1 . This fall, Chinese students under compulsory education (义务教育) have welcomed the double reduction policy, which helps to reduce homework and out-school training. But how do students like to spend their time after school? Let’s look at homework around the world.
New Zealand
Before high school, teachers in New Zealand test their students to learn their level and arrange different teaching tasks. The school will give out a report on each student’s reading, writing, mathematics, science, art and sports at mid-year and end-of-year.
In senior high school, students’ homework and exams greatly increase. But they can select courses according to their personal interests and future career plan.
Japan
For students in Japanese primary and secondary schools, there are two types of homework: developing their living skills and getting knowledge in the classroom. And for high school students, many need to translate one page of English into Japanese every day and read it aloud, write 200 Chinese characters and do math exercises. Some schools allow students to go to tutoring schools to help them get admitted by their favorite universities.
The Netherlands
Dutch students under the age of 10ceive very lite, if any, homework, which gives them time for daily exercise. As for middle school students, teachers never spend time teaching the textbooks, and generally guide students to discuss related topics. “Besides learning, the most important task for middle school students is to have a clearer understanding of their abilities and interests, improve their social skills and have a basic plan for their future.” said Arie Slob, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education in the Netherlands.
1. What can we learn from the text?| A．Japanese students really like Chinese culture. |
| B．Students all welcome the double reduction policy in China. |
| C．Dutch children won’t spend time doing their homework. |
| D．Senior high students can choose their courses in New Zealand. |
| A．Abilities are more important than interests. |
| B．Students should know more about themselves. |
| C．Teachers can not talk about textbooks in class. |
| D．A better plan for future must give students more chances. |
| A．interest | B．ability | C．lifestyle | D．homework |
As one of the most well-known tourist
3 . Happy Campers Summer Retreat
As a parent, your child’s health and happiness are the most important things to you, which can be difficult to achieve. The Happy Campers Summer Retreat was developed to help parents with this challenge.
Founded in 1998 by Michael Gibson, our summer camp is open to children during the holidays, from May to September. We look after lots of children every single year. Our camp is based in the Colorado Mountains, and it offers a lot of different activities for children.
Our program helps improve:
• Physical fitness
• Problem-solving skills
• Social skills
• Sports ability and experience
The Happy Campers Summer Retreat can benefit all children. Some children are good at school, but rarely active. Our program will help encourage an interest in sports. Other children are mainly interested in sports. These children will not only play sports, but will also learn new skills, such as teamwork skills, social skills, and communication skills. Children will also have the chance to try new activities. Our program is designed to help develop a complete and fully active child.
At very affordable prices, our program is available to any family in America. Your child’s stay can be as short as a week or as long as six weeks.
Why not call us today or click here to join our camp? Take action now and give your child this great chance!
1. How long does the camp last every year?| A．One week. | B．Five months. |
| C．Six weeks. | D．One month. |
| A．How to deal with people. | B．How to choose a strong team. |
| C．How to avoid physical problems. | D．How to stay interested in something. |
| A．To describe the history of the camp. |
| B．To compare the camp with other activities. |
| C．To encourage parents to send their children to the camp. |
| D．To tell parents about the benefits of outdoor activities. |
When I was in Grade One, most of my classmates didn’t like to play with me because I was always shy and silent. However, I always got high grades in both exams and activities. Gradually, I got the respect of my classmates. And my teachers repeatedly praised me and asked me to assist my classmates in their study. Besides, there were various competitions in my school and I was always chosen as the representative of our class.
However, life is not always happy. There are times when we experience ups and downs. When I was in Grade Three, a student named Vannilyn came to our school, and she was placed in the class next to mine. Months passed and the result of the mid-term examination was released. I was still the No. 1 in my class and I heard that Vannilyn was the No. 1 in her class. However, I just ignored her and in my thought, I was still superior because I was a seasoned pupil.
There were times when I didn’t want to open my books to read and study for our next day’s lesson. When I did my homework, I became careless and I didn’t even mind whether my handwriting looked beautiful or not. What’s worse, I gradually became addicted to computer games. And because of that, my teachers began to criticise me and what made me angry was that they always mentioned Vannilyn in front of me!
I got annoyed every time my teachers compared me with Vannilyn. I was discouraged and no longer followed their instructions. At the end of the first term, the principal’s assistant announced the final examination result, and I still ranked No. 1. Therefore, I became prouder and told myself that I would still be the best student even if I didn’t study hard.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I was overconfident and didn’t pay much attention to my study.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Three days later, the result of the English Spelling competition was announced.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5 . Five Daily Habits to Keep You Focused and Healthy at College
Are you struggling to stay focused this semester? There is always something going on for college students, including school projects, time spent with friends, and extracurricular activities. Below are five essential daily habits that can keep you going strong at college.
Express Gratitude
One of the keys to happiness is to express gratitude for the things you have already accomplished. Things as small as enjoying delicious food with your friends and having access to higher education can be your starting points for this powerful daily habit.
