1 . If you’d like to go sightseeing, the following World Heritage Sites may be your best choices.

Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area

Jiuzhaigou Valley, which lies in the northern part of Sichuan Province, China, reaches a height of more than 4,800 m, with a series of different forest ecosystems (生态系统). It’s particularly famous for its excellent waterfalls. About 140 kinds of birds live in the valley, as well as a number of endangered plants and animals, including the giant panda. Jiuzhaigou Valley was recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992.

Khami Ruins National Monument

The city of Khami, which developed after the capital of Great Zimbabwe had been given up in the mid-16th century, is of great archaeological (考古的) interest. The discovery of objects from Europe and China shows that Khami was a major centre for trade over a long period of time. It joined the World Heritage List in 1986.

Henderson Island

Henderson Island, which lies in the eastern South Pacific, is one of the few atolls (环礁) in the world whose ecology has been untouched by humans. It’s particularly famous for the 10 plants and 4 birds that can only be seen on the island. It was recorded in the World Heritage List in 1988.

The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the finest example of the late style of Indian architecture. It was built by the emperor Shah Jehan, who ruled India in the 17th century. It was in memory of his favourite wife who died in 1631. The architecture was given a World Heritage Status in 1983.

1. Which of the following can be found in Jiuzhaigou Valley?

A．Wonderful waterfalls.	B．Ancient objects.
C．Beautiful buildings.	D．Untouched ecology.

2. What can we learn about the Taj Mahal?

A．It doesn’t exist now.

B．It was built by an emperor’s wife.

C．It has become a place of interest.

D．It looks more beautiful than other buildings.

3. In which part of a newspaper can we read the text?

A．Industry.	B．Travel.
C．Science.	D．Business.

2 . Many college students turn to ADHD（注意缺陷障碍）medicine during the exam week, which is regarded as “smart drugs” that will help their academic（学术的）performance. The thinking is that if the drugs help students with ADHD improve their focus, they should provide the same benefit for people who don’t have the disorder.

But a new study shows that drugs can actually damage brain function of healthy students who take the drug hoping to boost their intelligence. “It’s not a smart drug which will suddenly improve their ability to understand information they read,” said Lisa Weyandt, a professor at the University of Rhode Island.

To test whether this effect is real or not, researchers organized 13 students to take part in two five-hour study sessions（一段时间）in the lab. The students took the standard 30mg ADHD drugs before one session, and a sugar pill before the other. Students on ADHD drugs did experience an increase in their blood pressure and heart rates. “The medicine was having an effect on their brain,” Weyandt said. The students also showed an improvement in their ability to focus, the researchers found.

However, students on ADHD drugs experienced no improvement in reading comprehension, reading fluency or knowledge reviews, compared to when they’d taken a sugar pill. “We read aloud stories to them and asked them to recall information from the stories, ”she said. “That didn’t improve.”

Worse, the ADHD drug actually harms students’ memory. It’s often misused because people pull all-nighters and they’re tired, and they think it’s going to keep them awake. Maybe it does, but it’s certainly not going to help their academic work. The brain is still developing until the mid to late 20s. It’s important to keep it healthy. There’s also a chance that ADHD drugs could endanger a student’s heart health.

1. Why do some college students take ADHD drugs?

A．To improve their sleeping.	B．To get higher marks.
C．To make them feel relaxed.	D．To treat brain disorder.

2. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “boost” in Paragragh 2?

A．Analyze.	B．Affect.
C．Improve.	D．Understand.

3. What effect did ADHD drugs have on the students in the experiment?

A．They became more focused.

B．Their blood pressure was reduced.

C．Their reading fluency was greatly raised.

D．They could remember better and more quickly.

4. Where can we read this text?

A．In a drug instruction.	B．In a biology textbook.
C．In a travel magazine.	D．In a news report.

3 . As an old saying in China goes, “The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days.” “Sanjiu period”, which is in Minor Cold (小寒), refers to the third nine-day period (the 19th to the 27th day) after the day of the Winter Solstice (冬至). There are many different customs related to Minor Cold in China.

Eating hotpot

During Minor Cold people should eat some hot food to benefit the body and defend against the cold weather. Winter is the best time to have hotpot and braised mutton with soy sauce. But it is important to notice that too much spicy food may cause health problems.

Eating huangyacai

In Tianjin, there is a custom to have huangyacai, a kind of Chinese cabbage, during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender, it is fit for frying, roasting and braising.

Eating glutinous rice (糯米饭)

According to tradition, the Cantonese eat glutinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved pork, sausages and peanuts and mix them into the rice.

Eating vegetable rice

In ancient times, people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously, but as time went by, the celebration of Minor Cold gradually disappeared. However, the custom of eating vegetable rice is still followed today. The rice is steamed and is incredibly delicious. Among the ingredients (原料), aijiaohuang (a kind of green vegetable), sausages and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.

