1 . Apps can help any users, even those who are not students, get more organized and improve their work. Whether or not you are a student, here are some apps worth considering.
Quizlet
Quizlet is a study aid app. It is filled with flash cards on many subjects to study. Quizlet has links to subjects like: Arts & Literature; Languages & Vocabulary; Math & Science; History & Geography; Standardized Tests; Professional & Careers. The app has a mix of text, images and audio recordings, including pronunciation of words in different languages. Quizlet has games to play and tests to take. Cards are available on the app even when you are not connected to the Internet. Quizlet is available as a free app from Apple’s iTunes store.
Free Graphing Calculator App
The Free Graphing Calculator lets the user create up to four graphs at once, and lets users adjust the graphs for the best views. You can change measurements within the image easily using the app. The mathematics and science guide within the app can explain some important math or science ideas. The Free Graphing Calculator is free. Users can pay to remove the advertising.
PomoDone App
The PomoDone app can help divide time into blocks for work and for breaks. The app on the computer helps keep track of time blocks for each activity. The app will say when it is time to take a break and when it is time to get back to work. PomoDone can work with other apps and help the user keep track of one’s activities over long periods of time. The app is available for computers from the PomoDone website. The app is free. Paid extra features are available.
1. What’s the same feature of the three apps?| A．They can be used to help users for free. |
| B．They can be used to divide time into blocks. |
| C．They can be used to explain some important maths. |
| D．They can be used to study English freely. |
| A．Remove the advertising for free. | B．Make a graph clearer. |
| C．Keep track of time blocks. | D．Study Arts & Literature. |
| A．At Apple’s iTunes store. | B．In the advertising column. |
| C．From the PomoDone website. | D．From the Free Graphing Calculator. |
2 . When recalling my high schoolGonzaga College High School，I am excited.It was founded in 1821，which was in the center part of D．C.，within the shouting distance(距离) of the Capitol building.
Seeing my older brother experience Gonzaga a few years before me，I had an idea of how special this school was before my entering to school.Through him，I could see the pride and friendship among Gonzaga students.
My true love for Gonzaga，however，began in my freshman year.I remember during my freshman guidance(新生入学指导)，the team spirit organization sat our class down on the playground and taught us all the game cheers.I remember feeling a sense of energy and pride among these students that I had never experienced from a high school before I mean，it was just a high school—much school pride could these kids really have? But it was not just a high school，and it only took a few football games for me to realize that I went to the most prideful school in the D．C.
I spent the rest of my first year meeting some of the coolest and most interesting people I have ever known.Some of the funniest，smartest and kindest guys I have ever met went to this school.No matter how athletic(擅长运动的)you were or how much money your parents had，you were just another Gonzaga kid.You were friends with everyone.If you went to Gonzaga，teacher or student，you were in on the joke.
When my freshman life came to an end，I began to understand what it meant to be part of Gonzaga students.Serving the poor right there on Campus at the McKenna center，I got a view on poor people that I will value for the rest of my life.Through football I learned how to develop better selfcontrol and built some of the greatest friendships.In the classroom，I had many laughs with friends and teachers alike.I also learned how to manage my time and gained a lot of information，but most importantly，I learned how to put the world and others before myself.
1. Why did the author consider Gonzaga College High School special before getting into it?| A．Because of its long history. |
| B．Because of its excellent location. |
| C．Because of his brother's experiences there. |
| D．Because of its short distance from the Capitol building. |
| A．made students feel energetic and proud. |
| B．led to the author's love for football games. |
| C．gave an introduction to the high school. |
| D．helped the author find the pride and friendship. |
| A．To introduce the advantages of his high school. |
| B．To show he really learns a lot in his high school. |
| C．To state the importance of high school education. |
| D．To explain how sports activities make students athletic. |
| A．How special my high school was. |
| B．The memories of my loving high school. |
| C．How proud I was of my efforts in high school. |
| D．The challenges during my high school years. |
3 . It feels like every time my mother and I start to have a conversation, it turns into an argument. We talk about something as simple as dinner plans and suddenly my mother will push the conversation into the Third World War. She’ll talk about my lack of bright future because I don’t plan to be a doctor. And much to her disappointment, I don’t want to do any job related to science, either. In fact, when I was pushed to say that I planned to major in English, she nearly had a heart attack.
