Music is one of the most important and powerful things in my life.1.(listen)to music can help motivate me in hard times.
When I was younger, I didn’t have the great love 2.music as I do now. I 3.(main) listened to what my parents were listening to. I didn’t have much of care for musical compositions. Whether I was in the car, the home, 4.anywhere else, there was sure to be some Beatles, Buddy Holly, or the Dubliners. Now as I’m _655.(old), I enjoy it as it allows me 6.(remember) my childhood.
I believe music 7.(have)the ability to convey all sorts of feelings. The effect that music can have on our 8.(emotion) is unbelievable, as it can bring people to floods of tears or bursts of laughter.[
I believe music affects people in many different ways. To me music is more than just 9.we listen to or play. It’s something to feel. In my life, it is music which is extremely important10. brings me closer to my friends and family. I also feel that it helps me to get through things.
“Paul must have been trying to carry his waste paper to garbage can and dropped a few pieces.” I______picking them up. _______later I found more pieces. No quiet sighing this time. I _____ ,“Who is throwing garbage?” No answer. Instead, I saw more bits of paper silently floating______from upstairs. Looking up, 
I saw my seven-year-old son, Paul.
“Stop making a mess.” “It’s not a mess. They’re______ .” “Sorry, what did you say?” I hadn’t heard him clearly.
He didn’t answer me. Paul has autism (自闭症) and_______answers a question, especially when he’s _______attentively on something else. He ran down the stairs. “Where are my other butterflies?” he asked,_______around. Every time Paul _______five or more words together, my heart says a _______of thanks. But lately he seems to _______that the benefits of forming complete sentences when communicating are________of the effort.
Butterflies. Of course. I rushed to_______them from the garbage,_______them off and handed them to my young artist. “Want to see them________again?” he asked with a shy smile. “Oh yes! They’re beautiful.” I whispered. He ran back upstairs to float his _____ down again. They really did look like beautiful butterflies.
That day Paul _______me to look up at ______instead of down at garbage. How many other masterpieces (杰作) do I miss because I’m too caught up in my _______to take time to appreciate what’s right in front of me? Life is not what happens to us. It’s ______we look at it. Now, I look up.
1.A. laughed B. sighed C. amazed D. shouted
2.A. Days B. Years C. Moments D. Weeks
3.A. called out B. turned up C. got in D. added to
4.A. up B. down C. away D. off
5.A. planes B. papers C. leaves D. butterflies
6.A. rarely B. frequently C. willingly D. eagerly
7.A. devoted B. depended C. focused D. addicted
8.A. showing B. looking C. playing D. drawing
9.A. spells B. puts C. pushes D. accumulates
10.A. sound B. remark C. report D. prayer
11.A. refuse B. hear C. mind D. realize
12.A. worthy B. aware C. fond D. typical
13.A. hide B. destroy C. rescue D. remove
14.A. tore B. dusted C. cut D. seized
15.A. throw B. flow C. land D. fly
16.A. masterpieces B. schoolwork C. inventions D. imagination
17.A. reminded B. forced C. intended D. permitted
18.A. mistakes B. weaknesses C. beauty D. scenery
19.A. amusement B. housework C. communication D. homework
20.A. when B. whether C. where D. how
Much meaning can be conveyed clearly with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak.
1.In a bus you may look at a stranger, but not for too long. And if he sensed that you are staring at him, he may feel uncomfortable.
The same is true in our daily life. If you are stared at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down to see if there is anything wrong with you. 2.. Eyes do speak, right？
Looking too long at someone may seem to be rude and aggressive.3.. If a man stares at a woman for more than 10 seconds and refuses to look away from her, his intentions are obvious. He wishes to attract her attention, and let her know that he is admiring her.
However, when two persons are engaged in a conversation, the speaker will only look into the listener’s eyes from time to time to make sure that the listener does pay attention to what the former is speaking.4.If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking as if he trying to control you, you will feel awkward. A poor liar usually exposes himself by looking too long at the victim. He wrongly believes that looking straight in the eye is a sign of honest communication. 5.
Actually, eye contact should be made based on specific relationship and situation.
A. On the contrary, it will give him away.
B. Do you have such a kind of experience?
C. That’s what normal eye contact is all about.
D. Actually, continuous eye contact is limi
ted to lovers only.
E. After all, everybody likes to be stared at for quite a long time.
F. But things are different when it comes to staring at the opposite sex.
G. If nothing goes wrong, you will feel annoyed at being stared at that way.
For those who are tired doing the laundry, Samsung has found an answer: a washing machine that can tell you when your laundry is done via a smartphone app(application).
Strange though it may seem — “my wife already does that” was a common response among attendees viewing the device when it was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week — Samsung is just one of many appliance makers racing to install (安装) a large number of internet-connected features in machines in an effort to make them “smart”.
