1 . Christy and Ted Wilson set aside time every Sunday evening to go over their shared to-do list. Most of the items are tasks like scheduling doctor appointments and organizing play dates for their three young children.

In every relationship, there’s a question of who is pulling their weight around the house. Now that a majority of married-couple families have two working parents, the old “rough day at the office” excuse doesn’t really cut it.

Women still handle more of the household activities, but men increasingly are spending time on food preparation and cleanup. To keep things fair or at least to avoid fights, couples are turning to technology. They are using project management apps designed for the workplace to divide up and track household to-dos and reserving a portion of their date nights to compare chores. In some cases, they are even turning it into a game, setting rewards for getting things done.

The imbalance doesn’t always follow gender lines (性别界线). There was a time when Mr. Wilson was in more of a “Mr. Mom” role: He was attending business school, while Mrs. Wilson was clocking long hours as a lawyer. So Mr. Wilson had more flexibility to take on more of the child-care and household-management work. The couple’s roles changed after Mr. Wilson graduated and started an e-commerce company. “We have had a lot of switching back and forth of who was in the driver’s seat in terms of household management so one person wasn’t too put upon,” she said. They began using calendars to keep the family schedules straight and sharing a to-do list in the Notes app on their phones. Each can take on chores the other dislikes.

1. What does the underlined part “pulling their weight around the house” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Taking on the household chores.	B．Sharing the burden of buying a house.
C．Running around the house to lose weight.	D．Making excuses for not doing any housework.

2. Why does the couple turn to project management apps?

A．To stop their arguments over dates.	B．To play phone games with each other.
C．To share and follow household to-dos.	D．To reward themselves for doing the housework.

3. What can we infer from the Wilsons’ example?

A．Gender plays a key role in management.

B．Couples need to switch their roles each day.

C．Digital apps can only handle household arguments.

D．Understanding and sharing can help solve problems.

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

A．Ways to finish housework.	B．Advantages of the Notes app.
C．A family to-do list goes digital.	D．Working parents face difficulties.

2 . A taboo (禁忌) is a social action that is not allowed. Every culture in the world has ______(it) own taboos. The breaking of a taboo sometimes makes people feel __________ (comfortable).   I learned this through my own experience.

Last weekend, Wang Lin and I showed two___________ (foreign) around our city. Mr. Singh was from India and Mr. White from the USA. When I   ___________ (hold) out my left hand to shake hands with Mr. Singh, he seemed to be unhappy. Mr. White, ___________, was quite casual. He said hello to me with a big smile and a wave of his hand.

In the evening, we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. I noticed that Mr. Singh didn’t touch the beef and Mr. White seemed not   __________ (like) chickens’ claws (鸡爪). During the meal, Wang Lin said sorry to Mr. Singh and continued __________ (explain) that we didn’t know it was a taboo in India to shake one’s left hand. Mr. Singh explained that ____________ oxen are sacred (神圣的) in India, people don’t eat beef there. Mr. White joined in and said that ___________ was not usual in the USA for people to eat chickens’ claws. He went on to say that   Americans don’t usually get into each other’s_________ （person）space. Isn’t it a good lesson that needs remembering?

1.

A．it is

B．its

2.

A．uncomfortable

B．comfortably

3.

A．foreigner

B．foreigners

4.

A．holding

B．held

5.

A．however

B．although

6.

A．liking

B．to like

7.

A．explained

B．explaining

8.

A．since

B．if

9.

A．this

B．it

10.

A．personal

B．persons

4 . Jame’s New Bicycle

James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully _______ the coins that lay on the bed .

＄24. 52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was at least ＄90!   _______ on earth was he going to get the _______ of the money?

He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was _______ to hang around(厮混，闲逛)with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no _______ asking his parents, for he knew they had no money to _______.

There was only one way to get money, and that was to _______   it . He would have to find a job . _________ who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr. Clay for advice ,who usually had_______ on most things.

“Well, you can start right here, ”said Mr. clay. “My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing. ”

That was the ________ of James’ s odd-job (零工) business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was amazed by the variety of jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He lost count of the number of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the money increased and he knew that he would soon have enough for the bicycle he longed for.

The day finally came when James counted his money and found ＄94. 32. He wasted no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode proudly home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard working for the money, but James knew that he valued his bicycle far more since he had bought it with his own money. He had achieved what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even than the bicycle.

1.

A．cleaned

B．covered

C．counted

D．checked

2.

A．How

B．Why

C．Who

D．What

3.

A．amount

B．part

C．sum

D．rest

4.

A．brave

B．hard

C．smart

D．unfair

5.

A．sense

B．cause

C．result

D．right

6.

A．split

B．spend

C．spare

D．save

7.

A．borrow

B．earn

C．raise

D．collect

8.

