1 . When she returned home that year, she was given an enthusiastic welcome in the same hall. Many hands stretched out to her, many cameras focused on her. A reporter in glasses kept pestering her with the question: “What do you like best?” She was wondering how to respond when she caught sight of a bunch of flowers. Then she said, “Flowers!” Following her remarks, more flowers were at once presented out to her, too many for her to hold. During the past two years, she had participated in many international competitions and brought back one shining medal after another. What she got in return was all smiles, flowers and camera flashes. Was it because of this that she became preoccupied with winning? The more she won, the more obsessed she was with the fear of losing. So her mind was in fact more burdened with success than with failure. The mind could control physical pains but could not free itself from mental strain easily.

This time when she was a little off balance on the horizontal bar (平衡木), she became so worried that she lost self-control and fell off. This failure was followed by several more in other events. Afterwards in order to avoid people at the airport, she trailed along behind the team. She found that very few people greeted her and reporters seemed to shun her. However hard she tried, she couldn’t turn the tide; she was a complete failure. Indeed, who would side with a failure?

All of a sudden, she saw a pair of shoes in front of her. Who could it be? She raised her bent head slowly and saw a navy blue suit, long legs, and then a clear fair face. Before her stood the stewardess with her hands behind her back, speaking with a smile, “I watched your performance on the television. I knew you would come home today. So I am here especially to welcome you.”

“I did very poorly.” She lowered her head again.

“No. You did your best.”

“But I failed.”

“Nobody can avoid failure. I believe failure is as important to you as success. Failure belongs to the past, and victory is the future.” The stewardess’s voice came gentle but firm.

Hearing these words, the girl raised her head. The stewardess held out her hands from behind her back with a big bouquet of colorful flowers, and presented it to the girl. The strong fragrance seemed to turn into a magic, powerful current that went through her body. She was moved to tears. Flowers are usually given to victorious heroes. Why to the disgraced loser?

1. What does the underlined word “pester” mean in paragraph 1?

A．Greet.

B．Annoy.

C．Inquire.

D．Concern.

2. According to the passage, what contributes to her winning medals before?

A．She had received many smiles, flowers and camera flashes.

B．She was passionate about walking on the horizontal bar.

C．Her mind was free from over anxiety about failure.

D．She was in good physical condition.

3. What may be her strongest emotion after she failed?

A．Ashamed.

B．Stressed.

C．Miserable.

D．Grief-stricken.

4. What is the main message the writer tries to convey?

A．Action is worry’s worst enemy.

B．The winners laugh and the losers weep.

C．Excessive pressure will become a burden.

D．Success is never final and failure is never fatal.

2 . What are pillows really stuffed with? Not physically, but symbolically? The question occurred to me with the photos in the news and social media from the 50 cities around the world that staged public celebrations for International Pillow Fight Day. Armed with nothing more than bring-our-own sacrificial cushions, strangers struck heavily each other in playful feather from Amsterdam to Atlanta, Warsaw to Washington DC. But why? Is there anything more to this delightful celebration?

As a cultural sign, the pillow is deceptively soft. Since at least the 16th Century, the humble pillow has been given unexpected meanings. The Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu tells a famous story about a wise man who meets a depressed young scholar at an inn and offers him a magic pillow filled with the most vivid dreams of a seemingly more fulfilling life. When the young man awakens to discover that his happy 50-year dream has in fact come and gone in the short space of an afternoon’s nap, our impression of the pillow’s power shifts from wonder to terror.

Subsequent writers have likewise seized upon the pillow. When the 19th-Century English novelist Charlotte Bronte poetically observed “a ruffled (不平的) mind makes a restless pillow”, she didn’t just change the expected order of the adjectives and nouns, but instead she made unclear the boundaries between mind and matter — the thing resting and the thing rested upon.

It’s a trick perhaps Bronte learned from the Renaissance philosopher Montaigne, who once insisted that “ignorance is the softest pillow on which a man can rest his head”. On Montaigne’s thinking, intelligence and happiness confront each other forever in a pillow fight that only one can win.

With the words of Tang. Bronte, and Montaigne, we can perhaps more easily measure the attraction of the global pillow fight. Like a ritual of release, the annual international pillow fight amounts to a kind of cleansing, a brushing off of daily worries: an emptying of the world’s collective mind. Rather than a launch-pad for weightless rest, the pillow is a symbol of heavy thought: an anchor that drags the world’s soul down — one that must be lightened.

