2022-2023学年浙江省“七彩阳光”新高考研究联盟高二上学期期中联考试题英语含答案

  2022-2023学年浙江省“七彩阳光”新高考研究联盟高二上学期期中联考英语试题

考生须知：

1．本卷共8页满分150分，考试时间120分钟；

2．答题前，在答题卷指定区域填写班级、姓名、考场号、座位号及准考证号并填涂相应数字；

3．所有答案必须写在答题纸上，写在试卷上无效；

4．考试结束后，只需上交答题纸。

第I卷

第一部分：听力（共两节，满分30分）

做题时，先将答案标在试卷上。录音内容结束后，你将有两分钟的时间将试卷上的答案转涂到答题卡上。

第一节（共5小题；每小题1.5分，满分7.5分）

听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。

例： How much is the shirt?

A.￡ 19.15  B.￡ 9.18  C.￡ 9.15

答案是 C。

1. Where does the conversation probably take place?

A. In a classroom.  B. In a library.  C. In a hotel.

2. How much should the man pay for his son’s ticket to Rome?

A. $330.  B. $660.  C. $990.

3. What is the probable relationship between the speakers?

A. Classmates.  B. Colleagues.  C. Teacher and student.

4. What does the man advise the woman to do?

A. Go to bed earlier.  B. Study hard in class.  C. Do outdoor activities.

5. How will the woman go to New York?

A. By air  B. By car.  C. By train.

第二节(共15小题；每小题1.5分，满分22.5分)

听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。

听第6段材料，回答第6、7题。

6. Why does the boy love Sundays?

A. He has no homework.  B. He can play basketball.

C. He can watch sports on TV.

7. What is the boy expected to do?

A. Help with housework.  B. Have a good rest.

C. Go to school.

听第7段材料，回答第8、9题。

8. What language is the man fluent in?

A. Spanish.  B. French.  C. Italian.

9. What plays an important role in language learning according to the man?

A. Lots of practice.  B. A good dictionary.  C. Language environment.

听第8段材料，回答第10至12题。

10. What does the man think of self-service supermarket?

A. Unsafe.  B. Convenient.  C. Time-consuming.

11. What wasted the woman’s time?

A. Collecting shopping data.

B. Signing in when shopping.

C. Reading advertisement messages.

12. Where will the woman probably buy water?

A. In a supermarket.   B. In a self-service store.

C. In a convenience store.

听第9段材料，回答第13至16题。

13. Why does Roy apply for the job?

A. He wants to earn some money.

B. He wants to get some work experience.

C. He wants to learn some communication skills.

14. When doesn’t Roy have any classes?

A. On Friday.  B. On Wednesday.  C. Every afternoon.

15. What does Roy major in?

A. Media.  B. Journalism.  C. Advertising.

16. What should Roy do first?

A. Go to the job market.  B. Have a talk with Mr Smith.

C. Fill in an application form.

听第10段材料，回答第17至20题。

17. What percentage of American families own a smart machine?

A. 6%.  B. 50%.  C. 70%.

18. What’s the most important reason that smart machines can’t reach the market?

A. They are not necessary.  B. They are too expensive.

C. They are not yet perfect.

19. What do Samsung’s smart fridges have inside?

A. Pots.  B. Cameras.  C. Alarm clocks.

20. What does the speaker mainly talk about?

A. The popularity of smart machines.

B. The way smart machines change our lives.

C. The reason for the small market share of smart machines.

第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分50分）

第一节（共15小题；每小题2.5分，满分37.5分）

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

Tour 1-Inuit Experience

A chance to meet the Inuit people of Nunavut in Canada. While staying with the Inuit people you will have the chance to ride on a dog sled and travel in a seal-skin boat. The Inuit believe in animal spirits. They usually live in small family groups but have large summer assemblies for feasts and celebrations. You will have the chance to join one of these large assemblies and take part in the dancing, listen to traditional accounts of bravery, and play games.

