Vegetarianism is growing in popularity in a lot of countries. And now, South Africa is one of them. Today, more and more South Africans are experimenting with the vegetarian （素食者）way of life by cutting meat out of their diet.

Some others are exploring veganism. Vegans （纯素者）are similar to vegetarians but they avoid all animal-based products, including milk and eggs. Some vegans even do not eat honey. There is no official count of how many vegans there are in South Africa. But the interest has led to the birth of vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Johannesburg, the nation's economic center. And this year, Africa's first big vegan and plant-based festival was held in Cape Town. The Vegan &. Plant Powered Show took place at the end of May.

But veganism can be a lonely road for many South Africans. The country is Africa's top consumer of meat from cows, pigs and sheep, based on information from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Many South Africans express shock at the thought of giving up meat, which is central to celebrations and spirituality.

This is an issue for many African vegans, including Anesu Mbizvo. "In African traditional culture, a big part of a family's worth is their livestock （家畜）,which decide the wealth of a family. And so when an African kills an animal at a gathering, it's thought that he would give away his wealth. "  But she adds, "Offering home-grown vegetables would not be considered to be valuable. I think that thought mainly prevents some people of African cultures from being vegans."

Some South Africans are finding their path somewhere in the middle. Thirty-one-year-old Thandiwe Ngubeni is a communications specialist. She still eats meat一-but less and less of it as time goes by. "I feel more energetic when I eat a vegan meal. It actually gives me more energy.

1.What can we learn about vegans?

A.They can drink milk.

B.They eat some animal meat.

C.They enjoy opening vegan restaurants.

D.They refuse any product based on animals.

2.What mainly stops some Africans being vegans according to Anesu Mbizvo?

A.Too many animals in the wild. B.Traditional views of livestock.

C.The influence from other countries. D.Not enough vegetables in the restaurant.

3.What do we know about Thandiwe  Ngubeni?

A.She is a vegan.

B.She is an animal specialist.

C.She looks forward to eating much more meat.

D.She has a limit on the amount of meat she eats.

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

A.Vegans' Behaviors Are Too Extreme

B.Vegetarians Are Not Popular Any Longer

C.Many South Africans Welcome a Vegan Lifestyle

D.Meat in South Africa Will Become Less Delicious

    Many Americans are busy preparing lists of what to give friends or loved ones. This season, people will be able to buy a cargo-carrying (载货) robot that follows them around like a dog. But it is unclear if the robot will be a popular gift.

Large companies like Amazon, FedEx and Ford have already been experimenting with sending delivery robots to homes across the United States. Now an Italian company is offering robots directly to consumers (顾客). The new robot, called “the Gita”, weighs about 23 kilograms and costs $ 3,250.

The robot's creators had short trips in mind when they designed it. “The Gita” is a “hands-free carrier" that can hold fruits, vegetables and other things as it follows its owner down the street. “The Gita” does not. require use of a telephone; it also does not use GPS technology or facial recognition.

Whether the robot will be a success is not yet clear. Tech experts say “the Gita” may fail. They hope the company finds more purposes of using it to contribute to its success. Examples include carrying tools around hospitals, factory floors or places where products are stored. The robots can carry up to 9 kilograms, So far, the best places to find the company' s six wheeled robot are US colleges: The University of Houston and the University of Wisconsin Madison.

Sadie Garcia is a student at the University of Houston. “I love them. I think they're so cute," she said, as one of the machines arrived carrying a sandwich for her in the dining hall. Garcia said she was so cold that she did not want to leave her room. Starship co-founder Ahti Heinla said his company once thought about selling the machines directly to consumers. But the business dropped the idea after discovering it would have to sell them for more than $ 3,000 each.

1.What is"the Gita"designed to do?

A.Fight with other robots. B.Buy things for its owner.

C.Carry things for its owner. D.Help college students do homework.

2.What do tech experts expect the company to do for“the Gita”?

A.Find more uses for it. B.Keep advertising it.

C.Improve its reaction rate. D.Encourage hospitals to use it.

3.What stops“the Gita”from being sold directly to consumers?

A.The low quality. B.The high price.

C.The limited number. D.The poor performance.

4.Where is this text most likely from?

A.A science magazine. B.A detective story.

C.A travel guide. D.A life diary.

