Most people are anxious about the unfamiliar or unknown while some are thrilled． I am one of the latter． The idea of skiing to the North Pole had never crossed my mind until I saw a（n）_____in a newspaper looking for people to join a team that would_____350 miles to the magnetic North Pole． Back in 1996 ， a woman from the UK had never_____this challenge． I wondered what it would be like to_____in temperatures that cold ， so I sent off for the application form．
When the application form_____， it said "Are You Man Enough for the Ultimate Challenge " and it was full of pictures of_____explorers． I was angry and decided that women could do it too ， so it made me even more_____ to get on the team．
Over 500 individuals_____ for a place in the team ， and the selection process included physical and psychological tests designed to_____ the best group． Our test was to complete the Sandhurst military assault course ， where the UK 's best officers are trained ， and it 's not for_____． We had to climb a huge rope ladder， and I stopped at the top because I have a fear of_____． I thought all hope was_____． But two others helped me over， and later I found out that the organizers were not looking for amazing_____ ， but great team players ， and this moment had shown them who would_____ others in the team．
I had also shown my real self， and in a place like the Arctic ， you have to be yourself，_____ there is nowhere to hide． These_____of asking for help and showing your real self are necessary for women to master．
I realized that by being myself， I could_____． I was chosen for the team ， and as a result became the_____ British woman to ski to the Magnetic North Pole． I realized that I could achieve more than I ever_____ was possible﹣but more importantly ， by sharing my story with others ，I could_____them to take a step into the unknown．
1.A. notice B. advertisement C. announcement D. report
2.A. ski B. run C. drive D. fly
3.A. enjoyed B. ignored C. received D. accomplished
4.A. exist B. suffer C. survive D. hide
5.A. passed B. appeared C. returned D. arrived
6.A. female B. brave C. proud D. male
7.A. confident B. determined C. enthusiastic D. satisfied
8.A. applied B. hunted C. waited D. cared
9.A. pick B. develop C. train D. challenge
10.A. someone B. no one C. anyone D. everyone
11.A. loss B. silence C. heights D. changes
12.A. left B. lost C. wasted D. missed
13.A. individuals B. team C. men D. skiers
14.A. catch up with B. look out for C. take advantage of D. get rid of
15.A. unless B. while C. though D. as
16.A. talents B. experiences C. qualities D. beliefs
17.A. try B. succeed C. guarante D. improve
18.A. excellent B. extra C. noble D. first
19.A. imagined B. predicted C. remembered D. admitted
20.A. push B. promise C. require D. inspire
Earth is home to around 7 ， 000 languages ， around half of which are expected to disappear by 2100．
Languages disappear for many reasons． Sometimes younger generations stop learning a language because parents want children to fit in．1. Native American children of the late﹣l9th century were required to attend boarding schools where educators forbade them from speaking their native languages．
The United Nations ranks endangered languages according to their risk level．For example ， a " critically endangered " language is one that even grandparents don ' t speak often． New York ' s Onondaga language is an example with only 50 speakers left． An " extinct" language has no speakers． It is gone forever． Alaska 's Eyak language is one example．2.
