| A．Paris. | B．Rome. | C．Vienna. |
2 . As you read this, pause to reflect on your recent interactions. As a politician, husband, and father, I encounter various spoken language styles: analytical or chatty, formal or informal, pointed or gentle, cooperative or decisive. Talk is the currency of politics. It is our way of negotiating, debating, and persuading. Talk is also the currency of learning-how we develop our ideas, deepen our thinking and share our feelings.
That’s why I want speaking skills, sometimes called “oracy”, to play an important part in Labor’s plans for a reformed school curriculum (课程).
Employers value speaking skills equally with reading and writing. The ability to speak well and express yourself should be something every child should master. But the curriculum doesn’t allow us to provide this. This is short-sighted. An inability to express your thoughts fluently is a key barrier to getting on and doing well in life.
Oracy is in part about good public speaking and debating skills, but in reality, it’s about teaching young people to make strong arguments, choose wise words, understand their audience, form meaningful social connections, and use facial expressions and body language to convey their message. Above all else it’s about finding your voice. To work out who you are and what you believe. If reading opens up a world of imagination and possibility, then speaking and listening opens up a lifetime of empowerment-a chance for those who feel invisible in their own country to be heard. It is about the confidence to speak out, to call out injustice or harm.
And the other side of speaking is listening, which can also be taught. Listening, truly listening, develops tolerance and understanding. And as parents we can play our part. We’ve all been there, at mealtimes, silent as we all stare at our devices. Our job, all of ours, is to get off our screens and give young people, and adults, the gift of listening.
So, oracy―speaking and listening―needs to be placed firmly at the heart of school life.
1. How does talk help a politician?| A．It deepens his wishful thinking. |
| B．It enhances his analytical skills. |
| C．It strengthens persuasive power. |
| D．It provides emotional support. |
| A．Employers underestimate the value of speaking. |
| B．Academic pressure makes students poor-sighted. |
| C．Spoken language is regarded as least important. |
| D．Oracy should deserve more attention at school. |
| A．By sharing different opinions. |
| B．By clarifying the definition. |
| C．By describing personal experiences. |
| D．By employing the concept. |
| A．Set a good example for their children. |
| B．Balance screen time and mealtime. |
| C．Have oral face-to-face communication. |
| D．Disconnect from the virtual world. |
3 . Playing tennis might add years to your life, according to a new study of Danish men and women. The study found that adults who frequently participate in tennis or other racket (球拍) and team sports lived longer than people who were spending a lot of time sitting down. They also lived longer than people who took part in activities such as jogging, swimming and cycling. The results raise interesting questions about the role that social interactions might play in enlarging the benefits of exercise.
No one doubts that being physically active improves our health and can extend our longevity (寿命). But whether some activities might be better than others remains in argument. One widely publicized 2017 study of more than 80,000 British men and women found that those who played racket sports like tennis tended to outlive those who jogged.
The researchers widened their inquiry and looked at a variety of sports and their associations with life. To start, they turned to the same data resource they had used for the jogging study, the Copenhagen City Heart Study. The study’s participants had all completed health exams and lengthy questionnaires about their lifestyles and whether and how often they took part in some sports common in Denmark, including cycling, swimming, running, tennis, soccer and, perhaps unexpectedly, badminton.
According to the data, cycling added an average of 3.7 years to riders’ lives, compared to sedentary Danes. Running added 3.2 years while tennis 9.7 years. These associations remained unchanged even when the researchers controlled for people’s education, socioeconomic status and age.
“Why and how some sports might add more years to people’s lives than others is impossible to know from this kind of observational study,” says Dr. James O’Keefe, a study co-author. “But we know that social support probably has unique effects on helping people get more benefits from the exercise.”
For now, people who run or ride alone might consider finding a group or partner to work out together. “Raising your heart rate is important for health,” he says. “But it looks like connecting with other people is, too.”
1. According to the passage, which activity may help people live longer?| A．Cycling. | B．Running marathon. |
| C．Swimming. | D．Playing badminton. |
| A．Inactive. | B．Outgoing. | C．Depressed. | D．Easygoing. |
| A．Exercising alone. | B．Working out together. |
| C．Working out regularly. | D．Raising one’s heart rate. |
| A．women who prefer team sports live longer than men |
| B．people’s education and socioeconomic status affect their longevity |
| C．the reason why some sports might add more years to people’s lives is still unknown |
| D．80,000 Danish men and women participated in the survey |
4 . In a world ruled by hard exercise and complex fitness programs, the simple act of walking is often ignored(忽略).