Tour 2-Aborigine Adventure

A trip to Kakado in Australia will include a three-day stay in an Aborigine village. Here you will have the chance to attend Aborigine ceremonies with dining and dancing, based on ancient beliefs. The Aborigines believe that Great Spirits created all the people, animals and plants on Earth. You will get the chance to try some very strange food like snakes! On this trip you will get to learn about their musical instruments and the boomerang, which they use to hunt animals.

Tour3-Mysterious Maoris

New Zealand is home to Maoris. They brought with them a culture rich in song, dance and art. The Maori people believe in many gods such as the God of the Forest and the God of the Sea. The Maoris have a traditional meeting house, where you will meet with the Maoris and join with them in dance. And there you will eat food such as fish and sweet potato, which is cooked in leaves steamed over hot stones. You will also get the chance to eat food cooked in underground stoves.

21. Where is this text probably taken from?

A. A travel brochure.   B. A course plan.

C. An academic paper.   D. A cultural research.

22. What do the Aborigines believe in?

A. Animal spirits.   B. Great Spirits.

C. The God of the Forest.  D. The God of the Sea.

23. What do these cultural experiences have in common?

A. You will be permitted to travel in a seal-skin boat.

B. You will get the chance to play local musical instruments.

C. You will be able to eat food cooked in underground stoves.

D. You will be invited to enjoy dancing with the natives.

B

The end of any life is a time to look back and reflect on the historic events it has witnessed—and rarely can that be so more than in the case of Queen Elizabeth II, whose life witnessed several significant changes of the world stage.

The 96-year-old, whose death in Scotland was announced by Buckingham Palace shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday Sep 8th, 2022, was born before the birth of talking pictures, and lived to see the era of virtual reality. She arrived in a world where her grandfather King George V was the Emperor of India, and left it with Britain still finding its feet on the world stage. Her life also saw the conquer of space and the fight with COVID-19 pandemic.

Born in 1926, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was the first child of Albert, Duke of York. The young Elizabeth had a comfortable, happy childhood, but all her life was switched in 1936. The Queen’s uncle, King Edward VIII, abandoned the throne(帝位) before he was even crowned, and instantly her shy father, as well as his wife and two daughters was into the spotlight as the country’s next king, a position he had never expected to take up. In 1952, when the young Princess Elizabeth was on a trip to Kenya, the news came through of the death of her father. At the age of 25, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II, and a new era began.

Her death marks the end of a bond which ties modern Britain to the wartime era which continues to cast a giant shadow across the modern British political landscape. Her passing is also the end of an era for the world, as of all the world’s major political leaders, only US President Joe Biden, born in 1942, shares any connection to World War II.

She is now the past, and her successor, King Charles III, is the future. Where Britain goes from here, in what state of mind, and how it handles the challenge of keeping a balance between dealing with its past, working out its present challenges, and embracing its future, remains to be seen.

24. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A. The significant advance of technology.  B. The rise and fall of Britain.

C. The great changes the Queen saw.  D. The difficulties the world went through.

25. Which of the following best describes Elizabeth’s experience of becoming the Queen?

A. Demanding.  B. Successful.  C. Normal.  D. Unexpected.

26. Why does the author mention US President Joe Biden?

A. To show the Queen’s crucial historical meaning.

B. To compare the world’s major political leaders.

C. To stress the cruelty and sufferings of World War II.

D. To boost the relationship between Britain and the United States.

27. What is Queen Elizabeth II’s successor about to face?

A. Keeping a positive state of mind.  B. Being committed to the superb past.

C. Maintaining the balanced present.  D. Dealing with the unknown challenges.

C

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has badly affected the food industry, the prefabricated food (预制菜) market has witnessed a fast growth.

“I bought some prefabricated food in late April when my community was locked down due to the coronavirus outbreak,” a Beijing-based resident Yu told Global Times. “It was then that I realized there were so many different sorts of prefabricated food. All you need to do is to put some water into the heating package and a fair meal would be ready in minutes.”

