1 . The nine woman of Bella Mondo win over yet another audience. The group is one of just a handful of all-women ensembles (乐队) in Ivory Coast.
It all started in 2007. Prisca Allou was a music student. A music producer came to see her. He said he wanted to make an all-female ensemble to keep a promise to his late mother.
Allou got on board and was charged with recruiting (招募) other members. “It wasn’t easy at first. Some parents were against it. You know, in Africa, the place of women is often seen as being either in an office or at home. That was the fixed image.” Allou spread the word and took out ads in local papers. Most of the girls she found were not professional players. “I just played some tamtam. I learned to play drums when I joined Bella Mondo.” The girls spent the next four years learning to play their instruments. Many gave up along the way, but eight of them soldiered on with Allou, and Bella Mondo was founded.
The band plays original songs and covers. Their music spans a wide range of styles: funk, reggae, pop music. They released their first album in 2013... and have performed in Paris, Dakar, Cotonou and, of course, here at home in Abidjan.
You can see them nearly every Thursday at this bar, the same place that gave the band its start years ago. “Oh yes, I was surprised at first. A woman singing, you see that every day, but an entire band, playing all the instruments and everything? It was extraordinary. I was dumbstruck. Bella Mondo is a great band.”
The women are now working on their second album.
1. Why did the music producer want to form a female ensemble?| A．To sponsor music students. | B．To comfort his mother. |
| C．To carry out his promise. | D．To win over an audience. |
| A．The band charged too much. |
| B．A number of parents didn’t support it. |
| C．Most women prefer to work in a government office. |
| D．African women are not allowed to leave their homes. |
| A．What Allou experienced. |
| B．How Bella Mondo was born. |
| C．Why most girls gave up halfway. |
| D．How the girls learned to play instruments. |
| A．Astonished. | B．Amused. | C．Determined. | D．Satisfied. |
2 . Body language has always been a hot topic of interesting dinner conversations and now today it is still a hot topic. It is perhaps one of the most powerful forms of human expression or human communication!
Body language is a very important part of communication which can constitute 50% or more of what we are communicating to the other person. If you wish to communicate effectively, then it makes sense to understand how you can (and cannot) use your body to say what you mean.
Body language can be used to discover all sorts of things ,such as knowing when someone is attracted to you, finding truth and lies, showing confidence, winning respect in any situation, and you can use body language to put people at ease, make friends quickly, persuade, and influence.
So what is body language? Body language is a term used to describe the method of communication using body movements or gestures instead of sounds, verbal(口头的) language or other communication. Body language includes the most subtle(微妙的)movements that many people are not aware of, including winking(眨眼) and slight movement of the eyebrows and other facial expressions.
Body language is one of the easiest ways for you to tell what's really going on in a conversation with another person. The body language that you observe from other people will tell you whether or not those people are being straight up with you or whether there is more to the story that’s not being said. Watch, look,and observe. Sometimes you can tell more by a person’s body language than the words they speak.
1. The underlined word “constitute” in Paragraph 2 probably means ___________.| A．make up | B．take up | C．turn up | D．put up |
| A．What body language is. | B．When people use body language. |
| C．Body language is very useful. | D．Body language is very convenient. |
| A．winking your eyes | B．making eye contact |
| C．the movement of the eyebrows | D．the communication in a low voice |
| A．remember everything they say | B．understand the hidden meaning |
| C．find lies from them | D．show respect for them |
3 . How often do you exercise? A new study finds that most kids aged 12 to 15 aren't getting enough physical activity. The results are based on about 800 kids. As part of the study, the young teens tracked and reported on their own activity levels, and took physical exams.
The US fitness guidelines recommend an hour or more of physical activity every day. According to the study, only 1in 4 kids in the US get enough physical activity.
“It's certainly very worrying to see that our kids are engaging in such a limited amount of physical activity each day,” said Dr. Stephen Pont. He is an expert on children's health.
Few kids in the survey met the guidelines for physical activity that raises the heart rate and makes them breathe harder. Overall, about 25% said they got an hour of that kind of violent exercise every day. Kids also reported on which activities they did most often outside of the school gym class--basketball for boys and running for girls.
The study found that obese（肥胖的） teens were less active than normal-weight girls and boys. Overweight girls were slightly less active than normal-weight girls, but levels were similar among overweight and normal-weight boys. The study also said that the overall obesity rate for children aged 2 to 19 is 17%, or about 12.5 million kids.
“There's always room for improvement,” said health expert Tala Fakhouri, who was the lead author of the study. She also said the results provide useful information to help with fitness campaigns such as Lets Move, which was launched by Michelle Obama in 2010. To inspire kids to eat right and get in shape, Michelle visited schools and held exercise events. She also called on schools to offer regular gym classes.
