One morning, more than a hundred years ago, an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep. He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle.

Though he was tired, Howe slept badly. He turned and turned. Then he had a dream.He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine. When he tried to do so, Howe ran into the same problem as before. The thread kept getting caught around the needle. The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe. They came up towards him with their spears raised. But suddenly the inventor noticed something. There was a hole in the tip of each spear. The inventor awoke from the dream, realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem. Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle, he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle. This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practised sewing machine.

Elias Howes was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way.

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams. So did the great physicist Albert Einstein. Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre.

To know the value of dreams, you have to understand what happens when you are asleep. Even then, a part of your mind is still working. This unconscious(无意识的), but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day. It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed. It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake. However, the unconscious part acts in a special way. It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first. This is why dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves”.

1.The problem Howe was trying to solve was________.

A. what kind of thread to use

B. how to design a needle which would not break

C. where to put the needle

D. how to prevent the thread from getting caught around the needle

2.Thomas Edison is spoken of because _____ .

A. he also tried to invent a sewing machine

B. he got some of his ideas from dreams

C. he was one of Howe's best friends

D. he also had difficulty in falling asleep

3.Dreams are sometimes called“secret messages to ourselves” because ________ .

A. strange images are used to communicate ideas

B. images which have no meaning are used

C. we can never understand the real meaning

D. only specially trained people can understand them

One of the qualities that most people admire in others is the willingness to admit one's mistakes. It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like“I was wrong about that,” and it is even harder to say,“I was wrong, and you were right about that.”

I had an experience recently with someone admitting to me that he had made a mistake fifteen years ago. He told me he had been the manager of a certain store in the neighborhood where I grew up, and he asked me if I remembered the egg cartons (in many countries, eggs are sold by the dozen and are put in cartons.) Then he related an incident (event, matter) and I began to remember unclearly the incident he was describing.

I was about eight years old at the time. I went into the store with my mother to do some shopping. On that particular day, I must have found my way to the food department where the incident took place.

There must have been a special sale on eggs that day because there were lots of eggs in dozen and half-dozen cartons. The cartons were put three or four feet high. I must have stopped in front of the piles of egg cartons. Just then a woman came by pushing her shopping cart and knocked off the cartons. For some reason, I decided it was up to me to put the eggs back together, so I went to work.

The manager heard the noise and came rushing over to see what had happened. When he appeared, I was on my knees looking at some of the cartons to see if any of the eggs were broken, but to him it looked as though I was the one who just did it. He severely reprimanded me and wanted me to pay for any broken eggs. I tried to explain, but it did no good. Even though I quickly forgot all about the incident, it is plain that the manager did not.

1.Which is the correct order of the following?

a. I forgot all about the incident.               

b. I went into the store.

c. A woman knocked off the egg cartons.          

d. I stood in front of the egg cartons.

e. The manager reminded me of the incident.   

f. The manager didn't believe my explanation.

g. I picked up the unbroken eggs.

A. b; d; g; c; a; f; e    B. b; d; c; g; f; e; a

C. b; c; d ;g; e; f; a    D. b; d; c; g; f; a; e

2.The word “reprimanded” in the last paragraph most exactly means “_________ ”.

A. frightened    B. scolded

C. warned    D. comforted

3.The best title for this passage should be________ .

A. A Case of Mistake    B. The Manager I Never Forget

C. The Manager and I    D. An Incident 15 Years Ago

The U.S. Department of Labor statistics (统计) show that there is an oversupply of college-trained workers and that this oversupply is increasing. Already there have been more than enough teachers, engineers, physicists, aerospace experts, and other specialists. Yet colleges and graduate schools continue every year to turn out highly trained people to compete for jobs that aren't there. The result is that graduates cannot enter the professions for which they were trained and must take temporary jobs which do not require a college degree.

On the other hand, there is a great need for skilled workers of all sorts: carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, TV repairmen.

