1 . An office party can be a double-edged sword. There are four questions about how employees should handle themselves at company parties:

    1     Dress to impress, but also present yourself appropriately. The location and time of the party should indicate what kind of dress code to expect. Remember you are attending a company outing; you are not a celebrity walking the red carpet. So leave the 4-inch heels at home, along with anything short, tight or revealing.

Should I be “fashionably late”? No.     2    . Your co-workers will remember if you are 10 minutes late. Late arrival or early departure may not ruin your career, but your attendance shows loyalty to your manager and your organization.

Should I talk with the senior executives? Yes! There are only a few opportunities to make yourself known to the CEO and executive directors, and this is one of them.     3    .

What if I’m not very social? Don’t be tempted to turn to your phone to avoid conversations by texting your friends or checking your Twitter feed the entire night.     4    . This is the perfect opportunity to step outside of your comfort zone and introduce yourself to people from another division whom you may not have met. To help, think of a few topics or questions before the party that you can use to strike up a conversation with someone new.

    5    . Before you leave, make sure you find your boss, CEO and the staff that put the party together and thank them for a great event.

A．How should I dress up

B．What make-up should I wear

C．Arrive in the first 30 minutes

D．Don’t forget to convey appreciation

E．Late arrival is a new trend nowadays

F．And don’t just hang out with those from your group

G．Thus, take advantage of it and give yourself a proper introduction

2 . There are two kinds of memory: short-term and long-term. Information in long-term memory can be recalled at a later time when it is needed. The information may be kept for days or years. Sometimes information in the long-term memory is hard to remember. Students taking exams often have this experience. In contrast, information in short-term memory is kept for only a few seconds, usually by repeating the information over and over.

Dr. Hunter studied short-term memory in rats. He used a special device which had a cage for the rat and three doors. There was a light in each door. First, the rat was placed in the closed cage. Next, one of the lights was turned on and then off. There was food for the rat only at this door. After the light was turned off, the rat had to wait a short time before it was released from its cage. Then, if it went to the correct door, it was rewarded with the food that was there. Hunter did this experiment many times. He always turned on the lights in a random order. Hunter’s results show that rats have a short-term memory of about ten seconds.

Later, Dr. Henning studied how people learning English as a second language remember vocabulary. To begin with, the participants listened to a recording of a native speaker reading a paragraph in English. Following the recording, the participants took a 15-question test where they circled the word they remembered having in the recording. Some of the questions had four choices that sounded alike, while others had four choices having the same meaning.

Henning found that people with a lower level in English made more of their mistakes on words that sound alike; people with a higher level made more of their mistakes on words that have the same meaning. Henning’s results suggest that beginning learners hold the sound of words in their short-term memory, while advanced learners hold the meaning of words in their short-term memory.

1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

A．Repetition contributes to people’s short-term memory.

B．The information in long-term memory is easier to forget.

C．People can rarely memorize the information learnt when young.

D．Students taking exams are experienced in long-term memory.

2. What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A．How the rat experiment was conducted.	B．The process of rats’ developing memory.
C．Why the rat experiment was carried out.	D．The relationship between rats’ memory and intelligence.

3. Who might participate in Dr. Henning’s experiment?

A．A Chinese expert in second language learning.

B．An American student learning a second language.

C．A British teacher teaching English as a second language.

D．A Korean employee learning English as a second language.

4. What does Henning’s experiment suggest?

A．Beginning learners have a bad memory.

B．Beginning learners depend more on short-term memory.

C．Advanced learners easily remember words according to their pronunciation.

D．Advanced learners can confuse the words just heard with those meaning the same.

3 . Antarctica is the highest, driest, and coldest place on Earth. It is also the remotest, a fact which demystifies its unspoiled environment. It is difficult for people to get there, and not a comfortable place for people to stay once they arrive. It is widely described as the last true wilderness on our planet.

The cold climate is responsible for maintaining the continent’s year-round ice fields: They never melt. Even though Antarctica receives more sunlight than the equator, the temperatures are lower because the ice sheet reflects the heat back into space. Thus, the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was in Antarctica in July, 1983. Soviet scientists shivered (瑟瑟发抖) through temperatures that fell to minus 89.2 degrees Celsius.

Once completely inaccessible, Antarctica has more recently been playing host to adventurers seeking excitement, scientists interested in experimenting, and companies looking to exploit this wild zone for profit: gold, uranium and oil are just some of the valuable resources which lie beneath the continent’s icy covering.

For centuries, Europeans wondered about the existence of a South-pole continent, but no one actually knew for certain Antactica was there until 1820 when European explorers “discover” it. Since then, men have gone to Antarctica in search of adventure. Testing their abilities, several teams of explorers set out in 1911 to be the first men to stand at the South Pole.

