2 . Nostalgia (怀旧) has become increasingly common in our current climate of unexpected, fast-paced change. More and more people are turning back with longing for what feels like simpler, sweeter times. They collect cassette tapes, manual typewriters even decades-old video games.

Is it a mistake to get too obsessed with the past? Some psychologists warn that too much devotion to the so-called good old days is an escape from reality; it can indicate loneliness or that a person is having a difficult time coping in the present. Psychologist Stephanie Coontz argues that nostalgia distracts us from addressing the problems of modern life and contributes to anxiety, depression, insomnia etc.

But new studies suggest that a modest dose of nostalgia is not only harmless, but actually beneficial. They suggest it helps strengthen our sense of identity and makes us feel more optimistic and inspired. It is also a tool for self-discovery and memories are a psychological immune response that is triggered when you want to take a break from negativity. Interestingly, those happy memories can be particularly beneficial both to kids in their teens and to society’s elders. Recalling our childhood reminds us of “the times when we were accented and loved unconditionally,” says Krystine Batcho, a psychologist. “That is such a powerfully comforting phenomenon, knowing that there was a time in life when we didn’t have to earn our love.” Nostalgia can transform even the most ordinary past into legends which warms the heart and the body. Let’s not forget that nostalgia has been a source of inspiration to innumerable American writers. Mark Twain recalled his boyhood, writing, “after all these years, I can picture that old time to myself now, just as it was then: The white town drowsing in the sunshine of a summer’s morning.”

So go ahead, daydream a little about your best childhood friend, your first car, a long-gone family pet. As Dr. Sedikidessays, “Nostalgia is absolutely central to human experience.” But at the same time, keep these words of wisdom from the great inventor Charles Kettering in mind as well: “You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.”

1. What did some psychologists in paragraph 2 probably agree?

A．Nostalgia can cause some mental problems.

B．Nostalgia makes us devoted to the present life.

C．Nostalgia shows you are trying to get rid of loneliness.

D．Nostalgia helps us cope with the difficult time we are going through.

2. There are many benefits of nostalgia except ________ .

A．It can enable us to know ourselves better

B．It can bring us some comfort when we recall

C．We are likely to gain attention if we recall the happy childhood

D．We can sometimes break away from negativity with happy memories

3. What will be talked about in the following paragraph?

A．The reasons why we should avoid nostalgia.

B．The great changes nostalgia will bring to you.

C．The bad memories that always stick around you.

D．The bad influence of too much devotion to nostalgia.

4. What does the author intend to tell us?

A．People tend to be lost in nostalgia.

B．People actually benefit from nostalgia.

C．Childhood memories influence present life.

D．There are some periods when people look back.

3 . 阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

I wasn’t the most popular kid in my freshman year. I wasn’t into fashion, preferred reading to sports, had difficulty talking to boys. Therefore, the first year of high school hadn’t been kind to me. I had no close friends. I mostly kept to myself with my head buried in a book.

Ashley was very different from me. She was outspoken and fashionable. She was quite popular. These were qualities I knew nothing about. We had always been in the same classes throughout school, but had never talked much.

During summer school, we were both taking classes. The teacher paired us up on an assignment. We met at the library to work on the project and really got well. Of course, Ashley did most of the talking. When classes ended we continued to hang out.

I looked up to Ashley; she was all of the things I thought I wanted to be. I began listening to the music she listened to, wearing the clothes she wore. I quit reading and started watching the TV programs Ashley watched. I even tailored my sophomore (大二) year schedule to her interests. I decided to take art class even though I had really wanted to take theatre.

When we started school again, Ashley introduced me to her group of friends, the “cool girls.” She was the leader of their group. Finally I fit in. I followed them around, laughing when they told jokes, agreeing when they had opinions. I didn’t say much. I wouldn’t want them to think that I was being rude by disagreeing. This continued for several months.

One day, I overheard Ashley and her friends were talking about me.

“She’s such a loser,” one girl said to the group. “Ashley, she just follows you around trying to be you. She copies you; she doesn’t have a personality of her own.”

Then Ashley replied, “I know, I wish she would leave us alone. We were in summer school together and now she thinks we’re best friends or something.”

注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：

I stood rooted to the spot, feeling mortified (受辱的) and heartbroken.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：

Hearing my mom’s advice, l decided I was going to stop crying and discover who I was.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . I learned something really early from my family: Even the biggest challenges are less _________ when you solve them as a community.

