1 . When my son first began competing in school chess tournaments, I often chatted with other parents. Occasionally, I would ask if they played chess themselves. Normally, the reply was no. When I volunteered that I was learning to play, their tone was cheerfully joking, “Good luck with that!” If this game is so good, why are adults ignoring it? Seeing someone playing smart phone games, I preferred to say, “Why are you having your kids do chess while you play?”

Sure, we parents had work to do, work that helped pay for the lessons our kids were enjoying. But I was also wondering if we were sending an unnoticeable message that learning was for the young. During one tournament, I saw a group of parents playing chess! Just then, a group of kids passed me, “Why are adults learning chess?” One asked, in an apparently joking tone.

I was tired of sitting on the sidelines. I wanted in, and that is why I got a membership card and started throwing myself in. “Early on, I was nervous, even the master can sometimes play badly,” as one Grandmaster put it “a fan never”. And a fan I was. It was three hours of concentration and thinking with my phone off. It felt like a gym where I was trained to solve problems with focus, memory, logic, and occasional headaches. And of course hours of absence of digital devices would never be no good for thinking sharply.

Being a beginner can be hard at any age, but it gets harder when you are older. The phrase “adult beginner” has an fairly gentle pity. It implies the learning of something that you should have perhaps already learned.

1. What can we learn about other parents from their remarks?

A．They were ignoring other learners.

B．They agreed on the idea of learning chess.

C．They thought it odd for an adult to learn chess.

D．They gave congratulations to the adult lessons.

2. How did the child in the second paragraph perceive adults learning chess?

A．Laughable.

B．Unimaginable.

C．Understandable.

D．Sensible.

3. What do the underlined words “sitting on the sidelines” mean in Paragraph 3?

A．Not being noticed.	B．Not being involved.
C．Expressing confusing ideas.	D．Following what others do.

4. What did the writer think of his experience of learning to play chess?

A．It helped him remain calm.	B．It helped him train his brain.
C．It made him proud of himself.	D．It made him look rather funny.

2 . A Harvard nutritionist shares 4 brain foods that will help your kids stay “sharp and focused”.

Homemade hummus

Legumes (豆类) are healthy, plant-based sources of iron, zinc, protein, omega-3s and fiber, benefitting brain development. Homemade hummus is a good way to include legumes into your child’s diet. It can be served in so many ways, such as a dip paired with apple slices, carrot sticks or sugar snap peas. Adding some color to your hummus can make it more appealing to kids. Think: a bright orange carrot hummus topped with a monster face made out of vegetables.

Salmon

Introducing your child to fish at a young age can increase their likelihood of enjoying it and eating low-fat, vitamin-rich proteins for the rest of their life. Salmon is soft and mild enough for young children, and is also a good source of vitamin B12 and omega-3s, which promote healthy brain development and happier moods.

Eggs

Whole eggs are an excellent source of brain-boosting vitamins A, D and B12, along with choline (胆碱). Choline is especially important for young children, as it has been shown to improve brain development and long-term memory. One study found that pastured eggs can have twice as much vitamin E and almost three times as many omega-3s as caged eggs.

Meatballs

Add some powerful plant-based fiber and nutritious vegetables to your child’s diet through meatballs. Start with a base of beans or ground turkey. Then add grated celery and flax seeds full of omega-3s. Of course, don’t forget your favourite spices. Cook and serve.

1. Which food can enhance brain development and happier moods?

A．Homemade hummus.

B．Salmon.

C．Eggs.

D．Meatballs.

2. What do these four foods have in common?

A．They all have plant fibers.	B．They all have low fat.
C．They all have vitamin B12.	D．They all have omega-3s.

3. Who is this passage targeted at?

A．Those who want to lose weight.

B．Those who desire to put on weight.

C．Those who intend their kids to be more focused.

D．Those who expect their students to be more hard-working.

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What is the speaker mainly talking about?

A．A search engine.

B．A language program.

C．A free lesson website for teachers.

2. How many people use Duolingo currently?

A．Over one hundred million.

B．A few hundred thousand.

C．Several thousand

3. Where is Luis von Ahn from?

A．Switzerland.

B．Guatemala.

C．Costa Rica.

4. How was Duolingo originally funded?

A．By big websites.

B．By an actor.

C．By schools.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What did Fitbit say about the recent study?

A．It was false.

B．It hurt their business.

C．They had no comment.

2. When does the man use his Fitbit?

A．Only when he’s exercising.

B．During the daytime.

C．All the time.

3. What does the man think of his Fitbit?

A．It’s sometimes uncomfortable to wear.

