1 . J. K. Rowling frequently shows there is magic every day. Her Harry Potter series has helped people through times of stress and depression and she is always there to deliver wise words of encouragement.

She is one celebrity who is very active on Twitter. So when a single dad named Matt Burke sent her a message thanking her for the series, she noticed. Her series had helped strengthen his relationship with his 9­year­old daughter Bailey.

He included a link to his article titled Being a Broke Parent. He explained how he hadn’t found a level of financial stability that allowed him to pay bills on time and take his daughter on more activities and events. The family also doesn’t have the Internet or TV, which means there’s no “digital babysitter” and he has to rely on his own creative ways to bond with his daughter. Since he received the series, the main thing that has occupied them these days is reading books together.

Burke admits that he thought he was “too cool” for the books when they first came out and he was in his twenties, but he’s loving reading them now. “We switch off chapter by chapter reading them out loud，“Burke explains.” This not only allows her to get more used to reading aloud in front of someone, but it gets me directly involved in something she loves, and it gives me the chance to be very dramatic when I read my chapters and bring myself into the characters in the book, which has proven to be a ton of fun.”

After hearing Burke’s story, Rowling said how honored she was when Harry Potter was a part of his family’s life and offered Burke more books. Besides, people are also offering to send Burke more books as gifts. For Burke, this experience, far more than gifts, will be what he treasures.

1. Why did Burke thank J. K. Rowling according to the text?

A．She guided him how to write a good story.

B．She encouraged him when he was in trouble.

C．Her books helped him through times of confusion.

D．Her books helped him improve his bond with his daughter.

2. What is implied in Burke’s words in paragraph 4?

A．He has found it interesting to read the series.	B．He was too old to understand the series better.
C．He has chosen a better way of reading the series.	D．He hopes to play a role in the drama in the future.

3. Which word can best describe Burke’s experience according to the text?

A．Useless.

B．Normal.

C．Valuable.

D．Boring.

4. What is the main idea of this text?

A．J. K. Rowling chooses to help improve kids’ health.

B．J. K. Rowling gives a magical gift to a single father.

C．J. K. Rowling has a deep influence on others’ growth.

D．Burke comes to know J. K. Rowling through her series.

2 . 每年的3月22日是“世界水日”(World Water Day)，上周日你校学生会组织学生在市中心开展志愿宣传活动(publicity campaign)。假定你是李华，请你为校英文报写一篇报道，内容包括；
1. 活动目的；
2. 活动内容(时间, 地点等)；
3. 活动反响。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80左右。
2. 请按照如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

A Volunteer Activity Celebrating World Water Day

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3 . 你校将举办英语演讲比赛，请以“My favorite song”为题写一篇演讲稿。要点如下：
1．歌曲简介；
2．最爱它的原因。
注意：
1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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8 . Robots can deliver food on a college campus and hit a hole in one on the golf course, but even the most advanced robot can’t perform basic social interactions that are vital to everyday human life.

MIT researchers have now added certain social interactions to a framework for robotics, enabling machines to understand what it means to help or hinder (阻碍) one another, and to learn to perform these social behaviors on their own. In a simulated (模拟的) environment, a robot watches its companion, guesses what task it wants to accomplish, and then helps or hinders the other robot based on its own goals. The researchers also showed that their model creates realistic and predictable social interactions. When they showed videos of these simulated robots interacting with one another to humans, the human viewers mostly agreed with the model about what type of social behavior was occurring.

Equipping robots with social skills could lead to smoother and more positive human-robot interactions. For instance, a robot in a nursing home could use these abilities to help create a more caring environment for elderly individuals. The new model may also enable scientists to measure social interactions quantitatively (数量上), which could help psychologists study autism (自闭症) or analyze the effects of antidepressants (抗抑郁药).

“Robots will live in our world soon enough and they really need to learn how to communicate with us on human terms. They need to understand when it is time for them to help and when it is time for them to see what they can do to prevent something from happening. This is very early work and we are barely scratching the surface, but I feel like this is the first very serious attempt for understanding what it means for humans and machines to interact socially,” says Boris Katz, leading research scientist.