Yet, Antarctica’s fragile and complicated ecosystem is threatened by its human visitors. Damage to the environment occurs as people come looking for resources beneath the ice, or carelessly leave their garbage behind. Currently, countries are working to ensure that the damage to Antarctica’s environment is minimized, and that the last wilderness on Earth will remain an unspoiled place.

1. What does the underlined word “demystifies” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Does harm to.

B．Lies in.

C．Accounts for.

D．Stays away from.

2. Why are Soviet scientists mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A．To make a comparison with other places.	B．To show Soviet scientists’ fearless spirits.
C．To stress the freezing weather of Antarctica.	D．To explain the reason for Antarctica’s cold climate.

3. When did people begin to explore Antarctica?

A．In the late eighteenth century.	B．In the early eighteenth century.
C．In the early nineteenth century.	D．In the late twentieth century.

4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Measures are being taken to protect Antarctica.

B．Antarctica’s eco-system has been destroyed by men.

C．People visiting Antarctica leave garbage on purpose.

D．In the icy covering are buried few precious resources.

4 . A few people are born resilient (自强不息). Liz Murray is one of them. Her parents were cocaine addicts who spent most of the family’s money in feeding their habits. Liz explains that as a result, she and her sister were neglected. The girls often lacked food and warm clothes. By age 15, Liz was homeless. Her mother had died of AIDS, and her father was on the streets. Liz made a swear to herself after her mother’s death that her life would be different. She refused to end up like her mom and decided that the best way to avoid that fate was to go back to school.

Liz Murray stuck to her plan firmly. She stood out in her high school courses in an accelerated two-year program. Liz Murray applied for a New York Times scholarship offered to needy local students. New York Times was looking to make a difference by helping kids who had overcome obstacles. Her story apparently came through loud and clear.

Liz hoped to study at Harvard University on her scholarship. Harvard agreed that Liz Murray belonged at the university and accepted her as a member of the class of 2004. Her reaction to the acceptance letter was to scream with delight.

When she looks back on where she has come from and the burdens her parents gave her, Liz says that she is neither bitter nor angry. She understood, from an early age, that they had a disease that prevented them from giving her more than they did. She misses having her family together. And her father, with whom she is now close, has developed AIDS. Liz says she doesn’t feel like she has moved past the events of her childhood, rather they’ve stayed with her and are part of everything about who she is. She has learned from her experiences and makes use of the lessons.

1. Why were Liz and her sister neglected?

A．Because their parents were homeless.	B．Because their mother suffered from AIDS.
C．Because their parents were addicted to drugs.	D．Because their father was begging on the street.

2. What did Liz do to achieve her goal?

A．By contributing to New York Times.

B．By sharing her story in public to raise money.

C．By winning a scholarship offered by Harvard University.

D．By accomplishing her high school courses in a short time.

3. What attitude did Liz hold towards her parents?

A．Annoyed.

B．Understanding.

C．Supporting.

D．Disgusted.

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．From Homeless to Harvard	B．The Responsibility of Parents
C．The Abuse from Parents	D．Confidence Makes You Strong

5 . Every year, the biggest and the best garden designers get together to create the Chelsea Flower Show, providing inspiration, trendsetting ideas and a glimpse of how our gardens might look next year.

On Trend: Green garden

Sustainable gardens have become a big trend in our towns and cities. Joe Swift inspired gardeners with his gold-winning design for the Homebase Teenage Cancer Trust that featured drought-buster (治理) architectural planting.

It could cope with even the driest conditions typically found in places where water is precious. His large pools of water had a cooling effect on people and plants.

On Trend: Space-saving Herbs

The Brewin Dolphin garden designed by Cleve West and Steve Swatton followed the Arts and Craft tradition, showing the beautiful strong lines of neatly beech (山毛榉) among its soft herbs planting. It proved to be a style that has never gone out of fashion.

You don’t need a large garden to have a piece of topiary (树木造型). These evergreens, which can be boxed or grown in pots, are easy to cut into shapes, such as balls, cubes and pyramids.

On Trend: Rhododendrons (杜鹃花) Woodland

Chris Beardshaw’s gold-winning design was packed with rhododendrons woodland bushes. It paid tribute (致敬) to Furzey Gardens in Hampshire, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

Rhododendrons might not be the trendiest choice but they deserve a comeback.

On Trend: Drought Buster

The Herbert Smith garden for WaterAid was inspired by the work of the charity and the transforming power of clean water.

Using water wisely is today’s issue, so invest in water butts (积水桶) to collect rainwater and gather waste water from baths, sinks and washing machines.

