My friend and I were at a restaurant in ...

Challenges are regular visitors in our life，and nobody is immune(不受影响)to them．1.However，we can use these challenges to make positive changes in our life．For instance：

Develop your passion．2. When you are setting your goals，you always want to be passionate about those goals，because if you love what you do，you will be driven by the desire to achieve success．

3.When you have doubts about yourself，you are doing damage to your progress．Therefore，you are supposed to see yourself as a winner，and trust yourself．Feeding your mind with positives will reinforce your beliefs and sweep any doubts out of your system．

Track your progress．It is important that you take note of every improvement you make．4. Every step forward will give you a boost，and accelerate your efforts to the achievement of your ultimate goal．

Learn how to control your emotions．It is important that you use your emotional intelligence when you encounter problems in your life．You are a product of your thoughts and feelings．Any negative emotions that show up can negate(否定)the positive forward movement you enjoyed earlier．So approach any challenge with a positive attitude． 5.  Instead，strongly believe that you have all the tools you need in order to make positive changes in your life．It is in your hands to make the changes necessary and to take your life to new heights．

A．Practice makes perfect．

B．Consider confidence as a must for Success．

C．This will motivate you to work even harder．

D．They can make us lose hope and even give up．

E．Don’t feel negative when you meet with difficulties．

F．There is nothing to be gained from delaying decisions and thoughts．

G．Having an enthusiasm for something will inspire you to achieve your goals．

The United States Postal Service(LISPS)is offering a way to people who are interested in seeing tomorrow’s mail today．The postal service will send consumers images(图像)of their letters，magazines and other mail before they arrive．The new service is called Informed Delivery．It is an attempt to remain competitive in an ever—changing world．

Postal service officials say the increased use of email，digital messaging services and social media has made it difficult to stay relevant．David Rupert is a media relations specialist who spoke about the competition the agency now faces．Whether you turn on a television or your computer，or people come to your door with different products and services，all of those are competing for consumers’time and energy，he said．

Interested users are first required to sign up for Informed Delivery．Once registered，the consumer receives a daily email with virtual(虚拟)images of letters or other things to be delivered．The US Postal Service says it can especially help those who have a mailbox at their local post office，so they know when to get their mail：

Another postal offering is a service that seeks to make advertising-related mail-often called junk mail—more fun．The service uses virtual and augmented reality(虚拟现实和增强现实)to let consumers interact with their junk mail．Many companies put special coding on their advertising，which can give users an interactive experience．Some companies even put virtual reality eyeglasses in the mail to make their ads come to life．Consumers have mixed reactions to virtual and augmented reality advertising．“You can find some good things within junk mail．It is a good idea．We’11 see how it works，”Postal service user Victor Teah said．But Jocelyn Coatney doesn’t think it would change her mind about junk mail．“For some，that might be fun．But for me，it would be useless，”she said．

1.What does the underlined word“they”in the first paragraph refer to?

A. The images of the mail．

B. Informed Delivery services．

C. Letters，magazines and other mail．

D. The traditional advertising—related mail．

2.Why does the US Postal Service create Informed Delivery?

A. To make people interested in mails．

B. To improve its competitiveness．

C. To be relevant to other services．

D. To make a great fortune．

3.Which of the following best summarizes Paragraph 2?

A. The fall of the US Postal Service．

B. The replacement of the mail service．

C. The potential market for the new service．

D. The challenge the US Postal Service faces．

4.Why does the author write what Victor and Jocelyn said at the end of the text?

A. To prove virtual and augmented reality is helpful．

B. To show us many users are using advertising—related mail．

C. To give examples of users’mixed reactions to junk mail．

D. To wish virtual and augmented reality advertising to work better．

All across the nation，in Americans’backyards and garages and living rooms，wild animals kept as pets live side by side with their human owners．It’s believed that more exotic animals live in American homes than are cared for in American zoos．The exotic-pet business has drawn criticism from animal welfare advocates and wildlife conservationists alike，who say it’s not only dangerous to bring wildlife into households but it’s cruel and criminal．Yet the issue is far from black or white．

The term exotic pet has no firm definition．It can refer to any wildlife kept in human households or simply to a pet that’s more unusual than the common dog or cat．Privately owning exotic animals is currently permitted in a handful of states with no restrictions in America．Adam Roberts of Born Free USA keeps a running database of deaths and injuries caused by exotic-pet ownership：In Connecticut a 55-year-old woman’s face was permanently disfigured by her friend’s lifelong pet monkey；in Ohio an 80-year-old man was attacked by a 200-pound kangaroo；in Nebraska a 34-year-old man was strangled(勒)to death by his pet snake．And that list does not include the number of people who become sick from coming into contact with zoonotic(动物传染的) diseases．

Some people see wild animals as pets as a way to connect with the natural world．Other exotic-pet owners say they are motivated by a desire to preserve threatened species．They believe climate change and human population growth could wipe out a species in record time，so having a backup population is a good idea． 

But some groups like Born Free USA and the World Wildlife Fund gay that captive breeding(圈养)of endangered species by private owners—whether for commercial，conservation，or educational reasons—serves only to continue a booming market for exotic animals．That，in turn，results in a greater risk to animals still living in their natural habitat．

1.Which word can replace the phrase“far from black or white”in Paragraph 1?

