1 . What is talent? Are you born with it? Or does it seem to develop over time? Before I start, I’d like to say that one thing everyone agrees on is that the most skilled musicians have worked hard to get there.
While it’s true that a few of us had enough “talent” to avoid extra practice to do just as well as those who did, those who worked hard easily beat us. It is, in fact, very likely that if some of us “talented ones” had actually been practicing and improving our skill, we would have achieved a whole different level.
Another aspect of talent seems to be heart and passion (酷爱). The people I see who are the most talented musicians are crazy about music. They eat, breathe, and live music and they make an extraordinary effort to make it part of their lives. As Remus Badea said, desire for the musician-to-be is significant for them to be successful. This desire is easily found in those considered to be talented. When you want and love something so bad, it drives you and your entire character can be shaped around it. Such determined passion seems to produce incredible skill and talent.
The third aspect (方面) of talent is having talent around you. When surrounded by talented musicians, it only seems natural that you start to catch up to their level Take a look at almost any group of musicians in history. The more talented people in the group the more talented the group is as a whole. A great example of this is the relationship between audio producer and artist. The artist turns up to the studio with their song, and as they work through recording it, the audio producer will often suggest various changes to the song to make it better.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?| A．Pride goes before a fall. |
| B．It’s never too old to learn. |
| C．Practice contributes to talent. |
| D．Talent determines achievements. |
| A．Passion. | B．Character . | C．Skill. | D．Talent. |
| A．To introduce what real talents are. |
| B．To explain how a song is composed. |
| C．To prove talents need team spirit. |
| D．To show the benefits of being with talents. |
| A．Music has no limits. |
| B．Musicians are born with talent. |
| C．Music favors the talented. |
| D．Musicians are created, not born. |
2 . My 12-year-old daughter, Lauren, came home from school yesterday, proudly waving her grade book to me. She had been awarded A-1 in most subjects such as mathematics, language arts and science—a great achievement! Then she sadly pointed out that her perfect score was damaged by a B-1 in French and a C-1 in Physical Education.
I asked her what the scores meant. She said that the letter showed the achievement(成绩) and the number showed the effort. That moment I realized that the grades were misleading. I reached out my hands and gave her a big hug and told her in my mind she had a perfect score. It didn’t matter that her grade in French was a “B”—the “l” showed that she had tried her best. That is something to make any parent proud.
Everybody is different. Everybody has different potential(潜能). Not all of us will become linguists(语言学家) or sports stars. But without 100％effort no potential can be achieved. If I see a salesperson fail at sales, the first thing I want to examine is the effort being put in. If there is a problem with effort, the salesperson has no future. But if I see a salesperson isn’t successful with l00％effort, he or she is worth my effort in helping. Maybe a bit of training or some advice from a more successful person will help. I know that 100％effort, focus in the right direction, will always bring a result whether that is an “A” or a “C”. As long as you make 100％effort, you are great.
1. The author’s daughter was weak in _______.| A．maths. | B．science. | C．chemistry. | D．physical education. |
| A．High grades make parents proud. |
| B．Grades are important to children. |
| C．People hold a wrong idea of grades. |
| D．High grades show great achievements. |
| A．will give him training. |
| B．is willing to offer help. |
| C．will find an easy way for him. |
| D．may think he has no future. |
| A．trying his or her best. |
| B．achieving good grades. |
| C．having different potential. |
| D．giving other people useful advice. |
3 . When we see well, we do not think about our eyes very often. It is only when we cannot see perfectly that we realize how important our eyes are.
People who are near-sighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes. Everything else seems blurry. Many people who do a lot of work, such as writing, reading and sewing become near—sighted. Then People who are far-sighted suffer from just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty in reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length. If they want to do much reading , they must get glasses, too.
Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. They have what is called astigmatism. This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts. Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them.
Having two good eyes is important for judging distances. Each eye sees things from a slightly different angle. To prove this to yourself, look at an object out of one eye; then look at the same object out of your other eye. You will find the object’s relation to the background and other things around it has changed. The difference between these two different eye views helps us to judge how far away an object is. People who have only one eye cannot judge distance as people with two eyes.
