1 . Linda worked as a waitress at the Route 130 diner in Dover, New Hampshire. One Thursday morning around 5:30 am, she was _______ two firefighters, Young and Hulling. Quite _______, she heard that they had been up all _______ putting out a fierce warehouse fire, which took twelve hours to get under control.

_______, Linda decided to honor these two heroes by picking up their _______ and writing them a heartfelt message of gratitude. It _______, “Your breakfast is on me today. Thank you for all that you do... Fueled by fire and driven by _______, what an example you are! Get some rest.”

This simple act of kindness meant so much to the _______ firefighters. The firefighters _______ and thanked her before leaving the __________

To return the young lady’s kindness, upon his arrival home, Hulling posted a Facebook update __________ his friends to go eat at the diner, which was quickly __________ over 3,000 times.

However, it was not until afterwards that they realized Linda was __________ the one that could use the __________. When they found out that Linda was trying to __________ money for her paralyzed father to get a wheelchair-accessible van, Young posted with a __________ to a GoFundMe page for Linda’s dad, and the support __________.

The total donations reached $60,000 and went beyond Linda’s wildest dreams. She had never __________ that her small gesture would be paid in such a __________ way. “I’m truly blessed that those two walked through the doors today and __________ for the opportunity to be a part of something so positive and uplifting.’’ Linda said on Facebook.

1.

A．calling

B．praising

C．serving

D．anticipating

2.

A．in private

B．in public

C．by design

D．by coincidence

3.

A．day

B．night

C．morning

D．afternoon

4.

A．Touched

B．Shocked

C．Excited

D．Embarrassed

5.

A．uniform

B．money

C．check

D．breakfast

6.

A．replied

B．wrote

C．indicated

D．read

7.

A．concern

B．courage

C．confidence

D．curiosity

8.

A．worried

B．ambitious

C．modest

D．exhausted

9.

A．showed up

B．sat up

C．teared up

D．stayed up

10.

A．apartment

B．station

C．restaurant

D．warehouse

11.

A．urging

B．forcing

C．helping

D．reminding

12.

A．collected

B．examined

C．removed

D．shared

13.

A．really

B．normally

C．suddenly

D．hardly

14.

A．fire

B．help

C．diner

D．message

15.

A．count

B．donate

C．change

D．raise

16.

A．note

B．picture

C．link

D．click

17.

A．poured in

B．spread out

C．declined

D．doubled

18.

A．promised

B．expected

C．doubted

D．accepted

19.

A．rapid

B．generous

C．proper

D．conventional

20.

A．grateful

B．eager

C．ready

D．greedy

2 . As they reach school age, about 90 percent of children will have experienced a condition in which fluid (液体) fills the middle ear, muffling (使模糊) sound and sometimes causing infection. The fluid usually clears on its own, but if not, it can lead to a painful ear infection called acute otitis (中耳炎) media. In some cases the fluid can persist for more than a year, causing hearing loss during this period, and slowing down their development of language and social skills.

Diagnosis usually requires a visit to a specialist—but researchers have now developed an app that detects this fluid just as accurately, with only a smartphone and a paper funnel (漏斗).

Doctors typically detect the problem by peering into the ear for a visual assessment. Yet, this method has only a 50 percent accuracy rate. “Right now, if you bring your child to a pediatrician, or to any urgent care family doctor, the way they look at whether or not there’s fluid in the middle ear is by looking at the eardrum,” says Sharat Raju, a surgeon in the department of head and neck surgery at the University of Washington.

For a cheaper and more accessible alternative, researchers at the University of Washington turned to smartphones. First the user follows a template to cut and tape a piece of paper into a funnel, which can be placed between a smartphone and the patient’s ear. Next the app plays a chirping sound through the phone’s speaker; the sound waves bounce off the eardrum and hit the phone’s microphone, where they register and are analyzed by the app. An eardrum with fluid behind it will vibrate (振动) differently than if the middle ear is full of air, as it normally is.

To develop the app, the researchers first played chirps for patients with and without fluid in their ears. They recorded the echoes (回音), which indicate the eardrum’s mobility. Then they used a machine learning model to classify the returning sound waves, determining which audio characteristics indicated a normal ear and which suggested the presence of fluid. Once they tested the app on 98 children, ranging from 18 months to 17 years old, at Seattle Children’s Hospital. It correctly detected fluid in 85 percent of cases, and correctly identified fluid-free ears in 82 percent.

