1 . For making contact and communicating with a person, effective eye contact is essential to our everyday interaction with people, and also to those who want to be effective communicators in public places.     1    .

Generally in Western societies and many other cultures, eye contact with a person is expected to be regular but not overly persistent.     2    , causing the person who’s the object of a person’s stare to feel overly studied and uncomfortable.

    3    . The New Zealand Medical Journal reported that one reason so many young children fall victim to attacks by pet dogs is their overly-lasting eye contact with pets, which causes them to feel threatened and defensive.

Overly lasting eye contact is also a sign of a person’s over-awareness of the messages they are giving. In the case of people who try to lie to someone, they may distort (扭曲) their eye contact so that they’re not avoiding it.     4    . But on the contrary, evasive (逃避的) eye contact is a sign of discomfort. Why do we avoid looking at a person? It may be because we feel ashamed to be looking at them if we’re being dishonest of trying to take them in. Evasive eye contact may also a sign of dishonesty.

However, Scotland’s University of Stirling found that, in a question-and-answer study among children, those who maintained eye contact were less likely to come up with the correct answer to a question than those who looked away to consider their response.     5    , when this energy could be spent on deep thinking.

A．This is a widely recognized indicator of lying

B．Constant eye contact is often considered to be rude

C．Eye contact is the act of looking into someone’s eyes

D．But there’s something you may not know about eye contact

E．Overpowering eye contact can make the other person excited

F．Even between humans and non-humans, lasting eye contact is sometimes unadvisable

G．Eye contact, as a socializing device, can take a surprising amount of effort to maintain

2 . Desperate to help his 96-year-old mother to speak her mother tongue again, Keith McDermott made an appeal on social media and was met with a flood of kind responses. The old lady, Ray, was moved to tears after talking on the phone with one of the enthusiastic respondents in Welsh.

Ray moved to America after meeting her husband when she was only 18, hence waving goodbye to her life in Wales. She continued to speak Welsh with her mum-keeping a little bit of home. But she lost her beloved mum four decades ago and hadn't spoken Welsh ever since.

Despite suffering from short-term memory loss and sometimes not remembering what she has done recently, Ray's childhood memories in Wales remain clear. “She wants to return but I know, given her age, such long-distance travel is out of the question.” said Keith, “Once she mentioned ‘I wish I could speak Welsh again but I suppose I never will.’ It was then that I thought I should make her wish happen.”

So Keith, 70, posted on social media in the New York Welsh area asking for any Welsh speakers that could speak Welsh with his mum. And he was touched, as well as a little shocked, to receive over 30 responses within half an hour. Keith thanked everyone and eventually asked Melisa to give his mum a phone call. “Speaking with Melisa, her (Ray's) Welsh was a little rusty. A few more Welsh conversations and I think she'd be fluent again,” added Keith.

“When you have a parent in their nineties, you will find you two have something in common: you're both old, so I am very sympathetic to my mother's feelings of loneliness and isolation (孤立). I'm feeling it myself.” Keith hopes to set up more Welsh phone conversations for his mum and Melisa has promised to send Ray some short stories in Welsh to remind her of her life in Wales.

1. Why did Keith post a message on social media?

A．To gather American Welsh speakers.

B．To help his mum speak Welsh again.

C．To slow down his mum's memory loss.

D．To track down his family's Welsh origin.

2. How did Keith feel after seeing the responses?

A．Surprised and moved.	B．Concerned and thankful.
C．Sympathetic and excited.	D．Astonished and isolated.

3. What is conveyed in the story?

A．Social media contribute to closer family ties.

B．Mother tongue means more than a language.

C．Childhood experiences shape one's later life.

D．One will be more sensitive when getting older.

4. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A community noticeboard.

B．A health magazine.

C．A language-learning website.

D．A local newspaper.

3 . It was late on a Thursday evening in Austin, Texas, and I had just finished my shift downtown waiting tables. I hopped into my truck and headed away from the chaos to my own personal oasis, Dan’s Depot. It was on a four-lane road that went straight from the heart of Austin to West Texas. Once, Dan’s Depot had been outside of the city. But with Austin’s population growing and the city’s expansion, it was swallowed up by high-rise buildings and skyscrapers.

