1 . One of the greatest biologists the work has ever seen was Charles Darwin. Darwin was born to a middle-class family in Shrewsbury, England, in February, 1809. His father was the leading doctor of the town.
In 1825, at the age of sixteen, Darwin was sent to Scotland to study medicine.
Darwin's father then sent him to Cambridge to become a clergyman（牧师）. During his Cambridge years, Darwin loved to collet beetles（甲虫）, but to him it was only a hobby. He didn't take it seriously.
Somehow, Darwin managed to graduate from Cambridge in 1831. Upon graduation, Professor Henslow arranged for him to go with Captain Fitzroy on a survey trip around the world. During the voyage, Darwin collected rocks, bones, and insects. He took many notes on all that he observed.
The widely believed theory in those days was that God created each creature separately and individually.
| A．One person at Cambridge, however, did. |
| B．As a boy, Darwin showed a great interest in living things. |
| C．He studied there for two years and continued to do poorly. |
| D．Shrewsbury was a busy market town surrounded by rich farmlands. |
| E．In 1859, Darwin published his famous book On the Origin of Species. |
| F．The thoughts that led to his theory of evolution were beginning to form. |
| G．By the time Darwin died in 1882, he was recognized as one of England's greatest scientists. |
2 . Hiking（远足）is a great way to get active and reduce stress while you are exploring the city. Visit our page to find some of the best free walking tours across New York City.
Community Days at Conference House Park
Wednesday, September 19, 2018 12:00 p.m.—2:00 p.m.
Enjoy new gardens at the Visitor Center. Explore and help repair the three self-designed gardens vegetable, native plant, and sculpture. Experience kids crafts, adult art programs, Tai Chi and more in this lovely setting.
Position: Conference House Park, 298 Satterlee Street, Staten Island
Event Organizer: Conference House Park
Phone Number:（718）227-1463
Contact Email: john.kilcullen@ parks.nyc.qov
Greenbelt on the Go
Tuesday, August 14, 2018 10:00 a. m.—11:30 a. m.
Join us for relaxing walks through our parks. Enjoy the pretty views of them, as we point out a few of the distinct features that make each park special. The length of each hike will be determined by the pace of the group. Registration is required. To register, please email naturecenter@sigreenbelt.org before August 14.
Position: Greenbelt, Nature Center in Blood Root Valley, 700 Rockland Avenue at Brielle Avenue Staten Island
Event Organizer: Staten Island Greenbelt Conservancy. Greenbelt Environmental Education Department
Phone Number:（718）351-3450
Contact Email: naturecenter@ sigreenbelt.org
Adult Afternoon Hikes
Wednesday, October 10, 2018 1:30p. m.—3:00 p. m.
Get familiar with the Greenbelt and local parks by hiking with other adults! You' re encouraged to bring small meals and drinks for the break time.
Position: Greenbelt Nature Center in Blood Root Valley, 700 Rockland Avenue at Brielle Avenue Staten Island
Event Organizer: Staten Island Greenbelt Conservancy, Greenbelt Environmental Education Department
Phone Number:（718）351-3450
Contact Email: naturecenter@sigreenbelt.org
The South Pole at Wards Point
Thursday, November 15, 2018 7:00 a. m.—7:00 p. m
The three miles of nearby natural shoreline are a sandy beach. Shells, rocks, and stones of every shape and size can be found here. Not to be missed are the park's other attractions: acres of woodland, four galleries, and five historic houses
Position: Conference House Park Visitor Center in Conference House Park, 298 Satterless Street, Staten Island
Event Organizer: Conference House Park
Contact Email: john.kilcullen@ parks.nyc.qov
1. Which walking tour may attract people interested in Chinese culture| A．Community Days at Conference House Park |
| B．Greenbelt on the Go |
| C．Adult Afternoon Hikes |
| D．The South Pole at Wards Point. |
| A．The length of the hike is settled |
| B．People will visit three distinct parks. |
| C．It takes place in Conference House Park. |
| D．Visitors need to register in advance. |
| A．（718）227-1463. | B．naturecenter@sigreenbelt.org |
| C．（718）351-3450. | D．john. kilcullen@parks.nyc.qov |
3 . Around this time of year when the weather gets cooler in Arkansas, there are a lot of homeless people, as well as people with different situations who just need help.
Oftentimes Our family serves at a soup kitchen where they give out bags of food to needy families in our area. And we’ll help put those bags of food together and hand them out, among other things.
