1 . Charlie is a teacher and his wife, Maria is an artist. The night before last, just before the longest day of the year, Charlie was sitting in a deckchair enjoying the warm summer air when Maria touched his shoulder and he could tell immediately she was a little worried about something. He asked her what the matter was and she replied that there was a strange thing on the jacket that was hanging in the bedroom. They had both lived in the West Indies (西印度群岛) and had seen a lot of strange creatures in their house before. But now they were living in England and so Charlie just laughed and said he would have a look at the “thing”.
He walked to the bedroom. He saw a jacket hanging in the bedroom and went up to it to have a closer look at the “thing”. The moment he touched it, the thing sprang into life. Now Charlie experiences fear like the rest of us but when this creature opened its wings, he jumped out of his skin and ran screaming from the room like a small child doing about 100 miles an hour.
For a moment the next-door neighbours thought that Charlie was murdering his wife because of the noise they could hear. In fact, it was a bat that frightened Charlie.
Eventually Charlie managed to trap the bat in a box and took it to the garden to let the bat fly. Maria, who had been playing the guitar while Charlie was upstairs, asked Charlie if he had found out what the thing was. “Oh, nothing to worry about”, he said casually hoping that the terror could not be seen in his eyes, “it was just a bat.”
1. Why was Maria a little worried one night?| A．Because she couldn't find her guitar. | B．Because she saw something strange. |
| C．Because it was too hot for her. | D．Because she had quarreled with her husband. |
| A．stood up | B．was very frightened |
| C．threw off his clothes | D．was very excited |
| A．It was killed by Charlie. | B．It was badly wounded. |
| C．It was set free by Charlie. | D．It was kept as a pet. |
| A．Charlie was afraid that his wife would laugh at him if she knew the truth |
| B．the neighbours would report to the police about Charlie murdering the bat |
| C．the bat wouldn't come to Charlie's room again because it was frightened |
| D．Maria heard her husband screaming downstairs and became frightened |
2 . Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
“I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生),” said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate(保守的估计).”
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what was possible in the past. “There is a great effort so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”
However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last past about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. “It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?” said Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Centre. “At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all.”
1. By saying“we are knocking at the door of immortality”,Michael Zey means_________.| A．they have got some ideas about living forever |
| B．they believe that there is no limit of living |
| C．they are able to make people live past the present life span |
| D．they are sure to find the truth about long living |
| A．the human body is designed to last past about 120 years |
| B．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future |
| C．it is still doubtful how long humans can live |
| D．people can live from 120 to 180 |
| A．a great effort |
| B．the conservative estimate |
| C．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years |
| D．the idea of living beyond the present life span |
| A．No Limit for Human Life |
| B．Living Longer or not |
| C．Science,Technology and Long Living |
| D．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living |
3 . As I entered the job site, I could hear my 16-year-old son before I could see him. The sounds of a loud radio in an empty room upstairs, combined with the heavy strike of a hammer and loud music, led me to where he was taking apart a built-in cupboard. He was sweaty, his face covered in dirt and drywall dust. And he looked exhausted.
For a brief moment, I felt guilty. On a hot summer day, my son was covered in dirt instead of relaxing by the pool with his friends. And, though we have a family vacation planned for later in the summer, he wasn’t spending his summer vacation days backpacking through South America or participating in a camp program centered on an activity he loves. Rather, he gets up before dawn to work. He carries tools and a water bottle with him and he eats a turkey sandwich on his lunch break. He’s learning how to take orders from a job foreman(工头)and how to use power tools. He’s also learning just how strong his long, skinny body is, because pulling 30-year-old carpeting out of a house is no easy task.
I have moments when I remember my own happy summer days spent in front of The Price Is Right and Days of Our Lives. I wonder if he’s missing out, but I remind myself that having a job as a teen is just as important as attending film camp or drinking with friends on a Saturday night. After his first day on the job, my son came home and announced that he spent four hours cutting heavily-glued tiles(瓷砖)out of a basement. “I wasn’t going to give up until those things came off the ground,” he told us.
The backbreaking work of physical labor is teaching him just as much as, if not more than, the mental challenge of a high school AP class. It turns out, too, that having a regular job during the summer might be just as attractive to a college admissions officer as a trip to volunteer in another country.
