1 . The killdeer, a small bird known for its high-pitched ( 声调高的) call, could lead to the cancellation of one of Canada's biggest music festivals.
The first hint of trouble for Ottawa's Bluesfest, an outdoor festival that draws around 300, 300 people each year, came last week after workers at the site found one of the birds. It had laid four eggs nearby, effectively claiming the main stage area as its nesting ground. “This is one of the most challenging problems we're been presented with, but we feel we can work through this, said Mark Monahan, executive director of the festival. "Anything that changes the schedule has a major effect, so we're taking it very seriously. "
The discovery meant that government officials rushed to protect the nest and the eggs, hiring a security guard to watch over them 24 hours a clay. Environmentalists were also brought in. "We don't know when the eggs might hatch, “said Monahan. What is known is that the young killdeer will likely leave the nest soon after they are hatched, leading many to hope that the eggs hatch in the next day or so.
The festival is now asking permission from Environment Canada to relocate the nest some 50 meters away or take it to a wildlife center. Moving the nest would also ensure the bird and its young would be protected during the festival’s 11 - day run, said Monahan. It’s highly likely that the festival thousands of attendees would cause huge problems for the bird and its eggs. Monahan was confident that the festival would go on as planned, however. ‘‘ Most of the people we’re working with …are looking for a positive solution," Monahan said. “There is no one saying that the festival can't go on. "
As news of the dilemma spread, it left residents divided. Some supported the bird, saying that moving the nest might result in the eggs being abandoned. Others expressed annoyance that protecting the eggs of the small bird, which is widespread across North America, was risking an annual festival that contributes millions of dollars to the local economy.
The killdeer's tendency to build its nest in open fields or flat areas has caused issues in other areas of the US: earlier this year, construction on a health center in Wisconsin was temporarily stopped after a killdeer and its four eggs were discovered.
1. What can we learn about Bluesfest?| A．It is the first music festival in Canada. |
| B．It is a music festival held every two years. |
| C．It is a challenging outdoor activity in Ottawa. |
| D．It is an important event for music lovers |
| A．Pressure from the government. |
| B．Disagreements with the public. |
| C．The need to protect the bird's eggs. |
| D．The lack of experience in hosting the event. |
| A．Ask government officials for help. |
| B．Move the nest to another place. |
| C．Seek advice from environmentalists. |
| D．Hire security guards to protect the eggs. |
| A．encouraging | B．difficult | C．extreme | D．dangerous |
2 . In many developed countries, people who have high degrees begin to work longer than those who don't. About 65% of American men aged 62－74 with a professional degree are in the workforce (劳动人口), compared with 32% of men who only finish high school. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the welleducated wealthy and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individuals and society, are profound（意义深远的）.
The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity (长寿) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift (变化) will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling (渐增的) ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.
Policies are partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Even the betteroff must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap (获得) rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding (先前的) generation. Technological change may well reinforce (强化) that shift: the skills that complement (补充) computers, from management knowhow to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.
1. What is the common phenomenon in the workforce in rich countries?| A．Younger people are replacing the elderly. |
| B．Welleducated people tend to work longer. |
| C．People with no college degree cannot find any job. |
| D．Unemployment rates are decreasing year after year. |
| A．economic growth will slow down |
| B．government budgets will decrease |
| C．more people will try to receive higher education |
| D．there will be more competition in the job market |
| A．Unskilled workers may choose to retire early. |
| B．More and more people have to go abroad to hunt for jobs. |
| C．People may be able to use computers to do more complicated work. |
| D．Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement. |
| A．a completely different environment |
| B．practical knowledge and technical skills |
| C．a better understanding of policy changes |
| D．the courage to face difficulties and dangers |
3 . One of my earliest memories was watching my mom talking on our old phone. I was fascinated that she could talk to someone who wasn't actually in the room with her.
Don't let technology take our time and ruin our life. Make the time to meet and to communicate with each other. Take a walk on the beach with a friend. Have a long conversation with the phones off and the hearts on.
