1 . Better known by his stage name KUN, Cai Xukun is a phenomenon, opening up the music industry in China.
Last year, after participating in the reality TV show Idol Producer, receiving the most votes from fans, the singer-songwriter rose to fame overnight. At just 21 years old, Cai has topped Chinese music charts with multiple singles.
On July 26, KUN released his newest single Young. Within just 20 seconds, it reached a million sales.
KUN wrote the song to share his understanding of youth. He mixed R&B and electronic beats (节拍) to make it more cheerful. A reviewer wrote on QQ Music, “When you listen to the song, you just seem to go back to youth again.”
The song was an early birthday present to himself which he celebrated on Aug 2. KUN also hopes that he always has the courage to pursue (追求) his love of music, no matter what people think. “My works are like my children and I have put my best effort into them.” he told the Global Times.
Indeed, KUN has written and produced most of his songs on his own. “I want every piece of my work to have my own spirit in it,” he told music website Soundigest, “I feel more enjoyment when I'm performing my own work.”
Although KUN loves performing onstage, when the lights go down, he prefers to fall back into his own world and darkness at night. “I always get inspired when it's quiet, late at night”, he told I-D magazine, “It’s a great moment for me to create new things. Sometimes, I can write songs with a melody (旋律) I heard in a dream.”
To develop his introspection (反思) and find new inspiration, KUN attends different kinds of musical performances — from festivals to opera houses. “I just like to do everything, all for my music, all for my art,” he told I-D.
With such talent and dedication to music, it seems that KUN will continue to make his mark in the competitive Chinese music industry.
1. What do we know about KUN’s newest single?| A．It earns him a birthday present. |
| B．It makes people feel happy and energetic. |
| C．It shows how he pursues his dream. |
| D．It combines jazz and electronic music. |
| A．He goes to music shows. |
| B．He talks to famous singers. |
| C．He attends music classes. |
| D．He finds melodies in his dreams. |
| A．Courageous and patient. |
| B．Talented and humorous. |
| C．Hardworking and creative. |
| D．Optimistic and outgoing. |
2 . A company called Compass Pools has some good news for height and swimming enthusiasts.Recently, the company announced their novel design-a first of its kind 360-degree pool which is set to be placed on a skyscraper in London.The Infinity London will be the first and only building in the world to include this cutting-edge pool design. The pool will be laid on top of a 55-story skyscraper and will allow people to float over 200 meters above the London skyline with unobstructed（无障碍）views of the city.
The entrance to the pool is hidden.People began to raise questions about how anyone would get inside the pool. Compass Pools explains: "Swimmers will access the pool through a rotating spiral（螺旋）staircase based on the door of a submarine, rising from the pool floor when someone wants to get in or out."
But that is not the only unique technology of the pool.The designers found a way to make sure the wind doesn't blow the water down to the streets.They included a built-in anemometer（风力计）to monitor the wind speed. It is linked to a computer-controlled building management system which will also take care of the temperature of the water.
Alex Kemsley promises that this unique pool will surpass expectations."Swimming in the SkyPool at The Shard，it's quite a strange feeling to have helicopters flying past at your level but this pool takes it a step further," he says."Putting your goggles（防水镜）on and with a 360-degree view of London from 220m up, it really will be something else-but it's definitely not one for the acrophobic（恐高）!"
While the exact date of the construction is not clear yet, if things go well, it may begin in 2020.The location has yet to be confirmed too.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph? ______| A．The Infinity London is the only building to swim in. |
| B．Swimmers can enjoy the views of London in the poo1. |
| C．The pool is located on the first floor of a skyscraper. |
| D．Compass Pools has built many 360-degree pools in the world. |
| A．The pool floor. | B．A built-in anemometer. |
| C．The door of a submarine. | D．The entrance to the poo1. |
| A．People who enjoy flying. | B．People who lose weight. |
| C．People who fear heights. | D．People who have poor sight. |
| A．It is not certain when people can swim in it. |
| B．Its exact location of the construction is clear. |
| C．Swimmers can expect its designs easily. |
| D．It's impossible to monitor the temperature of the water. |
3 . For some people, higher education is not just a goal in life, but also an expectation. In the United States, if your parents attended a college or university, there is a good chance that you will, too. Even if your parents did not go to college, you still have a good chance of completing higher education if your family is wealthy.