B．It’s a good value.

C．It is of little use.

4. How does the woman sound?

A．Interested.

B．Bored.

C．Upset.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where did the tomato sauce come from?

A．A local farm.

B．A store only five miles away.

C．The man’s own tomatoes.

2. What does the woman think of cooking?

A．She enjoys it.

B．It makes her feel creative.

C．She doesn’t have the patience for it.

6 . Why is the museum of great significance?

A．It’s a museum for old art.

B．It will be built on a small island.

C．It’s the first of its kind in Indonesia.

7 . It was 80 years ago when I wrote my first letter to Paul and Renee. I was about 13. Paul was the same _________ as me, his sister Renee was two years younger, and they lived in France. I was crazy about learning languages, so I was _________ when my French teacher assigned (分配) us pen pals.

It was quite a(n) _________ to get a letter from a foreign country, so I _________ receiving their reply. They weren’t good at English, so after six months, we were all writing in _________ , which helped me have a good knowledge of the language.

I decided to go to France on holiday in 1949 to_________them. The family _________ me well, and I visited several times in the years that followed. The first time I met Renee, she _________ me up at the station, and we hit it off straight away.

Lnever.got to meet Paul. Renee wrote to me and _________ me that he had died shortly after joining the army. Renee and I continued writing to each other, and our friendship became __________ . We talked about our families, our __________ and cur troubles in life. After that I moved to South Africa for a while, married, had children, and changed jobs. Throughout all this, we __________writing letters.

I’m 93 now and I still write to Renee. She has difficulty writing now, so she phones me to__________ . Most people don’t seem to have the __________for letters anymore, but it gives me great pleasure to write. And this is the most valuable __________ I have ever had.

1.

A．interest

B．dream

C．height

D．age

2.

A．sad

B．pleased

C．awkward

D．angry

3.

A．action

B．thing

C．problem

D．debate

4.

A．looked forward to

B．was attracted to

C．signed up for

D．took control of

5.

A．Spanish

B．English

C．French

D．German

6.

A．help

B．praise

C．check

D．meet

7.

A．treated

B．fitted

C．knew

D．protected

8.

A．picked

B．called

C．brought

D．held

9.

A．warned

B．told

C．contacted

D．calmed

10.

A．calmer

B．deeper

C．flatter

D．shorter

11.

A．memories

B．kids

C．organizations

D．hobbies

12.

A．kept

B．stopped

C．avoided

D．finished

13.

A．explore

B．remember

C．revise

D．reply

14.

A．request

B．mind

C．time

D．place

15.

A．interest

B．tradition

C．friendship

D．trip

8 . 你所在的班级将要举办一次主题为“What Can We Do for Our School?”的英语演讲比赛。请写一篇英语演讲稿。要点包括：
1. 提出主题：
2. 如何做及目的：
（1）保护花草树木，美化校园；
（2）进行垃圾分类，减少污染；
（3）记住随手关灯，节约能源。
3. 提出倡议。
参考词汇：垃圾分类waste sorting       
注意：
1. 不少于100词；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

What Can We Do for Our School?

Hello, everyone.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for listening!

9 . A record surge in the creation of marine protected areas has taken the international community close to its goal of creating nature refuges on 17% of the world’s land and 10% of seas by 2020, according to a new UN report. Protected region snow cover more than five times the territory of the US, but the authors said this good news was often undermined by poor enforcement. Some reserves are little more than “paper parks” with little value to nature conservation. Atleast one has been turned into an industrial zone. More than 27m square kilometres of seas (7% of the total) and 20m sq km of land (15% of the total) now have protected status, according to the Protected Planet report, which was released on Sunday at the UN biodiversity conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Almost all of the growth has been in marine regions, most notably with the creation last year of the world’s biggest protected area: the 2m sq km Ross Sea reserve, one-fifth of which is in the Antarctic. The no-fishing zone will be managed by New Zealand and the US.

“We have seen an enormous expansion in the past two years. There is now more marine protected area than terrestrial, which nobody would have predicted,” said Kathy McKinnon of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. “I think we’ll continue to see a substantial increase, I’d guess, to at least 10% in the near future.”

The UN convention on biological diversity says it has received national commitments for an additional 4.5m sq km of land and 16m sq km of oceans to be given protected status in the next two years. This would put it on course to achieve one of the key aims of the 2010 Aichi biodiversity targets.

“This is the target with the most progress. In an ocean of bad news about biodiversity loss and eco-destruction, it is important to highlight that progress, though we still have a lot more to do to ensure not just the quantitive target but the effectiveness of the management,” said CristianaPașca Palmer, the head of UN Biodiversity.

