1 . We all need to eat, and when we go to buy food at the supermarket, we’re offered many choice. But we often buy food that’s been produced in huge amounts and that’s traveled many miles before it ends up on our plate. So for some, growing their own food is a better choice – and it tastes good too!
From growing vegetables in little pots on your balcony to taking care of a small plot of land, there are many ways to produce home-grown food. It can be backbreaking work digging, weeding and watering the soil, but the result is fresh, home-grown fruits and vegetables, helping us keep a ‘five-a-day’ diet.
The recent Covid-19 pandemic lock-down means demand for homegrown food has seen a comeback in the UK. Miriam Dobson from the University of Sheffield, told the BBC that some people have been spending a lot of their time on their plots, growing plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables – which, at times, have been challenging to buy in supermarkets. She says “Coronavirus has reminded people of the weakness within our global food system. In such a difficult time, interest in self-support rises.”
But for those with limited space, a solution to grow your own vegetables lies closer to home – using pots. Sheila Brand lives in a third-floor flat in Rotterdam. She has managed to grow tomatoes and eggplants and is already harvesting raspberries. She told the BBC watching the plants grow “is very exciting: 'Oh it's got a new leaf!' ”
As well as the benefits of saving money and enjoying tasty food, growing your own from a balcony or window ledge not only improves your well-being and immediate environment, you can actually grow a lot of vegetables. So, maybe it’s time for us all to get planting and develop our green fingers!
1. A “five-a-day” diet (Para. 2) probably refers to a diet that include__________ every day.| A．Five meals | B．Enough fruits and vegetables |
| C．Five kinds of rice | D．Plenty of water |
| A．It’s more interesting, cheap and delicious. |
| B．our global food system is doing harm to us. |
| C．It saves the time and money on transportation. |
| D．it can be hard to buy fresh food during the pandemic. |
| A．In a pot. | B．On a plate. | C．In a garden. | D．On the roof. |
| A．Growing your own food can do good to your health. |
| B．Growing your own food can make your fingers green. |
| C．Growing your own food can improve your gardening skills. |
| D．Growing your own food can bring your family more happiness. |
2 . After finishing my teaching for a school year, I thought that I should go back to Montreal, Quebec, my hometown for a visit. My main goal was to relax in preparation for the challenges of my retirement in the coming year.
Through my stay in Montreal, I met lots of Chinese who were struggling to succeed and then led a better life in Canada.
Some travelled thousands of miles to get knowledge. When I spoke with some of them about the major barrier they had to face after they arrived in Canada, they all talked about the two official languages of Canada. But I was impressed by their ability to express their ideas while they switched between English and French.
Almost all of those people said they often felt homesick. They missed their families and friends. Though Montreal had lots of Chinese restaurants, they longed for a home-cooked meal.
I met some tourists who were trying to realize their childhood dreams of experiencing the life in a developed country. When I asked them if Montreal had lived up to their expectations, they hesitated. They said that reality never agrees with fantasies. However, they were glad to have the opportunity to visit Montreal and didn’t regret taking the trip.
Not all the Chinese people I met were happy. I once met a young lady who met a gentleman through the Internet. However, to her disappointment, he disappeared after he promised to marry her in Montreal.
I was served by another Chinese person who could not handle the challenges of studying in an English environment and ended up working in a restaurant with minimum pay.
Exploring different parts of the world, without any doubt, is an amazing experience. However, one should be realistic when it comes to leaving his hometown to set up a new life in a foreign country. One should take the time to examine the advantages and the shortcomings of the venture before they decide to chase an uncertain dream of achieving success or leading a better life.
1. The writer went to his hometown to .| A．meet his old friends | B．prepare for his retirement life |
| C．go on with his teaching | D．study a new language |
| A．food | B．homesickness |
| C．income | D．language |
| A．worried | B．cautious |
| C．neutral | D．positive |
| A．Struggling for a Better Life in Canada. |
| B．Exploring Different Parts of Canada. |
| C．Improving Life Skills in Canada. |
| D．Going to Canada—Your Ideal Destination. |
3 . Many children love using a trampoline（蹦床）for fun. They love the excitement the activity brings to them. But are trampolines safe to use?
Starting in the early 1990s, trampolines saw a major increase in popularity. In 1989, 140,000 trampolines were sold in the United States and by 1998 that number had increased to 640,000. But with the increase in popularity there was a rise in pain. From 1990 to 1995, trampolines-related injuries jumped by 98% and in 1999 over 100,000 kids were treated in the emergency room because of using trampolines.
The data behind the danger is clear, but parents may not know that even though trampolines are made for children, they are not suitable for kids under the age of six. Kait Ellen posted an article on Facebook about her visit to a trampoline gym with her son Colton. Actually the visit was anything but enjoyable for the little guy. Colton, who was three years old, broke his bone while jumping up and down on a trampoline. And in her article there was a warning from a government department, which advised that children under the age of six should never use a trampoline.
