1 . Similarities between Donald Trump and Harry Potter’s enemy, Lord Voldemort, did not go
The political messages of this wildly popular series have drawn much attention. J.K. Rowling once explained, “I wanted Harry to find the same problems in the wizarding world about the importance of group purity.” Lord Voldemort backs up the clearance of impure bloods. During Voldemort’s time
On top of that, there is a consensus surrounding at least three themes, which played an important role in Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. They are widely viewed as
Tolerance of Difference
As Gerson and others have noted, “
Opposition to Punitive (惩罚性的) Policies
The Harry Potter series also promotes non-violent
Anti-authoritarianism
The main characters in Harry Potter
Can Harry Potter win over Donald Trump? This question remains to be answered. All the messages appear to be influential in changing Harry Potter readers' views as well as their support for Trump. Perhaps most importantly, these findings raise the hope that Harry Potter can stop the Deathly Donald and make America great again in the eyes of the world, just as Harry did by
A.unmentioned | B.unnoticed | C.unpunished | D.unknown |
A.featuring | B.printing | C.starring | D.including |
A.delicate | B.poor | C.miserable | D.weak |
A.in danger | B.in power | C.in charge | D.in place |
A.consistent | B.constant | C.steady | D.stable |
A.dirty | B.humble | C.impure | D.noble |
A.should do | B.will do | C.do | D.did |
A.called for | B.called forth | C.called out | D.called off |
A.list | B.register | C.remember | D.label |
A.opposed | B.objected to | C.objecting | D.opposed to |
A.freedom | B.tolerance | C.equality | D.humanity |
A.different | B.distinctive | C.discriminatory | D.favorable |
A.incapable | B.capable | C.are incapable | D.are capable |
A.praised | B.supported | C.teased | D.scolded |
A.manners | B.medium | C.mode | D.means |
A.characteristic | B.personality | C.representation | D.typical |
A.the ends justify the means | B.all good things come to an end | C.a moment's beginning ends in a moment | D.all is well that ends well |
A.said it | B.put it | C.noted it | D.meant it |
A.join along | B.unite up | C.band together | D.bind together |
A.accusing | B.robbing | C.ridding | D.relieving |
You’re only three years old, and at this point in your life you can’t read, much less understand what I’ll tell you in this letter. But I’ve been thinking a lot about the life that you have ahead of you, about my life so far as I reflect on what I’ve learned, and about my role as a dad in trying to prepare you for the trials(磨难) that you’ll face in the coming years.
You won’t be able to understand this letter today, but somebody, when you’re ready, I hope you will find some wisdom and value in what I share with you.
You are young, and life has not yet to show a cold face to you, to throw disappointments and loneliness and pain into your path. You have not been worn down yet by long hours of thankless work, by the slings and arrows of everyday life.
For this, be thankful. You are at a wonderful time of life. You have many wonderful stages of life still to come, but they are not without their costs and perils.
I hope to help you along your path by sharing some of the best of what I’ve learned. As with any advice, take it with a grain of salt. What works for me might not work for you.
Life Can Be CruelThere will be people in your life who won't be very nice. They’ll tease you because you’re different, or for no good reason. They might try to bully you or hurt you.
There’s not much you can do about these people except to learn to deal with them, and learn to choose friends who are kind to you, who actually care about you, who make you feel good about yourself. When you find friends like this, hold on to them, treasure them, spend time with them, be kind to them, love them.
There will be times when you are met with disappointment instead of success. Life won’t always turn out the way you want. This is just another thing you’ll have to learn to deal with. But instead of letting these things get you down, push on. Accept disappointment and learn to persevere, to pursue your dreams despite pitfalls. Learn to turn negatives into positives, and you’ll do much better in life.
You will also face heartbreak and abandonment by those you love. I hope you don’t have to face this too much, but it happens. Again, not much you can do but to heal, and to move on with your life. Let these pains become stepping stones to better things in life, and learn to use them to make you stronger.
But Be Open to life AnywayYes, you’ll find cruelty and suffering in your journey through life, but don’t let that close you to new things. Don’t move back from life, don’t hide or wall yourself off. Be open to new things, new experiences, new people.
You might get your heart broken 10 times, but find the most wonderful woman the 11th time. If you shut yourself off from love, you’ll miss out on that woman, and the happiest times of your life.
You might get teased and bullied and hurt by people you meet, and then after meeting dozens of jerks, find a true friend. If you close yourself off to new people, and don’t open your heart to them, you’ll avoid pain…, but also lose out on meeting some incredible people, who will be there during the toughest times of your life and create some of the best times of your life.
