The sheepskin raft (羊皮筏), the oldest means of transportation along the Yellow River, has a history of nearly 2,000 years. The airbag of the raft is made of
It is said that the largest sheepskin raft in old times
In the early 20th century, before the 1950s,
However, with the rapid development of society, the sheepskin raft has largely played its historical role
2 . It can be really hard to learn a language well without living in a country full of native speakers! You have to find something interesting! Here’s the solution: TV Series.
Game of Thrones
You should really start watching it. The language is beautiful and easy to understand. Drama, love and good characters mark the show and there are actors from all around the world. You won’t know what’s going to happen at the ending. This is a must-see!
Sherlock
A British masterpiece. Is there any language learner who has not heard of Sherlock Holmes and his friend John Watson? The writers placed the stories into London in the 21st century, so it’s basically a modern version of the original stories. Here you have everything that an English language learner could wish for: British accents, good acting, long and interesting conversations with a lot of humour.
Friends
Everybody knows Friends, which couldn’t be missed off of this list. With many different accents to be heard and lots of dialects, this is the perfect show for English learners. The plot is relatively simple to understand. Six friends battle with tough jobs, complicated relationships and life in Manhattan, New York. In parts of the show there are also British accents to listen to and learn.
How I Met Your Mother
It is one of the most successful situation comedies in the United States, attracting the audience all around the world. Ifs about the life of five friends that live in New York, focusing on their work and their favorite free time activity: sitting in their favorite bar. You get to know many modern American expressions and can enjoy a lot of dialects that make the show even more interesting.
1. Which of the following has an unexpected ending?| A．Friends. | B．Sherlock. | C．Games of Thrones. | D．How J Met Your Mother. |
| A．British accents. | B．Humorous conversations. |
| C．American dialects. | D．Wonderful performances. |
| A．It is about five American students. |
| B．It attracts audience from all over the world. |
| C．There are many formal expressions in the show. |
| D．It’s the only successful sitcoms in the United States. |
3 . China is a colorful country with amazing places and cultures. In this blog, we will introduce five most attractive places that you can’t miss if you are planning to go for a travel in China!
Beijing
Beijing, the capital of China for over 850 years, is the first choice for many travellers. A perfect combination of classic elegance and modernity, it is the best Chinese destination to give you a better understanding of the country. You can wander around the Forbidden City to feel the dignity of the city; or you can walk along the criss-crossing hutongs and enjoy yourself in everyday local life.
Xi’an
If you want to feel the history of China over the past 1,000 years, you can go to Beijing; however, if you want to experience the 5,000 years’ history of this ancient, oriental land, Xi’an is the best travel destination in China. As one of the four major capitals of ancient civilisation (together with Athens, Cairo, and Rome), Xi’an is the home of Chinese civilisation. The Silk Road starts from here, stretching through West China to the Mediterranean.
Guilin
Guilin, a peaceful city lying in the hilly south-western area of the country, is among the top Chinese destinations for its extraordinary natural scenery. The unique karst landscape with its four features, namely green hills, clear water, fantastic caves, and oddly-shaped rocks, makes it a famous tourist attraction.
Chengdu
Visiting the lovely giant pandas must be on everyone’s to-do list when planning a tour of the best Chinese destinations. Many cities have zoos with space for pandas, but the best place to get close to them is Chengdu for sure! Visiting Chengdu is also a treat for food lovers. Jin li Street is a great place to have a taste of well-known Sichuan food. Besides, you can also enjoy the comfortable atmosphere.
1. What can you do in Beijing?| A．Enjoy the oddly-shaped rocks. | B．Have a taste of Sichuan food. |
| C．Walk around the Forbidden City. | D．Learn the history of the Silk Road. |
| A．Beijing. | B．Xi’an. | C．Guilin. | D．Chengdu. |
| A．Another attractive place in China. | B．The introduction to karst landscape. |
| C．Tips for travelling around the world. | D．The contact information of a museum. |
Joe and I had been looking forward to our retirement. However, when he suffered a heart attack last spring, he was forced to leave his job as a truck driver earlier than we had planned. As the medical bills increased, we realized I would have to continue working full-time while Joe stayed home and took over the housework.
This new arrangement was a disaster. One night, when I dragged myself to bed, I was horrified to discover Joe had turned our white sheets blue. He told me he had found out how to save on water, soap and electricity. He patted his blue trousers and announced proudly washing everything together was the secret.
When I awoke to the deafening rain the next morning, all I wanted was a hot home-cooked meal. However, what greeted me at the table was a microwave package. I knew my husband had his faults, but I thought he at least knew how to cook! I knew if I didn’t leave the house soon I would lose my temper with him. As the heavy rain thundered down outside, Joe offered to drive me to work. I ignored him as I struggled into my jacket and seized my bag with my teaching plans inside.
He insisted that he would take me and reached for his boots. I looked at the piles of newspapers and the dirty dishes still on the table. “Don’t you have enough to do? I can take care of myself.” I stormed out, not even kissing him goodbye. Joe shouted after me not to take the shortcut (捷径).
