In Europe, many people make friends between their countries through town twinning. Town or city twinning means two towns in different countries agree and decide to become “twins” with a sister city relationship.
The people find pen friends in the twin town. They exchange newspapers and stamps. The school teachers discuss teaching methods with the teachers in the twin town. Officials visit the twin town for celebrations. Ordinary people travel to the twin town, too, but not very often if it is far away.
Sometimes, schools even exchange their classes for two or three weeks! For example, German middle school students study for a while at the school in their twin town in Britain, staying with British families. A few months later, their British friends come to study in Germany.
Many British towns are so pleased with the results of the twinning that they set out to find more than one twin town!
Tonbridge, a small town in Kent, for example, has twin town in both Germany and France. Richmond near London has relationships with Germany, France and even a town in a Balkan country!
Town twinning can help make friends. It helps students improve their language skills, and also helps people to understand the differences between nations.
1.Twin towns develop .
A.in the same country.
B.between different countries.
C.in the English-speaking countries only.
D.between European countries and China.
2.Which country is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A.Britain. B.France. C.China. D.Germany.
3.Which is one of the advantages of town twinning?
A.To earn more money.
B.To set up schools.
C.To develop industry and agriculture.
D.To improve students’ language skills.
4.Which is the best title for the passage?
A.Town Twinning.
B.Friendly Towns.
C.Making friends in different countries.
D.Exchanging Teachers and Students.
Here's a story I collected from a total stranger.
“Well, I am Lucy. I was 11 when my family arrived at Fern lake overlook on Trail Ridge road in Rocky mountain national park.
It was so beautiful to look miles across the Rockies and thousands of feet below into the valley.
My parents were busy getting lunch out of the trunk so I climbed over the wooden fence to get closer to the cliff edge for a better view.
I started down a little hill but soon started sliding on loose rocks.
I fell on my butt (屁股), but kept going faster and faster to what seemed the edge of the world (a 2,000 foot drop). In seconds I knew I was going to die. My feet and legs went first over the edge at a high speed. Then suddenly I felt two hands push hard on my chest and stopped me dead. My heart was racing and I slowly inched my body back to where I finally could make it back up the hill.
My father was waiting there and screaming at me for doing such a dangerous act.
I tried to tell him and my mom about the hands that saved my life, but to this day they don't believe me. They thought I was just trying to get out of trouble with a made up story.”
We parted ways, but I assured her that I believed every word of her story.
That's why I always ask people to share their miracles.
Each real story makes my day.
1.What can we infer from the text?
A.Lucy was the author of the text.
B.Lucy was a lucky dog.
C.Lucy ran along the wooden fence to have a good view.
D.Lucy went to Fern lake to enjoy the scenery alone.
2.Who saved Lucy?
A.Her parents. B.God.
C.The unknown hands. D.Lucy herself.
3.Why did her parents think the accident unbelievable?
A.They thought the story was too amazing.
B.They thought it was just an excuse to get free of trouble.
C.They thought Lucy was good at making up stories.
D.They thought Lucy should be responsible for herself.
4.What does the writer think about the story?
A.It is a science fiction. B.It is a fact.
C.It is a joke. D.It is a diary.
Becoming famous is the dream of many, and Tian is getting closer to that dream.
Tian, 30, is a white-collar worker in Beijing. On short video application Douyin, Tian has more than 2,000 fans. So far, she has received more than 50,000 likes on the Dubsmash-like app. On her page on Douyin, Tian shares everything, from her son’s daily activities, to her pet dogs, to little skits (段子) made up by her and her husband. “Making funny videos, and combining them with music is really interesting,” Tian said. “Of course, I make the videos for fun because it is quite relaxing.”
China’s short video market has seen great growth, according to a report. The report said that China’s short video market was valued at 5.73 billion yuan ($900 million) in 2017, an increase of 184 percent. The industry value is expected to go up to the 30 billion mark in 2020. Companies like Tencent, Sohu and Iqiyi have all started providing short video content.
“Short videos are popular because they are an addition to traditional audio and video content on the internet,” said Sun Jiashan with the Chinese National Academy of Arts.
Fans say that the short videos help them “chill out” from a stressed-out lifestyle. “My favorite videos are all about pets,” said Zhou Na, a nurse in Hefei, capital of East China’s Anhui province. “After a whole day’s work, watching the 15-second videos makes me laugh, which reduces my pressure.”
1.Why does Tian make short videos in Douyin?
A.To get fun. B.To become a well-known person.
C.To attract fans. D.To record her family’s routine.
2.What’s Sun Jiashan’s opinion about short videos?
A.They have huge value.
B.They greatly reduce people’s pressure.
C.They make people’s star dreams come true.
D.They enrich internet audio and video content.
3.What does the underlined words “chill out” probably mean?
A.Catch a cold. B.Feel cold.
C.Calm down. D.Become concerned.
4.What does the passage mainly tell us?
A.Every Chinese is using Douyin.
B.China’s short video market is open.
C.Douyin brings the Chinese great happiness.
D.China’s short video market has developed rapidly.
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听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What does the speaker say about gift-giving rules in North America ?
A.Strange. B.Frightening. C.Simple.
2.What does the speaker think of Japanese gift-giving rules ?
A.Strict. B.Out-of-date. C.Detailed and ancient.
3.Who don’t exchange gifts much in social and business situation ?
A.The Japanese. B.The Europeans. C.The Middle Easterners.
4.What can be inferred from the speech?
A.Color plays an important role in gift-giving.
B.Middle Easterners seldom give flowers as gifts.
C.Friends usually give no gifts to each other in the US.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What is the Big Game?
A.An important football game between states.
B.An important football game between cities.
C.An important football game between schools.
2.How does the man think of the Big Game?
A.Boring. B.Exciting. C.Interesting.
3.When will the game begin?
A.At 1 pm. B.At 2 pm. C.At 3 pm.
4.How will they go to the match?
A.By bus. B.By car. C.On foot.
