1 . A music column by New Music Friday is from https: //www.npr.org, sharing the best albums released every Friday. Readers can enjoy and download the album’s title track online. The column is well enjoyed by the music explorers. Here are some recent hits.

The best releases out Sept. 30

By Stephen Thompson, Keanna Faircloth, Bob Boilen, Tarik Moody

It’s been five years since Björk last released an album, but now the Icelandic icon (偶像) is back with a deeply inventive set called Fossora. Every sound on the record feels as if it’s springing into the mix from a different direction, as her energetic voice shares space with everything from bass clarinets (低音单簧管) to the voices of Björk’s own creation. Fossora was inspired, at least in part, by the death of the singer’s mother, but joy also exists.

The best releases out Sept. 16

By Cyrena Touros, Christina Lee, Tarik Moody, Stephen Thompson

The superstar K-pop girl group BLACKPINK is one of the biggest pop juggernauts in the world, with billions of streams and massive world tours to its name. Born Pink, its second full-length album, promises to further promote BLACKPINK’s domination of the U.S. charts.

The best releases out Sept. 9

By Christina Lee, Ann Powers, Stephen Thompson, Cyrena Touros

Ari Lennox experienced a huge breakthrough with 2019’s much-loved Shea Butter Baby, but her new album age/sex/location promises to be even bigger. She’s been trying many her singles for many months now, and even dropped a five-song EP last Friday, but the album is finally here. It somehow sounds modern even if it recreates the most unforgettable R&B sounds of the’90s and early’00s.

1. Why is Björk’s mother mentioned?

A．She gave Björk an energetic voice.

B．She helped Björk to record the new album.

C．Her death gave Björk some inventive ideas.

D．Her leaving delayed the release of Fossora.

2. What do we know about Ari Lennox’s new album?

A．It is made up of five songs.

B．It is adapted from Shea Butter Baby.

C．It is intended for single music-lovers.

D．It is trying to make another breakthrough.

3. Who has worked on all the three new albums?

A．Stephen Thompson.	B．Tarik Moody.
C．Christina Lee.	D．Ann Powers.

2 . Sluhan, a preschool art teacher, will help her students debut (首次亮相) their artworks in her final art show with the school.

The preschoolers hold a ________ each year, allowing the parents an ________ into what they have been doing in the classroom.

On Thursday, the school will be closed for Sluhan to ________ the classroom into an art gallery ________hundreds of the students’ pieces.

“Before, we would just put pictures up in classrooms or ________ them to the walls,” director Seely said. “Now, the school will be ________ changed. You won’t even know it’s a ________.”

It is important to Sluhan for the children to ________ several different methods of art. The preschoolers ________with different materials and colors to learn what they like and also to ________ art.

Seely says there has been an increase in the students’ ________   in art since Sluhan joined the preschool six years ago. Many of the young students have started to list “________” when asked what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids receive one hour of art each week from Sluhan and she tries to ________ each hour with enriching material to create a base for their ________. The lessons help the children become more appreciative of art. They are better able to ________ that art is not one particular thing.

The art show is a(n) ________ way for parents to understand what their kids have learned. It’s also a way for the kids to ________.

For the past six years, Sluhan has put in a lot of work to create the art program and the art show as they are now. With her ________ to care for a family member, the school has found a new art teacher, who will ________ with the art shows and the curriculum Sluhan has ________.

1.

A．competition

B．display

C．broadcast

D．mission

2.

A．exposure

B．access

C．insight

D．entrance

3.

A．change

B．join

C．introduce

D．link

4.

A．featuring

B．qualifying

C．justifying

D．examining

5.

A．launch

B．devote

C．compare

D．tape

6.

A．gradually

B．completely

C．independently

D．typically

7.

A．gallery

B．museum

C．wall

D．preschool

8.

A．respect

B．predict

C．explore

D．sense

9.

A．experiment

B．charge

C．communicate

D．agree

10.

A．affect

B．obtain

C．appreciate

D．select

11.

A．talent

B．potential

C．faith

D．interest

12.

A．teacher

B．artist

C．lawyer

D．scientist

13.

A．fill

B．kill

C．spare

D．supply

14.

A．energy

B．education

C．defence

D．argument

15.

A．admit

B．achieve

C．declare

D．recognize

16.

A．expensive

B．emotional

C．easy

D．traditional

17.

