2 . Having the option to study abroad is exciting. It's what you call an once-in-a-lifetime experience that you should take full advantage of if you have the chance.     1     So before you get excited and book that plane ticket to a new world, take these tips into consideration.

Make new friends.

No matter where you end up studying abroad, take this time to make new friends. That could mean someone from your school in your program or major. It could also mean a native of the city or country you're visiting.     2     Do your best not to isolate yourself. Instead, reach out to others actively.

Overcome homesickness.

No matter where you go, you'll probably get a little homesick.     3     Luckily for you, with social media, you can connect with your loved ones almost instantly at any time of the day. Besides, we're almost positive that everyone back home misses you just as much as you miss them. However, they probably want you to enjoy yourself as much as possible and not to feel sad because you miss them.

    4    

One of the best parts of studying abroad is learning the local language. By doing this, you'll be able to communicate with people in your new home. After all, that is your home for a limited time. Also, speaking the local language is another useful skill. Local employers take interest in that when considering applicants.

The world is full of so many great places. We will support you if you'd like to study in one of them.     5    .

A．Learn the local language.

B．Master some useful languages.

C．But don't forget to follow these suggestions.

D．That is quite normal, especially the beginning.

E．Turn to your new friends for help if you feel homesick.

F．Remember, even your best friends started out as strangers.

G．However, studying abroad is not as simple as you just thought.

3 . The Worst Mistakes You Can Make During a Career Change

Changing careers is never easy.    1    Whether you’re bored at work or simply want a fresh challenge, there are a number of considerations that go into a successful career change.

Making a quick decision

Before changing careers, you should do a deep dive to assess why you want to leave your current one. You need to spend time figuring out why you’re dissatisfied and what’s going to make you more satisfied going forward.     2    You may simply be having a bad week or a bad month—or you may just hate your boss, not your industry.

    3    

You obviously need to be financially strategic when choosing your next career, but don’t just base your decision on money. “If you take a high-paying job that doesn't match your interests, values, or strengths, you're not going to be happy,” says Holly Genser.

Not researching the job market in your next field

    4    Research industries and positions to find a good match for your skills and career goals, Genser says. Otherwise, you’re throwing darts (飞镖)in the dark.

Quitting without having another job lined up

Research shows it's easier to get a job offer when you're still employed, which makes sense since gaps on a resume might make a hiring manager think twice about calling you in for an interview.     5    

A．But it is absolutely possible.

B．Choosing a new career based on salary

C．Not sure what field you want to go into?

D．Not adjusting your resume (简历)for a career change

E．Ask yourself why you're unhappy and answer honestly.

F．You should be growing and refreshing your professional contacts constantly.

G．It's best for you to stay at your current job until you have your next one set up.

4 . According to a new US study, couples who expect their children to look after them in old age should hope they have daughters because daughters are twice as attentive as sons overall.

The research by Angelina Grigoryeva, from Princeton University, found that, while women provide as much care for their elderly parents as they can manage, men do as little as they can to get away with and often leave it to female family members.

Her analysis of the family networks of 26,000 old Americans concluded that gender (性别) is one of the most important things that decide whether or not people will actively care for their elderly parents.

In a paper presented at the annual conference of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco, she concludes that simply having a sister makes men likely provide less care. Using data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, a study which has been tracking a cross-section of over 50s for the last decade, she calculated that women provide an average of 12.3 hours a month of care for elderly parents while men offer only 5.6 hours.

"Sons reduce their relative caregiving efforts when they have a sister, while daughters increase theirs when they have a brother."

"This suggests that sons pass on parent caregiving responsibilities to their sisters."

In the UK, the 2011 Census (人口普查) showed that there are now around 6.5 million people with caring responsibilities, a figure which has risen by a tenth in a decade.

But many are doing so at the risk of their health. The census showed that those who provide 50 hours or more of care a week while trying to hold down a full time job are three times more likely to be struggling with ill health than their working counterparts (同事) who are not carers.

1. According to the finding of the research, from which of the following families will the old probably enjoyed the best care?

A．The parents with two sons.

B．The parents with one daughter.

C．The parents with two daughters.

D．The parents with one daughter and one son.

2. How did the researchers come to the conclusion?

A．By giving out some questionnaires.

