Mary families in the United States have a 1.(large) income now than ever before, but people are finding 2. difficult to make ends meet anyway.

3. isn’t a dollar worth as much as it used to be? Economists say that the cost of living is the money that a family must pay 4. the necessities of life. For many years now, the cost of living has increased 5.(great), so the value of the dollar has decreased.

No one fully understands why the cost of living keeps 6.(increase), but economists believe that workers and producers can make prices go up. As workers earn money, they have more money to spend, so they demand more goods. If there is a demand for certain goods, the prices of these goods go 7.. At the same time, if there’s a 8.(short) of goods, the prices also increase.

Families need to know 9. happens to their money. They need to make their income meet the cost of living, so many people plan a family budget. Budgeting 10.(help) you spend your money wisely as the cost of living increases.

    On the last day of college before graduation, our professor walked up on stage to give us a ____ lesson, which she called “a life lesson on the ____ of mindsets（思维模式）”. As she raised a glass of water over her head, everyone ____ her to mention the typical “glass half empty or glass half full” question. _________, with a smile on. her face, the professor asked, “How ______ is this glass of water Pm holding?” Students shouted out answers ______ from eight ounces（盎司）to a couple pounds.

After a few moments of reasonable answers, she replied, “In my opinion, the ________weight of this glass doesn’t matter. It all _______ how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly ________. If I hold it for an hour ______, my arm might feel painful. If I hold it for the whole day, my arm will feel completely numb, _____ me to drop the glass to the floor. In each ____, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, _____ the longer I hold it, the heavier it _______ to me.”

As the class nodded their heads in ______, she continued, “Your worries,disappointments, and _____ thoughts are like this glass of water. Think about them for a while and ____ happens. Think about them a bit longer and you begin to feel _______Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb, _____ to do anything else until you ______ them.”

1.A.final B.traditional C.private D.basic

2.A.trend B.origin C.power . D.standard

3.A.advised B.urged C.begged D.expected

4.A.Anyway B.Instead C.Therefore D.Otherwise

5.A.high B.full C.heavy D.clear

6.A.judging B.ranging C.coming D.transforming

7.A.absolute B.rough C.limited D.obvious

8.A.mixes with B.refers to C.results in D.depends on

9.A.normal B.light C.extra D.average

10.A.straight B.only C.again D.later

11.A.reminding B.permitting C.forcing D.encouraging

12.A.field B.section C.problem D.case

13.A.but B.so C.or D.for

14.A.looks B.remains C.feels D.proves

15.A.shock B.agreement C.relief D.fear

16.A.strange B.casual C.crazy D.stressful

17.A.nothing B.something C.everything D.anything

18.A.doubt B.pain C.terror D.sorrow

19.A.unlucky B.unwilling C.unable D.unwise

20.A.accept B.destroy C.hide D.drop

    We know that there is nothing worse than finding yourself caught in a strange place, disconnected from your loved ones. Here are a variety of travel tips that will help make your journey a safe and enjoyable one.

Plan ahead. There is no way to fully plan for the unexpected, but you can be prepared for it.1. If traveling on public transportation, make sure you know the route and the stops. Have a well-charged cell phone with you, or take a Mobile Power Pack. You can often save time and money by planning ahead.

Inform family/ friends of your travel plans. Make sure you have someone you can contact in case of emergency. If someone is meeting you at your destination, make sure they know exactly when your lane/ bus / train arrives.

2. Do you routinely take medicine? Are you traveling with a baby who needs milk powder? These are examples of things to carry with you at all times. If travel is delayed, it doesn't help YOU if these items are part of your checked baggage.

Take identification. It is important to have photo identification with you when you travel. Identification is required when purchasing bus and train tickets. 3.

Check on prohibited items in advance. Visit the Transportation Security Agency's website (TSA) to check on what items are prohibited. 4. Better to leave it at home, since you will have to surrender (交出) the item in order to get through airport security.

Protect your money. Instead of carrying a lot of cash with you, use your card to pay. 5. Take some cash just in case, but don’t put all your cash in one place. Put some money in jackets, pockets and different bags. In case your wallet gets lost or stolen, you still have cash in other places.

A. Don't forget to take medicine.

B. Be aware of your own special needs.

C. This makes payment easier and safer to manage.

D. In case you want to tour around and look for places, maps app is a must.

E. If traveling by car, have a map with you and know your route in advance.

F. Also, it must be presented at airline counters and airport security checkpoints.

G. Remember the Swiss Army knife your grandfather gave you when you were ten years old?

    In a new look at the impact of long-time sitting behavior on health， a new study links time watching television to an increased risk of death.  One of the most surprising findings is that it isn't just couch potatoes who were affected.  Even for people who exercised regularly， the risk of death went up the longer they were in front of the TV.  The problem was the long periods of time spent sitting still.

Australian researchers who tracked 8，800 people for an average of six years found that those who said they watched TV for more than four hours a day were 46% more likely to die of any cause and 80% more likely to die of cardiovascular（心血管的）disease than people who reported spending less than two hours a day in front of TV.

Time spent in front of TVs and computers and video games has come under fire in studies in recent years for contributing to a spread of obesity in the US and around the world.  But typically the resulting public-health message urges children and adults to put down the Xbox controller and remote and get on a treadmill（跑步机）or a soccer field.

The Australian study offers a different view.  "It's not the sweaty type of exercise we're losingsays David Dunstan， a researcher at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute？ Melbourne？ who led the study.  "It's the incidental moving around？ standing up and using muscles.  That doesn't happen when we are planted on a couch in front of a television.

Indeed？ participants in the study reported getting between 30 and 45 minutes of exercise a day？ on average.

The results are supported by a new field of research that shows how long periods of inactivity can affect the body's processing of fats and other substances that contribute to heart risk.  And they suggest that people can help decrease such risk simply by avoiding extended periods of sitting.

Keeping such processes working more effectively doesn't require constant intense exercise， but consciously adding more routine movement to your life might help？ doctors say.  "Just standing is better than sitting，" says Gerard Fletcher， a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic， Jacksonville， Fla.  ， who works standing up at his computer.  "When you stand up， you wander around a little bit and use muscles not required when you are sitting or lying down. "

Simple strategies for increasing activity include combining household chores such as folding laundry with TV-watching time or getting up to change a TV channel rather than using a remote control.

The report， published Tuesday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation focuses on TV watching partly because it is the main leisure-time activity in many countries？ researchers said， especially in the US.

1.One misunderstanding people might have is that___.

A.couch potatoes were affected by long-time sitting.

