1 . As a young girl growing up in France, Sarah Toumi dreamed of becoming a leader who could make the world a better place. Her passion to help others was awakened when, from the age of nine, she accompanied her Tunisian father to his birthplace in the east of the country during holidays. There she organized homework clubs and activities for children.

Toumi witnessed first-hand the destructive effect of desertification (沙漠化). “Within 10 years rich farmers became worse off, and in 10 years from now they will be poor. I wanted to stop the Sahara Desert in its tracks.” A decrease in average rainfall and an increase in the severity of droughts have led to an estimated 75 percent of Tunisia’s agricultural lands being threatened by desertification.

Toumi recognized that farming practices needed to change. She is confident that small land areas can bring large returns if farmers are able to adapt by planting sustainable crops, using new technologies for water treatment and focusing on natural products and fertilizers rather than chemicals.

In 2012, Toumi consolidated (巩固) her dream of fighting the desert. She moved to Tunisia, and set up a programme named Acacias for All to put her sustainable farming philosophy (理念) into action. “I want to show young people in rural areas that they can create opportunities where they are. Nobody is better able to understand the impact of desertification and climate change than somebody who is living with no access to water.”

By September 2016, more than 130, 000 acacia trees had been planted on 20 pilot farms, with farmers recording a 60 percent survival rate. Toumi estimates that some 3 million acacia trees are needed to protect Tunisia’s farmland. She expects to plant 1 million trees by 2018. In the next couple of years, Toumi hopes to extend the programme to Algeria and Morocco.

1. How did Toumi’s holiday trips to Tunisia influence her?

A．They made her decide to leave the country.

B．They helped her better understand her father.

C．They aroused her enthusiasm for helping others.

D．They destroyed her dream of being a teacher.

2. What is the main cause of the desertification of Tunisia’s farmland?

A．Low rainfall.

B．Soil pollution.

C．Cold weather.

D．Forest damage.

3. Why did Toumi set up Acacias for All in Tunisia?

A．To create job opportunities for young people.

B．To help the children obtain a basic education.

C．To persuade the farmers not to use fertilizers.

D．To promote the protection of their farmland.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Saving Water in Tunisia	B．Holding back the Sahara
C．Planting Trees of Native Species	D．Fighting Poverty in North Africa

4 . 语法填空

I’m    1    only daughter of my parents. So they are worried     2    everything I do. For example,    3    I ride my bike, my parents won’t let me     4     (ride) by myself. They are afraid I might fall off my bike and hurt    5    . They are taking great trouble to support the bike, with my mother even     6     (carry) a first-aid box. I’m not free to ride and I often say    7     (angry), “Why not let me ride alone?”

Now, most families have one child.     8    (Parent) want to do everything for their children. This does no good to them. Too much love from parents may prevent children from     9    (be) independent. In my opinion, parents should let their children do    10     they should do alone.

5 . When I was about 5 years old, I experienced my very first random act of kindness. I was sitting at the roadside one evening, crying alone for some reason when suddenly, a boy came up to me and gave me a plastic rose, I remember the moment when I took the rose from his hand; I was smiling from ear to ear, whispering “I want to be like him” to myself as I watched him walking away.

From then on, I made it as my life mission to do random acts of kindness whenever I can. I was very determined to make other people smile. That was the only reason why I joined my school’s Red Crescent Society and became a volunteer. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks in the same way as I did. Whenever I do something nice to others, people around me will start to judge my actions. Often I will just keep quiet and ignore what they say, but every once in a while, they do drive me up the wall.

These people like to complain about how humans nowadays are lacking of humanities and compassion. However, when they actually see somebody doing a good deed in front of them, they start to question and criticize that person’s honesty. Perhaps it is the increasing crime rate and the never-ending rat race that caused them to be so suspicious to nice strangers. In other words, people nowadays have lost sight of the real meaning of kindness and just let it go unnoticed. That is why I think random acts of kindness are really important. These selfless acts are not only capable of bringing joy to the receivers but also to the givers. Because of this, I want to help spread the idea of these random acts to the whole world. I want to show the people how the little things they give could make a big difference in someone else’s life.