There are a lot of reasons why serving the community is important to me, but one of them has to do with my father. My grandfather died when my father was 4 years old and my grandmother had four kids all under the age of 5, all born pretty close together. That was a time when things were so bad in the country. There wasn’t work and often the family hardly made ends meet, so my grandmother put the kids in a childrenˈs home so that they could at least have food to survive.
My dad said he never forgot the local charity would bring the kids a gift for Christmas. The kids worked hard in the children’s home and the only present they got was from the local charity. He never forgot this kindness and always appreciated the local charity for what it did when he Was a little boy.
My dad was such a hardworking worker- family meant the world to him. I was the seventh baby in my family and my mother had me just after she turned 40. She was one of those high-risk pregnancy moms, and Iˈm so grateful she had me. My mom and dad made a happy home for us, and I’m so grateful for that. I hope my children are catching those lessons, not just from Mom and Dad, but from grandparents and everyone else in their lives.
1. Why does the author consider serving the community important?| A．His father led a hard life in his childhood. |
| B．He was inspired by his fatherˈs life experiences. |
| C．He was grateful for what his father had done for him. |
| D．His father worked hard and took good care of the family. |
| A．The family had too many children. |
| B．The kids were born too close together. |
| C．It provided food for the kids to survive. |
| D．The kids could lead a very comfortable life there. |
| A．Kind and creative. | B．Strict and helpful. |
| C．Devoted and patient. | D．Grateful and hardworking. |
| A．Father meant the world to the family. |
| B．The author hopes his kids learn to be grateful. |
| C．The kids received Christmas gifts from their parents. |
| D．The author’s family opens a soup kitchen to offer help. |
4 . LONE TREE, colorado-patanjali Rao, a 15-year-old Colorado high school student and young scientist, who has used artificial intelligence （AI） and created apps to deal with social problems, has been named Time magazine's first-ever "Kid of the Year".
Time says Rao stood out for creating a world-wide community of young inventors and inspiring them to go after their goals. Rao insists that starting out small doesn't matter, as long as you have a passion （热爱）for it.
Rao's sense of invention started early. At age 12, she developed a portable device to discover lead in water. She has also created an app called Kindly that uses artificial intelligence to help prevent cyberbullying （网络欺凌）. It allows teens to type in a word or phrase to find out if the words they are using are bullying and lets them decide what they are sending.
She said that "Work is going to be in our generation's hands pretty soon. So if no one else is going to do it, I'm going to do it.”
Rao has partnered with schools, museums, and science, technology, engineering and math organizations, and other societies to work for thousands of other students.
In a world where science is increasingly questioned or challenged, Rao insists that devotion to science is an act of kindness and the best way that a younger generation can better the world. “We have science in everything we're involved in, and I think the biggest thing to put out there is that science is cool, innovating is cool, and anybody can be an innovator," Rao says.
"Anybody can do science.”
1. What do we know about Rao?| A．She has created apps to deal with mental problems. |
| B．She has set a good example for the younger generation. |
| C．She has been named Time magazine's "Youth of the Year”. |
| D．She thinks that only the younger generation can better the world. |
| A．Time waits for no man. |
| B．Ups and downs make one strong. |
| C．Passion and devotion help to promote excellence. |
| D．Good habits formed at youth make all the difference. |
| A．A newspaper | B．A diary. |
| C．A travel brochure. | D．A history book. |
5 . Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone.
Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. “It opens up your mind to things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.” Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents.
In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen, it is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone. It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own.
Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year. He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document his adventures. He says he wished he had traveled alone earlier. “The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person.” said the 30-year-old man.
Richardson describes traveling alone like “a shot in the arm”, which “makes you a more confident person that is ready to deal with anything”. He said, “The feeling of having overcome something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.”
The great 19thcentury explorer John Muir once said. “Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.
1. Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with?| A．Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone. |
| B．It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries. |
| C．It is comfortable to travel around without a friend. |
| D．Traveling abroad helps people to find new things. |
| A．you have to make things on your own. |
| B．it is hard for you to prove yourself to others. |
| C．you can only depend on yourself whatever happens. |
| D．it will finally build your character. |
| A．He started traveling alone at an early age. |
| B．He was once shot in the arm. |
| C．He used to work as a salesman. |
| D．His website will inspire others to travel alone. |
| A．Travel Abroad | B．Travel Alone |
| C．Travel Light | D．Travel Wide and Far |
6 . If you’ve ever travelled with other people, the chances are you’ve had to make compromises. When you want to get up early to watch the sunrise, for example, your friends may argue that getting enough sleep is more important. And when you want to try the different food, your friends might say it looks strange and push you to a Chinese restaurant instead.