You will fail many times but if you allow that to stop you from trying, you will miss out on the amazing feeling of success once you reach new heights with your accomplishments. Failure is a stepping stone to success.
Life Isn’t a CompetitionYou will meet many people who will try to do better than you, in school, in college, at work. They’ll try to have nicer cars, bigger houses, nicer clothes, cooler gadgets. To them, life is a competition—they have to do better than their peers to be happy.
Here’s the secret: life isn’t a competition. It's a journey. If you spend that journey always trying to impress others, to outdo others, you’re wasting your journey. Instead, learn to enjoy the journey. Make it a journey of happiness, of constant learning, of continual improvement, of love.
Don’t worry about having a nicer car or house or anything material, or even a better-paying job. None of that matters a whit, and none of it will make you happier. You’ll acquire these things and then only want more. Instead, learn to be satisfied with having enough—and then use the time you would have wasted trying to earn money to buy those things… use that time doing things you love.
Finally, know that I love you and always will. You are starting out on an unknown, tiring, scary, but badly wonderful journey, and always remember I will be there for you when I can. Godspeed
Love, Your Dad
1. According to the father, all of the following are trials the son has to face except ________.A.disappointment |
B.pain |
C.failure |
D.loneliness |
A.eating something together with some salt |
B.taking it for granted |
C.not accepting something completely |
D.believing something firmly |
A.You are too busy to spend time with your parents. |
B.You fail in the mid-term exam despite your hard work. |
C.Your best friend betrays you by giving away your secrets. |
D.Your classmates tease, bully or hurt you. |
A.telling stories |
B.making comparisons(作比较) |
C.analyzing causes(分析原因) |
D.asking and answering questions |
A.share some important wisdom and value with his son |
B.try to persuade his son to get along well with his friends |
C.make his son realize failure is unavoidable and he should get ready for that |
D.prepare his son for the challenges he will face in the future |
3 . Given how valuable intelligence and automation (自动化) are, we will continue to improve our technology if we are at all able to. At a certain point, we will build machines that are smarter than we are. Once we have machines that are smarter than we are, they will begin to improve themselves. And then we risk what the mathematician IJ Good called an ‘‘intelligence explosion”. The process could get out of control.
The concern is really that we will build machines that are much more competent than we are. And the slightest divergence (分歧) between their goals and our own could destroy us.
Just think about how we relate to ants. We don’t hate them. We don’t go out of our way to harm them. In fact, sometimes we take pains not to harm them. We step over them on the sidewalk. But whenever their presence seriously conflicts with one of our goals, we will kill them without hesitation. The concern is that we will one day build machines that, whether they’re conscious or not, could treat us with similar disregard.
The bare fact is that we will continue to improve our intelligent machines. We have problems that we desperately need to solve. So we will do this, if we can. The train is already out of the station, and there’s no brake to pull. If we build machines that are more intelligent than we are, they will very likely develop in ways that we can’t imagine, and exceed us in ways that we can’t imagine.
So imagine we hit upon a design of super intelligent AI that has no safety concerns. This machine would be the perfect labor-saving device. It can design the machine that can build the machine which can do any physical work, powered by sunlight, more or less for the cost of raw materials. So we’re talking about the end of human labour. We’re also talking about the end of most intellectual work. So what would apes like ourselves do in this circumstance?
What would some nations do if they heard that some company in Silicon Valley was about to deploy a super intelligent AI? This machine would be capable of starting war, whether terrestrial or cyber, with unbelievable power.
Given that the companies and governments building super intelligent AI are likely to perceive themselves as being in a race against all others, and that to win this race is to win the world, it seems likely that whatever is easier to do will get done first unless it is destroyed in the next moment.
But the moment we admit that information processing is the source of intelligence, we have to admit that we are in the process of building some son of god. Now would be a good time to make sure it’s a god we can live with.
1. What message does Paragraph 3 convey?A.Intelligence and automation are very valuable. |
B.The improved machines will get away from us. |
C.The presence of machines does conflict with our goals. |
D.Future intelligent machines could treat us without mercy. |
A.Time and tide wait for no man. |
B.Rome wasn’t built in a day. |
C.Tomorrow is another day. |
D.Shot arrows will not come back. |
A.By making comparisons. |
B.By giving assumptions. |
C.By showing valid evidence. |
D.By analyzing statistics. |
A.Human beings will no doubt be destroyed by AI in the future. |
B.Super intelligent AI will put an end to human labour eventually. |
C.We should keep the development of AI within humans’ control. |
D.Human beings should stop the development of super intelligent AI. |
4 . Regrets are often painful. A study suggests that some people can overcome them, said Jia Wei Zhang, a psychology graduate at the University of California. But this isn’t the case for everyone, he said.
