1 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar(农历）divides the year into 24 solar terms(节气）．Start of Winter, the 19th solar term of the year,begins this year on Nov 7 and ends on Nov 21.
Start of Winter is the first solar term of winter,which means winter is coming and crops harvested in autumn should he stored up.
In ancient times, the Start of Winter was regarded as the beginning of winter, however,due to geographical factors, the actual winter time varies from place to place.
In fact,the Start of Winter is not the beginning of winter in terms of meteorology(气象学）。The weather every year is different, so the beginning of winter could be quite different.And as China is very large, it starts at different times in different areas.
The beginnings of the four seasons were important festivals in ancient times. Before the Start of Winter,the ancient emperor would take a shower and have no more meat.On that day,the emperor would lead his officials to the countryside and"welcome the winter".
People eat dumplings on the beginning of winter. Legend has it that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty,Zhang Zhongjing invented "Jiao Ear"(娇耳）to treat typhoid(伤寒） patients with ear frostbite(冻疮）.He cooked mutton,hot peppers and herbs to drive out the cold and warm up the body.He put these materials into a dough skin and made them into an ear shape.Since then,people have learned to make the food which became known as "dumpling" or jiaozi. Today there is still a saying that goes "Eat dumplings on Start of Winter Day, or your ears will be frostbitten.”
1. Which of the following is right about Start of Winter?| A．It is one of the solar terns in Chinese calendar. |
| B．People begin to harvest crops on this day. |
| C．Winter begins on November 7 this year. |
| D．It begins in different months in different places. |
| A．the Start of Winter |
| B．the change of weather |
| C．the important festival |
| D．the beginning of winter |
| A．Importance of Start of Winter. |
| B．Customs of Start of Winter. |
| C．Origin(起源）of Start of Winter. |
| D．Food eaten on Start of Winter. |
| A．Because dumplings can drive away typhoid. |
| B．Because they wish for good luck for themselves. |
| C．Because eating dumplings can warm up their ears. |
| D．Because they want to prevent the coming of winter. |
2 . A computer program has been used to predict how people are feeling when they type.
In a study participants were asked to type a particular phrase and the program then estimated if they were happy, sad and so on. Surprisingly it was correct 70 per cent of the time, and the findings could lead to smarter artificial intelligence in the future.
The study published in the journal Behavior and Information Technology was carried out by researchers at the Islamic University of Technology in Bangladesh, reports Live Science.
In the research 25 people ranging from 15 to 40 years old were asked to retype two paragraphs from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll. They also had to enter their emotional state every 30 minutes while doing their regular activities on the computer. This allowed the program an opportunity to understand how their emotions changed their typing style.
Moods tested were joy, fear, anger, sadness, hate, and shame. The result was that the program could identify(识别) a person' s mood correctly 70 per cent of the time. It was most successful in identifying joyfulness with an 87 per cent success ratio, while sadness was the least successful at 60 per cent. The researchers found that the participants were less likely to input (输入) data when they were in a bad mood, which may explain the inexactness of the second result.
However, the findings could have great importance for artificial intelligence, and it may allow computers to get along with us in a friendlier manner, “If we could build any system that is intelligent enough to communicate with humans that is, it can identify user emotions and change its behavior accordingly then using machines could be more effective and friendly.” the researchers wrote.
1. Who conducted the study?| A．Lewis Carroll. | B．Islamic University of Technology. |
| C．Live Science. | D．Behavior and Information Technology. |
| A．Input words and emotional state. | B．Change their typing styles. |
| C．Change their feelings frequently. | D．Show their natural feelings. |
| A．People usually hide their unhappy feelings. |
| B．The program cannot recognize sadness clearly. |
| C．The program cannot calculate the data correctly. |
| D．It's more difficult to collect data when people are sad. |
| A．It helps people develop smarter machines. |
| B．It helps people speed up their typing speed. |
| C．It will inspire similar studies on people's mood. |
| D．It clearly explains the relationship between mood and typing. |
3 . People need to relax and enjoy themselves. One way they can have a good time is to watch a baseball game or another sports event.Even thousands of years ago，groups of people gathered to watch skilled athletes(运动员)．
Over 2，000 years ago in Greece，certain days in the year were festival days. These were holidays when people stopped work and enjoyed themselves. They liked to watch athletes take part in races and other games of skill.
