1 . At 5:30 am, carer（护工）Ivy Bowen's clock wakes her up. She puts on her uniform, and then walks to a bus stop to the hospital where she works. Two hours and two buses later, the 68-year-old arrives at 8:00 am, half an hour before her shift（轮班）.
For Tracey Griffiths and her son Carl, this half an hour has been life-changing. Because for nearly two years, Ivy has spent that time bringing Carl cups of tea and chatting. Thanks to these chats, as well as Ivy's devotion and caring skills, Carl has begun speaking again after four years of silence.
Four years ago, a serious accident left Carl unable to move and talk. When he did finally speak, one of his first words, unsurprisingly, was "Ivy". "Ivy is there and it makes a huge difference. Thanks to her, Carl's speech is coming on by leaps and bounds," says Tracey.
Ivy should have retired（退休）two years ago but she is still there, because she wants to be, and so do the hospital's managers and her grateful patients. Ivy is now in charge of 25 patients at the hospital. She makes tea and coffee for families as well as patients, and makes sure that everyone in her care gets enough fresh water. She also helps with feeding, giving creams or anything else that might need doing.
Ivy's great wish to improve the lives of patients has driven her to find other ways, in which she can help them out. For Ivy, the recipe for good care is simple. "Treat everyone as you would like to be treated yourself," she says. "I love everything about working at the hospital. To be able to come in, have a chat and change someone's day a bit, it means a lot."
1. When should Ivy Bowen begin her work every morning?| A．At 5:30. | B．At 7:30. |
| C．At 8:00. | D．At8:30. |
| A．To chat with the patients. | B．To give creams to the patients. |
| C．To feed all the patients. | D．To provide water for the patients. |
| A．Ivy's son. | B．Ivy's patient. |
| C．The nursing director. | D．A famous doctor. |
| A．Carl has great difficulty in keeping silent. |
| B．Carl makes a huge difference to Ivy's career. |
| C．Carl is too afraid to see the carers as well as doctors. |
| D．Carl has made progress in speaking with the help of Ivy. |
2 . Nowadays, we can read almost all "truths" on social media sites. But are they really reliable? Sites such as the micro-messaging service, the social networking site and the photo-sharing app Instagram might "misrepresent the real world", according to a study by computer scientists from McGill University and Carnegie Mellon University.
The scientists warn that gathering information about public views and trends from these sites is unwise. There are still large parts of the population who do not take part in social media activities. Also, there's a risk that many social media users are under-represented. Instagram, for example, appeals to younger adults in urban areas while Pinterest is used mainly by females aged 25 to 34. And only 5 percent of the micro-messaging service users are over 65 years old, according to the study. However, this is not the only issue, according to the scientific team. The design of a website can influence how people behave online, creating what the researchers call "Internet bias". For example, micro-blogging sites such as Weibo promote "popular" stories. It saves time for some but it also limits readers' choice of what they see. In the end, many people open those stories and make them more "popular". But it's not because they choose those stories. Rather, it is because the content is right in front of them.
Besides, it's possible that not everyone on your social networks is real. There might actually be a few fake accounts among them. Fake "bots" pretend to be humans and are often included when measuring or predicting human behaviors online.
The findings might be more important than you would think, since many social media studies are used to inform and justify decisions and investments among the public and in industry and government, according to Derek Ruths, an assistant professor of Computer Science at Mc Gill University.
If the team is right, you might have to think carefully next time you say, "It's true, you know; I read it on Weibo."
1. Why does the author mention the micro-messaging and Instagram?| A．Because they are the best social media sites today. |
| B．Because they are not in favor of the current study. |
| C．Because the public are sharing truths on these sites. |
| D．Because information on these sites may not be reliable. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By dividing into groups. | D．By analyzing causes. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Favorable. | C．Disagreeable. | D．Cautious. |
| A．To analyze why information gathered from social media sites may not be trustworthy. |
| B．To remind readers of things they should watch out for when using social media. |
| C．To point out the advantages and disadvantages of social media. |
| D．To recommend popular social networking sites for readers. |
3 . Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.
In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money.
At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance.
The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics.
Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life.
Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving it to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.
