选择知识点

Victorian times started in 1837 and ended in 1901．Toys and games children played at that time were very different from those of today．
During the 19th century，rich children had more factory-made toys to choose from：dolls and doll's houses，tea-sets and toy shops with toy fruit，vegetables，
meat，hats and medicines．Other popular toys were sailing boats and Noah's Arks．
Many children from poor families lived in poor conditions，but there were still simple ways of having fun．In poor families，most toys were made of wood，paper or metal．There were no plastic toys．Poor children usually played with homemade toys．A clothes peg（晾衣夹） might be turned into a doll，and a piece of wood might become a toy boat．As a treat，families sometimes bought cheap factory-made toys from a "penny stall" in the market．
The Victorians were fond of outdoor games，such as football．Schools encouraged team games to "build character"．The Victorians made up rules for many games we still play．An example is badminton，which developed from an old game called battledore and shuttlecock．
Indoors，children played board games，such as Snakes and card games．A popular card game was Happy Families，introduced in the middle of the Victorian period．There were also pencil and paper games，such as Noughts and Crosses，which we still play today．Children played table games，such as Tiddlywinks，a popular game in the 1890s，and Shove Halfpenny and Bagatelle．At parties，children played traditional "ring" games like Oranges and Lemons and Kiss in the Ring．



What do we know about poor children in Victorian times？ ______

A. They admired children from rich families．
B. They liked playing with clothes pegs best．
C. They had their own fun in spite of being poor．
D. They were good at making toys by themselves．

Children were encouraged to play team games in schools in order to ______ ．

A. live a colorful life
B. build their characters
C. develop their teamwork
D. improve their physical fitness

It can be concluded from the text that ______ ．

A. some Victorian games have been passed down
B. Victorian children played novel games at parties
C. home-made toys were popular in Victorian times
D. poor children were treated badly in Victorian times

Which of the following best shows the structure of the text？ ______

A.
B.
C.
D.

It had never really occurred to Chantal Kovach to keep her fifthgrade son from taking Colorado's new annual assessments， until an email started circulating among parents．
Ms．Kovach became concerned that the test would be measuring material her son's class hadn't covered yet．She was worried that the class would have to devote significant hours to taking the test， and then more hours later in the spring taking other tests on the material they had studied．
But it wasn't until she went to the teacher， wondering if it might still be useful to her son as practice， that she made up her mind．
"The feedback I got was that only when an educated group of parents takes a stand against this great waste of time will anything change，" says Kovach， who kept her son home in March and will do so again next week and in May， and says many other parents at her Boulder， Colo．， elementary school are doing the same．
For some parents fed up with the growing numbers of tests and the increasingly high stakes （赌注） placed on their scores， "opting out （退出）" is now a new form of protest （抗议）．And in certain states and communities， the movement is gaining steam，with large percentages of parents and students sitting out required exams．
But some say the protest has negative effects on children and education．Sonja Brookins Santelises， an educator， acknowledges that there are too many tests but says that is an issue that can be solved by reducing unnecessary assessments．And she says the annual assessments have never been better as important tools that shine a spotlight on growth and on achievement gaps．
But parents choosing to opt out say the current tests cause unnecessary stress and harm to their kids， and are pushing instruction and education in a direction they disagree with．



What did the teacher Ms．Kovach talk to say？ ______

A. The results of wasting time．
B. The advantages of educated parents．
C. The importance of students going to school．
D. The necessity of parents showing disagreement．

Which can best replace the underlined part "gaining steam" in Paragraph 5？ ______

