One day, I took an underground to work, I saw something that made me very sad. On the tube( underground in London), a mother kept looking at her phone screen and playing a game with her daughter sitting beside her. The little girl, about 5 years old, was talking to her mother about herday, repeating the next stop's name cheerfully, praising her mother's long nails--trying to draw her mother's attention. Her mother just nodded and mumbled "Mm, hm" with her eyes glued to the screen, busy passing the levels of the game. I watched the girl give a final try to at least get her mum to look at her, but it was no use. Then the little girl turned silent. It was a shame the mother didn't notice that.
It broke my heart and got me wondering--what kind of game would make the mother forget she has the most beautiful thing in the world, the human she created, the person she loves with all her heart? What it meant when she couldn't look into her daughter's eyes and even stop to listen to the girl?
Some parents are almost like the teenagers, always on their phones with mindless games or going through Facebook. Perhaps parents have many things to deal with, but sometimes they are everything to their kids.
This is not an isolated example. I've seen too many such examples. I might not be a parent myself, and probably still have a long way before becoming one, but I know what I saw isn't right.
The scene used to be seen among teenagers very often when parents complained how their children were crazy about their mobile phones. Look how the situation has changed! The parents have become "technology slaves", that is to say, they can't control themselves while using mobile phones. Now some middle-aged parents hold the best iPhones or Samsung phones, which are probably the only two brands they know. They are playing the simple games with so expensive mobile phones. I'm uncertain whether to laugh or to cry. But my hope is that this storm passes.
1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The girl failed to attract her mother's attention.
B. The mother felt sorry after her daughter turned silent.
C. The writer has much experience about being a parent.
D. Middle-aged parents know many brands of mobile phones.
2.The underlined word "isolated" in Paragraph 4 means .
A. spreading fast B. happening once
C. increasing quickly D. appearing suddenly
3.In the passage, the writer mainly wants to express .
A. the worries that children are crazy about mobile phones
B. the happiness that parents are now able to use modern technology
C. the sadness that the best smart pldones cost parents too much money
D. the hope that parents use new technology4ike smart phones properly
4.What's the best title of the passage?
A. Middle-aged parents B. A scene on the tube
C. Technology slaves D. Mindless phone games
In summer, it's common on the street to see many Chinese women holding parasols1 to protect themselves from the sun. But when Amy, an exchange student in Beijing from the US, first saw this, she found it strange, even impossible to understand. She wrote on her blog, "Unlike Chinese women, American women like to put on their tank tops and sunglasses during summer. If you walk around an American college campus2, you will probably see girls out on the grassy fields reading, but they really hope to get a head start on their summer tan3. "
This may be caused by the different standards of beauty between the US and China. Many Americans don't want white skin. They would rather be tanned3. Amy also wrote, "Having darker skin is so popular that many women and men will pay for fake4 tans so that they can keep their sun-kissed appearance during the winter months, too. "
Why do they like tanned skin? Michelle Louis reported in her research, "The process of tanning can help make people's skin smooth and hide marks. " She further explained, "Tans make people's skin appear healthier and make them appear thinner than when they have pale skin. "
Perhaps there is no real ideal standard of beauty. In different cultures and at different times of history, the standards change. On Amy's blog, she also gave two examples: Some women carried parasols around trying to keep their white skin in the US 150 years ago; During the Tang Dynasty in China, heavy women were thought attractive. But now, Chinese women prefer to be slim.
In a word, different standards of beauty should be respected. People may grow up with only one idea of what beauty is, but it doesn't mean that it's necessarily the correct or the best idea.
New words:
1. parasol n. umbrella used to protect people from the sun 阳伞
2. campus n. grounds of school, college or university校园
3. tan n. the brown colour of sun-kissed skin 晒成的棕褐
v. become brown by the sun 晒成棕褐色，晒黑
4. fake adj. not real 假的
1.What did Michelle Louis report in her research?
A. Many Chinese prefer white skin to tanned skin.
B. Darker skin is popular among American women and men.
C. Tans make people's skin appear healthier and make them look thinner.
D. Some women would like to keep their skin white in the US 150 years ago.
2.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. People in the US like to have tanned skin only in hot summer.
