1 . Argentina lies in the South America. There are many festivals in Argentina during the year. Therefore, you can enjoy the different interesting festivals when traveling there.
First of all, we should talk about the Tango (探戈) Festival inArgentina, which is held in the capital of this country — Buenos Aires, from February to March. You ought to know that Argentina is the home of tango, so Argentinians admire this dance very much. Even if you cannot dance perfectly, you should join the people and try to perform this dance.
The next festival in Argentina is Open Polo (马球) Tournament. You should go to Palermo to see this festival in Argentina. This festival is held every year and is the most important polo tournament in Argentina.This kind of sport is considered the most important in Argentina.
Attending this festival in Argentina, you will be able to communicate with different people and admire the fascinating competition between the teams of different countries, such as Argentina, England, Australia, as well as the US. This festival in Argentina is usually held between November and December every year. So don’t miss the opportunity if you travel to Argentina at this time.
The other festival in Argentina is the Semana Musical Liao Liao. This is a festival of classical music. The festival was created in 1993 and is held at the Liao Liao Hotel, near Bariloche. The festival is held yearly in October. So if you admire this kind of music, you should travel toArgentina in October.
There are also many carnivals in Argentina in summer. Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about festivals in Argentina into just one article. We hope that you have found this article interesting and eye-catching.
1. What would be the best title for the passage?| A．Entertainments in Argentina | B．Festivals in Argentina |
| C．Travel to Argentina | D．A brief introduction to Argentina |
| A．is organized by the government |
| B．welcomes everyone to take part in it |
| C．is held in summer |
| D．holds parties for different dances |
| A．Open Polo Tournament. | B．Every carnival in Argentina. |
| C．The Tango Festival. | D．The Semana Musical Liao Liao. |
| A．Buenos Aires in spring | B．Palermo in April |
| C．Palermo in winter | D．Bariloche in October |
2 . When 19-year-old Emily Bhatnagar from Maryland, USA, found out her father had stage four thyroid (甲状腺) cancer, her response was a little different than you might expect. To honour her father, who she also describes as her best friend, she decided to start a book drive called For Love and Buttercup, collecting books for kids with cancer.
“It was very much an overnight idea,” she explains. “I posted a message on an app called Nextdoor asking my neighbours for used book donations. I was only expecting a few here and there, but the response was truly incredible, and it was just the push I needed to co-exist with my grief rather than letting it consume me.
“It was absolutely heartbreaking to watch my dad go through cancer and see him lose a little bit of himself each day, but the book drive allowed me to develop a newfound sense of purpose combined with an even greater sense of compassion (同情) to help others in any shape or form. I wanted to help kids. They’ve always held a soft spot in my heart.”
Using tips she earns from working at her parents’ bread shop, Emily has bought many books out of her own pocket. In addition, she receives donations through her Amazon wish list, which can be found in the bio of the book drive’s Instagram account.
Emily and her older brother spent a whole summer driving around town, loading boxes of books into their car. “It was such an honour knowing people have carried these books all their lives through generations, and they wanted to gift it to my cause.”
The project has seen huge success, with For Love and Buttercup donating over 15,000 books and being recognized by The Washington Post, Forbes, The President’s Volunteer Service Award and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation.
1. Why did Emily decide to start a book drive?| A．To show respect for her sick father. | B．To raise money for kids with cancer. |
| C．To recycle used books from neighbours. | D．To draw more attention from the media. |
| A．Emily didn’t give up in the face of difficulties. |
| B．Helping kids brought Emily great joy and pride. |
| C．Emily was well aware of what her life was all about. |
| D．Emily’s story deeply touched the hearts of kids she had helped. |
| A．The book drive was highly thought of. |
| B．The book drive earned Emily fame and fortune. |
| C．Emily was honoured to know many kind people. |
| D．Emily received a lot of support from the news media. |
| A．A father’s moving story of fighting cancer. |
| B．People’s responses to a girl’s act of kindness. |
| C．A girls’ courage to conquer challenges in life. |
| D．A book drive launched to collect books for kids with cancer. |
3 . A year back I received a full scholarship to attend the University of San Francisco. All of my hard work had paid off. My mom had spent a lot in my attending a private high school, so I made sure to push myself: I volunteered, joined different clubs, and graduated with honors.
I was so excited to start a new life. I had totally packed two weeks and wanted to go to college at once before it was time to leave.
Soon enough, the big day came, but it wasn’t like what I had thought. The first two weeks were the most difficult days of my entire life. Every night I would cry myself to sleep.
I was so homesick (想家) and I didn’t know how to deal with my broken heart. To distract myself, I threw myself into my studies and I applied for a lot of jobs. In any remaining free time, I started forcing myself to the gym. I wanted to keep every part of my day busy so I wouldn’t think how lonely I felt.
