Have you ever taken a color test? It isn’t like a normal test because you don’t pass or fail it. You choose your favorite color from a list and then a computer will tell you your personality(个性). If you like red, you may like to take risks（冒险）. If you like pink, you are a peaceful person.
Some large companies（公司）and universities(大学)use color tests to decide if somebody is going to be a hard worker. Some doctors use them to get a quick idea of the problems that a patient may have.
Choose your favorite color below. Then you will know what kind of person you are.
| Color |
Personality |
| Red |
Energetic(精力旺盛) |
| Yellow |
Happy and relaxed |
| Green |
Don’t like changes |
| Blue |
Calm |
| Black |
Stubborn（固执） |
When you are taking a color test, ____________________.
A. you may fail it B. you must pass it C. a computer will tell you your personality If a person like blue, he ____________________.
A. always feels tired B. is usually very calm C. is always very happyJane has a chance to go abroad, but she refuses. What color does Jane perhaps like?
A. Black B. Blue C. GreenIf someone is peaceful, he may like ______________.
A. blue B. pink C. YellowAccording to the passage, color tests are usually used by(被┅使用) ___________.
A. doctors, large companies and universities B. doctors, patients and universities
C. doctors, patients, large companies and universities.
When Major， the most respected pig， saw all the animals were present， he cleared his throat and began：
"Now， comrades （同志们） ， I don't think I shall be with you for many months． Before I die， let me ask you a question． What is the nature of this life of ours？ Let us face it： our lives are miserable and short． We are born， we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies， and those of us who are able to do it are forced to work to the last
"Why then do we continue in this miserable？ Because nearly the whole of the produce of our hard work is stolen from beings． There， comrades， is the answer to all our problems． It is summed up in a single word﹣ Man． Man is the only real enemy we have． Remove （消灭） Man from the scene， and the basic cause of hunger and overwork is ended for ever． "
"And now， comrades， I will sing an old song that came into my dream last night to you． I am sure， it was a song sung by the animals of long ago and have been lost to memory for marry years． It is called Animals of England．"
His voice was hoarse （沙哑的）， but he sang well enough to throw the animals into the wildest excitement． Almost before Major had reached the end， they had begun singing it for themselves．
Unluckily， the singing woke Mr． Jones， the farm owner， who jumped out of bed， thinking that there was a fox in the yard． He took the gun which always stood in a comer of his bedroom， and let fly 6 shots （射击） into the darkness． The pellets （子弹） flew into the wall of the yard and the meeting broke up hurriedly． Everyone ran to his own sleeping place． The birds jumped onto their trees， the animals settled down in the straw， and the whole farm was asleep in a moment．
（1）Why did Major make the speech？
A． To encourage the animals to fight against Man．
B． To teach the animals to sing an old song．
C． To say goodbye to the animals before death．
D． To complain about his personal miserable life．
（2）What does the underlined word " miserable" in the second paragraph most probably mean？
A． common
B． boring
C． lonely
D． painful
（3）Which of the following is true according to the passage？
A． The animals on the farm were brave．
B． Major's speech was nearly successful．
C． Major and Mr． Jones were friendly to each other．
D． Mr． Jones forced his animals to work from birth to death．
（4）Why did Mr． Jones fire his gun？
A． To break up the animals' meeting． ′
B． To kill the fox he saw in the yard．
C． To make sure his gun was in good condition．
D． To protect the animals he raised on his farm．
Nowadays， it never seems we have enough time to realize all of the reading goals （目标） that we set for ourselves． Luckily， we have mobile apps such as Latte Read and Get Abstract to provide abstracts （梗概） of a text． Abstracts are useful tools， especially for students， but like having a friend describe the main content of a story to you， you cannot experience the joy and excitement of reading the original （原来的） text of yourself．
I recently finished reading a thick book of W． Somerset Maugham's collected short stories． It took me around ten years to get through． Thomas Mann's difficult The Magic Mountain took me about six months to read； Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged made me very bored most of the time． Reading a book， whether it is good or bad， is a formative （建设性的） experience． There are plenty of books which I probably shouldn't have taken the time to read． But the challenge of living for a time in the thoughts and experiences of a different history or character makes even the worst book a valuable effort．
Whenever I finish the last line of a book and slowly close it， I like to sit there and think over its lines with a mix of nostalgia （怀旧之情） and pride． I then take the book in hand and find a place for it on my bookshelf． When I step back and look at the books on my shelf， it is as if I am looking at the history of the different lives that I have lived．
Abstracts are useful as a tool to an end， but reading the actual （真正的） book is something much richer． Reading， like anything else in life， is much more about the journey than it ever was the destination （目的地）．
（1）What does the writer mainly want to say？
A． Reading abstracts is a best short way to enjoy literature．
B． Reading abstracts cannot bring you the true feeling of actual reading．
C． Reading different kinds of books brings you many advantages．
D． The journey and the destination are equally important in our reading．
（2）What can we know about the writer from the second paragraph？
A． He prefers thick and difficult books to short stories．
B． A good book is better worth reading than a bad one to him．
C． He achieves a lot from reading some challenging books．
D． He is lucky enough never to have read a regrettable book．
（3）In the third paragraph the writer his main point of view （主要观点）．
A． explains the meaning of
B． provides further support for
C． makes a conclusion of
D． offers an opposite example for
