2 . The United Nations Environment Program is calling for urgent action to reduce growing risks from chemicals. Better management of chemicals could save millions of lives and billions of dollars. As estimated, 143,000 chemicals are now produced. Yet the report says only a small number of these chemicals have been studied for their effects on human health and the environment. It says death and disability rates are high from the unsafe use of chemical products.

Sylvie Lemmet, director of the UNEP, says poor management of chemicals has a high economic cost. For example, she says the cost is higher than the amount of overseas development aid, or ODA, for health care in sub-Saharan Africa.

She says, “If you look at the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide (杀虫剂) in sub-Saharan Africa, only the injury and the loss of working time is estimated to be 6.3 billion US dollars in 2009. This is higher than the total ODA that is going to the health part in the same area.”

The UNEP estimates that chemical sales worldwide will increase by around three percent a year until 2050. Chemical production is moving quickly from developed to developing countries. By 2020, chemical production is expected to increase by 40 percent in Africa and the Middle East and 33 percent in Latin America. One of its biggest concerns is pollution of rivers and lakes by pesticide and fertilizer. Other major concerns are heavy metal pollution from the production of cement (水泥) and textiles (纺织品), and dioxin pollution from mining.

The UN report urges the chemical industry and governments to work together to develop safety policies. It says preventing harm costs less than fixing it.

1. The purpose of Paragraph 3 is mainly to indicate that ______.

A．chemicals have a high production cost

B．Africa needs more development aid

C．the use of pesticide causes a great loss

D．the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide is incorrect

2. Which of the following is NOT a source of danger according to the text?

A．Pesticide.	B．Fertilizer.
C．Heavy metals.	D．Minerals.

3. According to the text, what is the main reason for the risks from chemicals?

A．The mass production of cement and textiles.

B．Lack of research funds on chemicals.

C．Poor management of chemicals.

D．Contradictions between chemical producers and governments.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．The truth in Sylvie Lemmet’s comments

B．A UN warning about chemical dangers

C．The unpredictable future of chemical industry

D．Preventing is much better than fixing

3 . People in the US have been encouraged for decades to eat various kinds of food, as the variety of food helps to_______that they keep a_______with enough nutrition. But this week a group of nutrition experts said that longstanding_______might be out of date.

The advice to_______different kinds of food has been included in the government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans美国居民膳食指南》) for quite some time. It is_______based on_______studies of low-income populations. The studies claimed that consuming various kinds of food could help_______deficiencies(缺乏) of nutrition.

But things may be different considering today's environment_______food is plentiful. That same advice could lead to a(n)_______consequence, argued Dr Otto, one of the experts with the American Heart Association.

Experts________the latest evidence of the recommendation, and________a scientific report on Thursday. The report stated that in some studies, people who consume a wide range of food usually eat many nutritious food________fish, vegetables and fruits.________they also eat many________food, like sugared snacks and other processed food.

Greater dietary variety is also associated with a(n)________calorie intake and weight gain.Some studies show that a________variety of food choices in any given meal could delay fullness and________the amount of food people eat. Some recent dietary guidelines recommend that people eat"a variety of food", and________“ a variety of vegetables from all of the subgroups”.

But Dr Otto said people should worry________about variety and more about diet quality,such as filling half your plate with only one or two vegetables you like. Actually, what________is the amount of fruits, vegetables, nuts and other nutritious food you eat, not the variety.

1.

A．ensure

B．make

C．provide

D．prove

2.

A．dish

B．meal

C．diet

D．food

3.

A．decision

B．research

C．recommendation

D．study

4.

A．cook

B．consume

C．find

D．take

5.

A．rarely

B．nearly

C．hardly

D．largely

6.

A．recent

B．latest

C．previous

D．scientific

7.

A．cure

B．stop

C．protect

D．prevent

8.

A．why

B．where

C．when

D．what

9.

A．opposite

B．positive

C．same

D．convincing

10.

A．carried

B．did

C．examined

D．left

11.

A．held

B．gave out

C．released

D．came out

12.

