1 . Have you ever wondered why certain pop songs just make you feel so good? Researchers studying the question found that uncertainty and surprise give listeners the most pleasure. The study included 80,000 chords（和弦）in 745 pop songs between 1958 and 1991.
Each song was stripped of its melody（旋律）and lyrics（歌词）so that only chords were left and the results couldn’t be misunderstood by other imaginations of the songs that listeners might have had.
They found two things. Listeners got great pleasure from unexpected chords when they knew what would happen. However, they still found it pleasant to hear familiar chords when they did not know what would follow.
Vincent Cheung, the lead researcher, said, "Pleasant songs are likely those which keep a good balance（平衡）between knowing what is going to happen next and surprising us with something we did not expect. Understanding how music starts our pleasure system in the brain could explain why listening to music might help us feel better when we are feeling blue.”
Cheung told CNN that pleasure in music is connected to expectation. The study before had looked into the effects of surprise on pleasure, but his team's study also paid attention to the uncertainty of listeners' expectations.
1. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Removed. | B．Added. |
| C．Played. | D．Recorded. |
| A．They listened to lots of pop songs. |
| B．They focus on the chords in popular songs. |
| C．They imagined the songs that can make people pleased. |
| D．They found lots of songs and then compared each other. |
| A．Pleasant music can explain human nature. |
| B．Listening to music might make people feel blue. |
| C．Music can improve the pleasure system of people. |
| D．Pleasant music comes from the balance of expectation and surprise. |
| A．His study only paid attention to chords in songs. |
| B．His study focused on the effects of surprise on pleasure. |
| C．His study took time to how music starts the pleasure system. |
| D．His study paid attention to the uncertainty of listeners' expectations. |
2 . My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s(老年痴呆症) last summer.Suddenly, it was difficult for me to accept that the roles were now reversed-my mother became my child, and I became her mother.I became impatient, argued with her, once I even yelled at her.Gradually, I was used to this kind of life.Now I am able to deal with her and the situation better.I have learned a lot of life lessons from the experience.
My mother reacts very sensitively to my feelings.That is typical of Alzheimer’s patients.When I visit her, feeling busy and tense, she reacts immediately, takes on my mood, and becomes nervous and negative.But when I appear cheerful and attentive, she is happy.This has taught me to pay more attention to my own feelings when I am with other people.
I was thought I was very tolerant( 容 忍 的 ), but in reality, my tolerance ran out as soon as someone turned away from what I considered “right”.With my mother I can now really be tolerant.Through her illness she has developed a childlike tactlessness(不得体).Eating out in restaurants, for example, is a bit embarrassing when she shouts at the waiter that the food is so bad or talks about people at the next table in a loud voice.Of course I make sure that my mother doesn’t offend(冒犯) anyone, but I’ve stopped complaining about others and have become more tolerant.
I have also learned that everything has special value.When my mother got sick, I didn’t want to burden my two daughters with it.They are young and have enough going on with their education and starting their careers.I felt that it was simply my job as my mother’s daughter.The most wonderful discovery I’ve made through my mother’s disease may be that my children not only offer to help me when they sense that I’m feeling overwhelmed, but that they take care of my mother on their own initiative(主动地).They visit her often, play cards with her, and look at photo albums together with her.It shows me that it’s all worth it.
1. Which of the following is common behavior of Alzheimer’s patients?| A．Curiosity about everything. | B．Sensitivity to other’s moods. |
| C．Fear of strange people. | D．Quick reaction. |
| A．concerned | B．scared | C．embarrassed | D．stressed |
| A．the writer accepted the role change immediately |
| B．the writer only paid attention to her mother’s feelings |
| C．the writer has a great sense of responsibility |
| D．the daughters took over the responsibility to look after their grandmother |
| A．how I cared for my sick mother |
| B．how I became more tolerant |
| C．what I have learned from my mother’s illness |
| D．why I am feeling overwhelmed |
3 . 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. |
4 . Magic (魔术) is believed to have begun with the Egyptians, in 1700 BC. A magician named Dedi of Dedsnefu was reported to have performed for the pharaoh (法老), or the king. He was also known to have entertained (使娱乐) the slaves who built the pyramids. The “Cups and Balls” trick that he was particularly good at is still performed by magicians all over the world today.
