One night a hotel caught a fire, and people in it ran out in their night clothes.
Two men stood o
“Before I came out,” said one,“I ran into some of the rooms and found a lot of money. People don’t think of money when they’re
“You don’t know my work,” said the other.
“What is your work?”
“I’m a policeman.”
“Oh!” cried the first man. He
“I’m a writer. I’m always telling s
In China and even in the world, Huawei is a wonder. Although it started producing mobile phones not many years ago, it has become one of the most famous phone companies.
Now Huawei has got third place at the mobile market, just following Apple and Samsung. After seeing more of its smartphones were sold last year, Huawei appears to be more confident in its bigger goals.
“We hope that in three years our market share can be the top two and in five years our market share can be the top one,” Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s Consumer(消费者) Business Group, said in a recent TV interview.
The company sold 108 million smartphones in 2015, compared with 2014, the number increased by 44 percent, though it was much smaller than Apple’s 231.5 million iPhones and Samsung’s 317.2 million smartphones.
“The number of our smartphones is still growing,” Yu said, “and our company is expecting an increase of 30% in smartphone shipments (出货量). It’ll be a great success.”
Although Huawei’s smartphones sold well in Western Europe and China, the market in the US is another example. Yu said that the company was “so late” to the US. However, we are trying hard to raise our market share there in the next few years.
1. According to the passage, which are top two biggest smartphone companies now?| A．Apple and Huawei | B．Samsung and Apple | C．Samsung and Huawei |
| A．份额 | B．分享 | C．股票 |
| A．108 million | B．231.5 million | C．317.2 million |
| A．Huawei has a very long history of making smartphones. |
| B．Huawei’s market share will be the top one in two years. |
| C．Huawei is trying hard to make its market share rise in America. |
| A．Travel | B．Science | C．Food |
3 . Four Animation Studios(动画工作室)
Logo (图标) |  |  |  |  |
| Name | Pixar Animation Studios | Walt Disney Animation Studios | Dream Works Animation | Studio Ghib li |
| Location | California, USA | California, USA | California, USA | Tokyo, Japan |
| Introduction | Pixar was bought by Steve Jobs in 1986. Later in 2006 it was bought by Disney. | Walt and Roy founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in 1923. After years, Disney Animation has become the most famous one in the world. | In 1994, Steven, Jeffrey and David founded Dream Works. It belongs to Universal Pictures now. | Ghibli is one top animation studio in Japan. Many top animated films in Japan are produced by Ghibli. These works make it famous all over the world. |
| Famous movies | Toy Story Finding Nemo | The Lion King Big Hero 6 | Shrek Kung Fu Panda | Castle in the Sky My Neighbor Totoro |
| A．Studio Ghibli. | B．Dream Works Animation. | C．Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| A．Toy Story | B．Kung Fu Panda | C．Castle in the Sky |
| A．in 1923 | B．in 1986 | C．in 1994 |
| A．It is a part of Universal Pictures. |
| B．Its logo is a kid sitting on the moon. |
| C．It is a very famous studio in Japan. |
| A．tell us how cartoon movies are made |
| B．give us information about some films |
| C．introduce some famous cartoon studios |
4 . My friends and I had just finished lunch at a hotel when it started to rain heavily. When it became lighter, I decided to get my
I walked out of the hotel and started making my way to the car. At the crossing, a van stopped and a man came out with an umbrella. Before I knew what was happening, he walked right
During our walk, he kept telling me to walk slower, as the ground was
So how did I pay it forward? I was at home when I noticed two Indian workers
| A．raincoat | B．bag | C．car |
| A．argued | B．received | C．disliked |
| A．careful | B．brave | C．helpful |
| A．for | B．with | C．on |
| A．through | B．below | C．beside |
| A．wet | B．dry | C．crowded |
| A．nearly | B．even | C．hardly |
| A．fighting | B．walking | C．working |
| A．umbrella | B．coat | C．kindness |
| A．refused | B．wondered | C．talked |
The Double Ninth Festival is a special day for older people in China. It started long ago. The festival is on lunar September 9th. On this day, people show love and respect to their grandparents.
There are many ways in which Chinese people express their respect. When an older person enters a room, everyone stands. People are introduced from the oldest to the youngest. When we present a book to an older person, two hands are used. Young people always offer their seats to older people on a crowded subway or bus.
Respecting older people is a tradition in China. That’s because the Chinese know that older people have knowledge and experience that young people can learn. Chinese people are proud of being old.
