1 . As my husband and I drove down a country road, we passed a fire station with a sign that read, "Are you ready for the next storm?” Our area had just been in the path of Hurricane Irma, causing downed trees and outages. We were stuck in the dark and cut off from the outside world.

We have had our share of storms in the past--a snowstorm and other heavy snows that knocked down trees, sometimes up to a week at a time. Those days in a cold house weren't fun, but we learned so much from those early storms, things that made later storms easier to bear.

Now we have stored up flashlights, lanterns and candles. We bought a battery-operated radio to keep up with the news. We stocked up on batteries so that we'd have plenty for extended power failures. We make sure our grill（烤架） is ready and its tank is full, and we purchase food that can be easily prepared and then cooked or heated on the grill. And we don't forget to buy emergency chocolate! We have book lights to read in the dark. We keep our car gas tanks full and have emergency cash on hand.

We're ready for the next storm, but we wouldn't have learned to do all those things if we hadn't encountered a storm in the past. The same is true spiritually. Those little storms in our lives are never fun, but they prepare us for the big storms--the big trials--that will come our way, They can teach us some valuable lessons.

Are you ready for the next storm? Now is the time to get ready. . . not when the storm arrives.

1. Which can replace the underlined word "outages” in paragraph 1?

A．weather change

B．virus' spreading

C．power failure

D．emotional reaction

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．The lessons that storms can teach us.

B．The importance of being ready for storms.

C．The necessities the author bought for her daily life.

D．The preparations the author made for the next storm.

3. What does the author think of experiencing the past storms?

A．It was rewarding.

B．It was annoying.

C．It was thrilling.

D．It was frightening.

4. What can we learn from the author's story?

A．Things will work out.

B．Keep something for a rainy day.

C．Don't stop regardless of the weather.

D．Sunshine always comes after the storm.

2 . Unluckily, there are some rules that teenagers should be allowed to learn in school, but not. They are important to teenagers, although not all of them have to do with their subjects.

Rule 1: Life is not fair. Try to learn to get used to it. Many people won’t understand the real meaning of this rule until they’ve failed to find fairness again and again.

Rule 2: The real world won’t care about you as much as your school does. It will expect you to learn to understand the real world after you leave school. Then you’ll be sure of what to do with real world.

Rule 3: If you think your teacher is terrible, wait until you get a boss. Your boss won’t ask how you feel about your work and will never give you more care or help. He’ll only care about how much money you can help him earn.

Rule 4: TV is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom (情景喜剧). Your problems won’t be solved in 30 or 45 minutes. In real life, people usually have to leave the coffee stores to look for jobs.

Rule 5: Smoking does not make you look cool. Instead, it makes you look moronic (低能的). At the same time, purple hair and pierced body parts make you look like a silly kid. A grown-up teenager should know how to be smart.

1. How will the real world treat teenagers when they leave school?

A．It’ll care about them as their schools do.

B．It’ll tell them what it’s really like.

C．It’ll give them more help and chances.

D．It’ll explain to them how to be smart.

2. What does the underlined word “earn” mean in Chinese?

A．make

B．save

C．spend

D．waste

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．All rules can be learned at school by teenagers.

B．For teenagers, life is like a sitcom and it’s always full of joy and surprises.

C．Smart teenagers shouldn’t smoke and have purple hair.

D．Teenagers will meet fair bosses when they go to work.

4. What can we infer (推测) from the passage?

A．The writer might be a teacher who has much experience.

B．No teenagers can really understand the real world.

C．Almost all teenagers won’t be able to get used to the future life.

D．There is much more for teenagers to learn when they leave school

3 . There are some very good inventions which, for one reason or another, don’t become popular. These inventions should be better known, even though I think that some of them are crazy. Let’s have a look at some of these inventions and see if you agree that they should be more successful.

The Australians had a great idea to stop people from drinking and driving. The idea was that if a driver wanted to start the car, she or he would have to blow into a bag first. If there was too much alcohol (酒精) in their breath, the car wouldn’t start. It sounded like a great idea to me, but people said that they might need to drive the car in an emergency (紧急情况) even if they had drunk too much alcohol. Another idea I liked was an invention by a scientist who thought his children watched too much TV. He connected the TV to an exercise bike so that the electricity to power the TV was produced by the bike. If the children wanted to watch a lot of TV, they had to pedal (踩动) very hard. I found another invention on the Internet which encouraged good habits. Believe it or not, this invention was an ashtray (烟灰缸) which spoke to you when you lit a cigarette! The “voice” of the ashtray was started by the heat from the cigarette and reminded you how dangerous it is to smoke.

