1 . A few years ago my sister moved from her home in Alabama to Buffalo, New York. Since moving to Buffalo she’s become a big hockey (曲棍球) fan and has encouraged me to start watching it. Unfortunately it’s very difficult to find hockey on television here in Alabama. Since hockey games don’t air very much on television, I’ve had to look for different ways to watch hockey games.

I often see websites that claim if you go to their website you can watch television on your computer. I try out many of these websites, hoping that one of the television stations is a northern station that airs hockey games. Unfortunately, most of them don’t work. Either the site doesn’t really give you what they advertise or their video player doesn’t work properly. But finally I’ve found one websites that actually works.

Free Tube is a site that you can go to and watch Television online for free. You don’t have to download any kind of special software or pay money or even sign up for anything. All you have to do is go to Free Tube, choose your channel and start watching.   

The different channels to choose from are separated into different categories like news, business, entertainment, music and sports. You’re not going to find channels like NBC or ABC, so you can watch the latest episode of Heroes or Grey’s Anatomy but it does include some popular channels like Cartoon Network and ESPN.

There is also a movie section. Each movie channel airs different sorts of films like adventure, classics, comedy or horror and that channel will always air that kind of movies. The movie section also includes my favorite station called Max Trailers (预告片). Max Trailers airs nothing but movies trailers 24 hours a day. Some of the trailers are for movies coming out and some are for movies that have already been released but already released movies don’t go back farther than a couple of months.

So far I haven’t had any problems with Free Tube’s video player either. Whenever I choose a channel the video almost always works and usually loads every quickly. The only problem I have with Free Tube is that there is currently a fault if you’re using Firefox. Once you choose a channel you can’t select another channel to change to, your web browser will freeze up. So if you’re using Firefox, the only way to switch channels is to leave the site and re-enter the site, when choosing what channel you want to go to. However, Free Tube is aware of this fault and is working with Mozilla to get it fixed right away.

If you’re missing some show everyone is talking about like Grey’s Anatomy or Heroes, this isn’t really a solution for that. But Free Tube is a good way to find channels that you weren’t aware of; there are several good stations to be found.

1. The author mainly ________ in this passage.

A．tells us his experience in using the Web.	B．shows us the disadvantages of Free Tube
C．introduces Free Tube to the readers	D．shows us how to enjoy films online

2. The author got interested in watching hockey games ________

A．because he is a sports fan	B．because he has nothing to do all day long
C．since everyone enjoys the games	D．due to his sister’s influence

3. Form the passage we can learn that ______________

A．the author is also very fond of movies

B．Max Trailers airs to-be-released movies

C．ABC is a very famous TV station in America

D．Firefox is the only software used to watch films online

2 . In the weeks leading up to my 18th birthday last year, I was told everything changes when you turn eighteen.     1    

I could vote.

I could get my driver’s license.

I could book a hotel room.

I could get married.

It felt exciting.     2     The second is sixteen because it’s “sweet.” And then there is eighteen. Woo hoo.

I’m about to burst that bubble.

First of all, when I woke up that morning in December, I felt a little rush of excitement and then it ended.     3     I wasn’t a completely new person; I was just a year older. And I was a year older with a load of responsibilities that I would not see coming for a few months.

Over the next few months, I was able to do one of the things that come with being legal. I voted in the New York State primary elections.     4     But it still wasn’t making eighteen as exciting as I thought it would be.

And then I realized: Being eighteen was less about the rights and more about growing up. I was making decisions about when to go out, I was getting more focused on my future and my respect for my parents was growing. I was an adult and I was truly starting to feel it.     5    

So here’s my advice to those about to turn eighteen: Don’t blow it. Accept the responsibility that now falls on you. It’s time to grow up and prepare for the rest of your adult life.

A．I still felt the same.

B．It was worse than I had thought!

C．I was still controlled by my parents.

D．It was a cool experience, and I won’t lie about that.

E．I was going to be legally allowed to do many things.

F．Responsibility was knocking on my door and I had to open it.

G．The first exciting birthday is thirteen because you get to call yourself a teenager.

3 . Getting older means greater maturity and wisdom.     1     In a society that is aging fast, it has become crucial to find ways to prevent related mental and emotional disorders. Music emerges as a promising tool for promoting well-being of the elderly.

