2 . The weather is getting hotter and you’ll be getting thirstier playing basketball or riding home from school. A cold drink may be just the thing. But be careful what you pour down your throat. Something that looks cool may not be good for your health.

There are plenty of so-called energy drinks on the market. Most of them have an attractive color and cool name. Their nutrition lists also contains various things from vitamins to ginseng. Sounds great!

But after a careful check you may find that most energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine. These drinks are typically aimed at young people, students, busy people and sports players.

Makers sometimes say their drinks make you better at sports and can keep you awake. But be careful not to drink too much Caffeine raises your heartbeat. Because of this, the International Olympic Committee has limited their use. The amount of caffeine in most energy drinks is at least as high as in a strong cup of coffee or strong tea.

There are potential health dangers linked to energy drinks. Just one can of energy drink can make you nervous, have difficulty sleeping and can even cause heart attacks.

Teenagers should be discouraged from taking drinks with a lot of caffeine in them, an expert from the Australia Nutrition Foundation said.

1. The teenagers like drinking energy drinks because of the following EXCEPT that ________.

A．they have an attractive color and cool name	B．they contain high levels of caffeine
C．they can keep them awake and better at sports	D．they are said to have various nutrition

2. The underlined word “discouraged” in the last paragraph can be replaced by ________.

A．dropped

B．stopped

C．helped

D．asked

3. From the passage we can infer that ________.

A．advertisements play an important part in getting people to buy the goods

B．the amount of caffeine in most energy drinks is lower than that in a strong cup of coffee

C．Australian teenagers drink more energy drinks than those in the other countries

D．The energy drinks are typically aimed at young people

4. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．What’s the Use of Energy Drinks?	B．Who can Drink Energy Drinks?
C．What is That in Energy Drinks?	D．Why can’t We Buy Energy Drinks?

3 . Have you ever wondered if you see the same colours as other people? Most people know what blue is when they see it. They call it "blue” because they were taught the word and connected it with what they saw. But how do you know what you see as blue isn't someone else's red?

The ability to perceive （感知）different colours is up to receptors （接受器）in our eyes. Light waves hit these receptors and they react depending on which colour the light is, sending signals to the brain. The brain then reads these signals to determine which colour light the eyes are receiving.

Some people's receptors are more developed than others. The inability of the receptor to feel the light waves correctly means that some people cannot tell the differences between similar colours. Those with more developed receptors can see more colours. We sometimes hear people having an argument about whether something is dark blue or black. It might be because one person has stronger receptors to feel the light than another.

In the past, most scientists would argue that everyone saw colours in the same way. However, research was conducted on monkeys, in which their receptors were changed. This enabled them to see more colours than usual. Normally monkeys can only see blue and green, but the change allowed them to see red. Their brains automatically got used to new colours. This suggests that our brains may find new colors of the things we see. Colours could be a very personal experience , unique to everyone.

So, the next time you talk about your favourite colour, just remember if yours is blue and your friend says red, you two might actually be thinking about the same colour. What if everyone in the world has the same favourite colour, but just calls it different names?

1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．How we perceive colours.

B．The inability to see colours.

C．What the brain does with signals.

D．The connection between receptors and light waves.

2. Which of the following might the author agree with?

A．Some people cannot feel colours with their developed receptors.

B．The more light people feel, the weaker receptors they have.

C．People with poor receptors usually have colour weakness.

D．People who have strong receptors can see dark blue.

3. What's the purpose of conducting the research on monkeys?

A．To test the monkeys with colours.

B．To develop the receptors of humans.

C．To enable monkeys to find more colors.

D．To prove everyone sees colours in a different way.

4. Where does the text probably come from?

A．A film review.	B．A science magazine.
C．An art journal.	D．A business newspaper.

4 . We moved to Elmont in 1956. I was 4 years old. Elmont was a wonderful place to grow up. There were lots of kids，great schools and we had a big yard. Having grown up a city kid, my father, Nicholas Denaro, believed that grass was not just to look at, but that children were meant to play on it. We played games and badminton there. A white fence separated our backyard from a small wood. My friends and I jumped the fence and climbed trees.

My father had the most amazing hands. He could fix anything. He gave those amazing hands to his son, my younger brother, Frank, who also became handy around the house. But my father saved his green fingers for me. He grew flowers, tomatoes, strawberries and figs and he shared his love of gardening with me.

Fourteen years ago, I went to a local nursery and purchased a fig tree for Dad for Father’s Day. My mother, Bridget Denaro, called it the best gift I could have given him. He planted it exactly in the middle of the front yard.

