1 . If you know something’s bad for you, why can’t you just stop? About 70% of smokers say they would like to quit. Drug and alcohol abusers struggle to give up addictions that hurt their bodies and tear apart families and friendships. And many of us have unhealthy extra weight that we could lose if we would eat right and exercise more.
NIH-funded scientists have been searching for answers.
Habits can also develop when good or enjoyable events excite the brain’s “reward” centers.
In a sense, parts of our brains are working against us when we try to overcome bad habits.
| A．But why can’t we make it? |
| B．Habits can arise through repetition. |
| C．Why should we break the bad habits? |
| D．Habits play an important role in our health. |
| E．This can set up potentially harmful routines. |
| F．They’ve studied what happens in our brains as habits form. |
| G．The good news is that humans are much better than any other animal. |
2 . It is generally accepted that blind people are limited when it comes to enjoying beautiful things around them. This month the Utrecht Central Museum in the Netherlands offered an unusual art exhibition called The Blind Spot. This exhibition was accessible to the visually disabled. Sighted visitors are encouraged to wear a blindfold on their eyes as they experience the artworks. This exhibition excited the other senses other than the visual sense. Visitors could look at artworks as expected. Besides, they could also touch and smell them. The show was designed to provide a better experience for museumgoers with poor eyesight.
The Blind Spot recreated existing famous paintings, but with extra dimensions, such as sound and smell. Visitors could even get a “feel” for the art, which included touchable elements.
Visitor Farid el Manssouri seemed to enjoy his experience. He smiled as he moved his hands over cheese, grapes and bread，part of the representation of a famous 1610 painting by Floris van Dvck. “The first thing that struck me was the smell. I could really smell the fragrant cheese, and I touched it too.” Manssouri said. Manssouri wondered how the food did not fall from its unbalanced position. “That was really surprising to feel... I guess it was glued on pretty well,” Manssouri said.
Artist Jasper Udink ten Cate and designer Jeroen Prins created The Blind Spot. They said they were inspired by an experience they shared with a blind visitor at an art show one year ago. “One day, somebody who could not see was there. At the place we served food out of this work, and we helped her touch the artwork. She was blind and she had a lot of feelings. She was touched. So we bad the realization, ‘Wow, we have something.’ That moment was the starting point to actually create this exhibition.” ten Cate said.
The museum's head Steffie Maas said The Blind Spot was an impressive experiment on the way to more such improvements.
1. What are visitors with normal vision encouraged to wear to experience the artworks?| A．Gloves. | B．Signs. | C．Eye covers. | D．Face masks. |
| A．Only blind visitors were allowed in. | B．The exhibits could be heard or smelled. |
| C．Original famous paintings were on show. | D．The artworks were copies of famous paintings. |
| A．A famous 1610 painting. | B．A blind visitor's recommendation. |
| C．Realization of more sense dimensions. | D．A previous experience with a blind visitor. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Skeptical. | C．Negative. | D．Ambiguous. |
3 . These awesome English Practice applications for Android mentioned below can be used anywhere and at any time on your mobile.
HiNative
This app works in a question-and-answer form. This app is basically for students who are preparing for any international examination. The learner can register for free. He can choose the community among Pronunciation, Translation and Vocabulary. Any ambiguous term can be clarified here.
Douwnload HiNative English Language Learning App for Android
Forvo
This app helps us in learning all kinds of words and phrases with the pronunciation provided by real native speakers around the world. It is fun that you can upload a word's pronunciation in your native language! In this app, users will play videos of English speakers' pronunciation and follow them. The learner must pay $ 2.99.
Dorwnload Forvo English Pronunciation App for Android
Cambly
It is the app where the English learner gets connected directly to native English teachers. Because you can not learn English only by learning Grammar rules, the teacher starts with some basic questions like learner's hobbies. The biggest strength of this app is its flexibility in terms of time. Learners can log in any time and find a teacher according to his suitable time. The teacher will help you with grammar, pronunciation, or building confidence. The monthly charge is $ 85.
Douwnload Cambly English Teaching App for Android
Speak English Fluently
This app is available free of cost. It is based on some quick sample dialogues that we use in everyday life. This app helps beginners with common sentences used frequently. It also provides small lessons related to idioms, phrasal and irregular verbs.
