1 . In our youth-obsessed culture, one would assume that your self-esteem peaks in your 20s—but that’s not the case. Researchers from the University of Bern set out to determine when the average person’s self-esteem is the highest, and the good news is that your peak comes decades later.
Researchers found that self-esteem increases throughout one’s lifetime, with a slight plateau during those awkward teen years. Our self-esteem levels then start rising again and don’t peak until well into midlife. The highest point for self-esteem level happen at age 60 when they can retire and stay there until a slight decline in one’s 70s and 80s.
This news that our self-esteem will continue to rise or stay steady during the majority of our lives is exciting. We often hear of increased stress in the decades of midlife, but there are upsides too. “Midlife is, for many adults, a time of high stability in relationships and work. Moreover, most people further invest in their roles, which might promote their self-esteem,” researcher Dr. Orth told the journalist. “For example, people take on managerial roles at work, maintain a satisfying relationship with their spouse or partner, and help their children become responsible and independent.”
As we age and our roles tend to change, it’s natural for self-esteem to take a small hit. “Old age frequently involves loss of social roles as a result of retirement, the empty nest, and, possibly, widowhood. In addition, aging often leads to negative changes in other possible sources of self-esteem, such as socioeconomic status and health.” Dr. Orth said. However, it’s important to remember that it’s only a slight decrease. Dr. Orth believes that most people maintain a high self-esteem level even into their 90s and beyond.
1. Which of the following is the closest in meaning to “peak”?| A．Minimum. | B．Maximum. |
| C．Average. | D．Height. |
| A．A newly-retired person. | B．A teenage boy. |
| C．A person in his/her 80s. | D．A middle-aged person. |
| A．It is destructive. | B．It is unnatural. |
| C．It is important. | D．It is acceptable. |
| A．A guide. | B．A fiction. |
| C．A textbook. | D．A magazine. |
2 . What were you doing when you were nine years old? Making crafts from a Klutz book? Kicking around a soccer ball? Designing a business plan to deal with plastic pollution and relieve childhood poverty? Zymal Umar showed us the latter. The Pakistan’s youngest businesswoman has started a project entitled Zee Bags, which aims to reduce plastic pollution by providing an environmentally-friendly alternative to plastic grocery bags.
When Zymal was on a shopping trip with her parents three years ago, she was shocked by the number of plastic bags on the streets. Depressed by the plastic pollution, she was reminded of the severe consequences our habits have on the environment. Then, she noticed a shopkeeper handing out newspaper bags. And at that moment, Zymal knew she had to act. Since then she has created beautiful, unique reusable newspaper bags for hundreds of customers.
It’s amazing to see this youngster using her brains and business skills for good. And she should certainly feel proud of the work she is doing. After all, plastic grocery bags are killing thousands of marine animals every year through their contribution to plastic waste. According to The Earth Institute, over one trillion plastic bags are used worldwide annually—that’s about two million bags used per minute around the world.
And those bags certainly don’t disappear into thin air. Instead, they end up in our oceans, putting approximately 700 marine species in danger of extinction due to the threat from pollution. And plastic bags are just one of the many forms of plastic trash that ends up in the oceans—in fact, an astonishing 8. 8 million tons of this material make their way from land to the oceans every single year.
But with Zee Bags, we’re all empowered to make more thoughtful choices about our trash production. And Zymal’s amazingness doesn’t stop there—the profits from her sales go towards helping poor children.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．How Zymal felt about her shopping trip. |
| B．How Zymal learned about plastic pollution. |
| C．How Zymal was received by the shopkeeper. |
| D．How Zymal was inspired to create her bags. |
| A．To praise Zymal for her great efforts. |
| B．To urge readers to stop using plastics. |
| C．To stress the seriousness of plastic pollution. |
| D．To show the rich knowledge of the author. |
| A．She is amazing in every aspect of her life. |
| B．She has concern for the disadvantaged. |
| C．She urges everyone to be eco-friendly. |
| D．She earns a lot of money from her business. |
| A．Caring. | B．Determined. |
| C．Confident. | D．Optimistic. |
3 . Endangered Species (濒危物种) Books for Kids
Will We Miss Them? Endangered Species
Written from the unique view of a 13-year-old author, this book interests children in the lives and challenges of endangered species, helping other young people learn about these animals as the first step toward saving them.
♦Author: Alexandra Wright
♦Publication Date: September, 2011
Almost Gone: The Worlds Rarest Animals
Have you ever seen a wombat or an Eastern barred bandicoot? Probably not. These animals are almost gone from the earth, and they’re not alone. Simple, informative text and cul-paper paintings introduce basic endangered species knowledge to young children.