These people have more work than they can deal with, and their annual incomes are often higher than those of college graduates. The old gap that white-collar workers make a better living than blue-collar workers no longer holds true. The law of supply and demand now favors the skilled workmen.

The reason for this situation is the traditional myth that college degree is a passport to a prosperous future. A large part of American society matches success in life equally with a college degree. Parents begin indoctrinating (灌输) their children with this myth before they are out of grade school. High school teachers play their part by acting as if high school education were a preparation for college rather than for life. Under this pressure the kids fall in line. Whether they want to go to college or not doesn't matter. Everybody should go to college, so of course they must go. And every year college enrollments (入学) go up and up, and more and more graduates are overeducated for the kinds of jobs available to them.

One result of this emphasis on a college education is that many people go to college who do not belong there. Of the sixty percent of high school graduates who enter college, half of them do not graduate with their class. Many of them drop out within the first year. Some struggle on for two or three years and then give up.

1.It's implied but not stated in the passage that ________ .

A. many other countries are facing the same problem

B. white-collar workers in the US used to make more money than blue-collar workers

C. fewer students will prefer to go to college in the future

D. the law of supply and demand has a strong effect on American higher education

2.Which of the following is NOT a reason why college enrollments go up every year?

A. Many people believe that the only way to success is a college education.

B. Many parents want their children to go to college.

C. High school teachers urge their students to go to college.

D. Every young man and woman wants to go to college.

3.By saying that“many people go to college who do not belong there”, the author means that    ________ .

A. many people who are not fit for college education go to college

B. many people who do not have enough money go to college

C. many people who go to college drop out within the first year

D. many people who go to college have their hopes destroyed

4.We can infer from the passage that the author believes that _______ .

A. every young man and woman should go to college

B. college education is a bad thing

C. people with a college education should receive higher pay

D. fewer people should go to college while more should be trained for skilled jobs

假定你是李华，你的英国朋友Peter来信向你倾诉他近来对网络社交媒体上瘾。这已严重

影响了他的生活和学习。请你给他回一封电子邮件，内容包括：

1．表示安慰

2．提出建议（关掉手机；发展新爱好；多和家人朋友待在一起）。

注意1．词数100左右；

2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

My mom is a volunteer in a public hospital. She serve dinner every day to the people waiting for their relatives outside hospital. One day, she asked me to help her of volunteering. At first, I didn’t want to, and in the end I gave in to her. Certain, I went there unwillingly. The much food we gave, the more people would come. Looking at people’s smiles, especially those from children, was amazed! That made me to feel glad for being there. I realized that happy is not only about receiving, but giving as well. Since then, I had kept volunteering every week.

阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Go ahead and grab that cup of coffee, or two, or more. Doing so may improve your health and help you live longer, suggests a new research in a new observational study involving close to 20,000 individuals, people1.consumed at least four cups of coffee daily had a 64% lower risk of early death 2.(compare) to those who never rarely consumed coffee.

The reduction in risk was more significant once people reached3.age of 45, suggesting that it may be even4.(good) to consume coffee as we get older.

These findings support the recent results of another large observational study, which found that coffee5.(drink) appear to live longer, regardless of whether they consume regular coffee.

Coffee has also been shown to reduce the risk of many diseases, including type 2 diabetes(糖尿病), liver disease, Alzheimer’s and skin cancer, too.

“Coffee is loaded with antioxidants（抗氧化剂）,” said Joe DeRupo, a spokesman for the National Coffee Association." Many are 6.(natural) occurring antioxidants found in the coffee bean, while others 7.(create) during the roasting process. These antioxidants are thought to be linked with positive effects in 8.(reduce) the risk of several diseases.

While coffee consumption may appear to be healthful for many, others should carry on9.caution. Pregnant women, for example, should cautiously limit10.(they)intake of coffee.

I shopped today. While I was_______at the grocery store, a woman followed behind me. She was standing by one of those shopping carts with the_______in front. The basket held just a few_______：some apples, corn, a loaf of bread, some canned goods, and a bunch of beautiful coral colored roses. Several times I_______her looking at those lovely roses and_______. I told her that they were, indeed, very lovely roses. She said, "I really do love them, and they’re my_______color.”

