“Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD（公元） 53 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?
Picture this. You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity（电） often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave（微波炉）, computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy（赶时髦的）, beer-drinking granny”, to one who cooked things.The writer uses the quote（引号） at the beginning of the story to ________.
| A．tell us a truth about our lives |
| B．tell us what life was like long time ago |
| C．point out what causes such a thing to happen |
| D．point out some problems we will meet in the life |
In the passage the writer describes a picture to show that new inventions _______.
| A．have speeded up our lives | B．have improved the quality of our lives |
| C．may make people feel very happy | D．may bring people some trouble |
The family chose to spend some time in a 1940s house because _______.
| A．they loved to live simple lives |
| B．they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions |
| C．they were troubled by modern inventions |
| D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them |
According to the passage, which id NOT right?
| A．People who live far away from noisy cities often seem to be happier. |
| B．An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better. |
| C．The family had some changes when they lived in a 1940s house. |
| D．With the improvement of our lives, we often feel stressed and tired. |
The passage is mainly about ________.
| A．problems with technology |
| B．improvements of our lives with technology |
| C．changes happening to technology |
| D．the importance of technology |
News Review
APEC Blue People in Beijing got the saying after the APEC meeting in Beijing. It refers to(指) the clear blue sky during the meeting. To get such a blue sky, many factories in Beijing and nearby cities stopped work, and the number of cars on the road was cut.
A Warning Ticket A 24-year-old woman in Nanjing was given a warning ticket for eating food on the subway. Eating is not allowed on Nanjing subway. Up to now, 2,698 people have been punished(惩罚) because of their eating, smoking or selling goods on the subway.
A Teacher-free Exam Recently, students at Ningbo Huamao Foreign Language School in Zhejiang took their mid-term exam –a teacher-free exam. After handing out the exam papers, the teachers left the classroom, leaving the students to take the exam without being watched. They only came back to collect the papers at the end.
A Tomato Fight Do you want a tomato shower? Come to the “tomato fight” in Spain! Once every year, people in the town of Bunol throw tomatoes at each other. Don’t worry. It’s not a real fight. People do this only for fun.APEC Blue refers to _____ in Beijing during the APEC meeting.
| A．the factories | B．the clear blue sky |
| C．the people | D．the cars on the road |
A 24-year-old woman in Nanjing was given a warning ticket for _____ on the subway.
| A．drinking | B．smoking |
| C．eating food | D．selling goods |
In a teacher-free exam, students take their exam _____.
| A．at the end of the term | B．outside the classroom |
| C．without giving answers | D．without being watched |
In the town of Bunol, Spain, people throw tomatoes at each other _____.
| A．to have fun | B．to enjoy dinner |
| C．to take a shower | D．to start a fight |
Jessy
The flight was tiring, but here I am at last, in Sydney! look! Here we are at last! The Sydney Opera House! It looks like shells! It’s wonderful and amazing! And I’m taking the plane to New Zealand on Tuesday. I’ll post again from there.
Paris is beautiful! We went on a great city tour. We also took a boat ride on the River Seine. And it’s nicer to just sit at a street cafe and watch the world go by. But to tell you a secret. Frank’s disappointed because no one can understand his French!
We’re staying at a farm in Utah. There is nearly nothing! It’s too quiet. Every morning, we get up really early, and we ride the horses. Then it’s breakfast and more riding—not my idea of fun! So, today I walked to a little town near the farm where they actually have Internet! Next week, we’re shopping in New York. I can’t wait!Where is Jessy writing from?
| A．Sydney. | B．New Zealand. | C．Paris. | D．Utah. |
What did Donna and Frank do during their travelling?
| A．They visited museums. |
| B．They took a boat ride． |
| C．They sat at a street park. |
| D．They watched movies in the cinema. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to Anna's Moments（朋友圈）？
| A．It is too noisy around the farm. |
| B．Her idea of fun is horse riding. |
| C．She is going to London next week． |
| D．She cannot use Internet at the farm. |
There is good news for old people with Alzheimer’s disease （老年痴呆症）. As we know, people who have Alzheimer’s disease may get lost easily. Sometimes they can’t find the way to their home. All the family members must be worried about their safety. Now, some has invented GPS-enabled walking shoes. The shoes are very special and useful. They can help people find old people easily, wherever they go.
These walking shoes are especially important for people who are in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the research, such old people have the highest danger. Let’s see some terrible facts. About 60℅ of patients with Alzheimer’s disease get lost for days when they go for a walk. Up to half of those who are lost and not found within 24 hours can die outside. If old people wear such shoes , you needn’t worry about that. These shoes can help their families to find them easily if they are lost. So you see, the shoes can ensure old people’s safety.