A. contradictory    B. ridiculous

C. controversial    D. universal

2.Why does the writer list some deaths and injuries in the text?

A. To give us a clear and firm definition of exotic pets．

B. To show keeping exotic animals can be very dangerous．

C. To prove humans can not be infected by animal diseases．

D. To tell us it’s illegal to have exotic-pet ownership in USA．

3.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A. The reasons for keeping exotic animals as pets．

B. Worries about the endangered wild animals．

C. The differences between people who keep exotic pets．

D. The disadvantages of privately owning exotic animals．

4.The last paragraph of the text is intended to_______．

A. introduce some animal protection groups

B. argue against keeping exotic animals in captivity

C. warn people of the danger of animals being caught

D. prove captive breeding can encourage exotic-pet business

At schools across the United States，students often sit down to cafeteria lunches made from processed foods that are high in fat，sodium，and sugar．But kids at Public School(P．S．)216 in Brooklyn have a different dining experience．Principal Donna Neglia reports that her students love eating flesh fruits and vegetables．

P．S．216 participated in the Edible Schoolyard Project，a nonprofit program founded by Chef Alice Waters in 1995．The program that Waters created helps public schools across the country start on-site gardens and weave principles of healthy eating into the curriculum．Students grow and maintain crops，harvesting the fruits and vegetables for cafeteria meals．

Waters expressed her passion for the principles of the farm-to-table movement．She advised schools to connect with the farmers in their area and change their buying practices when planning meals for students．

Waters has long been inspiring people to care about where their food comes from．In 1993，she put forward the idea of a White House vegetable garden．It was not until 2009 that Michelle Obama started the garden in the backyard of the White House．She and members of the kitchen staff spent hours tending to the garden，often with help from local school children．

“That gave people a sense that she cared about children and cared about where our food comes from，”Waters said，praising the former First Lady’s concern for young people’s health．“We are just building this movement，and it is very exciting．”

“Through the Edible Schoolyard Project，students also learn about the benefits of healthy eating in the classroom．”Neglia said．“P．S．216 is teaching kids about careers in the food industry—such as farming and agriculture，nutrition，food safety，and the restaurant business．”

Similar classes are taking place around the country．So far，the Edible Schoolyard Project has reached more than 1 million students in more than 367 schools．“I'm thinking about the future of the planet，”Waters said．“I'm doing this for our generation．”

1.What’s the purpose of the Edible Schoolyard Project?

A. To reduce students’stress．

B. To let students eat healthy food．

C. To improve schools’environment．

D. To expect students to experience farming．

2.What can we learn from Paragraph 5?

A. The project made Waters famous,

B. Running a garden was too difficult for students．

C. Waters thought highly of what Michelle Obama did．

D. The former First Lady should care about young people．

3.From the text we can infer that___________．

A. P．S．216 belongs to the pioneers in the Edible Schoolyard Project

B. P．S．216 mainly teaches kids about careers in food industry

C. Waters’ project is not well received by me us schools

D. Waters had no difficulty in starting vegetable garden

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

A. Students should eat healthily    B. A famous school—P．S．216

C. Processed foods should be advised    D. A chef helps create green schoolyards

If you are the kind of tourist who likes to visit places with outstanding landscapes and multicultural cities，then Asia is the place to go．Take a cruise(巡游)to Asia and you will not be disappointed．

The Finest Asian Cruise Explorations

Tourists who want to visit several Asian countries understand that cruising there is the best alternative．You can decide to take a two-week cruise，starting from Sri Lanka to Thailand．There’s also a three-week cruise that starts off in China all the way to Japan．A most popular voyage is one that starts from Hong Kong to Singapore．

The Best Time to Travel

When touring Asia．it’s best to understand that different cruise lines have different travelling timelines．You can be caught in the rain during your tour(October to December in Malaysia and December to February in Indonesia)．Most cruises take place from December to the end of March．

Booking Cruise-ship Tours

Given that you’ll probably be taking long flights to get to South Asia and the Far East，the budget will be large，especially if you are visiting as a family．In addition，many people tour this region，so it would be best if you book early when the prices are more appealing．

Activities

There are so many ports in Asia and this might bring a challenge if you want to get somewhere in time．Make sure you plan your day-trips in advance and follow the cruise line tours to avoid missing the boats．Apart from visiting the cities，you could also go to Borneo，Indonesia to see the orangutans(猩猩)．You can also hop across several islands from Bali，appreciate the colorful floats as well as the cherry blossoms in Japan and visit the floating fish farms in Vietnam．

1.In the author’s opinion，which cruise is the most welcoming one?

A. From Hong Kong to Singapore．

B. From Sri Lanka to Thailand．

C. Flying to the Far East．

D. From China to Japan．

2.When is the best time available on tours in Indonesia?

A. January．    B. February．

C. December．    D. March．

3.Where can you appreciate the colorful floats?

A. Bali．    B. Vietnam．

C. Japan．    D. Indonesia．