1 . People of all cultures have special stories they pass down. Aboriginal (土著的) Australians have a long history of telling stories. They call it “Dreaming”. Many Dreaming stories are thousands of years old.
Europeans came to Australia in 1788. At that time, Aboriginal people had been there for 60,000 years. There were 270 tribes (部落), and each one spoke a different language. Only tribal members were allowed to take part in Dreaming. If they drew symbols during Dreaming, tribal members had to erase them. Most people drew these symbols in the dirt. That way, they could erase them after Dreaming.
When Europeans moved into Australia, they wanted the Aboriginal people to become more like them. In 1959, they built a town called Papunya. They asked Aboriginal tribes to move there. In Papunya, the Europeans hoped the Aboriginal people would become part of European culture. However, Aboriginal people wanted to hold on to their own cultures. That was difficult in Papunya. The tribes were also living with each other for the first time. Slowly, parts of each tribe’s culture began to die out. Today, only 18 of the 270 languages remain strong.
Still, Aboriginal people held on to their Dreaming stories. In 1971, a group of students in Papunya shared their stories with each other during an art class. Their teacher noticed what they were doing. He wanted them to use the symbols in their artwork.
However, they wanted to protect their tradition. To do so, they hid their Dreaming symbols in the dots of each painting. That way, only other people from their tribe could truly understand the message of the painting. Soon, the practice of Aboriginal dot painting (点画) became widespread. Aboriginal dot paintings can’t be fully understood by outsiders. However, many still enjoy the paintings as art. Dot painting became popular in the late 20th century. Today, Aboriginal artists continue to conceal their Dreaming symbols.
1. What do we know about Dreaming stories?| A．They were kept secret from other tribes. |
| B．They interested the Europeans very much. |
| C．They were created to fight the Europeans. |
| D．They were about the Aboriginals’ history. |
| A．Some of their tribes disappeared forever. |
| B．Some of their tribes’ culture disappeared. |
| C．All the tribes began to speak the same language. |
| D．The tribes couldn’t live a peaceful life together. |
| A．A teacher. | B．The Europeans. |
| C．Aboriginal artists. | D．A group of students in Papunya. |
| A．Use. | B．Change. | C．Hide. | D．Paint. |
2 . That morning, I dropped our eldest at kindergarten and returned home to let our two younger children play while I worked on my medical report. It was a wonderful chance to work from home, but it hit me that my career in hospital wasn't making a difference in anyone's life. I needed something that would stretch my limits and push me to grow. My career enabled me to work from home. I could work from home, and become a foster mother, providing safety for a child who needed it desperately.
On Monday morning. I picked up the phone and dialed the number I had Googled for the nearest Department of Children's Services. The man on the other end was receptive to my questions and explained the next step of training, involving eight weeks of classes designed to prepare and educate foster parents. We continued through all the classes, the home visits, background checks, and seemingly endless steps.
Five long months after we were approved, the phone rang. In the middle of the night, I woke my husband and rushed to East Tennessee Children's Hospital. Our placement was waiting for us in the emergency room, sick and lack of nutrition. It didn't take long for us to realize the full depth of her suffering. Six months later, her half-brother came to us by our request. We now had five children under our care.
On August 12, 2016, our family of seven walked into a small courtroom. The children's lawyer and social worker were there. With just a few words, our adoption was finalized. These two amazing children weren't going home, because they were already home. We are their forever family, and they are our forever children. We may not be able to change the entire world, but we have changed the world entirely for our new children.
1. How did the author feel about her hospital work?| A．Lacking of motivation. | B．Filled with challenge. |
| C．Highly motivating. | D．Unusually Demanding. |
| A．She felt sympathetic for abused children she knew. |
| B．She wanted to make a difference in other people. |
| C．She felt confident about her ability to raise children. |
| D．She experienced training to raise children properly. |
| A．The child to be adopted. | B．The need to get trained. |
| C．The approval of adoption. | D．The official at the hospital. |
| A．To put the adopted kids elsewhere. | B．To receive another adopted child. |
| C．To make the adoption officially legal. | D．To begin the kids' adoption in her home. |
3 . Jack was born without eyes. He was very lucky as he grew up having other kittens(young cats) to socialize with, and was used to people from the moment he was born. However, when it came time to find the kittens homes, no one knew where Jack would end up.
