1 . Why is it important to learn a foreign language? Basically, the advantages of learning foreign languages have the ability to set you up for success in many aspects of your life.
We all know the business world is developing fast.
Studies have proved the cognitive (认知的) benefits of learning another language, no matter how old you are. They have shown that people who can speak two languages tend to have bigger brains and better memories.
Learning a foreign language can actually bring you an opposite psychology. You will have a better understanding of your cultural customs. Besides, you’ll pay more attention to the grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation patterns of your first language.
| A．Check out these reasons to study a foreign language |
| B．It is all about learning how to truly connect with others |
| C．Foreign language study is simply part of a very basic education |
| D．More companies than ever are doing business in many countries |
| E．Those people are usually more creative and better problem solvers |
| F．Speaking a foreign language can open up a number of probable friends |
| G．This possibly explains the reasons of your improvements in language skills |
2 . There’s nothing quite like a winter wonderland. When the snow falls and the lakes and ponds freeze over, there’s a certain magical chocolate-box feeling to the world that ironically makes us feel cozy inside. However, it might be different for some of our pets.
• Keep the walks brief
•
If your dog is shivering a lot, it isn’t a bad idea to give them a blanket or a warmer bed. Avoid electrically heated blankets and pads as some pups might not realize when it gets too hot.
• Wrap them up in the right clothes
Make sure the clothes you choose fit them properly and don’t have any dangling bits they could swallow.
• Watch out for dangerous snow
Salt and antifreeze on sidewalks are potentially deadly to pets.
| A．It takes a dog about ten days to adjust to any temperature change |
| B．Give them a heat source |
| C．Don’t force it to get dressed |
| D．Take your dog out even in cold weather |
| E．Compare and purchase the soft clothes for it |
| F．Make sure you wipe your pup’s feet after every walk |
| G．The prospect of facing the winter cold may not be so inviting |
3 . As an immigrant from China, my mother loves Chinese culture deeply. She
Why is American Chinese food not
My mother has a deep feeling for authentic Chinese food and restaurants, so I decide to open a restaurant where she and other immigrants can feel the
| A．orders | B．cooks | C．donates | D．receives |
| A．However | B．Therefore | C．Besides | D．Otherwise |
| A．alternatives | B．restrictions | C．meals | D．comments |
| A．unwilling | B．illegal | C．ambitious | D．quick |
| A．agreeable | B．contemporary | C．massive | D．complicated |
| A．complex | B．actual | C．expensive | D．previous |
| A．believe | B．find | C．deny | D．conclude |
| A．deserves | B．helps | C．hates | D．refuses |
| A．make | B．prepare | C．defend | D．distinguish |
| A．process | B．cuisine | C．mood | D．discount |
| A．differently | B．generously | C．abnormally | D．vividly |
| A．build | B．equip | C．accept | D．monitor |
| A．careers | B．platforms | C．ranks | D．tastes |
| A．decrease | B．atmosphere | C．reflection | D．duty |
| A．spied on | B．called on | C．handed down | D．broken down |
4 . Why do we talk the way we do? It might date back to when our ancestors left the jungle for the open plain. Between 5.3 million and 16 million years ago, Africa’s landscapes changed from thick, leafy forests to wide-open grasslands. This environmental change pushed our ancestors out of the trees and onto the ground. Along with all of the physical and behavioral changes this may have caused, researchers also believe it may have changed the way we speak.
“Open landscapes provide us with fewer objects to affect signal communication, meaning our voices can travel further compared with that in thick forests,” Charlotte Gannon, a researcher who studies language development, told Newsweek. “The move to these open spaces may have increased the effectiveness of our communication.”
By comparing the vocal calls of the orangutan (大猩猩) , Gannon and her team were able to establish how different calls could travel across different landscapes. In their study, the team played 487 calls from orangutans and measured their audibility (可听度) at set length over an overall distance of over 1,300 feet in the South African plain.