Ten minutes later, I ignored Joe’s warning and turned off the main route to take the shortcut. I thought it hadn’t rained enough to flood the road, but as I rounded the corner, water rushed across my path. After a few feet, the car got stuck. I opened the door and water poured in. I hurriedly closed the door. I couldn’t risk walking in this. Almost 20 minutes passed. The car began to shake. 1 got the fright of my life when I heard three long honks (喇叭声).
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
Looking over my shoulder, I stared into the flashing lights of a familiar truck.
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Paragraph 2:
After getting to our warm home, Joe held my hand tight.
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5 . Ways to Improve Your Health
Sometimes it may seem difficult to improve our health. If so, the following health habits may help you.
●
Research shows that eating a meal in the morning results in less body fat and less chance of overeating. Eating breakfast can help people feel better physically and mentally through the day.
●Get enough sleep.
Poor sleep can influence our memory and learning.
●Take a walk every day.
●Make social connections.
Social groups can provide support. They might include sport teams, art or music groups. The people in the group can offer advice and can help each other in difficult times. Also, being in a group keeps your mind busy.
●Have a hobby.
A hobby could be running, reading or making something with your hands. Hobbies help people to relax and rest. Hobbies bring us joy.
| A．Get much exercise. |
| B．Eat breakfast every morning. |
| C．It can also cause traffic accidents! |
| D．An active mind is a healthy mind! |
| E．Spending time with others is very helpful. |
| F．Everyone could get a little more joy in their lives! |
| G．Walking is an easy way to add exercise to our lives. |
6 . Seven-year-old Maggie Kuznia loves books, but she seems to love sharing the stories she reads even more. Qnce or twice a week, the little girl puts a few books in her backpack and gets ready to
Maggie’s mom, Tiffany Kuznia, works as the activity director at the retirement facility and often brings her daughter with her to
With time, Maggie has become so beloved among the residents that she even has “
Maggie hopes to inspire other kids of her age to read to the elderly.
| A．follow | B．defend | C．visit | D．teach |
| A．chat | B．work | C．queue | D．travel |
| A．reminded | B．persuaded | C．trained | D．permitted |
| A．normal | B．desperate | C．basic | D．different |
| A．predicted | B．announced | C．complained | D．requested |
| A．performers | B．operators | C．regulars | D．librarians |
| A．behavior | B．challenge | C．memory | D．welcome |
| A．relief | B．concern | C．delight | D．regret |
| A．reading | B．talking | C．listening | D．writing |
| A．choose | B．consider | C．prove | D．appoint |
| A．In addition to | B．Because of | C．In return for | D．Thanks to |
| A．followers | B．sufferers | C．listeners | D．teachers |
| A．true | B．familiar | C．good | D．new |
| A．brighten up | B．account for | C．comment on | D．figure out |
| A．advantage | B．judgement | C．competence | D．attention |
7 . There are many classical cultures in China. All of them have a very long history. Here we introduce four of them.
 | Chinese Handwriting Chinese handwriting is a special art to Asian cultures. Brush handwriting is much loved around the world. Wang Xizhi is very famous for his handwriting. He made a great difference to the development of Chinese handwriting. |
 | Chinese Folk Music Chinese folk music has a long history. It is connected with Chinese ancient stories. One of the classics, Shijing, includes some folk songs in 15 different areas from the West Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period. Traditional Chinese musical instruments include guqin, guzheng, pipa, erhu, xiao and so on. |
 | Chinese Painting Chinese painting is one of the oldest traditional painting forms in the world. Most of the Chinese paintings in ancient China were done on paper or silk. Traditional Chinese painting includes mountains and water, figures (人物), flowers and birds. The paintings show different features during the different historical periods. |
 | Weiqi Weiqi, called “yi” in ancient China, is a smart board game between two players with a history of over 3, 000 years. The game can be treated as the beginning of all ancient chess games. It was introduced to Korea about 2, 000 years ago and was popular among the higher classes. |
| A．piano | B．violin | C．pipa | D．guitar |
| A．mountains and water | B．figures |
| C．flowers and birds | D．dogs |
| A．It is a game between two people. |
| B．It is only popular in China. |
| C．It has a history of over 2, 000 years. |
| D．It was introduced to Korea about 3, 000 years ago. |
At one time children made May Day baskets to celebrate spring and enjoy the rewards of giving surprising gifts to their beloved ones. When I was in perhaps the third grade, our class took on such an adventure. For several days, we worked on creating paper baskets. We cut colorful stripes of construction paper and wove them together, following our teacher, Miss Anderson. We cut and wove and glued. Then we decorated them with our crayons and more cutting and gluing. Finally, we fitted paper handles onto the tops so that we could secretly hang our creations on the doors of unsuspecting receivers: surely our mothers.
We were finished right on time. Miss Anderson brought armloads of flowers for us to use in stuffing our prizes. Lilacs and tulips and al the colorful flowers of spring. We had to wait until the day was nearly over before we were allowed to choose the flowers that were just right for our baskets. I chose the biggest, most beautiful blossoms, allowing myself to be selfish for the sake of my mother. Then we fidgeted (烦躁) away what remained of our day, waiting for the clock to tick down the minutes to our release.
