1 . The job description of a postman doesn’t always include travelling through thick forests, fast-flowing waters and occasionally being run after by wild animals, but for D. Sivan, that is exactly what it is.

Every day for 30 years, this humble postman has been delivering post to some of the most remote villages in Coonoor which are inaccessible by road. Carrying the mail, he walks along the Nilgiri Mountain Railway track, walking through thick forests, crossing slippery streams and walking on railway bridges. Having travelled through the difficult path for 30 years, Mr. Sivan has grown fond of the wild animals he encounters on his daily walks, going so far as to say that they’ve all become his friends. But even his friends have occasionally caused him some trouble, with an elephant once having run after him. He was saved by a truck driver who spotted him and honked at the elephant. The animals recognize him now, though.

As the years rolled by, emails started replacing letter writing. And as more and more people moved from the Nilgiri hills to the plains-the towns of Mettupalayam and Coimbatore, Sivan’s bag became lighter and lighter every day. Many weeks he ended up carrying just 3-4 letter to each village.

One day Sivan noticed that a man to whom he was supposed to deliver his pension had moved to Coimbatore. The man had fallen very sick and was hospitalized. Sivan tracked down the hospital, travelled 80 kms by bus and later car, and delivered the pension. The kind postman even paid for the whole trip himself!

Not all heroes wear a cape(披风);some have white hair and carry a simple bag full of letters. Not all heroes write cool stories on Instagram; some just sit outside a door and read out a son’s letter to his mother.

1. Which of the following best describes Sivan’s daily delivery journey?

A．Awkward.

B．Comfortable.

C．Adventurous.

D．Uneventful.

2. What do the underlined words “his friends” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Postmen.

B．Truck drivers.

C．Wild animals.

D．Villagers in Coonoor.

3. Why did Sivan travel to Coimbatore?

A．To send a pension check.

B．To enjoy a trip to the plains.

C．To get hospital treatment.

D．To draw his pension.

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

A．Letters or emails

B．The world’s busiest postman

C．The postal service in Coonoor

D．Capeless hero with a bag

2 . Here is a list of writing competitions.

Wild Nature Poetry Award

Here we have a new contest from Indigo Dreams Publishing. It is for poems of up to 48 lines on the subject of cruel sports, or wildlife in general, or the natural world, or the environment.

Closing: 30th Sept. , 2022

Prizes: £200, £100, £75

Entry Fee: £5. 50% of entry fees will be donated to the League Against Cruel Sports.

W&A Yearbook Short Story Competition

This annual contest from the writers’ handbook Writers’ &Artists’ Yearbook is for stories of up to 2, 000 words aimed at young adults. There is no theme. Take notice that before emailing your entry, you have to register with the website. Your entry will not be valid otherwise.

Closing: 11th Feb. , 2022

Prizes: A place on one of Arvon’s residential writing courses, plus your story published on the website.

Entry Fee: None. Free to enter.

Green Stories Novel Prize

The competition organized by the University of Southampton is held annually. It is about the idea of a more sustainable society. Submit three chapters of your finished novel or work in progress. One of the chapters must be the first. The three together should run to between 4, 000 and 10, 000 words.

Closing: 30th Dec. , 2022

Prizes: £1, 000, £500

Entry Fee:£2

Melita Hume Poetry Prize

This year’s Melita Hume Poetry Prize from Eyewear Publishing is, as usual, for first full-length collections by poets aged 35 or under, residents in the UK or Ireland. To enter, you should submit between 48 and 100 pages.

Closing:3rd Jan. , 2022

Prizes:Publication with a £1, 200 advance.

Entry Fee:£15.

1. What is required to enter for W&A Yearbook Short Story Competition?

A．Registration in advance

B．Previous experience

C．A fixed theme

D．Entry fee

2. What is special about Green Stories Novel Prize?

A．It is a yearly activity.

B．It is about sustainability.

C．It has a word limit.

D．It has a closing date.

3. Which contest offers the highest prize money?

A．Wild Nature Poetry Award

B．W&A Yearbook Short Story Competition

C．Green Stories Novel Prize

D．Melita Hume Poetry Prize

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What is the speaker?

A．A host.

B．A patient.

C．A volunteer.

2. Which of the following jobs is more likely to lead to Alzheimer’s disease?

A．Lawyer.

B．Driver.

C．Government officer.

3. How can people probably reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease?

A．By exercising regularly and eating healthily.

B．By reading many books.

C．By doing some puzzles.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. How much does the woman earn per month?

A．16, 000.

B．10, 000.

