It _____ we had stayed together for a couple of weeks ____ I found we had a lot in common.

  A. was until; when                 B. was until; that     C. wasn’t until; when     D. wasn’t until ; that

Question: I have been learning English for about 7 years.    16    And I still can’t make myself understood in English. However, I love learning English. How can I learn English well? Please help me.

Answer: Many people have asked me this question.    17    Here I will give you several tips for learning English.

●    18  

First of all, you must want to learn. If you are not interested in learning English, no class will help you and no book will help you. So you have to be honest with yourself. Ask yourself, “Do I really want to learn English?” If you can’t answer “yes” to this question, it is better for you to set English aside until you’re ready and willing to learn.

● Set goals (目标).

To learn English well, you must set some goals.    19    It will also help you to see your progress. Ask yourself, “What are my goals? What areas would I like to improve?” Think about what your goals are, and review once in a while to see that you are making progress toward your goals.

● Practice, practice, and practice.

After you have set your goals, you have a better idea of what you need to practice. Just like the athlete whose goal is the Olympics must train daily, you as a language learner must practice language every day to make progress toward your goal.    20  

A. Want to learn.

B. I think it is not easy to learn it well.

C. Make friends with some Americans online.

D. Reading is a very good way to learn new words.

E. The answers are as different as the people asking the question.

F. The more you practice, the more progress you will make.

G. Having goals will help you remember what areas you want to work on.

 It ______ sound like a perfect destination, but it is really adventurous to go there.

A. should               B. must               C. shall            D. may

I can well remember that I was once asked to deliver a speech titled -A Real Test in My Life-before the whole class at the age of 9! You can imagine how __53__ (terrible) shy I was the moment I thought of that with so many eyes __54__ (fix) upon me. I had no __55__ (choose) but to prepare for it, though. First of all, I was to draft the speech, which was just a piece of cake for me, a good writer. But the hardest part __56__ (lie) in my oral presentation from my memory-for to read from the paper was' not allowed. The real moment began __57__ I stood on the platform with my legs trembling and my mind blank. But my __58__ (listen) were waiting patiently without any signs of rushing me. Gradually I found myself back, giving out my speech with difficulty. After what seemed to be a hundred years. I found my audience applauding--I made__59__. From then on, my fear of talking before a big audience __60__ (appear). Actually with my confidence building up, I now turn out to be a great speaker. Looking back, I know the greatest difficulty on our way __61__ success is our fear. Overcome it, __62__ we will be able to achieve our goals.

  How to people at your school punished for being late? It might not be as   61  (strictly) as one Sichuan teacher’s idea of making students write the complex character for blang 1,000 times.

   The first student said she could not continue  65  (write) the word after the 200th time as it become “so tiring.”  ___66  second instead asked to draw 100 Shaanxi’s famous Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑),  67 (take) more than four hours to do so.

   On social media, many Internet   68  (user) praised the professor’s “creative” punishment.

   “This sounds  69  an interesting and refreshing punishment,” said Yang Luying, a teacher, on weibo.

Meiweizhu, another weibo user, agreed by saying that the punishment could have been worse: “Imagine if he had made them write out  70  (they) punishment with ink brushes.”

 Leaning against the sofa in the living room, ______ up at me, is a little brown girl, pretty in pink.

A. looks                    B. looking                     C. to look                            D. looked      

Have you ever heard of a shamrock (三叶草)? It’s not a rock, it’s a kind of Ireland. Finding one with four leaves brings you good luck.

Chinese can now visit Ireland and see shamrocks for themselves. The two countries’ governments agreed on this last week.

Ireland is on an island in northwestern Europe, next to England. Dublin, the capital, is its largest city.

When people think of Ireland, they think of green plants all over it. In fact, one name for Ireland is the “Emerald Isle (翡翠岛)”.

There are lots of old castles on Ireland’s hills, and people tell old stories about them.

Ireland is also famous for its folk music and art. The country is known for its harp (竖琴) and flute (长笛)music. Ireland also has some fun dances.

Lots of Irish moved to America around 1850 because they were starving. The Irish eat lots of potatoes. But at that time potatoes there were dying.

Irish around the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (圣帕特里克节)every  March  St. Patrick taught have parades (游行), sing, dance, eat Irish food and drink beer.

21. What is a symbol of Ireland?

A. Emerald Isle.     B. Shamrock.        C. Harp.             D. Flute.

22. It is said that when you find a shamrock with four leaves, you’ll be____________.

A. healthy         B. happy        C. lucky           D. rich

23. Why is Ireland also called “Emerald Isle”?

A. Because the island is covered with green plants.

B. Because there’re many emeralds in the island.

C. Because the Irish like green very much.

D. Because the Irish are green people.

24. Which of the following is Ireland NOT famous for?

A. Music.       B. Art.      C. Dance.    D. Sports.

Once upon a time, there was a man from the State of Chu who loved his sword very much. One day, he was sitting in a boat  61  (prepare) to cross a river, when he accidentally dropped his sword into the water.  62  the ship moving fast on and the water running, the people on board reminded that he should go into the water to find his beloved sword back. The man felt in great  _63  (anxious) too. However, he turned a deaf ear to that and instead, he  64  (immediate) took out a knife and made a notch（刻痕）on the side of the boat  65  his dear sword fell. The people wondered why he did so. He said proudly the notch could help  66  (get) his sword back. Shortly after the  67  (arrive) at the shore, he entered the water just beneath the notch he made. Though _68  (spend) rather a long time, he returned empty-handed. Without doubt, he was laughed at in public and his story became  69  well-known joke in China.

