1 . With some 750,000 words and strange ways of spelling, English can be one of the most challenging languages to learn—especially if you hope to do so quickly. Though you can learn at your own pace, these tips can help you learn English quickly and effectively.

Taking an online course is a great way to learn English. You can choose the course based on your goal and present level. If you are hoping to learn conversational English for a coming trip, you can find a course that’s suitable for this goal. There are also courses for international business, writing and reading. Depending on your goal, taking a course that meets your goal can set you on the path to success.

Getting as much speaking practice as possible is necessary to quicker learning. If you’re just swiping (刷屏) through a few levels on a language-learning app at night, you’ll be shocked when you finally come face-to-face with an English speaker. Without communicating with others in English, you won’t be able to find your weak spots. Finding a conversation partner will allow you to put your skills to the test. Many people say that speaking English regularly helps it stick in your head far better than reading or writing. After all, what’s the point of learning a new language if not to use it to communicate?

It’s no doubt that there’s no better way to learn English than to live in an English-speaking country. If traveling to a country like the UK, Canada or the US isn’t in the cards at the moment, you can still immerse (使……沉浸) yourself in the language. One way to do this is by following the “two ways every day” method. How can you practise English in two different ways each day? Find TV shows, books, films, videos, apps—anything that is in English will do. When you eventually visit an English-speaking country, you’ll be amazed at how much background knowledge you have about not just the language, but the culture as well.

1. Which sentence is the topic sentence of the second paragraph?

A．The last sentence.	B．The fourth sentence.
C．The second sentence.	D．The first sentence.

2. What’s the purpose of learning a new language?

A．To find out your weak spots.	B．To improve your reading skills.
C．To communicate with others easily.	D．To do well in the language test.

3. What does the underlined phrase “in the cards” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Anxious.

B．Possible.

C．Uncertain.

D．Interesting.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To introduce an online course.

B．To explain the importance of English.

C．To give advice on learning English.

D．To recommend some English-learning apps.

2 . Every child faces friendship problems at some time, in some way, but generally speaking, there are three main problems that keep children from being part of a group.

    1    

Kids who do too little in social situations could be ignored by the other kids and may have a hard time making friends. They are usually too shy and just wait for other kids to come to them.     2    . Then they can make friends in any social groups. These tricks include how to greet people friendly and show their good will through small acts of kindness.

Doing too much

We see this problem in kids who are always ready to cut in a talk or a game.     3    . If they continue their annoying behavior after a kid asks them to stop, they are likely to be disliked by the group. Therefore, these children need to learn proper ways of stopping, such as saying “sorry”, or sitting on their hands and keeping their mouths shut.

    4    

Some kids have trouble making friends because they behave in ways that set them apart from the other kids in the social groups. For example, they may always try to be funny on purpose, or have strange interests and habits.

Every child is unique, but they have to learn to connect with other kids in natural ways.     5    .

A．Talking too much

B．Doing too little

C．Being too different

D．Kids make friends by doing fun things together

E．The other kids may find their actions annoying

F．They have to learn some simple ways to reach out

G．Then they can build friendships and enjoy being part of a group

3 . A study published by Whillans and her colleagues found that 48 percent of college freshmen in their second term at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver believed that their friends had made more friends than they had since school began. Thirty-one percent felt the opposite.

“Since social activities, like eating or studying with others, tend to happen in cafes and libraries where they are easily seen, students might overestimate (高估) how much their friends are socializing because they don’t see them eating and studying alone,” says Frances Chen, the study’s senior author and a professor in the UBC psychology department.

A second, smaller study they published at the same time shows that feeling left out made the students pretty unhappy. “This was surprising”, Whillans says, “because many high-achieving people—the ones most likely going to college—believe they’re better equipped than their peers (同龄人) to handle challenges. But when peers appear to be doing better socially, that can contribute to feelings that there’s something wrong with us.”

While this study did not look specially at the influence of social media, other studies have shown that the way people use social tools to present only the good side makes others feel lonely and separated. “Social media always gives us the idea that other people are more social than us,” Whillans says. “We often fail to communicate when we fail, and that might be bad for us and also for our social network.” In the new study, first-year students in the sample of more than 1,000 students reported having 3.63 close friends on average at UBC, but they believed their friends had 4. 15 close friends.

