1 . Do you remember your kindergarten teacher’s name? I do. Her name was Mrs White.
I don’t remember much about what we learned in her class, but my mother once told me that we
Thanks to Mrs White, I grew up learning to use words with loving
And it
| A．failed | B．happened | C．used | D．resigned |
| A．errors | B．guidelines | C．comments | D．sentences |
| A．though | B．either | C．to be honest | D．to be frank |
| A．still | B．simply | C．even | D．merely |
| A．satisfied | B．shocked | C．scared | D．discouraged |
| A．factual | B．stupid | C．careless | D．grammatical |
| A．thrilled | B．bored | C．upset | D．creative |
| A．forming | B．reading | C．correcting | D．learning |
| A．stand | B．wait | C．pause | D．negotiate |
| A．describe | B．understand | C．recall | D．recognize |
| A．memory | B．confidence | C．patience | D．skill |
| A．appeals | B．adapts | C．belongs | D．strikes |
| A．precisely | B．barely | C．casually | D．deliberately |
| A．humorous | B．modest | C．extraordinary | D．reliable |
| A．bless | B．continue | C．tolerate | D．flower |
2 . Nearly gone are the days when humans covered themselves with blankets to keep warm, and it’s now the age of covering glaciers (冰川) with blankets to keep them cool because with the climate changing rapidly, this seems like a workable idea to keep them from melting.
At a ski resort (度假胜地) in the Swiss Alps, the Swiss use blankets to protect the glacier
from the warm climate. Gian Darms, who handles snow conditions at the ski resort, introduced this unique procedure. The blankets are being used to cover the top of the 10,623-foot Mount Titlis whose glacier has already melted in the last few decades and it is expected to disappear completely in the next 50 years due to global warming.
Facing the great effect of climate change, resort employees have taken it upon themselves to protect the glacier from the heat and for this process, they spend about five to six weeks every summer covering parts of the glacier with specially protective wool. This helps to reflect the Sun’s energy back into the atmosphere and prevent the glacier from melting, while also preserving the already fallen snow on the glacier in the previous winter season. After the season passes, the employees remove the coating and fill in the gaps in the glacier’s surface with the snow — now that is some commitment to Mother Nature!
This practice has been going on for a while now and the area of the glacier has increased to almost 100,000 square meters now. “We’ve been covering more and more in the last few years. Almost 30,000 square meters more is covered this year alone,” said Darms.
The ski resort’s actions show how severe the effect of climate change is on glaciers which have been melting at rapid rates in the past few years. Many different resorts have also started following suit to try to prevent them from melting. Saving an entire glacier is a completely different story. It is actually costly and potentially unfavorable to surrounding ecosystems. As a result, such blankets have only been applied mostly in an effort to preserve profitable ski runs.
1. How is the topic introduced?| A．By giving an example. | B．By analyzing causes. |
| C．By describing a process. | D．By making a comparison. |
| A．Coating the glacier with special wool. |
| B．Using collected snow for the glacier’s openings. |
| C．Taking action to slow down climate change. |
| D．Covering the glacier with a blanket. |
| A．Worried. | B．Opposed. | C．Indifferent. | D．Skeptical. |
| A．Blankets Cover an Entire Glacier | B．Global Warming Threatens Glaciers |
| C．Resort Cools Its Glacier with Blankets | D．Glaciers Enter a Different Age Now |
Dear Tom,
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Yours,
Li Hua
Fortune favors the brave!
At the age of three Jenny had trouble in hearing what others said. Unfortunately, after several surgeries, Jenny was found having a severe foot disease at seven. She could not put pressure on the back parts of her feet, so she walked on tiptoe (脚尖), and when the pain became unbearable, someone had to carry her. Once when she suddenly experienced sharp pain, her friends got her up and carried her from class to class.
All through her primary school, and on into high school, Jenny suffered, yet never complained. She took her medicine and wrapped her feet in steaming towels until the pain was reduced. As soon as she could bear the pain Jenny immediately carried on, as though she was free of pain. She always wore a smile on her face and expressed her love for others.
Jenny had never been a cheerleader or competed in a sport. She could not even take part in a gym class, though she took the same health class four years in a row, through which she could pass with a substitute credit each year.
Jenny continued to have one surgery after another on her ears all through school. Her hearing improved and she taught herself to read lips. She also carried a pillow(枕头)to school so that she could relieve the pain when she sat down. Gradually, Jenny began attending every football game, cheering the team on.
Then came her senior year. She saw documents about scholarships on the school website when visiting it one day. According to the statement, she would be considered for scholarships; however, school activities, especially sports, could often mean the difference between receiving an award and losing out. She continued to read other notices and found an ad from the football team, which stated that the football manager was seeking for an assistant, who would take on ancillary( 辅助的)services like taking charge of the team’s belongings, handing out water and towels and cheering them up.
