1 . Newcastle, one of the fastest developing cities in the United Kingdom, is beginning to draw tourists from all corners of Europe. It’s said that most visitors come here to see the famous soccer team play. The mood of the locals is often changed by the success or failure of the local team.
Newcastle’s most popular place is the Gate, which is in the center of the city and has many attractions including bars, restaurants, sports bars, pubs and so on. During a home game it becomes a real home to happiness.
Culture and local history lovers can make their dreams come true by taking one of the local city tour buses. They come and leave every few minutes and stop at all the important historical sites in the city. Also the seats and the environment on the buses are comfortable. It’s the best way to see the city without tiring yourself out or getting cold. Places such as the Hancock Museum and Millennium Bridge are must-see attractions. But be careful if you’re short of time. Newcastle is a big place, so you should be prepared to kill a few hours on one of these buses.
If you want to watch the local team play soccer in the St. James Park, remember to book a ticket as early as possible. The locals are crazy soccer fans, and you’ll find it hard to get a ticket if you don’t wait in the queue early.
As you can see, Newcastle is a fascinating city with so much to be offered and so many things to see. You’re sure to have a wonderful time here!
1. Most visitors come to Newcastle in order to ________.| A．watch its soccer team play |
| B．take the local tour buses |
| C．visit the Hancock Museum |
| D．have a big meal in restaurants |
| A．should go to the Gate |
| B．can go on a city tour |
| C．must visit St. James Park |
| D．must drive your own car |
| A．history lovers | B．local people |
| C．city tour buses | D．local soccer teams |
| A．The most popular place in Newcastle is the Gate. |
| B．Millennium Bridge is attractive to culture and local history lovers. |
| C．The mood of the locals can’t be influenced by the success or failure of the local team. |
| D．You’d better book a ticket as early as possible if you want to watch the local team play soccer. |
2 . Many families take their children on vacation. They will usually travel for a few days or weeks during school breaks. But Julie and Tim Smith planned a longer vacation with their two children. The Smith family is on a one-year trip around the world. They plan to visit 30 countries in all. Right now, the four travelers are about halfway through their trip. Ms. Smith says they are trying to see as much of the world as they can.
Mr. Smith says one of the most interesting experiences of the trip has been meeting new people. He says people have been extremely friendly, very welcoming and love their kids. Eleven-year-old Tyler says he has enjoyed learning about the people they have met. He said, "I learned in Africa that people have very different lifestyles than in America." His sister, 9-year-old Kara, discovered that she liked Thai food. Ms. Smith says that the trip teaches the children a lot.
It took the family a year to prepare for the trip. They had to sell their house and cars. Ms. Smith left her job and her husband is using unpaid leave. They carry small bags filled with lightweight clothing and whatever else they need. Ms. Smith says she enjoys being able to carry everything she needs on her back. She says she does not miss the things she has back home. "What has become more important is making these memories as a family and taking those with us instead."
The Smiths will continue to head east for the next six months.
1. In what way is the Smith family's trip different from many others' according to paragraph 1?| A．They take their children on vacation. |
| B．They travel around the world for a year with children. |
| C．They travel during school breaks. |
| D．They travel for a few weeks with children. |
| A．Living in Africa. | B．Lifestyles in America |
| C．Having Thai food. | D．Learning about the people they have met. |
| A．They left their jobs. |
| B．It took the Smith family a year. |
| C．They sold their house and cars. |
| D．They put lightweight clothing in small bags. |
| A．The small bags they carry. | B．The memories of the family. |
| C．The things on her back. | D．The things back home. |
3 . In 2015, Chennai was destroyed by one of the worst floods in over a century, leaving thousands without food, water and supplies. During the flood, many heroes arose, one of whom was Santosh, a young man who owned a take-out restaurant in Chennai.
When the first flood hit in November, he got a call from a company called Naga Rava. The company asked him to prepare 5,000 packets of food and give them to the flood victims. He, with his partners, took the order, cooked for 14 hours and delivered(递送) them. But that night, as they sat together discussing the event of the day, they actually felt ashamed(羞愧). “Here was a man not even from Chennai and he was going out of his way to help the affected people. We, while living here, had not really done anything ourselves for our own people,” said Santosh later.
He then began the groundwork for a collection to help cook more dishes. Little did he know that the November flood was just the beginning, and the real show was about to begin. The December flood affected them all. His own house got flooded and his family was trapped on the second floor. They lost phone connection and electricity. In spite of this, Santosh went back out into the flood, creating a kitchen and preparing food all by himself for the victims.