B.watching TV is related with increased death risk.

C.watching TV very long is a good way to kill time.

D.regular exercise can minimize the side effect of watching TV

2.What is new about the discovery of the Australian study？___

A.Remote control shouldn't be used when people watch TV.

B.People who watch TV too long should take more physical exercise.

C.Sitting too long in front of TV will lead to high risk of heart attack.

D.Long-time sitting is bad for all people including those who exercise regularly.

3.According to the study？ how can people reduce the risk of death when watching TV？___

A.By increasing simple movement.

B.By totally avoiding watching TV.

C.By taking some medicine.

D.By doing sweaty type of exercise.

    The Amazon Echo, a voice-driven cylindrical computer that sits on a table top and answers to the name Alexa, can call up music tracks and radio stations, tell jokes, answer trivia questions and control smart appliances; even before Christmas it was already resident in about 4% of American households. Voice assistants are proliferating in smartphones, too: Apple’s Siri handles over 2bn commands a week, and 20% of Google searches on Android-powered handsets in America are input by voice. Dictating e-mails and text messages now works reliably enough to be useful. Why type when you can talk?

Simple though it may seem, voice has the power to transform computing, by providing a natural means of interaction. Windows, icons and menus, and then touchscreens, were welcomed as more intuitive ways to deal with computers than entering complex keyboard commands. But being able to talk to computers abolishes the need for the abstraction of a “user interface” at all. Just as mobile phones were more than existing phones without wires, and cars were more than carriages without horses, so computers without screens and keyboards have the potential to be more useful, powerful and ubiquitous than people can imagine today.

Voice will not wholly replace other forms of input and output. Sometimes it will remain more convenient to converse with a machine by typing rather than talking (Amazon is said to be working on an Echo device with a built-in screen). But voice is destined to account for a growing share of people’s interactions with the technology around them, from washing machines that tell you how much of the cycle they have left to virtual assistants in corporate call-centres. However, to reach its full potential, the technology requires further breakthroughs—and a resolution of the tricky questions it raises around the trade-off between convenience and privacy.

Computer-dictation systems have been around for years. But they were unreliable and required lengthy training to learn a specific user’s voice. Computers’ new ability to recognise almost anyone’s speech dependably without training is the latest manifestation of the power of “deep learning”, an artificial-intelligence technique in which a software system is trained using millions of examples, usually culled from the internet. Thanks to deep learning, machines now nearly equal humans in transcription accuracy, computerised translation systems are improving rapidly and text-to-speech systems are becoming less robotic and more natural-sounding. Computers are, in short, getting much better at handling natural language in all its forms

Although deep learning means that machines can recognise speech more reliably and talk in a less stilted manner, they still don’t understand the meaning of language. That is the most difficult aspect of the problem and, if voice-driven computing is truly to flourish, one that must be overcome. Computers must be able to understand context in order to maintain a coherent conversation about something, rather than just responding to simple, one-off voice commands, as they mostly do today (“Hey, Siri, set a timer for ten minutes”). Researchers in universities and at companies large and small are working on this very problem, building “bots” that can hold more elaborate conversations about more complex tasks, from retrieving information to advising on mortgages to making travel arrangements.

Many voice-driven devices are always listening, waiting to be activated. Some people are already concerned about the implications of internet-connected microphones listening in every room and from every smartphone. Not all audio is sent to the cloud—devices wait for a trigger phrase (“Alexa”, “OK, Google”, “Hey, Cortana”, or “Hey, Siri”) before they start relaying the user’s voice to the servers that actually handle the requests—but when it comes to storing audio, it is unclear who keeps what and when.

1.According to Paragraph I the American Echo ___

A.has been sold out before Christmas

B.has been used by most American families

C.came out the market later than Apple’s Siri

D.is more useful than smart phones in fictating e-mails

2.What can we infer about the technology of voice computing?

A.It is more effective and convenient than typing

B.It needs to be improved in some important aspects

C.It increases a person’s chances of communicating with others

D.It will replace other forms of input and output in the near future

3.What are some users of voice -driven devices concerned about?

A.The devices will be in charge of theit life

B.The devices need to be activeated before working

C.They are in the dark about their data’s ownership

D.Their voices can be recognized by every smart technology?

4.What’s the author’s attitude towards voice-driven technology?

A.Worried B.Doubtful

C.Supportive D.Objective

Exploit your parking space

An unused parking space or garage can make money. If you live near a city center or an airport, you could make anything up to £200 or £300 a week. Put an advertisement（广告）for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark.

Rent a room

Spare room? Not only will a lodger（房客）earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax on the first £4500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.

Make money during special events

Don’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money. Grashpadder can advertise your space.

Live on set

Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register your home for free—but you will be charged if your home gets picked.

Use your roof

You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment(around￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.

1.If you earn ￡5000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on ______.

A.￡800 B.￡4500 C.￡500 D.5000

2.If you want to use energy free, you have to_____.

A.sign an agreement with the government

B.keep the roof unchanged for within 25 years

C.sell the roof to some energy companies

D.pay around ￡14,000 for the equipment

3.For whom the text most probably written?

A.Lodgers. B.Advertisers.

C.Online companies D.House owners.

阅读下面短文,根据其内容写一篇 60 词左右的内容概要。注意:1.不分段:2.不使用原句:3.不发表自己观点

Tips on summary writing(写作建议):

1. While reading

Are there any topic sentences or key words? If so, underline them and paraphrase(改述)them.

2. While writing

Pay attention to the structure(结构), including topic sentences and main supporting point or evidence.

Use your own words and try to be concise (准确). Remember do not give your own comments(评论）

Cycling isn’t always easy. Busy streets, honking horns(喇叭), and not enough bike lanes can make it an uphill battle. But not even these difficulties can stopEuropeans’ love for cycling. According to BBC, bicycles outsold cars  in 26 of the European Union's 28 states last year.

There are traditional "bicycle capitals", such as Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Copenhagen  in  Denmark. But in many other traditionally car-made countries,the shift( 转变)to bikes is amazing. Italians, for instance, bought

1.6 million bikes against 1.4 million cars in 2012.

So what has led to cycling,s growing popularity in Europe?

The economic crisis(危机) has played an important role in the issue.”The economic crisis has had an influence on all areas of people's lives, including on transport” Giulietta Pagliaccio, head of the Italian cycling federation Fiab, told the Australian Associated Press.

Since the European debt crisis broke out in 2009, more people lost their job while the cost of living, including fuel costs, continued to rise. It forced many people to give up driving to save money, the Guangzhou-based New Express(《新快报》commented. Take Greece, a country seriously hit by the crisis, for example. It sold320,000 bikes last year against 58,000 cars.

