“Because living at home is the best way to  live!w We help your loved one maintain freedom and a well-deserved quality of life.

   Home Care Assistance provides skilled caregivers to attend to your loved one's needs. We have hourly care available,and also 24hour live-in;care for people looking for an alternative to any type of facility or preferring the comfort and safety of round-the-clock monitoring.

   Some of the services our caregivers provide are: Companionship and recreation,Light housekeeping,Meal preparation,Medication reminders,Bathing,grooming (打扮) and dressing assistance,Personal care,Transportation to appointments or social activities.

   Home Care Assistance caregivers are experienced and carefully screened. We run thorough background checks on all of our caregivers,including local and national criminal records,driving records,and employment verification（證明）. We even administer a psychological examination,developed by Ph. D. psychologists,to test for honesty and conscientiousness (盡責(zé)) . All of our caregivers are bonded and insured. Case managers monitor our caregivers to make sure they deliver the proper care.

   We train all of our caregivers in our exclusive Balanced Care Method^TM. This home care method is based on the scientifically studied lifestyle choices of the longest and healthiest living people on earth. Focusing on lifestyle and dietary choices,the Balanced Care Method^TM promotes healthy activity,stress reduction,and social interaction to help seniors live their best possible lives in the comfort of home.

   Wherever you are,24 hours a day,7 days a week,365 days a year,we are at your service. Whether it's changing a caregiver's schedule or dealing with an emergency,we are just a call away.

   TESTIMONIALS (感謝信）

   “I can't thank you enough for all your help during this process. You were the first call I made,and the last one I needed to make." 一 liana S.

   “You were an excellent advocate for my mother and the whole family." 一 Susan L.

10. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

   A. Service range. B. Service hours.

   C. Service guarantee. D. Service standards.

11. How does Home Care Assistance know if its employees are honest?

   A. Through an exam.

   B. By monitoring them.

   C. Through background checks.

   D. By letting them talk to psychologists.

12. The Balanced Care Method? is used to.

   A. study lifestyle choices

   B. change a caregiver's schedule

   C. help caregivers live a healthy life

   D. train caregivers to provide better services

13. liana S. and Susan L. are Home Care Assistance's.

   A. former customers

   B. former employees

   C. would-be customers

   D. would-be employees 

14. Where does this text probably come from?

   A. A news report.

   B. A book review.

   C. A research paper.

   D. An advertisement.

   Here's a good deed you can do without parting with a single thing.Synthetic(合成的) voices for people who have lost the ability to speak only come in generic( —般的) types — think of Stephen Hawking's voice — but one amazing project wants to build custom voices for each person. To do that they need your help: specifically,a recording of your voice.

   VocallD is the brainchild of two speech scientists,who are turning their research into a much larger project. Voice is very personal and,like a prosthetic(假體） leg or arm,it makes sense it should be customized to each person.

   Here's how it works — and don't worry,this does not mean someone will be walking around with the same voice as you out there:

   After recording a couple of hours of audio in,say,a quiet room with an iPhone,you send it to Vocall   D. where a program called ModelTalker cuts it up into the basic units of speech that can be recombined as new words and sentences. In that same step,characteristics of the patient's voice — based on what limited sounds they can make 一 are mixed with the donor's to create a whole new one.

   VocallD is still in its beginning stages,and they're looking for help from everyone including voice donors,financial support,and programmers. A priority(優(yōu)先的事物) is making voice donation even easier,cutting down recording time,especially for kids. But as it stands already,your voice is just about the easiest thing to donate.

6. Stephen Hawking's voice.

   A. has no personal characteristics

   B. was donated by a volunteer

   C. was created by VocallD

   D. sounded amazing

7. We can infer that VocallD aims to .

   A. do research on voices

   B. teach some people to speak

   C. produce prosthetic legs or arms

   D. help some people have their “own” voice

8. To create a new voice,which of the following is / are needed?

   A. Sounds made by the patient.

   B. A few days of audio recording.

   C. The voice of at least two donors.

   D. ModelTalker that can combine words.

9. What is the main purpose of the text?

   A. To introduce some jobs in Vocall   D.

   B. To encourage readers to donate their voice.

   C. To advertise a program called ModelTalker.

   D. To collect money for people who cannot speak.

   A few days before his eighth birthday,in February 1817,Abraham Lincoln shot a wild turkey. He hoped the kill would impress his father. Instead,the sight of the dead bird left the future president traumatized. Lincoln later wrote that he never again pulled a trigger (扳機(jī)) on any other animal.

