1 . Thomas, 13, and his friends Mark and Josh had a fantastic idea. Why not play a game of football ... on a trampoline（蹦床）?
At first, it was great fun. Then Mark stumbled（绊倒）, landing directly on Thomas’s leg. Thomas howled in pain.
Even if you’ve never been injured on a trampoline, chances are you know someone who has. There were nearly 95,000 trampoline-related injuries, in 2012 alone.
These injuries are such an enormous problem that the American Academy of Pediatrics （AAP）, a group of doctors who specialize in treating children and adolescents, said in a 2012 study that trampolines should never be used at home or on playgrounds. Never.
“This is not a toy. It’s a piece of equipment,” says Dr. Michele LaBotz, an author of the AAPstudy.
Indeed, when trampolines were invented in the 1930s, they were intended for use by professional acrobats（杂技演员）. Over time, trampolines caught on with the public, and now 900,000 are sold each year, most of them for recreational use.
Part of trampolines’ appeal is that despite the risks, they provide good exercise. You get a heart-pumping aerobic（有氧的） workout, like you do when running or dancing. And young people need all the exercise they can get.
Still, trampolines can be dangerous — and not just for kids who fall off. Kids are also getting hurt on the springs and when they strike against each other. Serious injuries to the head and neck have been reported. One out of every 200 trampoline injuries leads to permanent brain damage.
Bouncing on a trampoline is clearly risky. But then, every athletic activity involves risk. Kids fall off bikes and skateboards all the time. As with any sport, kids on a trampoline can protect themselves. For instance: Never allow more than one person on a trampoline at a time. （About 75 percent of injuries result from having multiple jumpers at once.） And always have adult supervision.
1. According to the 2012 study by the AAP, ________.| A．kids can protect themselves on a trampoline |
| B．trampolines shouldn’t be used for entertainment |
| C．trampolines are more popular among young kids |
| D．kids shouldn’t trampoline without adult supervision |
| A．Trampolines were used to train the public. |
| B．People realized the danger of trampolining. |
| C．Trampolines became popular among the public. |
| D．People worried about kids playing on trampolines. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Unconcerned. | C．Opposed. | D．Objective. |
| A．the history of trampolines | B．why kids shouldn’t trampoline |
| C．the advantages of trampolining | D．whether kids should trampoline |
2 . John Cruitt, 62, spent decades tracking down his third-grade teacher.
He wanted to talk with Cecile Doyle about 1958— the year his mother, who was seriously ill, passed away.
Her death came just days before Christmas. Cruitt had been expecting to go home from school and decorate the Christmas tree.
Doyle tells Cruitt at StoryCorps in Monroe, N. Y. “And you just don’t know how you’re going to go on without that person.”
When Cruitt returned to school, Doyle waited until all of the other children left the room at the end of the day, and told him that she was there if he needed her.
“Then you kissed me on the head,” Cruitt says. “And I felt that things really would be OK.”
“Well, Cruitt, I’m so glad that I could be there with you for that time,” says Doyle, 82.
Decades after his mother’s death, Cruitt began to think more and more of Doyle. He finally wrote a letter:
Dear Mrs. Doyle,
If you are not the Cecile Doyle who taught English at Emerson School in Kearny, N. J., then I’m embarrassed, and you can neglect the letter. My name is John Cruitt, and I was in your third-grade class during the 1958-1959 school year. Two days before Christmas, my mother passed away, and you told me that you were there if I needed you. I hope life has been as kind to you as you were to me.
God bless you.
John Cruitt
Doyle says his letter, which arrived in February, could not have come at a better time. Her husband, who passed away this August, was struggling with Parkinson’s disease.
“Well the funny thing is, when I finally wrote to you again after 54 years, I typed the letter —I was afraid my penmanship wasn’t going to meet your standards,” Cruitt says as Doyle laughs.
“John, what can I say —I’m just glad that we made a difference in each other’s life.”
