1 . You return from work on a hot August evening. Your unwashed teenage son is on the sofa scrolling through Instagram, as he has been doing for the past eight hours. Not for the first time, you ask yourself: why are school summer holidays so insufferably long?

This is a more serious question than it sounds. Many children will return from the long break having forgotten much of what they were taught the previous year. One study from the American South found that this "summer learning loss" could be as high as a quarter of the year's education. Poor children tend to be the worst affected, since rich ones typically live in homes full of books and are packed off to summer camp to learn robotics, Latin or the flute.

Summer holidays vary greatly from country to country. South Korean children get only three weeks off. Children in Italy and Turkey get a whopping three months. So do those in America, where their parents, unless they are teachers have an average of only three weeks off a year, among the shortest holidays in the rich world. Companies should let them take a bit more, since burnt-out workers are less productive. But, for their children six weeks out of class is plenty.

Youngsters will hate the idea of a longer school year. Sceptics note that, although those barely rested South Korean pupils do superbly in exams, they are often miserable. It would be unwise to import South Korea's pressure-cooker approach, in which a single exam determines every child's future. But plenty of Western children could usefully spend a bit longer at their books.

More time in school need not mean repeating the same old lessons. Some extra drilling would be beneficial, particularly for those falling behind. But the summer could also be a time for different wind of learning: critical thinking, practical skills, financial literacy, work placements with local firms — schools should be free to experiment.

1. The author mentions the experience in the first paragraph to introduce teenagers'______.

A．long school summer holidays	B．addiction to smartphones
C．unwillingness to learn	D．unhealthy lifestyles

2. What do we know about "summer learning loss"?

A．It affects only children from poor families.

B．It results from children's poor memory.

C．It could be as high as half of the year's learning.

D．It can be reduced by spending more time learning.

3. In the author's opinion, how long is the summer holiday supposed to be?

A．Three weeks.	B．Six weeks.
C．Two months.	D．Three months.

4. What is the author's suggestion?

A．Schools should try new approaches to teaching.

B．Schools should provide more exams for students.

C．Schools should think about how to make the best use of the summer time.

D．Schools should offer more materials for students to do laboratory experiments.

2 . 假定你是李华。你了解到教育部出台规定，严禁中小学生将个人手机、平板电脑等电子产品带入课堂。请用英语给你的英国朋友Peter写封信，发表你对这一规定的感想，并询问对方国家的学生使用手机情况。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当加入细节，以使行文连；
3. 开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数。
Dear Peter,

Recently, the education authorities in China introduced a regulation that would ban primary and middle school students from bringing electronic devices into classrooms without permission.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

3 . Your reference to the old series I Am Joe's Body in your letter explaining how the new design came about prompted me to share this. In the70s, I was a heavy smoker. I knew it wasn't healthy but could not change my habits. Then I read “I Am Joes Lung”. The next morning, I walked out my front door and coughed up blood. Talk about a wake-up call. On New Year's Eve, I had less than half a pack of cigarettes left, so I decided to finish that and then quit cold turkey. Your magazine saved my life. All these years later, I am saying thank you.

—Norm Mast Middlebury, Indiana

I enjoyed your article on Mr. Yassin Terou and his family and business. Because my Facebook Feed seems to regularly have postings about crimes and fear caused by immigrants, I shared the article there. I hope that it gets passed on for people to focus on a positive contribution that immigrants are giving our country.

—Connie Nuber Surprise, Arizona

I have been enjoying Reader's Digest since I was eight years old. I now share articles with my eight-year-old grandson, and he also enjoys them, especially the jokes. Make all the changes you want because it seems each change makes the Digest better.

—Beverly Mita Pine Island, New York

Personally, I do not like the new format. It isn't as easy to see where one section ends and a new section begins. Why fix something that wasn't broken?

—Paul Okoniewski Bruce Township, Michigan

The Funniest Jokes Since the Internet. Your collection of "Mistakes That Take the Cake" reminded me of my husband's 50th birthday cake, which read:

Happy Birthday,

Bill &Papa!

And Under That

We Love You!

—Diane e. Meeks Vidalia, Georgia

1. Comments from above do not cover articles from______ section.

A．Food	B．Health
C．Jokes	D．Inspiring stories

2. Who has different opinions about Reader's Digest from the others?

A．Norm Mast.	B．Beverly Mita.
C．Paul Okoniewski.	D．Diane e. Meeks.

3. The selections above are most probably from ______ of Reader's Digest.

A．columnists	B．readers
C．critics	D．editors

4 . I heard from a good friend of mine recently.She called to let me know that she recently has become _______ from her husband who has bad gambling problem.She asked if I would fit a smoke alarm in her kitchen for her，and of course I _______．

In her apartment，I was told that her _______ had left her and her children with a great deal of _______.So I advised her to call Citizen's Advice(CA)to see what was the _______ way forward as she was threatened with eviction(驱逐)from the rented apartment.That _______ a way for her.

