1 . Crossing your legs is an extremely common habit. While you may find it comfortable to sit with one knee crossed over the other, it might be causing health problems that you are not aware of.

A study published in Blood Pressure Monitoring stated that sitting with your legs crossed can increase your blood pressure. The reason this happens is because the blood in your legs has to work against gravity to be pumped back to your heart, crossing one leg over the other increases resistance, making it even harder for the blood to circulate. You won’t feel any immediate effects, but sitting for long periods of time will hurt you forever.

Crossing your legs can also lead to neck and back pain. Ideally, it’s best for our bodies to sit with our feet planted flat, hip width apart, on the floor, but it’s not easy to maintain perfect posture all day at the office. When you sit with your legs crossed your hips are in a twisted position, which can cause one of your pelvic bones(骨盆) to rotate. Since your pelvic bone supports your neck and spine（脊椎）, this can cause pressure on your lower and middle back and neck.

You also might notice that when you sit with your legs crossed for long periods of time your feet and legs get painful or have the feeling of being asleep. This is because when one leg sits on top of the other it causes pressure on the veins（静脉） and nerves in your legs and feet. It can cause numbness and/or temporary paralysis in the legs, ankles, or feet. While the feeling of discomfort may only last a minute or two, repeatedly crossing your legs until they feel numb can cause permanent nerve damage.

So next time you sit down, try to get yourself in the habit of sitting with both of your feet on the floor. Not only will it help your posture and stability, but it will also save your health in the long run.

1. Which of the following is not the consequence of crossing legs?

A．Neck and back get hurt.

B．Feet and legs become numb.

C．Blood pressure goes up.

D．Pelvic bones keep perfect postures.

2. What does the underlined word “rotate” in Para3 mean?

A．break seriously

B．hurt greatly

C．move casually

D．straighten suddenly

3. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．How to choose a proper sitting posture

B．It is advisable not to sit with legs crossed

C．How to develop beneficial habits

D．Blood pressure harms our bodies.

2 . On the day the tornado hit, there was no indication severe weather was on its way—the sky was blue and the sun had been out. The first alert my husband, Jimmy, 67, and I, 65, got came around 9 p.m., from some scrolling text on the TV Jimmy was watching. He ran upstairs to find me in our third-floor bedroom, and we changed the channel from the presidential primary debate I had been watching to our local Pensacola, Florida, station.

No sooner had we found coverage of the tornado than it was on top of us. It was the loudest thing I have ever heard. The bones of the house shook, and the power went out. Pink insulation flew into the room from a trapdoor to the attic, and the wind began to roar through the house.

I didn’t know how or if we would make it down the steps. It felt as if there were no floor underneath me as the wind lifted me off my feet. I gripped the banister (栏杆) and tried to move forward, but this intense pressure held me in place.

By the time I reached the closet, the tornado had been over us for about a minute. Jimmy pushed me down to the closet floor, but he couldn’t get inside himself because of the wind. I gripped Jimmy’s arm. My knees and scalp were full of glass, but in that moment, I felt no pain.

All of a sudden, Jimmy lifted off his feet like people in tornadoes do in the movies. I thought he was gone. And then everything stopped. He landed on his feet. In those first quiet moments, I couldn’t believe it was over. Jimmy said he’d go outside to check. “No,” I said. “Don’t leave me.”

Our neighbor says the storm lasted four minutes. In that time, four of the twelve town houses in our unit were completely destroyed. Of the houses left standing, ours suffered the most damage. Amazingly, none of us were severely injured.

1. How is the text organized?

A．In order of time.	B．In order of frequency.
C．In order of preference.	D．In order of importance.

2. What can we infer from the first paragraph?

A．We didn’t get the alert until we began to watch TV.

B．The weather was severe on the day the tornado hit.

C．We changed the channel to find out what was happening.

D．The author was sleeping when the tornado came.

3. From the text, we can find the author was the following except ________.

A．fearful	B．courageous
C．senseless	D．determined

4. What does the underlined sentence mean?

A．The author had no sense of pain.

B．The author was absorbed in saving her husband and extremely worried about her husband.

C．The author was fearful that her knees and scalp were full of glass.

D．The author was terrified in that moment.

3 . Oil is essential for modern life. About 64 percent of the world’s oil is located in the Middle East, but the heaviest consumers of oil are Europe, America, and Japan. The problem lies in getting the oil from the countries that produce it to the countries that consume it. This is mainly done using oil tankers. Usually the oil is shipped safely and with no problems, but occasionally there is a disaster.

Every year millions of tons of oil are spilled into the ocean. Although this is only a small percentage of the total amount shipped around the world each year, this spilled oil can have terrible effects on ocean life, including the coastlines where the oil washes up onto shore.

