1 . How do kids behave when there are no adults around？Donette Mabes from New Jersey says，"You never really know because you're not watching them all the time. "
Donette had always just thought her son was a troublemaker-until recently，when 13-year-old Gavin Mabes and some middle school friends arrived at a skate park. The park was empty except for little Carter Brunell，who was there with his mother celebrating his fifth birthday.
Carter is on the autism spectrum（自闭症）. Big groups of older kids can make him nervous，so his mom，Kristen，was fully prepared to get him out of there. But she wasn't prepared for what happened next.
Gavin led the way and the others followed. The only surprise was that Gavin didn't start trouble. He started a friendship. "Gavin is just going around with Carter and making him feel special. And the rest of his friends then started singing Happy Birthday to him，"Kristen said，“That really blew me away，because I just saw the kindness in the world. And I wanted Carter to have a good birthday. ”
It was such a great birthday, and such a kind deed, even the local police department responded. They decided to hold a pizza party for them. But here's the best part: Since their first meeting, Gavin and his friends have continued to play with Carter.
As for the moms, this was the sweetest moment. Knowing your kid treats others kindly is better than seeing your kid treated kindly by others, even when you're not watching. "I was just so proud of him. He's good," Donette said.
1. Why did Carter go to the skate park?| A．To go skating with his friends. | B．To play with Gavin and other friends. |
| C．To attend a pizza party there. | D．To celebrate his birthday with his mom. |
| A．frightened me | B．surprised me |
| C．troubled me | D．upset me |
| A．Seeing their kids treated kindly. | B．Seeing their kids treating others kindly. |
| C．Seeing their kids playing happily. | D．Seeing their kids doing well in school. |
| A．An act of kindness made a boy's birthday special. |
| B．How kids behave without adults around. |
| C．Carter was polite and kind to others. |
| D．Mothers were proud of their sons. |
2 . Whether you are a beginner，middle-level or advanced leaner，we have a course to fit your needs. We offer more than 50 courses and best of all，you don't have to leave your home！There are no scheduled course times in our online classrooms. Our self-paced，online classes are open the whole day.
This course teaches you the basics that you need to know and gives you the skill you need to start creating your written works of art. You'll learn about writing novels, poems and even plays. It doesn't matter if you're already writing or if you want to learn more about it so you can start.
Course Number: 9770561
Course Type: Basic
Instructor: Dana Kristian
This course provides you with the tools and information you need to improve not only the speed when you read, but your understanding and focus as well. Speed reading will also provide you with useful tools that you can use when you have trouble in reading.
Course Number: 7550418
Course Type: Middle-level
Instructor: Stephanie Val
This course is about both vocabulary and language. Over 900 frequently used English vocabulary words are taught and each lesson is broken down to include basic English language ideas to improve proper sentence development. All is supported by several examples and exercises.
Course Number: 8900182
Course Type: Basic
Instructor: Carol Smith
This course will provide you with a review of the grammar and writing skills necessary when you take any high school or college test, or with your everyday writing and communication in your work.
Course Number: 7550403
Course Type: Public Education
Instructor: Henry Brown
1. How long does the middle-level course last？| A．7 hours. | B．10 hours. |
| C．14 hours. | D．15 hours. |
| A．Dana Kristian. | B．Stephanie Val. |
| C．Carol Smith. | D．Henry Brown. |
| A．Creative Writing for Beginners. | B．Speed Reading 101. |
| C．Basic English Speaking Skills. | D．ABCs of English Grammar. |
3 . WeChat, the Chinese social media smartphone app, saw an increase in user numbers of 41 percent year on year to 500 million at the end of last year, in a sign that parent company Tencent is extending its reach for the mobile Internet. As one of the largest Internet integrated service providers in China and one of the most Internet users in China, Tencent’s profit grew 24 percent to RMB 20.98 billion per year, slightly higher than forecasts, driven mainly by online gaming profits. It is unclear how much WeChat contributed to Tencent’s profits but the app’s growth is a strong indicator of the company’s long-term health as it tries to adjust its business to be more suitable for mobile devices.
“We extended our leadership in games and online media, and made breakthroughs in emerging platforms such as online security and mobile payments.” Ma Huateng, Tencent chairman, said in a statement. WeChat is the second highest ranked social app in China, behind QQ, Tencent’s another chatting app, which claimed to have 815 million registered monthly users at the end of 2014.
