When Lucy and Maria Aylmer tell people they are twins, disbelief is the response. The 18-year-olds from Gloucester, U.K. are two of the five children born to their Caucasian (白种人的) father and "half-Jamaican" mother. While their other siblings (brothers and sisters) have a blend (混合) of features from their parents who have different skin colours, Lucy and Maria are unique: Lucy has fair skin and red hair, while Maria has brown skin and dark hair.
"No one ever believes we are twins because I am white and Maria is black," Lucy said. "Even when we dress alike, we still don't look like sisters, let alone twins. When we meet friends for the first time they all refuse to believe we are twins and some have even made us produce our birth certificates to prove that we are really twins."
Unlike identical (同卵的) twins, fraternal twins are bom from two separate eggs. The BBC reports that for a biracial (双人种的) couple expecting twins, there is about a 1 in 500 chance those twins will have different skin colors.
The Aylmers are proud of their uniqueness.
"Now we have grown older, even though we still look so different, the bond between us is much stronger," Lucy said. "Now we are proud of the fact that we are each other's twin sister. Maria loves telling people at college that she has a white twin sister — and I'm very proud of having a black twin sister, too."
1.Lucy and Maria are unique because _______.
A. they are fraternal twins
B. their siblings are all black
C. they are hybrids of multi-racial parents
D. they are twins with different skin colours
2.How do people usually react to the twins' physical appearances?
A. They think it possible.
B. They joke about them.
C. They find it unbelievable.
D. They regard them as lucky dogs.
3.What can we learn about Maria from the text?
A. She comes from Jamaica.
B. She was born of biracial parents.
C. She bears mainly features other father.
D. She shares a birth certificate with her twin sister.
If your job requires a lot of sitting, you could be putting your health at danger.
The American Journal of Epidemiology (流行病学) did a study in 2010 on the correlation (相互联系) between sitting and an individual's physical health. In the study, 53,440 working men and 69,776 working women were surveyed on their time spent sitting. The subjects were all disease free when employed. The researchers identified 11,307 deaths in men and 7,923 deaths in women during the 14-year follow-up.
The findings: Women who reported sitting for more than six hours per day had an approximately 40 higher all-cause death rate than those who reported less than three hours a day, and men had an approximately 20 higher death rate.
Well, now's a fine time to get this information. But why didn't they tell me this years ago? I would have planned on taking a more active job instead of the sedentary (坐着的) job of an editor.
So what can you do if you have to work for a living at a job that requires a lot of sitting? Here are some ideas:
Take frequent breaks. It is recommended that workers vary activities, change their position, and take short breaks every 20 minutes to rest muscles and increase blood circulation. Get a standing desk. Some studies have shown that working from an upright position may be better for health. The serious fitness people can even purchase a treadmill (跑步机) desk. It only goes about one mile per hour. Have a walking meeting. If your group is kind of small, going for a walk while discussing topics is a good alternative.
1.According to the text, the study in 2010 ______.
A. found men reporting shorter sitting time than women
B. surveyed more men than women on their daily sitting time
C. identified fewer deaths in men than in women during the 14-year follow-up
D. discovered correlation between sitting and physical health in men and in women
2.We can infer from the text that the author did not recommend ______.
A. using a standing desk B. resting one's muscles
C. quitting sedentary jobs D. taking a walk while discussing
3.What does the underlined word "subjects" in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Things being discussed. B. People being studied.
C. Areas of knowledge being learned. D. Objects being painted.
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A. Your job could be killing you.
B. Working out leads to health risks.
C. Long-time sitting is positively associated with health.
D. A study on sitting time and physical health was completed.
In 1992, I had just launched a new business called Video News International.
It was the world's first video journalist network. The idea was to cover news and sell the service to news organizations.
One day, a young intern (实习生) who was working for us named Anthony Lappe pulled me aside.
"There is something you have to see," he told me. "Comcast is doing this really cool thing."
"What?"
"The Internet," he said. "It's going to be really big."
Anthony later introduced me to the head of the Internet project.
"We are looking for content to put on our network here," the guy said to me.
Well, I said I had lots of content to offer.
The guy's eyes lit up. "Cool," he said. "We would like to put it on our network."
Well, I was always looking for new clients.
"What are you going to pay?" I asked.
He said that they could not pay anything for the content, but they would set up a URL for me.
"What's that?" I asked.
"It's kind of like your address on the web."
"What would I do with this URL thing?"
"Well, it could be your business."
"I don't see how it is a business, and there's not even any advertising," I cleverly replied.
"Not yet," he said. "But one day there might be."
I thought about it for two seconds.