The most important festival was held every four years at the town of Olympia. It was held in honour of the Greek god Zeus. For five days，athletes from all parts of the Greek world took part in the Olympic Games. At the Olympic Games，people could watch them box，run，jump and so on. There was a relay race between two teams of men in which a lighted torch(火炬) was passed from runner to runner. The Olympic Games were thought to be so important that cities which were at war with one another had to stop fighting. People were allowed to travel to the games freely. Thousands of people came to Olympia from cities in Greece and from its colonies(殖民地) in Africa，Asia and Italy. They met as friends to cheer their favourite athletes and to enjoy themselves.
1. What happened in Greece over 2，000 years ago?| A．People stopped work and enjoyed themselves. |
| B．The cities there were often against one another. |
| C．People watched baseball games. |
| D．People didn't go to any games at all. |
| A．They fought. |
| B．They just talked to friends. |
| C．They cheered for good athletes. |
| D．They tried to find friends. |
| A．were weak |
| B．were strong |
| C．couldn't go to other cities freely |
| D．could see each other |
| A．Greece at War | B．Together for the Games |
| C．Stop Fighting | D．Sport |
4 . Artemis is NASA’s new lunar exploration program. Through the Artemis program, NASA will use new technology to study the Moon in new and better ways, and prepare for human missions to Mars.
NASA’s new rocket will carry the Orion spacecraft to lunar orbit. Then, astronauts will dock (对接) Orion at a small spaceship called the Gateway, from which the crew will take trips to the lunar surface in a new human landing system, and then return to the Gateway. The crew will return to the Earth aboard Orion.
NASA will test the rocket and spacecraft in flight, then send a crew for a test flight:
Artemis 1 will be a test flight of the SLS rocket with the Orion spacecraft with no crew.
Artemis 2 will fly SLS and Orion with a crew past the Moon, then circle it and return to the Earth. This trip will be the farthest any human has gone into space.
Artemis 3 will send a crew with the first woman and the next man to land on the Moon by 2024. The Artemis 3 crew will visit the Moon’s South Pole. No one has ever been there.
At the Moon, astronauts will:
Search for the Moon’s water and use it.
Learn how to live and work on the surface of another celestial body (天体) where astronauts are just three days from home.
Test the technologies we need before sending astronauts on missions to Mars, which can take up-to three years round trip.
The Moon is a good place to learn new science. NASA will learn more about the Moon, the Earth and even the Sun. The Moon is a “test bed” for Mars. The Moon is a place to show that astronauts will one day be able to work away from the Earth on Mars for long periods of time.
1. What is the aim of the Artemis program?| A．To help astronauts return to the Earth. | B．To be ready for the landing on Mars. |
| C．To study the Mars using new science. | D．To test the Moon landing spacecraft, Orion. |
| A．Going to the Moon’s South Pole. | B．Making the farthest trip into space. |
| C．Sending the first man to the Moon. | D．Flying to the Moon with three persons. |
| A．Send astronauts to Mars. | B．Run a three-year-long test. |
| C．Find and make use of water. | D．Learn to live not far from home. |
| A．It is possible to live on another planet now. |
| B．The crew will reach the lunar surface from the Orion. |
| C．NASA has sent the first woman astronaut to the Moon. |
| D．The Artemis program is of great help to Mars exploring. |
5 . When you’re sitting in class or behind your desk waiting for the clock to strike a time when you can go home, it is natural that your mind should wander (走神) a bit. It is common for your mind to wander to a vacation and even travel around the world. What if there is a way that you can travel around the world without having to pay any money?
A person that managed to make it around the world without spending much was Shantanu Starick. How did he trade off his service? Starick realized that as a photographer he had a service that people would usually be willing to pay money for, but he would instead offer his photography service to anyone who could provide him with food, shelter (住处) and transportation. Starick has been traveling for a surprising 30 months and has visited countries ranging from the United States to Ecuador.
In English-speaking countries, trading off services and communicating aren’t difficult for Starick. However, in farther areas where there isn’t an English- speaking person in sight it can be quite difficult. More than anything, the locals appreciate (欣赏) the effort behind trying to speak their language, even if you don’t exactly sound like a native speaker.