In 2004, the first indoor trampoline park opened Thursday in LasVegas, Nevada and parks have been growing rapidly ever since. Parents should keep in mind the advice of experts for keeping their kids safe. To keep your kids from getting injured while using trampolines, you’d better keep them away from them.
1. What’s the author’s purpose in writing Paragraph 2?| A．To make comparisons. |
| B．To show trampolines’ popularity in America. |
| C．To advise people to buy trampolines. |
| D．To prove trampolines are unsafe. |
| A．Through the advice of expert. |
| B．Through a government department. |
| C．Through her son’s accident. |
| D．Through the data behind the danger. |
| A．Negative | B．Cautious | C．Uncertain. | D．Approving. |
| A．Kids can easily get hurt while playing. |
| B．Trampolines are dangerous for kids under 6. |
| C．Parents often make trampolines for their children. |
| D．Trampolines are very popular with children. |
4 . When it comes to helping developing countries, we often think about offering money in order that they can build schools and hospitals, buy food and medicine, or find clean water supplies. These seem to be the most important basic needs in their lives. However, it's far from enough. We have to come up with better ideas.
A man called Nicholas Negroponte invented a cheap laptop computer, which he decided to invent after he visited a school in Cambodia. The laptop which Mr. Negroponte has designed is not the same as the normal one that you can buy in the shops. One difference is that it will be covered in rubber so that it is strong and won't be damaged easily. As an electricity supply can be a problem in developing countries, the computer also has a special handle in order that children can wind the computer up to give it extra power just as easy as setting a clock.
This special laptop computer will cost less than 100 US dollars and Mr. Negroponte wants to produce as many as 15 million laptop computers in the first year. The idea is that these computers will help the children’s education as they will be able to access the Internet. These computers might not benefit the people in developing countries immediately, but by improving children’s education they should help people to find their own solutions to their problems in the long term.
Another idea to help children in developing countries is to recycle old mobile phones so that they can be used again in the UK and probably in many other countries too, millions of mobile phones are thrown away every year. The waste crested by throwing away these old phones is very bad for the environment, so it seems to be an excellent idea to achieve two important goals at the same time. We will reduce the waste we produce and help others, in other words, we will be able to “kill two birds with one stone” and that is always a good thing.
1. The underlined phrase “wind up” in paragraph 2 means .| A．吹风 | B．给……上紧发条 | C．拆开 | D．带走 |
| A．will be damaged much easier than the normal one |
| B．has a special handle to access the Internet |
| C．is cheap and can run with extra power |
| D．can be helpful to find the people’s own solutions |
| A．illustrate the kindness of people in the developed countries |
| B．tell us what high technology can help people |
| C．show how to find business opportunities in developing countries |
| D．give an example of how to help developing countries |
| A．We need to think about more ways to help people in developing countries，not just throw money at the problem. |
| B．We should spend much money helping people in developing countries build more schools and hospitals. |
| C．We should think about giving help to developing countries by giving them all we have. |
| D．We should help the people in developing countries by improving children's education immediately. |
5 . Move over millennials(千禧一代), here comes Generation Z, today's youngest group.
Born in 1995 or later, a lot of Gen Z-ers are entering into adulthood and will soon join the workforce. People of Generation Z have grown up with the internet. Policy makers, sociologists, as well as employers and marketers, are trying their best to understand these young people. So, how should we pin down the Gen Z-ers?
Most people will agree that the single biggest difference between Gen Z and other generations is how connected they are. This is a group of people who were hooked up to social media as soon as they were born. A recent Guardian article says that the average teenager in the UK has at least 150 followers on Instagram and spends around half an hour a day on Snapchat, an image messaging app. “We are the first true digital natives,” Hannah Payne, an 18-year-old UCLA student and lifestyle blogger. “I can almost create a document, edit it, post a photo on Instagram and talk on the phone at the same time, all from the user-friendly interface(界面) of my iPhone.
The Guardian also notes that young people in the UK are becoming more active in politics. Voting is just one way of making one's voice heard. Most of Generation Z are still too young to vote, says the Guardian. Instead of party politics, they focus more on single-topic issues such as feminism(男女平等)or climate change. And “much of the civil engagement and organizing they do takes place on social media rather than through traditional political structures,” according to the newspaper.
