If you want to travel from Xi'an to Chengdu by train， it will take about 16 hours． But starting this month， the new Xi'an﹣Chengdu high﹣speed railway will shorten this travel time to three hours．
The 643﹣kilometer line is China's first high﹣speed railway to run through the Qinling Mountains， which form a natural boundary（分界线） between China's north and south． With a speed of 250 km per hour， it's also the first mountain﹣heavy train line to provide a 4G network．
Along the way， the train passes through two areas for rare（稀有） wild animals﹣one for pandas and the other for crested ibises（朱鹮）．
To reduce the railway's influence on the animals， workers and experts have designed and built the railway to be environmentally friendly， China Daily reported．
In September， there were 345 wild pandas living in the Qinling Mountains． China now has 1，864 wild pandas in total， according to the Xinhua News Agency．
To avoid disturbing the pandas， the railway was designed to run through tunnels（隧道）within the area． Protective shields（防护屏） are placed near the entrance of each tunnel to stop animals from going in．
To avoid hurting the thousands of crested ibises that fly near one part of the railway， protective nets have been set up along the tracks to make sure the birds will not fly into a train．
The nets are about 32 km long and 4 meters high． Experts tested different shapes and materials for building the nets before making their final choice． （A report in December， 2017）
（1）From this month， it will take to travel from Xi'an to Chengdu by the high﹣speed train．
A． 16 hours
B． 13 hours
C． 6 hour
D． 3 hours
（2）Which of the following is TRUE about the new Xi'an﹣Chengdu railway？
A． It is China's first high﹣speed railway．
B． It runs through the Qinling Mountains．
C． It is the first mountain﹣heavy train line．
D． It is the first train line with a 4G network．
（3）Why was the railway designed and built to be environmentally friendly？
A． To save money and energy．
B． To avoid harming wild animals．
C． To avoid damaging the mountains．
D． To help the train run through tunnels quietly．
（4）What are experts using to stop animals from going into the tunnels？
A． Entrances．
B． Tracks．
C． Protective shields．
D． Protective nets．
（5）This news about the new railway is reported by ．
A． China Daily
B． the Xinhua News Agency
C． the 4G network
D． CCTV
Obey the rules of British roads
British roads， some of the safest in the world． A study in 2018 compared more than 30 countries and found that 3.8 people per 100，000 died in traffic accidents in the UK． This number was lower than any other country． So， what did British drivers do to achieve this？ What are they doing differently？ Here are five top tips for drivers who are planning a trip to the UK．
People in Britain drive on the left side of the road． In fact， a long time ago people drove on the left in most countries， but now only a few countries have this． Don't forget that this also means you must drive the other way around roundabouts （ 环岛）．
British people feel that waiting should be fair for everybody． If you are in a queue of traffic，then don't try to push past the cars in front of yours． This is called "jumping the queue"． You must wait for your turn； otherwise people may get angry with you．
You must stop at the traffic lights when they are red． In many countries． it is OK to go past the red lights if you are turning a corner or if there isn't any other traffic around． In the UK you could have a lot of trouble if you do this．
If another driver flashes （闪烁） his cars lights at you， he is probably trying to tell you that he will wait for you to go first． British people don't like to use their car horn （ 喇叭） much and they think people who do so are rude．
If you get in an accident，don't try to pay the police．The police in the UK never take money，and if you try to offer them some， you could end your holiday visiting British prison．
回答下面5个问题，每题答案不超过六个词．
（1）How many tips are mentioned in the passage？
（2）Which side do British people drive on？
（3）If you jump the queue， how will other drivers feel？
（4）What does the driver probably mean if he flashes his car's lights at you？
（5）If you give the police money， what will happen to you？
"Why do I live？ Why do I wish for anything， or do anything？ Is there anything in my life that will not be destroyed by my death？" Like Leo Tolstoy， the famous Russian writer， many people ask these difficult questions． Tolstoy spent his whole life trying to answer these difficult questions．
As a young man， he thought people could achieve perfection if they tried hard enough． So he worked very hard to be the best in everything． He thought that he would find meaning and truth in success．
