1 . Frank Lloyd Wright probably is the greatest architect that the United States has ever produced. He was very gifted and had a natural ability to design buildings. His buildings were not only beautiful, but they were also practical and useful. They fit their purposes very well. Wright’s churches, for example, make people feel like thinking and praying. His office buildings make people enjoy working, and his houses make people feel comfortable at home. However, Frank Lloyd Wright’s beautiful, practical and useful buildings are not the only reason that he is famous. There is another reason.
Frank Lloyd Wright is called the greatest American architect because he started an American style in architecture. Most of the architecture in the United States before Wright was really European, not American. Wright’s buildings do not look like old European buildings. They have their own style. Wright’s ideas about style are still used in the United States and in other parts of the world.
The most important idea in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Style of Architecture is that a building must fit its purpose and the land around it. His houses are often called “grass-land houses” because their lines are similar to the lines on the grassland. Both the lines of the grassland and the lines of Wright’s house are parallel (平行的) to the horizon, the place where earth and sky seem to meet. They are horizontal lines. Most European style houses, in contrast, have many vertical lines that form 90°angles with the horizon.
1. Which of the following best describes the character of the houses that Wright designed?| A．They were very large and beautiful. |
| B．They could be used as churches. |
| C．They were beautiful and fitted their purposes. |
| D．They were beautiful in design but not practical in use. |
| A．learned from some European countries |
| B．not only used in the U.S. |
| C．no longer popular |
| D．somewhat similar to the European style |
| A．Architectural design should match natural surroundings. |
| B．A building must have grassland around it. |
| C．American style in architect should be different from the European’s. |
| D．Design should be more important than use. |
| A．The lines of “grass-land houses” are similar to lines on the grassland. |
| B．The lines of “grass-land houses” are horizontal. |
| C．The color of the lines of “grass-land houses” is green. |
| D．They are different from European style houses. |
| A．How to Make Your Houses More Beautiful |
| B．“Grass-land” houses Designed by Wright |
| C．The Differences Between the American and European Styles in Architecture |
| D．The Style of Wright’s Buildings and his Influence on American Architecture |
2 . Culture is a way to bring harmony to society via exchange of knowledge and thoughts, and also the respect of others’ belief and cultural heritage. Before I came to China to study business, my only information about the country was what I had read in our school books, TV shows on Pakistan national TV, and Chinese movies.
But once I arrived in China, my view changed. China has made great leaps in development, keeping a strong link to their ancestors’ heritage, hard work and courage. The announcement of the Belt and Road Initiative (倡议) (BRI) by President Xi Jinping in 2013 has provided trade opportunities for participating countries, and can also be a meeting place for the exchange of ideas, thoughts, knowledge and culture.
Being a combination of diverse cultural and traditional systems, the BRI promotes harmony, and through the heritage of the Silk Road, these diversified cultures can treat one another with respect and exist together peacefully. China can play a leading role to maximize identity, cohesion (凝聚力) and creativity of the diverse cultures, nations and people to combine resources along the belt and road and ensure all the countries involved receive mutual (相互的) benefit.
International students coming to China and Chinese students going abroad for studies are cultural ambassadors. They learn the language, local customs, arts and exchange thoughts. The BRI is a chance for the Chinese dream to become reality. China has a lot to share with the BRI countries. China has a rising number of Chinese language learners around the world. Confucius Institutes are non-profit public institutions affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education whose stated aim is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally and facilitate cultural exchanges. As of 2014, there were over 480 Confucius Institutes in dozens of countries on six continents. The Ministry of Education estimates 100 million people overseas are learning Chinese, and the program is expanding rapidly and aims to establish 1, 000 Confucius Institutes by 2020. These institutes are playing an important role for local students to learn Chinese, meaning more job opportunities for BRI projects.
Since ancient times, the Silk Road culture has supported diversity. Accordingly, China needs to maintain relationships with the countries of the ancient Silk Road civilization.
A discussion meeting on how to better carry out the BRI Cultural Development Action Plan was held in Beijing by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Through cooperation and exchanges between countries, the BRI can revitalize (振兴) traditional Silk Road culture by opening up overseas markets, introducing advanced ideas to every participating country.
