1 . Monthly subscription （订阅） educational boxes for students can be a great way to develop an interest in a particular subject. If you want to learn something at home while having fun, you can have educational boxes delivered monthly straight to your house.

Spangler Boxes

The Spangler boxes feature a range of hands-on scientific experiments designed by Steve Spangler, a former TY host of a popular science education program on News for Kids. Projects focus on STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math. Examples of projects include exploring lava（岩浆）science, the sound waves, and physical laws.

Finders Seekers Boxes

After receiving a Finders Seekers box, you’ll explore characters of a new city and culture every month while solving puzzles. Think of Finders Seekers as an escape room challenge that takes place in your living room. Clues and online research tools are available to help in case you get stuck solving the mystery. Each puzzle takes approximately two to four hours to complete.

Creation Boxes

Creation teaches students electronics, digital tips and high-level problem-solving. Each box teaches a lesson and is progressively more challenging. A sampling of the projects includes a mood lamp, an electronic memory game, and a distance detector using an ultrasonic sensor（超声传感器）.

Kiwi Doodle Boxes

Kiwi Doodle Boxes are among the most popular boxes on the market. They feature a variety of themes customized to students aged from 8 to 18. Doodle focuses on art and design with projects such as a felt succulent（肉质植物）garden, a faux（人造的）leather sample set, and handmade soap. Doodle projects introduce students to new crafting materials and techniques and al craft supplies are included in the box.

1. Which of the following is included in Finders Seekers Boxes?

A．Features of cities.	B．Online instructions.
C．Historical mysteries.	D．Escape room challenges.

2. Which box will be suitable for students of different ages?

A．Creation Boxes.	B．Spangler Science Boxes.
C．Kiwi Doodle Boxes.	D．Finders Seekers Boxes.

3. Where is the text most likely from?

A．A research report.	B．A scientific journal.
C．A magazine for kids.	D．An engineering textbook.

2 . 贾玲在电影《你好，李焕英》中讲述了她的母亲的辛劳与伟大。当你观看这部电影时是否想起了你的母亲对你的关爱与付出。假如你是李华，请你在母亲节到来之际给妈妈写一封感谢信，感谢她对你的付出。
写作要点提示：
1.祝妈妈节日快乐并表达对妈妈的感谢；
2.描述一件妈妈为你所做的让你非常感动的事情；
3.你将怎么回报母亲。
注意事项：
1. 感谢信必须包括所有要点提示，可适当发挥；
2. 词数100词左右，信件的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mom,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

3 . There are several changes in the procedure for employees who wish to apply for vacant positions within the company. These changes make it much easier for in-house employees to fill vacancies that occur.

First, the most important difference is that employees will now be notified of all available positions before the positions are advertised for the general public. Accordingly, all in-house candidates will be interviewed before we see any outside candidates, and we will offer the job to outside candidates only if no current employees are able to fill the position.

Second, under the new procedure, in-house employees can be hired even if they don’t meet all job requirements. Under our old policy, in-house employees had to meet all job qualifications in order to obtain the vacant position. Now, however, employees who have proven themselves dedicated to the company will be hired for a vacant position even if they are lacking in some minor qualifications; training will be provided.

A third change involves recommendations. From now on, employees do not need to be recommended for an in-house position before they apply. Instead, employees may apply as soon as they are aware of the vacancy. The remaining procedures and policies (those regarding increase in pay, interview procedure, and hiring approval) remain the same.

1. What can we infer from the second change?

A．It becomes difficult for the company to find qualified employees.

B．The employees’ loyalty is highly valued by the company.

C．The company has lowered the requirements for some positions.

D．More and more training will be offered by the company.

2. According to the new hiring procedures and policies, which of the following is NO longer needed?

A．A job application.	B．An interview.
C．A recommendation letter.	D．A hiring approval.

3. What might be the impact of the changes made within the company?

A．More outside applicants will be attracted.

B．Higher salaries will be offered to the employees.

C．The procedures of vacancy application will be simplified.

D．In-house employees will have a better chance to fill the vacancy.

4. Where do we most probably find this text?

A．On a poster about the company.

B．In a hiring advertisement.

C．In an inter-department email.

D．In a personal notebook.

4 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Square dancing is a well-known recreational group activity in China. It     1     (start) to gain popularity in the mid-1990s when groups gathered at squares, parks, and other open spaces     2     (dance) in the mornings and evenings. Most of these     3     (individual) are senior citizens in search of new friends and activities to keep themselves     4     (occupy). It's about more than just dancing; it's a way about meeting new friends and sharing their life stories,     5     benefits them both mentally and physically.

Ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, when authorities launched the     6     (promote) of national fitness activities, square dancing became     7     (popular) than before. According to official statistics, there are presently over 120 million Chinese who regularly take part     8     this activity across the nation's squares. And most participants are happy with their current living conditions.

    9    , loud music played during square dancing was considered as terrible noises. In recent years, national standards and regulations     10     (introduce) to make the exercising more public-friendly and further ensure its sound development.

5 . Extremely tired from work, I finally made it back home at 1 a.m., to find my husband drinking whiskey with a stranger in our lounge. What an unusual _________!

Out of _________, I had to stay up and _________ them. “Hello!” I said, waiting for some kind of introduction or _________. They said nothing, just smiling at me.

“So? What’s going on then?” I asked. My husband replied, “I _________ a new friend at the pub. It’s Andre Agassi, the world No. 1 tennis player.”

I was now _________. It was late and this was no time for childish _________.

“Agassi” _________ into his back pocket and _________ in it for something. Then he pulled out a photo.

“I’m not Andre Agassi, but you do __________ me. The last time you saw me, I looked like this.” He __________ a passport photo of my cousin, Ali, at age 5. I had not __________ him since my childhood.

At the age of 12, I was brought to America, leaving all my family behind. It was __________ and I missed them all terribly at first. But __________, they all became a distant memory.

Ali, a child then, once had a passport photo taken. He looked so __________ in it! This photo became a favorite within our entire family. Everyone got a __________.

And now, here was this __________ man, sitting on my sofa. I buried my face in my hands and just __________. Ali and that little photo __________ my childhood life, my entire family, my history! Suddenly they were all __________agai, no longer a vague memory.

1.

A．husband

B．family

C．lounge

D．scene

2.

A．pleasure

B．respect

C．pity

D．concern

3.

A．join

B．watch

C．stop

D．invite

4.

A．permission

B．suggestion

C．explanation

D．celebration

5.

A．treated

B．chose

C．introduced

D．made

6.

A．annoyed

B．worried

C．disappointed

D．pleased

7.

A．habits

B．tricks

C．friends

D．ideas

8.

A．looked

B．broke

C．reached

D．stole

9.

A．fished

B．ducked

C．snaked

D．wolfed

10.

A．like

B．trust

C．need

D．know

11.

A．came across

B．held up

C．put away

D．sent for

12.

A．missed

B．left

C．seen

D．forgot

13.

A．special

B．disgusting

C．hard

D．funny

14.

A．suddenly

B．gradually

C．actually

D．obviously

15.

A．lovely

B．serious

C．friendly

D．nervous

16.

A．chance

B．photo

C．share

D．copy

17.

A．drunk

B．worn

C．lost

D．grown

18.

A．prayed

B．clapped

C．sobbed

D．wandered

19.

A．destroyed

B．represented

C．changed

D．formed

20.

A．real

B．normal

C．important

D．kid

6 . Sunflower Gymnastics

At Sunflower Gymnastics we offer different classes to help participants promote self-confidence, build physical fitness and encourage independence.

Me &My Grown Up

This is a great class for the young children and adults to enjoy time together exploring movement and starting to understand their little bodies. The class is directed by instructors, yet parents work directly with their children. In addition to learning gymnastics, the children will also learn valuable social skills, like following directions. Saturdays &Sundays 10: 30 a. m. — 11: 30 a. m. Monthly fees: $55. 00

Hot Shot & Strength Training

This program is designed to teach basic gymnastics skills and ensure the development of a strong physical and mental foundation for young male athletes. Individual training focuses on strength, flexibility and balance, which can be transferred to any sport.

Wednesdays& Saturdays 4: 30 p. m. — 5: 20 p. m.   Monthly fees: $65. 00

Nimjia Warrior Program

This class is for kids from the age of six to eleven. Students will compete in a safe challenging environment while having fun. This is the perfect program for a child who has a ton of energy because we promise they’ll leave tired, sweaty and talking about how much fun they have had!

