1 . Every festival has its own meaning. Labor Day, for example, celebrates the value of hard work. Thanksgiving is about showing thanks to people around you. And Valentines’ Day is a time when you express love to your loved ones. But somehow it now seems that all festivals we just care about one thing — shopping. And that can be a big problem.
“In a way, over-consumption (过度消费) is the mother of all our environmental problems,” Kalle Lasn once told CNN. Lasn is the organizer of Buy Nothing Day, a day set up in Canada in 1992 to fight against unhealthy spending habits, and has now become an international event. It’s held on the day, which is known as Black Friday — a famous shopping day in the US and Canada.
You can see the irony (讽刺) here.
Even though the idea of Buy Nothing Day was brought up 26 years ago, we seem to need it now more than ever. It’s just as Lasn said, all the different kinds of pollution in our lives today — bad air quality, the reduction of forest area, endangered animal species, and plastic bags found in the ocean — seem to be the same cause: over-consumption.
The latest example is the Singles’ Day shopping craze of Nov 11, which saw a new sales record. But as Nie Li, a campaigner at Greenpeace, told Reuters, “Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste.” And it was reported that last year the Singles’ Day packages left more than 160,000 tons of waste, including plastic and cardboard. The Collins Dictionary has also just named “single-use” its Word of the Year, pointing out the problem that there’re too many things we tow out after only using them once.
So, Buy Nothing Day might only be here for one day a year, but it’s not just to remind us to the a break from shopping on that day, but to change our lifestyle completely, focusing on fun “with people we care about” rather than wasting money on useless things.
1. What’s the authors purpose of writing the first paragraph?| A．To express the people’s love for all festivals. |
| B．To talk about the meaning of the festivals. |
| C．To appreciate the value of the festivals. |
| D．To bring out the topic of the passage. |
| A．To help people save money. | B．To cut the cost for daily life. |
| C．To prevent over-consumption. | D．To set up a new sales record. |
| A．Opposed (反对的). | B．Supportive. |
| C．Unknown. | D．Neutral (中立的). |
| A．Creating a New Lifestyle | B．Buy Nothing Day |
| C．Festivals Around the World | D．A Change in People’s Life |
2 . “Farm to table” is the name of a movement that encourages people to eat locally grown food. The farmtotable idea has become more popular in recent years. But there is also a movement that brings “table to farm”. Its purpose is to connect people to the land and to honor local farmers by creating a sort of restaurant without walls.
Its founder, Jim Denevan, got the idea for this kind of “culinary adventure (美食探险)”, as he called it, ten years ago. He recently prepared tables for more than a hundred people at Briars Farm in Virginia. He and his eightmember team arrived the night before. Chefs (厨师) from a local restaurant prepared the dinner.
Jim Denevan’s brother is a farmer and he himself is a chef. He thought that the idea of a meal served right on the farm made sense, though not everyone agreed.
“But I wanted to make the idea work, so I decided to cross the country,” said Denevan. “I went all the way across the United States and set the table on farms, ranches (大牧场) and beaches, and all the places where food came from.”
“This kind of event connects us with a lot of enthusiastic people, people that we can form relationships with,” said Matt Szechenyi, who operates Briars Farm.
The tour of the farm ends at the dinner table. The meats in the meal come from Matt Szechenyi’s farm. The vegetables come from nearby farms. Guests and local farmers sit together.
Annoica Ingram came with a friend. “The food is wonderful. I appreciate their hard work. I see everything they have to do to take care of the animals and make sure they are wellcaredfor. Without them, I think, we’ll have big problems,” she said.
1. What is the main purpose of the movement “table to farm”？| A．To provide people with healthy food. |
| B．To help farmers earn more money. |
| C．To honor farmers for their hard work. |
| D．To encourage people to work less and practice more. |
| A．make new friends | B．walk around the farms |
| C．communicate with farmers | D．build restaurants for farmers |
| A．worried | B．grateful | C．doubtful | D．supportive |
| A．A travel guide. | B．A news report. | C．A diary. | D．Popular science. |
3 . 
Cheating can happen in a lot of different ways.When people cheat,it’s not fair to other people，like the kids who studied for the test or who the true winners of a game were.
Many people like the action of cheating.In their opinion,it makes difficult things seem easy,like getting all the right answers on the test.But it doesn't solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won't help on the next test—unless the person cheats again.
Some people lose respect for cheaters and think less of them.The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they shouldn't get that good grade.And,if they get caught cheating,they will be in trouble at school，and maybe at home,too.