Jenny decided to seize the chance.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When asked why the team did so well that year, a player spoke of Jenny.
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So popular is learning Chinese that more and more
The reasons why Chinese is enjoying great popularity are as follows. First, China is already a global economic power,
6 . How to deal with frustration
From time to time terrible things occur. When something awful happens in our life, we always feel sorry for ourselves and it is natural to fall into a negative feeling of frustration.
When you feel frustrated by life it can be hard to feel thankful for the blessings in your life.
Another lesson of positive psychology is that your own problems are often relieved when you make an effort to help others. When you’re volunteering your time, doing random acts of kindness, or simply trying to make a positive difference in the lives of others, your brain will produce more dopamine(多巴胺), which gives you a sense of pleasure.
Finally, I am sure you have heard the old saying, “
| A．Don’t judge a book by its cover. |
| B．The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. |
| C．But that is when you need to feel grateful the most. |
| D．You should set aside some “me time” to rest and restore. |
| E．It hurts us and keeps us from making the proper decisions. |
| F．You can actually relieve your own frustration by doing others a favor. |
| G．The most practical way to feel grateful is to start a gratitude journal. |
7 . For over a decade, Zubin Kanga, a pianist, composer and technologist, has changed the limits of the forms of musical performances. He has both organized and performed shows that have pushed barriers, with motion sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), live-generated 3D visuals and virtual reality among the technological advancements used to unlock new possibilities of music and performances.
Kanga’s approach to employing cutting-edge technology was first informed by the relative limitations of his chosen instrument. “The piano is a very accurate technology,” he says. “From the early 20th century till now it hasn’t really changed at all. It’s an amazing instrument, but it does have certain limitations in terms of the types of sound you can create.”
One of the early works is Steel on Bone, composed by Kanga himself. He performs the piece using MiMU multi-sensor gloves. “I can put up one finger, and that’ll produce a particular sound,” Kanga explains. “And then I can control that sound just by moving my wrist through the air — I can do that with lots of different gestures.”
“For Steel on Bone, I’m actually playing inside the piano with these steel knitting (编织) needles, and getting all these interesting effects on the strings. Then I’m using samples of them. Sometimes I’m using live delays and operating them. The sound can change depending on how my hands are moving. It allows me to make a very theatrical piece, and people can see this immediate connection between how I’m moving — these very big, almost conductor-like gestures through the air — and the way the sound is changing,” said Kanga.
This is just the start, and Kanga goes on to be enthused with the use of motion sensors to make music, the possibilities that AI offers composers as a tool, and how virtual reality could transform performances and more.
1. What do technological advancements do for music and performances?| A．Remove music barriers. |
| B．Bring new performance forms. |
| C．Popularize musical performances. |
| D．Make performances professional. |
| A．To indicate its stability. |
| B．To prove its rare accuracy. |
| C．To show it has a long history. |
| D．To clarify why he uses technology. |
| A．By moving his hands in the air. | B．By pressing the piano keys. |
| C．By beating the steel knitting needles. | D．By making very small gestures. |
| A．Technology: When It Replaces Music |
| B．Virtual Reality: Future of Performances |
| C．Zubin Kanga: When Music Meets Technology |
| D．AI Music: From Composing to Performing |
8 . Books are excellent gifts. Here are four of the year’s most talked-about titles.
Ordinary Monsters | By J. M. Miro
Miro has temporarily abandoned literary fiction in favour of a new series of historical fantasy novels. Ordinary Monsters is about a group of children with magical gifts who come together and pool their powers to escape the bad shape-shifting man that’s going after them.
Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces | By Elamin Abdelmahmoud
The soundtrack to The O. C., a drama series, and the strange beauty of Highway 401 were important factors in developing selfhood of Abdelmahmoud. This book describes his own experience of moving from Khartoum, Sudan, to Kingston, Canada, in the early 2000s at age 12.
A Magic Steeped in Poison | By Judy I. Lin
Harry Potter has his magic stick. And Ning, the heroine of Lin’s first novel, has tea, which in her world carries magical properties. Lin has created a pleasing Young Adult fantasy rich in Chinese mythology (神话). In this book, Ning enters a competition to find the most gifted tea master, Shennong.
A Ballet of Lepers | By Leonard Cohen
Unlike many other posthumous (死后出版的) works, you can count on Cohen’s to be worth your wait. Before his death, he said that the novel contained in the book, which was never published, was likely better than The Favourite Game, a novel he published during his lifetime. This book also includes a radio play script (剧本) and a handful of short stories.