But your chances are reduced if you come from a needy family, a community with limited educational resources or you simply have no one to follow as an example.
Helping those in need is one of the main ideas behind a strategy of behavioral science called nudge theory or nudging. Nudging is a way of changing people's behavior through indirect suggestion and by supporting positive actions.
A growing number of U.S. colleges and universities look to nudging as way to support poor, minority and first-generation students. They also are using it to increase overall graduation rates. Two common forms of nudging are emails to students and text messages to their mobile phones. Schools and other educational organizations keep in contact with students this way, offering advice and help when needed.
However, Alejandra Acosta---a higher education policy expert at New America---notes that there are several qualities a nudge campaign must possess in order to be successful.
Acosta says messages must be timely, meaning they reach college students well before the date by which a student is required to take action. Additionally nudges should be written clearly and provide as much information as possible. If students start to struggle in class, school officials should not just message them, saying they should seek academic support. The message should give information about what kinds of support the college or university offers and exactly how the student can make use of them. That is why nudges should possess interactive qualities, Acosta says. For example, students should be able to ask questions of school officials or be directed to a website for more information. In addition, colleges and universities must ensure their support services are in place and working as best they can.
When nudges work, they can do a lot of good. In 2018, a nonprofit group launched a nudging campaign at four U.S. community colleges. They worked with nearly 10,000 first-year students at three such colleges in Ohio and one in Virginia. A recent study found that older and minority students who agreed to receive these nudges were 16 to 20 percent more likely to continue into their second year than those who did not.
1. Who is most likely to receive and complete higher education according to the passage?| A．Tony, whose father is the only bread-winner in the family. |
| B．Jimmy, whose mother is a worker in a small factory. |
| C．Betty, whose grandmother is a housemaid of a famous university professor. |
| D．Cathy, whose parents failed to attend college but succeeded in starting a big company. |
| A．It is anchored in psychological science. |
| B．It is a way to improve people’s mind. |
| C．It offers concrete and direct advice. |
| D．It helps students via emails and text messages. |
| A．Timely, practical and interactive. |
| B．Timely, interactive and sustainable. |
| C．Immediate, authentic and consistent. |
| D．Immediate, interactive and permanent |
| A．The problem with higher education. |
| B．A way for colleges to support students. |
| C．The popularity of nudging campaign. |
| D．A national campaign dealing with poverty. |
4 . Europe’s most beautiful places
Europe is an amazingly varied place. The old continent's historic cities and its Mediterranean beaches draw many of its visitors, but the best destinations are sometimes its more remote corners, known mainly to locals and a few brave travelers.
Lake Inari, Finland
High above the Arctic Circle and close to Finland's border with Russia, Lake Inari is a year round paradise. Dark, snowy winters make it ideal for catching a glimpse of the aurora borealis. Its tree-lined banks glow a burnt orange during autumn and in summer, you can swim in its chilly shallows. The center of local Sami culture, it's as remote and traditional as Finland gets.
Unst, Shetland Isles, Scotland
The most northerly occupied island of the British Iles, Unst is a wild, rugged place where seas crash into the dramatic Muckle Flugga sea stacks.
The later are a harbor for gannets (塘鹅) during breeding season, with birdwatchers also treated to the sight of searching skuas (贼鸥).
Yorkshire Dales, England
Its narrow lanes lined with drystone walls cry out to cyclists seeking marvelous adventures while its moody hill continually attract walkers, no matter the weather Geological wonders such as the limestone spectacles of Malham Cove and Gordale Scar make it perhaps the most beautiful part of the British Isles
Loire Valley, France
Chateau de Chambord and Chateau de Chenonceau are the most famous, filled with classic viewing towers, formal gardens and boating lakes.
