1 . When the explorers first set foot upon the continent of North America, the skies and lands were alive with an astonishing variety of wildlife. Native Americans had taken care of these precious natural resources wisely. Unfortunately, it took the explorers and the settlers who followed only a few decades to decimate a large part of these resources. Millions of waterfowl (水禽) were killed at the hands of market hunters and a handful of overly ambitious sportsmen. Millions of acres of wetlands were dried to feed and house the ever-increasing populations, greatly reducing waterfowl habitat.

In 1934, with the passage of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (Act), an increasingly concerned nation took firm action to stop the destruction of migratory (迁徙的) waterfowl and the wetlands so vital to their survival. Under this Act, all waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and over must annually purchase and carry a Federal Duck Stamp. The very first Federal Duck Stamp was designed by J.N. “Ding” Darling, a political cartoonist from Des Moines, lowa, who at that time was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as Director of the Bureau of Biological Survey. Hunters willingly pay the stamp price to ensure the survival of our natural resources.

About 98 cents of every duck stamp dollar goes directly into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to purchase wetlands and wildlife habitat for inclusion into the National Wildlife Refuge System — a fact that ensures this land will be protected and available for all generations to come. Since 1934, better than half a billion dollars has gone into that Fund to purchase more than 5 million acres of habitat. Little wonder the Federal Duck Stamp Program has been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated.

1. What was a cause of the waterfowl population decline in North America?

A．Loss of wetlands.	B．Popularity of water sports.
C．Pollution of rivers.	D．Arrival of other wild animals.

2. What does the underlined word “decimate” mean in the first paragraph?

A．Acquire.	B．Export.
C．Destroy.	D．Distribute.

3. What is a direct result of the Act passed in 1934?

A．The stamp price has gone down.	B．The migratory birds have flown away.
C．The hunters have stopped hunting.	D．The government has collected money.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．The Federal Duck Stamp Story	B．The National Wildlife Refuge System
C．The Benefits of Saving Waterfowl	D．The History of Migratory Bird Hunting

2 . We journalists live in a new age of storytelling, with many new multimedia tools. Many young people don’t even realize it’s new. For them, it’s just normal.

This hit home for me as I was sitting with my 2-year-old grandson on a sofa over the Spring Festival holiday. I had brought a children’s book to read. It had simple words and colorful pictures — a perfect match for his age.

Picture this: my grandson sitting on my lap as I hold the book in front so he can see the pictures. As I read, he reaches out and pokes (戳) the page with his finger.

What’s up with that? He just likes the pictures, I thought. Then I turned the page and continued. He poked the page even harder. I nearly dropped the book. I was confused: Is there something wrong with this kid?

Then I realized what was happening. He was actually a stranger to books. His father frequently amused the boy with a tablet computer which was loaded with colorful pictures that come alive when you poke them. He thought my storybook was like that.

Sorry, kid. This book is not part of your high-tech world. It’s an outdated, lifeless thing. An antique, like your grandfather. Well, I may be old, but I’m not hopelessly challenged, digitally speaking. I edit video and produce audio. I use mobile payment. I’ve even built websites.

There’s one notable gap in my new-media experience, however: I’ve spent little time in front of a camera, since I have a face made for radio. But that didn’t stop China Daily from asking me last week to share a personal story for a video project about the integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.

Anyway, grandpa is now an internet star — two minutes of fame! I promise not to let it go to my head. But I will make sure my 2-year-old grandson sees it on his tablet.

1. What do the underlined words “hit home for me” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Provided shelter for me.	B．Became very clear to me.
C．Took the pressure off me.	D．Worked quite well on me.

2. Why did the kid poke the storybook?

A．He took it for a tablet computer.	B．He disliked the colorful pictures.
C．He was angry with his grandpa.	D．He wanted to read it by himself.

3. What does the author think of himself?

A．Socially ambitious.	B．Physically attractive.
C．Financially independent.	D．Digitally competent.

4. What can we learn about the author as a journalist?

A．He lacks experience in his job.	B．He seldom appears on television.
C．He manages a video department.	D．He often interviews internet stars.

3 . Over the last seven years, most states have banned texting by drivers, and public service campaigns have tried a wide range of methods to persuade people to put down their phones when they are behind the wheel.

Yet the problem, by just about any measure, appears to be getting worse. Americans are still texting while driving, as well as using social networks and taking photos. Road accidents, which had fallen for years, are now rising sharply.

That is partly because people are driving more, but Mark Rosekind, the chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said distracted（分心）driving was "only increasing, unfortunately."

