1 . One young person, who was well educated, went for a job as a manager in a big company. The president did the final
He discovered the youth was
The president requested the youth to
“Go and clean your mother’s hands when you go back today, and then
The youth felt his chance of getting the job was high, so when he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. However, his tears fell
The next
The president said, “You are
| A．election | B．test | C．interview | D．competition |
| A．strong | B．excellent | C．humorous | D．cute |
| A．maker | B．cleaner | C．mender | D．seller |
| A．wash | B．hide | C．show | D．dry |
| A．found | B．let | C．helped | D．watched |
| A．study | B．ignore | C．work | D．rest |
| A．move | B．see | C．recognize | D．answer |
| A．after | B．until | C．because | D．as |
| A．believed | B．sensed | C．noticed | D．expected |
| A．quietly | B．sadly | C．excitedly | D．angrily |
| A．morning | B．noon | C．afternoon | D．evening |
| A．worried | B．felt | C．brought | D．spoke |
| A．important | B．difficult | C．different | D．impossible |
| A．value | B．secret | C．type | D．change |
| A．educated | B．respected | C．trusted | D．hired |
2 . You might feel full after having a big meal. But you may actually suffer from “hidden hunger”. This means that what you eat may fill your stomach, but it’s not giving you the proper nutrition (营养) that your body needs.
This happens when food lacks the vitamins and minerals people need to stay healthy, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
At present, “hidden hunger” affects 2 billion people worldwide, including 300 million people in China. It is most commonly seen among children and teenagers and can result in bad immune system, blindness or even death, China News Service reported.
Many Chinese people don’t get enough iron, calcium, vitamin A and vitamin D．One main reason is that agricultural products don’t have much of these nutrients. Over 40 percent of China’s farmland is lost its vitamins and minerals, lowering the nutritional value of the crops that grow on it, according to Xinhua.
Many of the processed foods that people enjoy eating today, such as chips, burgers and cookies, have made the situation worse. Vitamins and minerals area easily lost when these foods are processed. People’s Daily noted.
The human body needs 16 kinds of minerals, including iron and calcium, and 13 kinds of vitamins, including vitamins A and D, to stay healthy. Vitamins help maintain healthy eyes and skin and allow your bones to grow properly. Minerals are important for maintaining blood pressure and making new cells.
In response, China’s government has created several action plans to improve public health, as well as develop and promote nutritious foods.
Eating more fresh nutrition—rich food like vegetables, whole grains and dairy can help us stay healthy. For vegetables like carrots and broccoli, boiling and steaming can better preserve (保留) their nutrition when compared to frying them, CNN suggests.
1. “Hidden hunger” happens when________.| A．what you eat include some fresh nutrition—rich food like vegetables. |
| B．what you eat can’t give you the proper nutrition your body need. |
| C．what you eat fills your stomach but you still feel hungry. |
| D．what you eat isn’t a big meal. |
| A．People eat too much processed foods such as chips, burgers and cookies. |
| B．Over 40 percent of China’s farmland is losing its vitamins and minerals. |
| C．Children and teenagers are in bad immune system. |
| D．Some agricultural products don’t have much. |
| A．污染的 | B．加工的 | C．出口的 | D．改进的 |
| A．Vitamins may cause blindness. |
| B．Vitamins include iron and calcium. |
| C．Vitamins help maintain healthy eyes and skin. |
| D．Vitamins are hardly lost when foods are processed. |
3 . Teens Aren’t Getting Enough Sleep And Schools Are Partly to Blame
Most kids are severely sleep deprived, and early school starting times aren’t helping.
Across the country, only 17.7 percent of middle and high schools start classes after 8:30 a.m.. The average school start time for middle and high schools around the country is 8:03 a.m., according to a new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The AAP advises that schools start after 8:30 to help teenagers get 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep a night — the amount the AAP says is ideal. Currently, less than a third of high school students sleep 8 hours a night, says the CDC analysis.
The analysis uses 2011–2012 information from the Department of Education to gather the start times of about 39,700 schools. Alaska has the latest average school start time at 8:33 a.m., while Louisiana has the earliest at 7:40 a.m.
Sleep-deprived teenagers are more likely to suffer from depression, use drugs, get low grades and be overweight. Even though schools often face obstacles when trying to delay school start times due to traffic and scheduling concerns, some have made progress recently.
After Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts delayed school start times in 2008 from 7:55 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., the private school saw a number of benefits. As the Huffington Post previously reported, the school’s 2014 viewbook noted that students earned higher grades; ate more breakfasts, visited the health center far less frequently; and performed better in athletics. Teachers reported that first-period discussion classes were uncharacteristically lively from the beginning bell.
Half of parents whose teens attend schools that start before 8:30 would support a later start time, according to a 2014 survey from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
1. The benefits of enough sleep for students don’t include ________.| A．earning higher grades | B．eating more breakfast |
| C．visiting the health center more frequently | D．performing better in athletics |
| A．making a comparison | B．using examples |
| C．presenting research findings | D．quoting diagrams |
| A．The earlier schools start, the higher grades students can get. |
| B．All schools should start after 8:30 across the world. |
| C．Nine hours of sleep a night is the most ideal choice. |
| D．The lack of sleep may lead to various terrible problems. |
| A．A research report. | B．A health guide. |
| C．A class presentation. | D．An official document. |
4 . It is every climber’s dream to reach the summit of Mt Qomolangma. At 29,017 ft, the peak is undoubtedly the highest spot on earth. But the trek to the summit is anything but a walk in the park.
Ever since the summit was climbed by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953, eager climbers try to make the pilgrimage(朝圣之旅) to the top of the mountain every year. The last few weeks of May is the perfect time when the severe weather conditions usually open up for a brief period of time.
On one such day in May, there was a strange traffic jam of mountaineers as they navigated the “death zone” —the deadliest trail to the summit. The severe overcrowding resulted in mishaps and loss of lives.
Mountain climbing, which was once a sport for the fittest, has been crowded out by a wave of adventure tourism. Now, numerous climbers make a beeline for the top of Mt Qomolangma, led by commercial companies. Better equipment and clothing has made it appear all very easy.
However, Qomolangma is a tough mountain. With just a single icy path to the summit and only a few days of clear weather to climb, the dangers of not moving quickly can be fatal. Today, many buy a spot to the top if they have the means to pay for it, but they are ill-prepared or unfit. These tourists push themselves beyond their capacity in the thrill of achievement, risking not just their own lives but that of others following behind.
More than 200 lives have been taken by the slopes so far. Eleven climbers have died this year alone. The last stretch to the peak is a narrow path used by both people sending and descending the summit. With oxygen level at just 30% of what it is at sea level, the human body can shut down from exhaustion very quickly. Climbers have said that the mad rush to the summit makes people uncaring to the troubles of others who are struggling.
1. What does the underlined word ‘mishaps’ mean?| A．Accidents. | B．Crashes. | C．Arguments. | D．Attacks. |
| A．Mountain climbing is a game for rich people. |
| B．Mountain climbing is becoming a business. |
| C．Brave climbers risk their life to conquer Qomolangma. |
| D．Advanced equipment ensures tourists’ safety. |
| A．A craze for mountain climbing | B．A deadly zone to Mt Qomolangma |
| C．An accident on Mt Qomolangma | D．A traffic jam on Mt Qomolangma |
5 . Global warming does more than just kill plant species-it also changes the way plants grow. Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) joined forces with the Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry (IPB) to discover the molecular processes of plant growth. In Current Biology, a scientific journal, they presented their findings on high-temperature plant growth. This could lead to developing plants that can survive global warming.
Plants react to even small temperature changes, but they are unable to move to new locations. “When temperatures rise, plants grow taller... to cool themselves off. Their stalks become taller, and their leaves become narrower and grow farther apart. Yet, this makes the plant more unstable overall,” explains Professor Marcel Quint, an agricultural scientist at MLU. Unstable plants bend faster in the rain and produce less food that’s also less nutritious.
There’s still lots to learn about plant reactions to temperatures. “We are just starting to understand how plants detect the changes in temperature...,” Quint says. Earlier studies have shown that the protein PIF4 directly controls plant growth and is also dependent on temperature. When it’s cold, PIF4 is less active, meaning the plant doesn’t grow. At higher temperatures, PIF4 activates growth-promoting genes, and the plant grows taller. This is new information, says Quint.
