2 . What does the woman think of the play?

A．Terrible.

B．Just so-so.

C．Great.

3 . What are the speakers mainly talking about?

A．The man’s childhood.

B．The man’s change.

C．The man’s favorite movies.

4 . Why does the man talk with the woman?

A．To get a prize.

B．To interview her.

C．To buy a book.

5 . Research carried out last year stressed the growing challenge facing employers in terms of managing and supporting the UK’s aging workforce.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics have suggested that the number of people aged 65 and over still working has reached 1.19 million—up 25,000 from a year ago. There were also now more people aged 50-74 in work than ever before. However, the overall trend was hiding the fact that 12% people are forced to stop working before reaching state pension age because of ill health or disability.

Nearly half a million (436,000) workers who are within five years of state pension age have had to leave work for medical reasons, with an apparent divide between the North (worse) and South (better). Those in the lowest-paid jobs, including cleaners, leisure industry workers and people doing heavy laboring jobs, were twice as likely to stop working before retirement age, because of sickness and disability than managers or professionals.

Within this, the needs of the “sandwich generation”— those juggling work with caring for elderly dependents as well as children — needed to be given greater priority (优先权) by employers, a white paper by insurer and health care provider concluded.

Its research argued that 66% of managers think the average age of retirement in their organization will increase in the next 5 to 10 years. Yet, 36% reported being unaware of anything their organization did to attract, keep and engage older staff. Fewer than a quarter (23%) of employees said they felt supported by their employer with their responsibilities for caring for a loved one.

This was perhaps unsurprising, given that only 28% of managers said their organization had formal policies and practices in place to support these employees, argues health care distribution director Chris Horlick.

1. According to the passage, who is more likely to leave work before retirement age?

A．Tom, a physician.	B．Jason, a language teacher.
C．Henry, a construction worker.	D．Bill, a bank manager.

2. The present support from the employers can be best described as _________.

A．moving

B．dissatisfying

C．inspiring

D．surprising

3. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Old employees are well attended in the UK.

B．Aging workforce should be well supported in the UK.

C．Employers show responsibilities for supporting their employees.

D．UK employers are facing challenges in supporting aging workforce.

6 . Remember back when virtual reality came out as the Next Big Thing? Videogame maker Sega developed a mass-market head-tracking VR system and showed it to reporters and industry representatives at the 1993 winter Consumer Electronics Show. It performed as advertised, carried an affordable $200 price tag and was set to launch the following year. Unfortunately, among other issues, testers reportedly developed headaches and motion sickness using the headset and the system was quietly shelved.

A report just issued by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, suggests a similar problem could be found in self-driving cars. According to the study's authors Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle, that's because the three main factors that trigger motion sickness-specifically, a conflict between balance and visual inputs, an inability to anticipate the direction of motion and a lack of control over the direction of motion-tend to be increased in self-driving vehicles.

The report suggests between six and ten percent of Americans riding in self-driving vehicles would be expected to always, or at least usually, suffer some degree of motion sickness. What's more, the frequency and severity suffered can be expected to vary depending on what the person is doing at the time instead of driving. Those reading, watching movies or television, texting and working while on autopilot should suffer the most motion sickness, while those who steadfastly keep their eyes on the road are likely to endure the least measure of discomfort.

Authors Sivak and Schoettle suggest automakers design self-driving cars specifically to help reduce it, including having large transparent windows to maximize visual field, and setting seats and displays so that riders are facing forward. Alternately, riders could always take anti-nausea （防呕吐）medications, though this is not a particularly practical solution for various reasons. Beyond that, riders could take a nap, or at least keep their eyes closed while the vehicle is in motion, which is said to help minimize motion sickness.

1. What is the function of Paragraph 1?

A．To present the uncertain future of VR.

B．To introduce the topic of motion sickness.

C．To highlight the importance of VR and its system.

D．To attract public attention towards hi-tech products.

2. According to the passage, which behavior can bring about the most motion sickness?

A．Driving and humming songs in rough condition.

B．Viewing the scenery and talking with other riders.

C．Keeping absorbed in writing a paper along the way.

D．Taking photos of the buildings outside the car windows.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The head-tracking VR system was successfully launched the next year.

B．Whatever the riders do, they would be less likely to feel uncomfortable.

C．A clear window with forward-facing seats would relieve motion sickness.

