1 . Hansen and his 10-year-old son Chase search the streets of Salt Lake City every weekend for the homeless to take to lunch. They started Project Empathy(共情)four years ago to ________a meal, listen to their stories and figured out how they could ________ help.

“Just start with a smile, a hello. It really just starts with that. If you do it, you can make a connection. A small gesture can have a ________ impact on others less fortunate,” Hansen ________ in an interview.

Some of these shared meals have turned into stronger ________ .Ward, a homeless, was ________ in a flat. He credited the Hansens with helping him ________the difficult process of moving off the streets. “It is great to have friends who make us feel ________ and I’m impressed with the pair,” Ward said.

Father and son’s ________have developed into a passion project that ________ faith and community, which emphasizes the ________ community members can have in uplifting the homeless. They know they can’t settle the homeless ________ alone. They’re hoping empathy will ________.

“My hope for the future is to ________ more connection across our country. We could and we will succeed ________ we have other people join in and help the homeless,” Chase said.

1.

A．buy

B．cook

C．share

D．eat

2.

A．often

B．further

C．also

D．even

3.

A．dramatic

B．different

C．minimum

D．decisive

4.

A．remarked

B．praised

C．joked

D．quoted

5.

A．desires

B．connections

C．motivations

D．opinions

6.

A．provided

B．permitted

C．abandoned

D．housed

7.

A．through

B．for

C．despite

D．to

8.

A．surprised

B．relaxed

C．awesome

D．calm

9.

A．dreams

B．influences

C．experiences

D．efforts

10.

A．assesses

B．compares

C．highlights

D．respects

11.

A．importance

B．task

C．chance

D．role

12.

A．argument

B．problem

C．debt

D．conflict

13.

A．go away

B．catch on

C．fade out

D．give off

14.

A．establish

B．miss

C．exchange

D．maintain

15.

A．before

B．if

C．until

D．so

2 . I used to be the shyest person in the world. I hid behind my older sister, whenever I had to speak to (an) ________ person—including the McDonald’s cashier, or even a distant relative.

________ asked to speak in class, I could hardly ________, much less speak. Even among the few friends I had, my high, timid (羞怯的) voice earned me jokes—about being a girl. Then in the seventh grade, my sister suggested I ________voice lessons. After a little bit of ________, I did—as long as it stayed a secret. I began a series of vocal (发声的) exercising. After exercising a lot, I finally gained ________ in my voice.

A few months later, I was asked to sing for some retired people. I thought I would do better than before ________ the voice lessons. I opened my mouth and nothing. I couldn’t remember the words of the song! My face turned hot. The ________ pianist whispered a prompt (提示), and I remembered just enough to keep singing. Then the thought ________ me: I’ve embarrassed myself enough in front of this ________. There’s really nothing else to lose. So in my second song, I just ________ and felt the energy of the song lift me. And I did much better.

After that, I started singing to myself as ________ as I could in my own room. That’s something I would never have done before. On a recent school trip, I was asked to sing again. It was ________ how much people liked my singing. One classmate: ________ said that I should be in the school’s talent show.

I am not a shy person any more. ________ has made me more outgoing. Today, I’m almost a loudmouth. I can meet people without being afraid. I can also stand in front of the whole class and give a big speech. I am proud of myself.

1.

A．common

B．strict

C．unfamiliar

D．unusual

2.

A．Unless

B．Though

C．As

D．When

3.

A．sit

B．breathe

C．smile

D．express

4.

A．pick

B．accept

C．take

D．receive

5.

A．decision

B．consideration

C．opportunity

D．guidance

6.

A．confidence

B．freedom

C．admiration

D．imagination

7.

A．in favor of

B．because of

C．instead of

D．in place of

8.

A．upset

B．kind

C．nervous

D．straight

9.

A．struck

B．recognized

C．persuaded

D．ruined

10.

A．crowd

B．class

C．family

D．team

11.

A．changed

B．worried

C．relaxed

D．escaped

12.

