1 . Despite usually being associated with the Chinese, the Lunar New Year is also celebrated in other countries. Here are several places in America to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

New York City

New York City, which has one of the largest populations of ethnic（少数民族）Chinese people outside of Asia, is a great place to experience the Lunar New Year. There are around 10 different Chinatowns in New York City. Visitors will find parades, performances and foods in most of these areas but some of the festival characteristics are unique to the particular district.

San Francisco

San Francisco's lunar New Year celebrations are the longest runnings in America. They date back to the 1860s, during the “Gold Rush” period. Today, numerous events take place around the Bay Area, but the headline is the massive Chinese New Year Parade that draws as many as 1 million viewers.

Washington DC

Washington DC has a historic Chinatown. There is a parade here with floats, firecrackers, dancers and music. The Smithsonian American Art Museum can host hands on arts and crafts events that feature performers invited from China. The Kennedy Center stages themed performances, including folk music and symphonies from China.

Chicago

Despite low temperatures in January and February, Chicago celebrates the Lunar New Year in a big way. There are two parades, usually held on different days of the same weekend. One is in the city's traditional Chinatown on the South Side, and the other takes place on Argyle Street. Asian culture is on full display during these parades, and other Chicago com munities also take part.

1. Which city has the longest history of celebrating the Lunar New Year?

A．New York City.	B．San Francisco.
C．Washington DC.	D．Chicago.

2. What can the Smithsonian American Art Museum do on the Lunar New Year?

A．Serve Chinese food.	B．Show Chinese dancers.
C．Play Chinese court music.	D．Invite Chinese art performers.

3. What common activity is held in the listed cities on the Lunar New Year?

A．Festival parades.	B．English concerts.
C．The American culture weekend.	D．The American-style art exhibitions.

2 . My daughter was having trouble recently deciding on what to major in at college, so she asked for my _________. I told her the one thing I wish that I had been told at her age: “Find a _________ that you love and you will never work a day.” I didn't know how to answer, though, when she asked me what she should do if she had to take a job that she _________.

That question brought back a lot of _________ of jobs that I had over the years. I remembered one in particular. My young family was _________. We had no money, and there were no good _________ to be had in the area. My brother, _________, got me a job at a local lumber mill (木材场). The work was hard and meant constant pain for my back. Hours were spent loading and stacking (码放) wood. The pay was very _________. In the winter the skin on my fingers bled from the cold, dry air. In the several years I worked there, many people left. Only those of us who had families to support didn't leave to _________ something better.

Still, I also remembered singing to myself while working. I remember as I pushed the lumber carts, glancing out the window and __________ watching the leaves changing in the fall. I remembered how a __________ sandwich tasted like the greatest meal in the world after hours of hard work. I remembered being grateful for this job so I could __________ my family. Remembering all this gave me the answer I needed for my daughter. “Just __________ your love to your job then, sweetheart,” I said. “If you can't do what you love, then __________ what you do.”

In this life we work to __________ but we live to love. Without love, work is drudgery (苦差事). Yet, with love, work is joy.

1.

A．permission

B．advice

C．choice

D．expectation

2.

A．hobby

B．person

C．major

D．career

3.

A．hated

B．wanted

C．needed

D．enjoyed

4.

A．thoughts

B．regrets

C．memories

D．opinions

5.

A．improving

B．enlarging

C．moving

D．struggling

6.

A．stores

B．jobs

C．markets

D．universities

7.

A．however

B．instead

C．therefore

D．meanwhile

8.

A．good

B．low

C．promising

D．reasonable

9.

A．ask for

B．wait for

C．look for

D．prepare for

10.

A．boringly

B．anxiously

C．angrily

D．joyously

11.

A．different

B．simple

C．unique

D．healthy

12.

A．see

B．save

C．start

D．feed

13.

A．bring

B．prove

C．continue

D．put

14.

A．change

B．end

C．love

D．respect

15.

A．live

B．get

C．succeed

D．practice

3 . Greying Population Stays in the Pink

Elderly people are growing healthier, happier and more independent, say American scientists.

In the last 14 years, data have been gathered on the health and lifestyles of more than 20,000 people over 65. Researchers say high blood pressure and circulation problems and other diseases of old age are troubling a smaller proportion every year.     1     . It really raises the question of what should be considered normal ageing, because the problems with old people are often not appearing until they are 70 or 75.

