Do you love music? I’d like to introduce you to a band today. The Lumineers is a band based in Denver, Colorado. The group released its first album The Lumineers in April, 2012. Recently, the record went gold, meaning 500, 000 copies had been sold. That is really a large number. Critics have mostly praised the album The Lumineers. Some have called the album’s sound “expansive”, and its songs “creative”.
The most popular song from the album is Ho, Hey. It is Number One on three Billboard singles charts: rock, adult Pop and alternative. A lot of people think of Ho, Hey as a love song. And The Lumineers say it is. But lead singer and guitarist (吉它手) Wesley Schultz says it is also about his personal struggles when he was living and working in New York City.
The three members of The Lumineers were excited when asked to perform at the Grammy nominations (提名) concert. But they were also very surprised when they were named as Grammy nominees. The band is up for（被提名) Grammy awards as Best New Artist and Best Americana Album. Drummer Jeremiah Fraites told reporters, “We had no idea. ”
Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz grew up in New Jersey and have been playing music together for about eight years. They found cellist (大提琴手) Neyla Pekarek, a native of Denver, after they moved to that city. Neyla Pekarek told one reporter that the band’s style developed naturally. She said it came from a lot of writing, experimenting and making changes to let the lyrics tell the stories they were meant to tell.
We leave you with one of those stories. This is Stubborn Love from the album The Lumineers. Hope you’ll enjoy their staging.
What do we know about the album The Lumineers from Paragraph 1?
| A．It includes some old songs. |
| B．It didn’t sell well at first. |
| C．It was released recently. |
| D．It is a great success. |
By listening to Ho, Hey, we can learn something about ________.
| A．Wesley Schultz’s struggles in New York City |
| B．the happy times of Wesley Schultz as a singer |
| C．three Billboard singles charts in New York City |
| D．a touching love story that happened in New York City |
What is implied about The Lumineers in Paragraph 3?
| A．They didn’t expect they would be nominated Grammy awards. |
| B．They didn’t want to perform at the Grammy nominations concert. |
| C．They were very calm when told they were nominated Grammy awards. |
| D．They were surely to win the Grammy award for Best Americana Album. |
What is this passage mainly about?
| A．People’s opinions on the album The Lumineers. |
| B．The struggles of a band named The Lumineers. |
| C．A song from a famous band in the United States. |
| D．A band that has been nominated Grammy awards. |
Where is this passage probably taken from?
| A．A newspaper. | B．A radio program. |
| C．A magazine. | D．A textbook. |
Cheerleading is the fastest growing girls' sport，yet more than half of Americans do not believe it is a sport．Actually，competitive cheerleading is a sport．
A sport is a “physical activity against/with an opponent，governed by rules and conditions under which a winner is declared，and the primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants．"Because cheerleading follows these guidelines，it is a sport．
Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activities．Like gymnasts，cheerleaders must learn to tumble (翻滚) ．They perform lifts and tosses．This is where the "flied' are thrown in the air，held by "bases" in different positions that require strength and cooperation with other teammates．
Just as basketball and football have guidelines for competitive play，so does competitive cheerleading．The whole routine has to be completed in less than 3 minutes and 15 seconds and the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area．
Competitive cheerleaders' goal is to be the best．Just like gymnasts，they are awarded points for difficulty，creativity and sharpness．The more difficult a mount，the sharper the motions，the better the score．Cheerleading is a team sport so without cooperation，first place is out of reach．
Cheerleading is the number-one cause of serious sports injuries to women．Emergency room visits for cheerleading are five times the number of those for any other sport，partially because they do not wear protective gear．While many athletes are equipped with hip pads or helmets，smiling cheerleaders are tossed into the air and spiral down into the arms of trusted teammates．The fliersmust remain tight at all times so that their bases can catch them safely．Also，because cheerleading is not yet recognized as a sport by many schools，neither proper matting nor high enough ceilings are provided to ensure safety．Instead，the girls use whatever space is available．More recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport would decrease the number of injuries．
So why do many Americans not think cheerleading is a sport？Some people argue that cheerleaders are just "flirts in skirts" with their only job to entertain the crowd，but cheerleaders today work just as hard as other athletes．
Hopefully，cheerleading will become as well-known a sport as football and basketball，and even appear in the Olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports．What does the underlined word "bases" in Paragraph 3 refer to？
| A．Strength and cooperation |
| B．Lifts and tosses |
| C．Supporting teammates |
| D．Physical activities |
Gymnasts are mentioned in the passage to _________
| A．explain the dangers of cheerleading |
| B．show their similarities with cheerleaders |