A．Or

B．So

C．For

D．But

9.

A．decisions

B．experience

C．opinions

D．knowledge

10.

A．beginning

B．introduction

C．requirement

D．opening

7 . I came across quite a few language problems while spending holiday with my family last summer. The most embarrassing was when my Mom apologized to the people we were staying with because her “pants were dirty”. They looked at her in surprise, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, “pants” means underpants or knickers (内裤;衬裤), not trousers as it does back home.

Katie — From America

I went to stay with a friend on the west coast last summer. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn’t find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor.

David — From Britain

When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. It took me years to get through to (使...明白)someone that I only wanted the toilet!

Tom — From America

1. Hearing Katie’s mother’s words, Katie’s friends were in surprise because ________.

A．Katie’s mother got mud on her jeans	B．Katie’s mother’s underpants were dirty
C．they mistook pants for underpants	D．they didn’t understand British English

2. David went out to find a phone box to ________.

A．phone the police for help	B．phone his friend for help
C．tell his friend he couldn’t visit her	D．apologize for his being late

3. When Tom asked for the “restroom”, the people around him thought ________.

A．he wanted to have a rest	B．he wanted to go to the toilet
C．he wanted to go to bed	D．He wanted to go to a department store

8 . I can still remember the afternoon when we climbed the mountain as if it were yesterday. It was a sunny day. ______ to spend some time outdoors, I went up the mountain with Uncle Jimmy. The mountain was not ______ to climb for the huge rocks and streams on it. In the end, ______ and hot, I couldn't go any further. ______ , we went back down the mountain in the end. On the way back down, Uncle Jimmy asked me a question, which ______ me speechless for a second: "What's your dream, young lady?" “I have no idea," I answered after thinking for a while. Then he smiled and told me about his ______ . He didn't ______ well at school when he was a student. Although ______ thought he could succeed, he knew ______ what his dream was—to be a ______ . "I knew I wasn't ______ when it came to studying, so I tried to buy snacks from a nearby market and sell them after class," he told me. After he left school, he started selling different things to find out which one was most ______ to customers（顾客）. Of course, he often had no money in his pocket, but however difficult life was, he never gave up

"There is no doubt that when you put in a great deal of ______ to reach your goal, you will have good luck at some point. The meaning of life is to chase your dream," he said ______ .

That night I could hardly fall ______ . With my eyes wide open, I lay in bed tossing and turning. I wanted to be a top student, but it meant putting everything into following my ______ . If I find myself ______ willpower, what should I do? Leaving home early the next morning, I climbed the mountain again all by myself. It made me think: If we don't ______ the climb, how can we get to enjoy the view on the top of the mountain? At last, I reached the top and was ______ by the warm breeze and sunshine. Nothing could be more ______ than that.

1.

A．Curious

B．Unwilling

C．Satisfied

D．Eager

2.

A．challenging

B．easy

C．suitable

D．fun

3.

A．worried

B．anxious

C．tired

D．scared

4.

A．So

B．However

C．Yet

D．still

5.

A．focused

B．left

C．pushed

D．brought

6.

A．career

B．story

C．idea

D．confusion

7.

A．apply

B．perform

C．work

D．feel

8.

A．somebody

B．everybody

C．nobody

D．anybody

9.

A．deeply

B．obviously

C．clearly

D．rapidly

10.

A．cook

B．designer

C．deliveryman

D．businessman

11.

A．gifted

B．skilled

C．hardworking

D．outgoing

12.

A．familiar

B．close

C．attractive

D．addicted

13.

A．talent

B．effort

C．wisdom

D．power

14.

A．confidently

B．immediately

C．directly

D．gently

15.

A．behind

B．silent

C．apart

D．asleep

16.

A．dream

B．ability

C．strength

D．request

17.

A．lacking

B．sharing

C．desiring

D．owning

18.

A．consider

B．fear

C．experience

D．recognize

19.

A．shocked

B．covered

C．moved

D．greeted

20.

A．pleasant

B．unexpected

C．relaxing

D．tiring

9 . Four “Fun facts” that are complete lies, but you believe them

No.1 You can see the Great Wall of China from space

This seems right, doesn’t it? The Great Wall of China is huge, after all, and you can see large things from far away. But even from a low orbit, it’s pretty much invisible (看不见的) to the naked eye, and not exactly easy to pick out with an advanced camera lens. Strangely, this myth (谬论) existed before we even went into space, so it had the opportunity to become a “fact” before it could even be checked. There are many other man-made objects visible from space, but because the Great Wall is made from rocks gathered in the surrounding area, it doesn’t stand out against the landscape enough to be visible. How Stuff Works helpfully suggests that China could paint the wall in hot pink to fix the matter.