1. The example of Tang Xianzu is used to illustrate that ________.

A．pillows give people satisfactory dreams

B．dreams are always wonderful while the real world is cruel

C．people’s impression of pillows changes from wonder to terror

D．pillows symbolically convey the meaning in contrast to their soft appearance

2. From the passage, we can learn that Charlotte Bronte ________.

A．wrote poems about pillows

B．regarded pillows as reflections of our minds

C．shared the same viewpoint as Tang Xianzu on pillows

D．was likely to have been influenced by the thoughts of the Renaissance

3. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 “ignorance is the softest pillow on which a man can rest his head” most probably means ________.

A．pillows give us comfort

B．pillows make people more intelligent

C．people with too many thoughts have less inner peace

D．people can easily fall asleep when they know nothing

4. According to the author, why is Pillow Fight Day so popular around the world?

A．Because it is a ritual release.

B．Because it makes life delightful.

C．Because it comforts restless minds.

D．Because it contains a profound meaning of life.

3 . Brazilian artist Néle Azevedo is best known for big public art pieces. The artist carves hundreds of 20 -centimeter-tall ice figures seated with their ankles crossed and places them atop outdoor steps and puts them in city squares all over the world, where they quickly melt. The faceless sculptures drip and pool into small puddles as time passes. Her works have been adopted by environmentalists as a kind of activist art against climate change.

But is it? Yes and (mostly) no.

The mass of melting bodies makes a natural connection to the threat humankind faces due to rising global temperatures. “Its close link with that subject is evident,” said the artist. In addition to the threat of global warming itself, the sheer number of sculptures sitting together also calls attention to the fact that we humans are all in it together. “Such kind of threats also finally put man in his place, his fate is along with the destiny of the planet, and he is not the ‘king’ of nature, but an essential element of it,” continues Azevedo on her website.

“I took every characteristic of traditional monuments and made the opposite,” she says. “I made small figures that sit on the floor. It doesn’t honor anybody. It does honor the unknown.”

Azevedo explains, “In a few-minute action, the rules of the monument are inverted: in the place of the hero, the unknown; in the place of the solidity of the stone, the momentary process of the ice; in the place of the monument size, the minimum size of the perishable (易毁坏的) bodies.” Originally Azevedo wanted her art to get people thinking about impermanence, and the sight of ice transforming into a puddle of water certainly does that brilliantly.

1. What can we learn about Néle Azevedo’s artworks?

A．They are put in public places for artists to appreciate.

B．They are adopted as a way of showing artistic talents.

C．They are linked with the threat of climate change.

D．They are considered as a symbol of unity.

2. Which of the following can best replace the word “inverted” in paragraph 5 ?

A．kept track of	B．turned upside down
C．laid emphasis on	D．taken into account

3. What can be inferred about the square show from the last paragraph?

A．It is permanent by nature.

B．It lacks practical influence.

C．It takes long to see the results.

D．It conveys the artist’s exact intention.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Public Interest in Contemporary Art

B．Ice Figures Transforming into Water

C．Responsibility Demanded of Activist Artists

D．Mini Sculptures Echoing the Climate Crisis

4 . Scientists have solved a puzzle about modern humans, after research showed that a famous skull of a human ancestor found in South Africa is a million years older than experts thought. This discovery has changed what we know of human history.

The skull, which scientists have named “Mrs Ples”, is from an ape-like human relative from a species called Australopithecus africanus (南方古猿). It was found near Johannesburg in 1947 and, based on evidence from its surroundings, was thought to be between 2. 1 and 2. 6 million years old. This puzzled scientists, because although Mrs Ples looks like a possible early ancestor of early humans, the first true humans had already evolved by the time she apparently lived. For this reason, scientists had decided that Australopithecus afarensis, a similar species from East Africa that lived about 3.5 million years ago, was our most likely ancestor instead.

To get a more accurate age for Mrs Ples, a team led by Professor Darryl Granger of Purdue University in Indiana, US, used a new method to date the sandy rocks where the skull lay. They measured the amount of certain chemicals in rocks, which form at a steady rate when they are exposed to cosmic rays (宇宙射线) on Earth’s surface. Once rocks are buried, these chemicals stop forming and slowly disappear;the surviving amount reveals how much time has passed since the rock (or bones) were on the surface.

The new study shows that Mrs Ples and other australopithecine bones nearby are between 3.4 and 3.7 million years old. This means they lived at the same time as their East African relatives, so that either group could have given rise to modern humans. However, team member Dr Laurent Bruxelles pointed out that over millions of years, at only 2,500 miles away, these groups had plenty of time to travel and to breed with each other. In other words, the groups could quite easily have met, had children together and both been part of the history of modern humans.

