1 . Come to the AG Society's expedition (探险) program and you will surely get unique experiences! SWIM WITH THE HUMPBACKS(座头鲸) OF TONGA
Darren Jew and his team are your hosts for an unforgettable AG Society adventure, filled with in- water meetings with humpback whales in the Kingdom of Tonga's group of islands.
WHO: Darren Jew's underwater whales
DATES: 26 September-4 October 2018
COST: $ 5,450 per person
BOOKINGS: Call 0756679413, email reservations @ whalesunderwater.com or visit whalesunderwater.com
11-DAY KIMBERLEY COASTAL CRUISE(乘船浏览)
The AG Society is partnering with APT to present an exciting voyage along the Kimberley coastline. Expedition cruising offers the easiest way to explore the Kimberley. Guests on this 11-day voyage will go ashore, explore natural wonders, meet traditional owners, see rock art and spot wildlife.
WHO: APT
DATES: 6 - 16 September 2018
COST: $ 13,395 per person
BOOKINGS: Visit kimberleywild.com. au
LIGHTNING RIDGE FOSSIL(化石) DIG
The AG Society offers you a chance to hunt for fossils. Guided by experts, you'll go to special locations, seeking new fossils for the collections of the Australian Opal Centre. Your discoveries will further establish these museum collections as a world-class scientific and cultural resource. There are also a series of lectures on mining history, fossils, dinosaur hunting and new dinosaurs.
WHO: The Australian Opal Centre
DATES: 20 -25 August 2018
COST: $ 2,200 per person, including all activities and lunches and dinners
BOOKINGS: Call 0427904587, email dig @ stralianopalcentre.com or visit australianopalcentre.com
AG DEVIL ARK EXPEDITION
Come and join Tim Faulkner for a unique hands-on experience with this Tasmanian devil (袋獾) feeding program in the beautiful Barrington Tops of NSW. You'll get to see Tasmanian devils up close when you help with feeding individuals.
In addition to working with the animals, there'll be opportunities to explore the area's natural treasures and spot local wildlife. Don't miss your chance to get involved in this important conservation effort.
WHO: Devil Ark
DATES: 24 - 26 November 2018
COST: $ 1,750 per person
BOOKINGS: Call 0243408610, email info @ devilark.org. au or visit devilark.org. au
1. If you join in LIGHTNING RIDGE FOSSIL DIG, you can .| A．go to seek new fossils individually |
| B．learn something about mining history |
| C．collect the world-class scientific fossils |
| D．become an expert and go to special locations |
| A．Help protect wildlife. | B．Learn about dinosaurs. |
| C．Watch humpback whales. | D．Enjoy an exciting voyage. |
| A．AG DEVIL ARK EXPEDITION. |
| B．LIGHTNING RIDGE FOSSIL DIG. |
| C．11-DAY KIMBERLEY COASTAL CRUISE. |
| D．SWIM WITH THE HUMPBACKS OF TONGA. |
2 . I had just won a bidding for a 1950s cookie tin full of memories at an estate sale. Delighted at my victory, I took the box and gave it a shake. The contents rattled. Inside were hundreds of buttons, pins, and other items, all glittering in the sunlight. As a girl, I'd always enjoyed digging through my mom's box, just as my daughters enjoyed looking through mine.
My eye caught the movement of a swing on the front porch of the house. An old woman watched the happenings in her yard. As I carried my purchases to my car, I stopped to chat with her. She told me she was selling almost all her possessions because she was moving to a nursing home.
Her eyes fell to the button box, and when she looked up, they were glistening with tears. I took the lid off the tin, and her rough hands lifted a handful of buttons and then slowly dropped them back into the container. Her fist closed around a delicate pearl button, now yellow with age. "It was from my first husband's uniform," she said. "It's one of the few things that remind me of him when he didn't return home alive." They had been married seven months before he left to serve his country in World War II.
As we sifted through the box together, we found hairpins ranging from black to brown to shades of gray and even white; a key to a music box that played a special love song; garter clips, wooden nickels, ruby buttons; all took her further down memory lane. I learned about her wedding, the birth of her children, and much more of the life she'd led for 89 years.
After our chat, I set the woman's box of memories down on the swing and slid my hands into hers. I knew we would talk again, when I went to visit her at her new home. And I knew that when l reached my own home, my heart would pull me to my sewing room, where I would rediscover my own lifetime of memories in my own button box.
1. How did the author feel when she got the tin?| A．Curious. | B．Regretful. |
| C．Joyful. | D．Embarrassed. |
| A．She was to sell her house and move to a new one. |
| B．She had to sell many things to make ends meet. |
| C．She didn't marry again after her husband died. |
| D．She was the former owner of the cookie tin. |
| A．Examined. | B．Picked. |
| C．Carried. | D．Decorated. |
| A．Antiques that add history to a place. |
| B．Memories of unpleasant experiences. |
| C．Objects that bring moments to mind. |
| D．Expressions of kindness from strangers. |
3 . By the end of the century, if not sooner, the world’s oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate, according to a new study.