Tencent has been unwilling to earn money through WeChat by flooding it with advertising, which could influence the users’ experience. But this is expected to change. Some analysts anticipated(预期) that advertising would be introduced on a large scale later this year. Early attempts to test ads on the service have not always gone smoothly. After a BMW ad was introduced on some users’ feedbacks in January, many users who were not targeted by the brand’s marketing complained of “discrimination” by Tencent’s data mining algorithm(数据挖掘算法). They claimed it unfairly treated them as not wealthy or successful enough to view the BMW ad.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．WeChat is ranked behind QQ in China. |
| B．Tencent wants to earn more through QQ. |
| C．WeChat contributed most to Tencent’s profits. |
| D．More advertising would not be introduced later this year. |
| A．Uninterested. | B．Untouched. |
| C．Unhappy. | D．Unlucky. |
| A．WeChat, a Popular APP in China |
| B．WeChat, a Smartphone APP in China |
| C．WeChat, a Profitable APP of Tencent |
| D．WeChat, a Nonprofit APP of Tencent |
4 . A new study explores the custom of tipping in the United States. Many Americans give tips to people who perform a job for them, especially workers in the service industry. They pay a little extra to people cutting their hair, driving them across town or serving them a meal at a restaurant.
The researchers found that men give bigger tips to restaurant workers than women. And people who live in the northern US are more generous with tips than those living in the South. People who earn $ 50, 000 or more a year give bigger tips than those who earn less than $50, 000. There is one likely reason: the wealthier Americans have more money to spend.
Michael Lynn is a professor of consumer behavior and marketing at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in New York. In other words, he knows a lot about the issue of tipping. In earlier surveys, Lynn said he found mixed results on the generosity of men and women when it comes to tipping. In some studies, men gave bigger tips than women. In others, women gave more money.
Lynn’s own research in American restaurants found that men give bigger tips when the restaurant server is a woman and women give more when the server is a man. Tips are very important to service employees. People who work at restaurants often get most of their earnings from tips.
Nationwide, Americans generally tip between 15 to 20 percent at restaurants and leave from $2 to S 10 a day for the people who clean their hotel rooms. Tips of 15 percent of the reading on the meter (计价器) are also common for people who drive taxis.
But here is something to keep in mind. If you are able to give the person serving you a tip or a bigger one than what is expected, your generosity will be welcome. Many service workers do not make much money, and even an extra dollar or two can make a difference in their lives.
1. What is paragraph I mainly about?| A．A study in a restaurant. | B．A job offering a lot of tips. |
| C．The service industry in the US. | D．The custom of tipping in the US. |
| A．People give more tips to the opposite sex server. |
| B．People are always more generous to service employers. |
| C．Men give the same tips to the women restaurant servers as women. |
| D．Men always give more tips to the men restaurant servers than women. |
| A．$2. | B．$10. |
| C．$15. | D．$20. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Critical. |
| C．Uncaring. | D．Supportive. |
5 . I am a strong believer that if a child is raised with praise, he will learn to love himself and will be successful in his own way.
Several weeks ago, I was doing homework with my son in the third grade and he kept standing up from his chair to go over the math lines. I kept asking him to sit down, telling him that he would concentrate better. He sat but seconds later, as if he didn’t even notice he was doing it, he got up again. I was getting frustrated, but then it hit me. I started noticing his answers were much quicker and accurate (准确的) when he stood up. Could he be more intent (专心的) while standing up?
This made me start questioning myself and what I had been raised to believe. I was raised to believe that a quiet, calm child was a sure way to success. This child would have the discipline (纪律) to study hard, get good grades and become someone important in life.
Now those same people perhaps come to realize that their kids are born with their own sets of DNA and personality traits (特点) and all you can do is loving and accepting them. As parents, throughout their growing years and beyond that, we need to be our kids’ best cheerleaders, guiding them and helping them find their way.
I have stopped asking my son to sit down and concentrate. Obviously, he is concentrating just in his own way and not mine. We need to learn to accept our kids’ ways of doing things. Some way may have worked for me but doesn’t mean we need to carry it through generations. There is nothing sweeter than being individual (个人的) and unique (独一无二的). It makes us free and happy and that’s just the way I want my kids to live their own life.
1. At the beginning, the author tried to keep his son seated in order to make him _____.| A．pay more attention to his study | B．keep silent in the room |
| C．finish his homework on time | D．get right answers |
| A．the importance of parents | B．the old form of education |
| C．the relationship between kids and their parents | D．the good grades of some kids |
| A．We should help kids correct their wrong ways. |
| B．Parents should study their kids’ DNA. |
| C．Kids should be taught to behave themselves. |
| D．Parents should love and accept their kids. |
| A．Study hard and you’ll be successful |
| B．Be friendly to your children |
| C．Children’s success in their own style |
| D．Parents’ help with their children’s study |
6 . Chinese people had never paid more attention to the annual Nobel literature award than they did when Mo Yan became China’s first winner of the prize.
