1 . Here are four books online, aiming to strengthen spoken and writing skills for English- language learners.
Arnie the Doughnut
Suggested grade level: lst- 2nd
Arnie looks like an average doughnut made by one of the best bakeries in town. Still, a doughnut is just a doughnut, right? WRONG! Click to see what happens.
Themes in the story:lmagination, Humor, Friendship
Brave Irene
Suggested grade level: lst- 2nd
Brave Irene is a dressmaker's daughter. One day, Irene volunteers to send the dress made by her mum to the palace on time, in spite of the snowstorm. Click and see how she overcomes difficulties.
Themes in the story: Courage, Overcoming difficulties
The Empty Pot
Suggested grade level: lst-2nd
The Chinese Emperor announces a test to choose the country's next king. The child who raises the best flowers from a seed given by the Emperor will be the one. Ping is unable to get his seed to come out-but Ping's empty pot is the best of all. Why?
Themes in the story: Honesty, Learning from failure
Clark the Shark
Suggested grade level: Kindergarten- 2nd
Clark i,s a shark who loves life, but his enthusiasm is too much for his friends, so his teacher helps him find a way to turn it down. Finally, Clark knows how to get along with his friends.
Themes in the story:Self-Control, lVLanners, Friendship
1. What can children learn from Brave Irene?| A．How to make friends. | B．How to learn from failure. |
| C．How to face difficulties. | D．How to control themselves. |
| A．Arnie the Doughnut. | B．The Empty Pot. |
| C．Brave Irene. | D．Clark the Shark . |
| A．Its themes include friendship. | B．It teiis us how to overcome difficulties. |
| C．It aims to improve children's writing skills. | D．It is also suitable for kindergarten children. |
2 . I was driving to a business appointment when I came to a very busy crossroad. The traffic light had just turned red. Suddenly, an unforgettable
At first I was moved. They were trying to
To my astonishment, I saw a(n)
Amazed, I
The couple
As I drove away, I did so with more awareness of life and care for others than ever before.
1.| A．scene | B．car | C．accident | D．driver |
| A．wandering | B．walking | C．rushing | D．marching |
| A．inspect | B．guide | C．preserve | D．approach |
| A．overcome | B．achieve | C．suffer | D．recover |
| A．can | B．must | C．may | D．need |
| A．sorrow | B．regret | C．terror | D．frustration |
| A．realizing | B．recognizing | C．removing | D．preventing |
| A．if | B．until | C．when | D．unless |
| A．painful | B．sorrowful | C．wonderful | D．joyful |
| A．agreement | B．conclusion | C．end | D．stop |
| A．nor | B．none | C．either | D．or |
| A．developed | B．calmed | C．froze | D．changed |
| A．looked for | B．looked around | C．looked up | D．looked at |
| A．Strangely | B．Obviously | C．Suddenly | D．Hopefully |
| A．responded | B．followed | C．replied | D．reacted |
| A．adopted | B．adapted | C．accepted | D．adjusted |
| A．Though | B．Because | C．Before | D．As |
| A．still | B．even | C．yet | D．already |
| A．astonished | B．relieved | C．emotionless | D．hopeless |
| A．going by | B．going on | C．breaking down | D．breaking out |
3 . Indian scientists have designed a new device that they hope will solve one of the biggest problems with the use of solar energy. They call the device a solar tree. Solar trees have metal “branches” extending from a tall pole at different levels. Each branch holds a solar panel( 太阳能电池板). These panels have large metal boards that collect energy from the sun and turn it into electricity.
Daljit Singh Bedi is the main scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in India. The CSIR laboratories are where the solar tree was designed. Bedi says the shape of the solar trees makes it possible to fit more solar panels in a space than traditional systems do. This means less land would be needed to produce solar energy. “It takes about four square meters of space to produce energy which may need 400 square meters of space,” he says.
Scientists believe the energy a solar tree collects will be enough to power five homes. The solar tree will make it easier to provide solar energy for homes in cities. The trees will also take less space from farmers in rural areas. Bedi says solar trees will collect more energy than normal solar panels on the tops of buildings.
