．writer | B．critic | C．teacher | D．news worker |
①enjoy interesting stories of jianghu ②know and do Chinese kung fu
③learn Chinese culture and history ④form good values and qualities
| A．①②③ | B．①②④ | C．①③④ | D．②③④ |
| A．People will still value Jin Yong’s books with good qualities. |
| B．Jin Yong has such noble qualities that we will never forget him. |
| C．Jin Yong’s values of Wuxia make great sense to Chinese culture. |
| D．Jin Yong’s books will have less cultural influence after his death. |
| A．To shape the value of Wuxia. | B．To introduce the kingdom of kung fu. |
| C．To show justice and bravery. | D．To remember a writer of great works. |
How do people think differently? This has always been unusual. To search an answer, a scientist named J. P. Guilford started a famous study of creativity in the 1970s, known as the nine-dot puzzle (九点谜题). He asked the participants (参与者) to connect all nine dots using only four straight lines, without lifting their pencils from the page. All the participants looked for solutions within the square they imagined. Only 20 percent managed to break out of the square and continue their lines in the white space around the dots, while the rest of them were blinded by the boundaries (边界) of the square.
The results of Guilford’s study led him to a conclusion: creativity needs you to go outside the box. The idea was widely spread soon. Overnight, it seemed that creativity experts everywhere were teaching managers how to think outside the box. The idea was so popular that no one thought of checking the facts. No one, that is, before two different research teams— Clarke Burmham with Kenneth Davis, and Joseph Alba with Robert Weisberg—did another experiment.
To make sure that Guilford’s study is correct, both teams divided participants into two groups. The first group was given the same instructions as the participants in Guilford’s experiment. The second group was told to draw the lines outside the imagined box. Guess what? Only a little more than 20 percent solved the puzzle, which is no big difference from the result of Guilford’s experiment.
Let’s look a little more closely at the surprising result. Solving this problem requires people to think outside the box. However, direct and clear instructions to “think outside the box” do not help participants improve their performance. The widely spread idea that out-of-the-box thinking makes people more creative can, in some way, be dangerous. After all, with one simple but brilliant experiment, researchers had proved that the connection between thinking outside the box and creativity was a misunderstanding.
1. The nine-dot puzzle study is mainly focused on ________.| A．how people do things in real life | B．what people see in the experiment |
| C．how people think in different ways | D．what knowledge people have learned |
| A．To discover the main idea of Guiford’s study. | B．To show different views against Guiford’s study. |
| C．To collect supporting details for Guiford’s study. | D．To double-check the correctness of Guiford’s study. |
| A．boundaries sometimes make people think less creatively |
| B．clear instructions influence how people solve problems |
| C．few people performed better with the clear instructions |
| D．the methods of nine-dot puzzle study need to be improved |
| A．Puzzle Solving: A Key To Creativity | B．Nine-Dot Puzzle: A Magic Test |
| C．Thinking Outside the Box: A Misleading Idea | D．Creative Thinking: An Unusual Topic |
3 . Mobile apps are great and they can do so much to improve our lives. Here, we picked out three of our favourites that we hope you will enjoy too.
| Around Me The app can tell where you are like Baidu but it shows you any nearby points of interest within a certain area. Are you feeling hungry? Click on the “restaurants” and it will show you all your nearby choices. You can even book a hotel or find the movie time of a nearby theatre. |
| Moji Maker Now emojis (表情符号) have become an important part of online conversations. Moji Maker is here to help people design their own. The app can let you build your own emojis to express your emotions to friends. You can look through thousands of designs and put together your own emojis. The app also allows users to trade their special designs with one another. |
| Timeblocks Is your calendar always so messy that you can’t even see it clearly? Perhaps you should try Timeblocks, which could help you manage your time in a simpler and more organized way. Timeblocks is a mobile planner that adds a calendar, to-dos and notes together. It is able to show all of your things on one screen as if you were using a desk calendar. The app not only allows users to add different things, but also write them with one touch. |
1. According to the passage, the apps are __________.
| A．easy | B．free | C．common | D．helpful |
| A．Baidu. | B．Around Me. | C．Moji Maker. | D．Timeblocks. |
| A．We can’t send our emojis to friends at Moji Maker. |
| B．We can buy or sell some new emojis at Moji Maker. |
| C．We don’t know what film is on nearby at Around Me. |
| D．We can see only one thing on one screen at Timeblocks. |
A. Tian Yuan Hotel Green local food, swimming pool, close to the bus station. B. Ge Lin Hotel Close to the airport, telephone, bath, and TV. C. Sun Hotel European restaurant, coffee shop, facing the south and the blue sea. D. Chang Jiang Hotel Chinese and Japanese restaurant, night club, shops on both sides of the street in the city center. E. Jin Sha Hotel Swimming pool, shops and supermarkets, large garden with flowers. F. Great Wall Hotel Table tennis room, bar, swimming pool and Chinese restaurant. G. Pacific Hotel British restaurant, bar, close to the city center. |
There is a saying that, “Earthquakes don’t kill people, but buildings do.” It seems sadly true. Tens of thousands of people died under bricks（砖）of the damaged（毁坏的）buildings in Turkiye and Syria during the recent earthquakes. Is there a way to build earthquake-proof buildings? Engineers have some life-saving ideas.