A. Dying away．
B. Losing strength．
C. Becoming popular．
D. Getting out of control．

What is Sonja's attitude towards the optout movement？ ______

A. Casual．
B. Doubtful．
C. Supportive．
D. Disapproving．

Happy International Women's Day! It's Sophia again．I'm going to be speaking to you guys today about "pink tax"， otherwise known as gender tax．What is gender tax？ Gender tax is basically the idea that women have to pay more for certain products because they're marketed at women and not men．
Now you might be thinking， "How is this possible？" You may think if women across the globe realised that they were being charged more than men， they would be angry and they wouldn't buy the products．Unfortunately， no! Gender tax has sneaked （溜） into many everyday products that women and men aren't even aware of! We might be familiar with the classic examples of women's deodorants （除臭剂） or razors costing more than men's， but have you ever thought about something as simple as a plain Tshirt or a yoghurt？
Since her teens， Muriel Vega， now 29， of Atlanta， has bought men's razors and shaving cream．It's partly a costsaving strategy passed down from her mother， but she's also found that men's razors work better than women's．
A report by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs found on average that products geared （适合） towards women cost more than similar products geared towards men 42 percent of the time．But it doesn't just stop there．Even children are affected by gender tax．In the same report， they found that between two similar scooters （踏板车） from the same company - one was targeted at girls and one was targeted at boys - the one that was targeted at girls cost ￡16 more than that one targeted at boys．So girls and boys， men and women， people of all ages are affected by pink tax or gender tax．
So， what can we take from all of this？ Well， I think that the very first important step is to be aware of gender tax， to be aware of the products we're buying and to question whether one product is more expensive because it's for a woman or less expensive because it's for a man．You can help to raise awareness by sharing this video with all your family and friends．



Why is a Tshirt mentioned in Paragraph 2？ ______

A. To prove gender tax is avoidable．
B. To show gender tax is pretty low．
C. To prove gender tax is reasonable．
D. To show gender tax is everywhere．

Which moneysaving method is used by Muriel Vega？ ______

A. Purchasing less．
B. Buying men's products．
C. Sharing with her mother．
D. Using everlasting products．

What is Paragraph 4 mainly about？ ______

A. Why there is gender tax．
B. How to fight against gender tax．
C. Gender tax affecting almost everyone．
D. Women earning less and paying more．

Where is the text most probably taken from？ ______

A. A lesson plan．
B. An advertisement．
C. A business magazine．
D. A written text of a speech．

I enter my family home one last time．It is the first and only house my family owned in Canada and it is about to be sold．I stand in the quiet living room．Everything is kept in its original state， until next week when the contents will be moved to make way for the new owners．
In the advertisement selling the house， the house agent described it as "a doll's house"．A perfect description．As I wander through the little rooms， it still amazes me that the six of us coexisted here as well as we did．
I walk across to my parents" bedroom： It is this room that will be the hardest to leave．It is where my mother and father played out their daily ritual （习惯） as she neared the end．While she slept my father sat at the foot of the bed， pretending to read， watchful of her every move．No matter how stealthily （偷偷地） he attempted to leave she would feel it．
"Where are you going， James？" she would ask in her soft Scottish tones （语调）．
"I'll be back， Cathy，" he promised．
"As long as I know you're there，" she would say．
My father died suddenly one year after losing my mom．A week before it happened，he said，"Sing no sad songs for me， girl．I lived the life I wanted．" I think of those words now as his last and most precious gift to me．
It is time to go． I do another quick check through the rooms and lock the door．As I drive down the street， out of habit I glance in my rearview mirror and can almost see my mother， standing at the bottom of the driveway seeing me off．
"Love you， baby，" she would call after me in her sweet Scots accent， waving her arm until I was out of her sight．



Why was the author's house called "a doll's house"？ ______

A. It was small in size．
B. It was filled with dolls．
C. It was designed by girls．
D. It was beautifully decorated．

What did the ritual of the author's parents show？ ______

A. They were wellbehaved．
B. They distrusted each other．
C. They lacked communication．
D. They held deep affection for each other．

What was the final present the author received from her father？ ______

A. A song for her．
B. A sincere goodbye．
C. His appreciative words．
D. His attitude towards life．

What is the author's purpose in writing the text？ ______

A. To advertise her house．
B. To remember her family．
C. To show her love for Canada．
D. To share her childhood experiences．

