1 . No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own efforts.
I learned this lesson from an experience many years ago. I took the head coaching job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.
It was a tradition for the school's old team to play against the new team at the end of spring practice. The old team had no couch, and they didn't even practice to prepare for the Game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my sadness we were beaten. I couldn't believe I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to realize that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were depending on me. I had to change my attitude about their ability and confidence.
I stared doing anything I could to help them build a little pride. Most important,I began to treat them like winners. That summer, when the other teams enjoyed their vacations. We met every day and practiced passing and kicking the football.
Six months after suffering our failure on the spring practice field. we won our first game and our second, and continue to improve .Finally, we faced the number one team in the state.I felt that it would be a victory for us even if we lost the game. But that wasn't what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest thrills of my life !
From the experience I learned a lot about how the attitude of the leader can influence the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and encouraged them. I helped them to see themselves differently, and they built themselves into winners.
Winners are made, not born.
1. Who did the author think would become the winners at first?| A．The old team. | B．Their own team. |
| C．The number one team. | D．The other team |
| A．Before their training. | B．During the spring practice. |
| C．At the start of the vacation. | D．Six months after their failure. |
| A．Interests | B．Fears | C．Excitements | D．Concerns |
| A．By building up their confidence. | B．By giving them a lecture. |
| C．By buying them a book. | D．By changing the leader. |
| A．Time is money. | B．Winners are born. |
| C．Losers are always beaten. | D．Practice makes perfect. |
2 . Smart cities promise to bring better lives, faster transport, cleaner air and lower crime, all through the intelligent use of connected technology, said experts, and after huge investment in the field, China is leading the way.
“China’s smart cities market increases about 30 percent year-on-year in 2018, and all the provinces have begun development and construction for smart cities, with more to follow,” said an expert.
“Although most cities have started a smart city project, there is no globally unified thinking on the concept and operation of smart cities,” said Franco.
Alibaba is now involved in dozens of pilot projects across China, with its open AI (人工智能) platform Tianqing for the ET City Brain system officially launched in September. Set up by its cloud computing subsidiary (子公司), the Brain looks to make the city “think” through AI and cloud computing technologies, and help make the best of public services in real time.
Since introducing the technology, Hangzhou’s traffic jam has fallen from the fifth-worst in China in 2016, all the way to 57th place this year. “Now our experiments are mostly for government use, but we truly expect our open AI platform to enter more areas and help citizens live, work and entertain better,” said Hua.
In McKinsey Global Institute recent report Smart cities: Digital solutions for a more livable future, they find cities can use smart technologies to improve some key quality life by 10 to 30 percent — numbers that translate into lives saved, fewer crime incidents, a reduced health burden, and carbon emissions.
1. What can we say about the smart city?| A．Its concept has not been accepted by people. |
| B．It can be achieved only by lots of investment. |
| C．The worldwide standard for it has been established. |
| D．Its progress in China is among the best in the world. |
| A．Traffic jam. | B．Traffic flow. |
| C．AI platform. | D．Public services. |
| A．its traffic problem has been settled |
| B．the city has become more intelligent |
| C．its public services have greatly improved |
| D．it has made achievements in smart city construction |
| A．Smart Cities are on the Way |
| B．Outline of the Future Smart Cities |
| C．Hangzhou’s Construction of Smart Cities |
| D．Alibaba Contributes More to Smart Cities |
3 . Very early on in my senior year of high school, my parents carried the flame of worrying about my future college. I was willing to go to a 2-year college before going after my bachelor, s degree. This was for two reasons—to help them save money and to make sure I major in English. However, they insisted I attend a 4-year college right off the bat.
I was pushed to start searching for colleges therefore, ones that my parents approved of and that were within the range of tuition that my mom thought was acceptable. I was also limited to the immediate areas, which only included New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, so I cannot apply for any colleges in one of my favorite places—New Hampshire.
I’ll be honest. It got a bit tense at times with several different opinions between my parents and me, and with other family members or friends voicing their thoughts to my parents.
In the end, I ended up applying for three schools—SUNY Albany, SUNY New Paltz and Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. I had been to New Paltz quite often as it was only 45 minutes away from our home. And Kutztown is located in an area our family often visited.
I was accepted by all three, and I quickly gave up Albany. I was not impressed with the city and wasn’t familiar with the area. It was between New Paltz and Kutztown. After a few weeks, I ended up settling on New Paltz because Kutztown just didn’t “feel right” for me. When I was on campus, I had a feeling that this was it.
Looking back now, I wish I had known more about the application process and had a little more freedom of choice about which college I could apply for. I probably would still have attended SUNY New Paltz.
1. What did the author’s parents think he should do?| A．Choose a college that could provide good jobs. |
| B．Go to a community college to save money. |
| C．Choose a college that he liked best. |
| D．Go to a 4-year college directly. |
| A．He didnt like the place. |
| B．His situation didn’t allow it. |
| C．The living expenses there were too high. |
| D．He wasn’t sure whether or not he would fit in there. |
| A．Embarrassed. | B．Frightened. |
| C．Satisfied. | D．Worried. |
| A．How I chose my college | B．How to apply for a college |
| C．Different choices, different future | D．The meaning of attending college |
4 . The bus stops in the Dutch city of Utrecht are as beautiful as they are practical. Now, 316 bus stops feature a green roof that adds some life to the city, while also storing rainwater, catching dust, and providing some much needed shade during the warmer months. This project is good for the honey bee population that is attracted to the plants on the roof. To keep up this successful ecosystem, municipal（市政的）workers drive around in electric cars, taking care of the mini gardens.
Another one of the biggest benefits to come out of these green stops is the improved air quality. Smoking, cars, and bacteria all contribute to polluting the air we breathe. These eco-friendly public spaces act as an air purifier for city people, though humans aren’t the only group that benefit from them.
Utrecht has also made great efforts towards moving their transportation system away from gas-guzzling（高耗油的）buses. The city replaced 10 gas-guzzling buses with electric powered buses and plans to have only CO2 inactive buses on the road by 2028.
The buses have a system that records the driver’s efficiency and rider’s comfort levels. Drivers can win prizes based on how safe and comfortable the ride was. The city is also one of the most bicycle-friendly places in the world. Roads have been redesigned for cyclists’ convenience and there is a new state-of-the-art 6,000 space bicycle parking area that is located beneath Utrecht’s central train station.
Utrecht offers prize money to keep citizens energized and motivated to live greener lives. There are even prize money for people to transform their roofs into green roofs too. Achieving the goals of an eco-friendlier city takes cooperation and Utrecht is leading the way to protect our environment.
1. What is special about the bus stops in Utrecht?| A．They are eco-friendly. |
| B．They can save a lot of energy. |
| C．They are artificially-intelligent. |
| D．They can provide electric power for buses. |
| A．Not all buses are gas-guzzling at present. |
| B．Gas-guzzling cars have been completely replaced. |
| C．Only electric private cars are allowed on the roads. |
| D．Buses have air purifiers fixed on them. |
| A．Buses are always too crowded. |
| B．Buses are often behind schedule. |
| C．Buses are too big for redesigned roads. |
| D．Buses are generally comfortable and safe. |
| A．Give up smoking. | B．Create gardens on their roofs. |
| C．Paint their roofs green. | D．Buy more honey. |