Remember that we are here to love each other, help each other and make this world a better place.
| A．That was a long time ago. |
| B．Connect offline as well as online. |
| C．We should communicate with each other with phones off. |
| D．Smart phones have both advantages and disadvantages. |
| E．When your technology can help to do these things, then use it. |
| F．However, what bothers me is that we rarely associate with each other nowadays. |
| G．When she left the room, I slowly walked over to the phone and stared at it for a while. |
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5 . Most high school students would rather spend their summer vacations far away from the classroom. But Vineet Kosaraju and Nikhil Cheerla are choosing to go back to school, and this time they are the teachers.
“I think it’s really nice that I can help the community by spending just a little bit of time every week helping just a few students here and there try and learn programming,” Kosaraju said.
Friends since they were young boys, Kosaraju and Cheerla always shared a love of computer science. They learned the skills from their parents and school, but recognized that not all children have that chance.
“Programming isn’t taught in that many schools, especially low income (收入) schools, because there isn’t that much money to support it,” Kosaraju said.
So he and Cheerla developed “Math and Coding,” an after-school program for kids of all ages to learn the basics of computer programming.
Between applying for college and doing their own homework, the two boys now spend a few hours every week going to different libraries teaching classes that cover everything from building basic games to developing apps.
The friends started the program a little over a year ago and already, it’s spread to more than a dozen libraries across the Bay Area in California. They are even training volunteers to teach these very same classes in other US states and Canada.
Maryann Mitchell brought her 8-year-old granddaughter, Gabriella, to a class on coding at the Alum Rock Library in San Jose, California.
“It’s a chance for her to learn,” Mitchell said. “It’s the way of the future, and it’s a good way for her to get grounded and be ready for what the future holds.”
“I think the most rewarding thing is having people come up and thank you and say they really learned a lot from this class,” Cheerla said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
1. Why do the two boys return to the classroom during summer holidays?| A．To improve their computer skills. | B．To get some teaching experience. |
| C．To raise money for local schools. | D．To instruct kids in programming. |
| A．It has a growing influence. | B．It has been run for many years. |
| C．It helps students apply for college. | D．It trains teachers to work for libraries. |
| A．It encourages her to visit libraries. | B．It helps her prepare for the future. |
| C．It allows her to make more friends. | D．It’s a chance to learn about the future. |
| A．The great work of volunteers in the Bay Area. |
| B．A library’s important role in helping students. |
| C．Two teens’ free coding course for children. |
| D．The close friendship between two students. |
6 . University can be the most sociable time of your life. For most students, social media is the glue that holds packed social diaries together. Facebook will let you know if a game is cancelled, Twitter can promote your DJ set in 140 characters, and your Instagram account will remind you when there are new photos.
These tools have made the world increasingly connected, and most students wouldn’t consider shunning them at such a sociable stage of their lives. But social media is by no means a requirement at university, and many do without.
“I’m a private person and don’t feel the need to share everything with everybody I know,” says Caty Forster, 20, a student at the University of Manchester, who has never used Facebook or Twitter. Despite social media’s benefits, Forster is largely indifferent. Bethany Elgood, 25, stopped using Facebook after she discovered she had developed a bit of an anxiety towards the social media platforms that contain lots of personal details.”
I quit Facebook when I was 13. I left because, not only was I bored of passively involved in its Newsfeed, I was also experiencing anxiety. To me, Facebook meant clicking and nosing around people’s lives.
People would ask, “How do you keep in touch with people?” and “Won’t you miss out anything important?” I was in agreement with Forster, who says, “I never feel like I’m missing out too much. I don’t feel like I’d have anything valuable to share or gain from it.”
Adrienne Jolly, a careers advisor at UEA, says, “It’s hard to prove reliable statistics on social media. But it’s generally accepted that social media networks are pretty influential in this process—for better or worse.”
You might decide quitting social media isn’t practical in the long run. However, if its ugly side is bringing you down, why not consider taking leave? By doing so, I gained confidence and a strong connection with reality.
1. The author listed three kinds of social media to prove they _______.| A．are important for him and others like Caty |
| B．have the power to make students learn more |
| C．are frequently used by many university students |
| D．should be used by all of the students in universities |
| A．avoiding | B．choosing |
| C．using | D．adding |
| A．She hates to share everything with others. |
| B．She hopes her personal information is safe. |
| C．She buries herself in the busy studies every day. |
| D．She doesn’t care what has happened to her friends. |
| A．She is completely against them. | B．She herself refuses to use them. |
| C．She is completely for them. | D．She is objective. |
7 . Culture shock is the emotional and mental reaction to being in a completely new cultural environment.