"Big change requires big ideas." he said in a speech last month, referring broadly to the need to improve road safety. So to try to change a distinctly modern behavior, lawmakers and public health experts are reaching back to an old approach: They want to treat distracted driving like drunk driving.

An idea from lawmakers in New York is to give police officers a new device called the Textalyzer. It would work like this: An officer arriving at the scene of a crash could ask for the phones of the drivers and use the Textalyzer to check in the operating system for recent activity. The technology could determine whether a driver had just texted, emailed or done anything else that is not allowed under New York's hands-free driving laws.

"We need something on the books that can change people's behavior,” said Félix W. Ortiz, who pushed for the state's 2001 ban on hand-held devices by drivers. If the Textalyzer bill becomes law, he said, "people are going to be more afraid to put their hands on the cell phone."

1. Which of the following best describes the ban on drivers' texting in the US?

A．Ineffective.	B．Unnecessary.
C．Inconsistent.	D．Unfair.

2. What can the Textalyzer help a police officer find out?

A．Where a driver came from.	B．Whether a driver used their phone.
C．How fast a driver was going.	D．When a driver arrived at the scene.

3. What does the underlined word "something" in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Advice.

B．Data.

C．Tests.

D．Laws.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．To Drive or Not to Drive? Think Before You Start

B．Texting and Driving? Watch Out for the Textalyzer

C．New York Banning Hand-Held Devices by Drivers.

D．The Next Generation Cell Phone: The Textalyzer-

4 . As we age, even if we’re healthy, the heart just isn’t as efficient in processing oxygen as it used to be. In most people the first signs show up in their 50s or early 60s. And among people who don’t exercise, the changes can start even sooner.

“Think of a rubber band. In the beginning, it is flexible, but put it in a drawer for 20 years and it will become dry and easily broken,” says Dr. Ben Levine, a heart specialist at the University of Texas. That’s what happens to the heart. Fortunately for those in midlife, Levine is finding that even if you haven’t been an enthusiastic exerciser, getting in shape now may help improve your aging heart.

Levine and his research team selected volunteers aged between 45 and 64 who did not exercise much but were otherwise healthy. Participants were randomly divided into two groups. The first group participated in a program of nonaerobic (无氧) exercise—balance training and weight training—three times a week. The second group did high-intensity aerobic exercise under the guidance of a trainer for four or more days a week. After two years, the second group saw remarkable improvements in heart health.

“We took these 50-year-old hearts and turned the clock back to 30-or 35-year-old hearts,” says Levine. “And the reason they got so much stronger and fitter was that their hearts could now fill a lot better and pump (泵送) a lot more blood during exercise.” But the hearts of those who participated in less intense exercise didn’t change, he says.

“The sweet spot in life to start exercising, if you haven’t already, is in late middle age when the heart still has flexibility,” Levine says. “We put healthy 70-year-olds through a yearlong exercise training program, and nothing happened to them at all.”

Dr. Nieca Goldberg, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, says Levine’s findings are a great start. But the study was small and needs to be repeated with far larger groups of people to determine exactly which aspects of an exercise routine make the biggest difference.

1. What does Levine want to explain by mentioning the rubber band?

A．The right way of exercising.	B．The causes of a heart attack.
C．The difficulty of keeping fit.	D．The aging process of the heart.

2. In which aspect were the two groups different in terms of research design?

A．Diet plan.	B．Professional background.
C．Exercise type.	D．Previous physical condition.

3. What does Levine’s research find?

A．Middle-aged hearts get younger with aerobic exercise.

B．High-intensity exercise is more suitable for the young.

C．It is never too late for people to start taking exercise.

D．The more exercise we do, the stronger our hearts get.

4. What does Dr. Nieca Goldberg suggest?

A．Making use of the findings.	B．Interviewing the study participants.
C．Conducting further research.	D．Clarifying the purpose of the study.

5 . Children’s Discovery Museum

General Information about Group Play

Pricing

Group Play $7/person

Scholarships

We offer scholarships to low-income schools and youth organizations, subject to availability. Participation in a post-visit survey is required.

Scholarships are for Group Play admission fees and/or transportation. Transportation invoices (发票) must be received within 60 days of your visit to guarantee the scholarship.

Group Size

We require one chaperone (监护人) per ten children. Failure to provide enough chaperones will result in an extra charge of $50 per absent adult.

Group Play is for groups of 10 or more with a limit of 35 people. For groups of 35 or more, please call to discuss options.

Hours

The Museum is open daily from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Group Play may be scheduled during any day or time the Museum is open.

