1 . Cold weather not only threatens the life of human beings but also the survival of wild animals. In Houston, it has claimed some unusual animal victims-bats.
Mary Warwick is the wildlife director at the Houston Humane Society. She was doing shopping when the freezing winds reminded her that she had not heard how the area’s bats were going. So she drove to the bridge where over 100 bats looked to be dead as they lay frozen on the ground. But during her 40-minute drive home, they began to come back to life. The bats made sounds and moved around in a box she had placed on her heated passenger seat for warmth. She returned to the bridge twice a day to collect more.
Two days later, she got a call about more than 900 bats rescued from a bridge in nearby Pearland, Texas. On the third and fourth days, more people showed up to rescue bats from the Waugh Bridge, and a special transportation effort was set up to get the bats to Warwick, which touched her a great deal. Each of the bats was warmed in an incubator (恒温箱) until their body temperature rose.
However, there were too many bats for one person to care for. The society’s current buildings did not have the necessary space, so Warwick and others put the bats in her attic (阁楼). The bats were separated by group in containers usually used for dogs. There, they were able to reach a state of hibernation (冬眠). Over 100 bats died because of the cold and the fall from the bridge but the others are being or have been released.
The society is now raising money to build a special room for bats at the society. The society’s entire animal rescue team will be vaccinated (接种疫苗) and trained in rescuing bats as they prepare to move into a larger building with the special bat room. “That would really help in these situations where we continue to see strange weather come through,” she said. “We could really use more space to rescue the bats.”
1. Why did Mary War wick drive to the bridge?| A．To get rid of the dead bats. | B．To check what happened to the bats. |
| C．To reach home a little earlier. | D．To monitor the surviving bats. |
| A．More people were willing to donate. |
| B．More people showed concern about her. |
| C．More people came up with good ideas. |
| D．More people joined her rescue. |
| A．There was not enough space to warm the bats. |
| B．An increasing number of bats died from the cold. |
| C．It was difficult for her to get bats into hibernation. |
| D．The bats’ body temperature didn’t rise as expected. |
| A．Critical. | B．Grateful. | C．Positive. | D．Doubtful. |
2 . When planning a trip, people may find it hard to look for a destination. Luckily, the following fantastic movies might have the answer, and they could have audiences jumping to book their next flight abroad.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Directed by and starring Ben Stiller and adapted by Steve Conrad, the movie sees Walter Mitty break out of his comfort zone and start an adventure across the globe Iceland’s volcano and the Himalayas are just two of the fantastic locations featured. This is a perfect time to get any home-lovers out into the wilderness, enjoying the beauty of nature.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Directed by John Madden, the movie boasts an all-star line-up that includes Maggie Smith and Judi Dench. The movie portrays India in all its glory, with audiences surely wanting to be immersed in its rich culture. It argues that not only is travel good for the soul, but it can make an extraordinary difference within each of us.
The Bucket List
Directed by Rob Reiner and written by Justin Zackham, the movie focused on making the most of life. The leading characters’ terminal illnesses were not going to hold them back from visiting their destinations. While the film is deeply moving, it also promotes a notable message, to get into the world and never stop getting inspired.
Away We Go
Directed by Sam Mendes and written by Vendela Vida, it’s fantastic. Burt and Gloria want to find a new home where they can raise their child safely. The search begins with a visit to Phoenix and their journey takes them to Tucson, Madison, Montreal, Miami and Florida. It’s a tour of some of North America’s wonderful towns and cities, but each time they are viewed through the lens of family, love and support.
1. Which of the following is suitable for those who want to visit India?| A．The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. |
| B．The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. |
| C．The Bucket List. |
| D．Away We Go. |
| A．Ben Stiller. | B．John Madden. |
| C．Maggie Smith. | D．Justin Zackham. |
| A．A road trip. | B．A love story. |
| C．A family reunion. | D．A special family. |
3 . Here is the story of American aviation (航空) pioneer Amelia Earhart.
Once upon a time, on July 24th 1897, a little girl was born in Ashes Kansas. As a child, Amelia was adventurous, climbing trees, collecting bugs, hunting rats with their rifle and exploring the neighborhood. Many historians have described Earhart as a “tomboy” growing up because of this.
Throughout her teen years, she moved around the middle west with her family. There after seeing the wounded soldiers returning from World War I, she decided to work as a nurse’s aid and got to know many of the wounded pilots and grew to admire them.
