1 . I’ve been taking time this week to stop and smell the roses. Literally, I bend over in my neighbors’ front yard, check that nobody is watching, and then bury my head in the flowers.

I’ve also been walking into bakeries, walking around without buying anything.

After having surgery on my broken nose 18 months ago, I haven’t been able to smell or taste things.

This week, however, my nose is back in business.

I’ve been overwhelmed by smells, and it’s given me a new way of thinking. A pleasant smell is just one of the little bits and pieces that make life enjoyable, but which we often ignore. I remember once, when my son was five months old, I was carrying him down the street. Wind swept through and almost tipped us over. He threw his little head back and giggled. He’d never felt the wind on his face. When is the last time I laughed at the weather?

The first time I ate bacon, I rushed home to my parents, determined that we ate this deliciousness at every meal. My father smiled and agreed.

We don’t write postcards about the small things. We don’t frame them in photographs. They aren’t that great or grand, but without them, life is altogether too loud. These quiet experiences give us a chance to enjoy the simple fact of being alive.

As my sense of smell returns to me, it’s like I’m smelling things for the first time. They’re full of memories and magic. Food tastes better, and the air is indeed sweet. I know what the poets mean now. It almost makes my broken nose worthwhile. Now, I am waiting for this bandage to come off. There’s an itch I can’t reach!

1. With the first two paragraphs, the writer mainly tries to      .

A．give examples of how she kills time	B．show that she loves doing secret things
C．get readers to wonder about her behavior	D．discuss new ways on how to enjoy spare time

2. What does the underline phrase “a new way of thinking” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．A habit of overcoming ignorance.

B．A habit of giving personal consideration.

C．An ability to fully use our limited attention.

D．An ability to discover the pleasure of small things.

3. The tone of the story is      .

A．lively

B．sad

C．calm

D．serious

2 . For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?

Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.

In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

1. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

A．Both are about where to draw the line.

B．Both can continue for generations.

C．Neither has any clear winner.

D．Neither can be put to an end.

2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents.

B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict.

C．The teens cause their parents of misleading them.

D．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict.

3. Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ______.

A．give orders to the other

B．know more than the other

C．gain respect from the other

D．get the other to behave properly

4. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A．Solutions for the parent-teen problems.

B．Examples of the parent-teen war.

C．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts.

D．Future of the parent-teen relationship.

3 . It's tough to see or hear of a friend in crisis. One idea to keep in mind is that it is healthy for the distressed person to feel what he or she feels in the moment. When a person in crisis feels understood, he or she feels less alone and connected to the person who understands.

A person who experiences empathy(同理心)from a friend who can “go there”for a few minutes in order to authentically understand while still maintaining a strong and supportive attitude may be relieving and healing. While a friend is telling you about the circumstance, the first and most important step is to listen for feelings, not ways to solve the problem.

For example, a friend is terribly upset because her husband is threatening to leave her. After fully honoring the feelings, it is important to ask the friend what would help. Maybe it is a good cry and some ice cream. Perhaps it's a glass of wine and a walk. Everyone has different ways of dealing. Be respectful and ask the friend what she needs or wants, not what you prescribe.

Take a second example, say a close friend is being misrepresented by other friends. The friends are gossiping about her. During a conversation with her, listen for feelings. Honor her hurt and shock. The same equation is useful with a partner.

Helping a friend or partner in crisis not only helps the person, but creates closeness and trust in the relationship, making opening up in the probable future. In addition, the person who is empathizing feels positive because he or she was able to help. When a person is truly able to comfort and reassure a loved one, he or she feels vital and useful, strengthening the relationship.

1. What should we do first when we know a friend is in crisis？

A．Keep away from him/her.

B．Buy him/her a glass of wine.

C．Understand how he/she feels.

D．Show him/her ways to solve the problem.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 3 refer to？

A．A way to solve the crisis.	B．A way to relieve a bad mood.
C．A way to listen for feelings.	D．A way to honor the feelings.

3. How does the author prove his/her idea？

A．By listing data.	B．By quoting sayings.
C．By giving examples.	D．By conducting surveys.

4. What does the text mainly talk about？

A．How to keep a loved one.	B．How to make new friends.
C．How to work with your partner.	D．How to help a friend in trouble.

4 . Tromso：the Arctic's most cosmopolitan（国际的）city

Tromso is a cosmopolitan place defined by pubs, a lively music scene and an events calendar that includes everything from traditional native festivals to the Arctic's largest pride celebration.

Mild temperatures and a 2-month-long night

Tromso, about 70, 000 permanent residents, has relatively mild temperatures, which might help explain Tromso’s current popularity as an Arctic destination. Like other places in the Arctic, Tromso experiences polar night, during which the sun never rises above the horizon. Polar night does have several hours of dark during the“daytime”, even on the shortest day of the year.

