“A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smart phone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website” is the definition of “selfie” in the Oxford English Dictionary. In fact, it wasn't even in the dictionary until August of last year. It earned its place there because people are now so obsessed with (对……痴迷) selfies ─ we take them when we try on a new hat, play with our pets or when we meet a friend whom we haven't seen in a while.
But is there any scientific explanation for this obsession? Well, you should probably ask James Kilner, a neuroscientist(神经系统科学家) at University College London.
Through our lifetime we become experts at recognizing and interpreting other people's faces and facial expressions. In contrast, according to Kilner, we have a very poor understanding of our own faces since we have little experience of looking at them ─ we just feel them most of the time.
This has been proved in previous studies, according to the BBC.
Kilner found that most people chose the more attractive picture. This suggests that we tend to think of ourselves as better-looking than we actually are. To further test how we actually perceive our own faces, Kilner carried out another study. He showed people different versions of their own portrait ─ the original, one that had been edited to look less attractive and one that was made more attractive ─ and asked them to pick the version which they thought looked most like them. They chose the more attractive version.
But what does it say about selfies? Well, isn't that obvious? Selfies give us the power to create a photograph ─ by taking it from various angles, with different poses, using filters (滤色镜) and so on ─ that better matches our expectations with our actual faces.
“You suddenly have control in a way that you don't have in non-virtual(非虚拟的) interactions," Kilner told the Canada-based CTV News. Selfies allow you “to keep taking pictures until you manage to take one you're happy with”, he explained.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. The definition and fun of taking selfies.
B. A study of why people love taking selfies.
C. How taking selfies influences people’s daily lives.
D. How to interpret people’s facial expressions in their selfies.
2.The underlined word “perceive” in Paragraph 5 can be replaced by “______”.
A. interpret B. beautify C. choose D. explain
3.What did Kilner discover from his researches?
A. People tend to believe they look more attractive than they actually are.
B. People tend to spend more time looking at their faces than at others’.
C. People interpret others’ facial expressions worse than their own.
D. People who like taking selfies know more about their facial expressions.
4.According to Kilner, people like taking selfies probably because they think ______.
A. it is a good chance to learn more about their actual faces
B. it allows them to satisfy their expectations with their appearances
C. it enables them to interact with their friends in social media
D. it is a way to respond to others’ facial expressions correctly
How cool can libraries be in an era of iPods and Kindles? More than you think．Only if you know where to go.
Central Library: Seattle, Washington, United States
The Central Library in Seattle is modern and fashionable and has tourists from around the world paying visits and taking tours. It was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and American designer Joshua Ramus. Tours began in 2006, two years after its opening. The library holds various art exhibitions, book signings and other events, while visitors can stop by the Chocolate cart for a coffee and scan through the gift shop anytime.
Trinity College Library: Dublin, Ireland
The Trinity College Library in Dublin is the oldest library in Ireland, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I. It is the largest single library in the world, also known as the Long Room, which contains more than 200,000 of the library's oldest books. The Long Room houses one of the oldest harps（竖琴）in Ireland. Dating to the 15th century, the old harp is the model for the symbol foreland.
Geisel Library, University of California: San Diego, United States
At first glance, it looks like a spaceship. Architect William Pereira, who helped design actual space launch facilities at Cape Canaveral in Houston, Texas, designed the library in 1970. It has been featured in sci-fi films, short stories and novels. The library hosts “Dinner in the Library,” which invites readers for cocktails, and also a special speech from distinguished authors．
TU Delft Library: The Netherlands
The library at the Delft University of Technology was constructed in 1997 and has more than 862,000 books, 16,000 magazine subscriptions and its own museum．The building itself exists beneath the ground, so you can't really see the actual Library. What makes it interesting is the roof, which is a grassy hill. The roof covers 5,500 square meters. And it has become one of the most striking and greenest structures in the area.
1.Which of the four libraries has the longest history?
A. Central Library B. Trinity College Library
C. Geisel Library D.TU Delft Library
2.What makes Geisel Library different from the others is that _____________.
A. Queen Elizabeth I founded the library
B. it has a roof of grassy hill
C. famous writers often deliver speeches there
D. it is the largest single library in the world
3.In Central Library, you can _________________.
A. drink cocktails B. buy souvenirs
C. enjoy sci-fi films D. see the old harp
On the eve of our daughters’ weddings, I gave both of them what I considered to be excellent marital advice: never leave your husband unsupervised (无人监督的) with pruning shears (修枝剪).
