1 . Close your eyes for a minute and imagine what life would be like if you had a hundred dollars less. Also imagine what it would be like spending the rest of your life with your eyes closed. Imagine having to read this page, not with your eyes but with your finger-tips.
With existing medical knowledge and skills, two-thirds of the world's 42 million, blind should not have to suffer. Unfortunately, rich countries possess most of this knowledge, while developing countries do not.
ORBIS is an international non-profit organization which operates the world's only flying teaching eye hospital. ORBIS intends to help fight blindness worldwide. Inside a DC-8 aircraft, there is a fully-equipped teaching hospital with television studio and classroom. Doctors are taught the latest techniques of bringing sight back to people there. Project ORBIS also aims at promoting peaceful cooperation among countries.
ORBIS tries to help developing countries by providing training during three-week medical programs. ORBIS has taught sight-saving techniques to over 3,000 doctors and nurses, who continue to cure tens of thousands of blind people every year. ORBIS has conducted 17 plan programs in China so far. For the seven to ten million blind in China ORBIS is planning to do more for them. At the moment an ORBIS is working on a long-term plan to develop a training center and to provide eye care service to Shanxi Province. ORBIS needs your help to continue their work and free people from blindness.
For just US$38, you can help one person see; for $380 you can bring sight to 10 people; $1,300 helps teach a doctor new skills; and for $13,000 you can provide a training program for a group of doctors who can make thousands of blind people see again. Your money can open their eyes to the world. Please help ORBIS improve the quality of life for so many people less fortunate than ourselves.
1. The first paragraph is intended to ________.| A．direct the public's attention to the blind |
| B．advise the public to lead a simple life |
| C．introduce a new way of reading |
| D．encourage the public to use imagination |
| A．They are adequate. |
| B．They have not been updated. |
| C．They are not equally distributed. |
| D．They have benefited most of the blind. |
| A．teaching medical students |
| B．training doctors and nurses |
| C．running flying hospitals globally |
| D．setting up non-profit organization |
| A．ORBIS Flying Hospital | B．Fighting Blindness |
| C．ORBIS in China | D．Sight-seeing Techniques |
2 . Your teenage best friend could be good for your long-term mental health，according to a new study published in the journal Child Development According to the findings, teenagers aged 15 to 16 who had a close friendship rather than a larger group of friends they were less close to had a greater sense of self-worth by the time they were 25 years old. Those people with a very close best friend were also less likely to experience depression and social anxiety, the study found．
“Close friendship strength in mid-adolescence predicted relative increases in self-worth and decreases in anxiety and depressive symptoms by early adulthood，”the authors, led by Rachel K, Narr，a postdoctoral student focused on clinical psychology at the University of Virginia, wrote.
A past research has suggested that adolescent friendships are important. Friendships during the teenage years predict academic success and improved mental health. But the new research further explores the type of friendships teenagers have. “My hunch（预感）was that close friendships compared to broader friendship groups and popularity may not function the same way,” Narr told Quartz. "Being successful in one is not the same as being successful in the other."
Many study participants did not continue to have a close relationship with their high-school best friend, leading the researchers to wonder what exactly was responsible for the mental health benefits. They suspected that the skills and ability to build such a friendship may be more important than the friendship itself.
And as the researchers point out, those skills are not necessarily brought to bear in the world of social media. "As technology makes it increasingly easy to build a social network of shallow friends, focusing time and attention on developing close connections with a few individuals should be a priority," study co-author Joseph Allen said in a statement.
1. What is the benefit of having a close teenage friendship?| A．Excellent performance in high school. | B．A larger group of friends. |
| C．Mental health by early adulthood. | D．A large social network in the future. |
| A．It attached great significance to adolescent friendships. |
| B．It was totally different from the new research. |
| C．It helped improve teenagers' mental health. |
| D．It compared broader friendship groups with popularity. |
| A．Not continuing to have a close relationship. | B．Having a best friend in high school. |
| C．Understanding the world of social media. | D．Knowing how to build a close friendship |
| A．Learning to use social media. |
| B．Broadening your social circle. |
| C．Improving the skills of making friends. |
| D．Concentrating on high-quality relationship. |
3 . As more and more people speak the global languages of English, Chinese, Spanish, and French, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today will likely die out by the next century, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars (学者) from a number of organizations-UNESCO and National Geographic among them-have for many years been documenting (记录) dying languages and the cultures they reflect. Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Centre Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, working, and raising a family in a village in Nepal.