Today the idiom  70  (relate) to the story is used to describe a person who stick to rigid rules without considering a changing environment or describes an action made pointless by changing circumstances.

I have always enjoyed listening to music. It helps me calm down after 61. ______ busy day, and I am also one of those 62. ______can listen and study at the same time. I am not fond of jazz music, but I like many other 63. ______ (type) of music. When I was a child, I used to listen to music on the radios. With the 64. ______ (invent) of personal computers and cellphones, I prefer to listen on the phone, as new functions 65. ______ (add) to them in the past few years. The technology was developed in response 66. ______ customer demand. Some people 67. ______ (affect) by anxiety start to feel relaxed while listening to music on the phone. 68. ______ worry about not being able to use it well. However, I am 69. ______ dependent on the cellphones that I fail 70. ______ (live) without them.

   Chinese female scientist Tu Youyou won the 2015 Nobel Prize in medicine on October 5 for her discoveries concerning a novel treatment against Malaria（疟疾）. This is the first Nobel Prize given to a Chinese scientist for work carried out within China. 

    Tu shared the prize with Irish-born William Campbell and Satoshi Omura of Japan, who were honored for their revolutionary anti-roundworm treatment. 84-year-old Tu is awarded this prize for her contribution to cutting the death rate of malaria, reducing patients’ suffering and promoting mankind’s health. Although she received several medical awards in the past, the 2015 Nobel Prize is definitely the most privilege reward that recognizes Tu’s dedication and perseverance in discovering artemisinin（青蒿素）, the key drug that battles malaria-friendly parasites（寄生虫）.

    However, her route to the honor has been anything but traditional. She won the Nobel Prize for medicine, but she doesn’t have a medical degree or a PhD. In China, she is even being called the “three-noes” winner: no medical degree, no doctorate, and she’s never worked overseas. No wonder her success has stirred China’s national pride and helped promote confidence of native Chinese scientists.

    The fact that Tu has none of these three backgrounds reminds us that science should be more accessible to all. One shall be able to become a scientist no matter what kind of background he or she comes from, as long as one dives into scientific research. There have been discussions on people who really love science but are never able to achieve much during their whole life. Their contributions can never be ignored. They work so hard to prove the wrong way so that the future researchers will be closer to the right one.

    As the first Chinese mainland Nobel Prize Winner of natural science award, Tu’s record-breaking winning also serves as a reminder to those who are too eager for instant success. Science is never about instant success. Tu spent decades on scientific research before its value is officially acknowledged. There is no way to measure how much one devotes to science and compare it with how much reward he or she may get.

25. It can be concluded from the text that __________.

  A. Tu got the Nobel Prize for her anti-roundworm treatment

 B. The Nobel Prize is the first award to recognize her work

  C. Tu worked home and abroad to conduct her research

   D. Her discovery of artemisinin has helped to cut Malaria death rate

26. The author seems to agree that a person who is more likely to become a scientist is the one   

   with__________.

  A. a sense of national pride              B. relevant academic knowledge

   C. a desire to achieve success               D. enthusiasm for scientific research

27. In writing the passage, the author intends to ___________.

  A. discourage the pursuit of instant success in science

 B. inform readers of the news and make comments

 C. remind readers of the principles of scientific research

 D. praise the award winner and encourage scientific research

A new international study shows that some people's biological clock plays a powerful role for their life expectancy, regardless of lifestyle choices.

Published in the latest issue of Aging on Wednesday, the study has found the most definitive evidence to explain why some people keep healthy lifestyle but die younger than others.

Geneticist Steve Horvath from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), led a team of 65 scientists around the world to record age-related changes to human DNA, analyse blood samples collected from 13,000 people and estimate their lifespan.

A higher biological age, regardless of actual age, consistently predicts an earlier death, the study says.

"You get people who are vegan, sleep 10 hours a day, have a low-stress job, and still end up dying young," Horvath said in a statement. "We have shown some people have a faster innate aging rate."

The findings discovered that 5 percent of the population ages at a faster biological rate, which translated to a roughly 50 percent higher than average risk of death at any age.

"The great hope is that we find anti-aging interventions that would slow your innate aging rate," Horvath said, adding that "this is an important milestone to realizing this dream."

24. Some people keep healthy lifestyle but die younger than others because ______.

    A. their biological clock is not powerful enough

    B. the most definitive evidence has been found

    C. they have a higher actual age than others

    D. they ages at a relatively faster biological rate

25. How was the study conducted?

    A. By collecting and analyzing data

    B. By interviewing lots of people

    C. By researching previous studies

    D. By studying different lifestyles

26. According to the study, it can be inferred that ______.

    A. people who keep healthy lifestyle tend to live longer

    B. people’s lifespan can be predicted by their age

    C. 5 percent of people are believed to have a faster innate aging rate

    D. anti-aging interventions have proved to slow the innate aging rate

27. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

    A. We all should keep healthy lifestyle

B. Geneticist finds anti-aging interventions

C. Biological clock predicts life expectancy

D. Horvath builds an important milestone