1 . My mother loves flowers. As soon as warm weather comes around, you will find her planting, watering and weeding over everything. For many years we lived next door to each other, and she spent as much time in my garden as she did her own. After the flowers became plentiful each summer, she would cut colorful bouquets (花束) to enjoy inside the house — both hers and mine. I would often come home from work and find a beautiful arrangement (布置) of fresh flowers on my coffee table.

Shortly before Christmas one year, a local flower shop offered a bouquetamonth special. It seemed to be a great way to thank her for all of the flowers she had given me through the years.

After the holidays, in early January, I drove her to the flower shop to pick up her first month’s bouquet. The small fresh colorful bouquet would hardly fill a small vase (花瓶).

I was so embarrassed. However, after we returned home, she began to arrange the flowers she had received. “Mom, I’m sorry,” I told her. “I can’t believe how skimpy that bouquet is.” She looked at me and smiled. “It’s okay,” she said. “It allows me to better enjoy the beauty of each one.”

Mom’s words helped me to realize something bigger and more important — when we have too many good things, we often fail to enjoy the beauty of each one.

Thanks, Mom, for helping me understand that less is sometimes more.

1. According to Paragraph 1, which of the following is TRUE?

A．The author’s mother usually bought flowers for her daughter.

B．The author used to buy some fresh flowers on her way home.

C．The author’s mother put fresh flowers on the author’s coffee table.

D．The author and her mother shared a becautiful garden.

2. The author bought her mother flowers to________.

A．bring more flowers to her mother’s garden

B．express thanks for all her mother’s done

C．celebrate the coming Christmas

D．arrange her mother’s new house

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．The mother was not happy when receiving the bouquet.

B．The author couldn’t afford a big bouquet.

C．The mother would send back the bouquet to the flower shop.

D．The author would pick up another bouquet the next month.

4. The underlined word “skimpy” in Para.4 means ________.

A．beautiful

B．colorful

C．cheap

D．small

5. What did the author learn from her mother?

A．How to grow flowers.	B．How to arrange flowers.
C．Enjoying life if possible.	D．Considering things in other ways.

2 . What do you usually do after school? Most of you may have to finish homework. After that, some of you may take after-school classes, such as Xueersi to learn English or take math classes. Do you feel like there’s too much work to do? Some of you may not have enough time to sleep. But there is some good news on the way that may cheer you up.

On March 5, during the first session (会议) of the 13th National People’s Congress (全国人民代表大会), Premier Li Keqiang delivered this year’s Government Work Report. Education was one of the highlights.

"We will give attention to solving the problem of heavy extracurricular burdens (课外负担) on primary and secondary school students," Li said during his speech.

Chinese parents often put a lot of effort and money into their children’s education. Many send their children to after-school classes. In 2016, China had about 180 million school-aged students, according to a report by the Chinese Society of Education. More than 137 million of them were taking part in extracurricular classes or off-campus training.

To work out this problem, the Ministry of Education (MOE,教育部) and three other ministries put out guidelines on Feb 26 that call for more action to be taken to reduce extracurricular burdens. Their targets are private training schools that create excess workloads (过度的作业量) and pressure for students.

The guidelines are aimed at training schools which have no professional qualifications (资格) or pose(造成) safety risks, said Lü Yugang, an official from the MOE. He also said that reducing workloads for students should be a priority.

"It is a must-do task for children to study happily and grow in a healthy manner … and sleep half-hour or an hour more every day," said Wang Guoqing, spokesman for the first session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Politial Consultative Conference (中国人民政治协商会议).

1. From the first two paragraphs, we know that _______.

A．students now have more homework than before

B．some students take after-school classes

C．many aduIts don’t get enough sleep nowadays

D．this year’s Government Work Report didn’t mention education

2. _________ students took part in off-campus training in 2016, according to a report by the Chinese Society of Education.

A．180 million	B．180 billion
C．137 million	D．137 billion

3. According to LüYugang, action might be taken to close training schools _________.

A．that are not approved by the MOE

B．that punish students physically

C．that have no professional qualificeations

D．that charge high tuition (学费)

4. What is the story mainly about?

A．Risks of off-campus training classes.

B．Reducing students’ workloads.

C．The 2018 Government Work Report.

D．Guidelines created by the 13th National People’s Congress.