The effect has not disappeared. Tourists continue to rush to Mo’s home village in Gaomi, Shangdong province, which has become a tourist site since the author was awarded Nobel Prize. Visiting the village is to walk into the world he created in Red Sorghum Clan, one of his best-known novels, adapted for the award-winning film Red Sorghum by famous director Zhang Yimou in 1987.
About 210 hectares of red sorghum(高粱) is ready for harvesting, recalling this scene Mo wrote in the novel: "In the deep autumn of the eighth month under a high, clear sky, the land is covered by sorghum that forms a wild sea of blood. When the sun comes out, the surface of the sea shimmers(闪光), and heaven and Earth are painted with rich, wonderful colors."
Locals have planted the sorghum for the coming film of the novel’s TV adaptation starring actress Zhou Xun, in similar style to 1987 when Zhang’s film was filmed. But while the sorghum fields disappeared after the film was made, this time they may remain.“We have signed long-term contracts to sell sorghum to wine producers,”said Zhang Xinfu, head of Xianjia village, Mo Yan’s hometown is in the area.“Dozens of wine producers came to discuss the sorghum business after Mo Yan won the prize,” said Zhang. Zhang said the wine producers promised to pay a satisfying price for the sorghum.
1. What happened to Mo Yan’s home village after he won the Prize?| A．The house of Mo’s at his home village was rebuilt for tourism. |
| B．The local people at Mo’s home village welcomed the tourists. |
| C．Many tourists rushed to Mo’s home village to show respect and interest. |
| D．Mo’s home village remained what it used to be. |
| A．settled | B．designed | C．re-organized | D．written |
| A．Autumn. | B．Winter. | C．Spring. | D．Unknown. |
| A．the fame of Mo Yan. | B．good quality of the red sorghum itself. |
| C．the lower price | D．the large amount of the red sorghum . |
Where: Becket, Massachusetts
When: June 15-Aug. 24
Each summer, this influential dance center presents a number of classes and performances by more than 50 companies from around the world. Highlights (最精彩的部分) this season include the Dance Theater of Harlem's production of Alvin Ailey's “The Lark Ascending”, which opens the festival.
Many events are free. Ticketed performances start at $22. jacobspillow.org.
Moab Music Festival
Where: Moab, Utah
When: Aug. 29-Sept. 9
This area is better known for mountain biking than for music. But since 1992, it has hosted a private festival that brings classical, jazz, Latin and other types of music to the land. This year there will be 16 concerts, including three “Grotto Concerts”, where guests take a 45-minute boat ride down the Colorado River to performances.
Events start at $25. moabmusicfest.org.
Cheyenne Frontier Days
Where: Cheyenne, Wyoming
When: July 19-28
There's something for everyone at this 117-year-old festival, from an “Indian village” and Old West museum to country concerts. But the competition is still the main attraction, with cowboys and cowgirls competing for major money in the world's largest outdoor stage.
Competition tickets start at $18, and concert tickets at $23. cfdrodeo.com.
The Glimmerglass Festival
Where: Cooperstown, New York
When: July 6-Aug. 24
Each summer, opera lovers from around the country (and the world) travel to upstate New York to watch productions that include stars like Nathan Gunn and Ginger Costa-Jackson. This year's performances include Wagner's “The Flying Dutchman” and Verdi's “King for a Day”, in honor of the 200th birthdays of both composers (作曲家).
Tickets start at $26. glimmerglass.org.
1. If you want to enjoy a “Grotto Concert”, which date suits you best?
| A．June 15. | B．July 19. |
| C．August 24. | D．September 4. |
| A．$18. | B．$22. |
| C．$36. | D．$41. |
| A．Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival |
| B．the Glimmerglass Festival |
| C．Cheyenne Frontier Days |
| D．Moab Music Festival |
The temperature in the wetlands is usually neither too high nor too low. There is a lot of rain and sunshine, too. They are really good places for wildlife. Offering food and home for some special kinds of animals and birds is not the only reason why we need to protect wetlands. Wetlands are important because they also prevent flood. But some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for the wildlife.
Luckily, more and more people are beginning to realize the importance of wetlands and wildlife. Every year, on February 2nd, many activities are held to tell people more about wetlands.
1. The Yellow Sea Wetlands are in the ________ part of China.
| A．Northeast | B．northwest |
| C．southeast | D．southwest |
| A．Hot | B．Dry | C．Cold | D．Mild |
| A．On June 25th. | B．On April 22nd. |
| C．On March 23rd | D．On February 2nd. |
| A．Wetlands -- Valuable Land on the Earth |
| B．China’s Wetlands Are in the World’s List |
| C．Wetlands -- Home for Wildlife and Human Beings |
| D．Special Animals in the Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands |
9 . Food festivals around the world
Stilton Cheese Rolling
May Day is a traditional day for celebrations, but the 2,000 English villagers of Stilton must be the only people in the world who include cheese rolling in their annual plans. Teams of four, dressed in a variety of strange and funny clothes, roll a complete cheese along a 50-metre course. On the way, they must not kick or throw their cheese, or go into their competitors' lane（赛道）. Competition is fierce and the chief prize is a complete Stilton cheese weighing about four kilos (disappointingly, but understandably the cheeses used in the race are wooden ones). All the competitors are served with beer or port wine, the traditional accompaniment for Stilton cheese.