♦Author: Steve Jenkins
♦Publication Date: January, 2016
A Poetic Journey into the Wild
Take a journey across land and sea to meet 21 endangered and threatened animals. Lovely paintings and poems introduce amazing animals from around the globe and show the dangers they face. The book also lists activities and organizations that provide more detailed information about endangered species protection.
♦Author: Rachel Allen Dillon
♦Publication Date: February, 2019
Eyewitness: Endangered Animals
This DK Eyewitness book is an exploration of endangered animals around the world, including factors that are driving them toward extinction (灭绝) and ways that we can help them survive. Blocks of text and diverse photographs keep readers turning the pages.
♦Author: Ben Hoare
♦Publication Date: August, 2015
1. Which book is written by a teenage author?| A．A Poetic Journey into the Wild. |
| B．Eyewitness: Endangered Animals. |
| C．Almost Gone: The World's Rarest Animals. |
| D．Will We Miss Them? Endangered Species |
| A．Activities of hunting wildlife. |
| B．Poems about amazing animals. |
| C．Paintings about some extinct animals. |
| D．Surroundings of the endangered wildlife. |
| A．To list some endangered animals. |
| B．To encourage protection of animals. |
| C．To introduce endangered species books. |
| D．To call on readers to fight illegal hunting. |
4 . Every summer, for the last 32 years, the Sierra Storytelling Festival has gathered people together to hear the nation's top tellers share the great range of human experience through artfully told stories. This year's tellers include one Grammy-nominated (格莱美提名的)artist, a local favorite and more.
Grammy-nominated and internationally known storyteller, Diane Ferlatte, fondly remembers her childhood years of sitting on the passage of her grandparents' home in New Orleans, attracted by the oral stories of family generations past. She views storytelling as a traditional art form that can promote literacy, imagination and values in the young. While telling African American stories, she loves to tell stories that hold truths touching upon our common humanity(人性)，including personal and historical stories.
As a storyteller and early childhood educator, Muriel Johnson has shared traditional folktales and personal stories with thousands of children and adults across the United States, per-forming at schools, museums, libraries and festivals. Her voice, movements, expressions and loving spirit will resonate(共鸣)with anyone listening.
Johnny Moses is one of the most popular storytellers in North America. With beauty, wisdom and humor, he shares both traditional and contemporary stories in a wide variety of settings, including festivals, libraries, schools and private gatherings. His songs and stories make all children happy, whether wide-eyed preschoolers or tired high school students.
In addition to performances by these tellers, the Sierra Storytelling Festival has several special events including a Storytelling Workshop with Judith Black on Friday afternoon, the hugely popular Story Slam on Saturday afternoon. Gather your friends and family, pack a picnic and blanket and settle into a weekend. Magic and wonder fill the air, and the art of story is alive.
1. Which storyteller's childhood is mentioned in the text?| A．Judith Black. | B．Johnny Moses. | C．Diane Ferlatte. | D．Muriel Johnson. |
| A．Humorous and wise. | B．Humorous and kind. |
| C．Beautiful and sweet. | D．Honest and strong. |
| A．Muriel Johnson fails to connect with anyone listening. |
| B．Diane Ferlatte considers storytelling as a business form. |
| C．Johnny Moses is the most popular storyteller in America. |
| D．Diane Ferlatte and Muriel Johnson both share personal stories. |
| A．See art works. | B．Camp with families. |
| C．Study how to tell stories. | D．Experience different cultures. |
| A．To introduce literacy and art. |
| B．To introduce storytelling events. |
| C．To introduce famous storytellers. |
| D．To introduce the Sierra Storytelling Festival. |
5 . Several days ago, Madelyn McClarey's twin sons, Aaron and Aubrey Hough, both received scholarships to Florida A&M University. The mother found that if her twin sons moved seven hours' drive north from Hollywood to Tallahassee, she'd be lucky to see them on weekends.
But her sons had something else in mind. The twins told her they'd move to Tallahasseeon one condition: she had to go with them and work toward the college degree she'd always wanted. And that is how MeClarey ended up in a green cap and gown (学位服) this month at FAMU. Cheering her on were her twins. "Our mom is so determined and hardworking. We're lucky to have her as our mother," said Aaron. "It was a lot of hard work, but she never gave up."
