1 . The chicken-loving dog spent last month guarding the island’s penguin colony, with great success.
A SOUTH-WEST Victorian chicken farmer known as Swampy and his dog Oddball may have found a way to save some of Australia’s endangered wildlife from enemies. After Warrnambool’s once flourishing penguin population was killed in large numbers by foxes and dogs until only 27 remained, Allan Swampy Marsh hatched an effective plan to save the birds. His four sheepdogs had been protecting his chickens against enemies for a decade. He figured they could do the same for the penguins. “The difficulty was trying to convince all the wildlife wallies to think outside the square,” Mr Marsh said. “It’s not an unselfish view of penguins or chicks but the sense of territory (领地) that makes the dogs work, and it is far stronger in these dogs than any other trained breed.”
Oddball’s work as guardian of Middle Island’s colony last month was a success. At the end of the month, 70 pairs of happy feet were counted returning to the island. About 2,000 penguins occupied the island in the 1990s. “Oddy is really protective of the chicks, so to her the penguins were only chicks in dinner suits,” Mr Marsh said. Highly territorial dogs have been bred in Italy to guard livestock for 2,000 years. They manage to keep off trouble makers such as foxes and dogs. The trial’s success has generated interest from overseas. The use of guard animals such as dogs — and even alpacas, which also stop foxes — is now being considered to save other endangered species such as the eastern barred bandicoot.
1. What had happened to most of Middle Island’s penguins?| A．They had been killed by other animals. |
| B．They had been scared away by people. |
| C．They had stopped breeding for no obvious reason. |
| D．They had been taken to another island for protection. |
| A．27. | B．70. |
| C．1990. | D．2000. |
| A．Dogs’ interest. |
| B．Dogs guarding chicks. |
| C．Dogs’ believable strength. |
| D．Dogs’ training in protecting animals. |
| A．They come from Italy. | B．They are very territorial. |
| C．They are an ancient breed. | D．They are large with messy fur. |
| A．people should think globally but act locally |
| B．Allan ‘Swampy’ Marsh is a typical Australian |
| C．it may be possible to use this local idea more widely |
| D．every environmental problem needs a unique solution |
2 . Participants in an online forum were asked whether space exploration was worthwhile. Here are some of the comments they posted:
Planet Girl 7.17 pm
Our world is damaged by war, hunger and poverty. Billions of people struggle just to survive from day to day. Meanwhile the US space agency has US $16 billion to play with every year. We must deal with the world’s urgent problems. Space exploration is a luxury we cannot afford.
Dragon 7.18 pm
That $16 billion spent on space is nothing compared to the $370 billion spent on the military.
JJ 7.20 pm
Exploring space is investing in the future. Everyone knows we’re running out of resources. There’s massive over-population too. The solar system has heaps of resources we can use for mining, and maybe we can explore other planets. If we don’t do it now, it might be too late.
Planet Girl 7.22 pm
We have to settle problems of over-population and resource consuming here on Earth, instead of chasing science fiction dreams. Otherwise we will just export our unsustainable lifestyle to another planet. We might consume the whole universe!!
JJ 7.23 pm
Space explorers rock! They know what they are in for, and they still do it anyway. That’s what I call courage! We humans have always struggled to expand our horizons. We want to know what else is out there. Who knows, maybe we’ll discover the solution to all our problems out there!
Switched-on 7.25 pm
Space exploration has had a huge effect on our lives. Want to talk to someone halfway around the world? Sure. Get the weather forecast? Coming right up. Check exactly where you are? Absolutely. It’s all possible, thanks to satellite technology, global positioning systems, and the rest. If there was no space exploration, we’d be sitting around in the dark, not talking online!
Penny 7.50 pm
Satellites are launched by private companies — for profit. Planet Earth doesn’t always benefit. Exploring remote planets certainly does not contribute to life on Earth.
