1 . Traveling with kids is 90 percent reminding yourself to live in the moment and 10 percent making up your mind to never again leave your house.
I have an uncanny ability to forget this as soon as we return home from a trip and I've finished washing piles of dirty clothes in our luggage and cleaning all the messy caused by the kids. Extremely tired and annoyed, I would actually begin to miss the place we just left!
Family travel is like childbirth, I suppose. Painful, loud, messy, sort of awful, actually, but also wonderful. And you remember only the wonderful—until you’re back on a plane and your kids are fighting over who gets the aisle seat. Then you remember the bad stuff.
Last weekend, my kids and I flew to Texas for a trip we would have nothing to complain(抱怨) about—big hotel, wonderful view.
And yet—we found things to complain about. The pool was bigger in that other hotel! Why do you get to shower first? They call this coffee?! Luckily, I’ve learned to put my metaphorical coat of armor (盔甲) on as soon as we land somewhere, and it forces complaints to bounce off me and land in a pile at my feet.
For three days, genuine fun was had and annoying complaints were heard and ignored. Until it was time to catch a plane and fly home.
Unfortunately, our flight was canceled. We spent hours finding a hotel room. We hit the hotel pool before bed and swam well into the night, my kids making up songs and laughing so hard at their silly lyrics (歌词) and their crazy good fortune to be swimming at 10: 30 on a school night.
And that was when it hit me that family travel is all those things I said before but it’s also a lot more. It’s taking your kids to parts of the world that will open their eyes and finding that actually, yours need opening too. It’s remembering that joy and memories are where you make them, not where you find them.
1. The underlined word “uncanny” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to .| A．unknown. | B．uncertain. |
| C．unexpected. | D．unusual. |
| A．they both cause financial trouble and pain. |
| B．they are both hard as well as rewarding. |
| C．childhood memories come flooding back when they travel. |
| D．both of them need many preparations. |
| A．she tries to deal with the complaints more wisely and properly. |
| B．she turns those annoying complaints into a means to educate kids. |
| C．she has improved her language skills when handling the complaints. |
| D．she has succeeded in escaping kids’ fighting thanks to the armor. |
| A．family vacation benefits her kids as well as her. |
| B．joy and memories should be created rather than discovered. |
| C．the most unforgettable memory for her is about the complaints. |
| D．she has to spend some time on housework after the family vacation. |
2 . When photographer Simon Czapp took pictures of a curious five-month-old fox, he soon realized this little fox was attracted by his subject. The clever fox was so curious about the camera equipment that she climbed on top of it. And while she was supposed to be the subject of the shoot, the fox stood on the shutter release button (快门按钮) and took her own frames.
Mr. Czapp visited the New Forest Wildlife Park to capture images of new arrival Jessie. Jessie is a lovely little fox. She has been at the animal park in Ashurst, Hampshire—home to wolves, deer and others in 25 acres of ancient woodland after being abandoned by her mother.
Mr. Czapp said, “Jessie was very playful and curious and not shy at all in front of the camera. Soon after I arrived she was chewing my shoes and everything seemed to be a game to her. Then she started exploring the camera I had set up on a tripod (三脚架). She stood on her back legs to look at the back of the camera. She balanced her front paws on it and at one point knocked it over. ”
He put the camera back on the tripod and Jessie soon jumped back up. At one point she had all four paws on the camera and was keeping her balance. Mr. Czapp added, “She jumped up there several times and I realized it could make a good picture. As I was leaving away with the public’s viewing window (取景窗) behind me, I thought I heard the camera go off but didn’t think much of it. However, when I checked the memory card afterwards, I was amazed to see Jessie had actually taken two frames of me photographing her. I couldn’t believe I had been outfoxed (智取) by a fox! There were some lovely photos of her but she obviously thought the photographer was worthy of a picture too! ”
1. The underlined word “frames” in Para. 1 refers to _______.| A．photographers | B．pictures |
| C．equipments | D．subjects |
a. Jessie pressed the shutter release button, taking her own pictures.
b. Jessie balanced her paws on the camera.
c. Mr. Czapp set up his camera on a tripod.
d. Jessie stood up to look at the back of the camera.
| A．c, d, b, a | B．a, c, d, b |
| C．d, c, b, a | D．b, a, c, d |
| A．Naughty but lovely. | B．Clever but annoying. |
| C．Careful and grateful. | D．Quick but rude. |
| A．Wildlife photographers took photos of wild animals. |
| B．Clever fox took pictures of professional photographer. |
| C．Mr. Czapp showed the fox how to take photos. |
| D．Wild animals enjoy equal rights with humans. |
3 . In the space of just two years, the app Douyin, created by Beijing-based company ByteDance, has gathered more than half a billion users—around 40%of them outside China—who share short videos of themselves lip-syncing( 假唱), cooking, dancing or just being silly. What sets ByteDance apart is its success in the social media category, which is controlled by Facebook, Twitter and Snap—all Western companies.