1. What problem might a person have when things far away seem unclear?| A．Near-sighted. | B．Far-sighted. | C．Astigmatic. | D．Suffering from cataracts. |
| A．only when we can see well. | B．only when we cannot see perfectly. |
| C．even if we can see well. | D．only when we realize how important our eyes are. |
| A．seeing at night | B．seeing objects far away |
| C．looking over a wide area | D．judging distances |
| A．One eye bigger than the other. |
| B．Eyes that are not exactly the right shape. |
| C．A difficulty that can be corrected by an operation. |
| D．An eye difficulty that cannot be corrected by glasses. |
4 . Black Valley, 63 kilometers from downtown Chongqing, is one of the best preserved natural wonders around the municipality. The national 5A-level scenic spot is a popular summer resort for sightseeing, forest adventures, outdoor camping, hunting and angling.
Located in Heishan town, Wansheng Economic Development Zone, the scenic spot spans over 103 square kilometers, 97 percent of which are covered by primitive forests. With over 110,000 negative oxygen ions in each cubic centimeter of air, it is dubbed as a natural oxygen bar and “the most beautiful healthcare-themed valley.”
Black Valley is also known as “the natural gene bank of Chongqing and Guizhou regions” for the diversity of its rare plants and wildlife, including Cathaya argyrophylla, Davidia involucrata, Trachypithecus francoisi and clouded leopards.
Scenic spot level: AAAAA
Address: Heishan town, Wansheng Economic Development Zone, 63 kilometers from downtown Chongqing Opening hours: 8:30 am - 3:30 pm (peak season from November to February), 9:00 am-3:00 pm (off season from March to October)
Ideal sightseeing season: from May to September
Ticket price: 60 yuan ($8.72) during off season and 100 yuan during peak season, sightseeing bus and cable not included.
Notes:
1. It is recommended that tourists start from the higher southern area for a downward journey.
2. The average temperature is 18.1 degrees.
3. It’s a good idea to experience the local folk culture of the Miao ethnic group, especially when you choose to visit in May when the traditional Caishan Festival of Miao ethnic group is celebrated.
1. What can we know about Black Valley?| A．It lies in downtown Chongqing. |
| B．Plants and wildlife are rarely seen there. |
| C．A visit there costs at most 100 yuan. |
| D．The air is very high in negative oxygen ions there. |
| A．January. | B．March. | C．May. | D．July. |
| A．Culture. | B．Travel. | C．Nature. | D．Wildlife. |
5 . The structure of DNA plays an important role in medicine and biology. But you may not know that its founder is a female scientist and goes through a lot on her way to make scientific research. Rosalind Franklin was born in London, England on July 25, 1920. On April 16, 1958, at age 38, she died from cancer. Franklin was responsible for much of the research and discovery work that led to the understanding of the structure of DNA.
Franklin was interested in science and attended one of the few girls' schools in London that taught physics and chemistry. When she was 15, she decided to become a scientist. Her father was decidedly against higher education for women and wanted her to be a social worker. Franklin's aunt decided to support her and she agreed to pay for her full schooling. Within weeks, Franklin's aunt got her mother to support her going to college also. Months later, Franklin's aunt and mother got her father to agree with it. Franklin was very excited that she was going to college and did a good job in her study.
After her graduation from college, Franklin started her research on DNA. However, there were so many quarrels in her life because Franklin and her research partner did not get along. Franklin and her partner's arguments set them back on the study of DNA quite a bit. At the time they were working against another pair to find the story of DNA. Because of Franklin and her partner's fights, another pair found the structure of DNA first and won the Nobel Prize for it four years after Franklin died. Many scientists felt sorry for her early death and thought that the winners had stolen her research about DNA.
1. We can learn from the text that Franklin ________.| A．died in her early thirties | B．was a really lucky scientist |
| C．didn't get along with her father | D．achieved a lot in the study of DNA |
| A．Franklin's father agreed to pay for her college education |
| B．Franklin's aunt loved her than others |
| C．it was not easy for Franklin to go to college |
| D．it has been Franklin's dream to be a scientist since she was a child |
| A．Franklin's scientific research was not easy |
| B．Franklin first found the structure of DNA |
| C．Franklin's partner had no interest in DNA |
| D．Franklin had enjoyed a peaceful life |
| A．How DNA Was Found? | B．DNA and Good Education |
| C．The Life of a Woman Scientist | D．Should Girls Study or Not? |
6 . Where to eat and drink at museums
Museums, like department stores and airports, are now counting food among their attractions. The following museum restaurants would be worth a meal even if not surrounded by masterpieces. Most of them can be visited independently of the museums.
Met Breuer
Flora Bar
The food from a brief menu is anything but: refined, excellent and pleasantly served. It begins with breakfast when it pays to arrive before the famous cinnamon buns run out.
Open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3: 30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays;
Dinner from 5: 30. p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 5: 30 p. m. to 9 p. m. Sundays (reservations, no museum admission required).
