A Festival for the Dead 1. (hold) once a year in Japan. This festival is 2. cheerful occasion, for on this day, the dead are said 3. (return) to their homes and they are welcomed by the living. As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them. Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each house to help the dead to find 4. way. All night long, people dance and sing. In the early morning, the food that had been laid out for the dead 5. (throw) into a river or into the sea as it is considered 6. (luck) for anyone living to eat it. In towns that are near the sea, the tiny lanterns 7. had been hung in the streets the night before are placed into the water when the festival is over. Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea 8. (guide) the dead on their return journey to the world. This is a 9. (move) spectacle, for crowds of people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away 10. they can be seen no more.
History has some very special qualities about it. It is a ________ of what has happened in the past, and the really interesting thing is that much of history has been ________ time and again. It allows us to learn from the past, both the ________ made and the successes achieved.
One of the ________ of history is that it allows us to know how famous people ________ when they were faced with challenges in their life. ________ these challenges happened at a certain time in the past or in a ________ country or culture, all of them can always teach us something ________.
Take for example the ________ of Thomas Edison and how many times he ________ while on the road to finally inventing the light bulb (电灯泡). He could be held out as an example of a person who ________ stopped trying. I am sure he was ________ by those difficulties but he did not let them stop him. He had a ________ and he just kept trying until he reached success.
Or, think about the story of Abraham Lincoln who ________ to become President of the United States even though he suffered ________ losses. Most of us only know about his success. ________, his life was not an easy one. His story makes us keep moving forward no matter what ________ we have in life.
These true history stories will make you stop to reconsider ________ or food for thought about going after your dreams even though you may not think you have the courage or the ________ for now to get what you have always wanted. They could help you make decisions and ________ when you have no idea what to do. They could inspire you to be all that you can be.
1.A. noteB. beliefC. chanceD. record
2.A. reportedB. expectedC. repeatedD. corrected
3.A. mistakesB. jokesC. agreementsD. challenges
4.A. eventsB. periodsC. problemsD. advantages
5.A. studiedB. reactedC. competedD. explored
6.A. AlthoughB. BecauseC. UnlessD. Whether
7.A. developedB. poorC. differentD. popular
8.A. clearB. simpleC. specialD. useful
9.A. nameB. storyC. positionD. character
10.A. failedB. watchedC. escapedD. traveled
11.A. alsoB. oftenC. stillD. never
12.A. shockedB. beatenC. discouragedD. controlled
13.A. jobB. dreamC. dutyD. power
14.A. happenedB. preparedC. pretendedD. managed
15.A. hearingB. weightC. personalD. slight
16.A. In factB. As usualC. In allD. After all
17.A. directionsB. improvementsC. permissionsD. difficulties
18.A. passing byB. giving upC. setting offD. calming down
19.A. abilityB. habitC. goalD. choice
20.A. introductionsB. conversationsC. judgmentsD. Impressions
How teens can stay fit
Any type of regular, physical activity can improve your fitness and your health. 1.
Exercise should be a regular part of your day, like brushing your teeth, eating and sleeping. It can be in gym class, joining a sports team, or working out on your own. Keep the following tips in mind:
2. A good attitude is important. Find an activity that you think is fun. You are more likely to stick with it if you choose something you like. A lot of people find it's more fun to exercise with someone else, so see if you can find a friend or family member to be active with you.
Take it one step at a time. 3. For example, walk or ride your bike to school. Get on or off the bus several blocks away and walk the rest of the way. Use the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
Get your heart pumping. Whatever you choose, make sure it includes aerobic (有氧的) activity that makes you breathe harder and increases your heart rate. This is the best type of exercise because it increases your fitness level and makes your heart work better. 4. Examples of aerobic activities are basketball, running, or swimming.
Don’t forget to warm up with some easy exercises or stretching (拉伸) before you do any physical activity. 5. It is also important to stretch out after you exercise to cool down your muscles.
A. Do the activity as often as possible, but don't exercise to the point of pain.
B. The most important thing is that you keep moving!
C. Make physical activity a habit.
D. Small changes can add up to better fitness.
E. Stay positive and have fun.
F. This warms your muscles up and may help protect against injury.
G. It also burns off body fat.
Valerie Jarrett, 58, is serving as a top adviser to President Obama and has been close to the first family since the early 1990s. Joe Heim from WashingtonPost had an interview with her.
Joe Heim: What do you think of a reporter who interviews you for 25 minutes, then later finds out his recorder stopped working and asks you to do the interview again?
Valerie Jarrett: That he's human. You could have just tried to pretend that it didn't happen.
Joe Heim: You're considered the president's closest adviser. Have you ever given him bad advice since he became president?
Valerie Jarrett: I'm sure that I have. I think one of the reasons why the president's management style is very effective is because all of his advisers feel very comfortable being open about their advice. Finally, there's only one decision-maker. And that's the president.
Joe Heim: What misunderstandings are there of you?
Valerie Jarrett: A little-known fact is that I started my life very shy and remained very shy well into adulthood. Painfully shy, I would call it. And I often share this, particularly with young people, because it's something I really had to work hard to overcome. And for all the shy people out there I say, you, too, can overcome it. But it took a lot of hard work on my part, and I discovered along the way that just because you're nervous and you have butterflies in your stomach doesn't mean that it has to show. My point in sharing it with you is that part of life is pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone (舒适区). And if you're going to grow, you have to learn how to take on new challenges that you might not be good at.
