1 . 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.

2 . 读后续写

Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.

One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.

Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.

The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.

Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . These people are studying English. However, they are now facing some problems.

I am Pablo. I work 50 hours a week as a taxi driver, so I talk to people all day. They understand me, but I know I make a lot of mistakes. No one corrects me. My vocabulary is strong. Grammar is my problem. I’m trying to change little by little. For example, I don’t use the past tense(时态). I always say, “I drive him to the office this morning” instead of “I drove him to the office this morning”.

My name is Maria Luisa. I’m teaching myself English, and I’m good at grammar. However, it’s really difficult to find ways to practise English. I live in an area where everyone speaks my language. My neighbours and friends speak Spanish. I can speak Spanish in the supermarket and at the post office.

I am Li Ping. I understand the grammar and the readings in my class and I think my writing is good, but I’m very nervous when I speak English. I don’t want to make any mistakes because I’m afraid people will think that I’m stupid. Also, my pronunciation isn’t good. When I speak, people often say, “What? Say that again.”

I am Yoshi. I have been in the United States for one year. I’m studying hard and I know grammar well, but the vocabulary is very difficult. When I listen, I don’t understand many of the words. When I try to read, there are three or four new words in every sentence. I feel discouraged.

1. Who may say, “I go to bed late last night”?

A．Yoshi.

B．Maria Luisa.

C．Pablo.

D．Li Ping.

2. What would be the best advice for Maria Luisa?

A．Try to have a wide vocabulary.	B．Develop a good knowledge of grammar.
C．Read as many English books as possible.	D．Make friends with English-speaking people.

3. Why do people find it hard to understand Li Ping’s English?

A．She speaks at a very fast speed.	B．Her voice is very low.
C．Her grammar is terrible.	D．She can’t pronounce words in English correctly.

4. What can we learn about Yoshi?

A．He has a very small vocabulary.	B．He was born in the United States.
C．He has learned English for years.	D．He is very good at listening.

4 . 假定你是李华，你的美国朋友Peter想提高中文水平，进一步了解中国文化。请给他写一封信，推荐学习资源(resource)。内容包括：
(1)学习资源：报纸、杂志及其他途径；
(2)推荐理由；
(3)表达祝愿。
注意：
(1)词数100左右；
(2)可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
(3)开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Peter,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

5 . Tips to Start a Great Day

For most, the morning is a mad rush to get everyone ready and out the door. By the time you reach the office, you’ve probably already dealt with the stress of family, weather, and traffic. Unless everything goes perfectly, you’ll carry all that stress and share it throughout the day with your partners in the office.    1    

Open your eyes to fresh flowers.

If the first thing you see when you wake up is a dark and dirty wall or empty winter yard, you can certainly improve those important few minutes with a pleasing area of bright color.    2     Research suggests that exposure to bright colors in the early morning raises your spirits and energy.

    3    

If you organize your to-do list, breakfast menu and your clothes the night before, you’ll wake up feeling in control and relaxed. Taking 20 minutes to arrange everything ahead of time can save you 30 minutes to get dressed or search for the car keys.

Try 15 minutes of meditation (冥想).

Some might be afraid that a meditation period early in the morning could just put you back to sleep.    4     It allows you to pay attention to what you’re doing and remove harmful energy.

Begin with inspirational (启发灵感的) reading.

Part of what I often do in the morning easily allows for reading first thing. Many read the news, which can be a sad way to start the day.    5     This will give you good, fun thoughts to keep you full of energy throughout the day.

Try one of these tips each day or join them. Either way, you’ll be prepared to make it a great day.

A．Be sure you have a different plan.

B．Plan the night before.

C．But real meditation actually makes the brain more active in a deep and thoughtful way.

D．Be open to the useful energy the world brings your way.

E．Fear not; it is possible to get the day started right.

F．Buy a few books that are cheerful, hopeful, inspiring or even humorous for your first brain stimulus (刺激).

