1 . It was a cold winter. The wind blew all night and the snow was blinding. When morning came, my three children and I got up and made our way to the windows. As we looked out the window, we saw that the henhouse was gone. Our three hens had been blown away.
I looked at the emptiness outside. Then I saw all three chickens sat around the edge of a white bucket. How was this violent wind not blowing them into the field beyond? I quickly pulled on long snow pants and heavy winter coat, wrapped a scarf and stuck my feet into very large boots.
I shouted at the wind as it blew. I was alone, save for my children. They stared out the window into the vast white sea of snow, their eyes peeled for any sign of movement. Outside I heard the sound of my boots as I walked against the wind.
The snow circling around me, I steadily made my way to the soft cluck-cluck-cluck sound my hens always made. When I reached them, I saw that their little feet were holding on to the edge of the bucket, heads bent forward and away from the wind. I gently lifted each hen and put it carefully into the warm inside. Then I began the freezing walk back to the small shed directly behind our house. One by one I laid my chickens on the cold floor, and they began to cluck softly.
As I shut the shed doors, my eyes went directly to the window where my children were watching. They jumped up and down cheering, and so did I! I wasn’t some dragon slayer (屠龙者) from a fairy tale. I was simply a mom, but the look on my children’s faces told me that they thought I was a hero mom.
1. What was the author’s feeling when seeing all three chickens sitting around the bucket?| A．incredible | B．worried |
| C．shy | D．confident |
| A．By searching for the white bucket. |
| B．By wearing protective clothes. |
| C．By following the sound of the hens. |
| D．By shouting at the henhouse. |
| A．The author’s children liked dragon slayers. |
| B．The children watched their mother all the way. |
| C．The author struggled to be a hero. |
| D．The author enjoyed herself in the snow. |
| A．Weather in extreme. | B．Hens in trouble. |
| C．Kindness in need. | D．Hero in the snow. |
2 . Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese-style spelling bee. In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.
Perhaps the show’s popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy(书法) to be one of their primary contributions to civilization. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet. The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It’s possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them.
But there’s still hope for the paint brush. China’s Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write.
In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six-year-olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher’s examples before carefully attempting to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. “If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?” we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. “The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture,” she reasons. “Students must learn now so they don’t forget when they grow up.” says the teacher.
1. What can we learn about the Character Hero?| A．It’s open to people of all ages and all walks. |
| B．It’s the most-viewed TV programs in China. |
| C．It aims to spread Chinese culture to the world. |
| D．It draws great public attention across the country. |
| A．Chinese people don’t refer to dictionaries very often. |
| B．Chinese people no longer use brush pens or practice calligraphy. |
| C．Chinese people are using the Latin alphabet instead of the characters. |
| D．Chinese people needn’t write by hand as often with the help of technology. |
| A．necessary for adults to survive in China |
| B．a requirement made by the Education Ministry |
| C．helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive |
| D．an ability to be developed only when you are students |
| A．A news report. | B．A science report. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．Children’s literature. |
3 . Despite the anxiety that the first digital novel caused in 1993, publishers weren’t too concerned that e-books would one day replace printed books. However, that attitude was changed suddenly in 2007 when Amazon Kindle came onto the market, which led to e-book sales jumping up to 1,260%. Since then, e-books’ popularity has continued to rise steadily. The publishing industry seemed to have lost all possible ability to regain its position. Will printed books eventually become a thing of the past? According to Mike Shatzkin, founder and CEO of the Idea Logical Company, printed books just for reading will, in 10 years from now, be unusual. “Not so unusual that a kid will say, ‘Mommy, what’s that?’ but unusual enough that on the train you’l see one or two people reading something printed, while everyone else is reading on a tablet computer screen.” And Shatzkin believes that the demise of print is sure to happen, though such a day won’t arrive for perhaps 50 to 100 or more years.
