1 . My six-year-old granddaughter stared at me as if she were seeing me for the first time. “Grandma, you are an antique(古董),” she said. “You are old. Antiques are old. You are my antique.”

I was not satisfied to let the matter rest there. I took out the Webster’s Dictionary and read the definition to Jenny. I explained, “An antique is not only old, it’s an object existing since or belonging to earlier times...a work of art... a piece of furniture. Antiques are treasured,” I told Jenny as I put away the dictionary. “They have to be handled carefully because they sometimes are very valuable. In order to qualify as an antique, the object has to be at least 100 years old.”

“I’m only 67,” I reminded Jenny.

We looked around the house for other antiques, besides me. There was a desk that was handed down from Rone aunt to another and finally to our family. “It’s very old,” I told Jenny. “I try to keep it polished and I show it off whenever I can. You do that with antiques."

There was a picture on the wall bought at a garage sale. It was dated 1867. “Now that’s an antique,” I said with pride. “Over 100 years old.” Of course it was marked up and scratched (刮坏) and not in very good condition. “Sometimes age does that,” I told Jenny. “But the marks are good marks. They show living, or being around. That’s something to display with pride. In fact, sometimes, the more an object shows age, the more valuable it can become.” I believed this was important for my own self-worth.

Our tour of antiques continued. There was a vase on the floor. It had been in my house for a long time. I was not certain where it came from but I didn’t buy it new. One thing about antiques, I explained to Jenny, was that they usually had a story. They’d been in one home and then another, handed down from one family to another, traveling all over the place. They’d lasted through years and years. They could have been thrown away, or ignored. or destroyed, or lost. But instead, they survived.

For a moment, Jenny looked thoughtful. “l don’t have any antiques but you,” she said. Then her face brightened. “Could I take you to school for show and tell?”

“Only if I fit into your backpack,” I answered. And then Jenny’s antique lifted her up and embraced her in a hug that would last through the years.

1. Grandma read the definition of “antique” to Jenny in order to ________.

A．express her disappointment at being called “antique”

B．change Jenny’s shallow understanding of antiques

C．tell Jenny the importance of protecting antiques

D．list all the important characteristics of antiques

2. Which of the following information did grandma express to Jenny?

A．The desk reminded her of her dear relatives.

B．There was usually a sad story behind each antique.

C．The spots on the picture showed its age and value.

D．She planned to buy a new vase to replace the old one.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Grandma was too old to lift Jenny up.

B．Jenny was too young to know grandma’s humor.

C．Jenny had a strong desire for grandma’s love.

D．Grandma had a deep long-lasting love for Jenny.

4. What can be the best title for the passage?

A．Jenny’s Antique	B．Grandma’s Antique
C．A Tour of Antiques	D．A Story of Antiques

2 . Having a healthy family life can lower risk of heart attack and boost your chance of living longer.     1    .

Care for elders in a loving way

Caring for an elderly loved one is a wonderful way to show compassion and service, and it doesn't mean you have to sacrifice everything.     2    . Kids and marriages can be powerfully impacted by how these decisions are handled，both negatively and positively. They thoroughly think through the potential impact of moving an aging parent into the home or providing extended care. A good boundary with an aging parent is to do occasional outgoings.

Cultivate an attitude of gratitude

Healthy families set a culture of being grateful for the things you appreciate in life, big and small. Set up a respectful space where at the end of each day, each family member share what they are grateful for.     3    .

Keep treats out of sight(and out of mind)

What you see is what you want to eat.     4    . Put the sugary treats out of sight and leave colorful fruits and vegetables out on the counter or on the most visible shelves in the fridge so that you're more likely to reach for a nutritious snack.

    5    .

Healthy families will create a safe environment for healthy communication, where each individual feels like their feelings are acknowledged. When conflict arises, they don't have to agree with each other but they still need to acknowledge each other's feelings. They still feel their opinions are valued. They also learn tools for how conflicts can be resolved. No one shuts down, or runs away when there is disagreement. They work it out.

