1 . As you exist in this world, you do not only live by yourself but among so many other human beings like you.     1     Sometimes we are so enveloped by the complication of life that we forget that we really just have to live it simply. Below are some ways to help you live a simple and peaceful life:

Block out the negativity.     2     Nobody needs criticism that does nothing but crush (击碎) yourself and your soul. No matter what you do or how you act, you can never please everybody because somebody will always have something bad to say. All you need to do is ignore it and mind your own business.

Cut ties with toxic (恶毒的) people. Toxic people bring you down, they do not believe in you, they criticize you for the littlest things, and they will tell you that you will never amount to anything. Never fear because you do not need them!     3    

Be more patient. Patience gives you the time to think about things.     4     If you allow yourself to be hot-tempered and be prepared to fight, you would be feeding yourself with negativity every day. Things don’t go your way. Be patient. Remember: you cannot control everything.

    5     If you have a small backyard, you can start planting vegetables and fruit so that you won’t have to buy them anymore. You can use solar energy to be more environmentally friendly, or you may recycle and reuse things to reduce your garbage, and you can also simplify it by making friends with the people who matter.

A．Always choose to be kind.

B．Simplify your life as much as you can.

C．And more importantly, it helps you prevent conflict.

D．Living such a life may be a bit complicated at times.

E．Be strong enough to show them the door out of your life.

F．Allow yourself to hear criticism but only if it’s constructive.

G．You may make mistakes along the way but that is the way of life.

2 . Back-to-school Dorm Room Essentials for College Students

Going away to college to move into a dorm is an exciting experience for students, but for the grown-ups who raised them, it can be stressful. Your baby birds are finally leaving the nest.     1     Listed below are dorm room essentials and a few fun extras that will make the transition (过渡) from home to the dorm a breeze.

● For the students who need food fast

    2     So a microwave will come with quick meals, like the Toshiba Countertop Microwave, whose size is made perfect for small spaces, and it is one of the most affordable we tested for having useful presets and a smart sensor.

● For the students who value a good night’s sleep

Whether they decide to make it every morning or go with the lived-in look, this Percale Sheet Set (床上用品组合) will make for a restful night’s sleep. As a reminder, dorm room beds are usually extra-long twins.     3     Each extra-long twin set comes with a fitted sheet, top sheet and one pillowcase.

●     4    

Let your roommates know you are thinking about them with The Box by Dormify, a company for daily necessities. Each 13-piece care package comes with snacks, candles, socks, face masks and more brought to help them feel more at home.

Finally, for the caretakers who are ready to celebrate your success in sending your kids away, you really need a bottle of champagne! You did it!     5     It was hard work, but as is said, you will never feel it tiring to get them prepared as long as you have chosen the right things and found out proper sources of them so that they can live far from home to your heart’s content.

A．For the students who need you to pick up something

B．Make sure you’re getting the correct size before buying.

C．There’s not a lot of time in between classes and studying.

D．For the students who want to put away all their personal items

E．You have successfully raised a human and sent them off to college.

F．You want them to have all the comforts of home in their new space.

G．You must be worried about like what food to eat for them when away.

3 . Do you need to throw your smartphone away to live your best life? Not necessarily, according to researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum who suggest that we could all benefit from cutting down on screen time — just only a little bit time.

On average, we spend more than three hours a day glued to our smartphone screens. Between social media, news feeds, endless video games, and an app for pretty much everything else, there’s always something to draw our attention. In recent years, studies have blamed smartphones for modern problems ranging from rising anxiety rates to neck pain. It begs the question: Are people all really better off switching back to landlines (座机)?

“The smartphone is both a blessing and a curse,” says study leader Dr. Julia Brailovskaia, whose team set out to answer that question by gathering together 619 volunteers, hoping to know how much the smartphone is good for us. Two hundred people put their smartphones completely aside for a week; 226 reduced the amount of time they used the device by one hour a day; 193 people didn’t change anything in their behavior.

Researchers interviewed each person about both their overall lifestyle habits and well-being four months later after the experimental week ended. “We found that both completely giving up the smartphone and reducing its daily use by one hour had positive effects on the well-being of the participants,” as Brailovskaia sums up the upshots. Notably, changing their smartphone habits for just one week appeared to produce lasting outcomes among subjects. Even four months afterward, participants who were told to avoid using their smartphones totally were using their phones for an average of 38 minutes less per day.

Meanwhile, the “one hour less” group were using their phones as much as 45 minutes less per day after four months. This group also showed improved life satisfaction, more exercise, and less depression.

“It’s not necessary to completely give up the smartphone to feel better,” Brailovskaia concludes.

1. What’s the purpose of Paragraph 2?

A．To answer the question on the smartphones.

B．To explain why the experiment was done.