"Smile！" I shouted， holding a yellow sign up on a busy street in Seattle． We were three thousand miles away from home on a Random Acts of Kindness and Volunteerism Road Trip． We had two aims． One was to try out our new "Smile！" signs and see how much kindness and joy we could spread in Pike Place Market． The other was to raise ﹩80 by doing street performances， enough for gas to Portland and a small hotel room．
We weren't sure how people would react （回应） to our signs． I nervously raised up our signs and shouted， "Hi， there！" to a young couple． They looked over and felt confused． Then they read our signs and broke into a smile． Before long， some tourists wanted to take a photo with us and some strangers stopped to ask us about our signs．
In fact， we paid so close attention to our "Smile！" project that we forgot the other aim． Before we knew it， the sun was setting， and we had no money for our trip to Portland． We sat down to watch a blind musician play the guitar while thinking about what to do． He was packing up when a passing crowd kicked down his change bowl． He stumbled （绊倒） into the crowd． We rushed to help him， but another man moved more quickly to help him．
Once the musician had his money safely returned， we ran over to meet the strange helper and said， "We just wanted to praise you for your good deed．" He smiled， looking at our signs． "Your trip reminds me of something similar I once did when I was young，" he said． "Look! I'd like to donate （捐赠）．" We told him， "No， thanks! We are fine． We've collected plenty of money．" We lied． "Please let me donate． It will make me feel like I'm a part of this adventure，" he insisted． And then the stranger opened his wallet and pulled out four $20 bills． The money was exactly what we had intended to raise that day． We were astonished． It seemed as if he had known somehow．



What's the main purpose of the road trip？ ______

A. To spread kindness and joy．
B. To invite more people to join in the trip．
C. To raise money for a trip to Portland．
D. To encourage people to take happy photos．

How did people react to the "Smile！" signs later？ ______

A. Disappointed．
B. Worried．
C. Interested．
D. Moved．

According to the last paragraph， why did the strange helper want to donate money？ ______

A. Because he felt pity for the author．
B. Because he wanted to join in the project．
C. Because he hoped to help the homeless．
D. Because he felt sorry for his impoliteness．

What does the underlined word "astonished" in the last paragraph most probably mean？ ______

A. Tired．
B. Satisfied．
C. Frightened．
D. Surprised．

Many people like travelling， but they cannot take their dogs wherever they go． Some people let their dogs stay alone at home while others ask someone else to take care of their pets． If you're leaving your beloved pet at home for a holiday， it can turn into a bad experience． Luckily， you don't have to worry about your dogs anymore because Rover can cover for you while you are on leave． Rover is the latest service to offer athome dog boarding． It's a good alternative （替代物） to boarding your dog at a dog boarding kennel （狗舍） or your neighbour's house．
The way Rover works is sort of like Airbnb． Dog owners browse the "search" section of the site or app for pet sitters， which can be organized by zip code and available dates． Information of pet sitters is provided， complete with many reviews， specific services and rates． Now Rover has over 25，000 pet sitters in more than 5，000 US cities． And they're all experienced pet sitters．
After finding someone that meets your needs， just send messages to the pet sitter to arrange a meeting． Then， like Rover says， all that is left to do is relax! Rover's pet sitters are encouraged to send text and picture information throughout the day， and if there's a medical emergency， the site will send a vet． Besides， don't worry about a pet sitter who falls through， because someone else will soon take his or her place．
Happy doggie， happy travels - that sounds good to us． To learn more about Rover， click here．



What kind of service does Rover mainly provide？ ______

A. Telling people where to travel．
B. Providing information about dogs．
C. Helping parents look after their kids．
D. Helping people take care of their dogs．

According to Paragraph 2， we can know about a pet sitter through ______ ．

A. sending emails
B. making phone calls
C. asking other dog owners
D. looking at information on Rover

What is a Rover pet sitter encouraged to do？ ______

A. Walk the dog every day．
B. Learn some first aid skills．
C. Call the pet owner anytime．
D. Provide the latest information about the dog．