A．clearly

B．loudly

C．easily

D．frequently

13.

A．amazing

B．frightening

C．shocking

D．confusing

14.

A．ever

B．even

C．still

D．just

15.

A．Communicating

B．Exercising

C．Performing

D．Singing

3 . Laptop computers are popular all over the world. People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels. These laptops connect people to their workplace. In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms.

Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want. Within five years, each of the 1, 500 students at the college will receive a laptop. The laptops are part of a $10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-­year-­old college. The students with laptops will also have access to the Internet. In addition, they will be able to use e­mail to “speak” with their teachers, their classmates, and their families. However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs. They can work with it at home, in a fast­food restaurant or under the trees — anywhere at all!

Because of the many changes in computer technology, laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable. As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers. In addition, the portable computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources. State higher­education officials are studying how laptops can help students. State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too.

At Westlake College, more than 60 percent of the staff use computers. The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons. As one Westlake teacher said, “Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we’re giving students a window on the world. They can see everything and do everything.”

1. The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each student a laptop to ________.

A．use for their schoolwork

B．access the Internet

C．work at home

D．connect them to libraries

2. Which of the following is TRUE about Westlake College?

A．All teachers use computers.

B．1, 500 students have laptops.

C．It is an old college in America.

D．Students there can do everything.

3. “A window on the world” in the last paragraph means that students can ________.

A．attend lectures on information technology

B．travel around the world

C．get information from around the world

D．have free laptops

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．The program is successful.

B．The program is not workable.

C．The program is too expensive.

D．We don’t know the result yet.

4 . China Small Group Tours

◆Tour Route 1: 11 Days Private Beijing - Lhasa - Xi’an - Shanghai

Tour Highlights:

Must-see sights in China — the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors

Follow us on a Buddhist pilgrimage to Tibet & appreciate the profound culture

Have a leisurely walk or an exciting bicycle ride on the time-honored City Wall of Xi’an

View the soaring city skylines and feel the pulse of modern Shanghai

From $ 2, 459 per person

◆Tour Route 2: 11 Days Private Bejing - Xi’an - Chonqing - Yangtze River Cruise - Yichang - Shanghai

Tour Highlights:

Must-see sights in China — the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Wariors

Try biking on the Ming Dynasty City Wall of Xi’ an, or tour by electric car

Enjoy the Three Gorges (三峡) scenery on Yangtze River & feel totally relaxed

From $ 1, 879 per person

◆Tour Route 3: 12 Days Private Bejing - Shanghai - Xi’an - Guilin - Yangshuo - Guilin - Hong

Kong

Tour Highlights:

Must-see sights in China — the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors

Experience the Bund, classical garden, modern and old in contrast in Shanghai

Feel the lively atmosphere & explore busy markets freely in Hong Kong

Walk into a local family, learn to cook Chinese food & dine with the hosts in their home

From $ 2, 499 per person

◆Tour Route 4: 12 Days Private Bejing - Xi’an - Chengdu - Guilin - Shanghai

Tour Highlights:

Must-see sights in China — the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors, Giant Pandas

Come to Chengdu, the hometown of giant pandas to visit and observe the cute creature

Cruise on the meandering Li River & admire Guilin landscape

Walk into a local Chinese family, interact & dine with the hosts in their home

From $2, 079 per person

1. What do Tour Route 1 and Tour Route 2 have in common?

A．They have cycling activities.

B．They include a visit to Tibet.

C．Visitors enjoy the Three Gorges scenery.

D．Visitors pay the same amount of money.

2. What is special about Tour Route 2?

A．Tourists can travel by bike.

B．Tourists can visit a huge dam.

C．Tourists can dine with a family.

D．It is the most expensive of the four.

3. Where can visitors enjoy China’s rare animals?

A．Tour Route 1.

B．Tour Route 2.

C．Tour Route 3.

D．Tour Route 4.

5 . I came to the United States ten years ago. I would always say that I was trying to study, but there were always things like work and my kids that would not allow me to start.