No.2 Einstein failed at school

Einstein, the modern archetypal genius (天才), failing at school is a “fact” which serves as an encouragement to under-performing schoolchildren and is repeated by motivational speakers wanting to make some point about failure and success. It would be fairly comforting if true, but reality doesn’t tend to care about how comfortable you are. There are versions of this myth focusing on maths, but in either case, it’s just not true. The myth seems to result from the fact that the grading system used in his school was changed the year after he left—from 1 being the highest mark to 6 being the highest. Einstein got 1s, but to anybody looking back at his grades, it would seem like that meant he’d failed.

No.3 ______________________

Many people claim that if you wake someone when they’re sleepwalking, the shock of finding themselves not in bed will lead them to suffer a heart attack or otherwise do some serious damage. In actual fact, waking somebody who is sleepwalking does them no harm whatsoever. They might be a little confused. In fact, they could hurt themselves by continuing to sleepwalk freely, for obvious reasons. So, it’s better to guide a sleepwalker back to bed without waking, but if you do wake him, it won’t do any harm.

No.4 Sharks don’t get cancer

This fact has gained acceptance despite having merely been invented as a reason for selling people shark cartilage pills as a cancer cure. Firstly, even if it was true that sharks didn’t get cancer, that wouldn’t mean that using a part of it was a cure or treatment for cancer. There were some initial positive results, but they were also gained with other animal cartilages and didn’t translate into a reliable treatment. In short, eating shark cartilage pills does nothing for cancer patients. And to pile more stupidity on top of it, sharks clearly do get cancer.

1. Why are we unable to see the Great Wall directly in space?

A．The colour of the rocks is not hot pink.

B．Advanced cameras are not employed.

C．It’s too small to stand out from far away.

D．The Great Wall is made from nearby rocks.

2. What does the underlined sentence in No.2 mean?

A．Failure is the mother of success.

B．Reality has something to do with imagination.

C．Success and failure should be both experienced.

D．Assumption （设想） is one thing, but reality is another.

3. Which of the following may be the subtitle of No.3?

A．Sleepwalkers might be at a loss	B．Sleepwalkers might attack others
C．Waking sleepwalkers will harm them	D．Waking sleepwalkers will shock them

4. Who are more likely to benefit from the lie “Sharks don’t get cancer”?

A．Drug sellers.	B．Health advisors.
C．Cancer patients.	D．Shark researchers.

10 . When most Chinese people were happily filling their shopping baskets on the annual shopping festival on Nov 11, 2018, a group of musicians from the China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) did something different. They gave a performance at the Forbidden City Concert Hall on the pleasant evening. The concert, a part of the CPO'S I8th season, brought as much joy to classic music lovers as shopping brings to others.

Tony Siqi Yun, a 17-year-old pianist, who was named the 2018 champion at the "Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition" in Cleveland, played the well-known note from Chopin (肖邦). The piano concerto (协奏)was written by young Chopin when he was only 20 years old. Yun, also with young people's energy yet sensitive mind, beautifully showed the romantic beauty and peace in the note. His elegant style and perfect skill soon won the hearts of listeners as the sound of piano began. When he finished the last note, all the listeners applauded, just like the audience did at the concerto's debut (首演) on Oct 11 in 1830. In fact, that concerto, the Piano Concerto No.1, was first played during one of Chopin's "farewell" concerts before leaving Poland.

Coincidentally, after the performance, Yun will soon leave for New York to go on his piano study at the Juilliard School's Pre-College Division. The young pianist developed excellent skills at the Middle School Affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

Though taking part in the CPO's music festival for the first time, Yun has worked with the Orchestra twice. One was in 2014, at the "Silk Road" New Year's Concert co-hosted by the CPO and China Central Television, and the other was a tour in Shanghai in 2016. "China Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the most brilliant orchestras,and it's my honor to work with them, " the young artist said, "The members are very strict in music and the sound it gives is always extravagant(夸张的) yet elegant. I really enjoy the experience to perform with them."

1. This passage is probably taken from a ______.

A．novel

B．textbook

C．guidebook

D．newspaper

2. The first paragraph tells readers that the CPO ______.

A．will celebrate its 18th birthday this year

B．doesn't like the annual shopping festival

C．gave joy to music lovers in different seasons

D．held a pleasant concert on November 11

3. What can we learn about the Piano Concerto No.I's debut?

A．It was a great success.

B．It won a special award.

C．It was played by Yun in Poland.

D．It won people's heart in New York.

4. Where did Yun learn his "perfect skill" for piano playing?

A．Shanghai.

B．Beijing.

C．Poland.

D．New York.

5. From Yun's words in the last paragraph we can know that ______.

A．Yun thinks highly of the CPO

B．The CPO brought Yun great honors

C．Yun was greatly influenced by the CPO

D．T he CPO is the best orchestra in the world