You can do it too!
Honestly, with a bit of confidence, drive and a skill you can trade, you’ll be able to do exactly the same as Starick.
Start thinking about what you can do to get around the world without paying money. With our social networks and the connectivity our world has, you can easily connect with and market yourself to people across the world without any effort.
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic. |
| B．To describe students in class. |
| C．To give an example for the text. |
| D．To show people’s state of mind. |
| A．Join. | B．Exchange. |
| C．Stop. | D．Improve. |
| A．The skills. |
| B．The confidence to succeed. |
| C．The bravery to travel. |
| D．The effort to speak the local language. |
| A．His job is only traveling around the world. |
| B．He is too poor to afford the travels. |
| C．He has a skill to travel without paying much money. |
| D．He doesn’t hear of other languages except English. |
6 . When Jenny Benson was eight, her mother took her to soccer practice for the first time.
“She’s never played soccer before,” Mrs Benson told the coach.“I’m not sure how she’ll do.”
Jenny ran onto the field and joined the other players. Over the next hour, Mrs Benson and the coach watched as Jenny outran many of the more experienced players.
“I knew then that soccer would be Jenny’s sport.” Mrs Benson recalls. And she was right.
It may have helped that Jenny had spent much of her time trying to keep up with her three brothers.“I wanted to be just like them,” Jenny says.“My family has inspired me for my entire life.”
Jenny has retired from the United States women’s national soccer team. She started out on her professional career in the Philadelphia Charge, a team in the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA)．Later on, she joined FC Energy Voronezh, and then New Jersey Wildcats.
When the WUSA was being formed, league officials watched many college soccer games, looking for players good enough to join the league. They were very interested in Jenny, who played for the University of Nebraska.
“Throughout that college season, I knew I was being watched,” Jenny says, “I knew I couldn’t be perfect, so I just tried to be very consistent and have fun.”
As a professional, Jenny relied on her focused but funloving attitude. “In a game, I try never to put too much pressure on myself. The more I concentrate on having fun, the better I play.” She says. “I have good and bad days, just like everyone else, but I know the sun will always come up after a bad day. So all I have to do is to adjust myself, either to the change of my inner feelings or to the change of circumstances.That helps me get through anything.”
1. What can we learn from Jenny’s first soccer practice?| A．She was not sure how to play soccer. |
| B．She was gifted in playing soccer. |
| C．She was instructed by the soccer coach. |
| D．She was more experienced than other players. |
| A．New Jersey Wildcats. |
| B．FC Energy Voronezh. |
| C．The University of Nebraska. |
| D．The Philadelphia Charge. |
| A．Talented but impatient. |
| B．Confident and considerate. |
| C．Concentrated and adaptable. |
| D．Absorbed but selfcentered. |
| A．How Jenny developed her soccer career. |
| B．Why Jenny retired from the national team. |
| C．How Jenny’s brothers influenced her career. |
| D．What made Jenny a good soccer player. |
7 . Get ready to fill your days full of fun and adventure. West Dorset, an area of outstanding natural beauty, is always a place to go and there is always something going on. The following are some of the star attractions.
● Mapperton House & Gardens
Impressive valley gardens surrounded by wooded landscape.
Gardens open: Daily 11 am -5 pm except Fridays, March to October included.
Booking through Tel: (0103)959203 or www.mapperton.com
● Bridport Museum
Local history museum attracts every history lovers. We also have a year-round Local History Centre nearby where you can complete local and family history research.
Open: Monday-Saturday, April to October included.
Booking through Tel: (0103) 959711 or www.bridportmuseum.com
● Furlelgh Estate Wine Tours
Vineyard and winery, producers of the UK’s most outstanding wine. Come and see how the 2019 Winemaker of the Year makes wine.
Open for sales: 11 am-4 pm Fridays and Saturdays, tours at 2 pm.
Booking through Tel: (0103) 906323 or wwwjurleiehestate.uk
● Old Crown Court and Cells
Experience two hundred years of shocking crime and punishment. Tours of court room and cells on selected afternoons mid July to end August.
Open: Tuesday-Sunday, March to September included.