1. The underlined phrase “pin down” in the second paragraph can be replaced by ______.| A．set an example to | B．have an interest in |
| C．give an explanation for | D．make a decision on |
| A．how connected they are |
| B．how enthusiastic they are |
| C．how they communicate with each other |
| D．how many hours they spend on the Internet |
| A．They are newly-created cellphones |
| B．They are popular among millennials |
| C．They are online games invented by teenagers |
| D．They are applications used by teenagers |
| A．Generation Z have great interest in politics |
| B．Most Gen Z-ers haven't entered the political field |
| C．Voting is the only way of making yourself noticed |
| D．Voting on social media is the same as voting through traditional ways |
6 . Use your American Express Card to enjoy a one-day visit to any one of America’s greatest museums below, and you will not want to miss their exciting special exhibitions (展览).
Boston
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Chairs February 11 -- May 8, 2017
Italian furniture expert Fausto Calderai and Indian photographer Dayanita Singh present an exhibition of chairs from the museum’s collection and “chair photographs” from around the world. They are presented in a Venetian-style hall housing world-famous masterpieces. For more information: www.gardnermuseum.org
New York
The Noguchi Museum Noguchi and Graham May 1 -- December 1, 2017
Noguchi’s long-term co-work with dancer Martha Graham is regarded by many as a high point in the history of both modern dance and art.The exhibition highlights nine of the sets created through this co-work. For more information: www.noguchi.org Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts January 11--April 10, 2017
Founded in 1805,the Pennsylvania Academy has been home to America’s artists for more than 200 years. The Academy collects and exhibits a great number of works of famous American artists, and it is also well-known for training fine artists.
2017 at the Academy begins with the largest American collection in history. For more information: www.pafA.org
Seattle
Seattle Museum of Glass March 7- May 7, 2017
This exhibition includes over 200 pieces of beautiful glass from Murano, the island of glass-blowers near Venice,Italy.Watch live glass-blowing shows in the Hot Shop and see other modern glass exhibitions. For more information: www.museumofglass.org
1. Which of the following websites offers information about the furniture show?| A．www.gardnermuseum.org | B．www.noguchi.org |
| C．www.pafA.org | D．www.museumofglass.org |
| A．a glassblower | B．a photographer |
| C．a painter | D．a dancer |
| A．the Noguchi Museum |
| B．Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |
| C．Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum |
| D．Seattle Museum of Glass |
7 . The Internet has become part of modern life, bringing convenient services to everyone who can connect. While it seems hard to live without the Internet, it also brings new problems. For example, individuals, organizations and even governments can become targets of cyber attacks.
The past week marked China's sixth annual Cybersecurity Week, held from Sept 16 to 22 nationwide. The opening ceremony and major activities were held in Tianjin. First launched in 2014, the event was designed to raise public awareness of the importance of fighting online threats and cyber attacks. The theme of this year's event is "cybersecurity for the people and by the people".
The leaking (泄露）of personal information now stands out. " Efforts should be made to raise people's sense of fulfillment, happiness and security in cyberspace," said President Xi Jinping in an instruction for the event. "The country will safeguard the security of personal information and citizens' legal rights and interests in cyberspace. According to a report from the 2017 China Internet Security Conference, more than 90 percent of Android smartphones for sale in China contained serious safety bugs. Such flaws (缺陷)allow hackers to control entire phones and obtain the users' passwords, bank information and more.
To protect personal information, China issued its first cybersecurity law in June 2017. One key part of this law is meant to protect personal information. It rules that network operators are not allowed to leak, change or damage the personal information they gather. They are also not allowed to give personal information to others freely.
Apart from China, issuing laws to protect personal information and prevent junk electronic information is a common practice in other countries.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the new Internet-based problems. |
| B．To show readers a new Internet-based trend. |
| C．To make a list of new cybercrimes online. |
| D．To call for protection of personal security. |
| A．Android smartphones sales are on the decrease. |
| B．Personal data protection comes into focus. |
| C．Netizens are sensitive to online information. |
| D．Nearly all smartphones contain security flaws. |
| A．Website designers. | B．Illegal hackers. |
| C．Network operators. | D．Internet-based companies. |
| A．Foreign practices to safeguard cybersecurity. |
| B．Countries producing laws of national security. |
| C．Effective ways to deal with personal security. |
| D．Advice on how to avoid leaking personal data. |
8 . You cannot judge a book by looking at its cover! That's what a group of parents and students in Hangzhou has found out this term.
When they came to school in September, the students were shocked to learn that their class teacher was to be a P.E. teacher. How could someone who teaches table tennis and basketball know anything about academics? Their parents were equally worried and pressured the school to replace ''Miss Muscle'' with a ''Miss Brain. '' However, the principal(校长) did not give in to the pressure and now the parents and students are happy that the school firmly insisted.
