1 . A five-year-old dog named Kelsey has been praised as a hero for helping to save the life of her owner who slipped in the snow and broke his neck.
The man, Bob, was alone when he left his farmhouse on New Year’s Eve to collect firewood.Expecting a journey of only several meters, Bob was wearing just long johns (衬裤), a shirt and slippers when he went outside, although the temperature was around －4℃.
After the accident, he was unable to move in the snow. Fortunately, Kelsey came to his assistance.
“I was shouting for help, but my nearest neighbor is about 400 meters away, and it was 10:30 p. m.,” Bob explained. “By the next morning, my voice was gone and I couldn’t yell for help, but Kelsey didn’t stop barking.”
Kelsey’s companion kept him warm by lying on top of him. She licked his face and hands to keep him awake. “Kelsey kept barking but never left my side,” Bob recalled. “I knew I couldn’t give up and that it was my choice to stay alive.”
Bob spent 20 hours in the freezing cold. When he finally lost consciousness, his dog kept barking. Finally, hearing the barking, Bob’s neighbor discovered him at 6:30 p. m. on New Year’s Day and called the emergency services at once. When Bob arrived in hospital, his body temperature was below 21℃. However, doctors were surprised to find that he didn’t have any frostbite (冻疮). They believed it was because of Kelsey’s determination to keep him warm. Dr. Chaim Colen, the doctor who treated Bob, said, “His dog really saved him.He was very fortunate.”
Bob said he was very grateful to both Dr. Colen and his Kelsey. “They saved my life. They are truly heroes!”
1. What happened to Bob on New Year’s Eve?| A．He left his dog alone in his farmhouse. |
| B．He was praised for saving a dog owner. |
| C．He broke his neck and couldn’t move. |
| D．He heard his neighbor’s shouting for help. |
| A．To keep warm. |
| B．To stay alive. |
| C．To keep Bob awake. |
| D．To seek help from others. |
| A．Helpful. | B．Fortunate. |
| C．Grateful. | D．Friendly. |
| A．A Neckbreaking Accident |
| B．The Magic Night |
| C．Warmth on a Winter’s Night |
| D．Determination to Keep Alive |
2 . Thirteen-year-old Kaylee has a lot of friends — 532, actually, if you count up her online friends. And she spends a lot of time with them.
But is it possible that Kaylee’s online friendships could be making her lonely? That’s what some experts believe. Connecting online is a great way to stay in touch, they say. However, some experts worry that many kids are so busy connecting online that they might be missing out on true friendships.
Could this be true? During your parents’ childhoods, connecting with friends usually meant spending time with them in the flesh. Kids played Scrabble around a table, not Words With Friends on their phones. When friends missed each other, they picked up the telephone. Friends might even write letters to each other.
Today, most communication takes place online. A typical teen sends 2,000 texts a month and spends more than 44 hours per week in front of a screen. Much of this time is spent on social media platforms (平台).
In fact, in many ways, online communication can make friendships stronger, “There’s definitely a positive influence. Kids can stay in constant contact, which means they can share more of their feelings with each other,” says Katie Davis, co-author of The App Generation.
Other experts, however, warn that too much online communication can get in the way of forming deep friendships. “If we are constantly checking in with our virtual words, we will have little time for our real-world friendships.” says Larry Rosen, a professor at California State University. Rosen also worries that today’s kids might mistake the “friends” on the social media for true friends in life. However, in tough times, you don’t need someone to like your picture or share your blogs. You need someone who will keep your secrets and hold your hand. You would like to talk face to face.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To summarize the text. | B．To tell about true friends. |
| C．To bring up a discussion. | D．To encourage online friendship. |
| A．In person. | B．In advance. | C．In any case. | D．In full measure. |
| A．Worried. | B．Positive. | C．Confused. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．It’s wise to turn to friends online. |
| B．It’s easier to develop friendships in reality. |
| C．Social media help people stay closely connected. |
| D．Teenagers need focus on real-world friendships. |
3 . Running is often tiring and a lot of hard work, but nothing beats the feeling you get after finishing a long workout around the track.
But while it’s long been believed that endorphins (内啡肽) —chemicals in the body that cause happiness—are behind the so-called “runner’s high”, a study suggested that there may be more to this phenomenon than we previously knew.
According to a recent study published by a group of scientists from several German universities, a group of chemicals called endocannabinoids (内源性大麻素) may actually be responsible for this familiar great feeling.