Well, just as I was _______, I heard her say to the _______, "You can put those roses back. I really couldn’t _______ them." I turned around and asked her if she would allow me to get them for her. She________her head and said, "Why would you want to do that? You ________ don’t have to." I replied that I just wanted to especially since she________them so much. She still seemed hesitant so I told her that she would be doing me a great kindness if she would________me to gift them to her.

With tears in her eyes, she________and said, "I really do love them. Thank you.”

On the way home I was reminded of a ________ I had heard decades ago and I've loved it ever since. The song is Bread and Roses. It's a ________ song on many levels and reminds us that we all need food, but we all also need ________.

A line from this song fits this________ perfectly, I thought. It reads: "________starve as well as bodies. Give us________, but give us roses, too.”

1.A. calming down    B. checking out    C. packing up    D. hanging around

2.A. goods    B. bag    C. customers    D. basket

3.A. roses    B. cakes    C. items    D. drinks

4.A. caught    B. suggest    C. had    D. sensed

5.A. suffering    B. smiling    C. hesitating    D. bargaining

6.A. favorite    B. suitable    C. attractive    D. similar

7.A. entering    B. leaving    C. responding    D. wandering

8.A. companion    B. manger    C. cashier    D. stranger

9.A. drop    B. enjoy    C. store    D. afford

10.A. shook    B. turned    C. nodded    D. moved

11.A. probably    B. sincerely    C. certainly    D. finally

12.A. needed    B. considered    C. studied    D. loved

13.A. ask    B. invite    C. force    D. allow

14.A. cheered    B. agreed    C. refuse    D. insisted

15.A. song    B. play    C. book    D. film

16.A. noisy    B. beautiful    C. funny    D. new

17.A. peace    B. power    C. beauty    D. medicine

18.A. situation    B. position    C. style    D. standard

19.A. Bodies    B. Brains    C. Eyes    D. Hearts

20.A. money    B. time    C. bread    D. chance

In a world surrounded by bad news, it may feel like an unhappy place sometimes.1.

      If you make even one person smile today, you can help make this world a better place. Here is list of ideas to help you.

2.In this day and age where everything is sent via the Internet, it's a shock to receive a letter through the post. Putting pen to paper and writing a few words to a friend can be an easy way to make a positive impact.

Requiring some time and research to find the perfect project, volunteering is one of the nicest things you can do. Whether you volunteer at your local youth group or take dogs from shelters for a walk, the simple fact that you are giving up your time to help someone else is incredible. There are so many opportunities.3.

Tell someone "I love you". It can be anyone. 4.Perhaps you can tell a friend that you appreciate all they are to you, or remind your mum that it's her birthday. Sometimes, in our busy lives we forget to take a moment to tell people what they mean to us.

5.Whether you're creative or not, taking time to make something for someone else shows how much you appreciate them. Even if you think you're not creative, the recipient will feel lucky to get such a unique gift that you put your precious time into. Some ideas could include a card, painting, drawing, song, poem or cake!

A. However, you can make a difference.

B. It's a surprise to send a handwritten letter.

C. And you don't even have to say "I love you"

D. So you are sure to find one that is right for you.

E. And it doesn’t necessarily have to take up all your life.

F. Making something for a special person is always unique.

G. Even a postcard with a couple of sentences could really make someone's day.

The Shiants, remote, cliff-edged islands off the coast of Scotland are home to 350,000 seabirds. This is the starting point for National Geographic contributor Adam Nicolson’s new book, The Seabirds Cry. Celebrating 10 species in detail, he describes the unbelievable recovery of seabirds and the many adaptations that have enabled them to survive and navigate the oceans, while sounding a loud call for their conservation among severely falling numbers.

Speaking from his home in Sussex, England, Nicolson explains why guillemot (海雀) colonies are information exchange centers: how new research is showing that those long-distance travelers. The shearwaters, "smell" their way across the globe; and what we can do to support seabird populations.