He did not sleep for four days, taking a one-hour break every day as he kept on cooking. As word got out about this man’s effort, others stepped out to join him. From children to the elderly, strangers came to help him in cooking, packing and transporting food. Up to 300 volunteers worked together to make it all happen. By the time the fourth day finally came to an end, Santosh and his team had prepared 170,000 food boxes and delivered them to people in need.
1. What inspired Santosh to help the affected people?| A．A call for help. | B．His cooking skills. |
| C．An act of kindness of a stranger. | D．The encouragement from his partners. |
| A．The help and support. | B．The severer flood. |
| C．Santosh’s family suffering. | D．Santosh’s cooking more food. |
| A．Energetic and helpful. | B．Determined and clever. |
| C．Selfless and caring. | D．Kind and wise. |
| A．Many Hands Make Light Work |
| B．Kindness Is Its Own Reward |
| C．Major Floods Brought Challenges To People |
| D．A Man Cooked 170,000 Meals For The Affected |
4 . From the moment you open your eyes in the morning, you can feel sweat (汗水)running down your body, even if you’re barely moving at all. That’s what most people in China felt like this summer. In fact, the entire northern hemisphere(半球 )saw high temperatures in July. The Arctic Circle(北极圈) was no exception(例外). Temperatures in the city of Norilsk, which is in the Arctic Circle, reached a record high of 32 ℃, The Atlantic reported. Temperatures there are usually just 10 ℃ at this time of the year.
The heat wave in the Arctic is mainly a long-term result of global warming, according to the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences. In fact, while the whole world is getting warmer, the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. This is called the polar amplification effect(极地放大效应).
The most direct impact(影响) of Arctic warming is the melting of Arctic ice. According to NASA, Arctic sea ice is now disappearing at a rate of 13. 2 percent every 10 years. NASA said that if this continues, the Arctic will have no ice by the year 2040. This has put some Arctic animals, like polar bears, in danger. The ice that the bears live on has shrunk(缩小), the Toronto Star reported.
Melting ice can also cause sea levels to rise in the long term. Since 1993, sea levels have risen at a rate of 3. 2 cm every 10 years, the Guardian reported. Some countries, such as Tuvalu(图瓦卢) in the South Pacific Ocean and Maldives(马尔代夫) in the Indian Ocean, are at risk of disappearing into the sea.
1. Which of the following is true?| A．Some countries in the ocean will disappear in 10 years. |
| B．China is the hottest in the northern hemisphere this summer. |
| C．The temperatures in Norilsk used to be lower than this summer. |
| D．The world gets warmer because of the heat wave in the Arctic. |
| A．The heat wave in the Arctic. |
| B．The result of global warming. |
| C．Getting warmer in the world. |
| D．The Arctic getting warm faster. |
| A．The polar will become dangerous. |
| B．Sea levels rise in the long term. |
| C．There will be an end of water shortage. |
| D．There will be no ice in the world by 2040. |
| A．Heat hits Arctic. |
| B．Arctic animals are in danger. |
| C．The world became hotter than before. |
| D．Some countries may disappear into the sea. |
5 . Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
“I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生),” said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate(保守的估计).”
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what was possible in the past. “There is a great effort so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”
However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last past about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. “It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?” said Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Centre. “At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all.”
1. By saying“we are knocking at the door of immortality”,Michael Zey means_________.| A．they have got some ideas about living forever |
| B．they believe that there is no limit of living |
| C．they are able to make people live past the present life span |
| D．they are sure to find the truth about long living |
| A．the human body is designed to last past about 120 years |
| B．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future |
| C．it is still doubtful how long humans can live |
| D．people can live from 120 to 180 |
| A．a great effort |
| B．the conservative estimate |
| C．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years |
| D．the idea of living beyond the present life span |
| A．No Limit for Human Life |
| B．Living Longer or not |
| C．Science,Technology and Long Living |
| D．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living |
6 . A rescue center in Alaska has taken in an orphaned baby seal (海豹) that was still in the body when a hunter killed its mother on Easter Sunday.
The Alaska Sea Life Center says a hunter killed the baby’s mother in a village on Nelson Island in the Bering Sea. The hunter then realized there was a live baby inside the seal and successfully delivered (接生) it.
The hunter’s daughter found a hotline of the Seward Rescue Center and called to report the incident. Guided by center staff, a village teacher helped transport the baby to the local airport, and the animal was flown to Anchorage. The Alaska Sea Life Center members met the baby, now called Maxwell, at the Anchorage airport and drove him to Seward on Monday. Staff members say the baby has responded well to food and care, but his condition is still considered very serious.
“Maxwell was close to full-term, and everything looks fairly normal,” said Pam Tuomi, a center vet. “But babies that have never received antibodies (抗体) from their mothers’ milk are at higher risk of infection (感染), so we will keep Maxwell in a separate place and watch him closely for the next few weeks.”
