1 . By the year 2050, a fifth of the world’s cities will experience unprecedented climate conditions and environments that currently don’t exist in any major cities, according to new research. A team of scientists at the Crowther Lab in Switzerland produced the report, which described the climate for 520 major cities 30 years in the future.

The results showed that 77 percent of the world’s cities will experience a surprising change in climate conditions by 2050, and 22 percent of the 520 cities will see conditions that are not currently experienced by any existing major cities.

In China in 2050, the climate of Xi’an, in Shanxi province, will be similar to that of current day Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho in southern Africa, with the maximum temperature of the warmest month likely to increase by 4.59℃. Chongqing in southwest China will resemble the climate of Swaziland capital Mbabane, as the warmest temperature is predicted to rise by 5.1℃.

Scientists predict summers in Europe will get warmer by an average of 3.5℃ and European winters will see temperature rises of 4.7℃. London’s climate will be more similar lo Barcelona, and Madrid’s to Marrakech.

The Crowther Lab hopes the analysis will motivate decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent or address some of the climate effects due to the threat of climate change. The report also found that cities in tropical regions will experience smaller changes in average temperature but will be controlled by shifts in rainfall regimes. This may lead to a noticeable increase in unexpected events, and severe droughts.

“Across all scientific fields, the greatest challenge in climate science is no longer the precise measurement of climate change impacts, but inspiring people to picture is actual effects in order to motivate action,” said Tom Crowther, senior scientist und founder of the Crowther Lab.

1. According to the research, among the 520 cities by 2050, about ________ cities will experience the climate conditions that no major cities currently have experienced.

A．400

B．114

C．260

D．104

2. How did the scientists prove their result?

A．By listing figures.	B．By making comparisons.
C．By doing experiments.	D．By explaining theory.

3. What is the Crowther Lab intended for?

A．To compare the climate change of the major cities of the world.

B．To inspire people to picture its actual effects in order to motivate action.

C．To inspire decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent some climate effects.

D．To show most word’s cities will experience a striking change in climate conditions.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．World Temperature	B．Current Climate Change
C．Big Titles in the World	D．Future Climate Change in Most Big Cities

2 . When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, and then there were baths, playing catch and many other games. Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.

One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up (咬破) one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl.”， she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw tears in her eyes.

Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet. She went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she’d let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. She never barked (吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.

Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss the days when she was with us.

1. What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?

A．Keep them company.	B．Look at them sadly.
C．Play games with them.	D．Touch them gently.

2. We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie ______.

A．would eat anything when hungry	B．loved playing hide-and-seek
C．felt sorry for herself	D．disliked the author’s dad

3. Why does the author say that Brownie was more than just a family pet?

A．She was treated as a member of the family.

B．She played games with anyone she liked.

C．She was loved by everybody she met.

D．She went everywhere with the family.

4. Which of the following best describes Brownie?

A．Caring.

B．Annoying.

C．Brave.

D．Curious.

3 . As more and more people speak the global languages of English, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today will likely die out by the next century, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations- UNESCO and National Geographic among them –have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.
Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Center, Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, looking and raising a family in a village in Nepal.
Documenting the Tangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayans reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.
At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials- including photographs, films, tap recordings, and field notes- which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection.
Now, through the two organizations that he has founded-the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project- Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, found in libraries and stores around the world, available not just to scholars but to the youngers.
Generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected.Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet. Turin notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.
1. Many scholars are making efforts to ________.

A．promote global languages

B．rescue the disappearing languages

C．search for language communities

D．set up languages research organizations

2. What does “that tradition” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Having first records of the languages.

B．Writing books on language searching.

C．Telling stories about language users.

D．Linking with the native speakers.

3. What is Turin’s book based on?

A．The cultural statics in India.

B．The documents available at Yale.

C．His language research in Britain.

D．His personal experience in Nepal.

4. Which of the following best describe Turin’s Work?

A．Write sell and donate.

B．Record, repeat and reward.

C．Collect, protect and reconnect.

D．Design, experiment and report.

4 . If Albuquerque Police Officer Ryan Holets had his way, this story would never have got so much attention. CNN would not have learned that Holets, while on duty, had agreed to adopt a baby from a homeless drug addict.

Holets values his privacy and didn’t do it for the attention. He did it just because he knew it was the right thing to do.

On Sept. 23, Holets responded to a call about a possible theft from a convenience store in Albuquerque. By the time he arrived, the thief was no longer there, but Holets spotted a woman in a grassy area behind the store about to inject a needle into her companion’s arm. The woman, Crystal Champ, was eight months pregnant.

After a short conversation, he learned Champ longed for her child to go to a good family. Holets offered to do just that.

When Sergeant Jim Edison learned what Holets did, he was floored. In his 10 years as a police officer, he has seen many “heroic acts” but none like what Holets did, Edison said.

Edison awarded Holets for his outstanding service for the city, but felt that wasn’t enough. It’s his job to reward his officers and encourage them to do the right thing, so Edison signed Holets up to do an interview for CNN’s “Beyond the Call of Duty”series without telling him.