A．such as

B．for example

C．in case

D．as long as

13.

A．Although

B．Even if

C．However

D．But

14.

A．healthy

B．junk

C．nutritious

D．high-fat

15.

A．higher

B．medium

C．lower

D．average

16.

A．narrow

B．limited

C．deficient

D．wider

17.

A．reduce

B．digest

C．increase

D．consume

18.

A．in general

B．in other words

C．in short

D．in particular

19.

A．more

B．less

C．higher

D．lower

20.

A．cares

B．helps

C．works

D．matters

4 . Liverpool, my hometown, is a unique city. It is so unique that in 2004 it became a World Heritage Site.

I recently returned to my home city and my first stop was a museum on the River Mersey. Blanketed in mist(薄雾), Victorian architecture rose from the banks of the river, responded to the sounds of seabirds, and appeared unbelievably charming. When I headed toward the centre, I found myself surrounded by buildings that mirror the best palaces of Europe. It is not hard to imagine why, on first seeing the city, most visitors would be overpowered by the beauty of the noble buildings, which are solid signs of Liverpool’s history.

As if to stress its cultural role, Liverpool has more museums and galleries than most cities in Britain. At the Walker Art Gallery, I was told that it has best collections of Victorian paintings in the world, and is the home of modern art in the north of England. However, culture is more than galleries. Liverpool offers many music events. As Britain’s No.1 music city, it has the biggest city music festival in Europe, and its musicians are famous all over the world. Liverpool is also well-known for its football and other sports events. Every year, the River Festival Liverpool attracts thousands of visitors, making the city a place of wonder.

As you would expect from such a city, there are restaurants serving food from around the world. When my trip was about to end, I chose to rest my legs in Liverpool’s famous Philharmonic pub. It is a monument(纪念碑) to perfection, and a heritage attraction itself.

Being a World Heritage Site, my home city is certainly a place of Outstanding Universal Value. It is a treasure house with plenty of secrets for the world to explore.

1. What can first catch visitors’ attention in Liverpool?

A．Charming banks.

B．Famous museums.

C．Wonderful palaces.

D．Attractive buildings.

2. How is the third paragraph mainly developed?

A．By analyzing causes.

B．By making comparisons.

C．By following the order of time.

D．By providing different examples.

3. Why does the author mention the Philharmonic pub in the fourth paragraph?

A．To show Liverpool is a well-known city for its restaurants.

B．To prove Liverpool is an impressive place full of attractions.

C．To explain a pub is a wonderful place for visitors to relax themselves.

D．To stress a pub is a perfect choice for visitors to end their journey.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The universal value of Liverpool.

B．The beautiful historic sites of Liverpool.

C．The special cultural atmosphere of Liverpool.

D．The author’s exciting experience in Liverpool.

5 . Captain Henry, a 98-year-old American retired fisherman, has become a first-time author, having written and published his autobiography In a Fisherman's Language after learning to read at the age of 91.

Mr.Henry spent most of his life without even his closest family members knowing he was illiterate. Forced to quit school in the third grade to take odd jobs, he kept the secret close to his chest, only telling his late wife. Henry's granddaughter, Marlisa, told reporters how he used tricks, like waiting for others to order at restaurants first, to avoid the issue.

A family argument in his 90s, she said, aroused his desire for education.“He signed a document he could not read about where he was going to live, Marlisa said. Starting with his name, he eventually moved on to the ABC's and children's books. He put them down since his wife fell ill. After the tragic loss of his wife, he went back to reading and began to log (记录) his life. He wrote about his family's voyage from Portugal to the US, how he went on to captain a boat, and his many journeys at sea.

His life stories have become so popular that nearly 800 copies were sold in the first two weeks after the book's release. One thousand more have since been printed as requests for the book flood in from as far as Germany. And now even Hollywood producers have approached Mr. Henry about buying the rights to his life story for a big screen adaptation.

