1 . Have you read The Tale of Peter Rabbit? It’s a very famous children’s book, written by Beatrix Potter.
Beatrix was born in 1866. She and her brother kept many small animals as pets — rabbits, mice, frogs and even bats! They both liked to draw their pets, but Beatrix liked drawing animals from her own imagination most. She also loved enjoying and drawing nature when they visited beautiful places like Scotland and the Lake District.
To make some money, Beatrix started drawing cards with animals. She liked writing and illustrating (图解) letters too. One day, she wrote a letter to her friend’s son, and told the story of Peter Rabbit. She decided to make the story into a book. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902, and it was a great success! She wrote, illustrated and published many more books. She also created dolls, painting books, games and other things according to her characters.
Three years after The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published, Beatrix bought a farm in the Lake District. She learned about farming and bought more farms and land to help protect the landscape. She enjoyed country life very much, and was very active in protecting the environment.
When Beatrix died, she left almost all her farms and land to the National Trust, an organization which protects historic places and landscapes. You can even visit Hill Top Farm today, which is exactly like it was when Beatrix lived there!
So if you haven’t read The Tale of Peter Rabbit, or other Beatrix Potter’s books, why not visit your local library or bookshop today?
1. What inspired Beatrix Potter to write “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”?| A．Her love for farming. | B．A letter to a friend’s son. |
| C．Her interest in the environment. | D．A visit to the Lake District. |
| A．She taught art classes. | B．She created dolls and games. |
| C．She worked for the National Trust. | D．She became a professional farmer. |
| A．By writing books about it. | B．By delivering speeches. |
| C．By donating money. | D．By buying farms and land. |
| A．They were sold to private investors. | B．They were left to the National Trust. |
| C．They were turned into public parks. | D．They were used for agricultural research. |
Social media is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world today. A study carried out by the PewResearch Center showed that 92% of teenagers go online daily. The wide use of social media has changed nearly all parts of teenagers’ lives.
High school student Elly Cooper from Illinois said social media often reduces face-to-face communication. “It makes in-person relationships harder because people give attention to their phones instead of persons,” Cooper said. Yet, some people believe social media has made it easier to start relationships with anyone from anywhere.
The rise of social media has changed the way teenagers see themselves. The 19-year-old Essena O’Neill announced on the social networking service Instagram that she had stopped using social media. She thought she had gotten lost in appearing perfect online. Negative comments can also do damage to a teenager’s self-esteem (自尊). Teenagers who get negative comments can’t help but feel hurt. In particular, some social media apps such as Yik Yak may provide opportunities for cyber bullying (网络欺凌).
However, Armin Korsos, a student from Illinois, takes advantage of the comments he receives over social media to improve his videos on the social networking site YouTube. “Social media can help people show themselves and their talents to the world in a way that was never possible before,” Korsos said.
But Korsos realizes that social media has become a distraction (让人分心的事). “Social media is not all necessary, though it helps people connect with their friends and know each other well anytime.”
A. Wanting to be “liked”B. Developing good habits
C. Changing relationships
D. Opening new doors
In modern society, many Chinese traditional festivals are still an important part of Chinese culture, and
Some traditional festivals teach us a lot about our nation’s history. For example,
Moreover,
Finally, traditional festivals are a source of national pride and help shape our national identity. For example,
 Learn With Homer Price: Free Skill: Comprehension, Phonics(拼读法) Grade level: Pre-K, K Device: iPad |
It’s a learn-to-read app for kids aged 3-6 that includes drawing, voice recording, songs, ad more, along with traditional phonics exercises. This app can be helpful for kids who have production problems and language organization problems. |
 Inspiration Maps Price: $9.99 Skill: Comprehension, Writing Grade level: 4th and above Device: iPad |
It is a mind-mapping tool that helps kids visually(视觉上) organize ideas. They can create maps, organizers, brainstorms and text outlines. Outlines can be changed to maps, and maps can be changed to outlines. Users can share creations by emailing, printing, or saving to iTunes, Dropbox, Photos or the app (as PDF or PNG files). The lite version (简化版本), which is free, lets kids create up to five mind maps with no sharing choices. |
 Aesop’s Quest Price: $0.99 Skill: Comprehension Grade level: 2nd, 3rd, 4th Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch |
Aesop’s Quest, based on Aesop’s Fables, is a learning game where the student must remember parts of a story to complete a level. At the end of each story level, the student is rewarded with tests. After solving the tests, the story is complete and the student can continue to read the next story. Developed together with the Virginia Department of Education. |
 LightSail Price: Free Skill: Comprehension Grade level: Pre-K, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and above Device: iPad |
LightSail is an e-reading platform that helps teachers support their students’ independent reading. Students can use LightSali to check out texts from their schools’ online libraries and read the books directly on their iPad. As students progress through a book, questions appear to check their comprehension. As students complete these assessments(评定), they earn prizes. |
| A．singing songs | B．reading stories |
| C．making speeches | D．learning foreign languages |
| A．Aesop’s Quest. | B．Learn With Homer. |
| C．LightSail. | D．Inspiration Maps. |
| A．Remember every part of the previous story. |
| B．Retell the previous story completely. |
| C．Solve the tests of the previous story. |
| D．Finish reading the previous story. |
| A．It is developed mainly for teachers. |
| B．It has no access to school libraries. |
| C．It helps users complete school assessments. |
| D．It develops users’ comprehension through games. |
5 . Our mother has to leave home every day before we go to school. She has to walk twelve blocks to take the bus to work. We think it’s terrible that there is no bus that comes closer to our street.