I’ve been familiar with Dan’s Depot since I played my first show there. Like most waiters in Austin, I’m actually a musician. The woman who welcomes customers is Dan’s wife Maude.

I slid my truck into the last free spot and headed to the door. “How’s it going, Maude?” I asked.

“David, I just don’t know what we’re going to do,” she said. “Our contract with the landlord is up for renewal at the end of the month, and he has doubled the rent. Even if we charged twice as much for the snacks and shows, we could never make ends meet.”

My heart dropped. On some level, I’d been expecting to hear this news for as long as I’d been coming to Dan’s Depot. After all, Dan’s Depot was now sandwiched between a shop selling yoga pants to people who could afford personal trainers and a luxury furniture store where even a simple dining chair cost more than $1,000. How could this little live music joint survive with those kinds of neighbors?

“What are you going to do with this place? Are you moving?” I asked.

She shook her head slowly. “I just don’t know. Dan and I are not as young as we used to be.”

I patted her on the shoulder and made my way to the tables near the stage. Memories sprung up in my mind. Most of my musical ideas came to me while I was watching live shows here at Dan’s Depot. When the song ended, I got up and went back to Maude.

“How about I run the new Dan’s Depot?” I asked her. She stared at me, surprised.

“Hear me out,” I said. “I’ve got enough money to go in with you and Dan as a third partner. I know the Texas music scene in and out, and I can get the best new bands in here every week. We’ll move it way down South Congress Avenue, where it’s still close enough to be accessible from downtown but the rent is more affordable. And most importantly, this place means a lot to me.”

Maude was still staring at me silently. I began to grow uneasy. Had I offended her? I started apologizing. She cut me off with a huge embrace. “Honey, I think that’s a fantastic idea.”

1. The underlined word “oasis” in Paragraph 1 refers to a place where the author ________.

A．parks his truck	B．works full-time
C．grabs a meal at night	D．finds joy and relaxation

2. Why did the author say he had long expected to hear the news Maude told him?

A．He had felt the sandwiches in Dan’s Depot were too expensive.

B．He had thought Dan’s Depot was out of tune with its surroundings.

C．He had pointed out the management of Dan’s Depot was inefficient.

D．He had suggested Dan and Maude should retire early and enjoy their lives.

3. What does the author advise Maude to do?

A．Sell Dan’s Depot to him.	B．Hire him as a lead singer.
C．Find another way to run the business.	D．Advertise for a third partner.

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．The power of music	B．Old traditions die hard
C．My respect for Maude	D．Every end is a new beginning

4 . Architecture is amazing. It has changed the way I look and interact with the world and my environment.   It has trained me to be hyper-sensitive (过度敏感) to the built environment, to recognize problems and find solutions that an untrained eye would never notice.

As much as I love this profession, it is very easy to get lost in architecture. I get so focused that I have forgotten about everything else. Luckily my passion for cycling kept me sane (清醒的) while I was becoming an architect. I faced a lot of obstacles and challenges taking a bicycle ride across the United States. Looking back, cycling across the America was actually one of the smartest things I ever did.

I have actually bicycled across the continental USA twice; East to west. Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean, both times. Bicycling across America isn’t as hard as you think.

I rode alone on my first trip in 2005 from Virginia Beach to the coast of Florence, Oregon. In the end it was 4,547 miles over the course of 77 days.

I left for the second trip in 2007 with my two best friends from Bar Harbor, Maine to Portland, Oregon, which was a 4,886 mile ride over 90 days. At that time, I fell in love with the idea of leaving the east coast behind, starting a whole new life and career in a new city. I ended up in Portland. After arriving in town on a bike, I eventually found a job, a place to live and an amazing dog.

I share all this not to convince anyone to go biking across America, but only to share how doing this has changed my life. Architecture has given me a wonderful life and career but it isn’t everything. Thankfully I have also been very passionate about: my friends, traveling, bicycles, punk rock, technology, the internet, my dog, and even yoga. My architecture background has definitely sweetened my relationship with all those things.

Becoming an architect is a noble pursuit, but you should keep pursuing everything else that you are passionate about. It will enhance your architecture career and ultimately make you a more interesting person, which in my opinion is really more important than being another silly architect.