The “honeymoon stage” is usually, the first stage that people go through when surrounded by different cultural values and lifestyles. During this stage, people have positive images of their new cultural surroundings. They tend to view these in an idealistic way and ignore problems.
During the “frustration stage”, newcomers begin to act negatively.
With the frustration stage ending, the adjustment stage begins. This marks the time when newcomers try their best to accept the differences of the new culture and the challenges of everyday life.
| A．Meeting new people is seen as fascinating. |
| B．The new cultural surroundings are no longer novel. |
| C．They regain their sense of balance and become confident. |
| D．This process opens the door to three possible outcomes. |
| E．For many people this is often a very difficult experience. |
| F．A person experiencing culture shock may display many symptoms. |
| G．They usually permanently withdraw from the culture through isolation or returning home. |
8 . Mexico sites on an island plateau (高原) surrounded by volcanic peaks, which makes air quality a constant concern for people who live there.
In April, the country took a decisive step toward improving air quality by enacting a temporary ban on private and Federal vehicles in the city. The rule forbids people from driving in the city one day each week and one Saturday each month. Electric vehicles, government service vehicles, public transport options and school buses are not included in the ban.
Mexico City isn’t the first urban center to be involved in car-free living. But the ban is more than an awareness-raiser. It was enacted with the direct aim of solving air pollution. In March, the city sank into a deep brown haze of smog when the pollution levels passed the 200 mark. The city ordered some 1.1m of the area’s 4.7m cars off the streets and also offered free bus and subway rides.
Mexico City’s temporary vehicle ban raises questions about the best ways to improve urban air quality. India, whose citizens breathe some of the world’s dirtiest air, has tried a variety of solutions. Earlier this year, the Indian government started a 4% sales tax on new-car purchases.
Beijing also has experience with cleaning the air. The city introduced alternate-day rules in advance of the 2008 Olympic Games, which produced good results. And then there is the London congestion (拥挤) charge, introduced in 2003. The charge has had a measurable effect on air quality.
For now, Mexico City — named by the United Nations as the most polluted city on the planet in 1992 — can look forward to the start of the region’s rainy season, when daily showers will help lo clean the air.
1. How did Mexico ban vehicles in the city?| A．By banning private and Federal vehicles one day a week. |
| B．By forbidding private and public vehicles every Saturday. |
| C．By limiting the number of new cars. |
| D．By prohibiting the vehicles except public ones. |
| A．Raised the number of public vehicles. |
| B．Offered free bus and subway rides. |
| C．Introduced more travel options. |
| D．Encouraged citizens to leave the city. |
| A．Alternate-day rules. |
| B．Tax rises. |
| C．Congestion charge. |
| D．The rainy season. |
| A．Mexico —an Island Plateau |
| B．A Variety of Bans on Vehicles in Mexico |
| C．Should Cities Be Car-free Zones |
| D．How to Improve Air Quality |
9 . Should schoolchildren have jobs?
Now at school, the last thing you probably want to do is spend your weekends going to work. There is homework to do and sport to play.
Today in the UK you are allowed to work from the age of 13, and many children do take up part-time jobs.
Some research has shown that not taking on a Saturday or holiday job could be harmful to a person later on. But despite this, recent statistics have shown that the number of schoolchildren in the UK with a part-time job has fallen by a fifth in the past five years.
| A．Do you do a part-time job when you are at school? |
| B．So you are not free to do what you are feeling like doing. |
| C．It is a waste of time and does no good to your career prospect. |
| D．It’s a taste of independence. |
| E．Does this mean that British teenagers are now more afraid of hard work? |
| F．But your parents probably persuade you to find a job and get some life experience. |
| G．Many young people actually want to work because it gives them a sense of freedom. |
增加：在缺词处加—个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
There is no denying that mobile phones are playing an importantly role in our daily life. However, the phenomenon people are too addicted in their mobile phones is becoming more and more popular. Mobile phone addicts can’t help check their mobile phones all day, even when they are walking on the road. As the result, their communication with people around them becomes less and less. Besides, their healthy is greatly affected. Many are suffered from neck pains, for example.
In my opinion, it is time we throw away our mobile phones and raised our heads up. We should spend less time communicating with our family and friends face to face.