After she called CA herself，she said that the lady there couldn't have been more helpful，or more _______ and she came away with the feeling that someone really _______．They have _______ her case to the Law Centre who will call her back a few days later.

I then heard that she also ________ some other social welfare organizations，such as Health Visitor and the local Foodbank.Once again，when she ________ the Foodbank，she said，her children were given ________，and she herself was given a cup of coffee.Besides，the chat with the volunteers there really made her feel very ________．After the visit，she told me that the ________ couldn't have been more helpful，and they were so ________！

Sometimes we think all we can do is ________ and watch and be there for someone while they ________ their trials and it's hard for us to help someone.But now my friend is finally in a ________ mental state and spoke full of laughter and ________．Just a ________ from me started to make a difference.The world seems to have opened up for her.

1.

A．different

B．absent

C．separated

D．tired

2.

A．agreed

B．doubted

C．refused

D．delayed

3.

A．company

B．husband

C．father

D．friend

4.

A．money

B．housework

C．debt

D．furniture

5.

A．same

B．other

C．best

D．only

6.

A．decorated

B．opened

C．reserved

D．blocked

7.

A．cautious

B．ambitious

C．imaginative

D．positive

8.

A．succeeded

B．cared

C．worked

D．mattered

9.

A．referred

B．contributed

C．explained

D．offered

10.

A．figured out

B．set up

C．searched for

D．turned to

11.

A．called

B．visited

C．left

D．noticed

12.

A．sweets

B．newspapers

C．interviews

D．tests

13.

A．calm

B．helpless

C．welcome

D．nervous

14.

A．students

B．applicants

C．customers

D．volunteers

15.

A．casual

B．mean

C．supportive

D．lonely

16.

A．wait

B．leave

C．guess

D．whisper

17.

A．make up

B．look for

C．go through

D．stick to

18.

A．perfect

B．strange

C．complex

D．anxious

19.

A．stress

B．courage

C．tears

D．honesty

20.

A．promise

B．decision

C．mistake

D．suggestion

5 . How to Make Small Talk

Meeting new people is hard! Small talk is a great way to break the ice when you're talking to someone you don't know well.Being able to make small talk will in many situations lead to more productive conversations and open you to new friendships and relationships.    1    

Give a friendly greeting.

If you're seeing someone you already know，just say hello and greet her by her name：“Hi，Jen，it's good to see you.” This is simple and direct and lets the person know you're excited to talk.    2     Just say，“Hi，I'm Marla，what's your name？” Repeat the person's name when she tells it to you，and she'll feel more special.

    3    

Conversations are just as much about an exchange of energy as an exchange of information.To make great conversation and great small talk，you should keep things light，fun，and positive.If you're optimistic，get ready to smile at a moment's notice，and laugh over things that aren't that funny.    4    

Open up but not too much.

By the end of the conversation，you could reveal something more about yourself，however small，whether it's your obsession with your cat，your passion for yoga，or just your thoughts on your favorite band's new album.    5     It could make you connect on a deeper level.And this makes the person think you weren't just shooting the breeze.

A．Keep things light and positive.

B．Follow up with a question or statement.

C．Then you'll make the other person want to keep talking to you.

D．You'd better have the person walk away knowing something about you.

E．If you don't know the person，introduce yourself first so you feel more confident.

F．With the following practice，you can become comfortable making small talk with anyone.

G．There's nothing more annoying than talking to a person constantly checking their cellphone.

6 . Athletes who can run several marathons in just months might seem unstoppable.The biggest obstacle，it turns out，is their own bodies.A new study find out for the first time a “ceiling” for endurance activities such as long­distance running and biking.

“Physiologists and athletes alike have long been interested in just how far the human body can push itself.When exercising over a few hours，a wealth of evidence suggests most people max out at about five times their basal metabolic(代谢的)rate(BMR)．How humans use energy during longer endurance activities is another question entirely，”says Herman Pontzer，an evolutionary theorist at Duke University，North Carolina.

Pontzer saw an opportunity to answer that question when Bryce Carlson，an endurance athlete and former biochemist at Purdue University，organized the Race Across the USA in 2015.Runners covered 4，957 kilometers over the course of 20 weeks in a series of marathons stretching from Los Angeles，California，to Washington，D.C.

To find out how many calories the athletes in the study burned，Pontzer，Carlson，and colleagues replaced the normal hydrogen and oxygen in their drinking water with harmless，uncommon isotopes(同位素)of those elements.By chemically tracing how these isotopes flush out in urine，sweat，and breath，scientists can calculate how much carbon dioxide an athlete produces — a measure that directly relates to how many calories they burn.