5. Who is the passage written for?

A．the teachers	B．the parents
C．the students	D．the MOE offieials

3 . When you enter high school this fall, you’ll find yourself immersed (沉浸) in traditional Chinese culture.

In January, the Ministry of Education worked out a new set of curriculum standards (课程标准) for high school students, People’s Daily reported. One of the biggest changes will be a greater focus on traditional Chinese culture.

According to Professor Han Zhen from Beijing Foreign Language Studies University, the new standards echo (回应) President Xi Jinping’s call for strengthening education. “The standards help students build cultural confidence,” he told People’s Daily.

The new standards call for students to be able to recite 72 ancient poems or articles. The number used to be 14. Recommended classic literature from ancient China includes The Analects of Confucius, Records of the Grand Historian and more.

Apart from Chinese language, other subjects such as fine arts, music and physical education will also focus more on traditional Chinese culture. For example, fine arts will include new lessons on Chinese alligraphy and painting.

China has also seen a growing interest in traditional culture in the private education sector. According to Southern Metropolitan Daily, since 2004, more than 3,000 traditional private schools have been built. They mainly teach traditional Chinese classics.

According to Fu Yan, a Chinese language teacher at Hangzhou Xuejun High School, learning about traditional Chinese culture is a good thing for students.

“At their age, the students may be too young to understand some classics,” Fu told Qianjiang Evening News. “However, as their life experience builds up, they may develop their own thoughts about the wisdom of the classics, which could be a driving force for their growth.”

Ancient Chinese culture is gaining popularity in China. This is reflected not only in the new curriculum standards, but also in the increasing interest in cultural TV programs.

For example, the weekly show National Treasure has become a big hit. It was first aired on China Central Television (CCTV) last December. The show uses dramatic performances to present some of China’s finest cultural treasures.

Other cultural TV programs such as The Chinese Idiom Competition and The Chinese Poetry Competition have also made more people fall in love with traditional Chinese literature.

Throughout China’s history, scholars and authors have written many classics worth studying. Those classic writings also interest people.

Here are some of the country’s most well-known works:

● Three Character Classic ● Tao Te Ching
● The Book of Poetry   ● The Great Learning
● The Four Books   ● Mencius
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the new curriculum standards?

A．They came out last year.

B．There will be no change for students.

C．They focus more on culture worldwide.

D．They will help students develop cultural confidence.

2. The new standards require high school students to ________.

A．be able to recite 72 ancient poems or articles

B．introduce classic works to their classmates

C．spend two hours a day learning about traditional Chinese culture

D．take extra classes on Chinese calligraphy and painting

3. According to Fu Yan, _____.

A．learning the Chinese language is a good thing

B．students are too young to learn about classics

C．students need to develop their own thoughts

D．the classics could help students with their personal growth

4. How many aspects does the author describe to show ancient Chinese culture is gaining popularity in China?

A．2

B．3

C．4

D．5

5. What is the main idea of the story?

A．High school students like learning about traditional Chinese culture.

B．The new curriculum standards focus more on traditional Chinese culture.

C．China is making efforts to become an educational power.

D．People’s interest in traditional Chinese culture is growing.

4 . A long time ago I lived in a small town in the South. In the morning I was often woken up by the _________ made by those boys who were on their way to school. To tell the truth, I got so_________ that I decided to teach them a lesson, especially the one who _________ at my window. So one morning _________ I heard the knock once again I jumped out of my bed. _________. But I found no _________ there when I ran outside. The next morning, I got up as _________ as possible and went outside, focusing my eyes upon my house. Soon those bad boys walked over, shouting and laughing. I was prepared to catch the _________ one. I noticed one boy walk towards my house, reaching out his hand to do the _________ thing as usual. He did it every day. No wonder he did it so __________. In no time I ran over, and the boys __________ as far as they could, surprised and __________. But to my great __________, the one who knocked at the window __________ stood there. I caught him by the collar, shouting at him, “It was you who did it? Didn’t you know I was sleeping?” The boy answered in a low voice, “Yes, but I simply want to let you know a __________.” Then he pointed to the little dog, which was __________ at the foot of the wall. It was cold then, and we were all in __________ coats. “Every morning I passed here I saw the __________ dog. Why didn’t you let it in?” The boy left, with me standing there alone, not knowing what to __________. But I’ve never __________ the knock since.

1.

A．noise

B．explosion

C．attack

D．quarrel

2.

A．patient

B．excited

C．angry

D．disappointed

3.