Registration Policy

Registration must be made at least two weeks in advance.

Register online or fill out a Group Play Registration Form with multiple date and start time options.

Once the registration form is received and processed, we will send a confirmation email within two business days.

Guidelines

●Teachers and chaperones should model good behavior for the group and remain with students at all times.

●Children are not allowed unaccompanied in all areas of the Museum.

●Children should play nicely with each other and exhibits.

●Use your indoor voice when at the Museum.

1. What does a group need to do if they are offered a scholarship?

A．Prepay the admission fees.	B．Use the Museum’s transportation.
C．Take a survey after the visit.	D．Schedule their visit on weekdays.

2. How many chaperones are needed for a group of 30 children to visit the Museum?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

3. What are children prohibited from doing at the Museum?

A．Using the computer.	B．Talking with each other.
C．Touching the exhibits.	D．Exploring the place alone.

6 . According to Jessica Hagy, author of How to Be Interesting, it’s not difficult to make yourself interesting at a dinner party.

    1    , if you’re out of your comfort zone or if you’re wandering into somebody’s house for the first time. So the main thing is just to show up and be adventurous, trying different foods and talking to strangers.

People love to talk about themselves. If you can start the conversation with a question other than “What do you do for a living?”, you’ll be able to get a lot more interesting conversation out of whomever it is you’re talking to.     2    , it can bring in “I have this old, broken-down vehicle” or “I rode the bus with these crazy people who were laughing at silly jokes in the back.” It just opens up conversation.

    3    ? If you can’t take their wine away, you should certainly try to take away their soapbox (讲台). If you’re the host, you can ask them to help you in the kitchen with something and just remove them from the situation.    4    .

And what about that other dinner-party killer: awkward silence? If you’re faced with an awkward silence at a dinner party, the only thing that always gets everyone talking again is to give the host a compliment (赞扬).     5    . Just quickly turn around and say, “This cake is extremely delicious and you have to tell me all about it.”

So being interesting at a dinner party isn’t that hard.

A．How do you know the host

B．The first step is to go exploring

C．If you ask the question “How did you get here?”

D．Be prepared to have awkward conversations with strangers

E．Or turn the conversation into a topic where they have little to say

F．What about that person who had too much to drink or won’t stop talking

G．He or she is the person who is feeling the weight of that awkwardness the most

7 . When almost everyone has a mobile phone, why are more than half of Australian homes still paying for a landline (座机)?

These days you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Australia over the age of 15 who doesn’t own a mobile phone. In fact plenty of younger kids have one in their pocket. Practically everyone can make and receive calls anywhere, anytime.

Still, 55 percent of Australians have a landline phone at home and only just over a quarter (29%) rely only on their smartphones according to a survey (调查). Of those Australians who still have a landline, a third concede that it’s not really necessary and they’re keeping it as a security blanket — 19 percent say they never use it while a further 13 percent keep it in case of emergencies. I think my home falls into that category.

More than half of Australian homes are still choosing to stick with their home phone. Age is naturally a factor (因素)— only 58 percent of Generation Ys still use landlines now and then, compared to 84 percent of Baby Boomers who’ve perhaps had the same home number for 50 years. Age isn’t the only factor; I’d say it’s also to do with the makeup of your household.

Generation Xers with young families, like my wife and I, can still find it convenient to have a home phone rather than providing a mobile phone for every family member. That said, to be honest the only people who ever ring our home phone are our Baby Boomers parents, to the point where we play a game and guess who is calling before we pick up the phone (using Caller ID would take the fun out of it).

How attached are you to your landline? How long until they go the way of gas street lamps and morning milk deliveries?

1. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about mobile phones?

A．Their target users.	B．Their wide popularity.
C．Their major functions.	D．Their complex design.

2. What does the underlined word “concede” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Admit.	B．Argue.
C．Remember.	D．Remark.

3. What can we say about Baby Boomers?

A．They like smartphone games.	B．They enjoy guessing callers’ identity.
C．They keep using landline phones.	D．They are attached to their family.

4. What can be inferred about the landline from the last paragraph?

A．It remains a family necessity.

B．It will fall out of use some day.

C．It may increase daily expenses.

D．It is as important as the gas light.

8 . The Biggest Stadiums in the World

People have been pouring into stadiums since the days of ancient Greece. In around 80 A.D., the Romans built the Colosseum, which remains the world’s best known stadium and continues to inform contemporary design. Rome’s Colosseum was 157 feet tall and had 80 entrances, seating 50,000 people. However, that was small fry compared with the city’s Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.

