1 . Istanbul & Faces

Titled “Timeless City: Istanbul & Faces”, the Turkey photography exhibition celebrates the 30th anniversary of Istanbul and Shanghai’s sistership. The 42­year­old photographer focuses on the distinctive (独特的) historical quarters and the atmosphere that spreads in Istanbul. His work also pays respects to its people as well, with well­defined portraits.

Date: Till Jan. 18, 10 a.m.—4 p.m.   Venue: Shanghai Art Collection Museum.

Knitted Works

The knitted (编织的) show is aimed at raising awareness of post natal depression. The works were created by more than 20 mothers from different cities. All the knitted dolls and other works will be sold with the profits (利益) going to charity when the exhibition ends. If you are interested in the knitted works, you can order a special piece.

Date: Till Jan. 1, 7 a.m.—9 p.m.   Venue: B1 Jinxiu Fun.

Old Shanghai Teahouse

The newly­opened zone at Shanghai Dungeon features nostalgic sets and experiences for visitors to have “scary fun”. Visitors can wear traditional Chinese costumes and take photos with the performers.

Date: Daily, 11 a.m.—8 p.m.   Venue: Mosaic Shanghai Mail.

Musical Titanic

The Tony Awards winning musical “Titanic” is in Shanghai with more than 100 characters cast. The impressive stage effects promise to take the audience to the bottom of the ocean.

Date: Till Jan. 22, 2 p.m.—7:30 p.m.   Venue：SAIC Shanghai Culture Square.

1. Where should you go if you want to learn more about Turkey’s history?

A．B1 Jinxiu Fun.

B．Mosaic Shanghai Mail.

C．Shanghai Art Collection Museum.

D．SAIC Shanghai Culture Square.

2. What can we know about knitted works?

A．People can have a talk with the creators.

B．All the works can be sold when the show begins.

C．They were made by people from different places.

D．The show offers people chances to learn how to make one.

3. What makes the Musical Titanic special?

A．Its opening time is the longest.

B．It raises money for a special purpose.

C．It allows interacting with performers.

D．It offers a lifelike experience under water.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Yu Rong, a Chinese artist, thinks of a new way to introduce     1     ancient story of Hua Mulan in her picture book. In the book, I Am Hua Mulan, she tells the story by     2     (combine) Chinese paper-cutting with international artistic styles. She places Shaanxi papercuts over western-style pencil sketches (素描)    3     (create) typical presentation of Chineseelements (要素), which turns out to be a     4     (success) and impressive breakthrough.

Hua Mulan,     5     story has been told by generations in China, was a fighter from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). As a devoted daughter, she dressed herself as a man to serve in the army     6     place of her father. Mulan’s character, such as courage, kindness and a disinterested attitude towards fame and fortune, made     7     (she) one of the most respected historical Chinese heroines. Mulan’s story has been adapted     8     (frequent) in modern media. For example, in 1998, Disney produced a film named Mulan, which     9     (consider) a great success by critics and the public right after its release.

To better tell the story, Yu Rong takes inspiration from her several     10     (visit) to sites of ancient battles and Henan Province’s Yu Opera. After years of preparation she finally makes this extraordinary work.

3 . A man was employed to paint a boat. He brought paint and _________ and began to paint the boat as the owner wanted. While painting, he _________ there was a hole in the body of the boat and decided to repair it. When he finished painting, he received his _________ and left.

The next day, the owner of the boat visited the painter and _________ him with a cheque(支票), much higher than what he was paid for the painting work. The painter was _________.

“You’ve already paid me for painting the boat, sir! he said.

“This is not for the paint job. It’s for repairing the _________ in the boat.”

“Ah! But it was such a small service.” the man said. “Certainly it’s not worth paying me such a high amount for something so _________!”

“My dear friend,” the owner said, “You don’t understand. Let me tell you _________ happened. When I asked you to paint the boat, I _________ to mention the bole. When the boat dried, my kids took it and ____________ a fishing trip. They did not know that there was a hole there. I was not at home at the time. So when I ____________ and noticed they had taken the boat, I was hopeless. Imagine my ____________ and joy when I saw them returning safely from fishing.”

“Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole! You now see what you did? You ____________ the life of my children!”

