1 . Sorry to say, our brains naturally start slowing down at the cruelly young age of 30. It used to be thought that this couldn’t be helped, but people of any age could train their brains to be faster and, in effect, younger. Your brain is a learning machine. Given the right tools, we can train our brains to act like they did when we were younger. All that’s required is dedicated (专注的) practice: exercises for the mind.
A scientist has developed a computer—based training schedule to speed up how the brain processes information, Brain HQ. Since much of the data we receive comes through speech, the Brain Fitness Program works with language and hearing to improve both speed and accuracy. Over the course of your training, the program starts asking you to distinguish sounds (between “dog” and “bog”, for instance) at an increasingly faster rate. It’s a bit like a tennis instructor, shooting balls at you faster and faster over the course of the summer to keep you challenged. Though you may have started out slow, a month later you’re pretty quick.
The biggest finding in brain research in the last ten years is that the brain at any age is highly adaptable. If you ask your brain to learn it will learn. And it may speed up in the process. To keep your brain young, you can do one of a million new activities that challenge and excite you: playing Ping-Pong or contract bridge, doing puzzles, learning new language or a dance, taking piano lessons, building model airplane mastering gardening technique, discovering the secrets of beer-making and, sure, relearning advanced mathematics. Anything that closely engages your focus and is strongly rewarding will kick your brain into learning mode and will definitely improve it.
1. Why did the author call our brain a learning machine?| A．It works well at any age. |
| B．It can be trained to be sharp. |
| C．It helps you acquire knowledge. |
| D．It can be used to store information. |
| A．Speak a language at a high speed. |
| B．Tell apart words that sound similar. |
| C．List words that have the same meanings. |
| D．Receive tennis balls thrown by an instructor. |
| A．Faster and faster. | B．Hard and difficult. |
| C．Tired but delighted. | D．Easy but beneficial. |
| A．The function of the brain. | B．Fitness program arrangement. |
| C．Activities used to train the brain. | D．Pleasure from different activities. |
2 . Welcome to Vietnam!
Day 1: Endangered Primates and Stunning Landscape Of Ninh Binh
After breakfast take the electric car to the Endangered Primates Rescue Centre. Here, they focus on the conservation of the gibbons (长臂猿) and langur (叶猴). You will have chance to see how the staff feed them in captivity and semi-wild areas of primary forest. Then you’ll see how their behavior is studied in semi-wild conditions and how they are prepared for full release into the wild.
Day 2: Cruising Halong Bay
A delicious lunch will be served as you slowly sail through this Halong Bay. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994. Mid-afternoon head to the Vung Vieng fishing village by local rowing boats to explore the interesting daily lives of its inhabitants. In the evening you will experience a Vietnamese cooking meal served in the main dining room. Evenings are beautiful on Halong Bay. Relax on the top deck and take in the transformation of the bay.
Day 3: Discover Hue the Authentic Way
Today, you will get a taste of what real life is like in Hue. One of the city’s most famous cooking experiences is the Royal Dinner. You will have a unique experience where you will have a private audience with descendant (后裔) of the last royal family of Vietnam, in her own home. Spend time tasting the real dishes that were once served to royalty.
Day 4: Walk to the Hang Tien Cave
Hang Tien is actually two huge caves, one of which is over 3km long. The wonder lies in unusual rock formations, such as breathtaking rock formations that look like terraced rice fields, giving the caves an otherworldly feel. On your way back, take a dip in the natural jungle swimming pool and have a coffee, a quick swim, before making your return journey.
1. What are tourists scheduled to do on their first day?| A．Tour a bay by boat. |
| B．Watch endangered animals. |
| C．Climb breathtaking rock formations. |
| D．Visit a UNESCO World Heritage site. |
| A．Tasting local foods. |
| B．Exploring huge caves. |
| C．Visiting a small fishing village. |
| D．Enjoying water-related activities. |
| A．Day 1. | B．Day 2. | C．Day 3. | D．Day 4. |
3 . Tang Dynasty poets sang for about three centuries in different tones. There were many famous poets living in the Tang period, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi and Li Shangyin. The Poems of Tang Dynasty edited in the Qing Dynasty is a collection of more than 28,900 poems that were written by over 2,200 poets. But it didn't cover all the poems of the Tang Dynasty.