The passage is written to ______ ．

A. advertise a website
B. advertise a service
C. encourage people to travel
D. introduce some pet sitters

Dogs certainly need to bark （犬吠） every now and then， but if your neighbor's dog is getting in the way of your daily life， you need to do something．
"Before you take action， you should record the dates and times that the barking happens to find out any patterns，" says Schweitzer， who is a dog owner． You might notice the barking only happens when the owners are at work， or during thunderstorms．
After two to three weeks of observing （观察）， go to your neighbors with the facts． Wait for a time when the barking is over． "Since you're trying to keep a good relationship， you can't go when you're angry and upset，" says Schweitzer． Besides， your neighbors might not even realize the barks are a problem， especially if the worst barking happens when they're not at home．
Politely explain the times when the barking gets bad， and then suggest a way of solving the problem． Ask if the dog can stay inside during storms， or offer a dog training class．
Making friends with the dog could help you gain some peace and quiet． If your neighbors introduce you to their dog， you should give the dog a treat． "If they become more comfortable seeing you， they're less likely to bark when they see you or when they're in the backyard，" says Schweitzer．
Whatever you do， don't talk with your other neighbors about the problem or start a petition （诉状） to get the dog to quiet down． "Those make people feel angry，" says Schweitzer． "That's when things escalate．"
If weeks go by and you still aren't seeing a difference， follow up with a note． Tie a dog treat on the note to build trust with your neighbors， and make a copy before dropping it off． That way， you'll have evidence （证据） that you've discussed it before and followed up politely if you need to bring in a third party， says Schweitzer．



What should people do first according to Schweitzer？ ______

A. Record when the dog barks．
B. Find out why the barking happens．
C. Find out if the dog is really dangerous．
D. Record when the neighbor is usually out．

When would be a good time for you to talk to your neighbor？ ______

A. When the dog is barking．
B. When you are feeling calm．
C. When you've found a problem．
D. When your neighbor is walking the dog．

What does the underlined word "escalate" in Paragraph 6 probably mean？ ______

A. Become familiar．
B. Become worse．
C. Get interesting．
D. Get personal．

What is the text mainly about？ ______

A. How to teach your dog to be quiet．
B. What to do when your neighbor has a dog．
C. How to deal with a neighbor's noisy dog．
D. What to do if your neighbor makes you angry．

Once Chinese students in American schools were largely limited to graduate students．Gradually that trend shifted，with more students coming from China to earn bachelor's degrees at American institutions．Now，the population is widening once again，with many Chinese students studying in the U，S．from ever-younger ages．
Bill Zhou，a resident of California，though born in Shenzhen，and his wife are currently housing just such a student：Hsu，also from Shenzhen，who is living with Zhou （a paid arrangement） while he attends a private，religious institution．．
Although Zhou is caring，he knows there are many people taking advantage of the trend who lack conscience．In a Lost Angeles Times article，Zhou described his reservations about the current system．"They don't know if the school is good．They don't know if the home stay is good．But everyone else is doing it，so they do it，too，"Zhou said，addressing the parents of so-called parachute（降落伞）children，who earn the nickname by"parachuting"into the U．S．by themselves，unaccompanied by family．
Based on statistics，Zhou has reason to be concerned．A recent article in Sixth Tone"，stated that the number of Chinese students enrolled at U．S．secondary schools increased from just 647 in 2006 to more than 46，000 in 2016．Those numbers are reflected in Chinese society and even popular culture，where a new television drama titled"A Love for Separation"was released several months ago．
"It is a common misunderstanding that studying in a private American high school is easier than in China，a mother told．"My son is under enormous pressure to compete with accomplished peers．He was very lonely during his first year of high school，and found it hard to assimilate into an unfamiliar environment．"
Chinese parents send their teenagers abroad for varieties of reasons．For some students，it is to escape the strict Chinese education system； for others，it is a second chance to recover from bad grades or a low score on China's college entrance exam．For still others，it is simply a lifelong dream．



What's Bill Zhou's attitude towards the trend of growing parachute children？ ______

A. Positive"．
B. Indifferent
C. Concerned
D：Opposed

What does the underlined phrase"assimilate into"in Paragraph 5 mean？ ______

A. show respect to
B. get rid of
C. take advantage of
D. fit in with

Which is not the reason why increasing parents send their little children abroad？ ______

A. They just follow the crowd．
B. They just show off their large treasure．
C. They want their children to break away from Chinese education system．
D. They want to give their children with poor grades another chance to succeed．

What's the author's purpose in writing the text？ ______

A. To help these parents to choose a reliable home stay．
B. To remove these parents doubts about studying abroad．
C. To encourage these parents to send their kids abroad as early as possible．
D. To remind these parents to be more sensible before sending their kids abroad..