The ancient Greeks and Romans were also fascinated by the idea of magic. Actually, one of their main interests was the art of deception (欺骗). This explains why at that time the priests even built magic devices into their temples. These devices made it possible for doors to open by themselves and wine to flow magically out of statues’ mouths. This was done mainly to make people believe that the priests had unusual power.
Magic however, was not well accepted before the 1800s. Magicians were thought to be freaks(怪物) and, were only allowed to perform in a circus. It was in the 19th century that the magician Robert Houdin came along and changed people’s views and attitudes about magic. It was because of Robert Houdin that many magicians were able to add Dr. or MD to their names. Today magicians try hard to find new ways to show their practiced skills. Magic is now entertainment for families all over the world.
1. What is the best title for the passage?| A．Magical Tricks | B．A Great Magician |
| C．Magic as Entertainment | D．The History of Magic |
| A．amused | B．encouraged | C．attracted | D．moved |
| A．They performed magical tricks to entertain people. |
| B．They made the statues in the temples drink wine as they wished. |
| C．They treated the people with wine flowing down from statues’ mouths. |
| D．They built magic devices in the temples to make doors open by themselves. |
| A．Magic should be used only in temples. |
| B．Magic could only be performed in a circus. |
| C．Magic was performed by freaks and doctors. |
| D．Magic was the major daily activity for the pharaohs. |
| A．Magic began about 3,700 years ago. |
| B．Dedi of Dedsnefu performed magic for kings only. |
| C．Robert Houdin was the first magician to perform magic. |
| D．The “Cups and Balls” trick has been performed for about 1,700 years. |
5 . Have you ever wondered why certain pop songs just make you feel so good? Researchers studying the question found that uncertainty and surprise give listeners the most pleasure. The study included 80,000 chords (和弦) in 745 pop songs between 1958 and 1991.
Each song was stripped of its melody (旋律) and lyrics (歌词) so that only chords were left and the results couldn’t be misunderstood by other imaginations of the songs that listeners might have had.
They found two things. Listeners got great pleasure from unexpected chords when they knew what would happen. However, they still found it pleasant to hear familiar chords when they did not know what would follow.
Vincent Cheung, the lead researcher, said, “Pleasant songs are likely those which keep a good balance (平衡) between knowing what is going to happen next and surprising us with something we did not expect. Understanding how music starts our pleasure system in the brain could explain why listening to music might help us feel better when we are feeling blue.”
Cheung told CNN that pleasure in music is connected to expectation. The study before had looked into the effects of surprise on pleasure, but his team’s study also paid attention to the uncertainty of listeners’ expectations.
1. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Taken. | B．Added. |
| C．Played. | D．Recorded. |
| A．Expected music is exciting. | B．Unexpected chords bring pleasure. |
| C．Familiar music is boring. | D．Unfamiliar chords are hard to follow. |
| A．They can explain human nature. | B．They can improve our pleasure system. |
| C．They make some people feel blue. | D．They balance expectation and surprise. |
| A．To introduce a scientific study’s finding. | B．To show music’s importance in our life. |
| C．To compare different studies on music. | D．To experiment music in science. |
6 . It was late, about 10:15 p.m, when Janice Esposito arrived at the New York train station and began the 20-minute drive home. She had traveled the route so many times that she almost drove on autopilot (自动驾驶):a left onto Station Road, then a left on Montauk Highway, and then-bang! Out of nowhere, a car T-boned Janice’s car, pushing her backward onto the railroad tracks.
As it happened, Pole DiPinto was gelling ready for bed. He'd just closed his book when he heard the loud crash not far outside his bedroom window. A volunteer firefighter and retired teacher, 64, never stopped to think, He grabbed a flashlight and still in his pajamas (睡衣), ran out the door. “Any firefighter would have? done what I did,” he said, “We're always on duly.”
The first car he came upon was the one that had hit Janice. Once DiPinto concluded the driver was OK, he looked around and spotted Janice's car lay across the railroad tracks. And then he heard a terrible sound: the bells signaling an on-coming train.
DiPinto rushed to Janice's cur and banged on the driver's side window. She just looked at him, her eyes unfocused. “I don't know where I am,” she said. She seemed unhurt. “Honey, you're on the railroad tracks,” DiPinto shouted, “We have to get you off right now!” He pulled hard on the door handle, but it didn't work. The heavy train, traveling at 65 miles per hour, was heading toward them. DiPinto ran to the passenger side and threw open the door. “Please, God, don't let her be trapped”, he thought. He pushed aside the airbags, grabbed Janice's arms, and pulled her toward him across the passenger seat until he could help her out and walk her to safety. Within six seconds, he estimated, the train crashed into the car.