The researchers wondered why some people report feeling improvement from regrets but others don’t. Does it lie in how people approach their regrets?
In the study, the researchers focused on self-compassion (自我同情) as a potential factor in why some people have an easier lime leaving their regrets behind them.
400 people attended an experiment. First, they were asked to write about their biggest regret. Half wrote something they did but wish they hadn’t done; the other half wrote something they didn’t do but wish they had. Then, the participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: self compassion, self-esteem and a control group. The self-esteem group was asked to respond by “talking to yourself about this regret from the aspect of confirming your positive qualities”.
The control group was asked to write about their favorite hobby rather than their regret. Then, they were asked about their feelings of forgiveness, acceptance and personal improvement following the exercise.
They found that the self-compassion group reported greater feelings of acceptance, forgiveness and personal improvement, compared with the control group and the self esteem group. In other words, focusing on your best qualities is not what helps you feel better about a regret. Rather, being compassionate toward yourself is what may make a difference, the researchers found.
It’s possible that people who practice self-compassion are able to confront their regrets and see what went wrong, so they can make a better choice in the future, Zhang told Live Science. Self-compassion pushes people to accept their regret instead of running away from it.
The researchers used an example of this from a previous study on breast cancer patients who were asked to try thinking about their treatment in a positive light before it began. The women who did so reported greater feelings of personal growth later on.
1. What does the underlined word “confront” in Paragraph 7 mean?A.Handle | B.Forget. |
C.Ignore | D.Show. |
A.Think of a way out. | B.Write about their regrets. |
C.Record their favorite hobbies. | D.Treat their regrets in positive ways. |
A.To cover up their regrets. |
B.To see if they have weaknesses. |
C.To see if they have self compassion. |
D.To help them feel better about their regrets. |
A.To show the method of the research. |
B.To show the value of the acceptance. |
C.To show the truth of people’s feeling. |
D.To show the difficulty of the research. |
5 . After years of research and testing, the hybrid car was developed and put on the market. It’s an interesting and exciting new improvement in today’s world as we look for better ways to protect the quality of the air we breathe and conserve our natural resources.
The quality of our air is affected by many different things. But one of the largest sources of air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline which is used to power a car’s engine. The EPA has set national standards to help control the level of harmful pollutants sent off into the air, and the automobile industry has acted by producing a hybrid car that uses less gas and therefore causes less pollution.
A hybrid car is a combination of a regular car that runs on gasoline and an electric car that is battery powered. Some people tend to think that since the hybrid car is partially electric, you have to plug it in to charge it. But that’s not how it works. The 144-volt battery pack is actually recharged through the energy that is produced when the car’s brakes are used. This is referred to as “regenerative braking”, because it generates electricity.
Although the hybrid car still runs on gasoline most of the time, this helps it use less gas than a regular car. When the driver stops at a traffic light, the engine automatically shuts off to save fuel. Then, as soon as the driver puts the car in gear and touches the gas pedal, the engine starts back up.
Have you ever ridden in a car with someone who ran out of gas? That probably wouldn’t happen if you were riding in a hybrid car. It flashes a warning on its computer screen that says, “I am low on gas”. When it completely runs out, the warning reads, “YOU ARE NOW OUT OF GAS!” Then the electric power supply kicks in to let the driver travel a few more miles to a gas station.
1. Which of the following is true according to the passage?A.The hybrid car will be put on the market. |
B.Hybrid cars run faster than regular cars. |
C.When the hybrid car stops at a traffic light, the driver will get a warning. |
D.The burning of fossil fuels is one of the largest sources of air pollution. |
A.a high-tech discovery | B.energy saving |
C.a new invention | D.a combination of two things |
A.it allows the car to come to a quick stop | B.it gives the driver a smoother ride |
C.it produces energy to charge the battery | D.it can control the speed of the car |
A.They designed hybrid cars. |
B.They outlawed(宣布……为不合法) the burning of fossil fuels. |
C.They set important guidelines that help control pollution. |
D.Their main purpose is to protect endangered plants and animals. |
A.They use less gas than regular cars. | B.They’re safer to drive than most cars. |
C.They’re more modern than other cars. | D.They cost less than regular cars. |
6 . Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633 foot Humphreys Peak in Arizona, plant life changes greatly. In the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless tundra (冻土带) on the top of the mountain. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” — groupings of species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and are frequently to be found together. Scientists study the history of plant life and build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?
