If you want to get a taste of United States history, you may go to the capital, Washington, DC. While DC does have much to see, there is another city in the US that may offer a deeper historical understanding.

    Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, was founded in 1630, over 150 years before DC became the capital. The American Revolution War actually started in this city, which was the fight to gain independence (独立) from Britain. To learn more about the history of Boston and how the US started, you can see where it all happened. You can take a walk along the Freedom Trail (自由之路), a 4km historical walking path.

And there’s much more to Boston than just history. The city has fun activities for everyone. Enjoy an easy hike to the Bunker Hill Memorial to get a great whole view of the entire city. You just have to walk up 294 steps to enjoy the view, but it’s well worth it.  

                                                                                      Or go to Boston Harbor to enjoy a walk on the waterfront and eat some great seafood. If you’re an early riser, it’s also the perfect place to see the sunrise.

    Even if sports aren’t your favorite thing, going to a baseball game in Fenway Park is a great experience. This is where the Boston Red Sox play baseball. It is the oldest baseball field in Major League Baseball. Enjoy the exciting atmosphere (气氛) at the game and in Boston.

21. Which of the following about Boston is NOT true?

  A. Boston is the capital of Massachusetts. 

B. Boston was founded before DC became the capital. 

C. Boston was the capital of the US in 1630.

  D. The American Revolution started in Boston.

22. Which place can allow you to see the whole city of Boston?

  A. The Freedom Trail.               B. The Bunker Hill Memorial.  

  C. Boston Harbor.                  D. Fenway Park.

23. What does the writer suggest you in the last paragraph?

  A. Watch a baseball game in Fenway Park. 

  B. Learn the history of Boston Red Sox.

  C. Search more about Major League Baseball.  

  D. Visit Fenway Park to enjoy different sports. 

It snowed again. My seventh Christmas was around the corner. I dreamed of getting the present from Santa Claus until my elder sister told me: “There is no Santa Claus.”

    I ran to my grandmother’s house, for she always told the truth. Grandmother was at home. I told her everything.

    “No Santa Claus?” she said. “Ridiculous (荒谬的)! I don’t believe it. Put on your coat and let’s go.”

    “Go where?” I asked.

    As we walked through the doors of the general store, Grandma handed me 10 dollars and said: “Buy something for someone who needs it.”

    I just stood there, thinking about what to buy and who to buy it for.

    I thought of everybody I knew. Then I thought about Bobbie Decker. He didn’t have a coat. He never went out to play games in winter. I would buy him one.

    That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat and write, “To Bobbie, from Santa Claus” on it. Then she drove me over to his house.

    Grandma parked down the street, and we hid behind the trees near Bobbie’s house. Then she said: “All right, Santa Claus is coming.”

    I rushed for his front door, and put down the present outside his door. I rang his doorbell then flew back to the trees. We waited breathlessly in the dark for the front door to open. Finally it did and there stood Bobbie. That night, I realized Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

24. After hearing her sister’s words, the writer was ______.

A. Angry      B. Relaxed          C. Happy     D. disappointed

25. What can you infer from the story?

A. Bobbie’s family might not be rich.   B. Bobbie was the writer’s best friend.

C. Bobbie wanted a Christmas present.   D. The writer loved to play games with Bobbie.

26. When he saw the coat, Bobbie might feel ______.

A. surprised     B. Scared        C. calm      D. worried

27. What did the writer learn from that Christmas experience?

A. It was always better to tell the truth.     

B. Giving can make a person feel happy.

C. There was a real Santa Claus in the world.   

D. Christmas is always the best time for giving presents to someone in need

    How can you change negative(消极的) thoughts? Many people suggest changing your attitude by thinking of something bright and happy.

    However, scientists from Queen’s University in Canada said that there might be another way: by walking like a happy person.

    “It is not surprising that our mood and the way we feel affects how we walk, but we want to see whether the way we move also affects how we feel,” explained Nikolaus Troje, the lead scientist, to The Independent.

    Scientists believed that the way we remember emotional messages is affected by our mood. Those who suffer from depression (抑郁) remember negative information far more easily than active messages, especially when the information is about them.

    In order to prove this, Troje and his team used cameras to observe 47 people walking on the treadmill (跑步机). Half of the people were encouraged to mimic (模仿) a depressive walking style, while the other half moved like a happy person. Walking speed was kept equal for both groups.

    During the time on the treadmill, the scientists read out a list of active and negative words, asking people to decide whether or not each word described them well. Afterwards, people were asked to recite as many of the words as they could remember.