B．By tracking some of the American families.

C．By doing some research on a nursing home.

D．By analyzing some of the American family networks.

3. What can we know from the passage?

A．Angelina led the study of Health and Retirement Study.

B．Angelina analyzed various data and researches to get the finding.

C．Caring responsibilities are a heavy burden to most Americans.

D．Most male families will not take on the responsibility of looking after the old.

4. What is implied in the last paragraph?

A．Many care providers work longer hours than others.

B．People should give up their job to care for the elderly.

C．People shouldn't pass on caring responsibilities to others.

D．Many care providers might have potential health problems.

5 .    “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” But now scientists have given us an other warning: too much play with smart phones or computers makes you dull too.

“Many focus on the benefits of digital devices（设备）in education but ignore the costs”, said Patricia Greenfield from the University of California, “losing the ability to understand the emotions of other people is one of the costs.” Greenfield and her research team did an experiment. They worked with 105 children who spend about 4.5 hours in front of screens on a school day. The students were asked to describe the emotions towards the pictures of people who were happy, sad, angry or scared. Then, half of them attended a five-day nature and science camp. There they had no smart phones, TV, or computers. The other half stayed in school and spent the five days as usual. Five days later, all the children took the test again.

Students who had been to the camp got about 5 percent more answers correct than they had done before the camp. But the other group of students didn't show much improvement. The study is not perfect in some ways, said the researchers. But scientists say that the study is still a warning for us.

“Emotional skills develop in practice and the brain develops through real interaction.” said Professor Taylor, a professor at the University of San Francisco.

Researchers talked to 2,000 parents of children aged 2-16 in the UK about what activities their children could do confidently. The results were surprising: Their children could use a tablet(平板电脑)(59%)and work a mobile phone(57%)more confidently than they could tie their shoe laces(鞋带)(53%)! So, spend more time away from mobile phones and computers if you want to be an understanding friend, and not a member of what the Daily Mail called “Generation Helpless”.

1. According to Professor Greenfield，using digital media in education leads to ______.

A．being in bad terms with family members

B．making more mistakes when taking exams

C．falling far behind others in all schoolwork

D．failing to relate to other people's emotions

2. Scientists think the results of Greenfield's experiment ______.

A．are alarming for people	B．are far from perfect
C．are quite surprising	D．need to be improved

3. What can we know from the text？

A．Too much play with digital devices raised some worries．

B．Students learned how to describe emotions in the experiment．

C．Students living without screens did much better in studies．

D．Most of the UK children couldn't tie their shoe laces．

4. What is the best title for the text？

A．Stay away from the Internet	B．Here comes a digital world!
C．Screens do harm to emotions	D．How people become addicted？

6 . If you’ve ever had trouble getting your teen up in the morning or you’ve seen your teen fall asleep during the school day, you’re not alone. Many teens have difficulty in waking up early for school, and that’s because they sleep late at night.

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Adolescent Sleep Working Group reviewed studies about sleep in teens. Researchers studied the harmful effects of not getting enough sleep-anything less than 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep on school nights-could have on young people. They discovered not getting enough sleep may cause poor grades at school. Not getting enough sleep has also been connected to a higher risk of car accidents in teens.

It may seem as though the way to solve the problem would be for teens to just go to sleep earlier. But researchers say that isn’t likely to work. Teens experience physical changes that make falling asleep earlier difficult. Their biological (生物的) clocks just won't allow them to fall asleep at 8 p.m., even when they’re tired.

Studies have shown that just delaying (推迟) school by 30 minutes can have a great effect on a teen's health and performance. So most researchers suggest the school start time be delayed until at least 8:30 a.m. for teenagers.

Some of the benefits could include:

·Teens may be more likely to get the necessary amount of sleep.

·The delayed start time could help teens sleep during their natural sleep.

·Teens may be less likely to depend on coffee to stay awake during the day.

·Enough sleep could help teens study better in class, which could help them do better in exams.

·Sleeping longer could reduce health problems caused by a lack of sleep in the long run.

·Getting home later in the afternoon may reduce the amount of time when some teens are home alone, and could reduce the possibility that tens will take part in unhealthy activities.

But doing that can also cause some problems.