1. Who can inspire those having a garden with limited space?

A．Joe Swift.

B．Cleve West and Steve Swatton.

C．Chris Beardshaw.

D．Herbert Smith.

2. What does Furzey Gardens feature?

A．Large pools.

B．Rhododendrons woodland.

C．Evergreens in shapes.

D．Clean water transforming.

3. What do the designs of Joe Swift and Herbert Smith have in common?

A．They are the trendiest choices.	B．They are gold-winning designs.
C．They promoted the balance of environment.	D．They attach great importance to saving water.

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填人1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Milk tea stores have mushroomed not only in China but also in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam     1     Thailand, with Chinese brands     2     (enjoy) a boom in the regions. On Nov. 11, Singles Day, the domestic milk tea brand CHAGEE learned that its products were selling     3     (surprising) fast in Malaysia. Peng Xianggui, head of the company’s overseas business, said, “At each of our outlets in Malaysia, dozens of motorcycle riders waited     4     (make) deliveries. We offered no discount, but our 26 stores     5     (sell) more than 30, 000 cups of takeout milk tea.”

The growing influence of Chinese tea culture is likely the key     6     the success of the nation’s milk tea brands. Nomadic people(游牧民族) in China first created the concept of milk tea. In the 17th century, the drink     7     (bring) to India and also to Western countries through the ancient Silk Road. The     8     (develop) of milk tea is evidence of the trade globalization process,     9     originated from the Silk Road.

Tea culture is a bridge connecting countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. It shows that historical     10     (city) along the Silk Road had two main functions—trade and cultural exchange.

7 . Growing up, I was always fortunate to be around well-tended gardens at my parents’ and my grandparents’ homes. My grandfather was considered quite “green-fingered”, as there were always _______ flowers in his garden. Not only was it a nice one in the _______ sense, but what he _______ in it was also often on the dinner table, so it was also a very _______ garden.

I decided to turn my hand to growing some plants recently. I only have a small balcony to _______ my horticultural activities, but that has not _______ me at all. It’s possible to _______ a nice “garden” even in the most _______ space. I had already _______ to grow some flowers, but couldn’t ________ the difference between those and weeds, so my ________ and efforts turned to something much more practical: ________.

I took the ________ of one little tomato and planted them in a number of pots. After several weeks, I was ________ to see 15 tomato plants on my balcony in different ________ of growth. I keep my fingers crossed that one day they will ________ me something very practical indeed: some tasty tomatoes.

In this age when we have such fast-paced lives and ________ modern technology for so much, it’s very ________ to see this greenery on my balcony and to engage in a practice as old as time itself. ________, plant life is the most basic and oldest “technology” on our planet.

Even if you don’t consider yourself to have “green fingers”, it is something that’s well worth a try. You could be amazed by the ________.

1.

A．extra

B．impressive

C．ordinary

D．natural

2.

A．proper

B．strict

C．visual

D．cultural

3.

A．learned

B．found

C．buried

D．grew

4.

A．practical

B．colorful

C．large

D．sweet

5.

A．introduce

B．prepare

C．test

D．conduct

6.

A．misjudged

B．misled

C．discouraged

D．disobeyed

7.

A．check

B．make

C．protect

D．choose

8.

A．limited

B．equipped

C．remote

D．popular

9.

A．refused

B．agreed

C．promised

D．attempted

10.

A．analyze

B．tell

C．understand

D．examine

11.

A．attention

B．imagination

C．contribution

D．addiction

12.

A．plants

B．crops

C．flowers

D．vegetables

13.

A．leaves

B．roots

C．seeds

D．fruits

14.

A．confused

B．amazed

C．eager

D．upset

15.

A．opportunities

B．fields

C．stages

D．aspects

16.

A．teach

B．pass

C．return

D．offer

17.

A．rely on

B．look into

C．go after

D．pay for

18.

A．tiring

B．boring

C．rewarding

D．convincing

19.

A．Eventually

B．Actually

C．Currently

D．Gradually

20.

A．results

B．projects

C．faith

D．purpose

8 . How to Develop a Reading Habit

A lot of people say that they want to develop a reading habit but are unable to due to a lack of time. I have used a number of tricks to develop a daily reading habit.     1    .

Create a reading list

I would suggest you start with books that you would like to read. For example, you can create a list of novels you’ve always wanted to read but never had the chance to.     2    . A great website to find reading lists is GoodReads.com.

    3    

Don’t feel like you have to finish every book you start. If the book you’re reading is boring, simply drop it and start reading a different one. A good rule that I like to use is the 50-page rule. I always read the first 50 pages of any book I start. If I still don’t enjoy it after 50 pages, I just give it up and move on to a different book.