These walking shoes are equipped with a GPS device (设备) in the heel. The shoes are very comfortable and they look like the shoes that many old people wear.
The GPS-enabled walking shoes have a great advantage. Of course, the shoes are suitable for children .Parents can ask them to wear such shoes. Then they can find their children easily. But some children have different ideas. Sometimes, they don’t want their parents to know where they are. What will they do? Well… some children say that they will take them off and put them at home.Who are the GPS-enabled walking shoes suitable for?
| A．Old people with Alzheimer’s disease |
| B．Students in primary school. |
| C．Old people who are strong and healthy. |
| D．Anyone around the world |
What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refer to ?
| A．GPS-enabled walking shoes | B．Their families. |
| C．Old people | D．Their children. |
Why don’t some children like to wear GPS-enabled walking shoes ?
| A．They think the GPS-enabled walking shoes are very ugly. |
| B．It is uncomfortable to wear GPS-enabled walking shoes. |
| C．The GPS-enabled walking shoes are suitable for them. |
| D．They don’t want their parents to find them easily. |
What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．People who have Alzheimer’s disease can’t find the way to their home sometimes. |
| B．The GPS-enabled walking shoes can help us find the old or the children easily. |
| C．The GPS-enabled walking shoes look like the shoes that many old people wear. |
| D．We can see the GPS-enabled walking shoes easily wherever we go around the world. |
In April this year, lots of bags full of small change(零钱) were seen at bus stops in Tianjin. They were made for passengers to turn their notes into small change. And such an idea came from four students from Zhongbei Middle School, Tianjin.
“People will surely feel worried when they take a bus without coins. We just want to do something to help them,” said Wang Yongcun, 15, one of the four students.
The four boys spent their whole weekend making the change bags. After that they went to see the number of the passengers at each bus stop near their school, and then chose the top six stops to put the bags.
Many people think that the four boys have really done a good job. But, things didn’t go as the boys thought. Two days later, they found that the money was gone, and that even the bags were taken. It really made them sad but they would not give up. Their classmates and teachers came to help them in time. They put their pocket money in bags again. And the teachers also taught them to make better change bags. They tried their best to do it.
The four boys feel very happy because they have done something good for the passengers. Their warm hearts are moving. More and more people are beginning to join in the activity.The change bags were put _____.
| A．on the buses | B．at the bus stops |
| C．under the desks | D．near the parks |
It took _____ the whole weekend to make the change bags.
| A．the parents | B．the teachers |
| C．the passengers | D．the four boys |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The idea of small change bags came from four boys. |
| B．The passengers refused to put money in the bags. |
| C．The teachers gave up when the bags were taken. |
| D．The small change didn’t help the passengers much. |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．Making change bags is difficult |
| B．Pocket money can be helpful |
| C．Giving help brings us happiness |
| D．Every coin has two sides |
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” The question comes from the Bible(圣经). In the Bible, Cain kills his brother Abel. When God asks Cain where Abel is, he replies, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” by which he means, “Am I responsible (有责任心的) for my brother—his safety and health?” The answer, of course, is “Yes, you are.”
This sense of responsibility for others is basic to all good societies. And also it is basic to what we call “civil(文明的) society”. China is now working on building a civil society and the high schools in Shanghai want students to take part in that through volunteering. They are supposed to do sixty class hours of volunteer work before graduation. This is something new in China, but it is not new in other countries.
In the Canadian province of Ontario, high school students are required to do forty hours of volunteering. In some American states, the volunteering requirement is one hundred hours. These students spend about an hour a week during the school year and summer vacations, helping the poor, the sick and the old. They also teach young children to read and help to clean up the environment. And studies have shown that this volunteering experience influences students a lot after graduation.
Some of you may be thinking, “Gee, sixty class hours is a lot. How can I find the time?” In fact, if you finish it in three years, you only need to do the work about three class hours a month. And the time is well spent if it helps you realize that “being your brother’s keeper” makes you a better person and makes society a better place for everyone.A Shanghai high school student should finish class hours of volunteer work before graduation.
| A．thirty | B．forty | C．sixty | D．one hundred |
The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refers to “ ”.
| A．building a civil society | B．reading the Bible |
| C．doing the volunteer work | D．playing more sports |
According to the writer, “being your brother’s keeper” means “ ”.
| A．being a good school student |
| B．being responsible for others |
| C．taking good care of your brother |
| D．doing volunteer work with your brother |
The main purpose of the writing is to .
| A．tell students where to do volunteer work |
| B．give advice on how to be a good volunteer |
| C．encourage students to do more volunteer work |
| D．introduce volunteer work in different countries |