1 . At 6 feet, 7 inches, Will Allen was a natural at basketball. He received scholarship offers from more than a hundred colleges. He finally chose the University of Miami.
Going away to college meant leaving the family farm. He remembered how hard that life on the farm had been. Now that his life was full of possibilities, he swore he would never go back to farming.
After college, Allen began a pro-basketball career in Belgium, where, ironically (讽刺地), he rediscovered farming. He found the farmers there farmed the way his parents had back home, caring for the land without using chemicals and fertilizers.
Allen and his family moved back to the United States in 1977 after he retired from basketball. They settled in Milwaukee, where his wife’s family owned a farm. In 1993, Allen bought the last remaining farm in the city of Milwaukee, where he began his career as an urban farmer. Later he formed his own organization Growing Power, one of the world’s top urban agricultural organizations.
Allen also travelled across the United States, Africa, and Central Asia to help people grow food more efficiently in ways that fit in with their own culture. “Food is in short supply all over the world right now,” he says. “A lot of people are hungry. We need to grow food everywhere we can—in backyards and side yards, on rooftops, and even in buildings.”
He has spoken about urban agriculture around the world and is currently designing a vertical farm which is a new way to help feed more people in cities. “My main mission is to bring food into people’s lives and train people how to grow food. That continues to be important to me. ” said Allen. He said so, and he did so.
“Growing food is powerful,” Allen says. “It can change the world!”
1. What do we know about Will Allen?| A．He wished to get away from his family. | B．He had a talent for playing basketball. |
| C．He got used to the hard life on the farm. | D．He was admitted to only several universities. |
| A．Grow what is right. | B．Everyone should take action. |
| C．Focus on environment. | D．Plant wherever possible. |
| A．Ambitious. | B．Fortunate. |
| C．Traditional. | D．Adventurous. |
| A．Childhood Dream Leads to Future Career | B．Urban Agriculture Holds Great Promise |
| C．Give up Basketball and Take up Farming | D．Return to Farming and Grow Food in the City |
2 . Most artists have to wait decades for their talents to be recognized. Some, like Dutch painter Van Gogh, only achieve
Andres’ parents are art lovers and collectors. They began
By age six, the
Bernie Chase, a family friend and owner of an art gallery, recognized Andres’
When not painting, Andres is a
| A．victory | B．progress | C．fame | D．effect |
| A．case | B．model | C．lesson | D．honor |
| A．wasted | B．paid | C．spent | D．earned |
| A．showing | B．leading | C．exposing | D．adapting |
| A．learning | B．appreciating | C．analyzing | D．copying |
| A．watch | B．make | C．help | D．find |
| A．generous | B．ambitious | C．honest | D．brave |
| A．variety | B．sort | C．mixture | D．system |
| A．attached to | B．aimed at | C．recognized as | D．impacted by |
| A．gift | B．courage | C．effort | D．intelligence |
| A．discovered | B．visited | C．admired | D．analyzed |
| A．ceremony | B．celebration | C．exhibition | D．party |
| A．marked | B．restored | C．framed | D．displayed |
| A．regular | B．wise | C．hardworking | D．naughty |
| A．millionaire | B．kid | C．genius | D．master |
3 . Camping tips: Which overnight wilderness experience is right for you?
If you’re an experienced backpacker, read no further. This article is for camping rookies, those who have never slept beneath the stars or haven’t pitched a tent since their youth but are seriously thinking about overnighting in the wilderness.
Car camping
At its most basic, car camping involves packing a tent, sleeping bag, fold-up chair, cooler and camp stove into your vehicle and staying at a drive-up campground. Nearly every national park, and many state and county parks and private facilities, offer drive-up campgrounds with restrooms, potable water, fire rings or pits, and maybe even hot showers. So there are lots of choices.
The downside of car camping is the fact that these campgrounds are often packed with other campers. Not a lot of privacy, they can be noisy, and possibly hinder your quest of communing with nature.
Backpacking
No vehicle required; just your feet and a good pair of hiking boots or shoes to get you to the next overnight spot. A multi-day hiking trip is without doubt the most immersive way to experience the great outdoors.
Different from maybe car camping, it requires the least expense and equipment. All you really need are a backpack, sleeping bag, water bottle, small first-aid kit, enough food to last the entire travel. It can be done just about anywhere on the planet.
