Shake Shack is a new kind of restaurant becoming more popular in the U．S．The restaurants are not“fast food”．They are known as“fast casual”．
Observers say Americans want more choices and fresh food when choosing where and what to eat．This trend is one reason why the fast food restaurant McDonald’s has struggled financially．In the last quarter of 2014，McDonald’s net income dropped by about $300 million．The January earnings report brought more bad news．Worldwide sales dropped for the eighth month in a row and even more than expecteD． Whi le McDonald’s is struggling to get their customers back，Shake．
Shack，is doing well in making money．The New York-based burger chain had a very successful IPO，or initial public offering，of shares at the end of January．On its first day of trading，Shake Shack went from $21 a share to just under $46 a share．Being part of the “fast casual ”trend has helped Shake Shack．Other fast casual restaurants in the U．S．include Chipotle and PanerA．
Bonnie Riggs，a restaurant expert with NPD has studied Americans’restaurant habits for almo st 30 years．She says one reason why Americans like fast casu al food is that it’s new．It’s creative，it’s something different and people like to try new things．Her study shows Americans made 61 billion visits to restaurants last year．Three out of four visits were to fast food restaurants，like McDonald’s．Fast casual is still a small percentage of restaurant visits，but it has developed fast．Just as Ms．Riggs says，“It’s growing by leaps and bounds，because they meet consumers’needs．They know it’s being prepared while they wait，it’s fresh，quality food，good tasting food at what they say are reasonable and affordable prices．”
Many Americans still like their fast fooD． They just are not going as often．They are finding other ways to have a meal．
1.What’s the trouble with McDonald’s？
A ．Its share goes down to $21．
B． Shake Shack has taken its place．
C． It’s not popular with Americans．
D． Its sales and income have droppeD．
2.We can learn from Bonnie Riggs that Americans ________．
A． don’t like fast food any more
B． care only about the quality
C． like to try something new
D． pay more restaurant visits to fast casual
3.What does the underlined phrase“by leaps and bounds”in ParA． 3 mean？
A． Steadily． B． Rapidly． C． Slowly． D． Normally．
4.Which of the following best describes fast casual？
A． Fresh-made and tasty．
B． High-quality and expensive．
C． Farm-to-table and traditional．
D． Time-consuming and special．
Today we are going to talk about important transition words in English．We will focus on how to usetransition words to link ideas together．Some common transition words are and，furthermore，in addition to，not to mention，and in the same way．
We don’t always get a second chance to achieve our dreams．But some people are lucky，like Matthew McConaughey．Once almost unknown，the actor has recently found himself back on the list of the best actors in HollywooD． His new movie Interstellar is just another sign that his career reinvention has been an incredible success．“The film relies on McConaughey’s performance to hold together the emotional story of a father and his daughter against the background of space travel and the end of the world，”Forbes commenteD．
But only years ago，the Texas native was often the butt of jokes（笑柄）about being too handsome．In 1993，after meeting with director Richard Linklater，McConaughey starred in Dazed and ConfuseD． And a Hollywood career was born，mostly in romantic comedies．For a long time，the whole world believed McConaughey was just a handsome guy with comic talent．
But McConaughey stopped starring in that type of movie，and began to use his looks differently．Slowly he built up his reputation as a serious actor．In 2013，McConaughey was offered to play an AIDS activist in Dallas Buyers CluB． The role saw the normally muscular actor losing 50 pounds in order to appear sick．His performance won him an Oscar for Best Actor．
The actor gave thanks to someone he has always looked up to as a hero during his Oscar acceptance speech．When he was 15，the actor said，he decided that his hero would be himself in 10 years．But 10 years later，he pushed the deadline ahead another decade．Then 10 years later，another decade．“My hero’s always 10 years away，” he saiD． “I’m never going to attain that．That keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing．”Or perhaps constantly chasing the chance to be his own hero has given him a second chance to follow his dreams．
1.Why was McConaughey often the butt of jokes in his early career？
A． He was limited to handsome roles．
B． He was unknown to the audience．
C． He played in romantic comedies．
D． He was handsome and emotional．
2.What role won Mc Conaughey an Oscar for Best Ac tor？
A． A caring father．
B． An AIDS activist．
C． A serious buyer．
D． A strong hero．
3.What can we learn about McConaughey？
A． He was born in HollywooD．
B． He has become a hero of his own．
C． He wasn’t famous until recently．
D． He isn’t content with his achievements．
4.Which of the following can be the best title？
A． McConaughey，a Romantic Comed ian
B． McConaughey，a Man Making a Hit
C． McConaug hey，a Man Daring to change
D． McConaughey，Handsome and Talented
团队合作(teamwork)在现代是非常重要的。请根据以下要点，简要写一篇关于teamwork的演讲稿，并表明你自己的看法。词数不少于80。
——为何重要：
1．是学习和工作必需的能力；
2．可节省时间，精力，资源；
3．彼此有机会相互学习；
——合作对象：
1．与志同道合的人合作容易理解，同甘共苦，心情愉快；
2．与和自己差异较大的人合作可以学会宽容，并学会发掘别人优点。
注意：演讲稿的开头和结尾已给出。
Good morning, everyone! My topic today is “Teamwork”．
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Thanks for your listening!