1. What does Paragraph 1 show?

A．Many teens find school too boring.

B．Many teens fail to get enough sleep.

C．Today’s teens have many difficulties.

D．Today’s teens are too lazy to get up early.

2. What do researchers of the Adolescent Sleep Working Group find?

A．Today’s teens have poor grades at school.

B．Teens should get at least 8.5 hours of sleep daily.

C．Today’s teens are in danger because of car accidents.

D．Teens can be negatively influenced by not getting enough sleep.

3. Why can’t teens fall asleep earlier?

A．Because their homework is too much,

B．Because they love staying up late at night.

C．Because their physical changes make it hard.

D．Because they have unbalanced biological clocks.

4. What would the text most probably talk about next?

A．The disadvantages of starting school later.

B．The benefits of getting enough sleep for students.

C．The methods of helping students get enough sleep.

D．The advantages of putting off the school start time.

7 . Small talk has a reputation for being uninteresting, and for good reason. Pointing out the fact that it’s raining seems as ridiculous as pointing out the fact that you have a head—you’re fully aware of both things, and don’t require an outsider to confirm them. But despite being evident and often painfully dull, small talk has an important role to fulfil, enabling us to leap over a number of social obstacles towards improved, meaningful interaction.

Humans can be sensitive souls. We each have our boundaries and lists of potential upsets, which when broken, cause us to either gently back away to an alternative position in the room, or become cross at the person. Small talk is first a way to test the waters with an unfamiliar person, so that you may better understand their personality. When finding yourself positioned closely to a person who you know little about, it’s much safer to point out the rainy sky than to share your political views on a sensitive topic. Until you know the person better, heavier topics should probably be kept under wraps, so you won’t find yourself on the receiving end of a cold stare.

Though insignificant, small talk still has great power. When talking with fellow humans, much of our soul is exposed through non-verbal communication. A response to “how was your weekend” can unveil much about the person’s character. The length of their response might indicate their level of self-confidence; the tone of speaking might show how agreeable a person is; their slightly lowered head, as if protecting themselves from attack, a possible sign of a regrettable history of bullying.

As more of a person’s character is revealed, we have the insight needed to determine whether to broach more significant topics—the things that we actually want to talk about. Conversation is a great educator, and deep conversation establish lasting bonds with our fellow humans, forming precious friendships that paint our lives with vibrant colors. Such friendships begin with small talk.

1. What is described in the first paragraph?

A．The first stage of human interaction.

B．Ridiculous human behavior in communication.

C．Absence of communication between strangers.

D．The difficulty of having deep conversations.

2. Why do people find themselves “on the receiving end of a cold stare”?

A．Because they are fond of heavy subjects.

B．Because they are enthusiastic about politics.

C．Because they are too sensitive about topics.

D．Because they fail to manage interpersonal distance.

3. What might be a sign of friendliness according to paragraph 3?

A．The length of the answer.	B．The quality of the voice.
C．The position of the head.	D．The distance between speakers.

4. What might be the best title for the text?

A．Reputation of Small Talk	B．Ways of Understanding Personality
C．Significance of Small Talk	D．Challenges of Deep Conversation

8 . Bullying(霸凌) is a big problem. It can make kids feel hurt, scared, sick, lonely, embarrassed, and sad. Bullies might hit, kick, or push to hurt kids, or use words to call names, tease, or scare them.     1    

Bullying is a big deal.

It is a big problem that affects lots of kids.     2    Being bullied can make kids feel really bad, and the stress of dealing with it can make them feel sick. Bullying can make kids not want to go to school and make school a place of fear and can lead to violence and more stress for everyone.

    3    

Some bullies are looking for attention. They might think bullying is a way to be popular or to get what they want. Most bullies are trying to make themselves feel more important. When they pick on someone else, it can make them feel big and powerful. Some bullies come from families where everyone is angry and shouting all the time.

How to handle it?

    4     As much as you can, avoid the bully. You can't go into hiding or skip class, of course. But if you can take a different route and avoid the mean kid, do so. Stand tall and be brave. When you're scared of another person, you're probably not feeling you are brave. But sometimes just acting bravely is enough to stop a bully.

Talk to someone you trust if you are bothered by a bully.     5    Make a plan to walk with a friend or two on the way to school, recess, lunch, or wherever you think you might meet the bully.