There is good news for students of vocational （职业的） colleges in China： the government has announced plans to develop modern vocational education． Premier Li Keqiang said the government should speed up the development of modern vocational education to meet the need for skilled workers and technicians （技术人员） in the job market． High school graduates and workers with no special training are encouraged to study in higher vocational colleges． Li said that the number of the new students in higher vocational colleges in China should go up by 1 million this year． This is the first time the central government has a clear plan．
This comes after the news of the large shortfall （不足） in highly skilled technicians， although China has millions of technical workers． China is expected to face a shortfall of 3 million skilled workers who can operate the newest machines by 2020． The shortfall will grow to 4.5 million by 2025． Also， vocational education is unsatisfactory （不令人满意的）， although there are many vocational colleges in China． In some vocational colleges， the education methods and courses cannot meet the need of upgrading （升级）， manufacturing （制造业）． As can be seen from the job market， some companies still can't find highly skilled technicians even with high pay．
To deal with the problem． some vocational colleges have worked with companies to teach students． They have hired skilled technicians from companies as teachers． With the rising of the skilled workers' social position and pay， it is believed the vocational education system in China will start to play a bigger role in the development of China．
（1）What's the main purpose of the development of modern vocational education in China？ _
A． To train more highly skilled technicians for the job markets
B． To help vocational college graduates get higher pay from their work．
C． To ask more people to live on themselves with technical skills．
D． To encourage more companies to upgrade manufacturing．
（2）What is one of the problems of Chinese vocational education according to the passage？ _
A． Higher vocational college teachers are not well paid and valued．．
B． There are only a small number of higher vocational colleges in China．
C． The education methods and courses in vocational colleges are unsatisfactory．
D． Some of the vocational college teachers are skilled technicians from companies．
（3）The writer believes China's future vocational education is ．
A． hopeful
B． doubtful
C． unsatisfactory
D． worrying
The Dead Sea
At 430 meters below sea level， the Dead Sea is Earth's lowest point on land． It is popular for its wonderful buoyancy（浮力）． The high salt content﹣more than 34 percent ﹣ makes swimming more like floating．
Now the Dead Sea is actually dying． People are using water from the Jordan River， which takes water away from the Dead Sea． Since 1930， its surf area has reduced by almost 40 percent．
Venice， Italy
With waterways instead of streets． This "Floating City" has attracted visitors for centuries． But no visit to Venice is complete without a ride on one of its famous gondolas， human powered water taxis． Water creates Venice． But water will also kill the city．
Built on soft earth， Venice has slowly been sinking （下沉） for centuries． Now， with rising sea levels caused by human activities， it's sinking faster． According to US﹣based magazine Architectural Digest， the city may disappear in the next 100 years． Better book your gondola soon!
Great Barrier Reef， Australia
Covering more than 2，300 kilometers of Australia's northeast coast， Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef ecosystem， and an ideal place for scuba divers （水肺潜水者）．Thousands of colorful coral （珊瑚） and fish make homes in the blue sea water． It's like a big underwater party!
Sadly， the party might be over soon． The reef is dying． Human activities are changing the weather． Warming ocean， water kills the coral， and this causes problems up the food chain． The New York Times reported that large parts are already dead， and the reef system might be gone by 2030．
（1）What can be the best title of the passage？
A． Disappearing Watery Wonders
B． Amazing Man﹣made Wonders on the Sea
C． Lost Watery Wonders on the Sea
D． Last Watery Wonders in the World
（2）Which of the following is the shared cause of the problems all the three places are facing？
A． Water loss．
B． Sea pollution．
C． Warming seas．
D． Human activities．
（3）If Tom wants to visit all the following places before they are gone， and he can only afford one in the next 15 years， where must he go？
A． The Dead Sea．
B． Venice．
C． Italy．
D． Great Barrier Reef．
Both language and music play a huge role in our culture． Here are some of their similarities．
（1）Both language and music have a writing system．
In English we record language using letters． Similarly， we use notes to record music． Just as you are reading letters and find meaning in them， musicians read notes and create meaning in the form of music． So just as you read English， you can read music． By writing pieces of text or music， we are able to share experiences through time． I can read the ideas or hear the works of someone who lived hundreds of years ago， which is really exciting．
（2）
You can guess where someone is from by listening to the language they use．In the same way，styles of music are different around the world， giving us the chance to understand many different cultures， This also means that there is something for everyone! Even if you don't like British pop music， you may love the energy of Latin American salsa music．
（3）Both share feelings．
How do you know that I am angry？ Of course you can see it in my face， but you will know for sure through my words， Similarly， music can show you exactly how the composer （作曲者） was or is feeling． When I'm happy， I want to sing and dance to a happy song to celebrate my happiness； and I listen to slow and quiet music when I'm feeling down． I think we have all used music to express our feelings， often combining （结合）it with language in the form of song lyrics．
（1）Which of the following is the best for the blank？
A． Both are from daily life
B． Both bring us happiness
C． Both have a sound system
D． Both vary （变化） with culture．
（2）According to the passage， when the writer feels unhappy， he might listen to ．
A． scary movie music
B． exciting rock music
C． loud electronic music
D． sad piano music
（3）The underlined word "it" in the passage refers to " "．
A． music
B． idea
C． feeling
D． culture
（4）Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage？
A． We use notes to write music．
B． We can write music if we speak English．
C． We can understand different cultures in music．
D． We can share the composer's feelings in his or her music．