To prevent earthquake waves from going through the building, one way is to “lift” the building’s foundation（地基）above the ground. The building can be built on top of pads（热状物）, which are usually made up of steel and rubber （橡胶）. During earthquakes, only the pads move and the building stays steady.
Earthquake proof materials must be easy to ben（弯曲）without breaking. Some of these materials include steel, wood（合金）and bamboo. In Japan, most traditional houses are built with wood instead of concrete（混凝土）, wooden buildings bend to avoid building up stress.
Triangles（三角形）are very strong shapes. When a force comes to one of the corners of a triangle, it will be reduced by going down each side. When the two sides of the triangle are squeezed（挤压）), they lean（倾斜）on each other. During earthquakes, triangles can hold the building together when it shakes. Many earthquake-proof buildings use this shape in the design, both inside and outside the structure.
US company Arx Pax is developing magnetic field（磁场）technology that can raise houses above ground when earthquakes happen. When the sensors in the home feel earthquakes, they will tell “hover engines（悬停引繁）”. These will create an opposing（相反的）magnetic field to lift the house off the ground. Maglev trains use similar technology, so the company believes it can be used in buildings as well.
Japanese company Japan Dome House has made dome shaped（四顶状的）houses with Styrofoam（泡沫塑料）. Styrofoam is a very light material. The whole house weighs only 80 kilograms. So when earthquakes happen, the house will not hurt people.
A． | B． | C． | D． | E． | F． |
6 . If you are driving out of Montpellier, a city in France, please look out for the signboard(路标) with the words “Millau Viaduct(米洛高架桥)”. Turn towards it and get ready to take the drive of a lifetime.
The Millau Viaduct is the world’s tallest bridge. It is 343 meters high and about 2.5 kilometers long.The bridge is between Paris and Montpellier, and it was built in 2004 at the cost of $530 million. And why was it built?
For years, the French government thought over the problem of traffic congestion for people travelling from Paris to the south of France. Many ideas were suggested, but one idea was finally accepted. Instead of choosing to build a highway that went through the hilly south of France, they decided to build a bridge over the Tarn River. This bridge would not just be like any other bridge. It would start at the top of one hill and connect to another hill on the other side of the river. This bridge would shorten the highway by 60 kilometers. It would save people’s time and money. _______________.
Engineers had to find out a way to build the bridge quickly, over 300 meters up in the air and about 2.52 kilometers long across the river. It was very hard, but finally engineers succeeded in finding a quickest way to build it. It is very convenient for people to travel and it has been consistently(一致地) ranked as one of the great engineering achievements of all time.
1. The Millau Viaduct is in ________.| A．America | B．France | C．Canada | D．England |
| A．Why the Millau Viaduct was built. | B．When people built the Millau Viaduct. |
| C．The details of the Millau Viaduct. | D．The designer of the Millau Viaduct. |
| A．The state of being safe. | B．The risk of accidents. |
| C．The situation of traffic. | D．The traffic rules. |
| A．What’s more, it is an easy job to build it. |
| B．But it is impossible to complete this project. |
| C．In less than one year, this bridge was completed. |
| D．However, it presented a very big challenge to engineers. |
| A．A storybook. | B．A science fiction book. |
| C．A dictionary. | D．A geography magazine. |
7 . All through grade school, I got extra help with schoolwork. If I got a D, I was very happy. If I got a C-minus（C-）, I was happy with tears. A’s and B’s were a mountain top I could never reach.
Once my teacher, Miss Mills, gave me a list of ten spelling words. My mother and I went over the list until I knew those words. I felt great. I thought, “Wow! This time, I’m going to pass”. The next day, I went into the classroom and began to write down the words. The first word was “carpe”r. I wrote that one down: c-a-r-p-e-t. I was feeling pretty confident. Then came “neighbor”-I wrote down the letter n. Then “rhythm”-I knew there was an r. “Suburban”-I wrote s-u-b. My confidence failed me. I had gone from 100 percent to maybe a D-minus. Where did the words go?
Some people talk about information sliding off their brain（脑袋）. That was my life.
Now I know I have dyslexia（读写障碍症）. A person with dyslexia might see the as teh, and bird as brid. My brain learns differently. A learning disability（疾病）can really change the way you feel about yourself. Now I know that even if I learn differently, I can still be filled with greatness.