“Every day Edison calls me to ask for forgiveness.” Holets said laughing, “And I keep assuring him that we're fine. We didn’t quite realize it would get this response, and neither did he. But we all realize it’s a really good thing, and some really good things can come of it.”

One of Holets’s conditions when he agreed to CNN’s interview was that his superiors would not set up a GoFundMe page for his family. “We don’t want anybody to say we've used this occasion to enrich ourselves,” Holets said. He instead urges those who want to offer support to donate to a local drug recovery center or adoption organization.

1. What was Holets doing when he met Champ?

A．He was on his way home.

B．He was looking into a theft.

C．He was making a telephone call.

D．He was buying things in a store.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 7 refer to?

A．the encouragement	B．the telephone
C．the interview	D．the forgiveness

3. Why did Edison call Holets to ask for forgiveness?

A．He did wrong to Holets.

B．He didn’t keep his promise.

C．Holets didn’t get promoted as expected.

D．He made Holets become the focus of attention.

4. What did Holets expect people to do?

A．Raise money for families like his.

B．Support the police’s routine work.

C．Make donations to adoption organizations.

D．Set up an organization to help the homeless.

5 . When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games. Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl,” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet. She went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pat her. Of course she’d let anyone pat her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. she never barked(吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is that she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us.
1. What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?

A．Look at them sadly.	B．Keep them company.
C．Play games with them.	D．Touch them gently.

2. We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie______.

A．would eat anything when hungry

B．felt sorry for her mistake

C．loved playing hide-and-seek

D．disliked the author’s dad

3. Why does the author say that Brownie was more than just a family pet?

A．She was treated as a member of the family.

B．She played games with anyone she liked.

C．She was loved by everybody she met.

D．She went everywhere with the family.

4. Some people got frightened by Brownie when she______.

A．smiled	B．barked.
C．rushed to them	D．tried to be funny

5. Which of the following best describes Brownie?

A．Shy.

B．Polite.

C．Brave.

D．Caring.

6 . Let’s face it.You’re likely reading this article in an effort to avoid some other tasks you’re procrastinating (拖延) to learn how to stop procrastination, but the clock is ticking. So why can’t you seem to get rid of that?

Though the psychological causes are still debated, there’s a human tendency to over or underestimate the value of a reward based on its temporal proximity (时间接近). This is often referred to as temporal discounting. For example, if I offered you$100 today or 110 in a month, most would take the hundred and run. But what if instead I offered you 100 dollars in a year or 110 in a year and one month, you might say to yourself if I can wait a year I can wait the extra month.

But the time and value difference are the exact same in each example. It turns out that human motivation is highly influenced by how near the reward is meaning the further away the reward is the more you discount its value. So being online is more appealing than preparing for your test. The problem is surfing the Internet provides many small quick and continuous rewards unlike your test scores which are a future one.

So how do you overcome the urge to put off so many tasks?

Unfortunately there is no definite answer, but try rewarding yourself with a timely snack or other enjoyable activities. The Pomodoro Technique makes use of a timer to work for 25 minutes straight and when you’ve done this give yourself the reward with a 5-minute break. Then start the working clock again, Gradually increasing the amount of work time you put in will improve your time management skills.

It’s been shown that creating a costly deadline is also an effective way to manage your working habits. And try to enjoy the process of achieving something instead of thinking only our minutes of suffering.

1. What does the underlined word “that” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．This article.

B．Procrastination.

C．An effort.

D．The clock.

2. An example is given in Paragraph 2 to make the theory

A．interesting

B．accurate

C．understandable

D．influential

3. Why is surfing online more attractive to students than studying?

A．It helps them kill time faster.

B．It offers them more information.

C．It supplies instant rewards to them.

D．It strengthens the bond between friends.

4. What’s a suggested solution to procrastination?

A．Rewarding yourself with a future gift.

B．Increasing the amount of work time.

C．Ignoring the process of doing the task.

D．Paying dearly for your procrastination.

7 . According to a recent survey, there are about 7,000 National Parks around the world. Many countries have National Parks. Most of them protect natural environment as well as the plants and animals that live there, but a few are in towns and cities.

There are nine National Parks in England. The first three were the Peak District, the Lake District and Dartmoor, which were all named as National Parks in 1951. Others followed afterwards, such as the North York Moors in 1952, the New Forest in 2005 and the South Downs in 2010.

Many National Parks around the world cover huge areas of land where nobody lives, but in England most of the countryside within them is useful for farming and other activities. As a result, National Parks in England include places where people live and work, as well as wild and beautiful areas where there is little sign of human life.

There are about 110 million visitors to the parks every year, bringing many benefits to the areas but creating problems too. In the parks litter is a particular danger to animals. Broken glass can also cause fires by focusing the rays of the sun. When these start in wild places, they are much harder to control and can damage large areas very quickly.

All National Parks in England promote (倡导) the Countryside Code, which tells people how to take care of their environment. If these rules are followed, the National Parks will be protected and continue to give pleasure to many people for a long time.