Prefabricated food has become increasingly popular over the last two years, with plenty of companies entering the business and different kinds of productions keeping hitting the shelves. The total market scale for prefabricated food reached 345.9 billion yuan in 2021. It is expected that China’s prefabricated food market will stay a high growth rate in the near future, with a market scale estimated to reach 1.07 trillion yuan in 2026.

Many investors have started to pour money into it. From 2013 to 2021, a total of 71 investments were conducted in the prefabricated food sector(行业). Even so there are problems linked to the growth of the industry. For instance, the prefabricated food industry is made up of a long value chain from production, cold-chain logistics(冷链物流) to delivery, which requires companies to realize smooth operation.

In addition, the sector’s product quality problem has also begun to come under the spotlight, becoming one of the most common complaints by consumers, according to an analysis released by China Consumer Association(CCA). “There are prefabricated food products with no detailed labels and many restaurants do not inform customers when offering them prefabricated food.” CCA’s analysis said.

CCA emphasized that with the rapid development of the prefabricated food market, relevant rules need to be rolled out to promote the standardized development of the industry and to guide the industry’s healthy growth.

28. What can we infer from the Beijing-based resident Yu’s description?

A. She suffered a lot during the period when her community was locked down.

B. She had known prefabricated food quite a lot before the pandemic broke out.

C. The pandemic to some extent increased the popularity of prefabricated food.

D. Numerous cooking skills are needed to prepare prefabricated food at home.

29. What is the current situation of prefabricated food sector?

A. Promising but worthless.  B. Profitable but insecure.

C. Popular but unsuccessful.  D. Well-received but challenging.

30. What does the underlined phrase “come under the spotlight” mean in paragraph 5?

A. Draw people’s great concern.  B. Disappear from people’s sight.

C. Have the potential to get settled.  D. Have a positive effect on customers.

31. What did CCA suggest to promote the healthy growth of the prefabricated food market?

A. Canceling some rules.  B. Making some regulations.

C. Promoting the sales.   D. Enriching the production varieties.

D

Ever fought with a problem? Picked up a new skill? Encountered a difficult concept? The language of learning is full of references to parts of the body outside the brain. Perhaps that’s because these phrases suggest something deeper. Researchers are detecting that learning is easier, quicker and more long-lasting if it involves the body.

“In the past, people have argued that as we grow, we become more able to think abstractly (抽象地),” says Andrew Manches, a psychologist at the University of Edinburgh in the UK. Conventional (传统的) thinking might suggest that teachers should help prevent children from using body gestures to prepare them for the adult world. But in truth, the physical world never really leaves our thinking. For example, when we process verbs such as lick, kick and pick, medical scanners show that the parts of our brain that control the muscles in our face, legs and hands, respectively, light up with activity.

Science is beginning to back up the idea that actions really might speak louder than words in the classroom. Spencer Kelly, a psychologist at Colgate University in New York, has found that people spend three times as much time gesturing when they think the message they get across is remarkably important, suggesting that even if only at the subconscious (潜意识的) level, we appreciate the communicative value of our body language. Kelly has also found evidence that a teacher is more appealing to students when he or she uses arm and hand movements to stress points.

Also, some studies indicate that young children obtain more if their teacher uses gestures when explaining a concept. Meanwhile, Sunsan Wagner Cook, a psychologist at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, has found that children pick up new concepts more effectively, if they are taught to mirror and repeat gestures their teacher uses.

