| A．in his forty; occupation | B．in the forties; intention |
| C．in his forties; dedication | D．in the forty; commitment |
When I was a kid, my parents were busy working so they enrolled (登记) me in the Spartak Tennis Club in Moscow. Every day after school my parents would take me to Spartak and I would be there until maybe nine o'clock. All we did was play tennis, eat, do homework, have fun and hang out. It was basically my second family.
In that second family was a woman who was like a mother to me, my first coach, Larissa. I still refer to her as my second mother. She taught me everything I know about how to play tennis, but she’s also a wonderful person. She’s kind and patient, which is not what you expect from one of the top tennis coaches in Russia.
Her program when I was little was based on tricking us into doing our exercises. She would put a candy under the cones (锥形物), and we would try to hit the targets with balls, you got to have an ice cream.
Of course we worked hard and I didn’t let her down.
My second-ever tournament was the Moscow Championships, and I won. Afterwards Larissa came up to me and said, “Congratulations, Enjoy today because tomorrow it’s back to work.” She was always telling us to celebrate and have fun with any particular achievement but to always remember there is something more you can do, something more you can achieve.
Now every time I go back to Russia I go to Spartak to see Larissa. We look at all the pictures from all the birthday parties and tournament and celebrations. It is really cool to have someone like her in my life. Larissa is still coaching, but we don’t talk much about tennis any more. We just talk.
1. Why did the author go to Spartak every day? (no more than 15 words)2. What does the author think of his coach? (no more than 10 words)
3. What’s Paragraph 3 mainly about? (no more than 10 words)
4. What does the underlined phrase “let her down” in Paragraph 4 mean? (no more than 5 words)
5. What can you learn from Larissa? (no more than 25 words)
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he will read a book every two weeks, and he’s invited people all around the world to join him.
The “year of books” is Mark Zuckerberg’s 2015 goal. The billionaire is famous for his quirky New Year’s plans. Two years ago, he challenged himself to meet a new person a day. Last year he attempted to write a “thank-you note” every day. He said, “Although I’m very busy, I always have many strange ideas and I still have time to achieve my goals. If you set a goal, you must try your best to make it come true.”
It will come as no surprise that he’s already launched a Facebook page — entitled “A year of books” — to serve as the reading group’s discussion center. Over 62,000 people from all around the world have liked the page in the first 24 hours. Many of them expressed their desires to join Mark Zuckerberg in reading a book every two weeks in their message of the page.
“I hope all the people who participate in the discussion actually have read the books and have relevant points to add. The group will keep it continuously focused,” he stressed on his Facebook page. “With the development of technology, fewer people in the world read books. I do hope people read more books in their spare time rather than surf the Internet or play with their mobiles,” he added on his Facebook page.
The plan is to select books about various topics and cultures. “The Bible” and “Quran” (《可兰经》) have been popular suggestions among hundreds of other titles. The first book is “The End of Power” by Moisés Naím, a former Foreign Policy editor. It’s a 300-page deep dive into the changing nature of leadership today that was published in March 2013.
1. What is Mark Zuckerberg’s New Year’s plan in 2015? (No more than 10 words)2. What does the underlined word “quirky” most probably mean in English? (1 word)
3. Why did Mark Zuckerberg start a page named “A year of books”? (No more than 10 words)
4. What is the book “The End of Power” about? (No more than 10 words)
5. What do you think of Mark Zuckerberg? Give your reasons. (No more than 25 words)
4 . True happiness lies in rewarding relationships, not material wealth, according to new research. Scientists have said that a close circle of friends and family is most important for happiness, and that owning things such as iPhones, computers, being wealthy and owning a sports car do not provide the same level of satisfaction.
The study was done by psychologists at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Lund University, in Sweden. The experts analyzed articles in Swedish newspapers published in 2016 and recorded which words most often occurred in the same articles as the Swedish word for happiness. In this way, they could know our common happiness.
Co-author Dr Danilo Garcia, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy’s Center for Ethics, Law and Mental Health, said, “It’s relationships that are most important, not material things that we possess, and this is in line with other findings in happiness research.”
The study, which contained more than 1.5 million words, showed that terms such as “grandmother” and personal pronouns such as “you”, “me”, “us” and “them” often emerge in the same article as the Swedish word for happiness. Researchers found that words such as “iPhone”, “millions” and “Google” almost never appear with the word “happiness”.