G．Pick up a pleasant bunch of flowers every few days and set it right in your sight.

6 . Donna Strickland was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Arthur Ashkin and Gérard Mourou.It’s the first time in 55 years that a woman has won this famous prize, but why has it taken so long? We look at five other pioneering female physicists — past and present — who actually deserve the prize.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Perhaps the most famous snub (冷落): the student Bell discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967, when she was a PhD student at Cambridge.The Nobel Prize that recognised this landmark discovery in 1974, however, went to her male supervisor, Antony Hewish.Recently awarded a £2.3 million Breakthrough Prize, which she gave away to help under-represented students, she joked to The Guardian, “I feel I’ve done very well out of not getting a Nobel Prize.”

Lene Hau

Hau is best-known for leading the research team at Harvard University in 1999 that managed to slow a beam of light, before managing to stop it completely in 2001.Often topping Nobel Prize prediction lists, could 2019 be Hau’s year.

Vera Rubin

Rubin discovered dark matter in the 1980s, opening up a new field of astronomy.She died in 2016, without recognition from the committee.

Chien-Shiung Wu

Wu’s “Wu experiment” helped disprove the “law of conservation of parity”.Her experimental work was helpful but never honoured, and instead, her male colleagues won the 1957 Nobel Prize for their theoretical work behind the study.

Lise Meitner

Meitner led groundbreaking work on the discovery of nuclear fission.However, the discovery was acknowledged by the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which was won by her male co-lead, Otto Hahn.

1. When was the discovery of radio pulsars recognised by the Nobel?

A．In 1944．

B．In 1967．

C．In 1974．

D．In 1980．

2. Which woman is most likely to win a Nobel Prize later according to the text?

A．Donna Strickland.	B．Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
C．Lene Hau.	D．Vera Rubin.

3. What do we know about the five females?

A．The five female scientists did greatly in chemistry.

B．Vera Rubin had opened up a new field in geometry.

C．Lise Meitner’s teacher won a Nobel Prize for her work.

D．The five female scientists haven’t been awarded Nobel Prize.

7 . If something that you’re doing doesn’t challenge you, then it doesn’t change you. We all need some normal stress in our lives, after all.     1     So challenge the following limits:

1.Figure out what you’re scared of and do it continuously.

If you’re a salesman, and you’re scared of talking to people personally or over the phone now, instead of being scared and thinking you’ll fail, spend at least five minutes a day to pick up the phone and make a call.     2     But don’t stop on the first try! Eventually, you can look at fear in the eye and say, “Go on. I’m not scared!”

2.     3    

Make sure this hobby is not linked to your career; you have to relax and relieve your stress while performing this. Some examples might be cooking, sewing, painting and so on. Apart from helping you challenge yourself, taking a class for your hobby may also give you extra income.

3. Set aside at least nine minutes a day for physical exercise.

    4     A simple 9-minute run around your neighborhood can do wonders for yourself. Exercise can not only help you maintain your regular weight, but also make you feel better about yourself.

4.Travel and allow yourself to be interested in new people.

Don’t just limit yourself to your fellow travelers, try to connect with the service staff. You never know what kind of people they’re going to be. Get out of your house or go online to book your ticket right now.     5    

A．Someone may hang up on you.

B．You should do it continuously.

C．You don’t need to go to the gym.

D．Running in the gym may be a better choice.

E．Start to travel now and learn to challenge yourself.

F．Take a class for a hobby you’ve been wanting to develop.

G．You can never see any improvement if you stick to your comfort zone.

8 . 假设你是第一中学的学生李华，你的加拿大笔友Daniel来信向你求助。他最近和妈妈闹矛盾，因为妈妈不让他过多上网。他对此很不理解。请你给他写一封回信，要点如下：
1.建议他向妈妈道歉；
2.说明过多上网的危害；
3.列举一些健康的休闲方式。
注意：1.词数不少于80；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Daniel,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours，

Li Hua

9 . The sun is going to expand into the orbit of Mercury according to scientific calculations, which will result in the entire Earth catching on fire. Who will save the world?