The researchers are currently trying to get FDA approval for the app, and have founded a company to commercialize it. They hope to make it available by the end of the year, to help parents track children’s ear health at home.

1. What do we know about the fluid from the first paragraph?

A．It is mostly part of children’s growth.	B．It is unavoidable for any child.
C．It is a permanent physical condition.	D．It is beyond any medical means.

2. What does the underlined word “pediatrician” refer to in Paragraph 3?

A．A hospital.	B．A specialist.
C．A relative.	D．An app.

3. What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A．The application of the app.	B．The causes of the kid’s ear problem.
C．The purpose of developing the app.	D．The experiment of the smartphone.

4. What do the researchers expect of the app?

A．It will upgrade the medical technology.	B．It will hit the market in the near future.
C．It will help children do better academically.	D．It will save doctors medical operations.

3 . One day, gardeners might not just hear the buzz of bees among their flowers, but the whirr of robots, too. Scientists have managed to turn an unassuming drone (无人机) into a remote-controlled pollinator (授粉媒介) by attaching horsehairs coated with a special, sticky gel to its underbelly.

Animal pollinators are needed for the reproduction of 90% of flowering plants and one third of human food crops. Chief among those are bees — but many bee populations in the United States have been in steep decline in recent decades. Thus, the decline of bees isn't just worrisome because it could disrupt ecosystems, but also because it could disrupt agriculture and economy. People have been trying to come up with replacement techniques, but none of them are especially effective yet.

Scientists have thought about using drones, but they haven't figured out how to make free-flying robot insects that can rely on their own power source without being attached to a wire. “It’s very tough work,” said senior author Eijiro Miyako, a chemist at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. His particular contribution to the field involves a gel, one he’d considered a mistake 10 years before and stuck in a storage cabinet. When it was rediscovered a decade later, it hadn’t dried up or degraded at all. “I was so surprised because it still had high viscosity,” Miyako said.

The chemist noticed that when dropped, the gel absorbed an impressive amount of dust from the floor. Miyako realized this material could be very useful for picking up pollen (花粉). He and his colleagues chose a drone and attached horsehairs to its smooth surface to mimic a bee’s fuzzy body. They coated those horsehairs in the gel, and then controlled the drones over lilies, where they would pick up the pollen from one flower and then deposit the pollen at another one, thus fertilizing it.

The scientists looked at the hairs under a scanning electron microscope and counted up the pollen grains attached to the surface and found that the drones whose horsehairs had been coated with the gel had about 10 times more pollen than those that had not been coated with the gel.

Miyako does not think such drones would replace bees altogether, but could simply help bees with their pollinating duties. There’s a lot of work to be done before that's a reality, however. Small drones will need to become more controllable and energy efficient, as well as smarter, with better GPS and artificial intelligence.

1. What does the underlined word “viscosity” in Para.3 probably mean?

A．Hardness.	B．Stickiness.
C．Flexibility.	D．Purity.

2. We can learn from the passage that ______.

A．bees disrupt both agriculture and economy

B．scientists have invented self-powered robot insects

C．bees in the United States are on the edge of extinction

D．Miyako found the special feature of the gel by chance

3. A drone works best in picking up pollen when ______.

A．its body is made like a bee’s

B．its GPS works more efficiently

C．some flowers are coated with the gel

D．horsehairs with the gel are attached to it

4. According to Eijiro Miyako, the drones ______.

A．are not yet ready for practical use

B．may eventually replace bees in the future

C．are much more efficient than bee pollinators

D．can provide a solution to economic depression

4 . Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are ______ —a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and ______ language, and throw new light on an old scientific ______: whether language, ______ with grammar, is something that we are born with, or whether it is a ______ behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the ______ work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world’s only liberal arts university for deaf people.

When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something ______: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.

Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural ______, each movement of the hands representing a word in English. At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English (混杂英语). But Stokoe believed the “hand ______” his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually have a genuine language? And could that language be ______ any other on Earth? It was 1955, when even deaf people ___________ their signing as “substandard”. Stokoe’s idea was academic heresy – a belief contrary to what was generally accepted.