The family also now has a book agent and a deal in the works to publish a second edition. Meanwhile, the family says they are reconnecting and closer than ever as a result of Henry's late-life efforts.“Everyone has a story,” Marlisa said, “It teaches that when you're down and out, never give up.”

1. When did Henry begin writing his life story?

A．When he was 91 years old.	B．After his wife passed away.
C．When he was 98 years old.	D．After he retired from work.

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．A Hollywood producer wishes to make a movie out of Henry's book.

B．Henry never told anyone that he couldn't read or write.

C．Henry began his reading with some famous novels.

D．Henry's book was well-received only by Americans.

3. How did Henry's family benefit from his writing?

A．The family got more money from the 2nd edition.

B．The family ties were rebuilt and strengthened.

C．His family moved from Portugal to the US.

D．His family story has been made into a movie.

4. What message can Henry's story give us?

A．An idle youth, a needy age.	B．Every coin has two sides.
C．Practice makes perfect.	D．It is never too old to learn.

6 . China’s “Little People’s Kingdom” is a theme park, where little people dance and sing in fairytale costumes, drawing both curious groups and criticism. The theme park, near Kunming City in Yunnan Province, employs 108 dwarfs from across the country, who gather on an artificial hillside twice a day to dance and sing for tourists. And all pretend to live in a tiny hilltop village.

The guests can watch shows like comedies, group dances and acrobatics (杂技). The show’s centrepiece, a funny performance of Swan Lake, sees performers dressed in special pink costumes and pretending to be little swans. “The first time I performed it (Swan Lake) I felt a bit embarrassed. I had never worn a skirt like that before. But later, once I got used to it, I found I could do it very well,” said Chen Ruan, from Hunan Province who joined the park when it opened.

For many of the employees, the park offers a rare opportunity to find work. As unlikely as it seems for men and women doing daily funny performances of Swan Lake, they think that it feels good to live in dormitories that look like caves while living with people with similar experiences. In addition, the life facilities in the park are made according to their special needs. Besides, performers in the park earn 2,000 yuan a month, around twice the salary of a high school graduate.

The founder of the park, Chen Ming, made his fortune by producing electronics and investing, but said he had always wanted to help the disadvantaged groups in the community. People, like human right activists (积极分子) for the disabled, think that such a park only encourages the discrimination against little people. The only requirement for participants to be employed at the theme park is to be shorter than 51 inches and be able to take care of themselves in daily life. The youngest employee is 18, and the oldest is 48.

1. According to Chen Ming, he founded the park to ________.

A．do good for society

B．invest money and increase his fortune

C．create a ballet show of Swan Lake

D．let people know more about the dwarfs

2. After living in the “Little People’s Kingdom” for some time, many employees feel ________.

A．worried	B．boring
C．upset	D．satisfied

3. Which qualifications should the employees in the theme park meet?
a.Having the ability to look after themselves.
b.No taller than 51 inches.
c.Aged between 18 and 48.
d.Being a high school graduate.

A．a and b	B．a and c
C．b and d	D．c and d

4. What can be learned from the text?

A．The employees perform for tourists in nature.

B．The employees perform twice a day.

C．The 108 employees come from all over the world.

D．The park lies in the city of Kunming.

7 . The Glover kids in Newburgh, New York, wanted to make a little extra money themselves before the school opened. So, earlier this week, they set up a lemonade stand on the side of the road. _____ was good during the rush hour, at which point some police officers stopped and _____Whitney Glover, mother of the young businessmen, that some _____ person had called to complain (投诉) about kids’ selling lemonade.

Now, in most stories, that’s when the police _____the stand, telling kids to take a food handling course and get a _____ from the related department. Then the children go home, completely _____ for their business is stopped. But not in this _____. The police officers said the kids weren’t doing anything wrong _____ causing traffic jams, and that their motivation (积极性) should be _____. The kids also promised to make ______to their schedule to avoid traffic problems. After ______for a photo with the kids, they left. Whitney posted the picture on social media with explanatory words. The_______story has gained a great deal of local ______ and the lemonade business is now booming.