“Our results were surprising,” Gannon said, “The rule of sound spread suggests that lower-frequency (低频率) sounds (the grumphs) would have traveled further than higher-frequency sounds (the kiss squeaks). Our results actually found the opposite to this.” In these environmental settings, consonant (辅音)-like calls traveled a lot further than vowel (元音) -like calls. Actually, around 80 percent of consonant-based calls were audible at 1,300 feet, compared to only 20 percent of vowel-based calls.
Gannon said these results highlight the importance of studying living orangutan to learn about our species’ history. “We can view them as time machines that allow us to recreate key moments of our history so we can learn more about the development of our language,” Gannon said. “Despite their popularity in modern languages, consonants have often been forgotten when discussing speech development. Our research highlights not only their presence in ancient times but their importance to the development of language.”
1. What led to the speech development?| A．Behavioral change. | B．Time development. |
| C．Physical development. | D．Environmental change. |
| A．Less block. | B．Better tools. | C．Louder voice. | D．Larger vocabulary. |
| A．The results of the study. |
| B．The process of the research. |
| C．The purpose of the program. |
| D．The participants of the project. |
| A．The living orangutan can recreate our language. |
| B．Consonants are significant in language development. |
| C．The sound of grumphs travels further than that of kiss squeaks. |
| D．Consonant-like calls travel four times further than vowel-like calls. |
5 . About Byron
Whether you’re in Byron for fun or work, there are plenty of things to do to fill your spare time.
Byron, Georgia makes travel sweeter with its slower pace and breathtaking attractions. It’s full of historic sites, museums, shopping malls, and more. In this city at the center of Georgia’s peach industry, you can take a vacation that leaves you rested, not annoyed.
EventsGeorgia Peach Festival-June
Fall Market Days-September
Georgia National Fair-October
Byron Christmas Parade-December
Local attractionsByron Welcome Center
Located in the Peach Shops, the Byron Welcome Center is your first stop in our area. The Byron Welcome Center is ready to help you make the most of your stay in Byron, Georgia.
North Peach Park
North Peach Park is the place for traditional festivals, movies in the park, and many other events. The park has picnic shelters, playgrounds, football fields and soccer fields all year round. North Peach Park also has an indoor, climate-controlled multi-purpose room.
The Big Peach Shopping Mall
One of Georgia’s major shopping malls, and Central Georgia’s biggest and best variety of goods, the Big Peach has something for everyone! Open seven days a week and located directly off I-75, the Big Peach is Central Georgia’s favorite shopping destination.
Party Playground Indoor Fun Center
Let the kids work out some energy with an hour or two at the Party Playground Indoor Fun Center. This room full of safe and soft play equipment will let your little ones run, jump and play, rain or shine. It’s also a great place to have a birthday party.
Contact usFor more information, contact us at (478) 956-2409
Email: byronwelcomecenter@gmail.com
1. When is the best time to enjoy delicious peach in Byron?| A．June. | B．September. | C．October. | D．December. |
| A．North Peach Park. |
| B．Byron Welcome Center. |
| C．The Big Peach Shopping Mall. |
| D．Party Playground Indoor Fun Center. |
| A．A course plan. | B．A travel brochure. | C．A journal. | D．An encyclopedia. |
6 . Macquarie Island is a tiny island that’s part of Australia. It’s about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. The island’s been made a world heritage area because it’s so untouched, but this unique environment is under threat from some unwanted visitors.
It all started when seal hunters came to the island in the early 1800s. They brought rabbits with them as a source of food for the journey, and also on board the ships were rats and mice, which made their way onto the island too. They’re being blamed for destroying the homes of marine birds, causing soil loss and ripping up plant cover, as these before-and-after photos show.
So what’s being done about the problem? It starts with a team of helicopters that fly across the island carrying these giant containers. Inside them are poisoned pellets (有毒饲料) which are dropped and spread across the island. For any rabbits that survived the baiting (诱饵) , there’s a plan B. This special team of dogs is being put through a final training. It’ll be their job to track down any remaining rabbits. They have to also learn to behave around the island’s native wildlife. The dogs could be here for years or until the task is complete. The dogs don’t actually kill the rabbits. They find them, then the hunters decide to either catch the rabbits or shoot them.