Music has a great power to cause strong emotions and intense pleasure.     2     singing and dancing to music with others is not only fun but also improves mood. Musical activities are great ways to reduce stress because they take our minds off problems. They also help us feel less lonely and more connected with other people.

    3     A song may become a soundtrack for a particular time, such as a delightful party with friends that you had along time ago. Listening to that song allows you to remember all the happy memories from that time.

Finally, music contributes to keeping our thinking skills sharp. It makes our brains work hard in unique ways to understand the rhythm and melody.     4     For example, exposure to background music, particularly classical music, during cognitive (认知的) tasks is shown to improve older people’s cognitive processes, such as processing speed and working memory.

In conclusion, music is a powerful tool to fight against aging-related emotional and cognitive problems. It is an enjoyable and social activity, available to anyone regardless of their background or previous musical experience.     5    

A．Music can also open forgotten doors to our memories.

B．Recalling happy memories can lift our mood on a bad day.

C．Even passive music listening can help elderly adults think better.

D．This helps people feel better when they are depressed or anxious.

E．However, it often involves a series of physical and mental challenges.

F．The ability to form new memories is essential for processing information.

G．Thus, this accessible intervention should become a major policy priority for healthy aging.

4 . Welcome to your new job with us and we hope you have a happy and long career. To help you enjoy life more and create a good work life balance, we provide various benefits for you.

Cafeteria

The staff cafeteria provides subsidized (补助的) meals for breakfast or lunch. The cafeteria is open on weekdays from 6.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations are never necessary. Because of the prices, the cafeteria is always a lively place to go before work and in the middle of the working day.

Sport

If you’d like to use the gym, you need to take an introductory class. Every other Monday, we have a fitness instructor who will come to our gym and provide an introduction to any staff members who want to use it. We also have a company membership at the town golf club. Our staff have both playing and social membership access to the club.

Watching Football

The company funds our local football club. As a result of our sponsorship, we have a hospitality box (包厢) at all home games and employees can take advantage of this for themselves and their families. There are 20 places available every week. If you want to book some places (limited to three per employee), please contact Andrew Hudson. If there are places available on the morning of the game, you can get more than four places.

Social Trips

The company runs trips at weekends for staff. This might be to a local castle, theatre or museum. We usually lay on a coach for transport and pay for entry to the event. The trips are only for employees, but if there are places still available four days before the event, people may reserve places for friends and family. If the coach is not at least half booked by staff members four days before the event, the trip will be cancelled.

1. What can we learn about the cafeteria?

A．It requires advance booking.

B．It serves people three meals a day.

C．It opens from Monday to Saturday.

D．It offers food to employees at a lower price.

2. What is a requirement for using the gym?

A．Doing voluntary work.

B．Taking a special class.

C．Employing a fitness instructor.

D．Paying for company membership.

3. Who might be most interested in this piece of information?

A．Job hunters.

B．Local officials.

C．New staff in this company.

D．Researchers on team sports.

5 . If you’re looking to pick up an exercise bike on sale, our guide to the amazing exercise bike deals available right now will help you．

	Bowflex C7 Bike — was S1,499.99, now S899.99 at Best Buy Save a huge $600 on this high-quality Bowflex bike in this excellent deal from Best Buy in the run-up to Black Friday. With this bike, you can access daily custom workouts and cycle through virtual scenic destinations, all for less than $900. Grab it now before it sells out.
	NordicTrack GX 2.7U — was $799.99, now $349.99 at Best Buy Featuring a 5" multicolor display, an interia-enhanced flywheel and 20 resistance levels, this exercise bike is currently discounted by $450 at Best Buy. It even has 20 onboard workouts already built in as well!
	Costway Exercise Bike — was $399.99, now $195.99 at Target With a multifunctional display and phone holder, adjustable resistance and a silent steel flywheel, this exercise bike is designed to offer you exceptionally good value for your money — and at this discount, who could turn their nose up at it!
	Geemax Bike — was $239.99, now $159.99 at Walmart This exercise bike from Geemax features a maximum load weight of 264.55 lbs, an 8kg balanced bidirectional (双向的) steel flywheel, stepless resistance adjustment and an LCD monitor to keep track of your workouts. Plus, the 245 user reviews look pretty promising!