More importantly, people have changed their views toward cars and bikes. Cars are losing their attraction as status( 地 位 ) symbols. Yet, cycling is now seen as"a safe clean, healthy, inexpensive way to get around town, "the Daily Star concluded. "It not only reduces traffic jams and pollution, but also contributes to public health."

However, with more and more people tuning to cycling, questions come up about traffic and safety problems.

To ease people's worries, quite a few cities now offer well-marked bike lanes such as the cycling super-highway marked in blue in London. Copenhagen, for example, it has spent 22 million euros (183 million yuan)in cycling, widening roads and building more parking places.

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从 各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C 和 D)中,选出最佳选项。

Last summer, I had just enough money saved to buy a golden ticket—a 3-month train pass that would take me to the furthest reaches of Europe. Excited for my journey, I _______ all the necessities—_______ the guidebook.

While the _______ of the  Internet  was  surely  a contributing  factor to my _______ not to take with me kilograms of out-of-date information, this was not the only reason why I decided to fly _______

To be honest, I find the guidebook _______ of a journey—like a bossy aunt who is always telling you what to do, _______ she  doesn’t  always  know  what  is  the  best. _______ has taught me that there is a clear _______ between a tourist and a traveler.

While waiting in a queue to see Michelangelo’s Statue of David in Florence, I met a man who showed me his ________ of “Top 20 Things To Do in Italy” and told us ________ that he’d seen everything Italy has to ________ in  just four days.

The problem  I had  with this  man’s way of ________ was that  he was too  focused on ________ the  boxes     provided by his guidebook. He was ________ in the so-called “must-sees” and blind to all that was happening in       the real trip.

So, guidebook-less as we were,my companion and I traveled to Estonia. Arriving without advance plans, we had no choice but to ________ to some friendly faces for advice. We ________ ourselves and asked them what was happening around the town. When this resulted in an ________ we enjoyed a 110-degree wood-stove sauna （桑拿浴） , to a beautiful Estonian home by  a river  where ________ picked forest-mushrooms and the good ________ of our five new-found Estonian friends, we sure were glad we had left our bossy aunt at home.

1.A.loaded B.collected C.packed D.selected

2.A.except B.with C.including D.besides

3.A.ability B.convenience C.example D.performance

4.A.goal B.decision C.excuse D.mistake

5.A.around B.away C.abroad D.alone

6.A.limits B.influences C.confuses D.encourage

7.A.in case B.as though C.even though D.as long as

8.A.Regulation B.Communication C.Intelligence D.Experience

9.A.relationship B.connection C.similarity D.difference

10.A.list B.book C.file D.summary

11.A.loudly B.positively C.proudly D.happily

12.A.remind B.offer C.discover D.order

13.A.traveling B.planning C.preparing D.thinking

14.A.counting B.following C.drawing D.ticking

15.A.concerned B.interested C.lost D.devoted

16.A.turn to B.turn up C.turn down D.tum in

17.A.presented B.helped C.introduced D.forced

18.A.application B.exit C.entrance D.invitation

19.A.skillfully B.curiously C.fully D.locally

20.A.quality B.company C.possession D.advice

语法填空(在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式)

China's space program has become the first 1. (land) a spacecraft on the so-called dark side of the moon.  The landing made the country closer to the goal of becoming 2. space power. The moon’s far side is not     always dark. But it is often called the dark side 3. it faces away from Earth and little is know about it. One 4. (difficult) of operating on the far side of the moon is communicating with Earth. Last May. China launched  a satellite so that Chang’e 4 could send back information.Chang'e 4 has sent a picture back to Earth 5. shows a  small crater(环形山)and an empty surface that appears to be lit 6. a light from the lunar explorer.

The landing  is  an example  of China’s 7. (grow)ability to compete  with the  American, Russian  and  European space programs. China also wants to 8. (strength) its position in lunar exploration. The United State   is the only country that has 9. (success)sent a person to the moon. Now, China is considering a crewed( 载 人的) mission, as well. And, China plans to send a Chang'e 5 spacecraft to the moon next year and have 10. return to Earth with collected particles(微粒).

    We shouldn’t judge a person by their appearance but we do. In fact, the experts say that when we meet someone for the first time we make a decision about what that person is like in three seconds. 1. One of the most important things we look at is clothes, but it isn't the brand of clothes that people wear that is important. The important thing is to wear the right clothes for the right places.

Schools have always understood this and a lot of them ask their students to wear a uniform. Why? A lot of teachers think a uniform makes students feel that they are part of their school and that their form helps them to be serious about their studies. 2. If all the students wear uniforms, they can’t judge each other because of their clothes. It also stops gossips about who or what is fashionable.

3. We all have fixed ideas about what the people in a certain job should wear. If we visit a doctor, we hope to see respectable clothes under the doctor’s white coat. 4. Police officers wear uniforms to make themselves easily identifiable to non-police officers. In fact, a lot of companies have dress codes for their staff because they know that the customers hope to see them dressed in certain types of clothes.

But can our clothes really tell people what we are like? 5. When people see us in the right clothes, they think we are serious about what we are doing. Furthermore, if we are clean, smart and polite, people will believe us a lot.

A. Maybe not, but they can show our attitude to what we are doing at the moment.

B. Some of the teachers hold different opinions.

C. But what do we look at?

D. Teachers say that uniforms can help in other ways too.

E. Our clothes stand for our attitude.

F. However, it is not only schools that want people to dress in a certain way.

G. When we go into a bank we expect the staff to wear suits or dresses.

    Today，we are constantly bombarded with media reports about research on the right diet to follow to help us maintain a healthy lifestyle or lose weight—but it’s hard to know which one to pick and，once chosen，it's harder still to stick to it.And now there’s another choice to get our teeth into.

A flexitarian(弹性素食者)diet involves eating plant—based foods and only occasionally eating meat and fish.This eating style allows you to supplement some ingredients that you wouldn’t get in a stricter vegan(素食主义者)diet—another trend growing in popularity.And like veganism，flexitarianism isn’t about eating carefully to help you lose a few pounds—it’s something people choose for ethical reasons，to help the planet.And a study into the global food system and how it affects the climate，has found that eating mainly plant-based foods is one of three key steps towards a sustainable future for all by 2050.

This research found that food waste will need to be halved and farming practices will also have to improve to achieve this.But without a single solution，a combined approach is needed.Dr Marco Springmann from the University of Oxford was one of the lead authors of the report.He told the BBC“We really found that a combination of measures would be needed to stay within environmental limits and those include changes towards healthier more plant—based diets.”