It is 37 years later. Stokoe—now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture—is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a(n) ______. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages ______ English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation (调节) of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of ______. “What I said,” Stokoe explains, “is that language is not mouth stuff(素材)—it’s ______ stuff.”

1.

A．unique

B．neutral

C．inexact

D．vague

2.

A．varies

B．applies

C．interrelates

D．understands

3.

A．argument

B．definition

C．conclusion

D．statement

4.

A．familiar

B．complete

C．changeable

D．comparative

5.

A．adopted

B．inherited

C．introduced

D．learned

6.

A．pioneering

B．concluding

C．proceeding

D．imitating

7.

A．casual

B．odd

C．witty

D．tricky

8.

A．clue

B．file

C．code

D．digit

9.

A．talk

B．gossip

C．clap

D．shake

10.

A．characteristic of

B．different from

C．equal to

D．worthy of

11.

A．contributed

B．signified

C．justified

D．dismissed

12.

A．evolution

B．procedure

C．revolution

D．presentation

13.

A．with

B．among

C．as

D．like

14.

A．space

B．rhythm

C．volume

D．rate

15.

A．culture

B．brain

C．muscle

D．heart

5 . The world's first hydrogen-powered trains have begun running in Germany. They began carrying passengers Monday in Germany's northern Lower Saxony state. The new train will run 100-kilometer trips and can travel up to 140 kilometers an hour.

A French railroad company called Alstom built the two trains. Team in Germany and France cooperated on the project, which was supported by the German government. The new train model ,called the Coradia ilint, signals the beginning of efforts in Germany and other nations to move away from pollution-producing diesel(柴油) trains.

The Coradia iLint is designed to run on non-electrified train lines with low levels of noise.

It uses a process that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electrical power. If the system produces more energy than the train needs at that time, it can store the extra energy in batteries. The only emissions (排放物) are water and steam.

A single tank of hydrogen can run a Coradia iLint train for about 1,000 kilometers. This is very similar to the distance a diesel-powered train can run on with a single tank.

Hydrogen-powered trains cost more than diesel trains to build. But Alstom officials say the operating costs are much lower. The company plans to provide another 14 Coradia iLint trains to Lower Saxony by 2021.

The head of railroad operations in the area, Carmen Schwab, praised replacing diesel trains with hydrogen. She said the move was an important first step in using clean-burning technologies to reach climate protection goals.

Officials say the area's many wind turbines (涡轮机)will produce part of the energy to create the hydrogen to power the trains.

Alstom says several other European countries have also expressed interest in developing hydrogen train systems. France has already said it wants its first hydrogen train to be operating by 2022.

1. Why did Germany build the new trains?

A．To replace diesel trains.

B．To carry more passengers.

C．To make traveling much easier.

D．To develop friendship with France.

2. What is one advantage of the Coradia iLint?

A．It runs without making any noise.

B．It doesn't use electrical power.

C．It costs much less to run.

D．It is cheaper to make it.

3. It can be concluded that hydrogen trains________.

A．are widely used

B．are environmentally friendly

C．can stop air pollution

D．can produce water and oxygen

4. What might be the best title for the text?

A．Saving Natural Resources

B．Efforts to Reduce Emissions

C．World's First Hydrogen Trains

D．A New Way to Make Electricity

6 . “Birds” and “airports” are two words that, paired together，don’t normally paint the most harmonious picture. So it really raises some eyebrows when China announces plans to build an airport that is for birds.

Described as the world’s first-ever bird airport, the proposed Lingang Bird Sanctuary(保护区）in the northern coastal city of Tianjin is, of course,not an actual airport. Rather，it's a wetland preserve specifically designed to accommodate hundreds-even thousands-of daily takeoffs and landings by birds traveling along the East Asian-Australian Flyway. Over 50 species of migratory (迁徙的）water birds，some endangered, will stop and feed at the protected sanctuary before continuing their long journey along the flyway.

Located on a former landfill site，the 150-acre airport is also open to human travelers.(Half a million visitors are expected annually.) However，instead of duty-free shopping，the main attraction for non-egg-laying creatures at Tianjin’s newest airport will be a green-roofed education and research center, a series of raised “observation platforms” and a network of scenic walking and cycling paths totaling over 4 miles.