In 1850s． Tolstoy wrote his first stories． He wrote about his life in the army． He also told stories about his childhood． These works were published and Tolstoy became a well﹣known writer．
He earned the respect he always wanted． Many rich and smart men met and talked with Tolstoy． Some of them were writers like him． They talked a lot about faith （ 信仰） and the meaning of life． But soon Tolstoy recognized that these men were not perfect． Now he knew they could not answer his questions about faith．
So in the 1860s， Tolstoy tried a different way to find the meaning of life． He opened a school for the children of his serfs﹣the people who worked on his land． These workers were very poor． He wanted to help them because he thought they were more honest than the rich people he knew．
Tolstoy learned a lot from his workers． He understood how they worked hard to support their
families． He began to believe that marriage and family would give his life meaning． So in 1862， Leo Tolstoy married a young woman named Sonya Behrs．
The next 15 years were the best years of Tolstoy's life． It was during this time that he wrote his most famous books﹣War and Peace and Anna Karenina． Many experts say that War and Peace is one of the greatest books ever written． In these books， Tolstoy believed humans should live a simple life and take care of their families． Tolstoy thought this would satisfy him and bring him happiness．
Leo Tolstoy is still a very respected writer today． His faith and writings have influenced many
people all over the world．
（1）Which is the correct order of the following events？
①Tolstoy served in the army．②Tolstoy got married．
③Tolstoy wrote War and Peace．④Tolstoy opened a school．
⑤Tolstoy became a well﹣known writer．
A．①⑤③②④
B．⑤①③②④
C．①⑤④②③
D．⑤④①③②
（2）Why did Tolstoy want to be the best in everything when he was young？
A． To prepare for his books．
B． To achieve perfection．
C． To make a lot of money．
D． To show his wisdom．
（3）Tolstoy thought he would learn a lot from his workers because they were ．
A． poor
B． honest
C． friendly
D． patient
（4）According to the passage， which of the following is the most important to Tolstoy？
A． Family．
B． Success．
C． Wealth．
D． Fame （ 名声）．
（5）What does the passage mainly talk about？
A． Leo Tolstoy： Living for writing．
B． Leo Tolstoy： Influencing the world．
C． Leo Tolstoy： Being the best in everything．
D． Leo Tolstoy： Searching for the meaning of life．
Each year on Feb 21， UNESCO （ 联合国教科文组织） holds an International Mother Language Day （IMLD ）． The event is to help people to pay attention to the disappearance of the world's languages； many of them are disappearing each year． UNESCO sees this as a terrible fact．
What happens when a language dies out？ Something great is lost﹣not just sounds and marks but the way that people understand the world and communicate with each other． We keep different cultures and traditions through languages． Kill a language and all these are killed too．
Through IMLD， more and more people come to realize he terrible situation and try to stop it．
Google's 2018 Endangered （濒临灭绝的） Languages Project is a good example． Many speakers and protectors of endangered languages upload （上传） texts， audios and videos to the project website． They want to introduce the way that people communicate and express themselves around the world．
The Myaamia Project is the same kind of effort to revive the language spoken by the Miami tribes （部落） of the United States． Project members work to encourage people to study and communicate with this language ， which died out in the 1960s．
These activities give life to those endangered languages． People who work to keep Languages
alive are not limited to the past． Many young people design apps and use social media to support their activities． They "spread the word " to save the world．
So， while the problem of disappearing languages remains a very serious one， there is hope． We all have a special feeling of our mother language． This is why we should remember the wise words of late president of South Africa， Nelson Mandela： "If you talk to a man in a language he understands， that goes to his head． If you talk to a man in his own language，that goes to his heart．"
（1）UNESCO holds IMLD every year in order to help people to ．
A． learn and use endangered languages
B． show their talents in learning languages
C． practice reading skills of mother languages
D． realize the situation of endangered languages
（2）What did people do in Google's 2018 Endangered Languages Project？
A． Discuss how to make good use of Google．