That's when I got an email from my friend. All she asked was “Do you still want one of the kittens? There's one here with no eyes and no one would like to take him.” Without thinking, I told her that I did want the kitten.
When we first brought him home, Jack stayed mostly in my room. After about a day he had no issues running around and climbing on everything. At times he gets lost in the house, he'll stop. But we just call him and talk to him and it isn't long before he finds his way back to us.
A few weeks after getting Jack, we got a new farm cat named Bear. Jack and Bear have become best friends. It doesn't matter that he can't see. He always knows when Bear is around. He'll run across the yard straight to Bear and wrap his front legs around his neck in a big hug. They run after each other around and wrestle. They'll lie down in the grass together when tired.
Jack is truly an inspiration. I've owned lots of kittens in my life, but Jack is the happiest and most playful. He doesn't feel sorry for himself. He doesn't need pity. I think Jean, owner of Gumbo, another eyeless cat, said it best when she told me that cats don't have disabilities, they have adaptability.
1. Why did Jack come to our home?| A．I liked an eyeless cat. | B．I didn't mind whether he was blind. |
| C．No other young cats kept him company. | D．My friend ordered me to take him home. |
| A．Difficulty. | B．Fun. | C．Luck. | D．Business. |
| A．Jack likes to play with a new eyeless cat. |
| B．Jack is good at talking and playing with people. |
| C．Jack quickly adapts to the new environment. |
| D．Jack and Bear lie down on the sofa together when tired. |
| A．A cat has nine lives. | B．All is well that ends well. |
| C．God helps those who help themselves. | D．A good beginning makes a good ending. |
4 . As we all know, birds do not have teeth. However, according to a new study, this was not always the case. About 116 million years ago, the ancient birds had teeth and used them for eating, just like what they do today. The new study was conducted by a team of researchers that analyzed the remains of the tooth gene in modern birds and tried to find out why the teeth suddenly disappeared in birds during the process of evolution (进化).
Because the fossils of ancient birds, buried deeply in the earth, are either broken or not preserved well, their use in determining this evolutionary change has not been helpful. Researchers have instead focused on analyzing the DNA of modern birds. The aim of the study is to search for clues in the genes of birds that explain the loss of teeth during evolution.
In the absence of teeth, birds heavily depend on their beaks (鸟嘴) to process food. They also have an excellent ability to digest the food properly. However, at some point in history, birds used to depend on their teeth for chewing food just like us.
The earliest known clue in this regard was found in Germany in 1862. The fossil of an ancient bird found there, suggested that birds had teeth in the past. Today, scientists have confirmed that birds evolved from dinosaurs that were known for their sharp and pointed teeth.
Until now, there has been no definite explanation of the significant evolutionary change in birds. In the ongoing study, researchers analyzed the genes of modern birds that are responsible for tooth production. They searched for any kind of genetic mutation (基因突变) that may have made the gene to become inactive. The gene mutation first happened about 116 million years ago.
1. What does the underlined word "fossils" mean in Paragraph 2?| A．A kind of bodies which are still full of life now. |
| B．A kind of stones which were from ancient animals. |
| C．A kind of animals which were relatives to modern birds. |
| D．A kind of ancient dinosaurs which hid deeply in the earth. |
| A．By studying the DNA of modern birds. |
| B．By studying the functions of birds' mouth. |
| C．By comparing the dinosaurs and the birds together. |
| D．By visiting Germany to get the newest information. |
| A．Positive. | B．Objective. |
| C．Satisfied. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．The Ancient Birds |
| B．The Birds Don't Have the Teeth Now |
| C．The Modern Birds Are like Human |
| D．The Ancient Birds Have Teeth |
5 . After weeks of lockdown, the French are more eager than ever to get away from the breathless cities. But the busy traffic will also serve as a reminder of another annual summer trend here. The French have the unfortunate distinction of being the European champions(冠军) for abandoning pets that have become too cumbersome for their summer trips. Animal shelters up and down the country are evidence of this unique and sad tradition.