   On the frontier,animals were seen as sources of labor,food,or amusement. It was a time when ripping (撕) the heads off live geese was entertainment like late-night TV. But Lincoln wasn’t shy about sticking up for animals. As a youngster,he saved a turtle when some boys tried to pour hot coals on the animal's back; he also warned his friends that “an ant's life -was to it as sweet as ours to us." The role animals played in Lincoln's life has been largely overlooked. But it's not an unimportant part of his life. As biographer Michael Burlingame writes, “Lincoln's anger at the mistreatment of animals foreshadowed his anger at the cruelties of slavery."

   Lincoln,s White House was full of cats,rabbits,goats,and horses. And once,he noticed three kittens on the floor of a telegrapher's tent, “moving about pitifUlly." Hearing that the kittens’ mother had died,Lincoln ordered an officer to see that the cats were cared for. Before leaving,he returned to play with them — three times.

   But there was one animal he adored above all. Around 1855,Lincoln adopted a lost yellow dog he named Fido (from fidelis,Latin for faithfur') , Fido lived up to his name,accompanying Lincoln everywhere. But after the election of 1860,Lincoln feared the trip to Washington would be too stressful,and left the dog behind with friends. He even left behind Fido's favorite horsehair sofa to keep him comfortable.

   When the president died,Fido returned his love,standing guard as thousands of mourners filed through Lincoln's home to pay their respects.

1. What does the underlined word “traumatized” in Paragraph 1 mean?

   A. Excited and proud.

   B. Shocked and upset.

   C. Brave and confident.

   D. Sad and discouraged.

2. On the frontier,people amused themselves .

   A. by killing animals   B. by saving animals

   C. by training animals   D. by keeping animals

3. According to Michael Burlingame,the way Lincoln treated animals had something to do with.

   A. his family background

   B. his academic experience

   C. his interests and hobbies

   D. his political performance

4. What can we infer about Lincoln from Paragraph 3 ?

   A. He enjoyed playing games.

   B. He was interested in animal stories.

   C. He felt great sympathy for the weak.

   D. He dreamed of becoming an animal doctor.

5. Which word can best describe Fido?

   A. Wild. B. Brave.

   C. Strong. D. Devoted.

   Snow White. Paper. Freak(怪人) . These are some of the not-so-nice names that I was called in sixth and seventh grade. That's because I was bom with a medical condition called albinism(白化病) ， which I'11 have for the rest of my life.

   It's not just school that can be difficult,though. When I'm walking down the street,strangers stare. People come up and pet my hair,like I'm a little dog. Other times they talk to me like I'm 5 years old. My brain works just fine. Thank you very much!

   Living with the condition has its challenges. My skin bums really easily,so I have to wear sunscreen every day. I have trouble seeing super-small things and super-faraway things. Reading a menu or the chalkboard at school is hard,so I use a cool handheld telescope that works as a magnifier(放大鏡) .I also have an eye condition called nystagmus,which makes it hard for me to focus. I use a cane(手杖) whenever I'm walking in an unfamiliar area to detect any obstacles(障礙物) .

   In eighth grade,things started to change for the better because I met a girl named Rachel,who is now my best fhend. She doesn't judge me. I love the fact that she doesn't care what anyone else thinks of her. It has helped me realize that I don't need to care what anyone thinks of me,either.

   There are actually benefits to my condition. For one,I might qualify for a scholarship. And I got a free iPad,because it helps enlarge some of the text I need to read at sphool. And check out my eyes!I have a special eye color. I iove looking unique.

   I know that I will always have to deal with being bullied and having visual problem,but when you go through stuff that's hard,it makes you a stronger person.