Documenting the Thangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayan reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not satisfied to simply record these voices before they disappear without record. At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials, including photographs, films, tape recordings, and field notes, which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection. Now, through the two organizations that he has founded, the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project, Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, for the world available not just to scholars but to the younger generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected. Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet, Turin’s notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.
1. Many scholars are making efforts to .| A．save global languages |
| B．search for new languages |
| C．rescue disappearing languages |
| D．set up language research centers |
| A．Writing books on language teaching. |
| B．Having full records of the languages. |
| C．Telling stories about language users. |
| D．Living with the native speaker. |
| A．His experience in Nepal. |
| B．The documents available at Yale. |
| C．His language research in Bhutan. |
| D．The cultural studies. |
| A．Write, sell and donate. |
| B．Record, repair and reward. |
| C．Design, experiment and report. |
| D．Collect, protect and reconnect. |
4 . Owning a lovable,cute pet can unquestionably make one’s home life better and obviously,it can affect pet owners’professional lives as well.In fact,according to a new survey,people who have owned pets may be more professionally successful,and this is definitely good news for ambitious pet parents.
The survey was conducted by Kelton Global Research for Banfield Pet Hospital,according to Fast Company.The researchers surveyed 857 adults in the United States with a variety of careers,as explained in the survey summary on Banfield’s website.Among the C-suite executives(CEOs,etc.)surveyed,93 percent grew with a pet in their home,with 78 percent claiming that growing up with a pet helped cause their career success as an adult.Interestingly,83 percent of C-suite executives who participated said they grew up with a dog,59 percent of them said they grew up with a cat,and 37 percent of them said they grew up with another kind of pet.(You’re correct these numbers do not add up.It would seem that many of the people interviewed grew up with multiple kinds of pets.)
So,how exactly does pet ownership cause career success? Well,according to Banfield’s research,executives reported that their pet helped teach them lessons like responsibility,creativity,empathy,discipline,and organization,which have all been valuable in the business world.But what about people who grew up pet-less,but have adopted pets as adults? Luckily for those,the survey showed that current pet ownership can also help with professional success.
According to the research,86 percent of current pet parents surveyed said owning pets helps them stick to a routine,better manage their time,and multitask more efficiently.But even if you don’t think your pet ham directly helped you,your coworkers’knowledge that yon have a pet may actually be beneficial for your career.In fact,80 percent of people surveyed said they“feel more connected to colleagues who are pet owners,”and 79 percent of those surveyed believe that fellow co-workers who have pets are“hard workers.”
1. What do the figures in Paragraph 2 show?| A．There is a rising demand for pets. |
| B．Owning pets can make for professional success. |
| C．More and more CEOs become aware of pots’effects. |
| D．Pets become commercialized among C-suite executives. |
| A．The research is based on people from many walks in the world. |
| B．Keeping pets provides the most valuable lessons for career. |
| C．Pet ownership hardly benefits those who keep pets as adults. |
| D．People who own a pet tend to get along well with colleagues. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Critical. | C．Objective. | D．Concerned. |
5 . The dictionary isn’t forever. What happens to a word when its popularity starts to decline? Here’s how the process of deleting a word from the dictionary works.
The dictionary is actually a steadily enlarging volume.
Who decides which words to delete?