1. The change in the author’s understanding of China corresponds with the saying, “__________”.| A．Seeing is believing. |
| B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．One is never too old to learn. |
| D．There is no royal road to learning. |
| A．will remove cultural barriers |
| B．may achieve a win-win result |
| C．will join hands in resource protection |
| D．may keep peace with other countries |
| A．To acquire more knowledge about China today. |
| B．To communicate with Chinese-speaking people. |
| C．To gain benefit from the Belt and Road Initiative. |
| D．To serve as cultural ambassadors in BRI countries. |
| A．need to restore their ancient civilization via the BRI |
| B．have a long tradition of respecting different countries |
| C．will spread their traditional culture to other countries |
| D．are eager to exchange advanced ideas with each other |
| A．it’s a non-profit public institution affiliated by the Chinese Ministry of Education |
| B．it can promote Chinese language and culture |
| C．it supports local Chinese teaching internationally and facilitate cultural exchanges |
| D．it supplies more job opportunities for BRI projects |
3 . Schooling is not only about studying but also having fun. Education is best offered if learning is made fun. It is students being not overburdened with the school curriculum and being able to devote enough time to the overall personality development that matter. It is thus important for school officials to encourage the active participation of students in sports. These activities at school act as a major part of school schedule and also help create an environment that is beneficial to the general growth and development of young minds. There are various sports and leisure activities that can be planned for school students.
Sports are an essential part of a school curriculum. In spite of the grade a student is studying in, sports are a must. And it is needless to state the importance of sports in school. They help in building up the much-needed team spirit among students. They help in educating a sportsman spirit in children and serve as an effective method to bring children together from different cultural backgrounds.
Gymnastics, swimming competitions, tennis and badminton tournaments, cricket and soccer matches and inter-class sports events can be organized in schools. Sports enthusiasts can participate in these events, while those not participating can be a part of the cheering team. Kids are sure to enjoy activities like cycling, running races, skating and other fun games.
Wondering how schooling is associated with leisure activities? Well, you are mistaken if you believe that schooling is only about class assignments and homework. School education is much more than that. In fact, it is about helping the students learn the important lessons of life. It aims at their overall development which includes developing moral values and principles in them. Devoting their entire schedule to studies and examinations defeats the purpose of an effective school education. It is very important to include some leisure activities in the school’s weekly schedule.
Sports and leisure activities are about making fruitful use of time in a creative way. They are the best way to find hidden talent, cultivate bright minds and encourage innovation. School years are the funding years of one’s life. They need to be filled with fun and excitement so that children have an ideal beginning to the “long journey” ahead.
1. What should school authorities do according to the author?| A．Encourage students to do more studies instead of sports. |
| B．Ensure the students have enough time for personal development. |
| C．Learn about the great benefits of developing students’ personality. |
| D．Knowing which sports are beneficial to students’ personal development. |
| A．beneficial to children physically and mentally. |
| B．beneficial to children’s future competitiveness. |
| C．helpful for students to get on well with each other in sports. |
| D．capable of freeing students from tiring school examinations. |
| A．Leisure activities are necessary for schooling. |
| B．Examinations are meaningless to students’ studies. |
| C．Current schooling restricts students’ overall development. |
| D．Schooling merely emphasizes class assignment and homework. |
| A．By setting more examinations and tests |
| B．By providing more spare time for them. |
| C．By offering them more happiness at school. |
| D．By encouraging them to participate in sports. |
| A．school curriculum | B．children’s physical health. |
| C．sports and leisure activities | D．children’s personal spirit |
4 . A study has found that elephants possess a sense of smell that is likely the strongest ever identified in a single species, according to a study by Japanese scientists last week.
The African elephant’s genome (基因组) contains the largest number of olfactory receptor (嗅觉感受器) genes—nearly 2, 000—says the study in the journal Genome Research.
Olfactory receptors are aware of smells in the environment.
That means elephants’ sniffers (嗅探器) are five times more powerful than people’s noses, twice that of dogs, and even stronger than the previous known record-holder in the animal kingdom: rats.
“Apparently, an elephant’s nose is not only long but also superior, ”says lead study author Yoshihito Niimura of the University of Tokyo.