One of the strangest inventions I have come across is a bicycle which can cross rivers! The idea was that when you came to a river, you could inflate a huge plastic ball all around the bike. You would then get into the ball which would float on the river while you pedaled the bike inside the ball! Why not use a bridge instead? A friend of mine at school once bought a strange pair of football shoes. On the bottom of the shoes there was a rotating pad of studs (转动钉垫). The idea was that you would change direction more quickly if the studs rotated(旋转) with you. The problem was that every time you stopped you changed direction whether you wanted to or not! I think he wore those shoes twice! One thing I would like is a baseball cap with a built-in radio so you can listen to sport all day with your hands free. While we are on the subject of sport, the Americans invented a kind of robot for sports fans. If you were watching your team on TV on your own, you could press a button and the robot would do “high fives” with you! Fantastic! I wonder if you have any good ideas for inventions like these.

1. What’s the writer’s attitude towards the inventions mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A．The writer regrets he knew nothing about the inventions.

B．The writer doubts if the inventions will be popular soon.

C．The writer thinks these inventions will do good to people.

D．The writer finds these inventions are the strangest of all.

2. What can we know from the passage?

A．The father used his invention to stop children watching too much TV.

B．It was very bad for the drivers to blow into a bag before their driving.

C．The bike crossing rivers was considered one of the best inventions.

D．The invention of new shoes would make players run much faster.

3. The underlined word “inflate” in the third paragraph means ________.

A．check out	B．blow up
C．look into	D．turn over

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Popular Inventions Today	B．Technology and Invention
C．Inventions with a Difference	D．The History of Invention

4 . American and British people both speak English of course. But sometimes it does not seem like the same language. In fact, there are some important differences between British English and American English.

First of all, they sound very different. Often, Americans don't say each words separately. They say several words together. Americans may say “I dunno” instead of “I don’t know”. Or they may say “Whaddya say?” instead of “What did you say?”. However, the British are more careful in their speech. They usually say all the words and keep them separate.

Sound is not only the difference between British English and American English.Words sometimes have different meanings too. Some American words are never used in England. The same thing is true of some British words in America. For example, the vocabulary for cars and driving is very different. Americans drive trucks,   but in England people drive lorries.

Many expressions are also different in the two countries. In England, if you are going to telephone your friends, you " phone them up". In America, you "give them a call". When you are saying goodbye in England you might say "Cheerio!" In America you might say " See you later. "

There 're also some differences in grammar. For example, Americans usually use the helping verb "do" when they ask a question. They say "Do you have a storybook?" But the British often leave out the helping verb. They say " Have you a storybook?"

All these differences can be confusing if you are learning English. But most languages are like this. Languages change over time. When people live in separate places, the languages change in different ways.This is what has happened to English. It can also happen to other languages, such as French. Many people in Canada speak French, but their French is very different from the French of France.

1. What does the author think of the differences between American and British English?

A．American and British English are the same language.

B．American and British English are quite different.

C．Although American English came from the British English, there are still some important differences.

D．There are slight differences between American and British English.

2. What does the underlined word " separate" in Paragraph 2mean?

A．Together.	B．One by one.
C．In common.	D．In different ways.

3. What does the underlined sentence "The same thing is true of some British words in America." mean?

A．The words of American and British English are the same.

B．The spelling of American and British English is the same.

C．Although they don't sound the same, the words are the same.

D．Some British English words are not used in American English.

4. How many ways are talked about the differences between American and British English in the passage?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

5 . Nothing could stop Dad. After he was put on disability for a bad back, he bought a small farm in the country, just enough to grow food for the family. He planted vegetables, fruit trees and even kept bees for honey.
And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料). The smell really burned the inside of your nose. When we complained about the terrible smell, Dad said the stronger the manure, the healthier the crops, and he was right. For example, just one of his cantaloupes(甜瓜) filled the entire house with its sweet smell, and the taste was even sweeter.
As the vegetables started coming in, Dad threw himself into cooking. One day, armed with a basket of vegetables, he announced he was going to make stew(炖菜).Dad pulled out a pressure cooker（高压锅）and filled it up with cabbages, eggplants, potatoes, corns, onions and carrots. For about half an hour, the pressure built and the vegetables cooked. Finally, Dad turned off the stove, the pot began to cool and the pressure relief valve sprayed out a cloud of steam. If we thought Dad's pile of chicken manure was bad, this was 10 times worse. When Dad took off the lid, the smell nearly knocked us out.
Dad carried the pot out and we opened doors and windows to air out the house. Just how bad was it? The neighbors came out of their houses to see if we had a gas leak!
Determined, Dad filled our plates with steaming stew and passed them around. It didn’t look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn’t offend the nose so much, edible, and we drank up every last drop of soup.
1. Why did Dad clean Old Man Mocolgin’s chicken house regularly?