Today when I visit schools as an actor, director, and writer of children’s books, I tell children that everyone has something special inside. It’s our job to find out what that is and get it out, and give it to the world as a gift.
1. What was the writer’s problem in school?| A．He had trouble spelling. | B．He often got C-minuses. |
| C．He could never pass a test. | D．He had a physical disability. |
| A．wrote down 20% words correctly | B．knew he had dyslexia then |
| C．felt sad about himself at last | D．studied hard and got an A |
| A．coming into | B．going through | C．moving around | D．disappearing from |
| A．felt very excited | B．had more difficulties in study |
| C．was filled with sadness | D．changed the way he saw himself |
| A．A Change for Sure | B．People with Dyslexia |
| C．A Gift from the World | D．A Special Spelling Test |
8 . According to the non-profit organization (非营利组织) Food Allergy Research and Education, these foods cause (造成) 90 percent of all food allergies: cow milk, eggs, peanuts, fish, shellfish, tree, nuts, wheat, soy. Itching (痒) vomiting (呕吐) and stomachaches (腹痛)...food allergies (过敏) can be dangerous. People can even die (死亡) from them. What’s worse, they are becoming more common (常见的) these days. Kari Nadeau, an allergy expert (专家) at Stanford University in the US, did a study of food allergies worldwide. She found that while 3 percent of people had them in 1960, the number rose to 7 percent in 2018. Nadeau said that one reason for this might be that we are exposed (暴露) to fewer microbiota (微生物群). Microbiota can “train”our bodies and stop us from getting allergies.
Our bodies are exposed to fewer microbiota these days. We live in cleaner homes. We stay indoors (室内) for longer hours. We are given more antibiotics (抗生素) as children-antibiotics kill microbiota. Scientists say it’s a good idea for babies to eat many different kinds of foods so that they can build up tolerance (耐受) in their early years. Having a pet cat or dog can also stop allergies from being developed.
1. How many kinds of food cause 90% of all food allergies?| A．8 | B．9 | C．10 | D．11 |
①Vomiting ②Headache ③Death ④Itching
| A．①②③ | B．②③④ | C．①②④ | D．①③④ |
| A．More people have allergies these days. | B．There are more kinds of food allergies these days. |
| C．Fewer people have food allergies these days. | D．The causes of allergies are changing. |
| A．Living in clean homes. | B．Going outside more. |
| C．Taking more antibiotics. | D．Eating less food. |
| A．How to figure out if we have allergies. | B．The best time to stop allergies. |
| C．Who can protect us from allergies. | D．How to prevent allergies. |
Say the word shark to someone on the beach and you are sure to get a reaction(反应). Sharks have been the most dangerous predator(捕猎者) of ocean. Sharks are fish.
One difference between most other fish and a shark is that most fish have bones(骨头) and a shark has cartilage(软骨).
Sharks are carnivores, meaning that they eat meat.
| A．But they do not normally attack(攻击) people. |
| B．Sharks can cause fear like no other fish in the sea. |
| C．They do not use their teeth to chew their food. |
| D．Cartilage is tough, but it is not as strong as bone. |
| E．Some act alone, while some hang out in groups. |
| F．They have been around since the time of dinosaurs. |
| G．There are many different types of sharks. |
10 . In 1901, Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian scientist, discovered that there are four types of blood（血）. These four blood types are named A, B, AB and O. People have one of these four types. Blood type O is the most common around the world. Blood type A is the second most common, and type AB is the least common. If people with type A blood are given type B blood, or people with type B blood are given type A blood, they will probably die.
In 1927, a Japanese doctor, Furukawa Takeji, did a research and found that people with different blood types also have different personalities（性格）. He said that people with type A blood are usually calm and serious; people with type B blood are curious（好奇的）, cheerful, and outgoing; people with type O blood are generous（慷慨的） and honest; while those with type AB blood are often caring, creative and careful.
More recently, Dr. Peter D’ Adamo in the United States wrote a book that connects blood types with what people eat. For example, his book suggests people with type O blood should eat more meat and less bread and people with type A blood should eat more vegetables. His book, Eat Right for Your Type, has been popular with people who want to lose weight. Peter believes that if a person wants to lose weight easily, he had better eat food that matches his blood type. He thinks it will make the person healthier in other ways, too.
1. From Karl Landsteiner’s research, we know that ________.| A．there are four types of personalities |
| B．most people have type A blood |
| C．you can give Blood A to people with Blood O |
| D．giving people the wrong blood may kill them |
| A．Type A blood | B．Type B blood | C．Type O blood | D．Type AB blood |
| A．more fruit | B．more vegetables | C．less bread | D．less meat |
| A．become more cheerful and outgoing | B．lose weight more easily |
| C．be able to change their blood type | D．be happier and healthier |
| A．people and their personalities | B．people and their food |
| C．people and their blood types | D．people and their health |