To test this theory, the scientists turned to mice. Both mice and humans release high levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids after exercise. After exercising on running wheels, the mice seemed happy and relaxed and displayed no signs of anxiety. But after being given a drug to block their endorphins, the mice’s behavior didn’t seem to change. However, when their endocannabinoids were blocked with a different drug, their runners’ high symptoms seemed to fade.
“The long-held notion of endorphins being responsible for the runner’s high is false. Endorphins are effective pain relievers, but only when it comes to the pain in your body and muscles you feel after working out,” Patrick Lucas Austin wrote on science blog Lifchacker.
Similar studies are yet to be carried out on humans, but it’s already known that exercise is a highly effective way to get rid of stress or anxiety. The UK’s National Health Service even prescribes (开药 方) exercise to patients who are suffering from depression. “Being depressed can leave you feeling low in energy, which might put you off being more active. Regular exercise can improve your mood if you have depression, and its especially useful for people with mild to moderate (中等的) depression,” it wrote on its website.
It seems like nothing can beat that feeling we get after a good workout, even if we don’t fully understand where it comes from. At least if we’re feeling down, we know that all we have to do is to put on our running shoes.
1. What did scientists from German universities recently discover?| A．Working out is a highly effective way to treat depression. |
| B．The runner’s high could be caused by endocannabinoids. |
| C．Endorphins may contribute to one’s high spirits after running. |
| D．The level of endorphins and endocannabinoids could affect one’s mood. |
| A．To find what reduces the runner’s high symptoms. |
| B．To see the specific symptoms of the runner’s high. |
| C．To identify what is responsible for the runner’s high. |
| D．To test what influences the level of endocannabinoids released. |
| A．Effect. | B．Goal. | C．Opinion. | D．Question |
| A．They can help ease depression symptoms. |
| B．They are the best way to treat depression. |
| C．They only work for those with serious depression. |
| D．They can help people completely recover from depression. |
4 . Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer (征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm－hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
1. What does the author tell us in Paragraph 1?| A．How the Irish fought against the English. |
| B．How Ireland gained independence. |
| C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. |
| D．How two “Irelands” came into being. |
| A．food shortages and a lack of work in the 1840s led to a decline in population |
| B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside |
| C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker |
| D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments |
| A．the Irish character | B．the Irish culture |
| C．Irish musical instruments | D．a famous Irish writer |
| A．Life in Ireland | B．A Very Difficult History |
| C．Ireland, Past and Present | D．The Independence of Ireland |
5 . Rain beat against the window, matching my mood. I should have known that my new job at the hospital was too good to be true. Throughout the day, rumors (传言) warned that the newest employee from each department would be laid off. I was the newest one in the training department.
My boss appeared. “You probably know we’re cutting back,” he said. “Administration wants us to offer outplacement classes to help those employees find other jobs, showing them how to act in an interview, for example.” “Fine,” I answered unwillingly, not knowing what else to say.
I decided to go home early that day. In the hall, I met the lady who brought us cookies every Friday. She was a little woman with gray hair. Only her head and the top of her green apron (围裙) were visible over the cart (小车) loaded with cleaning supplies. At least she had a job!
At the final meeting, laid-off workers formed a line at the door. A colleague whispered, “I can’t believe our Cookie Lady is being laid off. We’ll miss her as much as we’ll miss her cookies.” When the colleague spoke to her in Spanish, I knew my classes would be useless for her and I realized how much better off I was than this poor woman.
I decided to do something for her. I wrote to a newspaper expressing how I felt about the unselfishness of the Cookie Lady who needed a job. A few days later, my article appeared in the newspaper and the Cookie Lady was allowed to stay in her position. On the same day, I received a letter, which seemed so unlikely that I read it twice. “An editor of a local magazine likes your piece and wants you to call her next time you’re looking for work…”
1. How did the author feel on that rainy day?| A．Nervous. | B．Excited. | C．Embarrassed. | D．Proud. |
| A．Take care of patients. | B．Leave earlier that day. |
| C．Help the laid-off workers. | D．Give up the job in the hospital. |
| A．He offered her a high-paid job. | B．He gave her advice on job hunting. |
| C．He made her story known to others. | D．He taught her how to pass an interview. |
| A．Good deeds have their rewards. |
| B．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| C．Little people can make a big difference. |
| D．Love brings more joy to people than work does. |
6 . In the past decade, the use of social media has grown in a way that no one could have guessed. It has turned some teenagers into celebrities and turned the famous into the infamous, overnight.