A．To earn some money for the family.

B．To collect manure for his crops.

C．To get rid of the terrible smell.

D．To set a good example to us.

2. What can we infer about Dad’s stew?

A．It is popular among the neighbors.

B．It contains honey and vegetables.

C．It looks very wonderful.

D．It tastes quite delicious.

3. What does the underlined word “offend” in the last paragraph mean?

A．To attract	B．To upset
C．To air	D．To shut

6 . When visitors to the Palace Museum feel a need to sit down for a cup of tea or find a bathroom without a long line, they soon will be able to turn to their smart phones for the information they need.

This modern day solution comes thanks to an agreement signed on Friday by the museum and Huawei Co., the telecommunication giant, to build a “smart network” using 5G technology. Under the agreement, 5G Wi-Fi signals will cover the Palace Museum, China's royal palace from 1420 to 1911, and the branch museum of the institution under construction in northwestern Beijing.

“It’s essential to always stay close to the latest technology to better serve the public,” said Shan Jixiang, former director of the Palace Museum. Shan said there is still much room for improvement in the handling of a huge number of cultural relics (文物)，such as when the priceless painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival is exhibited again in the future. When it was last exhibited in 2015, visitors stood in long lines until 3 am to get a glimpse. The museum ended up preparing instant noodles to serve the hungry visitors. “I don't want that scenario to reoccur," Shan said. “Our operation can be done in a more scientific way.

The new system will also make use of the closed--circuits television cameras that are set up all over the Palace Museum to safeguard the museum's precious relics. More than 1.86 million of them are housed at the museum, which recorded nearly 20 million visits from the public last year, topping all museums worldwide. “How can we make sure no single visitor who might have evil ideas threatens these treasures?" Shan said. “After adopting the internet of things, we can instantly detect any motion involving the artifacts to prevent such threats.”

The 5G network also will be used to improve remote consultation through webcams, which will facilitate conversations with overseas scholars to jointly find the best answers for restoration and preservation issues.

1. What do we know about the Palace Museum?

A．Its visitors won't have to queue up for the bathroom.

B．It has served as China's royal palace for over 500 years.

C．It will cooperate with Huawei to promote its management.

D．It will set up advanced television cameras for the purpose of safety.

2. What does the underlined word “scenario” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Disaster.

B．Situation.

C．Operation.

D．Exhibition.

3. What are the figures in Paragraph 4 intended to show about the Palace Museum?

A．It is better than any other museums.	B．It has a rich collection of cultural relics.
C．It enjoys great popularity all over the world.	D．It faces a tough challenge of protecting relics.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．A Feast for Museum Visitors	B．A Revolution in Exhibition
C．A Protector of Cultural Relics	D．A Connection Between Old and New

7 . Returning to a book you’ve read many times can feel like drinks with an old friend. There’s a welcome familiarity - but also sometimes a slight suspicion that time has changed you both, and thus the relationship. But books don’t change, people do. And that’s what makes the act of rereading so rich and transformative.

The beauty of rereading lies in the idea that our bond with the work is based on our present mental register. It’s true, the older I get, the more I feel time has wings. But with reading, it’s all about the present. It’s about the now and what one contributes to the now, because reading is a give and take between author and reader. Each has to pull their own weight.

There are three books I reread annually .The first, which I take to reading every spring is Emest Hemningway’s A Moveable Feast. Published in 1964, it’s his classic memoir of 1920s Paris. The language is almost intoxicating (令人陶醉的)，an aging writer looking back on an ambitious yet simpler time. Another is Annie Dillard’s Holy the Firm, her poetic 1975 ramble (随笔) about everything and nothing. The third book is Julio Cortazar’s Save Twilight: Selected Poems, because poetry. And because Cortazar.

While I tend to buy a lot of books, these three were given to me as gifs, which might add to the meaning I attach to them. But I imagine that, while money is indeed wonderful and necessary, rereading an author’s work is the highest currency a reader can pay them. The best books are the ones that open further as time passes. But remember, it’s you that has to grow and read and reread in order to better understand your friends.

1. Why does the author like rereading?

A．It evaluates the writer-reader relationship.

B．It’s a window to a whole new world.

C．It’s a substitute for drinking with a friend.

D．It extends the understanding of oneself.

2. What do we know about the book A Moveable Feast?

A．It’s a brief account of a trip.

B．It’s about Hemingway’s life as a young man.

C．It’s a record of a historic event.

D．It’s about Hemingway’s friends in Paris.

3. What does the underlined word ＂currency＂ in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Debt

B．Reward.