“Why can’t you be like my co-worker’s son?” she shouts all the time. Her co-worker’s son received a four-year scholarship and is now earning 70,000 dollars a year as an engineer. I don’t know what to say except that I simply can’t be like Mr. Perfect as I’ve called the unnamed co-worker’s son. I can’t be like him. I am the type of the person who loves to help out in the community, write until the sun goes down, and most of all, wants to achieve something because of loving it, not because of fame or salary.
I understand why my mother is worried about my future major. I’ve seen my mother struggle (艰难) to raise me on her small salary and work long hours. She leaves the house around 6:30 am and usually comes back home around 5:00 pm or even 6:00 pm.
However, I want her to know that by becoming a doctor, it doesn’t mean I’ll be successful. I’d rather follow my dreams and create my own future.
1. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 1 mean?| A．The author’s mother argued about something angrily with him. |
| B．The author’s mother expressed different opinions on the war. |
| C．The author’s mother liked talking with him but got angry easily. |
| D．The author’s mother quite disagreed about what to eat for dinner. |
| A．To tell the author to learn as hard as he can. | B．To persuade the author to become a doctor. |
| C．To encourage the author to receive a scholarship. | D．To ask the author to earn much more money. |
| A．Her plans for future. | B．Her need to control. |
| C．Her struggle with life. | D．Her poor knowledge. |
| A．The author will become an engineer as his mother wishes. |
| B．Being a scientist is sure to earn high fame and salary. |
| C．The author shows little interest in learning English. |
| D．The author may choose major according to his interest. |
4 . POETRY CHALLENGE
Write a poem about how courage, determination, and strength have helped you face challenges in your life.
Prizes
3 Grand Prizes:Trip to Washington, D.C. for each of three winners, a parent and one other person of the winner’s choice. Trip includes round-trip air tickets, hotel stay for two nights, and tours of the National Air and Space Museum and the office of National Geographic World.
6 First Prizes:The book Sky Pioneer:A Photobiography of Amelia Earhart signed by author Corinne Szabo and pilot Linda Finch.
50 Honorable Mentions:Judges will choose up to 50 honorable mention winners, who will each receive a T-shirt in memory of Earhart’s final flight.
Rules
Follow all rules carefully to prevent disqualification.
■Write a poem using 100 words or fewer. Your poem can be any format, any number of lines.
■Write by hand or type on a single sheet of paper. You may use both the front and back of the paper.
■On the same sheet of paper, write or type your name, address, telephone number, and birth date.
■Mail your entry to us by October 31 this year.
1. How many people can each grand prize winner take on the free trip?| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Six. |
| A．A plane ticket. | B．A book by Corinne Szabo. |
| C．A special T-shirt. | D．A photo of Amelia Earhart. |
| A．Typing your poem out. | B．Writing a poem of 120 words. |
| C．Using both sides of the paper. | D．Mailing your entry on October 30. |
5 . Two-thirds of the world’s major rivers have now been disrupted (中断) with more than 50,000 dams in an attempt to stole water and provide power. In the US, there are more than 85,000 dams, disrupting large and small rives and in most cases transforming natural flow. The most famous of these, the Hoover Dam constructed in the 1930’s, is mainly responsible for the fact that the Colorado River no longer reaches the ocean.
Dams besides all their attractive benefits also have negative impacts. Creating a reservoir means a large area must be flooded. Communities may lose their land, houses and cultural relics. Downstream (在下游方向) of a dam, the flow may be reduced so that farmers cannot irrigate (灌溉) their field.