My brother, sister and cousins were my first group. _________ we got more and more fights at home, we never _________ that outside our house, if you messed with one of us, you got _________ of us.

From school to sports, I was _________ in a class project, club, team or group. From speech and debate to field hockey, when I was in a community, I felt _________ to try for things that seemed _________ . I grew because others pushed me. _________ didn’t seem so scary because we were taking risks together.

When a drunk driver _________ my father, it was our community that stepped in. It was our family friends, our community theater and our sports teams that __________ us. My father had been a high school history teacher, and his colleagues — now my teachers — began to keep a __________ eye on us because he __________ could.

I don’t __________ a parent’s death as the way to learn about the __________ of small communities, but it did make me __________ that if I looked for bigger challenges with the support of a group, I was going to __________ broader goals and build deeper relationships __________ the journey.

As I sit here tonight with my team of five, I’m __________ of how much I love these moments — building __________we believe in, that we’ll learn from and that we’ll do together. If you are going to do something that terrifies you, first find a(n) __________ .

1.

A．terrifying

B．risky

C．exciting

D．amazing

2.

A．Once

B．When

C．While

D．Since

3.

A．argued

B．considered

C．decided

D．doubted

4.

A．none

B．all

C．nothing

D．anyone

5.

A．sometimes

B．seldom

C．always

D．barely

6.

A．curious

B．discouraged

C．scary

D．safe

7.

A．under control

B．out of my reach

C．out of order

D．within my ability

8.

A．Failures

B．Goals

C．Fights

D．Disasters

9.

A．killed

B．attacked

C．comforted

D．backed

10.

A．looked into

B．belonged to

C．stood by

D．turned away

11.

A．bigger

B．stricter

C．warmer

D．closer

12.

A．no longer

B．never

C．hardly

D．instead of

13.

A．convince

B．recommend

C．adopt

D．announce

14.

A．belief

B．power

C．possibility

D．harmony

15.

A．realize

B．figure

C．consider

D．notice

16.

A．go through

B．get over

C．go for

D．come across

17.

A．for

B．before

C．by

D．throughout

18.

A．informed

B．reminded

C．blamed

D．encouraged

19.

A．anything

B．everything

C．something

D．somebody

20.

A．dream

B．partner

C．organization

D．group

7 . Brooklyn Children’s Museum

Founded in 1899 as the country’s first museum specifically made for children, today’s BCM is comprehensive, with a permanent collection of 30,000 objects, including musical instruments, masks and dolls. Kids love the interactive World Brooklyn, a small cityscape lined by stores where children can pretend to be working grown-ups.

Children’s Museum of Manhattan

Looking for interactive art that welcomes curious minds? Then head to Inside Art, the current show up at CMOM, which lets your little ones climb in and over and all around the exhibits. It’s ideas like this that make the 40,000-square-foot so special. Learning about culture, history and science is a pride for kids aged six and under. CMOM also hosts classes—like Gross Biology for kids who are interested in insects—all designed with the latest child-development research in mind.

DiMenna Children’s History Museum

The hands-on displays at this kid-focused arm of the New York Historical Society transport children back through 350 years of US history, with a special focus on NYC. Children are encouraged to climb around and interact with exhibits that highlight the lives of kids who grew up to become famous doctors, athletes and political figures. Little New Yorkers can get in on sing-alongs and crafts. Other family programs include cooking classes, games and story hours.

Staten Island Children’s Museum

Staten Island Children’s Museum nurtures creativity. It offers hands-on experiences like the Block Harbor (plenty of blocks to play with!), larger-than-life games like Connect Four and Dominoes, and even the opportunity to climb through a human-sized anthill or play firefighter at Ladder 11, so you'll find immersive fun around every corner. Don’t forget to stop by Green Living Room powered by the wind energy where the kids can learn about ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

1. Who is most likely to be the target reader of this article?

A．Scholars.

B．Teachers.

C．Parents.

D．Children.

2. In which museum can children learn about the early life of some celebrities?

A．Brooklyn Children’s Museum.	B．Children’s Museum of Manhattan.
C．DiMenna Children’s History Museum.	D．Staten Island Children’s Museum.

3. Which is an advantage of Staten Island Children's Museum?

A．It provides children with real life working experiences.

