Erica McElrath calls herself “ The Happy Lady”. And by now, you may have caught her singing and dancing with her mp3 player on any of several city street corners. “ I don’t want money,” said McElrah, 40, of St. Louis. “ I come out here to make people smile.”
McElrah lost her full-time job in January. Since then, she has spent her days doing what she loves-dancing in the street. Her message to people in hard times: do something that you enjoy, no matter what your circumstances. “ Life isn’t that bad,” she said. “ If you’re working 40 hours a week, you shouldn’t be complaining.”
McElrah graduated from parkway Central High School and has spent the past 21 years working as a nursing assistant, She began singing and dancing publicly on her days off a few years ago to help her through the pain of her second divorce.
Her favorite spot is the northwest corner of Chouteau Avenue and South Grand Boulevard near St. Louis University. McElrah’s mp3 player is loaded with hundreds of classic rock hits and 80’s pop songs, including those by Joe Cocker, Tina Turner, Neil Diamond and Toto. But her favorite artist, by far, is Stevie Nicks.Videos of McElrah have appeared on YouTube, a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. “People think I’m crazy, but I don’t care,” She said. “ I can dance a little. I just go with the music.” Even a rude gesture from a passing motorist doesn’t bother her either. “ I just smile and wave,” she said.
McElrah’s show of bravery recently earned her a job opportunity with Liberty Tax Service, which temporarily offered her a job as a dancer Statute of Liberty to promote a new place near Grand Center starting in January.
“ Just be happy and do what you love,” she said. “The money will come.”
1. At first McElrah began singing and dancing in public in order to _____.
A．make a living B．entertain the public
C．rise to fame D．encourage herself
2.Erica McElrah was offered a job because of _____.
A．her beautiful voice B．her positive behavior
C．her lively dancing D．her competitive spirit
3.Which of the following about Erica McElrah is TRUE？
A．She doesn’t care others’ comments on her.
B．Her favorite artist is Joe Cocker.
C．She once worked as a doctor.
D．She has been divorced once.
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Ways To Be Happy
B．Learn To Do What You Love
C．Happy Lady’s Singing and Dancing Life
D．What Made The Happy Lady Famous?
In April 2014，the world's oldest known message in a bottle was discovered floating in the Baltic Sea. It had spent 101 years lost in the ocean！The message was finally sent to the author's granddaughter.
A German fisherman named Konrad Fischer found the brown bottle near Kiel，Germany. He said he nearly threw the bottle back into the water after pulling it out of a fishing net. Then he noticed something inside.
The bottle in good condition contained a Danish postcard with two German stamps，dated May 17，1913. Although dampness had made most of the writing illegible（字迹模糊的），the readable part of the message asked whoever found it to return it to an address in Berlin. It even contained two stamps to pay for postage.
From the address，researchers found that the postcard was written by a man named Richard Platz，who was 20 years old when he wrote the message. While he was hiking on the Baltic coast with a nature appreciation group，he threw the bottle into the sea. Then the researchers began a search for any living relatives of his. Sure enough，they were able to find his 62-year-old granddaughter，Angela Erdmann，who still lives in Berlin.
“It was almost unbelievable，”Erdmann said upon being presented with her grandfather's bottle and message.“That was a pretty moving moment. Tears rolled down my face."
Erdmann never knew her grandfather，who died in 1946，but says that the discovery of the bottle has made her want to learn more about him.
The bottle remained on display at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg until May 1．After that，the researchers examined the postcard and tried to figure out the meaning of the rest of the message.
Previously，the oldest message found in a bottle spent nearly 98 years at sea and was discovered in April 2012，according to Guinness World Records.
1.When Konrad Fischer picked up the bottle from the sea， ．
A.he thought it would bring him good luck
B.he noticed the postcard inside immediately
C.he decided to uncover the secret of the bottle
D.he wanted to throw it back into the sea at first
2.Why did Richard Platz throw the bottle with the message into the sea?
A．He expected his granddaughter could find the postcard.
B．He wished the finder would send the postcard to his home.
C．He believed his postcard would be kept secret at sea forever.
D．He thought he could make friends with the finder of the bottle.
3. What can be the best title for this passage？
A．The finding of a floating bottle at the sea
B．A one-century-old letter to a granddaughter
C．The world's oldest message in a floating bottle
D．The oldest Danish postcard in a floating bottle
假设你是育才中学学生会主席李华。你校将举办一次英语演讲比赛(speech contest)，希望附近某 大学的外籍教师Smith女士来做评委。请参照以下比赛通知给她写一封信。
英语演讲比赛
主题：人与自然
时间：6月15日下午2:00-5:00
地点：501教室
参赛选手：10名学生
联系人： 李华（电话：44876655）
短文改错
Nowadays there is a widespread concern over developing tourism. In the fact, tourism can benefit us a lot. It will help the city’s economy and people’s life improve great. We will have nice parks, the first class roads and grand building. We will get lots of chances communicate with tourists from all over the world.