Environmentally the new reservoir can be a paradise for wildlife especially birds. However it can cause greenhouse gas emissions (排放) and poison the water for fish. Also the dramatic rise and fall of water levels during dam releases is too extreme for plains and animals to cope with resulting in dead zones around the shores of reservoirs. Fish that lay their eggs in the sha Mows for example may find a few hours later that those sites are high and dry.
Dams don’t just block water flow. The flow may be reduced so that farmers will have great trouble getting water for their fields. They also prevent fish migrations and are a barrier to sediment (沉淀物) flows. Instead of rushing downriver sediments get backed up against the dam wall, which cause the reservoir level to increase over time. However, sediments which are rich in nutrients have become a problem. The fertility (富饶) of the entire system can be influenced with soils lost during seasonal rains not being replaced.
Perhaps the biggest problem can be seen in deltas (三角洲) often host to large cities, which are sinking into the oceans. Groundwater is being extracted to feed the city causing the urban weight to sink and sediments washed away by the ocean are no longer being replaced. The result is that sea level rise in cities from Shanghai to Alexandria.
1. What effects does creating a reservoir have on people’s life?a. People will see fewer birds near the rivers.
b. Farmers below the dam may have less water to irrigate their field.
c. Visitors can’t see some cultural relics anymore.
d. More conflicts and wars over water will break out.
e. All kinds of fish will become extinct in the future.
| A．b c | B．c e |
| C．b e | D．a c |
| A．find more places to lay their eggs | B．feed on more sediment rich in nutrient |
| C．face a more dangerous living habitat | D．find it easier to deal with the rise of water |
| A．Its entire system will be influenced. | B．It will lie below sea level in the future. |
| C．The rainy season will last longer. | D．Rich soils will be washed away. |
| A．Environmental benefits of dams. | B．Cultural loss dam. |
| C．Economical gain of dams. | D．Environmental loss of dams. |
6 . Find volunteer opportunities on Australia's largest volunteer website：
Community Visitors Plan
Volunteer to visit and talk with a selected resident in an aged care facility in Sydney on a one- to-one basis, at least once a fortnight or a minimum of 20 visits per year. Your visit will help brighten the day of an elder member of your community and improve their quality of life through friendship and companionship.
Volunteer Non-Executive Director
Greater Whitsunday Alliance （GW3） is looking for a willing and experienced industry or community leader from the Whitsunday region who is passionate about the economic development of the greater Whitsunday region to join the GW3 board as volunteer, non-executive director.
Gallery Attendant
Your commitment to volunteering at the Museum is highly valued by Army Museum North Queensland, the Australian Army History Unit and the Australian Defence Force. The role of volunteers is important in enhancing Museum activities and providing programs and services that would not otherwise be available.
Red Cross Shop Summer Season Volunteer
Multiple volunteer positions available at Red Cross Shops across Metro Melbourne. Monday to Sunday （minimum of two four-hour shifts per week） from the start of December to February 29th. By joining the team you'll get the opportunity to provide customer service, create window and visual merchandising displays, sort donations, and help raise money for those in need.
1. Who will most probably get the job as non-executive director?| A．An agricultural expert in his fifties. |
| B．A retired economist from Whitsunday. |
| C．A senior college student majoring in finance. |
| D．An accountant expecting a handsome income. |
| A．48. | B．52. | C．104. | D．144. |
| A．Gallery Attendant. |
| B．Community Visitors Plan. |
| C．Volunteer Non — Executive Director. |
| D．Red Cross Shop Summer Season Volunteer. |
7 . The bad health effects of sleep loss during the week can’t be repaid by longer weekend sleep, according to a new study.
Researchers have long known that sleep deprivation (剥夺) can cause weight gain and increase other health risks. But for those who force themselves out of bed every weekday after too few hours of shut eye, they hope turning off the alarm on Saturday and Sunday will repay the weekly sleep debt and remove any ill effects.