Heart Health and Weight Management
Walking is light heart exercise that helps improve heart health by increasing blood circulation(循环).
Pressure Drop and Clear Mind
Taking a relaxing walk or quick walk has been shown to give off endorphins, the body’s natural ”feel-good” materials. This leads to lower pressure levels, improved feelings, and improved mental health. Walking outdoors in nature or in a peaceful environment can provide a refreshing escape from the daily tasks.
Joint(关节)Health and Free Movement
Unlike active sports, walking is soft on the joints, making it a perfect choice for people of all ages and fitness levels.
Social Communication and Connection
| A．It helps oil joints and make them stronger. |
| B．It’s a cheap way to lead a healthier lifestyle. |
| C．So taking a walk can make your mind relaxed and fresh. |
| D．A quick walk after meals has been shown to benefit the stomach. |
| E．It cuts down the risk of heart disease and brings down blood pressure. |
| F．Walking is useful exercise that can easily be turned into a social activity. |
| G．However, walking remains one of the easiest and most useful forms of exercise. |
Lemon duck is a special dish in Wuming, Nanning, Guangxi. And it
Wuming lemon duck, also known as Gaofeng lemon duck, originated in Wuming District, Nanning. Lemon duck first
The
The special flavor of lemon duck is not just credited to lemon. In fact, sour pepper, sour Chinese onions, sour ginger, mashed garlic and so on should be added when frying. Before coming out of the pot, add salted lemon and purple perilla (紫苏)
The Gaofeng lemon duck was listed in the
6 . Libraries are places to preserve cultural heritage, develop information resources and carry out social education. Let’s look at some of the most beautiful libraries in the world.
Vennesla Library and Culture House, Norway
The library is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Opened in 2011, this library is an important site for concerts, theatrical performances and film screenings. The design of the library is unique. The building is supported by 27 laminated (层压的) wood arches that hold the roof up.
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Italy
The library is one of the largest and most important libraries in Italy. It preserves one of the most important collections of Greek, Latin and Asian manuscripts (手稿) in the entire world. Some of them are the most precious pieces. The library specializes in Venetian history and classic philology. Its collection of antique maps is also very significant.
Stacja Kultura, Poland
Thanks to a recent restoration, a station that was once in ruins underwent an architectural change. The library might seem unremarkable from the outside, but the innovative project and its division into a train station, public library and cultural center have certainly made this building worth a visit.
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, United States
The library is the main source of literary archives (档案), ancient manuscripts and rare books at Yale University, and it’s visited by students and researchers from around the world. Completed in 1963, the library is home to the Bollingen Prize for Poetry which is awarded biennially, and the Windham-Campbell Prizes which are awarded annually for fiction, literary essays, poetry, and theater.
1. Which library will attract people interested in the stage?| A．Vennesla Library and Culture House. | B．Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana. |
| C．Stacja Kultura. | D．Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. |
| A．Its architecture. | B．Its collection. | C．Its location. | D．Its original owner. |
| A．They have a long history. | B．They are favored by movie lovers. |
| C．They hold some precious treasures. | D．They are the most important libraries. |
7 . I’ve been happily married to my wife for 25 years. We have gone through a lot together, but I have never seen anyone that has remained so calm and cool through it all. We have three wonderful children together and she just recently went back to finish her education degree to become a teacher in Louisiana, which is more about pride than a prize.
A couple of years ago, my wife was in a rather bad accident. We were shopping together in a Dollar General and when we were at the checkout she sent me back to pick up a fan for her mother. While I was back there, I heard a horrific noise, and she screamed my name. When I got to the front of the store, I realized that an elderly driver had hit the gas instead of the brake, hitting my wife.
I was able to get a cooler that had fallen on her and decided to go with her to the hospital. She had to have work done on her knee by herself from all the glass that had gotten impaled into it, but it was nothing short of a miracle that she wasn’t hurt further.
That’s when we learned of another miracle. During an ultrasound and X-ray to make sure that my wife’s back was okay, we discovered that not only did she lack one of her kidneys, but she also had a birth defect. This wonderful woman has given me so much that I can never thank her enough. I was medically dismissed from the military and went on disability. She has held a job and helped to take care of me and our three children, 20, 17, and 13, through some of the craziest stuff I can imagine.