1. The underlined sentence (Par.2) means that space exploration is_________.| A．expensive but necessary |
| B．expensive and unnecessary |
| C．very important but too expensive |
| D．not very important but affordable |
| A．The cost of space exploration is too much. |
| B．Planet Girl’s idea is acceptable. |
| C．Space exploration is worthwhile. |
| D．The military is more useful than space exploration. |
| A．He agrees that space exploration costs too much. |
| B．He does not know how much space exploration costs. |
| C．He thinks space exploration is worthwhile, whatever the cost. |
| D．He knows Planet Girl is wrong about the cost of space exploration. |
| A．Its cost to the community. |
| B．Its effect on environment. |
| C．Its contribution to technology in everyday life. |
| D．Its capacity to serve people in their everyday life. |
| A．Living on other planets is a real possibility. |
| B．Spending money on war is unnecessary. |
| C．Space exploration encourages creativity. |
| D．Earth’s resources are fast disappearing. |
3 . We are admitted into the full-time school called “life”. Every day in this school, we have opportunities to learn new lessons. No matter whether we like these lessons or not, we have to take them, because they are our lessons.
Why are we here in this world? What is the purpose of life? Humans have tried to discover the meaning of life for thousands of years, but failed to get the answer, because the meaning of life is different from person to person.
Each one of us has his or her special purpose and path, unique and different. As we travel on our life path, we will learn many great lessons in order to fulfill that purpose. Learning our lessons well is the key to discovering the real meaning of our own life.
As we travel through our lifetime, we may be taught hard lessons that others don’t have to face, while others spend years struggling with problems we don’t need to deal with. We may never know why we love English, not physics, which indicates that our path is different. While traveling on our own path, sometimes alone, we should, first of all, take a basic lesson in openness.
Openness means being receptive. Life will present us with so many lessons, none of which are useful to us unless we can recognize them and are open to their values. These lessons are not easy to learn, but we should regard them as gifts. But how can we recognize these lessons? It is a matter of what “glasses” we are wearing at the time. It is not difficult to spot them if we take them as opportunities. So when we are not open to learning our lessons, failing a weekly English test might be like a disaster rather than an opportunity to us. Of course, the hard lessons may not be fun, but they can actually be the biggest gifts we receive from life.
1. The author may be in favor of the viewpoint that all men are born _______.| A．equal | B．challenging |
| C．opportunistic | D．different |
| A．we choose our own path in life |
| B．people have to face the same lessons |
| C．we should travel on the same path |
| D．we should enjoy the meaning of life |
| A．angles of view | B．experiences from life |
| C．common value system | D．willingness to face challenge |
| A．Life in School | B．Gifts from Life |
| C．Life School and Students | D．Life as School |
| A．People always learn the same lessons. |
| B．Life is a lesson as one in the classroom. |
| C．Hard lessons are fun. |
| D．People should be open to the life. |
4 . Personality is , to large extent, inherent (天生的). A-type parents usually bring about A-type offspring (产物). But the environment must also have a big effect, since if competition is important to the parents, it is likely to become a major factor in the lives of their children.
One place where children soak up A characteristics is school, which is, by its very nature, a highly competitive institution. Too many schools adopt the “win at all costs” moral standard and measure their success by sporting achievements. The current passion for making children compete against their classmates or against the clock produces a two-layer system, in which competitive A types seem in some way better than their B-type fellows. Being too keen to win can have dangerous consequences: remember that Pheidippides, the first marathon runner, dropped dead seconds after saying: “Rejoice, we conquer! ”.
By far the worst form of competition in school is the improper emphasis on examinations. It is a rare school that allows pupils to concentrate on those things they do well. The merits of competition by examination are somewhat questionable, but competition in the certain knowledge of failure is positively harmful.
Obviously, it is neither practical nor desirable that all A youngsters change into ‘B’s. The world needs types, and schools have an important duty to try to fit a child’s personality to his possible future employment. It is top management.
1. What affects the building of personality according to the passage?| A．inheritance, employment and examination. |
| B．inheritance, competition and environment. |
| C．competition, employment and questions. |
| D．environment, knowledge and examination. |
| A．abstract | B．accept |
| C．absorb | D．accomplish |
| A．express the positive attitude toward the examinations |
| B．express his approval for the competition |
| C．show that he was too keen to win the game |
| D．show the consequence of the severe competition |
| A．positive. | B．negative. |
| C．doubtful. | D．acceptable. |
| A．All students at schools should be made into competitive A types. |
| B．A child’s personality be considered according to his possible future job. |
| C．All students should be changed into B characteristics. |
| D．All kinds of schools should get rid of all examinations. |
5 . Rachel Carson was an American author and environmental protection scientist. “Silent Spring” was her most famous book. The idea for the book developed from a suggestion from a friend. Rachel’s friend owned a protected area for birds. An airplane had flown over the area where the birds were kept and spread a powerful chemical called DDT. Many songbirds and harmless insects were killed by the DDT.