Fiery Foods Festival—The Hottest Festival on Earth
Every year more than 10,000 people head for the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They come from as far away as Australia, the Caribbean and China, but they all share a common addiction—food that is not just spicy（辛辣）,but hot enough to make your mouth burn, your head spin and your eyes water. Their destination is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival which is held over a period of three clays every March. You might like to try a chocolate-covered habanero pepper—officially the hottest pepper in the world—or any one of the thousands of products that are on show. But one thing's for sure—if you don't like the feeling of a burning tongue, this festival isn't for you!
La Tomatina—The World's Biggest Food Fight
On the last Wednesday of every August, the Spanish town of Bunol hosts Ea Tomatina—the world's largest food fight. A week-long celebration leads up to an exciting tomato battle as the highlight of the week's events. The early morning sees the arrival of large trucks with tomatoes—official fight-starters get things going by casting tomatoes at the crowd.
The battle lasts little more than half an hour, in which time around 50,000 kilograms of tomatoes have been thrown at anyone or anything that moves, runs, or fights back. Then everyone heads down to the river to make friends again—and for a much-needed wash!
1. In the Stilton cheese rolling competition, competitors on each team must .| A．wear various formal clothes |
| B．roll a wooden cheese in their own lane |
| C．kick or throw their cheese |
| D．use a real cheese weighing about four kilos |
| A．In New Mexico. |
| B．In the Caribbean. |
| C．In Australia. |
| D．In China. |
| A．three days |
| B．seven days |
| C．less than three days |
| D．more than seven days |
| A．The chief prize for the Stilton cheese rolling competition is beer or port wine. |
| B．More than 10,000 Chinese take pail in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival. |
| C．Thousands of spicy foods are on show in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival. |
| D．An exciting tomato battle takes place at the beginning of La Tomatina. |
10 . Winter begins in the north on December 22nd. People and animals have been doing what they always do to prepare for the colder months. Squirrels (松鼠), for example, have been busy gathering nuts from trees. Well, scientists have been busy gathering information about what the squirrels do with the food they collect.
They examined differences between red squirrels and gray squirrels in the American state of Indiana. The scientists wanted to know how these differences could affect the growth of black walnut (黑胡桃) trees. The black walnut is the nut of choice for both kinds of squirrels. The black walnut tree is also a central part of some hardwood forests.
Rob Swihart of Purdue University did the study with Jake Goheen, a former Purdue student now at the University of New Mexico. The two researchers estimate that several times as many walnuts grow when gathered by gray squirrels as compared to red squirrels. Gray squirrels and red squirrels do not store nuts and seeds in the same way. Gray squirrels bury nuts one at a time in a number of places. But they seldom remember where they buried every nut. So some nuts remain in the ground. Conditions are right for them to develop and grow the following spring. Red squirrels, however, store large groups of nuts above ground. Professor Swihart calls “death traps for seeds”.
Gray squirrels are native to Indiana. But Professor Swihart says their numbers began to decrease as more forests were cut for agriculture. Red squirrels began to spread through the state during the past century.
The researchers say red squirrels are native to forests that stay green all year, unlike walnut trees. They say the cleaning of forest land for agriculture has helped red squirrels invade Indiana. Jake Goheen calls them a sign of an environmental problem more than a cause.
1. The study done by Rob Swihart and Jake Goheen is to ________.| A．find out the living conditions for squirrels |
| B．learn squirrels’ influence on black walnut trees |
| C．do something to get rid of squirrels |
| D．save the forests in the American state of Indiana |
| A．the way they gather the walnut |
| B．the time they have winter sleep |
| C．the place they have winter sleep |
| D．the place they store the walnuts |
| A．red squirrels eat more nuts than gray squirrels |
| B．gray squirrels and red squirrels will have severe fights |
| C．nuts above the ground will not develop into plants |
| D．seeds can be traps for other animals in the forest |
| A．The black walnut is equally attractive to both gray and red squirrels. |
| B．Gray squirrels do more harm to the forest than red squirrels. |
| C．Red squirrels and gray squirrels have helped the spread of walnut trees. |
| D．The cleaning of forest land benefits red squirrels directly. |
