New York City is one of the Largest cities on the globe, 1.it consists of five districts: Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island. New York City 2.has a very unique personality is very popular with people. After all, you can sense its3.(special) at the first glance: countless skyscrapers, busy people4.(move)about street corners and nightly skyline brightened by flash light. If you are willing 5.(explore), New York City can never be6.place that kills you. Even7.normal days, you can meet people of different colors with different languages8.(speak). 9.(additional), you never go short of any particular food or entertainment, no matter what country10.comes from.
I was the first in my family to go to college, but I was a little ______because most of my classmates had______private schools where creative writing and other electives(选修课) were given. I, on the other hard, had graduated from a small rural high school______there were only six or so teachers totally.
Our first assignment was to write a short story. Our teacher Shelly Paulinus made very ______other specifications (说明), allowing our _______free rein(自由发挥).
I remember feeling quite proud_______I handed in my “masterpiece”. It had a boy-meets-girl plot, and I had _______it until I was certain that every word was perfect.
Shelly________an entire class to each of our stories, returning them one________so that the author could read her work to the class and get _______from her classmates. The other girls’ stories were wonderful. The more I heard, the more I knew how _____my story was.
It was several weeks_______Shelly returned my assignment. With much _____, I read my offering aloud. My classmates found even more faults than I had imagined they would! It was “dull”, it was “completely ______in imagination”---even now, their words _______in my memory.
Wondering if the criticism would ever end, I heard Shelly say _____, “Can’t you see what Carol has done? She has taken a very ordinary plot and, _______use of her creative words, has made ______sparkle(生动). Shakespeare often did the very same thing.”
I couldn’t believe my ears!________the flaw(缺点), Shelly had not only found something in my work worth_____, but had compared it to Shakespeare’s.
Years have passed, and I never did tell Shelly how much her praise meant to me. I became a teacher like her, who often transforms words of hope to the students.
1.A. worried B. happy C. proud D. sad
2.A. went B. attended C. taken D. heard
3.A. which B. where C. that D. on which
4.A. a few B. few C. little D. a little
5.A. thoughts B. opinions C. feelings D. imaginations
6.A. since B. as C. when D. until
7.A. rewrote B. adopted C. polished D. copied
8.A. devoted B. subscribed C. applied D. supplied
9.A. at a time B. at times C. at the time D. at one time
10.A. replies B. words C. gifts D. reactions
11.A. regular B. ordinary C. powerful D. meaningful
12.A. after B. until C. when D. before
13.A. fear B. delight C. attention D. care
14.A. finding B. filling C. lacking D. looking
15.A. hear B. tell C. ring D. sing
16.A. merrily B. excitedly C. proudly D. gently
17.A. for B. with C. by D. through
18.A. this B. it C. what D. that
19.A. Despite B. Because of C. Even if D. Though
20.A. doing B. writing C. praising D. teaching
Maps of the world’s population show that the majority of people today live near water. 1.We also vacation at the beach and find comfort fishing on a lake. Nothing makes small children happier than the chance of playing in water. More interesting, this human favor for water makes evolutionary sense. 2.
Neuroscientist(神经系统科学家) Michael Crawford of the University of North London has proposed that our ancient ancestors attached to the sea, and that their devotion paid off by allowing the human species to develop large and complex brains. Crawford claims that when humans separated from apes and appeared in the forests of Africa, they stuck close to rivers and beaches and started catching fish and crabs.3.
It's no coincidence, Crawford claims, that human brain growth began to increase rapidly once we left the woods and headed for the beach.
4.Psychiatrist(精神病学家)and biochemist Joseph Hibbelin of National Institutes of Health has shown that across cultures there is direct link between amount of fish eaten each week and rates of depression. More interesting, Hibbelin and researcher Laura Reis have found that fish is commonly used as a symbol of happiness and good health in various religions and cultures.
5.We vacation on the coast and see the waves come and go, feeling happiness has taken over our brain. When we move inland, or go home from vacation, we lose touch with our sea roots and feel unhappy.
A. Sure, we need drinking water to live, but we have also benefited from what’s swimming under waves.
B. We know that fish and the sea are good for us, and we seek them out.
C. We live along coastlines, around bays, up the course of rivers and streams and on islands.
D. Scientists help people overcome depression.
E. Scientists have also discovered that people who eat fish regularly are less likely to suffer from depression than those who eat less seafood.
F. It is good for our health to swim under the waves.
G. That sea food was packed with omega-3 fatty acids, essential fatty acids that promote brain cell growth.
Now that so much data is stored and circulated electronically, a library might seem to be a slightly outdated concept. However, a huge proportion of the world’s information and learning is still not available electronically, so libraries retain their importance for research and study. It is should also be remembered that libraries store books, inscriptions(铭文), and documents that are beautiful, and valuable not just for their contents, but also for their historic and artistic significance.
British Library (United Kingdom, London)
The British Library was created by Act of Parliament in 1972. Previously, the library had been part of the British Museum, where the famous circular reading room had accommodated researchers including Karl Marx, who worked on Das Kapital there, as well as Oscar Wilde and Mohandas Gandhi. The British Library is now housed in a new building in St. Pancras, London, where its treasures include two Gutenberg Bibles, the Lindisfarne Gospels, and one of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks.