Betty Loizeau has run a shelter just north of Toulouse for more than 20 years. “Owners call up to say where their pets can be found, or drop them off in boxes outside the shelter under the cover of darkness. The excuses they typically give are that they’re going on holiday, having a baby, moving house, or they have a new partner with allergies, .......”
For shelters like this one, it is the busiest time of the year. Between 100,000 and 200,000 pets are abandoned in France each year, with 60% of these incidents occurring over the summer. The figure is close to 16.000 in the UK.
“Pets are increasingly seen as an impulsive(冲动的) buy,” says Marina Chailland, a vet(兽医) who has studied the social relationship between the French and their pets.
“A certain breed(品种) of cat or dog is fashionable and owners want one, just like a new smartphone,” she says. “Of course, when it goes out of fashion they desert it for an upgrade a couple of years later, when a new breed is considered fashionable.” She also points to the issue of pets being given as gifts as a reason why so many are abandoned. “Often parents will get pets for their children and when they grow up and lose interest in them, out goes the pet.”
Over the summer, owners discover that hotels charge extra for animals or even ban them completely. This explains why you will often see frightened, lost, dogs wandering near freeway service stations or beach resorts.
1. What does the underlined the word “cumbersome” in para. 1 refer to?| A．Disturbing. | B．Enjoyable. |
| C．Boring. | D．Impressive. |
| A．In fact, the French don’t like pets at all. |
| B．There are various excuses for people abandoning pets. |
| C．Between 100,000 and 200,000 pets are abandoned in the UK each year. |
| D．Pets are admitted into the hotel for free in summer. |
| A．In spring. | B．In summer. |
| C．In fall. | D．In winter. |
| A．To explain why the French abandon the pets. |
| B．To explain how the French like a smartphone. |
| C．To explain why the French dislike pets. |
| D．To explain how costly a smartphone is in France. |
6 . The proportion of teenage and young adults smokers in China has been increasing rapidly in recent years, which is an alarming trend, the president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Wang Chen said on Thursday.
Last year, 18.6 percent of people aged 15 to 24 in China were smokers, compared with 12. 5 percent in 2013 and 8.3 percent in 2003, Wang Chen said at a news conference on tobacco control. In contrast, tobacco prevalence among adults as a whole has been declining steadily in recent years-the percentage of smokers aged 15 and older last year in China was 26.6 percent, down from 27.7 percent in 2015, according to a report released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in May. Despite a general decline, the smoking rate in China is still higher than in most other countries, Wang said.
“What is most worrisome is the rising prevalence of tobacco among young people, which represents a country’s future,” he said. “Young smokers are very likely to keep the habit for their entire lives, which can cause huge health and economic consequences.”
Smoking has been regarded as a major culprit in many chronic diseases, and tobacco control has played a significant role in health promotion efforts made in recent years by the Chinese government, which aims to reduce the smoking rate for people aged 15 and older to 20 percent by 2030.
Wang said a lot of young people are still not aware of the harmful effects caused by smoking, and more education is needed to reduce the rising smoking rate. In addition, tobacco advertisements and rampant smoking footage in films and television series can also encourage smoking among teenagers and young adults, and they should be banned. “Key groups, such as medical staff, schoolteachers, government officials and parents, should take the lead in quitting smoking to help create a nonsmoking environment for teenagers and young adults,” he said.
1. What can we know from the numbers listed in para. 2?| A．Adult smokers has been increasing steadily. |
| B．People aged 15 and older are more likely to smoke. |
| C．The numbers of young smokers has been rising rapidly. |
| D．Smoking rate in China is higher than any other country. |
| A．reminder | B．issue |
| C．cause | D．crisis |
| A．objective | B．concerned |
| C．indifferent | D．relieved |
| A．Smoking rate among youth is rising. | B．Smoking accounts for many chronic diseases. |
| C．Smoking is harmful to our environment. | D．Smoking footage in films should be banned. |
7 . Looking at a pile of old photos, I couldn’t help feeling rather regretful.
