【題目】For many centuries，countless scholars have asked the question：What is beauty? As designers update the latest fashions and artists create their masterpieces, what is considered beautiful changes at an alarming pace. Fifty years ago, the full-figured American actress Marilyn Monroe was a symbol of the American aesthetic(美學(xué)的)value；today, many Hollywood actresses different in appearance from Marilyn’s have taken her place. However，aesthetic values not only differ from generation to generation，but do so along cultural lines as well. Often, what is considered hating one civilization is just the aesthetic appeal in another. Thus it is difficult to give an absolute definition(定義)of beauty.

As fundamental(基礎(chǔ)的)physicists，my colleagues and I like to believe that we are involved in a search for a beauty that affects definition. The beauty that we search for is not what is set up through the work of people and subject to the tastes, but rather what has been laid down by nature Physics allows its students to look past outer appearances，into a deeper beauty. As a human being, I am attracted by the visual appeal of a wave crashing on the beach. As a physicist, however I am able to see the deeper beauty of the physical laws that govern such a phenomenon.

In truth，since Albert Einstein put forward the idea that there might be one main physical theory that governs the universe，aesthetics have become a driving force in modern physics. Einstein and other later physicists have discovered that：Nature, as its most fundamental level，is beautifully constructed. The extraordinary simplicity (樸素)of the laws that govern the universe is really breathtaking. As Einstein said, it would seem more likely that we should find ourselves living in a “chaotic (無秩序曲)world，in no way graspable（能理解的） through thinking”. Yet we are now closer than ever to a full understanding of the universe’s beautiful clockwork. As new discoveries and technologies allow us to examine the physical world on deeper and deeper levels，we find that the beauty itself becomes much deeper.

【1】【改編】The reference to “Marilyn Monroe” in Paragraph 2 mainly serves to___________.

A.compare traditional concept of the East with the West

B. express there is no fixed definition of aesthetics

C. set an example of today’s beauty standards

D. discuss her abilities as an actress

【2】When appreciating a wave crashing on the beach，a physicist sees the beauty of_____.

A. the visual attraction

B. the powerful sounds

C. the physical laws behind

D. the lovely creatures

【3】Why are Albert Einstein’s words mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A. To detail the functions of physical laws.

B. To highlight the range of Einstein’s influence.

C. To show that Einstein doubted the beauty of physics.

D. To stress the very simplicity of the laws of the universe.

【4】【改編】what does the passage mainly talk about ?___________.

A. a special way of seeing beauty

B. the influence of physics

C. the awareness of cross-culture

D. the traditional ideas on value

【題目】 Your brain isn’t a muscle, but you can treat it like one

Many people focus on physical fitness, but few know that brain fitness is also something you can work on. In fact, you can exercise your brain as often as you do to your arms or legs-and the results can be positive and empowering.

To improve your brain, you can’t simply repeat the same exercises over and over. Just as lifting a two-pound weight will stop challenging you, so will repetitive exercises such as crosswords or Sudoku. Once you master easy exercises, you must move on to harder ones in order to push your brain-like your muscles-to a new level.

The science behind brain training

Scientists once believed that your mental abilities were fixed in adulthood. Since studies have shown just the opposite, millions of people around the world have adopted the new practice of brain training. The most popular of these brain training products is made by the San Francisco-based Lumosity. Lumosity’s scientists with an experienced team of game designers have developed a fun，effective online brain training program that measures, tracks, and adapts to your progress, so you’ll always be challenged.

Promising studies on the effects of brain training

In a 2013 Stanford study, a treatment group of 21 breast cancer survivors used 12 weeks of Lumosity training to work on processing speed, mental flexibility, and working memory tasks. On average, those who trained improved on tests of these abilities, compared to a group that did not train with Lumosity.

There is even some evidence suggesting that Lumosity may be beneficial to normal, healthy adults. In a 2011 study by Lumosity and San Francisco State University researchers. 13 people who trained over 5 weeks improved working memory scores by 10％and attention scores by 20％.

