1 . The future home is something that people have talked about for decades. Because the future home idea inspires our imagination, scientists and engineers have been working hard to develop different systems to make houses “smarter”.
The video camera at the entrance recognize visitors using facial recognition. The facial recognition software of the future home will not only recognize friends, but strangers as well. And the software in the future home will run the strangers faces against a database of criminals.
The future home will also have smart application appliances (家电) as well. There will be a vast networking system connecting them. Ovens, microwaves and refrigerators will be controlled automatically, so remote cooking will be a possibility and meals are prepared for your arrival.
There will also be a green systems in place such as saving and reusing washing water and bathwater. Plants and people may receive pure or mineralized (含矿的) drinking water.
If you think this future home idea is pie in the sky or science fiction, then think again. Most of the systems described here are either in development or already out in the market. Future homes may not be standard yet for the middle class but this is not as far ahead as many people would think.
1. What can the facial recognition software be used for in the future houses?| A．Greeting friends. | B．Collecting criminals information. |
| C．Recognizing visitors. | D．Following dangerous criminals. |
| A．Facial recognition software. | B．Remote cooking. |
| C．Smart refrigerators. | D．Saving and reusing water. |
| A．Attractive. | B．Common. | C．Special. | D．Excellent. |
| A．Smart future home |
| B．A smart networking system |
| C．Software in future home |
| D．Various household appliances |
2 . There was once a boy called Mario who loved to have lots of friends at school. However, he wasn’t sure whether or not his classmates were his true friends, so he asked his grandpa. The old man answered, “I have just exactly what you need; it’s in the attic (阁楼). Wait here for a minute.”
Grandpa left, soon returning as though carrying something in his hand, but Mario could see nothing there. “Take it. It’s a very special chair. Because it’s invisible (无形的) it’s rather difficult to sit on, but if you take it to school and you manage to sit on it, you’ll be able to tell who your true friends are.”
Mario took the strange invisible chair and went to school. At break time he asked everyone to form a circle, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair. “Nobody move. You’re about to see something amazing,” Mario said.
Then Mario tried sitting on the chair. He missed and fell straight onto his backside. Everyone had a pretty good laugh. Mario wouldn’t be beaten. He kept trying to sit on the magic chair, and kept falling to the ground... until, suddenly, he tried again and didn’t fall. This time he sat, hovering (悬停) in mid-air.
Looking around, Mario saw George, Lucas, and Diana — three of his best friends — holding him up, so he wouldn’t fall. At the same time, many others he had thought of as friends were doing nothing but make fun of him, enjoying each and every fall.
Leaving with his three friends, Mario explained to them how his grandpa had so cleverly thought of such a good idea. Now he knows that those who take joy in our misfortunes (不幸) when we are in difficulty are not our true friends.
1. What did Mario’s grandpa take from the attic?| A．An invisible chair. | B．An old chair. |
| C．A real chair. | D．Nothing. |
| A．To see whether Mario could sit on it. |
| B．To test who were Mario’s true friends. |
| C．To let Mario have fun with his classmates. |
| D．To test whether Mario was popular at school. |
| A．He saw the invisible chair suddenly. |
| B．He managed to sit on the chair finally. |
| C．His friends held him up with their hands. |
| D．His classmates gave him a chair to sit on. |
| A．Never laugh at our friends. |
| B．True friends can help us do magic. |
| C．True friends are those who care for us. |
| D．Having too many good friends isn’t a good thing. |
3 . King Tut, Egypt’s famous boy king, was buried with many valuable objects. A dagger (匕首)discovered in his tomb has recently attracted extra attention. Researchers have concluded that the dagger was probably made from a special material.
King Tut was only about nine years old when he became ruler of Egypt more than 3, 300 years ago. The young king died when he was just 19, His body was buried in a tomb filled with objects that people believed he would need in the afterlife.
In 1922, Howard Carter discovered Tut’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Up to now, it was the best preserved ancient Egyptian tomb ever found. In 1925, Carter found the dagger which has a gold handle and an iron blade (刀片).The blade had confused experts because iron was hardly used at that time in ancient Egypt. In fact, it was so rare that it was considered more valuable than gold. Where did the iron for the blade come from?
Around the time of King Tut, ancient Egyptians started using a new word for iron that translates as “iron from the sky”. This led some experts to believe that the iron for the blade came from a meteorite (陨石).But studies of the dagger carried out in the 1970s and 1990s didn’t support that idea.
That’s where modern technology comes in. Researchers used a new technique to examine the blade. They discovered that it was made up of iron and other materials found in meteorites. After comparing it to several meteorites, they even found its possible match — a meteorite that landed in northern Egypt thousands of years ago.
Scientists hope the new study will lead to more discoveries about other ancient Egyptian relics, “It would be very interesting to analyze more Pre-iron Age objects and we could gain precious discoveries.” Daniela Comelli, who is a professor, said.