1. What did Whillans’ first study find?

A．Less college freshmen feel lonely.

B．Less college freshmen don’t like entering college.

C．More students believe their friends are more sociable.

D．More students think their friends’ school begins later.

2. What does Frances Chen think of students’ loneliness?

A．It is out of control.

B．It may be more common than thought.

C．Many students can handle it.

D．It leads to more social activities.

3. The underlined word “This” in paragraph 3 refers to the result that ________.

A．students like being left alone

B．students don’t like going to college

C．students feel upset about being missed out

D．students believe they’re better off than their friends

4. What is Whillans’ attitude towards social media?

A．Uninterested.

B．Negative.

C．Supportive.

D．Hopeful.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Lots of people online make bowls out of colored pencils. But Burls Art,     1     is a guitar lover, is different. He wants to make something     2     he can actually use and enjoy more than a bowl when it is finished.

"I love playing the guitar, so I want to make it cooler," said Burls. Then he decided to make a     3    （use）and good-looking electric guitar. That would be the first guitar he had ever built.

Burls Art bought     4     number of pencils to form the body of the guitar. It was surprisingly not as difficult as he had imagined. He first cut all the pencils into the same size and then     5    （start）out by filling a large box with the pencils and stuck them by using resin（树脂）.

Step by step, he     6    （final）made the unique guitar successfully. He couldn't put an exact number on the time it took him     7    （make）the guitar. "I worked on it for 4 to 5 weeks and spent 2~4 hours a day probably. It took a long time, but it was enjoyable. I think I could make one much     8    （fast）now because I've already known the way.

He was extremely satisfied with the final guitar because     9     its special and perfect look. Now he still has a lot more ideas about the project and he won't stop     10    （create）new things.

5 . It is not so difficult to make friends after you move to a new neighborhood. As long as you are open and friendly, you will be able to make new friends after you move to a new area.     1    

Smile and say hello to any neighbors you see. Smile to your neighbors from day 1.     2     Being warm and friendly with your neighbors is the first step to getting to know people who may turn into friends.

Go for walks around your new neighborhood.     3     Taking a walk in the morning or the evening is an easy way to meet people and learn more about the neighborhood. If you have a dog, you will be walking anyway. Keep an eye out for other neighbors with dogs and take the chance to say hi.

    4     This will help you get to know the neighborhood so you can find more places to meet your neighbors. For example, you can ask them what the best restaurants are, where to find a good cup of coffee or what parks are nearby.

Throw a housewarming party at your new place. Parties are one of the quickest ways to enlarge your social circle. Have a small gathering at your new apartment and invite your neighbors over to get to know them.     5     Another choice is leaving invitations under their doors or into their mailboxes.

A．Ask some difficult questions.

B．Ask neighbors questions about the neighborhood.

C．Giving a friendly "hello" to them is also a good idea?

D．But first of all, you need to get to know your neighbors.

E．This will give you more chances to meet your neighbors.

F．However, you can improve your relationship in many ways.

G．You can invite them in person if you have already talked with them.

6 . I expected my first day of high school to be anxious. I first went to the gym for the school meeting that was crowded with students and teachers. I felt anxious because I didn't know anybody. I sat down and met a new friend, Nick. We exchanged greetings and watched the cheerleaders perform. I started to like the high school because I had never seen such a wonderful performance before.

Nick and I walked out of the gym to our first class of high school. My first class was Mr. Malouf's history class. I walked with Nick through the hallways looking for a teacher to ask, “Where is Mr. Malouf's class?” The teacher, who we later knew was Mr. Charles, showed us the direction. When we met Mr. Malouf, he was of middle height with brown hair. We could tell from his introduction that he knew how everyone in the class felt, which was anxious. We felt comfortable after Mr. Malouf said, “OK, I know that this is your first day of high school, and I want this to be a good first class of your high school because this is also my first class!”

My next class was Mr. Kelly s biology class. When we sat down, he introduced himself and hoped that he would be the most excellent teacher that we would have at school. He called me Mayfield and I felt that he needed to practise my name more. He was the first teacher to put us to work on my very first school day. This upset me greatly because usually there was not much homework on the first day.

After school, I was taken home by my mom. When I got home, I thanked God for such a wonderful day. I had pictured my first day would be like the one in the movie. The first day of high school in the movie is that a teenager is alone and he or she sits by himself / herself at lunch.