The Sea Life Center is Alaska’s only permanent facility licensed to house stranded marine mammals and seabirds. The staff choose a theme each year for naming animals admitted there, and this year the names are related to caffeine.
“We hope to give Maxwell a second chance to live as a wild sea,” said Brett Long, the center’s director.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．The mother seal was killed in order to protect the baby seal. |
| B．The mother seal was killed before the baby seal was born. |
| C．The cruel hunter was unwilling to save the baby seal. |
| D．Both the mother seal and the baby seal were in good condition now. |
| A．She helped to feed it. | B．She delivered it successfully. |
| C．She reported it to a rescue center. | D．She persuaded her father to save it. |
| A．The hunter | B．The baby seal |
| C．a member of the center | D．the village teacher |
| A．It still faces the danger of dying young. | B．It is only half of the normal size. |
| C．It is found to be difficult to feed. | D．It will be set free into the sea soon. |
7 . As the world's resources become rarer because of continuing land development and the growing human population, the natural habitats of wild animals have continued to decrease. As a result, the survival of some species of wildlife is threatened. To help protect wildlife, a lot of practices should be carried out by environmentalist as well as the general public.
Create homes for species that are endangered because of losing their own natural habitats. Wildlife shelters should be developed, and habitats should be created in existing(现存的) national parks. Efforts(努力) should also be made to protect existing habits, such as providing food and water sources and limiting hunting. Breed(培育) endangered species in places such as zoos. Once the young animals grow up, they can be set free into the wild where they can continue to increase the population.
The general public may not realize that a species is endangered until it's too late. Educational programs making use of TV advertising and instructional meetings at national parks can be used to make the public know the situation.
The general public can help protect the wildlife by not hunting wild animals for sport or for a source of food. They should also stop supporting those who earn money from the illegal hunting of wild animals, such as hunters who kill animals for the only purpose of harvesting their body parts and selling them for money.
The public should avoid(避免) keeping wild animals as pets. This will limit the number of animals being tracked, trapped, sold and removed from their natural habitat.
1. Which of the following is not the measure of protecting animal habitats?| A．Developing wildlife shelters. |
| B．Creating new habitats. |
| C．Setting young animals free in the wild. |
| D．Protecting the existing habitats. |
| A．the general public may not know species are endangered. |
| B．many endangered species are facing the danger of extinction. |
| C．people can do much to protect the endangered species. |
| D．human activities can affect the existence of species. |
| A．some people hunt animals and sell them as pets |
| B．hunters get little money from hunting animals |
| C．general public do nothing about protecting the wildlife now |
| D．animal population becomes larger in the zoo |
| A．Environment. | B．Sports. |
| C．Technology. | D．Education. |
8 . If there was a subject at school that made me anxious, it was science. Maybe that’s because in my tenth grade, I couldn't understand my physics teacher's instructions, causing me to accidentally set fire to the classroom. So, when my husband and I decided to home-school our daughters, we made a deal: he would teach science, while I would handle everything else. But that’s not how things have been going these past few weeks, since my husband has been too busy to teach the girls.
Recently, while out on my morning hike before starting lessons, I noticed that the sky was a beautiful blue, and the air was filled with the sweet smell of flowers. That s why I decided that the day’s lessons would be taught outside, although I remembered that my daughters hadn't had any science classes from my husband for a while.
I returned to the house to get the girls ready. We headed up into the forest, settling ourselves by a pond that rarely has any visitors. My daughter Saoirse started to pick up pond weeds and catch frogs, while my other daughter Ula looked at me, waiting to be instructed. I handed her a drawing board and colored pencils. "We wait, "I told her, " and see if something comes along. In the meantime, just draw what's around you.”
We worked for more than an hour, hardly speaking. A bird flew across the water, and then settled in a front of a fallen tree. I quickly told Ula, worried that she’d not seen the creature. But she had, and she started drawing it. An hour later, she’d not finished her picture and I stared down at it. She drew the bird on her paper with amazing accuracy. But there was one other interesting fact about this drawing: she also drew me, sitting beside her.
I realized, as I stared at this child's drawing of us watching a bird, how I'd lived for 40 years, gathered 10 years of higher education, and never understood the foundation of science before this moment. The foundation of science is a sense of wonder; it isn't about accurately reciting words from a textbook. It is first and foremost about stepping outside our busy lives and amazing at the world around us.