A．show up

B．show off

C．put up

D．put off

18.

A．exit

B．excuse

C．determination

D．order

19.

A．connect

B．combine

C．compete

D．continue

20.

A．learned

B．released

C．established

D．published

3 . Today, I went hiking with a friend of mine. The sky suddenly became covered with _________ clouds, so we started walking down the mountain with a(n) _________ step than usual. After a little while, we _________ a large group of children by chance. They were walking down the mountain as well. The path suddenly became _________ for a few moments before the group was well ahead and out of _________.

Left behind were a young boy and his _________. We slowed down for a bit to _________ with them about the weather before finally passing them. They _________ again when my friend stopped to tie her shoes. Suddenly, the boy fell. Fortunately, my friend _________ caught him as he was about to roll down the path. However, he got frightened and was __________ in his mother’s arms. He said that his __________ hurt and I could see the __________ on the mother’s face. I asked if I could help, with my friend__________ that I was a nurse and I could give the boy a quick __________ of his knee. Making sure that they needed nothing more __________ we continued on,I decided to leave the pair sitting on a rock.

I only took a few steps forward before feeling that there was more that could be done. I said __________ to my friend for slowing us down, then turned and asked the boy and his mother if they wanted us to __________ and walk down with us.I could see the relief (宽慰) wash over the mother’s face as she said “yes ” and immediately __________ up.

The __________ in New England had left the path covered with beautiful yellow leaves. Though we walked slowly, we talked __________ with the boy and his mother.

1.

A．dark

B．thin

C．white

D．light

2.

A．easier

B．slower

C．quicker

D．harder

3.

A．remembered

B．met

C．heard

D．mentioned

4.

A．crowded

B．flat

C．wide

D．empty

5.

A．reach

B．control

C．breath

D．sight

6.

A．father

B．mother

C．sister

D．brother

7.

A．compete

B．fight

C．talk

D．argue

8.

A．turned up

B．shut up

C．caught up

D．called up

9.

A．rudely

B．patiently

C．pleasantly

D．successfully

10.

A．laughing

B．shouting

C．sleeping

D．crying

11.

A．head

B．knee

C．leg

D．arm

12.

A．fear

B．pity

C．surprise

D．anger

13.

A．announcing

B．praising

C．advertising

D．explaining

14.

A．push

B．exam

C．beat

D．bite

15.

A．because

B．when

C．after

D．before

16.

A．sorry

B．goodbye

C．hello

D．thanks

17.

A．wait

B．leave

C．come

D．go

18.

A．gave

B．stood

C．got

D．woke

19.

A．spring

B．summer

C．autumn

D．winter

20.

A．honestly

B．happily

C．politely

D．loudly

4 . A girl is smiling at me from a picture on my desk. She is one of my sponsor (资助) children. I didn’t spend much money helping her. The joy from helping her gives me, however, is over the picture.

I can still remember the first time that I decided to help a child. It was many years ago, I was only a middle school student. I had a little extra (额外的) money each month. I didn’t feel like buying anything, though. A few years ago, we lost everything in a house fire. That fire bought me a lot. I cleared that I didn’t need a lot of things to be happy. From then on I began to care about the suffering of children in poor countries. With my mom’s help, I soon found a few groups and joined them. They were helping others around the world.

It felt so good being able to reach out and help others in need. It felt so good being able to make even one life better. I could feel the love growing in my head and beginning to change me. This feeling makes us into better people with bigger hearts. It helps us to love, to be kind, and to make this world a better place.

1. The writer began to sponsor a child ________.

A．when he studied in the middle school	B．before his house had a fire
C．when he felt like buying something	D．before he had a little extra money

2. What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined word “suffering”?

A．苦难

B．经验

C．情绪

D．要求

3. What’s the third paragraph mainly about?

A．Why the writer helped poor children.	B．How the writer found a few groups.
C．When the writer began to care about others.	D．How the writer felt after helping others in need.

4. Which of the following is true?

A．The writer needed a lot of money to be happy before.

B．The writer spent much money on his sponsor child.

C．The writer spent lots of money doing shopping every month.

D．After joining the groups, the writer changed a lot in his heart.

5. From the passage, we can learn that the writer is a ________ person.

A．rich

B．lucky

C．kind

D．careless

5 . The girl admitted ________ wrong.

A．done

B．to do

C．be done

D．having done

6 . The scientist buried himself in studies and rarely ________ clothes and food.

