1 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What will Adam do in the next two months?

A．Perform some shows.

B．Write a new book.

C．Share stories with fans.

2. What does Adam say about Ramble Book?

A．It tells stories in the 1990s.

B．It is mainly in a funny style.

C．It becomes a best-seller in 2021.

3. When was The Adam and Joe Show played on TV?

A．From 1991 to 1994.

B．From 1994 to 1996.

C．From 1996 to 2001.

4. Where did Adam meet Joe Cornish?

A．At Paris College.

B．At Oxford University.

C．At Westminster School.

2 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Working Out Worries by Writing

After his father was driven to the hospital for emergent treatment, 43-year-old Yanatha Desouvre began to panic. So, he did one thing that he knew would calm himself: He wrote. Over the next few weeks, Desouvre filled several notebooks, writing about his worry as well as his happy memories with his dad. “Writing allowed me to face my fear and process my pain,” he says. Psychologists refer to that kind of writing as “expressive writing”. People do it by recording their deepest thoughts and feelings. However, different from writing in a journal, expressive writing is to reflect honestly and thoughtfully on a particular frustration or challenge.

A well-known psychology professor says that hundreds of studies have looked at the potential benefits of expressive writing and found it can help reduce pain and improve mood, sleep and memory. It may even help reduce symptoms of various illnesses, and prevent colds and flu.

Expressive writing takes effect because translating a painful experience into language allows people to make meaning out of it, some experts say. The process forces them to organize their thoughts and offers a sense of control, thus completing the pursuit of value from such an experience. Another research suggested that during expressive writing, the act of labeling a feeling can lessen the activity relating to nerves in the threat area of the brain. With these nerves relaxed, people can lower the symptoms of their diseases, enhance their appreciation for life, and increase the acceptance of various experiences in their lives.

What can’t be ignored is that it shouldn’t be used as a replacement for other medical treatments. And people coping with a severe depression may not find it useful to do on their own, without therapy. Yet, it can be a powerful coping tool for many, in large part because it helps battle against their reluctance to face negative emotions.

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3 . Some literary characters capture the imagination of readers. Their adventures, experiences, talents and personalities make them _______. Detective Sherlock Holmes is one of these. Author Arthur Conan Doyle created Holmes in 1887 in his works. He was brilliant. Critically, his ability to notice _______, assemble them and draw conclusions amazed everyone. He first appeared in the story “A Study in Scarlet”The story also introduced Dr. John Watson and how he came to live with Holmes and be part of his life. Watson observes that many interesting people visit Holmes at various times during the day. Holmes informs Watson he is a “_______detective”. These people are clients, including _______ from Scotland Yard, who seek his help to solve difficult cases.

Watson narrates this first case which involves the murders of two men. The story has two parts. In the first part, Holmes solves the crime and captures the killer. The second part gives the backstory as to why the killer murdered his _______. It was a revenge (报复) killing for their part in the death of the murderer’s fiancee.

The Red-headed League is on many people’s lists of their favorite stories _______ Sherlock Holmes. In this story, red-headed businessman Jabez Wilson wants Holmes’ help. Several weeks before, Wilson’s young assistant, Vincent Spaulding, had _______ him to reply to a newspaper ad. The ad offered _______ paid work to a red-headed man. Wilson gets the job and is paid 4 pounds a week for short periods of afternoon work. _______ suddenly without notice the job stops. Wilson wants Holmes’s assistance to discover what happened. Holmes ________ a description of Spaulding and goes to see him at Wilson’s shop. He notices that the knees of Spaulding’s trousers are ________. Then Holmes taps on the pavement ________Wilson’s shop. Next he calls a police inspector and the director of the bank that is behind Wilson’s shop. The four men hide in the dark bank vault (金库) and wait. Soon two men, one of whom is Spaulding, ________ from a tunnel cut into the vault’s floor and are captured. The two men had ________ the Red-headed League to keep Wilson away while they dug the ________ to the bank vault.

1.

A．imaginable

B．intelligible

C．powerful

D．unforgettable

2.

A．criminals

B．processes

C．details

D．expressions

3.

A．consulting

B．investing

C．conducting

D．enquiring

4.

A．natives

B．detectives

C．officials

D．rivals

5.

A．colleges

B．partners

C．relatives

D．victims

6.

A．including

B．representing

C．involving

D．praising

7.

A．urged

B．helped

C．warned

D．forced

8.

A．dearly

B．fully

C．highly

D．earnestly

9.