Boat Camping
While this does involve owning or renting a watercraft or using a ferry or water taxi service to reach the overnight site, camping via canoe, kayak, raft or boat offers a similar get-away-from-it-all adventure as backpacking.
Experienced paddlers and boaters usually prefer to camp on their own along a secluded shoreline. But many adventure or wilderness outfitters offer guided trips that can last anywhere from a couple of days to two or three weeks. With a boat, you can sometimes camp places that not even backpackers can reach.
1. Who are the intended readers?| A．Red-blooded males | B．White-collar staff |
| C．Blue-blooded tourists | D．Green-hand campers |
| A．Backpacking allows you to communicate with nature deeply. |
| B．Car camping is the most economic way to experience nature. |
| C．The drive-up campgrounds provide people with private environment. |
| D．Boat camping offers the same adventures as backpacking. |
| A．Feature | B．Style | C．Travel | D．Entertainment |
4 . Reading poems is not exactly an everyday activity for most people. In fact, many people never read a poem once they get out of high school.
It is worth reminding ourselves that this has not always been the case in America. In the nineteenth century, a usual American activity was to sit around the fireside in the evening and read poems aloud. It is true that there was no television at that time, nor movie theatres, nor World Wide Web, to provide diversion. However, poems were a source of pleasure, of self-education, of connection to other people or to the world beyond one’s own community. Reading them was a social act as well as an individual one, and perhaps even more social than individual. Writing poems to share with friends and relations was, like reading poems by the fireside, another way in which poetry has a place in everyday life.
How did things change? Why are most Americans no longer comfortable with poetry, and why do most people today think that a poem has nothing to tell them and that they can do well without poems?
There are, I believe, three factors: poets, teachers, and we ourselves. Of these, the least important is the third: the world surrounding the poem has betrayed us more than we have betrayed the poem. Early in the twentieth century, poetry in English headed into directions unfavourable to the reading of poetry. Readers decided that poems were not for the fireside or the easy chair at night, and that they belonged where other difficult-to-read things belonged.
Poets failed the reader, so did teachers. They want their students to know something about the skills of a poem; they want their students to see that poems mean something. Yet what usually occurs when teachers push these concerns on their high school students is that young people decide poems are unpleasant crossword puzzles.
1. Why is reading poems thought to be a social act in the nineteenth century?| A．Because it built a link among people. |
| B．Because it helped unite a community. |
| C．Because it was a source of self-education. |
| D．Because it was a source of pleasure. |
| A．Stories. | B．Changes. | C．Amusements. | D．Concentrations. |
| A．Students are poorly educated in high school. |
| B．Poems have become difficult to understand. |
| C．Students are becoming less interested in poetry. |
| D．TV and the Internet are more attractive than poetry. |
| A．The history and changes of poetry. |
| B．The correct way for teachers to teach poetry. |
| C．The failure of poetry in people’s life nowadays. |
| D．The reason why people aren’t keen on poetry today. |
5 . The Government’s sugar tax on soft drinks has brought in half as much money as Ministers first predicted it would generate, the first official data on the policy has shown.
First announced in April, 2016, the tax which applies to soft drinks containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml, was introduced to help reduce childhood obesity (肥胖). It is believed that today’s children and teenagers are consuming three times the recommended level of sugar, putting them at a higher risk of the disease.
Initially the sugar tax was expected to make £520M a year for the Treasury. However, data of the first six months showed it would make less than half this amount. At present it is expected to generate £240M for the year ending in April 2019, which will go to school sports.
It comes after more than half of soft drinks sold in shops have had their sugar levels cut by manufacturers (制造商) so they can avoid paying the tax. Drinks now contain 45 million fewer kilos of sugar as a result of manufacturers’ efforts to avoid the charge, according to Treasury figures. Since April drinks companies have been forced to pay between 18p and 24p for every liter of sugary drink they produce or import, depending on the sugar content.
However, some high sugar brands, like Classic Coca Cola, have accepted the sugar tax and are refusing to change for fear of upsetting consumers. Fruit juices, milk-based drinks and most alcoholic drinks are free of the tax, as are small companies manufacturing fewer than 1M liters per year.
Today’s figures, according to one government official, show the positive influence the sugar tax is having by raising millions of pounds for sports facilities (设施) and healthier eating in schools. Helping the next generation to have a healthy and active childhood is of great importance, and the industry is playing its part.
