1 . Small body, big power, a 10-year-old Chinese girl who has been living in Ireland has taken her ballroom dancing (交际舞) to the top on the international stage. Born in 2007, Kerry Sui, or Sui Yuanjing in Chinese, came to Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland, with her parents over 10 years ago.
Kerry Sui was so lucky. When she started dancing in a supporting role for her sister Cherry Sui, she was spotted by her teacher Laura O’Brien. “I knew she was talented the first time I saw her. Her confidence, courage and graceful movements in dancing surprised me a lot. So, I advised her mother to train her into a professional dancer,” said O’Brien. Sui’s parents followed the teacher’s suggestion and Kerry Sui began her dancing career (职业).
Kerry Sui met her partner Francis Carty in March 2017. Though short in height, they have made big achievements so far. They took the No. 1 position in the 2017 Hampshire Dance Festival held on October 8, 2017. Also, they ranked second in the Blackpool Dance Festival, the world’s first and most famous annual ballroom dance competition of international significance held in England since 1920, and were later chosen as the elite dancing performers for DSI London, the world’s leading retailer and wholesaler of ballroom dance.
“I work hard in the daily training and long for the acknowledgement of most audiences,” said Sui. “Family means much to me. My father now works as a chef in another city of Ireland, aiming to make more money to keep me going while my mother is a full-time housewife, doing all she can to support me. I want to dance better in the future and relieve them with my bright records,” she added.
1. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “spotted” in Paragraph 2?| A．Taught. | B．Stopped. | C．Discovered. | D．Trained. |
| A．Sui’s professional skills. | B．Sui’s great talent in dancing. |
| C．Sui’s good luck on the stage. | D．Sui’s kindness to her sister. |
| A．They made great achievements. | B．They were good-looking. |
| C．They won the first in all competitions. | D．They met each other in May 2017. |
| A．A Sweet Family | B．A Lucky Dancer |
| C．A Dancer and Her Teacher | D．An Inspiring Dancer |
2 . “Stove-boiled tea,” a way of drinking tea, has a strong sense of ritual and the ceremony has become a new favorite. People sit around a charcoal-filled stove, chatting, enjoying desserts, boiling tea while roasting snacks. Sounds great, doesn’t it? But how to roast (烤) snacks? Which ones are suitable? Save this guide and read on!
Niangao
Roasting time: 13-18 minutes
Niangao, or sticky rice cake, is one of the most popular snacks with the stove-boiled tea. Roasted niangao becomes soft and sweet. After it is roasted, you can enjoy it with condiments (调味品) such as brown sugar, white sugar or honey.
Oranges
Roasting time: 3-6 minutes
Roasting oranges is unique. With the rising temperature in the stove, the special smell of orange peel will slowly fill the air, making you feel relaxed. When roasting oranges, make sure they are heated evenly, so that they taste like warm orange juice.
Peanuts
Roasting time: 8-12 minutes
The peanut is a snack that will keep both your hands and mouth busy by shelling and eating. When roasting peanuts, one way to go is to make small cracks on their pods first, and remember to flip (翻面) peanuts to prevent charring (糊).
Chinese Dates
Roasting time: 8-12 minutes
The softness, aroma and sweetness of the Chinese date become even more pronounced after heating. To roast, you could skewer several Chinese dates together, which makes it easier to rotate them at the same time.
After preparing all the snacks, here comes the central figure — tea. Common tea choices include rock tea, aged white tea, Pu’er and black tea. However, if you are up for trying new things, how about fruit tea, flower tea, ginger tea, etc. based on your personal taste preference.
Enjoying boiling tea and roasted snacks on the stove is an interesting lifestyle. In this way, people can get a taste of a slower life and feel more relaxed. But when sitting around a stove and boiling tea, please ensure ventilation (通风), beware of fire and don’t get burnt.
1. Which of the following snacks do you roast for the longest time?| A．Niangao. | B．Oranges. | C．Peanuts. | D．Chinese Dates. |
| A．Raise the temperature. | B．Taste orange juice. |
| C．Roast them as long as possible. | D．Heat them evenly. |
| A．It teaches people to make tea. |
| B．It’s a good way for people to relax. |
| C．It’s easier for people to make friends. |
| D．It allows people to taste different kinds of tea. |
| A．close the window | B．touch the stove directly |
| C．ensure the fire safety | D．wolf down roasted snacks |
3 . 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. |
4 . Tailor your own summer break in Chengdu! This tour includes close contact with the giant pandas.