D．The visual influences on balance would lead to motion sickness in all vehicles.

7 . For hours I had been traveling up the Nile Valley,from Luxor to Cairo, on a train jammed with Egypt's working Poor.

At 1 a. m. I reached Cairo and took a taxi to Tahrir Square, the city's center. The taxi _______ me off across the street from Hardee's. Just as I was about to open the restaurant door, two street _______ pounced on me with cries for _______.

In my broken Arabic I asked when they had last eaten﹣﹣about 16 hours ago, they said.

I asked them to wait while I went inside. Since I was traveling on a _______ budget and was even _______ meals on occasion, part of me _______ the children's hunger. But mostly, the children reminded me how _______ I really was.

I ordered two hamburgers for the boys. Then _______ my remaining stinginess （小气）, I bought them one of Hardee's delicious, big chocolate chip cookies.

I brought the food out, and as they took the _______, they ________ me with 30 seconds of nonstop blessings.

After they finished, I ________ the bag and pulled out the cookie, extending it for them to take. Both boys fell ________, and then tears welled up in their eyes as they ________ this was too much.

They ________ the cookie six times.

I knelt down beside them, ________ their eyes, and amazed at what was before me： two destitute （一无所有的） boys asked ________ for what they needed, ________ to take a crumb（一点, 少量） more.

On the seventh ________, after a long and silent pause, they held out their hands and took the cookie.

I had seen many __________in Egypt﹣﹣the Pyramids, the Aswan High Dam, the Valley of the Kings, the treasures of King Tut. But it was this ________ outside Hardee's that left me truly awestruck, for here two little boys taught me a lesson I've long remembered： an awareness of my spiritual poverty and a desire for a softer heart.

1.

A．dropped

B．threw

C．got

D．sent

2.

A．adults

B．children

C．women

D．men

3.

A．souvenirs

B．water

C．money

D．food

4.

A．free

B．balanced

C．tight

D．loose

5.

A．skipping

B．taking

C．preventing

D．forgetting

6.

A．brought up

B．accounted for

C．identified with

D．lived with

7.

A．rich

B．sensitive

C．honest

D．gentle

8.

A．demanding

B．resisting

C．keeping

D．overcoming

9.

A．cookies

B．chocolate

C．burgers

D．chips

10.

A．shared

B．showered

C．confirmed

D．accompanied

11.

A．reached into

B．held to

C．looked for

D．put aside

12.

A．sick

B．vacant

C．asleep

D．silent

13.

A．insisted

B．declared

C．decided

D．accepted

14.

A．asked

B．refused

C．suggested

D．returned

15.

A．watched out

B．appealed to

C．looked into

D．glared at

16.

A．almost

B．mainly

C．rarely

D．only

17.

A．unwilling

B．unexpected

C．unhappy

D．unbelievable

18.

A．discussion

B．attempt

C．trial

D．request

19.

A．challenges

B．achievements

C．wonders

D．changes

20.

A．reaction

B．phenomenon

C．mission

D．scene

8 . Six years ago at the age of 35, I suddenly decided I wanted to learn the cello. Straight away I rented an instrument and appeared before Wendell Margrave, professor of musical instruction.

"You can be as good as you want to be," Margrave said rather mysteriously. Then he entered my name in book:10 am, Tuesday. Tuesday followed Tuesday, and soon it was spring.

Thus began my voyage out of ignorance and into the dream. It was a happy time. I was again becoming something new, and no longer trapped as the same person. Surely the most terrible recognition of middle life is that we are past changing. We do what we can already do. The cello was something I couldn't do. Yet each Tuesday this became less and less true. Riding home on the bus one snowy night and learning the score of Mozarts C-Major Quintet, I felt the page burst into music in my hands. I could by then more or less read a score, and was humming the cello line, when suddenly all five parts came together harmonically in my head. The fellow sitting opposite stared. I met his glance with tears, actually hearing the music in my head for the first time. Could he hear it too, perhaps? No, he got off at the next stop.

As the years slipped by, my daughter grew up, playing the piano well. My goal was that she and I would one day perform together. I also wanted to perform in public with and for my peers, and to be secretly envied. I continued to play, to perform, but it is not the same. As good as I wanted to be, I am as good as I'm going to get. It is good enough.