She is a strong and resolute woman that takes pleasure in teaching her children in the classroom. And I could not ask for a better woman to love and live with.
1. What was to blame for the accident of the author’s wife?| A．Her birth defect. | B．A horrible noise. |
| C．The author’s indifference. | D．A driver’s mistake. |
| A．She called the police. |
| B．She went to hospital alone. |
| C．She fell unconscious on the ground. |
| D．She dealt with the wound by herself. |
| A．Through a routine medical test. |
| B．By examining her wounded back. |
| C．By checking her birth defect. |
| D．Through clearing all the glass. |
| A．To share his life experience. |
| B．To show his love for his family. |
| C．To express his thanks to his wife. |
| D．To honor his wonderful marriage. |
Eating ultraprocessed foods (超加工食品) for more than 20% of your daily calorie intake every day could lead to cognitive decline, a new study revealed. Studies have found these foods can raise our risk
The key problem with ultraprocessed foods is that they are usually very high in sugar, salt and fat, all of
9 . A recent research study suggests that learning music doesn’t make you smarter.
For a while, there was an idea found on the Internet and in various magazines that suggested that babies could become smarter if they listened to Mozart, or to other classical music. Inspired, some parents bought classical CDs for their babies in the hope that this would boost their intelligence. But this so-called “Mozart Effect” has been challenged repeatedly.
But is taking music lessons surely different from just listening to music? Wouldn’t taking music lessons make kids smarter? That’s exactly the question that many researchers over the years have tried to answer. Some of their studies concluded that it does, and some found that it doesn’t. For example, one study showed that music education did not improve reading skills, while another one found a small effect of music on young children’s ability to learn words.
The researchers of the new study, Giovanni Sala (Fujita Health University) and Fernand Gobet (London School of Economics), looked at the data behind 54 carefully selected studies, and after carefully comparing the data from different papers, they concluded that children who took music lessons did not score higher on tests that measure their intelligence or academic ability than kids that didn’t learn music.
If music doesn’t make you smarter, how does that explain other research that shows that music lessons help students’ school performance? It seems like there is something about music lessons that makes students able to perform better in their other classes. That doesn’t have to be intelligence, and it’s likely not. Music lessons could have helped in different ways: They could have led to a change in homework habits, they could have increased confidence, or they could have improved social skills. And finally, they also mention that music education could still be very beneficial to students’ performance in non-music subjects if the music is combined with these classes. So feel free to keep making music, and keep encouraging children to learn music.
1. What can we learn about the “Mozart Effect”?| A．It is most likely to be ineffective. |
| B．It was first presented by Mozart. |
| C．It helps parents take good care of their children. |
| D．It will draw more and more researchers’ attention. |
| A．Listening to music benefits kids a lot. |
| B．Whether music education suits all kids remains unknown, |
| C．Listening to music fails to help kids in language learning. |
| D．Whether taking music lessons makes kids smarter is controversial. |
| A．They did 54 small studies in all. |
| B．They observed children in music classes. |
| C．They examined plenty of previous research. |
| D．They did a long-term survey of musical students. |
| A．Intelligence determines one’s school performance. |
| B．Music lessons should be encouraged for children. |
| C．A student’s intelligence can be increased with effort. |
| D．Students should avoid listening to music while studying. |
10 . The Rise of “China-chic”
Over past years, guochao, or “China-chic” has been gaining popularity among Chinese consumers. Guochao conveys the cultural heritage and values of China.
The idea of guochao was first borrowed from some international brands, and began to win over Chinese consumers in 2015.
In its third stage, guochao became more common in everyday life. Over the past decade, guochao has expanded from consumer goods to experiential products. As consumers are showing greater interest in cultural identity and creativity, productions like the TV program National Treasure, and the dance show Night Banquet in Tang Dynasty Palace integrate cultural and historical elements with the latest audio-visual technologies.
Nowadays, guochao is moving to the next stage. No matter how the trend evolves, Chinese people’s positive attitude toward the country’s development and their recognition of and growing confidence in national culture won’t change.
| A．The trend grew in the following years |
| B．They give the viewers a totally new experience |
| C．The next stage saw the rise of China’s native fashion trends |
| D．It also expresses national pride and confidence in a new era |
| E．The second period of guochao mainly features hi-tech sectors |
| F．Its success will rely first and foremost on gaining cultural confidence |
| G．The concept of “Made in China” was recognized as the representation of Chinese culture |
