1 . While I was growing up, I often heard my teachers say, “Oh, Tina is gifted in algebra.” While watching the Olympics, my parents would say, “These gymnasts are born with such ability.” Statements like these made me believe people were born with certain talents and if they didn't have a particular one at birth, then they never would. Therefore, I rarely focused on algebra. Nobody told me that if you keep trying and trying, one day a difficult task will seem easy.
Actually, I learnt this from my young daughter, Samaya. One day, I was finishing some paperwork and I said, “Oh no, how could I have made that mistake!” Samaya instantly said, “Mum, don't worry. Mistakes make your brain grow bigger.”
Actually, we all need to be reminded that mistakes or failures are just fine and that they are a huge part of growth and success. However, the regular belief is the opposite. We must correct this with our children. We must encourage them to make mistakes because that means they are trying out new ideas.
Billionaire Sara Blakely, founder of the shapewear business Spanx, has seen many failures. She made a living by selling fax machines for seven years. Knocking on many doors and making a lot of mistakes was a journey she calls educational. Sara Blakely owes her risk-taking skills to the weekend talk she had with her father.
As a child, her father would ask her the same question every weekend. "What did you fail at this week, Sara?" He did not care how high her scores were. He wanted to know what she had tried but failed at. When she told him about her failures and mistakes, he would give her a high five. He was reprogramming her mind to believe that mistakes and failures are fine.
So go ahead and ask yourself and your children, “What did we fail at this week?”
1. What discouraged the author from efforts in algebra?| A．She wasn't interested in it. | B．She thought she was not gifted. |
| C．She thought it was useless. | D．She was not allowed to learn it. |
| A．Keep trying is necessary. | B．Failure is a path to success. |
| C．Mistakes are not acceptable. | D．Encouragement is significant. |
| A．To rebuild her mindset. | B．To keep her from failures. |
| C．To know what she hadn't tried. | D．To prevent her getting high scores. |
| A．A Secret to Success | B．A Method of Education |
| C．The Magic of Mistakes | D．The Power of a Fixed Mindset |
2 . Over a four-year period, Swiss researchers have developed a machine that can keep human livers (肝)alive outside of the body for one week.
Livers are among the most commonly transplanted (移植)human organs. Current technology can only keep human livers alive for up to 24 hours. It is reported that, in 2017, about 8.000 liver transplants were performed in the U.S., of which 360 used livers from living givers In addition, about 11,500 people were registered on a waiting list to receive a liver transplant. Keeping livers alive and functioning for longer periods could greatly improve the chances of survival for patients.
The researchers say the purpose of their “Liver4Life” machine is to perform what they call liver perfusion (灌注)operations outside of the human body. Perfusion is the process by which blood or other liquids are pumped through organs and tissue. The machine keeps the liver at the right temperature and moves it in a way that would be natural in the body. Using a pump to fill the liver with blood acting like a human heart, the machine also provides oxygen to the organ, controls red blood cell levels and removes waste.
The research team began their experiments with livers from pigs. After repeated testing and engineering development, they succeeded in getting the pig livers to survive for seven days with support only provided from the Liver4Life machine. They also discovered the system can work to repair damaged livers. The team is now planning its next step to transplant machine-treated organs into patients.
Pierre-Alain Clavien. leader of the research said in a statement. “This technology will greatly increase the number of livers available for transplant, improving the chances of survival for patients. The success of this unique machine opens the way for many new applications in transplantation and cancer medicine.”