1. What’s the advantage of cycling according to the author?

A．Changing his negative attitude to architecture.

B．Keeping himself focused on his career all the time.

C．Enabling him to find solutions without training.

D．Making him a much better architect and person.

2. What does the author think of his two cross-country bike trips?

A．They are harder than what he expected before.

B．They show the benefits of riding with friends.

C．They give him some extraordinary experiences.

D．They guarantee him a new life and career in Portland.

3. What can be inferred from Paragraph 6?

A．Don’t get completely lost in your hobbies.

B．Don’t abandon hobbies for your profession.

C．Don’t feel ashamed of stopping your hobbies.

D．Don’t weigh your family against your profession.

4. In the last paragraph, the author reminds us to ________.

A．take up the pursuit of becoming an architect

B．find what we are really passionate about

C．appreciate other people’s good intentions

D．avoid our career taking over other pursuits

5 . “Man up.” That’s the “advice” that some guys hear from their family and friends when they’re not _________ “manly” enough because they’re showing “too many” emotions.

And, frankly, it’s the kind of advice that ends up doing great _________. Love and support are what strengthen a person; toxic masculinity (有毒的男子气概) is what _________ some problems in the future.

A 16-year-old boy told his _________ about how he cried after not getting into a soccer team. It was a pretty big _________ to him and, naturally, he was upset. And _________ his mom and his sisters comforted him, his dad had a _________ attitude towards the entire situation. A big fight followed full of accusations of the boy not being enough of a man.

The boy’s dad _________ him for “not doing enough” to get into the soccer team. He then went on to give the boy some _________ on how to be more athletic and take care of his diet more.

__________, the dad said that it was stupid to cry over a thing like this, and that it was time that he “manned up”. What followed was a long __________ and afterwards, the boy ignored his dad for a week.

The boy’s behaviour can be __________. Men, just like women, experience depression and anxiety. However, men are __________ told to control their emotions and not to __________ their problems with others, as it’s seen as being weak. Actually, for men, it is good to __________ their emotions properly.

1.

A．appearing

B．acting

C．responding

D．offering

2.

A．harm

B．failure

C．confusion

D．anxiety

3.

A．deals with

B．runs into

C．brings about

D．looks into

4.

A．opinion

B．story

C．secret

D．trip

5.

A．loss

B．change

C．shame

D．blow

6.

A．unless

B．if

C．because

D．while

7.

A．different

B．positive

C．friendly

D．flexible

8.

A．praised

B．thanked

C．forgave

D．blamed

9.

A．information

B．inspiration

C．suggestions

D．demands

10.

A．However

B．Besides

C．Therefore

D．Instead

11.

A．silence

B．separation

C．conversation

D．argument

12.

A．glorious

B．practical

C．understandable

D．impressive

13.

A．traditionally

B．originally

C．immediately

D．simply

14.

A．combine

B．share

C．handle

D．compare

15.

A．hide

B．generate

C．release

D．control

6 . A new study published Monday in an American Heart Association journal Hypertension, examined 360,000 participants who provided blood, urine and saliva (唾液) samples, as well as detailed information about their lifestyles. Researchers found that adults who napped often were more likely to develop high blood pressure and have a stroke. But that doesn’t mean the napping causes these health issues — instead, napping may be due to unhealthy behaviors. The researchers found that a high percentage of frequent nappers reported cigarette smoking, daily drinking, insomnia (失眠症) and other factors that could contribute to health-related issues.

Dr. Margaret Blattner, clinical instructor, from the department of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, tells PEOPLE that frequent or long daytime naps can disturb healthy nighttime sleep. Napping during the day may make it harder to fall asleep at night or cause nighttime sleep to become fragmented and that missing out on night time sleep can cause severe daytime sleepiness.

“Often, naps continuing long are less restorative than more brief daytime naps; people often wake up unrefreshed after a long nap,” she adds. “Additionally, long day time naps take away time from other healthy things that people enjoy during the day: spending time with family, enjoying hobbies, and exercise.”

When napping during the day becomes unpredictable, uncontrollable, or prevents an individual from accomplishing what they need or want to do, it could indicate a possible sleep disorder.