1. What do we know about Tut’s tomb?| A．It was perfectly kept when discovered. | B．It was built when he was 9. |
| C．It has a lot of iron objects in it. | D．It was the first tomb to be found. |
| A．it is King Tut’s favorite object | B．its blade is made of iron |
| C．it was more valuable than gold | D．it leads to more discoveries |
| A．The iron. | B．The material. | C．A meteorite. | D．The blade. |
| A．more valuable objects are hidden in the tombs |
| B．iron is widely used in ancient Egypt |
| C．Tut’s dagger was likely made from a meteorite |
| D．ancient Egyptian objects are excellent |
4 . A lot of people like movies and films. They can add thrill and imaginations to our lives. Find the latest movie reviews here.
Family Romance
Love is a business at Family Romance-a company that offers the rental service. Founder Yuichi Ishii helps fulfill the dreams of his clients. Mahiro’s mother will hire Ishii to play as her missing father. And reality will begin to be unclear.
Critics Consensus (共识): It is a fascinating exploration of human connection and follows an unconventional path.
Mulan
The fearless and spirited eldest daughter of an honoured warrior, Mulan is the apple of her father’s eye. To save her aging father from serving in the Imperial Army, clever Mulan disguises (乔装) herself as a man soldier named “Ping” to bravely take her father’s place in the Imperial Army to battle northern invaders in China.
Critics Consensus: It could have told its classic story with greater depth, but the live-action Mulan is a visual improvement.
Greenland
A family fights for survival as a planet-killing comet (彗星) races to Earth. John Garrity (Gerard Butler), his wife Allison and young son Nathan make a dangerous journey to their only hope for refuge (避难). Among terrifying news, the Garritys experience the best and worst in humanity while they battle the increasing panic and lawlessness surrounding them.
Critics Consensus: Beware, comets of Greenland: Gerard Butler, is here to protect Earth and show audiences an improbably entertaining time.
Black Box
Having lost his wife and his memory in a tragic car accident, the news photographer Nolan Wright is desperate. After losing his wife and memory, Nolan Wright, a single father undergoes an experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.
Critics Consensus: An interesting work of writer-director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Black Box makes up for a lack of surprises with strong performances and an emotionally rewarding story.
1. Which movie should have presented a better story according to critics?| A．Family Romance. | B．Mulan. | C．Greenland. | D．Black Box. |
| A．Family Romance. | B．Mulan. | C．Greenland. | D．Black Box. |
| A．Advertisement. | B．Science. | C．News Report. | D．Entertainment. |
5 . The idea of low material desire, low consumption and refusing to work, marry and have children, concluded as a “lying down” lifestyle, recently struck a chord with many young Chinese who are eager to take pause to breathe in this fast-paced and highly-competitive society.
Many millennials (千禧一代) and generation Zs complained to the Global Times that burdens, including work stress, family disputes and financial strains, have pushed them “against the wall”. They said they hate the “involution(内卷),” joking that they would rather give up some of what they have than get trapped in an endless competition against peers.
“Instead of always following the ‘virtues’ of struggle, endure and sacrifice to bear the stresses, they prefer a temporary lying down as catharsis (宣泄) and adjustment,” said a scholar. “It is no wonder that some young people, under the growing pressures from child-raising to paying the mortgage (按揭) today, would try to live in a simple way and leave the worries behind.”
Interestingly, the majority of millennials and Gen Zs reached by the Global Times, who claim to be big fans of the lying down philosophy, acknowledged that they only accept a temporary lying down as a short rest. It is true that with the great improvement of living conditions, some Chinese youth have partially lost the spirit of hardship and are not willing to bear too much hard work. But in fact, lying down is not entirely comfortable. Young people who lie down always feel guilty about their constant loss of morale (士气) far beyond their reach.
“Young people on campus have both aspirations and confusion about their future, but most of us have rejected setting ourselves up in chains to waste opportunities and challenges,” a postgraduate student told the Global Times. “It’s no use running away. I have to ‘stand up’ and face the reality sooner or later.”
1. What does the underlined phrase in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Warned. | B．Punished. | C．Amused. | D．Touched. |
| A．Improvements in living conditions. |
| B．Growing pressure from family and social life. |
| C．Increasing material possessions from families. |
| D．Temporary adjustment to failure in competitions. |
| A．Understanding. | B．Intolerant. | C．Supportive. | D．Unclear. |
| A．They never really drop their responsibilities. |
| B．They really enjoy the “lying down” lifestyle. |
| C．They find their dreams far beyond their reach. |
| D．They would rather escape than take challenges. |
A great rivalry (对抗) can make a hockey (曲棍球) game exciting. But it’s even better when both sides share the same goal. Students of Boston College (B.C.) and Boston University (B.U.) held a game for a good cause. Former members of the schools’ hockey teams faced off in the 4th Annual Commonwealth Avenue Charity Classic. It took place at B．U.’s Walter Brown Arena. Every year, the competition raises money for Compassionate Care ALS, the Pete Frates Home Health Initiative and the Travis Roy Foundation. This year’s event brought in a recordbreaking $78,432.
