D．Miracle on 34th Street．

（2）What is Home Alone mainly about？ A．An unsuccessful family vacation． B．A boy protecting home by himself． C．A terrible suffering to a little boy． D．A 10﹣year﹣old boy's practical jokes．

（3）Why is Miracle on 34th Street so popular？ A．Owing to its moving plots． B．Because of its funny story． C．Due to its childish storyline． D．For its famous actors and actresses．

12．As Simon Kindleysides， 34， took his first step in the London Marathon in April， he felt as if magic was in the air．

\， we actually started joining all the runners，\he said． \， cheering， and that was a magical moment．\went on， the crowds and other racers spread around． Kindleysides and his team of eight supporters continued walking．

Kindleysides， who is paralyzed（瘫痪的）from the waist down and typically uses a wheelchair， was equipped with an exoskeleton（体外骨骼）to help him walk． His supporters walked with him to change the batteries in his exoskeleton so he could keep moving． In 2013， Kindleysides was diagnosed with a brain tumor （肿瘤） that was growing in a way that pressed on certain nerves， leading to him losing feeling in his legs． He was told he would never walk again． Before his paralysis， the London﹣based singer and dancer had \，\， but he never made the plan to do so﹣﹣until this year．

During the London Marathon， the last two miles were the hardest． \， I was exhausted． It was freezing cold， and I was hurting emotionally，\． But he kept going． \． I had a team of eight， and I was raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity，\． \， myself down， and I thought if I would get this far， I would have to continue．\

第5页（共35页）

made history as the first paralyzed man to complete the London Marathon on foot．

Then， recovering at home， he shared his accomplishment with his three children． \， and now they say I'm their dad， the only one who has walked a marathon，\．

Kindleysides is training to complete three more marathons next year， including the London Marathon again．

（1）Why did Kindleysides' supporters accompany him all the way？ A．To inspire him as a team． B．To help change the batteries． C．To guide him along the road． D．To assist him with the wheelchair．

（2）What caused Kindleysides' disability？ A．An accident in the previous marathon． B．An operation on his brain for the tumor． C．Some nerves produced out of the tumor． D．The pressure from the brain tumor on the nerves．

（3）What partly supported Kindleysides to finish the hardest two﹣mile race？ A．The belief to beat others． B．The strong desire to recover． C．The kindness to help the charity． D．The prize money for the winner．

（4）What can we learn about Kindleysides？ A．He was once a successful actor．

B．His children feel a pity for him in the wheelchair now． C．He is ambitious for joining in London marathons once more． D．He was the first disabled﹣man to complete the London Marathon．

13．Ten minutes of gentle exercise can immediately change how certain parts of the brain communicate and coordinate （协调） with one another and improve memory function， according to an encouraging new study．

第6页（共35页）

The scientists invited 36 people of different ages to the lab and had them sit quietly on a fixed bicycle for 10minutes or， on a separate visit， pedal the bicycle at a pace so gentle that it barely raised their heart rates． It also was short， lasting for only 10minutes． Immediately after each session of the sitting or slow pedaling， the people completed a computerized memory test during which they would see a brief picture of， for instance， a tree， followed by a variety of other images and then a new image of either the same tree or a similar one． The people would press buttons to show whether they thought each image was new or the same as an earlier shot． The test is difficult， since many of the images closely resemble one another． It requires rapid， skillful scanning recent memories to decide whether a picture is new or known． Next， the scientists had each people repeat this process﹣﹣riding or sitting on the bike for 10 minutes and then completing memory testing﹣﹣but the testing now took place inside an M． R． I． machine（磁共振成像仪）that scanned the people's brains while they responded to the images．

Then the researchers compared results． The effects of the exercise were clear． The people were better at remembering images after they had ridden the bike， especially when the images most closely resembled one another． In other words， the harder their memories had to do their best， the better they performed after the exercise． The M． R． I． scans showed that memory parts of each people's brain lit up at the same time with parts of the brain associated with learning， indicating that these physically separate parts of the brain were better connected now than when the people had not first exercised．

（1）How did the researchers conduct the study？ A．By filling up questionnaires． B．By interviewing many people． C．By comparing experiment data． D．By referring to historical reports．

（2）Who might benefit most from the study result？ A．The marketers promoting fixed bicycles． B．The young people crazy about body building． C．The white collars doing long﹣term mental work．

第7页（共35页）

D．The blue﹣collars doing heavy physical labor work．

（3）Which of the following statements agrees with the study result？ A．The light exercise is only good for young people． B．The more the exercise is， the better the brain works． C．The exercise can coordinate different parts of the body．

D．The exercise has more positive effect when the brain works harder． （4）What can be the best title for the text？ A．Even ten minutes' exercise may be good for the brain B．There is no need for humans doing exercise every day C．Only ten minutes' light exercise benefits the young most D．Exercise can change people's brains and minds in a long time

14．The University of Birmingham is the first excellent UK Russell Group university to announce that it will accept the \exam for high﹣flying Chinese students wishing to join its． undergraduate courses in 2019． High school students who complete the \Higher Education Entrance Examination\， or Gaokao， with top grades will be able to apply for direct entry onto Birmingham degree programmes without first completing a foundation year which is a routine for the freshman．

Gaokao is usually taken by students in their last year of senior high school and， every year， each province in China sets the grades required to gain admission to its universities． It is usually held across China in early June． Students are tested in Chinese， Mathematics， a Foreign Language and social sciences or natural sciences．

University of Birmingham Vice﹣Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood said： \University of Birmingham has been challenging and developing great minds for more than a century． We welcome people from around the globe to study at Birmingham and Chinese students form an integral part of our education and research community． We are further opening access to Birmingham's wealth of education opportunities for the brightest and most dedicated Chinese students by accepting this strict and important qualification． I look forward to welcoming these high﹣flying students to the University of Birmingham． \

Gaokao is increasingly accepted by universities in Australia， the USA， Canada and mainland Europe． Birmingham will only be considering high quality students who achieve a

第8页（共35页）