One of the worst oil spills in history occurred along the Alaskan coastline in 1989, when the Exxon Valdez tanker got stuck off the coast of Alaska, spilling 42 million liters of oil. Although it wasn’t the largest oil spill, the disaster was terrible because it occurred in such a sensitive natural area. In this spill, the tanker’s captain, who was tired from overwork and drinking alcohol, had gone to take a rest. He gave control of the ship to another sailor, who was unfamiliar with the route. The ship ran onto Bligh Reef. Damaged by the reef, the ship leaked oil out into the ocean. More than 1,600 kilometers of coastline were affected by the oil spill. Many birds and otters died as a result of the oil covering their skin, and many other sea creatures and the animals that fed on them were also severely affected.

1. Which country is NOT among the largest consumers of oil?

A．Japan	B．Iraq
C．America	D．Germany

2. What does the underlined “them” refer to?

A．The birds.	B．The otters.
C．The sea creatures.	D．The birds and the otters.

3. Which of the following statement is true?

A．The oil leak of Alaska is because the captain was unfamiliar with the route.

B．Many birds and otters died from eating the spilled oil.

C．Alaska spill was the most serious spill of all time.

D．Although some oil leak is not serious, it will affect ocean life.

4 . How to keep fit

Nowadays, with the high pace of modern life, more and more people are in the state of sub-health (亚健康). A healthy body is very important to every one of us. The steps to good health aren’t complex. Here are some suggested ways.    1    

• Form good healthy habits. Better your healthy lifestyle by adopting a variety of healthy habits, including getting enough sleep. Sleep is one of the most important bodily functions to make cells healthy again.    2    Do your best to manage stress through healthy activities. Cutting down on alcohol use, quitting tobacco, and staying connected to friends and family members can also keep you healthier.

• Do exercise. I don’t know whether you discover that most of the ancient people are healthy.    3    It is approximately equal to doing exercise every day. If people want to be healthy, they had better do exercise frequently. As for what kind of exercise you should take, I would say just depending on yourselves. If you are a busy person and have no special time allocated to do these things, there are still some ways useful to keep fit. The easiest way is to walk to your office instead of taking a bus.

•    4    people in the modern society have many choices to pick food. What people pick the most is meat and high caloric (热量的) food. Those foods can easily make people get fat.    5    Therefore, keeping a good diet is necessary, which means eating more fruits and vegetables in the meat world. However, this doesn’t mean you have to completely give up your favorite foods. A healthy diet is all about balance.

A．Keep a good diet.

B．And then the health problem comes.

C．Realize the importance of keeping fit.

D．You should get at least six hours of sleep a night.

E．If you try, a life of good quality will be the reward.

F．The reason is that they have to do labor work every day.

G．It is said that keeping a good mood will lead to a good body.

5 . Tips for Using Google Maps When You Travel

Traveling somewhere new can bring exciting adventures. But it can also bring unwelcome surprises. That may be in the tools you use before and during your trip. With the right technology, you can make the most of your time on the road.     1    . While people most commonly use Google Maps for directions from one place to another, it offers many other kinds of travel tools. Today, we bring you several tips for using Google Maps.

1. Plan a road trip route

When you are traveling on a road trip, you do not have to plan each part of the trip separately with Google Maps.     2    . To plan a road trip, open Google Maps. Search for your first destination, and then click on the arrow to get directions. Then, click on the plus + sign to add more destinations to your trip.

2. Save your maps for offline use

    3    . Or you may not want to pay international charges for using your phone in other countries. The good news is that you can still use Google Maps even without the Internet. You can download a map from Google Maps to your phone. To do this, open the Google Maps app on your phone and search for the area you want to save. Click on the address at the bottom of the screen, then choose Download.

3. Use Google Maps for a walk or bike ride

While Google Maps may first give users directions to a place by car, it also offers biking or walking directions.     4    . The results also tell you the elevation change of the route, so you know how much energy you will have to use by choosing to walk or ride a bicycle.

4. Save money on gas

If you are planning a car trip in North America, Google Maps can show you the lowest gas prices in the United States and Canada. Search for “gas stations” on the Google Maps app and you will see a list of nearby stations with gas prices.     5    . Therefore, Google Maps is really a great convenience to tourists.

A．When traveling, you may not always have access to the Internet.

B．Google Maps has many tech tools that help make traveling easier.

C．You can get those directions by clicking the walking or bicycle icon.

D．The “gas stations” on the Google Maps app are sometimes difficult to find.

E．They will also be marked on the map so that you can see the closest ones to you.

F．The apps and maps are of great help when people are going to a store or supermarket.

