It's common for students to hear the same standard,cliched advice:"dream big","follow yours dreams",and "reach for the stars." But Student of the Year judge Alien Ma has something a bit different to add—"be practical".

The judge knows a thing or two about both big dreams and practical applications,and has seen plenty of students achieve both.

"We are looking to nurture talents,in this case technology talents,says Ma,CEO of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP). "When someone has this kind of crazy idea or brilliant idea—sometimes you can’t tell the difference—they need to find somebody to help them realize their dream."

And with all the big and sometimes crazy ideas Ma has heard from students through HKSTP,he says it is important to find a balance between creative ideas and practical applications.And part of this means being able to see the benefit of patience and long-term goals.

Ma says he sees many students try to get good marks through easy classes,rather than challenging themselves with harder courses that will pay off with knowledge that would be useful for their future.

"You should be looking out for your future,"he says.

And for secondary school students,Ma says this means having a broad understanding of the world around them, especially as it relates to Science,Technology,Engineering and Maths (Stem) knowledge.

"I think a lot of students today have this broad,sometimes international understanding,"he says.Ma sees many strong students using their knowledge to help others.And for him,these are the students that really stand out from the crowd,as they're making the connection between their knowledge and how they fit into the world around them."They don’t just study,they’re not just scholars,"he says."They are good scholars,but also good sports players or good musicians,for example,but they also give back to society.That’s what impresses me the most."

1.What do the underlined words mean in Para1?

A. Do not dream big any more.

B. Realizing dreams is equally important.

C. The standard advice is no longer useful.

D. Anyone who dreams big is great.

2.Why does Ma think students need help in realizing their dreams?

A. They are short of patience.

B. They can't balance study and life well.

C. They are far away from being practical.

D. They can’t tell crazy and bright ideas apart.

3.What is Ma' suggestion for students nowadays?

A. Set a goal. B. Fit into society.

C. Begin with easy classes. D. Take the long-term view.

4.What kind of feeling does Ma express in the last paragraph?

A. Politeness. B. Inspiration.

C. Admiration. D. Hopefulness.

As Artificial Intelligence (A) becomes increasingly sophisticated,there are growing concerns that robots could become a threat.This danger can be avoided,according to computer science professor Stuart Russell,if we figure out how to turn human values into a programmable code.

Russell argues that as robots take on more complicated tasks,it’s necessary to translate our morals into AI language.

For example,if a robot does chores around the house,you wouldn't want it to put the pet cat in the oven to make dinner for the hungry children. "You would want that robot preloaded with a good set of values," said Russell.

Some robots are already programmed with basic human values.For example,mobile robots have been programmed to keep a comfortable distance from humans.Obviously there are cultural differences,but if you were talking to another person and they came up close in your personal space,you wouldn't think that's the kind of thing a properly brought-up person would do.

It will be possible to create more sophisticated moral machines,if only we can find a way to set out human values as clear rules.

Robots could also learn values from drawing patterns from large sets of data on human behavior.They are dangerous only if programmers are careless.

The biggest concern with robots going against human values is that human beings fail to do sufficient testing and they've produced a system that will break some kind of taboo（禁忌）.

One simple check would be to program a robot to check the correct course of action with a human when presented with an unusual situation.

If the robot is unsure whether an animal is suitable for the microwave,it has the opportunity to stop,send out beeps,and ask for directions from a human.If we humans aren't quite sure about a decision,we go and ask somebody else.

The most difficult step in programming values will be deciding exactly what we believe in moral,and how to create a set of ethical rules.But if we come up with an answer,robots could be good for humanity.

1.What does the author say about the threat of robots?

A. It may be a challenge to computer programmers.

B. It accompanies all machinery involving high technology.

C. It can be avoided if human values are translated into their language.

D. It has become an inevitable danger as technology gets more sophisticated.

2.How do robots learn human values?

A. By interacting with humans in everyday life situations.

B. By following the daily routines of civilized human beings.

C. By picking up patterns from massive data on human behavior.

D. By imitating the behavior of properly brought-up human beings.

3.What will a well-programmed robot do when facing an unusual situation?

A. Keep a distance from possible dangers.

B. Do sufficient testing before taking action.

C. Set off its built-in alarm system at once.

D. Stop to seek advice from a human being.

4.What is most difficult to do when we turn human values into a programmable code?

A. Determine what is moral and ethical.

B. Design some large-scale experiments.

C. Set rules for man-machine interaction.

D. Develop a more sophisticated program.

Rujuta Teredesai grew up in Pune,a city in India.She saw that girls and boys in her community were not treated equally.Girls were responsible for all the household work.1.women didn't have the same rights as men.They often suffered from mistreatment and sometimes even physical violence.

2.But she saw that organizations working to end gender discrimination usually paid attention only to the actions and attitudes of girls. "Nobody talked to young boys about equality," she said.3.The organization,Equal Community Foundation (ECF), now reaches 40,000 people in 20 communities in Pune.

