1 . Argentina lies in the South America. There are many festivals in Argentina during the year. Therefore, you can enjoy the different interesting festivals when traveling there.

First of all, we should talk about the Tango (探戈) Festival inArgentina, which is held in the capital of this country — Buenos Aires, from February to March. You ought to know that Argentina is the home of tango, so Argentinians admire this dance very much. Even if you cannot dance perfectly, you should join the people and try to perform this dance.

The next festival in Argentina is Open Polo (马球) Tournament. You should go to Palermo to see this festival in Argentina. This festival is held every year and is the most important polo tournament in Argentina.This kind of sport is considered the most important in Argentina.

Attending this festival in Argentina, you will be able to communicate with different people and admire the fascinating competition between the teams of different countries, such as Argentina, England, Australia, as well as the US. This festival in Argentina is usually held between November and December every year. So don’t miss the opportunity if you travel to Argentina at this time.

The other festival in Argentina is the Semana Musical Liao Liao. This is a festival of classical music. The festival was created in 1993 and is held at the Liao Liao Hotel, near Bariloche. The festival is held yearly in October. So if you admire this kind of music, you should travel toArgentina in October.

There are also many carnivals in Argentina in summer. Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about festivals in Argentina into just one article. We hope that you have found this article interesting and eye-catching.

1. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Entertainments in Argentina	B．Festivals in Argentina
C．Travel to Argentina	D．A brief introduction to Argentina

2. From the passage, we know that the Tango Festival        .

A．is organized by the government

B．welcomes everyone to take part in it

C．is held in summer

D．holds parties for different dances

3. Which of the following is a sports festival?

A．Open Polo Tournament.	B．Every carnival in Argentina.
C．The Tango Festival.	D．The Semana Musical Liao Liao.

4. If Tom wants to enjoy a classical music event in Argentina, he should visit        .

A．Buenos Aires in spring	B．Palermo in April
C．Palermo in winter	D．Bariloche in October

2 . J. K. Rowling frequently shows there is magic every day. Her Harry Potter series has helped people through times of stress and depression and she is always there to deliver wise words of encouragement.

She is one celebrity who is very active on Twitter. So when a single dad named Matt Burke sent her a message thanking her for the series, she noticed. Her series had helped strengthen his relationship with his 9­year­old daughter Bailey.

He included a link to his article titled Being a Broke Parent. He explained how he hadn’t found a level of financial stability that allowed him to pay bills on time and take his daughter on more activities and events. The family also doesn’t have the Internet or TV, which means there’s no “digital babysitter” and he has to rely on his own creative ways to bond with his daughter. Since he received the series, the main thing that has occupied them these days is reading books together.

Burke admits that he thought he was “too cool” for the books when they first came out and he was in his twenties, but he’s loving reading them now. “We switch off chapter by chapter reading them out loud，“Burke explains.” This not only allows her to get more used to reading aloud in front of someone, but it gets me directly involved in something she loves, and it gives me the chance to be very dramatic when I read my chapters and bring myself into the characters in the book, which has proven to be a ton of fun.”

After hearing Burke’s story, Rowling said how honored she was when Harry Potter was a part of his family’s life and offered Burke more books. Besides, people are also offering to send Burke more books as gifts. For Burke, this experience, far more than gifts, will be what he treasures.

1. Why did Burke thank J. K. Rowling according to the text?

A．She guided him how to write a good story.

B．She encouraged him when he was in trouble.

C．Her books helped him through times of confusion.

D．Her books helped him improve his bond with his daughter.

2. What is implied in Burke’s words in paragraph 4?

A．He has found it interesting to read the series.	B．He was too old to understand the series better.
C．He has chosen a better way of reading the series.	D．He hopes to play a role in the drama in the future.

3. Which word can best describe Burke’s experience according to the text?

A．Useless.

B．Normal.

C．Valuable.

D．Boring.

4. What is the main idea of this text?

A．J. K. Rowling chooses to help improve kids’ health.

B．J. K. Rowling gives a magical gift to a single father.

C．J. K. Rowling has a deep influence on others’ growth.

D．Burke comes to know J. K. Rowling through her series.

3 . Are you happy with your appearance?     1    

“Almost all the girls with single-fold eyelids (单眼皮) in our class have had double eyelid operations,” Zeng, a Senior 2 student from Chengdu, told Xinhua. Zeng had the same surgery done this summer.     2    

From popular photo-editing apps to plastic surgery (整形手术), it seems that large eyes, pale skin and a skinny body are the only standard for beauty these days. But can following this standard really make us feel good about ourselves?

    3     . According to Huxiu News, over six in ten girls choose not to take part in certain daily activities, such as attending school, because they feel bad about their looks. As much as 31 percent of teenagers avoid speaking up in class because they worry that others will notice their looks.

“Many teenagers are upset about their appearance because they believe in unrealistic standards of beauty,” experts say.       4     Seeing all these things can make anyone believe that they’re too dark, too fat, too short, or too tall.

However, trying to live up to strict standards can make us feel anxious. What troubles us is not just our “imperfect” looks, but the fact that we criticize ourselves too much.

