1 . Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?
UBC Professor Simard explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined.
Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their co-operation and support, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.
Nitrogen (氮) and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi (真菌) networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons (神经元) in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all.
Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend. She explains how dying trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest.
“We didn’t take any notice of it,” Simard says sadly. “Dying trees move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.
1. What can we learn from Professor Simard’s words in paragraph 3?| A．Trees depend on each other. | B．Trees protect their own wealth. |
| C．Trees compete for survival. | D．Trees provide support for dying trees. |
| A．Because they know more about the complex “tree societies”. |
| B．Because they seem more likely to be cut down by humans. |
| C．Because they look the largest in size in the forest. |
| D．Because they pass on nutrition to young trees. |
| A．How young trees survive. | B．How “tree societies” work. |
| C．How forestry industry develops. | D．How trees grow old. |
| A．Old Trees Communicate Like Humans. |
| B．Young Trees Are in Need of Protection. |
| C．Trees Are More Fantastic Than You Think. |
| D．Trees Contribute to Our Society. |
2 . Astronauts in America who fly into space need special training. First they go to Huston, Texas. That is the home of the Johnson Space Center. There they are tested to see how strong and smart they are.
The first test is for the heart. The people walk or run, and then the space doctors see how fast their hearts beat.
Another important test is performance. In this test, the person must curl (蜷曲) his body up in a ball. When he is in that position (姿势), he is put into a round cloth bag. The doctors give him no idea how long he will have to stay in the bag. If a spaceship broke down in space, the astronauts would get into bags like this. Then they would have to wait and curl up in darkness until help could arrive. You can see that an astronaut must not be afraid of tight space or darkness.
After the tests, only the best people are chosen to start astronaut training in a training center. The astronauts in training learn many other things. They learn how to jump out of a moving airplane. They learn to blow up a lifeboat and get into it while they are in the ocean. The astronauts also have to learn how to get lifted out of the ocean by helicopter . That seems fun, but it can be dangerous.
After they finish training, the astronauts continue to work. They stay in good shape by running and doing exercise. They read about their special jobs. In this way, they can learn new facts about space travel. Then the big day comes. The astronauts are told to go to work on a flight into space.
1. The astronauts don’t know how long they will stay in the bags in the test because_______.| A．the doctors need to know how strong they are |
| B．the astronauts need to know how smart they are |
| C．good astronauts mustn’t be afraid of darkness or tight space |
| D．nobody knows when help will come if the spaceship breaks down |
| A．walk or run in space | B．jump out of a moving plane |
| C．blow up a lifeboat | D．get lifted out of water by helicopter |
| A．After the tests, the best people are chosen to start astronaut training in a training center. |
| B．After they finish training, the astronauts continue to work. |
| C．When the astronauts are told to go to work on a flight into space. |
| D．After they are tested to see how strong and smart they are. |
3 . Gardening is popular in many parts of the world. It brings us sweet smelling flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables. But you can get more from your garden.
Gardening helps to keep healthy. Today’s people sit indoors for too long and don’t get much exercise. When you garden, you have to move around. It’s a good chance for you to exercise your body by watering flowers or doing some digging. Besides, when you are in your garden, you can feel the warm sunshine. This means you are getting Vitamin D. It helps your bodies use calcium (钙), which is necessary to keep your bones (骨骼) strong.
____It gets them off computers, televisions and phones. Gardening can be a great teacher to teach children about nature and healthy eating. It can also help them to understand the meaning of “No pains, no gains.”
Gardening is a great way to meet people and build relationships. When you are gardening, you are outdoors. So it is a perfect time to communicate with your neighbors. Most people love to talk about their hobbies and so do gardeners. They usually enjoy showing people what they are growing. And most enjoy sharing advice and stories about their gardens.
