Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhood. When I was a boy of 12, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. It’s the most beautiful sound in the world.
I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out on our back porch, and on the second day, my new pet’s mother
flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my pet bird was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries(浆果). She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.
1.Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?
A. He had just got a new cage.
B. He liked its beautiful feather.
C. He wanted a pet for a companion.
D. He wanted it to sing for him.
2.The mockingbird died because it ______.
A. ate the poisonous food its mother gave it
B. was frightened to death
C. refused to eat anything
D. drank the poisonous water by mistake
3.An ornithologist probably means ______.
A. a religious person B. a kind person
C. an expert in birds D. a headmaster
4.What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?
A. Freedom is very valuable to all creatures.
B. All birds put in a cage won’t live long.
C. You should keep the birds from their mother.
D. Be careful about food you give to baby birds.
Welcome to Adventureland!
Everyone loves Adventureland! The parks and exhibitions were built for you to explore
(探索), enjoy, and admire their wonders. Every visit will be an unforgettable experience. You
will go away enriched, longing to come back. What are you going to do this time?
The Travel Pavilion
Explore places you have never been to before, and experience different ways of life. Visit the Amazon jungle(丛林)village, the Turkish market, the Tai floating market, the Berber
mountain house and others. Talk to the people there who will tell you about their lives, and
things they make. You can try making a carpet, making nets, fishing…
The Future Tower
This exhibition shows how progress will touch our lives. It allows us to look into the
future and explore the cities of the next century and the way we’ll be living then. Spend some
time in our space station and climb into our simulator(模拟装置)for the Journey to Mars!
The Nature Park
This is not really one park but several. In the Safari Park you can drive among African
animals in one of our Range Cruisers: see lions, giraffes, elephants in the wild. Move on to theOcean Park to watch the dolphins and whales. And then there is still the Aviary to see…
The Pyramid
This is the center of Adventureland. Run out of film, need some postcards and stamps?
For all these things and many more, visit our underground shopping center. Come here for
information and ideas too.
1.If you are interested in knowing about what people’s life will be, you may visit ___ ___.
A. the Travel Pavilion B. the Safari Park
C. the Future Tower D. the Pyramid
2.The Travel Pavilion is built to help visitors _______.
A. realize the importance of travelling
B. become familiar with mountain countries
C. learn something about different places in the world
D. learn how to make things such as fishing nets
3. If you want to get a toy lion to take home, where will you most likely to go?
A. The Nature Park
B. The Future Tower
C. The Travel Pavilion
D. The Pyramid
请根据你对以下两幅图的理解， 以”bring back a bluer sky” 为题用英语写一篇作文。
1. 简要描述两幅图的内容。
2. 概述你对两幅图中不同做法的理解。
3. 谈谈这两幅对你的启示。
注意：参考词汇：秸秆straw雾霾 smog
可参考图片适当发挥；作文词数150左右。
根据相应提示填词
1.Dad s ________ not to smoke again, but mum didn’t believe his promise.
2.I feel really g__________ at forgetting her birthday again.
3.He respects those who are in d___________ with him.
4.—— A lot of animals are dying out.
—— Yes, especially those that are most s_______ to the changes of the environment.
5.It’s our duty and __________ (责任) to protect our environment all around the world.
6.He exchanged a few words with the professor, an old ____________(熟人) of his.
7.She is a ___________(顾问) to the government.
8.He began the project by __________(非法地) using the university computer system..
9.Martha would ____________(消耗) nearly a pound of cheese every day.
10. — What kind of person do you think Tom is?
— He is a silent but hard-working student, always sitting there, a_____ in the book he is reading.
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。
Celebrating Sleep
World Sleep Day, observed on 21 March, was created to bring attention to the growing number of sleep problems worldwide. Sleep is a natural part of human life, but many people in the modern world ignore its importance. As a result, sleep problems are increasingly common.In 2002, scientists at the University of Athens in Greece conducted a survey of over 35,000 people in 10 countries around the world, including China, Belgium and South Africa. Of the people that responded to the survey, 24 percent said that they did not sleep well, and based on their responses, 31.6 percent were diagnosed with insomnia(失眠) and another 17.5 percent were diagnosed with borderline(边界线) insomnia. In addition, 30.7 percent of survey respondents reported visiting a doctor for help with sleep problems and 11.6 percent said that they felt very sleepy during the day.
Overall, the survey found that many people suffer the effects of poor quality sleep, some examples of which are being unable to fall asleep and waking up in the middle of the night. The main factors causing these problems are pressure from school or work and a fast pace of life, but noise pollution and light pollution also interfere with sleep and contribute to poor quality sleep. The survey’s findings are particularly troubling because large numbers of people were found to have difficulty sleeping at night. The short-term effects of this are tiredness and trouble concentrating. If this happens for a long time, the risk of gaining weight and having a heart attack may increase.
