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If you're planning on doing some sightseeing in China, you wouldn't want to miss these three
must-see locations.
Guilin
Guilin is surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape made up of mountains in strange and wonderful shapes. You can explore caves, rivers and lakes there. Visitors often pay a visit to Elephant Trunk Hill, a rock formation that looks just like an elephant drinking from the water. Guilin's natural beauty changes with the season, so every time you visit, you'll see something new.
Xi'an
Xi'an was the capital of 13 of China's dynasties, and is home to many things of historical interest. A trip to see the famous terracotta warriors and horses of Qin Shihuang, buried over 2,200 years ago, is at the top of most visitors' wish lists. You can also visit the Wild Goose Pagoda（塔）, the impressive city wall, dating from the Ming Dynasty, and-at the heart of the city-the 14th-century Bell Tower.
Harbin
If you're looking for a special winter holiday, pay a visit to Harbin. From the end of December to mid-February each year, the city hosts the world-famous Snow Festival. Visitors can marvel at the beautiful sculptures made of snow and ice, and some have lights inside so that they glow. Temperatures can get as low as -25℃, so remember to pack your warm clothing, hat and gloves!
1.If you go to Guilin, which of the following can you see?
A.Caves, lakes and oceans. B.Changeless natural beauty.
C.Elephants drinking water. D.Beautiful mountains and rivers.
2.What can we learn about Xi'an according to the passage?
A.There are many historical places of interest in Xi'an.
B.The Wild Goose Pagoda was built 2,200 years ago.
C.Xi'an was the capital of China's dynasties for 14 times.
D.The famous terracotta warriors are at the top of the city.
3.What can you expect to see if you pay a visit to Harbin?
A.The Bell Tower. B.Sculptures of snow and ice.
C.World-famous visitors. D.Photos of Snow Festival.
4.In which section of the newspaper can we probably see the reading?
A.PEOPLE. B.SPORTS. C.TRAVEL. D.EDUCATION.
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When Einstein was 16, he always played with a group of mischievous kids. Because he was so busy playing, he didn't study enough and failed his final exam.
One morning, when Einstein was holding a fishing rod and was about to go fishing with his friends, his father stopped him and said calmly, "Einstein, you're so fond of playing all day that you failed your exam. I'm worried about your future."
"What are you worrying about? Jack and Robert also failed, but don't they still get to go fishing?"
"My boy, you can't think like that," his dad said. "There is a fable（寓言故事）that people tell in our hometown. Listen to it now."
"There were two cats playing on a roof. One cat got caught off guard and fell down the chimney（烟囱）while holding the other cat. When the two cats climbed out of the chimney, one of the cats had soot（烟灰）on his face, while the other cat's face was clean. Seeing the soot-faced cat, the clean cat thought its face must be dirty, so it quickly ran to the riverside and washed its face. The soot-faced cat saw the clean-faced cat and thought its face was also clean, so it just swaggered down the street."
"Einstein, no one can be your `mirror'. You have to think for yourself. If you take your cues from others, you will never learn."
Hearing this, Einstein laid down his fishing rod and returned to his room. He decided to pay more attention to his studies and less attention to what his friends were doing. This allowed him to be successful.
1.What was Einstein's problem, according to his father?
A.He always failed his final exams then. B.He was not good at maths at an early age.
C.He liked to go fishing with his friends. D.He played with naughty kids too much.
2.What do we know from the fable?
A.The clean cat didn't wash its face. B.Both cats made the wrong decision.
C.The soot-faced cat washed its face clean. D.The soot-faced cat couldn't be a mirror.
3.What does the underlined word "swaggered" show?
A.The cat ran out very quickly. B.The cat felt very confident.
C.The cat felt he was just a fool. D.The cat laughed at the other cat.
4.What lesson did Einstein learn from his father?
A.A friend in need is a friend indeed.
B.There are no shortcuts to success.
C.A genius is one step away from becoming a fool.
D.Don't look to others when deciding how to behave.
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"What's the name of our neighbour? 1 can't remember right now." Have you ever heard your grandparents ask questions like this? Usually, we think older people's memories become bad because their brains get weak, but a team of scientists at the University of Tubingen in Germany has a different idea.
"The human brain works slower in old age," said lead scientist Michael Ramscar, "but only because they have stored more information over time."
The findings are based on a series of computer simulations（模拟）of learning and memory. Scientists let the computers read a certain amount of words and learn new things each day. When the computer "reads" only so much, its performance on cognitive（认知）tests is similar to that of a young adult. But if the computer learned the experiences we might have over a lifetime, its performance is similar to that of an older adult.
Often it was slower because increased "experience" had caused the computer's database（数据库）to grow, giving it more data to process-which takes time. This is similar to old people. Imagine a person knows two people's birthdays. Another person knows the birthdays of 2,000 people, but can only match the right person to the right birthday nine times out of 10. Can you say the first person has a better memory than the second person?
The basic idea is that "The larger the library you have in your head, the longer it usually takes to find a particular word." Benedict Carey, a science reporter, wrote in an article about the study.