The creation of protected areas has not been enough to halt a collapse of species and ecosystems that threatens civilisation. Since 1970 humanity has wiped out 60% of mammal, bird, fish and reptile populations, with a dangerous knock-on impact on food production, fisheries and climate stability.

Protected areas are important refuges from this wave of extinctions but many are underfunded and poorly policed. Only one in five have provided management assessments to the UN, which has raised questions about the viability of the rest.

Naomi Kingston, of UN environment world conservation monitoring centre, said: “There is a race to deliver on Aichi target 11. It is fantastic that countries are coming with more ambition, but not if it is just a number without substance.

“Some areas that have been reported to us as protected areas have been completely built over. We need datasets to define which areas are paper parks and which are real.”

Developing nations have better reporting standards because many are obliged to provide regular assessments in order to qualify for funds from the Global Environment Fund. By contrast, many wealthier nations devote few resources to monitoring.

Discussions will focus on a new, more flexible category for community land that is used by locals for both agricultural production and wildlife conservation. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, this is a model that has often helped improve biodiversity because residents — often from indigenous communities — live closely with nature and have an interest in protecting it.

1. What promotes the achievement of the goals of marine nature reserves?

A．Poor management of marine protected areas.

B．Loss of biodiversity and ecological destruction.

C．Rapid growth in the number of marine protected areas.

D．Commitments in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

2. What impact does the establishment of “paper parks”have on protected areas?

A．They have promoted the expansion of marine protected areas.

B．They have little value for nature conservation.

C．They all turn into industrial zones.

D．They will slow down the collapse of ecosystems.

3. According to the passage, what is Kathy McKinnon’s point of view?

A．NewZealand and the United States regulate fishing-ban zones.

B．In the near future, the number of marine refuges will increase by at least 10%.

C．The quantity and management quality of marine refuges are equally important.

D．Many countries have ambitions to achieve Aichi 11.

4. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A．A recorded surge in the creation of marine protected areas.

B．Developing countries may receive funding from the Global Environment Facility.

C．The Increase of marine refuges and the views of relevant personnel.

D．Achieving Aichi 11 Goal.

10 . If you live in one of the 40 million American households with a gas stove, it could be leaking even when it’s turned off.

According to a new study from Stanford scientists, many stoves are constantly giving out gases that can warm the planet and pose serious health risks when breathed in. The research found methane missions from gas stoves across the United States are roughly equal to the carbon dioxide released by half a million gas-powered cars in a year.

To estimate the impact of these emissions, researchers measured three key gases from stoves in 53 homes across seven California counties. The team chose two gases — methane and carbon dioxide — because of their contribution to climate change, and selected nitrogen oxides because of their known risk to human health. The scientists set up plastic dividing walls between the kitchens and other rooms and used instruments that measure wavelengths of light to determine the concentration of certain gases.

The team estimated that stoves release between 0.8 and 1.3 percent of the natural gas they consume as unburned methane. To their surprise, they found that more than three-quarters of the methane emissions happened when both old and new gas stoves were turned off. “Over a 20-year time scale, the global warming potential of methane leaks is 86 times greater than carbon dioxide,” Stanford reports.

The most significant health risks happen when the stove is lit, the authors note, because the process creates nitrogen dioxide as a byproduct. Increasing airflow by using a range hood can help reduce the personal health risk of natural gas-burning appliances, but most individuals report rarely using their ventilation system.

In a small kitchen, it only took a few minutes of unventilated stove use to generate emissions levels above national health standards. According to a meta-analysis from 2013, children living in homes with gas stoves were 42 percent more likely to experience symptoms associated with asthma, and 24 percent more likely to be diagnosed with lifetime asthma.

In addition to health risks, natural gas burning stoves also endanger the planet by releasing methane. The results of the study have furled efforts by scientists and activists to encourage Americans to switch to all-electric stoves and appliances.

1. Which gas leaking from stoves warms the earth most?

A．Methane.

B．Carbon dioxide.

C．Nitrogen oxide.

D．Nitrogen dioxide.

2. What does the underlined word “they” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The measuring instruments.	B．The American families.
C．The team members.	D．The gas stoves.

3. When does a gas stove present the greatest health risks?

A．When it is old.	B．When it is new.
C．When it is turned on.	D．When it is turned off.

4. What would the researchers urge people to do?

A．Equip kitchens.	B．Switch to clean fuels.
C．Use sustainable energy.	D．Purchase electric stoves.