A．stared

B．knocked

C．shouted

D．waited

4.

A．as soon as

B．as long as

C．only if

D．even if

5.

A．helplessly

B．quickly

C．unwillingly

D．finally

6.

A．window

B．dog

C．worker

D．boy

7.

A．normally

B．carefully

C．early

D．slowly

8.

A．cleverest

B．tallest

C．thinnest

D．worst

9.

A．boring

B．special

C．same

D．simple

10.

A．skillfully

B．strongly

C．willingly

D．cautiously

11.

A．got together

B．ran away

C．turned up

D．stood up

12.

A．satified

B．tired

C．brave

D．frightened

13.

A．surprise

B．sadness

C．pleasure

D．regret

14.

A．even

B．almost

C．still

D．just

15.

A．secret

B．fact

C．story

D．result

16.

A．running

B．eating

C．playing

D．shaking

17.

A．long

B．dry

C．thick

D．rough

18.

A．poor

B．lucky

C．ugly

D．mad

19.

A．catch

B．do `

C．carry

D．blame

20.

A．heard

B．made

C．expected

D．caused

5 . One sixth of undergraduates (本科生) in   Beijing this year have registered at a driving school . The students, mostly from majors such as business management or international trade , will finish their driving courses within 20 days or so .
       Training costs have dropped to, 2,600yuan for students, according to the Haidian Driving School in Beijing. The price is not really low , but students will accept it , seeing it as an investment (投资) in their future. Familiarity with the operation of computers and fluent English are the basic skills graduating students need to find a job. But a driver’s permit has become another factor.

“In the job market, owning a driver’s permit sometimes strengthens a graduating student’s competitiveness for a good position,” says Zhou Yang, an undergraduate at the China University of Political Science and Law.

Cars will become a necessary part of many people’s lives in the coming years, and it’s difficult to get a permit out of campus because of the pressures on working people’s time. “Having a full-time job after graduation offers limited time to learn to drive. We senior students have plenty of spare time, plenty of opportunities to learn.”

Xu Jian, an official at the driving school, said undergraduates were very able and serious, and could grasp in an hour what it took ordinary people four hours to learn. In this driving school, middle-aged people, young women and college students are the main customers.

To get a driver’s permit, a beginner is now required to have at least 86 hours’ practice before the final road test.
1. The undergraduates are learning to drive because         .

A．they like to drive cars

B．they need this skill to find a good job.

C．most of them will be able to buy cars in the future

D．they want to become full-time drivers after graduation

2. Which of the following is Xu Jian’s opinion of students learning to drive?

A．He decided it was a waste of money and time.

B．He thought they must learn it at school.

C．He thought they would spend three times more time.

D．He agreed that young people had an advantage in learning to drive.

3. Which of the following would be the best title of this passage?

A．Students Learn to Drive

B．Welcome to Driving School

C．It’s Better to Learn to Drive at College

D．Students Pay Less to Learn to Drive Now

6 . Just reading Facebook posts——without posting messages or responding to comments——makes users feel bad about themselves，some studies have discovered. A 2015 study at the University of Michigan，for example，found that students who simply read Facebook posts for 10 minutes were in a worse mood by the end of the day than those who posted messages or commented on friends' posts.

Researchers think that users who only read posts may be always comparing their own lives to others' posts and feel they're coming up short. Or users may simply be missing out on face-to-face human communication.This is necessary and important for a healthier state of mind. "In general，when people spend a lot of time passively（被动地）receiving information——reading，but not interacting（交流）with people——they report feeling worse afterward，"said an unusual Facebook blog post.

The research appears to be bad news for Facebook，but Facebook itself is getting the negative news known to the public. In fact，the findings support the company's push to get users to be more active on the site，the blog noted. Research has also found that “interacting with people—especially sharing message，posts and comments with close friends and thinking of past interactions — is connected with improvements in well-being".

One commenter to the Facebook blog post noted that it's "no surprise that your conclusions-encouraging 'active' Facebook use—are connected with Facebook's business interests. It gives Facebook chances to persuade us into sharing, commenting, and posting more than ever—for our own good!"

The company has faced a lot of negative news about Facebook. Former Facebook Vice President Chamath Palihapitiya told Stanford University graduate business students that social media are destroying society. Palihapitiya said he felt really bad for the role he played in making Facebook so outstanding."We kind of knew something bad could happen."