Dozens of customers have ______for lemonade. “Every single time you buy a glass, children look amazed by the______ from time and efforts to coins in their hands,” Whitney said.

1.

A．Progress

B．Business

C．Traffic

D．Service

2.

A．promised

B．showed

C．warned

D．informed

3.

A．angry

B．generous

C．anxious

D．responsible

4.

A．take over

B．leave out

C．shut down

D．tear apart

5.

A．suggestion

B．licence

C．fund

D．record

6.

A．surprised

B．tired

C．upset

D．confused

7.

A．context

B．case

C．reason

D．issue

8.

A．other than

B．instead of

C．as for

D．due to

9.

A．investigated

B．prevented

C．praised

D．punished

10.

A．contributions

B．differences

C．objections

D．adjustments

11.

A．posing

B．exchanging

C．preparing

D．searching

12.

A．refreshing

B．effective

C．amusing

D．creative

13.

A．apology

B．development

C．support

D．debate

14.

A．stood out

B．stood by

C．stopped out

D．stopped by

15.

A．change

B．donation

C．supply

D．application

8 . In Europe, men do not usually wear skirts. But the Scottish national costume for men is a kind of skirt. It is called a kilt. The Scottish like to be ________. They are also proud of their country and its ________ and they feel that the kilt is part of that history. That’s why the men still wear kilts at old-style dances and on national holidays. They believe they are wearing the same clothes as Scottish men always used to wear.

That’s what they believe. ________ kilts are not really so old. Before 1730, Scottish men wore a long shirt and a ________ around their shoulders. These clothes got in the way when the men started to work in ________. So, in 1730 a factory owner changed the blanket into a skirt: the kilt. That’s how the first kilt was made.

Then, in the late 1700s Scottish soldiers in the ________ Army began to wear kilts to be different from the English soldiers. The Scottish soldiers ________ very hard and became famous. The kilt was part of that fame, and in the early 1800s men all round Scotland ________ to wear kilts.

These kilts had ________ stripes going up and down and across. In the 1700s and early 1800s, the colour of the stripes had no ________ meaning. But later the colours became important to the Scottish ________. Most families had special colours for their kilts. In fact, each family just chose the ________ they liked best.

This is not the ________ you will hear today if you are in Scotland. Most Scottish people still believe that kilts are as ________ as Scotland and that the colours are also as old as the Scottish families. Sometimes feelings are stronger than ________!

1.

A．different

B．similar

C．important

D．beautiful

2.

A．clothes

B．language

C．kilt

D．history

3.

A．Therefore

B．However

C．Certainly

D．Obviously

4.

A．cloth

B．dress

C．scarf

D．blanket

5.

A．factories

B．companies

C．fields

D．armies

6.

A．Scottish

B．British

C．European

D．Irish

7.

A．studied

B．worked

C．fought

D．quarreled

8.

A．pretended

B．refused

C．began

D．doubted

9.

A．beautiful

B．colourful

C．simple

D．bright

10.

A．important

B．helpful

C．special

D．clear

11.

A．country

B．people

C．soldiers

D．families

12.

A．stripes

B．kilts

C．colours

D．styles

13.

A．story

B．history

C．fact

D．news

14.

A．important

B．old

C．famous

D．different

15.

A．senses

B．stories

C．facts

D．sayings

9 . When I first entered university, my aunt, who is an English professor, gave me a new English dictionary and advised me to use it. I was _______ to see that it was an English-English dictionary, also known as a monolingual(单语的) dictionary. Although it was a dictionary intended for non-native learners, none of my classmates had one and, to be honest, I found it extremely _______ to use at first. I would _______ words in the dictionary but still could not fully understand the meanings. I was used to the _______ English-Chinese dictionaries, in which the words are _______ both in English and Chinese. I really wondered why my aunt gave me such _______ to make things so difficult for me. Now, I understand that monolingual dictionaries are _______ in learning a foreign language.