    2    . But there may be other contributing factors. Improvements in childhood nutrition gave today’s elderly people a better start in life.

One interesting fact is that better-educated people are likely to live longer. For example, 65-year-old women with fewer than eight years of schooling are expected, on average, to live to 82. Those who continued their education live an extra seven years.     3    .

The survey also assessed how independent people over 65 were, and again found a striking trend. Their self-reliance is probably linked to an increasing use of home medical aids, such as raised toilet seats and bath seats.     4    .Those elderly people who were independent were more likely to stay healthy in old age.

    5    . Researchers found that elderly people who felt emotionally isolated maintained higher levels of stress hormones even when asleep. So they suggest that older people live best when they feel independent but know they can get help when they need it.

A．But independence can have drawbacks.

B．It is not surprising we see some effects.

C．If the trends apparent in the United States continues,

D．These developments also bring some health benefits.

E．Clearly, certain diseases can be prevented or cured because of medical advances.

F．And the rate at which these diseases are declining continues to increase.

G．Researchers say it is because educated people seek more medical attention.

4 . Facial recognition is a new technology built into all sorts of applications. It's also one of the more controversial technologies pioneered today, as it sets up deep questions regarding security versus privacy rights, and how these facial recognition applications can be safely and fairly applied.

Modern facial recognition is clearly dependent on specific technologies and algorithms (算法) that we've built during the machine learning and artificial intelligence era of the early 21st century. Specifically, most cutting-edge facial recognition programs feature a type of neural network called a convolutional (卷积) neural network (CNN). The system uses convolutions as well as other algorithm work in successive stages to do complex analysis of an image, and even identify people, animals, objects or settings through advanced analysis.

One primary piece of functionality in the CNN is feature detection. First, the face must be identified within the image context, so that the facial features can be analyzed. Methods such as the Viola-Jones are used to break down an image through color shift and local analysis of group pixels to find features like noses, ears, eyes, etc. The same facial recognition neural networks will often utilize ratios—such as the ratio from eyes to hairline, from ears to nose, or other stock facial ratios that can help with facial recognition. The image is then compared to all known faces to uniquely identify the identity of that person.

So, with all this winning technology the facial recognition engine can be surprisingly adept at learning how to recognize a particular individual’s face in a crowd. Facial recognition software is applied in payment processing to substitute cards with faces, for access and security purposes, and to identify criminals.

Primarily, companies that have used abundant public Internet images to pull together training sets for sophisticated facial recognition programs face blowback and resistance from some of their customers, including law enforcement departments, and from U.S. legislators, consumer advocates and citizens at large.

1. What are paragraphs 2 and 3 mainly about?

A．How facial recognition works technically.

B．How facial recognition is applied in society.

C．When facial recognition gets increasingly significant.

D．What the primary function of feature detection is.

2. How can facial recognition engine recognize individual’s face?

A．By comparing the image to all known faces.

B．By learning how to recognize a particular face.

C．By using convolutional neural network.

D．By identifying face within context.

3. What may be some customers’ attitude towards companies using facial recognition?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Ambiguous.	D．Indifferent.

4. From the passage, we know that ________.

A．facial recognition is a new debatable world technology

B．convolutional neural network is intended for feature detection

C．facial recognition is mostly employed to identify criminals

D．there’s still need for facial recognition to prove accuracy

5 . We had to put our Belgian sheepdog Shadow to sleep yesterday. He was hands down the worst dog I have ever had—not so much a superdog as a superbad dog. For the first two years of his life, we worked relentlessly to train him to do the basic things. He balked at all of it. When made to lie down, he would roll his back and cry out as if he were being beaten. If pushed too hard, he would bite — never to draw blood, but enough to let you know who was in charge.

Frustrated, we sent him to a professional trainer, who took him into his home to work with him one-on-one. After the agreed-upon two weeks of training, the handler called and sheepishly asked for another two weeks with Shadow, free of charge, as he had been unable to make any progress. In another two weeks, we got the same phone call. So, after six weeks, the dog trainer returned our dog with apologies, stating that this was the first dog that he’d ever deemed untrainable. Shadow appeared quite pleased with himself.

For all of his 13 years, Shadow bested us, allowing us the privilege of living in his home. On his last day, my daughter commented, “Mom, I know he doesn’t feel good because he is not growling at me when I kiss his face.” That was him. Shadow was a genius. How else could he have compelled us to love the worst dog.