    5     Plus-size models are being featured in some fashion shows. All of us should be just as confident as they are.

A．Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

B．Body image anxiety is common among teenagers.

C．Guys care just as much as girls do about their body image.

D．Some teenagers might feel negative about their appearance.

E．It’s common for teenagers to feel confident about their appearance.

F．She and many of her classmates believe bigger eyes look more beautiful.

G．Perfect faces and bodies are everywhere in advertising, TV shows and social media.

4 . If you are crazy about paintings, you shouldn’t miss the following four famous masterpieces which have stood the test of time.

The Arnolfini Portrait

Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, an oil painting on wood produced in 1434, in which a man and a woman hold hands with a window behind him and a bed behind her, is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces in the National Gallery, London. This painting is as visually interesting as it is famed. It is also an informative document in fifteenth-century society, through Van Eyck’s heavy use of symbolism—while husbands went out to engage in business, wives concerned themselves with domestic duties.

The Starry Night

Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night, oil on canvas, a moderately abstract landscape painting of an expressive night sky over a small hillside village, during his 12-month stay at the mental hospital near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France between 1889 and 1890. When the Museum of Modern Art in New York City purchased the painting from a private collector in 1941, it was not well known, but it has since become one of Van Gogh’s most famous works.

The Harvesters

The Harvesters is an oil painting on wood completed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1565. It depicts the harvest time which most commonly occurs within the months of August and September. Nicolaes Jonghelinck, a merchant banker and art collector from Antwerp, commissioned this painting. The painting has been at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City since 1919.

Guernica

Guernica, a large black-and-white oil painting, was painted by the Cubist Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso in 1937. The title “Guernica” refers to the city that was bombed by Nazi planes during the Spanish Civil War. The painting depicts the horrors of war and as a result, has come to be an anti-war symbol and a reminder of the tragedies of war. Today, the painting is housed at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofaí in Madrid.

1. Which of the following paintings was produced earliest?

A．The Arnolfini Portrait.	B．The Starry Night.
C．The Harvesters.	D．Guernica.

2. What do we know about the painting The Starry Night?

A．It was painted on wood in oil.

B．It wasn’t widely recognized before 1940s.

C．It described the painter’s life in hospital.

D．It was given away to the museum by a private collector.

3. Who created the painting representing the massive catastrophe the Nazism brought to people?

A．Pieter Bruegel the Elder.	B．Vincent van Gogh.
C．Jan van Eyck.	D．Pablo Picasso.

6 . National parks like Yellowstone are popular destinations for both family vacations and adventure trips alike. But there are some places that simply don’t get the love that they deserve despite the fact that they are truly impressive.

Isle Royale National Park

Located in the heart of Lake Superior, Isle Royale requires a bit of work to reach, but it is well worth the effort. Access is permitted only via daily ferries, which is why larger parks like Yellowstone see more visitors in a day than Isle Royale sees in a year. Wildlife like wolves are frequently spotted by hikers along the park’s scenic trails.

Dry Tortugas National Park

Another island park, the Dry Tortugas can be found 68 miles to the southwest of the Florida Keys. Accessible only by boat or plane, this park is actually quite small, but it’s packed with history, abundant sea life, and amazing coral reefs. At the center of the park is Fort Jefferson, the largest masonry(砖石)structure in the Western Hemisphere.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Covering more than 13.2 million acres, Wrangell-St Elias National Park is the largest in the entire U.S. system. Remote and mostly undeveloped, this is a park that demands more from its visitors, after all there are just two roads that lead into it. But in return, it gives them a special connection with nature that simply isn’t found anywhere else.

Big Bend National Park

Travelers looking for a truly wild experience should have Big Bend National Park on their bucket lists. Big Bend is well known for its whitewater rafting camping, and hiking although during the summer months it can be intensely warm, keeping many visitors away.

1. What is the main reason for fewer visitors to Isle Royale National Park?

A．The terrible work.	B．The dangerous wolves.
C．The remote location.	D．The inconvenient transport.

2. Which park will you visit if you are interested in history?

A．Big Bend National Park.	B．Isle Royale National Park.
C．Dry Tortugas National Park.	D．Wrangell St. Elias National Park.

3. How is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park different from the other three parks?

A．With its wide roads.	B．With its large area.
C．With its beautiful scenery.	D．With its special visitors

7 . One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap (包装).

On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honour! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!

One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it.Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous.

Christmas was coming. “Don’t expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room.“If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before.

The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!”

“Thank God!” I heard Mum cry.

From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!

1. What happened to the author on September 11th, 1958?

A．He got a baby brother.

B．He got a Christmas gift.

C．He became four years old.

D．He received a doll.

2. What does the underlined word “ominous” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Impossible.	B．Boring.
C．Difficult.	D．Fearful.

3. Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?

A．Excitement.	B．Happiness.
C．Sadness.	D．Disappointment.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．A sad Christmas day.

B．Life with a lovely baby.

C．A special Christmas gift.

D．Memories of a happy family.

