1 . Twice every month, Miranda Sam, a 66-year-old Ghanaian, visited the China Traditional Herbal Hospital, a private herbal facility at Pokuase, a suburb of the Ghanaian capital, for treatment.
“I was squeezing lemons, and when I finished, I could not get up or even move my legs, so I went to the hospital and did an X-ray examination, but they saw nothing. Meanwhile, I could not walk and was in a wheelchair,” the retired worker said. Hence Miranda decided to visit the herbal facility. “On two occasions, I had to do acupuncture(针灸), and I have found great relief. Now I walk unaided, so I keep coming for treatment,” she said.
As Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is gaining popularity in Ghana, many acupuncture clinics run by Chinese doctors pop up in the country. However, the China Traditional Herbal Hospital was established by 52-year-old Ghanaian business owner Bediako, after his fruitful encounter with the effects of TCM in 2012. With the help of a Chinese lady, Bediako set up a small clinic specializing in TCM. Years on, the facility has subsequently grown into a bigger herbal hospital. The hospital treats patients with a combination of local and Chinese herbal formulas. It supports this with the application of traditional Chinese medical methods.
Strokes(中风) account for 1.3 percent of all hospital admissions in Ghana, and 6.3 percent of all hospital deaths. But Bediako is confident that as more people with these conditions turn to the natural methods of healing, the pain and death rates would subside. “A gentleman was brought here three weeks ago, who could not sit, stand, or walk. He was first taken through acupuncture. I observed him on camera 30 minutes later, squatting(蹲), standing, and walking. You come here with your pain but will leave with a smile. That is our feature,” he said.
The hospital has started a second facility in Ashaiman near the capital, with plans to open other branches across the country to meet the growing demand.
1. What can we learn from Miranda’s words in Paragraph 2?| A．Her illness is not a bit severe. | B．Squeezing lemons is a risky job. |
| C．She is feeling better now. | D．She is unsure about what to do next. |
| A．It is located in the downtown area. |
| B．It was originally a specialized clinic. |
| C．It was established by a Chinese doctor. |
| D．It uses nothing but Chinese herbs. |
| A．Decline. | B．Remain. |
| C．Climb. | D．Change. |
| A．Negative. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Concerned. |
2 . A sleepover (过夜) program, which is designed to make kids believe that their favorite toys enjoy reading, can help encourage children to pick up more books, a new study suggests.
Toys sleepover programs are designed to get children interested in books. Children take their toys to a library for the night. At this point, workers and volunteers take photos of the toys which explore the library and read books. The next day, the children collect their toys and the photos of what the toys did during the night. They are given the books their toys chose to read.
It was found that before the sleepover the children did not spend time looking at the books in their play area at preschool. Immediately after the sleepover, the number of children who read to the toys was higher than the number who did not, but after three days the effect decreased gradually.
The researchers also tested a method for sustaining the effect. They reminded the children of the sleepover a month later, by hiding the toys and showing them the photos again the next day. This simple method brought an increase in the number of children reading to their toys.
The study proves for the first time that children who take part in sleepover programs read picture books to their toys more. “We wanted to know if there really was an effect, and if so, how long it lasts. Surprisingly, not only did the children show interest in the books, but they also began to read to their toys. This means that a new behavior pattern appeared that the children hadn’t had before. We did not expect anything like this,” said one of the researchers.
Reading is important for the development of children’s language skills and imagination. When parents read to their children, it is a passive way of reading for the child. However, when children read to their toys, it is a more active, self-directed way of reading, helping them develop into more active readers, researchers said.
1. What is the purpose of the sleepover program?| A．To develop children’s language skills. |
| B．To help children to sleep well. |
| C．To encourage children to read more. |
| D．To guide children to form a good sleeping habit. |
| A．Go around the library with their toys. |
| B．Sleep with their toys. |
| C．Read together with their toys. |
| D．Take their toys to the library. |
| A．keeping | B．testing | C．surveying | D．showing |
| A．Children showed no interest in the books. |
| B．The effect of the sleepover program could last long. |
| C．Children began to read to their toys on their own. |
| D．Whether the sleepover program had an effect remained unknown. |
3 . Perhaps you have ever heard the saying: Change is the only constant. Everyone, without doubt, goes through changes in their life, whether it is a physical state of aging or a mental state of emotional maturity. However, some are afraid to make the conscious decision to move or they think it's too late to have a fresh start.