1. What can robots in use at present do?

A．Talk with humans freely.

B．Measure social interactions.

C．Perform various social skills.

D．Accomplish basic instructed tasks.

2. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．Opinions about robots having social skills.

B．Ways of developing robots’ social skills.

C．Significance of developing robots’ social skills.

D．Purposes of equipping robots with social skills.

3. What does Boris think of the research into robots’ communication skills?

A．Challenging but promising.

B．Shallow and time-consuming.

C．Successful but old-fashioned.

D．Urgent and accurate.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Future Robots on Campus	B．Giving Robots Social Skills
C．New Research into Robots	D．Linking Robots and Humans

9 . Manfred Steiner had a successful and productive career as a doctor, helping generations of medical students learn about hematology (血液学). But all along, he felt that he should be doing something else: studying physics. At age 89, he has finally fulfilled that dream, earning his Ph. D. in physics from Brown University.

“I always had this dream: Someday I would like to become a physicist,” Steiner said.

Steiner was a teenager when World War II ended. By then, he was fascinated with physics. On the advice of his family, he decided to pursue a medical career instead. But during his studies, physics still tugged at him.

“When I was a medical student in the early 1950s, I used to slip into the physical institute, which was very close to the medical school,” he said, “and listen to some talks there because I was so interested in quantum physics (量子物理学), the new stuff at that time.”

It was only after Steiner retired from his career in medicine in 2000 that he was able to officially occupy himself with quantum physics. He started taking classes at MIT. He had to do a lot of physics classes at MIT before being allowed to start graduate studies. He transferred to Brown, to minimize his commute (通勤).

Steiner worked slowly — he’s a grandfather who likes to spend time with his family, and health issues have been a concern — but the credits kept piling up. “You know, it took a long time,” he said. “There were medical problems in between that were very serious. But fortunately, I’m here now and I’ve overcome these problems.”

Despite fulfilling a long-held dream of becoming a physicist, Steiner says he doesn’t regret spending most of his life in academic medicine. He also has some advice to offer: “All the young people, if they have a dream, follow that dream. Don’t give up on it.” If it doesn’t work out, he said, they can go into something else. “But first, follow your dream.”

1. What does the underlined part “tugged at” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Confused.	B．Attracted.
C．Benefited.	D．Challenged.

2. When did Steiner start to devote himself to the study of quantum physics?

A．When World War Ⅱ ended.	B．In the early 1950s.
C．In 2000.	D．At age 89.

3. What can we know about Steiner?

A．He is a brave dream-seeker.

B．He regretted learning medicine.

C．He learned physics all by himself.

D．He liked working alone at a slow pace.

4. What lesson can we learn from Steiner’s story?

A．You can’t judge a book by its cover.

B．A good beginning makes a good ending.

C．A young idler, an old beggar.

D．Where there is a will, there is a way.

10 . 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。

A slow train in Southwest China boasting its own study room has attracted much attention from netizen. The train No 5609/5610,     1     runs between Chongqing and Xiushan county, is a public-welfare “slow train”.

In some carriages, some seats have been replaced with desks and chairs next to the windows to transform it into a “study carriage” for passengers     2     need. The Chinese characters “Yu Yue” appear on the train, which translates to “traveling and reading     3     (happy).” Other inspirational     4     (slogan) can be seen throughout the converted carriages.

In addition to No 5609/5610, other “slow trains” have been upgraded with “study carriages”. Students from nearby schools often take the train between school and home. The trains are their “school buses” and many passengers use their travel time     5     (complete) homework.

On train No Z150, which runs between Guiyang and Beijing, a     6     (transform) “book bar” carriage has been welcomed by college students. There are nearly 400 universities and colleges in the cities along the line,     7     (make) train No Z150 the first choice for most students on those campuses.

Since 2015, the train’s dining car     8     (be) open for free at night to provide returning students with a lending library, free tea and other services. These small measures by the railway department are     9     welcome comfort for passengers in need of a     10     (relax) place to continue their studies.