Download Speak English Fluently App for Android
1. What do HiNative and Speak English Fluently have in common?| A．They are free of charge. | B．They focus on vocabulary. |
| C．Their learners are grouped. | D．They are suitable for test takers. |
| A．HiNative English Language Learning App. | B．Forvo English Pronunciation App. |
| C．Cambly English Teaching App. | D．Speak English Fluently App. |
| A．A learner can upload his own records. |
| B．Grammar learning is the main teaching goal. |
| C．Teachers can be chosen based on their availability. |
| D．Teachers lay particular stress on developing interest. |
| A．She feels guilty. | B．The man is careful. | C．The child is to blame. |
5 . I had just delivered a memorable speech, and I was about to learn how the judges decided my performance. The audience leaned forward and a period of silence fell across the room. I felt the drum rolled in my heart.
The third—place winner was announced. The name was not mine. Then the second—place winner, still not me. At last, the moment of truth came. I was about to either enjoy the warmth of victory or regret the months’ preparation. My heart felt closer to the latter.
Losing is a part of life, and I have dealt with it on more than one occasion. However, it was an indescribable feeling to drive a 200—mile round trip, get up very early on a freezing Saturday morning, and yet still finish fourth out of four competitors in my group. After Lincoln lost the 1858 Illinois Senate race, he said, “I felt like the 12—year—old boy who kicked his toe. I was too big to cry and it hurt too bad to laugh.” Oh yeah, I could understand.
I had spent many hours in front of a computer and in libraries doing research for the Lincoln Bicentennia Speech Contest. After not placing in the first year of the contest, I really wanted to compete again. Lincoln had many failures, but he never allowed them to defeat his spirit or ambition, so I was not going to give up on a second contest! I reworked my speech for the following year, but again I did not place.
I couldn’t accept the fact that I failed twice in something that I had worked so hard on, until I thought about my hero. Never mind the lost prize money and praise—through learning stories about Lincoln, I discovered that I can fail successfully.
1. How did the author feel after finishing his speech?| A．Excited. | B．Relaxed. | C．Nervous. | D．Confident. |
| A．He was disappointed with his preparations. | B．He hurt his toe on the way to the library. |
| C．He got up late on the day of the contest. | D．He was bottom of his group. |
| A．The warmth of victory. | B．The inspiration from Lincoln. |
| C．His eagerness for the prize money. | D．His desire to show himself on the stage. |
| A．Believe in Lincoln—the hero | B．Never mind others’ judgements. |
| C．Don’t accept the prize money. | D．Try, fail and then try again. |
6 . What do you do at the end of the day when you’ve finished your work and finally have some time for yourself? How you spend your free time can have a big influence on your mental health. Hobbies can help you relax and ease pent-up (被压抑的) stress caused by all that time in the office or in front of the computer.
But, interestingly, how you spend your free time can also influence your work performance. Researchers at the University of Sheffield’s Institute of Work Psychology in the U. K. found that pursuing hobbies can increase your confidence about how well you perform your job. But there’s one warning: Your hobby has to be significantly different from what you do from 9 to 5.
To study the connection between work and activities in spare time, researchers hired 129 people who worked and were actively involved in hobbies like rock climbing, playing football and singing. They had them complete surveys to see how serious and devoted they were to their hobbies and how demanding their jobs were. Then, each month for seven months, participants were asked how many hours they spent on their hobbies and how they rated their ability to perform at work. Researchers found that if people have hobbies similar to what they do at work, their on-the-job confidence can suffer. It’s likely because their work and spare time have the same mental and physical demands, so they’re always feeling tired.
Those playful pastimes act as a barrier between their professional and personal lives, giving them downtime to “recharge their batteries”, said the lead researcher Ciara Kelly. “When we feel like we have the confidence to deal with challenges in our jobs, we are more likely to be able to build a sustainable (可持续的) job and remain healthy, productive, happy over our lifetimes. It’s important to consider how our spare activities might play a role in that process. So it’s important that you should make the best of your spare time and choose a hobby that benefits your job.”
1. What hobbies may improve people’s working performance?| A．Hobbies requiring physical strength. | B．Hobbies demanding computer skills. |
| C．Hobbies closely connected with your majors. | D．Hobbies having nothing to do with your work. |
| A．Those who had a job and was active in hobbies. | B．Those who had as many hobbies as possible. |
| C．Those who greatly enjoyed working actively. | D．Those who would complete their surveys seriously. |
| A．Hobbies prevent people from concentrating on their work. | B．People gain energy through their hobbies. |
| C．Hobbies help people choose a good job. | D．People receive confidence from challenges. |
| A．Personal Hobbies That Are Good for Your Jobs | B．The Best Method to Choose Hobbies and Jobs |
| C．The Relationship Between Hobbies and Jobs | D．The Secret of Being Excellent in Your Jobs |
7 . Electronic media such as email, instant messaging, video games, and television, has influenced almost every aspect of our daily lives.