He loved that tree and enjoyed delicious figs every year, except just after Sandy hit in 2012. He was so disappointed when cold weather just after the superstorm froze all the remaining figs.

In 2015，my father died of aspirating pneumonia (呼吸性肺炎) at 97. We sold our family home of 61years last year. We left behind Dad's tree, full of figs waiting to ripen. We briefly-considered taking it with us, but decided that his Father's Day fig tree belonged in Elmont. The new owners generously allowed me to take some branches so that I could have a precious reminder of my much-loved father and the Elmont home.

1. What can we learn about the author from the first paragraph?

A．She grew up in a city.	B．She only liked climbing trees.
C．She had a happy childhood.	D．She was naughty and stubborn.

2. What did Father teach the author?

A．How to garden well.	B．How to play games.
C．How to color fingers.	D．How to fix everything.

3. Why did Father fail to enjoy figs in 2012?

A．He was ill in hospital.	B．The cold hit the fig tree.
C．The tree didn’t bear figs.	D．He moved to another city.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To show her love of figs.	B．To share her childhood.
C．To remember her father.	D．To introduce her experience.

5 . Step into Moving to Mars, an exhibition of Mars mission and colony design at London's Design Museum, and immediately you have good reasons not to move there.

Frightening texts on the walls announce that Mars wasn't made for you; that there is no life and precious little water; that, dressed in a spacesuit, you will never touch, taste or smell the planet you now call “home”. As Lisa Grossman wrote for New Scientist a couple of years ago, “What's different about Mars is that there is nothing to do there except try not to die.”

It is an odd beginning for such a celebratory exhibition, but it provides a valuable, dark background against which the rest of the show can sparkle (闪耀)—a show that is, as its chief manager Justin McGuirk remarks, “not about Mars; this is an exhibition about people”.

Moving along, there is a quick yet clear flash through what the science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson calls “the history of Mars in the human mind”. A Babylonian clay tablet and a Greek vase speak of early ideas about the planet. A poster for the original Total Recall film reminds us of Mars's psychological threat.

The main part of the show is our current plans for the Red Planet. There are real spacesuits and models of 3D­printed Martian settlements and suitable clothing and furniture. Mission architecture and engineering sketches line the walls. Real hammers meant for the International Space Station are wall­mounted (固定在墙上的) beside a low­gravity table that has yet to leave and may indeed never leave Earth.

This, of course, is the great strength of approaching science through design: reality and assumptions can be given equal visual weight, drawing us into an informed conversation about what it is that we actually want from a future on Mars.

1. What is the text mainly about?

A．How to move to Mars.

B．How to survive on Mars.

C．What preparations we made for Mars.

D．What the exhibition of Mars truly tells us.

2. What can we learn from Lisa Grossman?

A．It's impractical to live on Mars.

B．It's no good settling on Mars.

C．You have nothing to do when living on Mars.

D．You can live on Mars in a spacesuit.

3. What does the exhibition focus on?

A．The current plans for Mars.

B．The advantages of living on Mars.

C．The early ideas about Mars.

D．The history of Mars in the human mind.

4. What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．A story.	B．An opinion.
C．A fantasy.	D．A solution.

6 . “There's no place like home.” This English saying has much truth in it: the best place to be is surrounded by our treasured possessions and our loved ones and with a roof over our head. And for many young adults, it's the only affordable place to stay; somewhere where they can receive first-class service from mum and dad. But this comes at a price!

In some countries, it's quite traditional for people in their late teens and early 20s to live at home with their parents, but in other places, flying the nest to start their own independent life is very desirable. But there's been a growing trend, in the UK at least, for young people to return home to live—or not to leave home at all.

A survey by a price comparison website found that 18% of adult children in the UK said they were moving back home because of debt, compared with 8% last year. More young people had lost their jobs, and others couldn't afford their rent compared with the previous year. So, it's easy to see why they're increasingly becoming home birds.

Emma Craig from Money supermarket says “parents are trying to look after their children more. If your child comes home and you see them struggling to pay their bills, you feel more awkward asking them for rent or to contribute. It tugs (猛拉) on your heartstrings more.”

With parents buying new furniture and upgrading their Wi-Fi for the benefit of their children, it's easy for the returning children to put their feet up and make themselves at home. That's before they learn a home truth—that one day it might be their own kids who'll be checking into the hotel of mum and dad!

1. Which proverb might show the young British's living conditions?

A．A lazy youth, an awful age.	B．East or west, home is best.
C．Two heads are better than one.	D．Nothing comes wrong to a hungry man.