If only I had taken my own advice. I recently let my guard down. Thirty-some years of marriage can do that to a woman. Give a man pruning shears and electric trimmers (电动修剪器) and he will give new meaning to “armed and dangerous.”
One day earlier this year, my husband said that the crab apple tree was dead.
“Why do you think it is dead?” I asked.
“Look at it. There’s not a leaf on it.”
“There’s not a leaf on anything. It’s March,” I said.
“It looked sick last fall and with this bitter winter we had, I’m convinced it’s dead.”
The truth is he’s never liked the crabapple. Sure, it has beautiful blooms in the spring, but then it gets a disease, the leaves curl, and it drops those little apples that sit on the driveway.
Each passing week he pronounced the tree dead. Eventually I began to believe him. Though he agreed it would be a regrettable loss, there was a twinkle in his eye. He armed himself a couple of weeks ago and began trimming. A branch here, a branch there, a small limb, then a large limb. I watched and then decided to check the wood on some of the branches closer to the trunk. I broke one off and saw green.
The crabapple was not dead. It just hadn’t had time to leaf out. The tree was now falling to one side, but it was not dead. I would have told him so, but he had moved on to a maple. Once the man starts, he can’t stop. One trim leads to another.
“Please, stop!” I called.
He smiled and nodded, but he couldn’t hear because he had started the hedge (树篱) trimmers and was getting ready to fix a line of hedges.
Zip (飕飕声), zip, zip.
“What do you think?” he shouted.
“It’s supposed to be a privacy hedge; now all that will be private are our ankles.”
He started the trimmers again.
“Stop!” I called, “Come back!”
“Why?” he shouted.
“You’re in the neighbor’s yard.”
1.By saying “if only I had taken my own advice.” the author means that ___________.
A. she didn’t follow her own advice about pruning shears
B. she feels regretful about her marriage after many years
C. she should have kept a closer watch on her husband
D. she shouldn’t have given that marital advice to her daughters
2.We can learn from the article that the author’s husband ____________.
A. has a great talent for gardening
B. nearly ruined their neighbor’s garden
C. mistook their crab apple tree for a maple tree
D. had never used pruning shears before
3.What does the article mainly talk about?
A. Why the author’s husband insisted on trimming their crab apple tree.
B. Why husbands shouldn’t be left to trim trees alone.
C. How the author has survived her “thirty-some” years of marriage.
D. How the author’s husband killed their crab apple tree.
4.What is the tone of the article?
A. Anxious. B. Critical.
C. Serious. D. Humorous.
书面表达
假定你是李华，你的英国笔友Tom来信询问你最喜欢的运动项目。请你根据以下提示，通过电子邮件向他介绍你最喜欢的运动。
1．何时开始喜欢此项运动；
2．现在练习的情况；
3．给你带来的益处。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2．可以适当发挥，以使行文连贯；
3．信的开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。Dear Tom,
Nice to receive your e-mail. I'd like to tell you about my favorite sport,
Yours，
Li Hua
短文改错
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。
增如：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。
Traditional Chinese culture is facing extinction because of the developing society. As a result of, China is spare no effort to protect it. The protection of national culture is not only of great significant to Chinese cultural diversity but also to the harmonious development between local economy and society. Which is reported, special attention has paid by the Guangdong government in order to protect Chaoju（潮剧）.
In my opinion, some measures should be taken to protect traditional culture efficient. To start with, we should make a law to protect traditional culture. Otherwise, we should draw more people's attention to them. The more they know about the importance of culture protection, the strong support we can get from the public.
In the word, it is high time that we should treasure our own valuable culture.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Helsinki, capital of Finland, is offering young people the chance to rent 1. cheap apartment in an old people's home, if they agree 2. (spend) time socializing with the elderly residents.
The city council（议会）is seeking 3. (apply) from renters under the age of 25 who would like to spend between three 4. five hours each week with their older neighbors. 5. exchange, they'll get a studio flat 6. (measure) 23 square meters with a private kitchen, bathroom and balcony for 250 euro per month. Those 7. apply don't need any specific care experience. There are staff to look after the elderly.
More than 60 people have applied for the spaces in less than a week, and the idea has also Been 8. (warm) welcomed by Finns on social media. "Great project! Hopefully it will spread to other areas, " 9. (write) one person on Facebook, while another supports the scheme for bringing 10. (difference) generations together.