India has promised to reduce its greenhouse gas production. The country’s promise depends heavily on increasing solar energy. The cost of solar panels has gone down in recent years. This has increased the possibility of applying solar trees in India.
Amit Kumar is the senior director of the Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi. He says it is still not clear how useful these new developments in solar power technology are. “Only when we put those trees on a large scale(规模) will w e be able to get that answer,”he says.
1. We may probably read this passage in .| A．Culture View’s | B．Nature and Science |
| C．Story Books | D．Travelling Guide Book |
| A．Its price is low er than the traditional one. | B．Its solar panels are of high quality. |
| C．It takes less land and collects more energy. | D．It produces much less greenhouse gas. |
| A．tops of buildings | B．trees along the street |
| C．electricity poles | D．the ground in the yard |
| A．It’s extremely useful and valuable. | B．It may not have a bright future. |
| C．It’s difficult to put into practice. | D．It needs testing on a large scale. |
4 . I am an active playgoer and play-reader, and perhaps my best reason for editing this book is a hope of sharing my enthusiasm for the theater with others. To do this I have searched through dozens of plays to find the ones that I think best show the power and purpose of the short play.
Each play has a theme or central idea which the playwright(剧作家) hopes to get across through dialogue and action. A few characters are used to create a single impression growing out of the theme. It is not my intention to point out the central theme of each of the plays in this collection, for that would, indeed, ruin the pleasure of reading, discussing, and thinking about the plays and the effectiveness of the playwright. However, a variety of types is represented here. These include comedy, satire, poignant drama, historical and regional drama. To show the versatility(多面性) of the short play, I have included a guidance play, a radio play and a television play.
Among the writers of the plays in this collection, Paul Green, Susan Glaspell, Maxwell Anderson, Thornton Wilder, William Saroyan, and Tennessee Williams have all received Pulitzer Prizes for their contributions to the theater. More information about the playwrights will be found at the end of this book.
To get the most out of reading these plays, try to picture the play on stage, with you, the reader, in the audience. The houselights dim(变暗). The curtains are about to open, and in a few minutes the action and dialogue will tell you the story.
1. What do we know about the author from the first paragraph?| A．He has written dozens of plays. | B．He has a deep love for the theater. |
| C．He is a professional stage actor. | D．He likes reading short plays to others. |
| A．Stating the plays’ central ideas. | B．Selecting works by famous playwrights. |
| C．Including various types of plays. | D．Offering information on the playwrights. |
| A．Control their feelings. | B．Apply their acting skills. |
| C．Use their imagination. | D．Keep their audience in mind. |
| A．A short story. | B．An introduction to a book. |
| C．A play review. | D．An advertisement for a theater. |
5 . A city in South Korea, which has the world’s largest number of people using smartphones, has placed flashing lights and laser beams at a road crossing to warn “smartphone zombies” to look up and drivers to slow down, in the hope of preventing accidents.
The designers of the system were motivated by growing worry that more pedestrians glued to their phones will become victims in a country that already has some of the highest road death and injury rates among developed countries. State-run Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) believes its system of flashing lights at zebra crossings can warn both pedestrians and drivers.
In addition to red, yellow and blue LED lights on the pavement, “smombies” - smartphone zombies - will be warned by laser beam projected from power poles and a warning sent to the phones by an app that they are about to step into traffic.
“Increasing number of smombie accidents have occurred in pedestrian crossings, so these zombie lights are essential to prevent these pedestrian accidents,” said KICT senior researcher Kim Jong-hoon. Drivers are warned by the flashing lights, which have shown to be effective 83.4 percent of the time in the institute’s tests involving about 1,000 vehicles.
In 2017, more than 1,600 pedestrians were killed in auto related accidents, which is about 40 percent of total traffic deaths, according to data from the Traffic Accident Analysis System. For now, the smombie warning system is placed only in Ilsan, a suburban city about 30 km northwest of the capital, Seoul, but is expected to go nationwide, according to the institute.
