1 . Imperial Bricks
Imperial bricks were made completely for imperial buildings, especially palaces, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They have a fine quality, and are strong and hard. They have a pure blue-green color like a mirror and produce a metal sound when knocked. Because they are very valuable, they are called the golden bricks. The craft (工艺品) has been on the national-level cultural heritage (遗产) list since 2006.
Peking Duck
Peking duck has been a famous dish from Beijing. The cooked duck is cut into pieces and eaten with green onion, cucumber and sweet bean sauce, often with pancake rolled around fillings. It was selected as a national -level cultural heritage in 2008.
Shadow Play
Shadow play (皮影) is an ancient form of storytelling that uses flat cut-out figures or shadow play between a source of light and a screen. Various sight effects can be achieved by moving both the dolls and the light source. In 2011, Chinese shadow play entered the list of Cultural Heritage by UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization)which is located in Paris, France.
Kunqu Opera
Kunqu Opera, one of the oldest existing forms of Chinese opera, came from Kunshan, Jiangsu province. Using emotional lines from classic poems and through sweet and beautiful singing, it made progress in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and naturally reached other parts of the country via the Grand Canal.
1. Which makes Imperial Bricks get the name of golden bricks?| A．Their value. | B．Their shape. |
| C．Their color. | D．Their history. |
| A．Peking Duck. | B．Imperial Bricks. |
| C．Kunqu Opera. | D．Shadow Play. |
| A．Theater writers. | B．Famous magazines. |
| C．Ancient stories. | D．Classic poems. |
2 . Will your job be done by a robot in the future? Bank of England economists predict that almost half of all UK jobs are under threat of robots. Those most at risk are physical labor, such as factory workers. But could even teachers soon have to compete against powerful electronic educators?
At first sight, it might seem impossible for teachers to be replaced by robots. Teachers use a lot of soft skills that machines find hard to copy. They judge pupil’s needs and adapt materials to make them more engaging(有趣的) and effective. And they provide special care: looking out for students who drop behind or make trouble in class.
Anyhow, some believe the future of education will be technological. In an interview, the futurist Thomas predicts that “by 2030 the largest company on the Internet is going to be an education-based company that we haven’t heard of yet”.
He thinks that online robot teachers will make education so efficient that students will be able to finish an entire undergraduate degree in six months of learning. A robot teacher learns what your character, interests and reference points are, and it figures out how to teach you in a faster and faster way over time, according to Thomas.
Over the last decade there has been a huge increase in online learning. Many companies produce courses that allow millions of people to learn at home for free, at their own pace. But there are limitations. Without the face-to-face stimulation(激励) of a classroom environment, most of the students fail to complete online courses. How to stimulate students to learn is one more skill that online teachers will need to master.
Indeed, Thomas admits there is some way to go and he thinks that we should hug the change, even though people will lose their jobs.
1. What seems to make it hard for robots to replace teachers at first sight?| A．The various teaching materials. |
| B．The teacher’s character. |
| C．The teacher’s emotion. |
| D．The soft teaching skills. |
| A．Robots can hardly replace all teachers. |
| B．Half of teaching jobs will be replaced by robots. |
| C．Robot teachers will make teaching more effective. |
| D．Online education-based companies will decrease. |
| A．The teaching approaches are limited. |
| B．The explanations are mostly difficult. |
| C．Students don’t learn at their own pace. |
| D．Students won’t get face-to-face stimulation. |
| A．The Job Threat of the Future | B．The Robot Teacher of the Future |
| C．The Trend of Future Education | D．The Future of Online Learning |
3 . To see the world is one thing. To have someone to share it with is another. Indeed travel becomes more interesting when you have a travel partner. A travel partner can be a close friend, a family member, a pal you’ve met online, or a business friend.
You can have someone to talk to and turn to
Traveling alone is fun, but wouldn’t you feel lonely? Having a travel partner can remove the feeling of loneliness. It will be very convenient if you can get a travel companion who is very familiar with the place you’re traveling to. You don’t have to ask any information from the locals, and you can save your time.
You can have someone to share the costs with
One of the major headaches in traveling is the costs involved. You can’t simply ignore the rising prices of hotels or plane tickets. You should also think about your daily needs, such as your food. Of course, you can’t simply go back without bringing any souvenirs (纪念品) for your friends and family. All these can overspend your budget (预算). However, when you have a travel friend, you can have someone to share the expenses with.