Just how these genes work is not well understood, but they likely helped elephants survive and navigate their environment over the ages.
The ability to smell allows creatures to find mates and food—and avoid predators.
The study compared elephant’s olfactory receptor genes to those of 13 other animals, including horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, cows, rodents and chimpanzees.
Primates (灵长类) and people actually had very low numbers of olfactory receptor genes compared to other species, the study found.
“This could be a result of our decreased reliance on smell as our sight improved, ” Niimura says.
1. Why do African elephants have the strongest sense of smell?| A．Because their noses are very superior. |
| B．Because they have more olfactory receptor genes. |
| C．Because they are very strong. |
| D．Because they have long noses. |
| A．Human. | B．Dog. | C．Rat. | D．Elephant. |
| A．Their genes. | B．Their noses. | C．Their legs. | D．Their ears. |
| A．To find mates. | B．To have fun. |
| C．To find food. | D．To escape from hunters. |
| A．People find elephants are very useful. |
| B．People like elephants’ noses. |
| C．Elephants possess “superior” sense of smell. |
| D．Elephants are smarter than other animals. |
5 . Canadian student Raymond Wang, 17, won the world’s largest high school science competition last Friday, taking home the top prize of $75,000 for inventing a new way to keep germs from spreading in airplane cabins (机舱).
“It is very exciting. I absolutely didn’t expect it,” Wang said by telephone from Pittsburgh, the host city for the finals of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF). “It is really the happiest day of my life.”
Wang started thinking about the problem of disease spread on airplanes several months ago, after a steady stream of news about the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Ebola is not spread through the air, he learned, but other infectious diseases spread through the air, the H1N1 swine flu virus and SARS virus included.
And that is a problem in airplane cabins, where everyone is breathing everyone else’s air. “When someone sneezes, there is a mess everywhere,” he explained.
Wang said he made up his mind to solve the problem when he discovered that few people in the airline industry were actively working on ways to improve the quality of airplane air.
He designed fin-shaped devices (鳍形装置) that fit into the airplane’s existing air inlets (入口). The fins redirect the airflow, creating walls of air around each passenger. Each person gets a personalized zone of fresh air, and sneezes are pushed out of the cabin before they can spread.
His invention would improve the availability of fresh air in the cabin by 190 percent, he said, and would reduce the concentration of airborne germs by 55 times. Wang believes that it would cost $1,000 per airplane and could be put in overnight. And he is already filed an application for a patent.
Wang is clearly not your average high school student. He did his project not for class but on the side, and he learned what he needed to know pretty much on his own. “This year I had to pick up fluid dynamics (流体动力学),” he said. “I kept going with it, watching some videos and looking at some papers.”
1. What is Wang’s invention for?| A．Preventing passengers from sneezing. |
| B．Killing germs spreading in airplane cabins. |
| C．Stopping some diseases from spreading on planes. |
| D．Controlling the spread of Ebola germs through the air |
| A．he deserved the award | B．it was out of expectation |
| C．it was really a challenging task | D．he should have done more for it |
| A．when hearing Ebola was spreading in Africa |
| B．when choosing to take part in the Intel ISEF |
| C．after deciding to have a patent of his own |
| D．after knowing there were few similar products |
| A．By identifying sneezing passengers. |
| B．By controlling the movement of air. |
| C．By letting passengers be aware of germs. |
| D．By separating people with fin-shaped walls. |
| A．Opportunity is open to those well prepared for it. |
| B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．Knowledge advances by steps and not by leaps. |
| D．Every dog has its day. |
6 . Sometimes a book can help change history. One book that certainly did was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was a book that spoke out against slavery.
As Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote her book, there were over 3.5 million slaves in the United States. Slaves were usually in the cotton growing states of the South. The Northern States had ended slavery. Yet, most Northerners were not strongly against slavery. They did not mind that slavery continued in the South.
Stowe decided to make people understand that slavery was very bad. Each night after putting her six children to bed, she worked on her book. She told the story of an old slave, Tom, and Simon Legree, a slave owner. She also told how the slaves tried to run away for freedom. Uncle Tom’s Cabin first came out in 1852. Over 300,000 books were sold out in a year.