The Oxford English Dictionary covers the English language over the last 1,000 years, and it’s considered definitive and authoritative.
| A．Some new words might be out of date one day. |
| B．As a result, words get removed from the dictionary. |
| C．Dictionary additions and deletions reflect social changes. |
| D．It’s up to the dictionary editors to make the final decision. |
| E．That’s because the English language constantly develops and changes. |
| F．These are often the types of words that will make it into dictionaries. |
| G．However, there are many other dictionaries that are reliable and trustworthy. |
6 . Some people feel they don’t have time to volunteer, seeing it as an activity that only benefits others.
★When you volunteer, you are making a direct influence on the people affected by volunteering, but the impact goes far beyond the fact that you are helping people. When you volunteer, you provide connection for others and yourself.
★Volunteering helps learn new skills to improve your career outlook. It might be discovering how to use one program well.
★
With these positive reasons to volunteer, it’s almost a form of self-care.
| A．So what are you waiting for? |
| B．However, it can have a huge influence on yourself as well. |
| C．When you volunteer, you easily make friends with other volunteers. |
| D．Good connection with others is the most necessary thing all people need. |
| E．Studies show lasting happiness and lower sadness rates among volunteers. |
| F．Is it great to help those less fortunate while seeing the world at the same time? |
| G．It can also be a chance to practice your second language skills with native speakers. |
7 . A young Jewish girl begins a diary just as World War II is about to break out in Europe. She records the details of her daily life, but more than that. Eventually, the diary comes to a heartbreaking end with the girl shot to death by the Nazis. However, it’s not the story of Anne Frank. This is Renia’s Diary, a journal that was hidden for years in a safe box. Now it’s coming to light with the help of Renia’s sister and niece.
For a long time, Elizabeth didn’t even know that her older sister Renia had kept a diary as a teenager in Poland. Then suddenly one day in the 50s, Elizabeth got the diary and started to read it. She was totally stunned and couldn’t get very far. “It was too painful to read it,” Elizabeth recalls. “I just put it in the basement and didn’t think about it.”
Alexandra, Elizabeth’s daughter, grew up knowing about the locked diary. As Alexandra got older, she was more interested in it. “If I could read this diary, maybe I’ll explore some things from the past,” she thought.
She got the diary from its hiding place. When she read it, Alexandra was shocked. “It’s the description of a wonderful girl who showed great courage in terrible times. My aunt’s world comes to life as the diary shifts between a teenage girl’s daily life and the war.”
Elizabeth and her daughter Alexandra are excited that the diary will be published. “It is a story that needs to be heard now more than ever. We should never repeat the same types of racism(种族主义) and hate that lead to violence,” Alexandra says.
1. Why was Renia’s Dairy unknown to the world for so many years?| A．The story is not as famous as Anne Frank’s. |
| B．It was lost in the war and no one found it. |
| C．Alexandra was afraid to read it. |
| D．Renia’s sister kept it a secret. |
| A．Embarrassed. | B．Bored. |
| C．Excited. | D．Shocked. |
| A．She was curious about her aunt’s experience. |
| B．She wanted to comfort her mother. |
| C．She planned to publish her aunt’s dairy. |
| D．She decided to prove how strong Renia was. |
| A．A girl fighting against the racism and hate |
| B．Renia’s Diary is to come to light |
| C．Discovering the history of a Jewish family |
| D．A Jewish family in World War II |
8 . I was given the book Running on Faith written by Jason Lester as a birthday gift last month. After I started reading, I really couldn't keep my eyes off it. It is always inspiring to read a story of someone who has gone through obstacles to reach his goals.
Jason Lester is a disabled (残疾的) extreme athlete. When he was twelve years old, a fast car ran a red light and hit him. Then he was sent into the hospital with twenty broken bones and . a famous baseball player, but at that a seriously injured arm. Jason had always wanted to become a time that dream was gone.
However, Jason loved sports and he still wanted to be a good athlete. He began running and taking part in duathlons( 铁人两项) in high school. Years later in 2004, he decided to start training for the Ironman, and has competed in many extreme races since then. In 2008, Jason became the first disabled athlete to complete the Ultraman (320 miles of biking, swimming and running) ,and it led him to an ESPY award ( 奖项) for Best Male Athlete with a Disability in 2009.