Robert Stein, founder of The Institute for the Future of the Book, however, believes that books won’t disappear entirely, at least not anytime soon. “Print will exist, and it may have an artistic value,” he says. He predicts that the distance between writers and readers will be made less obvious by a social reading experience in which authors and consumers can digitally interact with each other to discuss any passage, sentence or line.
Should print really disappear entirely? According to Maryanne Wolf, director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University, electronic reading can negatively affect the way the brain responds to the text, including reading comprehension and the ability to pay attention to details like the order of events. “My worry is that we’ll have a short-circuited(短路的) reading brain, excellent for gathering information but not necessarily for forming critical, analytical deep reading skills,” Wolf says. He hopes that we continue to keep a “bi-literate” society — one that values both the digital and printed words. “A full reading brain circuit is a huge contribution to the intellectual development of our species. Anything that threatens it deserves our attention.”
1. How did publishers feel about the rising e-book sales inspired by Amazon Kindle?| A．Worried. | B．Excited. |
| C．Curious. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．rise | B．death |
| C．adjustment | D．popularity |
| A．the artistic value |
| B．the digital interaction |
| C．the growing popularity |
| D．the traditional design |
| A．e-reading will strengthen the power of our brain |
| B．digital books and paper books should not coexist |
| C．e-reading will make us more critical and thoughtful |
| D．we should not risk losing a full reading brain circuit |
4 . What’s the point of dining out when we can have whatever meal we want delivered to our homes as we watch movies on our giant flat screen TVs? According to statistics from Technomic, 86% of consumers are using off-premise (营业场所外的) channels at least once a month, and a third of consumers are using it more than they did a year ago.
Most restaurant companies are chasing these trends to keep up with quickly changing consumer demands. Fazoli’s has spent the past two years investing in its drive-through, takeaway, and delivery business, and has launched a new app aimed at making takeaway orders easier. These efforts have paid off so far — off-premise sales are up 18.5% over the last year, said Jennifer Crawford, director of off-premise sales at Fazoli’s.
But, she notes that sales are not the only benefit. “The off-premise channel is a great opportunity to connect with a new consumer group,” Crawford said. “Many of our off-premise guests have not dined in a Fazoli’s or experienced our menu. With options like third-party delivery and online ordering, we are able to tap into potential new guests.”
Sales growth and new customer potential are great rewards, to be sure. But that doesn’t mean carrying out off-premise channels comes without challenges. A big one is the lack of control and maintaining the guest relationship. “When a guest dines in, we can provide a level of service that improves the consumer dining experience. The lack of control can extend into the digital experience because sometimes orders are not processed properly in the third-party software due to the drop-down (下拉式的) menus and default (默认) orders.” she said. “Besides, it is difficult to manage during peak hours and maintaining food quality and integrity (完整) during delivery is also tricky with certain dishes.”
Nevertheless, Crawford believes the juice is well worth the squeeze. “Across the industry, dine-in traffic continues to decline or remain flat. If brands are not promoting sales through takeaway and delivery, they are missing out on income.” she said.
1. Why does Fazoli’s invest in off-premise channels?| A．Because it wants to see the potential of its consumers. |
| B．Because it wants to keep up with the latest technical changes. |
| C．Because it wants to survive in the changing consumer landscape. |
| D．Because it wants to connect with its new consumers. |
| A．third-party apps may not offer as good an experience of ordering as restaurants |
| B．third-party apps may get out of control when used incorrectly |
| C．It makes no difference to restaurants whether it is the peak time or not. |
| D．food quality and integrity can be guaranteed during delivery. |
| A．Cautious | B．Doubtful | C．Favorable | D．Worried |
| A．Off-premise channels still need improving. |
| B．Restaurants are having difficulty in attracting their consumers. |
| C．Off-premise channels create more difficulties than opportunities. |
| D．Restaurants are adapting to the rise of takeaway using off-premise channels. |
5 . Safety and Security Procedures
Your safety and the security of your personal property are of the primary concern to those of us who welcome you as our guest. We urge you to take advantage of the following suggestions.
