1 . When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.
It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie’s basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted a red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.
“Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint.” She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted big stripes (条纹) of colors across the pavement. Strip e by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!
The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn’t wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother’s face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.
My mother shut the car door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring she shouted, “What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors’ trees, but this! Come inside right now!” I stood there glaring back at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.
“Now go clean it up!” Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.
Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need some sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.
1. What did the writer do with his friend in that afternoon?| A．They counted the toys in the house. |
| B．They painted a picture on the road. |
| C．They made a project in the room. |
| D．They moved the paints to the basement. |
| A．To show his artwork to her. |
| B．To introduce Stephanie to her. |
| C．To put the materials back in the yard. |
| D．To prevent her from seeing his painting. |
| A．He was a born artist. | B．He worked very hard. |
| C．He was a problem solver. | D．He always caused trouble. |
| A．The beautiful rainbow in the sky. |
| B．The stripes painted on the pavement. |
| C．Something imaginative and fun. |
| D．Important lessons learned in childhood. |
| A．They should protect children’s dreams. |
| B．They should encourage children to paint. |
| C．They should value friendship among children. |
| D．They should discover the hidden talent in children. |
2 . Our site specializes in European cycling tours, Bike &Boat Tours, Road Bike Tours and now River Cruises throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
We take great pride in offering you the best services and in providing you with a vacation that will be fondly remembered. Whether it is a European bike tour, river cruise, or one of many other cycling vacations, our staff will do everything to plan your dream holiday.
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We have perhaps the largest online catalogue of well-established European bike and boat tours and sailing holidays.
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Bicycle touring in Europe and beyond — cycle your next vacation almost anywhere in Europe tourope from our carefully chosen catalogue of bike tours. Recently we have also added a few American bike tours as well as bike tours in Vietnam. Whether you cycle Europe with a standard bicycle or an e-bike, one of our cycling tours is bound to be right for you.
Road Bike Tours
Cycle Europe and experience one of our great new European road bike tours! These cycle tours in Europe(and now one is in the New Zealand) are intended for the more experienced cyclist that is not afraid of the long distances through extremely beautiful countryside.
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1. The text is mainly written to ______.| A．introduce fantastic tour places | B．invite readers to join in the tours |
| C．compare boat tours with bike tours | D．encourage readers to have adventures |
| A．Vietnam & America. | B．China & Vietnam. |
| C．America & New Zealand. | D．New Zealand & China. |
| A．Bike &Boat Trips. | B．Road Bike Tours. |
| C．Luxury Boat Tours. | D．Bike Europe and Beyond. |
| A．The travelling places. | B．The cycling adventures. |
| C．The price and service. | D．The scenery along the way. |
| A．A newspaper. | B．A textbook. | C．A magazine. | D．A website. |
3 . Do you know what to do when there is an emergency? By calling the police, you can protect yourself and those around you.
Call the police in all of the following emergencies:
◆A crime, such as a theft, especially if it is still in progress.
◆A car accident, especially if someone is injured.
◆Domestic violence (家庭暴力), such as a child being mistreated.
◆Anything else that seems like an emergency.
◆What should you do when you call the police?
◆Dial 110 (the emergency number in China; the number varies from one country to another—in the U. S., you dial 911 to call the police). Stay calm when calling and give your name, address and phone number. Then, tell the person why you are calling (What happened? Where did it happen? When did it happen? Is it still in progress?). Follow any instructions you are given. For example, the dispatcher (调度员) might say, “Stay on the line” or “Leave the building”.
◆If you dial the emergency number by mistake, do not hang up. Doing so could make the dispatcher think an emergency really exists. Instead, just tell the person that you called by mistake. Most police departments have a communication center. The communication center staff reach police officers by radio. Police officers carry headsets, like earphones, to stay in touch with the communication center.