During the Tang Dynasty, poems were recited when lovers walked under the moonlight. Poems were also recited when soldiers fought on the battlefield. People recited them in the open air or at temple fairs.
Tang Dynasty poets wrote poems to win fame and also to develop their temperament (性情). They poured out deep feelings for their friends and criticized injustice in the world through poems.
In the Tang Dynasty scholars had to be poets. Their readers were not only people of high social position but also common people. Poets recited poems, women singers sang poems and other ranks of people, including old women and children, read Tang poems. This atmosphere affected foreigners who visited the country at that time. As a result, Tang poetry was introduced to some adjacent countries, like Japan and Vietnam.
Tang poetry is a most brilliant page in the history of ancient Chinese literature. It's a miracle (奇迹) in the cultural history of mankind. The Tang Dynasty was a powerful empire with a vast territory. It inherited (继承) Chinese civilization that went back to ancient times, was combined with the best of other cultures and adopted the benefits of other nations in the world. Tang poetry wasn't the only spiritual wealth created by the Tang Dynasty people. Philosophy and religion, handwriting and painting, and music and dance all gained new peaks of development. Tang poetry, however, was the jewel in the crown and its greatest achievement.
1. We can conclude from the passage that ________.| A．only people in the Tang Dynasty created poems |
| B．in total there were four famous poets in the Tang Dynasty |
| C．the Tang Dynasty probably existed for about three centuries |
| D．in the Tang Dynasty most common people were poets |
| A．Why the poets created poems. |
| B．Some other kinds of spiritual wealth in the Tang Dynasty. |
| C．The significance and influence of the Tang Dynasty. |
| D．The editors of The Poems of Tang Dynasty. |
| A．strong | B．neighbouring | C．poor | D．rich |
| A．The Great Tang Dynasty |
| B．Tang Dynasty Poetry |
| C．Famous Poets in the Tang Dynasty |
| D．The Development of the Tang Dynasty |
4 . As a CEO of a startup, you get used to hearing"no".You also face an endless continuation of what feels like shocking crises, like nearly running out of cash, losing a key customer,discovering a widespread product failure, or having to shut down operations because of a global pandemic. But it turns out that these disasters can actually be good for you. In fact,I'm not sure whether you can innovate without them. Here's what all our crises have taught me.
It's good to be uncomfortable. We once had a key customer request-a battery capability that we'd never developed before. The customer made it clear that if we couldn't develop this capability, they'd be less confident in our product. We wrestled with the risks, not least of which was the potential embarrassment if we couldn't meet the customer's needs. We knew we'd face many technical problems if we tried to go into operation. Yet we decided to try to satisfy the customer, even if it wasn't obvious at first how we could get it done. A few weeks later we delivered something beyond what the customer had asked for, and we've since grown this capability into a powerful sales tool and potential revenue stream-not to mention it strengthened our relationship with the customer.
Short-term failure is good. A few years ago, our company began to expand our manufacturing output in response to a customer's need. In the process we discovered something unusual we hadn't seen during smaller-scale production. Our team dived into failure analysis, and we finally put the problem down to a single material within the battery. We'd used this material for years, but now we needed a replacement. Once we made that change,the battery quality and reliability greatly improved.
It's okay to show weakness. One of my hardest days as CEO was the day when I found out I was pregnant.We were in the middle of raising a funding round, and I had been traveling nonstop for a year. Until that day, I had assumed that my role as CEO was to display strength and confidence. With the mounting pressure I was harder on myself than I needed to be, and now I had the added stress of being pregnant.I decided to acknowledge to my team that I was breaking down. They united together and found ways to operate more smoothly and communicate more effectively, supporting me to focus my time on most pressing goals. This gave me not only the space to plan for the company’s future,but also to prepare for my own new normal: leading while becoming a first-time mother.