1. What made the author start to like high school?

A．The cheerleaders' performance.	B．Teachers' help.
C．The first history class.	D．Mr. Kelly's class.

2. Who showed the author the way to the history classroom?

A．Nick.	B．Mr. Malouf.
C．Mr. Charles.	D．Mayfield.

3. Why did the author feel upset in the biology class?

A．He didn't know anybody.	B．Mr. Kelly called him by the wrong name.
C．The teacher taught him a lesson.	D．There was much biology homework.

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

A．A School Meeting	B．The First High School Day
C．A Boring Biology Class	D．Happy High School Life

7 . These days, more and more people go to the gym to work out. But with so many gyms out there, how do you know which one is the right one for you? We find some information about the best gyms in New. York City so you can have a better idea of what each gym offers.

Planet Fitness

Initiation Fees (入会费): Regular membership (会员资格)，$5; Black Card membership, no initiation fee.

Membership Costs: Regular membership is $ 10 a month and includes free fitness training and free wifi. Black Card membership is $ 22.99 a month and includes access to all Planet Fitness locations, free fitness training, free wifi, half-priced cooler drinks and worldwide travel deals.

Additional Fees: $ 39 membership fee a year.

Locations: Locations in all five boroughs (区).

Classes: None.

New York Sports Club

Initiation Fees: Neighborhood membership, $ 49.99; Passport membership, $ 49.99.

Membership Costs: Neighborhood membership，$ 44.99 a month; Passport membership, $ 99.99 a month.

Additional Fees: Neighborhood membership, $ 49.99 a year; Passport membership, $ 49.99 a year.

Locations: Locations in all five boroughs.

Classes: Studio classes, athletic conditioning, boxing, kickboxing and yoga.

24 Hour Fitness.

Initiation Fees: $ 0 on select memberships.

Membership Costs: $ 79.99 for Ultra Sport.

Locations: Midtown and Madison Square Park.

Classes: Studio classes, free weights, group cycling and personal training.

Chelsea Piers

Initiation Fees: Call to request.

Membership Costs: For a specific gym, varies (变化) by location.

Locations: Chelsea and Brooklyn.

Classes: Strength and conditioning, cycling and yoga.

1. How much must a regular member of Planet Fitness pay for the initiation fee?

A．$39.

B．$22.99.

C．$ 10.

D．$5.

2. What can you do in 24 Hour Fitness?

A．Free weights.	B．Yoga.
C．Boxing.	D．Athletic conditioning.

3. What is special about Chelsea Piers?

A．It has no initiation fee.

B．Its gyms can be found in all five boroughs.

C．Its membership costs depend on its location.

D．Its black card members can enjoy half-priced drinks.

8 . Luggage-free travel, boarding queues and self-flying planes will be common for travelers in 20 years' time. You'll even be able to go on a holiday without leaving your sofa. The bold predictions have been made by futurologist and author Ray Hammond, who is based in the UK.

According to Hammond’s predictions published in the Future Travel Report by Allianz Insurance, it's likely that tourists will be flying to and from the moon regularly by 2040. What's more, passports could disappear, as airports move more and more into the land of facial pattern recognition systems at check-in gates. Computer systems that can scan your face and check you into your flight will be standard in 20 years, the report notes.

When you board your flight, after checking in with your smiling dial, don’t expect to be greeted by the pilot. Hammond bets that planes will be flying themselves in 2040. No pilots and no supervision. It'll play well for the special routes of plane travel-extra-long flights, which have raised concerns about the aircraft staffs tiredness. Are you nervous at the thought of a plane under its own control? You'll be calmer by the time you step aboard Hammond says. Well already be used to self-driving cars.

When you do arrive at your destination and check into your hotel, there won’t be a porter carrying your heavy suitcase to your room. By 2040, we'll have the ability to send our clothing measurements to our hotel ahead of our arrival, where they'll have a 3D printer ready to print out our clothing. And when we check out, our clothes will be shipping off for recycling.

Virtual reality will be so advanced within 20 years that it'll allow us to experience other countries and destinations without stepping foot outside our door. The report says, “Multi-sensory virtual reality technology will allow armchair travel planners to ‘step into’ virtual hotel rooms, explore museums or walk into restaurants.” However, it won’t kill the real-life tourism industry-instead, it's expected to give it an even bigger improvement.