Get Enough Sleep
Sufficient sleep is a great way to maintain a focused and healthy lifestyle. Just like you set an alarm to wake up in the morning, try setting an alarm for yourself to go to sleep at night. One of my friends tried this.
Exercise
To boost your mental and physical strength, you should have a short workout every morning.
Set Social Media Limits
Take Control of Your Finances
You must gain control over your money. To cut costs, I recommend buying secondhand textbooks, cutting out junk food from your diet, and avoiding eating out at restaurants as much as possible.
| A．You should also study hard and apply for scholarships. |
| B．This habit is not designed to turn you into a champion athlete. |
| C．And it worked out pretty well as he was more rested during the day. |
| D．It is true that social networking apps and websites are positive in some way. |
| E．Your two best friends are the brain in your head and the money in your pocket. |
| F．Excessive use of social media can lead to negative social behavioral consequences. |
| G．This is a very helpful activity because you start your day on a strong and positive note. |
6 . If having to make a choice between reading an e-book and a printed book, which would most people choose? Some would go for an e-book while some still prefer the hard-printed book.
Undoubtedly, e-books do have benefits. Firstly, changes to an electronic publication are relatively easy to make. They are quicker to obtain. E-books are more easily updated. The printed books on many subjects can become outdated very quickly. Secondly, e-books can be easily and quickly kept up to date. You usually get far more than just the e-books. Most e-books are sold with bonuses and related information that usually do not come with the purchase of a printed book. Moreover, they take up less space. Instead of a big library, you can fit literally thousands of books on your computer. It also makes it easier to share this information with families and friends.
For nearly twenty years, additionally, futurists have been predicting the development of printed books. The conventional view has been that digital e-books are on the verge of replacing paper books. However, this has not been the case. A printed book has its advantages too. Firstly, it is an object that can be carried and used alone. It needs no electric outlet (插座), no batteries, nothing. Secondly, e-books will always require some forms of support that the printed book does not need.
I believe that the online publishing has not taken off because people want real books. What is being published online more and more are pamphlets (小册子) and things that really do not need to be in print. These are stuff that people throw away afterward. More often, people do not want to read a book on the computer. What could be better than a paper book? It lasts a long time. These books are designed to last a long time without disappearing.
To sum up, there is no denying that the printed book is still very much preferred over its digital cousins. Reading electronic publications is just not the same when it comes to books. People are still very interested in real books and notebooks.
1. What can we know about an e-book?| A．It will never be out of date. | B．It always gives you an added bonus. |
| C．It can deliver information quickly. | D．It has taken the place of printed books. |
| A．Printed books will disappear. | B．Printed books can be used alone. |
| C．E-books have many restrictions. | D．E-books have no drawbacks. |
| A．The low demand for book industry. | B．The expectations from people. |
| C．The guidance of policy. | D．The desire for the printed books. |
| A．Hopeless. | B．Unpredictable. | C．Costly. | D．Promising. |
On a hot September afternoon, Peter and his friend Isabel were on their way to the library. When they passed by Tubman park, Isabel suggested cutting through it to get to the library. As they entered the park, the sight of the swings (秋千) and the merry-go-round brought back a flood of memories of their childhood spent there. But now everything looked so old, sad, and dirty. Litter lay on the ground next to an overflowing trash bin. There were still young schoolchildren playing there but they had to avoid the trash that littered the playground. A little boy told them that the city took the other trash cans away and the remaining one never got emptied often.
As they headed toward the library, the two high school students wrinkled their forehead. In the library, they encountered Mrs. Evans, their kind-hearted fifth-grade teacher, retired yet still passionate. Mrs. Evans listened as Isabel and Peter eagerly explained what they’d seen. Finally, she recommended them to go to the City Hall to voice their concerns.
The next day, Isabel and Peter went into the building of the City Hall but were met with an impatient officer. They were informed that the city couldn’t help with their problem due to a tight budget. Discouraged, they left and turned to Mrs. Evans for help.
Under her guidance, they decided to ask Go Green, a non-profit organization whose goal is to protect the environment, for help. “This group is good at raising money for projects just like yours, ” said Mrs. Evans. She promised to arrange them to present their ideas to Go Green. Hearing this, their face lit up.
Two main tasks remained ahead: researching ways to clean up the park and preparing a convincing presentation. As Isabel was good at researching while Peter always had a talent for speaking, they cooperated quite well. Isabel learned from a science magazine that a new type of trash bin can squeeze the trash down without being emptied often, which saves time, money, and energy. Based on this, Peter practiced his presentation over and over again.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
A week later, Peter stood nervously at the back of the hall where Go Green was meeting.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the meeting, Isabel excitedly told Peter the good news.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8 . Ever wanted to learn a new language? Or maybe you need to speak a different language, for work or personal reasons? Here are some apps that will help you talk smartly in some nations on earth.