Soon after, I began to limit food, and then I became worse. Finally, I went to see a doctor. When the doctor weighed me, I was crazy about the number of my weight. So I continued to lower my goal, and convinced that controlling this number was the solution to my homesickness. But when I was told that I had no choice but to spend time on my studies. I quickly started recovery in my mind.
How could I do? I told myself that school was what I was best at. I decided to get rid of my homesickness and took exercise actively. My first term of college had passed by at last and I had gotten straight A’s. That’s why I want to share my story—to help other students feel less lonely.
1. How was the author during the two weeks before she left for the college?| A．She was as normal as before. |
| B．She couldn’t wait to leave for the college. |
| C．She was afraid to leave her home. |
| D．She didn’t enjoy her mother’s company. |
| A．Her weight. | B．Her diet. |
| C．Her homesickness. | D．Her bad study habit. |
| A．achieve my dream | B．earn money by myself |
| C．improve my studies | D．take my attention away |
| A．To look back at her past middle school life. |
| B．To help girls to lose weight. |
| C．To help lonely college students. |
| D．To increase her own confidence. |
4 . Today was my first day at senior high and it was hard. In high school, you have 4 minutes to get to your next class. My high school is very big and those 4 minutes to go from one class to another really isn’t a lot of time. Today I had to go from one end of the building to the other to get from science class to math class. I wanted to go to my locker first and leave my science book there, but that took time. I was worried about being late, and I was. The math teacher said, “Just be on time tomorrow, or you’ll have detention (放学后留校).”
After math, I went to art class. I like my art class a lot because I get to create things. The teacher there showed us how to make portraits (肖像). He explained, “A portrait is a way of communicating with a person. It does not just show how the person looks but what is important to understand the person.” We just did drawings today, but I know it’s going to be great. I like drawing.
I like my English class, too. I think the teacher is really supportive. Today we wrote about ourselves. The teacher said to just write what you think, and we’ll pay attention to punctuation (标点) later. We could write a paragraph or a poem, and I wrote a poem about myself. I thought it was a good poem, and the teacher said I had used good images (意象) to communicate my feelings.
Lunch was very hurried. I arrived at the dining room with 12 minutes to eat. I sat with people I didn’t know, and everyone was eating quickly. After lunch I signed up for a computer club. I need to learn how to use a computer well because my social studies teacher says it is the one skill you need in every class.
1. What happened to the author after science class?| A．He lost his science textbook. |
| B．He got lost on the campus. |
| C．He was late for math class. |
| D．He was given detention. |
| A．Difficult. | B．Enjoyable. | C．Boring. | D．Easy. |
| A．He praised the author. |
| B．He pointed out the author’s mistake. |
| C．He asked the author to check punctuation. |
| D．He encouraged the author to introduce himself. |
| A．Learn useful skills in high school |
| B．My new teachers in high school |
| C．Make plans for high school life |
| D．My first day in high school |
5 . While warming up to a cheerleading competition, 17-year-old Keianna Joe experienced a scary medical event. She
Andrea Joe, Keianna’s mother, said her daughter’s cheer coach ran madly,
For about ten
Then, a portable defibrillator (除颤器) arrived on the scene. Thankfully, Andrea had received training on these
“The machine said, ‘Shock required’,” Andrea said. “And I mean, I’ve trained on these AED (自动体外除颤仪) devices before and they’ve never told me, you know, ‘Shock required’.” Nevertheless, Andrea used the defibrillator to
After a 10-day hospital stay, Keianna is out, but with a mini defibrillator in her
“She’s with me, she’s here, she’s right next to me and I’ve got her,” Andrea said. “And it’s the best feeling ever.”
1.| A．cried | B．fell | C．slept | D．escaped |
| A．waited | B．begged | C．screamed | D．answered |
| A．ambulance | B．office | C．company | D．court |
| A．weak | B．pale | C．unhealthy | D．unconscious |
| A．sprang | B．came | C．exploded | D．dashed |
| A．cheered up | B．calmed down | C．lay down | D．took over |
| A．forgive | B．save | C．follow | D．cure |
| A．days | B．hours | C．minutes | D．seconds |
| A．experimented | B．based | C．performed | D．improved |
| A．situations | B．devices | C．patients | D．processes |
| A．encourage | B．support | C．bring | D．shock |
| A．more | B．better | C．faster | D．longer |
| A．heart | B．chest | C．head | D．face |
| A．helped | B．prepared | C．caused | D．decided |
| A．welling | B．growing | C．drying | D．holding |
6 . My first visit to Angkor Wat (吴哥窟) was in 1980. The country had been at war for many years and the temple was deserted and falling to pieces. Plants were growing out of the roofs, and trees were growing in the yards.
