1 . Every year around August, millions of teens take their parents to stores to buy new clothes for the start of the school year. Not every parent can afford this, and some teens are forced to go to school in the same clothes they wore last year. The obvious differences in clothes cause differences among students. There is a simple solution to this problem; school uniforms (校服).
I know from personal experience and surveys that wearing uniforms creates a sense of equality among peers (同龄人).
From sixth grade until I graduated from senior high school, I attended a school that required students to wear uniforms. The uniform was very simple: dark brown shoes, green-brown pants, and a white shirt. The uniform left little room for any kind of self-expression, especially through clothes.
However, I learned how to stand out by expressing myself through my personality, art, and sports. I did not know I could draw until the sixth grade. I also would never have learned of my musical abilities if it hadn’t been for my desire to find ways to express myself. Uniforms taught me that I was myself, except what I wore.
Uniforms also contribute to a much safer learning environment. I remember a particular event that happened in my junior high school. A man ran away from prison and wanted to hide in the gym of our school. Luckily, cameras all over the school quickly found the stranger before any danger could ever happen as he was out of place. School officials kept the man locked inside our gym until the police came to take him back to prison.
Uniforms help provide a better educational experience for all students no matter what race, culture, or economic class (经济阶层). In closing, wearing uniforms is good for both schools and students.
1. How does the author introduce the topic?| A．By explaining a basic rule. |
| B．By challenging others’ views. |
| C．By describing a common problem. |
| D．By sharing his parents’ experience. |
| A．Uniforms should be more modern. |
| B．Uniforms can help shape better students. |
| C．Uniforms are popular with students. |
| D．Uniforms are bad for self-development. |
| A．Dressing differently. | B．Standing straight. |
| C．Running fast. | D．Breathing heavily. |
| A．To record his high school life. |
| B．To show his supportive view towards uniforms. |
| C．To ask students to like what they wear. |
| D．To introduce high school uniforms. |
2 . Humans have long known that being in nature is good for the mind and body. From indigenous (本土的) adolescents completing the adult ceremony in the wild to modern East Asian cultures taking “forest baths”, many have looked to nature as a place for healing and personal growth. But the question still remains. How can nature make it?
There is no doubt that being in nature reduces the physiological symptoms of stress in our bodies. What this means is that we are less likely to be anxious and fearful in nature, and therefore we can be more open to other people and creative patterns of thought. Also, nature often leads to awe, wonder and respect, all these emotions facilitating everything from physical to mental health. There is also some evidence that exposure to nature impacts the brain. Viewing natural beauty makes specific reward circuits in the brain associated with dopamine release, a chemical that gives us a sense of purpose, joy and energy to pursue our goals.
But, regrettably, people seem to be spending less time outdoors and less time in nature than before. It is also clear that, in the past 30 years, people’s levels of stress and sense of “busyness” have risen dramatically. These joint forces have led environmental writer Richard Louv to coin the term “Nature Deficit Disorder”—a form of suffering that comes from a sense of disconnection from nature and its powers.
Perhaps we should take note and try a course corrective. The 19th century philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote about nature, “There I feel that nothing can befall me in life—no disgrace, no calamity.” The science speaks to Emerson’s intuition. It’s time to realize that nature is more than just a material resource. It’s also a pathway to human health and happiness.
1. Why are “indigenous adolescents” and “modern East Asian cultures” mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To clarify a viewpoint. | B．To answer the question below. |
| C．To present the natural scenery. | D．To show the cultural differences. |
| A．Restricting. | B．Exposing. | C．Promoting. | D．Covering. |
| A．Uneasy. | B．Indifferent. | C．Humorous. | D．Proud. |
| A．Is It Time to Challenge Yourself in Nature? |
| B．Do You Know Nature Is a Material Resource? |
| C．Why Do We Care about the Natural Environment? |
| D．What Can Happen When We Connect with Nature? |
3 . Exhibitions at Poetry Foundation
A.R. Ammons: WatercolorsWell-known as one of the most gifted and fruitful poets of the modern era, AR. Ammons was also a great painter. This exhibition focuses on Ammons’s abstract watercolors painted from 1977 to 1979,a time of intense productivity.The abstraction of these watercolors is in line with those found in Ammons's poems and offers an expanded understanding of his art.
Date: January9-April 30Jun Fujita: American Visionary
This exhibition focuses on the extraordinary achievements of poet and photojournalist Jun Fujita. Born outside Hiroshima,Fujita came to Chicago in 1909,becoming the first Japanese American photojournalist. He published his poems regularly in Poetry magazine, and as a photographer he captured (拍摄) many of the most famous moments in Chicago history.