C．To state disadvantages of the experiment.

D．To stress the benefits of smartphones.

2. What did the researchers do to the volunteers before testing them?

A．They trained them.	B．They interviewed them.
C．They divided them into groups.	D．They gave them a physical exam.

3. Which word can replace the underlined word “upshots” in Paragraph 4?

A．Purposes.

B．Reasons.

C．Doubts.

D．Results.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Fewer Smartphones, More Well-being

B．No Smartphone Use Is the Best Policy

C．Smartphones Are a Part of Our Lives

D．A Small Smartphone, Two Big Sides

4 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Suzie wanted to go to a party. It was a beach party. It had been almost the only thing her friends had been talking about for the last couple of weeks. It was going to be the best party of the year, perhaps the best party of her life.

But there was a problem… and a big problem. Her mom had said no. Suzie was desperate, and the more desperately she pleaded her case, the more emphatically her mom said no. Suzie was disappointed. No, worse than that, she was heartbroken. This was her best friend’s party. How could she tell her that her mom wouldn’t let her go? She’d look silly if she was the only one not there. The other kids were bound to laugh at her. They might even dump her as a friend if she didn’t join in and participate in what they were doing.

Sunday dinner came around and Suzie’s Grandma joined the family for the meal, as she nearly always did on Sunday. Grandma noticed how unhappy Suzie had been looking during the meal but didn’t say a thing. It was Suzie’s turn to wash up and Grandma said, “Let me help you,” while the rest of the family shifted into the living room to watch a video.

“What’s up?” asked Grandma as Suzie dumped the dishes into water. Grandma wiped a plate with a tea towel.

“Mom won’t let me go to my best friend’s party,” said Suzie, sadly. “Has Mom explained why she doesn’t want you to go? “ asked Grandma. “No,” replied Suzie.

“Then for a moment, put yourself in her position,” said Grandma. “If you were Mom, what would your objections be?”

Suzie hadn’t stopped to think about her mom’s side. All she had seen was what she wanted. “Well,” she answered after thinking for a moment or two, “it’s a beach party. Maybe she doesn’t trust us or thinks we’ll get into trouble. Maybe she thinks we’ll drown or something, but we all know how to swim and look after ourselves.”

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

After further discussion, Suzie realised that her mom might be concerned about her safety because no adults would be at the party.

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Suzie thought Grandma’s suggestions over and decided to have a chat with her mom.

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5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Hi Alice,

My name is Zhao Ming and I’d like to be your pen friend. I’m 16 years old. I have two little brothers. They’re very     1     (love). I often help my parents look     2     them in my spare time. My mother     3     (work) in a toy shop. She loves     4     (she) job. And my father is     5     engineer. He is busy every day,     6     he tries to spend more time with us.

I’m in the school basketball team. We usually play     7     (match) on Saturday mornings. Last week, we played against another school. They ran     8     (fast) than us. However, we had better teamwork. Finally, we     9     (win)! How happy we were! This is the     10     (eight) time we beat them.

Could you tell me something about you?

Best,

Zhao Ming

6 . 阅读下面文章，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一个完整短文。

On his way home, Jonathon saw a gray, long-haired cat sitting on the sidewalk. As he stopped to pet her, he noticed that she was not wearing a collar. She rubbed her head against his hand and began to purr (发呼噜声). She reminded Jonathon of Smoky, the cat he had when he was younger. Smoky’s fur had been long and gray too.

Jonathon petted the cat for a while. Then he said, “I have to go,” and continued home. To his surprise, the cat followed him.

When Jonathon was home, he walked up the porch steps and went in the kitchen. The cat followed him up the steps and sat quietly outside the door, watching him closely. Jonathon made a sandwich. The cat continued to stare at him. Jonathon sighed. “I know it’s not a good idea to feed a stray cat,” he said, “but you look so hungry! I can’t sit here and eat without feeding you too!”

Jonathon put some turkey on a plate for the cat. As Jonathon watched, she ate every scrap of turkey and then began to clean her face and paws. “Wow!” Jonathon said, “You must have been starving. I wonder how long it has been since someone fed you.”

Jonathon finished his sandwich and looked at the cat. Her long fur was matted (乱蓬蓬的). Jonathon remembered that Smoky’s brush and toys were stored in the garage. “I’m going to clean you up a little,” Jonathon said to the cat.

Jonathon found Smoky’s brush and got to work. As the dirt came out, the cat’s fur began to get lighter. “Hey!” Jonathon said, realizing the truth. “You’re not gray—you’re white!”

After her brushing, the cat climbed onto Jonathon’s lap and purred. “You’re so friendly, you probably belong to someone,” Jonathon said. “I bet you’re just lost.” When Jonathon’s father came home, Jonathon showed him the cat that had stretched out in a patch of sun on the porch. “Why don’t you make some signs to place in the neighborhood,” his father suggested.