32. How did people in the past understand learning?

A. The older a student grows, the less likely he will think abstractly.

B. Teachers are advised to encourage students to use body gestures.

C. Body gestures should be removed to promote adult-like thinking.

D. The physical world never really leaves our thinking.

33. How did the author make us believe the truth of the discovery?

A. By presenting different researches.  B. By explaining some rules.

C. By making some predictions.  D. By analyzing the theory.

34. What can we learn from Spencer Kelly’s study?

A. People use gestures every time they convey the messages.

B. Body movements can increase a teacher’s popularity.

C. Young students like to mirror their teacher’s gestures.

D. Body language is more powerful than spoken language.

35. What is the main idea of the text?

A. The Language of Learning: A Vital Approach

B. Body Gestures: A Sharp Tool for Fast Learning

C. Body Language: A Universal Language Signal

D. Thinking Abstractly: A Symbol of Adult World

第二节（共5小题；每小题2.5分，满分12.5分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

If you’re looking for something fun to do, pack a picnic dinner and take your family or friends to a beautiful place to eat. However, there’s a wrong trend to view picnics as an excuse to transport food in single-use plastic containers. Sure, it means the cleanup is easy at the moment, but it just puts it off to a later point, when it takes the form of volunteer cleanups and landfill management.    36    What follows is advice on how to pack such a picnic.

●Use food containers smartly

Using reusable containers is the easiest way to reduce waste.    37    For example, to reduce packaging, you can take along things like a loaf of bread, a whole watermelon, whole vegetables, a knife and a board to cut your food when you’re ready to eat. It doesn’t all have to be done and sealed (密封) before you leave the house.

●Choose real cutlery (餐具)

Using washable dishes and cutlery for a picnic does not require much more work than single-use ones.

You’d have to carry the waste out anyway in a trash bag, so why not pack your dirty plates and cutlery into a bag and put them in the dishwasher at home?    38  

●Think about the drinks

Forget the single-use, single-serve drink bottles.    39    Fill a large thermos (保温瓶) or personal water bottles with water, juice or lemonade at home. Compared with a single-use plastic cup, they have the added advantage of keeping your drinks colder for longer.

●Put cloth bags to good use

Cloth bags are amazing. I use them for so much more than just buying food at the store. They’re perfect for packing sandwiches, dried or whole fruit, and other snack foods. You can use them to pack glasses or plates to prevent breaking. They can also work as a napkin, tea towel, or trash bag if needed.    40  

A. Be sure to add a few to your picnic basket.

B. There are some healthy dishes you can make or buy.

C. To avoid this, a plastic-free picnic can be a brilliant idea.

D. If you’re worried about breaking, take some light camping plates.

E. Instead, just bring along a cloth tablecloth to spread on the ground.

F. These create a huge amount of waste, which can be easily avoided.

G. In addition, keep in mind that you don’t have to pre-pack everything.

第三部分  语言应用（共两节，满分30分）

第一节  完形填空（共15小题；每题1分，满分15分）

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

A few years ago, I was leaving where I worked only to find a baby goat (山羊) at the end of the driveway. I    41    someone dumped (遗弃) him over the fence. The    42    was visibly nervous but stood perfectly still as I approached.

I’m an animal    43    and I’ve brought home dogs, cats, horses, chickens, and fish, but never a goat. The tiny kid was too adorable to    44   . I named him Quincy, and bottle-fed him in my bathroom.

Quincy proved to be quite intelligent. When he was about a week old, I    45    my fingers on the bathroom floor and said “Lie down.” I was amazed when he    46   .

A    47    study—Quincy learned to lie down, bow, and turn in a circle in no time. He knows the name of everything I feed him, and even joins us for trips to the dog park.

I love to train animals and often take my dogs to shows where they can perform their tricks. Quincy did his first    48    when he was just six weeks old. He knew only a few    49    then, but he did them perfectly and    50    misbehaved or got nervous in front of the crowd.

Now he has a whole performing list: He’ll shake hooves (蹄子), come when    51   , wave, smile for the camera (“Say cheese!”), and more. Quincy and my dogs    52    regularly at schools, nursing homes, and charity events. Quincy can even “read” his tricks off cue cards, which always earns the most    53   .