A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit caused great sheets of ice to spread from poles. These glaciers (冰川) covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to occupy, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they release pollen (花粉). Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom and mix with the sand. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of the plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual living things moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to move about — to respond to environmental changes.
1. According to the passage, the movement of individual species of plants ________.A.occurs in groups |
B.often depends upon the formation of lakes |
C.does not occur in groups |
D.depends upon climate and soil conditions |
A.The ice age occurred when there were small changes in the orbit of the earth |
B.fossil records seem to indicate that plants will be preserved if they have enough room to move |
C.fossil records clearly show that entire groups of plants are unlikely to have moved together |
D.in the ice age glaciers covered the world to depths of up to two miles |
A.the responses of plants to climate changes |
B.the current theories of ecosystems |
C.the development of ecosystems |
D.plant life changes |
A.support the main idea of the first paragraph |
B.answer the question raised in first paragraph |
C.make suggestions about responding to environmental changes |
D.stress the importance of preserving species |
7 . Friendly doctors are “bad for their patients’ health”, researchers have warned as a new study revealed two thirds of young doctors struggle to be truthful with patients they like.
Blurring (使……模糊) the lines between social and professional relationships can affect the level of care offered and prevent patients from being honest about important side effects.
“Doctors should avoid adding patients as friends on Facebook, they should not hug or allow patients to call them by their first names.” regulators have warned. “Those who break the boundaries will face some punishment.”
It comes as a survey of 338 oncologists (肿瘤科医生) under the age of 40, found 59 per cent said they found it difficult to tell the truth to those patients they liked. Sixty per cent of respondents said if doctors felt too close to their patients, it could prevent them from making objective decisions about a person’s care.
Lesley Fallowfield, of Brighton and Sussex Medical School, said: “Oncology is a profession that can be enormously rewarding but is filled with many challenges. Young oncologists have to master dealing with anxious patients who are facing a life-threatening disease; conveying the true prognosis (预后); discussing the complexity of modern treatments; and explaining the unavailability of some drugs, the side-effects of treatment, and likely treatment aims.”
But she said, “Those doctors who have entered the profession in the age of the ‘Internet world’are more likely to fall victim to blurring the professional boundaries with patients.”
She said: “The difficulty, if you hug and kiss patients, if you allow them to call you by your first name, is that quickly the relationship can become confused as a social one rather than a professional one. Doctors become confused, ‘I really like this person, how can I bear to tell them that they’re going to die?’ They find it more difficult to be objective.”
1. Why are friendly doctors bad for their patients’health?A.They don’t like to cheat patients. |
B.They are not good at treating patients. |
C.They find it not easier to be objective to the patients. |
D.They seldom blur the relationship with patients. |
A.Add patients as friends on Facebook. |
B.Have close connection with patients in life. |
C.Always be cold to patients. |
D.Keep a proper distance to patients. |
A.Oncology is a rewarding profession without challenges. |
B.The Internet makes it easier for young doctors to break the boundaries. |
C.It’s not the duty of doctors to deal with patients’ anxiety. |
D.Becoming friends with patients will help them recover soon. |
A.dealing with a lot of life-threatening diseases |
B.discussing difficulties of treatment with patients |
C.explaining the reason for the lack of some medicine |
D.informing patients of the possible results of the treatment |
8 . Beginning college is exciting: new ideas to explore, new challenges to meet and many decisions to make.Your future begins here.
However,you will find college life is different from your previous school environment.Many of us can be easily overwhelmed(压垮)by the details of running a well-balanced life.While some of us may have the know-how, I guess there are more of us who can benefit from learning about the experiences of others who have walked the college halls before you.
The following you may find of use about life on campus.
* Plan well.There are so many new things to do at a new college or university.Give yourself time to make new friends and become familiar with the campus, but don’t forget why you are there.Give some time for social activities and manage your time wisely.
* If you don’t have a “system” for planning your time now (like a day timer, a computer data book), get one.Most of all, don’t depend on your memory.
* Don’t miss the guidelines.The restrictions, rules and regulations of all kinds can usually be found in your student handbook.Consider them well-balanced food for thought.What dates are important? What pieces of paper need to be handed in? What can/ can’t you do in class? What can/ can’t you do in your student residence(住处)? Who has right for what? What do you need to complete to graduate?
* Write the word “STUDY” on the walls of our bedroom and bathroom, and maybe it will help to write it on a piece of paper and stick it on the telephone, TV and the kitchen table.Consider this—you are paying thousands of dollars for your courses.You pay every time you have to repeat or replace a course.