646-558-5383
Asia Society
Garden Court Café
Here Steamed Chinese Dumplings served in bamboo baskets share the menu with Indian samosas, Koran Japchae Glass Noodles and a Japanese bento box assortment. Wine and beer are served.
Open daily from l: 30 a.m. to 3 p.m., except Mondays (reservations, no museum admission required).
212-570-5202
EI Museo del Barrio
Side Park Café
Mexican street food, done with some refinement, is the order of the day.
Open from 8 a. m. Mondays through Fridays, and 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, until 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays through Tuesdays (no reservations, no museum admission required).
212-831-7272
Museum of Arts and Design
Robert
Crowd-pleasing food includes crab cakes, Wagyu beef sliders and duck breast.
Lunch: 11:30 a. m. to 2: 30 p. m. Mondays through Fridays;
Dinner: 5 p. m. to 11 p. m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Tuesdays (reservations, no museum admission required).
212-299-7730
1. How long does the lunch last at Flora Bar?| A．For 2 hours. | B．For 3 hours. |
| C．For 4 hours. | D．For 5 hours. |
| A．212-570-5202. | B．212-831-7272. |
| C．212-299-7730. | D．646-558-5383 |
| A．It is known for its delicious duck breast. |
| B．It requires advance reservations. |
| C．It offers museum-goers discounts. |
| D．It opens seven days a week. |
| A．Flora Bar. | B．Garden Court Cafe. |
| C．Side Park Cafe. | D．Robert. |
| A．At 10 a.m. Mondays. | B．At 11 a. m. Tuesdays. |
| C．At 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays. | D．At 10:30 p.m. Sundays |
7 . It is a question people have been asking for ages. Is there a way to turn back the aging process?
For centuries, people have been looking for a “fountain of youth”. The idea is that if you find a magical fountain, and drink from its waters, you will not age.
Researchers in New York did not find an actual fountain of youth, but they may have found a way to turn back the aging process. It appears the answer may be hidden right between your eyes, in an area called the hypothalamus (下丘脑). The hypothalamus is part of your brain. It controls important activities within the body.
Researchers at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that hypothalamus neural (神经的) stem cells also influence how fast aging takes place in the body.
What are stem cells(干细胞)? They are simple cells that can develop into specialized cells, like blood or skin cells. Stem cells can also repair damaged tissues and organs.
Dongsheng Cai is a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He was the lead researcher in a study on aging in mice. He and his team reported their findings in the journal Nature, Cai explained when hypothalamus function is in decline, particularly the loss of hypothalamus stem cells, and this protection against the aging development is lost. it eventually leads to aging.
Using this information, the researchers began trying to activate, or energize, the hypothalamus laboratory mice. They did this by injecting the animals with stem cells, Later, the researchers examined tissues and tested for changes in behavior. They looked for changes in the strength and coordination (协调) of the animals muscles. They also studied the social behavior and cognitive ability of the mice. The researchers say the results show that the treatment slowed aging in the animals, Cai says injecting middle-aged mice with stem cells from younger mice helped the older animals live longer.
But these results were just from studying mice in a laboratory. If the mice can live longer, does that mean people could have longer lives? The next step is to see if the anti-aging effects also work in.
1. In Paragraph 2 a “fountain of youth” is mentioned to ________.| A．introduce the main topic |
| B．show a hidden secret. |
| C．describe scientists research |
| D．recommend a way to stay young |
| A．stem cells develop into specialized cells |
| B．there are important activities within the body |
| C．hypothalamus neural stem cells fail to protect against aging |
| D．the hypothalamus fails to repair damaged tissues and organs |
| A．They did experiments to see how stem cells work. |
| B．They studied mice to find their connection with humans. |
| C．They have found a possible way to slow the aging progress. |
| D．They have found no changes in mice s behavior during the experiment |
| A．They will help some animals live longer. |
| B．They will announce the fountain of youth doesn’t exist |
| C．They will develop products to help people live a longer life immediately |
| D．They will do research to see if what they have found in mice will apply to humans. |
8 . Happiness is not a warm phone, according to a new study exploring the link between young life satisfaction and screen time. The study was led by professor of psychology Jean M. Twenge at San Diego State University (SDSU).
To research this link, Twenge, along with colleagues Gabrielle Martin at SDSU and W. Keith Campbell at the University of Georgia, dealt with data from the Monitoring the Future (MtF) study, a nationally representative survey of more than a million U. S. 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders. The survey asked students questions about how often they spent time on their Phones, tablets and computers, as well as questions about their face-to-face social interactions and their overall happiness.