Some kids cheat because they're busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying.Other kids might feel like they can’t pass the test without cheating.Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating,cheating isn’t a good idea.
If you were sick or upset about something the night before the day and couldn’t study,it would be better to talk with the teacher about this.And if you don’t have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice,you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school.A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teacher and his or her parents so they can find some solutions together.Talking about these problems and working them out will feel better than cheating.
1. What does the author think when kids cheat in class?| A．It is unfair to other people. |
| B．It does harm to their health. |
| C．Teachers should punish them. |
| D．Teachers shouldn't stop them at once. |
| A．Because they think the material in the test is very difficult. |
| B．Because they want to do better than the others. |
| C．Because cheating can make hard things seem very easy. |
| D．Because they have little time to study their lessons. |
| A．Some kids can’t pass the test without cheating. |
| B．Why kids cheat in the test. |
| C．Cheating isn’t a good idea. |
| D．Some kids don't spend the time studying. |
| A．Cheaters are often thought highly of. |
| B．People show no respect for those who cheat. |
| C．Parents whose kids cheat are often in trouble. |
| D．Kids cheat in the test because of swim practice. |
4 . It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel. It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver’s seat is another matter.
Road politeness is not only good manners, but a good sense. It takes the most cool-headed drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting. A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and becomes so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough. Many drivers nowadays don’t even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.
However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. A typical example is the driver who waves to a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may not be able to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to.
An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings. Unfortunately, modern drivers can’t even learn to drive, let alone master the roadmanship (公路驾车技能). Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more give-and-take from all road users. It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart.
1. Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?| A．Traffic Jams. | B．Good Manners. |
| C．Road Politeness. | D．Modem Drivers. |
| A．Traffic jams. | B．The behaviour of the drivers. |
| C．The great speed of modern life. | D．Terrible road conditions. |
| A．Encourage children to cross the road whenever they want to. |
| B．Beat back when forced to face rude driving. |
| C．Be able to recognise politeness when he sees it. |
| D．Join in a traffic stream quickly however other people feel. |
| A．master the roadmanship |
| B．neglect politeness when they see it |
| C．give a friendly nod in answer to an act of politeness |
| D．encourage old ladies to cross the road whenever and wherever they want to |
5 . Each culture has a diet of its own. The diet of the people in that land is influenced by the availability of food in that area. For example, meat is one of the main sources of energy for the body in colder climates. Therefore, it can be seen that meat in the diet of people in cold countries is more plentiful.
In Kerala, India, people eat more fish. Rice is Kerala’s main food. In all three meals, rice dishes can be seen.
While preparing powdered porridge, baked pappadam and healthy coconut milk, a grandmother was listening to her grandchildren call her. Then the door opened and there came her grandchildren. Something unfamiliar was found in the bowl in their hands. The grandmother gave it a sniff (嗅) and put it back. Through the look on her face, you could tell that she did not like the smell. Then one of the grandchildren said, “How easy it is to make noodles! Only five minutes is enough.” This is the experience of an old grandmother who came to stay with her kids and grandchildren. Two days later, the grandmother, who was ready to spend at least two months with her children, returned to her village.
Traditional dishes of Kerala, such as powdered porridge, pappadam, bread, kappa, fish curry, sambar and spices, are disappearing. Instead, even in the slums ( 贫民窟) of Kerala, many foreign dishes such as fried rice, chilli chicken and ginger chicken are becoming available. After working in the sun all day in the fields, the last generation could be seen drinking a cup of sambhara, a traditional Indian tea. But today, people prefer drinking modern red and yellow flavoured water.
When our taste in food changes, it can affect more than just our diet. Those who don’t know how to make overseas dishes don’t even get kitchen work today. We try to mimic (模仿) foreigners and accept the dishes they find unhealthy, even though foreigners are culturally inclined towards (倾向于) our diet. Though visitors come to Kerala to buy our bread, fish curry, pudding and fruit, people in Kerala go to restaurants to buy foreign rice and soups and empty their pockets.