* Build your identity.This is the time for you to decide what to do and what not to do.Take as much time as you need to explore new ideas.Do not be afraid of the beyond.This is learning to make good choices.
1. What is the main purpose of the passage?A.To offer advice on college life. |
B.To explain why college life is exciting. |
C.To describe the importance of college life. |
D.To persuade you to go to college. |
A.Because you will have more freedom at college. |
B.Because you will no longer be afraid of the beyond. |
C.Because you prepare for your future career and life there. |
D.Because professors there will provide you with many new ideas. |
A.an understanding of how things are going at college |
B.practical knowledge about how to behave and what to do at college |
C.college halls where rules and regulations are presented |
D.an environment completely different from the one you’re used to |
A.needn’t learn from those who went to college before them |
B.spend as much time as possible on social activities |
C.should know what they have fought for on campus |
D.are supposed to repeat or replace at least one course |
9 . An elderly carpenter (木匠) was ready to retire. He told his employer of his
The employer was
When the carpenter
What a shock! What a
A.retirement | B.problem | C.purposes | D.plans |
A.business | B.site | C.teams | D.workers |
A.cheering | B.dividing | C.enjoying | D.sparing |
A.consider | B.miss | C.raise | D.save |
A.get by | B.get alone | C.get back | D.get around |
A.ashamed | B.anxious | C.frightened | D.sorry |
A.favor | B.bargain | C.present | D.reply |
A.frank | B.probable | C.easy | D.content |
A.sadly | B.carelessly | C.slowly | D.proudly |
A.unfair | B.unhappy | C.unfortunate | D.unusual |
A.checked | B.discovered | C.prepared | D.finished |
A.gift | B.salary | C.memory | D.punishment |
A.quality | B.prize | C.shame | D.surprise |
A.final | B.best | C.everlasting | D.own |
A.differently | B.quickly | C.hard | D.happily |
A.Then | B.So | C.But | D.Whatever |
A.houses | B.bodies | C.glories | D.lives |
A.difficult | B.main | C.strong | D.important |
A.created | B.faced | C.improved | D.avoided |
A.recognized | B.noticed | C.realized | D.previewed |
Yotsafzai attended a school that her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, had founded. After the Taliban began attacking girl schools in Swat, Malala gave a speech in Peshawar, Pakistan, in September 2008. The title of her talk was, "How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?"
When she was 14, Malala and her family learned that the Taliban had issued a death threat against her. Though Malala was frightened for the safety of her father——an anti-Taliban activist-she and her family initially felt that the fundamentalist group would not actually harm a child.
On October 9, 2012, on her way home from school, a man boarded the bus Malala was riding in and demanded to know which girl was Malala. When her friends looked toward Malala, her location was given away. The gunman fired at her, hitting Malala in the left side of her head. Two other girls were also injured in the attack.
Despite the Taliban's threats, Yousafzai remains a firm advocate for the power of education. On October 10, 2013, in acknowledgement of her work, the European Parliament awarded Yousafzai the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. That same year, she was nominated (提名) for a Nobel Peace Prize. She didn't win the prize, but was named a nominee again in March 2014.
Malala Yousafzai's Speech at the United Nations (Excerpt)
Dear brothers and sisters, do remember one thing. Malala Day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights. There are hundreds of human rights activists and social workers who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality.Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured.I am just one of them.
…
Dear sisters and brothers, now it’s time to speak up.
So today, we call upon the world leaders to change their strategic policies in favour of peace and prosperity:
We call upon the world leaders that all the peace deals must protect women and children's rights.
We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child all over the world.
We call upon all governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children from brutality and harm.
We call upon the developed nations to support the expansion of educational opportunities for girls in the developing world.
We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave—to embrace (拥抱) the strength within themselves and realise their full potential.
1. Which of the following adjectives can best describe Malala according to this passage?
A.Independent and knowledgeable. |
B.Stubborn and trustworthy. |
C.Courageous and persistent. |
D.Aggressive and sympathetic. |
A.she didn't behave herself on the bus |
B.she fought against the Taliban |
C.she appealed for girls' rights to education |
D.her father was an anti-Taliban activist |
A.Malala Day is an international day for all the boys and girls. |
B.Many girls in developing countries cannot receive education. |
C.Many country leaders have changed their policies to protect women and children's rights. |
D.Human rights activists are people just calling for equal rights for all the people in the world. |
A.the Taliban attacked Ziauddin Yousafzai's school for girls |
B.the Taliban caught Malala's father for his fight against the Taliban |
C.the Taliban shot Malala in the head on her way to school |
D.local people lived in the shadow of the Taliban |