1. What can we learn about Mrs Ples from the first two paragraphs?

A．It is a skull found in East Africa.

B．It is the most possible ancestor of humans.

C．It is a million years older than scientists expected.

D．It is proved to live between 2.1 and 2.6 million years ago.

2. How did scientists get the accurate age of “Mrs Ples”?

A．By studying the effect of cosmic rays.

B．By calculating the forming rate of chemicals.

C．By locating the sandy rocks where the skull lay.

D．By measuring the surviving amount of chemicals.

3. What can we infer from the new study?

A．Modern humans came into being in East Africa.

B．Mrs Ples travelled and had children with East African relatives.

C．The history of modern humans might begin 3.5 million years ago.

D．Ape-like species from Africa could have interacted with each other.

4. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．Historical Puzzle Unsolved	B．Ancestor Mystery Solved
C．Mrs Ples: The Earliest Human Being	D．Mrs Ples: A Famous Skull

5 . How do you feel about exams? Is it the one thing you dread or an experience you relish because it’s your time to shine? Every year, many young people sit exams and whether they love or loathe them, most of them will face some anxiety in the lead up to the big day.

If you’re anxious about your exams, don’t worry, you’re not alone. It might seem like a stressful time when the pressure is onto pass that all-important test but take a deep breath and absorb some good advice from people who’ve been through the same experience as you.

Eating the right food can feed your brain and keep you alert. Nutritional therapist Kerry Torrens recommends making breakfast the most important meal of the day. She recommends eating energy-giving oats and eggs, which contain a nutrient called choline - thought to help cognitive performance and improve memory as we age. And don’t forget to drink lots of water to keep you hydrated - some research even suggests students who take water into the exam hall may even improve their grades.

One thing I know I always need is a good night’s sleep to help me work and think better the next day and that’s what’s recommended for anyone preparing for their exams. If you get good sleep your memory is better and that means you can retain the information you have revised. And it’s good to wind down before bedtime too - no watching TV or chatting on social media!

A good way to reduce your stress is to write down your anxieties. This is something that Lisa Artis from the Sleep Council recommends because it can ‘free your mind’. She also says sitting on your bed when you’re cramming is not a good idea because then you associate that place with stress. Revising for exams can also sometimes seem relentless, so it’s good to take breaks and reward yourself will a small treat, like a cake or a quick run around the block. There comes a point when your brain can’t absorb any more information so you’ll also need to know when to stop.

But if all this talk about revising and exams is still stressing you out, be assured that there are some people who will always be more on edge than you: your parents! They’re there to support you but they’ll be biting their fingernails, worrying about you and the final results. So maybe you need to give them some advice - chill out, everything will be ok!

1. which can be the best title for the text?

A．eating a balanced diet before exams

B．having a good sleep before exams

C．dealing with exam stress properly

D．never worry about my study, parents

2. what can be inferred from Paragraph 3?

A．we should make breakfast by ourselves instead of eating out

B．eating the night food can contribute to a longer life

C．we’d better drink some water while taking exams

D．Most of us usually think little of breakfast

3. Which is not as advisable way for an examinee according to the passage?

A．feeling at ease with your exam

B．revising on your bed before an exam

C．going out for a run in the neighborhood

D．turning to some students with the same experience

4. The underlined phrase “chill out” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______?

A．calm down

B．leave me alone

C．have a good sleep

D．take a deep breath

6 . There are many resorts in the world. Make your Branson, Missouri vacation easy by booking a complete vacation package with general attractions, shows and more. Located in the rolling hills of the Ozarks, Branson also features numerous outdoor activity options for a varied vacation experience.

Two-night Branson Getaway Package

When planning a wonderful holiday to Branson, book the Two-night Branson Getaway Package, which includes two nights of staying, dinner and a show at the Dolly Parton’s Stampede, and admission to the traditional Acrobats (杂技) of Shanghai!

Price: Adult: $156.

Children: Ages 3-19: $81.22, Ages 0-2: Free.

Branson Dolly Parton’s Stampede Getaway

Whether you are planning a weekend holiday in Branson or a short mid-week trip, you will love the Branson Dolly Parton’s Stampede Getaway, which includes two nights of staying and Dolly Parton’s Stampede Dinner and Show!

Price: Adult: $ 156.

Children: Ages 3-19: $73.01, Ages 0-2: Free.

Silver Dollar City Package

Have the ultimate vacation in Branson with the Silver Dollar City Package, which includes two nights of staying, a two-day pass to Silver Dollar City, and dinner and a show aboard the Showboat Branson Belle!