1. What did the 2015 study mainly show?

A．Not all users considered Facebook useful.

B．Using Facebook in the right way could benefit us.

C．Not all people loved interacting with others on Facebook.

D．Passively using Facebook negatively affected users' moods.

2. What does the underlined word "This"in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Avoiding comparing ourselves with others.

B．Reading the posts on Facebook positively.

C．Interacting with others face to face.

D．Sharing experiences on Facebook.

3. Why did Facebook make the findings known to the public?

A．To encourage people to use Facebook more.

B．To show Facebook's concern about its users.

C．To apologize to its users for the bad influence.

D．To prove the importance of human interaction.

4. From what Chamath Palihapitiya said, we learn that       .

A．Facebook has some disadvantages

B．Facebook is facing serious challenges

C．Facebook disappoints the public deeply

D．Facebook is improving some students' life

7 . Brooke Ochoa was going to enter a restaurant for lunch when she saw an elderly lady approaching. The thirty-year-old woman _______to keep the door open for her. She thought   she was just doing something _______. She didn’t know, however, that a remark that a lady would make a few seconds later would _______a chain of events that would cause her to get countless likes on her post and _______on social media suddenly. As Brooke entered the restaurant, she _______the elderly lady asking for “a table for one”. Then she decided to do one more act of _______. Brooke walked up to the lady’s _______and asked, “I also_______alone, would you like to have lunch together?”

The lady, named Dolores, not only accepted Brooke’s_______, but she was very pleased to have________. The two________up an instant friendship during their meal.

Dolores told Brooke that she’d been having a ________time. “She spent the last decade living with her mom, who recently passed away,” Brooke wrote in a late post about the encounter. “She just kept smiling and saying ‘thank you for listening to me’, which made me ________too!” Brooke and Dolores enjoyed their conversation so much that they ________to have lunch with each other every Thursday from that point on. In a later________, not long after their first meeting, Brooke was________that Dolores had passed away.

If nothing else, this chance ________is evidence that the smallest ________of good will can quite exactly change a life. Neither of the two women knew that Dolores’s days on earth were so ________, but they found ________in each other, and that’s what matters.

1.

A．hesitated

B．waited

C．competed

D．pretended

2.

A．polite

B．honest

C．wise

D．foolish

3.

A．ignore

B．report

C．remove

D．produce

4.

A．take off

B．set off

C．leave off

D．cut off

5.

A．realized

B．felt

C．insisted

D．overheard

6.

A．weakness

B．kindness

C．friendship

D．encouragement

7.

A．car

B．counter

C．door

D．table

8.

A．struggle

B．defend

C．eat

D．post

9.

A．bow

B．care

C．effort

D．offer

10.

A．company

B．friction

C．adjustment

D．permission

11.

A．turned

B．built

C．threw

D．put

12.

A．pleasant

B．short

C．tough

D．lucky

13.

A．sob

B．panic

C．listen

D．smile

14.

A．seemed

B．refused

C．agreed

D．remained

15.

A．update

B．purchased

C．absence

D．praise

16.

A．approved

B．told

C．analyzed

D．committed

17.

A．complaint

B．argument

C．conversation

D．appointment

18.

A．strength

B．act

C．competence

D．fault

19.

A．limited

B．rich

C．long

D．poor

20.

A．success

B．reality

C．comfort

D．equality

8 . When you choose a friend, you should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair weather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).

Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person’s place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, good friends will be honest to each other and accept each other.

Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor , too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!

1. If you have fair weather friends, ______ .

A．you will become rich

B．you can be sure that you get real friends

C．they will give you all that they have when you need help

D．you will be refused when you get into trouble

2. Which of the following qualities the writer thinks is the most important in choosing a friend?

A．honesty	B．reliability
C．understanding	D．a sense of humor

3. Good friends need to ______.

A．understand each other's feelings

B．be helped with money

C．always point out each other's mistakes

D．have money or luck

4. This passage mainly discuss ______ .

A．the qualities of a friend

B．where to choose friends

C．how to get along with friends

D．the importance of having a friend

9 . One of the most stressful days of Susan McFrederick’s life was watching her son get wheeled away for surgery hours after he was born in 2011.

But after the operation, Susan burst into tears for a different reason: across the cut on their newborn sons back was a sweet winter scene, hand-drawn on his bandages（绷带）.