But Blattner assures that taking naps can also be beneficial. ”Napping is not always a cause for concern. Taking a nap can be refreshing and enjoyable,” she says. “The key is, are you missing out on things that you enjoy because you are too sleepy to stay awake — that can indicate a problem -or does the nap help you get more out of your day?”

“Taking a brief nap can feel restorative, reduce stress, and improve focus. Early afternoon is a good time to nap, as this agrees with a physical circle dip in energy,“ Blattner continues.” However, napping too late into the afternoon or evening may impact night time sleep quality and make it harder to fall asleep.”

1. Why are adults often taking daytime napping more at risk of high blood pressure and strokes?

A．Because the frequent daytime napping causes these health issues.

B．Because the daytime napping is less restorative than nighttime sleep.

C．Because you can’t get more out of the daytime napping.

D．Because the frequent daytime napping is more likely caused by some unhealthy behaviors.

2. What does the underlined word in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Broken.

B．Scarce.

C．Abundant.

D．Regular.

3. When will you be in the minimum energy interval generally?

A．At 9 AM.

B．At 1 PM.

C．At 4 PM.

D．At 10 PM.

4. What is Dr. Margaret Blattner’s attitude towards the daytime napping?

A．Doubtful.

B．Objective.

C．Indifferent.

D．Opposed.

7 . Benefits of Early Rising

“Early to bed and early to rise，makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise.” These words of Benjamin Franklin have been backed by science. It has been proved that morning people are persistent and active. It leads to better performance, greater success, and higher standards of living. Rising up early also relieves stress and tension because it gives you the time to squeeze in a workout before you get distracted.     1     Recent research has found that late sleepers generally consume approximately 248 more calories than those who rise early. They tend to only eat half as much fruit and vegetables and twice as much fast food as those early risers.

    2     You should restrict the usage of smartphones immediately before going to bed, which will help you become an early riser. Researchers have also said that early morning is the best time to study and gain knowledge.     3    

If you get into the routine of rising early and retiring to bed early，you are more likely to have a better sleeping pattern.     4     You will feel more energetic throughout the day, and accomplish your goals in a faster and more productive manner. Most businessmen are early risers as they believe it is the key to a successful, happy and content life.

Getting up early has many benefits for both your body and your mind.     5     Hence if you don’t get into the routine of waking up before the rest of the world, you won’t be able to change the world.

A．Better sleep equals more energy, plain and simple.

B．This habit is very useful to a man in various ways.

C．This is why morning people are healthier and happier.

D．It will help you in staying ahead in the class and keep your grades up.

E．The hardest part is convincing yourself to do it, and then making it a routine.

F．Therefore, one needs to maintain a proper schedule and has to go to bed on time.

G．If you wish to enjoy the charms of the morning, you must get up early in the morning.

8 . 阅读下面短文，根据题目要求用英文回答问题。

You might not have heard of the "fresh start effect”, but if you've ever made a New Year's resolution, you're familiar with it. It refers to the human tendency to take action towards achieving a goal after a special occasion or key date has passed.

The fresh start effect is simple. Most people want to improve themselves in some way. When we hit important milestones, we're often likely to reflect: are we where we thought we'd be by a certain age? Was this year a successful year, or did we waste it? Annual landmarks like birthdays, or the start of a new year, signify a new time period and an opportunity to leave slip-ups behind and to set new goals for better behavior.

Research shows that anticipation of a new beginning is a key motivator for the fresh start effect. For example, people aged 29, 39, 49 etc. were 48% more likely to run a marathon for the first time. When they were approaching a new decade, they were more likely to search for meaning in their lives and try to improve themselves. The reason is simple. When we see our past self as separate from our current self, we feel it easier to introduce new goals and take action.

What's interesting about the fresh start effect is that we don't need to wait for big milestones to take advantage of this sudden dose of motivation. Studies show that the first day of each month and even each week can also inspire us. These days, known as temporal landmarks”, encourage us to step back and evaluate our current situation. And when we do this, we gain the motivation to be better: we become more driven and more productive. That is why people are more likely to stall diets or exercise plans on Monday, rather than the next day.