In Western countries, however, older people seldom think they are old. They are called “seniors” instead of “old people”. They’d rather do everything themselves. Even after retirement (退休) they take up hobbies, part-time jobs and new activities to keep their bodies working well.
Westerners respect their older people, too. Usually, seniors don’t have to buy tickets for trains and buses. They are given discounts (打折) in stores and restaurants.
But Western seniors don’t often live with their children—they live alone. For holidays, the family usually gather at the grandparents’ home, and a great smile and a warm hug for their parents are enough for grown children to show their respect.
1. When is the double ninth Festival?2. Where is it a tradition to respect older people?
3. What can the young learn from older people?
4. Can seniors in Western countries take the trains for free?
5. How do Western grown children show their respect?
6 . Every festival has its own meaning. Labor Day, for example, celebrates the value of hard work. Thanksgiving is about showing thanks to people around you. And Valentines’ Day is a time when you express love to your loved ones. But somehow it now seems that all festivals we just care about one thing — shopping. And that can be a big problem.
“In a way, over-consumption (过度消费) is the mother of all our environmental problems,” Kalle Lasn once told CNN. Lasn is the organizer of Buy Nothing Day, a day set up in Canada in 1992 to fight against unhealthy spending habits, and has now become an international event. It’s held on the day, which is known as Black Friday — a famous shopping day in the US and Canada.
You can see the irony (讽刺) here.
Even though the idea of Buy Nothing Day was brought up 26 years ago, we seem to need it now more than ever. It’s just as Lasn said, all the different kinds of pollution in our lives today — bad air quality, the reduction of forest area, endangered animal species, and plastic bags found in the ocean — seem to be the same cause: over-consumption.
The latest example is the Singles’ Day shopping craze of Nov 11, which saw a new sales record. But as Nie Li, a campaigner at Greenpeace, told Reuters, “Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste.” And it was reported that last year the Singles’ Day packages left more than 160,000 tons of waste, including plastic and cardboard. The Collins Dictionary has also just named “single-use” its Word of the Year, pointing out the problem that there’re too many things we tow out after only using them once.
So, Buy Nothing Day might only be here for one day a year, but it’s not just to remind us to the a break from shopping on that day, but to change our lifestyle completely, focusing on fun “with people we care about” rather than wasting money on useless things.
1. What’s the authors purpose of writing the first paragraph?| A．To express the people’s love for all festivals. |
| B．To talk about the meaning of the festivals. |
| C．To appreciate the value of the festivals. |
| D．To bring out the topic of the passage. |
| A．To help people save money. | B．To cut the cost for daily life. |
| C．To prevent over-consumption. | D．To set up a new sales record. |
| A．Opposed (反对的). | B．Supportive. |
| C．Unknown. | D．Neutral (中立的). |
| A．Creating a New Lifestyle | B．Buy Nothing Day |
| C．Festivals Around the World | D．A Change in People’s Life |
7 . According to a study published this week, habitual napping (打盹) appears to be associated with a large brain volume in adults although experts stressed that further research was needed. It reduces the cost caused from the lost time and the fatigue-related errors. The work followed previous studies that suggested a brief doze could improve people’s ability to learn.
Arianna Huffington, a co-founder of Huff Post and the founder and chief executive of Thrive Global, said, “Given the latest science on the effectiveness of napping and the clear link between employees feeling well rested and their productivity, it’s long past time that businesses embrace short naps at work.”
Some businesses, including Thrive Global, have already introduced facilities for employees to take naps. Google introduced sleep pods as far back as 2014 and companies like Nike and Ben & Jerry’s introduced nap rooms. The practice has even been adopted by the NHS, with a growing number of hospitals introducing sleep pods for staff in an effort to help them get more rest. Employees, it seems, are enthusiastic. Sean Greenwood, of Ben & Jerry’s, said, “If a quick nap gets employees more involved and creative, we’re happy to provide that for our team members.”
Unfortunately, the practice of napping still suffers from our collective concept that sleep equals weakness and laziness. However, the performance-enhancing benefits of naps have been no secret to many leaders throughout history. It also gives the higher-ups the chance to acknowledge the 24/7 culture and come up with top-down solutions that encourage workers to take care of themselves in and out of work.
While sleep experts stressed that a daytime doze could be beneficial, they said it was crucial to get enough shut-eye at the end of a day. It is the late stage of sleep, sometimes missed by early risers, that strengthens the nerve circuits that make for learning and memory, allowing the brain to make and consolidate new neutral connections. Additionally, prioritizing sufficient sleep during the regular nightly sleep period is essential for overall well-being.