1. What do we know about Minor Cold?

A．It lasts twenty-seven days.

B．The Sanjiu period is in this period.

C．It refers to the Winter Solstice.

D．It marks the first day of winter.

2. How do the Cantonese eat glutinous rice?

A．They fry and toast it.

B．They eat it for dinner.

C．They steam it with soy sauce.

D．They mix it with many other things.

3. This text may be taken from the _________ column of a newspaper.

A．travel	B．culture
C．fashion	D．science

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1. What is special about Discover Bangladesh?

A．It gives a discount	B．I offers the adventure tours.
C．It offers traveler’s comments	D．It covers hiking and cycling.

2. Which tour will satisfy your love for food?

A．Explore Japan.	B．Discover Bangladesh.
C．Yukon and Alaska walk	D．Challenge Yourself Europe

3. Where does this text probably come from?

A．A research paper	B．A travel brochure.
C．A nature magazine	D．A geography textbook

5 . The third-generation hybrid rice（杂交水稻）which was developed by Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice", and his team ran its first public yield（产量）monitoring from Monday to Tuesday and achieved high output. The final yield of the tested variety, G3-1S/P19, came to1046.3 kg per mu（about 667 square meters）, based on two pieces of land in Qingzhu Village under the city of Hengyang in central China's Hunan Province.

"Some previous high-yielding hybrid rice varieties in China took 160 to even 180 days from sowing（播种）to harvesting, while the figure was shortened to around 125 days for the new variety. This is one of the most important features（特征）of the third-generation hybrid rice that can reduce the use of pesticides（杀虫剂）and fertilizers（化肥）, thus reducing cost and improving production efficiency." said Qian Qian, the deputy director of the China National Rice Research Institute.

Unlike the previous two generations that required a large amount of water and fertilizers as well as demanding growing conditions and technological support, the third-generation hybrid rice is easier to be cultivated（种植）by ordinary farmers. So the soil, altitude and climate of the test site were not "ideal conditions" carefully selected beforehand but were close to the paddies（稻田）of ordinary farmers.

Nowadays. China's average yield of rice is about 500 kg per mu. Ordinary farmers can produce 600 kg to 700 kg of rice per mu by growing some excellent second-generation hybrid rice varieties. However, under the same planting conditions and environment, the yield of the third-generation hybrid rice could reach 800 kg per mu. China now feeds around 20 percent of the world's population with less than 9 percent of the world's arable（可耕种的）land.

At present, Yuan's team has nine third-generation hybrid rice combinations under trial, which are expected to achieve commercial seed production in the following three to four years and hope to apply the technology into the research of sea rice. The third-generation hybrid rice has the comprehensive strength to promote a greener and more sustainable development of China's rice production with higher quality and yield.

1. What feature of the new hybrid rice does Qian Qian mainly talk about?

A．It saves a lot more water.	B．It achieves a higher yield.
C．It saves much more farmland.	D．It has a shorter growing period.

2. Why is the new hybrid rice not tested in ideal areas?

A．The ordinary farmers master planting technology.

B．The researchers want to reduce the experiment cost.

C．The growing conditions the new hybrid rice needs are simple.

D．The previous rice farming provides researchers with experience.

3. What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A．The high output of the third-generation hybrid rice.

B．The future of the new hybrid rice variety.

C．The advanced technology of the research on hybrid rice.

D．The differences between the three hybrid rice varieties.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A guide book.	B．A news report.
C．An advertisement.	D．A fashion magazine.

6 . It’s 3 o'clock and you’ve been hard at work. As you sit at your desk, a strong desire (欲望) for chocolate overcomes you. You try to busy yourself to make it go away. But it doesn’t. Here is another situation. Perhaps you are not feeling well. The only thing you want to eat is a big bowl of chicken soup, like your mom used to make when you were sick as a child. Food cravings are a strong desire for a specific type of food. And they are normal.

Scientists at the website How Stuff Works compare hunger and cravings this way. Hunger is a fairly simple connection between the stomach and the brain. They even call it simply “stomach hunger.” When our stomachs burn up all of the food we have eaten, a hormone (荷尔蒙) sends a message to one part of the brain for more food, which controls our most basic body functions such as thirst, hunger and sleep. The brain then produces a chemical to start the appetite (食欲) and you eat. Hunger is a function of survival.

A craving is more complex. It activates (刺激) brain areas related to emotion, memory and reward. These are the same areas of the brain activated during drug-craving studies. Because of this, some scientists call food cravings “mind hunger.” People often crave foods that are high in fat and sugar. Foods that are high in fat or high in sugar produce chemicals in the brain. These chemicals give us feelings of pleasure.

In a 2007 study, researchers at Cambridge University found that “dieting or controlled eating generally increases the possibility of food craving.” So, the more you refuse yourself a food that you want, the more you may crave it. However, fasting is a bit different. They found that eating no food at all for a short period of time reduced food cravings.