Each of us has a moral duty to offer help, wipe tears, listen carefully and repair all the “hole” we ____________ in our life journey, because a small act will make a big ____________ in the future.

1.

A．rulers

B．brushes

C．knives

D．pens

2.

A．felt

B．heard

C．sensed

D．noticed

3.

A．money

B．paint

C．brush

D．fish

4.

A．dropped

B．cooked

C．presented

D．took

5.

A．happy

B．disappointed

C．embarrassed

D．surprised

6.

A．hole

B．chair

C．paddle

D．picture

7.

A．huge

B．small

C．great

D．rude

8.

A．when

B．why

C．what

D．how

9.

A．stopped

B．regretted

C．remembered

D．forgot

10.

A．went on

B．went away

C．went over

D．went through

11.

A．drove

B．shared

C．rewarded

D．returned

12.

A．belief

B．relief

C．sadness

D．worry

13.

A．saved

B．hurt

C．broke

D．designed

14.

A．come out

B．come in

C．come across

D．come into

15.

A．achievement

B．progress

C．process

D．difference

4 . The Government’s sugar tax on soft drinks has brought in half as much money as Ministers first predicted it would generate, the first official data on the policy has shown.

First announced in April, 2016, the tax which applies to soft drinks containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml, was introduced to help reduce childhood obesity (肥胖). It is believed that today’s children and teenagers are consuming three times the recommended level of sugar, putting them at a higher risk of the disease.

Initially the sugar tax was expected to make £520m a year for the Treasury. However, data of the first six months showed it would make less than half this amount. At present it is expected to generate £240m for the year ending in April 2019, which will go to school sports.

It comes after more than half of soft drinks sold in shops have had their sugar levels cut by manufacturers (制造商) so they can avoid paying the tax. Drinks now contain 45 million fewer kilos of sugar as a result of manufacturers’ efforts to avoid the charge, according to Treasury figures. Since April drinks companies have been forced to pay between 18p and 24p for every litre of sugary drink they produce or import, depending on the sugar content.

However, some high sugar brands, like Classic Coca Cola, have accepted the sugar tax and are refusing to change for fear of upsetting consumers. Fruit juices, milk-based drinks and most alcoholic drinks are free of the tax, as are small companies manufacturing fewer than 1m litres per year.

Today’s figures, according to one government official, show the positive influence the sugar tax is having by raising millions of pounds for sports facilities (设施) and healthier eating in schools. Helping the next generation to have a healthy and active childhood is of great importance, and the industry is playing its part.

1. Why was the sugar tax introduced?

A．To collect money for schools.	B．To improve the quality of drinks.
C．To protect children’s health.	D．To encourage research in education.

2. How did some drinks companies respond to the sugar tax?

A．They turned to overseas markets.	B．They raised the prices of their products.
C．They cut down on their production.	D．They reduced their products’ sugar content.

3. From which of the following is the sugar tax collected?

A．Most alcoholic drinks.

B．Milk-based drinks.

C．Fruit juices.

D．Classic Coke.

4. What can be inferred about the adoption of the sugar tax policy?

A．It is a short-sighted decision.	B．It is a success story.
C．It benefits manufacturers.	D．It upsets customers.

5 . Students and Technology in the Classroom

I love my blackberry (黑莓手机) — it’s my little connection to the larger world that can go anywhere with me. I also love my laptop computer, as it holds all of my writing and thoughts. Despite this love of technology, I know that there are times when I need to move away from these devices (设备) and truly communicate with others.

On one occasion, I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers. My goals for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas. Because I want students to thoroughly study the material and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom, I have a rule-no laptops, IPads, phones, etc. When students were told my rule in advance of the class, some of them were not happy.

Most students think that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students misusing technology. There’s a bit of truth to that. Some students think that I am anti-technology. There’s no truth in that at all. I love technology and try to keep up with it so I can relate to my students.

The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places in which we can have deep conversations and engage complex ideas. Interruptions by technology often break concentration (专心) and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas. I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas. I want them to push each other to think differently and make connections between the course material and the class discussion.

I’ve been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student satisfaction with the environment that I create. Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge, they learn at a level that helps them keep the course material beyond the classroom.

