I was feeling splendid (精彩的) this morning! When approaching the bakery I saw a man asking for coins. I’ve often seen him and usually don’t react well to his whiney (嘀咕不停的) tone of his voice. This time I decided I’d give him something. After I’d paid for my tea-to-go, I got a 5 Euro bill ready. Leaving the store really slowly so he’d have a good chance to approach me, I nearly ran into him.
    “Would you maybe have some coins for me?” He asked. 
    I said, “No, sorry, I don’t,” and watched his face fall already at what he thought was a refusal, one of many thousands he probably gets each day.
    “I only have this for you”, I said and held the bill in front of his eyes. The way his jaw nearly fell and his eyes widened were priceless. 
    “Err ... wow!” he said, doing a double-take. “That’s really ... Thanks.”
    “No problem,” I said. “I’m doing well at the moment, and I wanted to share it — have a good day!”

And I walked away. Actually, I walked away leisurely （悠闲地）, and I did giggle and laugh out loud for the next 200 meters. Really, you should have seen his face. He totally had not seen that coming! The joy, I think, did not just come from the fact that I love being generous. It also came from breaking up his expectations of what would happen, to allow for that tiny moment of amazement.

21. How did the beggar feel when the writer said “No”?

       A. Worried.            B. Surprised.                 C. Disappointed.            D. Grateful.

22. The underlined phrase “doing a double-take” indicates that the beggar ________.

A. wasn’t used to being refused                  B. hesitated before reaction

C. accepted my offer immediately               D. understood me without difficulty

23. The author’s delight doubled because ________.

       A. the beggar didn’t expect so much money

       B. he was attracted by the beggar’s face

       C. he found the beggar was blind

       D. the beggar wished him a good day

24. What kind of person is the author?

       A. He’s always generous to people in need.

       B. He enjoys making fun of poor people.

       C. He lacks sympathy for the poor.

       D. He can find happiness from little things.

It’s Thanksgiving, which means a lot of family time. Here are some movies that will be fun for the whole family.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 – Since the book series is so popular, and so is Jennifer Lawrence, you’re likely to have someone in the family who wants to go to the theaters to finish the games. This one tests the limits of PG-13 in its intensity, though, so be careful of that if you’re taking some little ones.

Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and for some thematic material

Availability: In theaters everywhereZ-X-X-K]

The Good Dinosaur （恐龙）– Another great choice for adults and kids alike, Pixar’s latest offering goes back millions of years when dinosaurs weren’t destroyed by a small planet that hit Earth. We follow a little dinosaur named Arlo who must learn to face his fears when he gets separated from his family. It’s a touching story for the whole family, so make sure you bring some tissues for the tears that will eventually come out of your face.

Rating: PG for peril (危险), action and thematic elements

Availability: In theaters everywhere

Love the Coopers – Olivia Wilde stars in what is this year’s family Christmas comedy that deals with the trials and sufferings of not being able to choose your relatives. This one doesn’t have a great Rotten Tomatoes score at 21%, but I’ve heard that it’s pretty charming nonetheless thanks to Wilde.

Rating: PG -13 for thematic elements, language and some sexuality

Availability: In theaters everywhere

Inside Out – Pixar’s summer release is a funny, beautiful tale of growing up and dealing with the complicated emotions inside your head. After seeing this one a couple of times, it quickly rose up to be my second favorite Pixar movie of all-time (behind The Incredibles). Honestly, it’s better than The Good Dinosaur. If you don’t feel like heading to the theaters, just pick this one up to watch at home.

Rating: PG for mild thematic elements and some action

Availability: Blu-Ray, DVD and VOD 

Note: PG stands for parental guidance, which suggested some material may not be suitable for children.

25. The most touching movie is about how to ________.

A. finish one’s games

B. face one’s fears

C. choose one’s relatives

D. handle complicated emotions

26. What do these movies have in common?

A. They are all suitable for family entertainment.

B. They all have a good Rotten Tomatoes score.

C. They are all on show in every theater.

D. They all star famous actors and actresses.

27. What’s the writer’s favorite degree of the movies?

A. Inside Out>The Good Dinosaur>The Incredibles

B. The Good Dinosaur>The Incredibles>Love the Coopers

C. The Incredibles>Inside Out>The Good Dinosaur

D. Love the Coopers>Inside Out>The Good Dinosaur  

Instagram made a survey of people aged between 18 to 34 years old that live in France, Germany and in the United Kingdom, asking them how they share and connect digitally （数字地） and visually. According to results from the survey, the new trends and behaviours found may offer a window into the future, and how our world may be seen by the Millennials generation. The first statistic to see, is how Instagram changed the view of Instagramers.

