1 . At the age of four, I suffered from epilepsy (癫痫). Having a physical disability and a learning disability, I felt like I was an outcast. When I was a teenager, I was being told what I couldn’t do in the future. My doctor said that I had brain damage and I wouldn’t be able to do analytical things. I wanted to be a counselor (顾问) more than anything else in the world, but he crushed my dream.
When I graduated from high school in 1994, I entered a local community college. I met two people that impressed me a lot. One was my college professor, who thought I was an amazing, articulate (能说会道的) student. She encouraged me to apply for the Human Services program at Western Washington University. The other one was my best friend, who helped me with my math. He showed great faith in my abilities. He himself was visually damaged, but he never quit on his dreams. I admire his positive attitude very much.
In 1997, I decided to attend Western Washington University. I knew exactly what I wanted and I was determined that no one could stop me. My parents had a hard time grasping that I could go to university. They did not want to see me get hurt. But I was willing to get hurt. To me, that was part of growing and gaining experience. I wanted to experience the same opportunities as everyone else.
Later, not only did I receive my bachelor’s degree in Human Services program, but I got a master’s degree in Psychology! After finally becoming the counselor, I wanted to explore a new direction. This new direction had something to do with writing and inspiring others to see their inner power, as well as their freedom to choose their own life path.
Now, I am fortunate to have family and friends standing by me through all the successes and failures. They remind me that I am worth it.
1. The underlined word “outcast” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_________”.| A．someone facing lots of treatment | B．someone with hard work to do |
| C．a legally protected person | D．an abandoned person |
| A．He felt sorry for his friend’s visual problem. |
| B．He was often laughed at by other students at school. |
| C．His teacher and friend had an important influence on him. |
| D．His teacher thought he was a normal person like all of us. |
| A．To gain a higher degree. | B．To experience life like others. |
| C．To get praise from his parents. | D．To repay his college professor. |
| A．by the order of time | B．by listing examples |
| C．by comparing facts | D．by the order of space |
2 . Screens during meals rob kids of opportunities to improve language and communication skills （storytelling, making jokes, etc.）, as well as to develop patience and even imagination as they entertain themselves waiting for food to arrive.
Meals are an opportunity to connect, to learn more about and enjoy each other. They strengthen the bonds that will bring benefits to the rest of our lives. We squander that opportunity when we stick a screen in front of our kids during dinner.
Of course, we all want to have enjoyable family meals, which is why I love Bruce Feiller's book "The Secrets of Happy Families", in which he devotes an entire chapter to ways to make them fun and meaningful for everyone---such as "fill in the blank" sentences you make up. Sharing something good and something challenging makes for pleasant conversations, too. And I've had fun playing Uno with my daughters until the food arrives in a restaurant.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (小儿科）also offers guidelines to help families manage children's screen time. The academy recommends avoiding digital media for children under 2, except for video-chatting, and limiting screen time to just one hour a day of high-quality programming for children ages 2 to 5.
Fundamentally, we all benefit from more human connection, not less — and that's especially true for children. Schools, airplane trips, most jobs, games, even "social" interaction were all once done without screens but now are filled with them. And while we have gained some advantages, including new connections, we have lost something fundamental, as well.
Less is always more when it comes to screens, even if they are effective at keeping kids quiet. But soon after complaining that they are "bored, ” kids have a natural tendency to fill the screenless void （空虚）with creative games, art, exploration and conversation. There are no studies that warn against having too many hours of those activities.
Let's all work harder to keep family meals special by getting rid of the iPads and nourishing our personal connections as we nourish our bodies.
1. What's the author's attitude to the kids' staring at screens during meals?| A．Disapproving. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Take. | B．Waste. |
| C．Expect. | D．Create. |
| A．Keep quiet. |
| B．Refuse to eat. |
| C．Feel bored all the time. |
| D．Find ways to entertain themselves. |
| A．To introduce the iPads to the children. |
| B．To stress the importance of family meals. |
| C．To appeal for family meals without screens. |
| D．To teach parents how to punish their children. |
3 . From quiet paths by a stream in a forest to busy roads running through a city, people have created various forms of routes in different places. These now exist all around us, and their use is imperative for societies. These routes have enabled people to move, transport things, and send information from one place to another quickly and safely. Throughout history, they have been important in our daily lives.
Early routes were often formed naturally on land. They gradually developed over long periods of time while people traveled them on foot or horseback. A significant turning point in their history arrived when the first wheeled carts appeared in ancient times. Once this happened, people recognized the importance of well-maintained routes. Therefore, towns, cities, and entire countries improved them. As a result, life became more convenient, communities grew, economies evolved, and cultures expanded.
People have established routes on water, too. Rivers and canals have served as effective routes for people to move around and carry things. For instance, in the old, Japanese city of Edo, water routes were used for the transportation of agricultural products, seafood, and wood. People have also opened routes across the sea. The seaways were critical for the navigation of ships, particularly in the days when they moved mainly by wind power. Using these sea routes, people could travel great distances, and go to places they had not previously been able to reach.