It’s hard to believe that the goat kid    54    wanted turned out to be one of the smartest and most good-natured animals I’ve ever had. He’s by far the    55    of my bunch—just don’t tell the dogs!

41. A. knew  B. evaluated  C. saw  D. figured

42. A. owner  B. dog  C. kid  D. stranger

43. A. lover  B. watcher  C. professor  D. hunter

44. A. insist  B. resist  C. adopt  D. acknowledge

45. A. tapped  B. swung  C. stuck  D. raised

46. A. looked down  B. calmed down  C. broke down  D. dropped down

47. A. slow  B. rewarding  C. quick  D. disappointing

48. A. duty  B. greeting  C. show  D. service

49. A. trips  B. tricks  C. patterns  D. examples

50. A. never  B. only  C. still  D. often

51. A. ignored  B. called  C. warned  D. blessed

52. A. perform  B. practice  C. play  D. stretch

53. A. money  B. respect  C. applause  D. sympathy

54. A. anybody  B. somebody  C. everybody  D. nobody

55. A. oldest  B. sharpest  C. rarest  D. kindest

第II卷

注意：将答案写在答题卡上。写在本试卷上无效。

第三部分：语言运用（共两节，满分30分）

第二节（共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分）

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Hot pot, as    56    traditional Chinese folk dish, has become a favourite dish throughout China since at least the Han Dynasty,    57    is particularly true during winter months. There    58    (be) different styles of hot pot with differently flavored thick soup in China, from spicy hot pot in Sichuan, seafood-based hot pot in Guangdong    59    mutton hot pot in Hong Kong. No matter what your    60    (prefer) is, Chinese hot pot has something to interest you.

The spicy hot pot featured in Sichuan is probably the most famous among the native Chinese. When visiting Chongqing, you will have an opportunity    61    (taste) authentic (真正的) Chinese hot pot. Chongqing hot pot is characterized by ma la (“numb and spicy”) due to the inclusion of Sichuan peppers and is unique in the types of meat and sauce    62    (use) for its base.

   63    the flavor of Chinese hot pot varies from region to region, the dining customs are similar. Hot pot is    64    (typical) served in a metal bowl at the center of the dining table. As the soup in the pot is cooked at almost boiling point, the ingredients (原料)    65    (add) into the boiling thick soup.

第四部分：写作（共两节，满分40分）

第一节  应用文写作（满分15分）

假定你是李华，某国际学校学生。新学期学校开设了文学、科技和摄影三个社团，你校新西兰交换生Biff不知如何选择，写信向你求助。请你给他回信，内容包括：

1.推荐某一社团；

2.简介该社团；

3.告知申请方式。

参考词汇：文学社 the literature club 科技社 the science club 摄影社 the photography club

注意：1.词数80左右；

2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

第二节  读后续写（满分25分）

阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

It was a cold December, at the tail end of the Great Depression, and things were tough. Mum had a hard time raising us kids on her own in our small community. My father had died five years earlier, leaving us worse off; we relied on social assistance to keep us clothed, and although our clothes were secondhand, we thought they were beautiful.

Looking back, I realized what Mum went through sending us kids to school. Every morning she would tuck(塞) a new piece of cardboard in our shoes because our soles (鞋底) were worn out. When we got home, Mum would have French toast ready for us. Our rent was $25 a month, but Mum couldn’t pay it, and we knew we would move out right after Christmas on the first of January.

The holidays were fast approaching, and we were entitled to (有资格获得) $25 for Christmas from social services. It was four days before Christmas. Mum said that instead of buying food, she was going to use the money to pay our back rent. That way we’d have a roof over our heads for a little while longer.

Then she told us that there would be no Christmas gifts.

What Mom didn’t know was that I had been selling Christmas trees, sweeping snow and doing part-time jobs to earn enough money to buy a new pair of boots—boots that weren’t patched (缝补); boots with no cardboard in it. I knew exactly which boots I wanted. They were ten-inch, Top-Genuine, Pierre Paris boots, and they cost $23.

