1 . Did you know that the color of uniforms can influence the performance of an athlete? It may sound strange, but a study suggests this might be true.
Two British scientists studied the results of four sports in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games where the athletes had been given either a red or a blue uniform. They discovered that when there was a big difference in the score, color had no influence on the result. But if it was a close match, the athlete in a red uniform was more likely to win. Then they looked at the uniforms of the soccer teams at the Euro 2004 tournament. Again, teams wearing red won more games.
The two scientists got their idea from earlier studies of wild animals. It had been discovered that when a male show red on its body, it sends a signal of its power and strength. For example, in many kinds of monkey, the more the male shows off its red scars, the more females it can attract.
Based on this fact, the British scientists thought that the idea might work for humans, too. According to them, when an athlete sees a competitor in a red uniform, he gets a feeling that his competitor could be stronger than him. And that kind of feeling may have a bad influence on the player’s performance in the actual game.
Although the idea is Interesting, most people don’t accept that color signals in the animals world can really be useful to humans in sports. They think that it is unreasonable to develop an idea based on such a small number of examples. Much more research has to be done to prove the influence of uniform colors on the performance of athletes.
1. What did the scientists find out about the 2004 Athens Olympic Games?| A．Athletes played equally well in four sports. |
| B．Game results had a big influence on the athletes. |
| C．Athletes dressed in red scored more in a close match. |
| D．There was a big difference in red and blue team’s scores. |
| A．It is quite strong. | B．It is a failure. |
| C．It has power over other males. | D．It has attracted a lot of females. |
| A．weakness | B．pride | C．danger | D．shame |
| A．Interested. | B．Satisfied. | C．Doubtful. | D．Thankful. |
2 . Scientists say they have developed a system that uses machine learning to predict when and where lightning will strike. Researchers report the system is able to predict lightning strikes up to 30 minutes before they happen within a 30-kilometer area. Lightning is a strong burst of electricity in the atmosphere. Since it carries an extremely powerful electrical charge, it can cause very deadly results. European researchers have estimated that between 6,000 and 24,000 people are killed by lightning worldwide each year. For this reason, climate scientists have long sought to develop methods to predict lightning.
The system tested in the experiments uses a combination of data from weather stations and machine learning methods. The researchers developed a prediction model that was trained to recognize weather conditions that were likely to cause lightning.
The model was created with data collected over a 12-year period from 12 Swiss weather stations in cities and mountain areas. The data, related to four main surface conditions: air pressure, air temperature, relative humidity (湿度) and wind speed, was placed into a unique machine learning algorithm (算法), which compared it to records of lightning strikes. Researchers say the algorithm was then able to learn the conditions under which lightning happens.
The researchers test-ran the system several times. They found that the system made predictions that proved correct almost 80 percent of the time. “It can now be used anywhere,” the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology said in a statement.
The researchers plan to keep developing the technology in partnership with a European effort that aims to create a lightning protection program. The effort is called the European Laser Lightning Rod project. Scientists working on the project are experimenting with a laser technology that could someday control lightning activity, transferring lightning charges from clouds to the ground. They hope that such technology can one day be used as protection against lightning strikes. Possible uses could be at stations, airports or places where large crowds gather.
1. Why was the system developed?| A．To keep track of lightning deaths. |
| B．To meet people’s curiosity about lightning. |
| C．To protect people from lightning strikes. |
| D．To take advantage of the energy of lightning. |
| A．It collects data samples from around the world. |
| B．It involves the use of a machine learning algorithm. |
| C．It was test-run several times before being put into use. |
| D．Its success owes greatly to a European effort. |
| A．Prevent the formation of lightning. | B．Get lightning striking under control. |
| C．Inspire the study of a laser technology. | D．Raise the accuracy of lightning prediction. |
| A．A system of Controlling Lightning | B．A Theory of Employing Lightning |
| C．A Method of Forecasting Lightning | D．A Model of Creating Lightning |
3 . You Life is What You Make It
Zhang Tian graduated from university and got a teacher’s certificate last year. His parents wanted him to get a good job in Shanghai. But he was inspired by the idea of living independently away from home. So he applied for and became a volunteer teacher in a village school. Bringing with him lots of books, clothes, and two pairs of trainers, Zhang Tian travelled to the village with an eager heart. He imagined all sorts of exciting things about living and teaching in a village.
However, not everything lived up to Zhang Tian’s hopes. The school was much smaller than he expected, with only three classrooms. In front of the classrooms, there was a playground which got dusty on windy days and muddy on rainy days. Living In the village was also more challenging than he had thought. The power and water supplies were unstable, so he could only shower every three or four days, and he had to learn how to cook. The thought of leaving once flashed through his mind, but he quickly gave up the idea and found ways to deal with the challenges.