1. Before Cruitt wrote the letter, he ________.| A．knew Doyle’s husband had passed away |
| B．believed Doyle was leading a happy life |
| C．considered it embarrassing to write to Doyle |
| D．was unsure whether Doyle could receive the letter |
| A．was a gift coming late |
| B．came at just the right time |
| C．lifted her confidence greatly |
| D．served as a reminder of her husband |
| A．pen repairer | B．pen friend | C．handwriting | D．biography |
3 . If you think that running marathons will help you live a long and health y life, new research may come as a shock. According to a recent scientific study, people who do a very strenuous workout are as likely to die as people who do no exercise at all.
Scientists in Denmark have been studying over 1, 000 joggers and non-joggers for 12 years. The death rates from the sample group indicate that people who jog at a moderate pace two or three times a week for less than two and a half hours in total are least likely to die. The best speed to jog at was found to be about 5 miles per hour. The research suggests that people who jog more than three times a week or at higher speeds of over 7 mph die at the same rate as non-joggers. The scientists think that this is because strenuous exercise causes structural changes to the heart and arteries (动脉). Over time, this can cause serious injuries.
Peter Schnohr, a researcher in Copenhagen, said, “If your goal is to decrease the risk of death and improve life expectancy, jogging a few times a week at a moderate pace is a good strategy. Anything more is just unnecessary, and it may be harmful.”
The implications of this are that moderate forms of exercise such as Tai Chi, yoga and brisk walking may be better for us than “iron man” events, triathlons and long-distance running and cycling. According to Jacob Louis Marott, another researcher involved in the study, “You don’t actually have to do that much to have a good impact on your health. And perhaps you shouldn’t actually do too much.”
1. The underlined word “strenuous” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “ ______”.| A．hard | B．regular | C．practical | D．little |
| A．suggest giving up jogging | B．show risks of doing sports |
| C．provide supportive evidence | D．introduce the research process |
| A．Jogging for an hour every day. | B．Brisk walking for half an hour every day. |
| C．Cycling at a high speed. | D．Doing yoga once a month. |
| A．It may injure the heart and arteries. | B．It can make the body tired out. |
| C．It will bring much pressure. | D．It consumes too much energy. |
4 . For many years, I wanted to be a music video director. After graduating from high school, I moved to Los Angeles. I earned a degree in video production there. Fortune smiled upon me as I quickly worked as a production helper. I was young and ambitious, doing my best in my dream work.
One day, I worked as a volunteer at an award show. A production manager talked with me and said that I was going to be a “big fish” one day. I was praised, but frightened. I wasn’t sure whether I could bear the pressure of being a “big fish”. Not too long after the show, I was laid off from my position at the production company. I went back home to Florida to think about my next career move.
In Florida, I found a job in a financial company. The pay was good, and the work was not difficult. But a few months later, my creative spirit sent an SOS to my brain. It reminded me that I wasn’t making the best use of my talents. I didn’t have the money to make another cross-country move back to Los Angeles, but I couldn’t wait to create something.
I did some creative writing during my spare time. To motivate myself even further, I promised myself a children’s storybook. My goal didn’t end there, however. I also decided to get the book published. It was not easy, and I continued sending out my work for nearly four years. Finally my work attracted the interest of a publisher.
When I held a copy of my beautiful children’s book in my hands, I felt really happy from the bottom of my heart. I may not have become a big fish, but I did achieve a goal. Success comes from efforts. When you have something to fight for, you’re not far from success.
1. The author went to Los Angeles to ______.| A．find a high-paid job | B．reach for her dream |
| C．visit a famous film director | D．take part in volunteer activities |
| A．Proud. | B．Happy. | C．Uncertain. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．It lacks challenges. | B．It requires a higher degree. |
| C．It often takes up her free time. | D．It can hardly support her family. |
| A．She set herself to work on a new goal. | B．She was moved by her children’s words. |
| C．She was attracted by a picture storybook. | D．She planned to leave for Los Angeles some day. |
| A．To make a cross-country move. | B．To break our old working habits. |
| C．To try hard to improve our writing skills. | D．To make every effort to achieve our goals. |
5 . Cool places to stay for cycling adventures
From its dusty eastern reaches to its river valleys and lava flows, Oregon attracts adventure-hungry bicyclists. And the Oregon Scenic Bikeways program makes it easy to explore. So point your wheels down one of these routes chosen to highlight a variety of landscapes, skill levels and distances.
Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway
It’s exciting: riding past fields of world-class hops, rolling along hills dotted with rows of wine grapes, leaning your bike outside a small cafe at a rural crossroads for a strong cup of coffee. The bounty of Oregon is on full display as you cycle the nation’s first scenic bikeway, 134 miles down a river valley snaking between the Coast Range and Cascade Range.
Old West Scenic Bikeway
The 174-mile Old West Scenic Bikeway weaves through rangeland, along rushing rivers and toward an unending desert. And around these parts, folks are known for their put-your-feet-up hospitality.
Cascade Siskiyou Scenic Bikeway
This 55-mile route starts and ends in Ashland and includes 5,000 feet of climbing. From town, you climb through tropical grassland into deep forests. Stay in Ashland. Or turn the ride into an overnight ride and stay in a cabin in the woods.
McKenzie Pass Scenic Bikeway
This 38-mile route climbs through a forest to a 65-square-mile lava flow with 360-degree views of the Cascadian Volcanoes. The 25-mile, 4,000-foot descent to the McKenzie River has brake-burning turns through the forest.
Professional tip: The McKenzie Highway is closed during the winter, but for several weeks before it opens to cars in the spring, the road is only managed for non-motorized use.
1. Which is the first scenic bikeway in the USA?| A．Old West Scenic Bikeway. | B．McKenzie Pass Scenic Bikeway. |
| C．Cascade Siskiyou Scenic Bikeway. | D．Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway. |
| A．It is the shortest but full of stories. |
| B．It is located beside the Cascadian Volcanoes. |
| C．It offers bicyclists desert scenery. |
| D．It discourages riders because of unfriendly locals. |
| A．In Ashland or the woods. | B．In the desert. |
| C．In fields or a small cafe. | D．In a forest. |
| A．It is easy for bicyclists of all levels. | B．It is inaccessible by car in spring. |
| C．It is closed during the winter. | D．It is famous for cabins in the woods. |
| A．To attract members for a cycling club. | B．To introduce four cycling routes in Oregon. |
| C．To point out the importance of cycling. | D．To encourage people to take cycling adventures. |
6 . As winter arrives, the problem of fogged-up car windscreens (挡风玻璃) becomes more pressing for drivers. Anti-misting sprays are one way to deal with such fogging. But they need frequent reapplication. Another approach is to fix a set of electrically powered heating wires. But because of the visual distraction (干扰) created, that doesn’t work for a car’s front windscreen.
Iran Hachler and Dimos of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have, however, come up with another way of warming something up to stop fog forming. Their new material is a coating ten nanometer (纳米) thick. It is flexible, easily made, and can be applied as a coating to glass or plastic, or inset inside such materials. Its demisting system is powered by sunlight.
In effect, it is a gold sandwich. The “bread” of this sandwich is a pair of layers (层), top and bottom, of a chemical material. The filling is a four-nanometre deep golden material. The whole structure lets visible light pass unlimited, while absorbing invisible lights and transforming them into heat. It is the filling that warms the glass. Gold acts as a medium in the heating process. The network will now absorb heat if left in the sunshine.
Glass coated with Mr Hachler’s and Dr Dimos’s invention is, they claim, four times more effective at preventing fog than an uncounted surface. It absorbs around 30% of solar radiation incident upon it, which, on a sunny day, increases the temperature of what it is applied to by around 8℃ On a cloudy day, that temperature rise is closer to 3-4℃. But in either case the enhancement is enough both to remove any fog that has formed and to prevent new fog forming.
The next step, Mr Hachler says, is to find the product’s best market. Even though gold is used, the cost of adding this extra one is low. For the two inventors, though, the idea might prove a gold mine.