This is probably why more people these days are choosing to travel alone. According to reports on holiday habits from the Association of British Travel Agents, the percentage of people in the UK who take trips alone has been increasing, from 6 percent in 2011, to 12 percent in 2017, and to 15percent in 2018. Most of these people said they choose to travel alone because this allows them to “do what they want”.
In fact, travelling alone is only a part of a recent trend（趋势）of people wanting to take more time alone--or what’s called “me time”. “Imagine yourself as a full pot of water and everything else that asks for your attention is an empty glass. When you provide what is needed for them you are using up your own water supply,” editor Nicole Lyons wrote for the mental health social network Psych Central. “But how are you refilling your pot？This is where your ‘me time’ comes in.”
However. it’s still quite a common belief that those who do things alone are losers and they’re alone simply because they don’t have anybody to be with. But why can’t people just be enough for themselves？
The now Duchess of Sussex Rachel Meghan Markle once wrote on her blog in 2016 about how she enjoyed taking herself out to dinner and travelling alone. “It’s not easy. But it’s important,” she wrote. You should face everything and encourage yourself to move forward when the feeling of loneliness and boredom sweeps through your body and mind, according to Markle.
1. What does the underlined phrase “make compromises” mean？| A．Turn up. | B．Work hard. | C．Give in. | D．Take care. |
| A．To save more money. | B．To enjoy their freedom. |
| C．To calm themselves down. | D．To avoid troubling someone. |
| A．Show when “me time” occurs. | B．Explain why we need “me time”. |
| C．Give some examples of “me time”. | D．Offer ways to increase “me time”. |
| A．Me time: enjoy yourself alone. | B．A new way of travelling abroad. |
| C．The disadvantages of travelling alone. | D．How to find a proper partner in trips. |
7 . The Internet is a growing new world that has been developing ever since it was created many years ago. The only reason Internet sales are not taxed（征税）is because we did not know the Internet would be used to sell products when it was created. Internet sales are no different than going into the store to buy the exact same product except for the fact that Internet sales are not taxed.
When buying online， people cannot see and touch the product the same way they could in a store. To fix this， customers are going into the store to see the product. Then if they like the product， they buy it online to save money on the sales tax. This is a form of tax evasion（逃税）if you ask me！
Everyone has to pay the tax in the store so they should have to pay taxes online as well. Also，the added money brought in through Internet taxing could help the government to fund certain policies and other things that they could not do without the added funds. This could go toward the country's schools or other things necessary for society to function well. These funds could be extremely beneficial because of the recession（经济衰退）that the country is in at this point. Internet taxing is a way to increase those funds and in turn improve the quality of life for all who live in that country.
In conclusion， there are many more positives than negatives in the argument over taxing Internet sales. I do understand that I may have to pay more if I want to buy something online， but the funds stay within my society and help my country. The added cost may hurt me at first but in the end， the funds will help me and others in our country.
1. The text mainly discusses .| A．whether Internet sales should be taxed |
| B．why Internet sales are not taxed |
| C．why people love to buy things online |
| D．whether it is a good way to buy things online |
| A．they are different from store sales | B．selling online was unexpected |
| C．people don't know how to tax them | D．many people are against taxing them |
| A．Customers get better products at a lower price online. |
| B．Online shoppers find it difficult to buy satisfactory goods. |
| C．Online shoppers probably try to avoid paying tax. |
| D．Problems related to online shopping are hard to fix. |
| A．is good for all people |
| B．can help the country out of the recession |
| C．can help improve the quality of products |
| D．is beneficial to the development of Internet |
8 . The end of British pub culture?
British beer and pubs are famous around the world. Things are changing. However,
For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, since it is where the people gather to socialize and exchange news. After all, the word “pub” is actually short for “public house”. As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved.
Many British pubs have old names referring to the monarchs, such as the king’s head or the queen Victoria, but of course this doesn’t mean they are only for kings and queens.
That’s how it used to be.
To save their business, pubs are trying to diversify to attract new customers. Now there are a number of different types of pubs. Besides a “traditional pub”, a “gastro pub” serves higher-quality food than usual.