The study is a part of a larger research project on how people describe both positive and negative events in their lives. The researchers believe that the word analysis reflects a common perception among the members of our society as to what should make us happy.
Dr Danilo Garcia said, “Just as the Beatles sang, most people understand that money can’t buy you happiness or love. But even if we can understand the importance of close and warm relationships at a social level, it isn’t certain that everyone is aware that such relationships are actually necessary for our own personal happiness.”
1. New research mainly shows that ________.| A．various things can lead to happiness in people |
| B．having some close friends is very important to us |
| C．owning expensive things can actually make us happy |
| D．rewarding relationships make us happy instead of material wealth |
| A．By doing surveys. |
| B．By doing experiments. |
| C．By analyzing printed articles. |
| D．By referring to previous studies. |
| A．explain something new |
| B．are unbelievable to many people |
| C．prove material things are unimportant |
| D．confirm previous findings in happiness research |
| A．Appear. | B．Spread. | C．Start. | D．Unite. |
| A．money really buys us happiness or love |
| B．rewarding relationships really lead to personal happiness |
| C．close and warm relationships are important at a social level |
| D．all people know rewarding relationships lead to personal happiness |
5 . Biking is an amazing family activity, but finding a route that can accommodate a wide-range of ages can be a challenge.
Lee McNeil and his family are crazy about biking. They have seven children, from 4 to 24 years old. When looking for a route, they look for enough protection from traffic, good surface condition, easy access and interesting views.
With that in mind, here are some great routes for biking with your whole family, as are suggested by McNeil.
Iron Horse Trail
This is the McNeil family’s favourite ride. The route is 26 miles and goes through the 2.1mile Snoqualmie Tunnel.
“Beautiful views, the thrill the tunnel, and places to stop and watch the rock climbers make it special,” McNeil said. “All our kids have taken their turn at braving the black tunnel bravely for the first time, which we celebrate it at the end of the ride.”
How to get there: If you prefer, check http://bit.ly/Mlt9y4 for more information.
Centennial Trail
The Centennial Trail runs for 23 miles from Snohomish to Bryant. The trail is wide and smooth, and is safe for kids as it is off the roads. A nice stop is Lake Cassidy east of Marysville. A dock on the lake is fun to explore. It also has picnic tables and washrooms for a convenient lunch time stop.
How to get there: The trail can be accessed from a number of trailheads. For a map, go to http://bit.ly/L5qCeY.
Cascade Trail
The Cascade Trail follows an abandoned Burlington Northern railroad grade for 23 miles between Sedro-Woolley and Concrete. Because it’s on a railroad grade, the slope is gentle and it makes for an easy family ride.
McNeil said it is a “beautiful ride up the Skagit Valley, with lots of places to watch wildlife along the river.”
How to get there: Go to http://bit.ly/PR4wOW to see a map showing the trail, parking areas and bus stops .
Other good choices
Snoqualmie Valley Trail: http://l.usa.gov/nWGWO
Guemes Island: http://bit.ly/LJ3RxL
Burke-Gilman Trail: http://l.usa.gov/s33li
1. We can learn from the passage that Lee McNeil ________.| A．has a large family |
| B．often travels with his family |
| C．teaches his children how to bike |
| D．spends lots of money on bike rides |
| A．Cascade Trail | B．Iron Horse Trail |
| C．Centennial Trail | D．Burke-Gilman Trail |
| A．see a small valley | B．go through a tunnel |
| C．have a picnic for lunch | D．watch the rock climbers |
| A．http://bit.ly/Mlt9y4 | B．http://bit.ly/LJ3RxL |
| C．http://bit.ly/L5qCeY | D．http://bit.ly/PR4wOW |
| A．ask people to learn from Lee McNeil |
| B．tell people how to make a family ride |
| C．introduce some routes for family rides |
| D．encourage more people to ride bikes |
| A．questioned | B．questioning |
| C．being questioned | D．having questioned |
| A．regulation | B．principle | C．schedule | D．movement |
－______, and I’ll go swimming.
| A．It isn’t my cup of tea |
| B．It’s all the same to me |
| C．With pleasure |
| D．Never mind |