I said to my mother, “This is a public transportation system. It is our system. It should come closer to our home. I do not want you to walk that far to get to the bus.” She agreed, but she said it would take more than one family to get the bus line to change. I told my mother I would ask my teacher about it. We could do a study and maybe start a petition (请愿书).
My teacher liked the idea. He said we could do the survey. So our class surveyed all our parents. We collected our survey data and made a table. We found that 90% of all the parents would use the bus more if it was easier to get to. We also found that only 20% of the parents could get to it easily, just by walking five blocks. For all the others, it took between 6 and 12 blocks.
We made a map to show how the bus route (路线) could be changed to reach people in our community more easily. Then my teacher called the alderman (市议员) to see if we could meet to talk about our study.
The alderman was impressed. She said we had done a really good job of thinking out the problem and a solution. She promised she would talk with the head of the transportation system about it.
Now my mother can leave later, and she only has to walk four blocks to get to the bus. When she leaves in the morning, she always says, “Son, I’m so glad you got the bus route changed.”
1. According to the first two paragraphs, the author wanted to ______.| A．get the public transportation system improved |
| B．walk with his mother to the bus stop |
| C．invite more families to take the bus |
| D．ask his teacher about a study plan |
| A．90% of the parents took the bus to work because it was easier to get to. |
| B．20% of the parents lived within five blocks to the bus stop. |
| C．Most parents used to wait for the bus to pick them up. |
| D．Only a few parents sent their kids to school by bus. |
| A．Worried. | B．Annoyed. |
| C．Moved. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．We should take notice of our family life. |
| B．We should communicate with others. |
| C．The harder we study, the greater progress we’ll make. |
| D．As long as we make efforts, we’ll make a difference. |
6 . You can’t buy much for a dollar these days, but when everybody pools their dollars together for a good cause, amazing things can happen.
That is the idea behind Anthony Talley’s $1 Thursday campaign. The Georgian man believes that the world will be changed for the better if everyone just contributes one dollar at a time.
Last year, Anthony Talley managed to raise $8,000 to help a local man who lost everything in a house fire. And he did it all by asking people to donate just one dollar each.
Anthony Talley uses his social media page to raise money. On $1 Thursdays, he tells his friends and fans what goal they’re working toward that week and asks them to contribute just a single dollar to the cause.
Some of the acts of kindness he has been able to perform include helping kids to buy shoes and clothes and even buying ice cream for every primary school student in the city of LaGrange, Hogansville, and West Point!
One of their most recent missions was to raise enough money to help a mother with 10 kids who badly needs a new car. So far, they have raised $576!
You can support his mission through mobile payment services, Cash App or Venmo.
It really does take a village! Anthony is finding a way to allow every single person in his community to become a hero in their neighbors’ lives. After all, it’s only a dollar!
1. According to the text, the $1 Thursday campaign was started by ______.| A．a Georgian man | B．an American woman |
| C．a community worker | D．a primary school student |
| A．He contributed one dollar at a time. | B．He managed to collect 8,000 dollars. |
| C．He asked people to donate as much as possible. | D．He changed the man’s social media page. |
| A．Artworks. | B．Reasons. | C．Tasks. | D．Dreams. |
| A．Dollars changing the world for the better | B．Acts of kindness aiming to help kids |
| C．Anthony Talley and his community | D．Anthony Talley and his $1 Thursday campaign |
7 . September 5 is the “Charity Day” in China. It started because of China’s charity law, which came into effect seven years ago. This year, China has witnessed how technology plays a bigger role in the country’s charity career.