ECF matches small groups of boys,ages 14 to 17,with male mentors for a 15-week period.The mentors talk to the boys about treating girls with respect.4.They discuss times when the boys experienced unfair treatment. Then they work with the boys to come up with ways the boys can help spread tolerance.Boys have completed projects like making maps of the safest routes for girls to walk at night.

"What we have found is that these boys don’t mean to be discriminatory," Teredesai says. "They don't mean to hurt someone.5." When boys work to make girls' lives better,everyone in the community wins.

A.They help boys relate to girls’ experiences.

B.It's part of the solution to end discrimination.

C.It's just that they don't realize they’re doing it.

D.Many families didn't send their daughters to school.

E.Unfair treatment of girls and women is a problem in India.

F.Teredesai wanted to make a difference for girls and women.

G..So she decided to create a space for boys to learn about girls' rights.

I was working at the toy counter of a "dime" store in Orlando, Florida.I was 15, and the year was 1952. I had to____about my age to get a job,and I barely supported myself on the $25/week salary.But this was the South,and it was a time when things were______for everybody.

It was a few days after Christmas,and we had a lot of dolls left______on the toy counter,as well as many more dolls in a storage closet. My young voice trying to______the passing shoppers to our sale didn't seem to get anyone's____—shoppers continued to walk by,ignoring me.

Suddenly,a small girl walked by,and I handed her a doll.Her mother stopped to find out______her daughter had this doll.and I explained our______sale.The girl had stars in her eyes and nothing was going to make her______this doll.I had made my first______.

I continued,handing anyone walking by,______their age,a doll,and soon I had the two______behind the counter rushing to ring up all the sales.I was feeling very______,and confident about the success.

Then I handed a doll to a small,______dressed girl.Her eyes lit up.I explained to her mother about the wonderful sale.______, her mother took the doll away from the little girl and handed it back to me. Quickly ____

filled the little girl's eyes as her mother explained gently that there was no______to buy this doll and apologized to her.I______her that this was a really good______,but the mother just shook her head.

Just then a well-dressed,middle-aged woman said, "Wait—let me______this doll for your little girl." She took the doll from my hands and handed it______back to the little girl.

1.A. care B. talk C. lie D. argue

2.A. rough B. tight C. rare D. valuable

3.A. undone B. unpacked C. unsold D. untouched

4.A. guide B. invite C. recommend D. attract

5.A. attention B. praise C. recognition D. comment

6.A. when B. why C. what D. where

7.A. abundant B. convenient C. popular D. economic

8.A. take up B. figure out C. give up D. pick out

9.A. sale B. attempt C. decision D. step

10.A. as for B. regardless of C. owing to D. according to

11.A. receptionists B. cashiers C. waitresses D. customers

12.A. relaxed B. confused C. energetic D. proud

13.A. shabbily B. elegantly C. strangely D. neatly

14.A. Fortunately B. Accidentally C. Sadly D. Hopefully

15.A. surprise B. tears C. pity D. horrors

16.A. money B. point C. need D. reason

17.A. convinced B. showed C. taught D. reminded

18.A. bargain B. present C. choice D. opportunity

19.A. send B. prepare C. purchase D. exchange

20.A. calmly B. anxiously C. excitedly D. carefully

Pets Comer is a company with dozens of pet stores and more than 600 employees around the UK.It is planning 1.(provide) the first-ever pet and human first aid course for its staff.

To develop the2.(special) designed course,training teams3.(organize) by now.The course will begin next month.The full-day course will cover two parts with the first part4.(deal) with humans and the second with dog and cat first aid.Topics covered will include different5.(situation) in our daily life which require first aid skills such as minor injuries,shock and unconsciousness.

Lucy Ross,Head of Training at Pets Comer,said, "At Pets Comer,we have always tried to apply an honest and moral approach to everything6.we do.This includes having the best trained staff in the industry.Every human customer as well as their pet animals7.(be) welcome in our stores.It s our duty to provide all of our staff8.the tools and knowledge they need to feel9.(confidence) in helping both pets and customers.Therefore,10.makes sense

that our staffs first aid knowledge is beyond all your expectations."

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下短文。短文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Advertising informs consumers of newer products available on the market.It gives us information with everything from shampoo and toothpaste to computers and cars.But there is one serious problems with us.The information are actually very often misinformation.It tells us the products' benefits but hides its advantages. Advertising not only leads us to buying things that we don.t need and can’t afford,but it confuses our sense reality. "Zoom toothpaste prevents bad teeth and gives you the white teeth!" the advertisement tells us.And it doesn’t tell us the complete truth that a health diet and a good toothbrush will have the same effect.

假设你是红星中学的高中生李华，你校选拔一批优秀学生，利用周末的时间到幸福村辅导留守儿童（left-behind children）的英语，你希望参加此活动。请根据以下提示，用英语给校评选组写一封申请信：

●对此活动的认识 ●个人优势 ●你的计划

注意：1.词数100左右；

2.可适当增加细节，以使内容充实、行文连贯；

3.信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Sir or Madam,

I'm Li Hua from Hongxing High School._______________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Looking forward to your reply!