McClarey's sons jumped as she was awarded a bachelor's degree (学士学位) in English and they were very excited because their mom finally had the degree she'd dreamed about for more than 20 years. Her professional goals were put on hold when she became a single mom caring for two kids. Before motherhood, McClarey had gone to business school.
McClarey, who described herself as "40ish", said that when her sons insisted she go with them to college four years ago, her jaw (下巴) dropped, saying most teens are eager to start lives away from their parents once they graduate from high school. She said, "But I was also happy when I realized they weren't joking and weren't going to leave home unless I moved with them, I said, “Well, all right, let's go.”
Now that MeClarey has graduated, she doesn't plan to leave Tallahassee anytime soon. She wants to stick around to encourage and support her sons, but there is also another matter to tend to. "My goal is to become an author someday," she said. "So this summer, I'll be working on getting my master's degree."
1. What did the twin sons want their mom to do？| A．Move to Hollywood. | B．See them on weekends. |
| C．Look after them at college | D．Go for her college education. |
| A．She loves Hollywood so deeply. |
| B．She is determined and hardworking. |
| C．She felt awkward about her children's scholarships. |
| D．She had achieved her goal before motherhood. |
| A．Stopped. | B．Shared. | C．Set. | D．Reached. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Concerned. | C．Disappointed. | D．Relieved. |
| A．Find a new job. | B．Realize her dream. |
| C．Deal with housework. | D．Move back to Hollywood. |
6 . You may have heard the saying “one good turn deserves another.” It means that when someone
Lanre and his wife had two children. Lanre was educated but
One day, Lanre’s children were sent home for not
Being given first aid, the man felt much better and then
Later, the man wanted to
The man
Although Lanre helped the stranger, he didn’t know he would be
| A．greets | B．helps | C．ignores | D．recognizes |
| A．advice | B．direction | C．guidance | D．opportunity |
| A．jobless | B．lonely | C．impolite | D．stubborn |
| A．activities | B．meetings | C．competitions | D．interviews |
| A．notice | B．change | C．leave | D．remember |
| A．paying | B．recording | C．calculating | D．collecting |
| A．standing | B．jumping | C．lying | D．singing |
| A．scared | B．tired | C．bored | D．interested |
| A．secretly | B．strangely | C．suddenly | D．immediately |
| A．refused | B．decided | C．feared | D．pretended |
| A．suffered from | B．recovered from | C．got used to | D．became tired of |
| A．Actually | B．Naturally | C．Unavoidably | D．Unsurprisingly |
| A．design | B．drop by | C．decorate (装饰) | D．arrive at |
| A．name | B．letter | C．photo | D．story |
| A．missed | B．hated | C．admired | D．thanked |
| A．prize | B．goal | C．choice | D．position |
| A．but | B．and | C．or | D．as |
| A．cared | B．praised | C．rewarded | D．described |
| A．kindness | B．confidence | C．honesty | D．intelligence |
| A．causes | B．requires | C．deserves | D．exchanges |
7 . Prealgebra (初级代数) 1
Summary
Our Prealgebra 1 course includes a complete exploration of the basic knowledge of math. We also introduce beginning topics in algebra.
Prealgebra 1 is a live course which meets online weekly for 75 minutes, or as a self-paced course. Both course styles offer teachers' feedback（反馈） on students' work.
Our weekly live Prealgebra course brings together some great problem solvers from around the world for classes. Students also learn from our Prealgebra textbook and videos. What's more they can use the class message board to work with their classmates and receive help from teacher outside of the class time.
What's included?
*16 weekly live classes taught by one of our outstanding teachers.
*Weekly homework with challenging short-answer problems and practices on our online learning system.
*Weekly reading tasks in our Prealgebra textbook.
Schedule
The present and coming weekly live Prealgebra 1 course is listed. All sections cover the same course materials. There are no classes on July 4, September 1-2, November 25-December 1, and December 21-January 3.
Who should take this class?
This course is suitable for students in America who have completed an elementary school (grades 1-5) math study and are eager for a more challenging math experience or students of the same level elsewhere. Students can try our Prealgeba1 test to see if they are well prepared to take this course.
Each class brings together eager students with outstanding teachers for a highly interactive（互动的）mathematical conversation. Students who wish to study at their own pace should consider our self-paced course of Prealgebra 1.