Nearly a quarter of Instagramers admit that Instagram has changed how they see the world. Press and news Instagram accounts are sharing news from all our the planet, such as BBC News, RT or NowThis. Also let’s not forget the Non-Governmental Organizations that are fighting every day on the ground but also on Instagram, to get their cause acknowledged by the majority, such as Too Young To Wed , Rotary International and charity: water. Many Instagramers are sharing what’s going out in the world too, what we call “Influencers”, such as Humans of New York, Steve McCurry, Euphilena, Brooke Saward, Johnny Castle.

This brings us to the second impressive statistic. More than a third of Instagramers who post daily actually plan their Instagram posts before taking a picture, which makes Instagram a sort of “wonderland” for clean and neat pictures.

While conducting the survey, Instagramers are shown the same image on five digital platforms. They describe images on Instagram as more imaginative, creative, distinctive, inspiring and cool.

What’s interesting with these findings is that Instagram changes the view of media on the platform. And this is why it has become the social platform for sharing images and videos. 

28. The text is mainly about ______.

A.      who Instagram is popular with

B.      why Instagram gets clean pictures

C.      what is interesting with Instagram

D.     how Instagram changes people’s view

29. The information posted on Instagram comes from _______ different sources.

A.      2                           B. 3                      C. 4                      D. 5

30. We can infer from the passage that Now This is a ________.

A．news medium                                      B. name of “Influencers”      

C．voluntary organization                          D. network operator

31. Compared with other 4 digital platforms, which is NOT an advantage of Instagram?

A.    Distinctive.             B. Inspiring.          C. Neat.         D. Creative.

If we had clones, we would give people a chance. If there was a couple who couldn’t have a child but wanted one, they could clone the father or mother and have a clone baby. It gives people life. It’s a step forward in technology, so why can’t we clone? We’ve done so many things, like find cures for harmful diseases, so why can’t we clone?

—Posted by: Lexnom

Cloning people can bring upon the end of the world because with too many people on the earth we will run out of natural resources. Clones can steal the identity of the original organism. Clones can be used to commit crimes. Cloning is dangerous and should not be done, it is bad!

      —Posted by: Erayn

Cloning is wrong. Imagine that you, a fully functioning human being, as born in this world as nothing more than an organ farm. People think using clones for organs is ok, but would you like to be created only to get your kidney cut out? No. How is doing medical experiments on a clone any different than doing it to people? A clone is a person, a copy of one.

—Posted by: Bradley

The world is overpopulated as it is. To put it simply, the world already has problems with hunger, thirst, and providing the basic needs for life in a large portion （部分）of the world. There really is not a valid benefit to this. If anything, it is creating another life/person that could potentially have a horrible life and be treated very poorly.

—Posted by: Angela

32. Lexnom support the idea of cloning because _______.

A. infertile couples will be able to have their own biological children

B. some patients can replace their ill-functioned organs with cloned ones

C. it’s interesting to see someone with the same DNA as you but acts differently

D. we can clone intelligent people to promote the advance of technology

33. Who is worried that cloning will put an end to the world ?

A. Lexnom.  B. Erayn.   C. Bradley.     D. Angela.

34. Which of the following is NOT a shortcoming of cloning?

   A. A clone could live a miserable （痛苦的） life.

B. Clones can be used to break the law.

C. Clones can help consume natural resources.

D. Cloning makes it possible to cure some diseases.

35. What is the best title of this passage?

A. Should We Clone Humans

B. Cloning for Medical Treatment

C. Cloning Is Risky

D. Creating Your Twins

It is very important for humans to learn to maintain a balance and live harmoniously with animals. Even more importantly, we should all make an active effort to protect those animals that are now endangered. Read on to learn about what you can do to help!

Learn about endangered species in your area. Teach your friends and family about the wonderful wildlife, birds, fish and plants that live near you. The first step to protecting endangered species is learning about how interesting and important they are.  36 

Visit a national wildlife park or other open space.  37   Scientists tell us the best way to protect endangered species is to protect the places where they live. Get involved by volunteering at your local nature center. Go wildlife or bird watching in nearby parks. Z-X-X-K]

  38    Many animals live in developed areas and this means they must cross a landscape full of human threats. One of the biggest challenges to wildlife living in developed areas is roads. So when you’re out and about, slow down and keep an eye out for wildlife.

Recycle and buy sustainable products. Buy recycled paper, sustainable products like bamboo products to protect forest species.  39  Recycle your cell phones, because a mineral used in cell phones and other electronics is mined in gorilla habitat. Z-X-X-K]

Never purchase products made from threatened or endangered species. Overseas trips can be exciting and fun, and everyone wants a souvenir. But sometimes the souvenirs are made from species nearing extinction.  40   

A. Slow down when driving.

B. Make your home wildlife friendly.

C. Avoid supporting the market in illegal wildlife.

D. Never buy furniture made of wood from rainforests.

E. Once the existence of an animal or plant species is threatened, we humans may be the next.

F. Open space also provides us with great places to visit and enjoy.

G. These protected lands provide habitat to many native wildlife, birds, fish and plants.