A key feature of social media, however, is its volatility. Trends come and go, disappearing almost as quickly as they appeared.
Short video apps such as TikTok and its Chinese equivalent (等同物) Douyin, took the world by storm. The Telegraph reported that TikTok was ranked 8th on Apple’s App Store in April. And Douyin had more than 300 million domestic monthly active users in June, CNBC said.
Why are these short videos — which are rarely longer than a few minutes — so popular? Jiang Yige, Singapore-based analyst at FengHe Fund Management, has a theory. “Short videos are just right to fill in the little gaps in our busy schedules,” he told CNBC.
These videos — apart from being very convenient — are important to teenagers because they allow them to express themselves, according to Teen Vogue.
Liza Koshy, a user of the US app Musical, who has over 2 million followers, said, “The sense of community that users of short video apps get is another appealing feature.”
Live streaming (直播) is a feature of our social media life that now seems as natural as sunrise. It’s a pretty neat idea: You can watch anyone, anywhere, live. However, China has taken live streaming to a whole new level. In China, more than 100 million viewers monthly watch a live streaming video. Forbes thought that a number of factors had led to the popularity of the live streaming. Among them is viewers’ ability to interact with unknown names.
However, the quick development of social media may be having side effects too. Fake news is one serious problem it causes. Materials shared on these platforms are often not checked for accuracy. The most basic content can be false and can mislead users one way or another. We use social media all the time, which doesn’t mean that we understand the influence it is having on us. We should be mindful of both the time we spend on it and its impact on our minds.
1. What does the underlined word “volatility” in Paragraph 2 possibly mean?| A．Being changeable. | B．Being steady. |
| C．Being promising. | D．Being violent. |
| A．They are very convenient. | B．They help people kill time. |
| C．They provide a sense of community. | D．They allow people to express themselves. |
| A．The information from social media is totally reliable. |
| B．When it comes to social media, people only know short videos. |
| C．People can’t communicate with each other without social media. |
| D．There is still much room for social media to make improvement. |
| A．Objective. | B．Subjective. |
| C．Favourable. | D．Disapproving. |
7 . Mobile phones and iPads are now wonderful tools for learning and teaching English. With the help of the thousands of education and language apps available online, students can make effective use of them to learn in an interactive environment. Given below is a list of some of the best apps for learning and teaching English.
Grammar Up
Grammar is the heart of any language and, thus, the Grammar Up app is one of the most highly recommended apps for English learners. This app is specifically designed for people who want to improve their grammar, vocabulary and word selection. It consists of more than 1,800 multiple－choice questions grouped under twenty different grammar categories.
iFPoems
iFPoems is a fantastic app for poetry lovers. This app consists of a great collection of poems from famous poets around the world. It also allows users to save their favorites along with recording their own readings of the poems.
iBooks
iBooks is a complete book library for the iPad users. It includes the iBookstore and allows users to download and read books. The app features a beautiful bookshelf, on which you can browse various books or even add notes to your favorite paragraphs in the book. You can also create your own texts and upload them into the app.
SpeakingPal
Recommended as one of the best apps for English educators and learners, SpeakingPal allows you to record your speech and compare it with a native English speaker. This amazing app combines video with automatic speech recognition software that tests your English speaking skills. You just have to speak with a video character and get immediate response on how well you speak English.
1. What do these apps have in common?| A．They can be found online. |
| B．They are free of charge. |
| C．They improve users’ grammar. |
| D．They’re designed by teachers. |
| A．Download books for free. |
| B．Write notes on it with pens. |
| C．Save notes and texts. |
| D．Create a bookstore. |
| A．It offers video call service. |
| B．It evaluates users’ speech. |
| C．It offers talks with a native speaker. |
| D．It includes English speaking contests. |
8 . Every family goes through its ups and downs. Most often, the root cause of this situation is the lack of communication.
Lack of patience can be one of the biggest factors. If people are not patient with their parents or children or other members, the levels of closeness will be weakened. And it can be quite difficult for a bad-tempered child, or even a bad-tempered parent to deal with the problems.
Lack of time for family members is always a reason leading to the problems.
Lack of discipline is the worst problem in terms of children.
If the solutions to the problems are OK, all these problems can be easily solved. If lack of patience is one of the problems, obviously the solution is to develop the virtue of patience. You’d better hear out what the children have to say on a certain matter, or even consult them about their significant ideas.