1. How did the Government protect children’s health?| A．By collecting money for schools. | B．By forcing on sugar tax on soft drinks. |
| C．By improving the quality of drinks. | D．By encouraging research in education. |
| A．Exploring overseas markets. | B．Cutting down on their production. |
| C．Lowering their products’ sugar content. | D．Putting up the qualities of their products. |
| A．It refused to accept the sugar tax. | B．It focuses on consumers’ feelings. |
| C．It worries about losing local customers. | D．It opposed free of the tax to alcoholic drinks. |
| A．Comments of manufacturers. | B．Influence of government officials. |
| C．Desire for healthy next generation. | D．Success of the sugar tax policy. |
6 . I’m a seventeen-year-old boy preparing for my A Level exams at the end of the year. In the society where my peers (同龄人) and I live, we tend to accept the rat race values. As students, we want to get good grades so that we can get good jobs. I enjoy studying and have consistently received A’s in my classes. There was a year when I finished first in my class in the final exams. It was a great accomplishment.
Another one I am pleased with is that I managed to improve the relationship between Mum and Dad. Dad was a successful businessman who was rarely at home. Mum was a housewife who always felt bored and constantly nagged (唠叨) him to let her go to work. Their constant arguing bothered me, so I advised Dad that Mum would be better off with a part-time job. He agreed, and their relationship has improved since then.
My most proud achievement, however, is my successful work in the local old folks’ home. My grandparents had raised me since I was a child. I wept (哭泣) bitterly when they died. Unlike many of my classmates, I do not take part in my school’s community service to earn points. I enjoy my voluntary work and believe I’m contributing to a worthwhile cause. This is where I can help. I talk to the elderly, assist them with their daily life, and listen to their problems, glory days and the hardships they experienced.
Last year, I hosted a successful New Year party for the elderly and they enjoyed a great time. Many expressed a desire to attend another party the following year. When I reflect on my accomplishments, I’m especially proud of my service at the old folks’ home, so I hope to study social work at university and work as a social worker in the future. I wish to be more skilled in attending to the less fortunate and find great satisfaction in it, after all.
1. What can be inferred about the author from the first paragraph?| A．He is content with his learning achievements. | B．His good grades got him a good job. |
| C．He refuses to compete with his peers fiercely. | D．His views on social values are well known. |
| A．A bystander (旁观者). | B．A judge. | C．A helper. | D．A destroyer. |
| A．The contribution to volunteering. | B．The success in exams. |
| C．The recovery of confidence in life. | D．The work in school’s service. |
| A．To gain a well-paid job. | B．To give his life a purpose. |
| C．To better help the disadvantaged. | D．To meet his grandparents’ expectations. |
7 . There are many podcasts (播客) that teach English and you can listen to them anytime. Here is a list of some of the best podcasts that you must see.
Learn English Podcast
This podcast has three levels.The first is for beginners, the second is for intermediates (中级学生) and the third is for upper intermediates. If a person wants to learn Business English,then episodes are also made for him.Every podcast is short but very informative. Worksheets and vocabulary tasks are also included.
Speaking Broadly
This podcast is made for advanced learners. Explained through discussion and interviews, each episode has non-native English speakers and every recording also has expert feedback. You will see some common mistakes made by English learners and you can improve your English by learning from those mistakes.
The English We Speak
This podcast airs one episode daily and every episode is only three to four minutes, which talks about phrases and idioms.There are two people in each episode who communicate with each other. Whatever level you are,you will find it rewarding
Elementary Podcast
This podcast is mainly for beginners and intermediate level learners. The length of a podcast is around 25 minutes but you can pause it anytime and continue whenever you want. The hosts of each episode are different.
1. Which podcast provides exercises going with it?| A．Learn English Podcast. | B．Speaking Broadly. |
| C．The English We Speak | D．Elementary Podcast. |
| A．It records just expert speakers. | B．It aims at beginners. |
| C．It presents some typical mistakes. | D．It provides feedback from listeners. |
| A．They have the same length. | B．They are both interactive. |
| C．They share the same contents. | D．They are suitable for beginners. |
8 . Food festivals are a common occurrence in the UK and take place in all sorts of places and at all sorts of times. Whatever your taste, there’s a food festival to match — no matter how specialized.