Living Language (Spanish)
The standard bearer (领袖) for language-learning apps, this series of apps from Random House Digital presents real language courses that teach vocabulary and grammar with some fun interactive games thrown in. The free download gets you eleven free lessons, but you can unlock the full app for $14.99, getting you all 46 lessons.Random House Digital has similar apps available for learning French, Italian, German, Chinese, and Japanese.
Learn a Language with Michel Thomas
This one hails from the U.K., where Thomas' method for learning new languages has garnered some heavy-hitter endorsements (赞同) from the likes of Woody Allen, Emma Thompson, and Stephen Fry. Thomas teaches you with a simple, but highly effective process: “you listen, he explains, you speak.” Lessons run an hour a piece, and you buy the hour lessons you want from inside the free app, for $4.99 a pop. Lessons are available for Spanish, French, Italian, and German.
Mango Languages
One of the most comprehensive apps is also the most cost-effective — it’s free! No in-app purchases, no nothing. It offers classes for 35 foreign languages and 15 English as-a-second-language. The catch is that it requires a connection to your local library, and only if your library has a Mango Languages subscription. It teaches not only vocabulary and grammar, but also pronunciation (by native speakers) and helpful cultural tips, such as slang usages of common words.
Book 2
This one uses a novel 3-step method: you learn while listening, training, and sleeping. The app actually monitors your sleeping patterns and activates itself at the right time, playing its short sentences while you’re asleep, to enhance your recall. Lessons are available in-app for 40 different languages, but they’ll run you $3.99 each for anything more than a language’s first chapter.
1. How many languages can you learn from Thomas?| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Six. | D．Seven. |
| A．Book 2. |
| B．Mango Languages. |
| C．Living Language (Spanish). |
| D．Learn a Language with Michel Thomas. |
| A．It can only be used in the UK. |
| B．It has access to your local library. |
| C．It can keep you learning even when you are asleep. |
| D．It teaches languages with some fun interactive games. |
9 . As global warming becomes more and more serious, each one of us must take action to help.
First, diet.
Changing what you eat could easily have a significant effect because animal agriculture creates about 14% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions (排放).
Second, travel.
Nearly all transport relies on fossil fuels. In the US, driving one mile in an average 2016 car emits 404 grams of CO2 equivalents per mile. But taking nearly any other means of transport will reduce CO2 emissions.
Third, energy.
Fourth, waste.
Think before you buy. The fashion industry creates about 10% of global greenhouse emissions and consumes more energy than flight and shipping combined.
Last but not least, plant a garden.
Plant a garden instead of building a yard out of cement (水泥), the production of which creates 8% of global CO2 emissions a year.
So from a burger to a cyclist, no one thing will have a big influence, but lots of little things can.
| A．Almost every household appliance needs it. |
| B．When you do make a purchase, try to buy it in large quantity. |
| C．Planting a garden helps reduce CO2 emissions and produce oxygen. |
| D．Each of us contributes a particular amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. |
| E．As we all know, the environment around us is getting worse and worse. |
| F．After walking, cycling is the best choice because it almost has no emissions. |
| G．In 2017, beef was found to be one of the most damaging foods to the climate. |
10 . Scientists in Australia have discovered that they can use the world’s smelliest fruits to make devices that could power electric cars. A durian is a fruit that looks like a pineapple. It is a delicacy in some Asian countries, but its smell is so unpleasant that some of those countries have banned it from public places. Its smell has been compared to rotting eggs and even smelly old gym socks.
Vincent Gomes and his colleagues at the University of Sydney, in Australia, used a durian and a jackfruit — another fruit known for its terrible smell — to make energy storing devices called supercapacitors.
Supercapacitors are an alternative to batteries. They can’t store as much energy as a normal battery does, but they are much quicker to recharge. Durians and jackfruits contain some of the chemicals used in supercapacitors, which gave Gomes the idea. To make the fruit-based devices, the team heated and then freeze-dried the uneatable cores of the durian and jackfruit to make a special kind of material called an aerogel.
Aerogels are one of the world’s lightest solid materials. Often called “frozen smoke”, they are made by removing the liquid from a gel and replacing it with air. They have many scientific uses, but one of their special properties is the ability to conduct electric currents, which makes them an important part of supercapacitors. The aerogels made from durian and jackfruit both worked well when placed inside a supereapacitor, although the durian aerogel was found to be the better of the two.
The discovery is important because the materials currently used to make supercapacitors are expensive. Using natural foods like durians and jackfruits, Gomes says, could reduce environmental pollution, as well as costs.
1. What makes some countries have different attitudes toward the durian?| A．Its smell. | B．Its appearance. |
| C．Its value. | D．Its popularity. |
| A．Paragraph 1. | B．Paragraph 2. |
| C．Paragraph 3. | D．Paragraph 4. |
| A．Aerogels. | B．Scientific uses. |
| C．Properties. | D．Electric currents. |
| A．They are devices for producing electricity. |
| B．They are chemicals from durians. |
| C．They are green and economical. |
| D．They are light and liquid. |