注意：
1. 续写字数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

His father said that if no one called about the cat after a week, Jonathon could keep her.

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“Okay,” Jonathon’s father finally said, “I think you’ve waited long enough.”

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7 . If you post a video online about your perfect home decoration, and your video spreads quickly, you can expect to get comments from people who’ll find something to talk about. But they may argue that your home is so perfect that you must have no time to spend with your children, which may get you down.     1     That is to say, you’ll want to know when you’ll address negative comments and how you’ll address them when you choose to do so.

If someone leaves a negative comment on your social media account and you choose to ignore or dele this can make it look as though you have something to hide. If you have nothing to hide, it’s fine to choose this action. However, if there’s hint of (一点点) truth in the comment, it may be seemed that you choose to avoid a problem.     2     Moreover, if someone has said something unfair about you, it’s reasonable to make responses.

    3     It’s best to respond in a positive and polite manner. Don’t get defensive, don’t be angry, and stay calm. Otherwise, you’ll come across as having lost your cool and appear less reliable.

What’s more, you can ask the commenter to contact you privately.     4     Instead, leave a comment for them asking them to contact you to discuss in private. This shows everyone that you’re willing to address the issue, without needing to make it a public discussion for everyone to see. Finally, you may use humor in your reply if you think the situation calls for it. It can show you aren’t taking the situation too seriously.     5    

A．However, don’t simply send them direct messages.

B．So at this time, it might be best to engage in a reply.

C．Then how should we respond to negative comments?

D．So when should you actually ignore negative comments?

E．And being funny has the same effect as being polite or positive.

F．That being said, you probably want to know how to deal with them.

G．Each comment needs to be considered on a comment-by-comment basis.

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Who is using Jane’s phone for the day?

A．Bill.

B．Jim.

C．Susan.

2. Why is the girl calling?

A．To find her notes.

B．To join the study group.

C．To tell the change of their meeting place.

3. Why did the boy apologize?

A．He didn't leave a message.

B．He didn't write the last part correctly.

C．He couldn't find a pen to write down the message.

9 . Here are some tips to get your little ones to help you do housework naturally.

Expose kids to housework as much as possible

When they are young, let them watch you cook, wash clothes or walk the dog, or let them help make a bed.     1    .

Especially during the early years, give children the opportunity to wander over and watch what’s going on with the adults.     2    . No lecturing or explanation is needed. This psychological integration (融入) into the family is really important for kids to learn to work together with others later in life.

    3    .

A big motivating force for young children is being around their family, working on a common goal. This motivation is lost if we divide up housework so everyone is working alone. Therefore, if you’re doing laundry, be sure everyone is folding everyone’s clothes. If you have the children just fold their own clothes, the task becomes more about working independently.

Don’t force it

Sometimes people think that to get children to do housework, the parents must be doing a really good job of controlling the kids.     4    . The aim is not to control the kids, but rather to develop the children’s own initiative (主动性).

Forcing the child actually has the opposite effect. It can generate resistance.

    5    . Asking a little kid “Could you help me with this?” often gets them on board more often than simply saying “You must do this”.

A．Actually, the opposite is true.

B．Always aim to work together.

C．The goal is to control the parents.

D．Change your mind about young children.

E．Just like adults, kids don’t like being bossed around.

F．You’ll be surprised by how much children learn by simply observing what you do.

G．Basically, be sure they’re around anything you want them to help you later in life.

10 . If you can’t get your hands off your cellphone, you have unknowingly become a slave to this device. Being addicted to a cellphone can be potentially harmful. Here are some reasons why you should use your cellphone less.

    1     Very often you forget the world outside your cellphone. Just leave the phone at home, take a walk, and get to know what you really want in life. Discover what sparks your interest and pursue it with all your heart.

You should focus more on personal interactions in real life. Can you hug your dad and feel his strength through the phone? Can you kiss your mom goodnight over the phone?     2     Cellphones just snatch these precious things away from you.

Your grades will go up. Leave your phone behind when going to school. Once you get home, don’t lie on the bed and text your friends.     3     Your grades will improve.

You need to give your mind a break. Constantly chatting on the phone puts too much pressure on your brain, which does great harm to both your physical and mental health.     4    

You need to keep away from anxiety. Research has shown that people who use cellphones all day long are more anxious and restless.     5     When they don’t get what they want, they will become depressed. Therefore, keep the phone away to keep anxiety at bay.

A．Get through your homework first.

B．You should develop your true interests.

C．You should continuously learn new things.

D．These are small gestures that play a big role in life.

E．With their growing popularity, your laziness will grow, too.

F．They seem to look for recognition and acceptance through the device.

G．So make your mind rest so that you can think and function well the next day.