1 . Whether you run a race or bounce a basketball, you do it because it’s fun. Some scientists claim that play is a natural instinct, just like sleep.     1    

Sports come in many shapes and sizes. Both team and individual sports have advantages and disadvantages. In a team sport such as soccer, you’re part of a group, struggling to be a winning team.     2     In an individual sport such as tennis, you’re usually concerned only about your own performance. That can make these sports more challenging.

There’s little doubt about the value of sports. We learn how to negotiate plans, settle disagreements, and monitor our attitude. Since organized sports are a hands-on, minds-on learning process, they stimulate our imagination, curiosity, and creativity.     3     For example, we use language during play to solve problems, and we use math skills to recognize averages and odds of each sports play.

In a perfect world, everyone would have fun playing sports.     4     Sports can cause broken bones, scrapes and bruises. They can also hurt us psychologically. When young children play self-initiated games such as hide-and-seek, misunderstandings and hurt feelings are part of the learning process.

Playing sports doesn’t mean you have to play on a school team. Few people have what it takes to be a professional athlete. But your school basketball coach or gymnastics teacher has found a way to make play their work. In doing so, they’ve found a profession best suited to their abilities.

    5     There’s no better place to play and learn about the world than on a sports field.

A．But that’s not always the case.

B．Regardless of your sport, play to have fun.

C．Sports may have begun as a form of survival.

D．The skills we learn can be applied to school and work.

E．This might explain why sports are likely to be as old as humanity.

F．There are rules to obey, skills to learn, and strategies to carry out.

G．You must learn to get along with your teammates and share responsibility.

2 . Four best scenic paths near London

Goring Gap and the Thames Path
Length: 5 miles
Start: Goring & Streatley station
End: Pangbourne

This path is far from boring for a rural walk. The footpath follows the curve of the river as it flows south, winding past wildflower grassland, and the Hartslock Nature Reserve, which is home to red kites and rare orchids.

Post-walk pub: The Swan serves these days. Order a table or keep warm by one of its open fires.

Box Hill
Length: 6.8 miles
Start and end: Westhumble station

Admire the glorious views and escape the crowds. But first you’ve got to climb 272 steps to the top of Box Hill. The endorphins are definitely pumping—maybe that’s how it got the nickname “Happy Valley”.

Post-walk pub: The spacious Tree on Box Hill has an enticing menu and huge beer garden.

The Kentish Coast
Length: 9.8 miles
Start: Ramsgate
End: Margate

Following the path, you’ll pass plenty of former smugglers’ (走私者) caves and there are beachside cafes dotted along the route at regular intervals.

Post-walk pub: Order a pint of beer at Xylo, a pub with wonderful views over Margate Sands.

Chess Valley in the Chilterns
Length: 9.9 miles
Start: Chorleywood station
End: Chesham station

It isn’t home to any chess masters, but it did used to produce n lot of watercress, fed by its sparkling chalk stream. This walk follows the river, whose bank is covered with the rolling grass and woods.

Post-walk pub: The George & Dragon is an old coaching inn with a log fire and real beer.

1. Which path is a circular route?

A．Goring Gap and the Thames Path.	B．Box Hill.
C．The Kentish Coast.	D．Chess Valley in the Chilterns.

2. What do Goring Gap and the Thames Path and Chess Valley in the Chilterns have in common?

A．They serve beer all the time.	B．They include different animals.
C．They provide river scenery.	D．They are of the same length.

3. What can you experience in The Kentish Coast?

A．Drink coffee at the seaside.	B．Relax yourself in The Swan.
C．Learn from famous chess masters.	D．Meet smugglers along the way.

3 . Having a personal trainer is one of the best ways to stay on track with your workouts, push your limits and try new things. But it often costs more than $100 a class, and getting to and from the gym can take up a lot of time.

Over the past ten years, fitness apps have been trying to copy the personal training experience exactly, and in recent years many have included artificial intelligence (AI) to create workouts. A growing number of products offer personalized works that match your abilities, goals and equipment you have, which usually cost around $100 a year.

However, some experts warn that while AI fitness apps are useful for many exercisers, they’re not the right fit for everyone.

AI fitness apps create personalized training programs using information from personal users and the experiences of other users.

In the future, these apps could collect even more information to give ever more personalized feedback (反馈), said futurist David Brin. But, he added, more information doesn’t always lead to better advice. “What you need to consider is whether the advice will actually be good for you, in the long run,” he said.

Furthermore, computers can learn a lot about different workout routines, but they can’t yet create the social interactions that make the training successful, said Nikola Banovic, professor of computer science and engineering at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the University of Michigan.

The AI fitness apps we have now can’t offer encouragement or provide comfort on a bad day. “As humans, we need more than just the workouts that will get us to our goals,” Dr Banovic said. “We need to be encouraged — that’s something only a real trainer can do right now. It will be some time before AI training does this well.”

1. What is the main advantage of AI fitness apps over personal trainers?

A．Requiring less exercise equipment.

B．Offering coaching services at a lower price,

C．Creating more personalized training plans.

D．Providing a better personal training experience.

2. What may David Brin agree with?

A．Users should work harder to protect their personal information.

B．AI fitness apps should find more tools for collecting information.

C．Users should be careful with the advice offered by AI fitness apps.

D．AI fitness apps should be improved to meet the needs of every user.

3. What should future AI fitness apps focus on?

A．Setting achievable goals.

B．Adding live chat services.

C．Learning new workout routines.

D．Developing useful interactions.

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

A．How do AI fitness apps change the way you exercise?

B．Would an AI trainer be better than a real trainer?

C．Can AI trainers take the place of the real one?