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．Work stress. | B．Learning abilities. |
| C．A research finding. | D．The brain volume. |
| A．Dismissive. | B．Approving. |
| C．Unclear. | D．Critical. |
| A．To advocate enough rest. | B．To praise creative employees. |
| C．To compare the differences. | D．To present the current situation. |
| A．The approaches to shut-eye. | B．The importance of napping. |
| C．The secrets to well-being. | D．The benefits of memory. |
One of the most remote destinations on the planet, Antarctica is not an easy (or affordable) endeavor. Perhaps the difficulty is part of the attraction — the seventh continent remains on the top of many travelers’ wish lists. The striking white desert, with its dramatic, snowy peaks and vibrant turquoise waters, as well its exotic wildlife, including Emperor penguins and Weddell seals, is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
HawaiiHawaii is underrated. To be sure, it is a gorgeous place, with breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, and every beach seemingly prettier than the next, but its beauty goes much deeper than its preternatural appearance. Extraordinary beaches — some even boast black and green sand (Papakolea Beach and Punalu’u Beach, respectively)—have their expected appeal, but visitors who take time to venture out and away from the coast quickly discover Hawaii’s charms are everywhere.
CanadaSkiing, surfing, hiking and Northern-lights sighting. Eclectic cuisine, world-class shopping, a diverse and rich culture. This is Canada. The 13 provinces and territories that make up the world’s second-largest country by total area. It has something wonderful for every type of traveler. Nature lovers take so lace in mountains, glaciers, waterfalls and Atlantic or Pacific coastlines while sophisticated palates nosh at Michelin-starred restaurants and hole-in-the-wall mainstays alike.
SingaporeTravelers don’t want to spend any more time in an airport than they have to. But Singapore’s Changi is not an ordinary airport. While the rest of the world was staying at home, Singaporean locals were paying to hang out at Changi, whether it was co-working in one of the lounges or camping alongside the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at the Changi Jewel, which opened in 2019.
1. Which place would you like to choose if you are an animal lover?| A．Hawaii. | B．Canada. | C．Singapore. | D．Antarctica. |
| A．It is the second most beautiful place in the world. |
| B．It can almost satisfy all kinds of travelers. |
| C．It has some extraordinary beaches. |
| D．It attracts many locals. |
| A．They can appreciate the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. |
| B．They can experience Michelin-starred restaurants. |
| C．They can decorate the lounges together. |
| D．They can enjoy world-class shopping. |
9 . Someday, you may no longer need to brush your teeth by hand. Instead, a group of billions of nanoparticles (纳米粒子) could automatically do all that work for you. It would be especially life-changing for people who find it difficult or impossible to hold and move a toothbrush.
Steager, an engineer at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia and Hyun Koo, an inventor and dental researcher there, found a way to form the nanoparticles into long, skinny bristles (刷毛), a lot like the ones on a toothbrush. But these bristles shape-shift to fit whatever surface they encounter.
The tooth-cleaning robot works thanks to two magnets (磁铁). One goes each side of the teeth. The nanoparticles sit in a liquid between the magnets. When the magnets are turned off, the nanoparticles move randomly in the liquid. As soon as one magnet gets turned on, the nanoparticles gather together near its center. When the researchers turn on the other magnet and turn off the first one, the nanoparticles extend outward in long, skinny bristles When there’s a tooth in the way, these bristles can’t stretch out as far as they want. So they push against the tooth’s surface. If there’s a gap between teeth, they push into the gap. Moving the magnets makes the bristles move against and between teeth. All that motion cleans the teeth. As a bonus, the nanoparticles also have strong power to kill viruses.
The new device is just a proof of concept The researchers still need to turn it into a product that people will want to use. “There’s a lot of engineering to get from here to there, but every good idea needs to have a start.” says Steager.
1. What is special about the tooth cleaner?| A．It’s water-proof. | B．It’s transformable. |
| C．It looks like a toothbrush. | D．It contains skinny bristles. |
| A．The working principle. | B．The magnets motion. |
| C．The virus-killing process. | D．The bristles formation. |
| A．Uncertain | B．Confident | C．Concerned | D．Surprised. |
| A．A Tooth-Cleaner Fighting Bacteria | B．A Breakthrough in Medicine |
| C．A Shape-Shifting Robotic Tooth-Cleaner | D．A New Concept for a New Start |
Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.
One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.
Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.
The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.
Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.
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