1. What was the influence of the boy’s rose on the author?

A．It made the author feel ashamed.	B．The author decided to follow suit.
C．The author said a lot to the boy.	D．It gave the author strength and hope.

2. Why did the author join the school’s Red Crescent Society?

A．To be a volunteer.	B．To live a happy life.
C．To make others smile.	D．To have a good time.

3. Which can replace the underlined phrase in Paragraph 2?

A．Make me very angry.	B．Bring difficulty to me.
C．Force me to climb the wall.	D．Force me to the dead corner.

4. What can be inferred from the third paragraph?

A．Rats are always running on the streets.	B．Those who do good deeds are respected.
C．The author feels sad about other people.	D．Trust between people is decreasing.

6 . It can be truly terrifying to fall through ice on a frozen lake, but if you remain calm, it can save your life. Most people don t realize that you have more time than you think. This is due to the concept of body temperature and how your body deals with the shocking cold that immediately covers the body.

As you first hit the freezing water, you will almost immediately breathe quickly. It is important that you remember to get control of your breathing and not to move around. It can help to remember the “1-10-1 principle.” This means that it takes about one minute to gain control of your breathing, and then you have 10 minutes to move before you get too cold. The final one is to remind you that it will take one hour before you become unconscious.

Take that first minute and fully focus on your breathing. Slow it down, and then look around to see if you can locate the thickest area of ice. When you locate the ice, stretch your arms over the surface, and then begin to flutter-kick（上下打水）until your body becomes horizontal with the surface. Kick hard and use your arms and hands to climb out of the water.

It is possible that you can live for several hours after passing out if you can get out of the freezing water. This, however, does require some planning. You only have about 10 minutes after falling in before your muscles and nerves become too cold to work. If you feel too weak to get out, place your arms over the surface of the ice and remain still. The point is to encourage your coat to freeze to the ice so that if you lose consciousness, you will keep your head out of ice. Additionally, you will remain visible for rescue, even if you pass out.

1. What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph I refer to?

A．Keeping calm	B．Pushing through ice
C．Having enough time	D．Dealing with the cold

2. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．How to use the first minute.	B．How to locate the thickest ice.
C．How to control the floating ice.	D．How to pull yourself onto the ice.

3. What advice does the author give in the last paragraph?

A．Take off your coat.	B．Do some workouts.
C．Keep your head above water.	D．Relax your muscles and nerves.

7 . The New Year is the moment when people vow to improve their fitness. They join gyms, swear off alcohol and adopt healthier diets. These resolutions usually do not last beyond January.

But some employers try to help their workers stick to their goals by offering “wellness” programmes. One of the longest-running examples began in 1979 at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), an American health-care company. The plan promotes weight loss, smoking quitting and efforts to reduce blood pressure. The firm claims it reduced medical costs by $400 an employee per year, and resulted in fewer workers suffering from heart disease or high blood pressure.

Yet an examination of the data by Martin Cherniack of the University of Connecticut found that in 2005-2008, a sharp jump in alcohol use, depression and stress among J&J employees occurred. This took place just at the same time when the firm had a target of lifting productivity by 9% a year. So the employees may have been leaner and fitter, but it is possible that workplace pressure to produce more means greater stress.

All this suggests that employee well-being is a rather more complex topic than can be tackled by a programme devoted to exercise and healthy living. A study by RAND Europe, a research institute, found that obvious bad habits such as smoking and high alcohol use were in fact not associated with lower productivity, while obese workers were no more likely to take time off than anyone else. The biggest productivity problems were associated with lack of sleep, financial concerns and mental-health issues—factors that may well be directly linked to work-related stress.

It seems reasonable for companies to expect some level of economic return on any wellness programme that they provide. But a better impact on confidence and enthusiasm (and thus productivity) might occur if workers felt that their managers had a real interest in their welfare.

1. What is Johnson & Johnson’s plan?

A．To improve employees’ fitness.	B．To increase their productivity.
C．To reduce their medical cost.	D．To raise their welfares.