    I have been receiving so much kindness. It was difficult for an independent girl like me to accept it at first. At times, my financial situation is not the best. But with that comes a great lesson in appreciation, budgeting, and deciding what is and what isn't important.

A few times I've had to put off or even give up things. Because of my scarcity on money, I had to give up a keep-fit exercise, which is something I like to treat myself regularly. When my coach Lisa heard about this, she offered me training at a highly discounted price. At first this made me very uncomfortable. I feared that she would wrongly think that I was going to bargain and of course I wasn't. Instead, I was just being honest about my situation— being short of money. I finally accepted her offer, remembering that I deserve kindness, too.

Another time, I noticed a friend of mine selling his old exercise bike, which was perfect for me, as I was looking to replace my broken one. I told him that I would take it when I had the money, but then life got in the way. When I finally got the time to pick it up, I realized my financial shortcomings again. I asked him if he could hold onto it for one more week, as then I'd have the funds again. He was happy to do this, but instead he insisted on offering me the bike as a gift. Another opportunity presents itself to teach me how to receive with dignity.

I continue to slowly learn how to accept the kindness from others. In fact, the relationship between giving and receiving is closely linked. When you accept the kindness from others with joy, they will feel happy, too.

1.How did the author feel at first when she received kindness from others?

A.Happy. B.Unfair. C.Proud. D.Unacceptable.

2.What does the underlined word "scarcity" in paragraph 2 mean?

A.Scare. B.Independence. C.Lack. D.Principle.

3.What was the author afraid of when Lisa did her a favor?

A.Being punished. B.Being misunderstood.

C.Accepting her coach's strict training. D.Giving away the secret of her being short of money.

4.How did the author get the second-hand exercise bike?

A.She got it for free. B.She paid much money for it.

C.She bought it from her coach. D.She borrowed it from her friend.

Use our website to improve your English

Study at the right time each day

The first step in getting better in English is to study at the right time each day. Do you wake up early and study when the house is quiet? Or do you like to stay up late and study before you go to sleep? Choose the proper time to study English every week. Make a study plan for each week. Here is an example of using our website in the morning to improve your listening and speaking skills:

Monday: Watch Let's Learn English ; practice the conversation with a friend

Tuesday: Watch English in a Minute; teach the new expressions to family or friends

Wednesday: Watch English at the Movies; write a note to a friend about the expressions Thursday: Watch News Words; write a sentence using the words

Friday: Read or listen to Ask a Teacher or Everyday Grammar ; write three sentences

Find a friend to study together

A good way to learn is to study with a friend or a family member. You can study together at home or on the phone. Some families speak English only at dinner time or watch English videos together.

Set goals

One of the most important steps to learn English is to set goals. Make it something you know you can do in a short time. Here are some examples:

♦I will practice speaking with my friends three times a week.

♦I will write sentences with five new English words every week.

♦I will learn four new idioms in the next month and use them with friends.

1.Which advice is given on learning English?

A.Learning from others. B.Practicing once a week.

C.Turning to parents for help. D.Scheduling proper study time.

2.When can you learn English on the website according to the example?

A.On weekends. B.Every day.

C.On weekdays. D.Every Monday afternoon.

3.What are listed at the end of the text?

A.Some aims for learning English.

B.Some examples of practising English with friends.

C.Three important periods of time for learning English.

D.The most important steps in improving independent learning.

阅读下面短文， 根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

When I was 17, I read a magazine article about a museum called the McNay Art Museum, once the home of a watercolorist named Marian McNay. She had requested the community to turn it into a museum upon her death. On a sunny Saturday, Sally and I drove over to the museum.

“Do you have the address?” Sally asked while we were on the way.

“No, but I will recognize it. There was a picture in the magazine” I answered confidently.

“Oh. There it is.” I pulled my car slowly over a house which seemed like a house with heavy smell of life rather than a former residence(故居). 

Surprisingly, nobody was at the gate and admission was free. We opened the door and entered, excited. A group of people sitting around a table stopped chatting and started at us.

A sweet girl in her teens locked her eyes on us and welcomed us with a sweet smile, “Hello, but who are you looking for?”

A man stood up and said almost at the same time “May I help you?”

“No,” I said. “We’re fine.”