As you can see, British pubs now offer something for everyone. And with various “save the pub” campaign, there are signs that people are regathering around these new kinds of pubs while supporting the traditional ones to back its great British custom with pride.
| A．Don’t British people like drinking beer? |
| B．Many of them have become historic sites that tourists visit. |
| C．Is this the end of a great British tradition? |
| D．A “microbrewery” often has fresher beer than other types of pub. |
| E．Some pubs are allowed law to stay open after 11 pm. |
| F．Pubs have always welcomed people from all classes and parts of society. |
| G．Now there are worrying signs that things are beginning to decline. |
9 . Artists always treat businessmen people as money-obsessed bores. Or worse, many business people, for their part, assume that artists are a bunch of pretentious wasters. Bosses may stick a few modernist paintings on their boardroom walls. But they seldom take the arts seriously as a source of inspiration.
The prejudice starts at business school, where “hard” things such as numbers and case studies rule. It is reinforced by everyday experience. Bosses constantly remind their underlings that if you can’t count it, it doesn’t count. Few read deeply about art. Sun Tzu's The Art of War does not count while some tasteless business books are pleasing to them: consider Wess Roberts' Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun.
But lately there are welcome signs of a thaw (缓和) on the business side of the great cultural divide. Business presses are publishing a series of books such as The Fine Art of Success by Jamie Anderson. Business schools such as the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto are trying to learn from the arts.
Mr. Anderson points out that many artists have also been superb entrepreneurs. Damien Hirst was even more enterprising. He upturned the art world by selling his work directly through Sotheby’s, an auction (拍卖) house. Whatever they think of his work, businessmen people cannot help admiring a man who parted art-lovers from £ 75.5 million on the day that Lehman Brothers collapsed.
Studying the arts can help businessmen people communicate more effectively. Most bosses spend a huge amount of time “messaging” and “reaching out”, yet few are much good at it.
Studying the arts can also help companies learn how to manage bright people. Rob Goffee of the London Business School points out that today’s most productive companies are dominated by what they call “clevers”, who are the devil to manage. They hate being told what to do by managers, whom they regard as dullards. They refuse to submit to performance reviews. In short, they are prima donnas. The arts world has centuries of experience in managing such difficult people. Directors persuade actresses to cooperate with actors they hate. Their tips might be worth hearing.
1. What kind of person is Damien Hirst actually?| A．An artist whose works changed the art world. |
| B．A businessman who just cares about money. |
| C．An artist who is good at doing business. |
| D．A businessman who had prejudice toward the arts. |
| A．quite stupid | B．rather proud | C．really bright | D．very efficient |
| A．Good management takes skill and patience. |
| B．Artists should show respect for businessmen. |
| C．Painting is a special form of communication. |
| D．Businessmen have much to learn from artists. |
10 . “There's no place like home.” This English saying has much truth in it: the best place to be is surrounded by our treasured possessions and our loved ones and with a roof over our head. And for many young adults, it's the only affordable place to stay; somewhere where they can receive first-class service from mum and dad. But this comes at a price!
In some countries, it's quite traditional for people in their late teens and early 20s to live at home with their parents, but in other places, flying the nest to start their own independent life is very desirable. But there's been a growing trend, in the UK at least, for young people to return home to live—or not to leave home at all.
A survey by a price comparison website found that 18% of adult children in the UK said they were moving back home because of debt, compared with 8% last year. More young people had lost their jobs, and others couldn't afford their rent compared with the previous year. So, it's easy to see why they're increasingly becoming home birds.
Emma Craig from Money supermarket says “parents are trying to look after their children more. If your child comes home and you see them struggling to pay their bills, you feel more awkward asking them for rent or to contribute. It tugs (猛拉) on your heartstrings more.”
With parents buying new furniture and upgrading their Wi-Fi for the benefit of their children, it's easy for the returning children to put their feet up and make themselves at home. That's before they learn a home truth—that one day it might be their own kids who'll be checking into the hotel of mum and dad!
1. Which proverb might show the young British's living conditions?| A．A lazy youth, an awful age. | B．East or west, home is best. |
| C．Two heads are better than one. | D．Nothing comes wrong to a hungry man. |
| A．The popularity of living independently. | B．Looking after their old parents. |
| C．The economic problem they face. | D．Their parents' offer to help them out. |
| A．Understandable. | B．Worried. | C．Doubtful. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Flying the net is becoming popular at present. |
| B．Returning to live with parents comes at a price. |
| C．It's easy for parents to receive their returning children. |
| D．Home birds think it quite natural to live with their parents. |