A．cares about

B．rather than

C．cared about

D．be cared about

7 . 幸福是什么，幸福是父母为你营造的温馨的家，幸福是老师望向你的赞许的目光，幸福是孤独时朋友送来的一杯奶茶，请你以“My happiness”为话题，写一件曾经发生过的令你感到幸福的事情。
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . A man was travelling abroad in a small red car. One day he left the car and went shopping. When he came back, its roof was badly damaged.

Some boys told him that an elephant had damaged it. The man did not believe them, but they took him to a circus which was near there. The owner of the elephant said, “I am very sorry! My elephant has a big, round, red chair. He thought that your car was his chair, and he sat on it!”

Then he gave the man a letter, in which he said that he was sorry and that he would pay for all the damage.

When the man got back to his own country, the customs officers would not believe his story. They said, “You sold your new car while you were abroad and bought this old one!” It was only when the man showed them the letter from the circus man that believed him.

1. A man was travelling abroad ________.

A．in a big bus

B．in a green jeep

C．in a red car

D．in a red taxi

2. The car was damaged because ________.

A．there was a traffic accident	B．the circus man broke it
C．it rushed into a shop	D．the elephant sat on it

3. The circus man said that ________.

A．he would pay for part of the damage	B．he would pay for all of the damage
C．he wouldn’t pay for the damage	D．he would buy a new car

4. When the man got back to his country, the customs officers ________.

A．would check his new car	B．only checked his car
C．searched him	D．wouldn’t believe what he had said

5. It was only ________ that made the officers believe him.

A．the letter from the circus man	B．a newspaper from the country
C．the certificate of his	D．the letter from the government

9 . Uncle Wang works in a book shop in the middle of the city. The shop is not far from his home. It is about one kilometre away. So Uncle Wang seldom goes to work by bus. Heusually goes bike there by bike, sometimes on foot. It takes him twenty minutes to get there by bike and forty minutes on foot. Today his bike is broken. He wants to walk there. Now he is having breakfast. He leaves home at ten minutes to eight and he walks to work twenty minutes earlier. His work starts at half past eight in the morning and finishes at a quarter to five in the afternoon.

1. What does Uncle Wang do?

A．He sells books.	B．He grows flowers.
C．He makes shoes.	D．He works in a hospital.

2. Why does he seldom go to work by bus? Because ________.

A．there is no bus	B．his shop is not far from his home
C．he likes riding a bike	D．his shop isn't in the middle of the city

3. How long does it take him to walk to his book shop?

A．Twenty minutes

B．Forty minutes

C．Ten minutes

D．Half an hour

4. What time does he usually leave home by bike?

A．At ten minutes to eight	B．At half past eight
C．At ten minutes past eight	D．At twenty minutes past eight

5. He usually gets back home from work at in the afternoon at ________.

A．4:45

B．5:15

C．4:55

D．5:05

10 . Here we’ve got three tips to help you start an exercise habit that can stick. It’s a lot easier than you think.

    1    

You don’t have to be a marathoner to get meaningful health benefits from exercise. Experts say even daily activities, which include mopping the floor, organizing a room or carrying groceries up the stairs can reduce the risk of diseases like diabetes, heart disease and even some cancers.

So remind yourself that it’s not a choice between hours-long workout or nothing at all. Instead, think of starting an exercise routine like standing up from your chair and sitting back down repeatedly.     2    

Focus on how exercise makes you feel great

There are so many positives that happen when you move. It improves all the tasks that demand focus and creativity. It helps you generate energy. It boosts mood.     3    . When you feel better, you will bring more enthusiasm and energy to your work and the people working around you.

Forget long- term benefits like weight loss or better overall health.     4    . Actually, they’re not super motivational in real-time and can be disheartening when you don’t see results quickly.

Figure out what kind of exercise and workout location makes you feel good

If weightlifting in a crowded gym gives you anxiety, try to get a set of weights for home or follow workout videos on YouTube or ride a bike in the park.     5    .

A．Start small and every movement counts

B．They often take much longer time to achieve

C．Focus on immediate payoffs like improved mood and energy

D．In short, any movement helps to clear fat and sugar out of blood

E．Remember, when you have more energy, you’re a happier person

F．Keep trying until you find a workout routine that makes you happy

G．No matter how modest those goals are, they create this feeling like I can do more