There are over 85 million disabled people in China. With the development of technology in the country, more charity organizations and people have realized the importance of using it to help people in need.
Huang Shuai is the director of Chuangshan Community. He is running special projects to create mobile apps and provide help for people with physical challenges. “For a lot of disabled people, daily actions that are necessary in today’s world, like using a mouse, typing on keyboards or using smartphones, can be very hard to finish,” he said. In Chuangshan Community, many of the volunteers are middle school students. They try their best to solve the problem for people in local charity houses.
Tech professionals have realized that technology is a game changer in the world of charity. Tencent started a charity activity called “99 Giving Day” and set up programs for donations to deal with all kinds of challenges that cause problems for the local and international community. They’ve offered all kinds of tech kits (装备) and cloud services to many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) , local communities and colleges. Engineers can go and work as technology officers at NGOs and provide hands-on technology support.
Technologies, especially those that can be used by NGOs, and disabled people, will not only make our lives more convenient, but will also bring power and courage to people and connect our communities together.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refer to?| A．Organization. | B．Charity. | C．Development. | D．Technology. |
| A．They help do cleaning. | B．They show their talent. |
| C．They talk with the disabled. | D．They provide technology support. |
| A．Technology has brought trouble to the disabled. |
| B．Technology has entered people’s everyday life. |
| C．Disabled people tend to resist new technology. |
| D．Many people can’t afford new technology. |
| A．Kindness Goes Further | B．Charity, a Game Changer |
| C．Charity And Technology | D．Technology Brings Us Convenience |
It is said that about half of the people in China smoke. Many young boys and girls have the habit of
More and more people have come to realize
Smoking causes many
As we all know, smoking
I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t been feeling well recently. But the doctor is
First, remember that you don’t have to
Second, you don’t have to
Finally, I understand that exercise alone can be boring, but you could invite your family and friends to
I hope you’ll soon feel happier and healthier.
All the best.
Rachel
1.| A．wrong | B．right | C．good | D．crazy |
| A．steps | B．choices | C．plans | D．suggestions |
| A．exercise | B．talk | C．sleep | D．watch |
| A．Anyway | B．Therefore | C．Besides | D．Instead |
| A．plane | B．rope | C．lift | D．window |
| A．decide | B．pay | C．call | D．try |
| A．running | B．swimming | C．cleaning | D．reading |
| A．wooden | B．large | C．comfortable | D．expensive |
| A．think twice | B．work out | C．stay up | D．get along |
| A．help | B．deal | C．fight | D．stick |
10 . Gary McKee, 53, from Cleator Moor in Cumbria, raised his arms and was cheered by a crowd of people as he completed his 365th marathon of the year on New Year’s Eve. As of 4 pm on Saturday, he had raised more than £890, 000 for the charities Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice at Home West Cumbria. The father of three has gone through 22 pairs of sports shoes and has run 9, 563 miles in rain, snow and sunshine to raise money.
“The support has been amazing and it always is and the West Cumbrians get behind us, but cancer is scary so it isn’t just a West Cumbrian thing, it’s a national thing,” said Gary. “I just hope that people do get behind us and we do raise that million pounds.” Gary has not only raised money for two fantastic charities, but he has also sprinkled magic on the local community and brought people together supporting him with the challenge.
Chris Young, 29, who ran 90 marathons with Mr McKee, said: “Gary set a good example to me this year when I began running often with him. He has given me both physical and mental confidence that I don’t know if I would have ever discovered in myself in a million years. I know I don’t just speak for myself on that front as he has inspired not just me or the few, but the whole local community and beyond,” said Chris. “This challenge has raised a great amount of money for two fantastic charities, but the influence Gary has provided to the community and people around him is immeasurable.”
1. Why does Gary raise money?| A．To raise people’s awareness of sports. | B．To promote marathon. |
| C．To help people with cancer. | D．To raise his family. |
| A．It was not easy for Gary to raise money. | B．Gary won the marathon. |
| C．People were moved by Gary’s kindness. | D．Gary struggled to raise his family. |
| A．Gary feels connected with the community. | B．Local people are inspired by Gary. |
| C．Local people think Gary unbearable. | D．Gary often works as a volunteer. |
| A．He used to lack confidence. | B．He used to be unhealthy. |
| C．He admires Gary’s talent in sports. | D．He can’t find a better coach than Gary. |
