I was 63 years old when I lost my job. After many years of rushing between home and job, between raising kids and pushing ahead professionally, it was quiet. In those silent spaces, I had time to ask myself what I really cared about. Finally I came to an answer. I cared about young people’s future. Burdened by huge education debt, unable to find a Job, many were feeling hopeless. They were in danger of becoming a lost generation.

But what contribution could I make to creating a better future for the next generation? I started a free program in which coaches and mentors (顾问) would volunteer to help unemployed young people launch their careers. I’d enjoyed mentoring younger people at work, and this fit with my desire to assist the next generation. Through my coaching contacts, 25 wonderful life and career coaches signed up to volunteer.

On The young people find us through word of mouth. Coaching is done by phone or Skype (网络电话), so location doesn’t matter.

So far 55% of over 220 graduates have found desirable jobs within a few months of finishing the program. Ninety percent have rated the coaching positively and say they are closer to their goals.

Over the course of 12 one-hour periods, the coaches help them figure out what work aligns with (使一致) their values, skills and passions, and then assist them in making a plan to move forward—including helping them with resumes, networking, interviewing, and job search strategies.

In exchange for the free coaching, we ask all the young participants to “pay it forward” to someone who needs their help. We explain that we won’t know whether they do or not, but the potential is there to create a ripple effects of kindness spreading outward in unforeseen ways. If fact, a number of them have offered to mentor other graduates in the program.

1.According to the passage, the author showed great concern for ________.

A.her children’s career B.her own achievement

C.young people’s future D.young kid’s education

2.How does the author make her program known to younger people?

A.Via the Internet. B.Through word of mouth.

C.By phone or Skype. D.In the local newspaper.

3.What does the author want to tell us in paragraph 4?

A.The program is beneficial to all the participants.

B.Most participants fail to land a good job.

C.High attention is brought to the program.

D.The program is quite a success.

4.Young participants receiving the free coaching are asked to ________.

A.make a future plan B.recommend the program

C.mentor other graduates D.find better-paid jobs

5.Which of the following can best describe the author?

A.Confident and kind. B.Caring and devoted.

C.Courageous and calm. D.Dynamic and considerate.

    STEM is short for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Strengthening STEM education is vital to preparing kids to compete in the 21st century economy, because kids’ success is driven not only by what they know, but by what they can do with what they know. As a result, it’s more important than ever for youth to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to solve tough problems, gather and evaluate evidence, and make sense of information. The following camps provide the skills needed to succeed in the highly competitive society.

Steve & Kate’ s Camp

December 26th to January 24th

Steve & Kate’s Camp was founded on the belief that when you trust kids, they learn to trust themselves, and develop creative confidence that will help them unleash (突然释放) their true potential. It offers a safe, judgement-free environment where kids can be themselves, explore their passions and make a few mistakes along the way.

Phone:415-389-5437

App Camp

February 16th to March 28th

Asheville School is offering a unique app camp experience for teenagers across the US and abroad who are interested in learning how to make exciting new apps for the iPhone and iPad. Students will learn about Apple’s Swift programming language and learn Apple’s new AR technology.

Phone:828-254-6345

Game Camp Nation

April 17th to June 9th

Use your child’s energy for video games to fuel their future, strengthen self-confidence and make new friends. Creativity, Critical thinking & Communication: We emphasize the 3Cs needed for success in today’s media-driven world. Hands-on projects spark curiosity. Our groups are intentionally kept small, and our staff encourage the kinds of peer interaction that easily make friends.

Phone:619-446-6495

Camp Motor-sport

August 10th to October 7th

For the camper who loves to hear those famous words “Start your engines!” Camp Motor-sport offers exciting motor-sport focusing on summer camp programs for girls and boys aged 9 to 17. In addition to gaining valuable seat time, campers get hands-on experience with the STEM aspects of automotive design. When not driving, Camp Motor-sport still has all the fun campers expect including a private lake with swimming, boats, and gaga ball just to name a few.

Phone:888-836-1212

1.Which camp will you choose if your kid has a long Christmas vacation?

A.Game Camp nation. B.Camp Motor-sport

C.Steve Kate’s Camp. D.APP Camp.

2.If interested in programming, the kids can choose ________.

A.Steve & Kate’s Camp B.APP Camp

C.Game Camp Nation D.Camp Motor-sport

3.What number will you call if your kid wants to have much fun in the camp?

