1 . Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your choice of sport might have great influence on the environment.

Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses(高尔夫球场) in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortages in some local areas.

In fact, there are many environment friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don't need any special equipment except a pair of good shoes; and you don't have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk can regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and control your weight better.

Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be "green gyms". They are better replacements(代替物) for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it's free.

1. What do we know about golf from the passage?

A．It is popular in Portugal and Spain.

B．It needs water and energy to keep its courses green

C．It pollutes the earth with chemicals and waste.

D．It causes water shortages around the world.

2. The author uses power walking as example mainly because        .

A．it uses fewer resources

B．it improves our health

C．it is an outdoor sport

D．it is recommended by experts

3. Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?

A．Playing basketball in a gym.

B．Motor racing in the desert.

C．Cycling around a lake.

D．Swimming in a sports center.

4. What’s the purpose of the author writing the passage?

A．To show us the function of major sports.

B．To encourage us to go in for green sports.

C．To discuss the major influence of popular sports.

D．To introduce different types of environment friendly spors.

2 . I've been really lucky this year. Not only did I have the opportunity to live in France, but 1 was able to see some other countries with my girlfriend. Now she is studying in Essen, a large city in Western Germany. I recently went to stay with her----it was my first visit to Germany! Essen is a very large city. It has all the conveniences of any large city so I felt immediately at home. I love the variety of shops, restaurants, shopping malls, cocktail bars, nightclubs, parks and even a lake. There is also a city-wide network of trams（有轨电车）, which makes getting around a piece of cake!...

I found the people to be really friendly, and most Germans speak very good English, which made life easy for me. I was surprised by the casual attitude to alcohol in Germany, where it seems normal for people to drink beer on the street or on the tram. My girlfriend and I visited two famous local cities. Dusseldorf and Cologne, which are both on the Rhine River. Dusseldorf is an urban metropolis with a great variety of restaurants. We took a boat tour on the river and went up the Rhine tower, a really tall building which offers great views across the city. Cologne, as you might know, is world famous for its perfumes. The cathedral（大教堂）there is an unmissable landmark. We made the effort to climb to the top of one of the cathedrals tower, The spiral（螺旋的）stairs seemed endless. but it was worthwhile for the impressive sights from the top.

We also went in a cable car over the river and tasted a German delicacy called "Spaghettieis” which is ice cream with strawberry sauce! I also got to try the famous German sausage. I must admit, I really enjoyed the food! The only disappointment was the grey and rainy weather, which proves that Britain does not have the worst weather in Europe!

1. Why did the writer feel lucky this year?

A．He will have a chance to live in Germany.

B．He met his girlfriend in France by chance.

C．He got an opportunity of learning in Germany.

D．He was able to live in France and visit other countries.

2. What do Dusseldorf and Cologne have in common?

A．They are both famous for unique perfumes.

B．They both serve traditional German sausage.

C．They both have many towers with a long history.

D．The both offer wonderful views from the tower top.

3. According to the writer, which country has the worst weather in Europe?

A．Britain

B．Italy

C．Germany

D．France

4. What can be the best title of the passage?

A．Mt first visit to Germany

B．A Brief Introduction of Germany

C．A Guide to the Germany

D．An Unforgettable Trip

3 . Your next car might drive itself. After years of trials on city streets, driverless vehicles are now nearing the production phase. Last month, a driverless bus began carrying passengers through Lyon, France. Most in the automobile industry think self-driving vehicles will be on the road by 2020 or before.

Driverless cars will at first be huddled with human-driven cars. But the first places where they will become dominant（占支配地位的）are dense urban areas-precisely the spots most damaged by the automobile age. Many advanced cities are already reducing the role of human-driven cars. Driverless cars will quicken that process and will bring us great benefits.

Driverless cars will reduce accidents by around 90 percent. That's big-the annual death toll on the world's roads is about 1.2 million a year. Pollution and carbon emissions will drop, because urban driverless cars will be electric. The old, otherwise they would stay at home most of the time and the disabled and teenagers will suddenly gain mobility.

On the other hand, driverless cars will bring catastrophe（灾难）.The best thing about the automobile age is that it employs tens of millions of people to make, market, insure and drive vehicles. Over the next 20 years, most men who now drive trucks, taxis and buses will see their jobs reduced. Carmakers are especially scared. A few cars in the future might be made by tech companies such as Apple, Baidu and Google. Imaging the impact on Germany, where the automotive sector is the largest industry.

Dramatic change is coming, and driverless cars could arrive by 2020. But governments have hardly begun thinking about it. Only 6 percent of the biggest US cities have factored them into their long-term planning.