ByteDance calls itself an artificial intelligence company. It uses machine learning and algorithms ( 算法) to figure out what people like most and give them more of what they want to see. On Douyin, people can edit and beautify 15-second videos before posting them online. The app has even made a phrase to describe people glued to their customized feeds: “shua Douyin” or “scrolling through Douyin”. Last year, the company released TikT
ok, the overseas version of Douyin. ByteDance’s growing video empire has made it the world’s fifth biggest app maker. ByteDance says TikTok and Douyin together have more than 500 million monthly active users.
Investors like ByteDance because its hundreds of millions of users attract a lot of advertising money. The video apps are lucrative because they attract a lot of users in their teens and 20s, who are more generous with the money. ByteDance also makes money through income sharing deals. People on TikTok, for example, can buy digital coins to give to other people on the app—like throwing money in a performer’s tip jar. ByteDance takes a cut of those earnings.
ByteDance’s founder and CEO is Zhang Yiming, a 35-year-old former Microsoft employee. People who have worked with Zhang describe him as someone who thinks deeply about technology and spends much of his free time writing code.
Like Facebook and Twitter, ByteDance is also battling fake news and inappropriate content. ByteDance promises to add thousands more employees to review content on Douyin.
1. What makes ByteDance so special?| A．It is the biggest artificial intelligence company on the earth. |
| B．Its app challenges similar companies’ rule in Western world. |
| C．It invented the social media app initially in the world. |
D．It has controlled Facebook, Twitte r and Snap. |
y is Douyin so popular?| A．It is a new generation hi-tech product. |
| B．It has both home and overseas version. |
| C．It meets the demand of people individually. |
| D．It is easy and totally free to operate online. |
| A．By charging the users. |
| B．By selling its artificial intelligence. |
| C．By forcing the users to donate. |
| D．By charging the advertisement. |
| A．expensive | B．profitable |
| C．popular | D．creative |
4 . When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming many things. Sometimes, I wished I was an astronaut going up into space, finding new planets and jumping around in a cool space suit. Other times, I imagined being a cowboy in the Wild West, wearing stylish cowboy boots. On other occasions, I pretended to be a famous footballer, using my skills to score lots of goals for my team.
Looking back, I realize that imagination is a wonderful thing. I was able to create entire environments and scenarios in my head, using nothing more than my brain, and to be able to adapt things in my everyday surroundings to fit the specific story of the day. Growing up with siblings (兄弟姐妹) also helped, as it meant that even bigger stories could be created, combining our ideas and putting our thoughts into action. It also allowed for more varieties in the stories, as sometimes I could be the hero while on other occasions, I would be the bad guy.
One of my all-time favorite memories as a kid was playing in my back garden. I played the role of Indiana Jones, which cleaned up at the cinema at that time, with my younger sister as my assistant and my brother as a bad person. We used everything in our garden, from the path to the fence, as part of the storyline to create obstacles that needed to be overcome, and we would keep the story going for hours!
My personal favorite game was Indiana Jones and the Stolen Easter Eggs, where my brother hid small chocolate eggs around the garden and my sister and I had to find them by answering questions or solving a puzzle. It was difficult, but eventually we found all the eggs and shared them together.
Since then, I have seen many great things and met many amazing people. The elements of fun and varieties of my creative imaginations are what I try to bring into every part of my positive life. So I can enjoy sharing with and hearing about other people’s stories, too.
1. What do we know about the author from his childhood?| A．He enjoyed living a life full of freedom. |
| B．He was longing to experience adventurous things. |
| C．He was always imagining a bright life for his future. |
| D．He had a clear picture of what he would do after growing up. |
| A．experiences | B．situations |
| C．positions | D．excuses |
| A．an astronaut | B．a famous footballer |
| C．a hot film | D．a very popular book |
| A．My Creative Imagination. | B．My Childhood. |
| C．My Positive Life Today. | D．My Pride in Myself. |
5 . Cruz Genet, 11, and Anthony Skopick, 10, couldn’t agree. Were the birds out on the ice ducks or geese? So on a cold January evening last year, the two friends ventured (冒险) onto the frozen pond near their homes in Frankfort, Illinois, to get a better look. First, they threw a rock onto the ice to test it, Cruz told NBC 5 Chicago. “Then we stepped on it.” Convinced the ice would hold their weight, Anthony took a few steps, but then he fell through the seemingly frozen surface.
Cruz rushed to help his panicked friend. However, the pond swallowed him, too. Cruz managed to lift himself out of the extremely cold water and onto a more solid section. He then gingerly worked his way toward Anthony. But the ice didn’t hold, and he fell in again. This ime, he couldn’t get out.