But whereas vegans think it's wrong for animals to be killed for food，flexitarians believe eating meat once in a while is acceptable.And Dr Springmann agrees—as long as we“treat it as a luxury，it’s probably OK but you shouldn’t have more than one serving of red meat，which includes beef and pork，per week.”And here’s another fact to digest:If we moved to this type of diet，the study found that greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture would be cut by more than half.

1.What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A. To lead to the topic. B. To entertain the readers.

C. To ask for information. D. To present an idea.

2.From the text，we can know that a flexitarian diet__________.

A. is the most popular eating style B. involves eating no meat

C. benefits the environment D. only balances the nutrition

3.What does Dr Marco Springmann agree with?

A. It’s wrong to kill animals for food.

B. Improving farming practices makes no sense.

C. A plant-based diet has nothing to do with climate change.

D. Combined measures are needed for environmental protection.

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

A. Methods of keeping fit B. Choose a flexitarian diet

C. Measures to protect the environment D. Keep a strict vegan diet

    Mosquitoes have an extraordinary ability to target humans far away and fly straight to their unprotected skin. Regrettably, mosquitoes can do more than cause an itchy( 发痒的)wound. Some mosquitoes spread several serious diseases, including Dengue, yellow fever and malaria.

Over one million people worldwide die from these diseases each year. New research now shows how  mosquitoes choose who to bite.

Mosquitoes need blood to survive. They are attracted to human skin and breath. They smell the carbon dioxide gas, which all mammals breathe out. This gas is the main way for mosquitoes to know that a warm-blooded creature  is nearby.

But mosquitoes also use their eyes and sense of touch. Michael Dickinson is a professor at the California  Institute of Technology. His research shows how these small insects, with even smaller brains, use three senses to  find a blood meal.

Michael Dickinson's team used plumes( 烟 )- a material that rises into the air of carbon dioxide gas into a wind tunnel. They then used cameras to record the mosquitoes. The insects followed the plume.

Then, the scientists placed dark objects on the lighter colored floor and walls of the tunnel. Mr Dickinson said, at first, the mosquitoes showed no interest in the objects at all. "What was quite striking and quite surprising is that the mosquitoes fly back and forth for hours. These are hungry females and they completely ignore the objects  on the  floor and wall of the tunnel, But the moment they get a hit of CO2, they change their behavior quite obviously and now would become attracted to these little visual spots.

This suggested to the researchers that a mosquito's sense of smell is more important in the search for food. Once mosquitoes catch a smell of a human or animal, they also follow visual signals.

1.What do mosquitoes mainly use to find their targets?

A.Sense of smell. B.Sense of touch.

C.Sense of sight. D.Smart brains

2.How did the mosquitoes respond to the objects firstly in the experiment?

A.They flew to the dark ones B.They caught and stuck to them.

C.They took no notice of them. D.They attached themselves to them

3.How can we avoid being attacked by mosquitoes according to the text?

A.Don't let them see us

B.Use dark objects to stop them

C.Make them fly back and forth for hours

D.Attract them to objects full of carbon dioxide gas

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

A.How Do Mosquitoes Survive?

B.How Do Mosquitoes Choose to Bite You?

C.Why Do Mosquitoes Need Blood?

D.Why Do Mosquitoes Attack the Human Being?

    Teens love to socialize, and these websites give them a chance to do that while  playing games, exploring  virtual(虚拟的) worlds and taking quizzes(测试). Of course, teens also need to be safe online and report any cyber bullies(网络欺凌)

Instagram

Instagram allows teens to upload photos of their daily life and share them friends. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that must be true because Instagram has around 300 million users who are active each month. The platform is all about photos with short captions( 说明文字). When it comes to Instagram's users, 53 percent of them are aged 18-29, but most may be even younger and simply list their age as 18 in order to use the platform.

Habbo Hotel

Habbo Hotel is a place for teens to chat. Each teen receives a personal room to decorate with virtual objects. They can also dress their avatar(网络头像) in virtual clothes or create games to play with friends. The room might have music, be set up like a classroom, or have other features so different avatars can visit one another. Each room teens can interact in has an adult moderator (tt H m) to make sure it stays safe.

Fanlala

Fanlala is a social network that gives teens who love celebrities, music and TV shows a place to interact. Through it, a user can get the latest news and gossip on their favorite shows, as well as take quizzes to test their knowledge. Teens can set up their own profile(t*)on Fanlala and interact with other users.

Teen Chat

Teen Chat is a place for teens to interact with one another through forums(论坛)according to their interests. For example, there are chat rooms for those who love anime(4082)and for those who’ve just started college. There are also chat rooms for things like music, games, and sports. The platform offers a"Friend Finder"tool that will help teens search for people who live locally to them.

1.What makes Instagram different from other sites listed in the text?

A.It's a great place for people to share photos

B.The majority of its users are in their 20s

C.It has the largest number of users

D.Only those above 18 normally use it.

2.Which site allows its users to create their own character and design a virtual room for it?

A.Instagram B.Habbo Hotel.

C.Fanlala. D.Teen Chat.

3.What can you gain from Fanlala'?

A.Game skills. B.Sports knowledge.

C.Anime videos. D.entertainment news.

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

A.Tips on online chatting B.Sites for socializing

C.Free chat rooms for everyone. D.How to fight cyber bullying

    “Attention, everyone!” Miss Dalrymple looked at her class of ten-year-old. “Today we are going to create a special card for Father's Day, which falls on this weekend.” Then she busied herself handing out the paper and art materials to her noisy pupils.

They were a mixed punch. Some came from the rich side of the town, but the majorities were from parents who struggled to get jobs. So she had not been eager to carry out this activity.

“Think about all the things that your dad does that make him special,” she said loudly as she approached the last table. “You can write a poem or short story thinking of the positive characteristics that make your dad special. The written part of this activity should be completed before you start to decorate your card.”

Andrew looked at the blank page. He had never met, spoken to, or been hugged by his dad, so how could he write about him? Once when he was looking in his grandma's photo box, he had seen an old black and white photo  but it was badly creased( 弄 皱 ) and difficult to recognize any clear features. She had quickly taken it from him and buried it deeply among the rest, never to be found again. After thinking for a while, he wrote:

Dear Dad,

You are a person I do not know and would probably not recognize as I only saw an old photo of you a long time ago. I think and wonder about you often, especially when I have no one to talk to about the Saturday fixtures( 体育 活 动 ). One day when I grow up I will do an Internet search to find you, but I am not sure whether I will be successful as several attempts by the Child Support Agency have not been successful. Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Love,

Andrew

1.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 indicate?