Finally, mercifully, the bell rang! We threw on our coats, gathered our homework and our lunch boxes, tied on our scarves and then, carefully, we cradled our offerings of love and off we ran to our individual homes! I was so excited! I ran as fast as I could down the hill, across the street, up the block, heading home. I paused at the corner of my house, to catch my breath and savor the moment. Then I glanced down to admire my offering one last time before I hung it lovingly over the doorknob. Horrors! Shock, dread and depression! My flowers were gone! Apparently, bouncing out on my mad dash home, all that was left was a sad, messed-up, wrinkled little empty basket! I stood on the doorway and burst into mournful sobbing tears.
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。
Para 1
By and by, my mom came to the door to discover the source of the sorrow.
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Para 2
Soon, my newly-decorated basket was ready to be offered again.
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9 . What is the most shocking about the heatwave affecting the Pacific Northwest is not that it has hit a usually mild area, nor that so many long-standing temperature records are being broken. It is that those records are being broken by such large margins (幅度). In Portland, Oregon, temperature reached 46.6℃(116°F) — making it one of several cities in the region where former records have been beaten by a full 5℃(9°F). At the same time, heatwaves are also hitting central Europe and even Siberia.
Heatwaves may become headlines, but less attention is paid to them. In 2018 about 300,000 people over the age of 65 died as a result of extreme heat, mainly in India, a 54% increase since 2000, according to a report in the Lancet, a medical journal. The report also shows that, unlike storms and floods, heat does not lead to dramatic before-and-after pictures or widespread damage to belongings. It is a silent killer. As many as 70,000 people died due to a heatwave in Europe in 2003.
Heat also kills by worsening health conditions such as heart problems, so not all the deaths it causes may be directly attributed (归因) to it. Climate change will make heatwaves more common and more extreme. Even if greenhouse-gas emissions (排放) are cut to zero by the middle of this century, temperatures will go on rising for decades. So other measures are needed to protect people against extreme heat.
Governments can set up early warning systems to alarm health workers, shut down schools and stop outdoor activities. They can provide the public with forecasts of coming heatwaves, explanations of the dangers and detailed advice on what to do. Improved facilities can also help. This includes providing shaded areas, water parks and “misting stations” to help people cool down, and get to airconditioned “cooling centers” where they can find shelter and sleep if necessary.
The world is, undoubtedly, facing a big health challenge right now. There is no excuse for ignoring heatwaves and their effects.
1. What shocks us most about the heatwave in the Pacific Northwest?| A．It has stricken a usually mild area. |
| B．It hits central Europe except Siberia. |
| C．Many temperature records are being broken. |
| D．Many records are being broken by large margins. |
| A．People have paid much attention to heatwaves. |
| B．Heat doesn’t cause widespread damage to belongings. |
| C．The damage of heat is as obvious as storms and floods. |
| D．About 300,000 middle-aged people died from extreme heat. |
| A．Provide some cool places. | B．Build nursing homes. |
| C．Organize outdoor activities. | D．Shelter the homeless. |
| A．Improving Public Facilities | B．Taking Heatwaves Seriously |
| C．Preventing Natural Disasters | D．Reducing Greenhouse-gas Emission |
10 . New research suggests that a gene that governs the body's biological (circadian) clock acts differently in males versus females and may protect females from heart disease. The study is the first to analyze circadian blood pressure rhythms (节奏) in female mice.
The body's circadian clock-the biological clock that organizes bodily activities over a 24-hour period-contributes to normal variations in blood pressure and heart function over the course of the day. In most healthy humans, blood pressure dips (下降) at night. People who do not experience this temporary drop, called “non-dippers”, are more likely to develop heart disease. The circadian clock is made up of four main proteins (encoded by “clock genes”) that regulate close to half of all genes in the body, including those important for blood pressure regulation.
Previous research has shown that male mice that are missing one of the four clock genes (PER1) become non-dippers and have a higher risk for heart and kidney disease. A research team studied the circadian response and blood pressure of female mice that lack PER1 and compared them with a healthy female control group. On both low-and high-salt diets, both groups “retained an apparent circadian rhythm” of blood pressure, the researchers explained. Unlike the male mice in previous research, the females without PER1 showed normal dips in blood pressure overnight.
These results suggest that the lack of PER1 acts differently in males and females. The findings are consistent with research showing that women are less likely to be non-dippers than men of the same age. "This study represents an important step in understanding sex differences in the regulation of cardiovascular (心血管) function by the circadian clock," the researchers wrote.
1. What does the new research find?| A．Biological clock may protect males from heart disease. |
| B．Biological blood pressure rhythms in female mice acts normally. |
| C．Biological clock organizes bodily activities over a 24-hour period. |
| D．A gene controlling biological clock works differently between sexes. |
| A．Helping males cure heart disease. |
| B．Helping blood pressure vary normally. |
| C．Contributing to abnormal variations in blood pressure. |
| D．Making up four main proteins regulating almost half of all genes. |
| A．treated. | B．warned. | C．kept. | D．watched. |
| A．One clock gene is important | B．Women may benefit from body clock |
| C．New study analyzes blood pressure rhythms | D．Blood pressure of healthy humans dips at night |