“It was like a Hollywood movie,” DiPinto told reporters the next day. But this one had a difference. That night, the hero arrived in pajamas, not in a fire truck.
1. Which of the following words can best replace the underlined word "T-boned" in Paragraph 1?| A．Crashed into. | B．Came across. |
| C．Pushed forward. | D．Scratched the side of. |
| A．He was the volunteer firefighter who was on duty that night. |
| B．He wasn't aware of the coming train when he was rescuing Janice. |
| C．He was in sound sleep in his bedroom when the accident happened. |
| D．He first confirmed the other driver before he came to Janice's rescue. |
| A．Janice didn't know where she was. |
| B．The airbags protected her in some way. |
| C．DiPinto rescued Janice without difficulty. |
| D．All the doors of Janice's car were in good condition. |
| A．A Hero in Pajamas. | B．A Hollywood Movie. |
| C．A Dangerous Heavy Train. | D．A Horrible Car Accident. |
7 . To me, life without music would not be exciting. I realize that this is not true for everybody. Many people get along quite well without going to the concert, and listening to the record. But music plays an important part in everyone's life, whether he realizes it or not. Try to imagine, for example, what films or TV plays would be like without music. Would the feelings, the moving plot, and the greatest interests, be so exciting or dramatic? I'm not sure about it.
Now, we have been speaking of music in its more common meaning----the kind of music we hear in the concert hall. But if we look at some parts of music more closely, we discover them in our everyday life too----in the rhythm of the sea, the melody of a bird in the woods and so on. So music surely has meaning for everyone, in some way or other. And, of course, it has special meaning for those who have spent all their lives working on playing or writing music.
It is well said, “Through music a child enters into a world of beauty, expresses himself from his heart, feels the joy of doing things alone, learns to take care of others, develops his mind and makes his body strong.”
1. What does the writer say more about in the text?| A．Life full of music. | B．The importance of music. |
| C．Life without music. | D．The development of music. |
| A．go to the concert instead of enjoying music |
| B．get along quite well without music |
| C．don't realize the importance of music |
| D．think music would be less exciting than films |
| A．flying | B．living |
| C．looking | D．singing |
| A．is very necessary for our everyday life |
| B．is very important, especially for children |
| C．can make our life exciting and dramatic |
| D．can enter another beautiful world |
8 . Record fires sweeping across the Amazon this month have been catching global headlines as scientists and environmental groups are worried that they will worsen climate change and threaten biodiversity(生物多样性).
As the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is often called “the lungs of the world”. It is also home to about 3 million species of plants and animals, and 1 million local people. The vast lands of rainforest play an important role in the world’s ecosystem because they take in heat instead of it being reflected back into the atmosphere. They also store carbon dioxide (二氧化碳)and produce oxygen, making sure that less carbon is given off, mitigating the effects of climate change.
“Any forest destroyed is a threat to biodiversity and the people who use that biodiversity,” Thomas Lovejoy, an ecologist at George Mason University told National Geographic. “The shocking threat is that a lot of carbon goes into the atmosphere,” he stressed. “Facing the global climate change, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity. The Amazon must be protected,” U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
Data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) show that the number of forest fires in Brazil quickly increased by 82 percent from January to August this year from a year ago. A total of 71,497 forest fires were recorded in the country in the first eight months of 2019, up from 39,194 in the same period in 2018, INPE said. “It’s reported that the forest areas in the Brazilian Amazon have decreased something between 20 and 30 percent compared to the last 12 months,” Carlos Nobre, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo, told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Brazil owns about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest, whose drop could have severe results for global climate and rainfall. The size of the area ruined by fires has yet to be determined, but the emergency has transcended(超出）Brazil’s borders, reaching Peruvian, Paraguayan and Bolivian areas.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly talking about?| A．The effects of climate change. |
| B．The role of the Amazon rainforest. |
| C．The results of the Amazon rainforest fires. |
| D．The causes of the decreasing biodiversity. |
| A．Easing. | B．Causing. |
| C．Worsening. | D．Benefiting |
| A．The biodiversity makes the rainforests unique. |
| B．The rainforest fires result in serious consequences. |
| C．The global climate crisis brings more rainforest fires. |
| D．The dry weather leads to the rainforest fires. |
| A．Sports and music. | B．Science and technology. |
| C．Nature and geography. | D．Business and culture. |
9 . When you’re sitting in class or behind your desk waiting for the clock to strike a time when you can go home, it is natural that your mind should wander (走神) a bit. It is common for your mind to wander to a vacation and even travel around the world. What if there is a way that you can travel around the world without having to pay any money?
