1 . Fast food chains have tried for years to appeal to customers who care about their health. They have added lighter food to their menus, such as salads and yogurt. Of course, the lighter food goes with the usual burgers, fried chicken and shakes.
Menus have changed over the past three decades. According to a recent study, fast food menus are less healthy than they were 30 years ago. The study suggests the problem is getting worse. The fat, salt content and size of fast food meals are the problem. They are often the reason for the rising obesity (肥胖) rate among adults in the United States. The researchers found that the average main dish weighed more in 2016 than in 1986. It also had more calories and more sodium (钠). One expert said, “The restaurants have not done enough. The big picture is that there have been some positive changes, but they are small. Overall, the changes have gotten worse.”
The average fast food dessert had more calories in 2016. It also weighed more than the average fast food dessert thirty years earlier. Restaurants are counting on bigger sundaes and cookies to increase the amount spent on each order. For example, McDonald’s recently introduced “donut sticks” dusted with sugar. Six sticks have 280 calories. But you can also order 12 sticks for less than the cost of two single orders.
The researchers found that, over the 30 years, there were more calories in items like chips, soup, and French fries. Sodium content rose even though portion(一份) size did not grow much. When consumed together as a single meal, the study found that the average main dish and side order account for nearly 40 percent of a 2000-calory daily diet.
1. Why do fast food chains provide lighter food?| A．To match the fast food. | B．To attract more customers. |
| C．To reduce the cost of each meal. | D．To improve the health of customers. |
| A．They take in more calories from fast food. |
| B．They have little time to exercise regularly. |
| C．They eat much more dessert after every meal. |
| D．They eat fast food more frequently than before. |
| A．Showing the way of restaurants’ making cookies. |
| B．Presenting the popularity of restaurants’ new food. |
| C．Stressing the increase in restaurants’ food varieties. |
| D．Explaining the intention of restaurants’ adding dessert. |
| A．Fast Food Is Still Killing Us | B．Don’t Eat Any Fast Food Now |
| C．Try to Eat More Lighter Food | D．People Are Becoming Fatter and Fatter |
2 . In a recent email to an old friend, I mentioned that our family planned on taking our fourweek road trip in our motor home. My friend emailed back and said he thought I was very “brave” to set out on such an adventure with two young children (aged two and five). I laughed when I read his email and wondered if he knew how much he was missing out on by giving up the idea of such a fun RV trip (房车旅) with one’s family.
My husband and I have been “RVing” for over ten years. When we first started traveling, we certainly had some troubles that were not so funny at the time but seem to be funny now. We forgot our pillows and failed to cook dinner on an outdoor grill (烤架) for lack of a flashlight. Then we decided to make our dinner in the motor home but could not get the oven lit! So we went to bed a little hungrier than we had planned!
However, that's nothing compared with the amazing geological and natural wonders we experienced during our RV trips. In addition, we have discovered a new world of family fun and family bonding. We saw the Grand Canyon when our son was only six months old. We play games inside and out, walk together, talk together, read, solve puzzles, and enjoy music and movies. We have got used to doing things with one another. Our kids love to pick out good, oldfashioned postcards to send off via “snail mail” to different family members on every trip.
As our world gets more and more overloaded with cell phones, texting, emails and video games, our family sticks more and more tightly to the wonderfully simple idea of unplugging for a while and jumping into the seat to take a trip in our motor home. Then we come home with fun pictures of our wanderings, and we're able to build special memories for our kids. Now we want to spread the word and tell families of all kinds what enjoyment can be had from packing the family up for a trip in the RV.
1. What did the author’s friend think of her travel plan?| A．A family trip should not last four weeks. |
| B．It was wise of her to take children on RV trips. |
| C．A family RV trip might bring unexpected troubles. |
| D．It was an opportunity to teach children to be brave. |
| A．They found many things lost. |
| B．It was ruined by bad weather. |
| C．They didn’t prepare well for it. |
| D．It was quite a scary experience. |
| A．To appeal families to take RV trips together. |
| B．To show how to make RV trips interesting. |
| C．To encourage kids to take part in RV trips. |
| D．To share an unforgettable traveling experience. |
3 . It’s always exciting to receive a letter in the mail. Even today, when the world is digitally connected, receiving an actual letter in your mailbox from a distant land is a great way for children to make new friends.
The Peaceful Pen Pals Project is a beautiful initiative that combines global connection and self-expression. The project is part of the nonprofit Kids for Peace, founded by Jill McManigal and Danielle Gram in California, in 2006. Letter writing is most certainly hands-on and helps strengthen relationships throughout the world.
The Peaceful Pen Pals Project is open to all children, ages 2 through 17. To date, there are 1500 children from 17 countries participating in the program. Each child is assigned a pen pal of a similar age. This establishes a point of connection right off the bat for the children and promotes a stronger bond. If the letter writers are in the same grade, they can chat about their schools, teachers, and what they are studying. They can also compare and contrast what different states or countries learn about and how the dynamics of the classroom are, whether socially or academically.
Children may be more inclined to write about their issues if they feel like they are speaking to a peer in a similar situation. They also write about the local weather, who the letter writer lives with, and their favorite things to do at home. This will give the pen pal a good sense of the writer’s home life, and they may relate to certain aspects, such as their parents, the number of siblings, or if they share a room. Although pen pals may live in different countries, they may find common ground according to this information.
“Hearing first-hand stories from an international pen pal can encourage teens to take someone else’s perspective and to think outside of themselves,” writes Rebecca Fraser-Thill on Very Well Family. “It can also encourage interest in geography, politics, and history, and promote many key skills, including reciprocation, empathy and mutual concern.”
