1 . When you set a foot outside of your door to drop trash, go to a social event or go for a walk, thoughts like “I hope I don’t see anyone I know” or “please don’t talk to me” may run through your mind. I’ ve also said such things to myself. Sometimes, the last thing you want to do is talk with someone, especially someone new.
Why do we go out of our ways to avoid people? Do we think meeting new people is a waste of time? Or are we just lazy, thinking that meeting someone new really is a trouble?
Communication is the key to life. We have been told that many times. Take the past generations, like our parents, for example. They seem to take full advantage of that whole “communication” idea because they grew up talking face to face while Generation-Y grew up staring at screens. We spend hours of our days sitting on Facebook. We send messages to our friends and think about all of the things we want to say to certain people that we don’t have the courage to actually do in reality.
Nowadays, we are so caught up in our little circle of friends—our comfort zone. We love it that they laugh at our jokes, understand our feelings and can read our minds. Most importantly, they know when we want to be alone. They just get us.
Holding a conversation with someone new means agreeing with things that you don’t actually believe and being someone you think they want you to be—it is, as I said before, a trouble. It takes up so much energy, and at some point or another, it is too tiring.
But meeting new people is important. Life is too short, so meet all the people you can meet, make the effort to go out and laugh. Remember, every “hello” leads to a smile—and a smile is worth a lot.
1. What do we learn about the author?| A．He likes to be alone. | B．He feels stressed out lately. |
| C．He’s active in attending social events. | D．He’s afraid of talking to others at times. |
| A．They rely on the Internet to socialize. | B．They are less confident in themselves. |
| C．They have difficulty in communicating. | D．They are unwilling to make new friends. |
| A．value their Internet friends |
| B．should learn from older people |
| C．should spend more time with their families |
| D．prefer to stay with people understanding them |
| A．To tell about the importance of friends. |
| B．To give tips on how to meet new people. |
| C．To encourage people to meet new people. |
| D．To introduce the disadvantages of Generation-Y. |
2 . One day I was waiting to board a bus in the capital of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It was 7 p.m.; night was falling fast. A young girl, about 16 years old, approached me and asked if I could help her. She had travelled by herself from her boarding school and now she needed to get home to Kepong, north of KL. This happened before cellphones appeared.
After listening to her story, I lent her 20 dollars at once and told her to take a taxi straight to her home. She was much obliged and suggested getting my details so that she would repay me. I gave her my name and my address and then I left to catch my bus home.
When I related this experience to my roommate, Mike, he made fun of my getting foolish. He said, “Don’t you know? This is the oldest trick! I bet she is having a good laugh at your expense. Tut-tut! What do I care? You just lost your money.” “Oh, well, you weren’t there to see her desperation (绝望).” “Well, of course, she looked desperate. She had probably acted desperate many times before she met you.” And he didn’t stop teasing me the following days.
However, one week later, Mike handed me a letter. It was addressed to me, but on the other side of the envelope (信封), the neat writing was the young girl’s name with hearts and bows at the last line. I tore it open and read it immediately. The girl wrote me a nice letter, thanking me sincerely. And she told me that I would receive a money order three days later. Really I did. By the way, when my roommate knew the matter, the look on his face was really worth seeing.
1. What difficulty did the girl meet?| A．She couldn’t find her way. | B．She got tired of her boarding school life. |
| C．She had no money to take the bus home. | D．She was afraid of going home alone in the dark. |
| A．Grateful. | B．Mean. | C．Nervous. | D．Generous. |
| A．felt sorry for the girl | B．showed little interest in it |
| C．praised the author’s kindness | D．thought the author was cheated |
| A．Shy. | B．Embarrassed. | C．Encouraged. | D．Disappointed. |
3 . A new study showed that listening to music while studying and having that same music playing during the night may be a possible way to improve memory.
A few dozen university students took part in the experiment. In the first part of the study, all the students were asked to take a self-paced class and they would be tested on the following day. During the lesson, all participants listened to three pieces of classical music. After class, they were asked to sleep in the lab with sounds played in the background. For half of the participants, the sound was white noise, but the other half were played the exact same three pieces they listened to while they were studying. When they took the test the next day, the test scores showed that the students exposed to the “study music” while they slept performed better on the test.
The research group selected three classical music pieces. They knew that students often listened to instrumental music while studying, and that it was much less distracting (分心的) than music with lyrics. But they also wanted to make sure that the music they played had distinct melodies, so that the brain could more easily form connections between the music and the study materials.
The researchers pointed out that as long as the music wasn’t too abrupt during the study time, students could try doing so at home while they prepared for their exams. The trick was to listen to music while studying, and then had that exact same music playing on loop at night.
Unfortunately, the effect seemed to wear off over time. Music could improve test scores the next day, but after a few months the music listeners were back at the same level as the students who slept with white noise in the background.