Throw in a tour of its graperies, where some of the world's finest wines are produced, and its glamour is impossible to ignore.
1. According to the passage, the best destinations in Europe are _____.| A．historic cities and Mediterranean beaches |
| B．known to people around the world |
| C．familiar to only a handful of people |
| D．similar to each other with no obvious differences |
| A．Unst, Shetland Isles, Scotland | B．Yorkshire Dales, England |
| C．Loire Valley. France | D．Lake Inari, Finland |
5 . When the dirty orange cat turned up in the prison yard, I was one of the first to go out there and pet it. I hadn’t
Over the next few days, I watched other prisoners
Bowls of milk and water appeared, along with bread,
People said, “That cat came to the right place. He’s getting
There’s a lot of talk about what’s
They’ve taken him away now—
| A．witnessed | B．touched | C．fed | D．watched |
| A．destroying | B．supporting | C．enriching | D．leading |
| A．in order | B．in place | C．in charge | D．in need |
| A．responding | B．replying | C．pointing | D．waving |
| A．chances | B．time | C．turns | D．courage |
| A．but | B．so | C．and | D．yet |
| A．make | B．enjoy | C．mind | D．dislike |
| A．carelessly | B．casually | C．wisely | D．normally |
| A．protect | B．keep | C．guard | D．drive |
| A．position | B．place | C．spirit | D．shape |
| A．scissors | B．knives | C．buttons | D．forks |
| A．fed | B．praised | C．treated | D．cured |
| A．family | B．cat | C．animal | D．prison |
| A．wrong | B．exciting | C．disappointing | D．bad |
| A．doctors | B．nurses | C．psychologists | D．pets |
| A．receive | B．practice | C．enjoy | D．discuss |
| A．accept | B．give | C．welcome | D．refuse |
| A．hopefully | B．unfortunately | C．finally | D．wonderfully |
| A．about | B．toward | C．upon | D．for |
| A．educated | B．touched | C．cared | D．needed |
6 . Seventy-three-year-old Gary selected his food in Value Mart more carefully than NASA chose its candidates for the space shuttle. Skim milk was $2.99, on sale from $3.49; white bread, 89 cents with a discount; table salt, 99 cents, 20 cents off the regular price. Leaving the cashier (收银员), he estimated that he had saved 80 cents today. He was pleased that he had got good value for his money again.
At the exit, the cold wind reminded him of his gloves. “Now where are they?” Not in the coat pockets. Not in the grocery bag either. The worried man made a thorough search of all his pockets, again including the grocery bag. Now he was sure they must have been dropped somewhere inside the store.
Old Gary had bought the black gloves at a 25% discount ten years ago. His quick decision to buy the expensive gloves turned out to be a good one, which even promoted his social status on the bus, as poorer passengers stared at him enviously. Losing this favorite possession was almost like losing a child to him.
Gary re-entered the store with long steps. He followed the same route he had walked before. There were all open passages and it did not take long to be convinced that the gloves were not in sight.
“Society has changed, people have changed”, he murmured to himself. “Years ago, if somebody picked up something lost, they would give it back. Not anymore!”
On his way out, he went over to the cashier to ask if she had received any lost gloves. She asked him what color they were, and when he said “black”, there came a disappointing answer. He took his time now, finally walking out of the store.
Back home, Gary was at a loss. In deep winter, he could not do without a pair of gloves. He was very upset that people no longer returned things they found on the road.
After a month, Gary decided to buy another leather pair. Before boarding the subway, he stepped into Value Mart again to see if by any chance his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office. “What color are they?” the woman in the office asked again. “Black,” he gave the same answer. She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of men’s leather gloves. “Are they?”
“Yes! Those are mine!” Gary exclaimed, his eyes glowing with joy.