Carry a book everywhere you go

Always carry some reading materials with you, either in the form of a physical book, or an ebook on your smartphone or ebook reader.     4    . This allows you to spend those little breaks in your day reading instead of playing video games.

Read actively

    5    , I would highly suggest you try an active approach to reading When I say “read actively”, I suggest that you highlight passages that you think are important or interesting. If you are reading on your smartphone or your ebook reader, take advantage of their highlighting and note features.

I hope these tips will be helpful to you. Now go and read a book!

A．Know when to quit

B．Schedule a time for reading

C．I have outlined these below

D．To find a good place to read

E．While passive reading is better than no reading at all

F．That way you’re able to read whenever you get a chance

G．You can also find a large number of different lists online

9 . Children are more likely to prefer foods they believe to be natural to human-made options, rating them higher for tastiness, safety and desirability, a study shows.

Researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh and Yale studied the preferences of more than 374 adults and children in the United States when presented with apples and orange juice and told of their origins.

In one study, 137 children aged 6 to 10 years old were shown three apples. They were told one was grown on a farm, one was made in a lab, and another grown on a tree inside a lab. Adults took part in the same study to compare age groups. Both children and adults preferred apples they believed were grown on farms to those grown in labs, researchers found. Children were more likely to refer to freshness, being outside, or sunlight when considering why they chose the farm apple. Adults were more likely to mention naturalness.

In a second study, 85 children aged 5 to 7 years old and a group of 64 adults were shown four different kinds of orange juice—one described as squeezed on a farm, one with no information about it, one with chemicals removed and one described as having chemicals added. Researchers found that the information on the juice’s naturalness had a significant effect on its rating. The participants tended to choose the more natural option based on perceived taste, safety and desire to consume.

Dr Matti Wilks of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences said, “Overall we provide evidence that our tendency to prefer natural food is present in childhood. This research offers a first step towards understanding how these preferences are formed, including whether they are socially learned and what drives our tendency to prefer natural things.”

1. How did researchers draw their conclusion?

A．By doing experiments.	B．By analyzing reasons.
C．By testing children’s tastes.	D．By studying different fruits.

2. What can be inferred about the two studies mentioned in the text?

A．Adults prefer apples to orange juice.	B．Chemicals do harm to eaters’ health.
C．Naturalness attracts different age groups.	D．Labs are where fruits can be easily planted.

3. What’s Dr Wilks’ attitude toward the study?

A．Doubtful.

B．Tolerant.

C．Uncaring.

D．Positive.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Which to Choose, Apples or Orange Juice?

B．Where to Grow Fruits, on Farms or in Labs?

C．Natural Food Is More Mouth-watering to Children

D．Different Age Groups Show Different Preferences

10 . We humans rely on a series of signs to recognize our friends, such as their smiles, their voices, or the way they walk. Biologists have known for several decades that dolphins form close friendships, and that the cetaceans (鲸类) identify friends by their unique whistles. Now new surprising research suggests bottlenose dolphins use their sense of taste to recognize their friends from unrelated dolphins through their urine (小便).

Study leader Jason Bruck, a marine biologist at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, didn’t set out to test whether bottlenose dolphins could identify each other through their urine. His original goal was to test whether dolphins use their signature whistles in the same way people rely on names. But to do that, he needed a second way for dolphins to identify each other.

To find out if dolphins could associate a whistle with a specific dolphin, Bruck turned to an unlikely substance: urine. A scientist had previously observed wild dolphins purposefully swimming through urine, leading Bruck to suspect they were gathering information from it.

“It was a shot in the dark,” says Bruck, whose study was published this week in the journal Science Advances. “And I was not expecting it to work, to be honest.”

In experiments using caged dolphins, the team discovered that dolphins paid more attention to their friends’ urine and whistles, suggesting they knew the animals that issued them, he says.

The findings are the first strong evidence of an animal identifying other members of its species using taste. They also show that by using at least two signs to identify individuals, dolphins have a complex understanding of their family and friends—much as humans do.

1. Why did Bruck turn to urine?

A．To show the types of whistles.	B．To study dolphins’ swimming styles.
C．To test dolphins’ ability of recognition.	D．To protect dolphins’ living conditions.

2. What does Bruck think of his study?

A．It is beyond description.	B．It is beyond his expectation.
C．It matches his prediction.	D．It goes against previous observation.

3. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Dolphins can identify their friends by taste.

B．Dolphins show deep love for their friends

C．Cetaceans contribute much to modern science.

D．Cetaceans have much in common with humans.

4. What is the text?

A．A short story.	B．A book review.
C．A biologist’s story.	D．A science report.