It would be natural to see childish behavior of the younger members of a family but it is up to the elders to control the atmosphere and keep it calm.
The above are some of the most common problems that most families face. So it is important to maintain the best relations with your family, because family is the strongest support system for you.
| A．Everyone has a say in each family meeting |
| B．By doing this, you can avoid a coming quarrel |
| C．A badly behaved child can ruin the peace of a family |
| D．the elder should talk things out instead of keeping silent |
| E．Don’t discuss the family problems when you’re still feeling upset |
| F．With the development of society, all people face fierce challenge and competition |
| G．There are some common factors that lead to communication problems in the family |
9 . The effect of climate change extends beyond ruining Earth’s environment and our physical safety. A report published this week suggests that climate change has a negative effect on our mental health, too.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States(PNAS), links an increase in monthly temperatures to a rise in mental health issues. The experimental evidence stems from meteorological (气象的) data paired with information collected from nearly 2 million randomly sampled residents in the United States. The data was collected over the span (跨度) of a decade.
“We find that experiences with hotter temperatures and added rainfall each worsen mental health, that long-lasting warming associates with an increased popularity of mental health issues, and that exposure to tropical cyclones(热带气旋), likely to increase in frequency in the future, is linked to worsened mental health,” authors of the study stated. “These results provide added large-scale evidence to the growing link between climate change and mental health.”
The report specifically focused on mental health outcomes due to the effects of environmental stress - such as temperature, rainfall, and tropical cyclones - but other climate change-related issues are likely to affect mental health as well - specifically, the stress and anxiety of knowing natural disasters could be more frequent as temperatures rise.
1. From the newly-published report, we learn that the climate change may _________.| A．save a lot of people’s lives |
| B．cause unbelievable disasters |
| C．influence people’s mental health |
| D．greatly change people’s life styles |
| A．To stress the importance of the study. |
| B．To show that the study cost too much money. |
| C．To explain the difficulties and hardships of the study. |
| D．to indicate that the study is objective and believable. |
| A．In Paragraph 1 | B．In Paragraph 2 |
| C．In Paragraph 3 | D．In Paragraph 4 |
| A．The study has its limits. |
| B．The results of the study aren’t satisfactory. |
| C．The environmental problems can’t be solved. |
| D．Mental health is determined by climate change. |
10 . Fire ants tunnels got dug efficiently by only a small percentage of the group doing most of the work. Freeloaders, they just sit around while their hard-working colleagues get things done. But might freeloaders actually be necessary for society to function efficiently? The answer could be yes — at least when it comes to fire ants and their efforts to dig nests underground.
Fire ants are highly social organisms. So, Goldman and his colleagues wanted to know how individual ants knew what to do without a central leader issuing orders.To find out, Goldman’s team labeled individual fire ants with paint and then watched them dig their tunnels — only wide enough for two workers. Turns out, just 30 percent of the ants did 70 percent of the labor. “I was surprised that we ended up with so few workers actually doing the work at any one time.”
A quarter of the ants never even entered the tunnel. Others went inside, but left without digging out a single grain of dirt. These behaviors ensured the tunnels did not get clogged with insect traffic, which would make the construction process stop.
And when the scientists removed the five hardest-working ants from the tunnel, others immediately jumped in to compensate (补偿) — with no reduction in the group’s productivity. Seems that it doesn’t matter which ants are working or freeloading at a given time, as long as there is some division of labor to keep the tunnels flowing smoothly. The findings are in the journal Science.
The study could provide suggestions for the robotic. Imagine groups of robots sent to search for survivors from the ruins. Or nanobots (纳米机器人) coursing through our bodies to diagnose illness and deliver targeted medical treatment. Such robots will need to avoid getting jammed up in tight spaces. It might be necessary to program them so some just sit back and watch their colleagues work.
1. How do fire ants get the work done when digging tunnels?| A．They all work under the order of their leaders. |
| B．Only the strong ants do the majority of the work. |
| C．They all cooperate together and spare no effort to do the work. |
| D．Some work efficiently while others just sit around and do nothing. |
| A．Covered. | B．Crowded. | C．Destroyed. | D．Spotted. |
| A．the rest of them didn’t know what to do |
| B．the leaders had to do the work by themselves |
| C．other ants took their place and continued to do the work |
| D．other ants were in panic and escaped from the tunnels immediately |
| A．robot technology | B．social communication |
| C．underground construction | D．scientific observations |