2. Which is the reason for the increase of home birds according to the survey?

A．The popularity of living independently.	B．Looking after their old parents.
C．The economic problem they face.	D．Their parents' offer to help them out.

3. What's Emma Craig's attitude towards home birds?

A．Understandable.

B．Worried.

C．Doubtful.

D．Uncertain.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Flying the net is becoming popular at present.

B．Returning to live with parents comes at a price.

C．It's easy for parents to receive their returning children.

D．Home birds think it quite natural to live with their parents.

7 . Thursday October 4

BIRD FEEDING BASICS 10:00 am-11:30 am

Join an environmental educator to learn about winter bird identification, types of bird feeders and the different birdseed available at Kettle Creek.

Stroudsburg-8050 Running Valley Road

(570) 629-3061

$ 6 Outdoors Registration required

Saturday October 6

CREATING NATURE BOOKS 10:00 am-Noon

Join local children’s artist and author Barrett George for a hands-on bookmaking workshop. No previous drawing experience necessary. Then enjoy a meet and greet book signing with the author. Gather at the Pocono Environmental Education Center.

Dingmans Ferry-538 Emery Road

(570) 828-2319

$ 5 Registration required

Saturday October 13

FALL FOLIAGE HIKE 10:00 am-Noon

All ages are welcome to enjoy the fall foliage (树叶) and learn a little about why fall is such a special time of the year. Wear comfortable footwear.

Lake Ariel-94 Sanctuary Road

(570) 689-9494

Free Registration required

Sunday October 14

INTRO TO ORIENTEERING 10:00 am-Noon

Orienteering (越野识途比赛) is easy to learn but difficult to master. It’s always challenging. It is often called the “thinking sport” because it involves map reading and decision-making in addition to a great workout. Learn the basics of how to use a map and compass on an orienteering course and see if you can locate all the markers.

Lake Ariel-1475 Ledgedale Road

(570) 698-6154

$ 7 Outdoors Registration required

1. Who will most probably come to the event on October 4?

A．Gardeners.

B．Businessmen.

C．Bird lovers.

D．Art collectors.

2. What can you learn from Barrett George?

A．Social manners.	B．Bookmaking skills.
C．Drawing lessons.	D．Environmental protection.

3. What is special about FALL FOLIAGE HIKE?

A．It’s free of charge.	B．It lasts the longest time.
C．It takes place in the open air.	D．It’s intended for local children.

4. Which number should you call if you are interested in sports?

A．(570) 629-3061.	B．(570) 828-2319.
C．(570) 689-9494.	D．(570) 698-6154.

8 . Though not as mainstream as devices like smartphones and fitness trackers, more companies are now experimenting with the concept of connected garments. Among the pioneers is London-based CuteCircuit, whose latest creation is the “Sound Shirt”, which allows deaf people to “feel” live music by transforming the tunes into touch sensations in real time.

The fashionable jacket achieves the incredible function using software that changes the music into data and wirelessly sends it to the 16-micro motors fitted inside the clothing’s fabric. The devices shake in sync（同步）to the intensity(强度）of the music being played, allowing the wearer to feel each instrument individually. The series of touch-like sensations across the wearer’s body enables them to feel the entire works, resulting in a fully amazing musical experience.

To ensure the shirt is comfortable, the designers chose to leave out wires and instead wove conductive textiles(传导纺织品) into the garment’s fabric. Francesca Rosella, co-founder, and chief creative officer of CuteCircuit, explains, “There are no wires inside, so we’re only using smart fabrics—we have a combination of microelectronics and very thin, flexible and conductive fabrics. All these little electronic motors are connected with these conductive fabrics so that the garment is soft and stretchable.”

CuteCircuit, which has been testing the Sound Shirt for three years, expects to make it available to the general public shortly. Priced at $3,673(3,000 pounds), the smart jacket will not be cheap. However, twin sisters Hermon and Heroda Berhane, who lost their hearing at a young age, believe the hi-tech garment is a worthwhile investment, especially for deaf people with a passion for dancing. “It’s almost like feeling the depth of the music,” says Hermon. “It just feels as though we can move along with it.” Heroda agrees, adding, “I think it could definitely change our lives.”

1. What is “sound shirt” meant for?

A．Deaf people.

B．Poor people

C．Students.

D．Musicians.

2. Which aspect of the “Sound Shirt” is mainly talked about in paragraph 2?

A．Special materials.	B．Powerful function.
C．Working principle.	D．Fashionable design.