1. Why did the old grandmother return to her village ahead of time?| A．She got terribly angry with her kids. |
| B．She had something important to deal with. |
| C．She didn’t enjoy the food at her kids’ home. |
| D．She didn’t get along well with her grandchildren. |
| A．The loss of Kerala’s traditional dishes. |
| B．Measures to save Kerala’s traditional dishes. |
| C．Benefits of keeping Kerala’s traditional dishes. |
| D．The improvement of people’s living conditions in Kerala. |
| A．Kerala has shaken off the “poor” label. |
| B．Foreign food is popular in Kerala. |
| C．Kerala offers cooks few job opportunities. |
| D．Fewer and fewer people in Kerala cook for themselves. |
| A．Worried. | B．Grateful. | C．Doubtful. | D．Satisfied. |
6 . There is a popular saying in the English language: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Well, that is not true. Unkind words, name-calling or even the so-called “the silent treatment” can hurt children as much as being physically hit, sometimes even more so. A recent study of middle school children showed that verbal (言语的) abuse by other children can harm, the development in the brain. The study was a project of researchers at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts. Researcher Martin Teicher and his team studied young adults, aged 18 to 25. These young men and women had not ever been treated in a cruel or violent way by their parents. The researchers asked the young people to rate their childhood exposure to verbal abuse from both parents and other children. Then the researchers performed imaging tests on the brains of the subjects.
The images showed that the people who reported suffering verbal abuse from peers in middle school had underdeveloped connections between the left and right side of the brain. The two sides of the brain are connected by a large bundle of connecting fibers called the corpus callosum. This was the area that was underdeveloped.
The middle school years are a time when these brain connections are developing. So, unkind, hurtful comments from children or adults during this period have the greatest effect. The researchers tested the mental and emotional condition of all the young people in the study. The tests showed that this same group of people had higher levels of fear, depression, anger and drug abuse than others in the study.
The researchers published their findings online on the American Journal of Psychiatry's website.
Parents cannot control what other people say to their children, but they can prepare their children.
1. Why does the author use the popular saying at the beginning?| A．To show the power of words. |
| B．To introduce an opposite view. |
| C．To prove the author's argument. |
| D．To show ancient people's wisdom. |
| A．They were hurt by unkind words. |
| B．They performed poorly in imaging tests. |
| C．They had their brain slightly damaged. |
| D．They experienced no physical abuse at home. |
| A．Comments on the findings. |
| B．Approaches to further studies. |
| C．Suggestions to parents. |
| D．Different opinions on the matter. |
| A．Unkind words hurt the brain. |
| B．Verbal violence should be stopped. |
| C．The way we speak matters. |
| D．Words are worse than sticks and stones. |
7 . Droughts(干旱)caused by global climate change have led to drop in wheat production, a worldwide shortage and high food prices around the world. The global wheat supply is at its lowest point in 50 years, with only an estimated 10 weeks of supply left. This has been one factor pushing the prices of bread, beer and other wheatcontaining foods steadily higher. According to Hilton Dinner, a bakery owner from Edmonton, Canada, the price of flour has more than doubled over the past eight months. In 19 years of business, Dinner said, he has never seen prices rise like this.
"Prices creep up seasonably," he said. "They might go up 10 percent, then down 5 percent. They never go back to where they started, but they creep. This is not creeping, this is drastic."
Also to blame for the global wheat shortage is the rising population, coupled with increasing meat consumption worldwide. This has led to the increasing diversion of grain to animal feed.
Analysts anticipate that the shortage may be resolved within 12 months, as farmers pull fallow land into wheat production. But even when the shortage resolves, food prices are only expected to keep climbing due to other factors, such as high energy and shipping costs.
"It's not something that's going to go away," Dinner said. "Food in general is going to go up. As wheat goes up, so does the price of eggs and chicken because they eat grainbased feed. It affects people who can't afford to pay more for their food."
Public health experts have expressed concern about the effect that rising food prices have on the poor. The United Nations recently reported that in 2007, the cost of food imports in the world's neediest countries increased 24 percent to a total of $107 billion.
1. The indirect reason for a drop in wheat production is ________.| A．the drought | B．the global climate change |
| C．the shipping cost | D．the rising population |
| A．suddenly | B．gradually |
| C．slowly | D．rapidly |
| A．the empty lands are used to plant wheat |
| B．the shipping costs are falling down |
| C．chickens don't feed on wheat any more |
| D．beer isn't made from wheat any more |
| A．poor people can't afford food |
| B．the rising population leads to high food prices |
| C．the global climate change causes wheat shortage |
| D．food prices are going to go down |
内容应包括：
1、 简述藏羚羊的现状；
2、 陈述原因（取羊皮获利等）；
3、 倡议大家保护藏羚羊并提出你的建议（加大宣传力度、增加资金、选派志愿者等）。
注意：
1、 词数80-100;
2、 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；
3、 可根据内容需要适当增加细节。
词汇提示：illegally非法地;promote推动; conservation保护;make great profits获得巨大利润
Dear President,
I’m writing to give some suggestions to further protect the Tibetan antelope.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward to your reply.