DAY 1 ChengduTransfer via: plane—your arrangement
Activities for today: Airport to hotel transfer
Upon arrival at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, you’ll be warmly greeted and escorted to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure.
DAY 2 ChengduTransfer via: private vehicle
Morning 7: 30 pick you up from your hotel and drive to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Later, watch the film at Panda Museum to know the pandas’ daily life, baby pandas getting birth, etc. After a happy time with the pandas, drive back to Chengdu downtown area for a leisure walking in the Jinli Old Street, where you can enjoy all kinds of local snacks and the traditional artifacts (手工制品). Then visit Wuhou Temple to learn some stories about the Three Kingdoms.
DAY 3 ChengduTransfer via: private vehicle Morning around 8: 30 pick you up from your hotel, and drive to visit Qingyang Palace which is a Taoism temple with a history of more than 1, 000 years. Then visit Du Fu Thatched Cottage, the former residence of the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu (712—770 AD), now a park and museum in honour of him. After a hearty Sichuan-style lunch, drive to visit Chengdu Songxianqiao Art Market, where you will find Chinese old paintings, unique Shu Brocade and Embroidery (刺绣), bamboo products and antique stuff, etc. Have the wonderful taste of the vegetarian dishes near the Wenshu Temple for dinner. Then drive back to your hotel.
DAY 4 Chengdu/ExitTransfer via: plane—your arrangement
Activities for today: Hotel to airport transfer
1. Where can you learn about history on Day 2?| A．At Wuhou Temple. | B．On Jinli Old Street. |
| C．At Giant Panda Breeding Base. | D．In Qingyang Palace. |
| A．Chengdu Songxianqiao Art Market. | B．Wuhou Temple. |
| C．Qingyang Palace. | D．Du Fu Thatched Cottage. |
| A．With a temple visit. | B．With a museum tour. |
| C．With airport transfers. | D．With art market shopping. |
| A．A reminder. | B．A report. | C．A test. | D．An advertisement. |
5 . Imagine you’re in a sci-fi (科幻小说) world, and you video-call your friends. You might see them in a three-dimensional(3D) way or in holograms (全息影像). Although this isn’t possible in real life yet, researchers recently made holograms easier to create, said a new study.
To take a 3D photo of a person, most hologram technologies need special cameras. They record how the person looks from different angles under different lights. This information makes the hologram look lifelike. However, holograms can’t be widely used because they are difficult to make.
The researchers from Chiba University in Japan made a new computer program. It can turn normal pictures we take into 3D holograms.
Their program used a technology called deep neural networks (深度神经网络). First, it receives information from an image taken by a normal camera. It then predicts the depth of things in the image. For example, in a 3D photo, the background should be deeper than the person.
With all the information, the program creates a 3D hologram. But it can look strange at first. The program will then check the hologram to fix problems and make it look more real.
The program can be used to create holograms in VR headsets (头显设备). For example, a user sends a picture, and the other user can see the “real” look of it in 3D. If it’s used in cars, drivers can see information, such as road signs, in 3D. This makes it easier for the drivers to see and thus makes sure that they won’t miss important information.
In the future, when holograms become more common, they can also help doctors. Medical students can learn quickly by looking at 3D images of the human body, and doctors can better understand a patient’s illness.
1. What does the new program make use of to create a hologram?| A．A normal picture. | B．A special camera. |
| C．Recordings from different angles. | D．Recordings under different lights. |
| A．more natural | B．more expensive | C．easier | D．more predictable |
| A．They make driving more enjoyable. |
| B．Drivers will find road information easily. |
| C．They will help predict dangers and traffic. |
| D．Drivers needn’t mind the cars behind. |
| A．Doctors make no mistakes with holograms. |
| B．Patients won’t suffer with holograms. |
| C．We can live in a 3D world. |
| D．Holograms might be used in the medical field. |
6 . There is no doubt that human activity has an effect on the planet. We see the evidence (证据) of mankind’ s endeavors all around us. Overall, it seems that human activity harms the Earth more than benefits it makes. As is vividly (生动地) betrayed (背叛) in the photo above, due to over development, there is limited land being set aside for endangered animals.