Now I realized that those were only excuses. What stopped me was that I was afraid to start studying again. I always believed I would learn by myself.

One day, however, my son told me that he was sad because his friends would come over and I didn’t understand them because I didn’t speak English. He was also sad because I could never help him with his homework. That same day, I told myself, “Rocio, you have to start believing in yourself and you will see you can make it.”

The next day, I went downtown to look for a big banner (横幅) in front of the school which said that they offered classes for adults. I came in to see if I could join, but the classes were closed already. That night I took the kids to the movies, and on the way back, I told them we would take a new route. I ended up getting lost. That’s the way I found Chaffey College. The following Monday, I went to ask for information. They told me that summer school was starting that week.

That’s how I started studying English last summer. It is difficult, but I have had great rewards. My daughter had written a story for school. It was about the female they most admired and why. She wrote that I was the person she most admired because I had started going to college. I will never forget this.

1. According to the passage, the author probably is a ________.

A．teacher

B．doctor

C．father

D．mother

2. What made the author make up her mind to study English?

A．What her son said.

B．What her daughter said.

C．Thinking about herself.

D．Thinking about her daughter.

3. How did they find Chaffey College?

A．On the way to the movies.

B．They took a new route and got lost.

C．Ask a stranger for information.

D．According to the banner.

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The author came to the United States from another country.

B．The author had two children including one daughter.

C．What really changed the author’s life was that she believed in herself.

D．The author wrote that she was the person her son most admired.

6 . The sun is going to expand into the orbit of Mercury according to scientific calculations, which will result in the entire Earth catching on fire. Who will save the world?

This imaginative tale is at the heart of the latest Chinese sci-fi movie The Wandering Earth. Unlike many American space-themed films where the solution to a disaster Earth faces is always fleeing (逃离) the planet in spaceships, this time we’re taking the Earth with us. The film, which has become the country’s most successful film of all time, has offered a different and more ambitious idea.

The “ambition” didn’t come from nowhere. For thousands of years, “homeland” has had a soft spot in the hearts and minds of Chinese people. One old idiom that shows a strong feeling that Chinese people have had for their homeland is “luoyeguigen”, which means returning to one’s homeland in old age, like fallen leaves returning to the roots of their tree.

“What is Chinese sci-fi?” Guo Fan, the film’s director, said in an interview. “A vehicle that really expresses our cultural and spiritual core (核心) can be called Chinese sci-fi. Otherwise, we’re just following others and telling the same Hollywood stories.”

And the makers of The Wandering Earth may have chosen the best time to tell its Chinese sci-fi story. The film was released on Feb. 5, the first day of Chinese New Year. It was a time when many people had just made the hard journey back to their hometowns. So to them, there is only one possible way to tell the story: Earth goes wherever humans go, because it’s our home.

1. The main purpose of the opening paragraph is to __________.

A．give a brief account of the film

B．warn people of the coming threat

C．explore ways to avoid the disaster

D．introduce the topic of the passage

2. The underlined phrase “a different and more ambitious idea” refers to __________.

A．fleeing the Earth in spaceships

B．bringing in huge success

C．filling the gap in Chinese sci-fi movies

D．helping Earth make its escape

3. Which of the following is unlikely to account for the success of the film?

A．The rich imagination of the story.

B．Hollywood-style space stories.

C．The special cultural background.

D．The time chosen to release the film.

4. What is likely to be the title for the passage?

A．Chinese Sci-Fi Catches Up

B．The Most Successful Chinese Sci-Fi

C．Chinese Sci-Fi Sets a New Path

D．Chinese Sci-Fi Challenges Hollywood

7 . Rave-on!

How about learning new skills on the guitar, drums and keyboard by video? Follow the touch-screen instructions to find lessons on each instrument, or search for a song to practise playing along to. Try our Professional Selection, with video clips of band members who will explain the techniques that make their recordings so individual.

Show-in-a-day!