You can meet a new friend
Having a travel mate is a good way of meeting a new friend or even a lifelong partner. You can never count the number of couples who actually found their way into each other’s heart while traveling together in another country.
You can have someone to watch out for you
When you’re in a foreign land, you’ll never be really safe. You don’t know the rules as well as the culture of the people. A travel mate will be able to remind you of your manners in the country and to look after your luggage just in case your belongings get lost. So why don’t you find a travel companion now? Let’s find out how...
1. Which of the following statements agrees with the author’s opinion?| A．Traveling alone is not fun. | B．Buying souvenirs isn’t necessary. |
| C．Many people meet new friends when traveling. | D．It’s better to choose a stranger as a travel partner. |
| A．Giving an introduction of a travel company. |
| B．Explaining how to be a perfect travel partner. |
| C．Telling an interesting experience with a travel partner. |
| D．Showing lots of benefits of having a travel partner. |
| A．How to find a travel partner. | B．How travel can benefit people. |
| C．How to be a good travel partner. | D．How to get along with a travel partner. |
4 . My high school life has been filled with many ups and downs, whether it was social or academic. Even though my current high school was not my first choice, I never regretted attending Southside High School. “Since you have chosen it, then it is the best for you,” said my parents.
Up until the junior year I did not realize my capabilities (能力) as a student. Being in the IB Program, I was told that my junior year would be the toughest in all the years of high school. With this “little” piece of information, I walked into my junior year, scared of my grades. As weeks went by, I started to believe that the junior year was not as hard as everyone had said, but I was wrong. My grades were rapidly declining (下降) and by the end of the first term I had had five Cs in seven of my classes!I could not believe it — I did not want to believe it. I tried my best to get my grades up myself without any help from anyone, but my pride just made my grades worse. And I had to miss out on one of the most important speech and debate competitions all year: States. I was heartbroken. I realized that I could not survive my junior year on my own, so I had to get help fast.
Once I got a tutor, my grades went from Cs, Ds, and even some Fs, to nothing but As and Bs. I slowly started to gain my confidence back in all of my classes and even myself. By the time the third and fourth quarter came around, I had been on the honor roll twice, and I had received awards from speeches and debates, tennis and school.
Southside has taught me to always keep my head up and never give up on myself no matter what life throws at me. I am proud to be a Southside Tiger.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．The writer always thought Southside High School was the best. |
| B．The writer’s parents persuaded her into attending Southside High School. |
| C．The writer has met many challenges since she attended high school. |
| D．Life has become easier since the writer came to Southside High School. |
| A．Excited. | B．Worried. |
| C．Curious. | D．Uninterested. |
| A．She didn’t work hard enough. |
| B．She didn’t ask others for help because of her pride. |
| C．She missed many important speeches. |
| D．No one would like to help her. |
| A．Students should face challenges bravely. |
| B．Students should be careful in choosing school. |
| C．Students should be proud of their school. |
| D．Students should better learn about life. |
5 . As we all know, a friend in need is a friend indeed. I really didn’t know the meaning of this proverb until one day something
That morning, I got up late and
It was on that day that I learned and believed the proverb “a friend in need is a friend indeed” to be
| A．amusing | B．rewarding | C．familiar | D．unexpected |
| A．walked | B．returned | C．drove | D．hurried |
| A．kicked | B．beat | C．hit | D．touched |
| A．pain | B．loss | C．fun | D．trouble |
| A．campus | B．playground | C．library | D．lab |
| A．Although | B．Since | C．Until | D．Once |
| A．used | B．offered | C．managed | D．tried |
| A．imagine | B．bear | C．control | D．forget |
| A．gazing | B．laughing | C．pointing | D．shouting |
| A．Standing | B．Sitting | C．Falling | D．Lying |
| A．jumped | B．looked | C．ran | D．jogged |
| A．methods | B．scenes | C．locations | D．atmosphere |
| A．fortune | B．goods | C．place | D．position |
| A．put | B．picked | C．dropped | D．left |
| A．ordinary | B．true | C．positive | D．unique |
6 . I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labelled (贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.
The war broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.
The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it.
From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled (爬) under her covers, sobbing.
Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart.
Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I was so buried in my work that I even didn’t noticed Kate had sat up.
She was watching, her tears dried and her expression showed her disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, “Thanks.”
Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together, giving in, cleaning up and holding on.