2. How did the plan go?

A．It solved all the health problems.	B．It worked to a certain extent.
C．It could do nothing about health.	D．It hardly improved their health.

3. What really caused productivity problems?

A．Exercise and healthy living.	B．The New Year resolution.
C．Work-related stress.	D．Heavy medical costs.

4. How can the program really achieve better result?

A．By focusing on productivity.	B．By being carried out continuously.
C．By winning managers’ support.	D．By improving employees’ welfares.

8 . Chinese students always complain that they’re under great pressure and don’t get enough sleep. But they may be surprised to learn that they’re much luckier than their peers in South Korea and Japan, according to a recently published report, conducted by Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences on the physical and mental health of senior high school students in the three Asian countries.

According to the study among nearly 6,000 high school students in the three countries, Chinese students are the tallest but poorest in physical fitness. Chinese students are on average 168.17cm, compared with 167.61cm for South Korean students and 164.70cm for Japanese students. Chinese students asked for sick leave more than students in other countries. About 72 percent of Korean students never asked for sick and injury leave during high school, compared to 53 percent for Japanese students and 45 percent for Chinese students. Moreover, Chinese students drink alcohol and smoke earlier than Korean and Japanese students. Around 70 percent of Chinese students have drunk alcohol, compared to 50 percent for Korean and Japanese students.

According to the survey, Japanese and South Korean students suffer more pressure than their Chinese peers. Statistics show 16 percent of students in China said they experienced mental pressure often over the past year, while the numbers in Japan and South Korea were 33 percent and 47 percent respectively. Their worries come from “study”, “future after graduation”, “friendships” and “relationship with their parents”. To go with stress, 57.9 percent of Korean students sleep the least, less than six hours a day, compared with 46.6 percent of Japanese students and 30 percent of Chinese students.

More Chinese students were satisfied with their physical appearance, double that of students in the survey from Japan and South Korea. The report said that over half of students in South Korea had tried to lose weight in the past year, while in China the figure was only 22 percent. In measures of self-worth, such as “I think I am valuable” and “I think I am successful”, “I can complete many things”, “I won’t give up to failure,” Chinese students showed greater self-confidence than students in Japan and South Korea.

1. What’s the main idea of the second paragraph?

A．Chinese teenagers are tallest, but most unhealthy.

B．Chinese students drink most alcohol and smoke earliest.

C．Japanese students ask for least sick leave.

D．Chinese students ask for sick leave most often.

2. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Chinese students are luckiest, yet most unsuccessful.

B．Chinese students are confident in themselves and luckier.

C．Japanese students are most stressed.

D．South Korean students sleep the least.

3. What does the underlined word “that” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．The height.

B．The percentage.

C．The weight.

D．The number.

4. The worries that cause students to be stressed come from the following factors EXCEPT ________.

A．study and career

B．physical appearance

C．friendships

D．family relationship

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个恰当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A group of students ranging from Years 9 to 13 are benefiting from a schedule which is run by the Confucius Institute（孔子学院） at Newcastle University, which aims     1     （build）closer academic, cultural and social ties between China and the North East of England.

Staff at the institute work     2    （patient） with schools and the other day the pupils took part in weekly after-school sessions with teacher Qiang Xingdi     3     gave them an introduction to the Chinese language and culture.

Already the pupils     4    （award） certificates of achievement from the institute. They are making rapid progress in learning Chinese now. Adam said, “I have always had an interest     5     Chinese culture and this course has been a great way to teach me all about it.”

The Confucius Institute are worldwide non-profit public institutions     6    （design）by the Chinese government to promote its language and culture through teaching     7    （plan）and cultural exchanges.

Confucius Institute at the university was set up in 2013, and it is     8     first one in the North East.

Student Voice     9    （say） last week, “Many thanks to the Confucius Institute at Newcastle University for helping to arrange such a memorable experience for the students and Qiang Xingdi for her weekly enthusiasm, which has certainly made a significant     10    （impress）on them.”