But the program has received a bit of criticism. Some people argue 25 million dollars is a lot of money to be spending on wiping out rabbits and rodents (啮齿目动物), and in the process, some native birds will be killed because of the baiting.
The reality is the problem isn’t going to be solved overnight. The people running the program say that even if one pair of rabbits is left alive, the whole task will be seen as a failure, which means these guys could be here for a long time, trying to ensure that this precious island remains protected from pests.
1. Who are these unwanted visitors?| A．Seal hunters. | B．Marine wildlife. | C．Native birds. | D．Foreign species. |
| A．Advancing. | B．Destroying. | C．Dividing | D．Balancing |
| A．Poisoned pellets are being dropped on the island from helicopters. |
| B．A team of hunters is being trained to catch or shoot rabbits. |
| C．Native birds are being protected from the unwanted visitors. |
| D．A special team of dogs is being sent to kill the rabbits. |
| A．To spend as little money as possible. |
| B．To protect native birds from the unwanted visitors. |
| C．To ensure that no pair of rabbits survive on the island. |
| D．To train dogs to track down the rabbits on the island. |
7 . Working for a big company in London on a salary (薪水)of over £100,000, you might expect Grayden Reece-Smith to have a luxurious (奢侈)lifestyle, going on expensive holidays or driving a sports car around south London, where he lives. In fact, the 28-year-old lives a very different existence from his colleagues. He gives away everything he earns over £42,000–a figure that he thought he could comfortably live on.
Over the past five years, Reece-Smith has handed over more than £250,000 to organizations such as International Care Ministries, which helps poor families in the Philippines, and the Against Malaria Foundation. He is part of a growing number of young professionals described as “effective altruists”. Effective altruists typically donate regularly to a charity which they think will have a great impact (影响). Some change careers to make more money, which can then be given away.
Reece-Smith considered working in the charity sector after graduating from university, but thought that he could make a bigger difference by donating a large part of his salary. He had volunteered as a teacher at a school in Tanzania, but then realized that earning and giving would be more effective. “The cost of my flights there could have paid the salaries of two teachers for an entire year,” he says. Instead, he could “stay at home, living a nice life and still make a huge difference in the world”.
He is not mean with money-last year he went to Cuba on holiday, and spent several thousand pounds on a new sofa. But his lifestyle isn’t as luxurious as some of the people he works with. “I usually don’t buy supermarket-branded food products, but I don’t own a car. Other people on my salary might have a bigger house. Some of my colleagues have four-bedroom houses, but we only bought what we needed-a two-bedroom flat.£42,000 is more than enough to live on and still save,” he says.
1. How much money does Grayden spend on donation every year?| A．Less than £42,000. | B．Over £100.000. |
| C．£50,000. | D．Any income over £42,000. |
| A．Donate to impactful charities. | B．Make more money to enjoy lives. |
| C．Create a good public image. | D．Enter a teaching profession. |
| A．To access his inner life. | B．To create a stronger effect. |
| C．To give away all of his salary. | D．To be a teacher at a school. |
| A．He leads an expensive lifestyle. | B．He buys food produced by supermarkets. |
| C．He lives in a four-bedroom house. | D．He balances his life and donation. |
8 . In his 1936 work How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie wrote: “I have come to the conclusion that there is only one way to get the best of an argument — and that is to avoid it.” This distaste for arguments is common, but it depends on a mistaken view of arguments that causes problems for our personal and social lives — and in many ways misses the point of arguing in the first place.
Carnegie would be right if arguments were fights, which is how we often think of them. Like physical fights, verbal (言语的) fights can leave both sides bloodied. Even when you win, you end up no better off. You would be feeling almost as bad if arguments were even just competitions — like, say, tennis tournaments. Pairs of opponents hit the ball back and forth until one winner comes out from all who entered. Everybody else loses. This kind of thinking explains why so many people try to avoid arguments.
However, there are ways to win an argument every time. When you state your position, formulate (阐述) an argument for what you claim and honestly ask yourself whether your argument is any good. When you talk with someone who takes a stand, ask them to give you a reason for their view and spell out their argument fully. Assess its strength and weakness. Raise objections (异议) and listen carefully to their replies. This method will require effort, but practice will make you better at it.