A．Bullies come in all shapes and sizes.

B．Why do bullies act that way?

C．Three-quarters of all kids say they have been bullied or teased.

D．If you can, try your best to ignore the bully's threats.

E．Some bullies Even threaten kids or try to make them do things they don't want to do.

F．Two is better than one if you're trying to avoid being bullied.

G．Don't give the bully a chance.

9 . Many high school students consider a college education useless. Therefore, they choose not to go to college. If you’re one of them, think again. Here are some reasons why you should go to college and receive a good education there.

Schools and universities are the first sources of knowledge. We take that knowledge later on to build our careers after graduation. More knowledge will be gained after you start working, but without an education, that job will not be within easy reach. Knowledge leads to knowledge.

While limited within the walls of the educational institutions, we openly explore other cultures of the world. We come to know that ours is not the only culture. Other cultures have valuable insights to share, enriching our own. Education also makes us want to travel and interact with various cultures, broadening our horizons.

When there’s a downturn (衰退) in the economy, those who attended college will be more likely to find a new job than those who only finished grade school and have a limited skills set. The more education you have, the more chances you will get to improve the quality of your life as you have a better job and earn a higher salary.

When you’re skillful and knowledgeable, you get to “rub knees” with people of similar backgrounds and tastes. It means a good education leads to excellent networking. Good networking can benefit you a lot in your later life.

A good education makes you a more interesting person. You can talk about ideas and events instead of just other people and what’s on sale in stores. An educated person doesn’t gossip, having a preference to discuss ideas and listen to what other people have to say.

1. Paragraph 2 mainly shows that going to college allows you to ______.

A．have a chance to study abroad	B．become a more interesting person
C．keep gaining knowledge	D．realize the importance of knowledge

2. According to Paragraph 3, what does going to college mean?

A．Having a greater understanding of different cultures.

B．Being limited within the walls of a college.

C．Valuing our own culture much more.

D．Thinking differently from others.

3. By giving the example of a downturn in the economy, what does the author want to show?

A．A good education can improve your tastes.

B．A good education sometimes means nothing.

C．A good education means you will not lose your job.

D．A good education allows you to keep a high quality of life.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Sources of knowledge.	B．Benefits of attending college.
C．The disadvantages of not being educated.	D．The reason why some people think college useless.

10 . It is hard to say the first day of school in the United States because when the first day of school is and what happens on the first day of school usually are different by districts（地区）.

The first day of school for many school districts in different states is on the day after the first Monday in September. In some other school districts, school begins in mid-to-late August. For example, the Denver, Colorado schools go back in mid-August and schools in Cleveland, Ohio start back usually one week before the first Monday in September. The Boston, Chicago, New York City and San Diego schools start back on the Tuesday or Wednesday after the first Monday in September.

Schools in Cleveland, Ohio used to start the school year on the day after the first Monday in September, but in the 1976-1977 and 1977-1978 academic years, the school year was affected by several bad snowstorms, extreme cold. In the 1978-1979 school year, the Ohio Department of Education moved the start of the year to late August, one week before the first Monday in September. This went into effect in the 1980-1981 school year.

In most school districts in Utah, the school year starts between August 25 and August 30, and goes until the last week of May or the first week in June next year.

In American high schools, the freshmen class usually goes back one or two days before the rest of the school body for an orientation（迎新）period. An orientation period helps the freshmen get familiar with their new school, its rules, and surroundings.

In some schools, the freshmen classes have their photographs taken for identification purposes. Some high schools have tried to make the first week of school fun for incoming freshmen.

1. According to the passage, which schools start their school year the earliest?

A．Schools in Denver.

B．Schools in Cleveland.

C．Schools in New York City.

D．Schools in Boston.

2. Why did the Ohio Department of Education change the start of the school year?

A．Because of some political events.

B．Because of the entrance examinations.

C．Because of the increasing number of students.

D．Because of the extreme weather.

3. How many months does the school year last in schools in Utah？

A．About seven months.

B．About eight months.

C．About nine months.

D．About ten months.

4. The article is probably taken from ________.

A．a book about one's life story

B．an official website of education

C．an advertisement in a newspaper

D．a sports magazine