YOUR VEHICLE
Lock your vehicle and do not leave money or valuable items inside. We are not responsible for their loss.
TRAVELING
Be observant when sightseeing or traveling. Stay in well-lit and heavily traveled areas. Don’t display large amounts of cash.
GUEST ROOM SECURITY
For additional security use the deadbolt (插锁) provided on your door and make sure the windows are locked. As an additional precaution (预防措施), please secure the secondary locks provided. Do not admit anyone to your room without first making identification. A one-way viewer is provided in your door to assist with identification. If there is any doubt about the person’s identity, please contact the Front Desk.
SAFETY BOXES
Do not leave money or valuables in your room or vehicle. We provide free safety boxes for your use. Hotel is not responsible for items left in room valued over $200.
KEYS
Safeguard your key. Please do not leave it in the door. Do not give your key to others or leave it unattended. Please leave your key at the Front Desk when you check out.
REPORTING
Please report any suspicious activity, or safety concerns to management.
FIRE
Please familiarize yourself with the nearest fire exits. Report fire or smoke to the hotel operator. In the unlikely event of a fire, please move quickly and calmly to the nearest safe exit and leave the building. Avoid the use of elevator.
1. The suggestions are most probably from_________.| A．a hotel manager | B．a police officer |
| C．an experienced traveler | D．a tour guide |
| A．It is advised to travel to places where there are few people. |
| B．The hotel is not responsible for anything you lose. |
| C．Don’t report to the manager unless you are sure something is going wrong. |
| D．You’d better use the deadbolt and the secondary locks for safety. |
| A．let the person in after you have got his/her name |
| B．open the door to check the person’s ID card |
| C．call the Front Desk to make sure |
| D．contact the local police for assistance |
6 . Since I graduated from high school, I’ve worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer. However, making the transition (转变) between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier. For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be uncivilized, getting to a factory by 6 o'clock each morning is a torture.
There’re few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world. People of my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. In fact, all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant, which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.
The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear overnight. Issues like downsizing (裁员) and overseas relocation always seemed distant to me until my co-worker told me that the unit I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour.
After working 12-hour shifts in a factory, the other options have become only too clear. When I’m back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy rewrites seem too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale (out of date) now ring true.
These lessons I’m learning, however valuable, are always tinged (带有) with a sense of guilt. Many people pass their lives in the places I briefly work, spending 30 years where I spend only two months at a time. “The job pays well, but it is very hard,” said one co-worker. “Study hard and keep reading,” she added.
My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.
1. The underlined word “torture” in Paragraph 1 most probably means__________.| A．Misery | B．Fortune | C．Anxiety | D．Acceptance |
| A．They expect too much from the real world. |
| B．They think too highly of themselves. |
| C．They have little interest in blue-collar life. |
| D．They are confident of their future. |
| A．They do not get good pay. |
| B．They have to work 12-hour shifts. |
| C．They do not have job security. |
| D．They have to move from place to place. |
| A．He learned to be more practical. |
| B．He came to respect blue-collar workers. |
| C．He acquired a sense of urgency. |
| D．He came to appreciate his college education. |
7 . Welcome to the Friendship Hotel. To make your stay as enjoyable as possible, we hope you will use our facilities (设施) to the full.
Room Service
This operates 24 hours a day. Phone the Reception Desk, and your message will be passed on to the room staff.
Telephone: 48759
Dining Room
Breakfast is served in the dining room from 8 to 9:30 a. m. Alternatively, the room staff will bring a breakfast tray to your room at any time after 7 a.m., if you place an order for it by telephone. In this case, please fill out a card and hang it outside your door when you go to bed.
