One day, a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor _______ the question papers, with the text facing down as usual._______ all the students got the papers, he asked them to _______ the page and begin. To everyone's surprise, there were no _______ , just a black dot (点) in the center of the page. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone's face, told them the following:
"I want you to write what you _______ there.”
The students,_______, got started on the inexplicable (令人费解的) task.
At the end of the class, the professor _______ all the answer papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of all the students. All of them, with no _______, described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. After all had been _______, the classroom was silent, the professor began to explain:
"I'm not going to grade this. I ________ wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the ________ part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot, and the same happens in our ________. We have a white paper to observe and ________, but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a ________ given to us with love and care and we always have ________ to celebrate: nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that ________ our livelihood and the miracles we see every day.
________, we insist on focusing only on the dark spots: the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the ________ relationship with colleagues(同事), the ________ with a friend, and etc.
The dark spots are very ________ compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds. "
1.A. pointed at B. turned up C. referred to D. handed out
2.A. Since B. After C. While D. Until
3.A. fold B. open C. turn D. use
4.A. questions B. choices C. exercises D. scores
5.A. remember B. imagine C. see D. study
6.A. confused B. frustrated C. curious D. serious
7.A. finished B. collected C. marked D. selected
8.A. excuse B. doubt C. explanation D. exception
9.A. read B. said C. returned D. answered
10.A. also B. even C. just D. finally
11.A. big B. black C. white D. beautiful
12.A. studies B. classrooms C. colleges D. lives
13.A. send B. enjoy C. keep D. show
14.A. present B. burden C. pressure D. lesson
15.A. festivals B. time C. freedom D. reasons
16.A. threatens B. provides C. ruins D. changes
17.A. Besides B. Therefore C. However D. Moreover
18.A. close B. strong C. special D. complex
19.A. disappointment B. contact C. satisfaction D. stay
20.A. dark B. small C. round D. dirty
When we were kids, my little sister Madison and I were the M&Ms—my parents' two daughters. 1. So it was quite a surprise when my mom and dad sat us down to let us know that baby number three was on the way when I was 10 years old. However, as soon as my brother Mac was born, he completely stole my heart and I have learned many things from having a young brother.
● 2.
Having a baby in your life means watching your parents endlessly change diapers (尿布), make bottles, and wipe spit-ups every once in a while. I was allowed to do those things and I learned just how important it was to take care of this little life before I even hit middle school.
● You watch a child grow up.
3.I remember how excited my family was when we discovered how fast of a reader he was in kindergarten. I'll never forget telling him bedtime stories before he went to sleep at night. It's cool to think about the entirety of his life and how far he has come.
● You teach your brother life lessons.
From a young age, my brother watched my sister and me overcome personal challenges, go to high school, and, worst of all, get our hearts broken. 4. Watching his sisters go through life's difficulties has taught him how he should act when he gets older.
Now Mac is 11 years old. I have no shame in telling people that one of my best friends is an 11-year-old boy. In fact, our family without him is unimaginable. 5.
A．You stay in the know.
B．You learn about responsibility early on.
C．We received a lot of attention, and we liked it that way.
D．All I can say is that my family wouldn't be happy without Mac.
E．Nothing makes Mac more upset than a mean guy who hurts a girl's feelings.
F．I remember the first time Mac crawled, walked, and said my name.
G．Thanks , Mom and Dad, for turning the M&Ms into the Three Musketeers.
Smoking is harmful. But as soon as you quit the habit, everything will be OK, right?
Wrong.
New research has found that even if you give up smoking, the damage it has done to your genes (基因) will stay there for a much longer time.
In the research, a team of US scientists studied the blood of 16,000 people. Among them, some were smokers, some used to smoke, and the rest were non-smokers. Scientists compared their genes and found that more than 7,000 genes of smokers had changed--a number that is one-third of known human genes.
According to NBC News, both heart disease and cancer are caused by genetic changes. Some people may have had the changes when they were born, but most people get them in their day-to-day lives while doing things like smoking.
When you stop smoking, a lot of these genes will return to normal within five years.
This means your body is trying to heal (治愈) itself of the harmful effects of smoking. But the changes in some of the genes stay for longer. They can stay for as long as 30 years, It’s almost like leaving a footprint on wet cement (水泥) --it will always be there, even when you’ve walked away and when the cement becomes dry.
Although the study results may make people unhappy, there is a bright side: the findings could help scientists invent medicine to treat genetic damage caused by smoking or find ways to tell which people have heart disease or cancer risks.
1.The function of Paragraph 1 is to_________ .
A. give an example B. introduce the topic of the passage
C. make an argument D. show the main idea of the passage
2.Most genetic changes happen because of___________ .
A. people’s condition at birth B. environmental pollution
C. people’s bad living habit D. heart disease and cancer
3.The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 6 refers to__________ .
A. the footprint B. the cement
C. the harmful effect D. the genetic change
4.Which of the following statements is true?