3. How did the designers manage to keep the shirt comfortable?

A．By using wires.	B．By using smart fabrics.
C．By avoiding electronic motors.	D．By making the shirt very thin.

4. Why did the writer mention twin sisters Hermon and Heroda Berhane?

A．To persuade us to learn from them.

B．To get the public to know them better .

C．To state the smart jacket is affordable.

D．To prove the smart jacket enjoys promising future.

9 . It was America’s deadliest wildfire in at least 100 years and the most destructive in California history. The Camp Fire started at 6:33 a.m. on November 8, touched off by faulty electrical transmission lines in the town of Paradise. It burned for 17 days and consumed 153,336 acres north of Sacramento. In all, the fire caused $16.5 billion in damage, destroying nearly 19,000 buildings, leaving 50,000 homeless, and killing 85.

Shane Grammer, a creative director for Disney’s theme parks, followed the news of the fire.       When his childhood friend Shane Edwards posted pictures of his white chimney—the only part of his house to survive—Grammer felt helpless. And then he had an idea.

On December 31, Grammer spent three hours spray-painting a strikingly frightening black- and-white image of a woman on the chimney—a reminder, perhaps, of the beauty of life, or even just of life itself. Grammer posted the image on Instagram. The victims of the fire, especially, could not contain themselves. “Beautiful and unforgettable,” one said. Another posted, “You bring beauty and hope.”

Suddenly, Grammer realized that what he had thought was a purely artistic expression had morphed into something deeper, the nature of true art. “When the first picture moved so many people in this community, I knew I had to come back up,” Grammer told KRCR-TV in Redding. Over a period of three months he returned eight times, painting 17 portraits of victims on walls, pickups, and pieces of buildings. “There is hope,” he explains. “There is beauty in the ashes.”

Grammer’s work in Paradise has now become a movement. He has traveled the world painting pictures in dark places that badly needed some light: an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico; a youth ministry in San Francisco. “I want to do something powerful and create art that moves people,” he says.

1. What can we learn from paragraph 1?

A．The Camp Fire was caused by nature.

B．California has witnessed many wildfires.

C．There should be a ban on using electricity.

D．The damage of the Camp Fire was inestimable.

2. What do people think of Grammer’s first painting？

A．Disappointing.

B．Impressive.

C．Frightening.

D．Abstract.

3. What does the underlined word “morphed” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Changed.

B．Broke.

C．Divided.

D．Burst.

4. What is the significance of Grammer’s painting?

A．They are creative masterpieces.

B．They are drawn using a special technique.

C．They bring people hope out of misfortune.

D．They mainly focus on dark sides of society.

10 . One spring day, once the flowers have begun to open, a bee will hover and zip through your yard and dive-bomb your picnic table. While you’re thinking about avoiding an attack, that bee is focused on something else entirely: me.

A honeybee has about six weeks to live. Today, like most days, her task is to fly as many as three miles from home, stick her long, straw-like tongue into a hundred or so flowers. When the bee has had her fill, she’ll fly home. There the bee will deposit what she has got into the mouth of one of her co-workers, who will relay it to another, and so on for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is ready to be placed into the comb. Then she and her 50,000 or so mates will hover in the dark all night every night, flapping their wings to create hot, breezy conditions to remove the water from the mixture. Several sunrises later, they will seal me off in a golden cell of beeswax. In her lifetime, our bee may visit 4,000 flowers, and yet will produce only one-twelfth of a tea spoon of me.

The average American consumes nearly a pound and a half of me every year, in tea, on toast, and beyond. If I do say so myself, I am a timeless treasure. Literally—I never go bad.

Unfortunately, my good health is not guaranteed. The problem lies in the growth of industrial agriculture and the use of pest control chemicals, as well as changes in weather patterns, all of which reduce the number of flowers bees have to visit. I’d appreciate your letting your own garden grow just a little wild. My future depends on all of us protecting nature’s wild flowers, thus helping the bees, who give so much—to you, to me—without ever asking for anything in return.

1. What does “me” in the passage refer to?

A．The flower.

B．The bee.

C．Garden

D．Honey.

2. What does paragraph 2 want to stress?

A．Bees’ special talent.	B．Bees’ hard work.
C．Bees’ living environment.	D．Bees’ social behavior.

3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．A bee will surely attack picnickers

B．A bee will generally live a long life.

C．American consumers can’t go without “me”.

D．The drying process of “me” can take a few nights.

4. What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To appeal for help for honeybees.	B．To talk about the history of a treasure.
C．To put forward techniques for gardeners.	D．To argue against the control of chemicals.