On average found that teens who spent more time in front of screen devices — playing computer games, using social media, texting and video chatting — were less happy than those who invested more time in non-screen activities like sports, reading newspapers and magazines, and face-to-face social interactions.
"The key to digital media use and happiness is limited use," Twenge said. "Aim to spend no more than two hours a day on digital media, and try to increase the amount of time you spend seeing friends face-to-face and exercising — two activities reliably linked to greater happiness."
Looking at historical trends from the same age groups since the 1990s, it's easy to find that the increase of screen devices over time happened at the same time as a general drop-off in reported happiness in U. S. teens. Specifically, young peopled life satisfaction and happiness declined sharply after 2012. That's the year when the percentage of Americans who owned a smartphone rose above 50 percent. By far the largest change in teens' lives between 2012 and 2016 was the increase in the amount of time they spent on digital media, and the following decline in in-person social activities and sleep.
1. Which method did Twenge's team use for the study?| A．Calculating students' happiness. |
| B．Asking students certain questions. |
| C．Analyzing data from a survey. |
| D．Doing experiments on screen time. |
| A．By making a comparison. |
| B．By giving an example. |
| C．By making an argument. |
| D．By introducing a concept. |
| A．To draw a conclusion from the study. |
| B．To offer some advice to the readers. |
| C．To prove social activities' importance. |
| D．To support the researchers' finding. |
| A．Quitting Phones Equals Happiness |
| B．Screen Time Should Be Banned |
| C．Teens' Lives Have Changed Sharply |
| D．Screen-addicted Teens Are Unhappier |
9 . The National Gallery
Description:
The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance.
Layout:
The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th- to 15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Memling.
The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings, and artists include Leonardo da Vinci , Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titian and Veronese.
The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings, and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van de Dyck, Velázquez, Claude and Vermeer.
The East Wing houses 18th- to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.
Opening Hours:
The Gallery is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm (Fridays 10 am to 9 pm ) and is free, but charges apply to some special exhibitions.
Getting There:
Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk), Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment (7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus (8-minute walk).
1. In which wing can you see religious paintings?| A．In the West Wing | B．In the North Wing |
| C．In the East Wing | D．In the Sainsbury Wing |
| A．The National Gallery is the biggest British national art museum. |
| B．The Gallery is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm. |
| C．The Gallery is completely free. |
| D．There are four exhibition areas in the National Gallery. |
| A．A museum guide. | B．An artist magazine. |
| C．A news report. | D．A tourist map. |
10 . Best Diabetes Diets
U.S. News has ranked four leading diets based on input from a panel of health experts. Browse our diet profiles by narrowing down your results until you find the ones that are right for you.
The Flexitarian Diet in Best Diabetes Diets The Flexitarian Diet, which emphasizes fruits, veggies, whole grains and plant-based protein, is a smart and healthy choice. One panelist noted that this diet is “a nice approach that could work for the whole family.” READ MORE → | OVERALL SCORE 4.1/5 WEIGHT LOSS 3.6/5 HEALTHY 4.7/5 |
Mediterranean Diet in Best Diabetes Diets With its emphasis on fruits, vegetables, olive oil, fish and other healthy fare, the Mediterranean diet is extremely sensible. READ MORE → | OVERALL SCORE 4.2/5 WEIGHT LOSS 3/5 HEALTHY 4.8/5 |
DASH Diet in Best Diabetes Diets DASH fights high blood pressure and was praised for its nutritional completeness, safety, ability to prevent or control diabetes, and role in supporting heart health. READ MORE → | OVERALL SCORE 4.1/5 WEIGHT LOSS 3.2/5 HEALTHY 4.8/5 |
Mayo Clinic Diet in Best Diabetes Diets The Mayo Clinic Diet aims to make healthy eating a lifelong habit, and earned praise for its nutrition and safety. READ MORE → | OVERALL SCORE 3. 8/5 WEIGHT LOSS 3. 3/5 HEALTHY 4. 4/5 |
1. If you got diabetes and wanted to lose weight, which food would meet your needs?
| A．Mayo Clinic Diet | B．Dash Diet |
| C．Mediterranean Diet | D．The Flexitarian Diet |
| A．Novel | B．Magazine | C．Website | D．Newspaper |
| A．Dash Diet can benefit your heart health. |
| B．All diabetic diets can fight high blood pressure. |
| C．All the diabetic diets emphasize their complete nutrition. |
| D．The Mayo Clinic Diet has developed a lifelong healthy eating habit. |