So, the next time you crave something very special, know that it’s the fault of your brain, instead of your stomach.

1. The author describes two situations in the first paragraph to ________.

A．deepen the understanding of hunger	B．report the discovery of craving study
C．introduce the topic of the whole passage	D．remind readers of their own special food

2. What do we learn about food craving?

A．It shows food is connected with emotion.	B．It makes sure that a person survives hunger.
C．It means the stomach functions well.	D．It proves the brain decides your appetite.

3. What’s the likely result of dieting?

A．The drop of chemicals.	B．The increase of food desire.
C．The refusal of fat and sugar.	D．The disappearance of appetite.

4. In which part of a newspaper can you see this passage?

A．Education.	B．Entertainment.
C．Science.	D．Economy.

7 . Smart Home Products for Living a Connected Life

What makes something a smart home product? Generally, it’s defined by its ability to connect to a Wi-Fi network, allowing users to interact（互动）with it from their smartphones.We’ve rounded up some cool, diverse offerings that you’ll love to have in your home.

Nest Cam IQ

walmart.com

$299.00

The Nest Cam IQ is a beautifully designed home security camera that can recognize faces. It can warn you if there’s a stranger in your home. The device also supports two-way communication via built-in microphones and a powerful speaker.

Logitech Harmony Elite

amazon.com

$249.99

The Logitech Harmony Elite is one of the best universal remote controls available on the market. It can control just about every piece of electronics you own（it supports over 270，000 devices！）in every room of your house or apartment, including TVs，streaming devices, and sound systems.

Apple HomePod

bhphotovideo.com

$349.00

The Apple HomePod has better audio quality than any other smart speaker available today. Available in white or space gray, the Siri-powered device also allows you to control a number of devices with your voice.

August Smart Lock Pro

amazon.com

$279.99

The August Smart Lock Pro is compatible（兼容的）with most locks. A mobile app allows you to manage access to the lock, check its usage history, and get informed when someone opens the door. You can control it and check on the state of your door with voice commands.

1. What can the Nest Cam IQ help you do？

A．Properly use your smartphone camera

B．Control electronics with your voice.

C．Check the locks of your house.

D．Keep your home safe.

2. Which device can help you operate almost all your electronic equipment remotely？

A．Nest Cam IQ.

B．Apple HomePod.

C．August Smart Lock Pro.

D．Logitech Harmony Elite.

3. Which column of a website is the text most probably taken from？

A．Technology.

B．News.

C．Society.

D．Education.

8 . Some of the best thing in life don’t happen until you grow old enough to recognize them. I can say that about tea. .

I didn’t start to drink tea until I was 35. The first time felt a genuine urge to drink tea was in 2003, when I stayed briefly in the United Kingdom. After a time of consuming local food, I started to really like strong black tea.

I took packs of green tea with me as gifts but was disappointed to find my British friends preferred much stronger black tea from Sri Lanka. Later I learned that although people know China for its tea, it ranks only third among the world’s black tea exporters, after Sri Lanka and Kenya.

After I came back to China and started to cover food stories, I met friends in the tea-drinking circle and learned more. Although the majority of the rest of the world drinks black tea, which the Chinese call “red tea”, China processes and drinks mostly green tea.

I feel lucky to be Chinese because of the great variety of tea available in the county. It is estimated that there are more than 2000 tea in China it you divide them geographically,] including more than 600 locally famous tea. A more simple way to categorize it is by color ； and extent of fermentation(发酵). That comes down to six main categories --- green, white, yellow, dark greenish(oolong), red and black tea.

Tasting tea can be compared to our life. It can be plain and predictable but sometimes it is j full of pleasant surprises. Occasionally it can even seem too good to be true. The best thing is, you know there’s always more to explore.

1. Which country ranks first among the worlds black tea exporters?

A．China.	B．Sri Lanka.
C．Kenya.	D．United Kingdom.

2. The writer of the passage works as a ______.

A．journalist	B．manager
C．scientist	D．tea grower

3. All of the following statements about tea in China are true EXCEPT ______.

A．varieties of tea is planted and produced each year in China

B．tea in China can be divided into more than 2000 categories geographically

C．tea in China can be categorized by color and extent of fermentation

D．all tea in China can be divided into six categories with no exception

4. What column does this passage belong to in a newspaper?

A．World.	B．Business.
C．Lifestyle.	D．Travel.

9 . The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉的). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus—until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?

Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly(随意地)on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise(同样地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.

1. The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby's ________.

A．sense of hearing	B．sense of sight
C．sense of touch	D．sense of smell

2. Babies are sensitive to the change in ________.

A．the size of cards	B．the colour of pictures
C．the shape of patterns	D．the number of objects

3. Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?

A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.

B．To see how babies recognize sounds.

C．To carry their experiment further.

D．To keep the babies' interest.

4. Where does this text probably come from?

A．Science fiction.	B．Children’s literature.
C．An advertisement.	D．A science report.