After three months, the P.E. teacher, whose name is actually Miss Su, has turned out to be a wonderful class teacher. She is intelligent, kind and helpful. She is a good leader who keeps her students active in their studies and participate in school activities. And she has won the parents over with her real caring for their children. In other words, Miss Su, the P. E. teacher, is ''pretty extraordinary. ''
The early negative reaction against Miss Su is an example of bias(偏见). A ''bias'' is wrong in thinking that has an influence on a person's opinions and decisions. For example, in business, tall men are more likely to be bosses. In the United States, anyone who is above 190 centimeters tall can expect to have a higher salary and to get more promotions than his shorter co-workers. Similarly, women have a difficult time climbing the career ladder because their bosses(mostly men!) think that women lack leadership skills and the necessary toughness to make difficult decisions. Neither of these opinions is based on facts or the talents of the individual. They're just bias.
1. What seemed to be the parents' early reaction to Miss Su?| A．They were excited. | B．They were amazed. |
| C．They were worried. | D．They were interested. |
| A．She is an excellent P. E. teacher. |
| B．She was finally removed. |
| C．She really cared about her students. |
| D．The headmaster was proved to be wrong. |
| A．tall men are usually excellent | B．people are often judged with bias |
| C．opinions should be based on facts | D．women lack leadership skills |
| A．Disagreeable. | B．Acceptable. |
| C．Careless. | D．Curious. |
9 . Kentucky Fried Chicken has filed a lawsuit（提起诉讼） against three companies in China， because their social media accounts spread false information about its food， including that its chickens have eight legs． The case comes as the Beijing government holds an activity to clean up rumours （谣言）on social media（媒体）． Internet marketers have been accused （指控） of trying to control online opinions of their customers by posting false information about their competitors．
In an announcement posted on its Chinese website， KFC said one of the best-known false rumours was that chickens used by the company have six wings and eight legs． It is requesting 1.5 million yuan and an official apology from each of three companies． It is also asking for an immediate stop to their activities to hurt it by spreading rumours．
The fried chicken chain is China's biggest restaurant operator and is a kind of fast food for young people in China． It has more than 4， 600 restaurants in the country， and on average， opens a new branch every day． KFC'S China chief executive officer（行政长官）， Qu Cuirong， said that it is difficult for companies to protect their brands（品牌） against rumours because it is hard for them to collect evidence． She added， "The efforts by the government in recent years to purify（净化） the online environment have offered us much more confidence．"
The companies are Shanxi Weilukuang Technology Company， Taiyuan Zero Point Technology Company and Yingchenanzhi Success and Culture Communication in Shenzhen， south-east China． Calls to numbers listed for the companies either rang unanswered or were not available． In fact， authorities（官方） began an activity two years ago to clean up what they called online rumours． Comments in state media have argued that a clean-up is needed．
1. The reason why KFC filed a lawsuit against three Chinese companies is that ______ ．| A．they started an activity to control KFC |
| B．they spread untrue information about KFC |
| C．they have been acting against the law |
| D．they are acting as customers to spread information |
| A．KFC uses chickens that have six wings and eight legs |
| B．Only one rumor about KFC'S chickens has been spread |
| C．KFC is asking for a large sum of money and an apology |
| D．The three companies have accepted KFC'S request |
| A．the three companies are in the same province |
| B．no one in the three companies answered the phone |
| C．everyone thought that cleaning up the online rumours was necessary |
| D．nobody has called the three companies |
| A．On a fashion website | B．In a food magazine． |
| C．On an official poster | D．In a newspaper． |
10 . From the health point of view we are living in a wonderful age. A large number of once fatal illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and surgery. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the unbelievable killing of people on the roads. Man is opposite to the motor-car! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people are killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.
It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering-wheel(方向盘), his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man's worst character. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They are rude, ill-mannered and aggressive. All their hidden frustrations and disappointments seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving.
The surprising thing is that society smiles on the motorist and seems to forgive the behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities and towns are made ugly by huge car parks.
It is high time a world law were created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are not strict and even the strictest are not strict enough. A law which was universally accepted could only have a beneficial effect on the accident rate. Here are a few examples of some things that might be done. The driving test should be made to a fixed standard and far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21 ; all vehicles should be put through strict annual tests for safety. Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be made much stricter. Driving speed should be limited on all roads. These measures may sound rather severe. But surely nothing should be considered difficult if it results in reducing the annual toll of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars.
1. The main idea of this passage is______.| A．traffic accidents are mainly caused by motorists |
| B．only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents |
| C．thousands of people in the world are killed each year |
| D．the laws of some countries about driving are too strict |
| A．It is right to build huge car parks in cities and towns. |
| B．Society ignores their rude driving. |
| C．Working by car can save time and money. |
| D．All the drivers must be asked to take a test every year. |
| A．Driving can show his temper. |
| B．Driving can bring out his good character. |
| C．Driving can make a man excited and joyful. |
| D．Driving can show his real self. |
| A．critical | B．approving | C．selfish | D．determined |
