Many of us have had the same “pleasant surprise”. After you mark a song as a favorite on a music app （程序） , it suggests songs of the same kind to listen to. 1 ．

Big data （数据） is a lot of sets of information that are put together so they can be used by a computer program. It can have different kinds of information from many sources （来源） , such as information that comes from schools, social media sites, companies, and governments. 2 ． Another set can have what they like, where they go to school, and how much time they spend on the computer.

3 ． The government uses it to understand how many people travel on buses or trains. The information is then used to make bus or train systems better. Companies use big data, too. It helps them understand who buys their products. For example, one company uses weather data to see when people eat the most ice-cream.

Big data can be used for good reasons. Some hospitals use big data to predict if a baby who is born too early will get sick. The hospital can then take extra steps to take care of that baby so he or she does not get sick. 4 ． It can be used to predict which kinds of people are likely to break the law or hurt others, even if they have not done anything wrong.

5 ． It is because the computer programs used to look at big data and understand it are written by people. People think a certain way. Because they think a certain way, they build a model of those ideas. These ideas are then used to look at the data. Sometimes, these ideas are helpful for people or businesses. Other times, bad ideas can cause problems for certain groups of people.

A ． Big data can be used in many ways.

B ． Why do we use big data for bad things?

C ． Big data can also be used for bad reasons.

D ． How can big data be used for good and bad things?

E.One set of data can have people’s names and addresses.

F.In fact, this magic, mind-reading power depends on data.

Coming home after working for the whole night I lost my wallet. It was 1 ． (probable) very close to my house but I couldn’t find it and had to cancel my credit cards. I had kept 2 ． wallet for ten years and it was a Christmas present. It was a bright, red leather wallet. Not every adult is sad about losing something, 3 ． I was very upset about losing my wallet.

I spoke to my 4 ． (friend) about my lost wallet. Most of them said I might get the wallet back finally but the money in it would 5 ． (appear). I had listed all the things in my wallet 6 ． (get) some new ones.

I came home late the next night and my red wallet was in front of my house. I checked it carefully.

7 ． everything in my wallet, there was a note. I was surprised when I read the note which said, “I 8 ． (find) this last night. It was too dark to go through it then, so I came back tonight. I got your address from your license. Sorry. Mike.”

Not only had this man returned my wallet but he was sorry for not bringing it back 9 ． (early). There was no information about Mike so I couldn’t get in touch with him to say “Thank you”. But I did hope he could know how 10 ． (thank) I was!

Alleyn’s School

Townley Road, Dulwich, UK

office@www.alleynes.org.uk

Welcome to Alleyn’s School. Our school is big and it has 600 students aged 13—15. However, it only had 100 students and four teachers when it was open on September 10th, 1961.

Main Teaching Building

The school has a huge yard and next to it is the main teaching building. The building has two floors, with six classrooms on each. In each classroom there is a computer, an overhead projector, and a smart white board. It also has a small reading area with different kinds of books offered by the students.

Library

Our school library is used for all the reading classes weekly. The members of the reading club can meet here and do some reading after school.

School Hall

We have a fantastic school hall. It is used for gym, meetings and having lunch. It is the place where we hold many events, such as school plays, concerts, indoor games and so on.

Other rooms

We have a well-equipped music room for music lessons, a computer room of thirty-two computers and a large staffroom for teachers to have a rest during lunch lime.

1 ． The school has a history of ________ years.

A ． 600 B ． 100 C ． 60 D ． 15

2 ． A school talent show can be held in the ________.

A ． classroom B ． school hall C ． library D ． computer room

3 ． Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A ． The school has 700 students now.

B ． The school has 6 classrooms.

C ． Everyone can read in the library after school.

D ． Teachers can have a rest in the staffroom.

4 ． The missing part at the end of the passage may talk about the ________.

A ． address B ． playground C ． P. E. teachers D ． music room

5 ． You can read the passage in a/an ________.

A ． newspaper B ． diary C ． novel D ． invitation

It was Saturday again. Lily and Lucy disliked Saturdays. That was another thing the twins had in common. They shared the same clothes and tied their hair in the same manner. In fact, it was hard for their classmates and teachers to tell them apart sometimes.