To understand it, they investigated the growth of thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana,) seedlings. Normally, its seedlings form short stems at 20℃. These stems become considerably longer at 28℃. They discovered a hormone that activates the PIF4 at high temperatures, thus producing the protein. The findings of the Halle group may help to breed plants that remain stable even at high temperatures and produce many crops.
1. Why did the researchers at MLU and IPB conduct their research?| A．To study the negative effects of global warming. |
| B．To find out how plants help reduce global warming. |
| C．To observe how global warming affects plant growth. |
| D．To understand the ways that plants cause global warming. |
| A．Low temperatures have little impact on plants. |
| B．Plants prefer dry weather to rainy weather. |
| C．Plants are very sensitive to changes in soil. |
| D．High temperatures decrease crop production. |
| A．It mainly exists in the cress seedlings. |
| B．It works differently at different temperatures. |
| C．It is a kind of gene that controls plant growth. |
| D．It is a plant hormone that works at high temperatures. |
| A．Farmers. | B．Botanists. |
| C．Researchers. | D．Environmentalists. |
6 . Have you ever had a burger without meat? You might think that a vegetable burger will take away the real meaning of a burger as it will not have the juicy taste of meat. Despite these concerns, the company, Beyond Meat, has managed to successfully make plant-based meat.
On May 2, the company became the first vegan company to become public. Beyond Meat’s initial share price was expected to range from $19 to $21. Impressively, just hours later, Beyond Meat’s stocks rose to $73!
Instead of killing animals, Beyond Meat obtains these components from different plants and combines them to make vegan meat. It contains pea protein that gives the chewy, meaty texture along with canola oil, coconut fat and other binding agents. In addition, the company uses beet juice to simulate the bloody look of beef! The plant proteins are subjected to intense heating, cooling and pressure so that their structure becomes fibrous and copies that of animal meat.
For people who have changed their diet but miss the taste of meat, Beyond Meat satisfies their taste buds. It also has all the nutrients and elements that meat has, but does not come from an animal.
Plant-based meat is also beneficial as fewer animals are killed. As our world’s population continues to grow beyond 7 billion, so does the demand for meat. Livestock farming is not sustainable as it requires more land, consumes more energy and is one of the largest producers of greenhouse gases. Beyond Meat uses 99 percent less water and 93 percent less land. It also has 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and it uses 46 percent less energy.
However, there are some people who do not like the smell of a Beyond Meat patty. Others question that processed foods are unhealthy and it is safer to choose whole vegetables instead. Regardless, with another company, Impossible Burger, looking to go public soon, as well as companies such as Tyson Foods and Nestle looking to enter the market, plant-based meat is here to stay. These companies hope to convince many people to switch from meat to plant-based alternatives.
1. Why did Beyond Meat’s stocks rise sharply?| A．People found it convenient to buy plant-based meat. |
| B．People believed the bright future of the company. |
| C．People preferred to spend more money buying meat. |
| D．People are becoming vegans in life. |
| A．What is made up of meat. |
| B．Why plants can be made into meat. |
| C．How plant-based meat is made. |
| D．Whether plant-based meat is allergenic. |
| A．It makes farming sustainable. |
| B．It contains all the nutrients people need. |
| C．It doesn’t have the taste of meat. |
| D．It is environmentally friendly. |
| A．Plant-based meat will become a new trend. |
| B．All people prefer plant-based meat. |
| C．Vegan companies produce unhealthy food. |
| D．The smell of plant-based meat is disgusting. |
7 . Clothing rental is a hot new industry and retailers (零售商) are demanding to get on board in hopes of attracting green shopper.
But is renting fashion actually more environmentally-friendly than buying it, and if so, how much more? Journalist and author Elizabeth Cline investigated (调查) this question and concluded that it's not as sustainable as it seems.
Take shipping, for example, which has to go two ways if an item is rented — receiving and returning. Cline writes that consumer transportation has the second largest carbon footprint of our collective fashion habit after manufacturing.
She writes, ''An item ordered online and then returned can send out 20 kilograms of carbon each way, and increases up to 50 kilograms for rush shipping. By comparison, the carbon impact of a pair of jeans purchased from a physical store and washed and worn at home is 33.4 kilograms, according to a 2015 study by Levi's.''