These tools can help you win every argument — not in the unhelpful sense of beating your opponents but in the better sense of learning about what divides people, learning why they disagree with us and learning to talk and work together with them. If we readjust our view of arguments — from a verbal fight or tennis game to a reasoned exchange through which we all gain respect and understanding from each other — then we change the very nature of what it means to “win” an argument.
1. What is the author’s attitude toward Carnegie’s understanding of argument?| A．Critical. | B．Supportive. | C．Tolerant. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．They lack debating skills. | B．They may feel bad even if they win. |
| C．They fear being ignored. | D．They are not confident in themselves. |
| A．Defend. | B．Explain. | C．Conclude. | D．Repeat. |
| A．Sense of logic. | B．Solid supporting evidence. |
| C．Proper manners. | D．Understanding from both sides. |
9 . For lots of kids, toddlerhood (幼儿期) is an important time for friendship. Studies show that the earlier kids learn to form positive relationships, the better they are at relating to others as teenagers and adults. Playing together also helps these kids practice social behaviors, such as kindness, sharing, and cooperation.
Even so, how quickly your child develops into a social creature may also depend on his temperament(性格). Some toddler s are very social, but others are shy. In addition, the way that toddlers demonstrate that they like other children is markedly different from what adults think of as expressions of friendship. Research at Ohio State University in Columbus found that a toddler’s way of saying “I like you” during play is likely to come in the form of copying a friend’s behavior.
This seemingly unusual way of demonstrating fondness can result in unpleasant behavior. Regardless of how much they like a playmate, they may still grab his toys, refuse to share, and get bossy. But experts say that this is a normal and necessary part of friendship for kids this age. Through play experiences, toddlers learn social rules. That’s why it’s so important to take an active role in your toddler’s social encounters by setting limits and offering frequent reminders of what they are. When you establish these guidelines, explain the reasons behind them.
Begin by helping your child learn sympathy (“Ben is crying. What’s making him so sad?”), then suggest how he could resolve the problem (“Maybe he would feel better if you let him play the ball.”). When your child shares or shows empathy(同理心) toward a friend, praise him (“Ben stopped crying! You made him feel better.”).
Another way to encourage healthy social interaction is by encouraging kids to use words- not fists-to express how they feel. It’s also important to be mindful of how your child’s personality affects playtime. Kids are easy to get angry when they’re sleepy or hungry, so schedule playtime when they’re refreshed.
1. What does it indicate when toddlers copy their playmates’ behavior?| A．They are interested in acting. | B．They are shy with the strangers. |
| C．They are fond of their playmates. | D．They are tired of playing games. |
| A．Design games for them. | B．Find them suitable playmates. |
| C．Play together with them. | D．Help them understand social rules. |
| A．Giving examples. | B．Explaining concepts. |
| C．Providing evidence. | D．Making comparisons. |
| A．How Children Adapt to Changes | B．How to Be a Role Model for Children |
| C．How Your Baby Learns to Love | D．How to Communicate with Your Kid |
10 . I was halfway across Indiana headed home to Kentucky when my car broke down. My phone was
I sat alongside my car for several hours trying to
Right then and there, this total
| A．busy | B．loud | C．dead | D．secure |
| A．mechanic | B．policeman | C．manager | D．guide |
| A．washing | B．parking | C．purchasing | D．maintaining |
| A．feel | B．beat | C．absorb | D．produce |
| A．promised | B．refused | C．stopped | D．volunteered |
| A．solved | B．noticed | C．escaped | D．explained |
| A．surprise | B．regret | C．amusement | D．disappointment |
| A．called up | B．pulled out | C．put down | D．threw away |
| A．liar | B．beginner | C．stranger | D．loser |
| A．free | B．ready | C．uncertain | D．unable |
| A．pronounced | B．agreed | C．discovered | D．doubted |
| A．Tiredness | B．Kindness | C．Loneliness | D．Carefulness |
| A．Folding | B．Drying | C．Soiling | D．Mending |
| A．saved | B．called | C．judged | D．banned |
| A．friend | B．daughter | C．coworker | D．customer |