If you are in a bad situation and don't know what to do now, Running on Faith is a good book for you. If you love running and want to reach some race goals, this book is good for you, too. Anyway, this book is worth reading for everyone who loves reading and wants to turn dreams into reality.
1. What does the underlined word "obstacles" in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Arrangements. | B．Worries. |
| C．Difficulties. | D．Experiences. |
| A．He ran a red light and got injured. |
| B．He was seriously hurt in the accident. . |
| C．He lost the courage to be an extreme athlete. |
| D．He decided to play baseball after the accident. |
| A．Taking part in duathlons. |
| B．Training himself in running. |
| C．Competing in many extreme races. |
| D．Completing the Ultraman. |
| A．To show how dreams can come true. |
| B．To explain why Running on. Faith is popular. |
| C．To recommend reading Running on Faith. |
| D．To explore the way to be a good athlete. |
9 . It’s not often sunny in Paris, but people still love to walk along the bank of the Seine. They love the view of the city’s old buildings, especially Notre Dame Cathedral, with its iconic spire (标志性塔尖).
Unfortunately, that view has been forever changed. On April 16 a fire destroyed the spire of the 850-year-old wooden Notre Dame Cathedral built in 1163, and two-thirds of the roof.
The fire shocked and saddened Parisians. Citizens gathered around the giant church, singing hymns (赞美诗) and praying for the hundreds of firefighters who fought the flames.
“The importance of Notre Dame, not only to Catholics (天主教) but to all Parisians, cannot be underestimated (低估),” wrote French author Bernard-Henri Levy. “For many in France, it’s more than a house of worship. It’s a symbol of French culture, architecture and history.”
The church is also home to many religious artworks, paintings and sculptures. Luckily, its world-famous colored glass windows survived the fire. These windows are made of many small pieces of glass and feature various Christian images.
Despite its long history and many treasures, the Cathedral needed the help of a writer to become truly famous. Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, presented the building to a wide audience of readers. The book’s ugly lead character, Quasimodo, serves as a symbol for Paris’ forgotten Gothic (哥特式的) architecture. Hugo wrote the book to remind people of it, with the hope that they would work to protect the beautiful old buildings of Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to reconstruct the historic building. “Note Dame is our history, our literature and it’s our imagery,” he said in a public speech following the fire.
1. Which of the following is true about Notre Dame Cathedral?| A．It is a representative architecture of France. |
| B．It is made of wood and metal. |
| C．It is a place for entertainment. |
| D．It will be rebuilt in a different style. |
| A．Its famous spire. |
| B．Its colored glass windows. |
| C．Victor Hugo’s novel. |
| D．Religious treasures inside. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Regretful. |
| C．Negative. | D．Optimistic. |
10 . Chalk used in school classrooms comes in thin sticks. Lessons are often presented to entire classes on chalkboards (or blackboards, as they were originally called) using sticks of chalk.
As found in nature, chalk has been used for drawing since prehistoric times. And it helped to create some of the earliest cave drawings. Later, artists of different countries and styles used chalk mainly for sketches(素描),and some such drawings have survived.
An important change in the nature of classroom chalk brought was in chalkboards. Blackboards used to be black, because they were made from true slate(石板).While some experts advocated a change to yellow chalkboards and dark blue or purple chalk to copy writing on paper, when makers began to shape chalkboards from synthetic(合成的)materials during the 20th century, they chose the color green, arguing that it was easier on the eyes.
Almost all chalk produced today is dustless. Earlier, softer chalk tended to produce a cloud of dust that some feared might contribute to breathing problems.
| A．Dustless chalk still produces dust. |
| B．Yellow became the preferred color for chalk. |
| C．Paper made only from rags at this time was expensive. |
| D．That's because this method has been proven cheap and easy. |
| E．Chalk was first formed into sticks for the convenience of artists. |
| F．Baking chalk longer to harden it more helps to produce less dust. |
| G．Chalk didn't become standard in schoolrooms until the 19th century. |