Miss Carson and other scientists were very concerned about the harmful effects of DDT and other insect-killing chemicals called pesticides. Rachel Carson tried to get many magazines interested in publishing a report about the subject. However, none would agree to publish anything about such a debate subject. They said no one wanted to hear that industrial companies could cause great ecological damage.
Miss Carson believed the public needed to know about this important issue. She decided to write a book about it. In her book “Silent Spring”, Miss Carson questioned the right of industrial companies to pollute without considering the effects on the environment. Miss Carson argued that this kind of pollution would result in ever-decreasing populations of birds and other wildlife. She said this would lead to the loss of the wonderful sounds of nature. The chemical poisoning of the environment, she said, would cause a silent spring.
The chemical industry felt threatened. Industry spokesmen and other critics said the book was non-scientific and emotional. They misunderstood the message of the book. Miss Carson did not suggest that all pesticides be banned. She urged that control of these substances be given to biologists who could make informed decisions about the risks involved.
Support for the book increased. By the end of 1962, there were more than forty bills in state laws proposing to control pesticides. Finally, in November, 1969, the United States government ruled that the use of DDT must stop in two years.
Rachel Carson did not live to see how her book influenced the government’s decision to ban DDT. She died of breast cancer in 1964.
1. What gets Rachel Carson to write the book?| A．The area of protection. |
| B．A powerful chemical called DDT. |
| C．Killed songbirds and insects. |
| D．The advice given by Rachel’s friend. |
| A．it was an unimportant subject for them |
| B．they were afraid of being involved in the quarrel |
| C．they had no environmental consciousness at all |
| D．DDT was necessary for industry development |
| A．tolerance | B．criticism |
| C．unconcern | D．praise |
| A．The influence of the book “Silent Spring”. |
| B．Rachel Carson’s book“Silent Spring”. |
| C．Environmental protection. |
| D．Why DDT is forbidden. |
| A．DDT was forbidden to be used in spring. |
| B．Wildlife would disappear by and by. |
| C．Miss Carson enjoyed silence in spring. |
| D．If only it could be silent in spring. |
6 . Recently, university students around the world were asked to volunteer in a global experiment called Unplugged. It was designed to see how young people would react if they were asked to observe a total media ban by unplugging all forms of media devices for 24 hours．
Unplugged is being run by Dr Roman Gerodimos, a lecturer in Communication and Journalism at Bournemouth University. During the experiment, Dr Gerodimos said there were already signs of how much the exercise affected volunteers. He said:“They’re reporting withdrawal symptoms, overeating，feeling nervous, isolated and disconnected.”
During their 24-hour test, three of the experiment’s participants were followed around by a BBC reporter plus cameraman. They were asked to write down 100 lines about their day offline, but of course, they all waited until the next day when they had access to their laptops.
Elliot Day wrote:“Today, my whole morning routine was thrown up into the air. Despite being aware of the social importance of the media, I was surprised by how empty my life felt without the radio or newspapers.”
From Caroline Scott, we read:“I didn’t expect it, but being deprived of the media for 24 hours resulted in my day-to-day activities becoming so much harder to carry out than usual…I didn’t break out in a cold sweat like our lecturer expected us all to, but it’s not something l would like to do again!”
And Charlotte Gay wrote：“I have to say the most difficult item for me to be without has been my mobile; not only is it a social device, it’s my main access point of communication.”
Earlier in the year, a UK government study found that in the UK we spend about half our waking hours using the media, often plugged into several things at once. So, with technology continuing to develop at an alarming rate, how much time will you set aside for sleep in the future?
1. What is the experiment?| A．Volunteers’record of their 24 hours offline. |
| B．Volunteers’ reaction without any media for 24 hours. |
| C．Dr Roman Gerodimos following Volunteers for 24 hours. |
| D．Only volunteers’ plugged experiment. |
| A．The media ban affects people’s temperature. |
| B．People will have less and less time for sleep. |
| C．Work will be carried on hard without the media. |
| D．Life will be empty without the radio or newspapers. |
| A．Anxious. | B．Lonely. |
| C．Bored. | D．Excited. |
| A．People should use the media devices reasonably． |
| B．People can easily survive the media devices addict． |
| C．People’s everyday life and work relies much on the media． |
| D．People spend about half the time using the media devices． |
| A．Advertisement. | B．Book review. |
| C．News report. | D．Science fiction story. |
7 . “Well, I made it,” says Greg Daniels with a smile.