11. Why do people pet the author's hair?

   A. Because her hair looks beautiful.

   B. Because they want to comfort her.

   C. Because they think she looks strange.

   D. Because there is something on her hair.

12. The author uses a cane.

   A. to fight against bullying

   B. to support her body

   C. to help her to focus

   D. to find her way

13. What does the author learn from her friend Rachel?

   A. Never judge by appearances alone.

   B. Where there is a will,there is a way.

   C. Never care much about what people think of you.

   D. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

14. The illness makes the author learn to.

   A. be tough   B. be proud

   C. study hard   D. make friends

   Your local grocery store is a psychological minefield E) , where even the bananas are ripe with mystery.

   1. Southpaws (左撇子) have an invisible (看不見的) advantage 

   You've probably seen that stores keep go-to items — produce,meats,dairy — on the outer edge. But did you notice that most of them are set up to make you run counterclockwise(逆時(shí)針) ？Ninety percent of us are right-handed,so we buy more when it's counterclockwise. You'11 also often find the dairy section in the back left comer: Because dairy is likely on your list,stores make sure you take the longest route to get there. In fairness,it's also a more convenient place to put a fridge.

   2. Everything is in its place 

   It's safe to say that nothing you see on a shelf is there by chance. The cookies on sale at the end of a passage are likely the result of smart product placement. More expensive items are usually placed at an adult's eye level,while colorflil treats and other products for kids are positioned lower — to catch the attention of children.

   3. Time goes by so slowly 

   Stores rarely have windows or clocks. With no reference to the outside world,customers can easily lose track of how long they,ve been there so that they can buy more. Grocery stores may use another trick to control your sense of time: small floor tiles (瓷磚) .

   4. Goods are an art form 

   Grocers know exactly what shade of banana you,re most likely to buy. To ensure the bananas on display are the closest to this shade,stores use a ripeness scale that ranges from one (all green) to seven (yellow with brown spots) . Some stores even use special lighting to make bananas look more appealing. As for the water sprayed on the other produce? It makes veggies look fresh,but keeping them wet actually makes them rot faster. It also makes produce heavier — and therefore pricier.

6. Why do stores usually put dairy in the back left comer?

   A. Because it is a quiet place.

   B. To make people buy more.

   C. To attract people's attention.

   D. Because most people are right-handed.

7. You are more likely to find toys.

   A. in comers

   B. on lower shelves

   C. at an adult's eye level

   D. at the end of a passage

8. Why are there usually no windows or clocks in stores?

   A. They are useless.

   B. There is no space for them.

   C. To make customers stay longer.

   D. To allow customers to enjoy themselves.

9. Stores use special lighting to make bananas .

   A. heavier   B. look fresh

   C. rot slower   D. more attractive

10. Which can be the best title for the text?

   A. Secrets of stores

   B. Advantages of stores

   C. How to shop in stores

   D. How to operate a store

   Life hasn't always been easy for Sareana Kimia,16. Her parents split up when she was young,and she hasn't seen her dad since she was 10.In June 2014,she and her mom,Shefali Gupta,found out that they would soon be evicted(逐出) from their home. Sareana knew that her mom had money problems.

   Even before the eviction,Gupta had become very sad. Because she didn't have health insurance,Gupta couldn’t get a doctor's help for her emotional problems.

   Sareana took charge of things at home. For example,she often cooked her family's. meals. When she and her mom were about to lose their home,it was Sareana who arranged a place for them to stay.

   For years,Sareana had been an active volunteer with several organizations. She even started her own group,Youth for National Change. It works to support the rights of young people.

   Sareana called a few adults she had worked with. After finding out about her situation,one couple opened their doors right away. But by August 2014, the couple no longer had room for Sareana and her mom. The two ended up living in their car. They didn’t want to go to a homeless shelter out of fear that they could be split up. Through it all,Sareana kept working on projects and studying. “At no point did I let what was going on change my daily routine,” she says.

   Sareana is homeschooled online and goes to classes at a nearby college. Last fall,school bills began piling up. She had no way to pay them. A friend suggested that she try raising funds online. After a newspaper ran an article about Sareana,donations poured in — nearly $30,000!She paid for school and had enough money left to rent a small apartment. She and her mom moved into it in January 2015.