Tour guides got on my nervous. What if they talked a long time about a painting you were not that interested in? Sally had gone upstairs. The people in the hall seemed very confused, keeping their eyes on me with curiosity. What was their problem? Some nice sculptures were well placed along the staircases(楼梯) and some paintings from Van Gogh or Picasso were hanging on walls and I appreciated them and highly praised the most beautiful house. Suddenly a picture of a man surrounded by a warm family caught my eyes and I also spotted the sweet girl among them.

“This is the most beautiful house I have visited.” said I, turning sharply, almost scaring the girl standing behind me.

“The most beautiful house ? The most beautiful house!”She murmured.

“Am I at the McNay Art Museum?” asked I .

注意：

1. 所续写的短文的词数应为150 左右；

2. 应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；

3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；

4. 续写完成后,请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

Paragraph 1:

She smiled, shaking her head.                                                                

Paragraph 2:

Years later, after a public speech, a woman approached and thanked me, asking whether I once entered a house , thinking it was the McNay Art Museum.                                                               

假如你是李华，12月要去英国参加“Protection of world cultural heritage”演讲比赛，你的英国朋友Tom来信询问赴英相关事宜,请你给他写一封邮件，内容包括：

1.比赛时间和地点；

2.本次活动的意义；

3.英国比赛期间的个人计划。

注意：1. 词数80词左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Sometimes, the best gifts from Parents don’t come in boxes. When I think of the first ______my father had given to me, it would be a love of ______. He is not usually an observer of life, but he can be thoughtful and______. He is always right in our study reading and gave me a love of _________. He has been totally deaf in one ear since he was two years old, so we ______ listen to music. In my childhood, storybooks were king—not songs.

The second is ______ all. Even when my sister and I were little, the ______ around the dinner table was noisy but adult-level. Your______didn’t matter. If you ______ an opinion, you had to present your case and give evidence. He treats everything the same,______or adult, cleaner or CEO.

The greatest gift to us, however, was that he took ______ in our brains but not our ______. He always told us reading enriched the minds which was more important than looks. I know most successful women had fathers who_______ their intelligence and maybe I will be. My father said my mother was the most _____ person he had ever met. He still says that. They met while camping out in a golden autumn. Trees was______ in sunshine and a girl was reading under one. Impressed by the ______, he approached and told her that she _______him of Jane Austen’s Emma, then mistakenly quoted the book. She ______ him and he was in______ from that moment.

Over the years, my father taught me never to stand still and accept the way things are; I should fight for______ and I will continue to follow his lead.

1.A.chance B.gift C.answer D.advice

2.A.reading B.working C.writing D.exercising

3.A.serious B.cheerful C.influential D.modest

4.A.science B.poems C.pictures D.words

5.A.normally B.eventually C.rarely D.naturally

6.A.controlling B.respecting C.analyzing D.describing

7.A.joke B.interview C.speech D.conversation

8.A.skill B.experience C.age D.reputation

9.A.voiced B.shared C.accepted D.formed

10.A.plant B.animal C.teacher D.child

11.A.pride B.pleasure C.part D.interest

12.A.practice B.scores C.appearances D.awards

13.A.valued B.praised C.balanced D.doubted

14.A.elegant B.humorous C.enthusiastic D.intelligent

15.A.lost B.bathed C.deep D.hidden

16.A.surroundings B.setting C.scene D.scenery

17.A.reminded B.informed C.warned D.told

18.A.comforted B.guided C.criticized D.corrected

19.A.love B.panic C.sorrow D.thought

20.A.wealth B.freedom C.change D.knowledge

    High on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau lies China’s “Water tower” Sanjiangyuan.1.The three rivers: the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and Lancang River, provide water for about half the population of China. However, human activities such as overgrazing(过度放牧) are putting this ecosystem at risk.

2.. In 2016, the Chinese government established Sanjiangyuan National Park, which was a pilot(试行) program for China’s national park system.3.Due to the progress made in the region, Qinghai held the first National Park Forum on Aug 19.

Sanjiangyuan National Park is a model of eco-protection.4.For example, Herdsmen have given their grasslands to nature and resettled in urban area. As for wildlife, they are monitored by field conservation stations to keep the environment in good condition.

The idea of a national park system is still new in China, but it must be realized. As President Xi wrote in the congratulatory letter to the forum, “Building an ecological civilization bears great significance in the development and progress of human civilization.” With great efforts，people may one day be able to enjoy themselves in the vast lands of Sanjiangyuan and run freely across the plains alongside nature’s animals.5.