I have a friend named Jack. At the age of 37, he is a Senior Manager at one of the Big Four. He has a great salary, owns his own apartment and enjoys the fine things in life, but not without the heavy burdens that his job brings. On the surface, it looks like he has got life figured out. Yet when I once asked if he was happy with his work, he answered that he some- times wished to quit his job to do something less stressful. But he’d become accustomed to this lifestyle and felt that it would be too late to give it up to achieve a new ambition.
For him, the risks are too high, so whether he can't abide his present job or not, he has to choose to suck it up. You might have come to a similar situation as Jack’s or you might be a Jack. You're now facing a wall. No matter what it is—the stress of your job or the terrible feeling, it’s time that you had to decide whether you'll tear down that wall or continue to let it enclose you. I suggest pushing back the boundaries and breaking the fixed patterns. Why do you feel it's too late to start over? That is simply because you're comparing yourself with others—younger or more successful individuals. In fact, you should compare yourself with the older version of you.
Don't become that person who lets life pass by only to regret it when you are making your way into old age. Don't let your life plateau（停滞不前）and waste away in the daily chores. Don't give up the potential you still have hidden and be locked away by your current state. Now, you’d better bravely start going after the things you want to do, without abandoning your dreams, ambitions and responsibilities.
1. What kind of people does Jack represent according to the author?| A．Those leading a happy life. |
| B．Those having an easeful career. |
| C．Those thinking it's too late to change. |
| D．Those having a high ambition to work. |
| A．Value. | B．Recommend. | C．Understand. | D．Tolerate. |
| A．Let life stand still. |
| B．Enjoy the present job. |
| C．Have a small goal in life. |
| D．Consider ourselves as a failure. |
| A．Everyone Can Meet a Jack |
| B．Don't Try to Control Yourself |
| C．Never Think Change Is Too Late |
| D．You Should Make Alteration Earlier |
4 . A strong coffee after a poor night's sleep is the kick-start many people need in the morning but new research suggests that it might be best to have a bite to eat first.
A study has found that drinking coffee first can have a negative effect on blood sugar control - a risk factor for diabetes （糖尿病）and heart disease.
“We know that nearly half of us will wake in the morning and, before doing anything else, drink coffee --- subjectively the more tired we feel, the stronger the coffee,“ said Professor James Betts, at the University of Bath in the UK.
For their study, researchers at the University of Bath got 29 healthy men and women to take part in three different overnight experiments, with at least a week between them.
In one, the participants had a normal night's sleep, roughly from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., and were asked to consume a sugary drink on waking in the morning. They then experienced an interrupted night's sleep, where the researchers woke them every hour for five minutes by sending them text messages to which they had to respond — and upon waking were given the same sugary drink.
On another night, participants experienced the same sleep interruption, but this time were first given a strong black coffee 30 minutes before consuming the sugary drink.
They found that one night of interrupted sleep did not worsen the participants' blood sugar and insulin （胰 岛素）responses when compared to the normal night's sleep-- although previous research suggested that losing many hours of sleep or many nights of poor sleep could have a negative effect. However, strong black coffee consumed before breakfast actually increased the blood sugar response by around 50% — suggesting that relying on coffee after a bad night to stop feeling sleepy could limit your body's ability to tolerate the sugar in your breakfast.
1. What does the underlined word “kick-start" in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．A kind of sport. | B．A kind of power. |
| C．A kind of medicine. | D．A kind of belief. |
| A．The duration of sleep. | B．The blood sugar response. |
| C．The sugary drink. | D．The intake of coffee. |
| A．A normal sugary drink. |
| B．A normal night's sleep. |
| C．An interrupted night's sleep. |
| D．A cup of strong black coffee. |
| A．By comparing the results. |
| B．By listing some examples. |
| C．By surveying the participants. |
| D．By referring to some documents. |
5 . Imagine a world where you move around in front of a personal computer in your own sound space. You listen to your favorite songs, play loud computer games or watch a movie — all without other people hearing the sound and without headphones.
That is the possibility presented by “sound beaming”, a new technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company. On Friday, the company introduced a desktop device that sends sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones or a special receiver.
Noveto Systems gave The Associated Press (AP) a chance to test its SoundBeamer 1.0 before its introduction. The AP’s Louise Dixon writes that listening to the device is like something from a science fiction movie.The sound seems so close that it feels like it is inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them.