A.The students were not willing to finish the task.

B.The students were eager to carry out the activity.

C.The students didn't get along well with each other.

D.The students' family conditions were quite different.

2.Why did Andrew have difficulty in making a special card for his father?

A.Because his father was not a successful man.

B.Because he had never seen his father.

C.Because he forgot all the things his father did.

D.Because he and his grandma didn't like his father.

3.What can we learn from Andrew's letter?

A.Andrew's father has been dead. B.Andrew's father can't recognize him.

C.Andrew is eager to meet his father. D.Andrew is sure of finding his father.

据世界卫生组织(World Health Organization)统计，全球81%的青少年缺乏锻炼。假如你是李华，请根据以下要点用英语准备一篇发言稿，在一次国际中学生交流活动中发言。

1.缺乏运动的原因;

2.运动的好处;

3.如何制定运动计划。

注意:1.词数100字左右;

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯;

3.开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。

Dear fellow students,

According to the World Health Organization, 81% teenagers are lack of exercising.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

That's all. Thank you!

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处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误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。

Dear Sir/Madam,

I heartedly want to be a volunteer of yours. Here is something about you. I am a student who will graduate senior high school. I always regard my class as our family or sacrifice my personally interests whenever necessary. Besides take an active part in class activities, I work responsibly to build up a good reputation for the team, I respected all the people around me and I'm always willing to give a hand to those in need. I'm strict in myself, making every effort to achieve an all-round development. In time of difficult, I always keep strong minded.

In addition, I am good at English both in speaking and in writing. I was in an American host family for 20 days in the summer camp and know how to get along well with foreigners. Looking forward to your early reply.

Sincerely yours,

Li Hua

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。

The Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy (书法) contains more than 200 art pieces including Arabic, Chinese,1.(Europe), Indian, Japanese and Slavic calligraphic works.

“One of the most interesting2.(item) in the museum is a book of calligraphic work on the 36 military tactics (战术) applied during wars in ancient China," Alexey Shaburov, founder and keeper of the museum,3.(tell) a group of reporters from China on November 24.

The giant book is exhibited in a large glass case. Shaburov took it out to show some of4.(it) content. Each tactic,5.is usually expressed in four Chinese characters, is  written on one page and accompanied by a Russian translation on another page. The tactics represent the6.(wise) of Chinese people. They are not only useful on the battlefield7.also for business and personal life.

He said he became crazy about calligraphy, so he decided8.(establish) a calligraphic museum in Moscow. The museum has played9.important role in promoting calligraphy in Russia.“Calligraphy wasn't seen as an art form in Russia. But this year, some of the artworks from our museum were made a part of the non-public section of the Russian museum collection,” Shaburov said,10.(add) that this means that calligraphic works' are acknowledged as cultural heritage and will be protected in Russia.

    Ice and snow knocked at the window of the office where I was working. As the wind howled (呼啸) ,I______. how I would get home. The 12-mile______took me up and down______hills and around dangerous turns. I whispered a prayer for______.

Luckily, my______green car was doing______over the ice-covered roadway, However, as I drove onto one of the steepest and scariest hills, I noticed the tires were______, and my trusty SUV was having difficulty climbing the hill.

I decided it was time to______to four-wheel drive. I pulled the lever (操纵杆) back, just like my husband had______me. Slowly the tires grasped the road, and the top of the hill came within  ____.

Unfortunately, at the top, the______just stopped. I pushed and pulled the lever- nothing happened. I was______, with snow and ice flying.

Now what? Even though I had______no one on this lonely stretch of road, I______prayed that someone might come to help. After a few minutes, I______an old, rattling (咯咯作响) pickup truck. A smiling young man I'd never seen before in our small rural community rolled down his,   ____and asked if I needed help. I answered him that I did. He stepped into my car under the_____  condition and showed me how to______the four-wheel-drive shifting gear, locking it into place.

In no time, I had the old car______toward home. When I thanked the______and asked if he lived around the area, he just said, “Oh, over there.” Do I believe in miracles? Of course!

1.A.mentioned B.wondered C.discovered D.explained

2.A.roadway B.highway C.sidewalk D.railway

3.A.beautiful B.real C.interesting D.steep

4.A.wealth B.health C.safety D.satisfaction

5.A.new B.old C.lovely D.expensive

6.A.much B.badly C.again D.well

7.A.slipping B.disappearing C.growing D.changing

8.A.belong B.compare C.switch D.reply'

9.A.wished B.threatened C.awarded D.taught

10.A.heart B.mind C.sight D.hearing

11.A.vehicle B.snow C.wind D.road

12.A.stuck B.moved C.protected D.inspired

13.A.brought B.called C.met D.hurt

14.A.excitedly B.silently C.confidently D.proudly

15.A.created B.called C.repaired D.spotted

16.A.door B.lever C.window D.wheel

17.A.distant B.different C.gentle D.wintery

18.A.control B.destroy C.remove D.introduce

19.A.pointing B.moving C.marching D.dropping

20.A.relative B.friend C.enemy D.stranger

    Among the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP), the World Health Organization (WHO) has offered basic protective measures to the public against the virus.

1. Wash hands frequently with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand rub if your hands are not visibly dirty.1.

2.2.If you sneeze or cough into your hands, you may contaminate (污染;传染) objects or people that you touch. Throw tissue immediately into a closed bin and clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

3. Keep at least one- meter distance between yourself and other people, particularly those who are coughing, sneezing and have a fever, because coughs or sneezes of people who are infected with a respiratory (呼吸系统) disease project (喷射) small drops containing the virus.3.

4. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth because hands touch many surfaces, which can be contaminated with: the virus. If you touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your contaminated hands, you can transfer the virus from the surface to yourself.

5. Tell your health care provider if you have traveled in an area where the epidemic (流行病). has been reported, or if you have been in close contact with someone who has respiratory symptoms.

6. Practice general hygiene(卫生) measures when visiting live animal markets, wet markets or animal product markets.4.. Avoid contact with potentially contaminated animal waste or fluids on the soil Or structures of shops and market facilities.

7.5.. Handle raw meat, milk, or animal organs carefully to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked food.