Today, the temple is the scene of a busy repair program. A team of 15 Indian experts are organizing a workforce of 400 Cambodians, most of them women, who are cleaning, repairing and rebuilding parts of this temple.
As I walked through the yards, I noticed the Cambodian women devote hours to cleaning carefully a tiny area of stone. Boards are laid down to protect the precious painted stones while the repair work is going on. There are very few machines and little heavy equipment. Workers carry building materials in buckets at the end of long poles. Piles of stones lie in a corner of the yard, waiting to be replaced.
The work of cleaning the stones is watched over by three Indian chemists. It is a very slow task. First they clean the stones with brushes using buckets of a weak chemical. Then gaps between the stones are filled in. Finally another material is painted onto the stones which will protect them from water forever.
Work starts every day at 7 am and goes on until late afternoon six days a week, with a break at midday.
Evening is the best time to visit the temple, after the tour groups have left. As the sun sinks lower, shadows spread across the yard. After sunset, the sky turns pink. The grey stone towers take on a golden color before turning pink. Nowhere else in the world can there be such a quiet, beautiful place.
1. According to the author, which of the following plays the LEAST important role in the repair work?| A．The women workers. |
| B．The Indian workers. |
| C．Machines. |
| D．Skilled workers. |
| A．there was no one in the temple and it was in a poor state |
| B．the temple was built on a desert and nobody noticed it |
| C．the temple was very old with a long history |
| D．the temple was repaired by the Cambodians, most of whom were women |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．To get rid of certain types of plants. |
| B．To carry the building materials. |
| C．To replace the stones. |
| D．To clean the stones. |
7 . A sense of humour, God’s greatest gift to mankind, is universally considered the most valuable personality. It is born within every person’s heart, but has to be cultivated (培养). A person without humour is just like a spring without flowers, or like a dish without seasoning (调味品). In a sense, your personality lies in your sense of humour.
Humour can improve physical as well as mental well-being. It helps us bear our burdens, reduce our tension, overcome our frustration. With a piece of joke, all our worries and sadness disappear like smoke, and we are all full of energy once again.
Humour helps us live in harmony with others. It is unavoidable to have misunderstanding and tension with others during work and study. But humour can help us solve these problems more quickly than angry words or quarrels. With it you can always keep on good terms with others.
A sense of humour is really one of the keys to happiness. It gives fun and interest to life to make it worth living.
Here are five ways to improve your sense of humour.
1. Begin to cultivate an atmosphere of humour and laughter in your relationships.
2. Start association with humourous, fun loving people.
3. Learn to laugh at yourself.
4. Collect cartoons and jokes and share them with others.
5. Use humour to deal with conflict in your relationships:
Remember that a sense of humour is learned, not inherited (遗传). You can sharpen your sense of humour if you really want to.
1. What would be the best title for this passage?| A．A Sense of Humour—a Great Personality | B．A Sense of Humour—the Secret to Success |
| C．How to. Improve Your Sense, of Humour. | D．Humour Helps to Improve Our Health |
| A．a person without humour is dull | B．humour can make us happy. |
| C．humour can help us deal with worries | D．humour can help us solve all the problems |
| A．pleasing | B．interest | C．friendship | D．eager |
| A．learned | B．cultivated | C．inherited | D．improved |
8 . In the northernmost edge of Colombia sits the coastal town of Acandí. Access to the town is only by water or air; there is no road that leads there. The residents there are faced with the struggles of balancing livelihoods while protecting biodiversity.
In the past, traditional community fishing methods, passed down by the elders, focused on the reasonable fishing and management of resources. However, the introduction of large-scale trawling vessels(拖网渔船) decades ago gradually depleted the area’s fishing resources, leading to damage to marine(海洋的) life seriously.
Jesús Antonio Julio Cuestas, who serves in the region’s conservation and management of marine resources, stresses the bad impact of these developments and calls for new fishing techniques. “Fishing and conservation co-exist as long as we have good management practices and reasonable use of our fishing resources,” says Cuestas. He and other officials actively monitor fishing activities in Acandí. Each morning, they visit the fish markets to gather data on fishery resources—including prices and sizes—to monitor the state of the local fishing industry.
Along with Cuestas, the fishers work to reduce their impact on the marine ecosystem. By changing fishing methods and adopting new practices, they aim for a more balanced approach to fishing. “This year the local fishermen have not used the trawl net s that were causing the death of the leatherback sea turtles,” explains Cuestas proudly. Changes include the efforts of boats to protect the seagrass that serves as feeding grounds for marine life and an end to fishers throwing net s where turtles lay their eggs.