Kim Dan-hee, a 23-year-old resident of Ilsan, welcomed the system, saying she was often too absorbed in her phone to remember to look at traffic. “This flashing light makes me feel safe as it makes me look around again, and I hope that we can have more of these in town,” she said.
1. What do the underlined words “smartphone zombies” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Drivers driving after drunk. | B．Pedestrians buried in their phones. |
| C．Passengers crazy about phones. | D．Policemen in charge of traffic. |
| A．It has reduced death rate by 83.4%. | B．It has been spread nationwide. |
| C．It gives a warning to the smartphones. | D．It is being tried out in many places. |
| A．Negative. | B．Unconcerned. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Favorable. |
| A．South Korea Warns Smartphone Zombies of Traffic |
| B．Flashing Lights Are Used to Prevent Accidents |
| C．Smartphone Zombies Are Causing Traffic Accidents |
| D．South Korea Uses a New Traffic System |
Roberta appeared on the stage. She took a deep breath and began to ___1___. Now she was Portia, a strong–willed ___2___ in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. The theater was filled with people. She was speaking with a power she had never before experienced, the words flowing ___3___ from her.
___4___, Roberta had never acted in her life before the audition (选拔试演). She ___5___ being in front of other people. She was very ___6___ at school. She had never thought she was good enough at anything to ___7___ much attention. She stayed mostly to herself, making ___8___ friends. She had excellent grades, ___9___ she always thought that something was missing.
Two weeks before the audition, Robertsa’s mother had heard about it and ___10___ her to join in.
“I can’t think of anyone else better suited to ___11___ the part. Remember all the plays you used to act our for us?”
Her mother wouldn’t let the ___12___ drop. “You’re just a little scared (害怕). Everyone gets scared. You know you ___13___ do it. The trick is to look past the ___14___ to find the love of what you’re doing.”
So Roberta had made an appointment (预约) with the head of the Drama Club. She had read the play and found herself excited by the ___15___ of speaking such rich words. In secret she practiced Portia’s part, ___16___ the lines by repeating them over and over. It wasn’t hard; she ___17___ every minute of it. Every time she spoke the words, she had a new ___18___ of the lines, as if Shakespeare had written Portia on many levels.
On the day of the audition, she ___19___ two of Portia’s famous speeches for the auditors. When she had finished, the head of the Drama Club announced the ___20___ was hers.1.
| A．sing | B．dance | C．speak | D．report |
| A．member | B．actress | C．player | D．character |
| A．weakly | B．rapidly | C．smoothly | D．slowly |
| A．At first | B．In fact | C．After all | D．In all |
| A．hated | B．enjoyed | C．appreciated | D．regretted |
| A．honest | B．shy | C．polite | D．patient |
| A．avoid | B．focus | C．pay | D．attract |
| A．few | B．a few | C．several | D．many |
| A．or | B．so | C．for | D．but |
| A．forced | B．requested | C．encouraged | D．reminded |
| A．accept | B．play | C．offer | D．learn |
| A．role | B．matter | C．interest | D．grade |
| A．can | B．must | C．may | D．should |
| A．anger | B．pain | C．sadness | D．fear |
| A．purpose | B．way | C．idea | D．importance |
| A．memorizing | B．organizing | C．checking | D．improving |
| A．disliked | B．loved | C．expected | D．bore |
| A．consideration | B．description | C．selection | D．understanding |
| A．practiced | B．planned | C．performed | D．delivered |
| A．part | B．play | C．speech | D．position |
7 . Last summer，Uber finally started allowing its customers to tip their drivers. Nothing actually prevented them from tipping before. At the end of the ride a passenger could have pulled out his wallet，fished around for change and handed the driver a few dollars. But it would have seemed foolish to do so，when everything else about the deal was handled through a few taps of the app. The app didn’t enable tipping, so riders didn’t tip.