1. When calling the police, you DON’T need to give ________ to the dispatcher.| A．your name | B．your phone number |
| C．your ID card number | D．some details of the emergency |
| A．Power off your phone. | B．Tell the dispatcher you called by mistake. |
| C．Hang up your phone at once. | D．Go to a police station to explain. |
| A．Monitor police officers. | B．Answer emergency calls. |
| C．Tell people what to do in an emergency. | D．Reach police officers when there is an emergency. |
| A．To tell people when and how to call the police. | B．To introduce a police officer’s duties. |
| C．To share the author’s experience. | D．To thank the police. |
4 . When I was young, I loved and really did well in drawing and art. I won awards, got constant attention, and even saw my face in the newspaper and on television because of my natural ability to draw.
Most people who happen to come across something that they are good at are encouraged to take it and run with it. Of course, my life was no different. From teachers, to principals, to family members, everyone seemed to have a ton of advice to give me in regard to art.
All the while, my true desire was writing. I entered poetry, essay and short-story contests and lost all. It was such a contrast from my artistic competition experience! It was so bad that I had a good friend who told me once, “If you are so good at drawing, why do you even care about writing? Stick to drawing!”
Though well intended, eighteen years later I’m glad I didn’t take his words to heart. Years went by with me still writing and still constantly entering contests. It was not until my first year in college that I finally got honorable mention in a poetry contest. As a writer, I’ve truly grown.
I’m sure there are things in your life that are challenging and yet, rewarding. Endurance, especially when it comes to things you truly love is essential. Take some time to devote some more energy to the thing that didn’t come easy and see what happens.
1. Why did the author get much attention when she was young?| A．She really loved drawing. | B．She constantly won awards. |
| C．She used to watch television. | D．She had the ability to read nature. |
| A．everyone encouraged her to run with it | B．her parents knew little about it |
| C．her teacher told the principal about it | D．people wanted to take her advice |
| A．The author’s desire to take part in contests. | B．The author’s intention to be mentioned. |
| C．The author’s experience to become a writer. | D．The author’s advice to grow up quickly. |
| A．Responsible and calm. | B．Talented and determined. |
| C．Friendly and honest. | D．Careful and proud. |
5 . You may not know a lot of people when you start high school. Maybe your friends from middle school are going to a different high school. Even if you know other freshmen, you still feel nervous that you don’t know any upper-class men. How are you going to make friends among this sea of unknown faces?
Most high schools hold a freshman orientation before school actually starts. These are helpful not only because you learn your way around the building and get to meet some of your teachers, but you also get to meet fellow freshmen. That way, when you show up on your first day of school, you may already recognize a few familiar faces.
When you talk to people at orientation, you’ll probably find that a lot of them are feeling just like you are. They’re all new to the school and don’t know what to expect. Talking about a common concern with your classmates can help you develop friendships.
The work in high school is something freshmen are probably worried about. The work in high school builds on what you learned in middle school, giving you a more advanced knowledge of many subjects. So you may find you have more work to do or that it’s a bit more challenging. If you ever find your work too difficult, teachers can give you extra help.
High school also has more after-school activities than middle school did, such as clubs, music and theater groups and sports teams. This is a good time to explore your interests and try new things.
Middle school taught you the basis of academics, time management, and social skills while providing you with a little extra support and guidance. High school gives you the chance to learn how to be more independent and responsible.
1. According to the passage, when freshmen come to the school on the first day, they usually feel ________.| A．proud | B．frightened | C．excited | D．nervous |
| A．They can meet familiar faces from middle school. |
| B．They will attend lectures delivered by their teachers. |
| C．They can exchange their worries about high school. |
| D．They will be led to have a tour around the campus. |
| A．The learning task. | B．The ability to make friends. |
| C．The training in the freshman orientation. | D．The relationship with teachers. |
| A．build up healthy bodies | B．develop their interests |
| C．develop friendships | D．improve their learning ability |
| A．what you’ll learn in high school |
| B．what you leaned in middle school |
| C．the difference between middle school and high school |
| D．the importance of being more independent and responsible |
6 . There were two fishermen named Tom and Jack. They were close friends. One day they went out to catch fish together and have a fish meal in the field. They sat at a distance and started hunting for fish. Tom got a big and beautiful fish in a few minutes. He was so happy and placed the fish in the ice box. He decided to cook the fish at noon. He spent some more time and caught a few more fish. He decided to make a grand meal with the fish. Also, he froze a few fish to take them back home.