A.Avoid eating animal products

B.If you are too close, you can breathe in the virus

C.This helps knowing the virus if it's on your hands

D.Avoid eating raw or undercooked animal products

E.This helps removing the virus if it's on your hands

F.Strictly avoid any contact with other animals in the market

G.Cover your mouth and nose with tissue when coughing and sneezing

    In a study of young people in the UK aged 12-20, half of them said they had been bullied (欺凌) . People who are bullied are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. They might lose interest in the activities they enjoy, avoid spending time with other people and not go to classes or school, which has a negative effect on their learning.

Bullying is not just physical, like hitting or kicking someone, or taking their things without permission. Bullying can also be With words- -saying or writing things that are not nice. Another type of bullying is social- choosing not to include someone, embarrassing someone or telling other people not to be friends with them. Bullying can happen at school, on public transport, when you're walking home, online .... In fact, it can happen anywhere.

Bullying usually involves more people than you think. There are the people who bully and those who are bullied. Sometimes other people help the bully or join in. Then there are the kids that support- -they don't bully anyone directly, but they support the bullying by being audience. They laugh or encourage the children who are bullying in other ways. This is why it's important for everyone to work together against bullying. Some children see what is happening and want to help, although they don't know how. Others may comfort and defend the person being bullied. To stop bullying we need everyone to be brave and take a stand.

Does your school do anything to prevent bullying? Why don't you create a student anti-bullying group? This group can do many things. Let the head teacher know how well the school is doing with fighting bullying and give them advice. Choose an anti-bullying slogan for your school, make posters and displays or take over the school's social media for a week to send out anti-bullying messages.

Bullying is a social problem and it needs a solution from society- in other words, everyone. Next time you see someone being cruel to someone else, take a stand! Don't laugh or ignore what's happening- -tell an adult as soon as possible and help everyone to realize that bullying is not OK.

1.What happens to the students when they were school bullied?

A.They have interest in the activities. B.They are likely to talk with people.

C.They have to finish their learning. D.They become upset and anxious.

2.What is the writer's attitude to being audience to bullying?

A.Supportive. B.Indifferent.

C.Critical. D.Optimistic.

3.What can we do to stop school bullying?

A.Watch and laugh at it. B.Realize and fight against it.

C.Comfort the victims. D.Stand by to be audience.

4.What is the main idea of this passage?

A.School bullying and ways out. B.An introduction to school bullying.

C.An anti-bullying slogan. D.A student anti-bullying group.

    History can be found at every turn, and every corner, as you walk the streets of this architectural marvel of a city, and at Powis Place and Fraser Studios you are just a short 15-minute walk away from one of the oldest universities in the country. Links can be found to The University of Aberdeen as far back as 1495, with a beautiful medieval (中世纪的) campus to back up its claims.

It makes it the fifth oldest university in the whole of the UK, and as a result it has always been a well-regarded higher education establishment. It has been voted the Scottish University of 2019 and is ranked in the Top 30 Universities in the UK in 2019. It attracts people from all over the UK and abroad. With distance learning choices, it is an attractive proposition to many students. The Sir Duncan Rice Library has perfect views of the entire city and beaches, and the university has one of the largest medical campuses in the whole of Europe.

Aberdeen University Students' Association (AUSA) is home to over 150 societies and hundreds of activities relating to those societies. It ensures that whatever you are interested in you are well served when moving to the city as a student. It is a fantastic way to meet and make new friends with people from all over the world. Within the Union there is a cafe and a shop, with many food outlets providing daily refreshments (茶点) during breaks between lectures and study. There are also plenty of volunteering and training opportunities to take part in, whether you are looking for a hobby, to help others, to present your CV, or all of the above.

The University of Aberdeen certainly holds some reputations, home .to five previous Nobel Prize Winners, an internationally-focused university in teaching and research, and even its very own tartan created in 1992 to celebrate the university 's 500th anniversary.

1.When was the University of Aberdeen first built?

A.2019. B.1992.

C.1495. D.500.

2.What does the underlined words “proposition” most probably mean?

A.choice B.preparation

C.building D.history

3.What can we know about Aberdeen University?

A.Five scientists won the Nobel Prize in 2019.

B.It gained the Scottish University of 2019.

C.It has the largest medical campus in the world.

D.It is the 30th biggest university in Europe.

4.What can we do in the Sir Duncan Rice Library?

A.Join AUSA for over 150 societies. B.Get volunteering opportunities.

C.Receive distance learning. D.Enjoy the whole city and beaches.

    Probably no other musical instrument is as popular as the guitar. Musicians use the guitar for almost every kind of music. Country and western music would not be the same without a guitar. The traditional Spanish folk music called Flamenco could not exist without a guitar. The sound of American blues music would not be the same without the sad cry of the guitar. And rock and roll music would almost be impossible Without this instrument.

Some music experts say an instrument very much like a guitar was played in Egypt more than one thousand years ago. Some other experts say that the ancestor of the modern guitar was brought to Spain from Persia sometime in the twelfth century. The guitar continued to develop in Spain. In the 1700s, it became similar to the instrument we know today.

Many famous musicians played the instrument. The famous Italian violinist Niccolo Paganinni played and wrote music for the guitar in the early 1800s. Franz Schubert used the guitar to write some of his famous works. One kind of music for the guitar developed in the southern area of Spain called Adalusia. It will always be strongly linked with the Spanish guitar. It is called Flamenco.

In the 1930s, Les Paul began experimenting with ways to make an electric guitar. He invented the solid body electric guitar in 1946. The guitar has always been important to blues music. With the electric guitar, Les Paul helped make modern blues music possible. There have been many great blues guitarists. Yet, music experts say all blues guitar players are measured against one man and his famous guitar. That man is B. B. King. Every blues fan knows that years ago B. B. King named his guitar Lucille. Here B. B. King plays Lucille on his famous recording of “The Thrill Is Gone”. Lucille, B. B. King's large, beautiful black guitar, is important to American music. Visitors can see King's very first guitar at the Rock and Soul Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The museum is the only permanent exhibit organized by the Smithsonian Institution outside Washington, D. C., and New York City.

1.Where did the modern guitar finally come into being?

A.Egypt. B.Spain.

C.Persia. D.Italy.

2.What do we know about Flamenco?

A.It is the name of a famous musician. B.It is related to Spanish guitar.

C.It is also called Adalusia. D.It is the name of a guitar.

3.What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?

A.The electric guitar promoted the development of the blues.

B.The musician B. B. King named his guitar Lucille.

C.The Rock and Soul Museum first opened in Memphis.

D.The exhibit was first organized by the Smithsonian Institution.

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

A.Traditional Folk Music B.Flamenco and Guitar

C.Violinist and Blues D.Guitar and Music

    While traveling to a foreign land, or perhaps across the state, aren't you looking for something a little more adventurous, more luxurious ( 豪华) , and packed with facilities (设施) that you don't have at home?