Then there's the burden of washing, which has to happen for every item when it's returned, regardless of whether or not it was worn. For most rental services, this usually means dry cleaning, a high impact and polluting process. All the rental services that Cline looked into have replaced perchloroethylene (氯乙烯), a carcinogenic (致癌的) air pollutant, still used by 70 percent of US dry cleaners, with alternatives, although these aren't great either.
Lastly, Cline fears that rental services will increase our appetite for fast fashion, simply because it's so easily accessible. There's something called ''share washing'' that makes people waste more precisely because a product or service is shared and thus is regarded as more eco-friendly. Uber is one example of this, advertised as ''a way to share rides and limit ear ownership.'' and yet ''it has been proven to discourage walking,bicycling, and public transportation use.''
Renting clothes is still preferable to buying them cheap and throwing them in the dustbin after a few wears, but we shouldn't let the availability of these services make us too satisfied. There's an even better step — that's wearing what is already in the closet.
1. What is Elizabeth Cline's attitude toward clothing rental?| A．Approving. | B．Unfavorable. |
| C．Objective. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．rental services are on the rise |
| B．clothing rental will be as successful as Uber |
| C．renting clothes might waste more than expected |
| D．renting clothes might make people lose interest in fast fashion |
| A．give up renting any clothing |
| B．purchase inexpensive clothes |
| C．rent clothes rather than buy them |
| D．make full use of clothes we've possessed |
| A．Clothing rental is a new fashion. |
| B．Clothing rental is retailers' preference. |
| C．Renting clothes is not that eco-friendly. |
| D．Renting-clothes business is in a dilemma. |
The kindly “Chinese Fortune Grandpa” wearing Han Chinese clothing and holding a fortune bag debuted (亮相) at the Imperial Ancestral Shrine in Beijing on the day after Christmas. The final image of the Chinese gift-giver was selected through a global design competition against “Santa Claus”, according to a report byGuangming Daily.
Many Chinese cities have been filled with Christmas neon lights, Christmas songs, Christmas trees, and the images of “Santa Claus”in recent days. As a matter of fact, foreign festivals are becoming more popular than certain traditional Chinese festivals among the Chinese people, particularly the youth. “Certain traditional festivals have died out because people have forgotten their spiritual meanings, ”said noted writer Feng Jicai. More and more Chinese people are beginning to exchange gifts on Valentine's Day and Christmas. However, many of them know nothing about Chinese New Year pictures or sugarcoated figurines (小糖人), and have never heard suona music. Certain folk customs on the Dragon Boat Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, and other traditional festivals have gradually disappeared. Under such circumstances, even the “Chinese Fortune Grandpa” is unlikely to defeat “Santa Claus”.
However, it is not a bad thing to some extent. It constantly reminds people to restore the “true face” of traditional festivals. China has listed traditional Tomb Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival as legal holidays, which brings more paid leaves to the public, and helps to awake the public awareness of traditional festivals.
In modern society, festival is a carrier of culture and its meaning largely depends on their understandings and usages by people. Compared with foreign festivals, traditional Chinese festivals are not inferior (次于) in cultural meanings, but lack of fashion sought by modern people. If people do not appreciate the historical culture contained by traditional festivals, and only take pleasure-seeking as the most important, the significance of traditional festivals will fade away and the inheritance (继承) of fine traditional culture will be cut off.
1. The second paragraph implies that ________.| A．traditional festivals should co-exist with foreign festivals |
| B．all the Chinese festivals are disappearing in the near future |
| C．western festivals are constantly impacting on our festivals |
| D．the Chinese people have the public awareness of traditional festivals |
| A．an image designed by the Chinese people will be displayed |
| B．the Chinese gift-giver was intended to symbolize traditional culture |
| C．many foreigners know nothing about Chinese festivals |
| D．the Chinese are beginning to exchange gifts on the Mid-Autumn Festival |
| A．traditional festivals are out of fashion now |
| B．the historical culture is more difficult to understand |
| C．western festivals contain more cultural meanings |
| D．the inheritance will cut off their contact with western festivals |
| A．Gone are Chinese Traditional Festivals |
| B．True Face of Chinese Traditional Culture |
| C．Foreign Festivals Popular with Chinese |
| D．Chinese Fortune Grandpa VS Santa Claus |