Mondays 4: 25 p. m. — 5: 05 p. m. Fridays 7: 35 p. m. — 8: 15 p. m.   Monthly fees: $57. 00

Competitive Team

Competitive team is for adult athletes who wish to reach the next level in their competition. Athletes are invited to team based on their gymnastics skill levels. We attempt to help them promote their confidence and grow as a teammate. Tuesdays 6: 45 p. m. — 8: 15 p. m. Sundays 5: 00 p. m. — 6: 30 p. m. Monthly fees: $73. 00

1. Which class encourages its customers to take their kids with them?

A．Me &My Grown Up.	B．Hot Shot & Strength Training.
C．Nimjia Warrior Program.	D．Competitive Team.

2. What is special about Ninjia Warrior Program?

A．It charges the lowest fees.	B．It has the longest class period.
C．It promises energy conservation.	D．It is scheduled for weekdays only.

3. What type of writing is this text?

A．A sports schedule.	B．A gym advertisement.
C．A parenting guide.	D．A product catalogue.

7 . When you’re walking your dog in the park, he comes across another dog. The dogs look at each other, sniff each other, and walk circles around each other.   And then the fight begins. But is it really a fight, or is it just play-fighting? It’s very important for you to know whether he’s in any true danger.

Dog owners everywhere like to take their dogs to the park to play. But is their behaviour best described as “play”? Scientists have used the word “play” to describe any behaviour that does not have any obvious purpose.

The natural world is filled with examples of such “purposeless activities”. Bernd Heinrich and Rachel Smolker describe a common activity among ravens(乌鸦): snowboarding. Ravens in Alaska and Northern Canada are known to slide down steep, snow-covered roofs. When they reach the bottom, they walk or fly back to the top, and repeat the process over and over again. In Maine, ravens were observed sliding down small hills of snow. “We see no obvious practical function for sliding behaviour,” they write. Anyone who has spent time in a school playground will recognize that ravens and children both like this type of sliding activity.

It is easy to see that play may sometimes have a purpose. Given that young animals borrow actions from fighting, hunting, or other behaviors, play may serve as a form of practice. Play might help animals become more flexible and prepare better for their future life.

So next time you walk by a playground or a schoolyard, take a look around. The kinds of games that young children play may look like simpler forms of play seen in animals. Some children may remind you of the snowboarding raven, just trying to have a good time. Other games, though, might have a deeper purpose, helping children learn their place in the social world within which they live.

1. Scientists think that “play” refers to          .

A．the fighting between animals

B．walking dogs in the park

C．activities without obvious purpose

D．children’s activities

2. The writer develops Paragraph 3 by          .

A．offering a reason

B．providing a way

C．giving an example

D．asking for advice

3. What does “snowboarding” mean in the third paragraph?

A．Sliding down a bank of deep snow.

B．Hiding in the snow hole.

C．Flying to the top of snow-covered roofs.

D．Walking on the snow-covered ground.

4. Sometimes young animals play in order to          .

A．get along well with others

B．learn some living skills

C．be the ruler of the animal world

D．practice sliding and running

8 . While people are traveling more than ever, there are still unimagined adventures. Tom Hall, editorial director of Lonely Planet, shares some.

Sleep in a suspended pod

Calea, Peru

Hanging out in Peru takes on a whole new meaning when you book a room hanging from the side of a mountain. “I’ve never seen anything quite like this before,” says Hall. “You’re overlooking the Sacred Valley, one of the most popular places to stay in the country.”

Trampoline(蹦床) underground

Gwynedd, Wales

Northern Wales has found a clever use for one of its old mines, turning a former industrial site into an underground trampoline park. Visitors find rope ladders and slides, and a line of trampolines spreading nearly a mile. “When my kids saw them, they went crazy absolutely,” Hall says.

Surf down the side of a volcano

Cerro Negro, Nicaragua

Thrill-seekers don’t need surf or snow on this active volcano. Tour companies bring visitors to the peak, which is covered with fine black ash. “You climb up it, jump on a board, and you go very fast for a long way. It’s an exciting ride,” Hall says.

See art inside a bunker

Berlin

Take in art and history at the Boros Collection--a private art gallery housed inside a World War II bunker. The building, which once protected Nazi leaders, served as a nightclub after the fall of the Berlin Wall. “It was pretty hard to get rid of because it’s so well-constructed,” Hall says. “Now it has some very interesting and unusual art.”

1. What about the room in Calea impresses Tom Hall most?

A．Its size.	B．Its shape.
C．Its location.	D．Its color.

2. What’s special about the trampoline park in Wales?

A．It has many rope ladders.

B．It’s close to an industrial site.