A gateway to the Arctic

Some people come here to cross"the Arctic"off their life list. For domestic tourists as well as international visitors, the attractions include the chance to go skiing in the mountains right outside the city. If you aren't a ski-jumping fan, the city also has some of the world's northernmost professional sports activities for you to take part in, including a soccer team that plays in Norway's top league. Snowshoeing, dogsledding and winter hiking are also on the agenda.

One of Europe's coolest music destinations

There are regular traditional music concerts in the Tromso Cathedral. The weekend-long Insomnia Festival takes place here each October and the DJ Music Festival each November. Though it began as（and remains） an electronic music festival, other genres （流派）from Norway and Europe are also represented.

Wintertime events and festivals

After the sun returns in January, Tromso hosts Sami Week to celebrate the region's native people. Films, reindeer racing and other cultural events are part of the activities. The Arctic Pride takes place each November in Tromso, calling itself the Northernmost Pride Festival in the world. It features lectures, shows, a parade, parties and concerts.

1. Why is Tromso popular as an Arctic destination according to the text？

A．It can broaden people's horizon.

B．The climate there agrees with tourists.

C．The shortest daytime appears there.

D．It has the same polar night as other polar cities.

2. What can travellers probably do in Tromso？

A．Go skiing right inside the city.

B．Enjoy electronic music just from India.

C．Play soccer with some professional athletes.

D．Go hiking with their friends at home and abroad.

3. In which activity or festival public speakers are needed？

A．The Arctic Pride.	B．The Sami Week.
C．The Insomnia Festival.	D．The DJ Music Festival.

5 . For thousands of years, salting was a common way to preserve food. Corned beef (咸牛肉）, bacon, green beans, and hundreds of other foods were preserved with salt.    1     Then, in the 1800s, a Frenchman named Louis Pasteur discovered the secret: bacteria.

What does salt have to do with bacteria? Two things: First, bacteria need moisture (水分）to grow and multiply. Salt pulls moisture out of food, so the bacteria die.     2     If you cover food with salt or very salty liquid, bacteria outside the food die before they get in, and bacteria already in the food are poisoned by the salt that goes inside.

    3     For meat or fish,you pour on a layer of salt, then rub it in well, leaving a salt crust (盾）all over the outside. Hams are often made this way. Another way is to put food into very salty water, called brine (卤水）.    4     The salt will draw the moisture out of the food, creating a kind of brine that the food sits in.

Today, in most parts of the world, salting, is no longer necessary.     5     But even though we no longer rely on salt to keep our food fresh, we haven’t lost our taste for salt. We don’t want to give up our bacon, corned beef or salted beans.

A．So how do you preserve food with salt?

B．Next, it can make food too salty to eat.

C．Second, salt is poisonous to many bacteria.

D．But for a long time, no one knew why salt worked.

E．You can alternate layers of food and salt in a big jar.

F．People buy food in cans, keep it in the refrigerator, or freeze it.

G．They use salt to preserve meat, fish, vegetables, and even fruit.

6 . Picture this: You’re playing soccer with friends. As you kick the ball, you realize the bottom of your foot feels cold and wet. You turn your sneaker up to look at the sole (鞋底). A big crack(裂缝) is letting water from the ground in. When you get home, you throw your ruined sneakers away.

Now imagine another ending to the story. You don’t throw the sneakers away. Instead, you push the two sides of the cracked sole together so they’re touching. You leave the sneaker in a warm spot. A few hours later, the crack disappears.

Thanks to Qiming Wang, a professor at the University of Southern California, a self-healing (自我修复的) sneaker sole could soon become reality. Wang and his team have invented 3D printable rubber that could fix itself. When it’s exposed to heat, it causes a chemical reaction that bonds its atoms back together. The material could be used to3D print not only sneaker soles, but also toys, bike tires, even satellites.

To 3D print a self-healing object, the first step is to make a model of it on the computer. The model is “divided” into 100 smaller pictures. This first picture is projected onto a thin laver (层) of the rubber, which starts as a liquid. The rubber takes on the shape of the picture, and the light from the projection turns it from liquid to solid. The next picture is projected on another layer of liquid rubber on top of the first one. The final, complete shape is built up layer by layer like this.

Many footwear companies want to buy this technology. First, though, Wang and his team have to try to make the material in different levels of hardness. Wang thinks it will take two or three years for their material to show up in shoes we buy in stores.

One exciting thing about the special rubber is the amount of waste it can reduce, Plus, it can self-heal “more than 10 times”. When it can’t heal anymore, it can be recycled.

1. How does the author introduce the topic?

A．By asking questions for readers to think about.

B．By presenting a possible situation in our life.

C．By telling an interesting story about himself.

D．By comparing different research findings.

2. What is the key to the self-healing process?

A．Proper temperature.