Fresh starts are exciting opportunities to learn from your mistakes and move forward. So if you're currently experiencing loss of motivation, questioning the meaning of your work, or just feel like you're stuck in a rut, why don't you use the fresh start effect in your own life?

1. According to the passage, what is "fresh start effect"?
2. Why is it that anticipation of a new beginning is a key motivator for the fresh start effect?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
> A fresh start like the first day of each week is a time when we forget about our mistakes and move forward.
4. Besides the fresh start effect, in what other ways do you motivate yourself in your life? (In about 40 words）

9 . Statistics prove that we’re not the best at sticking to New Year’s resolutions.     1    It turns out you can. Here are some strategies to get your body — and your finances — into shape.

●    2    

Umber Eats or Deliver brings food to your door with almost zero effort on your part but plenty of pressure on your pocket. Remove them from your phone and you’re less likely to overeat a two-large-pizzas-and-garlic-bread meal deal for dinner — and think of all that money you’ll save!

● Store up.

By shopping for fresh food and the makings of a healthy meal in your fridge, you’ll save money and excess (过量的) kilograms because chances are you won’t order last-minute takeaways.    3    In this way, you’ll be cleaning up your eating and your spending at the same time.

● Small steps add up.

    4    Getting rid of unhealthy habits like that doughnut with your coffee will help shave off excess weight over time. Apply that thinking to your savings, too. You might think that unless you can put away a serious part of your income that it’s not worth it. Not so. Even depositing as little as $10-20 each pay into a savings account will add up over time.

● Block it.

You can plan to limit your access to processed foods by stocking mainly healthy foods, and making those foods the first thing you see when you open the fridge.    5    Putting a block or limit on an account to help restrict spending is similar to putting a lock on the cookie jar.

A．Don’t skip meals.

B．Delete food delivery apps.

C．The same applies to money.

D．Have healthy meals at home instead.

E．Minor day-to-day decisions have a huge impact on weight loss.

F．No weight-loss goal is complete without a workout component.

G．But what if you could target your diet and financial goals with the one resolution?

10 . A letter written to a 12-year-old girl in Lithuania was delivered in December, almost 51 years after it was sent by a pen pal in Poland. “I thought that someone was pranking me,” said Genovefa Klonovska after being handed the letter, which included a handmade colored rose and two paper dolls.

The letter, together with 17 others, fell out of a ventilation hole (通风口) this summer, dirty and wrinkled, as a wall was taken down in a former post office on the suburb of Vilnius. Jurgis Vilnius, owner of the building immediately called the post office. “I’m so happy they got interested,” said he.

Street names and their numbering have changed in Vilnius, and post office workers spent months looking for the right houses and talking to current renters and neighbors, tracking down where the recipients moved to. Only five were found. In several cases children of late recipients were handed a lost letter.

“We felt a moral duty to do this,” said Deimante Zebrauskaite, head of the customer experience department at Lithuania Post.

One lady compared the experience to receiving a message from a bottle thrown into sea. People were emotional. “Some felt they saw a part of daily life of their deceased parents,” Zebrauskaite said.

In the letter to Klonovska, sent from Koezary in Poland and stamped in 1970, a girl named Ewa complains buses no longer reach her village, so she has to walk in minus 23 degree Celsius cold, and asks for pictures of actors.

Now in her 60s, Klonovska has no memory of Ewa. She probably wrote Ewa after finding her address advertising for pen pals in a newspaper, and the relationship ceased after the letter got undelivered.

“So good that the letter didn't matter much. The loss was not life-changing,” said Klonovska “What if they delivered a lost letter from a suitor (求婚者) to his love, and their wedding never happened?”

1. What does the underlined word “pranking” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Brightening.

B．Embarrassing.

C．Tricking.

D．Pleasing.

2. What happened to the letters in Paragraph 2?

A．They were accidentally found.

B．They remained well-preserved.

C．They were delivered by the former post office.

D．They were hidden by the owner of the building.

3. Which of the following best describes the present post office in Vilnius?

A．Generous.

B．Dutiful.

C．Honest.

D．Cautious.

4. What can we learn from what Klonovska said?

A．Klonovska refused a suitor.

B．Klonovska stopped the wedding.

C．The undelivered letter ruined the relationship.

D．The undelivered letter made little difference to her.