The study also suggests kids who get physical education at school may get better grades.
1. What is the result of the new study?| A．It is important to take physical exams |
| B．Most US kids don’t get enough exercise |
| C．Kids should get physical activity every day |
| D．800 kids don’t get enough physical activity. |
| A．To help kids to keep fit. |
| B．To hold exercise events. |
| C．To offer regular gym classes. |
| D．To provide useful information. |
| A．do better in their studies |
| B．try their best to get in shape |
| C．be more willing to help others |
| D．be less active than fat children |
| A．visited | B．stopped |
| C．started | D．improved |
4 . Where in the classroom do you prefer to sit,and why? Scientists have discovered that seating preference not only shows students’ personalities,but has a great influence on their school performance.Generally speaking,students show different attitudes depending on where they sit. Based on the research, scientists have developed a funnel-like(像漏斗的) model of “learning zones(区域)” to see the relationship between seating and active learning.
In this model,the mouth of the funnel(A) is the best position for learning. Students in this front area prove to be the most active learners.They show a greater desire(渴求) for learning,which leads them to focus(集中注意力) better and take a more active part than the rest of the class.Those in the neck of the funnel(B) don’t pay the same close attention,but they ask a lot of questions,partly because of the added confidence they feel from being in a safe zone, with others around them. Less desirable is the area “outside the funnel(C,D),” which refers to the side and the back rows,where students take a less active part in classroom activities and find it hard to focus their attention, falling asleep at times.
Studies about learning zones suggest that a change in traditional seating plans can benefit students. In fact, a growing number of teachers have begun less traditional seating plans,such as “U-Type”.There are no side and back areas,so teachers can expect their students to take part in activities more actively and increase student-teacher interaction(互动).
1. According to scientists,students’ learning is greatly influenced by .| A．the number of students | B．the time of class |
| C．seating positions | D．the size of the classroom |
| A．sometimes fall asleep | B．feel safe and confident |
| C．seldom ask their teachers questions | D．try to avoid looking directly at the teacher |
| A．Area A. | B．Area B. | C．Area C. | D．Area D. |
| A．Cause trouble for. | B．Take control of. |
| C．Give a warning to. | D．Do good to. |
5 . It was another day to jump rope in gym class. Lynn and Mike turned the long rope in big, slow circles. The whole class hurried to get in line to wait for their turn to jump. Millie stood at the back of the line and frowned.
Nick went first. He watched the rope and ran in at just the right time. Everyone counted. He made it all the way to 30 jumps. One after another, the kids watched the rope ran in and jumped. Then it was Millie’s turn. She watched the rope go around and around, but she didn’t move. She felt like everyone was looking at her.
Millie’s friends cheered, “Go, Millie, go!”
Millie’s face turned red. At last, she gave it a try, but she failed.
The truth was that Millie had been jumping rope at home every day. With a short rope, she could jump 100 times without missing. She just didn’t how to run in and start jumping with a long rope. Since she was the only kid on her street, there was no one to help turn the long rope.
Just then, Ms Miles, the gym teacher, brought bunch of short jump ropes.
“Let’s see how long each one of you can jump without missing,” she said as she gave each student a short rope
“Ready, set. Go!”
Millie smiled for the first time ever in gym class. As she jumped, she sang rhymes quickly to herself.
After a while, Millie realised that everyone was cheering “Go, Millie, go!”
She was the only one still jumping rope! The surprise almost made her miss a step, but she kept going. When at last she was too tired to go on, she stopped. The whole class cheered. Everyone was looking at her and smiling. Millie smiled back!
1. Which word is the opposite (相反的) of the underlined word “frowned”?| A．Sat. | B．Hid. | C．Smiled. | D．Cried. |
| A．She did something well at last. |
| B．She knew the class would cheer for her. |
| C．She thought that she was going to make a friend. |
| D．She believed that she would be the winner of the contest. |
| A．The class decided to play baseball. |
| B．Millie was the last one still jumping rope. |
| C．Nick won the rope-jumping contest. |
| D．Millie tried to hide in the back of the line. |
| A．Proud. | B．Bored. | C．Mad. | D．Silly. |
6 . A quarrel at home may result in you falling ill. Don't laugh, it's true. Family matters including living habits and even the way we speak have a big effect on our health, doctors say.
Wang Xiaoyu, a Senior 2 girl from Xichang, Sichuan Province, fainted (晕倒) in class when she heard her classmates quarrel at the top of their voices. Quarrels between her parents also put the girl into a coma. It is because she is suffering from depression , caused by bad relations at home, doctors explained."We don't get sick or stay well by ourselves," says Dr Robert Ferrer from the US. Ferrer shows that family forces may explain up to a quarter of health problems, in his recent research.