Treehotel, Sweden

It was perhaps everybody's childhood dream to be able to have their own tree house. Now you can sleep in a specifically made hotel suite built atop a tree in the  Harads  Municipality in Sweden. The most unique rooms are the Bird's Nest, a room exactly shaped like a bird nest; the Mirror Cube, a hide-out with reflective outside walls. The rate of each room starts from about $800 per night.

The Manta Resort, Tanzania

The Manta Resort in Tanzania is one of the world's only hotels with rooms placed below the surface of the ocean. By opening the curtains of your windows, you'll be able to see hundreds of fish swimming peacefully around your room. Want to go for a swim? Climb out of your room and jump in the clear waters! For only $250 a night, you, too, can sleep with the fishes.

Book and Bed, Japan

Reading before sleeping is something that many people do. Book and Bed, a 30-room hotel in the heart of Tokyo takes advantage of this by conveniently placing a lot of books in shelves just an arm's reach away from your bed. The rooms at this hotel are small enough for a single adult. Reading yourself to sleep in one of their comfortable rooms will cost only about $40 a night,

Tianzi  Hotel, China

The largest image hotel in the world is the Tianzi Hotel in Hebei Province, China. The hotel is a description of the three ancient Chinese gods of Fu, Lu, and Shou- the god of fortune, prosperity, and longevity, respectively. To enter it, simply open the door located in Shou's foot.

The peach resting in the God of Longevity's left hand is a one-bedroom suite with a perfect view of the busy city. Rates at the Tianzi Hotel start as cheap as $11 a night.

1.What can we know about Treehotel?

A.It is made of wood. B.It is made on a tree.

C.It is called the Mirror Cube. D.It is named after a bird nest.

2.What can we do in the Manta Resort?

A.Live in the Bird's Nest. B.Swim in the ocean.

C.Read before sleep. D.Enjoy the busy city.

3.Which hotel most probably has the smallest room?

A.Treehotel. B.The Manta Resort.

C.Book and Bed. D.Tianzi Hotel.

假如你叫李明，即将高中毕业，准备到英国读大学。现在你有一些关于雅思考试（International English Language Testing System,简称 IELTS ）的问题需要咨询，请你写一封信向你的英国笔友David 请教你所关注的以下问题：

雅思考试的时间和主要内容。

应该如何准备阅读、写作等考试内容。

希望David 给出一些建议及推荐复习用书

向David 表示感谢，期待回信。

注意：1.词数 100 左右。

开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear David,

How are you ?                                                                             

Best wishes.

Yours,

Li Ming

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:在错的词下画一横线，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。

The other day I happen to read an eighty-word passage about details. I found it prettily good.

One who wants to achieve great success should pay attentions to details. Sometimes it is the details in that determine our success, for it has a great impact on what we’re doing. We should form the habit of being careful, so a careful person rarely overlooks details. What’s more, we should learn to keep balance of quantity and quality. When facing with lots of work, the faster we do them, the more mistakes we usually make. In that case we are possible to neglect the details. So we should remember that quality comes first, without that quantity is of no importance.

阅读下面短文，在空白处填入 1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

My name is Tabitha, a 36­-year-­old mother living with my three kids in West Tennessee. I 1. (lose) my job a couple of weeks ago and I am still searching for work now. The town where I live is quite small and finding a job here has proven to be 2.  major task.

Since leaving my last job, I have found that it's 3. (difficult) to make myself employed again than I expected. I have become a full­time homemaker, 4.  (take) care of my motherly duties as well as housework. Apart from caring for my children and taking care of the house, I am still busy looking for part­time and full­time 5.  (employ) to help my family financially, 6. (frequent) visit our local career center and search online if I have very little free time.

To be frank, I admit that being unemployed is 7.  (stress). I usually find myself lying awake at night and wondering 8. I'm going to support my family if I cannot find a job. In my inner heart, I never think about giving up. Having devoted much effort to my job­hunting, I believe 9. will pay off one day. Therefore, I will continue to search until I find one that allows me 10. (provide) an income for my family.

    I've come to the conclusion that I'm rubbish at saying “No”. For example, last Sunday I was sitting at my desk alone, totally ____ in my own business, when a colleague of mine phoned and asked me to get involved in ____ with her. I found myself getting all caught up in her enthusiasm and didn't want to ____ her. So I said “Sure, why not？” and before the call had ____, I found myself agreeing, without giving any ____ whether it was worth doing.

We are both window­shoppers and ___ a whole day in the street. Actually, I hardly have any time to spare because I am very busy ____ my normal job - I've also got a book to write, a business to ____ and a family to look after. And then there are my other projects to ____ - my voluntary work and a couple of other interesting investments that I want to ____. I'm going to have to be more ruthless (无情的) and not just agree to ____ people ask me to get involved in. In other words, I'm going to have to get ____ at saying “No”.Usually I hate saying “No”, because having to disappoint someone usually ____ me. Now I realize ____ I haven't learned to say “No”, I've been feeling very ____.

We had better do what we think is right and what we are ______ to do. Sometimes it does not seem that bad to ______ others. If I focus on the things I ______ want to be involved in, I'll reach a much higher standard and do it quite ______. I'll be enthusiastic and motivated (有积极性) and do something that is good for everyone and everyone will be happy. It'll be a win­win ______. What's not good about that？So sometimes, we have to say “No”.

1.A.experienced B.absorbed C.concerned D.disappointed

2.A.reading B.discussion C.shopping D.travel

3.A.displease B.force C.support D.shock

4.A.explained B.announced C.developed D.ended

5.A.thought B.suggestion C.idea D.question

6.A.lost B.kept C.enjoyed D.wasted

7.A.because of B.regardless of C.apart from D.instead of

8.A.visit B.run C.inspect D.invent

9.A.consider B.fetch C.catch D.enlarge

10.A.take in B.work on C.turn out D.make up

11.A.something B.none C.everything D.either

12.A.further B.cooler C.faster D.better

13.A.attracts B.beats C.upsets D.puzzles

14.A.after B.because C.if D.although

15.A.impressed B.anxious C.merciful D.depressed

16.A.likely B.afraid C.willing D.proud

17.A.join B.refuse C.invite D.choose

18.A.highly B.hardly C.suddenly D.really

19.A.patiently B.well C.seriously D.accidentally

20.A.situation B.environment C.appearance D.spirit

The need for love is deeply rooted in the human psyche(灵魂).1.According to psychologists, separateness means to be cut off, helpless and alone in the world. It is the source of all anxiety.2.It can be selfish and possessive, or unselfish and giving. Abraham Maslow distinguishes between two kinds of love: B-love or “being love” means love for another person: unselfish love not dependent upon your own needs. D-love or “deficiency-love” is a selfish possessive love which is based upon someone else’s ability to satisfy your needs.D-love is conditional. It depends upon whether personal needs continue to be met. But B-love is unconditional.3.Furthermore, as it depends upon who you are, it is possible only when you allow yourself to be known to the other person.The psychologist Erich Fromm also distinguished between two types of love.4.Symbiotic union is an immature love based upon the satisfaction of needs and is similar to Maslow’s concept of D-love.Mature love, on the other hand, is a relationship that allows individuals to retain(保持) their independence, their identity, and their integrity. In mature love people can overcome their sense of separateness yet continue to be themselves. The immature lover would say, “I love you because I need you,” but the mature one: “5.”