    As expected, those who had been mimicking a depressed walk remembered more negative words than those that had been walking in a happy manner.

    This finding means that our walk influences the way we treat information. And the scientists believe that using a happy walking style could help with treatment for depression.

28. What new way did scientists from Queen’s University possibly find to change negative thoughts?

  A. Doing something happy.         B. Thinking of something bright.

  C. Walking like a happy person.       D. Thinking about being a happy person.

29. Which of the following is NOT true about Troje’s test?

  A. The 47 people walked on the treadmill.  

  B. Half of the people walked in a depressive walking style.

  C. Another half walked in a happy walking style.  

  D. The two groups walked at different speeds.

30. In the test, those who walked in a happy manner ______.

  A. remembered more negative words     B. remembered more positive words

  C. lived a happier life                   D. lived a harder life

31. According to the story, the finding can help ______.

  A. treat patients with depression       B. improve one’s acting skills

  C. deal with people’s memory loss     D. change a person’s exercise habit

Air pollution, such as smog, has become a serious problem around the world. Besides wearing a mask, what else can we do to protect ourselves from the dirty air?

    Scientists have developed a new inhaler (吸入剂) that can reduce the effect air pollution has on people. It could help millions of people who are suffering from air pollution, the Guardian reports.

    This inhaler is developed by German company Bitop and contains a molecule (分子) named Ectoine. The molecule creates a layer (涂层) that protects lungs from polluted air. It’s reported that the inhaler will be affordable to most people when it comes to the market.

    Air pollution kills more than three million people a year worldwide and leads to health problems like lung and heart disease and strokes, according to a 2015 research project in the journal Nature. It is also linked to brain disease, mental illness and diabetes (糖尿病).

    Andreas Bilstein at Bitop believed that the inhaler could be useful around the world, because air pollution is not just a European problem: “Especially in Asia － China in particular － the demand for such a product is even higher.”

    Many Chinese cities have been suffering from smog. According to World Health Organization, two of the 10 most polluted cities in the world in 2014 were in China. About 800,000 deaths that are linked to air pollution take place in the country every year.

    However, such inhalers should never be an excuse for not trying to stop air pollution, said Professor Jean Krutmann at the Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine. “The best thing is that we have clean air and we don’t need any prophylactic (预防性的) treatment,” he said.

32. What is the new inhaler?

  A. It can help protect the environment.    

B. It can make the dirty air clean.

  C. It can solve the air pollution problem.   

D. It can help us reduce the harm of air pollution.

33. From the third paragraph, we learn that ______.

  A. the inhaler comes from a US company         

B. the inhaler is named Ectoine

  C. a molecule in the inhaler forms a layer on lungs  

D. the inhaler’s price will be too high for most people

34. Which of the following is NOT true?

  A. Air pollution kills millions of people a year worldwide.  

B. Air pollution can cause mental illness.

  C. There are no air pollution problems in Europe.         

D. Air pollution is a serious problem in China.

35. Which is Professor Jean Krutmann’s opinion?

  A. Such inhalers don’t mean much to people.   

  B. We should take action to control air pollution.

  C. We can depend on inhalers to solve air pollution problems. 

  D. We’d better produce more medicines to treat lung diseases.          

Are you studying English and do you need help with grammar?   36   Well, you can find help online with these top 5 free English as a Second Language websites.

1. Dave’s ESL Cafe

This is a complete website that can help you learn and practice English. In the learning center, you can read many stories and do a lot of exercises to test yourself.   37 

2. About.com

You can get free English courses from About.com and you’ll get regular e-mails that will help you learn English.

3.   38 

You can watch videos and listen to news stories to improve your listening and vocabulary skills. You can also hear English words and their meanings.

4. Heinle’s Newbury House Dictionary of American English

Do you need to find the definition(定义) of a word?   39   You can also find different cultural facts.

5. Personal English Portal (门户网站) on YouTube

You can watch this series of videos on YouTube to develop your listening skills. You can also do a search for “learn English” on YouTube to find other videos. There are also lots of English songs for you to listen and relax. Even you can play interesting games or chat with your friends in English on this website.   40 

A. The Classroom by Voice of America

B. This is a good way to practice English and have fun.

C. You can also post questions and answers onto the help center.

D. Use this online dictionary to find simple and clear definitions, as well as example sentences and idioms.

E. Do you want to learn new vocabulary or slang?

F. National Geographic. com

G. You are sure to learn a lot from all the five websites.