1 . The Broomstick (扫帚) Challenge, which appeared on social media on Monday, is based on incorrect science, according to NASA.

The challenge originated from a viral twitter, which claimed that NASA said Monday is the only day a broomstick could stand on its own because of the earth’s gravity (引力）.The twitter was accompanied by a video of a woman propping a broom up. As the woman watched the broom stand up on its own, she yelled, “No strings, nothing.”

Though there was no evidence that NASA ever suggested that gravity would be different on Monday, the twitter, which received more than 260,000 likes and was shared more than 60,000 times, gained hundreds of responses from people who wanted to participate in the “novelty”of watching a broom stand up by itself.

Yet NASA astronaut Alvin Drew and scientist Sarah Noble, who responded to the Broomstick Challenge on Twitter, say that the challenge can actually be conducted on any given day. The pair posted their own video of them standing up a broom on Tuesday, to show that even though the window for the challenge had passed, it was still actionable.

“Did you do the Broomstick Challenge yesterday?”Noble asked in the video.“Well, turns out you can do it again today.”

“It’s just physics,” Drew added.

The NASA Earth twitter account also weighed in saying “There’s no special gravity that only affects brooms, but the Moon’s gravity creates tides on Earth.”

The myth, which is partly based on an old wives’ tale that claims that every year on the

Vernal and autumnal equinoxes, eggs are able to balance on their ends, appears to have surfaced annually since at least 2012.

1. What can we infer from the text ?

A．The special gravity only has impact on brooms.

B．A broomstick could stand on its own on Monday.

C．The twitter received more than 260,000 responses.

D．The Broomstick Challenge gained much popularity.

2. What does the underlined word “novelty” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Being surprising but dangerous.	B．Being new and interesting.
C．Being challenging and frightening.	D．Being clear and obvious.

3. Which of the following may Alvin Drew agree with?

A．Eggs can also stand on their ends.

B．Tides are created by the Moon’s gravity.

C．Physics can help us explain the phenomenon.

D．A broomstick could stand on its own on a specific day.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To appeal to more people to learn physics.

B．To introduce the process of Broomstick Challenge.

C．To persuade people to try broom standing experiment.

D．To explain the broom’s standing up on its own is not magic.

2 . Do you still remember the scene in the famous movie Titanic, directed by Cameron, where Jack was frozen to death in the icy cold water so that Rose could survive on the floating door alone? It broke many people’s hearts. Two decades later, people are still asking the question, “wasn’t there enough room on the door for both of them?” Cameron once responded by saying it wasn’t a question of room, but buoyancy（浮力）— if both of them had tried to stay on the door, he argued, the whole thing would sink.

But several guys from “Mythbusters”, an Australian-American science entertainment television program, decided to put the theory to the test themselves. They discovered that if Rose had took off her life jacket to the bottom of the door, there would have been enough buoyancy to keep both of them afloat.

“It was an artistic choice, the thing was just big enough to hold her, and not big enough to hold him,” Cameron said. “I think it’s all kind of silly, really, that we’re having this discussion 20 years later. But it does show that the film was effective in making Jack so attractive to the audience that it hurts them to see him die. The film is about death and separation; he had to die.”

Since Jack was doomed to die, Cameron said, it could have happened in a variety of different ways. It’s not about the door not being big enough: that’s just a practical method for his death. “Whether it was that, or whether a chimney（烟囱）fell on him, he was going down,” Cameron said. “It’s called art: things happen for artistic reasons, not for physics reasons.”

1. According to Cameron, why can’t audience accept Jack’s death?

A．They are artistic people.	B．They like the movie.
C．They love Jack.	D．They are eager for truth.

2. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Jack died by accident.	B．Jack’s death was unavoidable.
C．The chimney fell on Jack.	D．The door could make a difference.

3. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Jack Had to Die	B．A Door of Life and Death
C．Audience Knew Better	D．Science Behind Movie

4. Where can you probably find this article?

A．A popular magazine.	B．A movie poster.
C．A government report.	D．A notice board.

3 . 阅读下面材料,根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段,使之构成一篇完整的短文.

John was crazy about playing basketball. Every day after school, he would spend much time practicing basketball skills. Sometimes, he didn't go back home until sunset, which made his mother extremely angry. One day. as he was given a chance to watch a basketball game, he dreamed about being a member of the college basketball team the next year. On the way, he was delighted secretly. He thought no one in the world was luckier than him. Suddenly. a car hit him. What a terrible experience! It seemed like a bad dream.

John woke up in a hospital room. He was frightened to death. He realized that he couldn't move both of his legs. At that time, the doctor came in. When the doctor told him that both his legs were broken and he had to sit in the wheelchair for the time being, he knew his college basketball dream was over. He was really depressed. John followed what the doc tors had told him. but it did not work entirely. When he left hospital# John was sent to a health recovery center. He never heard of this center before, but it was not far away from his house. Although he felt unwilling to go there, he had no choice but to accept the fact.