1. When it’s______, you can get Vitamin D in your garden.| A．sunny | B．cloudy | C．snowy | D．rainy |
| A．watching TV | B．watering flowers |
| C．walking dogs | D．playing with phones |
| A．Gardening will be good for your bones. |
| B．Gardening may help people to feel happy. |
| C．Gardening is a great activity to do with children. |
| D．Gardening can be a good way to meet neighbors. |
| A．Outdoor Activities | B．Advantages of Gardening |
| C．Heating Eating habits | D．Relationships with neighbors |
4 . Ancient China produced many types of beautiful works of art. Among them, calligraphy (书法), poetry (诗歌) and painting are the most famous. Often they would be put together in art.These became important starting with the Song dynasty.
Calligraphy is the art of handwriting. In the old times the Chinese considered writing as an important form of art. Calligraphers would practice for years to learn to write perfectly, but with style. Each of the over 40,000 characters (汉字) needed to be written correctly. And each stroke (笔画) in a character had to be written in a certain order.
Poetry is also an important form of art. Great poets were famous all over the country, and all educated people were expected to write poetry. During the Tang dynasty poetry was so important that writing poetry was part of the examinations to become a civil servant (文官)and work for the government.
Chinese painting is often connected with calligraphy. It is one of the oldest artistic traditions in the world. The most traditional way of Chinese painting is known as “national painting” or “native painting” which is quite different from Western painting. People can draw mountains, buildings, birds, trees and water.
1. Calligraphers needed to write over _____ characters correctly in the old times.| A．10,000 | B．20,000 | C．30,000 | D．40,000 |
| A．Painting. | B．Calligraphy. | C．Writing poetry. | D．Playing music. |
| A．Calligraphy, poetry, and painting are the most famous works of art in ancient China. |
| B．The strokes of each character can be written in any order. |
| C．Poetry is an important form of art like calligraphy. |
| D．Chinese painting is often connected with calligraphy. |
| A．Chinese art. | B．Chinese examinations. |
| C．Chinese history. | D．Chinese dynasties. |
5 . Asia has long tradition of tea-drinking. And China is no exception.
However, lately more and more Chinese people are turning to a different drink. Coffee has become an increasingly popular choice of Chinese people living abroad and in the country’s huge cities. It is also a popular crop among those living in the mountains of southern Yunnan Province.
In big cities such as Beijing, coffee shops seem to be on nearly every major street corner. These shops are not just selling drinks from Starbucks, the world-famous coffee company. Coffee businesses from South Korea, Taiwan, HongKong and Britain are also operating in China.
Tea-drinking is steeped in the culture and traditions of many countries, like China and Japan. But is that changing? Are young people from Asia now choosing a cup of coffee instead of tea?
BeiBei Su is from China. She has been living in the United States for the past eight years. Before that, she lived in Italy for two years. Ms. Su says she likes tea better than coffee. But she adds that may not be true among the young generation in China. Many young Chinese people drink coffee socially ---when meeting with friends. Yang Lin lives in the U.S. but comes from an area in China famous for growing tea. She used to only drink tea while in China. But now, she says, she drinks both and for different reasons.
Yang Lin says that drinking coffee for her is a social event. She and her co-workers like to sit in a cafe and talk over a cup of coffee. Voyo is another Chinese woman who now lives in Washington, D.C. She says that after moving to the U.S. her tastes changed. We would call her a coffee convert, someone who now chooses to drink coffee.
With more people drinking coffee, many see an economic(经济的）opportunity for Chinese-grown beans. China-grown coffee could be a money-maker even if most of the coffee on sale in China is imported(进口的).
1. What does the author mainly introduce?| A．Chinese people have long tradition of tea-drinking. |
| B．More and more Chinese are choosing coffee to drink. |
| C．People in big cities like drinking coffee better than tea. |
| D．More Asian people are turning to different drinks. |
| A．A person who has changed to drink coffee. |
| B．A person who has changed to drink tea. |
| C．A person who has changed to grow tea. |
| D．A person who has changed to grow coffee. |
| A．Because she lives in the U.S. Now. |
| B．Because she can talk with friends. |
| C．Because she has drunk tea so long. |
| D．Because her tastes has changed. |
| A．less and less coffee will be imported in China in the future. |
| B．the China-grown coffee beans will be sold to the world soon. |
| C．the need of coffee will offer more chances to make money. |
| D．Chinese economy will depend on coffee beans in the future. |
6 . Journey Back in Time with Scholars
Classical Provence(13days)Journey through the beautiful countryside of Provence，France，with Prof. Ori Z. Soltes. We will visit some of the best-preserved Roman monuments in the world. Our tour also includes a chance to walk in the footsteps of Van Gogh and Gauguin. Fields of flowers, tile-roofed(瓦屋顶)villages and tasty meals enrich this wonderful experience.