All of this stresses the difficult problem for hotel housekeepers. Increasingly，people book hotel rooms through their computers or phones. They pay，and often pre-pay，with their credit cards. There’s a good chance they don’t even carry cash. And yet to tip the housekeeper—or the bellhop or concierge—there’s no choice but cash.
It is probably no coincidence, then, according to the New York Times，that fewer than one in three hotel guests in America now leave tips for the people who clean their rooms. It’s not as if hotel guests can’t afford them.
Hotel pay varies widely, but some housekeepers rely on tips for their life. Housekeepers in some cities made as low as $10 an hour last year. After the Marriott chain started leaving envelopes in 160,000 rooms for housekeeper tips，tipping seemed to have increased, according to the Times. But Marriott ended the practice a few weeks later, finding it unpopular with guests, some of whom felt pressured into tipping.
A better solution would be to go the Uber route. Upon checkout (or electronic checkout)，guests could be asked if they’d like to tip their housekeeper. This would be similar to what happens at the end of a ride on ride-hailing apps，or on tablet screens in shops.
1. Why does the author mention Uber in the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic. | B．To advertise the app. |
| C．To arouse an argument. | D．To make a comparison. |
| A．They can’t afford them. |
| B．They prefer to pay cash tips. |
| C．They can’t tip on the app. |
| D．They’ve paid tips in advance. |
| A．People didn’t tip. | B．Some felt forced to pay. |
| C．Room service improved. | D．Guests preferred to tip by card. |
| A．Nothing stops customers tipping. |
| B．Housekeepers live happily on tips. |
| C．Tipping on apps is the only solution. |
| D．Cash-free deals make it harder to tip. |
8 . Palaces are known for their beauty and splendor, but they offer little protection against attacks. It is easy to defend a large building, but usually these buildings are not designed with the comfort of a king in mind. When it comes to structures that are both beautiful and defensive, the European castle is a big success.
Castles were originally built in England by the Normans in 1066. They built towers and walls to secure the land they had taken. These castles provided the Normans with a quiet and safe place. They also served as bases of operation for attacks. In this way castles served both defensive and offensive roles. Besides, castles served as offices for governors. Those that were socially beneath the governor would come to report affairs and express their respect. They would address problems, handle business, feast, and enjoy festivities in castles. So castles served as social centers as well.
The first castles were made from earth and wood, and they were likely to suffer from attacks by fire. Then wooden castles were gradually replaced by stone, which greatly increased the strength of these towers and walls. However, attackers could throw flaming objects into castles through the windows or burn the wooden doors. This led to moving the windows and entrances off of the ground floor and up to the first floor to make them more difficult to access.
During the Middle Ages, attacks increased in regularity, so castle defenses were updated. Arrow-slits were added. They were small holes in the castle, which allowed defenders to fire without being hurt. Towers were built from which defenders could provide fire on both sides. The towers were connected to the castle by wooden bridges, so that if one tower fell, the rest of the castle was still easy to defend. A lot of rings of castle walls were constructed, so that even if attackers went past one wall, they would be caught on a killing ground between inner and outer walls. All of these increased the defense of castles.
The end of castles can be attributed to gunpowder. During the 15th century, artillery, a kind of large guns, became powerful enough to break through stone walls. This greatly made the role of castles less effective. Though castles no longer serve their original purposes, remaining castles receive millions of visitors each year who wish to experience the situations of ancient times.
1. What was the original function of castles according to the passage?| A．They served as tourist attractions. |
| B．They were important social centers. |
| C．They marked religious ceremonies. |
| D．They were built for use in emergencies. |
| A．stone castles cost less money |
| B．stone castles offered better defense |
| C．wooden castles were uncomfortable |
| D．wooden castles took a long time to build |
| A．Castles were totally separated by stones. |
| B．Arrow-slits were made in large quantities. |
| C．Rings of walls were built to defend the towers. |
| D．Windows and entrances were moved to the higher floor. |
| A．Fancy Living: Learning about Castles |
| B．Normans: Bringing Castles to England |
| C．A History of Castles: The Rise and Fall of Castles |
| D．Defending Castles: Technologies Used to Defend Castles |
9 . Our family loves the snow and cheers at the first good storm of the season. While others may think of Florida, we dream of a cabin vacation in New York’s Allegany State Park.