1. What did Ray Hammond say about traveling by self-flying plane?

A．It is boring.

B．It is challenging.

C．It is relaxing.

D．It is frightening.

2. How will the advanced 3D technology affect tourism?

A．Make it easier for tourists to book tickets.	B．Make clothes easily available to tourists.
C．Make recycling more common in tourism.	D．Make it possible to travel without passports.

3. What is possible by 2040 according to Ray Hammond?

A．Flying to the moon and back regularly.	B．Having no need to book trips.
C．Enjoying virtual reality only in museums.	D．Traveling with anyone as you please.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Predictions on Travel by 2040	B．Possible Changes About Life in 2040
C．Changes of the Means of traveling	D．The Bright Future of the Tour Industry

9 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Sometimes it can feel like getting along with your parents    1    (be)impossible. However, they are perhaps your best teachers, and will    2    (possible)influence many of the decisions you make. If you are feeling like you and your parents can't get on the same page, take    3    (step) to try to get along better with your parents. Your parents won't always be around, so spend time with them while you're able to. This doesn't mean just    4    (sit)in front of the TV together. Instead, find activities to do together so that you can learn more about what your parents enjoy doing.

When you have    5    conflict with your parents, look at it from their point of view. Sometimes, it can be    6    (help) to try and imagine that you were in their situation. You might see that they are worried for your safety. This doesn't mean it should make you agree    7    them, but it can help you find the source of the conflict. When talking about the conflict with your parents, do think about what you    8    (say) before you say it.

Once your relationship with your parents has been improved, do your best    9    (keep)it. For this, be kind and appreciative to them. For example, do something nice for your parents, such as making a card for them. Give your parents a kiss or a hug when they do something    10    is good for you. Most importantly, try to always stay in touch with them!

10 . What acts of kindness will make us the happiest, and who tends to benefit the most? A newly-published review of decades of kindness research provides some answers.

In this paper, researchers analyzed the results from 126 research articles looking at almost 200, 000 participants from around the world. The studies they chose measured well-being in various ways, including both mental and physical health. Some were experiments, where people did a kindness practice to observe its effects, while others just surveyed people about how kind and happy they were.

As expected, people who were kind tended to have higher well-being. Lead researcher Bryant Hui was astounded that the relationship wasn't stronger than it was, but he was still encouraged by the results.

One thing Hui and his colleagues found was that people who performed random, informal acts of kindness, like bringing a meal to a sad friend, tended to be happier than people who performed more formal acts of kindness, like volunteering in a soup kitchen.

The researchers also found that people who were kind tended to be higher in "eudaimonic happiness"(a sense of meaning and purpose in life) more than "hedonic happiness"(a sense of pleasure and comfort). Perhaps this makes sense, given that being kind takes effort, which reduces comfort but could make people feel better about themselves and their abilities, which would provide a sense of meaning.

Being kind came with greater eudaimonic happiness for women than for men, too. According to Hui, this could be because, in many cultures, women are expected to be kinder than men; so, they may have more to gain from it. And younger participants experienced more happiness when they were kind than older participants, perhaps for developmental reasons, he says.

Hui isn't sure why acting kind might have these different effects on different groups, but he points to theories put forth by researcher Elizabeth Midlarsky: Being kind may make us feel better about ourselves as a person or about the meaning of our lives, help us forget our own troubles and stresses, or help us be more socially-connected with others.

1. What does the data in the second paragraph intend to show?

A．The recent paper is worthy of being read.	B．The recent paper gives convincing results.
C．Kindness is always a hot topic of research.	D．Kindness is closely linked to one's well-being.

2. What does the underlined word "astounded" in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Afraid.

B．Certain.

C．Excited.

D．Surprised.

3. Which of the following acts of kindness can make one feel happier according to paragraph 4?

A．Volunteering in a hospital.	B．Cleaning a community.
C．Returning a lost item to its owner.	D．Collecting donations for the poor.

4. What do the researchers find from the paper?

A．Being kind has different effects on different groups.

B．Eudaimonic happiness makes people feel comfort.

C．The younger experienced more happiness than the older.

D．Female participants are kinder than male ones.