3. In the same way ， different languages contribute to cultural diversity． Saving these languages benefits our understanding of other cultures． Languages can show how a society looks at the world and what it values． A language may describe something in a way that is funny ， too． In Welsh ， it rains not cats and dogs ， but old wives and walking sticks．
The Endangered Language Alliance wants to save languages from disappearing．4. However ， its efforts are limited． If an endangered language is going to make a real comeback ， it '11probably get its start in schools． For nearly 100 years ， public schools in Hawaii did not teach the Hawaiian language． Now students can keep learning in Hawaiian from elementary schools to college and beyond．
5. At least one did． In 1881 ， a Jewish linguist named Eliezer Ben﹣Yehuda brought the 3 ，000﹣year﹣old language Hebrew back to life． Today it is one of the official languages of the country of Israel， with more than 4million speakers．
A．The last person who spoke it died in 2008．
B．Why should we save endangered languages
C．Various animals and plants benefit our environment．
D．With just 5 speakers left ， it is absolutely endangered．
E．Can a language with zero native speakers come back to life
F．Sometimes societies force minorities to give up their language．
G． The non﹣profit group finds native speakers and records their stories．
It had been a long winter． Bitter cold， snowy days had hit us again and again． On the warmer days there had been little sunshine， but only cold， icy rain． The sun had become such a rare sight that I had to look at a picture of it on my wall calendar from time to time to remember what it looked like． The grass had remained brown and dormant（潜伏的）in the grassland． My own backyard had turned into a muddy mess that tried to steal the shoes right off my feet as I walked on it． My heart ached and longed for spring， and my own good cheer had trouble rising up against the continuous， cold， gray days．
The rain poured down on me as I walked my dogs， holding their leashes in my icy fingers． I looked up at the sky hoping to see the sun smiling down with its warm， golden face． But it was no use． It was then， however， that I saw it． It wasn't the smiling face of the sun in the sky but a little， yellow face peeking（微露出） through the mud． It was a tiny flower， and it filled my heart with hope and joy． I smiled and thanked God for this little sign that winter would soon be over and that spring would arrive． I felt my good cheer rising up at last and I promised God that I would share it with everyone I could．
One day that tiny flower's seeds will fill the grassland with little， yellow faces smiling up from the ground． Its work will make this world a better and more beautiful place． May we all do the same． May we all shine our light and share our love even on the coldest and grayest days． May we all help to share a bit of spring in winter． May we all work to make this world better and brighter even when it is at its darkest．
1.Why did the author look at a picture of sun on a wall calendar from time to time？
A. Because she hadn't seen sunshine for a long time．
B. Because she wanted to check how long the cold winter would last．
C. Because she couldn't go out．
D. Because she looked forward to spring．
2.The author felt before she found the tiny flower．
A. worried
B. angry
C. hopeful
D. frustrated
3.What can be inferred from the passage？
A. The tiny flower was found in the author's backyard．
B. The tiny flower inspired the author very much．
C. The author would share the tiny flower with others．
D. The author would never mind the cold weather．
4.What can be the best title of the passage？
A. A Cold Winter
B. A Tiny flower
C. Sharing Makes the World
D. Hopes Make Our Life
Chinese has overtaken French ， Spanish and German to become one of the most promising foreign languages for job seekers in the UK． Research shows graduates in Chinese earn an average yearly salary of 31 ，000 pounds or more．
Chinese students set themselves up for a different university experience from others who take traditional subjects． While an English student may have as little as six hours of a week ， those studying Chinese are in class for most of the day． "I had a lot of friends on other courses who didn't do much in first or second year． You can't play at Chinese． You have to spend hours and hours writing characters ， " says Hannah ， who graduated in Chinese Studies from Sheffield University． "The first year was really difficult． Most of my friends admitted at one point to crying because of the pressure． I was almost told at one point that I might want to reconsider and drop out． "
So are the evenings in learning characters while your friends are at the student bar really worth its Despite the painful studying experience ， most of the graduates think so． They use Chinese in their chosen careers ， and would not have been in the jobs they do now without their knowledge of the language．
Liberty now works for the civil service in Beijing． She earned a place on the Department for International Development graduate scheme with a salary of over 30， 000 pounds within two years． "The degree was absolutely worth it． Looking around at people I know who have studied French or Spanish at university ， there 's not such a chance to use it in the workplace． "
Hannah has set her apart in the workplace ， but she warns ambitious students to think about whether they would really want to live in China in the future．" Some people think they are going to learn Chinese and then be a big success ， but I think it 's important to be quite realistic about that． "