But every coin have two sides. Without proper planning, tourism can be a problem. If tourism grew too quickly, people will move from their early jokes in those concerning tourism. Local industry will suffer. Too many tourists can crowd public places or cause some pollution.
I think that necessary to help tourism, but first of all we should have a proper plan so that it can developed steadily and efficiently.
语法填空
William Campbell, Satoshi Omura and Tu Youyou jointly won the 2015 Nobel Prize for medicine_1._ their work against parasitic diseases (寄生虫病). 85-year-old Tu was awarded this prize for her contribution to_2._ (reduce) the death rate of malaria (疟疾), minimizing patients’ suffering and promoting mankind’s health. This is _3._ science is all about.
As a matter of fact, Tu has won some attention when she 4._(get) in 2011. But there is no way to compare her popularity back to the attention she is receiving today. As the first Chinese mainland Nobel Prize Winner of natural science award, Tu’s winning _5._(complete) surprised Chinese people, 6._have long been wondering when the first Chinese Nobel Laureate in natural science would appear.
Tu Youyou is the first Chinese scientist to win a Nobel Prize for work _7._ (carry) out within China. She has spent 40 years’ time on scientific research. Although the Nobel Prize did not come to her until four decades later, it is definitely one of _8._most privilege rewards that recognizes Tu’s devotion and perseverance in discovering artemisinin (青蒿素). Her record-breaking winning _9._ (be) a reminder that science is never about instant success. There is no way to measure how much you spend on scientific research and compare _10._with how much reward you get.
完形填空2
Cancer Cancelled
My name's James and I am an 18-year "Cancer Survivor". When I was 15 years of age, I was at my house one day with my two sisters and when I tried to run up the steps, I blacked out, and _________the stairs very hard. When I came to myself, I remembered my sisters saying “Are you all right?” and I replied “I think so, yeah.” But little did my sisters and I know that was the beginning of this __________. When I began to try to climb the stairs, my whole right leg hurt seriously. I couldn’t move it_________ the assistance of my hands. The __________ was horrible. I finally made my way upstairs and I couldn’t ________ I couldn’t move my leg. As time went on it got ________ so a month later I finally went to hospital. I explained to the doctor what had happened. Then I was asked to go to the rooms __________ they treated me to the X-rays, MRI, and CAT SCANS machines. One week later, my doctor __________ the house and said, “You need to come up here right away!”
My mother and I __________ up there and they had the X-rays results ready for me--My body seemed __________ except my right leg. I was surrounded by doctors and nurses.
I got my __________, but wasn’t clear on what was happening. They __________us back home. Three days later, they __________ an expert from another continent or someplace and he looked at my X-rays one time and said “OH MY GOD, this young man has bone cancer.”
Once all of that got cleared up, they __________ my chemotherapy(化疗) treatments a week later. On October 9, 2014, I had the surgery, the bone replacement surgery. I was told that I couldn’t _________ like a normal person anymore, so ________ was impossible. I couldn’t do this or that, etc. Basically my _________ was over before it even got started. When I got through with my final chemotherapy I was _________40 kg.
I want to share this story with you guys because today I’m 84 kg with 2% body fat. I don’t smoke or drink. I can walk and even run. I’m so __________ to be here and forever to grace life with my presence each day. My dream is to become the “___________” to everybody who ever thought about giving up on life because it’s so hard, or just simply not living it.
1.A. took B. moved C. hit D. climbed
2.A. dream B. terror C. day D. memory
3.A. without B. from C. with D. for
4.A. pain B. change C. danger D. idea
5.A. guess B. notice C. believe D. understand
6.A. Better B. worse C. stranger D. cleaner
7.A. when B. before C. though D. where
8.A. found B. searched C. visited D. called
9.A. came B. rushed C. looked D. stayed
10.A. weak B. terror C. slim D. fine
11.A. treatment B. needs C. results D. recovery
12.A. followed B. carried C. sent D. directed
13.A. flew B. promised C. allowed D. served
14.A. continued B. started C. postponed D. cancelled
15.A. work B. walk C. think D. feel
16.A. playing B. stepping C. running D. learning
17.A. plan B. hope C. career D. life
18.A. only B. even C. ever D. right
19.A. nervous B. relieved C. curious D. grateful
20.A. Inspiration B. Instruction C. Introduction D. Information