The researchers also noticed that the effect seemed to be more effective for female students, but they didn’t have enough information to make certain that the effect was indeed gender-related.
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about?| A．The meaning of the study. | B．The effects brought by music. |
| C．The process of the experiment. | D．Students’ excellent performances |
| A．It may improve test scores. | B．It can attract people’s attention. |
| C．It is more popular with females. | D．It may change our sleep habits. |
| A．Weaken. | B．Change. | C．Appear. | D．Strengthen. |
| A．Health. | B．Science. | C．Culture. | D．Entertainment. |
4 . Some parents may have trouble getting their kids away from electronics. But for the Suttons, this wasn’t the case.
Josh and Cassie Sutton completed a full-length hike of the Appalachian Trail with their son, Harvey. At just five years old, Harvey is one of the youngest people known to have completed the roughly 2,100 -mile trail that stretches across l4 states. The Suttons covered the hike from Georgia to Maine in 209 days. Their journey began when Harvey was just four years old. He turned five before the family completed the hike.
As a family, the Suttons became used to life on the trail. They woke up every day before 6 am to pack their sleeping bags, tents and tools to begin hiking all day. When Harvey was two years old, his parents began training him for hiking by going on mini walks. They slowly increased their mileage day by day -- eventually preparing him for his big adventure.
I think a lot of people are surprised at how well he did. The Suttons said that while the adventure of the 2,l00-mile hike was fun, it did have its challenges especially when it came to keeping Harvey entertained and going forward. “As long as we’re playing make -- believe and pretend with him all day long, he moves quickly and hikes faster than a lot of us imagine,”said Josh Sutton.
While the Suttons have plans for more hikes and family adventures ahead, the family is getting adjusted to life at home again as Harvey begins his latest adventure: kindergarten.
“Hopefully from going hiking for ten hours a day to sitting in the classroom, he’ll do OK,” said Josh Sutton.
1. What do we know about Harvey?
| A．He never played electronic products. |
| B．He was the youngest to travel across 14 states. |
| C．He went through many difficulties in the trip. |
| D．He spent about 7 months finishing the hiking. |
| A．Limit. | B．Distance. | C．Ability. | D．Knowledge |
| A．Making Harvey excited. | B．Keeping people shocked. |
| C．Pretending to move fast. | D．Stopping Harvey complaining. |
| A．Returning to his normal life. | B．Practising sitting for ten hours a day. |
| C．Getting used to school life and study. | D．Learning some lessons from the hiking. |
5 . Half a year before graduation from college, my son began to look for a job.
After the interview, only three people could enter the final round, which would later
On the day of the final interview, my son and the other two arrived at the interview place
Unexpectedly, the interview was unbelievably
At nightfall that day, my son suddenly told me
Only then did I know that my son’s hope came in that way. That is, when you feel disappointed, do not
| A．In spite of | B．Due to | C．Instead of | D．In addition to |
| A．promote | B．train | C．hire | D．discover |
| A．encouraged | B．allowed | C．supposed | D．intended |
| A．applying for | B．taking up | C．looking for | D．carrying out |
| A．meet | B．attract | C．decide | D．represent |
| A．slowly | B．smoothly | C．secretly | D．silently |
| A．just now | B．as usual | C．at once | D．on time |
| A．formal | B．funny | C．simple | D．strange |
| A．suggestion | B．reply | C．order | D．return |
| A．result | B．truth | C．requirement | D．income |
| A．annoyed | B．puzzled | C．disappointed | D．shocked |
| A．patiently | B．worriedly | C．calmly | D．excitedly |
| A．surprised | B．moved | C．upset | D．troubled |
| A．matter | B．cause | C．conclusion | D．interview |
| A．Finally | B．Especially | C．Actually | D．Usually |
| A．after | B．while | C．until | D．unless |
| A．expect | B．forget | C．pretend | D．regret |
| A．concern | B．love | C．admiration | D．respect |
| A．generosity | B．power | C．bravery | D．culture |
| A．problems | B．strengths | C．challenges | D．opportunities |
6 . For those who always want to try out new things and to experience exciting flavors that come directly from Mother Earth, foraging subscription boxes (觅食订阅箱) can provide wild ingredients (材料) that no traditional supermarket has on its shelves.
Oak leaf tea, acom coffee, and pine pollen syrup are just a few of the seasonal ingredients people can now get thanks to projects such as the Forage Box. This delivery service collects wild food very few people know about, and sends it to the subscribers monthly. In this way, everyone can surprise their loved ones with delicious meals.
“The flavors are big and bold that’s the point. The idea is to show there’s a lot more going on when nature gets to farm it,” said Jim Parum, creator of the Forage Box. Since he started the project, he spends his days foraging for ingredients in environments such as the countryside, forests and the coast. The idea of the Forage Box is not to send out meal boxes but new ingredients, so information about cooking these wild items is also offered in the boxes. Delicious and inspiring recipes can also be found on the company’s website.