1. What does the underlined word "them" in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Frequent rejections. |
| B．Financial crises. |
| C．Global pandemics. |
| D．Endless disasters. |
| A．Customers' requests should be carefully evaluated. |
| B．Meeting challenges can bring about extra benefits. |
| C．The company should keep launching new products. |
| D．Innovation is the only way to win fierce competition. |
| A．By drawing a comparison. |
| B．By giving an example. |
| C．By challenging assumptions. |
| D．By doing an experiment. |
| A．Learn to let go |
| B．Make it as a CEO |
| C．Think deep sometimes |
| D．Make friends with crises |
5 . I had just won a bidding for a 1950s cookie tin full of memories at an estate sale. Delighted at my victory, I took the box and gave it a shake. The contents rattled. Inside were hundreds of buttons, pins, and other items, all glittering in the sunlight. As a girl, I'd always enjoyed digging through my mom's box, just as my daughters enjoyed looking through mine.
My eye caught the movement of a swing on the front porch of the house. An old woman watched the happenings in her yard. As I carried my purchases to my car, I stopped to chat with her. She told me she was selling almost all her possessions because she was moving to a nursing home.
Her eyes fell to the button box, and when she looked up, they were glistening with tears. I took the lid off the tin, and her rough hands lifted a handful of buttons and then slowly dropped them back into the container. Her fist closed around a delicate pearl button, now yellow with age. "It was from my first husband's uniform," she said. "It's one of the few things that remind me of him when he didn't return home alive." They had been married seven months before he left to serve his country in World War II.
As we sifted through the box together, we found hairpins ranging from black to brown to shades of gray and even white; a key to a music box that played a special love song; garter clips, wooden nickels, ruby buttons; all took her further down memory lane. I learned about her wedding, the birth of her children, and much more of the life she'd led for 89 years.
After our chat, I set the woman's box of memories down on the swing and slid my hands into hers. I knew we would talk again, when I went to visit her at her new home. And I knew that when l reached my own home, my heart would pull me to my sewing room, where I would rediscover my own lifetime of memories in my own button box.
1. How did the author feel when she got the tin?| A．Curious. | B．Regretful. |
| C．Joyful. | D．Embarrassed. |
| A．She was to sell her house and move to a new one. |
| B．She had to sell many things to make ends meet. |
| C．She didn't marry again after her husband died. |
| D．She was the former owner of the cookie tin. |
| A．Examined. | B．Picked. |
| C．Carried. | D．Decorated. |
| A．Antiques that add history to a place. |
| B．Memories of unpleasant experiences. |
| C．Objects that bring moments to mind. |
| D．Expressions of kindness from strangers. |
6 . In 1985,a little Italian plumber(水管工）became the face of video games,and changed the way we play them. "Super Mario Bros" saw the main characters in the game, Mario and Luigi, jump around the Mushroom Kingdom, collect coins and rush to save a princess from a bad turtle. The content was different from the simple gameplay of Snake or Pac-Man,where the aim was to eat and stay alive.
Mario originated as a carpenter in the 1981 game "Donkey Kong",which was advanced for its time. with retro(复旧的）sound effects as Mario moved on challenging platforms. "At the time,video games were usually created by computer engineers, as opposed to today's artists,"said Shigeru Miyamoto,game designer and producer of the "Super Mario Bros" and "Donkey Kong". As to why he picked a 26-year-old Italian-American plumber from New York as the main character,Miyamoto said,"We wanted him to be someone who might live near you, and not a superhero."
The game's popularity really took off in 1985 when "Super Mario Bros" was released."People had never seen a game like Super Mario Bros."said Frank Cifaldi,co-director of the Video Game History Foundation,"Super Mario Bros,despite having the same limitations as its peers(同辈），manages to convey a hard and long adventure in a large world."Super Mario Bros changed the way we play video games-from merely aiming for a high score to playing a game to experience an adventure and see it through to its ending, he said.