Date: January 24- March 31Poetry by Winterhouse
The Winterhouse design studio, cofounded by William Drenttel and Jessica Helfand, worked with Poetry magazine for 12 years, contributing to the rebirth of the magazine's design and the first Poetry Foundation brand identity. Poetry by Winterhouse illustrates the magazine's rich history and the expansion and development of its visual style.
Date: May 15-August 27The Life o f Poetry in Morden Tower
Morden Tower, now one of Britain’s literary landmarks, was once a dusty, nearly abandoned building. That changed in 1964 when Tom and Connie Pickard began a new reading series in the tower. Morden Tower quickly became an international poetry center and housed poetry history. This exhibition honors that history with a showcase of posters from the1960s and 1970s advertising readings, photos, and letters.
Date: September 5-December 201. Who was both a poet and a painter?
| A．Jun Fujita. | B．Connie Pickard. | C．A.R. Ammons. | D．William Drenttel. |
| A．The Life of Poetry in Morden Tower | B．Jun Fujita: American Visionary. |
| C．AR.Ammons: Watercolors. | D．Poetry by Winterhouse. |
| A．On January 30. | B．On February 16. | C．On August 27. | D．On October 20. |
4 . Four Good Body Language Courses
Body Language for Personal Development
This course teaches you how to improve your body language skills and make yourself much more confident at public meetings, discussions and group meetings.
Key Highlights
*Know how to recognise the 26 most common changes of 7 emotions
*Move and stand with confidence in every business situation
*Increase confidence in meetings, talks and presentations
How to Make a Great First Impression
This course will teach you how to use eye contact, smiles, handshakes and words to make a great first impression. It’s designed by David Hyner. David has interviewed over 250 top achievers from all walks of life. He has discovered how these people set and achieve great goals, and he writes and speaks on these findings.
Key Highlights
*Act more confidently in public
*How to master your own body language
*Understand how to give and hold eye contact
Free Digital Body Language Course
You have 0.05 seconds to make a good first impression online. In those 0.05 seconds, you have to attract someone and show who you are and why they should connect with you and build trust. It’s created by Vanessa Van Edwards, who is the lead researcher at the Science of People, a human behavior research lab.
Key Highlights
*Improve your online presence
*Learn the psychology of websites
*Use body language online
The Power of Body Language
In this course, the designer, body language expert Vanessa Van Edwards, explains how to use body language communication to become the most impressive person in any room.
Key Highlights
*Read people by guessing their visual cues
*Use body language to your advantage in meetings
*Understand how to tell if people are lying
1. Who might be interested in the first course?| A．People dealing with business situations. |
| B．People often using social networking sites. |
| C．People asking the questions in an interview. |
| D．People having difficulty controlling their feelings. |
| A．Its goal is to help people set their goals. |
| B．It teaches us to explore people and things. |
| C．It invites successful people from all walks of life. |
| D．It is created based on successful people’s experiences. |
| A．They are both popular among website users. |
| B．They both focus on how to read others’ mind. |
| C．They are both designed by the same researcher. |
| D．They both stress the importance of the first impression. |
5 . Soccer, basketball, baseball, and the like are popular all around the world, However, do you look for something a bit different? There may be some new sports that you want to try out!
One of the new sports is regball. It is a Russian sport adding basketball, wrestling (摔跤) and rugby. As in basketball, the players have a ball that they try to shoot through a hoop (篮筐) . But nobody will be calling “that’s a travel” while watching this sport, because there is no need to dribble (运球) . Players also wrestle with each other during the game.
Another kind of sport you don’t see every day is soapbox racing. Handmade vehicles are pushed down a hill, and competitors have to drive their vehicles through a course with different kinds of things in their way. Not all competitors are engineers, so the vehicles are easy to break apart. Competitors are judged for their soapbox’s creativity. Therefore, speed is not everything, and creativity plays the most important role. Competitors often design their vehicles based on themes from pop culture or history. Of course, the competitors dress up to play the role, too.
Cheese rolling race is not seen very often, but it is exciting. This is a game that is extremely funny for audience, but painful for competitors. During the game, competitors race down a very steep (陡峭的) hill, chasing after a round of Double Gloucester cheese that can weigh up to nine pounds and can travel some 70 miles per hour. Whoever gets to the bottom first wins the cheese.