A．Therefore

B．Furthermore

C．Meanwhile

D．Then

10.

A．turns to

B．asks for

C．takes down

D．works out

11.

A．dirty

B．ordinary

C．special

D．wet

12.

A．on top of

B．at the back of

C．in front of

D．in the middle of

13.

A．escape

B．emerge

C．run

D．keep

14.

A．invented

B．organized

C．supervised

D．commanded

15.

A．yard

B．wall

C．hole

D．tunnel

4 . The best TED Talks on gratitude (感激)

David Steindl-Rast: Want to be happy? Be grateful

This 15-minute talk, from “monk and interfaith scholar” David Steindl-Rast, discusses gratitude and specifically its relationship to happiness. In the talk, Steindl-Rast argues that: “it is not happiness that makes us grateful” but “gratefulness that makes us happy”.

Louie Schwartzberg: Nature. Beauty. Gratitude.

This 10-minute talk comes from photographer Louie Schwartzberg, with the aid from the above-mentioned Steindl-Rast. In the talk, Schwartzberg presents some of his photographs of nature and explains how they can lead to feelings of gratitude with a story about life from a child’s perspective (视角) as well as life from an elderly man’s perspective.

Brian Doyle: 365 Days of Thank You

This 8-minute talk comes from Brian Doyle, who discusses how a near-death experience led him to start thinking about the role of gratitude in his life. Specifically, Doyle made a commitment to sincerely thank one person in his life every single day for a full year. This short talk is not just an inspiring story but might cause the viewers to consider how they can be grateful in their daily lives.

Hailey Bartholomew: 365 Grateful Project

This 12-minute talk from Hailey Bartholomew is, like Doyle’s, centered on a daily, year-long project. Unlike Doyle’s, however, Bartholomew’s focuses on photography and using photography to find gratitude in her life every day. Photographers who enjoyed Schwartzberg’s TED Talk should give this one a watch, as should anyone who wants to go through a similar project to find the gratitude in their own lives.

1. What makes people happy according to David Steindl-Rast?

A．Beauty.

B．Gratitude.

C．Nature.

D．Faith.

2. What can we know about Brian Doyle’s talk?

A．It shows many pictures.	B．It’s based on a year-long project.
C．It’s the shortest of all the talks.	D．It tells about a child’s experience.

3. In which column of a website can you read the passage?

A．Education.

B．Opinion.

C．History.

D．Lifestyle.

5 . Could J. K. Rowling please leave Harry Potter in peace? 2010 was a good time to move on. We all know that Harry Potter’s last adventures hit the bookstore in 2007, and three years later the Warner Bros adaptations ran their course in cinema, too. For many fans, the young wizard had worked his magic through most of their childhood. But in 2018, a new Harry Potter extended universe film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crime of Grindelwald, was out.

I love Harry Potter series and I always will. It’s all there in my memory: I remember the first delight at reading “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal”. The wizarding treasure hunt, thrown by my parents for my ninth birthday with my dad dressed as Hagrid in the garden, was so clear in my mind. I remember deciphering (破译) my copy of the Deathly Hallows, the first book I read in English, and having to check the French for “wand”. The 2001 trip to the cinema to see Philosopher’s Stone, and all the ones that followed are kept clearly.

However, someone needs to call a halt to the endless afterlife of Potter’s fictional universe. It was enough in the seven books and eight films. We didn’t and don’t need a community website, a theatre play, the printed script of said movie, and even more movies.

Rowling has created 21^st-century modern literary classic. I always look up to her as the textbook classy writer: respectfully drawing attention from readers, successful but wise enough to withdraw. She also cares much about the causes she holds dear. In 2011 alone, she donated 16% of her net worth to charities. Of all contemporary authors who hit gold, Rowling remains one of the very most inspirational.

The saddest thing is that Rowling helped with the writing of the Cursed Child. She regularly “revealed” new details about Potter’s magical world on Twitter. Today, I decided to give up: I don’t follow Rowling on Twitter. I don’t want to see the new film. Thank you, Joanne Kathleen Rowling. I have enough valued stories—I don’t need new ones any more.

1. The last book of Harry Potter series was published in ______ .

A．2007

B．2010

C．2011

D．2017

2. We can learn from Paragraph 2 that the author ______ .

A．felt rather easy to understand Harry Potter series

B．was quiet fond of Harry Potter series and its films

C．read Harry Potter series with the help of his parents

D．missed the time of watching Harry Potter movies with his parents

3. What does the underlined phrase “call a halt to” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Share.

B．Appreciate.