1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 2?| A．Introduce a brand new topic for discussion. |
| B．Provide some latest data about present liver transplants. |
| C．Show the urgency of tech improvement in liver transplants. |
| D．Remind readers concerned of the importance of a healthy liver. |
| A．The machine. | B．The liver. |
| C．The temperature. | D．The tissue. |
| A．It is among the most commonly used machines for liver transplants. |
| B．It is aimed to carry out liver perfusion operations in the human body. |
| C．It can perform several functions to keep the liver working normally. |
| D．It can be used to keep the pig livers alive for more than one week. |
| A．A biology textbook. | B．A first aid brochure. |
| C．A social web page. | D．A health magazine. |
3 . Climate change leads to a threat to the world’s sandy beaches, and as many as half of them could disappear by 2100, a new study has found. Even by 2050 some coastlines could be unrecognizable from what we see today, with 10% to 12% facing severe erosion (侵蚀).
Using updated sea level rise predictions, the researchers analyzed how beaches around the world would be in a future with higher seas and more damaging storms. They also considered natural processes like wave erosion, as well as human factors-like coastal building developments, all of which can affect a beach’s health. The study found that sea level rise is expected to outweigh these other factors, and that the more heat-trapping gases humans put into the atmosphere, the worse the influences on the world’s beaches are likely to be.
It’s hard to overstate just how important the world’s beaches are. They cover more than one third of the world’s coastlines, and protect coastal areas from storms. Beaches are also important economic engines, supporting relaxation, tourism and other activities. And in some areas, the beach is more than a vacation destination. In places like Australia, life near the coast revolves around the beach for much of the year.
Some of the world’s most popular beaches are already taking action. Places like Miami Beach are trucking in thousands of tons of sand to patch up (修复) badly eroded shorelines, while others have built sea walls and breakwaters in an attempt to hold precious sand in place. But the financial and environmental costs of these projects are huge, and scientists say rising seas and more powerful storms, supercharged by a warmer climate, will make this a losing battle.
However, the researchers did find that humans have some control over what happens to the world’s beaches. If the world’s governments are able to stick to modest cuts to heat-trapping gas pollution, the researchers found that 22%of projected beach losses by 2050 could be prevented, a number that grows to 40%by 2100 if greenhouse gases are limited.
1. Which is the biggest contributor to severe beach erosion?| A．Damaging storms. | B．Wave erosion. |
| C．Coastal building. | D．Sea level rise. |
| A．It is hard to protect coastal beaches. |
| B．One third of storms take place near beaches. |
| C．Beaches are of great significance to our lives. |
| D．Most Australians live on beach tourism. |
| A．Popularizing the beaches. |
| B．Holding sand in place. |
| C．Reducing the project costs. |
| D．Stopping global warming. |
| A．Half beaches could disappear by 2100. |
| B．Climate change is doing harm to our lives. |
| C．The beach is more than a vacation destination. |
| D．Governments are taking action to fight wave erosion. |
4 . I stood in a noisy group of sixth grade students, waiting for the answer to our burning question: What type of crazy tie would Mr. Miller be wearing today?
Our teacher walked around the corner with a GREEN ELEPHANT TIE that matched his large elephant coffee cup! Oh, the satisfaction in our young hearts—a green elephant tie!
With his glasses at the tip of his nose, he greeted us cheerfully, “Good morning, folks!” He was strange and unique and he brightened every day for us. He was the most dynamic teacher I had ever met.
I loved music, so I remember how excited I was when he said he was going to give us music lessons. But when he turned on the music, my classmates and I slowly turned our heads toward the sound of… Feter Paul and Mary singing “If I Had a Hammer”.
Snickers(窃笑) filled the room. If it wasn’t rap or hip hop, we didn’t recognize it. What were these people singing about? My classmates were not into this at all. But for me, a girl of 12, it was a discovery. An awakening.
Twenty years passed and now there are forty little eyes staring at my wild musical-note shirts as I greet them with a joyful, “Good morning, class!” I wonder if my students wait and wonder what crazy music clothes I will wear each day.
I glance at my 2015 Teacher of the Year Award, which I received for being a dynamic teacher. And I smile to myself, wondering which child in front of me will carry this on－as I’ve carried on the legacy(遗产) of Mr. Miller.
One teacher, who dared to be different and open new worlds to kids like me, threw the significant stone into the pond of my life. I pray the ripples(涟漪) never end.