I’ve never got into the habit of sorting out photos. However, it’s almost a habit of mine to have photos taken thoughtlessly. Thus, photos have been piling up in my childhood to womanhood. In spite of that, those black-and-white pictures taken in my early years are rarely kept, except a few survivals regarded as antiques. The bald baby picture of me that I treasured, the only one left, it’s now missing.
Familiar faces flash one by one before my eyes. Though the world is so small and we all live in it, yet we are separated by physical and psychological distances, some smaller, some larger. With the passage of time, one cannot, regretfully relive (重温) it with the same feeling as one had in the picture. What one can get from the old photos is but a bit of the past joy.
One takes pictures with different persons in different time and places. They fill one with nostalgia (怀旧) in various degrees — some more, some less, and others none. That’s why one has conflicting feelings towards the old photos. Still kept with the current ones, they’re even less favored than a daily-used cup, which is always close to the owner.
How these pieces of thought influence me! Photos keep our images rather than our sentiment, which may not remain. The image is always there but not its owner, whom the photo can’t keep, neither can it keep the event.
Of course, there are some of the photos still holding my affection, such as those taken with my family members, with favorite playmates, fellow girl-students and best friends, not only in pictures but also in my life and heart.
Now, since I have learned all this, I will not allow myself to be included casually in a photo taken with others. I’ll make sure that the friendship can last before I take a photo with somebody.
1. Why did the writer have only a few black-and-white pictures?| A．She took fewer of them. | B．She took photos thoughtlessly. |
| C．She didn’t take good care of them. | D．She only liked the bald baby picture. |
| A．All the past events. | B．All the past excitement. |
| C．Some past happiness. | D．The everlasting memory. |
| A．Feeling. | B．Thought. | C．Look. | D．Influence. |
| A．To take the photo happily. | B．To refuse the request politely. |
| C．To ignore the request casually. | D．To think carefully before action. |
8 . I just counted how many foreign languages: it’s been twelve!
I always follow my interests and find ways to put my language learning into things I’m already interested in. I like to read blogs in other languages. I found them the perfect learning tool because they’re usually written in oral language, so I don’t have to worry much about adopting strange terms that are only used in writing.
Movies are also a really good tool, especially if you can find subtitles in the language you’re learning. Though they don’t always exactly match what’s being said, they will still keep your brain listening and reading in the same language. Music is another way to start listening to things in your new language. Personally, this doesn’t really work for me, but I have friends who learn a language through lyrics. Games are also an excellent way of studying a new language. A lot of language learning computer programs include games. I’m super competitive and if I play any of them, I can be hooked for hours.
When the initial excitement of learning a new language begins to fade, it can be hard to stick with it. Ideally I will sign up to take a big language exam because then I’ll have to keep studying, and work to master the details that seem unimportant enough in everyday usage that I tend to just ignore them. Each time I start getting complacent, it’s time to take a new course or sign up for online lessons, or take up some sort of challenge that will require me to level up my skills.
I also try to think in the language I’m learning. The best language class I’ve ever taken was my beginner’s Russian course at university where my professor never used any English. It got to the point where I would kind of just forget about English while in Russian class, which helped me to really immerse myself in the Russian language and do a lot with the limited Russian I had.
1. Why are blogs perfect learning tool according to the author?| A．Because they only use oral language. |
| B．Because they don’t use professional terms. |
| C．Because they often use several languages. |
| D．Because their language is usually informal. |
| A．Take an exam. | B．Stick with it. |
| C．Sign up for online lessons. | D．Choose a new course. |
| A．bored | B．discouraged | C．self-satisfied | D．self-disciplined |
| A．To call on readers to learn new languages. |
| B．To share personal language learning tips. |
| C．To recommend some blogs and movies to language learners. |
| D．To help deal with common problems in learning new languages. |
9 . School children across the United States have been taking part in local and state spelling competitions. These competitions are called spelling bees. The young competitors spell words that even some adults may never have heard of.