A.Hopefully, though, we have realized the damage.

B.It’s home to the headwater of China’s three big rivers.

C.Unfortunately, the situation has got worse and worse.

D.It attracts visitors with its fantastic nature beauty and various wildlife.

E.The park has increased the area’s green coverage and attracted more wildlife.

F.Hopefully, the success of Sanjiangyuan will mark the start of a greener future.

G.The local government has different ways of slowing environmental degradation.

    In 2016, a young British father was trampled（踩踏）to death by an elephant on the island of Koh Samui in ThaiJand. The tragedy once again raised questions over whether it is ethical to use elephants as entertainment.

For many visitors, the chance to interact with elephants is at the top of their holiday wish list. There's no shortage of opportunities to do so, from taking photos of baby elephants to riding them through the jungle, to watching them dance.

But what most visitors don't realize is elephants are involved in extremely cruel methods to make them behave. They are often kept in terrible conditions. This includes being chained up when not performing, without interaction with other elephants, a poor diet, etc. They are also subjected to training practices including beatings. Away from their natural habitat and forced to repeat the same routines day in day out, which continues throughout their dramatically-shortened lives.  

Unfortunately, riding elephants is still one of the most popular tourist activities in Asia. The World Animal Protection investigated 3,000 elephants at tourist sites across Southern Asia in 2017. The study found that 77% of them were living in "severely cruel" conditions. It also found that there had been a 30% rise in the number of elephants at tourism venues in Thailand since 2010.

Many parks advertise themselves as sanctuaries (庇护所)but they aren’t. Real sanctuaries will limit contact with the elephants and visitors can only observe them from a distance most of the time.

The government needs to play a much bigger role in putting an end to elephant tourism. As travelers, please avoid any place offering riding or allowing interacting sessions with elephants. When you see abuse happening, do your bit by leaving your review on review sites and social media to warn other tourists. Many parks are now becoming ride-free as a result of pressure from tourists, the industry and the media.

1.What does the underlined word “ethical” most probably mean?

A.Safe B.Welcome C.Moral D.Available

2.What’s the third paragraph mainly about?

A.The cause of elephant tourism. B.The way of interacting with elephants.

C.The opportunities tourist can get. D.The worse condition elephants are in.

3.How does the writer support the main idea in Paragraph 4?

A.By making different comparisons B.By following the order of time and places.

C.By analyzing cause and effect. D.By giving examples and listing numbers.

4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A.The media and internet worked greater.

B.Riding elephants is free with tourists’ efforts.

C.Ending elephant tourism is necessary but hard.

D.Governments and tourists solved the problem together.

    Most of you have heard of the term "big data" by now. When a company records the information of millions of users, it can analyze this "big data" to discover patterns and trends, allowing them to make better business decisions. It sounds like a science experiment, but every single user who gives up their information becomes an unwilling test subject. Companies claim that the data is used to provide "better service".

When shopping on Taobao, for example, you will get product recommendations based on your previous purchases, making it easier to finish a shopping list. However, did you really end up only purchasing items you originally had in mind? Or did you add a few more to the cart as a result of their recommendations?           And the customer? They just become one more point of data in the system.

Of course, you might be fine with spending a little extra from time to time, but that is only a tiny droplet (水滴) in the vast sea of big data. Moreover, companies can actually buy and sell your data. So, that is another way for companies to make quick money. The next time a photo editing application asks for your contacts, location and calendar, you may wonder which company is looking to buy your information.

As technology grows more advanced, there will only be more opportunities for you to be exposed. Every single photo, text or video you post on the internet is there to help someone paint a better picture of you. Perhaps in the near future, someone will have collected enough data to predict the future decisions you will make before you even make them. Actually, given the amount of data that is already at their disposal (任意使用 ), maybe it is already happening.

1.What is the purpose of collecting big data for companies?

A.To cut the cost of running companies B.To assist companies get higher profit

C.To provide better service to customers D.To analyze companies’ economic advantages

2.What of the following is the missing sentence in Paragraph3？

A.Big date benefits the customers. B.That’s where the business wins.

C.Taobao dominates the shopping markets. D.Product recommendations make shopping easier.

3.What is the best title for the text?

A.More Data, Less Privacy B.Big Data, Better life

C.More Data, Less Trouble D.Big Data, Future Predictor