It is said that people born under different star signs have different characteristics. Here are four people born under different star signs.
| Taurus （金牛座） |
Tom, an old man from England, has enough money to buy anything, but he is not willing to spend money on something he needs and wants. He has few friends and an old dog is his only partner. He is really tightfisted and lonely. |
| Gemini （双子座） |
Jack, born on 9th June, is a 16-year-old English boy. “A Gemini is a curious and clever person, and I am just this kind of person,” he said. My lucky colour is orange. I believe that my star sign decides what will happen to me in my life. |
| Cancer （巨蟹座） |
Mary was born on 1st July. She loves her family and cooking is her favourite. The French girl cares about nothing but business. She is hard-working. |
| Virgo （处女座） |
Lucy was born on 23rd August and is modest. The girl from Australia is studying in a college(大学). She likes reading and hopes that she can be a scientist in the future. |
Who is from England and likes orange best?
| A．Tom. | B．Jack. | C．Mary. | D．Lucy. |
What’s Mary’s star sign?
| A．Taurus . | B．Gemini. |
| C．Cancer. | D．Virgo. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “tightfisted” in Chinese?
| A．富裕的 | B．吝啬的 |
| C．奢侈的 | D．豁达的 |
Sing the Language You’re Learning
How can you remember a song from your childhood to this day? Why do your teachers use songs to teach you English? It seems there is a scientific reason for this.
Researchers are now studying the relationship between music and remembering a foreign language. They find that remembering words in a song is the best way to remember even the most difficult language.
“Singing could be a new way of learning a foreign language. The brain likes to remember things when they are used in a catchy and meaningful way”, said Dr, Karen Ludke. The findings may help those who have difficulties learning foreign languages. On his blog, Dr. Ludke writes, “A listen-and-repeat singing method can support foreign language learning, and opens the door for future research in this area.”
Many language teachers know the value of using music and singing. Hua Zhuying, a teacher at a Chinese language school in Washington, D.C. depends heavily on songs in teaching Chinese. She says, “I use music all the time to teach children Chinese. For little kids usually we use the music. Not only does it work, but it is fun for kids.”
“Sometimes, I think if I were taught English that way, maybe I could speak much better English than now,” Hua Zhuying adds.
Our brain likes music, especially for remembering. So, if you’re still struggling in learning a language, why not try singing it out ? According to the passage, the best way to remember a foreign language is to .
| A．read and write more |
| B．listen to the teacher carefully |
| C．copy the words many times. |
| D．remember words in a song |
The underlined word “catchy” probably means “ “
| A．艰涩难懂的 | B．悦耳易记的 |
| C．枯燥乏味的 | D．震耳欲聋的 |
Dr. Ludke believes that foreign language learning can be supported by .
| A．using the listen-and-repeat singing method |
| B．listening to all kinds of famous music |
| C．writing songs with the language |
| D．reading the lyrics again and again |
From the passage, we know that Hua Zhuying .
| A．is interested in writing English songs |
| B．teaches children English by using music |
| C．teaches Chinese in an American school |
| D．is a researcher in a language school |
The passage mainly tells us that .
| A．many researchers realize the importance of language studying |
| B．your brain remembers a language better if you sing it. |
| C．many language teachers know the value of famous music |
| D．you will never learn a language well unless you can sing |
Smoking can cause cancers, heart problems and other diseases. Although almost everybody knows smoking is bad for health, people still smoke. Fortunately, actions are now being taken to stop smoking.
| Beijing says no to smoke A new anti-smoking regulation（条例）will soon take effect on June 1 in Beijing. It is regarded as “China’s toughest（最严格的）ever” tobacco control regulation. According to the regulation, smoking is not allowed in all indoor public places, including public transportation. Those who break the rules will be fined up to 200 yuan. Teachers cannot smoke in front of students in primary and middle schools. Schools are also required to help students quit smoking and educate them about the harm of smoking. Beijing has set up an anti-smoking hotline (12320) and a WeChat account (Smoke-free-Beijing), to which people can send photos to report smokers. The public is also invited to vote （投票）on stop-smoking gestures on WeChat. So far, an image of a girl covering her nose has become the most popular pick.  Xinhua news |
| Youth turn their back on smoking …Only 9% of teens in the US smoke cigarettes, according to a recent survey. That’s far down from 23% in 2000. The Truth is working to end teenage smoking. They use social media to remind teenagers of the dangers of smoking. “If we all join hands, smokers and non-smokers, we can find smoking once and for all” the Truth campaign(运动) website states, Since Oct 27, 1,615 children and teens in the US have joined the campaign and promised not to smoke.  The group hopes that they can give teens and young people the knowledge to “be the generation that ends smoking.”  |
To support his idea, the writer uses two .