After an hour or so, Tom went to Jack to see if he needed any help. Jack said no. In a few minutes, Jack caught a large fish. However, he put it back into the lake. Tom was surprised at his act, but he remained silent. Jack caught more big fish, and put them all back into the lake. Very frustrated, Tom angrily asked him, “Are you mad? Why do you put your fish back into the water? They are beautiful and big!” Jack replied, “I know they are big, but I don’t have the big pan to cook the big fish! So I’m looking for a smaller fish that fits my cooking pan! God is troubling me today.”
1. What did Tom and Jack go out for?| A．To catch fish. | B．To have a joy ride. |
| C．To eat out together. | D．To feed the fish in the lake. |
| A．To give him some fish. | B．To see if he needed some help. |
| C．To ask him to cook his fish. | D．To take some of Jack’s fish for himself. |
| A．He couldn’t understand his act. | B．He was fond of eating big fish. |
| C．He thought it was unfair for small fish. | D．He didn’t catch any big fish himself. |
| A．Asking God to send him only small fish. | B．Taking a bigger pan with him next time. |
| C．Changing his fishing pole to catch small fish. | D．Cutting the big fish into small pieces to fit his pan. |
7 . Are you troubled by housework, such as cleaning tables or tidying your room? Do you need a helping hand? Recently, the robot Mobile Aloha made by scientists at Stanford University in the US became popular online. In the videos posted, we can see the robot preparing dishes on its own. It’s also good at watering plants, petting cats, cleaning the floor and washing clothes.
Sounds good? Well, another video posted by researchers may disappoint some people. Mobile Aloha isn’t good at doing housework on its own. Instead, it learns from human actions before doing each kind of housework. When the situation changes, it can’t work well without a human “teaching” it. So it may break dishes, bump into (撞上) things and even burn a pot.
The robot can successfully move chairs 80 percent of the time, said the team after they did more research on it. For cooking dishes, it’s only 40 percent. In short, it’s far from perfect.
In fact, AI robots are good at tasks such as math and playing chess, but they face challenges when it comes to simpler actions like cleaning. And it’s the same for Mobile Aloha. For example, if its body doesn’t move correctly — even just with a small mistake, its arm may move too far to pick up a glass.
“Robots are not ready to take over the world,” the team posted online.1. How does the writer begin the passage?
| A．By making a comparison. | B．By asking questions. |
| C．By showing a finding. | D．By imagining a scene. |
| A．To show the latest findings of the team. |
| B．To prove that robots can do nothing right. |
| C．To support an opinion that robots are far from perfect. |
| D．To explain the main function of Mobile Aloha is moving chairs. |
| A．The importance of robots to the world. | B．The latest research on robots. |
| C．Some disadvantages of robots. | D．Some ways to produce perfect robots. |
| A．EDUCATION. | B．CULTURE. | C．PEOPLE. | D．TECHNOLOGY. |
During ancient times, children didn't have smart phones, iPads or computers to entertainment them. Instead, they came up with interesting games to play in their childhood. Let's take a look.
| Hide and-seek is a traditional game for children. It's popular around the nation. There are two ways to play: covering a child's eyes while other kids run around to play a trick on him or more commonly, others hide and one child must try to find them. |
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| Kites have quite a long history in China. The earliest kites weren't made of paper. They were made of wood instead. Nowadays, the three most famous kites are the Beijing kite. Tianjin kite and Weifang kite. Each has its own style. For example. the bird-shaped kite with long wings is a special kind of the Beijing kite. |
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| The most similar thing to watching a film during ancient times was going to see a shadow play. The artists controlled puppets behind the screen to make them move like people and tell stories. People liked listening to the music and enjoyed the beautiful puppets. |
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| During the Qing Dynasty (1644 — 1911). kicking a stone ball around was a popular sport in the northern part of China, and it was often played in the winter to keep warm. Stones were carved into small balls and kicked along with feet. |
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1. How can hide-and-seek be played?