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

Pop idols are celebrities who burn brighter than regular stars. If a star is someone you can recognize on the street, an idol is someone who will cause a stir at a public appearance.

Without fans, an idol is just an ordinary person, like you and me. As Reese Witherspoon once said while announcing the Oscar for best make-up, movie stars look just like people in documentaries(纪录片) if you see them without make-up.

I was once invited to a private party where about half of the guests were stars and the other half entertainment reporters. Guess what? The good-looking ones were the reporters because they tend to be young, and they glow without make-up.

Some idols are born; some are made. Most idols are created by a machine called the entertainment industry. They may have some charms and talent, but not enough to become famous. They are the raw material out of which a star, or even an idol, is made. An army of behind-the-scenes assistants will hype(炒作) or even make up their virtues and hide their shortcomings.

Paris Hilton is the kind of star who possesses no real talent but yet is quite well-known. This is the result of endless hype. If you are thrust into the limelight often enough, you can become a celebrity without having any talent.

Television contest shows create a much fairer more transparent platform where young people can compete and showcase their talent. The soap opera is another platform for idol making. These drama

series are long, giving an actor much needed exposure. The actors and actresses are always well-lit, made up and beautifully dressed. Now all they need is some good dialogue from the scriptwriter(编 剧).

1.Which of the following statements agrees with the writer’s viewpoint?

A. Most idols are born.

B. The entertainment industry is more popular.

C. Many stars are often good looking

D. Pop idols are not as pretty as you think.

2.Why does the writer use the example of Paris Hilton?

A. To show that hype is an important element in making a star.

B. To indicate that Paris Hilton is very famous.

C. To prove a star often lacks talent.

D. To show a star is popular because of the acting skills.

3.What does the writer think of the television contest show?

A. More practical. B. More formal. C. More equal. D. More competitive.

Have you ever wondered?

（1）Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?

It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet(喷射) stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when the air moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.

（2）What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?

Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something round your head on a string, it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. “Switching off” gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things would fly off into space.

1.What information can we get from the first passage?

A. It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly.

B. Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind.

C. It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY.

D. The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic.

2.The word “shoot” underlined in the 2nd paragraph probably means“________”.

A. send for B. move quickly C. come out D. grow quickly

3.It can be inferred that without gravity ________.

A. buildings and other structures would float away

B. trees and buildings would not so easily fly off

C. something around your head would not float away

D. everything outside buildings would fly off into space

4.Where can we most probably read this text?

A. In a research paper. B. In a short story.

C. In a travel magazine. D. In a students’ book.

On 8th March this year, events marking International Women’s Day (IWD) were held in many countries around the world. In most countries the events have a political tone: they tend to celebrate the advances women have made towards economic, social and political equality with men, and to press for change in those areas of life where there is still progress to be made.

In other countries, meanwhile, 8th March is traditionally more about expressing an appreciation of women: it is a day on which men give presents to their wives, girlfriends and mothers, and it therefore has some similarities with St Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.

Back in 1911, the first IWD events in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland were certainly political. They were protests by women against forms of gender discrimination that would now be unthinkable in most parts of the world: almost nowhere were women allowed to vote, and Finland was the only country with any female members of a national parliament. The general expectation worldwide, across different continents and cultures, was that women would spend their lives largely in the home, devoting themselves to looking after their husbands and children. The rate of women who had paid employment was far lower than today, and when women did go out to work they typically earned very little, meaning they were economically dependent on men.

A century later, gender inequality in employment—particularly pay inequality—is still one of the hottest issues IWD tries to draw attention to: it remains common, of course, for women to earn less than men for doing exactly the same job.

Limited educational opportunities (there are many countries in which girls generally stay fewer years in school than boys) and domestic violence towards women have also been highlighted by events surrounding IWD in recent years.

And yet, as the IWD website notes, ______________________. As just one example, to return to the issue of women elected to office, the change over the last hundred years has been significant. Since 1911, when the small group of women in the Finnish parliament (nineteen of them, to be exact) were the only females in public office worldwide, the governments of more than fifty different countries have been led by women. In 2011, at least one country in every continent has a female leader, including high-profile examples such as Brazil (Dilma Rousseff), Germany (Angela Merkel) and Australia (Julia Gillard).

1.According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. 100 years ago, women were not allowed to work outside.

B. IWD is equal to St Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day in some countries.

C. Finland was the first country with female employment.

D. Pay inequality is a hot issue for IWD.

2.Which word below is closest in meaning to the phrase “press for” in Paragraph 1?

A. prevent B. urge C. express D. want

3.Which of the following is the missing sentence in the first line of the last paragraph?

A. distinctive differences do exist between men and women

B. the achievements are beyond people’s expectations

C. there’s still a long way to go to achieve the set goals

D. alongside the ‘negatives’ there are plenty of ‘positives’

4.We can conclude from the passage that ________.

A. the progress in gaining equality in the last century seems to be too slow

B. the concept of equal pay for equal work is completely accepted in practice

C. much has been achieved in gender equality, but still there is space for improvement

D. one or two female leaders can’t stand for women’s social status on the whole