“The proposed Bird Airport will be a globally significant sanctuary for endangered migratory bird species, while providing new green lungs for the city of Tianjin.” Adrian McGregor of an Australian landscape architecture firm explained of the design. Frequently blanketed in smog so thick that it has shut down real airports, Tianjin is a city---China’s fourth most populous----that would certainly benefit from a new pair of healthy green lungs•

1. The underlined phrase “non-egg-laying creatures” in Paragraph 3 refers to?

A．Visitors.	B．Designers.
C．Endangered water birds.	D．Planes.

2. What do we know about the airport according to the passage?

A．People cannot watch birds up close here.

B．It is located on a 150-acre landfill site.

C．It functions as an actual airport and a wetland preserve.

D．It provides migratory birds with food and shelter.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．The airport will become a permanent home for birds.

B．Tianjin will win worldwide fame in the future.

C．Tianjin’s air quality will improve thanks to the airport.

D．Tianjin will be able to accommodate more people.

4. What is this passage mainly about?

A．Airports shut down and open up.

B．China is to open the first Bird Airport.

C．Airports turn into green lungs.

D．Birds are no longer enemies to airports.

7 . How to Meet New People

It is easy to find a place where people gather. But once you’re in a room full of people, then what? The trick is finding a way to approach someone and get them talking to you.

Prepare to meet new people before you arrive.     1    . Don’t think in terms of yes or no questions. You should consider questions that will allow the person to contribute more than a one-word answer to the conversation.

★ Arrive at your event or place. Don’t panic when you walk in the door. Take your time and look over the room. If this is a classroom, take a seat and look around the room.     2    , take time to enjoy the art while looking at the people. Don’ t rush into talking to someone. You have time, so just get a feel for the group.

★ Approach someone.     3    .   But remember, if the person is at the event alone, they may also be shy and try to break out and meet people. You need to make them feel comfortable by chatting with them.

★     4    . Keep them talking and talk yourself—remember, conversation goes in two directions. You may have a couple of awkward moments, but if you have a few items planned to talk about, you’ll find that they’ll start adding their own questions and information to the conversation.

★ Don’t forget to ask them for a friendship follow-up.     5    , try asking your new friend if they’d like to go to another event with you. If it is a repeat event, such as a class, try asking them if they’d like to meet for coffee before the next class to study the material.

A．If it is a one-time event

B．If this is an art show

C．If you have picked out someone to approach

D．Mentally pull out your prepared questions

E．You may not meet your next best friend on your first try

F．You might find it easiest to approach someone who is also alone

G．Sit down and write out a list of potential questions you can ask someone

8 . Exercise could not only benefit your body, but also improve your memory, researchers found recently. In their paper published on Monday, researchers from the University of California, Irvine in the United States and the University of Tsukuba in Japan introduced their experiment and conclusion.

Scientists invited 36 volunteers who were in their early 20s to do 10 minutes of light exercise before taking a memory test in which they were shown pictures like broccoli（西兰花）or picnic baskets and asked to recall them later. The same experiment was repeated with the same group of volunteers without exercising. ^u The memory task was really quite challenging , "   said Michael Yassa,co-author of the study and a neuroscientist （神经科学家）at the University of California, Irvine. "We used very tricky similar items to see if they would remember whether it was this exact picnic basket versus （对抗）that picnic basket. "

Researchers also scanned brains of some, of the participants during the experiment. They found strengthened communication between regions involved in the storage and recollection of memories in brains of those who had exercised. This suggested that just 10 minutes of light exercise like walking,yoga or Tai Chi might increase memory power.

As all the volunteers in the experiment were relatively young, researchers are still working to look at the effects of light exercise on older people. "Our future goal is to try to develop an exercise prescription（处方） that can be used by older adults who might have disabilities or mobility impairments,but can still adopt very simple exercise rules of life and be able to,perhaps,delay cognitive decline temporarily," said Yassa.

1. What did the researchers find from the experiment mentioned in the text?

A．Regular exercise is of benefit to the memory of all people.

B．Just a short period of exercise better young people's memory power.

C．Older people can also improve their cognitive power by exercising regularly.

D．All the volunteers in the experiment improved their memory through exercise.

2. Why was the memory task quite challenging?

A．The time to solve the questions was too limited.

