C

    A very important world problem is the growth of population on the earth. The population of the world today is more than 6,500,000,000. That is a great number and we know it quite well. ①The important thing is not how large the population of the world is now, but is the rate(速度) of the growth. It is about 1.63% every year after the number of dead people has been taken away.

    To give you some ideas of the birth rate, look at the ②second hand of your watch. Every second, four babies are born in the world. Another baby! Another baby! Another baby! Another baby! ③You can not speak quickly enough to keep up with the rate of the growth of the population. It is growing faster and faster. So it goes on, hour after hour. In one day, people have to find food for about 350,000 mouths more.

    This great growth of population will make a big problem by the year 2050 — there will be as many as 7,500,000,000 people on the earth! So this is one of the biggest problems that you are going to meet in your life.

B

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

    Alice and John are in the music club at their school. Alice plays the violin and John plays the drums. There are two groups in the school music club: the training (训练) group and the concert(音乐会) group. Everyone starts in the training group!

     "When I first started to play the violin it sounded terrible!" Alice said. "My family asked me to practice outside."

    After a year's practice, Alice and John play much better now. They are both in the concert group and they are learning more difficult music. "We're learning the music from the film Pirates of the Caribbean. It sounds fantastic!" John said. "Playing in the club with other kids is a lot of fun."

    Playing an instrument (乐器) is not only fun. It also helps children learn to concentrate (集中注意力). "I have to concentrate when I'm practicing," Alice said. "And now it's easier for me to concentrate on my schoolwork."

    Playing an instrument can also help children become more confident (自信的). As John said, "I was scared when I played in front of a lot of people for the first time. But now I really enjoy it."

Small talk

    Americans often have short conversations, called small talk, about unimportant things with strangers or people they know but not very well. They may have small talk at parties, while waiting in line at the store, at family events or work. It's a way to say hi and express friendliness.

    Small talk is very useful. It can avoid uncomfortable silences and build stronger relationships. For example, when you first meet someone or talk to someone you don't know well, you can break the ice by making small talk. Small talk with a colleague(同事) about his child may help you to understand more of his life outside the office.

    In 2013, researchers from the University of Essex asked some people to make small talk in a study. They found small talk can make people happier. People who talked briefly(短暂地) with a waiter in a coffee shop felt happier than those who simply went in, ordered and left.

    However some people are not good at small talk. Here are some tips to improve your small-talking ability.

    Firstly, find common ground. When you have something similar with your speaking partner, that means you have something to talk about.

    Secondly, ask open-ended questions. They are suitable(合适的) for small talk. For example, if you ask visitors whether they like your city, they may simply say "Yes." But if you ask "What do you think of our city," they will have more freedom in how they answer.

    Thirdly, become a student. Nobody knows everything. So, as someone is answering one of your open-ended questions, they bring up something about which you know nothing. So, tell them! This lets the other person become the teacher. They feel good about sharing their knowledge and you get to learn something. It's a win-win situation.

    Finally, practice makes perfect. Like anything, getting good at making small talk takes practice.

    If you make small talk in your native language, you might become happier. If you are making small talk using English, you will most surely improve your speaking and listening skills.

    I am a teacher in a middle school. I have a good friend called Mr White. He is the head of an office. He's often busy and has no time to do the housework. His wife knows him well and does all at home.

    Unluckily, their daughter Rose got hurt in a traffic accident two weeks ago, and had to be in hospital. Mrs White had to look after her there and she couldn't look after Mr White well. Mr White often ate in restaurants. As he never did any cleaning, the rooms were all in a mess(混乱) .

    Yesterday morning, before Mr White got up, the telephone rang. He sat up to answer it. His friend Tony told him to write down an important telephone number. But he could not find a pen or a piece of paper. He found there was much dust(灰尘) on the table and wrote the number on it with his finger. But soon he forgot about it and went to work.

    This morning, Mrs White and their daughter came back home.

    At noon, Mr White came in while Mrs White was cleaning the rooms. He sadly found the table was clean and the number was gone(不见了) .

    The Shanghai Disney Resort is different from others in the world. It opened on June 16th, 2016. The resort is in Pudong, Shanghai and it is the first Disney resort on the Chinese Mainland. Shanghai Disneyland has changed the classic Main Street USA to a Mickey Avenue.

    Main Street USA was designed by Walt Disney himself. For 60 years, it has been the main entry (人口) of Disney theme parks in the world. However, the designers (设计者) of the Shanghai resort think there should be something new. So the designers create the Mickey Avenue.

    On the Mickey Avenue, Mickey Mouse and his friends will greet the visitors. Visitors can take photos with Mickey Mouse and his friends. There are also many shops along the avenue. It is the largest part for visitors to buy gifts in the theme park. During the day, there will be Mickey's Storybook Express(专列). There will be firework(烟火)shows at night. The designers hope visitors can enjoy themselves there.