1. According to the passage, Gary thought his buying the gloves to be ______.| A．unnecessary | B．hot-headed | C．wise | D．adventurous |
| A．He is particular about food. |
| B．He is not well off. |
| C．He holds a pessimistic attitude towards life. |
| D．He doesn’t get along well with his neighborhood. |
| A．He was not careful enough. |
| B．The cashier forgot to return his gloves. |
| C．A customer took his gloves by mistake. |
| D．Someone picked up his gloves and kept them on purpose. |
7 . Role-Playing in Child Development
Playing is a key component in the learning process for virtually all of the children. There are various ways in which children play, but one of the most important is role-playing. This involves a child engaging in an activity during which he or she pretends to be another person.
Experts on child development believe that role-playing can increase the connections in children’s brains that help them learn. Language skills are some of the most important aspects of learning. When children role-play, they must work out steps that need to be taken to complete a task, and create plans to act out a story. These activities enable children to develop their oral language skills. They become able to organize others and to give directions.
Children’s social skills can also be developed. When engaged in group activities, children have different roles. Some are leaders while others are followers. At times, the children will disagree, so they must learn to negotiate and compromise with one another, and they must learn to apologize when they have strong arguments or disagreements as well. Children further learn about cooperation and sharing and, hopefully, begin to understand things from another person’s point of view.
Besides helping children learn some kinds of skills, role-playing fosters children’s imaginations and can therefore assume a number of forms. For example, boys may pretend to shave like their fathers or perform various tasks around their homes. Girls, meanwhile, often pretend to be mothers to do some daily tasks, particularly if it involves caring for young babies. Sometimes children may imagine belonging to a group of superheroes or imitate(模仿)real-life situations. They might dress up and assume different roles. Another example is the performing of stories they read in books, which is also very common when they role-play.
Another beneficial aspect of role-playing is that it can help children deal with certain actions that may cause them emotional(情感的) pain, such as the fear they face when going to school for the first time or making a visit to the doctor. If children role-play situations like these beforehand, the first that they experience when doing these actions in reality frequently lessons. For this reason, experts encourage parents to allow their children to role-play and even to take part in these activities to help their children master their fears.
Role-playing can benefit children in many ways. There is no activity for which young children are better prepared than fantasy play. Nothing is more dependable and risk-free, and the dangers are only pretend.
1. From the author’s description in Paragraph 4, we learn that children often ______. .| A．act out the activities that their parents do |
| B．perform daily tasks instead of their parents |
| C．involve daily-life activities in groups |
| D．change real-life situation when role-playing |
| A．develop a better awareness of grammar |
| B．understand how to be both leaders and followers |
| C．improve creativity by using their imaginations |
| D．receive benefits from their emotional pain |
| A．ignore | B．confirm | C．overcome | D．predict |
8 . I arrived in my Chinese classroom, ready to share my vast knowledge and experience with the 75 students who would be my English Literature class. Having taught in the USA for 17 years, I had no worry at all about my ability to plant in my students enthusiasm for the literature of my mother tongue.
I was really shocked when the monitor shouted “Stand up” and the entire class rose as I entered the room, and I was somewhat confused and anxious about how to get them to sit down again, but once that embarrassment was over, I quickly calmed down and launched into what I thought was a fact-packed lecture, sure to gain their respect-perhaps even their admiration. I went back to my room radiating that rosy glow (光泽) that comes from a sense of significant accomplishment.
My students kept journals, however, and as I read them, the rosy glow was gradually replaced by an overwhelming sense of frustration. The first journal said, “Our literature teacher didn’t teach us anything today. Perhaps her next lecture will be better.” Heartbroken, I read journal after journal, each expressing a similar theme. Didn’t teach them anything? I sketched the entire philosophical framework of thought AND laid the historical background for all the works we’ll study in class.” I complained, “How can they say I didn't teach them anything?”
Determined to clear myself, I dug out all my reference books, adding background material to my next lecture, researching into the sociological setting and even the psychological state of the author. After the second class, I eagerly opened the journals, expecting enthusiastic reviews at last. Again, I was crushed by their continuing comments that I was going too slowly without giving meaningful details.