The school had just three teachers and Zhang Tian was the only English teacher. The other two local teachers were responsible for maths and Chinese. To make school life healthier and livelier for his students, Zhang Tian introduced more subjects to the school — music, art and PE. It is not surprising that PE is the kids’ favourite subject! Their school lives are now more attractive and interesting, and they enjoy playing football in the playground, as well as singing songs they’ve learnt. The school is now full of laughter and music. Zhang Tian is planning to organise the first ever school concert! Everyone is very excited.
1. Why did Zhang Tian choose to be a volunteer teacher?| A．He wanted to live independently. |
| B．His parents wanted him to be a teacher. |
| C．He wanted a new lifestyle and was inspired by teachers he met. |
| D．He needed the experience to get a teacher’s certificate. |
| A．PE was the kid’s favourite subject. |
| B．Students were short of books and desks. |
| C．The school even didn’t have a playground. |
| D．Living conditions were worse than he had expected. |
| A．Tough but meaningful. | B．Dull but interesting. |
| C．Easy and comfortable. | D．Lonely and hopeless. |
Summer Culture Welcome a student from France or Spain into your family!Exchange (交换) students from Spain and France are looking for welcoming, fun and loving hosts who will share life and culture with them for a few weeks in June, July and August. Stays can be from 4 to 6 weeks. What to do with your exchange student:Movies/ Museums/ Beach/ Cooking/ Community projects/ Volunteering/ Shopping/ anything you can think of... |
| Requirements to hosts: Loving and active family One stay-at-home host parent Willing to take students to places of interest once a week Contact information: If you are interested and would like more information, please contact: Shirley Wentzell 909-918-6715 Email: Shirley(@uceus.com |
| A．10 days. | B．5 weeks. | C．2 months. | D．1 year. |
| A．be rich and well-educated. | B．have good full-time jobs. |
| C．speak Spanish and French. | D．take students on a trip every week. |
| A．letter | B．notice | C．poster | D．diary |
5 . The Pomodoro technique is probably one of the most powerful techniques in all of learning. All you have to do is set a timer for 25 minutes, and then just focus as attentively as you can for those 25 minutes.
Now if you start focusing on and you’re working on, and then you look up at the timer and two minutes have passed. You may feel like you can’t hold on. And just let the thought go by, and return your focus to whatever you are working on. And when that 25 minutes is up you relax a little bit. You might wonder why that 25 minutes is the magic number, and the reality is we don’t really know. There’s not a lot of research on the Pomodoro technique, which is surprising because it’s so incredibly popular and people find it very useful.
But there’s an interesting tidbit (小趣闻) related to the Pomodoro technique, and that is that: when you just think about something that you don’t like very much, it stimulates a part of the brain that experiences pain. And so the brain naturally enough shifts its attention to something else, like Facebook or Twitter or something like that.
And what the Pomodoro technique does, when you do it you’re setting that timer. You don’t want to sit there and think, “I’m going to work on this problem and get it all finished. You just want to think, I’ve got 25 minutes where I just have to work on something. ” Don’t even think about what that thing is. What that does is it slips in under your brain’s radar. It doesn’t stimulate so much that pain in your brain; and then that pain in the brain, research has shown, lasts for 20 minutes.
So if you work for 25 minutes you will suddenly find yourself getting into the flow because you’ve gone past that painful period. So the Pomodoro technique is effective in many different aspects.
1. How does the Pomodoro technique work?| A．It boosts your concentration. |
| B．It helps your mind go faster. |
| C．It urges you to finish your work. |
| D．It shortens the pain time in your brain. |
| A．Reading a novel for 25 minutes. |
| B．Spending 25 minutes scanning WeChat. |
| C．Setting a timer for 25 minutes to do a tough task. |
| D．Attending a lecture for 25 minutes with two minds. |
| A．The first two minutes is vital. |
| B．25 minutes is a magic number. |
| C．More research is around the corner. |
| D．You may get discouraged when using it. |
| A．To further explain the Pomodoro technique. |
| B．To arouse interest in the Pomodoro technique. |
| C．To highlight how to use the Pomodoro technique. |
| D．To prove the effectiveness of the Pomodoro technique. |
6 . Being a Volunteer (志愿者)
What can you do to help people?
*
Volunteering is a great way to have fun with your family. Talk to your parents, brothers or sisters.
*Help yourself by helping others.
When you volunteer to help others, you are helping yourself. It’s amazing to know that volunteering can calm you down when you feel upset. Lots of people really enjoy volunteering, because doing volunteer work could make a big difference in their life. So where do you start?
*Create your own opportunity for your future.