Recently there have been news reports and television shows reporting on the quality of school lunches. According to federal guidelines, French fries count as a serving of vegetables. Many parents and others are upset that a salty, deep-fired food is replacing healthier options like carrot sticks. As a result, the potato — what French fries are made of — has been getting a bad rap.
“The problem is not the potato,” insists Greg. “Potatoes are very healthy. But any food, even carrots or lettuce (生菜), will be less healthy if it’s cooked in grease(油脂).”
Two months ago, Greg decided to eat nothing but potatoes for 60 days. As a high school science teacher and son of a potato farmer, he wanted to do something to draw attention to potatoes as a healthy food and a good choice as part of anyone’s regular meals.
“It’s been an interesting experience,” Greg said. “For a while, I wasn’t sure I would make it. I was pretty tired of eating potatoes after a few weeks.”
But for Greg there were some benefits that he hadn’t expected. He’s lost 15 pounds and he feels better than he has in years. “I have so much more energy,” he says. “I’ve been running and playing on a local basketball team, and I feel like I’m playing as well as I did when I was in high school.”
And Greg has gotten a lot of attention, much more than he expected. “It’s been fantastic. Thousands of people have read my blog. I’ve been sharing recipes and talking about the experience. Every day I get to tell people what a great idea it is to eat potatoes.”
Greg is glad to be back to a normal diet, but he still eats potatoes at least 5 or 6 times a week. “Everyone should!” he says with a smile. “Potatoes are healthy and taste great!”
1. What does the underlined part “getting a bad rap” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Receiving little attention. |
| B．Obtaining an unfair judgement. |
| C．Getting more and more popular. |
| D．Becoming good for people’s health. |
| A．Because potatoes are cheap. |
| B．To draw attention to himself. |
| C．To prove that potatoes are healthy. |
| D．Because he loves potatoes very much. |
| A．gave up his plan. |
| B．put on some weight. |
| C．became less healthy. |
| D．was sick of potatoes. |
| A．became a little weak. |
| B．became much healthier. |
| C．could not eat potatoes any more. |
| D．decided to keep eating potatoes only. |
| A．Intelligent. | B．Humorous. |
| C．Determined. | D．Courageous. |
8 . I used to live selfishly, I should admit. But one moment changed me.
I was on my lunch break and had
I would not give them to him, thinking to myself he would
I
On my way home at the end of the
Now I donate any
| A．left | B．cleaned | C．prepared | D．searched |
| A．led | B．chose | C．saw | D．fooled |
| A．chocolates | B．coins | C．tins | D．drugs |
| A．almost | B．only | C．rather | D．still |
| A．acted | B．looked | C．sounded | D．smelt |
| A．Though | B．For | C．Therefore | D．But |
| A．declared | B．realized | C．expected | D．guessed |
| A．it | B．all | C．him | D．them |
| A．waited | B．followed | C．stopped | D．arrived |
| A．rag | B．hat | C．pocket | D．counter |
| A．selfish | B．awkward | C．innocent | D．special |
| A．happiness | B．sadness | C．love | D．hate |
| A．Disappointedly | B．Unfortunately | C．Coincidentally | D．Comfortably |
| A．words | B．effort | C．space | D．money |
| A．moment | B．day | C．break | D．event |
| A．walking around | B．passing by | C．packing up | D．running off |
| A．around | B．in | C．behind | D．to |
| A．chief | B．basic | C．actual | D．total |
| A．by | B．for | C．on | D．with |
| A．work | B．time | C．energy | D．change |
9 . For 63 percent of Americans, coffee is one of their daily essentials. This number has been this high since 2017, according to the National Coffee Association. The rise of coffee is due to its numerous benefits like preventing DNA damage, but it works best if you do this simple thing first: Eat.
“Drinking coffee on an empty stomach, or early in the morning before you’ve had breakfast, can raise the level of cortisol (皮质醇) in your body. From the moment you open your eyes in the morning, your body starts releasing cortisol. It’s a hormone (激素) that’s responsible for ruling your immune response, metabolism (新陈代谢), and stress response,” says Dr. Nikola Djordjevic, MD.