1. From the first two paragraphs, we can learn that .

A．the author went to a cello lesson every Tuesday

B．the author bought a cello after he decided to learn it

C．the author already knew some cello basics

D．Margrave was a famous but mysterious professor

2. The author writes that "it was a happy time" in Paragraph 3 mainly because .

A．he used to feel very bored with his unchallenging life

B．it was beautiful to be able to hear the music in his mind

C．Professor Margrave made learning the cello very easy for him

D．he enjoyed the feelings of growth and getting closer to his dream

3. The purpose of the article is mainly to .

A．show the author's deep gratitude to his cello tutor

B．advise readers on how to improve their cello skills

C．encourage readers that it's never too late to pursue their dreams

D．describe the author's incredible efforts to overcome difficulties

9 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

The fireworks are being prepared. The red envelopes     1     (fill). And around the world, hundreds of millions of people are coming together     2     (celebrate) the Chinese New Year. Across the UK,     3     (lantern) are being hung in Manchester. Liverpool, Nottingham and many of our other great cities, including here in London, home to one of     4     (big) Chinese New Year celebrations outside Asia. The festivities are     5     (undoubted) one of the highlights of Britain’s cultural calendar, showcasing the     6     (strong), vibrancy and diversity of our multicultural society. And they are     7     reminder of the incredible role that our Chinese community plays in British life- from students who have just arrived here to study,     8     families whose roots in this country go back well over a century. It is a legacy and a contribution that I celebrated here at Downing Street last week,     9     (bring) together leading figures from across our Chinese community, people without     10     the UK would not be the successful, dynamic country it is today. So wherever and however you are celebrating. let me wish you a very happy new year, and a prosperous and auspicious year of the Pig.

10 . Finally, I entered the institution. Because of my careful _________, I did not have to work during the school year. Then, summer came and it was time to _________ harder than ever. I continued working as a waitress at night, _________ tennis camps several mornings a week and worked as a secretary for a few hours in the afternoons. Being a little _________, I also decided to take a class at a community college This class at the community college saved me $650. It was a(n) _________ summer and made me anxious to return to my _________ easy life at college.

During my second and third years of undergraduate schooling, I made a(n)_________ to work about five hours weekly in the campus admissions office answering phones. This provided a little extra money and _________ me from spending my savings. The overall situation looked hopeful as I _________ my senior year as long as I could make as much money as I had the __________ summer. I wanted to go to Israel to study for 3 weeks, but I __________ in making this decision because it would cost me $1,600 more to get the credits in Israel. About two weeks later my Mom called to tell me that I had $1.600 in the bank that I had forgotten about! One of my __________ about this trip was not only the cost, but the __________ of time to make money; __________. I made as much that summer in the ten weeks when I was at home as I had made during the fourteen weeks when I was at home the summer before. The way everything worked together to make this trip __________ was one of the most __________ things that have ever happened to me.

This experience has __________ me in many important ways. The first thing that I learned was the importance of a strong work principle. Working long hours did a lot to influence my character and helped me learn the __________ of a dollar. It also made me learn how to __________ creative solutions to difficult dilemmas.

Whenever I am overwhelmed or afraid of the future, I can remember my $64.268 __________.

1.

A．efforts

B．savings

C．comparison

D．forecast

2.

A．work

B．study

C．research

D．relax

3.

A．joined

B．practiced

C．attended

D．instructed

4.

A．ambitious

B．content

C．desperate

D．anxious

5.

A．fruitful

B．unforgettable

C．exhausting

D．delightful

6.

A．completely

B．relatively

C．deliberately

D．necessarily

7.

A．attempt

B．proposal

C．decision

D．point

8.

A．kept

B．banned

C．discouraged

D．protected

9.

A．ended

B．changed

C．passed

D．approached

10.

A．former

B．previous

C．coming

D．latter

11.

A．succeeded

B．delayed

C．hesitated

D．believed

12.

A．accounts

B．threats

C．disadvantages

D．concerns

13.

A．waste

B．gain

C．limit

D．loss

14.

A．however

B．therefore

C．besides

D．also

15.

A．successful

B．possible

C．available

D．unique

16.

A．important

B．disappointing

C．exciting

D．fundamental

17.

A．shaped

B．involved

C．fascinated

D．guaranteed

18.

A．use

B．expectation

C．value

D．process

19.

A．stick with

B．reflect on

C．take up

D．work out

20.

A．income

B．wonder

C．dream

D．target