A week later, he arrived there unhappily. The first person he met was Sunny Chen, who was so kind and friendly that he warmly welcome John to go there. Sunny's legs were badly hurt in a skating accident. He told John that he would help him recover soon. Though Sunny couldn't move his legs, he became the coach of a basketball team called the Suns. After a period of recovery training. John felt his legs were all right. So Sunny invited him to join the game Sunny guided the team on his wheelchair. John played badly, but for the first time since the accident, he stopped feeling sorry for himself.

注意:
1.续写词数应为150左右，
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答.

John was glad that his dream of being a member of the basketball team came true.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunny saw all John did. lost in thought.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . 阅读下面的材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。

When a tornado touched down in a small town nearby，many families were left completely destroyed.Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human­interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.

One Sunday，a particular picture especially touched me.A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered mobile home，a depressed expression twisting her features.A young boy，seven or eight years old，definitely in low spirits，stood at her side，eyes downcast.Clutching(紧握) at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera，eyes wide with confusion and fear.

The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member.With growing interest，I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours.This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves.I taped the picture of the young family to our refrigerator，explaining their difficulty to my seven­year­old twins，Brad and Brett，and to three­year­old Meghan.

“We have so much.And these poor people now have nothing，” I said.“We'll share what we have with them，thus they will smile again.”

I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor.Meghan watched seriously，as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods.

While I sorted through our clothes，I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things.Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up discarded toys and games.

“I'll help you find something for the little girl when I'm done with this，” I said.

The boys placed the toys they had chosen to donate into one of the boxes while I filled the third box with clothes.Meghan walked up with Lucy，her worn，faded，much­loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest.She paused in front of the box that held the toys，pressed her round little face into Lucy's flat，painted­on­face，gave her a final kiss，then laid her gently on the top of other toys.

“Oh，Honey，” I said.“You don't have to give Lucy.You love her so much.”

Meghan nodded seriously，eyes glistening with held­back tears.“Lucy makes me happy，Mommy.Maybe she'll make that other little girl happy，too.”

Paragraph 1：

The boys，open­mouthed，had watched their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box.                                                    

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：

Taking the cue from my little ones，I removed my old jacket from the box of clothes.                                                        

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . What will the future school look like is difficult to make clear, but most experts agree that the school will be electronic in the future .

" Present-day schools will no longer exist in the next century," says a report in The Age. "At that time, future schools will become community-style centers, which run seven days a week,24 hours a day. ” At the same time, computers will surely become a central part of the school in the future.

According to The Age, the distant learning will be popular and students will listen to teachers on computers. Going into classrooms on their computers, students will study at any time, which is very easy for them. However, it is necessary for students to go to the actual school in order to develop some social skills.

The Seashore Primary School is an imaginary school in the future created by the Education Department of Australia. At this school, all the teachers and students have laptop computers . Teachers check messages and call students back on a special telephone system and students use telephones to search for information or speak to their experts who teach their lessons. Besides, all the lessons are related to all sorts of subjects and all the students have their own learning plans created by teachers .

As one headmaster says, a laptop computer is students⁵ library, data storage （数据存储）as well as the bridge to a wider world. Technology has changed the emphasis of future learning. Thus, well pay more attention to the learning of kids rather than the teaching.

1. According to the report in The Age, students in future schools will _______.

A．have no teachers	B．study at a set time
C．mainly study online	D．never go to actual school

2. The example of the Seashore Primary School is given to show _______.

A．telephones are important in Australia

B．how future schools will work

C．every student needs a learning plan

D．students enjoy getting in touch with teachers

3. Which of the following is the best title of the text?

A．The Schools in the Future

B．Great Changes in Technology

C．The Seashore Primary School

D．Actual Schools to Be Replaced

6 . 假如你是李华, 你远在英国的朋友Smith从网上得知“移动支付”改变了中国人的生活方式, 他想了解一些更详细的移动支付情况, 请你根据下面要点提示, 给Smith发一封电子邮件。
要点:1. 生活中的具体体现;
2. 好处；
3. 有待改进之处。
要求:字数120字左右。
参考词汇:移动支付mobile payment
Dear Smith，

I’m Li Hua,

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

7 . 阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

It was Christmas Day. Pappy was working alone fixing an old lantern in the backroom when he heard the ringing of his bell on the shop door. The bell, which produced a uniquely pleasant sound, had been in Pappy’s family for over a hundred years. He valued it dearly and enjoyed sharing its song with all who came to his shop. Although the bell hung on the inside of the main door, Pappy had tied a wire to the screen door so that it would ring whether the inner door was open or not. Hearing the bell, he left the backroom to greet his customer.

“And how can I help you, little lady?” Pappy’s voice was joyful.

“Hello, sir.” The little girl spoke almost in a whisper. She looked at Pappy with her big brown eyes, and then slowly scanned the room in search of something special. Shyly she told him, “I’d like to buy a present, sir.”

“Well, let’s see,” Pappy said, “who is this present for?”

“My grandpa. It’s for my grandpa. But I don’t know what to get.”

Pappy began to make suggestions. “How about a pocket watch? It’s in good condition.” The little girl didn’t answer. She had walked to the doorway and put her small hand on the door. She shook the door gently to ring the bell. Pappy’s face seemed to glow as he saw her smiling with excitement.