Southern Spain(15days)
Spain has lovely white towns and the scent(芳香)of oranges，but it is also a treasury of ancient remains including the cities left by the Greeks，Romans and Arabs. As we travel south from Madrid with Prof. Ronald Messier to historic Toledo，Roman Merida and into Andalucia, we explore historical monuments and architecture.
China’s Sacred Landscapes(21days)
Discover the China of “past ages,” its walled cities，temples and mountain scenery with Prof. Robert Thorp. Highlights(精彩之处)include China’s most sacred peaks at Mount Tai and Hangzbou’s rolling hills，waterways and peaceful temples. We will wander in traditional small towns and end our tour with an exceptional museum in Shanghai.
Tunisia(17days)
Join Prof. Pedar Foss on our in-depth Tunisian tour. Tour highlights include the Roman city of Dougga，the underground Numidian capital at Bulla Regia, Roman Sbeitla and the remote areas around Tataouine and Matmata，uique for underground cities. Our journey takes us to picturesque Berber villages and lovely beaches.
1. What can visitors see in both Classical Provence and Southern Spain？
| A．Historical monuments. | B．Fields of flowers. |
| C．Van Gogh’s paintings. | D．Greek buildings. |
| A．France. | B．Spain. | C．China. | D．Tunisia. |
| A．White towns. | B．Underground cities. | C．Tile-roofed villages. | D．Rolling hills. |
7 . Some parents will buy any high-tech toy if they think it will help their child, but researchers said puzzles help children with math-related skills.
Psychologist Susan Levine, an expert on mathematics development in young children at the University of Chicago, found children who play with puzzles between ages 2 and 4 later develop better spatial skills. Puzzle play was found to be a significant predictor of cognition(认知) after controlling for differences in parents’ income, education and the amount of parent talk, Levine said.
The researchers analyzed video recordings of 53 child-parent pairs during everyday activities at home and found children who play with puzzles between 26 and 46 months of age have better spatial skills when assessed at 54 months of age.
“The children who played with puzzles performed better than those who did not, on tasks that assessed their ability to rotate(旋转)and translate shapes,” Levine said in a statement.
The parents were asked to interact with their children as they normally would, and about half of children in the study played with puzzles at one time. Higher-income parents tended to have children play with puzzles more frequently, and both boys and girls who played with puzzles had better spatial skills. However, boys tended to play with more complex puzzles than girls, and the parents of boys provided more spatial language and were more active during puzzle play than parents of girls.
The findings were published in the journal Developmental Science.
1. In which aspect do children benefit from puzzle play?| A．Building confidence. | B．Developing spatial skills. |
| C．Learning self-control. | D．Gaining high-tech knowledge. |
| A．Parents’ age. | B．Children’s imagination. |
| C．Parents’ education. | D．Child-parent relationship. |
| A．They play with puzzles more often. |
| B．They tend to talk less during the game. |
| C．They prefer to use more spatial language. |
| D．They are likely to play with tougher puzzles. |
| A．A mathematical method. | B．A scientific study. |
| C．A woman psychologist | D．A teaching program. |
8 . Love sugar-white sand beaches? Whether you’re looking to ski down the side of a mountain or surf in the sunshine, you’ll find the following four places in the best winter travel destination (目的地) list.
Best for: Families and water babies
The newly-built Coral Towers at the Atlantis resort (旅游胜地) in Paradise Island, Bahamas, with new next-door neighbor Marina Village, an open-air shopping and dining marketplace, are just two of the newest reasons to visit this Caribbean popular travel destination. Don’t forget about Aquaventure, the world’s largest open-air water park. With the average winter temperatures between the mid 60°F and high 70°F, it’s a perfect place to escape the cold.