B．It allows children to immerse themselves in observing ants .

C．It gives lessons on how to develop children’s creativity.

D．It raises children’s awareness of environmental protection.

8 . What's on your travel list? I've consulted several travel experts to find out some places worth visiting.

Where ： New Orleans, Louisiana

Chosen by： Natalie DiScala is a writer and editor at johnnyjet. com, covering travel trends? products and family travel.

Why： New Orleans is known for its music and food—not to mention the festivals. It has about 130 festivals each year so there's really no bad time to visit. Bourbon Street is the obvious choice for food, drink and jazz and it's definitely a must-visit location, especially for first-timers to the city.

Where ： Vail , Colorado

Chosen by： Becca Ingle is an active family travel blogger. She is the founder of BeccaIngle, com, where you can read all her travel guides.

Why： Vail is the perfect destination for families and travelers looking to find almost everything in one central spot. Stay at the amazing Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail to be steps away from Vail Village, a popular town with special heated stone streets for strolling（漫步）,restaurants and bars, coffee shops, ice-skating, a movie theater and a bowling alley.

Where： Hudson Valley, New York

Chosen by： Devorah Lev-Tov is a food and travel writer who regularly writes for The New York Times , Afar, Conde Nast Traveler , etc.

Why：New Yorkers go to escape the city when they need a healthy close to nature and relaxation there. The 750-mile biking and hiking route links communities across New York State and links up to the Hudson Greenway Trails. The region was recently equipped with the famous Charlie Palmer Restaurant.

1. Who is the writer of johnnyjet. com?

A．Natalie DiScala.

B．Becca Ingle.

C．Devorah Lev-Tov.

D．Charlie Palmer.

2. Which place would you prefer if you want to walk on the stone streets?

A．Bourbon Street.	B．Four Seasons Resort.
C．Vail Village.	D．Residences Vail.

3. What can you do in the Hudson Valley?

A．Visit big towns.	B．Enjoy riding bikes.
C．Watch the latest films.	D．Attend music festivals.

9 . Mandara seemed to know something big was about to happen. So she let out a yell, caught hold of her 2-year-old daughter Kibibi and climbed up into a tree. She lives at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

And on Tuesday, August 23rd, witnesses say, she seemed to sense the big earthquake that shook much of the East Coast before any humans knew what was going on. And she’s not the only one. In the moments before the quake, an orangutan (猩猩) let out a loud call and then climbed to the top of her shelter.

“It’s very different from their normal call,” said Brandie Smith, the zookeeper. “The lemurs (monkey-like animals of Madagascar) will sound an alarm call if they see or hear something highly unusual.”

But you can’t see or hear an earthquake 15 minutes before it happens, can you? Maybe you can — if you’re an animal. “Animals can hear above and below our range of hearing,” said Brandie Smith. “That’s part of their special abilities. They’re more sensitive to the environment, which is how they survive.”

Primates(灵长类）weren’t the only animals that seemed to sense the quake before it happened. One of the elephants made a warning sound. And a huge lizard (蜥蜴) ran quickly for cover. The flamingoes (a kind of bird) gathered before the quake and stayed together until the shaking stopped.

So what kind of vibrations（震动）were the animals picking up in the moments before the quake? Scientist Susan Hough says earthquakes produce two types of waves — a weak “P” wave and then a much stronger “S” wave. The “P” stands for “primary”. And the “S” stands for “secondary”. She thinks the “P” wave might be what set the animals off.

Not all the animals behaved unusually before the quake. For example, Smith says the zoo’s giant pandas didn’t jump up until the shaking actually began. But many of the other animals seemed to know something was coming before it happened. “I’m not surprised at all,” Smith said.

1. Why did Mandara act strangely one day?

A．Because it heard an orangutan let out a loud call.

B．Because its daughter Kibibi was injured.

C．Because it sensed something unusual would happen.

D．Because an earthquake had happened.

2. According to Brandie Smith, _____.

A．many animals’ hearing is sharp

B．earthquakes produce two types of waves

C．primates usually gather together before a quake

D．humans can develop the ability to sense a quake

3. Which word in the passage has a close meaning to the underlined word “cover”?

A．vibration	B．quake
C．shelter	D．range

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．How animals survive a quake.

B．How animals differ from humans.

C．How animals protect their young in a quake

D．How animals behave before a quake.