B. American college girls read on the grass because they want to be tanned.
C. Many Chinese women carry parasols to protect themselves from the sun.
D. Amy thought trying to keep white skin with parasols seemed strange at first.
3.The writer really wants to tell us .
A. we should respect different standards of beauty
B. the standards of beauty change at different times
C. different countries have different standards of beauty
D. it's common for people to have only one idea of beauty
Several days ago,，1 went to my aunt’s home and saw my cousin who is studying English linguistics in a university． He showed me his learning materials．H ere are two pages of t
Now I know at some point in history, the meanings of some common words that we see every day meant something much different. The English language is developing all the time.
Nice
Generally speaking, the word “nice” is quite an expression of praise. However, back in the late 12th century, if someone said you were “nice”, it was far from saying good words about you.
Very long ago, “nice” was used to mean “foolish” and “stupid”. That sounds more like the kind of words that would start a fight, not put a smile on someone’s face. Later on in the 13th century, ‘nice” came to mean “shy and nervous”. During the 14th century, it even meant “being careful”. But finally in the 18th century, it changed to the kinder meaning we know today, and ever since then, people have been using it in a lovable way.
Sad
All of us get sad from time to time. It’s a usual part of life. A loved one passes away. We expect too much progress in an exam. Or the store is out of our favourite drink. These are all things that can make us sad.
However, once upon a time, “sad” had a very different meaning. Back in the 14th century, it was the perfect word if you had eaten too much food at dinner.
Through the years, the meaning of “sad” changed to “heavy” and then “tired”. Interestingly, when “sad” took on its present meaning, it was actually used instead of “unrot”, an old English word that was the opposite of “rot” that meant “cheerful” or “glad”.
1.When did "nice" come to mean "shy and nervous"?
A. In the late 12th century. B. In the 13th century.
C. During the 14th century. D. In the 18th century.
2.The underlined word "these" refers to指代) the following except that________.
A. a loved one passes away
B. we expect too much progress in an exam
C. the store is out of our favourite drink
D. we have eaten too much food at dinner
3. The purpose of the passage is to tell us .
A. the meanings of all words are different at some point in history
B. my cousin learns English well because of his learning materials
C. we should know about all the different meanings of words in history
D. the meanings of some words are changing because language is developing
完形填空
阅读下面短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。
Dear children,
How time flies! As your teacher, I'd like to talk about "behaving like a grown-up" with you before you leave school.
During our lives, we need the strength of other people to achieve our goals. of us can make it on our own.
In an world, we would all have thoughtful, helpful people to guide us in life. Imagine having a who is devoted to keeping you healthy. Or imagine having a boss who wants you to enjoy your job and make progress in your . But many of us have difficulty dealing with (打交道) grown-ups who seem in their changeable moods. If we have immature(不成熟的) adults trustworthy adults around us, we will certainly get into real trouble.
What's more, if we are always that we're right all the time, while others are wrong, then we are like those immature adults. Our own personalities could be the .
A mature adult is someone who makes problems better, not worse. When this type of people face a bad , they try to find ways to be calm and in control. They keep practicing solving problems they become members of mature adults.
Maybe you're now too young to behave like a mature adult. When you run across a problem, try to stay calm and think more before taking actions, then you're really on the way to be a grown-up. Yours faithfully, Vivien
1.A. None B. Most C. Any D. Many
2.A. ancient B. ideal C. unknown D. equal
3.A. director B. teacher C. policeman D. doctor
4.A.dream B. career C.study D.habit
5.Atrapped B. surprised C. bored D. frightened
6.A. in front of B. as well as C. instead of D. along with
7.A. reporting B. guessing C. thinking D. discussing
8.A. problem B. project C. purpose D. power
9.A. production B. suggestion C. instruction D. situation
10.A. unless B. as C. until D. when
---I'm going to Disneyland in Shanghai next month.
--_____________. There are many wonderful things to see and to do there.
A. That's all right B. Have a good time
C. Good luck D. I hope so
--It's so careless of you to make a spelling mistake again.
--Sorry. I couldn't remember .
A. when I learnt the word
B. if I have learnt the word
C. where should I put the silent "t"
D. in which class did you teach the word
