Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today. People didn’t have modern machines. There was no modern medicine, either. Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution （污染）. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and polluted our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution. It’s bad to all living things in the world. Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is so thick that it is like a quilt over a city. This kind of quilt is called smog（烟雾）.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away, they mustn’t blow dirty smoke into the air. We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and not throw it on the ground. We can go to work by bus or with our friends in the same car. If there are fewer people driving, there will be less pollution.
Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution. Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today because _______.
| A．there were not any modern machines | B．there was no modern medicine |
| C．both A and B | D．there were not many people |
What is the biggest problem in today’s life?
| A．Water pollution | B．Air pollution |
| C．Noise | D．Pollution |
The most serious kind of pollution is ________.
| A．noise pollution | B．air pollution |
| C．water pollution | D．A, B and C |
Factories must clean their water ________.
| A．before they are thrown away | B．when they are thrown away |
| C．after it is thrown away | D．before it is thrown away |
From the passage we know that ________.
| A．a few years ago, there was no smog at all |
| B．today people don’t have to talk to each other in a loud voice |
| C．we can drink water from the polluted rivers and lakes’ |
| D．people are making rules in order to fight pollution |
A person has two ears but only one mouth． That means we should listen， not just speak． The word "listen" has the same letters as the word "silent"． Listening silently is a good quality that we should have．Then why is it important to be a good listener？
Listening is really helpful．
When someone is sad or angry， he wants to express his poor feelings． At this moment， we need to listen silently first until he gets calm（冷静的）． Then we may have a good talk with him． Maybe it is a good way to help him out．
Listening is a kind of love．
For example， we may think our parents are always talking too much． But in fact， they do so because they are anxious about our health， study and so on． If we listen patiently， our parents will feel we care about them． A loving silence is often more powerful（有力量的）than words．
Listening is polite behavior．
Sometimes， we just want others to listen to us but forget to listen to others． In fact． That's not polite． In order to show our respect（尊重）for others， we had better listen to them first． Then we can express our ideas．
Listening sounds easy，but it's not． Every head is a world． So we should learn to listen with our ears， eyes and hearts as much as we can， and try to make ourselves
good listeners from now on．
（1）When someone is sad or angry， we should first．
A．express our poor feelings．
B．talk too much with him．
C．tell his parents about it．
D． listen to him silently．
（2）The underlined word "anxious" here probably means " "．
A．worried
B．angry
C．satisfied
D．excited
（3）Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
A． We should ask others to listen to us first．
B． We had better listen to others first．
C． We should let others respect us first．
D． We should express our ideas first．
Many animals around us are smart． Let's get to know some of them．
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Dolphins are smarter animals in the sea． Researchers put sea animals to a test． In the test， the researchers made red marks on the animals bodies and took them in front of a mirror． Many sea animals either ran away or fought with the ones in the mirror． However， when the dolphins saw themselves in the mirror， they tried to clean the red marks off their bodies． So the researchers believed that the dolphins knew the ones in the mirror were Just themselves． |
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Bees work hard，and they are smart enough to learn something．Researchers found a group of bees and taught them to tell which horizontal line（水平线）was higher than the other． If they cold find the higher line， they would get sugar as a prize． After training for a period of time， the researchers tested the bees． To their surprise， the bees found the higher horizontal line quickly and got sugar． Instead，when the researchers showed them vertical line（垂直线）． the bees simply flew away，because they knew there was no way to get sugar． |
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Chimpanzees （黑猩猩）are very human﹣like．They can learn fast and well． Researchers showed the numbers from one to nine on the screen． Chimpanzees and some college students were asked to remember where the numbers were after watching the numbers， in less than a second． The adult chimpanzees and the college students performed almost the same， but the young chimpanzees performed much better． It was amazing |
（1）In the test，the dolphin ．
| A． |
felt afraid and ran away from the mirror． |
| B． |
tried to fight with the ones in the mirror． |
| C． |
tried to clean the red marks off their bodies． |
| D． |
didn't find any red marks on their bodies． |
（2）When the bees saw the vertical lines， they ．
| A． |
flew away |
| B． |
found the higher line |
| C． |
stayed there |
| D． |
found the numbers |
（3） performed better in remembering where the numbers were．
| A． |
The young chimpanzees |
| B． |
The adult chimpanzees |
| C． |
The old chimpanzees |
| D． |
The college students |
Now，it seems that artificial intelligence（人工智能） is becoming more and more popular in life， and it has greatly influenced the ways we live， work and play． Can you imagine that you can play table tennis with a robot one day？
Recently，a scientist has invented a special robot that can be a table tennis coach． That means people can practice table tennis not only with humans but also with a robot．