Brain training is designed to meet real-life needs

The design of brain train ing is targeted at real-life benefits instead of improving game scores. Better attention, for example, can mean greater focus in the classroom or at an important business meeting. With improved processing speed, you might react and adapt faster to the demands of a busy life. And a better memory could mean stronger, longer relationships with the people closest to you.

【1】We can learn from the passage that _________.

A. brain training speeds up the recovery of breast cancer

B. your brain is like a muscle because it gives you power

C. people’s mental abilities can’t develop after they grow up

D. Lumosity can measure, track and suit your level as you improve

【2】Which skill may brain training not improve?

A. Better attention.

C. Better writing skills.

B. A better memory.

D. Higher processing speed.

【3】What can we infer from the passage?

A. People should care more about physical health instead of mental health.

B. Brain training has been proved effective through scientific researches.

C. A bad memory is the only reason for weak relationships with people.

D. Playing online games is the best way of brain training.

【4】What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Brain Training Makes a Difference

B. Train Your Brain like a Muscle

C. Lumosity, Your Best Choice

D. How to Train Your Brain

【題目】Here's a hotel worth writing something about: a company in Poland plans to build tourist accommodation under the sea. The structure can be dragged to a suitable location and placed on supports on the sea bed. The ‘Water Discus’ will be made up of an underwater disc containing 22 bedrooms with sea views, connected by lift and stairs to a disc above the surface containing other hotel facilities.

Project manager Robert Bursiewicz says: “Nowadays it's possible to build submarines ('潛艇) which go deeper than 500m below the sea surface, so building an underwater hotel is not a problem. ”

In fact, they don't plan to have the hotel very deep. Water acts like a filter (過濾器) for sunlight, and below 15m most colors, apart from blue, are washed out. And we all want to see colorful marine life, don't we?

But this isn't the first hotel to offer underwater views from the bedrooms. The two-bedroom Jules' Undersea Lodge, off the coast of Florida, has been taking in guests 10m beneath the surface since 1986.

The company that operates the hotel also runs a diving course for beginners to help get guests down and into the hotel. It is accessible only through an opening at the bottom.

And you'll find all the usual facilities in the room, according to Teresa McKirma, Jules's chief financial officer. It has a television, air conditioning and Wi-Fi. But for the staff, simple things like cleaning and making beds can be challenging, since the lodge is in sea water.

"It actually takes quite a lot of work to get anything down there," she says. "We have to put everything in waterproof boxes and attach weights to them to counter their buoyancy (浮力). "

The hotel has suitably sized waterproof boxes so that pizzas can be delivered by divers to guests who order them for their evening meal. And after a meal, if you can't sleep because of the excitement of the experience, you don't have to count sheep. You'll fall asleep quicker if you count fish.

【1】According to the passage, the new hotel will ______.

A. contain three discs

B. come into use soon

C. have a movable structure

D. be built 500m beneath the surface

【2】【改編】Why won't they intend to have the hotel very deep in the water?

A. They lack advanced technology.

B. They lack advanced technology.

C. They reject to enjoy colorful life.

D. Most colors are washed out below 15m.

【3】 According to Teresa McKirma, ______.

A. entertainment is impossible in the hotel

B. the staff's work is difficult to finish

C. it's easy to get things down there

D. the built hotel is badly equipped

【4】What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A. Passengers can't enjoy their meals.

B. Passengers will feel fed up with the views.

C. Passengers have no choice but to count fish.

D. Passengers may get excited about the experience.

【題目】Dad and mum are coming. What gift __________ for your twelfth birthday?

A. you expect they have got B. you expect have they got

C. do you expect have they got D. do you expect they have got

【題目】When you need money or anything else, don't hesitate __________ me for help.