The genes you get from your family may cause illness. If one of your parents has a heart attack, your risk of being affected (影响) may double. But effects on health are not only written in our DNA.
Unrelated people who live under the same roof also get similar problems. Diet, lifestyle and environment affect our health, too.
Ferrer's research also found that if teenagers feel they are ignored (忽视) or unimportant at home they are more likely to get sick.
We may never fully understand all the effects that families have on our health. But just as individual problems can have effects on others, a small improvement can have big benefits , Ferrer said.
1. Which of the following can best explain why Wang Xiaoyu fainted in class?| A．Because her classmates often quarreled in class. |
| B．Because her parents used to quarrel. |
| C．Because of her depression caused by bad family relations. |
| D．Because her classmates shouted loudly at her. |
| A．We get sick or stay well by ourselves. |
| B．Only the genes we get from our family have a big effect on our health. |
| C．Our health has nothing to do with diet, life style and environment. |
| D．Teenagers who are ignored at home get sick more easily than those who are not. |
| A．embarrassment | B．faint | C．tiredness | D．sadness |
| A．Family relations. | B．The reasons why we get sick. |
| C．Happy family makes you healthy. | D．A research about teenagers' health. |
7 . Have you ever wondered if you see the same colours as other people? Most people know what blue is when they see it. They see the colour and call it “blue” because they were taught the word and associated it with what they saw. But how do you know what you see as blue isn’t someone else’s red?
The ability to perceive colours is down to receptors in our eyes. Light waves hit these receptors and they react depending on which colour the light is, sending signals to the brain. The brain then decodes these signals to determine which colour light the eyes are receiving. Some people’s receptors are more developed than others. People with weaker receptors usually have colour blindness. The inability of the receptor to interpret the light waves correctly means that some people cannot tell different shades of a colour.
In the past, most scientists would argue that everyone saw colours in the same way. However, research was conducted on monkeys, in which they were injected with a virus affecting their receptors. This enabled them to understand more colours than usual and brought an interesting discovery. Normally monkeys can only see blue and green, but the virus allowed monkeys to see red. The neurons (神经元) in their brains adapted to be able to understand new colours, which might mean the neurons in our brains are not instinctive (本能的) to automatically understand which colour is which. This implies that our brains and neurons may adapt depending on our stimulus (刺激) during the developmental phase. Colour could be a very personal experience, unique to everyone.
So, the next time you talk about your favourite colour, just remember if yours is blue and your friend says red, you might actually be thinking about the same colour. What if everyone in the world has the same favourite colour, but just calls it different names?
1. What does the underlined word “perceive” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Explain. | B．See. | C．Analyze. | D．Track. |
| A．They can see many shades of some colours. |
| B．Their receptors fail to send signals to their brains. |
| C．There are not enough light waves hitting their receptors. |
| D．The receptors in their eyes are not well developed. |
| A．Monkeys can only only see two colours-green and blue. |
| B．The neurons in monkeys’ brain can instinctively distinguish colours. |
| C．Brains and neurons can be stimulated to recognize new colors. |
| D．The neurons in human brain work differently from monkey’s. |
8 . The decision on Tuesday by Japan and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games until next summer because of the novel coronavirus pandemic must have been a hard one to make.
Although the Games have been canceled—three times in all, in 1916, 1940 and 1944—due to the two world wars in the modern Olympics’ history of more than 120 years, never before have any Games been postponed to a different year.
Nonetheless, the decision is the right one. If it is not brought under control, the harm done to human society by the pandemic could be more serious and far-reaching than even the two world wars. Given the number of countries affected and social and economic shock waves that have been caused by the rapid spread of the virus, postponing the Games is the only right and sensible choice to make.
After all, nothing is more important than people’s lives. Postponing the Games not only safeguards the health of athletes, audiences and everyone involved in the Games, but also reduces potential transmission of the virus from one place to another. Even looking at it from only a sporting level, the pandemic has already caused huge disruptions to athletes’ training and the qualification process.
It is undoubtedly a big blow for Japan, which has prepared meticulously for the largest sports event in the world, including renovating and upgrading its infrastructure and sports venues, such as rebuilding Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium at cost of $1.45 billion. Japan will suffer huge loss at least in the short term.
The international community owes a big “thank you” to Japan for all it has done for the Games despite the postponement. That’s why the Games will still be called the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 despite taking place in 2021. The Olympic flame will also remain stored and displayed in Japan.
More importantly, all members in the Olympic family, guided by the Olympic spirit of respect and understanding are morally bound to stand behind Japan to go through this most difficult moment in the Games’ history.