Noveto expects the device will have many uses. Office workers could listen to music or conference calls without others hearing. People could play a game, a movie or music without waking up others in the same room. Because the device does not use headphones, it is possible to hear other sounds in the room clearly.
The device uses a 3-D sensing module that finds and follows the ear position of the listener. It sends ultrasonic waves (超声波) to create sound pockets by the user’s ears. The 3-D method creates sound on all sides of the listener, therefore the listeners feel completely transported into the scene.
By changing a setting, the sound can follow a listener around when he moves his head. It is also possible to move out of the sound beam's path and hear nothing at all.
While the idea of sound beaming is not new, Noveto was the first to launch the technology.
According to the chief executive officer Christophe Ramstein, a “smaller” version of the device will be ready for release to consumers next year.
1. What does the underlined word “possibility” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The listener may put on music to block out other sounds. |
| B．The listener may hear sound only for him or her without using headphones. |
| C．The listener may enjoy songs or movies without being interrupted by others. |
| D．The listener may have the ability to pick up some special sounds. |
| A．Amazing. | B．Impossible. |
| C．Strange. | D．Meaningful. |
| A．It places the listener on the scene to hear the sound. |
| B．It fixes a sound beam’s path which can not be changed. |
| C．It follows the listeners around to send and receive sounds. |
| D．With 3-D tracking technology, it sends ultrasonic waves to the target listener. |
| A．To promote the SoundBeamer. | B．To introduce a new sound device. |
| C．To recommend new headphones. | D．To explain a technical phenomenon. |
6 . 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. |
7 . A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom 1 haven't seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.
His father's declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia（失眠）and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his Gather's condition, became irritated and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.
After his father finished talking. he fell unconscious（失去知觉）. My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father's mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.
Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we（or they）live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our sides.
Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent word of "no" come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither lathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.
Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.
1. Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer's friend?| A．Sad | B．Sorry | C．Regretful | D．Pitiful |
| A．Put…right | B．Recite…by heart |
| C．Realize | D．Recognize |
| A．we are actually innocent to say rude words to our parents |
| B．we deliberately ignore our parents too often |
| C．we are not satisfied with our parents |
| D．we unconsciously hurt our parents so often |
| A．Your parents will keep talking to themselves when they are old. |
| B．Be good to your parents when you still have the chance. |
| C．You will regret in your life if you don't show your kindness to your parents. |
| D．It is not easy to take good care of sick old parents. |
8 . Do you remember the last time you received a postcard? The UK’s family-owned oldest postcard firm, which has been publishing postcards and calendars since 1880, will close this December. The reason? It says instead of penning a card, people are putting photos up on Facebook or Instagram or using WhatsApp to show friends and family at home just how much fun they’re having.
If you get a postcard from someone who’s away somewhere, it’s as much the thought that they’ve gone through the hassle (麻烦) of choosing a postcard, working out where to get a stamp from, finding a postbox and then the postcard making that journey through to you. That’s the value of the postcard. But that time has gone.
Brothers Charles and Harry Salmon, the fifth generation of the family to run the firm, said the popularity of social media had had a huge impact on the business. People are also tending to take shorter holidays, meaning they are likely to have arrived home long before their postcards. As a result the business was no longer viable.
“Increasingly challenging trading conditions and changes to the nature and size of the market for its publications have resulted in uncertainty over the future of its trade,’’ the brothers wrote in a letter to suppliers and newsagents.
As a result they were announcing a proposal to withdraw from publishing. The number of postcards sold each year is reported to have seen a sharp decline to about five million from 20 million just 25 years ago. But the firm said that as well as the drop in the number of postcards sent, “we have also had to consider that there are no more members of the family who wish to join the business.”
1. What’s the value of sending a postcard?| A．It’s a symbol of sympathy. | B．It’s a journey of love. |
| C．It’s an act of patience. | D．It’s a way of passing time. |
| A．likely to exist. | B．worthy of praise. |
| C．short of money. | D．possible to change. |
| A．UK’s oldest postcard firm set to close. |
| B．Postcard industry booming in the future. |
| C．UK’s postcard firm through a tough time. |
| D．Postcard industry needing support to survive. |
| A．A book review. | B．A business column. |
| C．A hi-tech advertisement. | D．A finance report. |
9 . La Belle Personne is boring, but I love it. The 2008 French film features extremely softened and washed-out colors, a relatively uneventful plotline, and lifeless performances from the main characters, all of which give the film its unique charm.