C．Stop.

D．Change.

4. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A．The talent J. K. Rowling has.

B．The author’s praise for J. K. Rowling.

C．The influence of J. K. Rowling’s works.

D．The author’s expectations of J. K. Rowling.

6 . 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。

A new English version of a modern classic Chinese book for children, I Want To Be Good by Huang Beijia, a well-known     1     (write) in China, was published in January     2     (eventual) by UK-based New Classic Press.

The book, which was translated by Nicky Harman, a UK-based prize-winning literary translator, had been picked     3     a “Top Children’s Book in Translation” by the International Committee of the Children’s Literature Association.

As     4     matter of fact, it became a classic when it was first published in 1996 by the Chinese publisher and     5     (sell) over 5 million copies in China since then. It has also been adapted for cinema, television and stage, and translated into nine     6     (language) including English, French, Korean, Vietnamese and Arabic.

The book tells the story of a 10-year-old girl     7     is under pressure to do better and pass important school exams. The author said the story was inspired by her personal life,     8     (indicate) “the complicated relationship between mother and daughter” and challenging “the traditional thought of being a Tiger Mother in the     9     (compete) learning environment in China.”

The book has been much loved in China as it has encouraged a generation of young readers     10     (achieve) their dreams, and most importantly, to be themselves.

7 . 4 Books that Work Better on Audio

Strained eyes from staring at a screen all day? Give your eyes a break and dive into these audiobooks instead. Listening to an audiobook stimulates the same parts of the brain as reading does, and it is also helpful if you’re feeling anxious or depressed. Here are a few examples:

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Bryson’s genius lies in his ability to write about hard subjects—from Shakespeare to the human body—while making them seem so easy. Listening to it will teach you about everything from the Big Bang to particle physics, without ever feeling like a lesson.

The Best of Me by David Sedaris

Now, for the first time, David Sedaris reads his autobiographical stories on Radio 4, bringing us his funniest and most memorable work. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence, which is almost impossible to read without laughing.

Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

There’s no shortage of LOTR audiobooks knocking around on Audible, as they have broad appeal across all age groups, being an ideal company for family car journeys. These are complete and clock in at a full 22 hours and 38 minutes, perfect for those looking to get their money’s worth.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

This tale of Abraham Lincoln mourning his son in a graveyard full of ghosts is the winner of the 2017 Booker prize. The book has no less than 166 different narrators—the result being that some readers complained of getting lost. But the audio one makes easy work of distinguishing between varied characters with their distinctive voices.

1. Which is not an advantage of an audiobook?

A．Reduction in anxiety.	B．Easy access without pay.
C．Protection for eyes.	D．Activation of the brain.

2. Which audiobook best suits people who prefer humorous content?

A．A Short History of Nearly Everything.	B．The Best of Me.
C．Lord of the Rings.	D．Lincoln in the Bardo.

3. What’s special about the audio version of Lincoln in the Bardo?

A．It makes the story more attractive.	B．It suits people of all ages.
C．It tells the characters apart.	D．It helps the author win a prize.

8 . Books on the History of Ukraine

The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine
By Serhii Plokhy
Basic Books; 395 pages; $29.99. Allen Lane; £25

The author is the most distinguished historian of Ukraine (乌克兰) writing in English. This book covers the many centuries in which Ukraine was attacked by powers from all points of the compass. Mr Plokhy shows how Ukrainian language, culture and identity boomed through hardships — which helps explain why Ukrainians are fighting heroically to defend themselves.

Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine
By Anna Reid
Basic Books; 368 pages; $18.99. Weidenfeld & Nicolson; £10.99

The author first published this mixture of memoir (回忆录), travelogue and history in 1997, but updated it in 2015. She introduces appealing Ukrainians, bygone and contemporary, including Taras Shevchenko, the national poet, etc. Ms Reid does not avoid the horrors of the country’s past; but she also finds room for hope.

The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution
By Marci Shore
Yale University Press; 320 pages; $26 and £25

The title comes from a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky, and the book is an account of prodemocracy (支持民主) revolution in Ukraine in 2013-14. The author describes the feelings of people then — the sense of unity and the motivation of those who headed east to fight the Russian-backed enemies in the Donbas. She also describes the implications of Ukraine’s fate for the future of Europe.

Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine
By Anne Applebaum
Doubleday; 496 pages; $35. Allen Lane; £25

The starvation, known as the Holodomor, swept Ukraine in 1932-33, killing around 4 million people. Anne Applebaum, a Pulitzer-prize winning author, convincingly argues that the starvation was awful, yet left psychological wealth for Ukrainians who bonded together to preserve their nationalism.

1. Where does the book The Ukrainian Night take its name from?

A．From a film.	B．From a poem.
C．From a magazine.	D．From a newspaper.

2. Which book is the cheapest in dollars?

A．Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine.

B．The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine.

C．Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine.

D．The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution.

3. What theme do the four books share?

A．They predict the future of Ukraine.	B．They face up to historical challenges.
C．They pity Ukrainians for their misfortune.	D．They admit the weaknesses of humans.

9 . Like so many young bookish kids I wrote poems and stories and filled pages of journals with dreams. But even though I adored writing, I still knew that being a real-life writer was a dream both great and impossible.

At different times I harboured the possibility that it might work. When I was seventeen, I wrote a story that was published in a collection. At college, I entered local writing competitions and had success. A couple of times, I wanted to register for a creating writing degree offered by Harvard University, but each time, the fear of failure held me back. Then I understood the dream was indeed impossible and I gave up writing setting out on the path to become a teacher.

Years later, after my daughter was born and deep in the intense world of a newborn, I felt urged to scribble (草草写下) madly. Then, two years later, late at night as I fed my second daughter. I read a book written by one of my teachers and it lit me up. I was hungry to make a reader feel something as intensely as she had made me feel.

I got in touch with my old teacher and with her encouragement, I finally registered for a creative writing degree and got actively involved in the writing events. At a literary event, I listened to a panel of writers and publishers talk about the need to be brave and take chances. At the end of the event, I took one of those chances, handing my as-yet-unfinished manuscript (手稿) to one of the panelists, who told me to send her the first three chapters via e-mail.

Six months later, I had my first publishing contract and felt like I’d won the lottery (彩票). There are a thousand different paths to publication, most of them with some rocky patches before the thrilling moment you hold your book in your hands.

1. Why did the author quit the idea of being a writer?

A．She had applied for a degree.	B．She lacked sufficient courage.
C．she became known for a story.	D．She wished to make a teacher.

2. What did the author decide to do after she read her teacher's book?

A．Realize the dream of being a writer.	B．Make readers interested in the book.
C．Tell us her feeling about the teacher.	D．Write about caring for young children.

3. What did the literary event bring to the author?

A．A certificate in writing.	B．A talk with good friends.
C．A platform for manuscripts.	D．A chance of publishing a book.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．My Path to Publication.	B．My Views on Dreams.
C．My Talents for Writing.	D．My Conversation with Panelists.

10 . Books in the Past Reconsidered

The Bright Ages
Matthew Gabriele and David M. Perry ($30)

You’ve probably heard it said that the Middle Ages were horrible, yet “ nothing could be further from the truth, ” said Eleanor Janega in Slate. Finally, two historians have produced a brief account about the era’s complexity and the history that almost anyone can enjoy reading.

Learwife
J.R. Thorp ($26)

You know King Lear’s story, but what about his wife’s? said Angela Lashbrook in The New York Times. In this novel, J.R. Thorp imagines that the queen was forced into an abbey 15 years earlier and later learned her husband and three daughters had died. While deep in grief, she stirs up chaos around her, and the resulting drama, is “ popular with cruelty, betrayal, andpassion. ”

Powers and Thrones
Dan Jones ($35)

Dan Jones’ longer new history of the Middle Ages focuses more on political and military events and trends, said Emily Michelson in The Washington Post. Jones’ version can be criticized for paying too little attention to ordinary people, but also “ gives us a complex Middle Ages where East and West are deeply connected. ”

The Last King of America
Andrew Roberts ($40)

Britain’s King George III is widely remembered as the mad emperor who lost the American colonies, said William Anthony Hay in The Wall Street Journal. King George did have failures and suffered from depression. Still, we misunderstand him if we fail to recognize that he put Parliament’s will above his own.

1. Which book is about the life of a queen?

A．The Bright Ages.	B．Learwife.
C．Powers and Thrones.	D．The Last King of America.

2. Who cares little about ordinary people in his book?

A．Dan Jones.	B．David M. Perry.
C．Andrew Roberts.	D．Emily Michelson.

3. How much will you pay if you want to buy books about the Middle Ages?

A．$56.

B．$ 61.

C．$65.

D．$ 66.