On December 20th, 1920, an important moment happened in Earhart’s life. She attended an air show with her dad in Long Beach. And she took a ten-minute plane ride that forever changed her life. She recalled, “By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground, I knew I had to fly.” Amelia’s new mission (使命) was to learn how to fly and she worked hard to achieve this new dream. She worked several odd jobs to save up for the very expensive flying lessons. Amelia had flown her plane to 14,000 feet, the world altitude record for female pilots. On may 15th, 1923, Earhart became only the 16th woman to be issued (颁发) with such a pilot’s licence.
In the mid-1920s, Earhart was not able to make a living as only a pilot, so she became a teacher and later a social worker. One afternoon in April 1928, a phone call came for Earhart at work. “How would you like to become the first woman to fly the Atlantic?” Captain Hulton Archive asked her on the other line. “Yes,” Amelia immediately replied. She became the first female to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, but only as a passenger, as Wilmer Stultz and Lewis Gordon acted as pilots. When the three returned to the United States, they were greeted with a parade in New York and a reception held by President Calvin Coolidge at the White House.
In August 1928, Amelia became the first woman to fly alone across the North American continent and back. In 1929, she entered Will Rogers Power Puff Derby and placed third. Earhart also became involved with the Ninety-Nines, an organization of female pilots, and then became their first president in 1930.
1. How would we understand the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4?| A．She found the pilots were admirable. |
| B．She decided to be a nurse to help the wounded pilots. |
| C．She would continue to take airplane rides with her Dad. |
| D．She wanted to be a pilot when flying an airplane for the fist time. |
| A．She grew up in a rich family and graduated with honors. |
| B．She flew solo across the North American continent and back in 1928. |
| C．She refused to fly the Atlantic Ocean with others at first in 1928. |
| D．She became the first female president of the USA in 1930. |
| A．By listing figures. | B．In place order. |
| C．By comparing examples. | D．In time order. |
| A．Never too old to learn. | B．Well begun is half done. |
| C．Two hands are better than one. | D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
4 . A few months ago, a friend gifted me a robot sweeper that’s programmed to move around a room and clean as it goes.
When the box arrived, I was afraid the device would detect me and suck up (汲取) data along with the dog hair and dust. But the instructions were easy, and I finally decided not to care.
I powered up the sweeper, watched it leave its docking station to work, and quickly fell in love with my newly shiny floors. I kept shooting its working videos. “I think you’re giving more attention to it than to us,” joked my son.
One day, I returned home and discovered that our front door had blown open and the robot rolled into the yard, trying to clean the flower beds. Even when its brushes were blocked with leaves, bugs and mud, its little wheels bravely kept turning.
The robot acted properly as it was programmed to clean “dirty” things. In a kitchen, dirt can be garden debris (碎片) such as leaves and mud. In a garden, this kind of dirt does not need to be removed. The context is important. The problem for robots is that reading this context is difficult.
This accident inspired me to think more about AI (artificial intelligence). As far as I am concerned, AI is simply well trained and reproduces what it has learned. And it is undeniable that robots are increasingly being given powerful intelligence. Some experts even predict that we will soon see not only AI-enabled robots designed to solve problems according to their instructions, but also those with the ability to judge how they should respond when they are in a different setting.
Maybe this will happen in the near future.
1. What was the author’s concern about the robot sweeper at first?| A．Its after-sales service. | B．Its working efficiency. |
| C．The privacy of her family. | D．The readability of its instructions. |
| A．Enthusiastic. | B．Regretful. | C．Uncertain. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Its program went wrong. | B．It lacked critical thinking. |
| C．Its wheels were badly designed. | D．It failed to work on rough surfaces. |
| A．The accident. | B．Some experts’ thinking. |
| C．Its appeal to the author. | D．The author’s opinion. |
5 . Public Speaking Courses
Complete Public Speaking Masterclass for Every Occasion (Udemy)
If you’re struggling to put yourself out in front of audiences, then joining this Udemy course will be a good decision. In this course, you will be instructed to feel calm and comfortable on stage in front of any number of people while speaking and conveying your message. The comprehensive guide by TJ Walker will help you impress your audience and influence them.
Dynamic Public Speaking Certification (证明) by University of Washington (Coursera)
Available on Coursera, this online course is perfect for people who want to be excellent dynamic speakers. You will be taught by Dr. Matt McGarrity - a principal lecturer at UW Department of Communication. Designed for beginners, it will help you gain many skills, for instance, public speaking, speech, presentation, and communication.
How to Become a World-class Speaker (Mindvalley)
This Mindvalley course is aimed at training people who have no experience of public speaking and just start to set foot in this area. It has already assisted a lot of people in becoming skillful at speaking and spreading their voice. Lisa Nicholas, your communication coach, is regarded as one of the best speechmakers in the world. Within less than two days, you will get insights into how she masters this art.
Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation (University of Colorado Boulder)
With the help of this course, you can get better at business communication, including presenting your ideas to your coworkers, handling client (客户) calls, and so on. You’ll also learn how to write effective business emails, along with reports and draft presentations. This course is very popular among people who want to quickly fit in with the workplace.
1. How can the Udemy course benefit learners?| A．Allowing them to study at their own pace. |
| B．Teaching them how to make good life decisions. |
| C．Helping them overcome the fear of public speaking. |
| D．Enabling them to hold comprehensive lectures with TJ Walker. |
| A．They both last for one month. |
| B．They are targeted at beginners. |
| C．They are offered by the same university. |
| D．They train people to be smart speech listeners. |
| A．Dynamic Public Speaking Certification. |
| B．How to Become a World-class Speaker. |
| C．Complete Public Speaking Masterclass for Every Occasion. |
| D．Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation. |
6 . Imagine walking by a maple (枫树) tree that is no taller than a ruler. You may think that this is a special type of miniature tree, but it actually isn’t! Creating a tree like this is a form of art called bonsai. Bonsai are tiny trees grown in small pots. Bonsai can be any kind of tree. They just need to be planted in a small container and cultivated in a way that stunts their growth.
Cultivating, or taking care of, a bonsai tree requires patience and care. Pruning — removing branches, leaves, and roots — is an important part of raising bonsai. It keeps the trees small, and it also controls their shape. Pinching off new buds (嫩芽) and tying wire around branches help create a beautiful design. These processes allow the grower to control what shape the bonsai tree will take as it develops.
People who raise bonsai want their trees to look like they belong in nature. Even though it is contained in a pot, a bonsai tree should look similar to its larger counterpart (相对物，参照物). For example, the bonsai maple should have the same forked branches and vibrant leaves as the full-sized maple. This makes the bonsai a tiny copy of the full-sized maple that towers overhead.
Like other plants, bonsai need water and food from the soil. In order to keep bonsai the proper size, you need to carefully control the amount of water and fertilizer you provide. If you want to grow a bonsai, it is best to start with a species that grows in your area. Most bonsai do best when kept outdoors, so they need to be able to survive the weather. If kept indoors, the bonsai must be placed near a window. Interestingly, with proper care, bonsai can live for a hundred years or more.
1. Why does a bonsai tree need pruning frequently?| A．To control its size. |
| B．To help it grow well. |
| C．To save fertilizer and water. |
| D．To create a shape as designed. |
| A．One of a larger counterpart. |
| B．A tiny copy of the full-sized maple. |
| C．One looking like its counterpart in nature. |
| D．One with forked branches and vibrant leaver. |
| A．To keep the bonsai indoors. |
| B．To start with a native species. |
| C．To keep bonsai the proper size. |
| D．To control the amount of water. |
| A．Bonsai — a special hobby |
| B．How to be bonsai grower |
| C．What does bonsai refer to? |
| D．Why is bonsai so popular? |
7 . Noelia Garella, Latin America’s first teacher with Down syndrome (唐氏综合征), is revolutionizing her community’s education system.
Today, Garella, 31, is in charge of an Argentinian preschool class designed to teach 2- and 3-year-olds how to read. “I love this,” Garella told Agence France-Presse. “Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to be a teacher.”
Her own experience as a child was marked with misfortune—in her youth, she was rejected from a preschool and called horrible names, even by adults. One school director told Garella’s mother, Mercedes Cabrera, “No monsters here,” according to The National.
But Garella has found an approach to turning her negative experiences into something constructive. “That teacher is like a story that I read to the children,” she said. “She is a sad monster, who knows nothing and gets things wrong.”
The director responsible for employing Garella, Alejandra Senestrari, didn’t make that same mistake. “We very quickly realized that she had a strong sense of duty,” she told AFP. “She gave what the children in nursery classes most appreciate, which is love.”
When Garella was employed to take on her own class in January, she still faced controversy (争议). But, with the help of her parents and other educators and supporters, she fought for her dream. “With time, even those who had been opposed joined in the initiative to employ Noelia as a teacher,” Senestrari said. Her students, however, never had to get used to the idea of a teacher with Down syndrome—they loved her from the beginning.
Garella has been an assistant in the school’s reading classes since 2012—and was more than deserving of a promotion. Garella’s dreams are big, but her mission for her pupils is simple: “I want them to read and listen, because in society, people have to listen to one another.”