1. What happened to Sareana in 2014?

   A. She lost her father.

   B. She became homeless.

   C. Her mom abandoned her.

   D. Her house was destroyed.

2. Sareana started an organization to .

   A. teach people to cook   B. support poor people   C. earn money   D. help youth

3. After moving out from the nice couple's house,Sareana and her mom lived.

   A. in a vehicle   B. in her school

   C. in a friend's house   D. in a homeless shelter

4. Sareana finally found her own apartment .

   A. by raising money

   B. by doing part-time jobs

   C. with the help of her friends

   D. with the help of her college

5. Which of the following words can best describe Sareana?

   A. Modest. B. Intelligent.

   C. Optimistic. D. Determined.

   Feel like you've got nothing to wear but have a closet(衣櫥) foil of clothes? Take control of your closet with our picks of the top closet organizing apps.

   1. StyleBook 

   Keep track of every item of clothing that you own and which you wear most with StyleBook. It allows users to easily look through their closet,sorting items by headings including: occasion,weather,color and fabric(質(zhì)地）， to name a few —and it even helps you know which items are in the wash!Add images from online stores into your closet,so you can see if the pieces match the clothes you already own. This app even includes clothing care advice from style experts.

   2. Pose 

   Share your style while being inspired by others around the world — more than tracking what's in your closet,Pose encourages users to share daily looks and become fashion bloggers themselves.E-commerce is the next step for Pose,as the app is developing ways to make itself a retailer(零售商) (maybe because of the fact that its users are checking the tags (標(biāo)簽) on popular looks,to find where they can purchase those pieces) .

   3. Stylish Girl 

   Stylish Girl displays all your closet items immediately,so you can have a fUll view of all your options. The app also has an e-commerce feature,where users can shop online and check if items you are browsing match with what is already in your closet.

   4. Closet 

   Looking for a simple organizing tool? Closet helps you have outfit ideas in seconds. With a shake of your phone,the app will match pieces together for you. The built-in packing list feature makes preparing outfits for traveling and weekend getaways hassle-free.

11. The text is especially useful for people .

   A. who travel a lot

   B. who have lots of clothes

   C. who don't like going shopping

   D. who prefer comfortable clothes

12. What do we know about Stylish Girl?

   A. It was designed by a retailer.

   B. It allows users to shop online.

   C. It plans to develop e-commerce.

   D. It encourages users to show their clothes.

13. The underlined word “hassle-free” in the last paragraph can best be replaced by “ ”.

   A. easy   B. boring

   C. exciting   D. complicated

14. Which app helps you know how to care for clothes?

   A. Pose. B. Closet.

   C. StyleBook. D. Stylish Girl.

   Major League Baseball (MLB) had a problem that was hard to deal with this week,as word spread that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Department of Justice are investigating the St Louis Cardinals. Employees of the team may have hacked(非法侵入) into the computer database of the Houston Astros. If the investigation proves that the Cardinals did do the act,it will be considered not only unsportsmanlike but also illegal.

   In a statement,the MLB said it is aaware of and has fully cooperated with the federal investigation into the illegsd act of the Houston Astros' baseball operations database.The organization added,“Once the investigative process has been completed by federal law enforcement officials,we will judge the next steps and will make decisions immediately.w The investigation began after the Astros* internal trade talks were posted anonymously（匿名地） on the Internet last year. People wanted to know who was responsible for making the private information public.

   The two major-league teams had been competitors for a long time,but things became even worse when the Astros hired Jeff Luhnow as their general manager in 2011. Luhnow had previously worked for the Cardinals as head of their player development department. Investigators think the Cardinals may have been able to get inside the Astros’ database using Luhnow's old passwords from when he was working for the St. Louis team.

   This is the first known case of a professional sports team hacking another team's network,but some cybersecurity(網(wǎng)絡(luò)安全) experts say other teams may have done it before without getting caught. Craig Newman,chairman of the privacy and data security practice of the New York law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler,told The AssociatedPress that it would be “irresponsible” to assume this is the first incident of hacking in the world of professional sports.