Yours ,
Li Hua
9 . With the young unable to afford to leave home and the old at risk of isolation(孤独), more families are choosing to live together.
The doorway to peace and quiet, for Nick Bright at least, leads straight to his mother-in-law, she lives on the ground floor, while he lives upstairs with his wife and their two daughters.
Four years ago they all moved into a three-storey Victorian house in Bristol - one of a growing number of multigenerational families in the UK living together under the same roof. They share a front door and a washing machine, but Rita Whitehead has her own kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room on the ground floor.
“We floated the idea to my mum of sharing at a house,” says Kathryn Whitehead. Rita cuts in: “We spoke more with Nick because I think it’s a big thing for Nick to live with his mother-in-law.”
And what does Nick think? “From my standpoint, it all seems to work very well. Would I recommend it? Yes, I think I would.”
It’s hard to tell exactly how many people agree with him, but research indicates that the numbers have been rising for some time. Official reports suggest that the number of households with three generations living together had risen from 325,000 in 2001to 419,000 in 2013.
Other varieties of multigenerational family are more common. Some people live with their elderly parents; many more adult children are returning to the family home, if they ever left. It is said that about 20% of 25-34-year-olds live with their parents, compared with 16% in 1991.The total number of all multigenerational households in Britain is thought to be about 1.8 million.
Stories like that are more common in parts of the world where multigenerational living is more firmly rooted. In India, particularly outside cities, young women are expected to move in with their husband’s family when they get married.
1. Who mainly uses the ground floor in the Victorian house in Bristol?| A．Nick. | B．Rita. | C．Kathryn | D．The daughters. |
| A．Positive. | B．Carefree. | C．Tolerant. | D．Unwilling. |
| A．Family traditions. | B．Financial reports. | C．Published statistics. | D．Public opinions. |
| A．Lifestyles in different countries. | B．Conflicts between generations. |
| C．A housing problem in Britain. | D．A rising trend of living in the UK. |
10 . In colleges around the country, most students are also workers.
The reality of college can be pretty different from the images presented in movies and television. Instead of the students who wake up late, party all the time, and study only before exams, many colleges are full of students with pressing schedules of not just classes and activities, but real jobs, too.
This isn't a temporary phenomenon. The share of working students has been on the rise since the 1970s, and one-fifth of students work year round. About one-quarter of those who work while attending school have both a full-course load and a full-time job. The arrangement can help pay for tuition （学费） and living costs, obviously. And there's value in it beyond the direct cause: such jobs can also be vital for developing important professional and social skills that make it easier to land a job after graduation. With many employers looking for students with already-developed skill sets, on-the-job training while in college can be the best way to ensure a job later on.
But it's not all upside. Even full-time work may not completely cover the cost of tuition and living expenses. The study notes that if a student worked a full-time job at the minimum wage, they would earn just over $15,000 each year, certainly not enough to pay for tuition, room, and meals at many colleges without some serious financial aid. That means that though they're sacrificing （牺牲） time away from the classroom, many working students will still graduate with at least some debt. And working full time can reduce the chance that students will graduate at all, by cutting into the time available for studying and attending classes.
There is little reward for attending but not finishing college. Students who end up leaving school because of difficulty in managing work and class are likely to find themselves stuck in some of the same jobs they might have gotten if they hadn't gone to college at all. The difficulty of working too much while in school can create a cycle that pushes students further into debt without receiving any of the financial or career benefits.
1. It can be learned from the passage that today's college students actually _______.| A．attend a number of parties | B．work while attending school |
| C．stay up late all the time | D．care little about exams |
| A．The chance of finding a job after graduation. |
| B．The shortage of holiday jobs for college students. |
| C．The need of improving social skills. |
| D．The high tuition and living expenses. |
| A．working students are more likely to graduate from college |
| B．the pay from working can cover students' college costs |
| C．working too much while in college may not benefit a student's career |
| D．students can receive a reward for managing work and class well |
| A．An Introduction of Working College Students |
| B．The Advantages of Working While Studying |
| C．The Struggle to Balance Work and School |
| D．The Difficulties of Landing a Job |