A．Fight fair

B．Live healthily

C．Keep healthy snacks highly visible in your kitchen

D．If you keep fighting，you will hurt your family

E．Here’s how to maximize this amazing health asset(资产)

F．This sets up an atmosphere of appreciation that all can benefit from

G．Healthy families have boundaries with aging parents and grandparents

3 . When going through major life changes, like changing careers, I would change the people with whom I spent the most time. We’ve all gone through periods when the people in our lives have changed—graduation, moving to a new city, getting a new job, joining a new club, etc. I don’t think I need to convince you just how much influence other people can have over your identity. If you’ve ever experienced a major switch in your people environment, then you know that you change as well.

Most people don’t make these choices consciously though. You might consciously decide to spend more time with a certain friend, or you may ask someone out on a date to begin a new relationship. But few people choose their existing friendships deliberately.

There’s no “getting rid of people”. People are always dropping into and out of each other’s lives. Associations grow into friendships, and friendships fade into associations. You don’t get rid of anyone. The truth is that in order to make room for new people and new experiences, you may need to loosen up some of your existing connections.

What about loyalty? Shouldn’t you always be loyal to your friends? Once you have a close friend, even if their influence on you is slightly harmful, shouldn’t you stick by them?

Loyalty to a friend sometimes means having to let go. It means being loyal to their highest and best as well. If someone is destroying his health by smoking, for example, you aren’t showing loyalty by smoking right along with him. True loyally sometimes requires that you break damaging connections, get yourself back on solid ground, and then decide what you can really do to help your friend.

It can take a lot of courage to tell someone, “I’m sorry, but I can’t have you in my life anymore." But even though this might seem like a selfish act at times, it’s often the best thing for the other person too. If a relationship is holding you back in some way, understand that it is also hurting the other person. For example, if you work for a violent boss, your acceptance of that situation is considered to be silent approval, encouraging your boss to continue to behave violently.

1. When experiencing major life changes, people may ________.

A．join a new social community	B．influence their friends around
C．choose their friendships purposely	D．have their people environment changed

2. What can be concluded from Paragraph 3 in the passage?

A．Everyone has at least one friend.

B．Friendship still exists though there’s less connection.

C．It is unnecessary to make new friends.

D．You ought to treat your old and new friend equally.

3. What is the author’s opinion on the loyalty to friends?

A．Never betray your close friends whatever happens.

B．Correct their mistakes while you guard their goodness.

C．Stick by your friends even though they do harm lo you.

D．Break up with your friends immediately if they smoke.

4. How should we behave when employed by a violent boss?

A．We should accept what we are told to do.

B．We should stay silent and be in favor of it.

C．We should bravely disobey him if he is wrong.

D．We should give our boss courage to continue.

4 . I have two younger cousins starting their “Third Year of High School.” Though I don’t talk to them often, I’m both excited for them and also worried. Are they growing up too fast? Are they eating right?     1    

I throw myself into anxiety. But, today, I stepped back for a moment and came to this realization: my cousins are smarter than my 16-year-old self. If I could go back in time, here’s what I would say to myself.

    2     There’s a time for everything—don’t speed it up. This is especially true for love. Life is much longer than the distance from now until tomorrow.

Maintain your digital diet.     3     Being connected has benefits, but please don’t become a victim of the internet.

Study. You’re just starting to define who you want to be and what you want to do. Make sure you study, get the grades, light the midnight oil.     4     Study the other things in life—the people who are transforming your community and the simple stuff that makes our world go round. You will discover that each bit of detail will change how you view life.

Be an upstander, not a bystander. Your biggest childhood regret is not standing up for that kid. The kid is the one who was accused of not fitting in right; the one whose shirt was always stained and whose eyes were dull. Your biggest regret is walking away. And, it doesn't matter if you turned away from the taunting（嘲弄）. It doesn’t even matter if you were nice to him when the other kids weren't around.     5    

A．Take your time.

B．You’ll regret not being more sympathetic, more courageous, more of a leader.

C．Are they dating?

D．Don’t be afraid of what will happen.

E．But, don’t just study what teachers say you should.

F．Are you worried about your life.

G．You don't need to spend every waking moment on a device.