There are many things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep. First, you should have regular sleep habits. Try to go to bed and wake up around the same time each day. You also need to make your bedroom a cool, dark, quiet place to sleep so that heat, light and noise do not disturb you. At night, you should also avoid things that contain caffeine, such as chocolate, coffee, tea and many soft drinks, as caffeine may keep you from sleeping.
Getting a good night’s sleep is important for everyone. By following the advice above, you can rest better at night and work better during the day.
Topic | Context |
World Sleep Day | Due to ignorance of sleep problems, people observed Mar. 21, World Sleep Day, 1. ______attention to the importance of sleep. |
Responses of the survey | ◆Of 3, 5000 people in 10 countries in the world, there were 24 percent of the people saying they didn’t sleep well. ◆31.6 percent were diagnosed with insomnia and another 17.5 percent were on the 2.of sleeplessness. ◆The 3. of the people feeling sleepy during the day is 11.6. ◆30.7 percent reported 4. to a doctor for sleep problems. |
Factors 5. sleep problems and their consequences | ◆Under6.from school or work, people may have sleep problems. ◆A fast pace of life causes sleep problem as well. ◆Poor quality sleeps also 7. from noise or light pollution. ◆There is much8. that sleepless people easily gain weight and have a heart attack. ◆Feeling tired and sleepy, people find it hard to concentrate. |
9.to take to improve sleep quality | ◆Have regular sleep habits ◆Make your bedroom cool, dark and quiet ◆Avoid things 10.caffeine |
During my early twenties, to make my parents stop feeling angry, and simply to escape, I decided to live in my birthplace for a period of time, something I'd sworn I would never do. My parents were thrilled. They prayed that I'd come back triumphantly with a picture－perfect bridegroom. That was the furthest thing from my mind as I packed my faded jeans, tank tops, boots, and a photo of my freckle－faced then－boyfriend who was of Scottish descent.
The moment I landed in Seoul, I was aware of how much I felt like a misfit. All my life I had tried to blend into the dominant culture and couldn't. And finally, when I was in a place where everyone looked like me, I still stood out. I took it for granted that I'd feel a sense of freedom. I thought I'd blend into the landscape. This was not the case. People stared at me with curious eyes. I became conscious of my American－girl swaggering body movements and inappropriate dress.
Collecting my courage, I traveled to the demilitarized zone on my own. I touched the high barbed－wire fence that stretched across the belly of the peninsula(半岛), dividing Korea in half. I visited thousand－year－old temples and magnificent palace gates that had survived modernization and centuries of battle. I met with distant cousins who welcomed me with outstretched arms into their homes and related heroic tales about my mother and Halmoni (Grandmother) during the war. How Halmoni had led her young children out of north to the United Nation－backed south. How my mother, at the age of thirteen, saved the life of her baby sister.
I listened with such an overwhelming thirst that when I returned to the States a year and a half later, I began to ask my parents and Halmoni (who had immigrated to the States some time after we did) all about the past. The past was no longer a time gone by, a dead weight. I now saw that it held ancient treasures. And the more I dug and discovered, the more I felt myself being steered toward a future I had never imagined for myself. I began to write. I didn't even know I could write. My family helped me knit stories into a book using Halmoni's voice. As her powerful words moved through me I was able to reflect and meditate on the ridiculous life I had fashioned for myself. I could feel my sense of self rising. This sparked a newfound awareness and excitement. I became a spokeswoman on Korean culture, traveling to various college campuses across the country. “Be proud. Embrace your heritage.” I said to young Korean American students wearing extra－large, trendy sportswear. But the whole time I was lecturing, I had very little understanding of what that self－concept meant. I was merely talking the talk. I hadn't yet fully embraced my own identity.
1.Why did the author leave America for her birthplace?
A. Because she broke up with her boyfriend and wanted to be alone.
B. Because she decided to be separated from her parents for a while.
C. Because she was forced by her parents to get married in Korea.
D. Because she longed for the travel in her birthplace on her own.
2.According to the passage, the author suggests that her original expectations about visiting Korea were ________．
A. unrealistic and naïve
B. misguided and dangerous
C. ambitious and ridiculous
D. sensible and practical
3.What was the author's attitude toward the ancient monuments she visited in Korea?
A. She was curious about their original functions.
B. She was astonished at their size.
C. She admired their capacity to endure.
D. She was surprised at their beauty.
4.According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The author's attitude toward her family's earlier experiences changed from indifference to fascination.
B. The author felt extremely free when in Korea because it was the place where she looked like others.
C. The author wrote her family's stories in first person with the help of her grandmother.
D. The author was aware of her own national identity and knew what she was actually doing.
5. Which statement most closely parallels the author's conclusion about knowledge of the past?
A. It is a treasure that should be guarded.
B. It is often most valued during early adulthood.
C. It can enhance appreciation of ancient cultures.
D. It can help individuals attain deeper self－concept.