1.Why did the writer use a question at the beginning?
A.To attract readers' attention to the topic.
B.To invite the readers to answer the question.
C.To prove that older people have bad memories.
D.To encourage readers to think of their neighbours.
2.How did the scientists do their research?
A.They interviewed all the old people of their neighbours.
B.They followed the experiences of a group of old people.
C.They asked both young and old people the same questions.
D.They used computers to simulate human learning and memory.
3.According to the research, why do old people forget other people's names easily?
A.Because they have a very poor memory.
B.Because they are too old to remember things.
C.Because their brains become weaker than before.
D.Because they have too much information in their brains.
4.What would be the best title for the story?
A.Is it Better to Be Old or Young B.Human Brain's Processing Ability.
C.Do Old People Have Poor Memories? D.Scientists' New Findings on Brains.
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Directed by Yang Yu, the new animated film Ne Zha is now one of the most popular films in Chinese history. Based on the well-known novel Fengshen Yanyi, the film describes how Ne Zha fights against other people's prejudice（偏见）and finally becomes a hero.
Unlike traditional Ne Zha stories, the new film is modern and humorous. In the new film, Ne Zha is not a traditional hero. Instead, he is a very naughty kid. The film contains a lot of funny dialogue between Ne Zha and the other cute characters.
The film is full of beautiful scenes, such as the one set in the Dragon King's Palace, and the
fight between fire and water. It is reported that more than 1,600 people were employed to create the animation, and more than 1,300 special effects were made. With the help of 3D technology, the film takes the viewers on a journey into an exciting world and allows them to experience Ne Zha's amazing powers firsthand.
Above all, the newly developed storyline is the most successful part. The viewers get to follow Ne Zha as he grows up. His life is very difficult, and he has to overcome many problems: not only does he look strange, but also he is under a terrible curse which means he can only live for three years. To make things worse, people see him as a sign of bad luck and avoid him as much as they can. Because of this, Ne Zha becomes a bad boy who causes trouble wherever he goes. Yet with the help of his parents, teachers and friends, Ne Zha finally changes his mind and grows up. He protects others with his superpowers in a big battle and finally breaks the curse.
Teenagers will find Ne Zha educational because the film shows that with strong determination, everyone can decide their own future.
1.What does the first paragraph tell us about Ne Zha?
A.The writer of Ne Zha. B.The main idea of Ne Zha.
C.The director of Ne Zha. D.The name of Ne Zha.
2.How does the writer show the beautiful scenes in the film?
A.By listing some numbers. B.By giving some examples.
C.By talking about the storyline. D.By expressing the meaning of the film.
3.What problem doesn't Ne Zha meet as he grows up?
A.His parents leave him alone. B.He has very strange looks.
C.He can only live for three years. D.People don't like to play with him.
4.Why do people think the film is educational to teenagers?
A.The animation Ne Zha has the similar storyline to the earlier versions.
B.Although people are unfriendly to Ne Zha, he still tries to be kind.
C.The film encourages teenagers to try hard to decide their own future.
D.With the help of Ne Zha's parents, teachers and friends, he grew up.
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In the future, more and more people will move to big cities. To prepare for this, cities are becoming smarter and more efficient, with the help of big data.
Local governments are already collecting lots of important data. For example, there are sensors（感测器）that measure noise, pollution and traffic. This is known as "smart city technology". In the future, this data will make our lives much easier, by helping us save energy and keep the city tidy. There might even be smart posts that cull clean the air, or robots that empty rubbish bins when they are full.
Such technologies may be far off in the future, but others are just around the corner: self-driving cars are today being tested all around the world. Experts believe that this technology will change what cities look like. If self-driving taxis can use smart city data to find the best way to take you to your destination（目的地), there will be fewer traffic jams and more space for you to walk or ride a bike. People will probably stop buying cars altogether.
▲ : drones（无人机）are becoming more and more common nowadays. Cheap and fast
drone delivery services are only a few years away, and the sky above our heads will soon be very crowded. Hopefully, smart city technology will help prevent traffic jams in the air. Perhaps, drones will one day be able to transport people around town. Then, you could fly wherever you want to go!
To summarize, the cities of the future will be very different. What kind of city would you like to live in when you grow up?
1.Why are the sensors mentioned in the second paragraph?
A.To show that cities are becoming much smarter.
B.To explain why there are more people in big cities.
C.To help people in cities live a more exciting life.
D.To invent some new ways of keeping the city tidy.
2.What is a good result of using self-driving technology?
A.There will be fewer cars in the future.
B.Few people will ride a bike around.
C.People will have better driving skills.
D.All the car factories will go out of business.
3.Which can be put in ▲ ?
A.But there will be traffic jams in the air
B.New technology will appear in the future
C.Change is not only happening on the ground
D.Technology will surely play a part in our future life
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A.Transportation in the Future. B.Important Data in Cities.
C.Smart City Technology. D.The Cities of the Future.