1. What was the author’s son doing when he reached the job site?| A．Making a new cupboard. | B．Working with great efforts. |
| C．Enjoying music comfortably. | D．Playing a musical instrument. |
| A．His son failed to adapt to adult life quickly. |
| B．His son was doing something not for his age. |
| C．He couldn’t provide a comfortable life for his son. |
| D．He couldn’t spare more time to accompany his son. |
| A．He is easy to satisfy. | B．He isn’t afraid of failure. |
| C．He is a strong-willed person. | D．He has a similar experience to his father’s. |
| A．Benefits of working for students. | B．Work opportunities for students. |
| C．Ways to balance work and study. | D．Challenges of working for students. |
4 . For centuries, apple growers in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture have been creating good-looking apples by using “Mojie Ringo”. The process is fairly simple. It basically shelters the apples from sunlight for a period of time and then applies stencils(蜡纸)to ensure that part of the apple skin remains discolored. More often than not, Mojie Ringo apples are decorated with messages and symbols of good fortune, and are offered as gifts.
Large apple varieties like Mutsu or Stark Jumbo are most suitable for Mojie Ringo, as they provide more surface area for complex design. Preparation begins in January, with a pruning(剪枝)operation, to ensure that remaining flowers receive plenty of sunlight. Then, growers hand-pollinate (人工授粉)each of the apple tree flowers, and then once fruits begin to form, they are covered with several layers of plastic bags to protect them from both pests and sunlight.
Keeping the apples “in the dark” for long periods of time increases their photosensitivity(光敏性), so when the plastic bags are finally removed, they begin to produce a component that turns the skin red. During the final stage of the Mojie Ringo process, stencils are applied on the surface of the apple to ensure that only the skin around the stencil turns red.
The stencils are removed during harvesting, to expose the almost white skin underneath. The stencils need to be flexible, because the fruits continue to grow, and otherwise the designs could be compromised.
According to Culture Trip, Mojie Ringo was perfected by farmer Hamo Iwasaki from Aomori Perfecture, whose son, Chisato Iwasaki, is widely regarded as one of the most talented apple artists today.
Although Mojie Ringo seems fairly simple, it requires a lot of work and patience over long periods of time, and for many growers the effort and attention just don’t pay off enough. That’s why the old tradition is slowly fading, with only a few Aomori fruit gardens producing the eye-catching fruits.
1. Mojie Ringo is mainly used to improve the ________ of apples.| A．production | B．attraction | C．taste | D．shape |
| A．apples | B．stencils | C．plastic bags | D．apple growers |
| A．Because they aren’t familiar with it. |
| B．Because it is an out-of-date tradition. |
| C．Because it isn’t economically worthwhile. |
| D．Because fruits coming from it aren’t popular. |
| A．A new apple variety. | B．A talented apple artist. |
| C．An apple planting center. | D．An apple fanning technique. |
5 . Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival takes place every year in late August or early September on the Lido in the historic Palazzo del Cinema, in Venice, Italy. Its main award is the “Leone d’Oro” (Golden Lion). Recently, a new award has been added, the San Marco Award for the best film.
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards are the most prominent film awards in the United States. The awards are granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Academy Awards are nicknamed “Oscars”, which is also the nickname of the statuette（小雕像）. The name is said to have been born when Margaret Herrick saw the statuette on a table and said, “It looks just like my uncle Oscar!”
Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin Film Festival is one of the “A” festivals in Europe. The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the “Berlinale”, is held annually in February and started in 1951 after an initiative of the American, who occupied part of the city after World War Ⅱ. The jury（专家评奖团）always places special emphasis on representing films from all over the world, from the former Eastern Bloc（集团）Countries as well as from Western countries. The awards are called Golden and Silver Bears (as the bear is the symbol of Berlin).
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival is a famous international film festival. It has been held annually in Cannes, in the south of France, since 1946 with a few exceptions. Given massive media exposure, the Festival is attended by many movie stars and is a popular venue for movie producers to launch their new films and attempt to sell their works to the distributors who come from all over the world.
The most famous award given out at Cannes is the “Palme d’Or” (Golden Palm) for the best film; this is sometimes shared by multiple films in one year.