A. in asking B. to ask

C. asking D. to asking

【題目】Rocky Lyons was five years old when his mother, Kelly, was driving along the country road with him. He was asleep on the front seat of their truck, with his feet resting on her lap. As his mom drove carefully down the winding country road, she turned onto a narrow bridge. The truck hit a rock and slid off the road. She tried to bring it back up onto the road by pressing hard on the gas pedal and turning the steering wheel to the left. But Rocky’s foot got caught between her leg and the steering wheel and she lost control of the truck.

The truck fell into a 20-foot ravine（峽谷）. When it hit bottom, Rocky woke up. “What happened, Mama?” he asked. “Our wheels are pointing toward the sky. ”Kelly was seriously wounded and blinded by blood. “I’ll get you out, Mama,” announced Rocky, who had surprisingly escaped injury. He climbed out from under Kelly, slid through the open window and tried to yank（用力拉）his mother out. But she didn’t move.

“Just let me sleep,” begged Kelly, who was out of consciousness. Rocky insisted, “Mom, you can’t go to sleep.”

Rocky managed to push Kelly out of the truck and told her he’d climb up to the road and stop a car to get help. Fearing that no one would be able to see her little boy in the dark, Kelly refused to let him go alone. Instead they slowly moved up to the road. The pain was so great that Kelly wanted to give up, but Rocky wouldn’t let her.

Rocky kept repeating the inspirational phrase, “I know you can, I know you can.” When they finally reached the road, Rocky broke into tears seeing his mother’s torn face clearly for the first time. Waving his arms and shouting, “Please stop!” the boy stopped a truck. His mother was sent to hospital.

It took 8 hours to rebuild Kelly’s face. She looks quite different today---“I used to have a straight long nose, thin lips and high cheekbones; now I’ve got a flat cheeks and much bigger lips”--- but she has few scars and has recovered from her injuries.

Rocky’s heroics were big news. Everyone was surprised at this little boy’s power. “It’s not like I wanted it to happen,” The boy explained. “ I just did what anyone would have done. ” “If it weren’t for Rocky, I’d have died,” said his mother.

【1】【改編】According to the content of the text,both Rocky and Kelly _________ .

A. knew little of what happened to them

B. had no time to search their way

C. suffered a truck accident

D. were lost on a country road

【2】【改編】When he came to her senses, Rocky ___________ .

A. was stuck against the door of the truck

B. found his mother had fallen asleep

C. was scared by his mother’s blood

D. found the car had disappeared

【3】 What is the best title for the text?

A. A Boy and His Mother

B. How to Behave Well？

C. I Think I Can

D. Nothing is Lost

【題目】I agree with most of what you said, but I don't agree with __________.

A. everything B. anything

C. something D. nothing

【題目】The word I’m going to introduce to you today is-phubbing. Let’s see the definition of this term:phubbing n. the act of snubbing(冷落)someone in a social setting by looking at your cell phone instead of paying attention As you can probably guess, phubbing is a blend of phone and snubbing. The term was coined by a 23-year-old Melbourne resident Alex Haigh. Obviously, he got fed up with how people are always checking Facebook or Twitter on their phones when they are supposed to be interacting with someone face to face. He wanted to put an end to this social phenomenon, therefore he came up with this catchy term.

And it did catch on. The word’s earliest media mention dates back to June 2012, and in a little over a year’s time, phubbing has already been picked up by almost all the mainstream media outlets one can think of.

Here is a typical example from the British newspaper The Independent. In the article titled The Rise of Phubbing, which was published on August 5, 2013, Tom Chatfield writes, there’s an uncomfortable truth at the heart of phubbing: other people are easier to handle when seen on screen. They’re less likely to demand unreasonable efforts such as undivided attention or clean shirts.

While the term phubbing has undoubtedly taken off, some people question why it is called phubbing instead of phnubbing. Alex Haigh has not personally addressed the issue, but word has it that phubbing sounds more crispy and thus easier to remember.