These days, safety regulations-not to mention the modern sports fan’s desire for a good view and comfortable seat — tend to keep stadium capacities (容量) slightly lower. Even soccer fans tend to have a seat each; gone are the days of thousands standing to watch the match.

For the biggest stadiums in the world, we have used data supplied by the World Atlas list so far, which ranks them by their stated permanent capacity, as well as updated information from official stadium websites.

All these stadiums are still functional, still open and still hosting the biggest events in world sport.

·Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang D.P.R. Korea. Capacity: 150,000. Opened: May 1,1989.

·Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U. S. Capacity: 107,601. Opened: October 1, 1927.

·Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania, U. S. Capacity: 106,572. Opened: September 17, 1960.

·Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U. S. Capacity: 104,944. Opened: October 7,1922.

·Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, U. S. Capacity: 102,512. Opened: September 24, 1927.

1. How many people could the Circus Maximus hold?

A．104,944.

B．107,601.

C．About 150,000.

D．About 250,000.

2. Of the following stadiums, which is the oldest?

A．Michigan Stadium.

B．Beaver Stadium.

C．Ohio Stadium.

D．Kyle Field.

3. What do the listed stadiums have in common?

A．They host big games.	B．They have become tourist attractions.
C．They were built by Americans.	D．They are favored by architects.

9 . I have the same 24 hours in a day as you do, but I have made specific choice that allow me to make the most of every day and still feel happy and relaxed.     1    

Pick the most important.

    2     Focus on spending time that for you is fun and productive. I chose the life of an adviser because I like to work with companies, but don't want the life of a big company CEO. My choices are based on the lifestyle I want.

Combine your activities.

Many people go crazy trying to figure out how to spend time with friends, family, work, play, etc.     3     Find ways to enjoy them in a combined manner. Build your social life around people in your work environment. Find people in your company who share common interests and develop your career (职业) around the people and activities you love.

    4    

You would think learning takes more time from you, but actually there are always new ways of doing things that can save you time on daily tasks, freeing you up for the most important. Always be looking for a new way to gain back an hour here or there.

Lighten up.

The world won't come to an end in most cases just because you left a few things undone. Celebrate progress and keep refining (改进) toward a happy productive existence.     5     Every completion is a small victory that adds up in a big way.

A．Speed up.

B．Be an active learner.

C．Stop trying to balance time between them all.

D．Make choices about what is meaningful in your life.

E．The things you do well usually give you greater joy.

F．Perhaps these tips will help you make the most of your time.

G．This is why making lists is important in any productivity handbook.

10 . During an interview for one of my books, my interviewer said something I still think about often. Annoyed by the level of distraction (干扰) in his open office, he said, “That’s why I have a membership at the coworking space across the street — so I can focus”. His comment struck me as strange. After all, coworking spaces also typically use an open office layout (布局). But I recently came across a study that shows why his approach works.

The researchers examined various levels of noise on participants as they completed tests of creative thinking. They were randomly divided into four groups and exposed to various noise levels in the background, from total silence to 50 decibels (分贝), 70 decibels, and 85 decibels. The differences between most of the groups were statistically insignificant; however, the participants in the 70 decibels group — those exposed to a level of noise similar to background chatter in a coffee shop — significantly outperformed the other groups. Since the effects were small, this may suggest that our creative thinking does not differ that much in response to total silence and 85 decibels of background noise.

But since the results at 70 decibels were significant, the study also suggests that the right level of background noise — not too loud and not total silence — may actually improve one’s creative thinking ability. The right level of background noise may interrupt our normal patterns of thinking just enough to allow our imaginations to wander, without making it impossible to focus. This kind of “distracted focus” appears to be the best state for working on creative tasks.

So why do so many of us hate our open offices? The problem may be that, in our offices, we can’t stop ourselves from getting drawn into others’ conversations while we’re trying to focus. Indeed, the researchers found that face-to-face interactions and conversations affect the creative process, and yet a coworking space or a coffee shop provides a certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.

1. Why does the interviewer prefer a coworking space?

A．It helps him concentrate.	B．It blocks out background noise.
C．It has a pleasant atmosphere.	D．It encourages face-to-face interactions.

2. Which level of background noise may promote creative thinking ability?

A．Total silence.

B．50 decibels

C．70 decibels.

D．85 decibels.

3. What makes an open office unwelcome to many people?

A．Personal privacy unprotected.	B．Limited working space.
C．Restrictions on group discussion.	D．Constant interruptions.

4. What can we infer about the author from the text?

A．He’s a news reporter.

B．He’s an office manager.

C．He’s a professional designer.

D．He’s a published writer.