National Geographic has just kicked off Year of the Bird with a cover story by Jonathan Franzen titled "Why Birds Matter ". The beginning of Year of the Bird is beneficial to birds. Nicolson said, "Ill ask you the same question-why? For me, these seabirds are symbols of uniqueness. There is so much on the land where the rest of the living world seems to be controlled by us, but when you go to seabird colonies, there is this pumping, loud and raging uniqueness. It's a glance of the untouched world. ”

“The reason why it's untouched is that, until recently, we have not controlled the oceans that the seabirds depend on. More of them have survived in greater numbers than most other creatures in the developed world, where huge amounts of the animal kingdom have been removed by us. And so one reason these birds matter is that they are symbols of what the world might be if we hadn't done so much damage to it. "He added.

“Seabirds also tend to disappear; they’re not reliably of our world, due to their migration and habits of life. Very deep in our consciousness is a sense that they are ambassadors from another world. And witnessing and feeling that is, I think, one of the great enlargers of life.” Nicolson explained.

1.What is the book The Seabirds Cry mainly about?

A. Seabirds on an island.    B. The extinction of seabirds.

C. The importance of seabird.    D. Seabirds in the author's hometown.

2.What can we learn from Nicolson’s speech?

A. The wisdom of seabirds.    B. Ways to protect seabird.

C. Migration routes of seabirds.    D. The harder situation of seabirds.

3.What does the underlined phrase "kicked off" in paragraph 3 mean?

A. Watched out for    B. Cut across

C. Expressed    D. Started

4.Which is a lucky thing for seabirds in Nicolson’s view?

A. The sea is too large to be polluted.

B. The sea isn't entirely governed by humans.

C. The seabirds are able to fit the environment.

D. The seabirds are living in the developed world.

Angad Rekhi, a graduate student and an assistant professor of electrical engineering, has developed a wake-up receiver. This wake-up receiver has many potential applications, particularly in designing the next generation of net worked devices, including so called “smart” devices that can communicate directly with one another without human intervention (介入).

Once attached to a device, a wake-up receiver listens for a unique ultrasonic（超声波）pattern that tells it when to turn the device on. It needs only a very small amount of power to maintain this constant listening, so it still saves energy overall while extending the battery life of the larger device. A well-designed wake-up receiver also allows the device to be turned on from a significant distance.

Given the increased interest in networked devices, researchers and industry organizations are starting to define what features and techniques will become standard. Regardless of whether this ultrasound wake-up receiver is among these standard designs, it is likely wake-up receivers of some kind will be combined into commercial applications soon.

By comparison, the ultrasound wake-up receiver requires a battery but has much greater range than the wirelessly powered devices, while still maintaining a long lifetime due to extremely low power draw. These two technologies-wireless power and wake-up receivers-would likely serve different purposes but both indicate at a turning point in devices that make up the Internet of Things.

“In light of a long-promised future where interconnected, autonomous, widespread and unremarkable technologies make life easier, the networked devices available now, like video doorbells and app-enabled lights, seem like rather slight advances.” the researchers said. They believe technologies like theirs could help cross the gap between the Internet of Things as we know it and the Internet of Things at its best-whatever that may be.

1.Which of the following is an advantage of the wake-up receiver?

A. It requires no signal.    B. It is very power saving.

C. It can make the battery larger.    D. It must be fixed to another device.

2.What do we know about by comparing the wireless power with wake-up receivers?

A. One can replace the other.    B. The wake-up receiver is better.

C. Both have their own advantages.    D. The wirelessly powered device has more uses.

3.What do the researchers feel about their technologies mentioned in the last paragraph?

A. They make the Internet cheaper.

B. They make the Internet more popular.

C. They are not useful devices for the Internet.

D. They are beneficial to the use of the Internet.

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A. Wide Use of Advanced Equipment    B. Development of the Internet Devices

C. New Technique for Waking Up Devices    D. Difference between Two Wake-up Receives