A.415-389-5437. B.828-254-6345.

C.619-446-6495. D.888-836-1212.

4.What do Steve Kate's Camp and Game Camp Nation have in common?

A.They both make learners become confident.

B.They both appeal to learners full of curiosity.

C.They are both popular with programming language learners.

D.They are both free of charge for teenagers all around the US.

5.The passage is written to ________.

A.motivate teenagers to prepare for the competition

B.share information on how to spark kids’ curiosity

C.help teenagers compete successfully in society

D.attract parents to enroll their kids in the camps

假如你是李华，圣诞节前夕因病住院未能如期赴约去你的澳大利亚朋友 Jackson家做客：他将于近期来中国参加“汉语桥”比赛，适逢中国春节期间，你 打算邀请他来你家。请给他写e-mail,要点如下：

1. 对前次爽约致歉；

2. 邀请他来你家做客：

3. 盼回复以便作安排。

注意：1. 词数100左右；

2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；

3. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Jackson,

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作 文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的 增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Last Sunday my class went on a travel to Fule Mountain. Early on the morning, we left for the destination on feet. On the way there, we sing and even danced to the sweet music. Li Hua brought his camera and which he did was to take many beautiful photos of us. On reached the top, we caught the sight of the whole city of Mianyang. We saw a few planes flying highly in the sky. We felt that very meaningful to spend such a happy day though we were tiring. Our headteacher asked us write a diary in memory of the very day.

    When I was nine, I used to mow the lawn （修剪草坪）for Mrs. Long. Living on a _______ budget, she paid me very little for the work. But she did _______ me, "When Christmas comes, I shall have a _______ for you.” I spent much time _______ what it would be. My friends had baseball gloves, bicycles and ice skates. I was so _______ to acquire any one of these.

As Christmas approached, it was with _______ that I kept myself from reporting to Mrs. Long and _______ my present. My parents had to remind me that it's too _______On December 22, my patience finally _______ . I marched down the street, presented myself at her house, and said," I've come for my present, Mrs. Long/'

She ________ me into her living room and disappeared into another room. In a moment she returned with a   ________ package which under no circumstances could ________baseball gloves, let alone a pair of skates. I was painfully ________ but did not show it, because my parents had warned repeatedly, "Whatever she has for you, take it ________and say 'thank you'."

“What is it?" I asked.

"A kind of ________ and you'll see on Christmas Day."

Her words set my mind ________ with new possibilities. Gradually, curiosity ________my initial disappointment. By the time I reached home, I had ________ myself that she gave me a magician's set. "I'll be able to ________ an umbrella into a bunch of flowers. Cool!”

On Christmas morning, with great excitement, I removed the wrapping paper and opened the flat box, only to find inside ten ________ of black paper, Carbon Paper Regal Premium(复写纸）.

"It is really something magic!"

1.A.tight B.free C.quick D.safe

2.A.admire B.warm C.promise D.trust

3.A.question B.present C.task D.suggestion

4.A.choosing B.accepting C.forgetting D.wondering

5.A.eager B.happy C.grateful D.lucky

6.A.joy B.difficulty C.practice D.wisdom

7.A.sending B.buying C.demanding D.refusing

8.A.early B.heavy C.late D.simple

9.A.came about B.sped up C.paid off D.gave out

10.A.carried B.led C.hid D.forced

11.A.strange B.new C.small D.light

12.A.hold B.show C.afford D.match

13.A.disappointed B.excited C.annoyed D.surprised

14.A.bravely B.slowly C.politely D.casually

15.A.joke B.magic C.love D.paper

16.A.closing B.dancing C.suffering D.failing

17.A.added B.supported C.ruined D.replaced

18.A.taught B.convinced C.enjoyed D.informed

19.A.cut B.put C.turn D.take

20.A.loafs B.bags C.piles D.sheets

    With the rise of basic economy and budget airline models that charge extra for seat selection, it's become a lot harder for groups, especially families with kids, to secure seats next to each other.1..

2.. The earlier you book your family's travel, the more likely that you will be able to reserve seats that are next to each other.

Contact your airline and ask it to accommodate your family, if you can't initially be seated together. Discuss with the airline your concerns about a child being seated alone.3., they may be able to assure you that each child is seated next to an adult family member.