5 . The teacher who did the most to encourage me was, as it happens, my aunt. She was Myrtle C. Manigault, the wife of my mother’s brother Bill. She taught me in second grade at all-black Summer School in Camden, New Jersey.
During my childhood and youth, Aunt Myrtle encouraged me to develop every aspect of my potential, without regard for what was considered practical or possible for black females. I liked to sing; she listened to my voice and pronounced it good. I couldn’t dance; she taught me the basic dancing steps. She took me to the theatre—not just children’s theatre, but adult comedies and dramas—and her faith that I could appreciate adult plays was not disappointed.
My aunt also took down books from her extensive library and shared them with me. I had books at home, but they were all serious classics. Even as a child I had a strong liking for humour, and I’ll never forget the joy of discovering Don Marquis’s Archy & Mehitabel through her.
Most important, perhaps, Aunt Myrtle provided my first opportunity to write for publication. A writer herself for one of the black newspapers, she suggested my name to the editor as a “youth columnist”. My column, begun when I was fourteen, was supposed to cover teenage social activities—and it did—but it also gave me the freedom to write on many other subjects as well as the habit of gathering material, the discipline of meeting deadlines, and, after graduation from college six years later, a solid collection of published material that carried my name and was my passport to a series of writing jobs.
Today Aunt Myrtle is still an enthusiastic supporter of her “favourite niece”. Like a diamond, she has reflected a bright, multifaceted (多面的) image of possibilities to every pupil who has crossed her path.
1. Which of the following did Aunt Myrtle do to the author during her childhood and youth?

A．She lent her some serious classics.

B．She cultivated her taste for music.

C．She discovered her talent for dancing.

D．She introduced her to adult plays.

2. What does Archy and Mehitabel in Paragraph 3 probably refer to?

A．A book of great fun.	B．A writer of high fame.
C．A serious masterpiece.	D．A heartbreaking play.

3. Aunt Myrtle recommended the author to a newspaper editor mainly to ______.

A．develop her capabilities for writing

B．give her a chance to collect material

C．involve her in teenage social activities

D．offer her a series of writing jobs

4. We can conclude from the passage that Aunt Myrtle was a teacher who ______.

A．trained pupils to be diligent and well-disciplined

B．gave pupils confidence in exploiting their potential

C．emphasized what was practical or possible for pupils.

D．helped pupils overcome difficulties in learning

6 . How to describe the rising philosophy of the day ? I’d say it is data-ism . We now have the ability to gather huge amounts of data . This ability seems to carry with it certain cultural assumptions—that everything that can be measured should be measured ; that data is a transparent and reliable lens that allows us to filter out emotionalism and ideology ; that data will help us do remarkable things—like foretell the future . At the outset let me celebrate two things data does really well .
First , it’s really good at exposing when our intuitive（直觉的）view of reality is wrong . For example , nearly every person who runs for political office has an intuitive sense that they can powerfully influence their odds of winning the election if they can just raise and spend more money . But this is largely wrong .
After the 2006 election , Sean Trende constructed a graph comparing the incumbent（在任的）campaign spending advantages with their eventual victory . There was barely any relationship between more spending and a bigger victory .
Likewise , many teachers have an intuitive sense that different students have different learning styles : some are verbal and some are visual , some focus on details and some on whole . Teachers imagine they will improve outcomes if they tailor their presentations to each student . But there’s no evidence to support this either .
Second , data can clarify patterns of behavior we haven’t yet noticed . For example , I’ve always assumed people who frequently use words like “ I , ” “ me , ” and “ mine ” are probably more self-centered than people who don’t . But as James Pennebaker of the University of Texas notes in his book , The Secret Life of Pronouns , when people are feeling confident , they are focused on the task at hand , not on themselves . High-status , confident people use fewer “ I ” words , not more .
In sum , the data revolution is giving us wonderful ways to understand the present and the past . Will it transform our ability to predict and make decisions about the future ? We’ll see .
1. What do people running for political office think they can do ?

A．Use data analysis to predict the election result .

B．Win the election if they can raise enough funds .

C．Manipulate public opinion with favorable data .

D．Increase the chances of winning by foul means .

2. Why do many teachers favor the idea of tailoring their presentations to different students ?

A．They think students prefer flexible teaching methods .

B．They will be able to try different approaches .

C．They believe students learning styles vary .

D．They can accommodate students with special needs .

3. What does James Pennebaker reveal in The Secret Life of Pronouns ?

A．The importance of using pronouns properly .

B．Repeated use of first-person pronouns by self-centered people .

C．Frequent use of pronouns and future tense by young people .

