Many kids think they are too common. They think they are not the prettiest or smartest. Sometimes kids don’t know how special they are. When they see excellent actors or cool pop stars, they often think: Am I excellent? What am I going to be when I grow up?

Growing up means understanding what you can do and what you can offer to the world. When you are young, you don’t see that. But when you get older, you may know that just by being yourself, you do offer something to other people.

Maybe you aren’t the best, but that doesn’t make you “not special”. Think about your friends. Write down some things that you like about them. Think about why you are friends. You are going to know that in the end, though they aren’t the smartest or the prettiest or the most talented, they are great in their way. And they feel just the same as you!

In fact it is great to be the best at something, but it’s OK if you can’t be the best. If you just live your life and try hard, you are still pretty amazing. And you can make your dream come true.

    Many people can’t get good and enough sleep because they are busy working and studying. Do you often wake up in the night? Can you get up easily on time? Do you feel tired after getting up? Can you put your heart into the class? Do you feel sleepy during the daytime? If your answer is yes, that means you get a bad night’s sleep.

But how to get good and enough sleep?

First, never drink coffee before bedtime. Second, don’t eat too much. Third, you candrink some milk before going to bed. Fourth, go to bed and get up at the same time every day.

Another way is to count numbers (数数) in your heart. It can give you fast sleep. Less than eight hours is not enough. Let’s keep a good sleep habit.

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There is a famous English saying “You are what you eat”, anditmeans what you put in your mouth will become part of you. Many experts (专家) use it to tell people it's important to have a good eating habit. For example, too much sweet food makes a person overweight. To avoid being fat, kids are told to keep off sweet food. But, a team of American scientists have found something new about eating sweet food.

“When we say some people ‘sweet’, we mean they are kind and friendly to us. Perhaps(也许) this word can help us learn more about people's feelings and acts.” said Brian Meier, a scientist from the study team. “Taste is something we experience every day. What we have done is to find whether we can know someone's character(角色) and behavior(行为) depending on their taste.”

In one of their experiments(实验), students were asked questions about their character－whether, for example, they were soft-hearted or not. Then they were asked to make a list of their favorite food. According to their answers, the scientists found that the students who liked sweet food were nicer.

In their another experiment, the scientists found that people who preferred sweet food such as cookies and chocolate were more willing to help other people in need, and those who ate non-sweet food such as chips weren’t. For example, people with a sweet tooth were more likely to volunteer to clean up their city, visit sick children in the hospital and so on.

The result of the experiments is that people’s helpfulness or being nice has something to do with their taste for sweet food. So eating sweet food is a useful way to make people nice and helpful. Next time, try some ice-cream.

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     It is no surprise that more and more people like bicycling. It is fun, healthy and good for the environment. Maybe that’s why there are 1.4 billion bicycles and only 400 million cars on roads worldwide today. Bike can take you almost anywhere, and there is no oil（油） cost!

Get on a bicycle and ride around your neighborhood. You may discover something new all around you. Stopping and getting off a bike is easier than stopping and getting out of your car. You can bike to work and benefit from the enjoyable exercise without polluting the environment.

You don’t even have to ride all the way. Folding(折叠) bikes work well for people who take the train. Just fold the bike and take it with you. You can do the same on an airplane. A folding bike can be packed in a suitcase. You can also take a common bike with you when you fly. But be sure to look for information by visiting airline websites. Not all airlines are bicycle friendly to travelers.

Health Benefits of Bicycling:

◇It helps to prevent heart diseases.

◇Bicycling helps to control your weight.

 A 15-minute bike ride to and from work three times a week burns off kilos of fat in a   

 year.

◇Bicycling can improve your mood

Exercise like bicycling has been shown to make people feel better. More relaxed and self-confident. In short, bicycling is healthier than driving.