Check reservations and seat assignments directly with the airline, if you book through a third party online agency. If you did not book your travel directly with an airline, obtain or confirm your seat assignments directly with the airline as soon as possible before the day of travel.4. .

Confirm reservations and seat assignments again before you leave for the airport. You may wish to confirm your seat assignments before you would normally go to the airport as your seat assignments could have changed after booking due to an aircraft adjustment with a different seating arrangement.5.. They will do what they can to help families who need to sit together.

A.The earlier, the better

B.Book tickets as early as possible

C.Even if the airline is unable to seat the whole family together

D.Here are some tips to help you sit together without paying extra

E.Even though the airline is unwilling to take your concerns into consideration

F.If your seat assignments have changed, you can contact the airline to ask for help

G.This can be done either on the website or over the phone by contacting reservations

    Anyone who commutes（通勤）by car knows that traffic jams are an unavoidable part of life. But humans are not alone in facing potential traffic jam. Ants also commute一between their nest and sources of food. The survival of their colonies（群体） depends on doing this efficiently.

"The more they are, the more food they're going to bring back. But at the same time, they might end up with traffic jam because there are too many of them.” Sebastien Motsch, a mathematician in Arizona State University said. When humans commute, there's a point at which cars become dense enough to slow down the flow of traffic, causing congestion. Motsch and his colleagues wanted to know if ants on the move could also get blocked. So they control traffic density by constructing bridges of various widths between a colony of Argentine ants and a source of food. Then they waited and watched.

The flow of ants did increase initially as ants started to fill the bridge and then stabilize at high densities. But it never slowed down, even when the bridge was nearly filled with ants. The researchers then took a closer look at how the behavior of individual ants impacted traffic as a whole. That meant cautiously tracking thousands of separate ants as they made their way across the bridge.

Motsch and his team found that when ants sense overcrowding, they adjust their speeds and avoid entering high-density areas, which prevents congestion. These behaviors may be made by pheromones （外激素），chemicals that tell other ants where a trail is. The ants also manage to avoid colliding with each other at high densities, which could really slow them down.

Can ants help us solve our own traffic problems? Not likely, says Motsch. That's because when it comes to getting from point A to point B as fast as possible, human drivers put their own goals first. Individual ants have to be more cooperative in order to feed the colony. But the research could be useful in bettering traffic flow for self-driving cars, which can be designed to be less like selfish humans一and more like ants.

1.What is the purpose of the research?

A.To compare humans with ants.

B.To see how ants, avoid traffic jam.

C.To solve the problem of traffic jam.

D.To see whether ants will encounter a traffic jam.

2.What did the researchers do before testing the ants?

A.They built bridges of different widths.

B.They made the ants on the move.

C.They watched the ants closely.

D.They got the ants blocked.

3.What is the result of the research?

A.The ants avoid entering high-density areas.

B.The ants never stop and no traffic jam happens.

C.The ants sense overcrowding and adjust their speed.

D.The ants give off chemicals to tell others where they can go.

4.What's the researchers' attitude to solving our own traffic jam?

A.Optimistic. B.Doubtful.

C.Indifferent. D.Supportive.

    Every driver is familiar with the horrible blind spot problem. However, it is more than just an annoyance. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 840,000 car accidents occur due to the blind spot. Those zones which cannot be directly observed by the driver often causes incidents that result in serious property damage and in some cases even death.

While drivers can take precautions such as adjusting the driver's seat and side mirrors properly, installing backup cameras and so on, they won't remove the invisible spots completely. Therefore, the driver will always have to carry the responsibility of being constantly aware of blind spots because failing to do that can lead to accidents.

Luckily, now there's a solution to that and it comes from a 14-year-old girl, who doesn't even have a driver's license yet. However, not being able to drive didn't prevent Alaina Gassier from understanding the important issue of traffic accidents resulting from blind spots. In fact, she knows the problem so well that she actually solved it for us. And the way she did it is nothing but genius.

Her project is called "Improving Automobile Safety by Removing Blind Spots'* and work in a relatively simple way as she explained: "I did that by having a camera behind the A — pillar of a car and the camera sent the video to a projector that projected (投射)the image onto the pillar essentially making it invisible and making the driver see behind it."

To complete this invention, she used easily attainable materials such as a webcam, projector, and 3D-printed materials that project the view from outside your vehicle onto the blind spots of your car.