Named Forpheus，the smart table tennis robot is quite special． It can study the movements of human players and the speeds of the ball． In this way， it can exactly judge（判断）the players skill levels（KF）． Then it uses the information to change the ways to play． If the players are just beginners， Forpheus will play in a slow and easy way， but if the players are better ones， the robot will play in a faster and more difficult way． What's more， while playing， it encourages players to try their best with words like "Good job!"， "Come on!" and so on． At the same time， it gives some good chance
improve their skills． So it is both a good partner and a clever coach．
Science and technology is developing quickly these days and it's hard to imagine what will happen in the future． " In the next 20years， it will be possible that one robot teaches another to play table tennis or even Invents another one!" Takuoya， the inventor of the robot， said．
（1）Artificial intelligence has influenced people's life in many ways．
（2）The robot can judge the skill levels of human players exactly．
（3）Forpheus is the name of the inventor of the robot．
（4）One robot will probably teach another to play table tennis in the future．
（5）The robot can encourage the human players， but it can't give advice．
Learning to communicate well is a skill you will use all your life． You need this skill in your personal life to express your feelings to friends and family members． You need to be able to communicate well in school， too． Your future job success may also depend on your ability to communicate．
Kinds of Communication
There are two main kinds of communication． The first kind is verbal communication（ 语 言 交 流 ）． It includes the use of words to send information． Speaking and writing are both forms of verbal communication．
Nonverbal communication（ 非语言交流） includes any means of sending a message that does not use words． Your appearance， body language and the way you react are all forms of nonverbal communication．
Global（全球的） Connections
Communication Differences
Western cultures value direct eye contact（交流 ） and train kids to "look people in the eye"． But Japanese， African， and many Latin American cultures avoid eye contact to show respect．
Go Green
Green Technology
Have you ever considered computers to be green technology？ Think about all the trees needed to make paper for books and your written activities． The ability to transfer（ 转 移 ） the written tasks to a computer makes it quite an environmentally friendly invention．
Community Connections
Good Manners
It is easy to have good manners if you try to think of others first． If someone new joins your group of friends or moves into your neighborhood， make a self﹣introduction first． Make him or her feel welcome． Help someone who needs a hand． Hold the door open for the person behind you．
Being an Active Listener
Communication is a two﹣way process． Sometimes you are the sender and sometimes you are the receiver． To receive the messages clearly， it helps to be an active listener． Active listening is a communication skill in which the listener shows a clear understanding of what a person is saying． You can do thisin several ways．
◆Repeat what you think the speaker is saying．
◆Let the speaker know you are listening by nodding or shaking your head．
◆If the message you receive is not clear， ask questions．
◆Listen before answering．
◆Do not interrupt（打断）． Allow the speaker to finish what he or she has to say．
（1）Please translate the underlined（划线的） sentence into Chinese．（不超过 25 个汉字）
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（2）Why are computers mentioned when talking about verbal communication？
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（3）Which good nonverbal communication behaviors are given in the passage？ （One or two examples are OK） ．
（4）In the passage， the underlined word "this" refers to（指） ．
（5）After reading the passage， what do you think of your communication skills？ Why do you think so？ ．
According to the traditional Chinese custom， 2018 is just the year of Dog． Ranking as the eleventh animal in the Chinese zodiac ﹣﹣ the Shengxiao， Dog is a symbol of loyalty （忠诚） and honesty．
● Self﹣mocker （自嘲）
Words and phrases including dogs （Gou in Chinese） are commonly used by young people when telling jokes about themselves． For example， you can say "Valentine's Day has nothing to do with me since I am a single dog．" It is believed that dog﹣related words and phrases usually have good humour．
● Close relationship
Among some young people， adding "dog" to a friend's name has the meaning of a close relationship． One of the most famous examples in China is that the actor Lin Gengxin is called Lin Gou by his close friends and beloved fans．
● Easy to raise
Kids with pleasant names are easy to bring up， according to an ancient Chinese saying． Parents in the countryside prefer to give nicknames including Gou Sheng and Gou Dan to their kids in the hope that they are as easy to be raised as dogs．
● Metaphor （隐喻）
Since dogs are considered to have many good qualities （ 品 质 ）， the word is included in more than 10Chinese metaphors． For example， "serve like a dog or a horse，" is used to describe someone who is ready to work hard for the people who have powers．
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Symbol Dog is a loyal and （1） animal． |
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Self﹣mocker The dog﹣related words and phrases are commonly used by young people when telling （2） |
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Close relationship Adding "dog" to a person's name （3） that you have a closer relationship with him or her than others． |
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Easy to raise Parents hope that kids can grow up as（4） as dogs by giving nicknames to them． |
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Metaphor Please translate "Serve like a dog or a horse．" into Chinese． （5） （不超过 5 个汉字） |