This marine reserve in Acandí, Cuestas believes, is their greatest treasure. He attaches great importance to working together with local residents to improve the quality of life while preserving the marine ecosystem. By doing so, he imagines a picture where individuals from the fishing community can pursue various careers, such as engineers or lawyers, proudly stating that they are the products of the fishing tradition in Acandí.
1. What does the underlined word “depleted” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Reused. | B．Restored. |
| C．Explored. | D．Reduced. |
| A．To cut down on the costs of fishing. |
| B．To improve the income of local residents. |
| C．To promote the well-being of marine wildlife. |
| D．To spread traditional community fishing methods. |
| A．The aim of the changes to fishing methods. |
| B．The efforts to preserve marine ecosystem. |
| C．The results the trawl net s have brought about. |
| D．The impact of fishers on the local environment. |
| A．Confident. | B．Uncaring. |
| C．Concerned. | D．Doubtful. |
9 . The Internet plays a big part in human life. We use it for work and entertainment. We can find new recipes on the Internet or advice on staying healthy. We can even use it to learn a new language and connect with family and friends.
As far as the Internet being a part of our lives —well, that train has left the station. This expression means there is no going back to an Internet-free life. But can using the Internet too much be bad for our health? It might be, say researchers.
A new study finds that heavy Internet use may be connected to high blood pressure in an unlikely group— teenagers. The study results show that teens who spend at least 14 hours a week online were more likely to have high blood pressure. High blood pressure can cause heart and kidney (肾) disease. It is also closely linked to some forms of dementia (痴呆), a brain disease. Dementia is marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and a reduced ability to reason.
The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan did the study. 335 young people from 14 to 17 years old participated in it. One hundred and thirty-four of the teens were described as “heavy Internet users.” Researchers found that out of these 134 teens, 26 had high blood pressure.
The lead researcher of the study is Andrea Cassidy-Bushrow. In a statement she said, “Using the Internet is part of our daily life but it shouldn’t consume us.” For the purpose of the study, she explains, teens considered heavy Internet users were online on “average 25 hours a week.” Ms. Cassidy-Bushrow adds that it is important for teens to take “regular breaks from their computers or smartphones” and to do some “kind of physical activity.”
1. Which of the following statements is closest in the meaning to the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?| A．The train has stopped at the wrong station. |
| B．There is something wrong with the train. |
| C．Life without the Internet is nowhere to be found. |
| D．The train has changed its course. |
| A．will remember everything clearly | B．will change his character |
| C．will develop a brain cancer | D．can do analysis accurately |
| A．40% | B．19% | C．25% | D．7% |
| A．The Internet Does Harm to the Study. |
| B．Too Much Internet May Be Bad for Teenagers. |
| C．We Should Stop Using the Internet. |
| D．High Blood Pressure Is around the Comer. |
10 . “When studying foreign speech, don’t forget about body language. ” Anne Merritt said.
Something as simple as a smile can show: friendliness in one culture, embarrassment in another, impatience in a third. Even silence means different things in different places. If you want to avoid making some mistakes when traveling abroad, you should pay attention to the following.
Touch
Britain, along with much of Northern Europe and the Far East, has a “noncontact” culture. In those countries, there is very little physical contact (接触) in people’s daily talks. Even brushing someone’s arm by accident is the reason for an apology. However, in the high-contact cultures of the Middle East, Latin America, and Southern Europe, physical touch is a big part of daily life.
What’s more, there are different standards, for who touches whom and where. In much of the Arab world, men hold hands and kiss each other in greeting, but would never do the same with a woman. In Thailand and Laos, it is taboo (禁忌的) to touch anyone’s head, even children’s. In South Korea, elders can touch younger people with force when trying to get through a crowd, but younger people can’t do the same.
Eye contact
In most Western countries, frequent eye contact: is a sign of confidence and attentiveness (注意). We may think that a conversation partner who looks away is either not listening to us or lying. Of course, this is not the standard around the world.
In many Asian, African, and Latin American countries, the unbroken (未间断的) eye contact would be considered impolite and rude. These cultures consider avoiding eye contact a sign of respect for bosses and elders. In these parts of the-world, children won’t look at an adult who is speaking to them, nor will employees look at their bosses.
1. In Britain, when people are talking, they usually_________.| A．avoid eye contact | B．brush the others’ arms |
| C．avoid physical contact | D．apologize for their mistakes |
| A．unnecessary | B．impolite | C．dangerous | D．common |
| A．How to have a good time abroad. | B．The importance of body language. |
| C．How to communicate with foreigners. | D．An introduction to some body language. |