More determined than ever. I dived into sources of criticism, deciding to devote more time to the texts by providing summaries of all the interpretations I could find of each work. This material would give my students ample information for drawing their own conclusions about the work’s meaning, “Our teacher seems confused about the real meaning of the works,” the journals said. “One minute she gives one interpretation; the next minute she gives another. Then she asks for our opinions. We’re the students. She’s the teacher. She should tell us what the works mean.”
It was a long semester, and it gradually became clear to me that my ideas about education were purely Western, and that Chinese ideas differed significantly. I thought a teacher’s job was to raise interesting questions and provide enough background so that students could draw their own conclusions. My students thought a teacher’s job was to provide accurate information as directly and concisely as possible. Americans wanted to interpret and experience. The Chinese wanted to master and memorize.
1. How did the writer feel before he began his teaching in China?| A．Worried. | B．Confident. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Confused. |
| A．The students intended to scare their new foreign teacher. |
| B．The students refused to stand up before their new foreign teacher. |
| C．The writer was a little shy and felt embarrassed when he entered the classroom. |
| D．The writer didn’t know much about the Chinese classroom and that was totally unexpected. |
| A．He wanted to better understand the students’question. |
| B．He wanted to prove his ability in teaching the course. |
| C．He was a little bit angry with the students. |
| D．He was very disappointed with himself. |
| A．Chinese and Western ideas about education are slightly different. |
| B．A teacher’s job is to make students think and have their own opinions. |
| C．Teaching is to provide accurate information directly and clearly. |
| D．Both Americans and the Chinese tend to draw conclusions by themselves. |
9 . Learning a second language is tricky at any age (and it only gets tougher the longer you wait to open that dusty French book). Now, in a new study, scientists have pinpointed the exact age at which your chances of reading fluency in a second language seems to plummet: 10.
The study, published in the journal Cognition, found that it’s “nearly impossible” for language learners to reach native - level fluency if they start learning a second tongue after 10. But that doesn’t seem to be because language skills go downhill. “It turns out you’re still learning fast. It’s just that you run out of time, because your ability to learn starts dropping at around 17 or 18 years old,” says study co-author Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College.
Kids may be better than adults at learning new languages for many reasons. Children’s brains are more plastic than those of adults, meaning they’re better able to adapt and respond to new information. “All learning involves the brain changing,” Hartshorne says, “and children’s brains seem to be a lot more skilled at changing.”
Kids may also be more willing to try new things (and to potentially look foolish in the process) than adults are. Their comparatively new grasp on their native tongue may also be advantageous. Unlike adults, who tend to default（默认）to the rules and patterns of their first language, kids may be able to approach a new one with a blank slate（石板）.
These findings may seems discouraging, but it was heartening for scientists to learn that the critical period for fluent language acquisition might be longer than they previously thought. Some scientists believed that the brief window closes shortly after birth, while others stretched it only to early adolescence. Compared to those estimates, 17 or 18 -- when language learning ability starts to drop off -- seems relatively old. “People fared better when they learned by immersion（沉浸）, rather than simply in a classroom. And moving to a place where our desired language is spoken is the best way to learn as an adult. If that’s not an option, you can mimic an immersive environment by finding ways to have conversations with native speakers in their own communities,” Hartshorne says. By doing so, it’s possible to become conversationally proficient -- even without the advantage of a child’s brain.
1. The word “plummet” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “____”.| A．plunge | B．rise | C．end | D．vary |
| A．Age 10 -18 is the best time to learn a second language. |
| B．Children are too young to grasp a second language. |
| C．Communicating with native speakers enables you to master all the language skills. |
| D．Adults go beyond the critical period for learning a second language. |
| A．Adults are less influenced by their mother tongues |
| B．Adults are only too willing to experience something awkward in the process. |
| C．Adults spend more time responding to new information. |
| D．Adults prefer an immersive environment to a classroom in learning a second language. |
| A．the approaches to learning a second language |
| B．the best age to learn a second language. |
| C．why kids learn a second language more easily than adults |
| D．whether adults can learn a second language like their younger selves |
10 . “Could you see the whites of their eyes?” said the man, who was seated on a soap box.