＂For all the critics that may say video games are full of violence and killings, the moustached Mario remains the most globally identifiable face of the video game industry," added Miyamoto.
1. Why did Miyamoto pick a plumber as the main character?| A．He regarded plumbers as superheroes. |
| B．He found it challenging to design a superhero. |
| C．He wanted his game players to live close to each other. |
| D．He wanted to design an average person like most of the players. |
| A．By employing artists to create it. |
| B．By using retro sound effects in games. |
| C．By enabling players to experience an adventure. |
| D．By making eating and staying alive its final goal. |
| A．it was different from the games before |
| B．it had fewer limitations than other games |
| C．it was simple and less challenging to play |
| D．it satisfied players' desire for a high score. |
| A．The Spirits of Super Marnio Bros |
| B．"Super Mario Bros" VS."Donkey Kong" |
| C．Key Factors for Super Mario Bros to be Released |
| D．A Now Chapter in Video Game-Super Mano Bros |
7 . Best Gifts to Children This Season
Marble (弹珠游戏) Circuit
With brightly colored pieces and a seemingly simple layout, Marble Circuit doesn’t present as a tough logic game—but don’t underestimate (低估) its difficulty. After drawing a challenge card, players must arrange pieces and fill in holes on the game board to allow the right number of marbles to run through the channels and into each box at the bottom of the board. Because it requires more patience and abstract, special thinking skills than some other kinds of logic puzzles, Marble Circuit is recommended for the over-8 crowd. (Mind Ware, $ 24. 95)
Botzees
Kids can follow directions or use their imaginations to build a robot out of the 130 blocks, and then command it to dance, sing, drum and light up with the companion app on a smart device (设备) or tablet. Though the robot-building appealed to younger testers, kids aged 5 and up enjoyed the toy’s advanced features (特色). (Pai Technology, $ 99. 99)
How to Code a Rollercoaster
Just as coding can be used to tell stories, this is a story about coding. This picture book does a good job of introducing and explaining what code is, how computers understand it, and introducing common coding terms—variables, loops, if/then. The volume is part of the popular “Girls Who Code” series, but intended for the younger reader. (Penguin Random House, $ 17. 99)
Code Like a Girl
Miriam Peskowitz features women in the computer science field in this how-to book. It shows how people are working to make tech a more inclusive place to code. Written with a cookbook-like feel, the book provides encouraging, step-by-step tips and tricks for learning the Python computer language, and more. (Penguin Random House, $ 21. 99)
1. What can we know about the gifts?| A．Botzees enables its players to build a robot as they want. |
| B．Marble Circuit is an easy logic game for those 7-year-olds. |
| C．How to Code a Rollercoaster is written by a famous writer. |
| D．Code Like a Girl is about female scientists’ achievements. |
| A．Botzees. | B．How to Code a Rollercoaster. |
| C．Code Like a Girl. | D．Marble Circuit. |
| A．They are for teenagers. |
| B．They are related to technology. |
| C．They have the picture introductions. |
| D．They can be bought on Penguin Random House. |
8 . A British friend told me he couldn’t understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds（嗑瓜子）as a snack so much. “I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth, I believe that’s from cracking the seeds,” he said.
I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware. I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn’t like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.
When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every household was making.
I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.
I don’t think it’s right to criticize one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.
It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it’s。delicacy（美味佳肴）, and it’s connected to their certain culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.
1. Why can the British friend not understand when he found Chinese love eating sunflower seeds?| A．Because the seeds are too hard to crack. |
| B．Because he thinks they art harmful to teeth. |
| C．Because he doesn’t think the seeds are good. |
| D．Because he doesn’t thinks the seeds are worth eating. |
| A．The families get together for it. | B．Eating sunflower seeds is related to it. |
| C．The traditions of celebrating it disappear. | D．Children can eat delicious food on that day. |
| A．indifferent | B．critical | C．understandable | D．doubtful |
| A．It is good to form healthy eating habits. |
| B．Eating habits come from a certain culture. |
| C．Changing your eating habits will change your life. |
| D．One kind of food doesn’t necessarily suit everyone. |
9 . On my first day of high school，I asked an eleventh-grader where my class was.And he told me it was “on the fourth floor，next to the pool.” I found out five minutes later that we don’t even have a fourth floor and there’s no pool either！Besides that，I didn’t have any trouble with the older kid.