1. What is the purpose of paragraph 2?| A．To prove the importance of making friends. |
| B．To briefly introduce the Peaceful Pen Pals Project. |
| C．To present the history of the nonprofit Kids for Peace. |
| D．To encourage kids to communicate with others by letters. |
| A．Visit different countries with their parents. | B．Learn foreign languages online. |
| C．Share their lives by writing letters. | D．Solve difficult problems for their pen pals. |
| A．It is necessary for every teenager to have a pen pal. |
| B．Writing letters helps teenagers to make more friends. |
| C．Communicating by letters benefits teenagers in many aspects. |
| D．Teenagers make great progress in their studies by writing letters. |
| A．The benefits of having a pen pal from another country. |
| B．New ways for kids to communicate with their friends. |
| C．Letter writing is becoming popular among kids worldwide. |
| D．The Peaceful Pen Pals Project connects kids around the world. |
4 . Inside а tiny shop in Manchester, Adam Birce carefully carves at а woodblock. He looks carefully at each piece to ensure they fit and match before gently setting them together. Adam Birce, the owner of Four Strings, restores stringed instruments like violins, and his passion is restoring and appreciating what has already been crafted and loved.
Birce started playing the violin in grade school and grew to truly appreciate it. He played semiprofessionally out of high school and later got his degree in music at Virginia Commonwealth University as a violinist. After graduating, he landed a job selling violins. “As fate would have it, I was asked by my employer to learn to fix violins 15 years ago,” he says. “I soon moved off on my own to do restoration.” Since 2014, he has been on a mission with Four Strings to offer excellent fine-instrument restoration services to the community.
Violin restoration isn’t a self-taught skill. Each summer for the past decade, Birce has traveled to the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts for up to two weeks to study under famous violin restoration expert Hans J. Nebel. Here, students learn everything from delicate edging repair to violin identification. “A lot of the work itself is learning as you go,” Birce says. “It’s a lot of problem-solving and critical thinking, like coming up with a woodworking plan.
“How long а job takes varies. Most are about 3-6 months for major work, unless a full top-to-bottom restoration is needed, which can take even longer,” Birce explains. “I leave that up to the client if they want to commit to that.” One of his longest jobs was working on a Scottish violin from the early 1800s that had been water-damaged. “I had to use every skill in my toolbox to fix it,” Birce laughingly recalls. “It was a very onerous job.”
If there’s one thing to be learned from Birce’s passion, it’s that each violin is unique in its own right. He compares the fine instruments market to the fine arts market. “A lot of these instruments are fine art,” he says. “I kind of say this is a Picasso I’m playing or a Degas. I’ve worked on a few, which is always a joy.”
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about?| A．The special features of Four Strings. | B．The procedures of violin restoration. |
| C．Birce’s life experience with the violin. | D．Birce’s influence in the music industry. |
| A．It’s effortless. | B．It’s self-taught. | C．It’s extremely dull. | D．It’s highly professional. |
| A．Creative. | B．Well-paid. | C．Dangerous. | D．Demanding. |
| A．Birce prefers art to music. | B．Birce has a deep love for his job. |
| C．Birce wants to be as famous as Picasso. | D．Birce has become a master of violin restoration. |
| A．Go shopping. | B．See a movie. | C．Meet Tom Hanks. |
1. What does the speaker do?
| A．A medical doctor. | B．A fitness instructor. | C．A swimming coach. |
| A．Focusing on only muscle training. |
| B．Doing too many types of workouts. |
| C．Keeping the same routine all the time. |
| A．Once a week. | B．Twice a week. | C．Three times a week. |
One day my grandfather gave me a gift — a piggy bank. It had an opening through which one could put money in, but the opening was not big enough to reach in and get the money out. The only way to get at the money was to break the piggy bank open. My grandfather explained that was the whole idea: the piggy bank would help save my money so that, at the end of the year, I might have enough for that bike I dreamt about. He asked if I would put some of the money he gave me into the piggy bank. I agreed immediately and promised that I wouldn’t break it open until I could afford my dream bike.
Whenever he gave me a little bit of money, he would say, “This is for spending. But you can save some and put it in the piggy bank if you want to save it up.” When he gave me larger amounts, it was clearly for saving in the piggy bank. For some time, this worked fine. I loved shaking the piggy bank and hearing the sound of the coins. As it became heavier, I grew more excited, dreaming about buying my new bike, and all the adventures I could have on it.
Whenever I wanted to take some money from the piggy bank to buy delicious ice-creams or beautiful pens, I would imagine riding my bike on the street, and thinking of that, my thoughts about ice-creams or pens went away. So for almost six months, I only put money into the piggy bank without taking any out. I thought I wouldn’t break my piggy bank for anything. But one day something unexpected happened. I saw a piece of news on the television that a serious earthquake (地震) had happened in a nearby province. As many houses were destroyed, a lot of children became homeless. Seeing their shabby clothes and crying faces, I was sleepless that night.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1: I knew I should do something.__________________________________________________________________________________
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Paragraph 2: My grandfather was surprised by my behavior._____________________________________________________________________
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8 . What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物科技). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today’s leading killers, such as heart disease, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memories.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs. The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells and so on, in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.
1. According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by ________.| A．diseases and aging | B．accidents and war |
| C．accidents and aging | D．heart disease and war |
| A．Medicine | B．the Internet | C．brain cells | D．human organs |
| A．heart disease will be far away from us |
| B．human brains can decide the final death |
| C．the basic materials of cells will last forever |
| D．human organs can be repaired by new medicine |
| A．They are late for work. |
| B．They are stuck in a traffic jam. |
| C．They are lost on the way. |
1. Where are the speakers?
| A．In a railway station. | B．At the airport. | C．At DJ company. |
| A．It was tiring. | B．It was enjoyable. | C．It was disappointing. |
| A．Go to London. | B．Explore the city. | C．Go to the hotel. |