“Nothing of the kind,” replied old Henry warmly. “Just a lot of figures running towards us, and I let go at where there appeared to be most. Bang!”
“Mr. Fleming, ” said the grocer — his respectful voice expressed somehow the old man’s exact social weight — “Mr. Fleming, you never were frightened much in those battles, were you?”
The veteran (老兵) looked down and smiled. Observing his manner, the entire group laughed a little. “Well, I guess I was,” he answered finally, “Pretty well scared, sometimes. Why, in my first battle, I thought the sky was falling down. I thought the world was coming to an end. You bet I was scared.”
Everyone laughed. Perhaps it seemed strange and rather wonderful to them that a man should admit the thing, and in the tone of their laughter there was probably more admiration than if old Fleming had declared that he had always been a lion. Moreover, they knew that he had ranked as an orderly sergeant (中士), and so their opinion of heroism was fixed. None, to be sure, knew how an orderly sergeant ranked, but then it was understood to be somewhere just shy of a major-general’s stars. So, when old Henry admitted that he had been frightened, there was a laugh.
“The trouble was,” said the old man, “I thought they were all shooting at me. Yes, sir, I thought every man in the other army was aiming at me in particular, and only me. And it seemed so unreasonable, you know. I wanted to explain to them what an almighty good fellow I was, because I thought then they might quit all trying to hit me. But I couldn’t explain, and they kept on being unreasonable. Blim! Blam! Bang! So, I ran!”
Two little triangles of wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. Evidently he appreciated some comedy in this storytelling. Down near his feet, however, little Jim, his grandson, was obviously horror-stricken. His hands were clasped nervously, and his eyes were wide with astonishment at this terrible scandal (丑闻), his most magnificent grandfather telling such a thing.
“That was at Chancellorsville. Of course, afterwards I got kind of used to it. A man does. Lots of men, though, seem to feel all right from the start. I did, as soon as ‘I got on to it,’ as they say now; but at first I was pretty well scared. Now, there was young Jim Conklin, old Si Conklin’s son—that used to keep the leather factory—you none of you recall him―well, he went into it from the start just as if he was born to it. But with me it was different. I had to get used to it.”
When little Jim walked with his grandfather, he was in the habit of skipping along on the stone pavement, in front of the three stores and the hotel of the town, and betting that he could avoid the cracks. But upon this day he walked calmly, with his hand gripping two of his grandfather’s fingers. Sometimes he kicked abstractedly at dandelions that curved over the walk. Anyone could see that he was much troubled.
“Um,” said the boy, with a strange lack of interest. He continued his reflections. Then finally he asked: “Grandpa—now—was that true what you were telling those men?”
“What?” asked the grandfather. “What was I telling them?”
“Oh, about your running.”
“Why, yes, that was true enough, Jimmie. It was my first fight, and there was an awful lot of noise, you know.”
Jimmie seemed a bit confused that this idol (偶像), of its own will, should be so weak. His stout boyish idealism was injured and then lapsed into a moody silence.
1. What was the old man talking about at the very beginning of the story?| A．A brave hero. | B．A funny joke. |
| C．A terrible scandal. | D．A battlefield experience. |
| A．They didn’t expect a man like Fleming should admit his fright. |
| B．They thought that he was just making some kind of joke. |
| C．They were scared of his social weight and could do nothing else. |
| D．They teased him for his not being ashamed of his escape from the battlefield. |
| A．Because people laughed at his grandfather. |
| B．Because his grandfather failed to keep the secret. |
| C．Because his grandfather disappointed him. |
| D．Because people knew how an orderly sergeant ranked. |
| A．Shy but brave. | B．Smart and admirable. |
| C．Honest and courageous. | D．Frightened but heroic. |
| A．In a way of Romanticism. |
| B．By a means of Impressionism. |
| C．With a method of Symbolism. |
| D．In a stytle of Naturalism. |
| A．The scandal | B．The veteran | C．The war | D．The lion |