1.What does the underlined phrase " play at" probably mean in Paragraph 2 ．
A. Treat seriously
B. Learn lazily
C. Talk amusingly
D. Cheat cleverly
2.What can you learn from Liberty 's and Hannah 's career experience ．
A. Chinese degree helped them to find satisfying jobs．
B. There are students learning characters at the student bar．
C. Graduates with French or Spanish degree have no chance to find jobs．
D. By learning Chinese ， people are to have a successful career．
3.What's Hannah 's attitude to choosing Chinese as a possible careers ．
A. Doubtful．
B. Positive．
C. Puzzled．
D. Objective．
4.What is the main idea of the texts ．
A. Many foreign college students come to China to seek jobs．
B. A degree in Chinese means big success for its learners．
C. Graduates in Chinese are more likely to get high﹣paying jobs．
D. Chinese degree is harder to earn but worthwhile in workplace．
What happens inside the head of a soccer player who repeatedly heads a soccer ball That question motivated a study of the brains of experienced players．
Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York selected 34 adults ， men and women． All of the volunteers had played soccer since childhood and now competed year﹣round in adult soccer leagues． Each filled out a detailed questionnaire developed especially for this study to determine how many times they had headed a soccer ball in the previous year ， as well as whether they had experienced any known concussions in the past．
Then the players completed computerized tests of their memory and other learning skills and had their brains scanned， using a complex new M．R．I． technique which can find structural changes in the brain that can 't be seen during most scans．
According to the data they presented ， the researchers found that the players who had headed the ball more than about 1 ， 100 times in the previous 12 months showed significant loss of white matter in parts of their brains involved with memory ， attention and the processing of visual information ， compared with players who had headed the ball less．
This pattern of white matter loss is " similar to those seen in traumatic brain injury" ，like that after a serious concussion， the researchers reported ，even though only one of these players was reported to have ever experienced a concussion．
The players who had headed the ball about 1 ， 100 times or more in the past year were also generally worse at remembering lists of words read to them ， forgetting the words far more often than players who had headed the ball less．
1.What type of writing is the texts ．
A. A medicine guide．
B. A book review．
C. A research report．
D. A sports advertisement．
2.What do we know about the volunteers ．
A. They had serious injury on the head．
B. They were adults who still played soccer．
C. They were all researchers about soccer．
D. They all had children who played soccer．
3.What was used to find the structural changes in the brains ．
A. Advanced computers．
B. A new technique M．R．I．
C. Special questionnaires．
D. Learning skills．
4.We can infer from the passage that ．
A. heading the ball is so harmful that it should be banned
B. heading the ball has advantages and disvantages as well
C. players heading the ball more than 1 ，100 times may suffer poor eyesight
D. heading the ball may influence the functioning of player's brain
From American Express， wedding guests will，on average，spend ﹩673 on each wedding they attend this year． It includes airfare （﹩225）， hotel （﹩170）， dining out （﹩116）and dressing up （﹩95）and the gift． If you have weddings to attend this year， here are some tips for you to avoid breaking the bank．
1． Book flights in advance
The moment you decide to attend a wedding is the time to check flight prices at the best time． Plane fares are higher in the summer， especially in July and August． Booking in advance will save you money， as will watch for sales on lower﹣cost carriers like JetBlue and Frontier． You can check Google Flights for a calendar of prices showing the cheapest days to fly from apps like Hopper to get real﹣time alerts when a fare is at its lowest price point．
2． Don't blow your budget on the gift
If you've got the money， an expensive gift is lovely． But there's no need to take out loans to prove your love for the happy couple． Skip an expensive necklace by giving （an appropriate amount of） cash instead． To save on the gift， consider making one： A photo album or scrapbook of memories with the bride and groom shows how much you care． You could also share the gift with other guest（s） or even make gifts with DIY ideas by yourself to save money．
3． Use old dresses and suits
You don't always have to be on a new dress for a wedding． While men have the option of repeating their suits， women are more likely to spend money on new clothes for the special occasion． But before you take out your wallet， consider reinventing something already in your closet． Belts， colorful scarves， shoes can bring life to any outfit．
1.How much does a wedding guest spend on the gift on average？
A. ﹩673 B. ﹩225
C. ﹩67 D. ﹩95
2.What can be inferred from the last paragraph？
A. People always wear their new clothes at the wedding．
B. Men are more likely to wear new clothes to attend a wedding．
C. It saves you money to creatively wear old clothes．
D. Ladies tend to wear their favorite suits for a wedding．
3.What is the purpose of the passage？
A. To help people save money while holding their weddings．
B. To give some tips on saving money to attend a wedding．
C. To introduce general expenses of attending a wedding．
D. To state some aspects to be considered while holding weddings．