A.These two types are quite different from each other.

B.There are two types of love.

C.I need you because I love you.

D.Love is a way of overcoming the feeling separateness.

E.Every one of us needs love.

F.It depends not upon what you do, but who you are.

G.They are immature love, called by him symbiotic union(共同体), and mature love.

    Like many other people, I love my smart phone, which keeps me connected with the larger world that can go anywhere with me. I also love my laptop,because it holds all of my writing and thoughts. In spite of this love of technology, I know that there are times when I need to move away from these devices and truly communicate with others.

On occasion, I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers. My goals for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas. Because I want students to thoroughly study the materials and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom, I have a rule -no laptop, iPads, phones, etc. When students were told my rule in advance of the class, some of them were not happy.

Most students assume that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students misusing technology. There’s a bit of truth to that. Some students assume that I am anti-technology. There’s no truth in that at all. I love technology and try to keep up with it, so I can relate to my students.

The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places in which we can have deep conversions and truly engage complex ideas. Interruptions by technology often break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas. I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas. I want them to push each other to think differently and make connections between the course materials and the class discussion.

I’ve been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student satisfaction with the environment that I create. Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge, they learn at a level that helps them keep the course materials beyond the classroom.

I’m not saying that I won’t ever change my mind about technology use in my history class, but until I hear a really good reason for the change, I’m sticking to my plan. A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just too sweet to give up.

1.Some of the students in the history class were unhappy with____________.

A.the course materials B.the author’s class regulations

C.discussion topics D.others’ misuse of technology

2.Which of the following statements is true?

A.The author made the rule in that he was against technology.

B.The author made the rule mainly because of his unpleasant experiences.

C.The author’s history class received low assessment.

D.The students think highly of the author’s history class.

3.According to the author, the use of technology in the classroom may ___________.

A.allow students to get on well with each other

B.improve teaching and offer more help

C.help students to better understand complex themes

D.prohibit students being involved in class

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A.The author will carry on the success in the future.

B.Some students will be punished according to the rule.

C.More and more students will be absent in history class.

D.The author will help students concentrate on what they learn.

    Every day Yang Hongwei takes the bus home from work, staring silently at the European-style villas(别墅), luxury cars and twinkling lights from the shopping center that he sees through the window.

Yang works for a software company in Zhongguancun. He dreams of such a life, away from poverty, and that hope has kept him in Beijing for three years since he graduated from university.

Soon Yang squeezes his way off the bus to the reality of his life: his home-a 10-square-metre room that costs 550 yuan or about one-fifth of his salary in rent every month. It’s very cold inside the house as it has no central heating system. He has to stand the long and cold winter. Determined to achieve his dream, Yang says he has changed jobs “numerous” times in the past three years and is considering quitting his present job.

Yang’s frustration over his life as a migrant(移民) is shared by many other graduates that have moved into big cities. Together they have come to be called the “ant tribe”, a term created by Chinese sociologists to describe the struggles of young migrants, who, armed with their diplomas, flood to big cities in hopes of a better life only to put up with low-paying jobs and poor living conditions. They share every similarity with ants. They live in colonies in crowded areas. They’re intelligent and hardworking, yet unknown and underpaid. The term, sociologists have said, also reflects their helplessness in a world governed by the law of the concrete jungle-only the strongest survive.

A survey in Ant TribeⅡ found nearly 30 percent of the “ants” are graduates of famous key universities-almost three times the percentage of 2009. Most have degrees in popular majors, such as medicine, engineering, economics and management. In addition, 7.2 percent of the “ants” have at least a master’s degree compared to 1.6 percent in 2009. Most said the economic recovery did not really improve their financial situations, and 66 percent said their incomes fell short of their expectations, the survey also found.

For two years, Lian Si, a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Chinese and Global Affairs of Peking University, who has studied the phenomenon, led a team of more than 100 graduate students to follow the groups in university towns like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Xi’an. Lian evaluates the total population of the “ant community” in major cities at one million across China, with about 100,000 found in Beijing alone. Lian predicts that an increasingly challenging job market will see the ant tribe growing further in number. Another 6.3 million graduates are expected to join migrant workers and other job hunters in what promises to be a fierce labor competition.

The ant tribe’s embarrassing living situations have become a serious social issue, and the government should develop “second-and-third-tier cities” to attract more graduates from big cities. However, “ants” expect more study and training opportunities in big cities, which keeps them in positive mindsets despite their situations. As in the case of Yang, he is optimistic about getting a new job soon, having received eight interview offers in a week after sending out his resume. The prospect of landing a higher-paying job keeps him hopeful of moving out of the slum district(贫民区) soon. The sooner, the better.

1.Yang has worked in Beijing since graduation from university ______.

A.to live in a beautiful villa of European style

B.to have more opportunities to be promoted

C.to enjoy a busy life in a software company

D.to struggle for a better-off life in a big city

2.Which of the following best describes “ant tribe”?

A.It refers to the group of low-income graduates living in embarrassing conditions.

B.It refers to the people who work hard like ants but are paid little.

C.It refers to the sociologists and scholars researching into some social phenomena.

D.It refers to some well-educated people who can’t survive in society.

3.What does the writer think of the phenomenon of “ant tribe”?

A.“Ant tribe” has become too serious a social problem to solve.

B.It is the government’s duty to solve the problem of “ant tribe”.

C.Both the government and the graduates have the responsibility.

D.The existence of “ant tribe” has little influence on job markets.

4.The passage is mainly about ______.

A.the “ant tribe’s” dream and reality

B.a recent survey about the “ant tribe”

C.the “ant tribe’s” living conditions

D.a new urban lifestyle-”ant tribe”