1. Which of the following was named the National Park in 1951?

A．The Lake District.	B．The North York Moors.
C．The New Forest.	D．The South Downs.

2. How are the National Parks in England special ?

A．They cover huge areas of land where nobody lives.

B．They are all in towns and cities.

C．Most of the countryside within them is useless for farming.

D．They also have places where people live and work.

3. Why do the parks in the last paragraph promote the Countryside Code?

A．To bring many people to the areas.	B．To find the causes of some problems.
C．To tell how to protect the environment.	D．To study the wild animals and plants

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．National Parks around the World	B．National Parks in England
C．Disadvantages of National Parks	D．How to Help with National Parks

8 . My mom only had one eye. I hated her. She was an embarrassment for me. Once on our school sports day, my mom came. I was so upset. I wished she would just disappear from this world. So I said the worst words to her. However, my mom did not respond.

That night I woke up and found her crying. I took a look at her. I still hated my mom who was crying with her one eye. I told myself that I would grow up, become successful and leave her for the rest of my life, and I realized my dream.

One day, a letter about a school reunion (同学聚会) came to my house and I went back for it. After the reunion, I went where we used to live, just out of curiosity. There I found my mom fallen on the ground, still. But I did not have a single tear in my eyes. Then I found a piece of paper in her hand. It was a letter to me.

My son, I miss you so much. I was too glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I decided not to go to the school for you. I’m so sorry that I have only one eye. You see, when you were very little, you got into an accident and lost your eye. So I gave mine to you. I was so proud of my son to see a whole new world for me with that eye. I love you!

My world fell. I cried for Mother. I didn’t have any chance to make up for my worst words.

1. Why did the author feel embarrassed with his mom?

A．She did not respond to him.	B．She came to school crying.
C．She did not do very well in sports.	D．She was ugly with only one eye.

2. What was the author’ s purpose to become successful?

A．To say the best words to his mother.	B．To win great honour for his mother.
C．To leave his mother as soon as possible.	D．To make his mother’s life better.

3. How did the author know the truth?

A．By attending the reunion.	B．By reading his mother’s letter.
C．By getting into an accident.	D．By encouraging his mother.

4. What can we infer from the end of the story?

A．The author was greatly regretful.	B．The author became interested in his mother.
C．The author still hates his mother.	D．The author is hard on his mother.

9 . Wordsmith Competition

Enter the senior high schools’ English writing competition and you could win some great prizes and improve your English language skills at the same time.

The competition

This competition is designed to promote the development of English writing skills among senior high students. All Senior High 1 and 2 students are encouraged to enter the competition.

What to write

A story of 300 words about any subject you can think of.

Rules

You must give your story a title. You must provide personal information with your entry. You may only enter this competition once.

Guidelines

Your story must be original and written by yourself (all entries will be checked). Stories will be judged by a team of English teachers from five different senior high schools. Stories that are well researched, creative and imaginative will receive high marks. Remember to plan your story, write it, and then check the grammar, punctuation and spelling. You should keep a copy of your story for yourself. Competition entries will not be returned.

Deadline

Stories must be received by 5 August through e- -mail. Send your stories to wordsmith @ nol. edu. cn.

Prizes

Gold — £2,000 award

Silver — £1,000 award

Bronze — £500 worth of books

All winners will be informed by e-mail, and the winning entries will be posted on this website.

1. What is the purpose of the competition?

A．To promote students’ reading skills.	B．To promote students’ writing skills.
C．To promote students’ listening skills.	D．To promote students’ speaking skills.

2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the guidelines?

A．The story must be original.	B．The story must be written by yourself.
C．Competition entries will not be returned.	D．Competition entries will be judged by yourself.

3. What is the prize for gold winners?

A．£2,000. .

B．1,000.

C．E500.

D．A story of 300 words.

4. We can infer from the text that a wordsmith is a person who is good at_

A．winning prizes

B．designing websites

C．using languages

D．copying others’ stories

10 . Choose Your One-Day-Tours!

Tour A - Bath &Stonehenge including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge -￡37 until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter. Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum, Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.

Tour B - Oxford & Stratford including entrance fees to the University St Mary’s Church Tower and Anne Hathaway’s -￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter. Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England’s oldest university city and colleges. Look over the “city of dreaming spires(尖顶）” from St Mary‘s Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.

Tour C - Windsor Castle &Hampton Court: including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace -￡34 until 11 March and ￡37 thereafter. Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry VILL’s favorite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle(entrance fees not included).With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫) where it is easy to get lost!

Tour D –Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great -￡33 until 18 March and ￡37 thereafter. Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.

1. Which tour will you choose if you want to see England’s oldest university city?

A．Tour A	B．Tour B
C．Tour C	D．Tour D

2. Which of the following tours charges the lowest fee on 17 March?

A．Windsor Castle & Hampton Court	B．Oxford & Stratford
C．Bath & Stonehenge	D．Cambridge

3. Why is Hampton Court a major tourist attraction?

A．It used to be the home of royal families	B．It used to be a well-known maze
C．It is the oldest palace in Britain	D．It is a world-famous castle