Screen time becomes a particularly important issue when discussing children’s use of media. Experts now recommend children’s screen time should be limited to no more than 2 hours per day, including television and non—school related computer usage.
Unfortunately, it appears that this recommendation is not followed in most families. One recent study found that children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend nearly 45 hours per week watching television, playing video games, and surfing the Internet.
It’s important to serve as a model of healthy electronics use for your children.
| A．Most children know more about electronics than adults do. |
| B．Kids easily grow dependent on technology for entertainment. |
| C．Parents should think of ways to manage their children’s screen time. |
| D．This is more time than they spend doing homework, or reading for pleasure. |
| E．However, the effect of being all the time in front of a screen is not entirely positive. |
| F．So before you watch your favorite TV series, remember to set a good example. |
| G．Children under the age of 2 are generally encouraged to have no screen time at all. |
8 . Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park is a nearly perfect place for family vacations in Maine, the U. S. Completely surrounded by the sea, the park has lovely valleys, lakes and peaks. As you might expect from a large area of land with wetlands as well as forests and mountains, Acadia houses a large amount of wildlife including some unusual mammals, fish and birds.
Sightseeing at Acadia National Park:
Acadia National Park offers great opportunities for outdoor entertainment and it’s one of the best diving spots around. Visitors can also spend a morning at Acadia National Park among the tidal（潮汐的）pools, watching the colorful sea creatures in wonder, or they can go for an extended hike among the forests near the top of Cadillac Mountain. For people looking for opportunities to spend time alone, Acadia offers several smaller outer islands.
Just an hour’s journey from Bangor International Airport, Acadia National Park is located off the central coast of Maine. Visitors will find plenty to do, whether they choose to appreciate Acadia’s history and charm at the museum, explore the lakes on a boat or wander the roadways on foot.
Entrance fees:
$20/vehicle for seven days or $5/individual for seven days.
Visitor centers:
Winter Visitor Center is open year—round except January 1. Thanksgiving Day and December 24 and 25.
Hulls Cove Visitor Center is closed from November 1 to April 30.
Accommodations:
· Blackwoods Campsite. Open from mid—December to March. 800—365—CAMP.
· Seawall Campsite. Open from mid—May through mid—September. First—come, first—served.
· Camping on Isle au Haut. Open from mid—May through mid—October. Require a special use permit. 207—288—3338.
1. What can be learned about Acadia National Park?| A．It has wonderful natural scenery. | B．It is located in an inland place. |
| C．It is the largest park in Maine. | D．It has vast areas of flat land. |
| A．Go skiing in the mountain. | B．Visit famous art museums. |
| C．Enjoy personal time silently. | D．Take a bike ride around the lakes. |
| A．Camping on Isle au Haut. | B．Blackwoods Campsite |
| C．Winter Visitor Center. | D．Seawall Campsite. |
Tai Chi, a centuries—old Chinese martial art and
“Tai Chi is not just a sport to make people fit,
Tai Chi has a massive and devoted following. Millions of elderly Chinese people practise it every day in parks, and famous people and other public figures regularly make public
The traditional Chinese martial art was born in the village of Chenjiagou, in central China’s Henan Province, in the 17th century. It now has more than 100 million practitioners
10 . Because I had played soccer for many years, my decision to play football in my senior year was rather bold. Before summer
When I was ten, I received the
After four years in London, I changed. Five months into my fifth year, my family decided to
I will never
| A．competition | B．practice | C．vacation | D．time |
| A．reply | B．detail | C．note | D．recommendation |
| A．experience | B．race | C．interview | D．impression |
| A．order | B．fact | C．news | D．invitation |
| A．modern | B．narrow | C．far-off | D．beautiful |
| A．excited | B．frightened | C．confident | D．annoyed |
| A．running across | B．coming from | C．struggling with | D．leading to |
| A．go | B．apply | C．travel | D．return |
| A．different | B．recent | C．past | D．valuable |
| A．judging | B．considering | C．appreciating | D．reviewing |
| A．hoped | B．realized | C．insisted | D．promised |
| A．forget | B．remember | C．regret | D．admire |
| A．challenged | B．greeted | C．punished | D．requested |
| A．equally | B．sadly | C．awkwardly | D．simply |
| A．quit | B．try | C．register | D．expect |