More than 280 local winners will earn the right to compete in this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee. The event will take place from May 28 to June 3 near Washington, D.C., at the National Harbor in Maryland.
Most competitors in the National Spelling Bee are between the ages of 12 and 14. But this year, one competitor will be less than half that age — five-year-old Edith Fuller.
Last weekend, she won an area spelling bee in her home state of Oklahoma. The five-hour competition lasted 37 rounds. Edith correctly spelled words like sevruga(闪光鲟鱼子酱), jacamar (a kind of bird), and Nisei (a child of Japanese immigrants).
Her winning word? Jnana, a Sanskrit(梵语的) word that is related to having a higher level of knowledge. Remember, Edith is five. She is the youngest person ever to qualify for the National Spelling Bee.
Not so long ago, when she was just four, Edith surprised her parents when she was able to spell the word “restaurant”. At that moment, her mom and dad realized their child might have a mental gift.
Edith is home-schooled. So, her parents are able to spend a little more time teaching her to spell.
About two percent of US children are home-schooled. Yet, home-schooled kids usually make up 8 to 10 percent of those who make it to the National Spelling Bee.
Now, the Fullers must prepare young Edith for the national bee. But no matter how she does there, Edith is already being called a “spellebrity”.
1. According to the passage, what can be learned about spelling bees?| A．There is an age limit to competitors of spelling bees. |
| B．The competitors can spell words unheard of by some adults. |
| C．The local Spelling Bee lasts five hours with 37 rounds every year. |
| D．About 8 to 10 percent home-schoolers will attend the National Spelling Bee. |
| A．Jnana. | B．Jacamar. | C．Nisei. | D．Sevruga. |
| A．A person who is spelling. |
| B．A person who is famous. |
| C．A person who is talented. |
| D．A person who is good at spelling. |
| A．Edith and home-schooling. |
| B．The National Spelling Bee. |
| C．The amazing achievements of home-schooling. |
| D．The youngest National Spelling Bee competitor. |
10 . The end of the school year was in sight and spirits were high. I was back teaching after an absence of 15 years, dealing with the various kinds of "forbidden fruit" that come out of book bags. Now was the spring of the water pistol.
I decided to think up a method of dealing with forbidden fruit.
"Please bring that pistol to me," I said. "I'm going to put it in my Grandma's Box."
"What's that?" they asked.
"It's a large wooden chest full of toys for my grandchildren," I replied,
"You don't have grandchildren," someone said.
"I don't now." I replied. "But someday I will. When I do, my box will be full of wonderful things for them."
My imaginary Grandma's Box worked like magic that spring, and later. Sometimes. students would ask me to describe all the things I had in it. Then I would try to remember the different possessions I supposedly had taken away—since I seldom actually kept them. Usually the offender would appear at the end of the day, and I would return the belonging.
The-years went by, and my first grandchild Gordon was born. I shared my joy with that year's class. Then someone said, "Now you can use your Grandma's Box." From then on instead of coming to ask their possessions back, the students would say, "That's okay. Put it in your Grandma's Box for Gordon."
I loved talking about the imaginary box, not only with my students but also with my own children. They enjoyed hearing about all the forbidden fruit I had collected. Then one Christmas I received a surprise gift—a large, beautifully made wooden chest. My son Bruce had made my Grandma's Box a reality.
1. What was the author's purpose in having the conversation with the students?| A．To collect the water pistol. | B．To talk about her grandchildren. |
| C．To recommend some toys. | D．To explain her teaching method. |
| A．The student's parent. | B．The maker of the Grandma's Box. |
| C．The author's grandchild. | D．The owner of the forbidden fruit. |
| A．They went to play with the baby. | B．They asked to see the Grandma's Box. |
| C．They made a present for Gordon. | D．They stopped asking their toys back. |
| A．She enjoys telling jokes. | B．She is a strict and smart teacher. |
| C．She loves doing woodwork. | D．She is a responsible grandmother |
