London has become a cycle-friendly zone after the launch (启动) of a new bike hire scheme. It has been designed to encourage more people to cycle in and around central London.

So how does it work？First you have to sign up to the scheme to be sent a key. The key will unlock one of the bikes, which are kept at docking stations (系泊系统) in and around central London. You have to pay an access fee for the key and then you pay as you go, for the length of time you use the bike.

Transport for London, which runs the scheme, are hoping to have 6,000 bikes and 400 docking stations in place by the end of the year. The new hire system is hoping to ease traffic jams in London and is expected to create up to 40,000 extra cycle trips a day into the city centre. London Mayor Boris Johnston launched the scheme and said London has been “filled with thousands of gleaming (闪闪发光的) machines that will transform the look and feel of our street and become as commonplace on our roads as black cabs and red buses”.

      However, there have been a few problems since the scheme was launched last Friday. On the first day some people found they couldn’t dock their bike properly and their usage of the bike had not registered.

Transport for London did admit they had been expecting a few “teething problems” and have said they would not charge for the first day as a “gesture of goodwill”. Some other people have criticized the lack of docking stations and locks for the bikes as well as the price it costs to hire the bicycles.

Despite the comments, the green-thinking London Mayor still says with certainty, “My crusade for the capital to become the greatest big cycling city in the world has taken a great pedal-powered push forwards.”

21. What is the aim of the new bike hire scheme in London?

A. To promote the bicycle industry in London.  

B. To make London seem more friendly.    

C. To reduce the air pollution in London

D. To relieve the traffic problem in London.

22. What is Not the problem happening since the scheme was carried out?

  A. People couldn’t find the registered bicycles.

  B. Some people couldn’t dock bikes properly.

  C. Docking station is not enough at all.

  D. The charges for hiring bikes are too high.

23. What does the underlined phrase probably mean?

  A. Difficulties in carrying out a plan.               B. Criticism from all the people.

  C. Tooth decays or other tooth diseases.                   D. Quarrels from both sides.

24. London Mayor’s attitude towards the new bike hire scheme is probably__________.

   A. doubtful         B. optimistic        C. indifferent         D. critical 

Millions of sports lovers are still thinking about one thing----the Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia. Close to 2900 men and women competed in the 2014 Winter Games about a month ago.

The Olympics brought a lot of attention to Sochi, a city on the Black Sea, which is a popular area for vacation travelers. The area is known for its mild winters.

At least $50 billion was spent on the 2014 Winter Games, making it the costliest Olympics in history. Seven billion dollars was spent on the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. Olympic officials chose Sochi to host the 2014 games almost seven years ago. At that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the games would cost about $13 billion. Yet the actual expenses exceeded his estimate. So where did all the money go?

    Some observers say the high cost is partly the result of security measures. Brian Jenkins, a terrorism expert from the RAND Corporation, gave the following explanation. There were anywhere between 70,000 and 100, 000 policemen and military troops deployed around the city.

    The main threat came from separatist and Islamist groups from the North Caucasus, especially from Chechnya and Dagestan. One group claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings in Volgograd last December. The attacks killed more than 30 people. The city is only about 600 kilometers away from Sochi.

    Bruce Hoffman is a terrorism expert from Georgetown University in Washington DC. He says the increased security made Sochi a difficult target for terrorists.

    It is thought that the terrorists' intention was to make life difficult for the Russians and to create some sort of incident that would take away the enjoyment.

The last Olympians from around the world on Russian soil were in 1980. That was a year after Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan. More than sixty countries didn’t take part in the Moscow Summer Games to show their anger.

25. According to the passage, why did the Sochi Winter Olympics cost so much?

A. Because it was held at an area popular for vacation travelers.

B. Because the Russian government wanted to make it the best ever held.

C. Because security measures at Sochi were stricter than before.

D. Because the original plan was made 7 years before.

26. It can be known from the passage that Bruce Hoffman was        .

A. a terrorism expert from the USA               B. the writer who wrote this article

C. an athlete who competed in Sochi             D. a terrorism expert from RAND Corporation

27. Which of the following is false?

   A. Sochi Olympics cost about 4 times as estimated.

   B. Next winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver.

   C. Many countries refused to attend the 1980 Olympics.

   D. Security is often a problem in international sport games.

28. The terrorists might have attacked Sochi Olympics because       .

   A. they wanted to make trouble for the Russians

   B. they thought Russia shouldn't spend so much on sport

   C. they thought Putin was not a nice president

   D. they were not interested in winter sports 

When Jane put out the idea of homeschooling to her parents, the first reaction they gave was, “You are cutting the child off the world.’’ “Did the child really get cut off or did the child socialize better?”

The moment we hear of homeschooling, we think the child will have no opportunities to interact with peers. However, in my friend’s opinion, we forget that when attending a regular school, the child is not into socializing all the while. The child is restricted to so many other activities. Studies take a major role in a child’s life. The child hardly has the time to interact at school.

