Geeks becoming cool (P1)
I. Pre-reading
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
 Have you ever seen the popular American sitcom The Big Bang Theory? What is it about?
It is about four geeks and their misadventures. The geeks’ names are Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj.
 What kind of people do you think geeks are?
 Do you think being a geek is cool? Why or why not?

II. Reading
Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.
1. According to the article, the word “geek” nowadays mainly refers to ____.
A. a carnival performer who performs wild acts
B. a person who does not fit in with other people
C. a person who tries to avoid using gadgets and social networks
D. a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about a specific subject
2. According to the article, geek culture has become mainstream because ____.
a. technology has a great influence on people’s lives today
b. people think geeks are smart and creative
c. activities such as art, cooking, and music have lost their appeal for many people
d. a person who knows obscure facts about certain subjects is thought to be attractive
A. ab          B. bd C. abc        C. bcd
3. The main purpose of the article is to ____.
A. inform us about the evolution of geek culture
B. urge us to take an interest in the newest technology
C. suggest that dictionaries change their definitions of the word “geek”
D. try to persuade us to follow the mainstream and be a fashionable geek

Key:
1. D。根据“Geek has gradually evolved to mean someone who has a deep devotion to a hobby or a pursuit, such as computers, comics, or literature”可以得此答案。
2. A。根据“One reason geek culture has become mainstream is because technology has become an important part of nearly everyone’s life”和“Young people also find geek culture attractive because they want to be smart and creative”可以得此答案。
3. A。文章主要介绍了“极客”文化的演变，并分析了背后的原因。

III. Language study
Understand the following sentences:
1. A September article in the newspaper said there are many examples nowadays that show geek culture is becoming increasingly mainstream, popular with people of all walks of life.
of all walks of life 表示“来自各行各业”。例如：
When travelling, you have to deal with people of all walks of life. Meeting new people can help you to get a better sense of the big world out there.

2. For example, for many computer programmers, the true pleasure in their work comes from creating “worlds” through coding, which “combines deep intellectual (智力的) challenges with the pleasures from other creative activities such as art, cooking or music”, she said.
本句的主干为：the true pleasure in their work comes from creating “worlds” through coding。Which引导非限制性定语从句，which修饰前面的creating “worlds” through coding。句意为：例如：比如，对很多程序员而言，真正的工作乐趣在于用代码创造“世界”，这项工作不仅具有极大的智力挑战，而且也有和画家、厨师以及音乐家等人从事的创造性活动一样的乐趣。

Helping the aged (P3)
I. Pre-reading
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
 If you volunteered at your school or in the community, what kind of volunteer work would you do and why?
 How do you think teenagers can benefit from doing community service?

II. Reading
Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.
1. What do the author and his classmates often do when they visit Cantata?
a. play board games and cards with the residents
b. do some cleaning for the residents
c. listen to the residents talk about their memories
d. watch movies and TV shows with the residents
A. a, b        B. a, c  C. b, d         D. c, d
2. The underlined word “mesmerized” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to ____.
A. fascinated  B. annoyed 
C. encouraged  D. confused
3. With the mention of his visit to Mrs Robinson, the author intends to ____.
A. show what Mrs Robinson’s life is like at Cantata
B. show how he developed a friendship with Mrs Robinson
C. show what a difference someone’s presence makes to the residents at Cantata
D. give an example showing that most of the residents at Cantata have amazing memories to share
4. What has the author learned from his three years of visiting Cantata?
A. It takes great patience to look after the elderly.
B. Teenagers have little in common with the elderly.
C. It’s important for the elderly to learn from teenagers to keep up with the times.
D. It means a lot to keep the elderly company and offer them a listening ear.

Key:
1. B。由第三段的“We play board games and cards with the residents while we’re there.”和第四段的“You can watch all the movies and TV shows you want about “life back then”, but nothing compares to talking to the people who were actually there.”可以推知a, c为正确答案。b, d文中没有提及，故选B。
2. A。听98岁的老奶奶讲述她年轻时候的荣耀的时刻，作者被住在这里的老人想要与她分享的记忆彻底____。由下文“Even the residents who don’t have amazing memories make the experience fulfilling”可知这些记忆都非常精彩，所以这里mesmerized应该相当于amazed/fascinated，故选A。
3. C。由文中“She couldn’t recall much about her past, but she told me she’d never forget how kind I was just to listen to her ‘rambling’. It made me realize that it’s the little things that make life worth living.”可推知作者提及Mrs Robinson，主要是为了说明即使那些没有精彩回忆可以分享的老人，志愿者们的倾听和陪伴也让他们很满足，所以答案为C。
4. D。由倒数第四段的“If there’s one thing I’ve realized in my three years of visiting Cantata, it’s that presence – just being there – means more than any-thing to many of the residents.”可知答案为D。

III. After reading
Writing:
What volunteer work or community service have you done before? What did you learn from the work you did? Write a short article to describe what you did and what you learned from it.

Music helps homework (P5)
I. Pre-reading
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
 Do you often listen to music while you do your homework?
 Do you think listening to music while you work helps to improve your efficiency?  Why or why not?

II. Reading
Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.
1. According to David Lewis, listening to music while working ____.
a. improves efficiency
b. increases people’s creativity
c. makes people more cheerful
d. distracts people’s attention
A. ac        B. cd  C. abc          C. bcd
2. Which of the following helps you recite English words faster and more correctly, according to the article?
A. Listening to Mozart.
B. Listening to pop music.
C. Listening to rock music.
D. Not listening to music.
3. According to the article, while checking your math or English homework, you should ____.
A. listen to pop music
B. listen to dance music
C. listen to classical music
D. listen to your favorite songs
4. The author describes the study by Mindlab International mainly by ____.
A. giving examples using research data
B. describing how it was conducted
C. comparing its results with previous studies
D. indicating its significance on people’s daily lives

Key:
1. A。根据“The take-home message is that music is a very powerful management tool if you want to increase not only the efficiency of your workforce but also their mental state, their emotional state - they’re going to become more positive about the work”可以答案。
2. B。根据倒数第二、第三段可以得此答案。
3. B。根据最后一段可知，听舞曲时工作效率最高，而且这种音乐适合各个学科。
4. A。文中作者列举了各项数据展现研究成果，所以答案为A。

III. Language study
Understand the following sentences.
1. “The take-home message is that music is a very powerful management tool if you want to increase not only the efficiency of your workforce but also their mental state, their emotional state – they’re going to become more positive about the work,”…
本句中that引导的表语从句中，if引导条件状语从句，their emotional state是their mental state的同位语，破折号后的部分也用作同位语，进一步补充说明听音乐工作时心态的变化，将变得更加积极。
take-home message表示“得到的教益”。例如：
The take-home message of the study is that older adults get drunk faster than younger drinkers. 研究的核心发现是，年纪大的人比年轻人更容易醉酒。经济衰退给人们敲响了警钟。
The take-home message for most people is that you should not spend beyond your means. 大多数人应该引以为戒的是，花钱不应该超过自己的经济能力。

2. You should probably listen to some dance music, as this genre resulted in the highest overall accuracy and fastest performance across a range of tasks in the study. In other words, it fits all subjects.
本句中as引导原因状语从句。result in：导致，造成；a range of：一系列；in other words 换句话说。