1. What is the disadvantage of anti-misting sprays?| A．They lack lasting effect. | B．They damage the windscreens. |
| C．They need constantly powering. | D．They distract the drivers’ attention. |
| A．It is easy to set. | B．It looks like a coat. |
| C．It is made of plastic. | D．It is naturally powered. |
| A．It is unable to work at nights. | B．It can protect the cars’ surface. |
| C．It is more effective on sunny days. | D．It can lower the temperature to 3-4℃. |
| A．It has hit the market. | B．It may be of high profit. |
| C．It needs further improvement. | D．It cost the inventors a gold mine. |
7 . One late winter day in Manchester, UK, as I step inside the University of Salford’s latest research building, the cold 3°C air bites immediately. In fact, it’s a giant climate-controlled room, designed to test how homes built today will deal with the wilder weather climate change could bring.
Inside the £16-million room, researchers can create any weather they want with the touch of a button, from -20℃ cold to 40℃ heatwaves, alongside strong winds, snow and ice. “Anywhere people live, we can recreate those conditions,” says Fitton, who leads the Energy House 2.0 project for the university.
Inside the building are two new-build homes, complete with brickwork and pot plants. Both are equipped with cutting-edge green technology, like electric vehicle charging points, and will act as test beds to build greener homes in the UK. In 2025, the Future Homes Standard(FHS)will require all new homes to be built without gas central heating and with other green measures. Homes built to the FHS must deliver a 75% to 80% reduction in carbon emissions compared with homes built today.
That is why Bellway, partnering with the project, has built the rooms inside the Energy House 2.0. Yet clearly this is no ordinary new-build. For one thing, packed inside are three different heating systems: two air source heat pumps, plus panel heaters dotted around the walls and ceilings. There’s also a solar power input, a battery and a smart hot water tank that heats water using solar generation.
Over the coming months, Bellway will test different combinations of these technologies to find the most cost-effective way of meeting the FHS regulations.
Financially, things are promising. Based on energy-performance calculations, Bellway says its Future Home could have energy bills of just £11 a year.
Energy House 2.0 will let researchers see how houses perform in the UK’s future climate. “We can cycle through the climate change predictions 50 years into the future and see if we have any problems.” says Fitton.
1. What’s the aim of building the climate-controlled room?| A．To help homes resist climate change. |
| B．To examine the quality of today’s homes. |
| C．To explore the most suitable homes for humans. |
| D．To find a way for homes to handle climate change. |
| A．There will be no heating system. |
| B．They will be controlled by a button. |
| C．They will be more environmentally-friendly. |
| D．There will be green plants to absorb carbon. |
| A．It will be tested continuously. | B．It will change the future climate. |
| C．It will make future houses recycled. | D．It will cause environmental problems. |
| A．Energy-Saving House Leads the Future |
| B．Climate Change Affects Home Designs |
| C．Research into Homes for Future Climate |
| D．The Leading Place of the UK in Home Designs |
8 . In 2017, an earthy bicycle repairer appeared on the stage of the TV show Chinese Poetry Congress.
Wang Haijun, 65 in 2017, was born in Inner Mongolia, and he loved reading since he was little. However, when he was in the fourth grade, Wang had to drop out of school because his father wanted him to herd sheep to make a little bit extra.
From then on, Wang only reads after a day’s work. Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Three Hundred Tang Poems were his favorite books. “There weren’t any bookstores around, so I borrowed them from others. I read them so much that the pages began to tear off.” Later, Wang and his wife moved to Shijiazhuang where he set up a stall and repair bicycles for more family income.
The job is not busy, so Wang has time to read. Once, he heard in a radio program that a disabled girl wrote some excellent poems. Encouraged by the story, Wang began to write his own poems on the back of the package paper of the tires with a pencil. At night, he wrote with a torch in the dark. He even got a small blackboard from the recyclers and put poems on it. He hung the chalkboard in his stall and asked the passers-by to help him improve his poems. If anybody’s advice was adopted, he would buy him or her a bottle of beer.
In 2017, when Wang was invited to Chinese Poetry Congress, he thought “it was a fraud”, because he never imagined that people would appreciate the poems written by a bicycle repairer. “But it turned out to be a great experience reading my poems on the stage.” he said.
After the show, many people came to his stall to discuss poetry with him. “It feels like a dream come true. Poetry belongs to everyone. Even a bicycle repairer like me can still dream about such a poetic life.”