1. What can we know about regball?| A．It mixes three kinds of sports. |
| B．Its competitors race down a hill. |
| C．Wrestling is not allowed during the game. |
| D．Its rules are exactly the same as basketball. |
| A．A lesson. | B．A track. | C．An action. | D．A period of time. |
| A．Their speed. | B．Their clothes. |
| C．Their creativity. | D．Their driving experiences. |
| A．A new study about sports. |
| B．A presentation of sports skills. |
| C．An introduction to three new sports. |
| D．The difference between traditional and new sports. |
6 . It was early winter several years ago. I had pulled out my old winter coat for another year’s use. It was still in pretty good shape although it was looking dirty from so many winters’ wear. I didn’t really need a new one but I wanted one and casually mentioned it to my daughter one day. She was such a sweet, loving girl that I should have guessed what would happen next. A few weeks later she gave me a new winter coat as a gift.
I put the old one in my closet and started to wear the new coat every day. Each day, though, when I opened my closet, something troubled me. It seemed a shame that my old but still good coat should just sit there keeping no one warm during the cold winter days. After a few weeks, I took it out and drove to a local charity shop. I knew that there was someone who couldn’t afford a coat but could get my old one.
My new coat is my old coat now. It is getting a little dirty and worn, too. It has black marks on the sleeves. It is in too bad shape to even donate to charity. I wonder if I should buy a new one soon, but I think I will wait for a while. I don’t really need a new one and maybe I can find something else to give to the charity shop instead.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover.” Perhaps the best way to deal with our wants then is to give instead. Love, after all, brings us the most joy. And the more of it you give away, the more of it you have.
1. Which word can best describe the author’s daughter?| A．Wealthy. | B．Thoughtful. | C．Easy-going. | D．Humorous. |
| A．It cost too much. | B．It was looking dirty. |
| C．There was not enough room for his new coat. | D．It was not sent to someone in need. |
| A．Telling his daughter. | B．Buying a new one soon. |
| C．Donating it to charity. | D．Sending something else to charity. |
| A．Giving fills our wants. | B．Love is the key to joy. |
| C．The more you give, the more you lose. | D．A coat is large enough to cover our wants. |
7 . Viator, a trip advisor company, offers a variety of tourism programs near London. The following are some of its programs.
Thames River Sightseeing Cruise (乘船游览) with Afternoon Tea (Aug. 18)
While in London, you can add the moment of enjoying British tradition to an afternoon tea cruise. You can have a unique dining experience with family and friends on the Thames River. As you cruise from Tower Pier to Westminster, you can enjoy tea, freshly prepared cakes and sandwiches, and view London’s great landmarks, including the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the London Eye.
Lowest Price: $ 57. 7
Duration: 1. 5 hours
Kid-Friendly Private Tour (Aug. 20)
This tour is a private tour of the Tower of London with pre-booked admission tickets. It is specially designed for families with children, including interesting stories from over the centuries. You can enjoy a visit to the Crown Jewels, red-uniformed Beefeaters, and a stop at the Beasts of the Royal Menagerie.Lowest Price: $ 309. 35
Duration: 6 hours
Walking Tour (Aug. 22)
This action-packed walking tour covers London’s two most historic areas: the City of London and Westminster. See more than 30 sights, including the Tower of London, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and so on.
Lowest Price: $19. 35
Duration: 5 hours
Night Open-Top Bus Tour with Christmas Lights (Nov. 18)
You will see a different side of London on an open-top bus tour that discovers the best of the city’s Christmas lights. Sitting on the top deck gives you overall views of England’s capital, including top attractions such as Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Lowest Price: $ 30. 97
Duration: 2 hours
1. What can visitors enjoy during the Kid-Friendly Private Tour?| A．Freshly prepared cakes. | B．Christmas lights. |
| C．A Cruise experience. | D．Interesting stories. |
| A．1. 5 hours. | B．2 hours. | C．5 hours. | D．6 hours. |
| A．Walking Tour. |
| B．Kid-Friendly Private Tour. |
| C．Night Open-Top Bus Tour with Christmas Lights. |
| D．Thames River Sightseeing Cruise with Afternoon Tea. |
8 . While some critics claim that history curricula (课程) teach unnecessary content, others argue that these curricula need to be more comprehensive. Despite ongoing debates about content, one universal truth remains: strong history curricula are necessary for developing the productive citizens of tomorrow.
The greatest academic value that history curricula provide is not the recall of important dates and names. Rather, understanding the historical inquiry process is the most important component. This process teaches students how to become critical thinkers and understand the dynamic nature of the telling of history.
Through strong history curricula, students are shown both a variety of primary and secondary sources and are taught to critique them. This is where the historical inquiry process begins. Students not only begin to analyze and ask questions about the content, but they also learn about the author’s credibility and potential bias (偏见). Students are then able to contextualize the information they learn and can think more critically about historical con text and those who tell it.
With this framework, students can then understand the causal relationship between human nature, values, philosophy, actions, and their consequences. It teaches students to recognize recurrent themes and lessons that are necessary to understand modern society. Most importantly, it teaches students to develop a healthy skepticism (怀疑论) when presented with information today because our actions are history in the making.