D．A pattern in confident people’s use of pronouns .

4. Why is the author skeptical of the data revolution ?

A．Data may not be easily accessible .

B．Errors may occur with large data samples .

C．Data cannot always do what we imagine it can .

D．Some data may turn out to be outdated .

7 . When I was in junior high school, I was really a bad boy．My history teacher—Mr．Oven criticized me a lot because I was naughty（淘气的）in his class．By the end of the first semester, I’d had enough of his words and had decided that I would get my revenge（报复）on him.
The opportunity arose one morning when Mr．Oven was called to the office for a certain reason．While Mr．Oven left, my company Billy and I took Mr．Oven’s lunch bag from under his desk．I opened his sandwich and placed a worm（虫子） in between the two slices of breaD． We put it back and closed it．To keep it in memory, Billy took photos of the whole process．We laughed for weeks over this.
________________________．Billy’s mother found the pictures in his room, and demanded that he should tell her where these pictures were from．Billy told his mother the whole story, and Mr．Oven was informeD． Not only was I punished from school for two weeks, but also I was kicked off the football and basketball team．Before I could return to school, I had to turn in a 1000-word essay on what I did and why I did that．I really felt embarrassed every time I saw Mr．Oven in the hallway for the rest of the school year．I felt a little regret that Mr．Oven left our school the next year．
1. Mr．Oven criticized me a lot because________.

A．I didn’t go to his class

B．I was naughty in my homework

C．I didn’t answer his questions

D．I disobeyed his rules in class

2. How can you imagine Mr．Oven would act when he had his lunch?

A．He would cry out, shocked that the worm lay in his sandwich．

B．He would eat it as usual when he had his sandwich.

C．He would be glad to eat his delicious sandwich with the worm.

D．He would be very hungry when he found the worm in his sandwich.

3. The underlined sentence “Well, it all went south during Thanksgiving break.” in Paragraph 3 probably means________．

A．Billy and I went south during Thanksgiving break.

B．All the students left on Thanksgiving break.

C．All the students went south on Thanksgiving break.

D．It was not until Thanksgiving break ended that the secret was let out.

4. Which one was NOT true according to the article?

A．He had to eat the sandwich he had made for Mr．Oven.

B．He was kicked off the football and basketball team.

C．He had to be punished to leave school for two weeks.

D．He had to write a 1000-word essay to admit his mistake.

8 . Animals are not always animals. Some of them will try to cheat or cow some others in the way the human beings often do. Here is a fairy tale from Aesop for you to enjoy.
An eagle（鹰）made her nest at the top of a high tree while a cat, having found a convenient hole, moved into the middle of the trunk, and at the same time a wild pig, with her young took shelter in a hollow at its foot. The cat then decided to make all serve her in her wise way.
To carry out her design, she climbed to the nest of the eagle, saying, "Destruction is preparing for you and for me too, unfortunately. The wild pig, whom you see daily digging up the earth, wishes to uproot the tree, so she may on its fall seize our families as food for her young."
Having thus frightened the eagle out of her senses, she crept down to the cave of the pig, saying, "Your children are in great danger, for as soon as you go out to find food, the eagle is prepared to jump upon one of your little pigs."
Having filled these fears into the pig, she went and pretended to hide herself in the hollow of the tree. When night came she went out silently and obtained food for herself and her children, but pretending to be afraid, she kept a lookout all through the day. Meanwhile, the eagle, full of fear of the pig, sat still on the branches, and the pig, terrified by the eagle, did not dare to go out from her cave. Thus they both, along with their families, starved from hunger, and afforded good food for the cat and her children.
1. What was the eagle afraid of?

A．Her home would be destroyed.

B．Her children would get lost.

C．She would be taken as the cat’s food.

D．Her family would be eaten by the wild pig.

2. What was the pig frightened of?

A．The eagle would kill her young child.

B．The eagle would cheat her away.

C．The cat was telling the true story.

D．She could not find enough food.

3. How did the cat get what she wanted?

A．By running here and there.

B．By cheating both the eagle and the pig.

C．By waiting and catching the chance.

D．By fighting against the eagle and the pig.

4. Which of the following might be the best title of the above passage?

A．Believe it or not.	B．Animal stories.
C．How one can be successful.	D．Don’t be afraid.