Price: Adult: $315.

Children: Ages 3-19: $74. 00, Ages 0-2: Free.

Branson’s Fun for Kids Vacation

For an exciting vacation in Branson that children will simply love, book Branson’s Fun for Kids Vacation, which includes two nights of staying, admission to the Branson’s Wild World VIP Animal Adventure, Escape Mini Golf & Jungle Arcade, Hamners’ Unbelievable Magic Show, Fritz’s Adventure, a one-day pass to Silver Dollar City and admission to the Dolly Parton’s Stampede!

Price: Adult: $ 474.

Children: Ages 3-19: $68.78, Ages 0-2: Free.

1. Which vacation package will you choose if you want to watch a Chinese traditional art?

A．Silver Dollar City Package.	B．Branson’s Fun for Kids Vacation.
C．Two-night Branson Getaway Package.	D．Branson Dolly Parton’s Stampede Getaway.

2. How much should a couple with twins aged four pay for the Silver Dollar City Package?

A．$389.

B．$463.

C．$704.

D．$778.

3. Which of the following is available in the four vacation packages?

A．Two nights of staying.	B．Silver Dollar City tickets.
C．A show at the Dolly Parton’s Stampede.	D．Admission to the Acrobats of Shanghai.

7 . Our savings ran out and we were going to lose our house. We had to move into Grandpa’s house, which had been old and beyond _________ when Grandpa Mac was living. Now that the place had been _________ for more than five years, it became much worse.

The roof seemed to leak _________. Hundreds of thousands of footsteps had _________ the finish (饰面) off the hardwood floors. One of the doors on the kitchen cupboards was broken and it _________ open forever. Worst of all, the white paint on the walls was beginning to fall but there was _________ nothing we could do about that.

Joe and I both tried to be _________ around Kelly as we packed to move. She was only three. As long as we didn’t give her the wrong _________, she wouldn’t notice the poor condition of her new home.

One evening, I walked out into the back yard to _________ the heavy heat in the house. __________ there wasn’t any air conditioning. Kelly was busy __________ the dandelions (蒲公英) in the yard. She smiled when she saw me and ran over to give me a bright yellow bunch. “We have __________ in the yard, Mommy. Most people just have grass,” she said. “We also have pretty butterflies. This must be the __________ place in the whole world to live.”

I suddenly __________ things were not that bad. It took a three-year-old to teach me how to see something to be __________ for in our new home.

1.

A．control

B．repair

C．recognition

D．comparison

2.

A．empty

B．noisy

C．secret

D．busy

3.

A．for no reason

B．in every respect

C．on no account

D．at any moment

4.

A．worn

B．kept

C．cut

D．cleared

5.

A．proved

B．felt

C．grew

D．stood

6.

A．hardly

B．simply

C．suddenly

D．occasionally

7.

A．brave

B．friendly

C．energetic

D．cheerful

8.

A．warning

B．answer

C．message

D．lesson

9.

A．escape

B．defeat

C．release

D．absorb

10.

A．Probably

B．Accidentally

C．Naturally

D．Consequently

11.

A．planting

B．picking

C．watering

D．observing

12.

A．flowers

B．insects

C．seats

D．trees

13.

A．quietest

B．safest

C．nicest

D．cleanest

14.

A．confirmed

B．declared

C．recalled

D．realized

15.

A．eager

B．grateful

C．concerned

D．responsible

8 . My new teacher is cool. Her name is Paula so we call her Miss Paula.

The first time we met her she said we are going to be good friends and that good friends are always nice to each other.

Miss Paula has been teaching us a lot of things. Some of us used to get in trouble for talking in the hallway (过道). Miss Paula says she can’t change the rule that we can’t make noise in the hallway but we can still talk to each other. She is teaching us sign language. I already know how to say “hello” and “how are you” with my hands. Now we love it when we have to walk somewhere and we are always quiet except for a laugh or two.

Miss Paula likes everybody even Sam and nobody likes Sam. He never does what he’s told but now he is doing better. Miss Paula says every single one of us is perfect and beautiful just the way we are. I guess that includes Sam.

This week at school was really the best ever. I didn’t even get in trouble when I thought I would because I spilled (洒) milk on my homework and had to hand it in when it was still wet. Miss Paula just smiled and asked “What’s this?” So I told her what happened. Miss Paula put it near the window to make it dry. She said the sun had been waiting for such an important job as this and would be happy to help us.

Well I have to go and get ready for bed now. I have school in the morning and I want to wake up early so I will have time to pick Miss Paula some flowers.