“If you pump your body with caffeine(咖啡因) when your cortisol is at its peak,” Djordjevic says, “you’ll be forcing your body to bear even more stress.” In a study that evaluated preference for caffeinated drinks among medical students, it’s shown that 25 percent of students drank coffee in the morning on an empty stomach.
These students are at an increased risk of mood changes and possible long-term effects on their health, as explained in the study. “Drinking coffee on an empty stomach can greatly encourage the acid in your stomach, producing a more acidic environment,” says Dr. Jamie Long, a licensed clinical psychologist. Thus, a full stomach is important to control the amount of stomach acid produced.
Since coffee increases your stomach acid, you’re highly likely to experience heartburn and even develop gastric ulcers (胃溃疡), Djordjevic says. Clearly, drinking coffee on an empty stomach affects physical health. But it does harm to mental health, too. The overproduction of acid in the stomach can cause mood swings, nervousness, shaking and other withdrawal symptoms (症状). “And if you’ve already had the sign of experiencing anxiety, you’re even more possible to be attacked by the effects of coffee,” says Long.
Base line: Know your limits so you can fully experience what coffee can offer, because here’s exactly what happens to your body when you drink coffee daily.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refer to？| A．The coffee. | B．The DNA damage. |
| C．The stomach. | D．The National Coffee Association. |
| A．It can help to reduce our stress. |
| B．It will slow down our metabolism. |
| C．It might contain some kind of hormone. |
| D．It may increase the cortisol in our bodies. |
| A．Cortisol in the body is at a high level in the morning. |
| B．75 percent of the medical students dislike coffee. |
| C．Medical students usually suffer more stress. |
| D．Most people drink coffee in the afternoon. |
| A．be good for our hearts | B．make us feel less hungry |
| C．relieve our nervousness and anxiety | D．harm our physical and mental health |
| A．Why so many Americans are coffee lovers. |
| B．What you can do to keep your stomach healthy. |
| C．Why you shouldn’t drink coffee on an empty stomach. |
| D．How you can control the level of cortisol in your body. |
Class Size: 12 to 22
Grades: JK to Gr. 12
Gender(性别): All girls
Living: day, Boarding(提供住宿的）
Founded in 1903, Branksome Hall is Toronto’s only all-girls, all-years International Baccalaureate (IB）World School. From the earliest grades, students learn to become leaders and to understand the value of serving the community. Discover Branksome hall’s programs at www.brunksome.on.ca.
Stanstead CollegeClass Size: 13
Grades: Gr. 7 to Gr.12
Gender: Open to both sexes
Living: Boarding
Stanstead College is a private boarding school for boys and girls in Grades 7 through 12. It is an English school that embraces (包含) French in and out of the classroom. It is also uniquely placed to open doors to top universities and colleges in the United States, Canada and around the world.
Oakwood AcademyClass Size: 1 to 4
Grades: JK to Gr. 12.
Gender: Open to both sexes
Living: Day
Oakwood Academy is a private school for students who require an individualized education plan and small class size to meet their unique learning styles. Direct Instruction is used to teach academics in small groups and a meaningful curriculum (课程) allows students to truly learn.
TEAM SchoolClass Size: 8 to 12
Grades: Gr. 1 to Gr.12
Gender: Open to both sexes
Living: Day
TEAM School provides an academic program for students in Grades 1 through 12. Students from ages 6 to 14 benefit from small class sizes (8 students) and an individualized academic program to provide an educational upgrading.
1. Which of the following is a single-gender school？| A．TEAM School. | B．Branksome Hall. |
| C．Stanstead College. | D．Oakwood Academy. |
| A．It is for preschoolers. |
| B．It involves two languages in class. |
| C．It is characterized by small class sizes. |
| D．It provides places for students to stay overnight. |
| A．It has a small class size. | B．It’s a boarding school. |
| C．It offers job opportunities. | D．It has its own website. |
| A．There are at least 12 students in a class. |
| B．It is just open to children of school age. |
| C．Students can. learn how to work together as a team there. |
| D．Most of its students enter top universities after graduating. |
| A．Personalized ways of studying. |
| B．A sense of serving the community. |
| C．Preparing students for top universities. |
| D．Designing meaningful lessons for students. |