Kids can come up with their own ways to raise money or provide needed services. You can make and sell products, and donate the money. Volunteering gives kids a sense of responsibility. Volunteering can also help kids learn important things about their future.
| A．The answer is to be a volunteer |
| B．Do things with family members |
| C．You can’t finish some housework |
| D．Some volunteer work is not important |
| E．And then you can see what they might like |
| F．School is a good place to start if you are looking for volunteer ideas |
| G．For example, they can know what kinds of things they will be best at |
7 . One night, as I was driving down the road, I found something was sitting in the middle of the road. A few seconds later, I realized I was looking at a large turtle (海龟). Afraid of it being crashed by cars, so I pulled over, ran across the road and dragged the turtle to safety. But I’d made one big mistake.
I had heard that the best way to pick up a turtle without hurting it was picking it by the tail in order not to get bitten. So I’d made that big mistake. While the turtle turned out OK generally, I was determined to figure out how to move a turtle properly. I needed to find someone who dealt with turtles. I found the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre. I talked to Dr. Sue, its Executive and Medical Director.
Dr. Sue told me that the organization dealt with a number of aspects of turtle conservation, including rescue, settlement, birth programs, research, and education. Sue explained that southern Ontario is home to a vast majority of turtles in Canada, but is also one of the vastest road networks of the country.
“Ninety percent of injured turtles brought in are caused by cars. These turtles spend a lot of time on land. And they do travel many kilometers on land for a variety of reasons, to find a nesting spot, or to hang out for the summer or winter. Turtles know where they want to go. So, just keep them going in the direction they want to go and you may have saved a turtle’s life,” Dr. Sue said.
Once an injured turtle arrives at the center, there are medical facilities (设备) ready to go, including an X-ray machine. That’s when the team gets to work with healing injuries, and help their patient.
1. Why did the author stop the car?| A．To help the turtle. | B．To see the thing clearly. |
| C．To prevent a car accident. | D．To find something good. |
| A．It got hurt by people before. | B．It was injured a little bit. |
| C．It was run over by a car. | D．It lost its direction. |
| A．Leaving the turtles alone. |
| B．Making Ontario home to turtles. |
| C．Changing the road conditions. |
| D．Helping turtles find nesting spots. |
| A．The director. | B．The driver. |
| C．The author. | D．The turtle. |
8 . Pleasanton Partnerships in Education Foundation (PPIE) was started in 1987 to raise money by organizing running events for local schools. Based in Pleasanton, California, a suburb of San Francisco, the non-profit organization recently hosted a family-focused fitness event for the community. “Our event helps to bring the community together,” said Mindy Louie, events and outreach manager for PPIE. “We have more than 3,000 participants, hard-working volunteers and viewers.”
This year’s fitness event took place on April 30 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. It featured races of two miles, five kilometers and ten kilometers. A new Kids Challenge consisted of a quarter-mile run to encourage younger children to participate. When asked to describe the run, 11-year-old Jeremy Louie said, “Fun, exciting and enjoyable.” Jeremy added that he was happy to help support his school.
PPIE supports all 15 schools in the Pleasanton Unified School District, which include more than 14, 500 students and 800 teachers and staff. The nonprofit organization tries to fund programs affected by budget cuts, while encouraging fitness and athleticism. To date, the PPIE has raised over $1 million for the school district.
A local runners’ group called the BURN Youth Development (B. Y. D.) participated in the fundraising. The B.Y.D. has since grown to more than 100 youth members, 30 of whom ran in April’s PPIE event. Jerry Wu, the group’s founder and lead coach, explained that the B.Y.D. was born to keep kids running. “Watching them running strongly and happily makes me smile every time,” Jerry said.
Jerry encourages teamwork and teaches the students valuable running techniques. As a B.Y.D. member, Ollie Gu, an eighth grader, was one of the top finishers in the ten-kilometer run. He completed the race in 40 minutes and 46 seconds and won first place in the 12-to-15 year-old age group. “The race was extremely rewarding,” Ollie said. “I’m looking forward to it next year.”
1. Which race was recently created?| A．A ten-kilometer run. | B．A quarter-mile run. |
| C．A five-kilometer run. | D．A two-mile run. |
| A．To stress the great influence of PPIE. |
| B．To show a small budget for education. |
| C．To introduce the school district in brief. |
| D．To advertise the organization’s programs. |
| A．Their duties as athletes. | B．Their feelings as coaches. |
| C．Their recognition of the B.Y.D. | D．Their anticipation of the next run. |
| A．Sports volunteers. | B．Young sportsmen. |
| C．Running with teachers. | D．Racing for education. |
9 . A happy beagle (小猎犬) called Bella loves Amazon boxes. It tears into them while ignoring other delivery boxes. Little Bit, a tortoiseshell cat, is similarly consumed — but by socks. It raids (偷袭) the laundry basket in the middle of the night and also paws through the open suitcases of house guests, who almost always find themselves missing a sock in the morning. Pets do some pretty weird things. But these strange behaviors often make perfect sense to the pets, said scientists who study animal behaviors. “These behaviors are not invented on the spot,” said Carlo Siracusa, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. The pets are doing behaviors that their wild ancestors did, but they’ve changed them a bit to fit their new lives as pets.