A person that managed to make it around the world without spending much was Shantanu Starick. How did he trade off his service? Starick realized that as a photographer he had a service that people would usually be willing to pay money for, but he would instead offer his photography service to anyone who could provide him with food, shelter (住处) and transportation. Starick has been traveling for a surprising 30 months and has visited countries ranging from the United States to Ecuador.
In English-speaking countries, trading off services and communicating aren’t difficult for Starick. However, in farther areas where there isn’t an English- speaking person in sight it can be quite difficult. More than anything, the locals appreciate (欣赏) the effort behind trying to speak their language, even if you don’t exactly sound like a native speaker.
You can do it too!
Honestly, with a bit of confidence, drive and a skill you can trade, you’ll be able to do exactly the same as Starick.
Start thinking about what you can do to get around the world without paying money. With our social networks and the connectivity our world has, you can easily connect with and market yourself to people across the world without any effort.
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic. |
| B．To describe students in class. |
| C．To give an example for the text. |
| D．To show people’s state of mind. |
| A．Join. | B．Exchange. |
| C．Stop. | D．Improve. |
| A．The skills. |
| B．The confidence to succeed. |
| C．The bravery to travel. |
| D．The effort to speak the local language. |
| A．His job is only traveling around the world. |
| B．He is too poor to afford the travels. |
| C．He has a skill to travel without paying much money. |
| D．He doesn’t hear of other languages except English. |
10 . Are you afraid of going to the dentist(牙医)?If so, you’re not alone.
These fears could just be in our heads, however. According to a recent survey by Martin Tickle, a professor at the University of Manchester in the UK, the pain isn’t felt most of the time in dental surgeries(牙科手术). In fact, among the 451 interviewed patients, 75％reported no pain at all during their visits, including situations when they had their teeth pulled out.
Could it be the sound of the drill(钻头)then?
“I found that the sound of drilling can evoke deep worry in dental patients. Actually they don’t have any pain, ”Hiroyuki Karibe, a scientist at Nippon Dental University in Tokyo, told The Guardian.
To find the reason why a drill might bring on a racing heart, Karibe divided the volunteers into low-fear and high-fear groups based on how much they feared a trip to the dentist. Volunteers were played the sound of a drill while their brain activities were watched by a machine.
What Karibe found in the low-fear group was increased activity in the areas of the brain relative to auditory processing(听觉处理), which means, for these people, the sound of dental drills is no different from other sounds.
In the high-fear group, however, the brain area that was activated(激活)was different. It was the area that carries out a number of duties, including learning, feelings and, most importantly, memory. This means that these volunteers not only heard the sound, but they remembered it——they made connections between the sound of a drill and the worry it produced in the past, causing their worry to return.
Understanding how brains reply to the sounds of dentists’ drills could help scientists find ways to make patients more relaxed, according to Karibe, because patients who worry about going to the dentist might keep putting off their visits. But the best way is to keep your teeth healthy.
1. How does the writer explain that the pain isn’t felt most of the time in dental surgeries?| A．By showing facts with numbers. | B．By asking questions one by one. |
| C．B y giving examples group by group. | D．By comparing results of patients. |
| A．减轻 | B．引起 |
| C．显示 | D．阻止 |
| A．It produced some worry in the volunteers in the low-fear group. |
| B．For the low-fear group, it activated the brain area dealing with learning, feelings and memory. |
| C．For the high-fear group，it caused more activities in the brain area relative to auditory processing. |
| D．It made people in the high-fear group remember their past uncomfortable memories. |
| A．How the study might be useful. |
| B．Some new ways to treat teeth. |
| C．The proper way to treat dental patients. |
| D．The importance of keeping our teeth healthy. |
| A．To show US different areas of fear in brains． |
| B．To introduce US a recent survey by a scientist． |
| C．To help US have less fear of a trip to the dentist． |
| D．To make it clear that the sound of drilling is not terrible． |
