One Monday, Emily went to the nursing home after school. When she arrived, she was told she would spend an hour every weekday with an elderly lady, Mrs. Blair. She was then led into a room, where an old lady in a flowery dress was sitting on a sofa. Emily stood nervously in front of the lady. She cleared her throat and said, “Good afternoon. I’m Emily.” “Good afternoon, Emily. Take a seat, please.” Mrs. Blair replied. Then, silence filled the space. Emily wondered what to say. “Tell me about yourself, Emily,” Mrs. Blair said suddenly. “Well,” Emily started, “I am not good at talking with the elderly people. I love the performing arts. I’m here mainly because I have to volunteer here to get a good grade for my Civics class.”

Mrs. Blair didn’t seem to mind. “Many people especially teens, don’t seem to care about people like me. Now you are here and I’m going to change that about you. Ask me anything.” Emily thought for a moment, and finally decided, “What was your job?” “I was a Broadway star in the 1950s.” Mrs. Blair answered. “Cool! Can you tell me about it? My dream is to be a Broadway performer.” Emily said in excitement. Mrs. Blair smiled and showed her a bracelet (手鏈). “Look at the bracelet, Emily. Only the lead actress had the honor to wear the special bracelet. I was the lead in almost all of the plays, so I always wore the bracelet. Till this day, I still have it. ……”

Emily smiled along with Mrs. Blair and listened to the other stories, attentively. Days passed by quickly. Then came Friday. As she was leaving, Mrs. Blair handed a small box to Emily. Emily carefully opened the box and was surprised to see what was inside. “It’s the bracelet that you wore. Thank you!” Emily said with tears in her eyes. Mrs. Blair replied gently, “I believe you will stand on the stage of Broadway one day, wearing the bracelet.”

【1】Was Emily good at talking with the elderly people at first?

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【2】Where did Emily do volunteer service?

____________________________________________________________________________________________

【3】What lies behind the bracelet?

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【4】If you are asked to do volunteer service, what would you like to do? And why?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In these cases, we might use the word “l(fā)oner” in a disapproving (不贊成的) way. However, it can actually have a positive meaning as well.

It all depends on our attitude toward being alone. If we see being alone as something not very good, we will be against it. But if we understand that it’s an everyday part of life, we’ll be able to “hug the beauty of our solo (單獨(dú)的) journey”, as best-selling US writer Mandy Hale wrote in her book The Single Woman.

In some countries, more young people are choosing to be loners. In South Korea, “honjok” has become a growing lifestyle. The word comes from Korean “hon” (alone) and “jok” (group).These people eat alone, travel alone, and enjoy being by themselves. “I hope it grows into a self-supporting culture of happiness.” said Jang Jae Young, a South Korean who runs a website about this solo lifestyle called www.honjok.me.

In Japan, people have developed a strong “l(fā)oner culture” and even a “l(fā)oner economy (經(jīng)濟(jì)).” There are many solo KTVs and solo coffee bars. Noodle restaurants for solo customers are especially popular. There are boards which separate each seat. Customers fill out a form to make an order, and then press a button to call the waiter. They don’t see the faces of other customers or waiters.

People are becoming more experienced in and comfortable about being alone. This doesn’t mean we should totally keep ourselves away from the outside world, of course. But it doesn’t hurt to have some “me time” once in a while.

【1】From the passage we know that “honjok” ________.

A.means a group of lonersB.is a culture which brings people closer

C.is a website run by a KoreanD.will be a popular lifestyle in North Korea

【2】The underlined word “separate” in Para. 5 means “________”.

A.合并B.隔開(kāi)C.監(jiān)控D.固定

【3】If we put the passage into three parts, which of the following is the best?

(①=Para.1 ②=Para.2 ③=Para.3 ④=Para. 4 ⑤=Para.5 ⑥=Para.6)

A.①; ②③; ④⑤⑥B.①; ②③④; ⑤⑥

C.①②; ③④⑤; ⑥D.①②③; ④⑤; ⑥

【4】The best title of this passage is ________.