1. Which book is a mirror of the author’s life story?| A．Ordinary Monsters. | B．Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces. |
| C．A Magic Steeped in Poison. | D．A Ballet of Lepers. |
| A．They are about teamwork. |
| B．They are based on an imaginary world. |
| C．They both involve Chinese characters. |
| D．They draw inspiration from other novels. |
| A．It is a collection. | B．It is Cohen’s best novel. |
| C．It is a fantasy novel. | D．It is adapted from a play. |
9 . The surface of Mars is etched (蚀刻) with ancient river valleys and lake basins. Some researchers think that liquid water once flowed on the Red Planet. Today, Mars is too cold for much, if any, liquid water to exist. And 3.8 billion years ago, when the flowing water formed, the sun was fainter than it is today, making it even harder to imagine a warm Martian climate. That’s why many researchers think Mars may have gone in and out of deep freezes.
Some researchers have suggested that early Mars only melt when large asteroid (小行星) impacts or volcanic eruptions temporarily warmed the planet. But Kasting, a geologist at Pennsylvania State University thinks warm windows from such dramatic events would have been too brief to carve the vast valleys that exist on Mars. Now, Kasting and his colleagues have come up with an alternative explanation: They think Mars may have experienced a series of climate cycles caused by changes in the strength of the greenhouse effect.
The idea goes like this: When Mars was cold and frozen volcanoes continued to erupt the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and hydrogen into the atmosphere. There, the gas blanket trapped heat and warmed the planet up until liquid water began to flow, forming Mars rivers and lakes. However, warm temperatures and abundant water would also have sped up certain chemical reactions that consumed carbon dioxide, mitigating the greenhouse effect and cooling the planet back down again. Then the cycle would repeat.
Kasting shared his theory with other astronomers at the December meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, and in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. So far, Kasting’s team has only shown that such an explanation is possible. But the researchers say field trips could help test the idea by looking for evidence of multiple warm events, and their duration.
1. What made researchers believe that liquid water once existed on Mars?| A．The color of the planet. |
| B．The natural climate of Mars |
| C．The temperatures of the sun. |
| D．The geological features of Mars. |
| A．Large asteroids had no impact on Mars. |
| B．Volcanic eruptions were very frequent on Mars |
| C．Vast valleys couldn’t be formed in a short period of time. |
| D．Carbon dioxide and hydrogen were abundant in the atmosphere. |
| A．Imitating. | B．Reducing. |
| C．Predicting. | D．Enhancing. |
| A．The future Mars missions. |
| B．The publication of the journal. |
| C．The design of the climate model. |
| D．The cooperation with astronomers. |
10 . “Mayday! We got Mayday!” Frank Pisano screamed over the micro-phone to the air control tower at John Wayne Airport last June. One of the two engines on his 1975 Cessna had failed, and he was now on a collision course with one of the busiest highways in America—Interstate 405, just south of Los Angeles—and there was no stopping it.
Driving south on the 405, near the airport’s runway, was John Meffert. A fire department captain, Meffert, 47, was heading home from his shift. Then a low-flying plane caught his eye. After he took a second glance, a thought crossed his mind: “This plane’s going to hit me,” Meffert told Fox 8.
He was right. The plane knocked into the center highway, popped up a few feet, and then hit the front of Meffert’s SUV. It finally stopped after hitting the divider on the southbound side. Meffert pulled over. He was unhurt, so he turned his attention to the plane. He ran toward the smoke billowing from it—and then he saw Frank’s wife, Janan Pisano, pop her head up on the passenger side.
By the time Meffert reached the aircraft, part of the fuselage (机身) was on fire and Janan, who was covered in blood, was on the wing trying to pull her husband from the wreck. Meffert, afraid the plane would explode, guided her to safety behind it. At this point, traffic had come to a stop, and two nurses jumped out of their cars to help lead Janan farther away as Meffert ran back for the pilot.
“I’m going to get you out,” Meffert said as he positioned himself under the pilot’s arms and carefully lifted him from the seat. He dragged the pilot off the wing and carried him to the side of the freeway to safety, where they watched flames swallow the plane.
Remarkably, Meffert’s car was the only one hit by the plane. Had Meffert been a second or two faster, Frank told the Orange County Register, the left propeller (螺旋桨) would have torn the top off his SUV and killed him.
“I play all the what-ifs—going slower, going faster. It could have been in a very different situation,” Meffert told Fox 8. “We just had a lot of angels.”
1. What was the reason for the accident?| A．The plane hit a SUV. | B．Frank was not a good pilot. |
| C．One of the engines didn’t work. | D．The plane landed at a wrong place. |
| A．It hit part of Meffert’s car. | B．It set Meffert’s car on fire. |
| C．It caused Meffert covered in blood. | D．It threw Meffert into the air. |
| A．Because he knew how to perform first aid. |
| B．Because the plane couldn’t fly any more. |
| C．Because he didn’t want to cause a traffic jam. |
| D．Because the plane might explode. |
| A．Nervous. | B．Lucky. | C．Sad | D．Excited |