8 . Foreign visitors to the UK might be disappointed when they learn that not everyone there speaks like Harry Potter and his friends. Usually, there’s an assumption by many non-Brits that everyone in Britain speaks with what’s known as a Received Pronunciation (RP，标准发音) accent, also called “the Queen’s English”. However, while many people do talk this way, most Britons speak in their own regional accents (口音).

Scouse, Glaswegian and Black Country — from Liverpool, Glasgow and the West Midlands — are just three of the countless non-RP accents that British people speak with. There are even differences in accents between towns or cities just 30 kilometers apart. What is even more disappointing is that not speaking in a RP accent may mean a British person is judged and even treated differently in their everyday life.

In a 2015 study by The University of South Wales, videos of people reading a passage in three different UK accents were shown to a second group of people. The group then rated how intelligent they thought the readers sounded. The lowestrated accent was Brummie, native to people from Birmingham, a city whose accent is considered working class.

However, there is no need to be disappointed though you are not speaking in a RP accent. In fact, doing the opposite may even give you strength.

Kong Seongjae, 25, is an Internet celebrity from Seoul. After studying in the UK, he picked up several regional accents. He’s now famous for his online videos, where he shows off the various accents he’s learned. “British people usually get really excited when I use some of their local dialect words, and they become much friendlier. I think it makes a bit of bond between local people and foreigners to speak in their local accent,” he said.

So if you’re working on perfecting your British accent, try to speak like someone from Liverpool, Glasgow or Birmingham. You may not sound like Harry Potter, but you are likely to make more friends.

1. What can we infer from Paragraph 1?

A．Non-Brits usually hold that all Britons speak in a RP accent.

B．Only “the Queen’s English” is accepted in the UK.

C．Foreign visitors are disappointed at their on spoken English.

D．Any Received Pronunciation around the world is also called “the Queen’s English”.

2. What do people think of the Brummie accent?

A．Favored by foreign visitors to the UK.	B．Closest to the RP accent.
C．Smart and easy to understand.	D．Spoken by people of lower class.

3. What does the underlined phrase “doing the opposite” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Speaking in a RP accent.	B．Speaking in regional accents.
C．Speaking the Brummie accent.	D．Speaking like Harry Potter.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．A study about the most intelligent accent in Britain.

B．A comparison between different British accents.

C．How much British people value the RP accent.

D．The influence of regional accents on people’s lives.

9 . What a day! I started my new school this morning and had the best time. I made lots of new friends and really liked my teachers. I was nervous the night before, but I had no reason to be. Everyone was so friendly and polite. They made me feel at ease. It was like I’d been at the school for a hundred years!

The day started very early at 7:00 am. I had my breakfast downstairs with my mom. She could tell that I was very nervous. Mom kept asking me what was wrong. She told me I had nothing to worry about and that everyone was going to love me. If they didn’t love me, mom said to have a good talk with them. I couldn’t stop laughing.

My mom dropped me off at the school gate about five minutes before the bell rang. A little blonde girl got dropped off at the same time and started waving (招手) at me. She ran over and told me her name was Abigail. She was very nice and we became close straight away. We spent all morning together and began to talk to another girl called Stacey. The three of us sat together in class all day and we even made our way home together! It went so quickly. Our teacher told us that tomorrow we would really start learning and developing new skills.

I cannot wait until tomorrow and feel as though I am really going to enjoy my time at my new school. I only hope that my new friends feel the same way, too.

1. How did the author feel the night before her new school?

A．Tired.

B．Excited.

C．Happy.

D．Worried.

2. What did the author think of her mother’s advice?

A．Clear.

B．Funny.

C．Reasonable.

D．Excellent.

3. What happened on the author’s first day of school?

A．She met many nice people.	B．She had a hurried breakfast.
C．She learned some new skills.	D．She arrived at school very early.

4. What can we infer about Abigail?

A．She disliked Stacey.	B．She was shy and quiet.
C．She got on well with the author.	D．She was an old friend of the author.

10 . How to Make Friends at a New School

Starting with a new school can be difficult. Everything seems to be different, and you don’t even know where to go for your own classes.     1     However, if you use these skills, you can quickly turn some of those strangers into friends.

Be yourself

    2     If some people don’t accept you, they’re not the kind of friends you need. People often stay together because they have similar interests. For example, someone who does a lot of sports may make friends with those who also run or swim a lot.

    3    

Remember to be nice to the people you meet at your new school. If you think that you will say something that may make them feel sad, do not say anything and just nod your head if they talk to you. Also, remember to be as helpful as possible!

Believe in yourself

A smile goes a long way. When you walk in the halls, don’t keep your eyes on the floor. Raise your head and make eye contact with other people.     4     Introduce yourself. Tell them your name and where you’re from.

Remember people’s names

You like it when people use your name, and so do other people.     5     Besides, ask them in a kind way if they have a nickname. You’d be surprised how often this may come in handy.

A．Be friendly to others.

B．Making new friends can be hard, too.

C．Join after-school activities like

D．Never change what you are to try and fit in.

E．If you see someone you know, smile or say “Hi”.

F．People may become angry if you just begin by saying ”Hey“ each time.

G．Don ‘t sit at the back of the classroom where other people don’t notice you!