1. How long does the live online course last per week?| A．For 1.5 hours. |
| B．For 1.25 hours. |
| C．For 1.2 hours. |
| D．For 1 hour. |
| A．By sending emails. |
| B．By watching videos. |
| C．By having an online chat. |
| D．By using the message board. |
| A．Students going to Grade 6. |
| B．Junior middle school students. |
| C．Senior middle school students. |
| D．Students in elementary Grade 4. |
8 . KK was around five years old when he showed up at the front gate of my house in 2012. And clearly he was used to a life outside. While mostly happy indoors, he did expect to be let out. He would go out and do his things, and then come back and hang out inside until his next need for an outside visit arose.
When Julien, my second cat, showed up in 2013, having two cats wanting in and out at different times was more difficult. After careful consideration, I finally decided to put in a cat door. It allowed KK and Julien to come and go as they wanted without waking me up at 5 am to go outside or at 5:10 am to come back inside. It also saved my door, which KK was always abusing（虐待） as his way of letting me know I was being too slow in opening the door for him or not responsive（应答的） at all.
When my mother passed away in the spring of 2014, leaving her young cat without a forever home, I decided to take her. Once being an indoor/ outdoor cat, Sissy obviously didn't want to suddenly to be kept indoors. She also wanted to be able to get away from the other two cats, as she was used to being in a single cat home.
After KK, Julien and Sissy had all become used to their life of coming and going as they pleased, it pretty much guaranteed（保证） that all future cats would have the same right. And now have seven cats that come and go as they please. Letting my cats go outdoors isn't due to my not caring or getting them out of my head. On the contrary, it is because I love them so much and want them to have the best life possible.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．KK preferred to stay outdoors. |
| B．KK refused to be kept as a pet. |
| C．KK brought lots of trouble to the author. |
| D．KK lived happily with his former owner. |
| A．To make her cats feel safe. |
| B．To prevent cats from damaging her door. |
| C．To welcome some homeless cats. |
| D．To let her cats go out and come back freely. |
| A．Stay by herself. |
| B．Make some cat friends. |
| C．Spend her time indoors. |
| D．Go back to her former home. |
| A．Why I love raising cats |
| B．Why I let my cats go outside |
| C．What I learned from my cats |
| D．What I expected from my cats |
9 . Johnny was a lizard (蜥蜴). One day, some boys
The children watched his tail moving about, but they soon felt
One day , he asked a boy and the boy
On the way home he suddenly found his old tail.Johnny was
He then decided to
As we know, it's not good to look at the past, unless it helps in the future.
1.| A．explored | B．limited | C．caught | D．observed |
| A．hide | B．sunbathe | C．sleep | D．cry |
| A．bored | B．confused | C．delighted | D．interested |
| A．edge | B．use | C．identity | D．sign |
| A．keep | B．stop | C．finish | D．start |
| A．caring for | B．removing | C．searching for | D．involving |
| A．when | B．where | C．how | D．whether |
| A．regretfully | B．surprisedly | C．frightenedly | D．generously |
| A．turned back | B．headed forward | C．bent down | D．looked up |
| A．on | B．to | C．for | D．at |
| A．proud | B．worried | C．excited | D．angry |
| A．predict | B．change | C．continue | D．end |
| A．hit | B．shaped | C．supported | D．held |
| A．protect | B．watch | C．repair | D．drop |
| A．past | B．future | C．present | D．life |
10 . My brother Ted was attending college in a little town, situated on top of a steep mountain. At the start of his second year, Ted called home, saying that he had no
My mother was
Mom
The next night, after Mom
My mother taught me some very
| A．registration | B．dormitory | C．qualification | D．diploma |
| A．foot | B．top | C．range | D．area |
| A．visitor | B．native | C．staff | D．heat |
| A．drive | B．march | C．run | D．ride |
| A．good | B．free | C．hard | D．busy |
| A．patient | B．calm | C．tired | D．angry |
| A．balance | B．break | C．set | D．skip |
| A．determined | B．satisfied | C．confused | D．ashamed |
| A．allowed | B．wanted | C．persuaded | D．welcomed |
| A．something | B．anything | C．everything | D．nothing |
| A．entrance | B．professor | C．president | D．town |
| A．analyzed | B．preferred | C．apologized | D．explained |
| A．realized | B．imagined | C．predicted | D．insisted |
| A．generally | B．namely | C．usually | D．suddenly |
| A．promised | B．expected | C．commanded | D．deserved |
| A．showed | B．met | C．forced | D．kept |
| A．left | B．returned | C．phoned | D．missed |
| A．painful | B．serious | C．valuable | D．violent |
| A．request | B．criticism | C．instruction | D．answer |
| A．hold back | B．keep away | C．stick up | D．look into |