B．The people in the experiment were disabled.

C．The items to be distinguished were extremely similar.

D．The questions asked by the scientists were too complicated.

3. What's the purpose of the text?

A．.To solve a problem.	B．To give practical advice.
C．To present a research result.	D．To tell an interesting story.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Advantages of Exercising Regularly

B．Exercise Is Beneficial to Both Young and Old

C．Exercise Can Improve Older People's Cognitive Power

D．Ten Minutes of Exercise a Day Might Improve Memory

9 . I’m a student in my third year at Robert Gordon University, but I also work 35 hours a week at Sainsbury’s to make ends meet.

I constantly have to force myself to stay awake, and to be alert, whatever it takes. The work I do at Sainsbury’s is very physical like stacking shelves. I am lucky because the amount I lift at work is nothing compared with the weight I lift in the gym. I know I have the strength to bear it.

I am originally from Nigeria. I came here when I was seven. Money was always tight. My parents gave me everything I needed, but there was no money for luxuries. I worked hard at school though and, with the help of professors, I got the best A-level grades in my class.

Unfortunately, though I had applied for “settled” British residential status the Home Office waited until I was in sixth form to approve my application. That meant I was not eligible for a student loan. The only way I could afford to go to university was that I got a job that would pay for all my living costs and my parents paid for my tuition fees.

I don’t have much time to socialize because of my job. Ideally, Id like to have more time to study so I can excel at my course. Yes, I have a lot on my plate, but working hard isnt new for me. Growing up, my parents cultivated in me the importance of working hard for what I want in life.

My dream is to get a job in the NHS. But now, Im just focused on trying to get the best grades I can. Whenever I find life hard, I tell myself this is about my future.

1. Why does the author work long hours and sometimes overtime every week?

A．To pay for his own living expenses	B．To pay for his tuition fees
C．To prove his ability to earn money	D．To help his parents pay off the debts

2. What does the underlined word “eligible” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Responsible.	B．Anxious.
C．Qualified.	D．Accessible.

3. Which of the following can NOT be used to describe the author?

A．Persistent.	B．Diligent.
C．Sociable.	D．Ambitious.

4. Which proverb can best summarize the passage?

A．Actions speak louder than words.	B．God help those who help themselves.
C．A penny saved is a penny earned.	D．Where there is life, there is hope.

10 . Bus Tours in Washington DC

The Blossoms Tour In Washington DC

Duration: 3 hours   $56.99

BEST WAY to Experience the Cherry Blossoms! Each year from mid March to mid April, see the beautiful Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC and get great photos because you’ll be led to all the best spots by the best guides. The annual spring bloom in DC is a magical time and this tour promises to provide the very best tour opportunity for you!

The Lights Night Tour in Washington DC

Duration: 3 hours     $56.33

Highest-rated Night Tour in DC! The ONLY DC Night Tour where the Tour Guides HOP OFF with you at each stop and tell you about each monument and attracton. HOP aboard the The Lights Night Tour! The best time to take a tour of Washington DC is at night.

The Best Minibus Tour in Washington DC

Duration: 3 hours   $ 46.92

See all the key atractions DC has to offer in a 3-hour format. You will learn all about the history and trivia (琐事) that surrounds Washington and visit the major monuments and attractions DC has to offer.

Please Note: Rates for this tour vary by day of the week. When you choose your specific date on the availability calendar, the rates for that date will be displayed.

Best Mount Vernon & Arlington Cemetery Tour from Washington DC

Duration: 6 hours   $ 78.96

See Arlington Cemetery, Old Town Alexandria and George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate on this small group bus tour from Washington DC. Your tour guide will accompany you through Mount Vernon, telling you about all of the atractions there and the history of George Washington’s home on the Potomac River.

1. Which date suits The Blossoms Tour most?

A．July 4.	B．August 15.
C．March 27.	D．October 8.

2. What is special about The Best Minibus Tour?

A．Its price is not fixed.	B．The best time to take it is at night.
C．The tour guide accompanies you.	D．You can get great photos of cherry.

3. Which tour would offer you a chance to learn about George Washington’s home?

A．The Blossoms Tour.	B．The Lights Night Tour.
C．Tbe Best Minibus Tour.	D．Best Mount Vermon & Arlington Cemetery Tour.