1. Meatopia
This three-day, London-based festival takes place at the end of August and is a meat lover’s paradise. In addition to a range of legally sourced meat products, from juicy burgers to tender steaks, attendees can listen to live music, watch butchery demonstrations, and attend informal meat-based workshops.
2. The National Honey Show
If you have a sweet tooth, then it could be that the National Honey Show, which started in 1921 and is the largest event of its kind, is the place for you to be. This three-day event attracts many local entries who showcase their sweet golden honey, some of which is sold globally.
3. The Orange Sauce Festival
Have you heard about a festival that is devoted only to orange sauce? Held in Cumbria, this sweet, fragrant festival has been running for 3 years. What attracts people most is a competition to find the best homemade orange sauce. There are thousands of participants from over 30 different countries across the globe, bringing their local snacks to share here.
4. The Ginger and Spice Festival
If you’d prefer something with a little more kick to it, then you could attend The Ginger (姜) and Spice Festival held in Market Drayton. Unlike other food festivals, it celebrates its town’s historic connection to Robert Clive, who returned from India with ginger. Because of this, they specialize in baking gingerbread, but also sell a range of traditional spices from mild to hot.
1. What do Meatopia and the National Honey Show have in common?| A．Both of them last for three days. | B．Both of them hold workshops. |
| C．Both of them originated from London. | D．Both of them have a long history. |
| A．The Meatopia. | B．The Ginger and Spice Festival. |
| C．The National Honey Show. | D．The Orange Sauce Festival. |
| A．It has something to do with a historic figure. |
| B．The ginger used in the festival is from India. |
| C．It sells spicy food. |
| D．The food is cooked by Robert Clive. |
9 . Have you ever imagined that scientists could make robots that will be able to feel and touch just like humans? In the future robots might no longer be stiff (僵硬的), metal machines. They might be able to act and even look just like us!
The system used to help robots feel is called “haptics technology”. Haptics is a word which is used to describe the way we understand something through the use of touch. For example, now doctors can use robotic machines in operations. But this is a bit dangerous. Why? Because the robot cannot feel anything. The doctor can only see what the robot is doing by watching on a screen.
However, US scientists have created a machine called Neo that a doctor wears on his or her head. Neo is connected to the robot doing the operation. When the robot touches something, Neo imitates the touch on the doctor’s head.
The invention of Neo is great news for doctors because now they can feel what the robot is feeling. But scientists have even bigger dreams. They are trying to make robots that can feel for themselves just like humans. They have created sensors that are just like the human fingertip. These sensors are at the end of the robots’ hands. Messages will be sent to the robots’ “brains”. And the robots will know how to hold something without breaking it.
If these scientists succeed, robots will feel just like a human and will be able to control themselves. Can we imagine humans will no longer be the masters (主人) of the world because robots are just as smart as we are in 500 years?
1. The underlined word “imitates” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to________.| A．trains | B．draws |
| C．copies | D．remembers |
| A．how Neo works | B．robots that can feel for themselves like humans |
| C．what Neo can do | D．how a message is sent to the robots’ brains |
| A．They can help robots write messages. |
| B．They can help robots write break things |
| C．They are at the end of the robots’ heads. |
| D．They can help send messages to robots. |
| A．surprising | B．bright |
| C．relaxing | D．hopeful |
10 . Most Africans are poor, not because they are really poor, but because
My 95-year-old grandfather is “poor”, too. He certainly lives on “less than a dollar a day”. But during all his past time, he has never been
My grandfather usually goes to pick up bananas for his dinner on his farm when he wants
His farm produces more than he can use. He sells some of them to buy something
He has never
Why the long story? My grandfather is
But what’s the
| A．something | B．someone | C．anything | D．anyone |
| A．interested in | B．proud of | C．good at | D．short of |
| A．why | B．what | C．how | D．where |
| A．food | B．speed | C．money | D．ability |
| A．allow | B．require | C．provide | D．offer |
| A．special | B．healthy | C．expensive | D．delicious |
| A．buy | B．sell | C．steal | D．keep |
| A．than | B．through | C．by | D．as |
| A．proud | B．popular | C．creative | D．necessary |
| A．all | B．most | C．some | D．none |
| A．sent out | B．ended up | C．worried about | D．depended on |
| A．found | B．proved | C．considered | D．suggested |
| A．just | B．nearly | C．usually | D．seldom |
| A．truth | B．secret | C．reason | D．method |
| A．wisely | B．easily | C．quickly | D．heavily |