Underlying this project is the belief that nature has a lot to offer and can provide us with much tastier and healthier ingredients than those in the supermarket. The project works well as people are looking for ways to deal with the challenge of climate change while living healthier lives.
In the past, organic food was only available in specialty health food stores, but now it has a much more mainstream (主流) following worldwide. In the United States alone, it reached 50 billion dollars in value in 2019, up from 13.26 billion in 2005. This shows growth of nearly 300 percent over this period.
Miles Irving, an international wild food expert, said, “For us, foraged food is a very powerful way to reconnect people with the land, and this provides all sorts of benefits to physical, mental, emotional and community health.”
1. What can we say about the idea of the Forage Box?| A．It is simple. | B．It is creative. | C．It is crazy. | D．It is traditional. |
| A．Cooking directions. | B．Shopping guidance. |
| C．Brand advertising. | D．Packaged meals. |
| A．like to lead a green lifestyle by choosing healthy food in nature |
| B．believe it will help them develop good eating habits |
| C．expect to surprise their loved ones with tasty food |
| D．are curious to try unfamiliar food in nature |
| A．Food prices have risen sharply. | B．Food quality has improved a lot. |
| C．Organic food has gained in popularity. | D．The variety of food has changed quickly. |
7 . Nanny Poppinz
If you find yourself in need of a babysitter (保姆), the Internet is a great place to start. And in truth, it can be a great way to find someone to care for your child if you know where to look, what questions to ask, and how to examine the babysitter. Luckily, we’ve done the work and found the perfect site for you — Nanny Poppinz.
About its service
Nanny Poppinz isn’t quite as widely available as some of the other sites, but if it is in your area you’re in luck. This is a truly wonderful service for finding good child care providers. What’s more, if you need a particular babysitting service, you just tell Nanny Poppinz what your needs are. Nanny Poppinz will cover them in its services. It offers babysitters for in- and out-of-home care, 24/7 emergency services, night-time newborn support, mothers’ helpers, hotel resort babysitting, sick child care, and more.
About its staff
The company has been in business since 1992, working to make sure the professionals it hires are qualified and experienced. You just tell Nanny Poppinz what kind of babysitter you’re looking for, and its staff will do the rest of the work for you. And you can totally rely on Nanny Poppinz to find a professional babysitter. The staff will do detailed research on the babysitter, such as their backgrounds and skills. Then the staff will perform personal, face-to-face interviews in the search for your perfect babysitters.
About its charge (费用)
There are no application (申请) fees to join the service, although the company does make it difficult to find out how much you pay once you’ ve chosen a babysitter. The company provides its services for free until you find a professional for your family. Then, you’ll pay a certain amount of money depending on the type of services you need.
1. What do we know about Nanny Poppinz?| A．It is popular all over the world. |
| B．It provides free baby products for its users. |
| C．It teaches new moms to accept their new roles. |
| D．It offers various customized babysitting services. |
| A．Tell users Nanny Poppinz’s long history. |
| B．Show users the benefits of hiring a babysitter. |
| C．Ensure that the babysitters have professional skills. |
| D．Teach users how to find good babysitters themselves. |
| A．When they send in an application. |
| B．After the babysitters finish all tasks. |
| C．After they’ve selected an able babysitter. |
| D．After its staff have done the preparation work. |
8 . In the animal kingdom, killer whales (虎鲸) are social stars: they travel in varied family groups, care for grandchildren, and even imitate human speech. Now, scientists are adding one more behavior to the list: forming fast friendships. A new study shows killer whales can rival animals such as chimpanzees and macaques (a kind of monkey), and even humans when it comes to the kind of “social touch” that indicates strong bonds.
Some ocean animals maintain social structures — including male dolphins that learn the “names” of their close allies (盟友). But there is little data about wild killer whales. That’s where drone (无人机) technology came in. Michael Weiss, a behavioral ecologist, teamed up with his colleagues to launch drones, flying them 30 to 120 meters above a group of killer whales. That was high enough not to trouble the whales, marking the first time drones have been used to study friendly physical contact in whales.
The researchers recorded over 800 instances of physical contact between individuals. Those included hugs, back-to-back and nose-to-nose touches between pairs of whales. Other whales playfully threw young whales into the air, letting them fall into the water. Besides, the drone images revealed clear preferences among individuals, usually for one “best friend” of the same sex and age. Take J49 and J51 — two distantly related young males aged 9 and 6 — for instance. “Every time you see a group of whales, those two are right there interacting with each other,” Weiss says.