At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms (海洋微生物) called phytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms, these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue, depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas, while reducing it in other spots, leading to changes in the ocean’s appearance.
Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface, where they pull carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die, they bury carbon in the deep ocean, an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean’s warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the ocean and can affect phytoplankton growth, since they need not only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, but also nutrients.
Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a scientist in MIT’s Center for Global Change Science, built a climate model thatprojectschanges to the oceans throughout the century. In a world that warms up by 39C, it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans would occur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters, such as those of the Arctic, a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton, and these areas will turn greener.” Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton in the ocean changing,” she said, “but the type of phytoplankton is changing.”
And why does that matter? Phytoplankton are the base of the food web. If certain kinds begin to disappear from the ocean, Dutkiewicz said, “it will change the type of fish that will be able to survive.” Those kinds of changes could affect the food chain.
Whatever colour changes the ocean experiences in the coming decades will probably be too gradual and unnoticeable, but they could mean significant changes. “It’ll be a while before we can statistically show that the changes are happening because of climate change,” Dutkiewicz said, “ but the change in the colour of the ocean will be one of the early warning signals that we really have changed our planet.”
1. What directly makes the change of the ocean’s appearance?| A．The increase of phytoplankton. |
| B．The way light reflects off the organisms. |
| C．The type and concentration of phytoplankton. |
| D．The decline of phytoplankton. |
| A．Control. | B．Use. |
| C．Predict. | D．Discover. |
| A．Phytoplankton are sensitive to the ocean’s warming trend. |
| B．Phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide at the bottom of the ocean. |
| C．Oceans with more phytoplankton may appear bluer |
| D．Data have been found to show the change in the colour of the ocean |
| A．To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton. |
| B．To explain the effect of climate change on oceans. |
| C．To analyze the consequences of ocean colour changes. |
| D．To analyze the composition of the ocean food chain. |
4 . When you're a teen you start being more aware of what other people think. There seems to be a “right” thing to wear, or say, or do. There also seem to be things that you shouldn’t do-things that could be embarrassing, or lose your points with friends. This can lead to social anxiety.
Some kids feel so anxious that they develop something called social anxiety disorder (障碍), which is diagnosed (诊断) when you worry so much about how you appear to others that you stop doing things you need to and want to do for fear of embarrassing yourself.
Kids with social anxiety disorder aren't just nervous when they’re at parties or giving a speech in class. Even small interactions (互动), like answering a question in class or eating with friends in the cafeteria can feel extremely scary to kids with social anxiety disorder. That's because they fear they might accidentally do something embarrassing or offensive, and it will make others judge or even reject them.
And while kids who are just shy will gradually warm up to new people and situations over time, kids with social anxiety don't. Shyness might hold you back to some degree from doing things, but it won't deeply influence your ability to do your job as a teenager, which is to function in school, function in your family, and to have friends and be a part of your peer-related community. But social anxiety will.
Many teens experience anxiety disorders. Being brave and telling someone how you feel might seem scary, but if you can get over that obstacle, someone will want to listen. Asking for help can be hard, but it really is important.
1. What is the main cause of social anxiety?| A．Lack of friendship. | B．One's appearance. |
| C．School performance. | D．Other’s judgment. |
| A．Alice, who skips school to avoid answering questions in class. |
| B．David, who always thinks he can't do as well as his classmates. |
| C．Chris, who feels nervous every time he gives a speech in public. |
| D．Jenny, who has been in low spirits since she failed the last exam. |
| A．it influences people around you |
| B．it only makes your grades suffer |
| C．it greatly affects your normal life |
| D．it is related to your study or work |
| A．What Is Social Anxiety Disorder |
| B．How Social Fear Ruins Relationships |
| C．Why Teens Suffer from Social Anxiety? |
| D．When Anxiety Disorders Go Unnoticed |
5 . When I was in primary school, I got into an argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson learned that day.
I was convinced that “I” was right and “he” was wrong — and he was just as convinced that “I” was wrong and “he” was right. The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson. She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other.
In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. “White,” he answered.
I couldn’t believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black! Another argument started between my classmate and me, this time about the color of the object.
The teacher told me to go to stand where the boy was standing and told him to come to stand where I had been. We changed places, and then she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, “White.” It was an object with two differently colored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side was it black.
My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: You must stand in the other person’s shoes and look at the situation through their eyes in order to truly understand their perspective (看法).
1. When brought up to the front of the class, the two students were sitting .| A．side by side | B．face to face |
| C．back to back | D．facing the blackboard |
| A．his side of the object was black | B．his side of the object was white |
| C．the other side of the object was black | D．the other side of the object was white |
| A．We should imagine that we’re in the other person’s situation. |
| B．A teacher should give students a lesson before the class. |
| C．A large, round object has two differently colored sides. |
| D．A lesson learned in the past should never be forgotten. |
| A．Patient. | B．Wise. | C．Rude. | D．Kind. |
