My Journey to Lhasa
At the age of fifty-five, Alexandra David-Neel walked for four months across the high mountains of the Himalayas 1. little food or money. She 2. (willing) suffered the tough travel 3. (condition) to reach her goal and finally, in 1924, became the first European woman ever to enter Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Lhasa is very difficult to get to, and some people call it “The Roof of The World”. “My Journey to Lhasa” is the true account of David-Neel’s extraordinary journey, 4. is even more remarkable because at that time, foreigners, especially foreign women 5. (forbid) to enter Lhasa. To hide 6. (she), she wore the clothes of a beggar. Her book is a good 7. (introduce) to Tibet. Readers will love her descriptions of the people she met along the way. David-Neel was 8. (fluency) in Tibetan dialects and knew the culture there, so it was easy for her to get to know the people.
“My Journey to Lhasa” 9. (give) a real feeling for Tibet and the people there. It is a great book if you want to visit Tibet, or if you just like a good story. This book, first 10. (publish) in 1927, is well worth reading.
I always feel sorry for world leaders busy dealing with fights between nations. When my three children were young, most days it was hard keeping my __ from becoming a battlefield.
It got worse as they got older. Three years ago, Zack, then 16, couldn’t make it __ a day without making his __, Alex 11 and Taryn 9, angry.
My husband and I tried to be understanding the boy at such an age. We reasoned, punished, and __ heartfelt notes on his bed about __ he was hurting our family. His answer was “I say it because it’s true.”
I __ tried telling the girls to fight back. Bad idea. Now I had three children at war. __ I said to them, they paid no attention. When there was no __ out, I told everything to my sister in an e-mail. She replied, “Don’t __ me. E-mail him.”
Our son was online every day, mailing and talking with his friends. Maybe he would actually __ me this way. I didn’t say anything __, but e-mail just took the __ away. There’d no shouting or door banging. Zack wouldn11 feel __.
Zack didn’t __ for days. When he finally did, his entire message was four small words. I __ when I read them: “You’re right. I’m sorry.
The children still fought, of course, __ Zack changed. __, I now have a better way to talk with not one but three of them. I like that they don, t __ me as much as, they used to. They like not having to listen to me shouting to them. Or __ Alex says, “You’re so much nicer online.”
All I know is that the house is quiet，but we’re __.
1.A. house B. garden C. neighborhood D. backyard
2.A. into B. within C. through D. over
3.A. cousins B. brothers C. neighbors D. sisters
4.A. advertised B. left C. attached D. took
5.A. where B. when C. why D. how
6.A. even B. still C. ever D. again
7.A. However B. Wherever C. Whichever D. Whatever
8.A. way B. access C. path D. approach
9.A. call B. ask C. e-mail D. inform
10.A. find B. hear C. recognize D. write
11.A. normal B. else C. nice D. different
12.A. tension B. pressure C. gap D. misunderstanding
13.A. at home B. in vain C. under attack D. at a loss
14.A. fight B. reply C. appear D. comment
15.A. shouted B. froze C. smiled D. signed
16.A. so B. and C. or D. but
17.A. Best of all B. After all C. Therefore D. Instead
18.A. blame B. ignore C. interrupt D. dismiss
19.A. when B. as C. what D. as if
20.A. quarreling B. working C. talking D. travelling
How to revise for a test
Studying for tests may be one of the most difficult parts of school. 1. If you feel discouraged about an approaching test and need some directions for preparing yourself, consider using the following suggestions to help you out.
Aim foremost to understand the concepts.
Keep the important points in mind, and ignore unnecessary information. 2.
Ask for help.
When the need arises, it is best to receive help from the others. 3. You could also ask him/ her for a set of questions and answers that could help you memorize the information. You could also ask a family member or a friend for help.
Practice in everyday life.
Fit reviewing into everyday life by sticking up notes with sentences you need to remember for the test written upon them. 4. You could possibly put one on the bathroom mirror, one at the table and another by the TV. This is optional but highly recommended.
5.
Find out how much you remember certain things and what’s missing. Decide what you did well in and what you did not so well in. This may boost your chances of getting more marks in the assessment and may also help you remember for next time. For instance, if you are struggling on maths problems based on geometry, then put this down as something that you need to review more than the subjects you are good at.
Review often but little.
Do not push yourself and try reviewing everything in one day. Practice takes time and if you rush, you won’t remember anything.
A. Go through what you have been learning.
B. Mark your practice tests.
C. As long as you remain focused on the main topics, you will be able to do well on the test.
D. However, even the worst test performance could be turned around into a successful attempt.
E. It can be difficult to remember the material and understand which points to study.
F. You will notice them every day and reviewing won’t seem to be boring or dull.
G. Ask your teacher to summarize the topic with all the important points.
Bottled water is a booming industry in New Zealand, but it’s terrible for the environment —each bottle thrown away adding to the 190,000 tons of plastic New Zealanders throw into landfills each year.
But now one company has created water storage that they hope will prove to be just as convenient as a plastic bottle—but contains no actual plastic.
Skipping Rock Labs make Oohos, flexible membranes filled with water that are constructed using a seaweed extract—meaning they, re totally edible and biodegradable, wrapping and all.
There aren’t any known side effects from digesting the membranes, which are tasteless—though Ooho! says flavors can be added to make them more appetizing.
The company took to crowdfunding site CrowdCube with the idea, and it has since gone viral— with more than 900 investors bagging them A£ 751,700 to develop and launch the Ooho! balls ( $ 1.35 million).
Skipping Rock Labs create the balls by dipping ice into brown algae and calcium chloride, with the membrane taking shape around the ice—and while that may sound complicated, the company says it, s more cost-effective than producing a plastic bottle.