1. What inspired Wang to write poems?| A．ATV show. | B．Poetry books. |
| C．His family. | D．A radio story. |
| A．Memory. | B．Trick. | C．Reward. | D．Trouble. |
| A．Creative and helpful. | B．Energetic and generous. |
| C．Optimistic and determined. | D．Ambitious and concerned. |
| A．It’s never too late to learn. | B．A good book is a good friend. |
| C．A good beginning is half done. | D．Actions speak louder than words. |
When the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green was founded in 1872, it was East London’s first public museum. Today, we are transforming this beloved building into a new national museum of design and creativity dedicated entirely to children.
Relaunching later this year as Young V&A, the museum will be a place to imagine, play, create, debate and design. Young V&A will help children to develop abilities such as creative thinking, problem-saving ad collaboration through imaginative, hands-on gallery displays and creative programing for schools, families and community groups.
How you can helpIn a climate of growing inequality and reduced funding for the arts, it is vital that wed support young people’s creative development. We rely on your generous donations and are so grateful for your support. Whether you can give £25 or £25,000, all donations will help to complete this project.
£25 could buy books for the new Reading Room.
£75 could buy sensory materials to help bring the collection to life for young visitors.
£150 could conserve and display an inspirational object in the permanent galleries.
£5000 could help furnish the new creative studios in the Learning Centre.
Ways to give•To pay by credit card, use the QR code, visit www.vam.ac.uk/appeal, or call 02079422905 to speak to a member of the Development team.
•Return a completed donation form or post a cheque directly to the museum or hand it in at the V&A Membership Desk or the Members’ Room.
•To find out about donating by bank transfer, making a regular monthly donation, or to make a larger gift, please email the Development team at appeals@vam.ac.uk.
1. Who are the most likely to visit Young V&A?| A．Art lovers. | B．Children. | C．Teachers. | D．Seniors. |
| A．Buy some materials. | B．Conserve the galleries. |
| C．Exhibit an excellent object. | D．Collect an inspirational object. |
| A．Scan the QR code. | B．Fill a donation form. |
| C．Email the Development team. | D．Send a cheque to the museum. |
10 . “Do you want to go to work with me today?” Asked my father one day when I was nine or 10 years old. He had never taken me to work with him before.
How could I have said no? I had no idea where my father worked, nor how he earned a living. All I knew, back around 1992, was that he left our house every morning before we woke up and came back every night after we finished dinner. So, I gave him a positive answer.
My dad drove us south to the city of Newark, where he was born. There we entered a middle-class apartment building. He made the rounds doing regular duty for the next few hours with me following closely. He checked the basic systems and services. He collected rents. He carried around a case of tools in case he needed to fix a broken door or get a washing machine running again.
He took me to work with him a few other times over the years. I always loved going. I got to see him in action, doing his job among other people, out in the wider world and looking important, even heroic. I felt proud of him, proud to be his son. I wish he had taken me more often.
Years later, I followed this tradition. I took my daughter Caroline with me to my office for a day. She saw me in a glassed-off conference room brainstorming with colleagues, on the phone talking with clients and — no doubt the most attractive scene of all — on my computer writing a report. With any luck, my daughter felt the same pride I had felt with my own father.
Today fewer and fewer kids get the same opportunity. Maybe we should make this a tradition.
1. Why did the author agree to go to work with his father for the first time?| A．He wanted to earn money for himself. |
| B．He was forced to go by his father. |
| C．He was curious about his father’s job. |
| D．He intended to repair their relationship. |
| A．Checking systems, collecting rents, and fixing appliances. |
| B．Working with colleagues and brainstorming ideas. |
| C．Answering phone calls and organizing paperwork. |
| D．Writing reports and attending meetings regularly. |
| A．He felt pity for his father. |
| B．He admired his father’s skills. |
| C．He thought highly of his father. |
| D．He questioned his father’s choice. |
| A．Repairing broken doors and washing machines. |
| B．Bringing her to his workplace for a day. |
| C．Calling the clients and writing reports. |
| D．Taking her to visit his hometown. |
| A．It helped him build a successful career. |
| B．It developed his great talents for business. |
| C．It deepened his understanding of his work. |
| D．It made him proud and follow the same tradition. |