1. What is special about children learning financial management by experience?| A．They learn more quickly. |
| B．They are not as likely to make mistakes. |
| C．Their mistakes won't matter so much. |
| D．They have plans made by their parents. |
| A．they will know how hard it is to learn budget |
| B．they will have an easy time learning the lesson |
| C．what they will learn is absolutely true |
| D．their parents will teach them a hard lesson |
| A．regularly twice every month |
| B．whenever he has run out of money |
| C．telling him to ask for permission before spending |
| D．without telling him what to spend on |
| A．borrow money from others | B．ask their parents for more money |
| C．get paid for their household routines | D．earn money by extra work |
4 . A new report has concluded that advertising managers are becoming increasingly interested in children. Studies show that children influence about 50 percent of things that families buy, so they’re an attractive target for advertisers.
John Taylor, the author of the report, says:“Advertisers can reach their target in many ways. They can, for example, show an ad many times during school holidays, they can make the TV advertisements a little louder than the programmes to attract attention, or they can sponsor programmes and show their advertisements just before the programme begins.”
Most advertisements aimed at children are short, imaginative and often in the form of animated cartoons(动画片).“Children love the ads and watch them in the same way as any entertainment programmer,”Taylor says.
There’re concerns about advertising aimed at young people. The concerns are shared by Sarah Durham, a writer and journalist specializing in media analysis. “The most worrying thing is that children don’t think carefully when they see television advertisements. They’re less critical than adults and don’t usually realise the advertisement has a persuasive message, to encourage them or their parents to spend as much money as possible on the product or service,”she says.
There’re also concerns over the vast sums of money that junk food producers spend on advertising to persuade children to buy their food products. Many advertisements, argues Durham, sell food that is a lot higher in fat, salt and sugar than healthier alternatives. “Many companies target children with offers of free toys, models of cartoon characters and gimmicky（耍花招的）packaging.”
Government approaches to controlling advertising to children vary. In Sweden, one of the strictest countries where advertising is concerned, TV advertising to children under the age of 12 is banned. Greece bans television advertisements for children’s toys between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Denmark and the Netherlands also have legal controls whereas France, Britain and Germany prefer self-regulation（自动调节）．
Some countries are not as certain as the Swedes that advertising to children is harmful. The French argue that children need to see many advertisements so that they can develop their ability to think as they grow up. The belief is that advertising will help children to be more aware of its persuasive power.
1. What does John Taylor mainly talk about in Paragraph 2?| A．Ways in which advertisers reach children. |
| B．The time children spend watching television. |
| C．Examples of successful advertising to children. |
| D．The serious problems of advertising to children. |
| A．TV ads limit children’s imagination. |
| B．TV ads affect children’s brain development. |
| C．Children lack the good sense to make decisions. |
| D．Children may spend lots of time watching television. |
| A．It’s tasty. | B．It’s cheap. |
| C．It’s unhealthy. | D．It’s readymade. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Relaxed. |
| C．Objective. | D．Unfavorable. |
5 . Football, to me, is more than just a game. I have probably learned more valuable lessons from it than from school.
When I joined the team freshman year, I didn’t realize what I was getting into. Even though I had been playing since fourth grade and knew it was hard work, nothing would prepare me for the effort I would put into football that year. We worked all summer in the weight room and ran on the track to get in physical and mental shape before the season.
See, football is more of a mental sport than anything else, so running on the track wasn’t only about getting in shape. We would push our minds by running as hard as we could even if we were going to pass out. At the beginning, I was immature and only thought of myself, sometimes even gave up when I was tired or hurt. Then after the third game I had a season-ending injury. Imagine working all summer and then only being able to play three games! I needed surgery on my arm and at least five months to recover.
Needless to say, I missed the rest of the season, but this actually helped me realize that since you never know when your last play will be, you should try your hardest in football and life.
After freshman year I decided that I would always give my best effort. Playing varsity football has taught me so much more than just what my assignments are on a particular play or how to block. I have learned to think about others first and realized how important working hard is. Being with all my friends, even sweating and bleeding with them, really made us bond as a group of hard-working young men who I know will succeed in life.
1. What is the main idea of the passage?| A．How the author dislikes the game of football. | B．When the author began to play football. |
| C．How the writer changed his attitude to football. | D．What sport the author likes best. |
| A．just a game | B．of a mental sport |
| C．hard to be out-of-date | D．not worth his effort |
| A．becoming healthy | B．designing the playground |
| C．losing weight | D．measuring the track |
| A．the author joined the football team with a clear aim |
| B．football only brought the author certain assignments |
| C．the author never lost heart when he met with difficulty |
| D．the author worked all summer to get ready for the season |
6 . Want to stay away from colds? Put on a happy face.
Compared to unhappy people, those who are cheerful and relaxed are less likely to suffer from（遭受）colds, according to a new study. It’s possible that being happy helps the body fight illnesses, say the researchers from New York University.