Best for: Winter sports lovers
Known as “Ski City” because of its position as the gateway to “the Greatest Snow on Earth” at four of the U. S.A.’s best ski resorts — Alta, Brighton, Snowbird, and Solitude — Salt Lake City welcomes winter sports lovers all around the world. In addition to wonderful skiing and snowboarding tracks, Utah Olympic Park offers an unforgettable experience that will make you feel like an Olympian in training.
Best for: Adventurers
Iceland in the winter is simply dreamy and temperatures aren’t as cool as you might think. Plus, there’s no better time than winter to view the Northern Lights. Short winter days mean you’ll have an even greater chance to catch the magic. An increasing number of flights in and out of Reykjavik make it easier than ever to visit.
Best for: Families and theme park lovers
Whether you come for the Pro Bowl in January, the new Toy Story land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Supercharged ride at Universal Studios Florida, Orlando is yet another warm-weather destination for winter travel. The weather is at its best and the crowds are at their thinnest.
1. Which of the following is a good place for shopping?| A．Iceland. | B．Aquaventure. |
| C．Marina Village. | D．Ski City. |
| A．The new Toy Story land. | B．Sugar-white sand beaches. |
| C．An open-air dinning marketplace. | D．The magic of the Northern Lights. |
| A．Salt Lake City | B．Orlando |
| C．Reykjavik | D．Brighton |
9 . It's school time again! You're probably feeling excited and maybe a little sad that summer vacation is over.
Some kids feel nervous or a little scared on the first day of school because of all the new things: new teachers, new friends, and even a new school. Luckily, these “new” worries only stick around for a little while. Let’s find out more about going to a new school.
Most teachers kick off the new school year by introducing themselves and talking about all the things you’ll be doing that year. Some teachers give students chance to tell something about themselves to the rest of the class.
When teachers do the talking on the first day, they often go over the classroom rules and school rules so you will know what’s allowed and what’s not. Please pay close attention.
You might already know a lot of people in your class on the first day, but it's a great day to make a new friend, so try to say hello to kids you know and new ones that you don't. Make the first move and you will be glad about what you did, and so will your new friends!
Seeing friends you haven't seen in a while can make the first day a good one. You can make the day special by wearing clothes that you really like. Maybe you got a great T-shirt on one of your vacations or a pair of sneakers. It can also make you feel good to be prepared and have all the things you need, such as pencils, folders，and whatever else you need. But make sure that you pack them the night before in case you don’t have time in the morning.
1. According to the passage, which is NOT the feeling when it is school time?| A．Excited. | B．Unhappy. |
| C．Bored. | D．Nervous. |
| A．start | B．study |
| C．find | D．learn |
| A．what to know about a new school. |
| B．how to prepare for your first day of school. |
| C．what to do on your first day of school. |
| D．how to spend your first day of school. |
10 . Will people remember less with Internet users becoming more and more dependent on the Internet to store information? If you know your computer will save information, why do you store it in your own personal memory, your brain?
Professor Betsy Sparrow, together with her research team, has carried out some experiments in a recent study, wanting to know how the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they offered people 40 unimportant facts to type into a computer. The first group of people understood that the computer would save the information. The second group understood that the computer would not save it. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.
In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information on the computer. The information was in a specific computer folder( 文 件 夹 ). Surprisingly, people later remembered the folder locations better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Rather, they remember how to find it. This is called “transactive memory(交互记忆)”.
According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet.
Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories; that is, people are learning how to organize huge quantities of information so that they are able to access it at a later date. This doesn’t mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.
1. Why does the text begin with two questions?| A．To make a comparison. | B．To introduce the main topic. |
| C．To show the author’s attitude. | D．To list some examples. |
| A．The Sparrow’s team typed the information into a computer. |
| B．The two groups remembered the information equally well. |
| C．The first group did not try to remember the information. |
| D．The second group did not understand the information. |
| A．They remember how to find the information. |
| B．They organize information like a computer. |
| C．They change the quantity of information. |
| D．They bear the information in mind. |
| A．Negative. | B．Passive. | C．Objective. | D．Doubtful. |