1. Which provides virtual scenery while you are riding it?

A．A Bowflex C7 Bike．	B．A NordicTrack GX 2.7 U．
C．A Costway Exercise Bike．	D．A Geemax Bike．

2. How much can you save if you buy a Costway Exercise Bike now?

A．$595.98．	B．$450.
C．$204.	D．$195.99.

3. What equipment can help you learn about your cycling workout?

A．A multifunctional display.	B．A phone holder.
C．A bidirectional steel flywheel.	D．An LCD monitor.

6 . It is frequently said that the best camera is the one you already have with you. Amazingly, the cameras on modern phones can take killer images without a professional camera. But if you’re struggling to get the quality you want, try a few of these helpful tips.

Pick the right time of day

There are a variety of lighting options that change throughout the day.     1     And it is properly named for the yellow color the sun casts. This warms any scene. If you’ve been working during golden hour and want to try something new, go out during the blue hour. This is the hour just before sunrise or just after sunset.     2    

Pay attention to lighting

    3     When taking pictures of nature, pay attention to the available light. How can you use it to create eye-catching images? Turn the sun peaking through the trees into a dramatic starburst by setting your f/stop to f/22 or above. Look for ways light and shadows create exciting patterns on otherwise flat backgrounds.

    4    

Look for subjects with natural motion like a waterfall, stream, flowers in the wind, etc., and set your shutter speeds to 20 seconds or more. It is vital to have a small secure support to ensure your camera is as perfectly still as possible during the shot.

Photo editing apps

Don’t limit your photos to what you can capture straight out of camera (SOOC).     5     . Look at the built-in filters (滤光器) that come with your system, or download a free photo editing app to add up your masterpieces. By using all these techniques, you should be able to create unique images that take brilliant photos.

A．Long exposure

B．Consider composition

C．Try to have access to many creative apps

D．You can control whether the background is in focus

E．Photography is often referred to as painting with light

F．It provides an attractive tone for your subject and scenery

G．Golden hour is the hour just after sunrise or just before sunset

7 . Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas. Critical thinking has been the subject of much debate and thought since the time of early Greek philosophers such as Plato and Socrates and has continued to be a subject of discussion into the modern age, for example the ability to recognise fake news.

Critical thinking might be described as the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. In nature, critical thinking requires you to use your ability to reason. It is about being an active learner rather than a passive recipient of information.

Critical thinkers rigorously (严厉地) question ideas and assumptions rather than accepting them at face value. They will always seek to determine whether the ideas, arguments and findings represent the entire picture and are open to finding that they do not.

One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is to decide what you are aiming to achieve and then make a decision based on a range of possibilities.

Once you have clarified that aim for yourself you should use it as the starting point in all future situations requiring thought and, possibly, further decision making. Where needed, make your workmates, family or those around you aware of your intention to pursue this goal. You must then discipline yourself to keep on track until changing circumstances mean you have to revisit the start of the decision-making process.

However, there are things that get in the way of simple decision making. We all carry with us a range of likes and dislikes, learnt behaviours and personal preferences developed throughout our lives; they are the hallmarks of being human. A major contribution to ensuring we think critically is to be aware of these personal characteristics, preferences and biases (偏见) and make allowance for them when considering possible next steps.

The more clearly, we are aware of ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, the more likely our critical thinking will be productive.

1. What will you be by using critical thinking?

A．A creative philosopher.	B．A passive recipient of information.
C．An independent organizer.	D．An active learner.

2. Which of the followings belongs to critical thinking?

A．Setting up direct targets.	B．Coming up with imaginative ideas.
C．Analysing original reasons.	D．Making various possible decisions.

3. What can we infer from paragraph 6?

A．Personal preferences will change critical thinking.

B．Individual behaviours will stop you pursuing the goal.

C．Tastes and preferences vary from individual to individual.

D．Critical thinking gets in the way of simple decision making.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．What is Critical Thinking?

B．How does Critical Thinking work?

C．How is Critical Thinking Productive?

D．What effect does Critical Thinking cause?

8 . Pasteur discovered that bacteria (细菌) cause many diseases.     1    . He proved that diseases could be cured by stopping the spread of bacteria.