G．You can search for all of the parts of the trip in order to prepare your route more efficiently.

6 . Most trips will involve some walking, even if the main activity is cycling or horse riding.    1     However, if you are going to walk 16-19 km or more a day with a pack on your back, daily for several days, your feet and body will suffer if you have not prepared yourself beforehand.
1. Preparation
    2     Start with gentle walks of 3-5 km a day on easy-going areas. Build this up to 16-19 km, walking on local footpaths once or twice a week, wearing your boots and carrying your pack.
Think about your overall physical fitness if you are overweight, or if you have been ill or are recovering from an injury. You need to be sure that this won't cause health problems or severe discomfort.
2. Care of your feet
Never underestimate the importance of comfortable feet on a walking trip; uncomfortable or sore feet can make your trip truly miserable, so it is worth taking care of them properly.
    3     Keeping your feet clean will make you more comfortable and washing them every day is advisable. Dry feet well after washing.
3. Deciding on footwear
    4     Badly fitting boots can cause discomfort and blisters（水泡）,and this will be enough to ruin your day. Boots should give good ankle support, and this is especially important for mountain walking.     5     For extreme conditions, such as snow and ice, jungle or desert, you will need specially designed boots.

A．A short hike is within most people's capabilities.

B．The most important criterion（标准）with walking boots is that they fit you properly.

C．Take a short walk daily for several days, and your feet and body will improve a lot.

D．Remember that the same boots will not necessarily be suitable for every trip.

E．During the expedition, keep your toenails cut short, so that your boots don't press on them.

F．If you are not an experienced walker, get in some training walks as part of your preparation.

G．To prepare for your walking trip, you have to wash your feet every day for several days.

7 . Street dances are dance styles that evolved (演变)outside of dance studios in any available open space.They are often improvisational (即兴的）and social in nature, encouraging interaction and contact with audiences and the other dancers.These dances generally evolve out of urban and suburban spaces and are a part of the native culture of that geographical area.Some examples of street dances include b-boying, or breakdancing, which originated in New York City.

Street dances are dances that evolve between people in a social environment, although it cannot be always determined as to how they actually do evolve between people.In theory, as one person comes up with a move that looks good to another person, the other person tries to copy that move.Similar to the game of Chinese whispers, the effect is that the other person cannot absolutely perform that move the same way as the other person, thus leading to the dancers creating their own style or entirely new moves.

There is a small difference between entirely freestyle dance and an absolute street dance.While freestyle dance is random and a personal dance invented by a single person (even if it’s based on someone else’s dance style) , a full street dance is a collection of the various similar dance moves and styles collected into one practice and regarded as the same dance.For example, when b-boying evolved out of the early hip-hop culture, people came up with their own moves，and other people improved them.Street dances constantly evolve for as long as they are now and then practiced and regarded as the same dance.All the moves danced to breaks in hip-hop culture were regarded as b-boying.

Sometimes it is possible to trace back street dance styles that were mostly pioneered by specific (具体的）people.One example is locking, which is often regarded as being started by Don Campbell, who was a 1970s pioneer of American street dance.Most of the time it is impossible to owe street dances to specific people, since the dances evolve outside of professional dance environments, and there is no social or legal record.Street dance pioneers also rarely have professional degrees in dance, thus distinguishing street dances from other modern dance forms.

1. Paragraph 1 is intended to tell us the _________of street dances.

A．varieties	B．changes
C．characteristics	D．distributions

2. What do we know about street dances?

A．Dancers perform them in dance studios.

B．They are developed by professional dancers.

C．They are collected from different moves and styles.

D．Dancers create moves based on other people’s moves.

3. Chinese Whispers are mentioned in Paragraph 2 to_________.

A．stress a street dancer's own style

B．show the effect of Chinese Whispers

C．introduce a popular Chinese game

D．explain the characteristics of street dances

4. The passage is probably taken from__________.

A．a travel journal

B．a history textbook

C．a popular magazine

D．a museum brochure

8 . Transportation and communication networks bring people together. Yet sometimes people themselves create barriers(障碍) to transportation and communication. In some countries, laws stop people from moving freely from place to place. Over the centuries, many groups of people have been denied the freedom to travel because of their race, religion, or nationality. In the Middle Ages, for example, Jews were often forbidden to move about freely within certain cities. South Africa's government used to require black Africans to carry passes when they travel within the country. Some governments require all citizens to carry identification papers and to report to government officials whenever they move.
Countries set up customs posts at their borders. Foreign travellers must go through a customs inspection before they are allowed to travel in the country. Usually travellers have to carry special papers such as passports and visas(签证). Some countries even limit the number of visitors to their country each year.   Others allow tourists to visit only certain areas of the country, or they may require that travellers be with an official guide at all times during their stay.
Many of those barriers to travel also act as barriers to communication.
When two governments disagree with each other on important matters, they usually do not want their citizens to exchange news or ideas freely. Countries often try to keep military or industrial information secret.
Today, people have the ability to travel, to communicate, and to transport goods more quickly and easily than ever before. Natural barriers that were difficult or dangerous to cross a hundred years ago can now be crossed easily. The barriers that people themselves make are not so easy to overcome. But in spite of all the different kinds of barriers, people continue to enjoy travel and the exchange of goods and ideas.
1. The examples in paragraph 1 are used to tell the readers that _______