Phubbing is indeed a univers al problem that can no longer be ignored. So why do people keep phubbing each other if they know it’s rude? Is there anything we can do to stop it? Or maybe we should just be more kind, because sometimes there are good excuses to phub.

I think there is plenty we can do to try and stop phubbing. For starters, we can jo in Alex Haigh in his Stop Phubbing campaign. Remind our friends and family that phubbing is not appreciated. We can also make or download some anti-phubbing posters to spread the word in public places. And don’t forget that some phubbers simply do not realize the harmful effect their behavior has on others，so be b rave enough to stop them, even if you are a total stranger.

【1】This passage is mainly talking about __________.

A. the rise of phubbing in all the mainstream media outlets

B. a new term “phubbing”and its problem

C. the campaign of keeping phubbing

D. different opinions on phubbing

【2】The author’s attitude towards the act of phubbing can be described as ___________.

A. bearable B. Unacceptable

C. reasonableD. understandable

【3】What can we infer from this passage?

A. People are easier to handle when seen on screen.

B. Alex Haigh doesn’t like the term “phnubbing”

C. More and more people have become phubbers.

D. We can phub if we have proper excuses.

【4】The writer suggests we should __________.

A. stop phubbing in public places

B. not be afraid of the harmful effect

C. be brave to support a st ranger phubbing

D. remind our friends of Stop Phubbing campaign

【題目】Until about 150 years ago, the most important, expensive and renowned kind of painting was large-scale pictures that told a story, regarded as the 【1】 (hard) challenge for an artist. 【2】 (choose) suitable subjects, artists had to be well-read. Then they had to know 【3】 stories could be told without words, using only gestures and expressions. To create lifelike scenes, they had to understand perspective, lighting and anatomy. So history painting needed a lot of thought and 【4】 . (imagine). Large-scale pictures used to be reserved for grand religious or patriotic subjects, but that changed in the 19th century, as artists began creating history paintings based 【5】 contemporary news stories. One of the first of these was The Raft of the Medusa, inspired by the wreck of 【6】 French ship in 1816, which showed how art could have a powerful political impact. It presents a scene 【7】 the survivors of the wreck on a raft littered with bodies try to signal to a distant ship. When they 【8】 ( rescue ), they told how they had been abandoned by their captain, while he sailed to safety in a lifeboat. Starving, they had to eat each other to survive—though this picture makes 【9】 look heroic rather than violent. The picture caused a huge outcry. Some people thought the artist meant to criticize the French king, 【10】 had been involved in appointing the ship's captain.

【題目】When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars.

A true carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected. It is a we should value.. ，the better friends you are, the more probably you’ll have disagreements. And the can be what you don’t want : an end to finish the relationship.

The good news is that most troubled friendships can be . First, don’t let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when are brought out in the open. Second，____when you’re wrong －even if you’ve been . Over the course of friendship, the best people make mistakes. Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person the lead and apologizes. When you apologize, give your friend a to admit that he has been wrong. Third, see things from your point of view. And accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyles change. Making friends can sometimes seem . The hard part is __15__the connections strong during the nature ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships. My suggestion: Consider friendship an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture (培 養(yǎng))．

【1】A. friendship B．love C．relationship D．care

【2】A. wealth B．gold C. jewellery D. treasure

【3】A. Personally B．Naturally C．Unfortunately D．Luckily

【4】A. result B．pace C．future D．minute

【5】A. finished B．mended C．changed D．prevented

【6】A. discussions B．questions C．differences D．interests

【7】A. admit B．punish C．flee D．a(chǎn)pologize

【8】A. blamed B．wronged C．punished D．praised

【9】A. still B．even C．yet D．ever

【10】A. takes B．gives C．gets D．makes

【11】A.reason B．cause C．chance D．time

【12】A. brother’s B．father’s C．enemy’s D．friend’s

【13】A. properly B．finally C．really D．merely

【14】A. difficult B．hard C．easy D．likely

【15】A .keeping B．letting C．proving D．remaining