B． Offer online courses on endangered languages．
C． Share materials about endangered languages online．
D． Translate endangered languages into mother languages．
（3）What does the underlined word " revive" mean in Paragraph （ 段落） 4？
A． 创造
B． 学习
C． 复活
D． 清除
（4）What can we infer （ 推断） from Paragraph 5？
A． It is more difficult to protect endangered languages．
B． The disappearance of languages has already stopped．
C． Young people don't care about endangered languages．
D． Young people have creative ways to protect languages．
（5）The writer mentions Nelson Mandela's words in order to ．
A． tell the importance of one's mother language
B． show his contributions to language protection
C． tell the trouble in learning endangered languages
D． show the possibility of protecting mother languages
After learning about these famous women， you will know you can do a lot for society， and make a difference to the world in your lifetime．
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Amelia Earhart（1897﹣1937 ） Amelia Earhart was the first woman who ever flew alone across the Atlantic in 1932． She became the first woman pilot in 1935 after flying from Hawaii to California． She began her lifelong dream of flying across the world in 1937． However， her flight went missing on that trip and she was never seen again． |
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Helena Rubinstein （1870﹣1965 ） Helena Rubinstein moved to Australia in 1902 without the ability to speak English． Later， she set up one of the world's first cosmetic （ 化妆品） companies after mixing lanolin， which is an oil山at comes from sheep's wool， with flowers． Because of that， she became the world's richest woman at that time． |
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Katharine Hepburn （1907﹣2003 ） Katharine Hepburn was known for playing strong﹣willed women in her films． She won four Academy Awards（奥斯卡金像奖） for Best Actress， the most an actress has ever won． Her new dress style made wearing trousers acceptable to women， which wasn't allowed at that time． |
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Emmeline Pankhurst （1858﹣1928） Emmeline was a great woman activist． She helped British women get the right to vote． She fought for the rights of women all the time with the help of her husband in the late 19th century and early 20th century． After she lost her husband， she worked together with her three daughters and formed The Women Social and Political Union． |
（1）According to the passage， which word can best describe Amelia tarhart？
A． Brave．
B． Careful．
C． Lucky．
D． Energetic．
（2）What was the problem for Helena Rubinstein when she moved to Australia？
A． She didn't have any money．
B． She couldn't speak English．
C． She knew nothing about business．
D． She didn't know how to dress up．
（3）How many times did Katharine Hepburn win Academy Awards for Best Actress？
A． Once．
B． Twice．
C． Three times．
D． Four times．
（4）What did Emmeline Pankhurst fight for during her lifetime？
A． Her dream to be a pilot．
B． Women's rights in the UK．
C． Women's rights in the USA．
D． Her dream to be an actress．
（5）What do the four women above have in common？
A． A creative mind．
B． A warm heart．
C． A pioneer spirit．
D． A good education．
Interview with Andy Griffiths
Andy Griffiths is well known as a writer of children's books． Here are some interesting things， you might not know about him!
What do you like to do after a long day of writing？
I go for long runs and bike rides beside the beach． An hour of exercise after a long day of writing gives me energy． Then I'm ready to write some more．
Do you write using a computer or by hand？
At first I write the stories by hand， and then I transfer（转录）them onto a computer． I like to write by hand when T travel． T find it very easy to lose myself in my diary when I am away from my usual activities．
What super power would you like to have？
X﹣ray vision（影像）if I can control it．
What is your favourite food？
Fro never happier than when I'm drinking banana milkshakes． And I love fish． But I don't like drinking fish milkshakes ﹣ they are just terrible!
What is your favourite book？
Alice in Wonderland． It has so many surprises and such silliness in it．
Do you write for adults too？
Only if I really have to． T much prefer the freedom and fun of writing for children．
What do you say to kids who say， "Why should I read？"
As Dr． Seuss says． "The more you read， the more things you will know． The more you learn， the more places you'll go．"
（1）What is Andy's job？
（2）What do you think of Andy？
（3）Do you want to be a person like Andy？ Why or why not？
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