A．people have been allowed to travel freely within the country

B．people have not been permitted to travel freely for various reasons

C．travellers have to carry special papers such as passports and visas

D．customs posts are necessary at the borders of the countries

2. Some governments limit the freedom of communication because___

A．they intend to keep their national secrets unknown to others

B．they think such freedom will lead to wars

C．they often disagree with each other on important matters

D．they want to show their authority over communication

3. We may learn from the passage that _______

A．people do not care about the removal of barriers between countries

B．people can not remove the obstacles made by themselves

C．man-made barriers are sometimes harder to overcome than natural ones

D．barriers should be taken for granted as they always exist

4. Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage?

A．Barriers Made by People

B．Functions of Communication

C．Restrictions on Transportation

D．Progress of Human Society

9 . Basketball Statistician Help Wanted

The Athletic Department is looking for students to help assist staff during the Fall 2016, Winter 2016-17 and Spring 2017 semesters. Students in this position will be keeping live statistics during basketball games. Students must meet all of the following requirements:

•Good computer skills

•Available evenings and weekends

•Knowing basketball rules and statistics

Students interested in working for the Athletic Department should contact the Athletic Coordinator at their respective(各自的) campuses.

•TP/SS Athletic Coordinator, Michael Simone, 240-567-1308

•Rockville Athletic Coordinator, Jorge Zuniga, 240-567-7589

•Springfield Athletic Coordinator, Gary Miller, 240-567-2273

•Germantown Athletic Coordinator, Gauri Chavan, 240-567-6915

1. When will the job start?

A．In May 2016.	B．In May 2017.
C．In September 2016.	D．In September 2017.

2. Who is more likely to get the job?

A．Sam, English major, member of the college basketball team.

B．Judy, IT staff with night classes, children’s basketball team coach.

C．Ted, computer major, basketball fan, free on evenings and weekends.

D．Molly, part-time programmer, high school basketball player, new mother.

3. Whom should you contact if you want to apply for the job in Rockville?

A．Michael.	B．Jorge.
C．Gauri.	D．Gary.

10 . Dear Guys,

I’d like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory: You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That’s when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.

One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly (勉强地) agreed.

Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn’t have a chance to mention last night: I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I’m bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request.

However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, and threw it as hard as I could.

It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.

Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, and then picked up the ball again. If you’ll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.

The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.

This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn’t it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.

Seeing that you weren’t going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel.

Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.

“Throw it granny-style!” one of you said.

“Just back up a little and give it all you’ve got!” another offered.

And, most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”

I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.

Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.

It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.

I surprised myself—and I’m sure you as well—by letting out a cry, “DAMN IT!!!” I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I’d be put out of my misery.

Alas, the heart attack didn’t happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link: “Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?”

Unfortunately for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period were just enough blows for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, “Please just come get the damn ball.”

And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.

Sincerely,

Jen Cordery

1. The writer agreed to throw the ball because ______.

A．she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries

B．she wanted to refresh her childhood memories

C．she could not refuse the polite request from the young man

D．she had fallen in love with the young man at first sight

2. Which of the following is closet in meaning to the underlined word “game”?

A．anxious

B．brave

C．afraid

D．curious

3. Why did the writer mention her middle school memory?

A．To explain why she failed the attempts to throw the ball back.

B．To complain that she had not mastered the ball throwing skills.

C．To show how cruel those 13-year-old boys were.

D．To express her dislike towards softball.

4. What the boys said before the writer’s third attempt actually made the writer ________.

A．inspired

B．encouraged

C．awkward

D．depressed

5. What happened to the ball at last?

A．The writer managed to throw the ball back.

B．The boy got the ball back by himself.

C．The writer threw the ball away out of anger.

D．The boys got angry and left without the ball.

6. What’s the writer’s purpose in writing this open letter?

A．To express her regret over what she did the day before.

B．To announce that she would never play all games again.

C．To joke on her inability to throw the ball over the fence.

D．To criticize the young men for their cruelty to her dignity.