1. What is the school director’s attitude towards Noelia Garella according to paragraph 3?| A．Noelia Garella was fairly treated by the school director. |
| B．Noelia Garella was given sympathy by the school director. |
| C．Noelia Garella was treated badly. |
| D．Noelia Garella was not rejected directly by the school director. |
| A．The teacher in Noelia Carella’s heart. |
| B．One peer Noelia Garella met. |
| C．The school director who turned a deaf ear to Noelia Garella. |
| D．The schoolmaster of Noelia Garella’s school. |
| A．smart and lovely |
| B．gifted and strict |
| C．proud and grateful |
| D．responsible and caring |
| A．She quit her occupation. |
| B．She was well received by her students. |
| C．She was doubted by other educators. |
| D．She began to teach listening in school. |
8 . The case for and against social media
Is social media harmful to teenagers?
An argument for social media claims it can strengthen social bonds by facilitating relationships with people in different geographical areas. For example, social media has helped old school friends to get back in touch after many years without contact.
Ideally, we should have enough self-control to be able to limit our use of social media, enjoying the benefits it can bring.
| A．The disadvantages of social media. |
| B．In my opinion, the disadvantages of social media outweigh the benefits. |
| C．It is all too easy to become absorbed in this online life rather than communicate in real life. |
| D．People secure jobs now through social media or research information for their studies. |
| E．This is the question we are going to examine. |
| F．We will look at the arguments for and against using social media before answering the question. |
| G．We aim to control our use of social media. |
9 . One of the most commonly asked questions in the English language is “How are you?” and whether a person is feeling happy or sad, excited or lonely, fantastic or heartbroken they will just about always answer “Fine”. Why is this? Is it because humans are not good at expressing their emotions? Maybe it is just that emotions are often too personal or too complex to be shared in a casual conversation. However, for centuries, people have often expressed their emotions on paper, in the form of poetry.
The beauty of poetry is that the emotions the poet is trying to convey are often disguised in images so that the poet can maintain a feeling of privacy. For example, in Li Bai’s poem, “Seeing Meng Haoran Off at Yellow Crane Tower”, the poet describes the sail of his friend’s boat rules disappearing into the distance while he watches the river rolling by. This could seem merely like the description of a beautiful scene, but by reading into the poem, you can sense the deep sadness and loneliness that his friend’s leaving has caused him.
Poetry is also written to celebrate positive human emotions like joy, love and happiness. Throughout history, men and women have written poems to their loved ones to express their deep feelings. Poems about nature, which express the poet’s appreciation of the beauty in the world around him or her, are also common. Sadly, many poems have also been written to express anger at the destruction of nature and reactions to horrific events like war and death.
The interesting thing about poetry is that anyone reading a poem can have their own view or feelings about it and heated discussions can often arise over what the poet was originally trying to say or express. Poetry can be interpreted in many different ways. Often, a poem that one person loves another hates. Equally, a poem that one person understands and relates to, may turn another person off.
1. What is the purpose of questions in Para. 1?| A．To introduce a topic. |
| B．To teach people how to start a conversation. |
| C．To have empathy with reader. |
| D．To review the commonly asked questions. |
| A．seen | B．described | C．hidden | D．disclosed |
| A．Humans wish they could be better at expressing their feelings. |
| B．Many human emotions are very hard to capture in casual conversations. |
| C．Human emotions are too intense and wide-ranging to be expressed by most people. |
| D．Poetry is the most important way to express people’s inner feelings. |
| A．The difference in how different readers interpret and appreciate a poem. |
| B．The imagery that a poet can use to express emotions can be misunderstood by the reader. |
| C．The ability of the reader to clearly understand the meaning of a poem. |
| D．Poets’ unique description and fantastic language about poems. |
10 . How to Properly Recycle Your Paper and Cardboard
If you receive pizza deliveries or packages regularly, you probably have a pile of empty boxes sitting somewhere in your house.
According to the University of Southern Indiana, one billion trees’ worth of paper is thrown in the trash annually — and that’s just in the US. I spoke with some recycling experts and here’s what I found out about the right way to recycle paper and cardboard.
Before you bring the cardboard to your nearest recycling center or put it in a bin for pickup, break the boxes down so that they’re lying flat.
| A．This helps make more room in the bin. |
| B．It helps protect the other materials in the bin. |
| C．There’s a right way to recycle your paper and cardboard. |
| D．Therefore it’s important that we make sure to recycle as much as we can. |
| E．However, it is not completely impossible to recycle contaminated boxes. |
| F．While you may think you can recycle any cardboard and paper, that’s not the case. |
| G．The same goes for the shiny wrapping paper you thought would be fine to put into the paper recycling. |