B．Strong light.

C．Enough water.

D．Fresh air.

3. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The process of 3D printing a self-healing object.

B．The steps to make the self-healing rubber.

C．The material of self-healing objects.

D．The advantages of 3D printing.

4. What do we know about the special rubber?

A．It has a high price.

B．It is environment-friendly.

C．It has a very short usage period.

D．It is being tried by footwear companies.

7 . Nanny (保姆)Positions

Applicant Requirements:

·Be at least 21 years of age.

·Have a minimum of 3 years of private in-home childcare experience.

·Provide phone and e-mail information for 2 recent childcare employment references.

·Provide current US work authorization.

·Be able to make a minimum one-year commitment.

Battery Park

Here is the schedule: Monday 2:30 pm—6:30 pm, Tuesday 4:30 pm—6:30pm, Wednesday 3:30 pm—6:30pm, Friday 7:30 am—6:30 pm. Children include 2 girls and a boy. Responsibilities include children’s care, playful engagement (参与)and organization of their spaces and belongings, children’s laundry and evening baths.

Brooklyn

The schedule is Tuesday to Friday from 11 am—7 pm. One 6-month-old boy. Responsibilities are all related to the baby and his care. You'll monitor and promote his continued strong development, provide clothing care and healthy meal options. Please like cats; they have an animal friend.

Forest Hills

The schedule is Monday to Friday from 2:15 pm—7:15 pm. A boy aged 9 and a girl aged 5. Responsibilities include school pick-ups, homework help, children’s meal preparation and keeping the common areas tidy. There are no pets, no travel and there is a weekly housekeeper for deep cleaning.

The Upper East Side (UES)

The schedule is Monday to Thursday from 2:30 pm—8 pm and Fridays from around noon—7:30 pm. Children include a 3-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl. Responsibilities are all child-related and a willingness to work alongside the full-time nanny to help with meal preparation. Must swim and drive.

For more information, please call 1-212-333-6411.

1. What is required of all applicants?

A．Living in the US for three years.

B．Working as a nanny for at least one year.

C．Working for no less than 30 hours per week.

D．Offering former employers’ phone numbers.

2. When is the working time for the Battery Park position?

A．Monday morning.

B．Tuesday morning.

C．Wednesday morning.

D．Friday morning.

3. What is a responsibility for the UES position?

A．Taking care of a cat.

B．Helping prepare meals.

C．Cleaning the house thoroughly.

D．Picking up children after school.

8 . Over the past 20 years, Zhang Bi has donated her blood more than 130 times to help people in need.

Zhang, 44, an employee of a company in Yichang, Hubei province, first donated blood in 1998 while studying at Wuhan University of Technology. “It was in the summer when I was with my classmates, and medical workers were promoting the idea of voluntary blood donations, ” she recalled. To mark her upcoming graduation with a degree in international trade and commerce, she decided to donate 200 milliliters of blood. “In fact, I was jittery at first, ”she said. “But with the nurse explaining things and providing guidance, I gained basic knowledge and finally calmly finished the blood donation.”

After graduation, she began to donate blood once or twice a year. In May 2001, an incident touched Zhang and deepened her understanding of voluntary blood donation. Her brother, a traffic policeman, was attacked and got hurt in a lung after dealing with an illegally operated motorcycle. He suffered blood loss and needed massive blood, but for lack of supplies in the blood bank, all the police officers in the city volunteered to donate blood. “Finally, with the help of the volunteers, my brother was saved, ”she said.

From then on, she began to donate blood every six months, the maximum allowed, according to the Blood Donation Law. In 2006, Zhang's father had a heart surgery and needed blood. Zhang had donated so much blood that she had earned enough “credits” for receiving the blood her father needed from the blood center.

Yi Xiaomei, an official at the Yichang Blood Center, said there are more than 400 regular blood donors in the city. “They have made great contributions to blood donation in the city, ” Yi said. “Zhang Bi, as a typical example, tries her best to guarantee the quality and quantity of blood.” Zhang said donating blood is not only good for the recipient Abut improves her own mental and physical well-being. “I hope I can continue as long as my physical condition can meet the donor requirements, ”she said.

1. What does the underlined word “jittery” mean in paragraph 2？

A．Excited.	B．Curious.
C．Nervous.	D．Embarrassed.

2. What played an important part in saving Zhang Bi’s brother？

A．The blood in the blood bank.

B．The help of the police officers.

C．Zhang Bi’s donation of blood.

D．The contribution of an official at the Blood Center.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph？

A．Blood Center has no limit in donating blood.

B．Yichang has the best and most blood donors in China.

C．Blood donors make a little money from blood donation.

D．Donating blood benefits both the recipient and the donor.

4. What's the best title for the text？

A．A Blood Donor Proves Love not in Vain.