Be a star singer or dancer for the day in a one-time-only special performance! Experts in international music and dance styles will train you, and costumes provided for the performance help create a really special, individual show. Get your friends and family to come and see you perform, as no videoing or photography is allowed.

Archived Images

Want to find out about a new band, or just want more information about an old favourite? Visit our collection to find out facts and figures, or see the actual possessions of famous bands and musicians you are interested in. You can actually get to touch things worn on stage at major rock and pop events, and there are plenty of other concert souvenirs.

Rhythm-studio

Get your body moving in the studio and learn to move to rhythms and sounds from the past to now, including Soul and Disco. Learn your steps from our professional onscreen dance instructor, then watch your performance and become the star in your own video recording which you can take away!

1. Which one can collect information about someone’s favourite bands?

A．Rave-on!	B．Archived Images.
C．Show-in-a-day!	D．Rhythm-studio.

2. In what way is Rhythm-studio different from Show-in-a-day?

A．Rhythm-studio offers free gifts from musicians.

B．Rhythm-studio has experts to teach face to face.

C．Rhythm-studio gets family members to enjoy the shows.

D．Rhythm-studio allows people to bring videos home.

3. Where can you most probably read the above information?

A．In a report.	B．In a travel brochure.
C．In a newspaper.	D．In a science magazine.

8 . Universe started in the third grade when she and her father watched a blood moon — a total lunar eclipse (月食) — outside their Skokie house. “It is just really cool how the universe can change and how something like that happens,” Dobek said.

Now a seventh grader at East Prairie Elementary School, Dobek recently won the national Discovery Education Lockheed-Martin Beyond Challenge by designing a space station for traveling to Mars.

Dobek competed by handing in a two-minute video where she presents her design.

“My design will not only ensure the safety of the astronauts (宇航员) but also make sure their comfort is out of this world,” she says in her video.

Dobek’s design calls for building the Mars Storage Station to store plentiful supplies. In the video, Dobek explains how her spacecraft (宇宙飞船) — the Adventurer — will land in a space station. Dobek’s design includes physical activity for the astronauts. They can choose their exercise machines and virtual (虚拟的) reality environment. So they will be able to watch downloaded shows and even see places on Earth such as their homes.

Dobek said she began her project by performing her research and then she constructed the design over three weeks to a month, working on it whenever she could, including on weekends.

When Andrea Smeeton, her teacher, saw the video and her design before they were sent, she said she had a feeling that she could win. “I don’t know why but maybe it was the excitement and the detail in the project,” Smeeton said. “I have taught for a long time and many of my students are gifted but this project is just very creative and it gives hope to a space program.”

Dobek and her parents traveled to Washington D.C. in April where they learned Dobek had won. When she texted her teacher the happy results, Smeeton admitted that she cried.

“I want to tell other kids to follow their dreams,” Dobek said. “Whatever they want to do, they should kind of just push for it. They should always try their best.”

1. What change did Dobek show after watching the total lunar eclipse?

A．She determined to be a scientist.

B．She took to working with her father.

C．She got interested in the universe.

D．She gave up her dream of becoming an astronaut.

2. What can be learned about Dobek’s design?

A．It replaces the role of the Adventurer.

B．It enables astronauts to connect with their family.

C．It ensures the safety of the supplies in the spacecraft.

D．It aims to make life in the Mars space station comfortable.

3. How did Smeeton feel about Dobek’s design after seeing it?

A．She felt it was pretty amazing.

B．She felt it was a little disappointing.

C．She felt it was less fun than she had expected.

D．She felt it was as good as other students’ designs.

4. What kind of girl is Dobek?

A．Energetic and friendly.

B．Productive and selfless.

C．Strong-willed and generous.

D．Forward-looking and inventive.

9 . Two British teachers have broken the world record for the longest journey in a tuk-tuk after pulling their failing vehicle for 43 miles. Richard Sears and Nick Gough traveled 37,500 kilometers around the world and passed through 37 countries. They did this to support grassroots education project in Africa, Asia and South America.