6. What happened to the Cardinals according to Paragraph 1 ?

   A. It was in cooperation with MLB.

   B. It was in need of the FBI’s help.

   C. It was under investigation.

   D. It was under construction.

7. Which event led to the investigation into the incident of hacking?

   A. The Astros' website went down suddenly.

   B. The Astros' private information was uncovered.

   C. Newman commented on the Cardinals' trade talks.

   D. The Cardinals’ private information was uncovered.

8. What cah we infer from the text?

   A. Jeff Luhnow betrayed his team on purpose.

   B. Jeff Luhnow's old information may have been used.

   C. Jeff Luhnow had been a general manager before 2011.

   D. Jeff Luhnow was not allowed to use the Astros' database.

9. The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph probably refers to .

   A. hacking other teams' network

   B. stealing money from a competitor

   C. offering a competitor useful information

   D. providing untrue information for other teams

10. Where does this text probably come from?

   A. A sports report.

   B. A finance report.

   C. A computer textbook.

   D. A newspaper advertisement.

   I’ve wanted to be an astronaut for as long as I can remember. My parents have always been very supportive and I have very specific memories of my mom telling me that I could become whatever I wanted,if I worked hard enough. I guess I took that to heart!I was also influenced by science fiction — by movies like Star Wars and by books!

   As I grew older,I came to realize how difficult it would be to achieve this dream,but my passion for human spaceflight,the desire to explore,and the challenge of it all kept the dream alive.

   I truly feel like books and reading have been fundamental to my success. First of all,books are fiin to read. Space history and science fiction captured my imagination and challenged me to pursue my goals. More importantly,books are a conduit(導(dǎo)管） for knowledge. While I consistently read for enjoyment,I also had to read to learn.

   I like to compare reading to rocket fuel. You can't launch(發(fā)射） a rocket without fuel and it is difficult to be successful without strong reading skills.

   My love of science fiction played a huge role in my desire to be an astronaut. Some authors,like Kim Stanley Robinson,describe the fundamental difficulties with living and working in space. I think I am drawn to science fiction because it paints a picture of what the future may hold. Authors can thrill us with their speculation(猜想) of how we might live,work and travel in the future,and what challenges might lie ahead.

   Reading has been a huge part of my life,for both enjoyment and work. I want to share that joy and the success it can bring!

   My kids love to read. My daughter loves animals,so she likes some nonfiction,but she is a big fan of science fiction,too. My boys like to read about superheroes. Their love of reading is no accident — we love to read together as a family and we make regular trips to our local library.

1. What does the underlined word “that” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

   A. The author's love for his parents.

   B. The author's mom's encouragement.

   C. The author's interest in science fiction.

   D. The author's dream of becoming an astronaut.

2. As the author grew up,he.

   A. gave up on his dream

   B. kept his dream a secret

   C. became realistic about his dream

   D. realized the importance of dreams

3. Rocket fuel is mentioned to .

   A. explain how to realize a dream

   B. stress the importance of reading

   C. show how difficult it is to succeed

   D. describe an astronaut's amazing life

4. What is the author's attitude towards science fiction?

   A. Critical. B. Worried.

   C. Doubtful. D. Interested.

5. The author's kids enjoy reading .

   A. thanks to their school teachers

   B. since they live near a local library

   C. because of their home environment

   D. because they are very good at reading

根據(jù)括號內(nèi)的提示補(bǔ)全下面短文。

   Fast food,a typical product,is seeing a decline. In the 1970s and 1980s,fast food sales reached their peak. Then,in 1991,because of the 1.(decline) economy,the 2. (grow) of fast food sales began to slow down. There sprang up a number of 3. (compete) at that time.And in the 1990s,a lot of 4. (America) , including children,were willing to spend more on other activities. For example,in 1997，5.

(可以帶回家的) food sold by 6. (超級市場) made up 21 percent of the total,while that supplied by fast food restaurants was 48 percent. But,one year 7. (late) , the latter's share was 41 percent. This trend has continued into the 21st century,as a lot of people hold the 8.(believe) that America is today the fattest country,and fast food is one of the main reasons.