A decade ago anyone hardly saw the smartphone coming. It has brought an epidemic of mass addiction. Let's hope we do a better job of handling the driverless car.

1. The underlined words "be huddled with "in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by "________".

A．show up with	B．exist together with
C．get rid of	D．take the place of

2. Why can driverless cars reduce pollution and carbon emissions?

A．Driverless cars reduce the number of human-driven cars.

B．Driverless cars will be powered by electricity.

C．Driverless cars save fuel by driving themselves.

D．Driverless cars will reduce too many accidents.

3. What can we know about driverless cars？

A．They will not hit the road until 2020.

B．They will only be used in urban areas.

C．They will not cause any road accident.

D．They aren't still seriously taken by governments.

4. What's the author's attitude toward driverless cars？

A．Doubtful.	B．Negative.
C．Objective.	D．Worried.

4 . Putting a dinosaur skeleton（骨架）together is not easy. The skeletons are usually very incomplete. Many dinosaur fossils（化石） are discovered badly damaged. Bones are often found crashed (压碎) or bent by the great weight of the dirt and rock above. Sometimes parts from different creatures are mixed together. This just adds to the confusion.

Unfortunately, some scientists have not been careful enough in their descriptions of dinosaurs. They have told grand stories of how dinosaurs looked and behaved. All of these descriptions are based on guesswork – the imaginations of people who have never seen a living dinosaur. Some scientists have made complete pictures of dinosaurs based on just a single bone or tooth or leg. Such pictures are based on many guesses and very little facts. The scientists' ideas often turn out to be wrong when more facts are discovered.

Dinosaur fossils are not found with labels attached showing what the animals looked like. That is why no pictures of dinosaurs are exactly right. Every dinosaur painting is sure to contain at least some wrong information. No artist in the twentieth century ever saw the living, breathing animals -- complete with skin, flesh, and color.

For instance, imagine never having seen or heard of a peacock. One day you find the jumbled bones of it buffed in the ground. You try to put the bones together to form a skeleton. And then you try to draw a picture of what the animal looked like when it was alive. But bones cannot tell the whole story. Even if you are a very good artist, it would be a miracle if you drew a tree picture of a peacock just from the bones and your imagination.

1. Which of the following is NOT a reason why putting a dinosaur skeleton together is difficult?

A．No one has seen a living dinosaur.

B．Dinosaur bones are too complicated when found.

C．Dinosaur bones are crushed or bent when found.

D．Dinosaur bones are mixed with other animals' bones when found.

2. According to Paragraph 2, we can infer that _______.

A．the descriptions of dinosaurs contain some wrong information

B．some scientists are very careful in their descriptions of dinosaurs

C．some scientists have made complete pictures of dinosaurs based on facts

D．the ideas of scientists are often proved wrong when more facts are discovered

3. Taking a peacock as an example, the author shows that________

A．it is easy to put the peacock bones together to form a skeleton

B．it is not easy to put the peacock bones together to form a skeleton

C．a very good artist can draw a good picture even if he has never seen a peacock

D．it is impossible to draw a correct picture based on the bones and one's imagination

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Why it is difficult for scientists to find dinosaur fossils.

B．How we can get right information about dinosaurs.

C．Why scientists can't give exact description of dinosaurs.

D．How we can put a dinosaur skeleton together.

5 .

The Girl with A Brave Heart----BY RITA JAHANFORUZ Brief Description: After showing kindness to a strange old woman, Shiraz receives the gift of beauty but her lazy and unkind stepsister, Nargues, suffers a less pleasant fate in this adaptation of the fairy tale. Paperback $7. 99       Hardcover $ 12.05 $7.99(in stock)

Small Acts of Amazing Courage----BY GLORIA WHELAN Brief Description: It is India, 1918, six months after the end of World War I, and Rosalind waits for the return of her father. While her father has been at war, Rosalind saw India slowly change. A man named Gandhi is coming to power, talking about nonviolence and independence from Britain. Rosalind longs to live the life that her heart tells her, not what her parents plan for her, but no one seems to listen. As she comes of age during this period of history, will she find the courage to claim her own identity and become her own person? $6.99(in stock ) Paperback $6. 99       Hardcover $10.00

I Am in Here----BY BONKER, ELIZABETH Brief Description: I Am in Here is the spiritual journey of a mother and daughter who refuse to give up hope, who celebrate their victories, and who keep trying to move forward despite the obstacles. Although she cannot speak, Elizabeth writes poetry that shines a light on the inner world of autism and the world around us. That poetry and her mother's storytelling combine in this book to show that there is always a reason to take the next step forward--with hope. Paperback $15.99       Hardcover $21.15

A Thousand Mornings----BY MARY OLIVER Brief Description: In this latest collection, Mary Oliver returns to the imagery that has come to establish her life's work, the coastline of her Massachusetts home. Oliver shares the wonder of dawn, the grace of animals, and the power of attention. With amazing clarity, humor and kindness, these poems explore the mysteries of our daily experience. Paperback $16. 00       Hardcover $20.00

1. What happened in India after World War I?

A．Rosalind's father might have lost life in the war.