The big day for getting my boots came on Christmas Eve afternoon. I was very excited as I hurried up the shopping center for it. On the way, I noticed a grocery store (杂货店).

注意：

1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。

Paragraph 1

The Christmas lights and decorations held me, and I slowed my pace.__________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2

Once home, I piled the groceries on the porch (门廊) and knocked on the door.___________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2022学年第一学期浙江“七彩阳光”新高考研究联盟期中联考

高二年级英语学科参考答案

第一部分：听力（共两节，满分30分）

1-5 AABCA  6-10 CAACB  11-15 BCBBB  16-20 CAABC

第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分50分）

21-23 ABD  24-27 CDAD  28-31 CDAB  32-35 CABB               36-40 CGDFA

第三部分：语言运用（共两节，满分30分）

第一节  完形填空（满分15分）

41-45 DCABA  46-50 DCCBA  51-55 BACDB

第二节  语法填空（满分15分）

56. a  57. which  58. are  59. to               60. preference

61. to taste  62. used  63.Although/Though/While 64. typically               65. are added

第四部分：写作（共两节，满分40分）

第一节：应用文写作（满分15分）

参考范文：

Dear Biff,

Knowing that you are at a loss when choosing an appropriate club to attend, I am writing to recommend the literature club and keep you informed of some information about it.

The club gathers its members on Thursday, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Enjoying a high popularity among students, the club is bound to bring you into a magical world of literature, providing you a platform where you can communicate with great minds in those masterpieces. If possible, some particular literature salons will be arranged on a regular basis.

Please send your application form to literatureclub@126.com. I’m sure your participation will be highly welcomed.

Yours,

Li Hua

第二节： 读后续写（满分 25 分）

参考范文：

Paragraph 1

The Christmas lights and decorations held me, and I slowed my pace. It was then that I realized in our dim house, we had no lights, no decorations and no money for Christmas. A strange sense of guilt suddenly engulfed me. With Pierre Paris boots still in my mind, I tried to convince myself there was at least French toast tonight. However, my family’ disappointed faces on that cold Christmas kept lingering in my mind clearly. After what seemed like a century, I ultimately made the resolution and stepped into the grocery store, eyes brimming with determination. I bought a turkey, ham, oranges and all the Christmas decorations. I spent every dime of my hard-earned money and went back to my house.

Paragraph 2

Once home, I piled the groceries on the porch (门廊) and knocked on the door. Out came my thin mom. The instant she unlocked the door, the groceries fell inside. Staring hard at these items, she was dumbfounded. Tears threatening to spill over my eyes, I hollered, “Merry Christmas, Mother! There really is a Santa Claus!” Words seemed to fail to convey her emotions so that she embraced me tightly. It was when a half-choking “Thanks” escaped from her mouth that a sense of achievement surged through me. I bet I would never have had such satisfaction if I had bought the Pierre Paris boots then. I had a lot of explaining to do as we unpacked all the food. That night, I, an eleven-year-old boy, received the most precious Christmas gift—my responsibility and satisfaction for my family.

附录音稿

(Text 1)

M: Wake up, Alice. Time to rise and shine.

W: Oh, I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep while I was reading.

M: You and everyone else. It looks more like a hotel than a classroom.

(Text 2)

M: Excuse me, my 7-year-old son and I will fly to Rome. How much will it cost?

W: The one-way ticket to Rome for an adult is 660 dollars and the child air fare is half the adult’s.

M: I see.

(Text 3)

M: Who filed these documents? They’re in the wrong place.

W: It must have been Dale. He has made the same mistake three times this week.

(Text 4)

W: I’m unable to fall asleep at night, and then I’m too sleepy to concentrate in class during the day.

M: Well, you spend too much time indoors. And your body can’t tell if it’s night. That’s how your problem comes up.

(Text 5)

M: I hear you are going to drive to New York this time, instead of taking a train.

W: Oh, I’ve changed my mind.