Pontzer's team then collected energy consumption data over the course of the race to see how many calories they burned per day.They found that whatever the event is，energy consumption leveled off after about 20 days，eventually staying at a steady level at about 2.5 times an athlete's BMR.At that point，the body is burning calories more quickly than it can absorb food and turn it into energy，representing a biologically determined ceiling on human performance.

“It was just one of those moments of discovery that as a scientist you just live for，” Pontzer said.“We ended up plotting out the very limits of human endurance，the envelope for what humans can do.”

1. What does the underlined word “ceiling” in the first paragraph refer to?

A．The weakness of human bodies.

B．The effect of lasting exercise.

C．The way humans use energy.

D．The limit of human endurance.

2. Which of the following is a direct measure of an athlete's energy consumption?

A．The hydrogen and oxygen in their drinking water.

B．The carbon dioxide their bodies create.

C．The amount of their urine，sweat and breath.

D．The remaining isotopes in their body.

3. What is the purpose of Pontzer's study?

A．To confirm that an athlete's physical extreme is mainly determined by his BMR.

B．To compare human limits in common exercise with those in endurance activities.

C．To find out where the highest energy consumption of an athlete lies.

D．To set a reasonable standard for researches concerned with human body

4. How did Pontzer feel when their study results came out?

A．Excited.	B．Regretful.
C．Surprised.	D．Hopeful.

7 . I've had many wonderful holidays，but my favorite memory is that of a few summer weeks spent in Italy when I was about 13.My mom had to go to a clinic there for treatment，and we all went together as a family and took the opportunity to have a beautiful vacation as well.It was the first time abroad for me and it was a vacation that broadened my perspective，taught me a lot，and helped shape a bit of who I am today.

Although we did visit many famous places in northern Italy，we stayed mostly in a little town where some friends of my parents lived.Nothing helped me understand Italian culture better than my stay in this picturesque，almost magical town that many haven't even heard of.

Thanks to the holiday spent in Italy，I，quite a shallow girl，also discovered my passion for music，which stayed alive in me to this day and will probably stay forever.My parents' friends had a son，Ricardo，who was a pianist.Dad had repeatedly but unsuccessfully tried to make me study an instrument and stick to it.However，when I heard Ricardo play，I instantly fell in love with music and felt a great desire to learn it.Ricardo taught me the first song I ever played on the piano，a silly，playful little tune that I still know by heart.

We took a short trip to the Italian Alps at some point.I had never seen such majestic beauty before! The snow­covered peaks，the intimidating rocks，the fresh，harsh air — what an experience! And what I remember impressed me the most was the fact that，although this was a popular touristic area，the region was incredibly clean，still “natural”，with places that seemed to never have been touched by humans.Then，the shallow teen that I was learned what a real treasure nature is and how important it is to protect it.

1. What was the main purpose for the author and her family to go to Italy?

A．To cure the author's mother of her illness.

B．To have a family reunion while travelling.

C．To broaden and shape the author's perspective.

D．To experience and learn from another culture.

2. What contributed to the author's passion for music?

A．Her father's instructions.

B．Ricardo's performance.

C．The piano she played on.

D．The local music culture.

3. The trip to the Italian Alps helped the author learn to ________．

A．stick to her own passion

B．balance between cultures

C．get rid of her shallowness

D．cherish and protect nature

4. What would be the best title of the text?

A．My Favorite Holiday Memory

B．A Trip Shaping My Personality

C．Lessons from a Foreign Culture

D．My Passion for Music and Nature

8 . In 1960，Douglas McGregor developed a leadership theory about organization and management in which he represented two opposing perceptions(看法)about people.He referred to these two perceptions as Theory X and Theory Y．Douglas then arrived at the conclusion that the style of leadership depends on the manager's perception of people.

In Theory X，Douglas summarizes the traditional view of management in a number of characteristic assumptions in which authoritarian(专制的)leadership style，close supervision and the hierarchical principle are the key elements.Theory X starts from the assumption that people are naturally lazy，want to avoid work as much as possible，have no ambition and prefer to be supervised.The authoritarian leadership style is therefore the most appropriate leadership style.The system of rewards and punishments works best for employees.

Douglas starts from the assumption in Theory Y that people have different needs.Theory Y assumes that people are inherently happy to work，they want to exert themselves and they are motivated to pursue objectives.There is no need for the system that involves rewards and punishments.People are prepared to take responsibility for everything they do.People want to use their creativity and they like to take a creative problem solving approach.

The central principle of Theory Y is that of integration：individuals can achieve their own goals by also focusing their efforts on the objectives of the organization they work for.They want to get the most out of their work through satisfaction，appreciation and motivation.Theory Y therefore assumes that control，rewards and punishments are not the only ways to stimulate people.

A democratic leadership style arises on the basis of Theory Y which allows the employees to have a greater say.Encouragement and rewards are used rather than control and supervision.Employees are given an opportunity to develop themselves and put their capabilities to good use.When an organization does not respond to this，employees will start looking for possibilities to explore their skills outside their work.