B．Gandhi insisted on violence against Britain.

C．Rosalind saw the bright future in the country.

D．People there were suffering from the war.

2. What does Mary Oliver intend to share with readers?

A．Her luxurious life.

B．The high-paid job.

C．Her wonderful future.

D．The attractive scenes.

3. To buy two books with the least money you will choose_______.

A．Small Acts of Amazing Courage and I Am in Here

B．Small Acts of Amazing Courage and The Girl with A Brave Heart

C．The Girl with A Brave Heart and A Thousand Mornings

D．A Thousand Mornings and Small Acts of Amazing Courage

6 . Endless queues and long waits at the ticket inspection desks at China’s major train stations were signature of the Spring Festival travel rush before this year. Every year, as the country’s biggest national holiday unfolded a huge flow of travelers would leave staff at the check-in desks facing a dilemma.

But with the installment (安装) of artificial intelligence (AI) in dozens of train stations this year, including a facial recognition system which is able to process passenger identification within five seconds and therefore speed up the waiting process, busy scenes started to become something of the past.

When a passenger approaches the camera inside the facial recognition system at the station, it scans his face and then quickly compares it with the photograph shown on his identification card in real time. If the information matches, the barrier gates will open and allow the passenger to go through.

Such use of facial recognition technology is in line with discussions heard at the recent two sessions meeting, a key annual political event, which focused on the widespread application of a security network named Tianwang (“Sky Net” in English) currently being used by China’s public security department.

The network, according to reports by the People Daily, has the potential to recognize the facial features of anyone in the world and match them on the spot with photographs on a database of criminal suspects. In fact, it can analyze photographic identity so quickly that it can scan every single Chinese face on the planet in just one second, and it would only take two seconds to scan every face in the world, with an accuracy rate of up to 99.8 percent.

Those are just two examples that highlight the development of Chinese visual AI technology, which industry insiders predict could contribute to powerful growth in the global technology sector this year.

1. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the first paragraph?

A．To introduce the following topic of the passage.

B．To describe the Spring Festival.

C．To inform readers of the development of China.

D．To explain the dilemma of the staff.

2. What’s the solution to the Spring Festival travel rush?

A．Using artificial intelligence.

B．Opening more barrier gates.

C．Limiting the number of passengers.

D．Increasing more staff at the check-in desks.

3. What can we know about facial recognition technology?

A．Its application leads to a heated discussion.

B．Its application is useless to policemen.

C．Its operating speed is not yet high enough.

D．Its accuracy rate is very high.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards Chinese visual AI technology?

A．Depressed.	B．Positive.
C．Doubtful.	D．Indifferent.

7 . Did you make financial decisions last New Year’s Eve? Did they fall by the wayside? If so, you are not alone.     1    .

▲Make a smart budget

Did you plan to make a budget and fail to do so? This is a perfect time to start, as you are heading into the new year. You may be able to stop yourself from overspending if you realize how overextended you are. If you’ve taken no other financial steps this year, start by setting a realistic budget.     2    .

▲Control your spending

Even if you had a budget, were you able to stick to it?     3    . Use it as a psychological advantage－you have less to spend so you need to shop harder for bargains and research prices. Impulse buying (即兴购买) will be less likely to attract you and your spending should be more focused as a result.

▲    4    

You had a savings goal, didn’t you? If you didn’t have a specific goal, it may be why your savings effort failed. Set a smaller savings goal now, and use that to build a larger savings goal for the upcoming year. Make sure that you equate（使等同）your savings with a specific goal.

▲Reduce your debt

Debt reduction is an important goal, especially in the case of high-interest debt such as credit cards. It’s easy to get into an unrecoverable increase of debt if you have no plan to keep debt in check. It is a longer-term goal, but one you need to start right away.     5    . That may be a tall task, which is all the more reason to start immediately.