The plain beauty of La Belle Personne comes not from its extremely unique plot, but rather its literary elements. Of course, the film is visually pretty lacking in liveliness. An editor must have purposely and smartly dealt with every single shot. The dominating colors in each of these shots are a vivid black, grey and white, making for a melancholic(忧郁的）atmosphere. While one could easily view this lack of vividness as exhausting,I would argue that it makes for a beautifully unconventional cinematic experience.
There are no artificial mental spark stimulated by the visuals, and the viewers must therefore sit with themselves for an hour and a half, reflecting on what the piece personally means to them and how it genuinely makes them feel. Aside from a few major plot points, nothing terribly remarkable happens in La Belle Personne. It's more like a lazy river under grey skies where the water is slightly too cold. But if you relax, your body temperature adjusts and you can sit back and just enjoy the ride.
Although our current world may be both literally and symbolically on fire, it's no secret that campus life in and of itself is considerably more boring than usual. With no parties to attend, most classes online, and the majority of clubs limited to Zoom Meetings, waking up every day might feel a bit more tedious. However, just like La Belle Personne has shown us, it's important to appreciate your environment for what it is. In terms of campus life, sometimes it's not so horrible for things to be slow-paced, as it allows space for reflection and being present.
1. What do we know about La Belle Personne from the first paragraph?| A．It enjoys high popularity. |
| B．It owns special artistic charm. |
| C．It applies modern techniques. |
| D．It features lively performances. |
| A．All its viewers feel positive on it. |
| B．It gives viewers a sense of ridiculousness. |
| C．It suits those preferring sensory stimulation. |
| D．It is worth tasting slowly and heart-wholly. |
| A．Boring. | B．Painstaking. | C．Impractical. | D．Unnecessary. |
| A．To show the importance of going to the movies. |
| B．To recommend people to enjoy an unique movie. |
| C．To introduce a way to appreciate a certain movie. |
| D．To call for a slow-paced and positive school life. |
10 . Recently, as I watched my son Nathan play basketball for his school team, I was feeling sorry for myself and for him. His team was facing adversity (困境) on the court and he was playing in a hostile environment — it was the opponent’s home gym filled with their supporters, and Nathan’s team was trailing (落后) for three quarters of the game. As for me, I had just been dismissed (解雇) from my job earlier in that day.
During the drive home, I kept telling myself that I would find work again in a short time — I was always confident in my experience and abilities, but self-doubt was still sticking its foot in the door.
The basketball game entered the fourth quarter with Nathan’s team still trailing. I saw the determination on his face as well as his teammates’ as they fought back to not only tie the game, but then go ahead by three points. Then, a player from the other team made an unbelievable shot to make the game tied again. With the tied scores and seconds on the clock, Nathan found himself with the ball and with skill and confidence, he made the basket with a defender hanging all over him. The other player was called for a foul (犯规).
As Nathan stood preparing for a shot that would put his team up by three points, I saw the focus and determination on his face, with no room for self-doubt. Nathan was able to tune out all the distractions and nail the free throw with such skill, as if he had done it a thousand times.
As I sat there, my heart bursting with pride, it dawned on me that I had taught him perseverance (毅力) in the face of adversity, and he had just taught me the same lesson. That brief moment of self-doubt and feeling sorry for myself was blown away by the actions of my son on the basketball court. He will play in the finals, but it doesn’t matter if he wins or loses. At this moment, we both won.
1. What did the author estimate his son’s team would be like at first?| A．The team would finally win. |
| B．The team would lose at away court. |
| C．The team would lose at home court. |
| D．The team would tie with the opponents. |
| A．Avoid. | B．Focus. | C．Create. | D．Receive. |
| A．My son would win in the finals and I would find a job soon. |
| B．I had once taught my son face to face that we should never give up. |
| C．It was my encouragement and help that made my son win the game. |
| D．I would become more confident about my future after this experience. |
| A．Life Goes Just Like Playing Basketball |
| B．It Matters Whether to Win or Lose |
| C．A Lesson in Life and Basketball |
| D．A Moment of Self-doubt |