How Pasteur helped industry

Louis Pasteur was born in France in 1822. He studied physics and chemistry in Paris. The wine-making industry in France was in trouble during the mid-1800s     2    . Pasteur discovered that germs were getting into the wine and turning it sour. He found that heat killed these germs and prevented the wine from spoiling. Pasteur later applied his discovery to milk. His way of heating foods to kill bacteria is now called pasteurization (巴氏灭菌法).

    3    . In the mid-1800s, a disease was killing off silkworms before they could spin silk threads. Pasteur showed that the disease was in the silkworm eggs and that getting rid of any infected eggs could keep the disease from spreading.

    4    

Pasteur then discovered how to make vaccines (疫苗) to protect people and animals against disease. He observed that animals infected with a disease sometimes became immune to the disease — that is, protected from getting the disease again. Pasteur found that he could weaken germs in his laboratory. When he put weakened germs into the bodies of animals, the animals became immune to the disease caused by the germs. Pasteur made a vaccine to protect sheep against a disease called anthrax.

One of Pasteur’s most important discoveries was a vaccine against rabies (狂犬病). People can get this deadly disease     5    . In 1885, a mother begged Pasteur to treat her young son who had been badly bitten by a dog with rabies. The vaccine worked, and the boy lived.

A．Anthrax and rabies

B．How Pasteur prevented disease

C．Pasteur became a national hero in France for saving the wine and silk industries

D．because much of the wine was spoiling

E．He showed that bacteria get into living things and then multiply

F．Pasteur also helped the French silk industry

G．if they are bitten by an animal infected with rabies

9 . Art comes in two main categories: realistic and abstract. Realistic art aims to show real-life scenes, people, and objects exactly as they appear. It involves paying close attention to details, making things look like photographs.    1    . It’s more about expressing feelings, emotions, and ideas.

Realistic art is easy to understand. Viewers can easily recognize what is portrayed. Take the Mona Lisa, for example—it’s a realistic painting of a lady with a mysterious smile.    2    , helping us to learn about the past.

Unlike realistic art, abstract art is more about being creative.     3    . They use shapes, colors and patterns to express feelings and ideas. Abstract art means different things to different people. Some people enjoy trying to figure out what the artwork conveys.

    4    . Realistic art needs precision in drawing or sculpting to make things look real. Abstract art requires imagination to use shapes and colors in new ways. Many artists are skilled in both. They create realistic pieces to demonstrate their technical skills and abstract ones to display their creativity.

As for personal preference, some people prefer the clear stories of realistic art while others are attracted to the mystery of abstract art, interpreting meanings in the shapes and forms. Together, the two kinds of art make the art world diverse and engaging.    5    .

A．Both types of art take skills to make

B．Photographs preserve faces of folks from long ago

C．Grasping abstract art demands more artistic training

D．Both ways of creating art have their own value and beauty

E．In contrast, abstract art focuses less on realistic appearances

F．Artworks like this tell stories about history and everyday life

G．Artists have the freedom to go beyond real-life representations

10 . Some Old Truths to Help You Overcome Tough Times

Life is not a bed of roses and we are going through life facing sad experiences. Hard times may hold you down at what usually seems like the most inopportune (不合时宜的) time.     1     I want to share these old truths I’ve learned along the way.

Most of your fears are unreal. Fear is both useful and harmful. This normal human reaction is used to protect us by signaling danger and preparing us to deal with it.     2     Will Smith once said, “Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.”

    3     Sometimes you can be easily caught up by life problems that you forget to stop and appreciate the things you have. Only strong people prefer to smile and value their life instead of crying and complaining about something.

You are not alone.     4     Try to keep in mind that almost everyone wants to help you if you are trying to make a good change in your life.

Pave your own unique path. Today many people find it difficult to trust their own opinion and seek balance by gaining objectivity from outside sources.     5     When you are struggling, you should believe in yourself and be sure that your decision is the best.

A．Luckily, they won’t last forever.

B．Think about the present moment.

C．There are many things to be grateful for.

D．Furthermore, these losses make us mature.

E．This way you show that you are incapable of managing your own life.

F．No matter how lonely you might feel, you should always remember that.

G．Unfortunately, people create inner barriers with a help of exaggerating (夸大) fears.