1. From the passage we know that Miss Paula ________.

A．is strict with the writer	B．changed the school rules
C．is very kind to her students	D．uses sign language in class

2. From Paragraph 4 what do we learn about Sam?

A．Sam dislikes his new teacher.	B．Sam has made some progress.
C．Sam is often praised by Miss Paula.	D．Sam is one of the writer’s best friends.

3. How did the writer probably feel when he handed in his homework?

A．Bored.

B．Excited.

C．Relaxed.

D．Worried.

4. We can learn from the passage that the writer ________.

A．loves and respects her new teacher	B．is a bit afraid of her new teacher
C．always picks her teacher some flowers	D．wrote this article in the morning

9 . The custom of flying a piece of cloth high in the sky began more than 2,000 years ago in China. Since then, kites have been served in many fields, like doing scientific experiments, powering boats, taking pictures from the air and much more. In fact, kite-flying is a great way to clear the mind.

When Americans Kay and Larry Day found a store selling kites nearly 20 years ago, they decided to buy a few kites for their family. For fun, Larry bought one for himself. “He went out and flew it and decided he needed to go back and get a better one,” Kay remembered. Since then, she and her husband have loved kite-flying. They own many kites and plan trips around flying them. They also organize a kite-flying event each winter in their hometown in Iowa. “I’m at peace when I’m flying a kite,” said Larry.

Nic O’Neill, president of the American Kite-fliers Association said that kite-flying can be done alone or with friends and family. Kites appeal (有吸引力) to people who like to create works of art or to those who like to combine kite-flying with music. O’Neill said, “Part of the reason I love flying kites is that I have to risk trying and not succeeding. The best way to learn is to go out, undo the string (细绳) and let your kite fly. The perfect condition includes a nice steady wind and a place away from trees and buildings.”

Grant Lovett began flying simple kites as a child, but moved on to costlier and more complex kites as an adult. Today, Lovett likes making his own kites. He builds them from strong, lightweight materials and products designed for sailboats. Lovett attends kite-making classes and looks for new models on the Internet. He makes kites of different shapes and sizes because flying conditions can be greatly different. He also notes that experience makes a difference, and so does the weather and he likes the happy feelings that he experiences when his kite moves through the sky. “It is really calming,” he said.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Kites have been used widely.

B．Kites have developed gradually.

C．Kites have been designed differently.

D．Kites have lost their popularity.

2. How does kite-flying make Larry feel?

A．Excited.

B．Hopeful.

C．Peaceful.

D．Amazed.

3. What do O’Neill and Grant Lovett consider in kite-flying?

A．The flying experiences.

B．The flying conditions.

C．The skills of making kites.

D．The materials for making kites.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．Kite-Flying Is Fit for All Ages.

B．Kite-Flying Gets More Popular.

C．Kite-Flying Is a Traditional Sport.

D．Kite-Flying Gives a Lift to People.

10 . When it comes to family holidays in Australia, most people look to hot spots such as Sydney or the Gold Coast. However, Perth makes for a strong competitor, with plenty of museums and theme parks to keep the kids entertained, as well as historic sites and botanical gardens.

To give you a travel guide, we take a look at the best things to see and do in Perth.

King’s Park

Located in the heart of Perth’s business district, the four-square-kilometre park is perfect for spending an afternoon and making the most of the sunny weather. Here you’ll find plenty of picnic spots, play areas for little ones, and a host of activities and things to see. However, if you only visit one thing, make it the park’s impressive botanical gardens where you’ll find colorful plants.

Bibbulmun Track

Hikers, this one’s for you! This track is one of the world’s great long distance walks. Along the way you can expect amazing scenery, comfortable campsites, and a host of exciting wildlife and plants to look out for.

Perth Mint

You can discover a century’s worth of metals from gold to silver and even Coca-Cola bottle caps here. There are plenty of activities too from a live gold pouring session that you can watch to countless exhibitions.

Perth Zoo

The unusual creatures at the Perth Zoo are sure to keep small children’s attention! Giraffes, lions, elephants and monkeys are just some of the wildlife living in the zoo, which focuses on protecting various species.

1. What do we know about King’s Park?

A．It is in the hot spot Perth.	B．It is a good place for a picnic.
C．It is perfect for long-distance walking.	D．It is home to various plants and animals.

2. What do the Bibbulmun Track and Perth Zoo have in common?

A．They have a lot of wildlife.	B．They have large exhibitions.
C．They are in a business centre.	D．They are noted for campsites.

3. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To introduce Australia.	B．To celebrate some events.
C．To attract visitors to Perth.	D．To announce new activities.