1 . I
Soon, I realize today is the day for my
I didn’t realize what I had gotten myself into until I was driving to school in my car in
As soon as I got to school, I went to print out my English project. “Uhoh,” I thought, “this isn’t allowed.”
The school day went on and I finally grew
I drove home after school, and my
“What happened to no
This experiment was actually
These devices certainly make my life
| A．try | B．pretend | C．refuse | D．decide |
| A．expectation | B．exploration | C．experience | D．experiment |
| A．doubt | B．silence | C．surprise | D．excitement |
| A．interested in | B．annoyed with | C．impatient with | D．used to |
| A．hard | B．easy | C．strange | D．comfortable |
| A．rule | B．plan | C．mind | D．role |
| A．agreeing | B．concentrating | C．counting | D．depending |
| A．one | B．first | C．last | D．next |
| A．homework | B．control | C．pressure | D．technology |
| A．improved | B．started | C．failed | D．finished |
| A．available | B．convenient | C．beneficial | D．avoidable |
| A．fine | B．terrible | C．creative | D．successful |
| A．troublesome | B．easier | C．difficult | D．complex |
| A．suggest | B．mind | C．practice | D．prevent |
| A．boring | B．complicated | C．difficult | D．different |
2 . While the temperature in Chicago on March 4, 2018 was 5 degrees, the water was even colder—2 degrees. That didn’t stop over 4, 800 people on North Avenue Beach jumping into Lake Michigan.
The Chicago Polar Plunge is a yearly event to raise money for Special Olympics Chicago. Each of the participants (参与者) collect at least $200 from friends and family members to get the chance to jump into the lake’s icy water. More than $1.5 million was raised for a great cause: Special Olympics Chicago and the over 7, 500 athletes it serves.
Special Olympics, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 1968. The group’s purpose is to provide athletic training and competition in 22 sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities (缺陷).
After some initial speeches, the first group of participants ran into the lake. Many of the participants were members of teams that dressed up in costumes (服装), including Minions and Waldo from the Where’s Waldo book series.
Chloe Krecun, 12, from Chicago, was shaking when she got out of the water. “I can’t feel my feet or fingers and my shoes are filled with water,” she said afterwards. But she would do it again to support the Special Olympic athletes.
As other participants headed towards the water to “take a plunge”, one of them shared why he participated in the event. “My cousin has benefited from the Special Olympics, so my family and I are here to support him by plunging,” said Brandon Marty.
Brunida Cotton, a special education teacher, was also paying attention to the Special Olympics as she prepared to plunge. “It gives the athletes confidence; they belong to a team and they enjoy being able to do things other kids do, ” Cotton said.
1. What do we know about the Chicago Polar Plunge?| A．It involves more than 7, 500 athletes. |
| B．It was first held in 1968. |
| C．It asks participants to wear costumes. |
| D．It requires each participants to collect $200 or more. |
| A．Comfortable. | B．Challenging. |
| C．Dangerous. | D．Exciting. |
| A．To support his cousin. |
| B．To encourage others to join in the activity. |
| C．To collect money for the Special Olympics. |
| D．To get a chance to enter the Special Olympics. |
| A．An introduction of the Special Olympics. |
| B．A speech to encourage people to help others. |
| C．A report about a plunging event. |
| D．An action to raise money for athletes. |
7 . Ieoh Ming Pei, one of the last great modernist architects (建筑师), has died aged 102. Although he worked mostly in the United States, Pei will always be remembered for a European project: his redevelopment of the Louvre Museum in Paris in the 1980s.
Pei was the first foreign architect to work on the Louvre in its long history, and at the beginning his designs were fiercely opposed. But in the end, the French—and everyone else—were won over. His glass pyramid outside the Louvre, completed in 1989, is now one of Paris’ most famous landmarks.
Pei was born in China in 1917 into a wealthy family. His father was a banker. His artistic mother—a calligrapher and musician—had a greater influence on him. Despite not speaking English, he moved to the US at the age of 18 to study at Pennsylvania, MIT and Harvard. He worked as a research scientist for the US government during World War Two, and went on to work as an architect, founding his own firm in 1955. He carried on working well into old age, creating one of his most famous masterpieces (代表作)—the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar—in his 80s.
He had designed buildings, hotels, schools and other structures across North America, Asia and Europe. His other work includes Dallas City Hall and Japan’s Miho Museum. His style was influenced by his love of Islamic architecture. His favoured building materials were glass and steel, with a combination of concrete (混凝土)．
He won a variety of awards and prizes for his buildings, including the AIA Gold Medal, the Praemium Imperiale for Architecture. In 1983 Pei was given the fifth Pritzker Architecture Prize for giving the 20th century some of its most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms. He used his $100，000 prize money to start a scholarship fund for Chinese students to study architecture in America. In person, Pei was always neatly dressed, goodtempered, charming and unusually modest.
1. What do we know about Pei and his work on the Louvre Museum?| A．The French approved of his designs at first. |
| B．Pei was the only foreign expert employed by the Louvre. |
| C．Pei made use of glass in his designs. |
| D．Pei retired after completing the work. |
| A．Productive and humorous. |
| B．Generous and modest. |
| C．Determined and outgoing. |
| D．Attractive and responsible. |
| A．The Louvre Pyramid Architect Died Aged 102 |
| B．Prizes Awarded to Pei |
| C．Landmarks Created by Pei |
| D．A Famous Architect Donated His Prize Money |
8 . Oct. 15th was International White Cane Safety Day. You may have never heard of it, but it was a day to remember for Peng Baier of Nanjing Foreign Language School. After school that day, he visited the local Disabled Persons’ Federation (残疾人联合会). He wanted to know about the sales and feedback (反馈) of his newlypublished book, How to Help a Disabled Person.
Since he lives with his disabled grandparents, he understands that life can be hard for this group of people. Peng decided to write the book because he wanted to create a better life for disabled people in China.
“Crossing the street is a big problem for them,” Peng said. “Speeding cars, people walking in a hurry, bikes on the sidewalk—accidents can happen everywhere for the blind. That’s why we hardly ever see disabled people on the street, even though there are millions of disabled people in China.”
Peng’s book with pictures is easy to understand. It is a guide to the right and wrong ways to treat disabled people. The lefthand pages show the reader the right way; the righthand pages point out mistakes that are commonly made.
The teenager had 2, 000 copies of his book printed. With the help of the Disabled Persons’ Federation, he gave them to the disabled community. “The book is bilingual, so foreigners can also use it,” said Peng.
Peng put great efforts into the book. For example, he interviewed many disabled people to get first hand materials. He also studied textbooks from different schools for the disabled. Peng finally completed his handbook, but he still had the problem of getting it printed. How did a high school student raise money needed for that?
With a smile, Peng said how he went about it. “I visited three local companies, dressed up in a suit and tie. I was lucky. The companies were warmhearted and willing to give me a hand.”
1. Why is Peng able to understand the hard life of the disabled people?| A．Because he was born disabled. |
| B．Because he has a disabled friend. |
| C．Because he lives with his disabled grandparents. |
| D．Because he once read a book about the disabled. |
| A．Written in two languages. |
| B．Using different pictures. |
| C．Very easy to understand. |
| D．Very popular around the world. |
| A．raising the money needed |
| B．giving away his pocket money |
| C．interviewing many disabled people |
| D．studying textbooks for the disabled |
| A．Devoted and honest. | B．Brave and confident. |
| C．Kind and helpful. | D．Friendly and lovely. |
I was a smartphone addict. The first thing
One day, I looked down at my smartphone when