A. The findings are the fruit of more than three years’ research.
B. The findings help to find cures for genetic damage caused by smoking.
C. The findings offer evidence that a damaged gene can heal itself.
D. The findings have prevented more people from starting smoking
The birth of the black tea and the first to reach the Western world from Fujian originated by accident. A Chinese army happened to stop by a tea farm in the late Ming Dynasty (1368—1644) and the soldiers slept on raw tea leaves which were intended for green tea making. Helpless and eager to avoid further loss, the anxious tea producer roasted the withered (枯萎的) tea leaves immediately afterwards, with pine branches, ending up with a deep colored tea, which produced bright red soup, a smoky taste and sweet flavour. To the tea farmer's surprise, the taste and flavour became a hit in the market, and the whole area started to make the kind of tea to satisfy market demand.
Around the end of the 16th century, Dutch business people took tea to Europe. Catherine of Braganza, when she married British King Charles Ⅱ in 1662, took the tea drinking habit from Portugal to the British court.
It was hard to say if people in the United Kingdom had the choice of drinking green tea, because it is said that after long sea transportation, green tea from China naturally fermented (发酵) into black tea. At the time British people still didn't know that black tea and green tea are made from the same leaves, so Scottish botanist Robert Fortune (1812—1880) met with disbelief when he pointed out that only a different processing method made black tea and green tea different.
Fortune was sent by the East India Company to steal tea from China. He took more than 20,000 tea plants and seedlings to India in 1851. Although most of the tea plants he introduced to India are said to have died, trained Chinese tea workers he took there are believed to have equipped the country with the necessary technology and knowledge for tea making.
1.The tea farmer invented red tea ________.
A. to get a better taste
B. to please the soldiers
C. to avoid losing more money
D. to satisfy market demand
2.According to the text, British people ________.
A. preferred green tea to black tea in the 17th century
B. made green tea transported from China into black tea
C. was the first in Europe to have the habit of drinking tea
D. thought black tea and green tea were made from different leaves
3.What did Fortune do according to the text?
A. He trained workers to make tea.
B. He brought tea plants and seedlings to Britain.
C. He learned knowledge and skills to make different kinds of tea.
D. He did something illegal for the East India Company.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. The technology for tea making.
B. The origin of black tea.
C. The tradition of drinking tea in Britain.
D. The difference between black tea and green tea.
My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (老年痴呆症)last summer. Suddenly, it was difficult for me to accept that the roles were now reversed---my mother became my child, and I became her mother. I became impatient, argued with her, once I even yelled at her. Gradually, I was used to this kind of life. Now I am able to deal with her and the situation better. I have learned a lot of life lessons from the experience.
My mother reacts very sensitively to my feelings. That is typical of Alzheimer’s patients. When I visit her, feeling busy and tense, she reacts immediately, takes on my mood, and becomes nervous and negative. But when I appear cheerful and attentive, she is happy. This has taught me to pay more attention to my own feelings when I am with other people.
I always thought I was very tolerant, but in reality, my tolerance ran out as soon as someone turned away from what I considered “right”. With my mother I can now really be tolerant. Through her illness she has developed a childlike tactlessness（不得体）. Eating out in restaurants, for example, is a bit embarrassing when she shouts at the waiter that the food is so bad or talks about people at the next table in a loud voice. Of course I make sure that my mother doesn’t offend（冒犯）anyone, but I’ve stopped complaining about others and have become more tolerant.
I have also learned that everything has special value. When my mother got sick I didn’t want to burden my two daughters with it. They are young and have enough going on with their education, and starting their careers. I felt that it was simply my job as my mother’s daughter. The most wonderful discovery I’ve made through my mother’s disease may be that my children not only offer to help me when they sense that I’m feeling overwhelmed（难以承受）, but that they take care of my mother on their own initiative（主动地）. They visit her often, play cards with her, and look at photo albums together with her. It shows me that it’s all worth it.
1.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. How I Cared for My Sick Mother
B. How I Became More Tolerant
C. What I Have Learned from Alzheimer’s
D. Why I Am Feeling Overwhelmed
2.Which of the following is common behavior of Alzheimer patients?
A. Being curious about everything
B. Being sensitive to others’ moods
C. Being afraid of strange people
D. Being particular about clothes
3.We can infer that the writer’s daughters are ________.
A. naughty B. selfish C. traditional D. considerate
Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4 of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential (居住的). Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground.
Meal Plans available
Continental Breakfast
Breakfast and Dinner
Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It's important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice cereal (谷物类食品), bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by dessert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host's permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.
1.The passage is probably written for _______.
A. hosts willing to receive foreign students
B. foreigners hoping to build British culture
C. travellers planning to visit families in London
D. English learners applying to live in English homes
2.Which of the following will the host provide?
A. Free transport B. Medical care
C. Room cleaning D. Physical training
3.What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?
A. Zone 4 is more crowded than Zone 2.
B. The business centre of London is probably in Zone 1.
C. Hosts dislike travelling to the city centre.
D. Accommodation in the city centre is not provided.
4.Why do some people choose self-catering accommodation?
A. To experience a warmer family atmosphere.
B. To enrich their knowledge of English.
C. To enjoy much more freedom
D. To entertain friends as they like.