B．Our Society Needs Women's Contribution.

C．An Accident Changed a Traffic Policeman.

D．Blood Donors Promoted Voluntary Blood Donation.

9 . I was 16 years old the day I skipped school for the first time. It was easily done: Both my parents left for work before my school bus arrived on weekdays, so when it showed up at my house on that cold winter morning, I simply did not get on. The perfect crime!

And what did I do with myself on that glorious stolen day, with no adult in charge and no limits on my activities? Did I get high? Hit the mall for a shoplifting extravaganza (狂欢)?

Nope. I built a warm fire in the wood stove, prepared a bowl of popcorn, grabbed a blanket, and read. I was thrilled and transported by a book—it was Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises—and I just needed to be alone with it for a little while. I ached to know what would happen to Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley and Robert Cohn. I couldn’t bear the thought of sitting in a classroom taking another biology exam when I could be traveling through Spain in the 1920s with a bunch of expatriates (异乡客).

I spent that day lost in words. Time fell away, as the room around me turned to mist, and my role—as a daughter, sister, teenager, and student—in the world no longer had any meaning. I had accidentally come across the key to perfect happiness: I had become completely absorbed by something I loved.

Looking back on it now, I can see that some subtle things were happening to my mind and to my life while I was in that state of absorption. Hemingway’s language was quietly braiding itself into my imagination. I was downloading information about how to create simple and elegant sentences, a good and solid plot. In other words, I was learning how to write. Without realizing it, I was hot on the trail of my own fate. Writing now absorbs me the way reading once did and happiness is their generous side effect.

1. Why did the author skip school on that day?

A．Because her parents left home early.	B．Because it was a cold winter morning.
C．Because she was fascinated by a novel.	D．Because she hated to take the biology exam.

2. What did the author think is the source of true joy?

A．Reading by the fire.	B．Travelling in Spain.
C．Breaking the regulations.	D．Being occupied by one’s passion.

3. Which can best replace the underlined phrase “braiding itself into” in the last paragraph?

A．Entering.	B．Destroying.
C．Mending.	D．Blocking.

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．I was tired of my real-life roles.

B．I learnt how to write on the internet.

C．Hemingway skipped school when he was young.

D．Becoming a writer was my childhood dream.

10 . A new Japanese research has suggested that regularly eating mushrooms could help lower the risk of cancer. The researchers found that the men who consumed mushrooms once or twice a week had an 8 percent lower risk of developing cancer, regardless of how much fruit and vegetables, or meat and dairy products they ate—compared to those who ate mushrooms less than once per week. Eating mushrooms more often appeared to bring even bigger benefits, with those who consumed mushrooms three or more times per week showing a 17 percent lower risk than those who ate mushrooms less than once a week.

Eating mushrooms also appeared to be particularly beneficial among those who ate a large amount of meat and dairy products, little fruit and few vegetables. The findings, published in the International Journal of Cancer, are the first to suggest that there may be an association between eating mushrooms and a lower risk of cancer.

“Test-tube studies and studies conducted on living organisms have shown that mushrooms have the potential to prevent cancer” said lead researcher Shu Zhang. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study indicating the cancer-preventive potential of mushrooms at a population level.” Zhang added that, “mushrooms are a good source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, especially L-ergothioneine,” which is believed to help fight against stress, and that is cell imbalance caused by lifestyle choices such as poor diets and exposure to environmental poisons. This imbalance can lead to chronic inflammation, resulting in chronic diseases such as cancer.

“Considering the average American consumes less than 5 grams of mushrooms per day, which is lower than that consumed by the participants in this study (7.6 g/day), one would expect that even a small increase in mushroom consumption can offer potential health benefits,” said Zhang. However, Zhang added that, “Although our study suggests regular consumption of mushrooms may reduce the risk of cancer, we also want to emphasize that eating a healthy and balanced diet is much more important than filling your shopping basket with mushrooms.”

1. What is the new Japanese research about?

A．Healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of cancer.

B．Often eating mushrooms reduces the risk of cancer.

C．Drinking dairy products is good for our health.

D．Eating fruit and vegetables makes us healthier.

2. Who seem to especially benefit from eating mushrooms?

A．People who are over fat and having a poor diet.

B．People who are feeling over stressed.

C．People who consume much meat but few vegetables and little fruit.

D．People who consume many dairy products and suffer cancer.

3. Why can the mushroom help reduce the risk of cancer?

A．It avoids the stress from a disease.

B．It reduces environmental poisons.

C．It hell helps reduce weight.

D．It has a source of cancer-preventive.

4. What does the underlined word “inflammation” probably means?

A．A state of being physically healthy.

B．A state of keeping body balance.

C．A physical condition that someone needs to be on a diet.

D．A condition that a part of the body becomes red, sore and swollen.