I think the biggest difference between middle and high school is the homework load (工作量) and size of the school.I went from maybe fifteen minutes of homework a night to several hours，so I had to learn how to make full use of time！Our class size is around 550，but joining in clubs，sports，music，and other activities at school makes it easier to get to know people in every grade.
The best advice I can give about the years you spend in high school is to learn things for yourself，not just to get a good grade.There have been so many tests that I’ve prepared for the night before.I have gotten an A，and not remembered anything later.I’ve changed that this year，and I enjoy school so much more.Don’t take easy classes just to have a simple year.If you have a choice between chemistry and sports，the first will prove to be a lot more useful!
While drinking and smoking might be present in some middle schools，they’re also around in high schools.I have a lot of friends who promised they’d never drink or smoke，but are now partying every weekend.If you have “fun” and spend your nights wasted instead of studying，you will regret it when you’re applying for (申请) college.The“friends” who say you’re a loser for not partying are really not your friends at all.It’s hard to see your closest friends grow apart and go in different directions，but don’t follow their footsteps.Create your own path in life and make your own decisions.
1. What does the author think of high school?| A．It requires hard work. |
| B．There are very few activities. |
| C．It’s hard to meet new people there. |
| D．There isn’t enough time for homework. |
| A．give up sports |
| B．choose useful classes |
| C．try their best to get good grades |
| D．get ready for tests the night before |
| A．about the trouble caused by drinking and smoking |
| B．about the importance of making friends |
| C．not to go to any party in high school |
| D．not to lose ourselves in high school |
10 . A while back I caught a news report on something called couchsurfing and the net work of trusting souls who make this phenomenon possible. They offer to put up(留宿) travelers free of charge and help them on their ways. At first, it sounded unbelievable. I mean, inviting strangers into one's home for one or two nights? Give me a break.
However, I was intrigued. I decided to investigate(调查). The only way to truly learn about this phenomenon was to dive in. So I planned a trip to Finland, a country I' ve always wanted to explore. I would couchsurf at every stop there.
If ever any anxiety existed when stepping into the unknown, it disappeared when my first host met me at the train station. Ari looked like my idea of a typical Finn: tall and blue-eyed. Finns were also supposed to be famously reserved((寡言少语的). Ari was anything but. He was a live wire, giving me an enthusiastic welcome and hiking with me to his apartment, where he showed me the sleeping sofa, served me tea and engaged me in warm conversations. He also handed me a key to come and go as I pleased.
If this was what couchsurfing was all about-trust and friendship- then I had gotten off to a good start. As I boarded my next train to continue my journey I began to think about this couchsurfing idea. What urged these people to open their homes to strangers? I concluded that there was a desire to lend a hand to like-minded folks who might enrich their own lives.
Seven cities in 14 days. Seven hosts. Seven new friends. If couchsurfing taught me anything, it's this: Most people are good and generous. Where will couchsurfing take me next? Who knows? But I can't wait to find out.
1. What does the underlined word in the second paragraph mean?| A．Relaxed | B．Disgusted |
| C．Interested | D．Embarrassed |
| A．He was reserved like most Finns | B．He talked less but he was friendly. |
| C．He treated the author as a friend | D．He saw off the author at the train station |
| A．To take an adventure with strangers |
| B．To exchange houses for a short time. |
| C．To learn more about others' family lives. |
| D．To enrich their own lives by helping others. |
| A．Travel on Trust and Couches | B．A Free Travel in Finland |
| C．Experiences in Strangers' Houses. | D．A Plan for Couchsurfing |