Frates is fighting ALS, a disease that affects the brain. A former B.C. baseball team leader, he was diagnosed (诊断) with ALS in 2012, when he was only 27. Frates and his family have since raised hundreds of millions of dollars for ALS research, most famously with the Ice Bucket Challenge, which began in 2014.
“Pete likes social media (媒体) very much, so he wanted his voice, his face, everything that was happening to him to be recorded to help more people,” said John Frates, Pete’s father.
The B.C. and B.U. students enjoy coming together for the event. “This is just the best of the hockey world,” said former B.U. hockey player Travis Roy. “Both schools have a lot of great hockey players. Their skills are impressive, and the fact that they come out here to support good causes is a big deal.”
After a heated battle (较量), the B.U. Terriers won. Afterwards, former B.U. star Charlie McAvoy summed up the feeling of friendliness on the ice. “We all come together,” said McAvoy, who now plays for the Boston Bruins, “and we’re able to put aside the rivalry for great causes.”
B.U.’s Danny O’Regan, who now plays for the Buffalo Sabres, added, “You work hard on the ice and off the ice, and good things will happen.”
1. What was special about the hockey game at B.U.’s Walter Brown Arena?| A．It was a quarterly event. |
| B．It was held by different charities. |
| C．It attracted many universities in the country. |
| D．It invited former members of the schools’ teams to join. |
| A．He was helped by a charity. |
| B．He was chosen as the team leader. |
| C．He was found to be seriously ill. |
| D．He was asked to work in a social media company. |
| A．Hockey is a very popular game. |
| B．B.U. has the best hockey players. |
| C．Hockey games should get more attention. |
| D．Both schools’ hockey players are warmhearted. |
| A．It was too competitive. |
| B．It connected the players with a good cause. |
| C．It helped schools find many gifted players. |
| D．It encouraged students to work hard for their dreams. |
7 . Few of us haven’t read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams. Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone’s heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity (默默无闻) or neglect.
Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too. Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school.
Mary is shy but loves to dance. Compared with other girls, she is invisible. However, her world changes completely when a famous teenage pop singer, Joey Parker, appears.
Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable. Mary and Joey’s paths cross at a ball. They meet and fall in love with each other. But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Of course, there is a wicked (邪恶的) stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies. Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn’t get into the top dance school. Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her.
The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale. Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful. There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies.
“The movie takes the fairy tale Cinderella as its jumping off point,” writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson. “The focus is firmly on following your dream. ”
1. The first paragraph is mainly to ________．| A．build interest and lead us to Mary’s secret dream |
| B．remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years |
| C．inform us of the main topic of the whole passage |
| D．tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is |
| A．is brave in expressing her love |
| B．is attended to badly by the stepmother |
| C．has a dream of meeting a prince |
| D．is embarrassed by the pop singer |
| A．Joey is just like other boys in Mary’s class. |
| B．Mary’s mother influences her a lot in singing. |
| C．Not many people have a dream to be realized. |
| D．The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary. |
| A．follows Cinderella with nothing new |
| B．pays more attention to the looks of the actors |
| C．encourages young people to follow their dreams |
| D．focuses more on materialism than other films |
8 . Two British teachers have broken the world record for the longest journey in a tuk-tuk after pulling their failing vehicle for 43 miles. Richard Sears and Nick Gough traveled 37,500 kilometers around the world and passed through 37 countries. They did this to support grassroots education project in Africa, Asia and South America.
The pair, who set off from London, thought their expedition was over when the vehicle started to fail. When the tuk-tuk broke, they were only 70 kilometers from their destination. They decided to pull it the rest of the way. The tuk-tuk, which weighs 800 kilograms, was pulled in turns by Richard and Nick over three days. On arrival in Chepen, Peru, they discovered a mechanic who specialized in tuk-tuks and managed to fix it.
The pair were back on the road and aiming for their next goal. Along their journey they had to tackle deserts and jungles. They also survived close encounters with elephants in Uganda and Botswana and an accident in Malaysia. The greatest hardship on the tuk-tuk was the mountain ranges lying in their path, including the Alps, the Himalayas and the Andes.
Nick and Richard uncovered some inspirational projects across Africa, Asia and South America. They witnessed firsthand the educational challenges facing these areas today. They joined street children in the slums of Cairo, Khartoum, Kampala, Mumbai and Phnom Penh. They visited Congolese refugees (难民) in camps in Eastern Burundi. They witnessed how education could free sex-workers in Delhi and victims of human trafficking in Nepal.