1. According to Douglas，what mainly determines a manager's working style?

A．What he expects to achieve in work.

B．What his own personality is.

C．What he thinks employees are like.

D．What he is in charge of in a company.

2. Which of the following statements is true according to Theory Y?

A．Employees have the motivation to work and achieve.

B．Rewards should never be involved in work place.

C．Responsible people are always well prepared for work.

D．Creativity will encourage employees to solve problems.

3. What is the biggest difference between the two theories?

A．To control or encourage.	B．To reward or punish.
C．To suspect or respect.	D．To instruct or follow.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Douglas，Thinker of Management

B．How to Manage Your Employees

C．Douglas' X Y Theory of Management

D．The Roles of Managers and Employees

9 . It’s been a long time since I wrote a creative essay. Recently, with lots of time and lack of inspiration, I accepted a _________ to teach creative nonfiction. _________ I couldn’t get myself to write my own stories. I could require that my students tell theirs.

“You’re going to be _________ a journal in this class.” I said. “And I want you to tell your stories like they matter.”

“Why do they matter?” a boy named Michael asked. “I mean, who _________ about our stories?”

No one said a wont. Perhaps they were just tired from their _________ lives. Many worked full-time while in school full-time. Most might not have the faintest _________ that their stories did matter. They didn’t even know that their stories were stories — as beautiful and hard — as their own lives.

_______, I looked at Michael. “They matter because they do.” I said. “Because you’re here and you can tell them. Stories allow us to make _________ of what we’re _________. When you __________ your experience into a story, it becomes yours and not just something that __________ to you.”

Michael didn’t look __________, but he didn’t challenge me either.

Later, Michael wrote about how he grew up in one of the worst neighborhoods in Boston and how his high school teacher, who saw his __________, helped him fill out a college application.

I __________ Michael to read his essay out loud. After he finished, the class went so __________ that we could hear the sound of each other’s breath. I looked at Michael and saw a softening and __________ in his eyes.

After a moment, I said, “That’s __________ you tell your stories.” That night, I picked up my journal from where it __________, dusty and __________. For the first time in months. I had __________ to write.

1.

A．business

B．view

C．reward

D．position

2.

A．Although

B．As

C．Unless

D．Before

3.

A．publishing

B．keeping

C．updating

D．reading

4.

A．worries

B．talks

C．reads

D．cares

5.

A．beautiful

B．secret

C．busy

D．simple

6.

A．dream

B．hobby

C．picture

D．idea

7.

A．Happily

B．Angrily

C．Firmly

D．Sadly

8.

A．meaning

B．notice

C．fun

D．use

9.

A．set about

B．gone through

C．looked for

D．taken on

10.

A．shape

B．take

C．break

D．treat

11.

A．came

B．fell

C．worked

D．happened

12.

A．moved

B．convinced

C．confused

D．embarrassed

13.

A．poverty

B．fortune

C．potential

D．sorrow

14.

A．asked

B．helped

C．forced

D．allowed

15.

A．still

B．concerned

C．disappointed

D．excited

16.

A．truth

B．doubt

C．faith

D．weakness

17.

A．how

B．when

C．because

D．why

18.

A．started

B．lay

C．went

D．hid

19.

A．new

B．packed

C．untouched

D．torn

20.

A．time

B．inspiration

C．strength

D．right

10 . Cold Dew, the 17th solar term of the year, begins this year on Oct 8 and ends on Oct. 23. At this time, temperatures are much lower in most areas of China, The dew is greater and colder and there will be less rain. Autumn crops will be ripe.     1    

Foggy autumn

Temperatures drop significantly in October. The cold air encounters autumn rain.     2     When the humidity (湿度) is high, there will be foggy regions formed in many areas of China.

Season for fishing

People always say that fishing in shallow water in autumn does make sense.     3     Fish all swim to shallow water areas where the water temperature is relatively high.

Season for drinking chrysanthemum (菊花) wine

    4     To prevent autumn dryness, many regions in China have the custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine. This is a tradition of the Double Ninth Festival, which often falls around Cold Dew. According to ancient records, drinking the wine made with chrysanthemums grants people long lasting youth.

    5    

During Cold Dew, North China takes on a look of late autumn with white clouds, red leaves and early frost. On the day of the Double Ninth Festival people often climb hills with comes, a kind of plant. This custom aims to dispel evils, and originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-220).

A．a great time for hiking

B．Season for eating outside.

C．Chrysanthemum is the typical flower of Cold Dew.

D．Here are four things you should know about Cold Dew.

E．The abundant water vapor (蒸汽) turns into misty rain or fog.

F．Extracts of the Chrysanthemum have long been used in makeup.

G．Temperatures decrease quickly and sunshine cannot reach the deep water thoroughly.