| A．advertisements | B．news reports |
| C．posters | D．notices |
According to the Beijing anti-smoking regulation, .
| A．passengers on buses or trains can smoke. |
| B．school teachers can smoke in class. |
| C．students should be educated about the harm of smoking |
| D．those smoking in indoor public places will be fined up to ￥100 |
According to the first passage, people can to report smokers.
A, call the police B. post a letter
C. call at 12320D. start a vote“The Truth” might be the name of a(n) .
| A．organization | B．person |
| C．school | D．type of cigarettes |
The writer is trying to .
| A．show that people are taking actions to stop smoking. |
| B．explain to us some knowledge of cigarette-making |
| C．remind us of the great harm of smoking |
| D．call on people to support smoking. |
One day as I was sitting in a coffee shop, I noticed a girl working on her laptop. Two people (A) passed by and accidentally knocked over her drink. To avoid the embarrassment (困窘), the girl pretended (假装) that (B) ______ had happened and continued working on her computer.
This reminded me that both in China and Britain, when something strange happens around you or when you are in an embarrassing situation, (C) people tend (倾向于) to use this commonway to not catch other people’s attention.
A lot of the time,Britons use self—depreciating humor (自嘲式的幽默).This is a well-known British characteristic. Forexample, imagine walking (D) ______ your friends and you fallover. Your friend may just say (E) “旅途愉快!” Or you may just laugh about how clumsy (笨拙的) you are. For many Britons, making fun of yourself is a way of showing your strength of character.
Also, British are considerate when it comes to embarrassing others. For example, students (F) usually have a birthday party every year. So during the school day, a student will give out invitations to the class. If one person doesn’t get an invitation, but the rest of the class does, he or she will feel embarrassed. To avoid it, it’s common for students to even invite people who aren’t (G) their friends.写出文中划线部分(A)和(F)的同义词或近义词：______ ______
在文中(B)和(D)的空白处填入适当的单词： ______ ______
将文中划线部分(C)改写为:people tend to use thiscommon way ______ ______ other people won’t notice it.
将文中划线部分(E)译成英语：______
文中划线部分(G)指代的是：______
Raising chickens seems a difficult task for teenagers. Gracie Goodpasture, from Virginia, US, not only raises them, but also tries to breed (喂养) the “perfect chicken”. And she even won an award for her love of science.
Gracie started breeding chickens in her third grade at Steward School. At first, she worked on some farms for her school project. But later, the 14-year-old started to have some ideas of her own.
“Some have thicker eggshells (蛋壳),and they’re hearty (健壮的) throughout the winter,” said Grade.
Since then, the young science lover started to try to find the healthiest free-range (散养) chickens. And she ended up breeding a type that now bears her name.
The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) gave the 2015 Angela Award to Gracie Goodpasture. Her interests don’t end with chickens and eggs. She is also into building robots and testing preservatives (防腐剂) in fast foods. In her words, she wants to go to Virginia Tech for poultry (家禽) sciences in the future.Where is Gracie from?
In which grade did Gracie start breeding chickens?
What did Gracie find about some chickens’ eggshells?
When did NSTA give the Angela Award to Gracie?
Why does Gracie want to go to Virginia Tech in the future?
The most valuable gift I have ever received was a photo album from my best friend Kevin.
Kevin and I were classmates for all six years of primary school. We both had the same interests, so we always had a lot of things to talk about. It is wonderful to have such a good friend.
However, last summer, Kevin had to move to another city because of his father’s job. Then he gave me a photo album. “It has photos of the memorable events we have experienced together. I’ve also written some notes under each photo,” he said. I was deeply moved.
I put the album beside my bed. I always look at it when I think of Kevin.What is the writer’s most valuable gift?
Why did the writer and Kevin always have many things to talk about?
When did Kevin move to another city?
Where did Kevin write some notes?
What does the writer do when he thinks of Kevin?