A.Ways to Deal with AlonenessB.A Tradition of Aloneness in Asian Countries

C.Aloneness—A Common LifestyleD.Advantages and Disadvantages of Aloneness

It’s a big challenge for you to complete any personal goal in time. And it always seems that you won’t have enough time to finish all you need to do. Do you know the way to make the time for your goal? Here are some tips which may help you.

Focus on(集中) one thing at a time. Remember not to take on too many goals at a time, or your energy will be used up soon. Once one goal is finished, you can go to the next one.

Prioritize(優(yōu)先處理)the most important. We have more than one thing to complete. If we put all the things before our goal, we won’t ever find the time for it. If we put our goal at the first place, we’ll make the time.

Keep your goal simple. It’s important not to make your goal too difficult. If you want to be slim, for example, you just need to develop the habit for your health, walking each day (or running, or cycling, etc), drinking more water, eating fruit and vegetables instead of junk food.

Close your door. Try to set a time that you won’t be disturbed. If you are disturbed from time to time, you really don't have the time to help out. So you must close your door when working on the most important tasks. If so, you will get them done better.

Stop wasting time. In our daily life, there are many things wasting your time, such as going to bars. If you don’t do them, it won’t influence your life a lot. So stop doing them to free up time for your goals.

If you follow the above, you will succeed in achieving your goal.

Britain has a free health care system paid for by the government. It was the first country in the world to do so. Health care is free for everyone living in Britain. Most doctors and nurses work for the government and most hospitals are owned by the government. Until recently this system was very successful but lately there have been problems. The government has not put enough money into the health service. That’s why more people are using private health insurance (保險(xiǎn)). They see doctors who work for themselves and pay the doctors through the health insurance company.

____3____ Most Americans have private health insurance. Doctors work for themselves and hospitals are privately owned. The health insurance company pays the doctors and the hospitals. The problem with this system is that poor people don’t have the money to pay for private health insurance. As a result, they often have both money and health problems.

Canada and New Zealand have a different system again. Health care is free. Doctors work privately and hospitals are privately owned. When you become ill, medical cost is paid for by the government.

【1】________ first had free health care in the world.

A.BritainB.AmericaC.CanadaD.New Zealand

【2】More British are using private health insurance because ________.

A.health care is free for everyone living in Britain

B.most hospitals are owned by the government

C.the government hasn’t put enough money into the health service

D.they can only see doctors who work for themselves

【3】Which of the following can be the missing part in Para. 3?

A.America has a much worse system.B.Americans are satisfied with their system.

C.In America the system is very similar.D.In America the system is very different.

【4】The underlined word “they” in Para.3 refers to (指的是) people ________.

A.who have private health insuranceB.who see doctors working for themselves

C.who work for insurance companiesD.who can’t afford private health insurance

Every time we walk, sit down or hold a book, we are using our bones. Bones are important because they s【1】 our bodies and help us move freely. A【2】 they are very light, bones are strong enough to support our weight.

Bones are hard on the o【3】, but they are soft on the inside. The soft part of the bone makes our blood. Blood carries nutrients (營(yíng)養(yǎng)) through our bodies. It also helps move waste materials away so our bodies can stay h【4】.

Calcium (鈣) makes our bones solid, so we need to get e【5】 calcium each day. We can get calcium easily from milk, some vegetables and other foods.

Vitamin D is also n【6】 because it helps calcium work well in our bodies. We can get vitamin D from food l【7】 fish and eggs. We can get it from the s【8】 as well, so try to get a bit of sun every day, as a result, you can have healthier bones!

E【9】 improves our bone health too, so make it a habit. Running, Jumping and dancing are all good for our health, but even daily activities like walking and c【10】 stairs can help keep our bones healthy and strong!