Princess quiz time! How did Snow White survive？ How did Cinderella （《灰姑娘》） leave her evil stepmother？ How did Sleeping Beauty finally wake up？
A kind-hearted person always comes to save the princess， like a prince or a godmother． Princesses cannot protect themselves， though they are very pretty and nice． They always need the help of others．
However， in fact， women can't put their life in the hands of a prince-like man． They need to work and even fight for their own happiness． The traditional image（形象） of a princess is getting out of date．
Recently， Disney， a company famous for its princess movies， posted the "top 10 rules for being a modern princess"． You will not find any rules related to beauty or looks． The rules focus on loyalty， honesty and other moral values． The rules say princesses need to believe in themselves and try their best to get out of trouble， instead of waiting for a prince's help．
It's not the first time Disney princesses have caught up with society's development． In 1950， when people's hearts were broken by World War II， Disney created Cinderella． In 1990， Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast （《美女与野兽》） loved reading when education was a man's special right in the past． Belle showed the improvement of women's position in society． Now is Elsa from the film Frozen （《冰雪奇缘》）， a symbol of modern princess．
"This is brilliant - ‘The top 10 rules of being a modern princess" - （it's） about time，" a group named Confidently Mom said on social media website Twitter． Princesses are still very beautiful， but inner character is the key to being a princess．



What does the story think modern women should be like？ ______

A. They should turn to others for help．
B. They should depend on men to do most things．
C. They don't need to care about their appearances．
D. They should depend on themselves for their own happiness．

Disney's rules for being a modern princess focus on a girl's ______ ．

A. looks
B. education
C. moral values
D. position in society

The images were created in order to catch up with the society's development except ______ ．

A. Godmother
B. Cinderella
C. Belle
D. Elsa

What does the group Confidently Mom think of the rules？ ______

A. Meaningless
B. Fantastic
C. Historic
D. Social

If you want to become a fluent English speaker you should take some advice： There are four skills in learning English． They are reading， listening， speaking， and writing． The most important thing you must remember is that if you want to improve your speaking and writing skills you should first master the skills of reading and listening．
Read as much as you can． But your reading must be active． It means that you must think about the meaning of the sentence， the meaning of the unfamiliar words， etc． There is no need for you to pay much attention to grammars or try to understand all the unfamiliar words you come across， but the fact that you see them for the first time and recognize them whenever you see them， for example in other passages or books， is enough． It would be better to prepare yourself a notebook so you can write down the important words or sentences in it．
As for listening， there are two choices： besides reading， you can listen every day for about 30 minutes． You can only pay attention to your reading and become skillful at your reading， then you can catch up on your listening． Since you have lots of inputs in your mind， you can easily guess what the speaker is going to say． This never means that you should not practice listening．
For listening you can listen to cartoons or some movies that are specially made for children． Their languages are easy． Or if you are good at listening you can listen to VOA or BBC programs every day． Again the thing to remember is being active in listening and preferably taking some notes．
If you follow these pieces of advice， your speaking and writing will improve automatically， and you can be sure that with a little effort they will become perfect．



According to the author， which should you improve first among the four skills？ ______

A. Reading and listening．
B. Reading and writing．
C. Writing and speaking．
D. Speaking and listening．

The underlined phrase "come across" in the second paragraph can probably be replaced by " ______ "．

A. meet by accident
B. discover
C. find on purpose
D. look for

The author seems to agree with the view that ______ ．

A. everyone should listen to VOA or BBC programs every day
B. you needn't practice listening if you keep on reading every day
C. being good at reading is helpful in improving your listening
D. you should take notes of whatever you are hearing

The passage is mainly about how to ______ ．

A. choose suitable listening materials
B. deal with new words in reading
C. improve your English as quickly as possible
D. become fluent in speaking and writing English