The research, published in Current Biology, crushes those hopes. Despite complete freedom to sleep during a weekend recovery period, people in a sleep lab who were limited to five hours of sleep on weekdays gained nearly three pounds over two weeks and experienced disorders that would increase their risk for diabetes over the long term. While weekend recovery sleep had some benefits after a single week of sleep loss, those gains were wiped out when people fell right back into their same sleep deprived schedule the next Monday.
''If there are benefits of catch-up sleep, they're gone when you go back to your daily schedule. It's very short lived'', said Kenneth Wright, director of the sleep and chronobiology lab at the University of Colorado at Boulder. ''These health effects are long term. It's kind of like smoking once was-people would smoke and wouldn't see an immediate effect on their health, but people will say now that smoking is not a healthy lifestyle choice. I think sleep is in the early stage of where smoking used to be.''
Wright said that the study suggests people should put sleep in the first place cutting out the ''sleep stealers'' such as watching television shows or spending time on their phones. Even when people don't have a choice about losing sleep because of child-care responsibilities or job schedules, they should think about getting sleep in the same way they would get a healthy diet or exercise.
1. What does the underlined word ''rushes'' mean?| A．Ruins. | B．Guarantees. |
| C．Deepens. | D．Arouses. |
| A．Smoking is more harmful than sleep loss. |
| B．Weekend recovery sleep has many benefits. |
| C．Smoking and sleep loss have the same bad effects. |
| D．It takes long for people to see the effects of sleep loss. |
| A．Take regular exercise every day. |
| B．Reduce the screen time before sleep. |
| C．Watch some TV shows before bedtime. |
| D．Sleep as long as possible during weekdays. |
| A．To share some unhappy experiences. | B．To show some unknown facts. |
| C．To promote a healthy lifestyle. | D．To introduce a new study. |
8 . Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably accomplish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.
My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren’t written until the final threat.
I’ve been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working towards her master’s degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a “vo-tech” student (技校学生). They’re called “motorheads” by the rest of the student body.
When a secretary in my office first called him “motorhead”, I was shocked. “Hey, he’s a good kid, ” I wanted to say. “And smart, really.”
I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don’t often make school honor rolls (光荣榜).
But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don’t have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. “Hey, I can fix it,” said Jody. I doubted it, but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.
My son, with other motorheads, fixed the car. They got parts from a junkyard, and ability from vo-tech classes. The cost was $25 instead of $800.
Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbours and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.
These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.
I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don’t need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.
My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.
1. What used to be the author’s hope for his son?| A．To avoid becoming his clone. | B．To resemble him in appearance. |
| C．To develop in a different direction. | D．To reach the author’s unachieved goals. |
| A．His daughter does better in school. |
| B．His daughter has got a master’s degree. |
| C．His son tried hard to finish homework. |
| D．His son couldn’t write his book reports. |
| A．his son had the ability to fix it | B．it would save him much time |
| C．it wouldn’t cause him any more loss | D．other motorheads would come to help |
| A．It is unwise to expect your child to follow your path. |
| B．It is important for one to make the honor roll. |
| C．Architects play a more important role than builders. |
| D．Motorheads have greater ability than office workers. |
9 . Every morning I walk outside and bring in the morning newspaper. There was a time when every house on both sides of the street had a newspaper in the driveway. There was also a time when every house had a landline telephone, but not anymore. Not for a long time.
My husband is less willing to accept the downward trend of print-edition newspapers, as he has worked in newspapers since the age of 16. Even before that, he was what you would call an “independent publisher”.
Recently, we were at a Chicago park with our grandchildren. My husband had a newspaper folded under his arm. He sat down and put the paper on the bench beside him. A young girl walked over, looked at the newspaper, picked it up and asked, " What's this?"
I thought he was going to fall over. The color faded from his face. His eyes rolled back in his head and his legs were giving out. I rolled up his paper and waved it under his nose. The smells from the ink woke him up.