We all know that life without emojis would be extremely boring．Therefore，it is only fitting that the editors of the well-known oxford English Dictionary chose —the face with the tears of joy as its ‘Word of the Year’ for 2015．

The company that announced its unusual word choice on November 16th said that it was picked over several other traditional choices．Among them were ‘refugee’，‘sharing economy’ and ‘on fleek’．However，it was this simple emoji that resonated with the editors because it appeared to best describe the spirits, mood, and concerns of 2015．

They also thought that this was a good year to pay homage to the emoji. For though they have been around since the late 1990’s，the use of the digital signs and the word that describes them，has increased sharply this year．Besides，emojis are now used by people of all ages，not just teenagers．

Also, though the word comes from the Japanese language—e(picture)，moji(character or letter)，the digital signs can be understood by everyone regardless of the language they speak．Therefore it only makes sense to acknowledge their importance to global communication．

As to how they selected from the thousands of emojis that are available，the company says that they partnered with a leading mobile technology company SwifiKey to determine the most popular emoji．It turns out that ‘tears of joy’ is the most used icon. According to SwiffKey，made up 17％of all emojis used in the U．S．A and a surprising 20％in the United Kingdom!

Though this is the first time the Oxford University Press has selected an image for its‘word of the year’．it is not the first time they have tried to combine modem lingo into their 150-year-old publication．In 2013，in recognition of the growing popularity of self-portraits，the editors selected ‘selfie’, for the‘Word of the Year’！

Question 11-15 Multiple Choice Questions

There are four choices for each question. Refer to the passage and choose the correct answer.

                                                                                                             C

       When we think of Hollywood, we think of films and famous film stars. They are part of Hollybood's history. Today people make films in other places too. Not all famous film stars live in Hollywood. But Hollywood is still a very special city in Los Angeles. There is a big sign on the hills. It says "HOLLYWOOD". The white letters are fifty feet tall. You can see the sign from far away. The Hollywood sign is a famous Hollywood landmark(标记) in Los Angeles. Many postcards show this famous Hollywood landmark.

       In the hills of Hollywood, there is also the Hollywood Bowl. This is an open-air theatre. It is one of the largest open-air theatres in the world. It has seventeen thousand seats and a very different stage(演奏台). The design of the stage was by a great American named Frank Loyed Wright. You can listen to all kinds of concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.

C

   The Silk Road is a historically important international trade route between China and the Mediterranean(地中海)。It began during the Western Han Dynasty and has been a bridge between East and West for over 2,000 years。

   The ancient road started from Chang’an (nowXi’an) and ended in Eastern Europe, near today’sTurkeyand theMediterranean Sea. It was about 6,500 kilometers long and went across one-fourth of the planet。

   The Silk Roadgot its name in the 19th century because Chinese silk used to be carried along this road。 Silk, jade, ceramics and iron went west to Rome。 And from the west came glass, gems and food like carrots。

   The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world。 It was more than an ancient international trade route。 Besides trade, knowledge about arts, science and literature, as well crafts and technologies was shared across theSilk Road。 In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other。                

   Today, China is trying to build the "21st Century Marine(海洋的) Silk Road". With the help of APEC held in Beijing in November 2014,the dream of One Belt One Road(the "Silk Road Economic(经济的)Belt"and"21st Century Marine Silk Road")("一带一路")is coming true。

An old man walked slowly with a cane(手杖)into the restaurant. His old jacket, worn-out shoes and warm personality made him stand out from the usual crowd.

A young waitress (女侍者) watched him move toward a table by the window. She ran over to him, and said: “Here, sir……let me help you with that chair.”

Without saying a word, he smiled and nodded(点头). She pulled the chair away from the table and helped him sit. Then she put his cane against the table.

“Thank you, miss.” he said, kindly.                  

“You’re welcome, sir.” she said.

After he had finished his breakfast, the waitress brought him the change(零钱). He left it on the table. She helped him up and walked with him to the front door.

When she went to clean his table, she found a business card under his plate and note on a napkin(纸巾). Under the napkin was a 100-dollar bill.

The note on the napkin read: “Dear miss, I respect you very much and I can see you respect yourself, too. It shows by the way you treat others. Youhave found the secret of happiness. Your kindness will shine through to all those who meet you.”

The man she had waited on was the owner of the restaurant where she worked. This was the first time that she or any of the other workers had ever seen him in person(亲自).

How often one hears children wishing they were grown-ups and old people wishing they were young again! Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in their useless regrets.

 Children live at a time when there are few responsibilities (职责) for them to make a living. If a child has good parents, he is well fed, looked after and loved no matter how he behaves. It is impossible that he will be ever again in his return. What’s more, life is always giving new things to the child—things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too common for them. But a child has his pains: he is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is repeatedly being told not to do something, or being punished for what he has wrongly done.

 When a young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his timeplaying aboutin the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society just as he used to break the rules of his parents, he may go to prison. If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position (位置) in society.