C．8, 000.

2. What kind of credit card will the woman probably apply for?

A．The standard card.

B．The gold card.

C．The diamond card.

3. Where is the woman eager to use the card?

A．At specified luxury shops.

B．At health clubs.

C．At fast food restaurants.

4. What is the woman going to do?

A．Fill out a form.

B．Pay a deposit.

C．Offer her ID card.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where is the man learning to drive?

A．At Rupert’s Driving School.

B．At Russell’s Driving School.

C．At Robert’s Driving School.

2. How are the cars there?

A．New and big.

B．New and small.

C．Old and small.

3. Why did the man fail the last test?

A．He hit something.

B．He didn’t park in the right place.

C．He drove through the red lights.

6 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. When will the first storm arrive?

A．Today.

B．This weekend.

C．Next week.

2. Which city will have fog?

A．New York City.

B．Saint Paul.

C．Boston.

3. For whom will the ice cause problems according to the speaker?

A．People traveling on foot.

B．People driving on the road.

C．People celebrating by the water.

4. What will the weather be like in Chicago?

A．Sunny.

B．Snowy.

C．Windy.

7 . I’d spent most of high school struggling with chronic (慢性的)illness. For almost three years, I bounced between home tutoring and short-lived returns to school. “I don’t want to be in this _______ anymore,” I told my mom.

One night Mom came home with a yellow _______ and placed it in my hands. On the front was a _______ entitled “Don’t Quit”. “I want you to read this,” said Mom. The poem was full of _______ words about overcoming challenges and it was _______ for me. After each and every stanza(诗节)the refrain(叠句)almost sang to me “Don’t Quit.”

Slowly over the next few days I began to _______ inside that journal. Writing had been my passion and somehow Mom knew the comfort I’d find through my own _______. In the passing weeks poems began to _______ between the lined pages and I began to make the sense of the pain.

In the days before the Internet, _______ came in the form of pen pals, namely other teenagers ________ from chronic illness. I ________ a lot of friends who understood me. I began compiling(编纂)the poems we traded. Then, it became a literary newsletter(简报). By the year’s end it was being ________ to a dozen kids just like me across the country. I became ________ because of that newsletter.

I was not a loser in my situation. ________, I now help teenagers ________ illness. It feels right somehow.

1.

A．school

B．home

C．body

D．country

2.

A．pen

B．newsletter

C．card

D．journal

3.

A．passage

B．sentence

C．poem

D．notice

4.

A．inspirational

B．tough

C．normal

D．professional

5.

A．perfect

B．hard

C．brief

D．familiar

6.

A．look

B．read

C．write

D．check

7.

A．pain

B．stress

C．illness

D．words

8.

A．form

B．lack

C．update

D．exist

9.

A．apology

B．support

C．pressure

D．treatment

10.

A．acquiring

B．suffering

C．coming

D．benefiting

11.

A．made

B．forgot

C．lost

D．missed

12.

A．turned out

B．sent out

C．figured out

D．brought out

13.

A．anxious

B．positive

C．generous

D．awkward

14.

A．Plus

B．Moreover

C．Thus

D．Instead

15.

A．escape

B．recognize

C．fight

D．ignore

8 . The Covid pandemic(新冠肺炎疫情)has meant lots of changes. If you are one of the lucky ones, the worst change you have experienced is more time in front of a screen.     1     Here are some excellent tips to help keep your eyes healthy.

Take a break regularly.

Many of us have spent a large amount of time moving from one screen to the next. Your eyes, like all body parts, need care and attention to stay healthy.     2     A short walk through a park means your eyes can focus on objects further away, giving them a break. If getting outside isn’t an option, experts say that the “20-20-20“ rule can be effective through a window as well. That means looking at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds, every 20 minutes you look at a screen.

Position your eyes correctly.

    3     For best eye health, make sure your computer screen is about 50-70 cms, or arm’s length away from your face. The height of the screen can make a difference as well. Try to position the center of your screen slightly below eye level to decrease discomfort. Also, adjust the brightness of your screen to match the level of surrounding light around you.     4    

    5    

No surprise here. Your body requires proper nutrition(营养), or it can’t do its job. Your eyes included. As part of your healthy diet, choose foods rich in antioxidants, like Vitamins A and C; foods like green vegetables and fish. Many foods—especially fatty fish, such as salmon—contain essential omega–3 fatty acids that are important to the health of eyes.

A．Fat for eye health.

B．Keep your eyes clean.

C．That is not good for your eyes.

D．Good news, eye care is fairly simple and free.