1. Shadow would bite when we push him too hard ________.

A．to make us bleed

B．to beat us

C．to train him

D．to show dissatisfaction

2. Why did the trainer ask for more time with Shadow?

A．Because he wanted to work with Shadow.

B．Because he wanted to charge more money.

C．Because he failed to train Shadow well within the agreed time.

D．Because Shadow was quite pleased with himself.

3. Which of the following is NOT true about Shadow?

A．He didn’t like being trained.

B．He spent twelve weeks altogether with the trainer.

C．He became the first dog that the trainer failed to train.

D．He would growl at our daughter when she kissed him.

4. According to the author, Shadow is ________.

A．naughty and intelligent	B．friendly and trainable
C．unkind and untrainable	D．superbad and disobedient

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The trade routes are of great importance. In march, the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important sea trade routes,     1     (block) by a ship, causing an epic maritime traffic jam of nearly 300 ships between Europe and Asia. Besides the Suez Canal, China's ancient Silk Road also played     2     important role in trade and cultural exchanges between China and Europe.

In early history, The Silk Road was the most important trade route,     3     (mark) the beginning of globalization. As the first route     4     introduced the Eastern world to the Western civilization, the Silk Road in China can date     5     the Han dynasty in ancient China. In the following years in history, many great figures had made significant     6     (contribute) to the development of the Silk Road.

Though the Silk Road was mainly a trading route, it was     7     (benefit) to each other in the first place. It     8     (actual) made great attraction to the development of the civilization of the world, opening long-distance political and economic communication between Europe and Asia. The ancient Silk Road is more like a historical textbook, enabling people from different cultures and regions     9     (comprehend) what happened during the ancient time. Up to now, the Silk Road in China     10     (bring) great attraction to the tourism in China even in the world.

7 . Introduction to Sanxingdui Museum

Situated in the northeast of the state-protected Sanxingdui Site by the bank of the Yazi River in Guanghan — a city famed for its long history and splendid culture, Sanxingdui Museum is a modern theme museum which is 40 kilometers to the north of Chengdu.

Covering a total area of 530 yields, Sanxingdui Museum had its foundation laid in August 1992, and opened to the public in October 1997. Featured for its relics, architecture, demonstration and gardens, the museum has become a place of cultural and tourist attractions enjoying prestige both at home and abroad and one of the three exquisite spots Sichuan has offered to the world tourism.

Notice to Sanxingdui Site Museum Travelers

Ⅰ. Opening & Booking Time

Opening time: Gallery One 8:30-18:00 Gallery Two 8:30-18:30

Booking time: 8:30-17:00

Ⅱ. Visiting Route

Gallery One→Gallery Two

Ⅲ . Ticket Price

(1) Gallery ticket ¥72 ¥36 (students)

(2) Garden ticket ¥5

The ticket is used on the sold day and each gallery once.

Admission free for children under 1.2 meters (including 1.2m), seniors aged 60 or above and the disabled.

Ⅴ. Guide Service＆Price

(1) Guide Service

If you need a museum guide, please employ one at the reception desk in Gallery One.

Chinese, Cantonese, Tibetan: ¥80 (Group below 20 persons)

English, Japanese: ¥120 (Group below 20 persons）

(2) Guide Range: Gallery 1 & Gallery 2

(3) It takes about 80 minutes each guide service.

(4) We provide Chinese & English auto guiding device free of charge. Please deposit CNY ¥200 and your valid credential. If damaged or lost, you should compensate according to the cost price.

Ⅳ.Consulting telephone: 0838－5651526

Ⅵ. Complaint against the price telephone: 12358

1. What can we learn about Sanxingdui Museum?

A．It’s located in the northeast of Chengdu.

B．It’s an ancient theme museum.

C．It’s a famous place of cultural and tourist attractions.

D．It’s the only top tourist spots in Sichuan.

2. As a university student, you accompany your 68-year-old grandpa on a trip to Sanxingdui Museum, how much will you pay for the tickets?

A．¥154.	B．¥118.
C．¥ 77.	D．¥ 41.

3. Jennifer, who is from New York, wants to visit the museum, she may ________.

A．pay CNY ¥200 for a museum guide

B．first call the museum at 12358 for enquiry

C．use Chinese & English auto guiding device for free

D．deposit some money and provide her valid credential