The boys were up to their necks in icy water and quickly losing feeling. Any chance of their freeing themselves was slipping away. Cruz was sure that he was going to die.
Anthony’s older sister had seen the boys fall through the ice and started screaming, wishing someone to save them.
John Lavin, a neighbor driving nearby on his way to the grocery store, heard her. He quickly pulled over. Seeing the boys, he grabbed (抓住) a nearby buoy (救生圈), kicked off his shoes, and ran into the cold water, struggling his way through the ice. Lavin made his way to Cruz and Anthony and pulled them back to land.
The boys were taken to the hospital, where doctors discovered that their five- minute stay in the water had lowered their body temperature nearly ten degrees. Fortunately, they have fully recovered, though they are still a little amazed by their fearless neighbor. “Just to think,” says Cruz, “if he hadn’t been there, I could have died.”
1. Why did the boys venture onto the frozen pond?| A．To have a better look at the frozen pond. |
| B．To catch the birds in the pond with rocks. |
| C．To find out what the birds on the ice were. |
| D．To test the thickness of the ice in the pond. |
| A．Casually. | B．Proudly. |
| C．Firmly. | D．Cautiously. |
| A．Anthony’s older sister’s cry for help. | B．Cruz’s loud and frightening scream. |
| C．Their shoes along the nearby pond. | D．Their neighbors’ pulling them back. |
| A．Hard-working and helpful. | B．Warm-hearted and courageous. |
| C．Curious and selfless. | D．Active and generous. |
6 . When it comes to the most famous 20th century painters of the United States, Grandma Moses should be mentioned, although she did not start painting until she was in her late seventies. As she once said to herself , “I would never sit back in a rocking chair, waiting for someone to help me”. No one could have had a more active old age．
She was born on a farm in New York State, one of five boys and five girls. At 12 she left home and was in domestic service until at 27 she married Thomas Moses, the hired hand of one of her employers. They farmed most of their lives, first in Virginia and then in New York State, at Eagle Bridge. She had ten children, of whom five survived; her husband died in 1927．
Grandma Moses painted a little as a child and made embroidery (刺绣) pictures as a hobby, but only changed to oils in old age because her hands became too stiff (僵硬的) to sew and she still wanted to keep busy and pass the time. Her pictures were first sold at the local drugstore and at a market and were soon noticed by a businessman who bought all that she painted. Three of the pictures were exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, and in 1940 she had her first exhibition in New York. Between the 1930’s and her death, she produced some 2,000 pictures: careful and lively portrayals of the country life she had known for so long, with a wonderful sense of color and form. “I think really hard till I think of something really pretty, and then I paint it” she said．
1. What can we learn about Moses?| A．She stopped painting in her late seventies. |
| B．She still led an active life when she was old. |
| C．Her marriage life was not happy. |
| D．She painted oils as a child. |
| A．Embroidering. | B．Farming. |
| C．Nursing. | D．Painting. |
| A．Directions. | B．Stages. |
| C．Surveys. | D．Descriptions. |
| A．Grandma Moses: the Best Woman Painter |
| B．Grandma Moses and Her Farm Life |
| C．Grandma Moses and Her Exhibition |
| D．Grandma Moses : A Famous Woman Painter of 20th Century |
7 . Smoking in your own home in Thailand may now be considered a crime, if the smoke is considered harmful to other people in the house.
The new law, Family Protection and Development Promotion Act, aiming at controlling smoking at home which might be hazardous for others' health living under the same roof，was initiated by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and was announced in the Royal Gazette on May 22, 2019. It came into force on August 20.
According to the center for research and knowledge management for tobacco control, at the Faculty of Medical Science of Mahidol University, there are about 4.9 million households where one or more family members smoke. An average of 10.3 million people have unwittingly（不知不觉地） become passive smokers because they’ve been breathing smoke at home. Scientific studies show that passive smokers are at greater risk of being affected by cancer. Of 75 child patients from houses where smoking is practiced, 76% of them were found to have nicotine traces in their urine（尿液）, with 43% of them having nicotine content exceeding（超过） permissible levels.
Smoking at home also “may lead to physical or emotional violence” because of aggressiveness when there is a lack of smoking, and might as well ruin relationships between smokers and non-smoker family members.
According to the new law, anyone who thinks they are affected by domestic smoking can report to government departments concerned so that officials will be sent to investigate and take legal action against the smokers. Once convicted(证明有罪的), the court may order a person to receive treatment to quit smoking in an attempt to protect the person's family.