E．While some parts are replaceable, you only get one.

F．Each of these small touches can help take the tiredness off your eyes.

G．Many of us cause our own discomfort by not correctly setting up our screens.

9 . Schools across Britain are being asked to take part in a research project known as Teensleep to stagger (错开) their start times to suit the different biological clocks of children, with 10-year-olds starting at 9 am and 15-year-olds starting at 10 am. Scientists believe that the body’s circadian rhythm (生理节律), which determines sleep-wake patterns over 24-hour periods, varies with a child’s age and that an earlier school start time for all students is not in the best interests of older children. “The research project will sign up 100 schools as part of the biggest study yet into the role that school start times play in the health of students,” said Paul Kelley of the University of Oxford.

“The natural change in the biological clock to later in the 24-hour cycle is particularly obvious in the 14 to 24 age group. The change in the biological clock continues in later middle age, when people usually go back to the naturally earlier start time they felt comfortable with when they were 10-year-old children,” Dr Kelley said.

“By the time you are 18, 19 or 20 you are suffering on average two hours of sleep loss a day and that is increasing so that at the end of the week you have suffered 10 hours of sleep loss. It has a hugely damaging impact on the body,” Dr Kelley told the Seience Festival in Bradford.

“Students lose more sleep than doctors working a 24-hour shift during every school or university week... Schools are starting at any time they choose. There is no justification and no study suggesting that starting earlier is better,” he said. “Most people wake up to alarms because they don’t naturally wake up at the time they go to work, so we are a sleep-deprived (睡眠不足) society and this age group, 14 to 24, is more deprived than any other group of society,” he added.

1. What’s the aim of the research project?

A．To determine the sleep hours of children.

B．To suit the different biological clocks of children.

C．To change the start times of the schools across Britain.

D．To study the influence of school times on students’ health.

2. Which of the following statements might Dr. Kelley agree with?

A．24-year-olds start school the latest.

B．The older students are, the later they start school.

C．The change in the biological clock doesn’t happen in later middle age.

D．An earlier start time suits both the later middle age group and 10-year-olds.

3. What has a great bad influence on the body?

A．Work on weekends.

B．The pressure of study.

C．More and more sleep loss.

D．The earlier school start time.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Schools always start earlier.

B．Students are most sleep-deprived.

C．Students are more stressed than doctors.

D．Sleep deprivation has become a worldwide problem.

10 . The goji berry (枸杞), which has been part of Chinese culture, is now being viewed as one of the hottest superfoods available today. This small berry is thought to have anti–ageing powers and has achieved newfound global standing as a superfood. The Chinese call it the goji berry or wolfberry.

The goji berry, which is packed with Vitamin C，is viewed as a fruit. China’s love of the goji berry dates back hundreds of years. At home，Chinese men and women will put dried goji berries over homemade chicken to give themselves a vitamin increase. The goji berry is also viewed as a herb (药草). It is believed by doctors to improve liver and kidney (肝脏和肾脏) function.

However, there are certain times when doctors will not advise its use as it may exacerbate a patient’s condition. “If a person has a fever or sore throat, I would suggest patients stop taking goji berries during that period of time,” a Chinese doctor said.

Asia’s younger generations have accepted the goji berry, but are trying it in their own ways. For example, members of Gen Z (零零后一代) are now buy “wellness kettes (养生壶)” for their goji berry tea. Their parents recognize these as traditional soup kettles that have been repackaged by brands such as Buydeem and turned into a more Instagram–worthy shade of pink. A 2019 study on Gen 7. in China showed that this generation sees living a healthy life as a key priority, even over money and personal enjoyment.

The berry has also become popular with international consumers. Attracted by the superfood, whose popularity comes on the back of the global awareness of its medical value, people in the West are paying up to $10 for a package of the berries, around three times the price in China.

1. What’s the function of goji berry?

A．It can treat a cold.

B．It makes homemade chicken more delicious.

C．It does good to the liver and kidney.

D．It can bring down a fever.

2. What does the underlined word “exacerbate” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Worsen.

B．Skip.

C．Prevent.

D．Awaken.

3. Why is the example of Gen Z mentioned in paragraph 4?

A．To prove Asia’s younger generations value goji a lot.

B．To argue the traditional soup kettles are better than “wellness kettles“.

C．To confirm the importance of such brands as Buydeem.

D．To show worries from the parents of Gen 7.

4. Why is goji berry so popular around the world?

A．Because it is much cheaper in the West.

B．Because it has an attractive appearance.

C．Because it has a long history.

D．Because it has medical value.