C．Allowance.

D．Face value.

4. What can we infer about the author from the text?

A．He loves poetry.

B．He’s an editor.

C．He’s very ambitious.

D．He teaches reading.

8 . Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only(要是……就好了)”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

My father is famous in our family for saying “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.

I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he was 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.

1. Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?

A．Start the car the moment everyone is seated.

B．Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.

C．Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.

D．Move an object out of the way before it trips someone.

2. The underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to______.

A．take up	B．stay away
C．run out of	D．give up

3. The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to _______.

A．keep her appointment with the eye doctor

B．meet her father who was already an old man

C．join in the holiday celebration of the company

D．finish her work before the deadline approached

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Peace of Mind	B．The Most Useful Rule
C．The Two Saddest Words	D．The Emotional Well-being

9 . Among the four skills in learning English，which one of these is the “odd-man-out”? The answer is speaking．The other three you can do alone on your own．But you can’t really speak alone! Speaking to yourself can be “dangerous” because men in white coats may come and take you away!

Where can you find people to speak English? And how can you practice speaking when you are alone?

At school- If you pay to go to a language school, you should use the opportunity to speak．If your teacher asks you to speak in pairs or groups with other students, try to say as much as possible．Don’t worry about your mistakes．Just speak!

Conversation Clubs-Many cities around the world have conversation clubs where people can exchange one language for another．Look in your local newspaper to find a conversation club near you. They are usually free although some may charge a small entrance fee(费用)．

Shopping-Even if you don’t want to buy anything，you can ask questions about products that interest you in a shop．“How much does this cost?” “Can I pay by cheque?” Often you can start a real conversation-and it costs you nothing!

Café and Bars-There are often American，Britain，Irish and Australian bars in many large cities．If you can find one, you’ll probably meet many people speaking English as a first or second language．

Language is all around you-Everywhere you go，you find language．Shop names，street names，advertisements，notices，and car numbers….When you walk down the street，practice reading the words and numbers that you see．Say them to yourself. It’s not exactly a conversation, but it will help you to “think” in English．But don’t speak too loud!

Songs and Video-Repeat the words of an English song singing with the music until it becomes automatic．It’s good practice for your memory and for the mouth muscles that you need for English．

Above all, speak as much as possible! Make as many mistakes as possible! When you know that you have made a mistake，you know that you have made progress!

1. What does the underlined part “odd-man-out” probably mean according to the passage?

A．Someone or something that can be easily mistaken for another．

B．Someone or something appearing different from the others．

C．Someone or something standing out of the group．

D．Someone or something arranged in pairs．

2. In which places can you learn English NOT free of charge?

A．At school, in shops and café bars．

B．In conversation clubs and in the streets．

C．In conversation clubs，shops，songs and video．

D．At school, in conversation clubs and café and bars．

3. Why does the writer say “Make as many mistakes as possible”?

A．Because everyone will make mistakes in learning English.

B．Because making mistakes is a must in making progress in learning English.

C．Because everyone will meet people speaking English with some mistakes.

D．Because making mistakes can make one realize the importance of speaking.

4. What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To tell us that English is all around us.

B．To tell us that we can speak English alone.

C．To give us some advice on how to practice speaking.

D．To tell us speaking is the easiest of the four skills in learning English.

10 . When a terrible earthquake hit, many people were killed and many houses fell down. After the earthquake, all the newspapers reported many stories about some of the families who were in trouble.

One Sunday, when I was reading a newspaper, a special picture touched me. It gave the clothing sizes of each family member. I thought that this would be a good chance to teach my children to help those who were less lucky than ourselves. I said to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and three-year-old Meghan. “ We have so much, and these poor people now have nothing. We’ll share what we have with them.”

I filled a box with foods and clothes. While I was doing this, I encouraged the boys to choose their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys took out their old toys and games and put them together. Then she walked away. A few minutes later she came back with Lucy, her much-loved doll. She put the doll on top of the other toys. “ Oh, dear,” I said. “ You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much.” Meghan said, “ Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she’ll make another little girl happy, too.”

I looked at Meghan for a long moment. She taught me a lesson. It’s easy to give something that we don’t want any more, but harder to give what we cherish (珍爱), isn’t it?

1. The writer has _______ children.

A．one

B．two

C．three

D．four

2. The underlined word “ donate ” probably means _______

A．捐赠

B．丢掉

C．展出

D．放好

3. Lucy is the name of _______.

A．a girl

B．a game

C．a doll

D．an earthquake

4. What’s the best title of this passage?

A．A Family Story.	B．The Spirit of Giving.
C．The way of helping others.	D．A Sad Experience.