Last year, it was a refrigerator that tweeted. This year, it’s Wi-Fi-enabled laundry machines and fridges that can tell you when your groceries are going bad.
The washers and dryers, available starting in the spring, connect to any smartphone through a downloadable application. The phone can then be used as a remote control, so the machines can be turned on and off while their owners are at work or on the bus.
Samsung says it’s not just something new — the app connection actually has some practical uses.
“If you started to dry clothes in the morning and forgot to take them out, you can go to your phone and restart your dryer for the time when come home, so your clothes are refreshed and ready to go,” said spokesperson Amy Schmidt.
The company also says that with electricity rate(电价)varying depending on the time of day, more control over when the machines are used can help save money.
Perhaps, but what they will probably really accomplish is what all good technologies do —enable laziness. Rather than getting up to check on whether the laundry is done, users will instead monitor it on their phones while watching TV.
1.What can be inferred from the common response of the attendees at the CES?
A. The machine will be a big success.
B. their wives like doing the laundry.
C. The machine is unrelated to their life.
D. This kind of technology is familiar to them.
2.What can we learn about the new laundry machines?
A. They can tell you when your clothes need washing
B. They can be controlled with a smartphone
C. They are difficult to operate
D. They are sold at a low price
3.We can conclude form Samsung’s statements that ___________.
A. the app connection makes life easier
B. it is better to dry clothes in the morning
C. smartphone can shorten the drying time
D. we should refresh clothes back at home
4.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
A. The laundry should be frequently checked
B. Lazy people like using such machines
C. Good technologies also cause problems
D. Television may help do the laundry.
Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature. Gwendolyn Brooks wrote hundreds of poems during her lifetime. She was known around the world for using poetry to increase understanding about black culture in America.
Her poems described conditions among the poor, racial inequality and drug use in the black community. She also wrote poems about the struggles of black women. But her skill was more than her ability to write about struggling black people. She was an expert at the language of poetry. She combined traditional European poetry styles with the African American experience.
In her early poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the South Side of Chicago. The South Side of Chicago is where many black people live. In her poems, the South Side is called Bronzeville. It was “A Street in Bronzeville” that gained the attention of literary experts in 1945. Critics praised her poetic skill and her powerful descriptions of the black experience during the time. The Bronzeville poems were her first published collection.
In 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature. She won the prize for her second book of poems called “Annie Allen.” “Annie Allen” is a collection of poetry about the life of a Bronzeville girl as a daughter, a wife and mother. She experiences loneliness, loss, death and being poor. Ms. Brooks said that winning the prize changed her life.
Her next work was a novel written in 1953 called “Maud Martha.” “Maud Martha” received little notice when it was first published. But now it is considered an important work by some critics. Its main ideas about the difficult life of many women are popular among female writers today.
In some of her poems, Gwendolyn Brooks described how what people see in life is affected by who they are. One example is this poem, “Corners on the Curing Sky”.
By the end of the 1960s, Gwendolyn Brooks’s poetry expanded from the everyday experiences of people in Bronzeville. She wrote about a wider world and dealt with important political issues.
1.What does the text mainly talk about?
A. The life of Gwendolyn Brooks.
B. The poems of Gwendolyn Brooks.
C. The understanding about black culture.
D. The struggles of black women.
2.What can we learn about Gwendolyn Brooks from the second paragraph?
A. She was good at using the language of poetry.
B. She mainly wrote about the struggles of black women..
C. Her writing skills were a little worse than her ability.
D. Her poems were mainly about the African experience.
3.The author develops the passage mainly by ______.
A. comparing opinions B. using statistics
C. providing examples D. describing her experiences
4.In the next three paragraphs, the author would most probably talk about _______.
A. the difficulties Gwendolyn Brooks would meet
B. the poems related to political issues
C. the awards Gwendolyn Brooks gained
D. the racial inequality the black had to face
If Confucius（孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. IIe’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought.It’s nothing personal. Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy(哲学).Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
1.The opening paragraph is mainly intended to ________
A. attract the readers’ interest in the subject
B. provide some key facts about Confucius
C. show great respect for the ancient thinker
D. prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations
2.We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students______
A. take an active part in Chinese competitions
B. have a great interest in studying Chinese
C. try to get high scores in Chinese exams
D. fight for a chance to learn Chinese
3.What is the best title for the passge?
A. Forgotten Wisdom in America B. Huge Fans of the Chinese Language
C. Chinese Culture for Westerners D. Old Thinker with a Big Future
4.The passage is likely to appear in ___________.
A. a biography B. a history paper
C. a newspaper D. a philosophy textbook