Absolutely, we should reserve some land for the world’s animals for the following reasons. First, mankind’s need for land is constantly growing. If the demand is not checked controlled in some way, humans will eventually develop all of the earth’s available land. At that time, mankind will have no more room to grow, and all the wild animals will have disappeared, as well as other valuable resources. Second, humans are able to innovate (创新) and can use the land that they already possess in more efficient ways. Animals are unable to do this. Once their land is taken away from them, they will die. Third and last, endangered animals are an important part of the biodiversity of our planet. If they disappear, we cannot predict what the effect will be. Therefore, we should treat such animals as a valuable resource to be protected.
To sum up, the world’s endangered animals are an important resource and we should protect them by setting aside some land for them. Although mankind’s need for land continues to grow, people are intelligent and inventive enough to put the land into use properly. In this way, we can have enough land for farming, housing and industry,and preserve the biodiversity of the planet at the same time.
1. What are some of the reasons to keep some land for the world’s animals?| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．We don’t see evidence of human effort all around us. |
| B．Human activities harm the planet more than good. |
| C．There is no constant growth in human demand for land. |
| D．Animal species are an important part of the planet’s biodiversity. |
| A．Journal of child science. | B．Environmental Protection News. |
| C．Global Business Times. | D．Industrial news. |
7 . Modern technology has had a great influence on people's entertainment choices, making them less creative. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Bearing in mind the likely effects of the modern technology on entertainments on today's users are important, because it is an issue that is discussed daily nowadays by people in both the private and public sectors (公共部门). However, does the modern technology benefits all aspects of human society? Some people may answer to the contrary. As far as I can see, current technology is undermining modern people's creative ability by providing individuals sorted ways of relaxation.
The likely effects of modern technology on entertainment for people today are important, because it is an issue that is discussed daily in both the private and public sectors. However, does modern technology benefit all aspects of human society? Some people may answer in the negative. As far as I can see, modern technology undermines people's creative ability by providing individuals pre-digested forms of relaxation.
To begin with , it has been known from the latest resources that modern people prefer to enjoy high-tech ways of recreation. More and more people from all works feel so pressuarable that they turn to modern technology which is supposed to be there providing convenient, time-saving and fresh entertainment while fewer and fewer individuals choose to play jigsaws(拼图) or make some exquisite handicrafts (精美的手工艺品) which is the very things expand their imaginary world and make them more creative in their spare time.
Further more, modern people are more likely to count on current technology whether in physiological or psychological. What is meant by this is that plenty of people fully enjoy the entertaining products such as, TV, MP3 or internet games high-tech brings to them that they spend lots of time on them without doing anything else. Couch-potato syndrome(典型表现) is one such example. The more people rely on those modern entertaining items, the more possible that people form a negative habitual opinion that these high-tech can do everything for them, and the less likely people will be initiative and creative in their life.
It goes without saying that modern technology do bring us low-cost, efficient entertaining products, and these may initiate some individuals' inspiration occasionally. But that's very limited compared to the side effects they give rise to.
In conclusion, it is very important to know that it's the creative ability that make our human society prosperous and flourish. Modern technology is just a powerful tool in the charge of human to benefit our conduction.
1. What is the synonym of “undermining”?| A．supporting | B．weakening | C．strengthening | D．building |
| A．Playing jigsaws. |
| B．Making exquisite handicrafts. |
| C．Watching TV, listening to MP3 or playing online games. |
| D．Reading books. |
| A．By providing pre-digested forms of relaxation and reducing people's imagination. |
| B．By making people overly dependent on high-tech products and making them lazy. |
| C．By making people addicted to entertainment and having no time for creative activities. |
| D．All of the above. |
| A．Modern technology makes people's entertainment choices more diverse. |
| B．Modern technology has a positive impact on people's creativity. |
| C．Modern technology weakens people's creativity in some ways. |
| D．Modern technology has both advantages and disadvantages and needs to be treated correctly. |
8 . Animals are important living creatures on our planet. They play a significant role in maintaining the balance of nature. However, due to human activities like deforestation (采伐森林), poaching, pollution, and habitat destruction, many animal species have either become extinct or are on the verge of extinction.
Animals are the natural resources wasted by human beings in history. Animals were killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sports, just because they hindered the disappearance of thousands of animals from the earth. Today, hundreds of animals are on the danger list, which are considered to be in danger in the United States alone.
Why should people care? Because we need animals, and because once they’re gone, there won’t be any more animals. They’re not just beautiful or interesting food. They’re not just a source of food.
Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying an animal can cause a lot of problems. For example, when farmers kill a lot of eagles, farmers’ corn and grain stores are destroyed by rats.
Why? Because eagles eat rats and mice. When there are no eagles to control their numbers, rats and mice reproduce very quickly. Fortunately, some people are trying to help save animals. Some groups raise funds to let people know about this problem.They are trying to get the government to protect animals in danger through laws. Quite a number of countries have passed laws that prohibit killing any animal or plant on the dangerous list. The number of some animals in danger is increasing.
As responsible citizens, it is our duty to take necessary steps to protect animals and their habitats. One way to do this is by creating awareness about the importance of conservation. We should educate people on the significance of wildlife and the role we play in protecting it. We should also urge governments to take action in preserving animal habitats and to enforce (实施) laws to prevent poaching and illegal trade of wildlife.
Another way to protect animals is by supporting organizations that work towards animal conservation. These organizations rescue, rehabilitate, and release animals back into their natural habitat. They also conduct research and raise awareness about endangered species.
In conclusion, protecting animals is not just a responsibility, but a necessity. We should take necessary steps to conserve wildlife and their habitats to ensure a healthy and sustainable environment for all living creatures on earth.
1. The author’s attitude towards animals is _____.| A．positive | B．negative | C．neutral | D．indifferent |
| A．They play a significant role in maintaining the balance of nature. |
| B．They are a source of food. |
| C．They are beautiful and interesting. |
| D．They are not related to human beings. |
| A．Because they are interested in animals. |
| B．Because they want to make money. |
| C．Because they realize the importance of animals. |
| D．Because they are ordered to do so by the government. |
| A．to describe the importance of animals |
| B．to criticize human activities that harm animals |
| C．to call on people to protect animals |
| D．to introduce some endangered animals |
9 . With the rapidly developing of the society, culture have changed greatly. In the city, no one can escape from the fast pace. And as a result, the traditional culture are believed becoming lost. However, why the traditional culture are becoming lost? First, we eat the popularized fast food and enjoy the popularized “fast food” culture. Since we get used to such fast things that many traditional things have been ignored. Second, we have brought up many other cultures, those culture are more popular than our owe culture for the young people, they interest in the other cultures because those cultures are new things and the youngs are curious about new things. And young people stand for the future culture. So many people believe that the traditional culture will gradually be lost.
To some traditional cultures that are on decline, we have taken active measures to conserve them. Experts have come up with proper advice on protecting such cultures. Many volunteers have dedicated themselves to studying them. First and foremost, more and more people have discerned the importance of the traditional culture. Therefore, we are sure that our efforts will lead to a brilliant future.
If a culture wants to gain an eternal life, it should change itself to cater to the people in its age. So does our traditional culture. Traditional cultures adhering to modern means appear rigorous. For example, we make CDs for classic music so that it can not only meet modern needs but also spread further and more successfully in the modern world.The appearance of traditional culture changes, but the essence will never change and will be well accepted.
1. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?| A．The importance of traditional culture. |
| B．The reasons why traditional culture is becoming lost. |
| C．The measures that have been taken to protect traditional culture. |
| D．The benefits of learning other cultures. |
| A．People are too busy to pay attention to traditional culture. |
| B．Many traditional things have been ignored due to the popularity of fast food. |
| C．Young people are more interested in other cultures. |
| D．The government doesn’t pay enough attention to traditional culture. |
| A．Experts have provided advice on protecting traditional culture. |
| B．Many volunteers have devoted themselves to studying traditional culture. |
| C．The government has invested a lot of money in protecting traditional culture. |
| D．All of the above. |
| A．To make it more popular. |
| B．To make it more suitable for modern society. |
| C．To keep it alive. |
| D．To make it more interesting. |
10 . Health Is Better Than Wealth
It is widely known that health is of great significance. Leading a healthy life is crucial as being ill makes it hard to be happy.
To enjoy a happy and healthy life, we should take the following steps. Firstly, we need to have breakfast every day and take in proper amounts of vitamins and minerals while reducing fat and cholesterol intake.
In conclusion, by following these steps, we can lead a healthy life and stay away from diseases.
| A．And it can also enhance our immune system. |
| B．It also helps to regulate our emotions. |
| C．What’s more, it can improve our physical fitness. |
| D．Then, we should ensure a proper diet. |
| E．Also, it is very important to have a balanced diet. |
| F．This is very important for our overall well-being. |
| G．And proper sleep can make us more energetic. |