1. What can we infer about Mr. Miller?| A．He was an animal protector. | B．He didn’t take his work seriously. |
| C．He often dressed up in an unusual way. | D．He often asked his students burning questions. |
| A．Puzzled. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Uninterested. | D．Excited. |
| A．A kind heart. | B．The smile. |
| C．A gift for music. | D．The love for teaching. |
| A．To prove her love for music. |
| B．To show a teacher’s effect on her. |
| C．To call on students to take up teaching. |
| D．To share her experience in music learning. |
5 . Throughout the past few years, I have tried lo give myself to others. I have bounced around to find where I truly fit in, I found my place while I stayed in Guatemala, an orphanage (孤儿院) with the children living there. Through hearing many stories of their lives. I was moved to tears and started question my living ways and gave up everything that wasn’t essential: makeup and any other sort of luxury (奢侈品). I lived like they did. It was the most relaxing feeling in the world.
When at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos, we were given the task of creating a pig pen(猪圈). At first, I thought it should be easy. After arriving at the area where the pig pen should he, we saw a hill. We were told to uproot the weeds as well as level the entire area. Looking at it we felt it would be impossible. On my own faith journey, I have felt this type of doubt before. The "hoe” , as we referred to, is a symbol of my faith journey. It appeared to be an obstacle I could not overcome, but in the end completed it with efforts. I feel this pig pen wasn’t easy to create but was so rewarding to give.
I've always struggled to be on a journey of faith, but I’ve never completely stepped foot onto the path until Guatemala. I’ve always tried to open my heart to everyone around me and give them my love, I feel as though I cut open my heart and share every bit of love I had with these orphans, There is one orphan named Ceto who will always remain very close to my heart, In Guatemala, I sponsor with thirty dollars a month, hat it doesn’t seem enough. I'll return there next summer and give more of my love for a whole month.
When it was time to leave. I looked out of the window and saw not just ordinary children. Over all, the most significant accomplishment I m in Guatemala was stepping towards my own faith journey and not looking back.
1. What resulted in the author ’s decision to live a new life?| A．Desire to help others | B．Decrease in his income |
| C．A knowledge of the orphans' life. | D．Awareness of the difficulty in his life |
| A．Removing the doubt | B．Uprooting the weed. |
| C．Starting the faith journey | D．Creating the pig pen |
| A．It was regretful | B．It was meaningful |
| C．It was interesting. | D．it was frightening |
| A．A Step into a New World | B．An Awful Faith Journey |
| C．A Great Success in Life | D．A Return of Confidence |
6 . Far from the land of Antarctica, a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean. At the underside of the shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod.
For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish. How does it live where most fish would freeze to death? It must have some secret. The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research has been slow. Now it seems we have an answer.
Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish. Scientists studied the fish’s blood and measured its freezing point.
The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of -1.88℃ and many tiny pieces of ice floating in it. The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to -2.05℃. That small difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture.
The scientists’ next research job was clear: Find out what in the fish’s blood kept it from freezing. Their search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein never before seen in the blood of a fish. When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature. When it was put back, the blood again had its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point.
Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein. It has many small sugar molecules held in special positions within each big protein molecule. Because of its sugar content, it is called a glycoprotein. So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein. Or AFGP.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The terrible conditions in the Antarctic. |
| B．A special fish living in freezing waters. |
| C．The ice shelf around Antarctica. |
| D．Protection of the Antarctic cod. |
| A．The seawater has a temperature of -1.88℃. |
| B．It loves to live in the ice-salt mixture. |
| C．A special protein keeps it from freezing. |
| D．Its blood has a temperature lower than -2.05℃. |
| A．A type of ice-salt mixture. | B．A newly found protein. |
| C．Fish blood. | D．Sugar molecule. |
| A．sugar | B．ice |
| C．blood | D．molecule |