Lunch: 12:00 to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner: 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Telephone: 48752
Telephone
To make a telephone call, dial 0 for Reception and Laundry (洗衣店), and ask to be connected. We apologize for delays in putting calls through when the staff are very busy. There are also public telephone booths (电话亭) near the Reception Desk. Early calls should be booked with Reception.
Shop
The hotel shop is open for souvenirs (纪念品), gifts and toiletries (化妆品) from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Telephone: 48687
Laundry
We have a laundry on the premises (附属) and will wash, iron and return your clothes within 24 hours. Ask the room staff to phone the laundrymen to collect them.
Telephone: 48867
Bar
The hotel bar is open from 12 to 2 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. The Reception staff will cash cheques and exchange money in many foreign currencies (货币).
1. What should you do if you want a snack (快餐) at 9 a.m?| A．Go to the hotel shop. | B．Go to the hotel bar. |
| C．Tell the waiter. | D．Phone Reception |
| A．48752 | B．48867 |
| C．48687 | D．48759 |
| A．give us information about the services of the hotel |
| B．persuade us to stay in the hotel |
| C．tell us the ways of serving |
| D．promise us good service |
8 . Many curious children have lately asked “How do glasses help you see?” Actually, they asked this at a very good time because more and more people are needing to wear glasses and we don’t really know why.
Our eyes let us see because light enters each eye, and the eye then creates a message that goes to the brain. The eyeball itself doesn’t actually “see”—the brain sees. The eyeballs just take pictures, like two little cameras. To see properly, each eyeball needs to send the light that enters it into a very exact spot inside the eyeball, called the retina(视网膜). If the light falls onto the incorrect place, everything goes wrong.
Many people won’t need glasses and can see just fine. This is because their eyeballs are focusing light properly onto the retina. However, some people have eyeballs that are too long. They are called “shortsighted”. For these people, things far away can look blurry(模糊的). Other people have eyeballs that are too short. They are called “farsighted” and things close to them can look blurry. Both shortsighted and farsighted people need glasses to help them see clearly. They work by helping the eyeball to focus light onto the correct place, the retina. Only then can we see clearly.
Maybe you have a grandma or grandpa who wears whenever they are reading books or using their mobile phone. When people get older, they usually become a little bit farsighted because a part of their eye called the lens becomes stiff and doesn’t work properly.
More and more young people in the world are needing to wear glasses. we’re not sure why, but some scientists think that children who spend too much time inside are more likely to need glasses. Children who need glasses but don’t wear them don’t do as well as in school. Once you need glasses, you usually need them forever—your eyes won’t go back to normal on their own.
I hope that one day we can find out why people’s eyeballs become too long or too short and then we can stop people needing to wear glasses in the first place. Then people will never lose or forget their glasses ever again!
1. What is the author’s purpose for writing this article?| A．To give expert advice. |
| B．To tell an interesting story. |
| C．To present a research finding. |
| D．To answer children’s question. |
| A．Our brain is confused. |
| B．Our retina stops work. |
| C．We may lose our eyesight. |
| D．We are unable to see things clearly. |
| A．Their eyeballs are too long. |
| B．Their eyeballs are too short. |
| C．The lens of their eye works lazily. |
| D．The light falls exactly onto their retina. |
| A．What causes changes to people’s eyeballs. |
| B．What makes us lose our glasses quite often. |
| C．Why more and more young people have bad eyesight. |
| D．Why people with poor eyesight usually need glasses forever. |
9 . In many walks of life and in many situations, persuading people to do what you want them to do is the key to success. Researchers have looked into different aspects of persuasion and come up with some interesting results which are surely helpful to us.
One advertising copywriter came up with an approach to selling a product on a TV shopping channel via phone sales. Instead of being instructed “Operators are waiting, please call now”, viewers were told “If operators are busy, please call again”. The results were extraordinary. The ad suggested operators weren’t sitting around hoping people would call. Instead there were so many people wanting the product that people might have to wait until they could get it.