People have gone on to open routes in the sky as well. Since the invention of the airplane, they have made it possible to travel long distances easily. Eventually, people became able to travel safely and comfortably high in the sky, and going vast distances only took a small amount of time.
Today, we have a new type of route, the Internet. By using this worldwide route, people can easily obtain information that once was available mainly from books and face-to-face communication. They can also instantly send messages to large numbers of people all at once.
As long as there have been people, there have been routes to connect them. Currently unknown routes will surely take us even further in the future.
1. Which of the following is closest to the meaning of the underlined word imperative in paragraph 1?| A．accidental | B．industrial |
| C．essential | D．traditional |
| A．To describe the difficulty of creating routes on the water. |
| B．To emphasize the fact that it was an important city. |
| C．To explain the use of water routes to move along the coastlines. |
| D．To illustrate the important roles of water routes for cities. |
| A．Routes can be thought of as existing invisibly in the world. |
| B．Routes that move information can be regarded as dangerous. |
| C．The fundamental functions of routes are declining. |
| D．The importance of different kinds of routes is the same. |
| A．Humankind first created various types of convenient routes on land. |
| B．Improvements in transportation have come at great cost. |
| C．Technology has interfered with opening up routes around the world. |
| D．The advancement of humanity was aided by the development of routes. |
4 . A study of 27,000 men showed those skipping (不吃) breakfast were at a greater risk of heart problems. The British Heart Foundation said breakfast helped people resist (抵制) sugary snacks before lunch.
The men, aged 45-82, were studied for 16 years. During that time there were more than 1,500 heart attacks or cases of deadly heart failure. However, people who skipped breakfast were 27% more likely to have heart problems than those who started the day with a meal. The researchers took into consideration other lifestyle risk factors (因素) such as smoking and exercise.
Researcher Dr Leah Cahill told the BBC: “The take-home message is to eat in the morning when you wake up, preferably within an hour. The results show that something is better than nothing, but it’s always better to have something healthy and balanced.”
She said the timing of the meal seemed to be key and waiting until lunch rather than “having breakfast” may be straining (损伤) the body over time. This could be increasing the risk of high blood pressure and fatness which could in turn damage the heart. “Don’t skip breakfast,” Dr Cahill suggested.
Victoria Taylor, an expert with the British Heart Foundation, said: “These researchers only looked at men aged over 45, so we would need to see further research to prove that breakfast has the same effect on the heart health of other groups of people. What we do know is that a healthy breakfast can make that mid-morning biscuit less tempting, as well as giving you another opportunity to widen the variety of foods in your diet. Cereals (谷类食品) with low fat milk are a good way to start the day. Try a banana or dried fruit on top and you’ll be on your way to a fine day before you’ve even left the house.”
1. What does the text mainly deal with?| A．The effects of snacks on the health of the heart. |
| B．An interview by the BBC on people’s lifestyles. |
| C．What a healthy and balanced diet should contain. |
| D．The relationship between breakfast and a healthy heart. |
| A．fix the time for each meal we eat in a day |
| B．make sure our breakfast is always balanced |
| C．eat our breakfast immediately after getting up |
| D．have breakfast within an hour after waking up |
| A．attractive | B．valuable |
| C．obvious | D．familiar |
| A．men over 45 are more likely to get heart diseases |
| B．fresh fruits like bananas are necessary for a healthy breakfast |
| C．it’s healthy to eat some biscuit between breakfast and lunch |
| D．the researchers should have covered other age groups in their study |
Every September l6 the Mexican people hold a celebration in Mexico City, their country’s capital. It is their Independence Day. On that date in 1821 they told Spain they would no longer be ruled. Breaking free from Spain caused a war. When it was over, the Mexicans had their own government. They made their own laws.
Today America and Mexico are friends, but it wasn’t always that way. President James Polk wanted America to reach from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. He tried to buy what is now the American southwest from Mexico. Mexico would not sell. So from l846 to 1848 Mexico and America fought a war to ascertain where their borders would be. When the war ended, Mexico had lost a lot of land. Now the Rio Grande River forms the border between the two nations. America is on the north side of the river. Mexico is on the south side.
Mexico has mountains and a hot, dry climate. Crops can grow on only a small part of the land. Still, Mexicans grow much of the coffee, oranges, and sugar used in the US. Mexicans have influenced building styles in southwestern US and added words such as patio and canton to American English. Americans also enjoy eating many Mexican foods like burritos, tacos, tortillas, and tamales.
1. According to the passage, what happened second on historical timeline?
| A．Mexicans declared their independence from Spain. |
| B．The Spanish ruled Mexico. |
| C．The Aztecs lived in Mexico. |
| D．Americans fought a war with Mexico. |
| A．the US to expand its borders to the Pacific Ocean |
| B．Mexico to change its Independence Day to July 4th |
| C．Mexico to become one of the states of the Union |
| D．Americans to adopt the Mexican language |
| A．inspect | B．cover |
| C．change | D．determine |
| A．building styles | B．vocabulary |
| C．clothes | D．food |
| A．didn’t speak Spanish |
| B．couldn’t read or write any language |
| C．didn’t have tools |
| D．didn’t understand the concept of time |