Joe Heim: Will you stay until the end of his term?
Valerie Jarrett: I serve at the pleasure of the president. If he wants me to stay, I will.
1.From the underlined words “That he's human”, we can learn Valerie Jarrett is _____.
A. warm-hearted B. broad-minded
C. well-educated D. strong-willed
2.Why does Valerie Jarrett share her shyness?
A. To show her hard way to success.
B. To prove shy people can also be great.
C. To show it is easy to overcome shyness.
D. To ask people to face challenges bravely.
3.In which part of a newspaper could we find this text?
A. People. B. Society. C. World. D. Culture.
From self-driving cars to carebots (care+robots) for elderly people, rapid development in technology has long represented a possible threat to many jobs normally performed by people. But experts now believe that almost 50 percent of occupations existing today will be completely unnecessary by 2025 as artificial intelligence continues to change businesses.
“The next fifteen years will see a revolution in how we work, and a revolution will necessarily take place in how we plan and think about workplaces,” said Peter Andrew, Director of Workplace Strategy for CBRE Asia Pacific.
A growing number of jobs in the future will require creative intelligence, social skills and the ability to use artificial intelligence.
The report is based on interviews with 200 experts, business leaders and young people from Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. It shows that in the US technology already destroys more jobs than it creates.
But the report states: “Losing occupations does not necessarily mean losing jobs — just changing what people do.” Growth in new jobs could occur as much, according to the research.
“The growth of 20 to 40 person companies that have the speed and technological know-how will directly challenge big companies,” it states.
A 2014 report by Pew Research found 52 percent of experts in artificial intelligence and robotics were optimistic about the future and believed there would still be enough jobs in the next few years. The optimists pictured “a future in which robots do not take the place of more jobs than they create,” according to Aaron Smith, the report's co-author.
“Technology will continue to affect jobs, but more jobs seem likely to be created. Although there have always been unemployed people, when we reached a few billion people there were billions of jobs. There is no shortage of things that need to be done and that will not change,” Microsoft's Jonathan Grudin told researchers.
1.According to the report, _____.
A. people won't necessarily lose jobs
B. big companies will face fewer challenges
C. small companies will win against big companies
D. most people will become interested in technology
2.We can infer from the text that in the future _____.
A. people will face many difficulties
B. people will take up more creative jobs
C. artificial intelligence will threaten people's lives
D. most jobs will be done in traditional workplaces
3.What is the attitude of most experts in artificial intelligence and robotics to the future?
A. Mixed. B. Worried. C. Hopeful. D. Doubtful.
4.Jonathan Grudin's words in the last paragraph suggest that _____.
A. there will be enough jobs for people
B. things will change a lot in a few years
C. many people will become unemployed
D. technology will totally change future jobs
It was an autumn morning shortly after my husband and I moved into our first house. Our children were upstairs unpacking，and I was looking out of the window at my father moving around mysteriously on the front lawn. “What are you doing out there?” I called to him.
He looked up, smiling. “I’m making you a surprise.” I thought it could be just about anything. When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us. Today, however, Dad would say no more, and caught up in the busyness of our new life , I eventually forgot about his surprise.
Until one gloomy day the next March when I glanced out of the window，I saw a dot of blue across the yard. I headed outside for a closer look. They were crocuses (番红花）throughout the front lawn — blue, yellow and my favorite pink，with little faces moving up and down in the cold wind. I remembered the things Dad secretly planted last autumn. He knew how the darkness and dullness of winter always got me down. What could have been more perfectly timely to my needs?
My father’s crocuses bloomed each spring for the next five seasons, always bringing the same assurance: Hard times are almost over. Hold on, keep going, and light is coming soon.
Then a spring came with the usual blooms but the next spring there were none. I missed the crocuses, so I would ask Dad to come over and plant new bulbs (植物球茎). But I never did. He died suddenly one October day. My family were in deep sorrow, leaning on our faith.
On a spring afternoon four years later, I was driving back when I felt depressed. It was Dad’s birthday, and I found myself thinking about him. This was not unusual — my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived up to his faith. Suddenly I slowed as I turned into our driveway. I stopped and stared at the lawn. There on the muddy grass with small piles of melting snow, bravely waving in the wind, was one pink crocus.
How could a flower bloom from a bulb more than 18 years ago, one that hadn’t bloomed in over a decade? But there was the crocus. Tears filled my eyes as I realized its significance.
Hold on, keep going, and light is coming soon. The pink crocus bloomed for only a day, but it built my faith for a lifetime.
1.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The author usually felt depressed in the season of winter.
B. The crocuses bloomed each spring before her father died.
C. The author often thought about her father after he died.
D. The author’s father planted the crocuses to lift her low spirits.
2.According to the first three paragraphs, we learn that ______.
A. it was not the first time that the author’s father had made a surprise
B. the author was unpacking when her father was making the surprise
C. it kept bothering the author not knowing what the surprise was
D. the author knew what the surprise was because she knew her father
3.The author’s father should be best described as ______.
A. a part-time worker who loved flowers
B. a kind-hearted man who lived with faith
C. a full-time gardener with skillful hands
D. an ordinary man with doubts in his life
4.What can be the best title for the passage?
A. Crocuses — My Source of Faith
B. Crocuses— Father’s Surprise
C. A Pink Crocus — My Memory
D. Crocuses in Blossom — My Favorite