1. How did the author feel about science when in school?| A．She was nervous about it. | B．She was fond of it. |
| C．She was confused about it. | D．She was eager for it. |
| A．the fallen tree | B．the forest |
| C．the bird | D．the picture |
| A．She's very outgoing. | B．She's good at observing. |
| C．She's very hard-working. | D．She shares interests with her sister. |
| A．Attention to accuracy. |
| B．Curiosity about the outside world. |
| C．Determination to find out the truth. |
| D．Ability to understand teachers' instructions. |
9 . Cameron is no ordinary dog, and not just because he was born on Valentine's Day. To Maggie, a first grader at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, the dog who spends most days on campus is more like a friend. When Cameron is near, Maggie feels "really, really, happy," she said, "I feel safe around him, she added. "He '11 lie down and ask me to scratch his tummy," she explained, because Cameron likes Maggie.
Cameron is one of a handful of dogs at Burgundy, a K-8 private day school in Alexandria, Virginia. Dogs started showing up there when the head of school, Jeff Sindler, brought his clumsy Labrador, Luke, to the main office building where Sindler works. After Luke died, Sindler adopted Cameron and brought him to campus, too, where the dog Maggie described as really cute" became a school favorite.
“They don’t care if you are good at basketball or a great reader, or popular," Sindler said. “They just want to be loved — equal opportunity," he added. "Cameron and the other dogs on campus—are always fastened with a rope and with their owner一go a long way toward improving students' social and emotional well-being," he said. They reduce tension and ease anxiety, and inspire happy feelings from students.
“They bring out some important emotions/' he said, “and are especially helpful to children and adults who struggle in social communication, Children often came from challenging backgrounds: many lived in poverty, or had to travel through dangerous neighborhoods to get to school, or shared a too-crowded home. When these emotionally needy children met the dogs, they relaxed and were more prepared to learn.
Just as important, dogs on school grounds set a positive, welcoming tone. They help preserve the school climate that is accepting, supportive and curious・"Dogs are one way to hold on to Sindler said, adding that "schools should be fun and exciting, and dogs can be a big part of that."
For Sindler, including Cameron was all part of an effort to create a safe environment where learning could flourish.
1. What makes the dog Cameron really special?| A．His rare species | B．His particular birthmark. |
| C．His attractive appearance. | D．His friendly nature. |
| A．By playing fetch together fondly. |
| B．By offering them comfort equally. |
| C．By playing basketball together freely. |
| D．By walking a long way together happily. |
| A．A positive tom. | B．The school ground. |
| C．A welcoming attitude. | D．The school atmosphere. |
| A．To encourage schools to bring in more dogs. |
| B．To explain why dogs help students with learning. |
| C．To introduce a way to help students grow healthily, |
| D．To explore the possibility to challenge no-dog rules. |
10 . My challenge for you is this： to read a book for 15minutes every single day for a month.
Let me explain a bit, by telling you where the challenge came from. I have many things in common with my dad, like music taste and sense of humor, but sadly reading isn't one of them. I can happily spend a whole day with a book, but my dad can't read a book for longer than about 5 minutes. He reads emails, websites and papers for work, but not books. He's busy, so I think sitting down to read for just 15minutes a day is a good way to relax and to introduce him to reading.
My dad is not the only person who avoids books. I know lots of people would rather relax on their computers or in front of the TV. Everyone is different and has their own interests, but I think there are lots of benefits to reading, which screen﹣based activities don't have.
Firstly, it's better for your eyes. Looking at screens can be very stressful for your eye muscles, and clearly you should avoid looking at screens for an hour before bed, to get a good night's sleep．
One thing I personally love reading, is being transported to another world﹣I often forget the time or things around me! Reading is a great way to switch off before you go to bed, because you think more about the world of the book, rather than the real world, so you can truly relax. I know you can be transported to a different world in a film or a TV show, but I think books do it better．
I also enjoy hearing what people are doing and finding out what they think. Reading gives me the chance to get to know hundreds of new people! It also teaches you to see things from other people's point of view, and understand other people's decisions or opinions. With a book, you can hear everything a character is thinking or feeling﹣you really can be inside someone else's head!
So give it a go! Take 15 minutes when you are waking up, going to bed, eating lunch, or having a coffee. If you read a lot, why not try 15 minutes of an English book, or pass the challenge on to someone else? Good luck, and happy reading!
1. The author mentions his father in the text to show ．| A．his father is busy |
| B．reading is important |
| C．his father likes reading |
| D．many people have no habit of reading |
| A．his personal experience |
| B．some scientific experiments |
| C．his father's personal advice |
| D．knowledge from books |
| A．helping readers sleep well |
| B．making readers feel relaxed |
| C．transporting readers to a different world |
| D．reminding readers of the real world |
| A．Negative． |
| B．Uncertain． |
| C．Supportive． |
| D．Doubtful． |