"Naah..." I said. "I've got bigger fish to fry. I've got to be going now. Maybe we can cooperate next time."
And I walked out.
Idiot!
Well, that Internet thing turned out to be so much bigger than I had thought. I wish I had never made such a mistake. Sorry Anthony. You were right.
1.The head of the Internet project expected the author to _______.
A. become a user of their product
B. put advertisements on their web
C. provide video news for their network
D. get an email address from the Internet
2.The guy's offer was rejected because the author ______
A. didn't think it a good deal
B. was unwilling to trust a stranger
C. was too occupied to start a new business
D. was worried about the safety of e-business
3.What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. I don't believe your words.
B. I ought to cook dinner now.
C. I need to get more payment.
D. I have something more important to do.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for this text?
A. Power of New Technology
B. Never Too Old to Learn
C. My Biggest Mistake Ever
D. Building a Business Partnership
继网络购物之后,团购热潮也开始兴起。某编辑部正在征集读者对网购的看法,假如你是李华,请你写一篇文章谈谈你的看法。
参考词汇:团购 group purchase
注意:1.词数120左右;
2.开头语和结束语已给出,不计入总词数。
Dear editor,
I’m Li Hua, a student from No. 2 middle school.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
Today, many people think competition is the key for success. They struggle for our own personal goals with no regard for the people around them. I believe such thinking is out of the date. I believe contemporary society, including society like a whole as well as individuals, demands that we cooperated with others. The world economy is expected remain favorable.
However, the negative effects of high oil prices, competition for resources and global pollution is on the rise. To overcome these problem, countries must pay attention to their relationships and act together. The fight against problems so as AIDS and terrorism requires cooperation. Our own personal success is not differently. In order to succeed, we must cooperate to solve problems.
下面文章中有5处需要添加小标题，请从以下选项中选出符合各段意思的小标题，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑,选项中一项为多余选项。
A. Draw on the positives.
B. Deal with the pain.
C. Find support from others.
D. Use rejection to your advantage.
E. Don’t let negative feelings hold you down.
F. Keep track of your thoughts.
Harry Potter was rejected. So were Bella and Edward. If authors J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer hadn’t kept trying with publisher after publisher, we’d all have missed out on some great adventures. Life is about going for things. And when we do, rejection is always a possibility. The better we get at dealing with rejection, the less it affects us. So how can you build that ability to cope? Here are some ideas:
1.
Coping well with rejection involves working with two things: how you feel and what you think. Let’s start with feelings: If you get rejected, acknowledge it to yourself. Don’t try to brush off the hurt or pretend it’s not painful. Instead of thinking “I shouldn’t feel this way,” think about how normal it is to feel like you do, given your situation.
Notice how intense your feelings are. Did this rejection upset you a lot? Or just a little? Cry if you want to or tell someone else what happened and how you feel about it.
2.
When you’re dealing with a painful emotion like rejection, it’s easy to get stuck in the bad feeling. But dwelling on the negative stuff can feel like living the experience over and over again. Not only does it keep hurting, it becomes harder to get past the rejection.
So admit how you feel but don’t dwell on it. Avoid talking or thinking about it nonstop. Why? Negative thinking influences our expectations and how we act. Getting stuck in a negative outlook might even bring about more rejection. It certainly doesn’t inspire a person to try again.
3.
Now on to what you think: Consider how you’re explaining the rejection to yourself. Are you being too hard on yourself? It’s natural to wonder, “Why did this happen?” When you give yourself an explanation, be careful to stick to the facts.
Tell yourself: “I got turned down for prom because the person didn’t want to go with me.” Don’t tell yourself: “I got turned down because I’m not attractive” or “I’m such a loser.” These aren’t facts. They’re imagining a reason, reading too much into a situation. If thoughts like these start creeping into your mind, shut them down.
4.
Tell yourself: “OK, so I got rejected this time. Maybe next time, I’ll get a ‘yes’ ” or “Oh, well. This is what happened. I don’t like it. But everyone gets rejected – and I can try again.”
Think about what you’re good at and what’s good about you. Remember times when you’ve been accepted, when you made the cut, when someone told you “yes.” Think of all the people who like you and support you. Remind yourself that you can handle the rejection. Even though you were turned down now, there will be another opportunity, another time.
5.
A rejection is a chance to consider if there are things we can work on. It’s OK to think about whether there’s room for improvement or if your goals were higher than your skills.
If your skills weren’t strong enough this time, maybe you need to work on your game, your studies, or whatever it takes to improve your chances of getting accepted next time. Use the rejection as an opportunity for self-improvement.