The young led most of these interactions, rather than the older females or males. Older males in particular were less important. “The young individuals really seem to be the glue holding the groups together,” Weiss says. As individuals age, this gradual loss of “centrality” is known in many social mammals, including humans. That finding is “especially appealing” to Stacey Tecot, who wasn’t involved in the study. “Scientists have long observed this social aging trend in animals, but there are still many unanswered questions,” she says. That’s certainly on the researchers’ radar. “We’re already gathering new data, with more advanced equipment,” says Weiss.
1. What does the underlined word “rival” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Benefit from. | B．Be equal to. | C．Depend on. | D．Be fond of. |
| A．The research method. | B．The variety of species. |
| C．The size of the research team. | D．The time spent on the research. |
| A．They have a stable friendship. | B．Their interactions are more complicated. |
| C．Their communicating ways change frequently. | D．They prefer playing with young female whales. |
| A．More researchers will be involved in the study. |
| B．Other scientists take a negative attitude to the research. |
| C．Researchers will collect more data to study killer whales. |
| D．Researchers will uncover the social aging trend in animals soon. |
9 . One day, 12-year-old Sean Redden surfed the Internet and went to a popular chat room. Just as he was about to be offline, he saw a name he’d never seen there before, Susan. Her brief message was “Would someone help me?”
Sean typed back, “What’s wrong?” A moment later he received this message, “I can’t breathe. Help me! I can’t get out of my chair.”
Oh, man, Sean thought. Pretending to be paralyzed (瘫痪) was a bad joke. Then he wondered what if she really is sick? “Hey. Mom.” he called. “There’s a kid here who’s sick or something.” Sharon looked at the computer screen. “It’s not just some game, is it?” she asked.
The message was not a joke. Susan was actually a 20-ycar-old student, working late at night at a college library near Helsinki, Finland - almost 7,000 miles away from Sean’s home in Texas. While searching the Internet, she began to feel terrible pain all through her body. The library was silent and empty. The nearest phone was outside in the hallway. She couldn’t move that far. Any movement caused the pain to get worse. Then she realized she might get help on the Internet.
“I don’t think it’s a joke, Mom,“ Sean said. And he typed, “Where are you?” After a long while, the letters appeared, “Finland.” Sean and Sharon couldn’t believe it. Not knowing what else to do, Sharon called the local police.
Sharon explained the situation to the officer Amy Schmidt. Schmidt told Sharon to try to get the sick girl’s phone number. Texas police called the international telephone operator and asked to be connected to the proper agency (机构) in Finland. The call was put through to a nearby rescue station. The Texas police gave Susan’s address to the Finnish operator. When Sean heard that, he typed, “Help is on the way.”
In a few minutes, Susan heard people running down the hallway outside the door. Suddenly, the door opened. Emergency workers and three policemen ran in. Susan turned once more to the computer, “They are here. Thanks. Bye-bye.”
Four days later, the police in Texas received a message from officers in Finland: “Thanks to her Internet friend. Susan has received medical treatment she badly needed. She is doing well.”
1. What happened when Sean was about to get offline?| A．He noticed an unfamiliar name. |
| B．He came across a friend in the chat room. |
| C．A piece of online news attracted him. |
| D．His computer broke down. |
| A．She fell down on the ground. |
| B．She was locked in the library. |
| C．She lost her phone. |
| D．She was too sick to move. |
| A．They asked for help online |
| B．They reported to the Texas police. |
| C．They sent messages to Susan’s friend. |
| D．They called the rescue station in Finland. |
| A．Help on the Internet |
| B．Help on the Way |
| C．Making Friends Online |
| D．Police Officer’s Act of Kindness |
10 . A ten-year-old boy had come to our class. He looked tired and his clothes were ragged (破烂的) and dirty. The teacher
After the class, David and his friends heard the
One evening, David was taking a
Seeing this, David thought of what he had done to Richard and he was filled with
| A．sent | B．introduced | C．followed | D．explained |
| A．new | B．funny | C．friendly | D．smart |
| A．rich | B．nice | C．poor | D．special |
| A．gifts | B．tasks | C．prizes | D．marks |
| A．make fun of | B．get familiar with | C．think highly of | D．keep up with |
| A．clothes | B．cellphones | C．schoolbags | D．books |
| A．if | B．as | C．but | D．though |
| A．watching | B．laughing | C．thinking | D．working |
| A．uncertain | B．lucky | C．excited | D．embarrassed |
| A．test | B．walk | C．chance | D．look |
| A．training | B．beating | C．feeding | D．hugging |
| A．wrong | B．interesting | C．strange | D．meaningful |
| A．listening | B．eating | C．breathing | D．sleeping |
| A．lightly | B．hard | C．slowly | D．suddenly |
| A．catch | B．help | C．push | D．thank |
| A．bit | B．followed | C．left | D．noticed |
| A．dreamt | B．asked | C．changed | D．had |
| A．shame | B．anger | C．hope | D．happiness |
| A．education | B．honesty | C．communication | D．kindness |
| A．believe | B．judge | C．hate | D．know |