请结合材料，按要求用英文写作。
A couple said, “ We love our kid, so we’ll arrange everything for him and pave （铺）the way for his success．”
要求：1．请就此材料发表你的看法；
2．紧扣材料，有明确的观点；
3．词数不少于60词。
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.
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1.The President thanked the mothers for their sons and daughters ____（保卫）their country heart and soul．
2.Snowden said he did not think his son had ____（犯罪）a crime, even though he said Edward Snowden broke U．S．laws．
3.In order to attract more customers some airlines offer free check-in____（行李）．
4.The committee has proposed new ____（规章）to control the hours of its employees．
5.When ____（回报）with a quicker sale he made the extra effort to impress the buyers with his products．
6.What ____（担心）teachers and employers deeply is that students are not well prepared for university courses．
7.A tight ____（日程表）means we can’t delay any longer．
8.Now we are trying to build a country where the people can live in peace and ____（和谐）with ourselves and those around us．
9.Though there are some people protesting against the plan, they are in the ____（少数）．
10.There are many approaches to ____（调整）their way of working and thinking according to changing situations．
Despite the high technology and investment in flood defences by the Environment Agency, there is no way to stop all flooding -- sooner or later nature will produce something that will beat even the strongest defences．
Warning people of this danger is very important if we are to prevent the great loss of life seen fifty-three years ago．Indeed if the Flood Warning System that currently exists had been around on that cold, stormy night in January 1953, many lives would have been spareD．
The Environment Agency took over the role of flood warning in 1995 from the police who had to go door to door or sound alarms to get the news out．The service is being constantly improved and a combination of better technology and increased investment following the Easter Floods of 1998 has led to the creation of Floodline and an automatic messaging system that can warn thousands of people in very little time．
Floodline 0845 988 1188 offers information and advice 24 hours a day and if warnings are in place, callers can get information either from local updates or by using a quickdial code for their areA．
The Flood Warning team in Kent has also sent letters to the people living close to the rivers or the sea and invited them to join the AVM (automated voice messaging) system．Anyone choosing to take up this free service will receive a recorded message directly to their home, business or pager telling them of the level of warning, giving them as much time as possible to carry out their flood plan and save items that cannot be replaced if lost or damaged, such as photographs or children’s favorite toys．
1.Choose the correct statements from the following according to the passage．
A． Many people lost their lives in the flood in 1953
B． The Flood Warning system was already in use in 1953
C． Flood defences can stop all flooding
D． The Environment Agency began to warn people of flood in 1995
e．Floodline was created after the Easter Floods of 1998
A． a, b, c B． b, c, d C． a, d, e D． a, c, e
2.What does the underlined word "pager" mean in the passage?
A． A piece of equipment designed to receive and show messages
B． A boy employed to carry luggage in hotels
C． A page of papers written to offer messages
D． A person, invited to write pages of messages
3.People can easily get information and advice about flood any time of the day from____．
A． automatic messaging system
B． automated voice messaging system
C． the Flood Warning team in Kent
D． Floodline 0845 988 1188
4.The best title for this passage may probably be ____．
A． Environment Agency
B． Flood Warning System
C． Technology In Flood Defences
D． Easter Floods