The pair, who set off from London, thought their expedition was over when the vehicle started to fail. When the tuk-tuk broke, they were only 70 kilometers from their destination. They decided to pull it the rest of the way. The tuk-tuk, which weighs 800 kilograms, was pulled in turns by Richard and Nick over three days. On arrival in Chepen, Peru, they discovered a mechanic who specialized in tuk-tuks and managed to fix it.

The pair were back on the road and aiming for their next goal. Along their journey they had to tackle deserts and jungles. They also survived close encounters with elephants in Uganda and Botswana and an accident in Malaysia. The greatest hardship on the tuk-tuk was the mountain ranges lying in their path, including the Alps, the Himalayas and the Andes.

Nick and Richard uncovered some inspirational projects across Africa, Asia and South America. They witnessed firsthand the educational challenges facing these areas today. They joined street children in the slums of Cairo, Khartoum, Kampala, Mumbai and Phnom Penh. They visited Congolese refugees (难民) in camps in Eastern Burundi. They witnessed how education could free sex-workers in Delhi and victims of human trafficking in Nepal.

The pair established the Tuk-Tuk Educational Trust, a U.K. registered charity.

Talking about their motivation, Richard said, “The world’s leaders have made a commitment to achieving universal primary education but in spite of this pledge (承诺), over 57 million primary-aged children worldwide are still out of school; many more are in school, though still cannot access quality learning opportunities.”

1. Why did the two teachers travel the world?

A．To support an education project.

B．To create a new world record.

C．To entertain themselves.

D．To challenge themselves.

2. How far did the two teachers pull the tuk-tuk each day on average?

A．A little more than 23 kilometers.

B．About 14 miles.

C．43 miles.

D．70 kilometers.

3. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．How they realized their next goal.

B．Their exciting experience on the road.

C．The beautiful scenery of famous mountains.

D．The difficulties and dangers they faced in the journey.

4. Which of the following best describes the two teachers?

A．Curious and brave.

B．Humorous and generous.

C．Courageous and responsible.

D．Efficient and honest.

10 . When 12, I knew my teen years would be the _______ years of my life. I was a total outsider, bullied (欺凌) at school. I felt _______ alone in my small town. _______ , by doing volunteer work when 14, I turned my _______ into a chance to help others. The opportunity to practice kindness made me feel my life had a greater _______. The more _______ energy shared, the more kindness and appreciation I _______. I realized my purpose in life would be to help people, especially teenagers, feel less alone.

Books were my true friends back then. I was so _______ that the authors wrote those books. The _______ they offered with their books saved my life. My biggest dream was to become an author to write books that would ________ other teenagers as those books helped me.

After ________ terrible experiences at school and at home, I chose to take the positive road in later steps of my journey. I have been a full-time ________ of teen novels since 2007 and am grateful for this amazing opportunity to reach ________ to readers every day.

Kindness saved me ________ I needed help the most. Small acts of kindness can change someone’s life. You never know what someone else is ________. But by practicing daily kindness, you become an architect of positive change.

1.

A．best

B．worst

C．calmest

D．craziest

2.

A．completely

B．obviously

C．suitably

D．amazingly

3.

A．Therefore

B．However

C．Besides

D．Finally

4.

A．appreciation

B．impression

C．problem

D．organisation

5.

A．strategy

B．personality

C．purpose

D．style

6.

A．formal

B．suitable

C．negative

D．positive

7.

A．believed

B．arranged

C．received

D．addicted

8.

A．confused

B．obvious

C．fluent

D．thankful

9.

A．comment

B．recommendation

C．accommodation

D．kindness

10.

A．help

B．master

C．honor

D．rescue

11.

A．shocking

B．surviving

C．calming

D．sharing

12.

A．author

B．summary

C．shelter

D．volunteer

13.

A．away

B．in

C．for

D．out

14.

A．when

B．if

C．although

D．because

15.

A．working out

B．making a difference

C．going through

D．working on