1. How is paragraph 1 mainly developed?| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By showing differences. |
| C．By describing a process. | D．By following time order. |
| A．Kate always hid my belongings. |
| B．Kate often wore my clothes. |
| C．Kate wouldn’t share her books with me. |
| D．Kate didn’t agree with my way of doing things. |
| A．The author’s shoes were dirty. |
| B．She heard the author shouting loud. |
| C．The author’s shoes were in Kate’s place. |
| D．She got the bad news from her grandma. |
| A．she wanted to show her care |
| B．she was asked by Kate to do so |
| C．she was scared by Kate’s anger |
| D．she had planned to do so |
7 . Edwin Hubble made his most important discoveries in the 1920s. Today, other astronomers continue the work he began. Many of them are using the Hubble Space Telescope that is named after him.
Edwin Powell Hubble was born in 1889 in Marshfield, Missouri. He spent his early years in the state of Kentucky. Then he moved with his family to Chicago, in Louisville. He attended the University of Chicago. He studied mathematics and astronomy. Hubble was a good student. He was a good athlete, too. He was a member of the University of Chicago championship basketball team in 1909. He also was an excellent boxer. Several people urged him to train for the world heavyweight boxing championship after college. Instead, he decided to continue his studies. He went to Queen’s College at Oxford, England.
At Oxford, Hubble studied law. He was interested in British Common Law, because his family had come to America from England many years before. He spent three years at Oxford. In 1913, Hubble returned to the United States. He opened a law office in Louisville, Kentucky. After a short time, however, he decided he did not want to be a lawyer. He returned to the University of Chicago. There, once again, he studied astronomy. Edwin Hubble was the first person to use the Hale Telescope.He died in 1953 while preparing to spend four nights looking through the telescope at the sky.
Hubble’s work led to new researches on the birth of the universe. One astronomer said scientists have been filling in the details ever since. And, he said, there is a long way to go.
1. According to this passage, what was Edwin Hubble most interested in?| A．Sports. | B．Law. |
| C．Astronomy. | D．Mathematics. |
| A．Because he was interested in British Common Law. |
| B．Because he was eager to be a famous judge in future. |
| C．Because his parents had been to Britain a few years before. |
| D．Because he wanted to go on with the study of astronomy. |
a. He joined the University of Chicago championship basketball team.
b. He studied astronomy at the University of Chicago once again.
c. He moved to Louisville with his family.
d. He used the Hale Telescope to look at the sky.
e, He became a lawyer in Louisville for a short period of time.
| A．c, a, b, d, e | B．a, c, b, e, d | C．c, a, e, b, d | D．a, b, d, e, c |
| A．The Hubble Space Telescope was made by Hubble himself. |
| B．Edwin Powell Hubble went to Oxford, England in 1910. |
| C．Edwin Powell Hubble grew up in Marshfield, Missouri. |
| D．Hubble died while he was looking at the sky. |
8 . Recently, there is a view on the Internet that “the rise of pig price will lead to the rise of other food prices, thus leading to a substantial rise in overall prices”. It should be said that this judgment is not scientific. We should objectively understand the position of pork price in the overall price and its possible linkage effect.
At present, the main problem faced by the pork price is the lack of pork production capacity, which has nothing to do with inflation and will not lead to inflation. The rise of pork price only affects the upstream and downstream of pig industry and other related products such as meat, but has limited impact on the overall price. At present, China's agricultural product supply is sufficient; the production capacity of consumer goods is constantly improving; the service supply is more diversified, and the monetary policy remains stable, which provides a solid foundation for the stable operation of prices.
Keeping prices, especially the prices of important people's livelihood commodities, basically stable is related to the basic life of the people. In the face of rising pork prices, the state's policy of ensuring supply and stabilizing prices continues to increase. From choosing the right opportunity to put frozen meat reserve to starting the price subsidy mechanism, from rectifying the improper restriction and prohibition measures to protecting the land for pig farms, from special financial support to financial insurance escort, all departments are taking measures. With the gradual effectiveness of the measures, the price of pork will be stable in the future. It is worth noting that the data of the Ministry of Commerce on September 10th shows that the increase of pork wholesale price has fallen back from the previous week (from September 2nd to 8th).