Booking through www.visitdorset.com
For all the latest information about attractions including opening times, reasonable prices and special offers，please go to www.visitdorset.com
1. Where can you learn about wine making?| A．At Mapperton House & Gardens. | B．At Bridport Museum. |
| C．At Furleigh Estate. | D．At Old Crown Court and Cells. |
| A．www.mapperton.com | B．www.bridportmuseum.com |
| C．www.furleighestate.uk | D．www.visitdorset.com |
| A．Monday. | B．Tuesday. |
| C．Friday. | D．Saturday. |
8 . People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are too many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the differences are unimportant as people learn their mother tongue naturally, so the question of how hard a language is to learn only makes more sense when learning a second language.
A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first language can affect learning a second language. The greater the differences between the second language and our first, the harder it will be for most people to learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, learning writing will be less difficult than for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet.
Some people seem to learn languages easily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers and the circumstances in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner's motivation for learning. If people learn a language because they need to use it professionally, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in their day to day life.
Obviously , British diplomats and other embassy staff have found that the second hardest language is Japanese, which will probably come as no surprise to many, but the language that they have found to be the most problematic is Hungarian, which uses a similar alphabet to English but has 35 cases (forms of a nouns according to whether it is subject, object, genitive, etc). This does not mean that Hungarian is the hardest language to learn for everyone, but it causes British diplomatic personnel, who are generally used to learning languages, the most difficulty. However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian language has 48 cases, so it might cause more difficulty if British diplomats had to learn it.
Different cultures and individuals from those cultures will find different languages more difficult. Therefore, it is impossible to say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．The question of how hard a language is to learn is only applicable to first language acquisition |
| B．The question of how hard a language is to learn is only applicable to second language acquisition |
| C．The question of how hard a language is to learn is applicable to both first and second language acquisition. |
| D．There are too many languages in the world so it’s difficult to say which one is the most difficult to learn. |
| A．Chinese , because Portuguese use Chinese characters in their own language . |
| B．Japanese , because it is similar to their own language. |
| C．Spanish , because it also uses Roman alphabet . |
| D．Any one but Chinese, because its pronunciation is very difficult. |
| A．A particular situation or environment. |
| B．The degree of education that somebody has obtained |
| C．Teachers’ encouragement. |
| D．Professional training. |
| A．Not Hungarian’s writing system but its grammatical complexity causes problems for native British speakers. |
| B．Tabassaran is the hardest language to learn in the world for native European speakers. |
| C．Many British diplomats learn Tabassaran. |
| D．Learning a different writing system is easy. |
9 . Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons—for example, economic (经济的) reasons—why they should be preserved. So, let us assume that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should we do then if a new building is needed?
In my view, new architectural styles can exist perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own home town of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate (影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area.
It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt (破坏) the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative(保守的)and do not like change.
Although we have to respect people’s feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward . If we always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves. Thus, I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different , even though that might be the more risky choice.
1. What does the author say about historical buildings in the first paragraph?| A．Some of them are not attractive. |
| B．Most of them ate too expensive to preserve. |
| C．They are more pleasing than modern buildings. |
| D．They have nothing to do with the historic feel of an area. |
| A．We should reproduce the same old buildings. |
| B．Buildings should not dominate their surroundings. |
| C．Some old buildings have spoilt the area they are in. |
| D．No one understands why people speak against new buildings. |
| A．destroy old buildings |
| B．put things in a different place |
| C．respect people’s feelings for historical buildings |
| D．choose new architectural styles |
| A．To explain why people dislike change. |
| B．To argue that modern buildings can be built in historic areas. |
| C．To warn that we could end up living in caves. |
| D．To admit how new buildings have ruined their surroundings. |
10 . Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture (文化) the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities).Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian cultures, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to "read" people from another culture as we would "read" someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions.
Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of "reading" the other person incorrectly.
1. What does the smile usually mean in America?| A．Love. | B．Politeness. |
| C．Joy. | D．Thankfulness. |
| A．show friendliness to strangers |
| B．be used to hide true feelings |
| C．be used in the wrong places |
| D．show personal habits |
| A．Learn about their relations with others. |
| B．Understand their cultural backgrounds. |
| C．Find out about their past experience. |
| D．Figure out what they will do next. |
| A．Cultural Differences |
| B．Smiles and Relationship |
| C．Facial Expressiveness |
| D．Habits and Emotions |