Forty years ago, renowned scholar James Fitzgerald argued that no education is complete without the teaching of historical inquiry. He believed that the only way to move forward in life is to understand what’s behind us.
Today, this principle still holds true. Students take both the factual knowledge and the historical inquiry skills they learn in the classroom and apply them to real world circumstances. Throughout their lives, students who are taught with strong history curricula will take the lessons they learn from our predecessors and become involved, active, productive citizens who want to create a history that tomorrow’s students will be proud to learn about.
1. What is the biggest academic significance of history learning?| A．Passing down Chinese culture. | B．Grasping historical inquiry skills. |
| C．Making people more knowledgeable. | D．Enriching people’s everyday life. |
| A．Protect. | B．Combine. | C．Comment. | D．Remember. |
| A．To stress the importance of history. |
| B．To point out the essence of education. |
| C．To indicate famous people learn from history. |
| D．To show history contributes to people’s achievements. |
| A．It Is the People that Create History |
| B．History Pushes the Wheel of the Times |
| C．History Curricula Are Gaining More Attention |
| D．History Curricula Shape Tomorrow’s Decision Makers |
9 . “Thank you for letting me observe your classes. It was an unusual experience,” the email began, which got my heart racing.
I am an industry scientist, and in my spare time I was teaching a course for computer science students at a local university. By that point in the semester, I hadn't asked the students to solve any technical problems or even open their computers. Instead, I taught them teamwork and communication and skills they
I thought of these lessons when I started to develop the university class. The part-time role was appealing because I was eager to share my expertise and get back to working with students. But I didn’t want to use my old teaching style, which focused on lectures and whiteboard exercises. I wanted to develop the same qualities I was looking for in job candidates at my company.
I decided to use games and challenges to encourage teamwork and creativity. In one, students had to work together to decide how to survive a tough desert environment. In another, they built the tallest structure they could out of spaghetti and candies. The teaching expert sat in on one such class.
I worried they might have been taken aback(吓到). But after that unsettling opening, their email was positive: “I understand the important message you
In the end, education is not just about sharing knowledge. It's also about helping students develop soft skills that will help them succeed wherever they plan to go, be it academia or industry.
1. What made the author's heart race?| A．Uneasiness. | B．Excitement. | C．Heart failure. | D．Lack of sleep. |
| A．To teach communication skills. | B．To take over the author's work. |
| C．To learn about the author's teaching. | D．To help solve technical problems. |
| A．Survival skills. | B．Soft skills. | C．Game design. | D．Book knowledge. |
| A．He has a great impact on the author's career. |
| B．He attaches importance to sharing knowledge. |
| C．He points out the leading role of the computer. |
| D．He shares the same teaching idea with the author. |
10 . Modern medicine and the latest technology can save many lives. If you live in a country where healthcare is readily available and accessible, then your chances of recovering from illnesses or accidents are very good. But for many people in the US who are uninsured (无保险的), they can’t afford these new medical treatments. That’s why Doctor Demetrio Aguila in Norfolk lets poor patients pay for surgery (外科手术) through volunteer work.
“For years I had been doing surgery for patients and taking care of their health problems. Then I would find out months later, sometimes years later, that I had caused their financial ruin,” Aguila said. Serious illnesses can completely deplete a family’s savings, leaving them no choice but to go bankrupt (破产).
Then he formed Healing Hands M25 as a way to give poor patients the medical fees they need by donating their time to community service. The process is pretty simple. They practice partners with local charitable organizations. The patient picks the charity and donates his time and sweat; Aguila determines the amount of volunteer hours the patient has to complete. “We’ve lowered the cost of healthcare. We’ve made it fair for everybody involved,” Aguila said.
The first patient to participate in the program was Jeffrey Jenson who worked for 560 hours to pay for surgery on his leg. Jenson asked his friends and family to help him complete the hours. Jenson said that his volunteer work greatly affected his life as much as the surgery. “The M25 program is not about money — it’s about if people come together to help other people, then the community becomes better,” said Jenson.
This program is a big win for the patients, the local community, and Dr Aguila who knows he has done everything he could to help his patients.
1. How does Aguila make poor patients pay for surgery?| A．In cash. | B．Through an insurance company. |
| C．By doing volunteer work. | D．By serving the doctor. |
| A．Set aside. | B．Use up. | C．Cut down. | D．Add to. |
| A．What Healing Hands M25 does. |
| B．How Healing Hands M25 works. |
| C．Why Aguila runs Healing Hands M25. |
| D．Why patients choose Healing Hands M25. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Objective. | D．Unconcerned. |