Gassier was awarded for her life-saving invention. It earned her the top place in a nationwide competition for middle schoolers with the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize in honor of overall STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) excellence.

1.Why is the blind spot problem more than an annoyance?

A.It is familiar to every driver.

B.It cannot be seen by drivers.

C.It may cause serious accidents.

D.It is often overlooked by drivers.

2.What does the underlined word "that" in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A.Adjusting the driver's seat. B.Being constantly aware of blind spots.

C.Adjusting side mirrors. D.Installing backup cameras.

3.Which of the following statement is wrong?

A.Gassier is a student, who can't drive.

B.Gassier is talented enough to make the invention.

C.Gassier uses easily-accessible materials in her invention.

D.Gassier won first place in an international competition.

4.What can be the best title for this passage?

A.A Great Invention from A Young Driver

B.Improving Vehicle Sale by Removing Blind Spots

C.A Girl's Way to Solve the Blind Spot Problem in Cars

D.A New Generation of Cars without the Blind Spot Problem

    People have always been defined by their generation. We had the baby boomers of the 1960s, followed by Generation X and then Generation Y, often referred to as millennials, and the new kids on the block are Generation Z - aged between 16 and 22. It's easy to classify these young people as all being the same, sharing the same attitudes towards life—but is that fair?

People from Generation Z, informally called "Z-ers", may be viewed by others as digital natives, incapable of real-world friendships. But they actually view themselves as hardworking, ambitious and about to change the world for the better. The previous generation, born between the mid-1980s and late 1990s - the millennials were also thought to have these characteristics. But many people view this new generation as “mini-millennials" because Z-ers are different and they have their own set of values and preferences which consumer brands need to cater for.

It's true to say that technology is playing an important part in the lives of Generation Z, particularly in the area of social media. In fact, they have not known life without it and using it to communicate, share ideas and campaign is second nature. It means they have more of a say on what we eat, drink and buy than any generation before them. These young people certainly need to be listened to by retailers （零售商） and businesses - they are the people with time on their hands and money.

But being a Z-er comes with pressure. One young person says "Many people in Generation Z have mental health issues because they're unsure what the future will bring." The future always brings uncertainties but maybe there is pressure for this generation to be the most successful ever.

1.When was a Z-er likely to be born?

A.In 1964. B.In 1975.

C.In 1987. D.In 1999.

2.What do Z-ers see themselves as?

A.Diligent and ambitious. B.Hardworking and incapable.

C.Promising and different. D.Stressed and successful.

3.What're Paragraphs 2&3 trying to argue?

A.Z-ers have known life without social media.

B.Z-ers pay too much attention to digital devices.

C.Z-ers and the millennials have the same personality.

D.Z-ers become a key driving force in the consumer market.

4.What docs the author think is the real cause of the Z-ers' pressure?

A.Their ambition to be the best.

B.Their uncertainty of the future.

C.Their addiction to digital devices.

D.Their lack of real-world friendship.

Four Places to Visit Before You Die

Santorini, Greece

It is actually an island of Cyclades. There are a lot of islands in this city and sunbathing around any of these would be an unforgettable experience. The most ideal period of the year to go to this miracle is from April to September.

Sydney

It is the most populous city of New South Wales in Australia. Its Harbor Bridge is the most famous tourist's place in the world. Every year, the celebrations of new year take place at this bridge where millions of people gather from the world to welcome the new year.

Rome

It is also called the center of Western civilization. The Colosseum(罗马圆形大剧场) which is the world's most iconic monument is also in Rome. There is no one who wishes to return from Rome without seeing this monument. Moreover, The Pantheon and Piazza Navona are also worth visiting in Rome.

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal, located in the city of Agra in India is also called the monument of love. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan in love of his wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1932. It is located at the South bank of Yamuna River. Its ivory white color attracts the tourists from a distance.

1.Which of the following is a natural wonder?

A.Santorini, Greece. B.Sydney. C.Rome. D.Taj Mahal.

2.What can we learn from the passage?

A.The best time to visit Santorini is spring.

B.Sydney is the most populous city in Australia.

C.The Colosseum is a must-see of visitors to Rome.

D.All the four amazing places mentioned arc in Europe.

3.What's the main purpose of this passage?

A.To persuade people to travel before dying.

B.To introduce four amazing places worth a visit.

C.To make some comparisons of four amazing places.

D.To advertise four amazing places for a travel agency.