1. Which award can be shared by multiple films in one year?| A．Golden Lion. | B．Golden Palm. |
| C．Academy Awards. | D．San Marco Award. |
| A．It’s the nickname of Academy Awards. |
| B．It’s also the nickname of the statuette. |
| C．It got its name because Margaret said the statuette looked like his uncle. |
| D．It’s an award in France. |
| A．It looks like a bear. |
| B．It is made up of bear fur |
| C．The bear is the symbol of Berlin. |
| D．Bear is rare in Berlin. |
6 . It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable(不自在) when they are with their parents. They say that their parents don’t understand them. They often think that their parents are out of touch with modern ways; that they are too serious and too strict with their children; and that they seldom give their children a free hand.
It is true that parents often find it difficult to win their children’s trust and they tend to forget how they themselves felt when young. They show that they have grown up and they can face any difficult situation. Older people worry more easily. Most of them plan things ahead, at least in the back of their minds, and do not like their plans to be upset(扰乱) by something unexpected.
When you want your parents to let you do something, you will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it.
Young people often make their parents angry with their choices in clothes, in entertainment and in music. But they do not mean to cause any trouble; it is just that they feel cut off from the older people’s world, into which they have not yet been accepted. That’s why young people want to make a new culture(文化) of their own. And if their parents do not like their music or entertainment or clothes or their way of speech, this will make the young people extremely happy.
Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents to say “yes” to what you do. All you want is to be left alone and do what you like. It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parents’ control.
If you plan to control your life, you’d better win your parents over and try to get them to understand you. If your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility(责任), they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.
1. This article is particularly written for_____ .| A．parents | B．both parents and their children |
| C．young people | D．teachers |
| A．ask for advice before they really start to do anything |
| B．do things without thinking carefully ahead |
| C．be very strict with themselves |
| D．think in the same way as their parents do |
| A．they want to show they have grown up |
| B．they do not want to get into trouble |
| C．they feel they are cleverer than the older people |
| D．they don’t feel they belong to the world of the older people |
| A．do everything according to his own wish |
| B．do everything the way his parents do |
| C．do everything under his parents’ control |
| D．do everything with a high sense of responsibility |
7 . It’s November now and Christmas is on the way. What would be a better way to spend time with your loved ones than sitting down to watch some classic Christmas movies?
1. The Grinch (2000)
This is a Christmas must-watch. It was originally (最初) a children’s book written by Dr. Seuss, which I would suggest reading! It’s the story of a green monster (怪兽) who wants to destroy Christmas but who in the end discovers the power of love. I promise it’s a great film with plenty of laughs along the way.
2. Love Actually (2003)
While this is not a personal favourite of mine, people in the UK love this film. It features (由……主演) famous actors and actresses such as Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman. It might be a little difficult to follow, but the heart-warming story makes it worth watching.
3. Home Alone (1990)
This is one of my favourite films of all time and I would watch it all year round if I could. It tells the story of a boy, Kevin, who is left alone in his house when his large family forget to take him on vacation. While the family are away, burglars (窃贼) try to break into the house and Kevin must protect his home by setting traps. The trips, falls and traps will have you laughing out loud as you watch a 10-year-old boy outsmart two grown men.
4. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
You can’t have Christmas in an English-speaking country without watching this film. It’s not funny like Home Alone or The Grinch, but it is really touching. It’s about a man who says he is Santa Claus, but nobody believes him except a lawyer and a little girl. The storyline may seem a little childish but you can enjoy it at any age.
1. Which movie is based on a children’s book?| A．The Grinch. | B．Love Actually. |
| C．Home Alone. | D．Miracle on 34th Street. |
| A．It is his favourite movie. |
| B．It is funny and touching. |
| C．It is a little difficult to follow. |
| D．It is suitable for people of all ages. |
| A．All can make you laugh out loud. |
| B．All are newly-made movies. |
| C．All are related to Christmas. |
| D．All tell stories about kids. |
8 . Virtual Cooking Class
| Private 1: 1 Pasta（意大利面食）Class with Nonna Nerina $400 $-600 |  |
In this 2-hour live private one-on-one online experience, you will connect with 87-year-old Italian Nonna Nerina and her granddaughter Chiara as they walk you through a mouth-watering cooking experience of one of their favorite family recipes（食谱）in the comfort of your own home—without any other guests other than you!