| C．suggest cheerleaders learn to do gymnastics |
| D．present the guidelines of gymnastic movements |
It can be leamed from the passage that cheerleading _________
| A．is a good sport for all people |
| B．lacks necessary guidelines to follow |
| C．is more than a form of entertainment |
| D．enjoys greater popularity than other sports |
This passage is written mainly to _________
| A．attract more girls to cheerleading |
| B．draw people's attention to cheerleading |
| C．call for more recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport |
| D．criticize some Americans who do not think cheerleading as a sport |
The Purpose of Boredom Being bored can encourage people's creativity-partly to escape the horrible，frustrated．And meaningless feeling of boredom-recent studies find．It could even be true at work．
Psychologists at the University of Central Lancashire had participants copy numbers out of the telephone book for 15 minutes，while others went straight into a standard creativity task．
Both groups were asked to come up with as many different uses as they could for a plastic cup．The group that felt more bored came up with more uses．
Dr．Sandi Mann，one of the study's authors said．" Boredom at work has always been seen as something to he removed．hut perhaps we should be welcoming it in order to encourage our creativity．What we want LO do next is to see what the practical implications of this finding are．Do people who are bored at work become more creative in other areas of their work-or do they go home and write novels？"
In a later study，Dr．Sandi Mann found that creativity was reduced when people were still bored but didn't have the chance to daydream．
While we tend to think of boredom as something；that certainly leads to trouble-drinking，gambling．and antisocial behavior，this research suggests different possibilities．
More than anything，the feeling of boredom is a 8trong signal that we are stuck in some kind of rut and we need to seek out new goals．In the study above，this research led participants to new ideas．
Usually people will do anything to avoid being bored．as it's such an aversive experience．But creative people，like writers，sometimes talk about seeking out boredom．
Here is the comedy writer Graham Linehan talking about boredom Lo The Cuardian．"I have to use all these programs that cut off the Internet，force me to be bored，because being bored is an essential part of writing，and the Internet has made it very hard to be bored．The creative process requires a period of boredom ，of being stuck．That's actually a very uncomfortable period that a lot of people mistake for writer's block，but it's actually just part of a long process．"
So，when you start to feel bored ，instead of g7ancing at your smartphone．，try being bored for a bit．Who knows what creative thought might come of it？From the study of Dr．Sandi Mann，we can learn that________．
| A．boring tasks make people creative |
| B．daydreaming may increase creativity |
| C．plastic cups can be used very creatively |
| D．copying numbers might be very interesting |
The underlined word "aversive" in Paragraph 8 probably means________
| A．common | B．unpleasant |
| C．unusual | D．personal |
According to Craham Linehan________．
| A．glancing at a smartphone is a solution． |
| B．he is forced to feel bored by the Internet |
| C．the boredom period is a block for writers |
| D．being stuck for a period benefits him a lot |
What is the author's attitude towards boredom？
| A．Critical | B．Cautious |
| C．Positive | D．Unclear |
In the last few years the popularity of eBooks has exploded．The advantages are clear：You can carry as many hooks with you as you want．You can simply download ever7 book you like and instantly start reading instead of having to wait for the book to arrive by mail．
However，one thing hadn't changed．If you wanted to rent a book you were still forced to use hardcopy books．Until now that is．Amazon．com recently announced the start of a new program where you can rent eBooks．
Where to rent eBooks？
As mentioned before，Amazon．com is the first and currently the only retailer (零售商) that has a program in place for renting eBooks．Luckily，Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world and their eBook assortment (分类) is massive．They are also the producer of the Kindle，the most popular eReader，which means you can be sure that the eBooks you rent will work．
You can currently only rent eTextbooks．But this is likely to change as soon as the word gets out that you can save money by renting eBooks．
Why rent eBooks at Amazon？
~ Save money：Save up t0 80% of the normal price of the eBook．
~ Decide how long you rent：From 30 days t0 360 days，you decide how long you want it．You can extend the time by as little as a day．Or simply buy the eBook if you want to keep it after all．
~ Use any device：If you rent an eBook from Amazon，you can read it on your PC，Mac，iPad，iPhone，Android device，Windows Phone 7．Blackberry．or Kindle．
~ Keep your notes：Do you like to keep annotations (注释) and highlights in your eBooks？Don't worry．You can always revisit your notes and highlights through Amazon．com．
How to rent eBooks？
Simply search for the eBook you want to rent on Amazon．com and select the "Rent eBooks" option．After that，a new page will open where you can select how long you’d like to rent the eBook．You can read eBooks for a period of 30 t0 360 days．
You decide how long you need the eBook．1f you later find out you need it for longer．you can simply extend the time．Or buy it for the normal price whenever you want．