D．How do experts feel about an AI trainer?

4 . Being a writer in the 21st century can keep you in front of a screen for so long that it feels like the room is sideways. Being a human with the Internet can mean hours spent on social media, scrolling and posting for so long that your sense of reality actually becomes sideways. Three years ago, I started to search for ways to deal with my anxiety. I had a brilliant idea, one that felt completely foreign to people like me: I’d go outside, to the real outside.

I grew up in the city, not hiking or camping, so I knew nothing about the outdoors. I have three kids with endless energy, so I figured I could solve two questions at once. I would get a breather from my job and the kids would play with insects and realize there is nothing better than nature.

We drove to Great Falls, Virginia, where hundreds of people on any given day spent hours meandering through the hillside and forest. The blue water pulsed, turning white and crashing powerfully hundreds of feet beneath us. The kids held their breath as if they had seen magics. But it’s just nature, just the outside, and that had been there all along. Since then, we’ve been fascinated.

Last summer I felt my home’s walls closing in, so I decided to go camping. I built my first fire. My kids watched my every move, asking every ten minutes to help get more branches and roast meat. About a month, my craving to take a break from the city grew again. We camped two more times before the cold came, each time seeing a bit more of what nature had to offer city folks.

1. Why did the author decide to go outside three years ago?

A．Because he was interested in nature.	B．Because he hoped to reduce anxiety.
C．Because he fell in love with camping.	D．Because he was eager for the outdoors.

2. What does the author want his kids to do?

A．Enjoy the beauty of nature.	B．Stay away from social media.
C．Learn to protect themselves.	D．Choose to do what they are fond of.

3. How did the kids feel about the tour to Great Falls?

A．Tired.

B．Scared.

C．Bored.

D．Excited.

4. What does the underlined word “craving” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Memory.

B．Chance.

C．Desire.

D．Ability.

7 . In 2001, UNESCO declared 21 May as UN World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The day’s not intended to find out the uniqueness of different cultures, separating them from each other.     1     Here are a few modest and simple ways to mark the occasion.

Visiting an exhibition or a museum dedicated to other cultures comes first since it may inspire you to create something yourself, and heighten your desire to learn about a new topic or culture.     2     For example, you can see the British Museum’s collection online, and the National Gallery has a digital tour of 18 rooms that lets you get up close to the paintings.

    3     It’s a great way to expand your knowledge of the world. Many traditional folk tales have universal themes, but at the same time, shine a light on particular aspects of another culture. So now might be a great time to dive into the storybooks and read folk tales.

There is perhaps no better way to experience another culture than listening to music. Even if you don’t understand the words, you can still hear the influence of other cultures. You could allow yourself to discover music from every corner of the globe on forums.     4     After all, series of musics are on the air, often with strong international influences.

It never goes without mentioning language while embracing culture diversity. It is relatively easy to have a go at trying a new language through the many smartphone apps or through an online language exchange.     5    

A．Or you could listen to radio programmes.

B．In short, it’s never too late to learn a language.

C．You could also appreciate music in foreign films.

D．Remember language serves as a reflection and carrier of culture.

E．Learning about traditional stories from other cultures won’t disappoint you.

F．Even if you can’t visit a museum at first hand, you can select virtual exhibitions.

G．Instead, it’s a chance to unfold the similarities and celebrate the cultural diversity.

10 . Summer is by far my favorite season of the year. I love the warm temperature, the longer, sunnier days and the opportunity to spend more time by the lake. But my love for the season quickly ends when I think of mosquitoes (蚊子). While their bites alone can be annoying, it’s just infuriating when I come inside with several new bright-red welts (红肿) while my friends so kindly report how they don’t have a single one.

Why is that? It’s not that we’re particularly unlucky. There are actually scientific reasons why mosquitoes single out certain people.

Contrary to what you might think, mosquitoes don’t bite people for food—they feed on plant nectar (花蜜). Only female mosquitoes bite, and they do so to receive proteins from your blood needed to develop their eggs.

A common belief is that mosquitoes are attracted to certain blood types. While there are no firm conclusions as to which blood type is more attractive to mosquitoes, several studies have suggested that mosquitoes are not so attracted to people with blood group A. However, they find people with blood group O a little tastier.

Mosquitoes are highly visual hunters when it comes to finding a human to bite. Research has shown that mosquitoes are more attracted to the color black, but there has been little additional research into why this is the case.

Mosquitoes can smell out a person through the carbon dioxide given off when we breathe. Therefore, people who give off more of it—larger individuals and people who are breathing heavily when working out—are more attractive to a mosquito.

In a study, mosquitoes were observed to land on participants more frequently after they had drank a small amount of beer. Probably, mosquitoes are more attracted to people who have been drinking beer.

Mosquito bites are annoying. The best way to handle mosquito bites is not to get bitten in the first place.

1. What does the underlined word “infuriating” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Making somebody greatly amused.	B．Making somebody extremely angry.
C．Making somebody completely tired out.	D．Making somebody even more determined.

2. For what purpose do female mosquitoes bite?

A．To spread certain diseases.	B．To enable them to fly around.
C．To hunt for food for themselves.	D．To provide proteins for their eggs.

3. Who is more attractive to mosquitoes?

A．A short and thin man in black.

B．A teenager fond of eating sweet food.

C．An overweight woman with blood group A.

D．A young man having just drunk lots of beer.

4. What is likely to be talked about in the following paragraphs?

A．Treatment of mosquito bites.

B．Ways to prevent mosquito bites.

C．Why certain people get lots of mosquito bites.

D．Why mosquito bites are harmful to human beings.