“It seems that positive（积极的）feelings may reduce the danger of illness,” said the study’s chief researcher Sheldon Cohen.
In an earlier study, Cohen found that people who were cheerful and lively caught cough sand colds less often. People who showed feelings were also less likely to tell their doctors that they felt ill.
In this study, Cohen’s interviewed 193 adults every day for two weeks. During the interviews, the people told researchers about the happy or sad feelings they had that day. After the two weeks, the people were given colds by doctors and had to stay alone in a room for six days.
The results showed that everyone in the study was equally likely to get ill. But for people who said they felt happy during the research period, their illness are less serious and lasted for a shorter time.
Cohen believes that when people experience positive feelings, their body may produce a chemical that helps fight illness and disease. So if you are worried about your health, look on the bright side more often.
1. Which of the following was NOT a part of the study?| A．People talked about their feelings every day. |
| B．People were kept alone for six days. |
| C．People were given colds by doctors. |
| D．People were made to feel unhappy. |
| A．People who felt happy never got ill. |
| B．People’s feelings didn’t influence their health. |
| C．People with good feelings became ill more easily. |
| D．People with positive feelings had less serious illnesses. |
| A．advertisement | B．report | C．story | D．scientist’s diary |
7 . The very wealthy English Baron Fitzgerald had only one child, a son, who understandably was the apple of his eye. His wife died when the child was in his early teens. So Fitzgerald devoted himself to fathering the kid. Unluckily the son died in his late teens.
Meanwhile, Fitzgerald’s wealth greatly increased. He spent a lot on art works of the masters.
Later Fitzgerald himself became seriously ill. Before his death, he had carefully prepared his will as to how his wealth would be settled—to sell his entire collection at an auction.
Because of the large quantity and high quality of his collection, a huge crowd of possible buyers gathered for the auction. Many of them were museum directors and private collectors eager to bid. Before the auction, the art works were shown, among which was a painting of Fitzgerald’s son by an unknown artist. Because of its poor quality, it received little attention.
When it was time for the auction, the auctioneer gaveled the crowd to attention. First the lawyer read from Fitzgerald’s will that the first art work to be auctioned was the painting of his son.
The poor-quality painting didn’t receive any bidders... except one — the old servant who had served the son and loved him, and who for emotional reasons offered the only bid.
As soon as the servant bought the painting for less than one English pound, the auctioneer stopped the bidding and asked the lawyer to read again from the will. The crowd became quiet, and the lawyer read from the will, “Whoever buys the painting of my son gets all my collection.” Then the auction was over.
1. The English Baron Fitzgerald was________.| A．a museum director | B．a master of art |
| C．an art collector | D．an artist |
| A．He served Fitzgerald’s son and loved him. | B．He saw that no one bid for it. |
| C．He knew the content of the will. | D．He found it cheap for him to buy |
| A．Proud. | B．Kind. | C．Foolish. | D．Clever. |
| A．The Auction | B．The Painting of the Son |
| C．The Servant at the Auction | D．One Painting for All |
8 . “A lie can travel half way around the world before the truth can put its bots on.” That quote is attributed to Mark Twain. In today’s Internet world of “fake（假的）news”, lies spread even faster than the truth is having trouble finding its boots.
To make matters worse, most young people get news from social media sites where facts are mixed with rumors（谣言）, half-truths and complete lies. This has led to young people becoming confused. In the latest PISA, which tested 15-year-old worldwide on academic subjects, fewer than one in ten of the examinees were reported to be able to distinguish fact from opinion. A Stanford University study showed that students at all levels of education could not tell real news from fake news. In one instance, 80 percent thought that a paid advertisement was a real news story.
Fake news is spread by people who have a prejudice. They want to influence public opinion either for or against something or someone. It is important, then, for young people to recognize when they are being used and to be skeptical of online information.
Traditional media, such as newspapers and television, are still the more credible sources of information. Reporters are professionally trained to look for facts, and editors have the job of making sure those facts are correct. However, if you getting most of your information online, you have to be your own editor. In that case, the first thing to do is to look at the writer of a post. Is this person known to be credible? Does the site where you read the post have a prejudice? Next, look for other sources from mainstream media to confirm the information. In other words, by putting on your truth boots you won’t be fooled into chasing lies.