People had different ideas about the book. In the North, many people finally believed that slavery must be ended after they read the book. In the South, many people were very angry at the people in the North. By 1861 the two parts of the country were at war. The Civil War, which lasted until 1865, finally brought an end to slavery at last.
Of course, there were many things that made the Civil War happen. Yet, Uncle Tom’s Cabin surely played a part. Stowe met President Lincoln in 1862. As Lincoln took her hand, he said, “So you are the little woman who started the big war.”
1. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was ______.| A．a book about Harriet Beecher Stowe |
| B．a history book |
| C．a book that helped change history |
| D．a book about the American Civil War |
| A．were slaves in the south | B．did not know how bad slavery was |
| C．kept slaves in their homes | D．understood that slavery was wrong |
| A．Stowe was a very young woman |
| B．Stowe’s husband was dead when she wrote the story |
| C．Stowe wrote her book with stories from her six children |
| D．Stowe could not work on her book at all during the day-time |
| A．many Southerners wanted war |
| B．many Southerners had not read the book |
| C．many Southerners were angry at her |
| D．some slaves tried to run away from the North |
| A．was a little woman who started the American Civil War together with Abraham Lincoln |
| B．was strongly against slavery |
| C．helped some slaves to run away from the South |
| D．met Abraham Lincoln before the Civil War |
7 . Do you have a sore throat, a running nose and a headache? Do you keep coughing and sneezing? If you do, the chances are that you have a cold or perhaps flu, but which one? Although both colds and flu are caused by viruses, they are very different illnesses.
Colds, which usually last about a week, affect the nose most. They commonly cause a runny nose and sneezing. Sometimes, they cause a headache, a cough and slightly aching muscles.
Flu is a much more serious illness and is caused by different group of viruses. People with flu usually get all the symptoms described above. However, they also get a high fever, a dry cough and much worse aching. Fever is one of the characteristic symptoms of the flu for all ages. The symptoms also last much longer. Sometimes they don’t disappear for at least two weeks.
Flu can be a deadly disease. The elderly, who are weaker and less healthy than most young people, can die from flu. This is one reason why old people are advised to have a flu injection (预防针) before the start of winter when flu is most common. This injection is inexpensive and definitely worth it.
If you have a cold or flu, you must always deal with used tissues(纸巾) carefully. Don’t leave dirty tissues on your desk or on the floor. Someone else has to pick these up and viruses could be passed on. And finally, remember to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze! You don’t want to see the small drop of liquids blown out of your nose and mouth when you sneeze, do you? Disgusting, eh? Now you can understand why it’s a good idea to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze!
1. According to the passage, people with colds rarely get _______.| A．a headache | B．a high fever | C．a runny nose | D．aching muscles |
| A．flu injection can cause death | B．most old people die from flu |
| C．flu is most common in summer | D．flu can kill old people easily |
| A．it helps keep your classroom tidy | B．people hate picking up dirty tissues |
| C．it prevents the spread of colds and flu | D．picking up lots of tissues is hard work |
| A．Both colds and flu last the same time. |
| B．Both colds and flu can be prevented by injection. |
| C．Both colds and flu are caused by the same viruses. |
| D．Both colds and flu have an aching symptom. |
| A．Cold or Flu? | B．The Different Symptoms of a Cold and Flu |
| C．Prevention Is Better Than Cure | D．Cover Your Nose and Mouth When Sneezing |
8 . Finding a suitable place to live is not easy for a student who first arrived in a strange place. I was lucky because I had booked a dormitory with the school before I arrived. It was a flat with seven independent rooms and a shared bathroom and kitchen. All of my flatmates are students from Britain. I thought I was lucky to be part of this flat with these energetic young men. However, I found myself unhappy with them only a few days after I stayed there. These young people seemed never to be quiet. Usually they would not come back until late into the night. They even played football in the room whenever they like, whether it was early morning or late night. Worse still, they always had parties. Those loud music and laughter made me sleepless the whole night. Finally, I had no choice but to ask the authority to move me to another flat where most of the students were international students pursuing their master’s degree. They were older in age and held heavier study burdens. So they were quieter.
My advice for those who want to study in the UK is to get in touch with the international student accommodation service of your school first and tell them to arrange for you to share a flat with graduates before you come here.