Unlike their classmates, they had to get up early at seven every Saturday to prepare for their lessons. Lily had to attend the art lesson and Lucy had to attend her ballet lesson. “How I wish I could do something different today,” said the twins with one voice. All at once, an idea came to Lily and Lucy at the same time. “Do you have the same idea as me?” they asked each other and laughed. It seemed like a wonderful plan to them. After giving each other a description of their own friends, Lily put on Lucy’s ballet dress while Lucy put Lily’s brushes and paints into her bag. Then they left for their classes.

When the art lesson started, Lucy couldn’t understand the art teacher. Unlike Lily, Lucy was poor at drawing. When the art lesson finally ended, Lucy didn’t dare to hand in her work.

Meanwhile, Lily was struggling in the ballet class as well. As she had no idea about the dance steps, she had to follow her classmates blindly. As a result, she kept knocking into them . Their ballet teacher became impatient with her, “Lucy, you should remember the basic steps. You can’t depend on copying what others are doing.”

When Lily and Lucy arrived home, they were tired out. They decided that they would never try to be someone else that they were not.

1 ． What was the twins’ plan?

A ． To have a day off. B ． To be each other for a day.

C ． To wear the same clothes. D ． To have a normal day like their classmates.

2 ． How did Lucy feel at the beginning of the art lesson?

A ． Lost. B ． Excited. C ． Mad. D ． Sleepy.

3 ． What does the underlined word them refer to?

A ． The teachers. B ． The classmates. C ． The dance steps. D ． The ballet dresses.

4 ． The ballet teacher became impatient because ________.

A ． she wasn’t herself that day B ． “Lucy” wasn’t patient that day

C ． “Lucy” did very badly that day D ． she had discovered the twins’ plan

5 ． What did the twins learn from the experience?

A ． Don’t try to run before you can walk.

B ． A good beginning makes a good ending.

C ． Saying is one thing and doing is another.

D ． The grass is not always greener on the other side.

One cannot discuss Chinese music without mentioning the guqin, one of the four arts—along with go, calligraphy （书法） and painting. It first appeared over 3,000 years ago and stands for China’s solo musical instrument tradition.

At first, the guqin had only five strings （弦） , meaning the five elements （元素） of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Later, in Zhou Dynasty, King Wen of Zhou added a sixth string for his son. King Wu of Zhou, added a seventh string to encourage his army to fight with the Shang.

Ambience was important in playing the guqin. Usually, it was practiced in a quiet setting and never for public performance. Ancient artists enjoyed performing by a stream in the mountains. The sound of the guqin mixed with the echoes （回音） from the mountains, until the musician felt he was at one with nature. Playing it in snow was also an enjoyable activity for ancient artists, who believed the instrument was the purest of its kind in the world. Also, a night with moonlight was considered wonderful for playing the guqin. Wang Wei （ 701—761 ） , a highly talented man of the Tang Dynasty, liked playing it in a bamboo forest on nights with moonlight most.

Guqin pieces are usually three to eight minutes long, with the longest being Guangling Verse , which is 22 minutes long. Other famous pieces include Plum Blossoms in Three Movements , Wild Geese Landing on the Sandbank and Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute .

Nowadays, there are fewer than one thousand well-trained guqin players and perhaps no more than fifty living masters. The original number of several thousand pieces has greatly reduced to only one hundred works by today. The guqin and its music was added to the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity （人类非物质文化遗产） in 2003.

1 ． Today, the guqin has ________ strings.

A ． four B ． five C ． six D ． seven

2 ． What’s the meaning of the underlined word “Ambience” in Paragraph 3?

A ．演奏技巧 B ．环境氛围 C ．天气状况 D ．弹奏曲目

3 ． According to the passage, playing the guqin ________ is a right choice.

A ． at a quiet restaurant B ． at a welcome party

C ． in a peaceful yard with flowers D ． on a dark night with rainstorm

4 ． According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A ． The guqin has a history of less than 3000 years.

B ． The strings mean metal, wood, water, fire and stone.

C ． The longest guqin piece is Guangling Verse.

D ． The guqin is very popular and many people can play it.

5 ． What does the passage mainly talk about?

A ． The guqin and its music. B ． The guqin and its players.

C ． Four Chinese traditional arts. D ． The development of guqin music.