Once you book this class, we will reach out to you to coordinate（协调）the best time and date that works for you, Chiara and Nonna Nerina. And a week before your class, you will receive a shopping list of ingredients（原料）to buy and a link to an Amazon storefront for any tool that you may need to cook with. Not to worry—we keep it simple, you probably already have all the things that you need in your kitchen!
You will discuss with Chiara about recipes and pasta choices, select the one that you are most excited about and then decide on all the details together for a magical experience.
Each recipe that we cook will be from our own family going back generations and we will send you some of our favorite wine pairing suggestions if you are really interested!
To become the cook you have always wanted to be, please join us every week for more classes and more fun by sending your email to NonnaLive@nonnalive.com!
1. What can we know about the private course?| A．It is held in an Italian family. |
| B．It is offering a discount at present. |
| C．It is given by Nonna Nerina alone. |
| D．It is a chance to learn magic. |
| A．Share your favorite recipe and pasta. |
| B．Invite the guests to join the class. |
| C．Get something necessary ready for it. |
| D．Do cleaning to keep your kitchen in order. |
| A．By writing an e-mail. |
| B．By making a phone call. |
| C．By visiting Chiara in person. |
| D．By leaving a message on the website. |
9 . On my recent trip to Sydney with my parents,we visited the Wildlife Park.
The Wildlife Park has lots of different animals. Some are native（当地的）to Australia and can only be found there. There are over 600 animals there，including kangaroos, koalas and crocodiles（鳄鱼）.They are kept in their natural environment. I like the Wildlife Park better than a zoo where most of the animals are in cages.
We first spent some time with the kangaroos. We were allowed to touch and feed them. It was very exciting to be so close to them.There were koalas there too. They looked very cuddly（令人想拥抱的）. Although we were not allowed to carry them, I got to take a photo with one. It is a wonderful souvenir of my holiday in Sydney.
The Wildlife Park has plenty of freshwater and saltwater crocodiles. Some of them are really big and scary with huge teeth! I did not want to get too close to them.
There was also a bird show. The keepers showed us different species they had. I saw an old parrot which could “talk”. It made a great impression on me.
I enjoyed the trip very much.There was so much to see.
1. Where is the Wildlife Park？| A．In Sydney. |
| B．In Cairo. |
| C．In Paris. |
| D．In Rome. |
| A．A parrot that could talk. |
| B．A chance to feed a kola. |
| C．A photo with a kola. |
| D．Food for the kangaroos. |
| A．They lived in water. |
| B．The writer was afraid of them. |
| C．The writer did not want to feed them. |
| D．The writer did not like the smell of saltwater. |
| A．The kangaroos are kept in cages in the Wildlife Park. |
| B．The writer traveled to the Wildlife Park alone. |
| C．The writer went to see koalas first. |
| D．The writer watched a bird show. |
10 . When NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, they marked the first successful rocket launch (发射) off American soil in nine years. However, it was also a first in their close
“Being lucky enough to
The two astronauts had
And they're
Their close relationship has developed partly from shared
“My l0-year-old son thinks it's a cool spacecraft with a cool name. So I got the
With the two astronauts living their
| A．idea | B．birth | C．fight | D．friendship |
| A．survive | B．argue | C．fly | D．teach |
| A．thought of | B．prepared for | C．cut down | D．made up |
| A．successfully | B．frequently | C．violently | D．casually |
| A．changes | B．memories | C．strengths | D．appearances |
| A．terrified | B．guilty | C．anxious | D．grateful |
| A．faster | B．closer | C．taller | D．smarter |
| A．comfortable | B．worried | C．sad | D．puzzled |
| A．pretending | B．wishing | C．forgetting | D．knowing |
| A．learning | B．travel | C．family | D．work |
| A．saved | B．married | C．forgave | D．admired |
| A．similarities | B．agreements | C．promises | D．adventures |
| A．escaped | B．sighed | C．laughed | D．cried |
| A．question | B．harm | C．record | D．role |
| A．trick | B．praise | C．patience | D．imagination |
| A．matters | B．suffers | C．appears | D．falls |
| A．secret | B．hobby | C．habit | D．dream |
| A．by accident | B．suddenly | C．hopefully | D．in danger |
| A．finish | B．combine | C．plan | D．seek |
| A．expression | B．experience | C．scene | D．manner |