C．It has games designed for kids.

D．It has many trampolines lined up.

3. A historian is most likely to visit the suggested site in      .

A．Calea	B．Gwynedd
C．Cerro Negro	D．Berlin

9 . Facial recognition software has found an unlikely new application: scanning the faces of thousands of British children in school canteens.

Nine schools in North Ayrshire will today start taking lunch payments by scanning the faces of pupils, claiming that the new system speeds up queues and is more secure than the card payments and fingerprint scanners they used previously. “It’s the fastest way of recognising someone at the till,” said David Swanston, the managing director of CRB Cunninghams, the company that installed the systems. “In a secondary school you have around a 25-minute period to serve potentially 1,000 pupils. So we need fast productivity at the point of sale.” He said the average transaction time was cut to five seconds per pupil.

However, privacy campaigners say there is little need to spread out facial recognition technology, which has been criticized for often operating without gaining approvals from the owners. Swanston argued that CRB Cunningham’s system, which uses cameras to check against coded face-print modes stored on servers at the schools, was different from live facial recognition systems that scan through crowds to identify faces. Live facial recognition has previously caused debate after being used by schools for security or to monitor attendance.

North Ayrshire committee said that 97 percent of children or their parents had given agreement for the new system. “Pupils often forget their PINs and unfortunately some have also been the victim of PIN cheating, so they are supportive of the planned developments and appreciate the benefits to them,” the council said.

But some parents said they were unsure whether their children had been given enough information to make their decision, and suggested that peer pressure had also played a role.

1. What can we infer from Swanston’s word?

A．He speaks highly of the system.

B．The software is intended to promote the sales.

C．The technology has previously caused debate.

D．The system will be helpful when the students forget their PINs.

2. What is not the advantage of the facial recognition software?

A．It speeds up the queues.

B．It is safer than the previous payments.

C．It operates without being approved of.

D．It benefits the pupils who often forget their PINs.

3. What’s the author’s attitude to the application of facial recognition technology?

A．Supportive	B．Disapproved
C．Objective	D．Critical

4. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A．Facial recognition has been the best way adopted so far.

B．Parents disagree with the application of facial recognition system.

C．The facial recognition system can benefit the pupils who are forgetful.

D．Schools speed up canteen queues with facial recognition technology.

10 . There are always some persons in your life who touch your soft heart with kindness.

As a little girl, my favorite thing was _______. And when I thought about _______ I wanted to be when I grew up, I figured I’d be a librarian, just because the two librarians changed my life.

At that time, the town library limited the number of books a person borrowed _______ two once a week. I _______ the books in just three days. So to read more, I was _______ about what books to choose. The librarian, Mrs. Tonne, was a warm person. Every time I went into the library, she greeted me, _______. When learning about my trouble, she often _______ some better books. Thanks to her help, I _______ a lot from these books.

Gradually, I developed an interest in writing, _______ poems. When I was in fourth grade, our school librarian, Mrs. Ketelsen, encouraged me to write more. When my poem was not accepted, she ________ me with comfortable words. Once she helped ________ some poems I’d written about dinosaurs to Highlights magazine. It was my first published writing!

Later, at the University of Iowa, ________ I majored in journalism, my dream was different. I realized that I was shy about interviewing people, which made me ________. When I recalled Mrs. Tonne and Mrs. Ketelsen, I made a decision without ________ to be devoted to writing. And now I am an editor at Reader’s Digest.

Whenever I think of the help from them, how ________ I am. It is their kindness that makes me what I am.

1.

A．reading

B．painting

C．exploring

D．creating

2.

A．how

B．why

C．where

D．what

3.

A．of

B．to

C．from

D．between

4.

A．published

B．edited

C．presented

D．finished

5.

A．under the weather

B．in the air

C．at a loss

D．on the rocks

6.

A．shouting

B．smiling

C．crying

D．dancing

7.

A．exchanged

B．recommend

C．designed

D．adapted

8.

A．reflected

B．devoted

C．expected

D．benefited

9.

A．extremely

B．fortunately

C．especially

D．slightly

10.

A．inspired

B．challenged

C．contented

D．tricked

11.

A．admit

B．send

C．revise

D．settle

12.

A．although

B．because

C．when

D．since

13.

A．relaxed

B．satisfied

C．impressed

D．upset

14.

A．hesitation

B．tension

C．exception

D．argument

15.

A．concerned

B．relieved

C．grateful

D．regretful