As I _______, there is, in fact, often no perfect equivalent(对应物) between two _______ in two languages. My aunt even ________ that even a Chinese “equivalent” can never give you the ________ meaning of the word in English! Therefore, she insisted that I read the definition of a word in a monolingual dictionary when I wanted to get a better ________ of its meaning. Gradually, I have come to see what she ________ .

Using a monolingual dictionary has helped me in another important way. This dictionary uses a(n) ________ number of words, around 2,000, in its definitions. When I read these definitions, I am ________ exposed (接触) to the basic words and learn how they are used to explain objects and ideas. Because of this, I can express myself more easily in English.

1.

A．worried

B．sad

C．surprised

D．nervous

2.

A．difficult

B．interesting

C．important

D．practical

3.

A．set up

B．look up

C．pick up

D．take up

4.

A．new

B．familiar

C．informed

D．confusing

5.

A．explained

B．expressed

C．described

D．created

6.

A．appreciation

B．courage

C．advice

D．power

7.

A．more natural

B．better

C．more convenient

D．easier

8.

A．checked out

B．broke out

C．found out

D．turned out

9.

A．words

B．names

C．ideas

D．characters

10.

A．hoped

B．declared

C．complained

D．dreamt

11.

A．exact

B．basic

C．translated

D．expected

12.

A．understanding

B．practice

C．expression

D．consideration

13.

A．wanted

B．preferred

C．meant

D．suffered

14.

A．extra

B．average

C．total

D．limited

15.

A．repeatedly

B．nearly

C．immediately

D．anxiously

10 . When bicycle-sharing company oBike pulled out of Singapore abruptly last year, it left the city with unattended bicycles everywhere. Myanmar businessman Mike Than Tun Win saw the perfect opportunity to turn trash (垃圾) into treasure. “What if these bicycles could be distributed to poor students in villages so they can cycle to school?” he thought.

Mr Than, 33, grew up in Mandalay, where he used to walk to school as a student. While traveling through rural (乡村的) areas in Myanmar over the last few years he saw things had not changed. Long lines of children in rural villages continue to walk 30 minutes to an hour just to get to school. “I thought if we could just reduce the time they take, they could spend more time studying, gain more knowledge and increase their chances of getting out of poverty (贫困),” he said.

With that, he started a movement called Lesswalk with the intention of buying bicycles from bike-sharing firms oBike and ofo-which have stopped operations in Singapore — and shipping them to Yangon. He would renew the bicycles before distributing them to teenagers and families living in rural villages in Myanmar, beginning with villages in Mandalay and Sagaing areas.

Over the last three months, the businessman has bought 10,000 bicycles in Singapore and Malaysia. He paid for 5,000 of the bicycles out of his own pocket, with other sponsors paying for the rest.

Mr Than plans to modify (修改) the bicycles so that they can better suit the needs of the children in villages, most of the time they ride around with their little brothers and sisters. I’m planning to add an extra seat at the back so that they can go to school together,” he said. He also plans to remove the digital locks and give each a new one that works better in villages.

Including the cost of shipping, modification and distribution, Mr Than thinks each bicycle might cost him around US $35 to US $40. “I might have to spend more money, but it is better that these bicycles are going to help some people rather than going to waste,” he said.

1. What's the author’s main purpose of writing the first two paragraphs?

A．To show Myanmar’ s hard rural life.

B．To explain how to turn trash into treasure.

C．To call on more people to follow Mr Than.

D．To state the background of starting Lesswalk.

2. How does Mr Than plan to adapt the bicycles?

A．By painting them in a colorful way.

B．By adding a bright light to each of them.

C．By adding two extra seats to each of them.

D．By changing the digital locks into new ones.

3. What can we infer from Mr Than’s words in the last paragraph?

A．He has a high opinion of himself.

B．He feels regret about what he has done.

C．He is a man with strong social responsibility.

D．He has decided to keep on working with oBike.

4. What's the best title for the text?

A．More unattended bicycles are attracting big attention

B．Bicycle-sharing companies are forced to leave Singapore

C．Rural villages in Myanmar are sponsored out of poverty

D．Businessman donates recycled bicycles to poor students