One particular trip, I recall, was just a bit more memorable than the rest. What we now refer to as the snow pants incident began accidentally enough. My husband, Bernie, and our 2-year-old daughter, Faith, were building a snow fort while I sledded down a nearby slope.
On the way back up from one trip, I saw a small stone tumbling down the track I had just made. I was puzzled, since all the other rocks were buried under several feet of snow, as I stood and wondered about the stone---it jumped! This was no stone. This was a mouse.
Now, I love nature, but that doesn’t include mice. I loudly protested the invader, and Bernie, coming to my rescue, assured me that this was not a mouse but a mole, as if that mattered. A mouse or a mole I still didn’t like it.
Bernie and I stood for a few minutes watching the creature disappear from the path into the furry white and come back out again. But soon it disappeared and I headed up the hill again.
Shortly after I left, my husband screamed out, saying that the mole had gone up the leg of his snow pants. You have to understand Bernie can be quite a joker, and I smelled a rat. Not wanting to be a sucker and fall for another one of his jokes, I laughed it off. When he started running for the cabin, though, I stopped laughing and decided maybe this was for real.
“Don’t you dare take that thing into the house!” I yelled. But like a flash, Bernie was already dashing through the cabin’s front door, with his snow pants, the mole and all. If it were me, I’d have been down to my long underwear right there in the snow without a second thought.
A few minutes later Bernie appeared. We relished the rest of our winter vacation, drinking lots of hot chocolate, sitting beside the fireplace and admiring nature---from a safe distance.
1. Why did the author’s husband come to her rescue?| A．Because the “mouse” frightened her |
| B．Because she hardly controlled the sled |
| C．Because the snow fort she built was damaged |
| D．Because she stepped on the stone and fell down |
| A．curious | B．puzzled |
| C．excited | D．doubtful |
| A．They enjoyed the rest of their holiday |
| B．They were fond of hot chocolate |
| C．Her husband had freedom at last |
| D．Nature can be dangerous at times |
| A．A Memorable Experience with a Joker |
| B．The Painful Incident in Allegany State Park |
| C．Family’s Funny Vacation in the Snow |
| D．My Strong Love for Nature |
10 . I truly feel that my mother led me here, to Morzaine, and to my future as a happy wife and business woman. When Mum
I come to Morzaine, a small, friendly village in the Alps and
A month later, I met Paul, who was traveling here. We fell in love. In the beginning, I didn’t want to discuss
We want to give our guests a
We are having a wonderful life Mum
| A．died | B．came | C．returned | D．visited |
| A．burned | B．disappeared | C．broke | D．dropped |
| A．shown | B．comforted | C．persuaded | D．told |
| A．hiding | B．stealing | C．selling | D．wearing |
| A．Luckily | B．Naturally | C．Surely | D．Hopefully |
| A．nursed | B．cured | C．missed | D．guarded |
| A．long | B．hard | C．merry | D．free |
| A．suddenly | B．finally | C．nearly | D．immediately |
| A．said | B．proved | C．supposed | D．judged |
| A．smarter | B．higher | C．firmer | D．lighter |
| A．honored | B．hired | C．regarded | D．trained |
| A．travel | B．business | C．children | D．marriage |
| A．recently | B．once | C．still | D．first |
| A．left | B．pushed | C．surprised | D．interrupted |
| A．hotel | B．restaurant | C．home | D．shop |
| A．homely | B．lively | C．motherly | D．friendly |
| A．ought to | B．used to | C．might | D．could |
| A．takes | B．keeps | C．looks | D．feels |
| A．unless | B．while | C．because | D．though |
| A．money | B．chair | C．house | D．necklace |