| A．One plays and others watch. | B．On must cry and others laugh. |
| C．Others hide and one tries to find. | D．One runs and others try to catch. |
| A．kicking stone balls | B．flying kites |
| C．watching shadow plays | D．playing hide-and-seek |
| A．Artists. | B．Puppets. | C．People. | D．Stories. |
| A．Tianjin is famous for the bird-shaped kite with long wings |
| B．all the children must cover their eyes while playing hide--and-seek |
| C．the puppets couldn't move like people with the artists' controlling |
| D．kicking a stone ball was popular in the northern part of China during the Qing Dynasty |
9 . Young babies make many short and word-like sounds such as “ba” or “aga”. Those early sounds are later replaced with words and, eventually, sentences. While some of them are born to be more talkative than others, a new study confirms that male babies make more sounds than female babies in the first year.
While the research confirms earlier findings from a much smaller study by the same team, they still come as a surprise. That’s because there’s a common and long-held belief that females have an advantage over males in language.
In the study, Dr Kim and his team included more than 450,000 hours of all-day recordings of 5,899 babies, using a device about the size of an iPod. Those recordings were processed to count the number of words spoken by babies and adults across the first two years of life.
Generally, the data showed that male babies made 10% more sounds in the first year compared to females. In the second year, the difference turned directions, with female babies making about 7% more sounds than males. Those differences were observed even though the number of words spoken by adults caring for those babies was higher for female babies in both years compared to males.
Why, then, would male babies be more talkative than females in the first year and not later? “We think it may be because boys are more likely to die in the first year than girls. Given that so many male deaths happen in the first year, boys may have been under especially high selection pressure to produce fitness signals to express their wellness and improve their chances of surviving,” says Kim. By the second year of life, as death rates drop sharply across the board, he added, “the pressure on special fitness signaling is lower for both boys and girls.”
1. Why are the findings of the new study surprising?| A．They are similar to earlier ones. |
| B．They show males are more talkative. |
| C．They go against people’s common belief. |
| D．They show babies learn language differently |
| A．They received more language input. |
| B．They showed better language abilities. |
| C．They communicated more with adults. |
| D．They made less sounds than female babies. |
| A．Improved language skills. | B．Change in living environment. |
| C．Less need for fitness signaling. | D．Increase in social communication. |
10 . One day, a woman bought a parrot (鹦鹉) from a pet store. However, the woman decided to send the parrot back to the store the next day. “This bird doesn’t talk,” she told the pet store owner. “Does he have a mirror?” the owner asked. “Parrots enjoy watching themselves in it.” So the woman bought one and left.
The next day, she came back, saying that the bird still didn’t say anything. “How about a ladder (梯子)? Parrots love ladders,” the owner said. The woman bought a ladder and left.
But the next day, she went back a third time. “Does your parrot have a swing (秋千)? No? Well, once he starts swinging, he’ll talk a lot happily,” the owner said. The woman then bought a swing and left.
When she walked into the store the next day, she began to cry and said sadly, “The parrot died.” The pet store owner was surprised at what she said. “What? I’m sorry. Tell me, did he say anything?” he asked. “Yes, right before he died,” the woman answered in a low voice, “he asked me weakly, ‘Don’t they sell any food at that pet store?’”
Sometimes we forget what’s really necessary in life. We sometimes have lots of things to do at once, but we forget to do with the most important things first. We have to remember to “feed the parrots” in our lives.
1. The woman bought ______ for the parrot from the pet shop owner.①a cage ②a mirror ③a ladder ④a swing ⑤some food
| A．①②⑤ | B．②③④ | C．①②③ | D．②③ |
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
| A．the woman gave him nothing to eat | B．he couldn’t enjoy himself in the mirror |
| C．he couldn’t fly in the sky like others | D．the woman was angry and killed him |
| A．喂养鹦鹉 | B．放飞鹦鹉 | C．做最重要的事情 | D．让鹦鹉唱歌 |