The child might be meeting and studying along with many peers; however, how many kids interact with all the kids in a class? But in homeschooling system, as my friend mentioned, the kid has all the time and can plan his day accordingly. During the day the child studies just like other school-going kids but with no burden of homework and project work, the child has so much free time in the evening as to effectively interact and play with peers. The quality time the child spends in education is really impressive.

Homeschooled kids have the opportunity to socialize more often as they have a lot of time in their hands. They can also make socializing a regular habit. Just as my friend said, her child goes to a neighboring park almost every day and has a set of friends who go there daily. Other children get back home to finish off homework and project work whereas her child who is already through with studies gets the opportunity to spend time with family members.

When I heard this, I really felt how lucky the child was. Definitely the child had a better opportunity to socialize when compared with my kid. However, I might not consider homeschooling for my kid, as I am so used to the conventional schooling system and feel regular schooling the safest bet.

29. The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to_____________.

   A. express his views on homeschooling          B. explain what homeschooling is      

C. share his ways of teaching his children       D. promote homeschooling 

30. What is the biggest advantage of homeschooled children?        

    A. They will become braver.                          B. They can be more popular.   

    C. They can socialize better.                          D. They will know how to arrange time.

31. What do we know about homeschooled children?

    A. They don’t interact with their peers often. B. They have more spare time to play.

    C. They are restricted to certain activities      D. They can’t gain enough knowledge.

32. How does the passage mainly develop?

   A. By following the order of importance.       B. By following the order of time.

   C. By making comparisons.                  D. By presenting data.

There is an agreement that we are depriving (剥夺) this current generation of young kids a chance to do what they are not only equipped to do，but need to do一take some risks．And we’re not talking about unimportant ones，either．Kids need to learn how to handle “dangerous” things like power tools，make fires，and have the benefits that occur from “playing with knives”．

    Hanna Rosin focuses on some of the misguided reasons we are raising “The Overprotected Kid” in the Atlantic．She says our concerns with kids’ safety go beyond the actual risks．

    I agree with this new opinion. For many kids growing up today，there are fewer and fewer opportunities to practice risk taking．Risk taking is an important skill every kid needs to learn，how to do something that they are a little seared of doing because they haven’t done it before．Part of the reason for “Overprotection” is certainly the parental fear. This is certainly evident in terms of the physical environment．

    I claim that much of the parental concern isn’t driven by．fear of injury—it’s more about concern with success．

    “Play” may be in fact less dangerous than our structured sports--yet we focus more on the risk because we don’t see the benefit．And this broader concern with success is not limited to the playground or sports field．“Overprotection" certainly happens in the social and academic fields as well，as phrases like “helicopter parent” have become mainstream．There is plenty of social and academic risk taking that can also be prevented because of the perception of risk．

33. According to paragraph 1, the author thinks today’s children______

A. aren’t as happy as their parents

   B. ignore the benefits from taking risks

   C. live an overprotected life due to parental care

   D. hate to take some risks for their development

34. Which of the following would Hanna Rosin agree with?

A. Not all kids can play on the playground alone．

B. The review of the statistics details the danger of injury．

C. Parents should take care of the kids in case they are lost．

D. Parents’ concerns with kids’ safety aren’t actually necessary mostly．

35. Which of the following are “helicopter parents” according to the passage?

A. those who help their children take responsibility for their own action

B. Those who find out the important elements of a healthy development

C. those who give advice on how to find their own sense of creativity

D. Those who offer any help whenever their children are in need

With the development of society，it is common that many people are rushing all the way and all day，tired and subhealthy (亚健康)．  36    She described all the things she had to do—one was to make her bed—from the moment she woke up until she flew out of the door for work．I suggested she experiment by not making her bed for two weeks．She was shocked，probably thinking I’d been brought up by wolves in a forest．  37 

Two weeks later she went into my office merrily．She had left her bed unmade for the first time in 42 years—and nothing bad had happened．“And you know what?” she said．“I don’t dry my dishes anymore，either．”

  38   One was discovering that she had choices in her life that she had never seen before．The other was giving herself permission to be less than perfect．This story shows an important principle about managing time：No one can do it a11．Each of us has to make choices and accept trade-offs(利弊权衡)．The problem is that many people choose in ways that put themselves and their health last．They take better care of their houses and cars than they do of themselves．  39   

So what is the solution? There’s an easy way．Decide what you want in your life，and put that first．On a daily basis，that should include regular meals，enough sleep and time with your family．Exercise，leisure，friendships and hobbies should also be regular aspects of life． 40   The choice is yours：whatever makes you feel good about yourself and your life．Take a nap．Take a walk．Take time to play the piano．Stop bringing your briefcase home from the office．Stop keeping your house as clean as your mother kept hers．Fill more of your time with want-to-dos instead of have-to-dos．

A．Most people do not take time to relax themselves．

B．The point is to do something for yourself every day．

C．A patient came to see me about the stress in her life．

D．This woman had made two major breakthroughs．

E．Above all，you needn’t do anything for yourself regularly．

F．They put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own．

G．However，she went along with my idea．