A．Increase your savings

B．Have a clear goal for your debt

C．You will go on with your new decisions

D．Most other financial improvements will follow

E．Start small by setting a spending budget for your shopping

F．But this year, you can make some progress on your financial goals

G．Attack the debt with the highest interest rate, and control your spending

8 . A study has found that a lifetime of regular exercise and activity can slow down the aging process (衰老过程). Researchers say that getting older should not necessarily mean becoming more weak or sick. Their research shows that a devotion to a life of movement and exercise may help us live not only longer, but also healthier.

For their study, the researchers looked at two groups. The first group was made up of 125 non-professional cyclists between the ages of 55 to 79. This group included 84 healthy men and 41 healthy women. We will call this group the “cyclists”.

Researchers then found 130 people to make up a second group. Within this group, 75 people were aged from 57 to 80. The other 55 were between the ages of 20 and 36. The people in this group were also healthy, but they did not exercise regularly. We will call this group the “non-exercisers”. Smokers, heavy drinkers of alcohol and people with other health issues were not included in the study.

Then, researchers gave both groups a series of tests. They tested their muscle mass (肌肉质量), muscular strength, percentage of body fat and the strength of their immune (免疫的) systems. Then the researchers compared the results of the two groups.

Results showed that the cyclists did not experience body changes usually regarded as a normal aging process. For example, they did not lose muscle mass or muscular strength. Also, their body fat did not increase with age.

The researchers also found something they had not expected. The study showed that the immune systems of the cyclists did not age either.

The researchers advise us all to find an exercise that we like in our lives.

1. How did the researchers carry out the study?

A．By comparing.	B．By discussing.
C．By imagining.	D．By reasoning.

2. Which of the following is a result of the research?

A．The cyclists kept a thin body shape.

B．The non-exercisers gained weight easily.

C．The cyclists’ muscles remained strong with age.

D．The non-exercisers usually had health problems.

3. Which is an unexpected result for the researchers?

A．The cyclists had normal aging process.

B．The cyclists’ immune systems didn’t age.

C．The cyclists lost nearly all their fat.

D．Everyone needed an exercise in their lives.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Healthy People Need More Exercise

B．Take an Exercise, the Harder, the Better

C．Cycling Is the Best Way to Prevent Aging

D．A Lifetime of Exercise Slows Aging Process

9 . Life can bring us down from time to time. At some point，you may find yourself in what you will consider as your darkest hour. As you try to find your way out of that bad situation，you should try to remind yourself that there is always still a reason to be grateful.

If you look at your situation now and compare it with that of someone else who is in much deeper trouble than you，I am sure that you'll find something to be thankful for. We all have our share of problems. But complaining about them only makes us blind to the fact that there are miracles happening around us every day.

When all your needs are met，then you should be content and happy. If you have a roof over your head，some decent（像样的）clothes to wear，enough food on the table，a comfortable place to sleep in，clean water to drink and you are free to make your own choices，then you should be happy and grateful. Many people around the world，especially those who are at war or those in very poor countries would give anything to be in your shoes.

Even if you lose all your possessions and your heart is broken for some reason, as long as you are still alive and energetic, then every material thing you have lost can be regained. If you have a few good friends to support or help you, then be glad because true friends are hard to find. As long as you have someone to love and someone to love you back, then you are a very fortunate person. Remember to be patient and trust that things will get better.

1. What are we advised to do when life lets us down?

A．To try to keep calm.

B．To imagine a better future.

C．To realize things could be worse.

D．To fight against the bad situation bravely.

2. What is the result of complaining about the bad situation?

A．Ignoring something good.

B．Creating a far worse situation.

C．Taking everything for granted.

D．Failing to share the pain with others.

3. What does the underlined part "in your shoes" in Paragraph 3 mean？

A．In your honor.	B．On your behalf.
C．In your situation.	D．In touch with you.

4. Which can be the best title for the text？

A．Patience is a virtue

B．Why you should be grateful

C．How to deal with hard times

D．A friend in need is a friend indeed

10 . Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.

Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses （球场） in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.

There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.

Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.

1. Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?

A．Cycling around a lake.

B．Motor racing in the desert.

C．Playing basketball in a gym.

D．Swimming in a sports center.

2. What do we know about golf from the passage?

A．It is popular in Portugal and Spain.

B．It causes water shortages around the world.

C．It pollutes the earth with chemicals and wastes.

D．It needs water and electricity to keep its courses green.

3. The author uses power walking as an example mainly because _________.

A．it is an outdoor sport

B．it improves our health

C．it uses fewer resources

D．it is recommended by experts

4. The author writes the passage to _________.

A．show us the function of major sports

B．encourage us to go in for green sports

C．discuss the major influence of popular sports

D．introduce different types of environment-friendly sports