1. From the first paragraph of the article, what’s the correct point of view we can get?| A．The rise of pig price will lead to the rise of other food prices, which will lead to the sharp rise of overall prices. |
| B．The rise of pig price will lead to the decrease of other food prices, which will lead to the sharp decline of overall price. |
| C．People should objectively understand the position of pork price in the overall price and its possible linkage effect. |
| D．It is not important to understand the position of pork price in the overall price and the linkage effect it can produce. |
| A．The reason for the rise of pork price is related to inflation. |
| B．The reason for the rise of pork price is related to the death of pigs. |
| C．The reason for the rise of pork price is related to market demand. |
| D．The reason for the rise of pork price is related to the lack of pork production capacity. |
| A．The price of pork will keep rising. | B．The price of pork will probably be stable. |
| C．The price of pork will not be stable. | D．The price of pork will never be stable. |
| A．The Price of Pork Is Rising. |
| B．What will People Do in the Face of Rising Pork Prices? |
| C．The Impact of Rising Pork Prices. |
| D．The Impact of Rising Pork Prices on People. |
9 . Jane Jie Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, Asia’s largest online travel agency, connects people with the best
While
“Many discussions I had at UF still influence(影响) my style of leadership today.
“I try to put myself in other people’s shoes,” says Sun. “In a global market, you have to have a very good understanding of different people and
Now as a mother of two daughters, she shoulders the
“Some people ask me why I work so hard, but I feel that mothers are the best role
| A．universities | B．firms | C．destinations | D．agencies |
| A．bridge | B．separate | C．surround | D．track |
| A．representing | B．guiding | C．exploring | D．attending |
| A．finally | B．currently | C．especially | D．typically |
| A．Instead of | B．As well as | C．In comparison with | D．In addition to |
| A．most | B．fullest | C．busiest | D．earliest |
| A．Therefore | B．However | C．Besides | D．Moreover |
| A．At ease | B．By chance | C．In particular | D．In general |
| A．denying | B．praising | C．hearing | D．accepting |
| A．lecture | B．culture | C．outcome | D．issue |
| A．preserve | B．respect | C．develop | D．create |
| A．credit | B．blame | C．responsibility | D．failure |
| A．models | B．performers | C．supporters | D．participants |
| A．expose | B．adapt | C．challenge | D．award |
| A．foreigner | B．traveler | C．leader | D．mother |
10 . Jagadish Chandra Bose was born in Bikrampur (now in present-day Bangladesh) on November 30, 1858. His father believed that it was important for him to get a good education in his native language, which is Bengali, before being sent to an English-medium school. Thus, Bose received his early education completely in Bengali. He then attended St. Xavier’s School and later college, at Calcutta, where his interest in science was developed. He graduated from University of Calcutta in 1879.
Bose wanted to take the Indian Civil Service (文官) exams but his father insisted that he should take up a more academic pursuit (学术追求). Thus he went to study medicine at the University of London, England but could not complete his studies because of his ill health. He went on to study Natural Science at Christ's College, Cambridge.
He returned to India in 1885 and began teaching physics at Presidency College. His salary (工资), however, was half of what English professors earned at the time so he refused to accept his salary for three years until the administration gave in and gave him his previous salary as well. Another way in which he was discriminated (歧视) against was being asked to do unnecessary, unimportant work and not being provided with proper research facilities and support such as equipment for conducting experiments. Bose often had to buy equipment with his own money and conducted experiments late into the night after he had finished his tough daily tasks.
Though in the face of those challenges, he made great contributions in the study of plant nervous systems. He successfully showed that plants and animals have similar responses to stimuli in London on May 10, 1901. His discovery was extremely significant but was laughed at by many of his colleagues at first. However, his contributions are now widely accepted throughout the world. Bose's another great achievement is research into wireless technology and short radio waves. IEEE named him one of the fathers of radio science.
Bose published various journals and books, and founded the Bose Institute in 1917 for research in various fields such as physics, chemistry and microbiology. He received numerous honors. He died on November 23, 1937.
1. What can we learn about Bose’s early schooling?| A．It was conducted in Bengali. |
| B．It went against his father’s will. |
| C．It turned out challenging for Bose. |
| D．It was started at St. Xavier’s School. |
| A．To find a job. |
| B．To see a doctor. |
| C．To learn English. |
| D．To continue his education. |
| A．Cultural shock. |
| B．Unfair treatment. |
| C．Poor mental health. |
| D．Lack of family support. |
| A．His approaches to teaching physics. |
| B．His fight against racial discrimination. |
| C．His contributions to Western medicine. |
| D．His research into plant nervous systems. |