1. What does the underlined word “hazardous” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．risky | B．beneficial |
| C．influential | D．dangerous |
| A．by listing figures | B．by giving examples |
| C．by comparing the differences | D．by explaining the reasons |
| A．smoking anywhere in Thailand is considered a crime. |
| B．passive smokers are more likely to have lung cancer . |
| C．76% of the children in Thailand have nicotine traces in their urine. |
| D．smoking at home may hurt other family members both physically and emotionally. |
| A．anybody must report to the officials once they are affected. |
| B．officials will take legal action against all the people concerned . |
| C．smoking in one’s own home in Thailand may now be considered a crime. |
| D．the court may order a smoker to stop smoking to protect all nonsmokers . |
8 . Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. 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’s 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. |
| 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 |
| A．abandoned | B．lacked |
| C．avoided | D．taken |
| A．To Keep Emotional Well-being | B．To Prevent “If Only” Moments |
| C．To Follow the Most Useful Rule | D．To Achieve the Peace of Mind |
9 . NASA has a new job listing, and it’s no joke. The US space agency (机构) is looking for a “joker” to join their planned mission (任务) to Mars.
A mission to Mars is no laughing matter. On average, the red planet is 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) away from Earth. A trip there would take around eight months in a small spacecraft. And Mars has a communications delay (延迟) of 20 minutes. This means that astronauts will have to wait 20 minutes for a reply, when an emergency happens.
“When you’re living with others in a confined space for a long period of time, such as on a mission to Mars, problems are likely to occur,” Jeffrey Johnson, a scientist at the University of Florida, told The Guardian.
This is probably why NASA wants an astronaut with a sense of humor. “These are people that have the ability to pull everyone together,” Johnson said.
In stressful situations, perhaps humor is a way to know we aren’t alone. By laughing together, we share our stress. Then we can focus on our jobs instead of just worrying.
There are other examples of team “clowns”. One example is the journey to the South Pole (南极) led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. It was a difficult journey, full of danger. Adolf Lindstrom, a cook at Amundsen’s team, was a “clown”. He made people laugh through the whole journey. Amundsen later wrote that Lindstrom was the most valuable member of the team.
But if you’re hoping that your favorite TV comedian (喜剧演员) will fly to Mars, that probably won’t happen.
“Being funny won’t be enough to land somebody the job,” Johnson said. “They also need to be an excellent scientist and engineer.”
Besides, they must be in top physical condition.
1. What is NASA’s new job listing?| A．A funny engineer. | B．A talented clown. |
| C．A good cook. | D．A popular comedian. |
| A．a crowded space | B．an empty space |
| C．an open space | D．a small space |
| A．It can stop them from feeling worried. |
| B．It can encourage teamwork on a mission. |
| C．It can help them feel less homesick. |
| D．It can help them know themselves better. |
| A．A New Job Listing of NASA |
| B．Humorous Astronauts in NASA |
| C．Keeping the Spirits Up |
| D．A mission to Mars |
10 . Now in 2019, jazz music is an important part of Indianapolis’ art culture. Jazz clubs around the city still host concerts with local jazz musicians like Rob Dixon and Joel Tucker. One of these clubs, the Chatterbox Jazz Club, still has live jazz seven nights a week.
But the real history of jazz in Indy is much less simple. Along with the Avenue’s culture, jazz music was gone from the streets for many years.
Indiana Avenue was the heart of a neighborhood along the White River. It was a center for black music and live street music.The wealthy avoided this area. So it became a place that poorer families, including many African-American and immigrant (移民) families, moved to.
Jazz prospered in the mix of American cultures around the Avenue in the 1930s and 1940s. But in the 1950s, things changed. After the war, there were projects to make the city beautiful and build a university nearby. Both of these seemed like good changes. However, the new university and buildings caused poorer families to have to leave the area. This destroyed the Indiana Avenue community - and with it, its jazz culture.
After many years, Indianapolis remembered the value of its arts and music culture. It began to bring back lost cultures such as live music on the Avenue. To do so, it began to make new changes. The changes included repairing historic areas like the Avenue. Once again, the high living costs in these historic arts areas pushed low-income families out.
Today there are several old-style jazz clubs where friends can meet up to remember the past or just enjoy a summer evening. It might seem at first that jazz is alive again, but there is a sad reality behind these jazz clubs: Modern Indy jazz is only a shadow (影子) of the lively culture that was once on Indiana Avenue.
1. What does the author mainly want to say in Paragraph 1?| A．Jazz clubs can make big money. |
| B．Jazz musicians often hold concerts. |
| C．Jazz music is popular in Indianapolis. |
| D．Jazz culture is just part of Indianapolis' culture. |
| A．Disappeared quickly. | B．Arrived soon. |
| C．Recovered soon. | D．Developed well. |
| A．It rebuilt some old important areas. |
| B．It invited old jazz musicians to sing in the city. |
| C．It educated people about the value of music culture. |
| D．It settled low-income families in the Indiana Avenue community, |
| A．Its home culture is gone. |
| B．Its styles are too traditional. |
| C．It shows the sadness of the poor. |
| D．It is no longer a favorite of the young. |