I’m not saying that I won’t ever change my mind about technology use in my history class, but until I hear a rally good reason for the change, I’m sticking to my plan. A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just too sweet to give up.

1. Some of the students in the history class were unhappy with ______.

A．the course material	B．others’ misuse of technology
C．discussion topics	D．the author’s class rules

2. The underlined word “engage” in para.4 probably means ______.

A．explore

B．accept

C．change

D．refuse

3. According to the author, the use of technology in the classroom may ______.

A．keep students from doing independent thinking

B．encourage students to have deep conversations

C．help students to better understand difficult themes

D．affect students’ concentration on the teacher’s ideas

4. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author ______.

A．is quite stubborn in teaching	B．will give up teaching history
C．will change his teaching plan soon	D．values technology-free dialogues in his class

6 . Some Sightseeing Tours

Tour A: Bath & Stonehenge, £39

It includes entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge. Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum. Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous monuments dating back over 4,000 years.

Tour B: Oxford & Stratford, £36

It includes entrance fees to the University St Mary’s Church Tower and Anne Hathaway’s house. Oxford: It includes a guided tour of England’s oldest university city and colleges. Look over the “city of dreaming spires (尖顶)” from St Mary’s Church Tower. Stratford: It includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.

Tour C: Windsor Castle & Hampton Court, £37

It includes entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace, a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry Ⅷ’s favourite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle (entrance fees not included). With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four kings and one queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze (迷宫) where it is easy to get lost!

Tour D: Cambridge, £33

It includes entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great. It also includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.

1. Which tour is the most expensive?

A．Tour A.

B．Tour B.

C．Tour C.

D．Tour D.

2. What do Tour B and Tour D have in common?

A．They include a free tour of a church.

B．They offer a chance to visit some gardens.

C．They include a guided tour of a university.

D．They encourage visitors to know Shakespeare.

3. What can you do in Tour C?

A．Meet a king.

B．Visit a palace.

C．Build a maze.

D．Live in a castle.

7 . Ever wondered how many Tyrannosaurus rex (霸王龙) ever walked around the Earth? The answer is 2.5 billion over the two million or so years in which the species existed, according to a calculation published today in Science. The figure has allowed researchers to estimate just how rare it is for animals to fossilize.

Researchers led by Charles Marshall used a method employed by ecologists studying contemporary creatures to estimate the population of T. rex during the late Cretaceous period.

The team used their estimates of the total range of T. rex across modern North America, combined with their estimates of the dinosaur’s weight, to calculate that, at one time, around 20,000 T. rex would have been alive on the planet. That translates to around 3,800 T. rex in an area the size of California, or just 2 T. rex moving around Washington DC. Calculating that T. rex survived for about 127,000 generations before disappearing, the researchers came up with a figure of 2.5 billion individuals over the species’ entire existence. Only 32 adult T. rex have been discovered as fossils, so the fossil record accounts for just 1 in about every 80 million T. rex. This means that the chances of being fossilized were small.

These numbers suggest that fossils in general are rare, and that many species that were less widespread than T. rex were probably never preserved, says Marshall, who adds, “The fossil record is our only direct knowledge of these past histories of our planet.”

Thomas Holtz, a researcher, says that “we always knew that the chance of any individual becoming a fossil was rare, but we lacked the calculation to figure out how rare”. He’d like to see comparable studies made on disappearing species with more abundant fossils, which might allow us to better understand historic ecosystems.

1. Which of the following was used to figure out the population of T. rex?

A．The approach to calculating kinds of wildlife.

B．The method used by researchers to study fossils.

C．The comparison of various studies on disappearing species.

D．The way adopted by ecologists to study modern creatures.

2. How does the author develop the third paragraph?

A．By making a comparison.	B．By listing the figures.
C．By giving an explanation.	D．By presenting examples.

3. What can we infer from paragraph 4?

A．T. rex owns quite a few fossils.

B．The fossils record all the past of our planet.

C．Fossils of some species may never be stored.

D．Many species lived together in their whole life.

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

A．A new method to figure out the number of T. rex.

B．The fossil record to uncover the history of our planet.

C．Scientists employed fossils to understand past ecosystems.

D．The figure of T. rex helps calculate how rare their fossils are.