“There were rolling hills of snow, a pine tree and a snowman with a hat and broom, she recalled. It was extremely touching and comforting to know that somebody had taken the time to do that for my family. It was a moment I'll never forget.”

Susan soon learned the artist was her sons surgeon, Robert Parry, who discovered another way to use his hands in the mid-1980 s during his internship（实习期）at children's medical center. where he saw one of his colleagues cut out heart and shark shapes to decorate children’s bandages.

“My first reaction was, 'What is he doing? Hey, that’s kind of neat,’ ” Parry recalled. “I especially liked the reactions of the parents and the patients when they saw his artwork. The smiles took everyone's attention from the surgery. Then I decided to follow suit.”

Parry quickly graduated from his early hearts and sharks, and started to surprise families with drawings that captured young patients' personalities. From Snoopy to Spider-Man and bears to butterflies, there isn’t much he hasn’t drawn. Most kids want superheroes sports team logos or princesses, while babies often receive scenes with flowers trees and sea creatures During the last 30 years, Parry estimates he has left examples of his handiwork over the stitches（伤口缝线） of more than 10, 000 children.

“During a time of stress for families, it's nice to be able to help them smile and laugh," Parry said. This is something positive that I can do for them, which is what I like most about it.”

For Parry, the reward is knowing he hopefully made a difference in a child’s life, and except for his drawings on bandages, they can go on and live their lives and never know I was in it.” he said.

He's not ready to retire, but he's found a new hobby to keep his hands skillful in the years to come.

“I've taken up knitting（编织）,” Parry said. “Hats, sweaters, gloves---I enjoy it all. But mostly, I enjoy giving everything away.”

1. Susan burst into tears after her baby's operation because she was__________.

A．moved	B．amused
C．stressed	D．heartbroken

2. How did Parry get the idea of decorating children's bandages?

A．He was motivated by his patients.

B．He was inspired by his colleague.

C．He was required to learn the skill during his internship.

D．He was encouraged by Susan to show his genius for art.

3. Parry's artworks during the last 30 years show that he__________.

A．devoted himself more to art than to medicine.

B．knew more about his patients than their parents.

C．took into consideration the tastes of individual patients.

D．created a large number of works beyond his expectations.

4. What does Parry expect to achieve with his artworks?

A．To get a reward from the artistic circle.

B．To win the admiration of his colleagues.

C．To make a difference in his dull medical career.

D．To lift the spirits of his patients and their parents.

5. What can we learn about Parry from the last two paragraphs of the passage?

A．He is eager to show others his new skills.

B．He enjoys trying new ways to help others.

C．He is looking forward to life after retirement.

D．He is more interested in knitting than drawing.

10 . How do you get a man to do his share of the housework? If you are like most women, you’ve faced this question the hard way.

A man will enjoy a clean, orderly house, but he usually won’t make the effort to clean or organize it. This doesn’t mean that a woman has to do all the housework:; she may have to manage many of the household duties, and request her partner’s participation（参与）. A woman can often say that men and women should take equal responsibility（责任） for housework.

Very few men are raised to be fully responsible for housework, and many men look on housework as women’s work. On the other hand, most men will readily work around the yard, make repairs and complete projects on weekends or evenings, and it’s important that you give your man appreciation for those things, too. Most men will take on a little additional housework around the house if asked politely. They are even more likely to do housework if they can choose what they want to do, and do it without being monitored.

Here’s the key: men want to feel that they are doing housework either because they want to do a task, or because they simply want to please their women. Men are much less likely to take on household tasks they consider uninteresting and unimportant. In other words, men are likely to do a household task just for the good of the house.

1. The passage is mainly about how to _____.

A．get men to take on some housework

B．get men to serve their families

C．praise men’ housework

D．make men do all the housework

2. According to the passage, a man_____.

A．is willing to do housework

B．likes to be told to do housework

C．is taught to be responsible for housework from childhood

D．likes a clean house but doesn’t make efforts to clean it

3. In order to get men to do some housework, women should often_____.

A．order them to do their share

B．ask them to do some housework politely

C．blame men’s laziness

D．monitor men’s work

4. According to the passage, the underlined sentence in the last paragraph means that men won’t _____.

A．work without any payment

B．do unimportant household tasks

C．do housework without women’s praise

D．please their wives

5. According to the passage, which of the following would a husband most probably like to do?

A．Cleaning the table.	B．Doing some sewing.
C．Painting the fence.	D．Asking his wife to work on the yard.