M: What?

W: I think flying will be more interesting and comfortable.

(Text 6)

M: Do you know why I love Sundays, Mom?

W: Sure, Jerry. You don’t go to school today.

M: That’s true, but I don’t go to school on Saturdays either.

W: Then don’t tell me there are sports on TV all day.

M: You’re so right. No one knows me better, Mom.

W: Oh, come on. Don’t even think about it. You’ve promised to clean your room today.

M: I will, but I only need 30 minutes just to know who will win the basketball game.

W: No way before you finish the cleaning.

(Text 7)

M: Here, Molly. I’d like you to have this dictionary. I don’t use it any more now that I am fluent.

W: Thank you. Richard. Um...a Spanish dictionary?

M: Yes, I think you can use it when you study abroad in Spain next semester.

W: Oh, Richard, my plans have changed. I was hoping to study in Spain. But the program is one year long, and I prefer a six-month program. So I had to choose France.

M: Molly, you’ll love France! Well, I guess I will keep my dictionary. The truth is that you never stop learning a language, even when you think you have mastered it.

W: How did you ever learn Spanish? I failed in Italian last semester. So I’m worried that I will never understand French.

M: When I went on my first international trip to Spain, I was also very worried. But the best way to learn is by exposing yourself to the culture and the language.

W: Thank you for your advice. I’m looking forward to my trip to France.

M: Once you’re there, you’ll have too much fun to get nervous.

(Text 8)

W: It’s so hot, Andrew. Where can I buy some water?

M: Look, there is a self-service store there.

W: I got into trouble there last time. Let’s find a convenience store instead.

M: Really? Self-service supermarkets are becoming popular now. You can go shopping without asking for help from the salesperson. It’s really convenient as far as I know. What happened?

W: Of course, it is not that simple. As a new user, I had to sign in first. That was a waste of time. What’s worse, customers are asked for their phone number. It’s possible for them to receive advertisement messages or calls, because their shopping data is collected.

M: Anyway, you don’t need to sign in this time.

W: Worse still, nobody offered help when I had problems. I was at sea with the functions of the product. If I had been in the convenience store, the salesperson would have given me a hand immediately.

M: OK. Let’s go along the street to see if we can find one.

(Text 9)

W: Hello, this is MK Television Studios. May I help you?

M: Hello, I’m Roy! I’m calling because I saw an ad in the school newspaper. It says there is some work available for a student who wants to work on your local news program.

W: Right. But do you know the student who wants to apply for the job is a volunteer? It’s an unpaid job.

M: Oh, sure. I know that. I just want to gain some work experience.

W: Are you available on weekends? We are extremely busy at that time and need more hands.

M: Of course. I am free on weekends and I have no classes on Wednesday.

W: That’s great! Well, is your major media?

W: No, journalism. But I’ve taken some media courses.

W: I see. First you need to fill in an application form. Could you come here later this afternoon?

M: Of course.

W: That’s great. Then you have to talk with Mr Smith. He is in charge of the program.

M: I know, and actually I can’t wait to see him.

W: Wish you good luck.

(Text 10)

The advertising of smart home has gone on for years. There are coffee pots that are turned on when the alarm clock rings. There are fridges that give an alert when the milk runs out.

However, it seems that few people are making their homes smart. According to a U.S. survey, only 6% of American families have a smart machine. Rapid growth is not expected. More than 70% of people have no plans to buy smart machines in the next two to five years.

Why are smart home machines having a hard time reaching the market? We think there are several reasons. The first and most important reason is that a lot of smart machines are just fun. They are not essential. Besides, many of them are too expensive. For example, one of Samsung’s smart fridges has a camera inside. It can check for rotting food. However, we do regularly check the food in our fridges. Why do we need a smart fridge? And the fridge sells for $5,000. It’s too expensive for most of us. What’s more, the technology is not yet perfect, either. There are complaints that smart machines sometimes stop working.