Some people simply love paper ― the feel, the portability, and the pleasure of piling them higher and higher until their wife cries, “Enough!" My husband was happy when he spent time with our youngest daughter and her husband. When they lived with us, they raced to pull the crossword puzzle from the paper every day. It's hard to do a crossword online. Pencil doesn't come off a computer screen as easily as you might think.
Now my husband will be very excited that I have found further proof that there may still be hope for the survival of print. I was chatting with a young mother who subscribes to the daily newspaper. I asked why she did something so conservatively. She looked shocked. "Because it's print!" she said. "I love print! When the paper didn't come one day, would you believe I called the main number to let them know and the lady said, ' Why don't you just subscribe to the online version? '” She shook her head in disbelief.
My husband will be so thrilled that he might write this young woman into his will. I say we leave her all our piles of old newspapers.
1. How did the author's husband feel when a girl asked a question in the park?| A．Shocked. | B．Thrilled. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Confused. |
| A．He was feeling tired and needed a rest. |
| B．He was very old and unable to stand long. |
| C．He almost lost his balance and became unconscious. |
| D．He was annoyed with the girl and played a trick on her. |
| A．Many young people follow an old-fashioned lifestyle. |
| B．It's inconvenient for the old to read online newspapers. |
| C．There're still young people who love printed newspapers. |
| D．Printed newspapers will be replaced by online newspapers. |
| A．The new rise of digital newspapers on the line. |
| B．A man's everlasting love for printed newspapers. |
| C．The pleasure of looking through daily newspapers. |
| D．A family's memory of reading printed newspapers. |
10 . Researchers continue to show the power behind our sense of smell. Recent studies have found, among other things, that the smell of foods like pizza can cause uncontrollable anger in drivers on roads.
The review explains that smell is unique in its effects on the brain. According to Conrad King, the researcher who carried out the review, "more than any other senses, the sense of smell goes through the logical part of the brain and acts on the systems concerned with feelings. This is why the smell of baking bread can destroy the best intentions of a dieter."
Smell, which dictates the unbelievable complexity of food tastes, has always been the least understood of our senses. Our noses are able to detect up to 10,000 distinct smells. Our ability to smell and taste this extremely large range of smells is controlled by something like 1,000 genes (基因), which make up an amazing 3% of the human genome. Researchers Richard Axel and Linda Buck were together awarded a Nobel Prize in 2004 for their ground-breaking research on the nature of this extraordinary sense. These two scientists were the first to describe the family of 1,000 olfactory (嗅觉) genes and to explain how our olfactory system works.
According to one study in the research review, smelling fresh pizza or even the packaging of fast foods can be enough to make drivers feel impatient with other road users. They are then more likely to speed and experience uncontrollable anger on roads. The most reasonable explanation is that these can all make drivers feel hungry, and therefore desperate to satisfy their appetites.
In contrast, the smells of peppermint and cinnamon were shown to improve concentration levels as well as reduce drivers’ impatience. Similarly, the smells of lemon and coffee appeared to promote clear thinking and mental focus.
However, the way genes regulate smell differs from person to person. A study by researchers in Israel has identified at least 50 olfactory genes which are switched on in some people and not in others. They believe this may explain why some of us love some smells and tastes while others hate them. The Israel researchers say their study shows that nearly every human being shows a different pattern of active and inactive smell-detecting receptors.
1. What did Richard Axel and Linda Buck find out?| A．The category of food smells. |
| B．The logical part of human brain. |
| C．The nature of human olfactory system. |
| D．The relationship between food and feelings. |
| A．Bread. | B．Fruits. |
| C．Coffee. | D．Fast food. |
| A．Some people can recognize up to 50 smells. |
| B．Every person has a different pattern of genes. |
| C．Different people are sensitive to different smells. |
| D．There are still some olfactory genes to be found out. |
| A．Logic and behaviour. |
| B．Smell and its influence. |
| C．Sense ability and food tastes. |
| D．Olfactory genes and its system. |