1. What does the word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to?| A．The decision. | B．The Games. | C．The pandemic. | D．The war. |
| A．Wisely. | B．Recently. | C．Easily. | D．Precisely. |
| A．the Games should be put off in times of war and disaster |
| B．the Games will still be called Tokyo 2020 Games for its sacrifice |
| C．postponing the Games will have a bad influence on the athletes |
| D．the Olympic family will have to make up for the loss of Japan |
| A．The whole world will support Japan. | B．Japan will keep the Olympic flame burning. |
| C．Postponing the Games will bring the world hope. | D．Tokyo will become the symbol of the Games. |
9 . If you’ve ever had to chop an onion，you probably know that it’s one of the most annoying cooking experiences．It just fills your eyes with tears．Scientists and farmers have been working on a solution to this problem for decades，and they’ve apparently come up with a tearless onion．
Called the“Sunion”，this new vegetable is the result of a natural cross-breeding program that’s been going on farms in Nevada and Washington since the 1980s．It’s supposedly a sweet，mild-tasting onion that doesn’t leave that strong，pungent aftertaste，but what really sets it apart from most other onion varieties is that it doesn’t cause teary eyes when it’s chopped．
When you cut into a normal onion，it releases a compound called lachrymatory-factor synthase，and’when that hits your eyes，your body produces tears．Now，the interesting thing about regular onions is that the amounts of lachrymatory-factor synthase increase the longer the vegetables are stored，so the older they，the more you cry．In Sunions，on the other hand，the levels of that annoying compound drop the more time goes by，until it no longer has any effect on your eyes when you cut it．
That’s what Sunion growers are claiming anyway，but reports from those lucky enough to have tried them seem to confirm these claims．The Huffington Post had three of its reporters chop some Sunions，and apparently，none of them shed a single tear．According to the Washington Post，they don’t have the pungency of regular onions and are so sweet that you can eat them“like popcorn”．
So the good news is that tearless onions are now a real thing．The bad news is that they are currently only grown in Washington and Nevada，and even though they are sold nationwide，they are still in relatively short supply．The first Sunion batches hit the shelves of grocery stores in December，but we’11 probably start seeing them in most grocery shops and supermarkets in the next few years，as more people learn about them．
1. What is special about the Sunion?| A．It’s easily chopped． | B．It’s sweet and tastes strong． |
| C．It’s tearless and mild． | D．It’s grown nationwide in the USA． |
| A．By comparison． | B．By telling a story． |
| C．By giving examples． | D．By asking questions． |
| A．Round shape． | B．Strong smell． |
| C．Special character． | D．Medical function． |
| A．The Sunion has been largely on the market． |
| B．The Sunion is still on trial at present． |
| C．The Sunion will soon be grown worldwide． |
| D．The author is confident about the future of the Sunion． |
10 . With the explosion of consumer choices in recent history,the latest must-haves would surely need to be upgraded more often than every 10 years.In 2002 a computer and basic mobile phone would have been enough for most people,but now?The public need a trendy notebook computer and a smart phone with WiFi connection to feel they are up-to-date.So when will we have enough things?When will we finally be happy?Well,it looks like the things we buy today will barely keep us satisfied for a few months.
In the eyes of some psychologists,far from making us happy,greater consumer choice creates many serious psychological problems.A fundamental principle of the society is that more freedom is better and more choice in the marketplace means more freedom.Therefore more choice leads to more happiness.This is not the case,however.
Imagine you go to a cafe offering chocolate and vanilla ice cream.You choose the chocolate and eat it happily.But what if the cafe serves 50 kinds of ice cream?You choose chocolate and then start to worry,"maybe blueberry would have been better,and perhaps the half-fat ice cream would have been healthier.Stupid me,all these choices and I didn't make the best one!"
In China's major cities we have now passed the point where more consumer choice is making us happier.We are annoyed by all the options we have,disappointed because our expectations are so high and angered at ourselves when we don't make a perfect choice every time.
A newspaper reporter tells a story about traveling on a plane with high-speed Internet access.He thought this was amazing--the newest piece of technology he had heard of.Then the service went down.The man next to him was angry and swore.The reporter thought,"How quickly the world owes him something he knew existed only 10 seconds ago!"
1. What may some psychologists think of the consumer demand in the cafe?| A．Variety leads to unhappiness. | B．More choice means more freedom. |
| C．The consumer has mental problems. | D．The shop provides too many choices. |
| A．Someone owed him money. | B．The net connection was interrupted. |
| C．The air hostess offered poor service. | D．The pleasure lasted only 10seconds. |
| A．Fell asleep. | B．Made promises. |
| C．Said rude words. | D．Became amazed. |
| A．Hi-tech and consumer needs. |
| B．Computers and smart phones. |
| C．Wireless products and WiFi connection. |
| D．Diverse choices and consumer satisfaction. |