This imaginative tale is at the heart of the latest Chinese sci-fi movie The Wandering Earth. Unlike many American space-themed films where the solution to a disaster Earth faces is always fleeing (逃离) the planet in spaceships, this time we’re taking the Earth with us. The film, which has become the country’s most successful film of all time, has offered a different and more ambitious idea.

The “ambition” didn’t come from nowhere. For thousands of years, “homeland” has had a soft spot in the hearts and minds of Chinese people. One old idiom that shows a strong feeling that Chinese people have had for their homeland is “luoyeguigen”, which means returning to one’s homeland in old age, like fallen leaves returning to the roots of their tree.

“What is Chinese sci-fi?” Guo Fan, the film’s director, said in an interview. “A vehicle that really expresses our cultural and spiritual core (核心) can be called Chinese sci-fi. Otherwise, we’re just following others and telling the same Hollywood stories.”

And the makers of The Wandering Earth may have chosen the best time to tell its Chinese sci-fi story. The film was released on Feb. 5, the first day of Chinese New Year. It was a time when many people had just made the hard journey back to their hometowns. So to them, there is only one possible way to tell the story: Earth goes wherever humans go, because it’s our home.

1. The main purpose of the opening paragraph is to __________.

A．give a brief account of the film

B．warn people of the coming threat

C．explore ways to avoid the disaster

D．introduce the topic of the passage

2. The underlined phrase “a different and more ambitious idea” refers to __________.

A．fleeing the Earth in spaceships

B．bringing in huge success

C．filling the gap in Chinese sci-fi movies

D．helping Earth make its escape

3. Which of the following is unlikely to account for the success of the film?

A．The rich imagination of the story.

B．Hollywood-style space stories.

C．The special cultural background.

D．The time chosen to release the film.

4. What is likely to be the title for the passage?

A．Chinese Sci-Fi Catches Up

B．The Most Successful Chinese Sci-Fi

C．Chinese Sci-Fi Sets a New Path

D．Chinese Sci-Fi Challenges Hollywood

10 . Benefits of Sports

Doing sports is a physical, mental and social adventure. It’s a great way for children to take a break from studies and release extra energy. It also helps them lead fuller and happier lives as regular sports have proven beneficial to overall well-being.

The physical benefits of doing sports are probably the most obvious. Regardless of your fitness level when you start playing sports, you’ll notice an increase in your overall fitness once you’re involved.     1     Basketball players focus on strength training; football players work on speed while track athletes train through longer runs. The training process helps promote physical fitness and performances in competitions.

    2     Playing sports also contributes to mental health, helping to increase confidence and self-worth. A pat on the back, a high five from a teammate, or a handshake after a match really boosts a child’s confidence. Words of praise and encouragement from the coach, parents and other players raise self-worth.     3     So after a game, it’s a better idea to ask “Did you enjoy the game?” rather than “Did you win?”

Children who participate in sports might also benefit from the social aspect, feeling part of a group, building up responsibility and leadership.     4     Teamwork involves both being dependable as a teammate and learning to rely on your teammates to achieve a positive outcome. Teamwork breeds responsibility and challenges you to be responsible for your actions. Being part of a team gives you an opportunity to be a leader.

Discipline is another social advantage. Most organized sports require a strict training and practice schedule. As a student-athlete, you need to balance studies and athletics.     5    

There is no shortage of reasons to find a sport to get involved in. Are you ready to go? Pick one and get moving!

A．It’s not just your body that benefits from sports.

B．Therefore, playing sports is going to make you more fit.

C．But remember, a child’s self-worth should not be distinguished by victory or loss.

D．If you play group sports, you’ll be part of a team that takes direction from a coach.

E．Nearly every sport requires physical activities and the competitive skills.

F．Among these, learning how to function as part of a team is the most important advantage.

G．Only with strict discipline can you be successful both in the classroom and in the sports field.