1. Why is the quote mentioned in paragraph 1？| A．To give a definition. |
| B．To introduce the topic. |
| C．To offer background information. |
| D．To highlight the wisdom of Mark Twain. |
| A．They prefer to real news story. |
| B．They are easily taken in by fake news. |
| C．They can distinguish fact from opinion. |
| D．They get worried about their education. |
| A．Fight against prejudices. | B．Avoid traditional media. |
| C．Be an editor of your own. | D．Believe in trained reporters. |
| A．The truth about fake news. | B．The influence of fake news. |
| C．Problems with online information. | D．Sources of online information. |
9 . Some students get so nervous before a test. They do poorly even if they know the material. Sian Beilock, a professor at the University of Chicago in Illinois, has studied these highly anxious test-takers. The students start worrying about the results. And when we worry, it actually uses up attention and memory resources（资源）.
Professor Beilock and another researcher, Gerardo Ramirez, have developed a possible solution. Just before an exam, highly anxious test-takers spend ten minutes writing about their worries about the test.
The researchers tested the idea on a group of twenty anxious college students. They gave them two short maths tests. After the first one, they asked the students to either sit quietly or write about their feelings about the upcoming second test.
Professor Beilock says those who sat quietly scored（得分） an average of 12% worse on the second test. But the students who had written about their fears improved（提高） their performance by an average of 5%. Next, the researchers used younger students in a biology class. They told them before final exams either to write about their feelings or to think about things unrelated（不相关的） to the test. Professor Beilock says highly anxious students who did the writing got an average grade of B+, compared to a B-for those who did not.
"What we showed is that for students who are highly test-anxious, and who'd done our writing intervention（干预）, all of a sudden there was no relationship between test anxiety and grades. They were performing just as well as their classmates who don't normally get nervous in these tests."
But what if students do not have a chance to write about their fears immediately before an exam? Professor Beilock says students can try it themselves at home or in the library and still improve their performance.
1. What do the students start worrying about before an exam?| A．Whether they can pass the exams. |
| B．What other students do during the test. |
| C．Whether they have remembered the materials. |
| D．What kind of problems they will meet on the test paper. |
| A．Making the students focused on the test. |
| B．Asking the students to sit quietly before the test. |
| C．Having the students write about their worries about the test. |
| D．Asking the students to direct the attention away from the test. |
| A．became less nervous before the test |
| B．were better at controlling their feelings |
| C．did worse than those who wrote about their feelings |
| D．did better than those who wrote about their feelings |
| A．writing about our worries before an exam can work a bit |
| B．we can only write about our worries right before an exam |
| C．the best place to write about our worries is in the test room |
| D．it doesn't matter where we write about our worries before an exam |
10 . For my first year at Oxford, I barely said anything in tutorials(辅导课).
We'd have 2-3 tutorials a week, each ranging from 1 to 3 hours. Some would feel informal with comfortable chairs and teas, sitting and chatting with a few friends. Others would feel more like we were being grilled for facts. In both types, I was pretty quiet. I was shy, introverted, and worried that everyone would think I was stupid. The fact is that everyone in Oxford, Harvard, Yale, etc. has felt insecure about their intelligence at some point. I didn't volunteer in discussions and, as a result, I didn't understand much. My understandings of different texts never matured or became complex. They stayed the same. And they were often wrong.
Then, somewhere in the middle of my second year, I got over myself, stopped being worried, and offered more of my own opinions. I responded to others, asked thoughtful questions, and interacted way more. I always asked if I didn't understand something. Most of the time, others also didn't understand the thing I was confused about and felt happy I asked.
I went from being a passive learner and having everything go over my head to being an active learner and having tons more information understood. In tutorials, I took notes. After tutorials, I reviewed those notes. I rewrote them. I explained new concepts to my friends in other subject areas. And I felt smarter. I went from struggling and failing to thriving and suddenly getting firsts on my essays.
Being an active student also means asking for help. So I recommend you to visit your tutor during office hours and ask for their help or ask your peers to help explain stuff to you. Or get a mentor(导师) if you can. I had a PhD student mentor me once a week over coffee in my final year. It was the best thing that happened to my studies.
1. Which word best describes the author's academic attitude as a freshman?| A．Cooperative. | B．Inactive. | C．Serious. | D．Positive. |
| A．He became smarter than others. | B．He attached no importance to notes. |
| C．He had everything go over his head later. | D．His changed attitudes led to academic improvement. |
| A．To visit tutors at any time. | B．To get a mentor in the first year. |
| C．To ask our peers for help if necessary. | D．To learn everything from smart people. |
| A．How did I Ask for Help? | B．How did I Get over Myself? |
| C．How did I Become an Active Learner? | D．How did I Become a Smart Student? |