Dogs can be trained to roll over and play dead. But their ancient instincts from their wolf ancestors are still there. Instincts, or instinctive behaviors, are behaviors that are done without thinking. They don’t have to be learned. For example, some dogs will scratch the ground after pooping(排便). But they’re not trying to bury their poop. They want other animals to notice it. “They are depositing smell in those areas,” Siracusa said. “It’s almost like drawing a picture with a big red marker around it,” he added.
Cats, on the other hand, almost always bury their waste. “They are covering their tracks,” says Monique Udell, an expert on human-animal interactions who works at Oregon State University. Cats are predators, meaning they hunt other animals for food. But other animals hunt them, too. So they don’t want to be seen-or smelled. Mikel Delgado, the founder of a California-based cat behavior consulting service, said that many other cat behaviors, arise from cats’ wild origins.
While dogs share many behaviors inherited (继承) from wolves, they’ve also developed a few of their own. “Puppy dog eyes”, the innocent look that many humans are helpless to resist, is one. Over the time period that they’ve lived with people, dogs have developed certain muscles around their eyes. This helps them make the adorable expressions that win over humans. Like wolves, dogs also like to lick faces. Humans think their pets are kissing them, but they are not. “It’s how wolf puppies get food from their parents’ mouths,” Siracusa said. “It also can be a sign of submission. When a lower-ranking individual approaches a higher-ranking one, it gets down real low and licks the dominant one to say: ‘I’m not a threat to you.’”
1. What has been done to introduce the topic in Paragraph 1?| A．Telling a story. | B．Making a comparison. |
| C．Presenting research results. | D．Criticizing pets’ bad behaviors. |
| A．leaving | B．hiding | C．removing | D．detecting |
| A．Cats are interested in burying their waste. |
| B．Humans like the fact that their pet cats bury their waste. |
| C．Pet cats bury their waste because their wild ancestors did so. |
| D．Cats have changed a lot after becoming pets. |
| A．Wolves run energetically around dominant wolves. |
| B．Wolves show dominant wolves “puppy dog eyes”. |
| C．Wolves beg food from dominant wolves. |
| D．Wolves lick dominant wolves’ faces. |
10 . Benefiting from the 5,000 years history, many ancient cities exist in the vast land of China. Here are 4 ancient cities in China and each has their unique features.
Shangqiu Ancient City
●History: 4,000 years
●Opening Hours: 08:00-17:30 in winter; 08:00-18:00 in summer
●Ticket Price: ¥70 per combo ticket (组合票)
Situated in the Yellow River Valley, Shangqiu area is considered the birthplace of Chinese civilization. The best time to visit it is around the Chinese New Year, when the grandest temple fair at Shangqiu is held to worship the God of Fire.
Ancient City of Pingyao
●History: 2,700 years
●Opening Hours: 08: 00-17:30
●Ticket Price: Free entry
It has no charming landscape, green mountains or clear waters. What is unique there is the well-pre served ancient city with a grand City Wall, traditional residences, time-honored shops, and even the previous government office.
Fenghuang Ancient Town
●History: 467 years
●Opening Hours: all day; 08: 00-17:30 for Tuo River day cruise;18:00-22:30 for night cruise
●Ticket Price: Free entry
Constructed in 1556, Fenghuang Ancient Town is another historical city in China known for ethnic diversity. Generations of Miao, Tujia and Han people live here, and it now accommodates28 ethnic groups in total.
Huizhou Ancient City
●History: 2,240 years
●Opening Hours: 08:00-17:00
●Ticket Price: ¥95 for one adult; ¥140 for one adult and one child; ¥230 for two adults and one child.
Huizhou Ancient City is famous for its unique architectural style since the old days. The Huizhou-style building is one of the most important architectural schools in China, using bricks, wood, and stones as the raw materials.
1. Which of the four towns has the longest history?| A．Shangqiu Ancient City. | B．Ancient City of Pingyao. |
| C．Huizhou Ancient City. | D．Fenghuang Ancient Town. |
| A．Various ethnic minorities. | B．Free Admission. |
| C．Abundant natural beauty. | D．The same opening hours. |
| A．¥95. | B．¥140. | C．¥230. | D．¥235. |