Once you've chosen the Lime you want to rent the eBook，you simply go to checkout．Or you can use the "Rent now" button．According to the passage，_________
| A．eBooks will be changed into other types by Amazon．com |
| B．eBooks will replace hardcover hooks in the next few years |
| C．readers get a discount of at least 20% of the normal price |
| D．readers are able to rent eBooks only at Amazon．com now |
To rent an eBook online，which of the following goes last？
| A．open a new page |
| B．select the "Rent eBooks" option |
| C．choose a rental date |
| D．press "Rent now" button |
The main purpose of the passage is to_________．
| A．inform and explain |
| B．discuss and assess |
| C．compare and evaluate |
| D．describe and argue |
I may not be the wisest person on this planet．but I will tell you a little secret to happiness：Help other，，and live life．It is that simple．Just help a friend study for a test，or volunteer at a nursing home ．I learned this after a long，hard search．
I was feeling really down because my long4ime friend had died．Then I started a six-week volunteering at a nursing home all day every Saturday．My routine was to serve the meal and clean up．After that，I would wait for the head nurse to tell me what to do．
One day I was told to go to Room 117 to make sure the patient was all right．In the room I found a boy of eight sitting in his bed watching a movie．I was shocked to see a child in this seemingly forgotten nursing home for the old．He was so small and weak that you had to look closely to find him．He motioned for me to sit down．I grabbed his medical chart from which later I found out he had a terminal illness．
We started to talk，and I found out that his family rarely visited，and all he did ever7 day was watch TV．I wanted to cry for him，and for my lost friend．As we talked，he had a smile on his face，and I asked him why．
"The entire two hours I've been here you've never lost that smile．With this horrible disease，how do you still manage to stay happy？"
He thought for a moment，and then said that too many people are dead even before they die．
They walk around feeling that God has cursed (诅咒) them and that they have nothing to live for．
The boy said that he would not be like that．He wakes every morning thankful to see another sunrise．He keeps his window open so that he can smell the flowers and feel the heat of the sun．He also said that he has hope．
"Too many people haven't seen much of that around here，" he said，" Life is full of hope and we need to live life before it is gone．"
I don’t know what happened to him．I assume he passed away，but his lesson lives on．I now wake up and live each day to the fullest．The key to life is not money or fame，but the lessons we learn from it．The nursing home in the passage is mainly for_______
| A．the elderly | B．the homeless |
| C．the disabled | D．the abandoned |
The boy stayed happy mainly due to_______．
| A．wonderful TV programs |
| B．his positive attitude |
| C．good medical condition |
| D．others' encouragement |
The writer participated in the volunteering job in order to_______．
| A．find out the secret |
| B．search for help |
| C．enrich experiences |
| D．get out of sadness |
What would be the best title for the passage？
| A．A Lesson in Hope |
| B．The Life of a Sick Boy |
| C．A Voluntary Job |
| D．The Meaning of Life |
Everybody in this world is different from one another．But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money？
As we grow up，we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs．These are influenced by society，our family，the education we receive and so on．Once this value system is set up，it's not easy to change later in life．
Financial experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances．This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money．
According to our different values，experts put us in three categories．They are：the ant，the cricket and the snail．
The ant-works first
Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter，these people don't care about enjoying the moment．They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire．The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk．
The cricket-fun first
The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn't think too much about the future．They even borrow money when they really want something．Many young people now belong to this group．These people have little savings．When they get old，they might have problems．They should learn to save and buy insurance．
The snail-lives under pressure
The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves．They take big long-term loans from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses．They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure whether they can afford it．This can cause problems in the future．They should plan more carefully．People with the character of the snail would like to __________．
| A．enjoy life at the moment without thinking much about the future |
| B．put work before everything else |
| C．live a luxury life at all costs |
| D．take the risk of investing a large sum of money |
Our beliefs and values are affected by the following except __________．
| A．society | B．our family |
| C．education | D．money |
This passage mainly talks about __________．
| A．the spending nature of people |
| B．the relation between man and insects |
| C．the insects in nature |
| D．the problems with dealing with money |
Which of the following has the character that the author prefers？
| A．The ant | B．The cricket |
| C．The snail | D．None of the above |