I chose to study in Madrid because I had a desire to learn Spanish. My first impressions of Madrid were incredible. It was before the New Year that I arrived in Madrid for the first time. While traveling to my Spanish friend’s house in a taxi, I appreciated the buildings along the road which were different from those of my own country.
There are an incredible number of restaurants and bars from all over the world. If you are really into sightseeing, I hope you have rechargeable batteries for your digital camera, because one week really isn’t enough time to see everything here including a number of art, science, and historical museums as well as parks, buildings, and amazing landscapes.
What I liked best about life in Madrid was the fact that if you were frustrated with schoolwork and wanted to have some fun, you can easily go out. The nightlife never seems to stop and the people are all very friendly. You can meet people and practice Spanish while having fun at the same time.
What I liked least was the fact that many people smoked in the streets. Also, coming from the US, I was used to having a big breakfast every morning, but while living with an actual Spanish family, I wasn’t really satisfied with the food in the morning.
I think I have definitely become more independent since I came back from Spain. Living in a big city like Madrid I found that it is necessary to plan ahead and to make a schedule for future. There is so much to see, not just in the Spanish World, but in the European World as well.
1. What’s the purpose of the text?
A. To attract people to tour around Madrid.
B. To show how to enjoy Spanish culture.
C. To give advice on how to study Spanish.
D. To describe the author’s life in Madrid.
2. Why did the author suggest taking rechargeable batteries?
A. It’s difficult to deal with the used batteries.
B. It’s not convenient to recharge batteries.
C. There are few stores that sell ordinary batteries.
D. You will find lots of places worth taking pictures of.
3.Which of the following in Madrid didn’t please the author?
A. Parks and buildings. B. Restaurants and bars.
C. Nightlife. D. Breakfast.
短文改错
Patience is of great important in our daily life. Once I waited a bus to come at a stop. 30 minutes past, but no bus came. Both upset and annoyed, I decided to walk on feet. But no sooner had I left when the bus arrived. I thought if I had waited for one more minute, I would have caught it. If I chose to take a next bus, I would have to wait for other 30 minutes. Only then do I realize my problem. Being impatient will possibly waste all the effort that we have put it in. Now whenever I am close to lose my patience, I’ll think of this experience.
1.Do you often ____________(忽略)work and study to check your phone for messages?
2.________ _________(遭受)such a heavy loss, the boss didn’t have the courage to go on with his business.
3.The old man ________ _________(经历) a lot of suffering during the war.
4.__________(事实上) eating habits can vary a good deal over the centuries.
5.After 25 years she has changed ________ ________(认不出来).
6.The fact that he didn’t speak a foreign language put him at a __________(劣势).
7.I haven’t been ___________(决定) where to go during the summer vacations.
8.After the big fire, his house was completely d____________(毁坏), so he had to build a new one.
9.Dad has given me a lot of __________(指导) on choosing a career.
10.We should set aside some time to take __________(有规律的) exercise every day, which is good to our health.
11._________(无论如何), you must tell me the truth.
12.I would ___________(感激) it if you would teach me how to use the computer.
13.He _________ an _________(道歉) to the guests for his rudeness.
We high school students do have some growing pains, but we can get rid of them correctly and wisely. 1. , some of us are upset 2. their body styles and looks. It’s unnecessary and it’s not important at all. We needn’t care about it. It is one’s inner beauty 3. matters. Second, we sometimes seem to be misunderstood 4. our teachers, parents and classmates. 5. (face) with this, we can find a proper time to have a heart-to-heart talk with them, trying to remove the 6. (understand). Some of us have fewer friends. I think being open-minded and friendly will do you good. Third, we may fall behind others, 7. makes us stressed. Actually we can encourage 8. to work efficiently, full of 9. (determine). At last, some of us don’t have much pocket money, so they feel unhappy. Isn’t it strange? So long as we have some, that’s enough. And we can learn 10. to spend money
“Can I see my baby?” the happy new mother asked. When the baby was placed in her arms, she was . The baby had been born without ears. Time that the baby’s hearing was perfect. It was only his that was damaged. When he rushed home from school one day and himself into his mother’s arms, she sighed, that he would have many heartbreaks in his life. He grew up and became a(n) with his classmates. He might 16 have been class president, but for that. The boy’s father with the family physician in secret. “Could be done?” the father asked. “I believed I could on a pair of outer ears, if they could be got.” the doctor answered. So the began for a person who would make such a for a young man. Two years went by. Then the father said, “You are going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will give the ears you need. it’s a secret,” said the father. The operation was very 23 , and a new person appeared. “But I must know!” he urged his father. “Who so much to me? I could never do enough for him.” “I do not believe you could,” said the father. The secret was for years till he stood with his father over his mother’s coffin(棺材). Slowly and , his father raised his mother’s thick brown hair to that his mother had no outer ears. “Mother said she was she never let her hair be cut,” he whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought she was less , did they?”
1.A. angry B. disappointed C. surprised D. curious
2.A. proved B. seemed C. told D. saw
3.A. figure B. face C. ear D. appearance
4.A. got B. put C. sentD. took
5.A. knowing B. guessing C. doubting D. wondering
6.A. enemy B. stranger C. favoriteD. friend
7.A. ever B. also C. even D. still
8.A. asked B. spoke C. chatted D. said
9.A. something B. everything C. anything D. nothing
10.A. transplant B. operate C. set D. fix
11.A. operation B. search C. interview D. examination
12.A. devotion B. effortC. sacrifice D. contribution
13.A. Therefore B. But C. Though D. Otherwise
14.A. normal B. useful C. difficult D. successful
15.A. changed B. worked C. gave D. did
16.A. discussed B. hidden C. spread D. kept
17.A. carefully B. sadly C. excitedly D. tenderly
18.A. see B. find C. show D. tell
19.A. proud B. glad C. worried D. regretful
20.A. beautiful B. ugly C. respectable D. fashionable
There is distinction between reading for information and reading for understanding. 1.
The first sense is the one in which we read newspapers, magazines, or anything else. 2. Such materials may increase our store of information, but they cannot improve our understanding. And clearly we don’t have any difficulty in gaining the new information, for our understanding was equal to them before we started. Otherwise, we would have felt the shock of puzzlement.
The second sense is the one in which we read something that at first we do not completely understand. Here the thing to be read is at the first sight better or higher than the reader. The writer is communicating something that can increase the reader’s understanding. 3. Otherwise one person could never learn from another. Here “learning” means understanding more, not remembering more information.
What are the conditions in this kind of reading? First, there is inequality in understanding. 4. Besides, his book must convey something he possesses and his potential readers lack. Second, the reader must be able to overcome this inequality in some degree. And he should always try to reach the same level of understanding with the writer. If the equality is approached, success of communication is achieved.
5. It is the least demanding and requires the least amount of effort. Everyone who knows how to read can read for entertainment if he wants to. In fact, any book that can be read for understanding or information can probably be read for entertainment as well.
A. Thus, we can employ the word “reading” in two distinct senses.
B. Such communication between unequals must be possible.
C. We can get access to the content of those materials easily.
D. The writer must be “superior” to the reader in understanding.
E. The writer should have a better communicating skill.
F. Besides gaining information and understanding, there’s another goal of reading—entertainment.
G. Reading for entertainment is capable of increasing our understanding for information.