A layer atop the membrane can be peeled off just before drinking, for hygiene purposes. Skipping Rock Labs are hoping their new product takes off—and that it starts to put a dent into the plastic packaging industry.
1.The product Oohos made by the company Skipping Rock Labs has the following good points except that .
A. it is non-plastic B. it is edible
C. it is biodegradable D. it is expensive to make
2.How does the company make their idea work in practice?
A. By working with other companies. B. By advertising their samples.
C. By crowdfunding through a website. D. By borrowing money from the bank.
3.What does Paragraph 6 mainly tell us about?
A. Why the company made their product.
B. Where the company made their product.
C. How the company’s product was made.
4.What section of a newspaper will most probably carry this article?
A. Environment. B. Opinion.
C. Politics. D. Agriculture.
If you are reading this right now, you are taking part in the wonder of literacy. Because of printed words, people can relay information across both time and space. Much of the credit for this phenomenon can be attributed to one man.
Born in Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg, studied at the University of Erfurt in 1418 and spent much of his young adult life practicing the profession of goldsmithing. In 1439 Gutenberg borrowed money from investors but found himself in financial trouble.
In 1439 the city in which Gutenberg lived was planning to exhibit a large collection of some relics, which was expected to bring many visitors to the town. Gutenberg created many metal mirrors which were to be sold to the visitors. The mirrors probably would have sold well, but due to severe flooding the event was delayed by one year. The investors demanded that Gutenberg return their investments, but he had already spent the money on the mirrors. In order to satisfy the investors, Gutenberg decided to share his secret with them. This secret would forever change the world, all of history, and even the, process of keeping history. He had created the mechanical printing press with movable type.
Gutenberg’s brilliant idea would soon change the world, but he was in financial trouble once again and was accused of mismanaging money. The courts ruled against Gutenberg and Gutenberg lost .the shop he had created.
Before the spread of Gutenberg, s idea, literature was primarily handwritten and thus books were extremely rare and valuable. There was little reason for common people to learn to read or write. Gutenberg’s invention would change all of that. His printing press allowed literature to be produced on a mass scale. His movable metal type could be arranged once to form a page, and his press could print the page again and again.
Though Gutenberg had failed as a businessman, the technologies that he had created spread across Europe rapidly. As these printing technologies and techniques spread, news and books began to travel across Europe much faster than previously possible. The world has not been the same since.
1.Which of the following can replace the underlined word in Paragraph one?
A. referred B. devoted
C. exposed D. owed
2.Why did Gutenberg’s plan to sell mirrors fail?
A. The mirrors were less popular than he had expected.
B. Flooding delayed the event for an entire year.
C. Too many other people had the same idea.
D. Newly invented glass mirrors made his metal mirrors old-fashioned.
3.Which of the following is best supported by evidence from the text?
A. Gutenberg’s idea was a tremendous success that made him incredibly wealthy.
B. Gutenberg’s idea didn’t become popular in his lifetime, but grew very popular after his death.
C. Gutenberg, s idea did not make him rich but spread very quickly.
D. Gutenberg, s idea did not become popular right away but made him incredibly rich over time.
4.Which of the following titles best expresses the main idea of this text?
A. Investing Wisely: Turning Your Good Ideas into Money
B. How to Make Books Using the Gutenberg Method
C. The City of Mainz: Life in Medieval Germany
D. Gutenberg: A Man Who Changed the World
The Beagle Brigade
Return to the United States from a trip abroad, and your luggage will get inspected by the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Beagle Brigade. Working with human canine officer partners, the beagles sniff out potential threats to American agriculture.
An orange or apple, for example, might harbor a Mediterranean fruit fly. Hams could carry a disease such as hog cholera. These and other pests could destroy farmer’s crops and livestock. “Once we introduce something that is not part of the environment, there may riot be any controls for it in the environment,” notes USDA’s Lisa Davis at the National Dog Detector Training Center in Orlando, Florida. “The best thing for us to do is to prevent it from coming across the border and becoming established. ’’
When a beagle sniffs specific food odors, it signals its partners by sitting. The human officer then investigates. When the dog is right—which happens 90 percent of the time——it gets an edible treat.
“The dog is not out there working,” explains Davis. “It’s out there playing. It’s a game to the dog.” The handlers give the beagles plenty of food and loving. They make sure they get first-class medical attention, too. When the dogs finally retire after 9 to 11 years, the USDA finds caring homes for them. It’s a dog’s life indeed!
How well does the Beagle Brigade do its job? “On average,” notes Davis, “each year our 54 teams prevent around 75,000 prohibited, restricted items.” Since even one infested (为患的) item could cause widespread destruction, that’s a great result for America’s agricultural environment.
1.According to the article, what is a problem with agricultural products brought into the United States by passengers traveling from abroad?
A. They generate similar types of food odors.
B. They are difficult to identify, even with trained dogs.
C. They must be inspected before being allowed to enter the country.
D. They may carry something that could harm the agricultural environment.
2.According to the article, how does the beagle signal that it has found a suspicious food product?
A. By barking at its partner. B. By begging for a treat.
C. By sitting next to the item. D. By playing a game.
3.How is the beagle congratulated for finding a specific food product?
A. The handler praises it with a hug.
B. The beagle gets to play for a few hours.
C. The beagle gets to retire to a caring home.
D. The handler gives it an edible reward.
4.In the article, the author supports the use of the Beagle Brigade by .
A. providing statistics about the number of items detected by the dogs
B. showing that the dogs enjoy discovering prohibited items
C. pointing out that good homes are found for the dogs when they retire
D. praising the fact that the dogs work for a government agency