1. What’s the main subject discussed in this passage?| A．Housing hunting while studying abroad. |
| B．Living with young British students. |
| C．Living in a dormitory. |
| D．Living with students with heavy study burden. |
| A．They loved football too much. |
| B．They often held parties. |
| C．They disturbed the writer’s living greatly. |
| D．They went to bed too late and got up too early. |
| A．asking some older students for help |
| B．giving the British students heavier study burden |
| C．asking the authority to make the British student burden |
| D．changing a place to live |
| A．don’t live with young British students |
| B．live with students who have study burden |
| C．get your housing fixed before your arrival |
| D．better live in your school |
| A．the room | B．football | C．time | D．the night |
9 . Capturing a moment in time isn’t just about securing a memory- it can help us appreciate our life more every day.
As a student，my campus has been my whole world. While it may seem limiting，studying with the same classmates and the same teachers in the same classroom every day has given me many opportunities to make great memories. I love the jokes told by my teachers in class，the songs my roommates and I sing together and cheerleaders’ loud cries at basketball games. Even the glow of the sunset with the mixture of purple and vivid red over the playground is mesmerizing.
And that is why I began to record my school life，and I’ve kept this habit for three years up until now. The first attempt, in the form of a diary, fell through as soon as my actual experiences became far more exciting than my words. So I bought a camera, with which I recorded every fascinating moment in my school life. Every weekend I transferred those photos to my phone and posted them on my social media. Without fail, I would find how joyful my school life was and how much progress I made, which in turn instilled(注入) more passion and purpose into the coming weeks.
As I progressed to senior high school, that camera gave way to camcorder(便携式摄像机) More and more videos drove me to learn video editing. Those valuable videos witnessed me joining the school choir(合唱团), training for sports meets, complaining about the burden of studying and having fun in the dormitory. They have become a labor of love and naturally my source of happiness.
When I look back on my diaries, photos and videos during this winter vacation, those fond memories came flooding back. Recording my school life lets me not only capture every precious moment in the course of my growth but also gives me the ability to observe and appreciate my surroundings and create joy in my life. It creates positive impact on my friends, showing them how wonderful life is and how it all depends on how much enthusiasm you show. So imagine how amazed I was when people said they felt youth and vitality through my work!
1. What is the purpose of the author capturing the moment by camera? (no more than 10 words)2. The underlined phrase in Paragraph 2 may have a similar meaning as ______. (no more than 5 words)
3. Why did the author buy the first camera? (no more than 12 words)
4. What is the title of the passage? (no more than 10 words)
5. How do you capture the unforgettable moment in your school life? Please explain it. (no more than 20 words)
Cars are the most important part of life in the United States. Without a car most people feel that they are poor. And even if a person is poor he doesn’t feel really poor when he has a car.
Henry Ford was the man who first started making cars in large numbers. He probably doesn’t know how much the car was going to affect American culture. The car made the United States a nation on wheels. And it helped to make the United States what it is today.
There are many reasons that the car became so popular in the United States. First of all, the country was a large one and Americans like to move around in it. The car provides the most comfortable and cheapest form of transportation. With a car people can go to any place without spending a lot of money.
The second reason that cars are popular is the fact that the United States never really developed an efficient and inexpensive form of public transportation. Long distance trains have never been as common in the United States as they are in the other parts of the world. Nowadays there is good system of air service provided by planes. But it is too expensive to be used frequently.
The third reason is the most important one. The American spirit of independence is what really made cars popular. Americans don’t like to wait for a bus, or a train or even a plane. They don’t like to have to follow an exact schedule. A car gives them the freedom to plan their own time. And this is the freedom that Americans want most to have.
The gas shortage has caused a big problem for Americans. But the answer will not be a bigger system of public transportation. The real solution will have to be a new kind of car, one that does not use so much gas.
1. What do you think is the main idea of this article? (no more than 10 words)2. Why is the air service not well received by Americans? (no more than 10 words)
3. What is the most important reason for American people’s preference for cars? (no more than 10 words)
4. Can you explain the underlined word “shortage” in English? (no more than 5 words)
5. What is the real solution of gas shortage according to the author? (no more than 15 words)