【1】Our new classmate lives on the ______ (nine) floor of Building C in the neighbourhood.

【2】It’s wrong of the boy to play all the time and forget ______ (complete) to do homework.

【3】My friends, are there any ______ (suggest) about how to deal with the serious problem?

【4】I couldn’t sleep at all that night because the bed in the hotel was so ______(comfortable).

【5】Drinking too much sweet fruit juice can be quite ______ (harm) to children’s teeth.

【1】Now more and more rivers have been ______ (污染的) because of the waste from factories.

【2】When the famous writer ______ (出現(xiàn)) in our school, we were so excited that we screamed.

【3】Everyone in Class 1 had a picnic in the park ______ (除了)Jim, because he was ill in hospital.

【4】People in the UK behave ______ (禮貌地) in public. They often say “please”and “thanks”.

【5】The boss of the restaurant takes great ______ (自豪) in offering the best service in the city.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019 13:14

【1】Ma Dongdong would leave for China on ________.

A.TuesdayB.FridayC.WednesdayD.Thursday

【2】He could get the key by ________.

A.opening the box on the wallB.opening the door

C.using the map and the guidebookD.using the Wi-Fi password

【3】According to the messages, Ma Dongdong was most probably a(n) ________ in London.

A.visitorB.writerC.businessmanD.exchange student

One day with Leela Jenny went to visit an orphanage(孤兒院). All the children there were very young. At first, Jenny was not sure if she would know _________ to say to them. She went over to the children and sat beside them. After some time, one of the children _________ at her. She felt more relaxed and smiled back. Then she got _________ the child. She slowly put her arm around the child and started singing a song _________ German. The child kept smiling and started repeating the words after her. The words that came from the little mouth were different from those that Jenny sang, _________ the rhythm (節(jié)奏) was the same. Jenny kept singing, and the child followed her again. Wanting to join in the _________, another child went up to Jenny and started singing the rhythm. Then more children joined. They _________ many smiles together.

From the other side of hall, Leela was smiling and watching them. ____________ Leela’s eyes watching her, Jenny had an exciting feeling in her heart: “See, I don’t have any language barriers. We ____________ speak and communicate” At that moment, she understood: we’re all ____________ human, and it’s not hard for us to connect with each other.

【1】A.niceB.dangerousC.difficultD.easy

【2】A.theseB.thoseC.thisD.that

【3】A.whatB.thatC.whenD.how

【4】A.lookedB.laughedC.shoutedD.smiled

【5】A.good forB.close toC.mad atD.strict with

【6】A.withB.inC.byD.on

【7】A.butB.thoughC.soD.because

【8】A.clubB.talkC.funD.dance

【9】A.forgetB.rememberedC.sharedD.missed

【10】A.NoticeB.NoticingC.To noticeD.Noticed

【11】A.canB.mustC.needD.should

【12】A.deeplyB.mostlyC.simpleD.lately

China is actually changing its national college entrance exams now. Over 12 provincial-level regions have already said they would not have the science-humanities division in the next few years. Students are still required to choose three subjects from the six. But they can choose 【3】 three. That means they can freely choose the subjects they are good at or interested in.

However, not everyone likes this change. Some worry students have problems making the right decisions because there are too many choices. Others worry this change will cause students to learn more subjects if they are not sure about what subjects to choose. 【4】, the division seems easier, but it is not good for students’ future development. Many students are too young to have the clear ideas about their future jobs 【5】 the subjects they choose to learn now may be useless in the future.

And some schools in Shanghai have already 【6】 out a lot about how to help students face the new change. Teachers can help students get to know their advantages and disadvantages. Then students can choose the courses they want and take the classes in different classrooms. Students can also experience different jobs in real life to know what knowledge is needed. We can find that 【7】 not only happen in exams, but also in courses and schools.

In a word, no matter what will happen in the future, for now, you have to get used to the new situation as 【8】 as possible.