What role does choice have in persuading people to buy or get something? One study in a supermarket showed the effect of choice. A particular supermarket displayed either 6 or 24 different kinds of jam. The large display attracted more interest than the small one. But when the time came to purchase things, people who saw the large display were one-tenth as likely to buy. If they do buy, they are less satisfied with their selection, even though they have made a good choice. A wider range of choices require more time and effort and lead to unreasonably high expectations.
Another aspect of persuasion concerns getting someone to change their mind. It’s hard to prove to someone that a previous decision is wrong, and as people get older they get less and less willing to change their minds. People want things to be unwavering; they want their attitudes, statements, values and actions to follow a set pattern. The only way to persuade them to change is to acknowledge this by agreeing that the previous decision they made is a perfectly understandable one. This allows them to focus on your suggestion without feeling their previous decision is wrong. As a result, they may be persuaded to break out of their established pattern.
1. What does the advertising copywriter want to indicate about the product?| A．It’s rare. | B．It’s in demand. | C．It’s for sale. | D．It’s precious. |
| A．Increased choices decrease satisfaction. | B．More selections bring more actions. |
| C．More and more people don’t want to choose. | D．Some choices are more attractive than others. |
| A．Unreliable. | B．Unbelievable. | C．Unchanging. | D．Unique. |
| A．To compare different forms of persuasion. | B．To discuss various studies on persuasion. |
| C．To analyze how persuasion affects success. | D．To teach how to get better at persuasion. |
10 . On numerous drives with my mom through my childhood, she would suddenly pull over the car to examine a flower by the side of the road or rescue a beetle from danger while I, in my late teens and early twenties, sat impatiently in the car.
Though Mother's Day follows Earth Day, for me, they have always been related to each other. My mom has been ''green'' since she became concerned about the environment. Part of this habit was born of thrift(节俭). Like her mother and her grandmother before her, mom saves glass jars, empty cheese containers and reuses her plastic bags.
Mom creates a kind of harmonious relationship with wildlife in her yard. She knows to pick the apples on her trees a little early to avoid the bears and that if she leaves the bird feeders out at night, it is likely that they will be knocked down by a family of raccoons(浣熊). Spiders that make their way into the house and are caught in juice glasses will be set loose in the garden.
I try to teach my children that looking out for the environment starts with being aware of the environment. On busy streets, we look for dandelions(蒲公英)to fly in the wind; we say hello to neighborhood cats and pick up plastic cups and paper bags. This teaching comes easily, I realize, because I was taught so well by example. Mom didn’t need to lecture; she didn't need to beat a drum to change the world. She simply slowed down enough to enjoy living in it and with that joy came mercy and an instinct(直觉)for protection.
I am slowing down and it isn't because of the weight of my nearly forty years on the planet, it is just out of my concern for the planet itself. I've begun to save glass jars and reuse packing envelopes. I pause in my daily tasks to watch the squirrels race each other in the trees above my house.
Last summer, I planted tomatoes in my yard. With the heat of August around me, I enjoyed my tomatoes while sitting on my low wall. I immediately wanted to share with my mom.
1. Why does the author say Earth Day is connected with Mother's Day?| A．Because Mother's Day falls shortly after Earth Day. |
| B．To stress that all the older women are environmentalists. |
| C．To stress how much her mother cares about the environment. |
| D．Because her mother asks her to be kind to nature on Mother’s Day. |
| A．Picking dandelions on busy streets. | B．Rescuing a beetle from some danger. |
| C．Setting a caught spider free in the garden. | D．Saving glass jars and empty cheese containers. |
| A．the author's mother is very impatient with her children |
| B．The author's mother knows how to live in harmony with nature |
| C．the author's mother knows how to keep the wildlife off her yard |
| D．the author's mother used to lecture her to protect the environment |
| A．doubtful—critical—positive | B．approving—doubtful—negative |
| C．understanding—critical—approving | D．negative—understanding—approving |