“This is just right,” the little girl said. “Momma says grandpa loves music.”

Just then, Pappy’s expression changed. Fearful of breaking the little girl’s heart, he told her, “I’m sorry, Missy. That’s not for sale. Maybe your grandpa would like this little radio.”

The girl looked at the radio, bowed her head, and sadly sighed, “No, I don’t think so.”

In an effort to help her understand, Pappy told her that the bell had been his only companion, for the rest of his family were all gone now, except for his estranged daughter whom he had not seen for nearly a decade.

注意：
所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
续写部分分为两段，每段开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1:

With a giant tear in her eye, the little girl looked up at him.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:

Later that evening when Pappy was closing up the shop, he heard a familiar ringing.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . Music and art festivals are fun and exciting events. If you're panning to go to a festival, it's important to plan your trip carefully to ensure that you re safe and have a good time.

■Bring clothes to keep warm or cool

In addition to your fun festival clothing, pack a raincoat, some light tank tops, and a sweater or sweatshirt. Don't forget longer pants for cool evenings or bad weather. In general, it's best to leave your umbrella at home because they can be dangerous in large crowds.

■Get a cheap tent and sleeping bag for multi - day festivals

A majority of people end up throwing their tent away after long festivals, since they normally break from the use. Pick up a less expensive tent with enough room for you and your friends and pack a comfortable seeping bag for yourself, 1f you don't want to camp at the festival, remember to book an AirBnb or a hotel room nearby!

■Place a first aid kit in a proper place

Before the festival, buy a small first aid kit with band aids, and any medication that you need to take, in case you get minor injuries or a headache. Keep it in a proper place that's easily accessible, like your tent or car.

1. Why should umbrellas be left at home?

A．They take up too much space.	B．The weather will be terrible.
C．They might hurt someone.	D．Travelers prefer raincoats,

2. What do most people do with tents after festivals?

A．Sell them.

B．Return them.

C．Pack them up.

D．Throw them away.

3. What is suggested about the first aid kit?

A．It should be put at hand.	B．It ought to be big enough.
C．It must contain all medicines.	D．It has to be placed in the car.

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。

Some time after 10,000 BC, people made the first real attempt to control the world they lived     1     , through agriculture. Over thousands of years, they began to depend less on     2     could be hunted or gathered from the wild, and more on animals they had raised and crops they had sown.

Farming produced more food per person     3     hunting and gathering, so people were able to raise more children. And，as more children were born, more food     4    (need). Agriculture gave people their first experience of the power of technology     5    (change) lives.

By about 6000 BC，people     6     (discover)the best crops to grow and animals to raise. Later，they learned to work with the     7     (season)，planting at the right time and, in dry areas,     8     (make) use of annual floods to irrigate (灌溉) their fields.

This style of farming lasted for quite a long time. Then，with     9     rise of science, changes began. New methods     10     (mean) that fewer people worked in farming. In the last century or so, these changes have accelerated. New power machinery and artificial fertilizers (化肥) have now totally transformed a way of life that started in the Stone Age.

10 . Pennsylvania is full of mysterious places! One of those is an old turnpike （收费高速公路） _______ for decades. My dad loves history, and he learned it was open to the public. _______, when I was 14, we took a bike trip to _______ this road!

My dad chose a 16-mile _______ of the road for us to ride. Part of it included an old tunnel called Sideling Hill which is over a mile long! To _______, we checked our tires and made sure our lights had batteries. In the morning, we loaded our bikes into the car and set off. As we approached the tunnel, I felt _______ as it was absolutely black inside! But Dad encouraged me. He said he would be beside me. He reminded me to stay _______ and keep my light on!

When we _______ the tunnel, the sound of our bikes was heard through the darkness. I shined my flash light around and saw walls _______in graffiti （涂鸦）.And I felt like I was being __________! I was pretty scared, but __________ on following Dad helped me relax. After riding half-way through, I could see light coming from the other end, motivating me to keep going. And I was so delighted to ride out into the bright afternoon!

Whenever going through __________ in life, I remember this trip. It reminds me that my father is always beside me. He turns on the light of hope in my __________, as well as gives me __________ to keep riding through life's   __________ tunnels.

1.

A．designed

B．destroyed

C．abandoned

D．locked

2.

A．However

B．Otherwise

C．Therefore

D．Meanwhile

3.

A．explore

B．construct

C．protect

D．repair

4.

A．tunnel

B．section

C．block

D．course

5.

A．participate

B．register

C．cooperate

D．prepare

6.

A．excited

B．nervous

C．annoyed

D．exhausted

7.

A．silent

B．curious

C．cautious

D．positive

8.

A．approached

B．observed

C．constructed

D．entered

9.

A．covered

B．buried

C．absorbed

D．dressed

10.

A．forced

B．watched

C．abused

D．judged

11.

A．depending

B．surviving

C．calling

D．focusing

12.

A．accidents

B．hardships

C．regulations

D．incidents

13.

A．chest

B．trip

C．work

D．heart

14.

A．courage

B．pride

C．excitement

D．enthusiasm

15.

A．difficult

B．distant

C．dark

D．long