The pair established the Tuk-Tuk Educational Trust, a U.K. registered charity.
Talking about their motivation, Richard said, “The world’s leaders have made a commitment to achieving universal primary education but in spite of this pledge (承诺), over 57 million primary-aged children worldwide are still out of school; many more are in school, though still cannot access quality learning opportunities.”
1. Why did the two teachers travel the world?| A．To support an education project. |
| B．To create a new world record. |
| C．To entertain themselves. |
| D．To challenge themselves. |
| A．A little more than 23 kilometers. |
| B．About 14 miles. |
| C．43 miles. |
| D．70 kilometers. |
| A．How they realized their next goal. |
| B．Their exciting experience on the road. |
| C．The beautiful scenery of famous mountains. |
| D．The difficulties and dangers they faced in the journey. |
| A．Curious and brave. |
| B．Humorous and generous. |
| C．Courageous and responsible. |
| D．Efficient and honest. |
9 . Years ago, I could not stick to exercising until I bought a CD called I Enjoy Exercise. I listened to it every day. I bought the CD because I wanted to run in a race and hopefully win!
I had assured my 10-year-old son Todd that I would run in a race with him. Unfortunately, however, when that race came, his left leg was hurt in a car accident. Without him running with me, although I took part in that race, I didn’t do quite well in it.
While Todd couldn’t run together with me because of his injury (受伤), he never forgot the promise I made for him. He was always asking me whether I would keep my promise when he recovered in the future. So I decided I was going to train and go all out to win the next race. What I needed was motivation (动力). It happened that one of my friends mentioned the CD which he liked very much, saying that he got a lot from the music in it when feeling down. So I bought it and listened to it while exercising every day.
What happened to my thinking was amazing as I listened to it daily. I started to think about the repeated words on the CD — “I enjoy exercise”. Instead of dreading exercise, I was thinking, “I enjoy exercise.”
I found out how important words are that we play in our minds every day. I went from a person who seldom exercised to someone who started to exercise daily. Just think how our lives will improve if we reflect on the uplifting words of the famous works. I have found the positive messages have greatly inspired me and then changed my life.
How did I do in that race, you might be thinking? I actually became the champion in my age group.
1. Why did the author take part in the race by herself?| A．She would like to win the race. |
| B．She had a good talent for running. |
| C．Her son got injured in a car accident. |
| D．Her son was unwilling to run with her. |
| A．By recalling some inspiring stories. |
| B．By listening to the CD while running. |
| C．By getting timely help from her friend. |
| D．By forcing herself into keeping running. |
| A．Fearing. | B．Improving. |
| C．Preferring. | D．Taking. |
| A．It’s important to avoid injury while running. |
| B．The uplifting words make a difference to us. |
| C．Parents should get along well with children. |
| D．We can build up our bodies by regular exercise. |
10 . My teacher held up a piece of broken glass and asked, “Who broke this window?”
Thirty boys tried to think about not only what they had done, but also what the teacher might have found out. She seldom became angry, but she was this time.
“Oh,” I thought. I was the one who broke the window. It was caused by a naughty throw of a baseball. If I admitted guilt, I would be in a lot of trouble. How would I be able to pay for a big window like that? I didn’t even get an allowance. “My father is going to have a fit as a result of it,” I thought. I didn’t want to raise my hand, but some force much stronger than I was pulled it skyward (朝向天空). I told the truth, “I did it.” It was hard enough to say what I had done.
My teacher took down a book from one of our library shelves and I had never known my teacher to strike a student, but I feared she was going to start with me.
“I know how much you like birds,” she said as she stood looking down at my guilt-ridden face. “Here is the field guide about birds that you are constantly checking out. It is yours now. It’s time we got a new one for the school anyway. You will not be punished, but remember that I am not rewarding you for your misdeed (恶行), but I am rewarding you for your truthfulness.”
I couldn’t believe it! I wasn’t being punished and I was getting my own bird field guide — the very one that I had been saving up money to buy.
The lesson my teacher taught me stays with me every day, and it will echo forever.
1. From the story, we can learn that the boy .| A．didn’t break the window on purpose |
| B．lacked the courage to admit his guilt |
| C．tried to think about what he had done |
| D．didn’t know what the teacher had found out |
| A．be punished by the teacher |
| B．make his father angry |
| C．pay for the broken window |
| D．get a bird field guide |
| A．Afraid—Surprised—Thankful. |
| B．Frightened—Amazed—Proud. |
| C．Regretful—Guilty—Excited. |
| D．Nervous—Afraid—Satisfied. |
| A．Every coin has two sides. |
| B．Honesty is always valued. |
| C．Bad luck never comes alone. |
| D．You can’t be too careful. |