Library of Congress(United States, Washington, D. C)
Founded in 1800 with the private collection of Thomas Jefferson, the Library of Congress is in fact the USA’s National Library, although only Congress members and employees can borrow books. It receives two copies of everything published in the United States. The Library of Congress was burned by the British Army in 1812, and severely damaged by fire again in 1851. The collection includes many rare books and drawings, and two Stradivarius violins.
National Library of China(Beijing)
Holding over 30 million books and documents, and visited by over five million people every year, this is the largest collection of Chinese writing in the world, and the largest library is Asia. It includes Chinese inscriptions on bone, stone, and tortoise shell which date back as far as the sixteenth century BC, and some of the oldest printed documents in existence as well as items in foreign languages and many rare books.
1.Despite the current electronic world, libraries are of importance because ________.
A. they are historically and artistically significant
B. they play an important role in preserving written accounts
C. they have available places for readers to rest
D. they are as convenient as electronic resources
2.Which of the following statements on British Library is TRUE?
A. The library has the most famous circular reading room in the world
B. Both Karl Marx and Oscar Wilde worked and lived in British Library
C. British Museum was once in charge of the British Library
D. All of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks are kept there
3.Library of Congress differs from other two libraries in the fact that ________.
A. not all people are allowed to borrow books
B. its collection includes many rare written works
C. it was created by the British Army in 1812
D. Thomas Jefferson has nothing to do with its foundation
4.In National Library of China, you are able to ___________.
A. find copies of everything published in the US
B. read Chinese inscriptions on various materials before the 16th century BC
C. borrow rare books and books written in different languages
D. have access to treasures like Gutenberg Bibles and Lindisfarne Gospels
A technology company is developing a lie detector app for smartphones that could be used by parents, teachers—and even Internet daters.
The app measures blood flow in the face to assess whether or not you are telling the truth. Its developers say that it could be used for daters wanting to see if somebody really is interested in them. Parents could use it on their children to see if they are lying and teachers could work out which of their pupils are honest.
The app is being developed by Toronto startup NuraLogix and the software is called Transdermal Optical Imaging. The idea is that different human emotions create different facial blood flow patterns that we have no control over. These patterns change if we are telling the truth or telling a lie.
Using the footage(拍摄的片段) from the smartphone camera, the software will see the changes in skin colors and compare them to standardized results. A study found last year found that anger was associated with more blood flow and redness while sadness was associated with less of both.
Developmental neuroscientist(神经病学家)Kang Lee, who has been researching the field for 20 years, said, “It could be very useful, for example, for teachers. A lot of our students have math anxiety but they do not want to tell us, because that’s embarrassing.” Lee added that the technology would not replace lie detectors used in a court of law. He said: “They want the accuracy to be extremely high, like genetic tests, so a one-in-a-million error rate. Our technique won’t be able to achieve an extremely high accuracy level, so because of that I don’t think it’s useful for the courts.” He added that it will be a few years before the app is available to consumers.
1.How does the app work to identify whether the person is lying or not?
A. By controlling the blood flow patterns in our face when people are speaking
B. By measuring blood flow patterns and comparing changes in skin colors
C. By taking footage to replace lie detectors used in a court of law
D. By creating different facial blood flow patterns people needed
2.Why Transdermal Optical Imaging cannot be applied in courts at present?
A. It is too complicated to standardize results in courts
B. It hasn’t reached the required accuracy yet
C. Genetic tests are enough for situations like this
D. Its use is forbidden by law
3.What can be inferred from Kang Lee’s remarks in the last paragraph?
A. Students with math anxiety rarely ashamed of themselves
B. Lie detectors and Transdermal Optical Imaging are of the same function
C. The result of genetic tests is far more accurate than that of Transdermal Optical Imaging
D. Consumers will be able to download the app in the near future
You might think male models lead glamorous lives, filled with endless travel and invitations to socialize with the rich and beautiful. Almost everyone has formed an unrealistic picture of their lives, believing that they spend one afternoon beside the Mediterranean Sea sipping coffee and getting suntanned and the next moment they are on board flying to Rome. However, according to a 2016 documentary made by the pop culture news site Fusion, the financial reality of male models is not very pretty.
The main subject of the documentary, titled Unglamorous, is a male model named Cameron Keesling who went to New York to start his career, hoping to make a fortune in the world of models. Keesling is not a supermodel but he has certainly made his name known in the industry. He was “working in the industry for about a year before landing the cover of Italian Vogue” in 2014. But “Keesling and his companions were paid nothing for the shool”, Fusion reporter Nikita Redkar wrote.
Keesling also appeared at Paris Fashion Week and won lots of praise, while his compensation wouldn’t even cover the cost of traveling to and from Paris.
According to the documentary the most common way models get paid is by receiving free clothes, rather than money. In order to make ends meet, consequently, many of them have to take another job simply to make a living. Many of these models are in debt. Once they find an agency to represent them, a living income is provided by the agency to accommodate their rent, food, clothing and other expenses. Models are expected to pay off these costs once they find work, but many of the industry’s jobs don’t pay at all. Believe it or not, there is a pay gap between male models and female counterparts. Based on a survey conducted by Fortune.com, female models can make millions more than males, especially if you compare the top ten earners of each gender.
1.In common people’s eyes, male models are living __________.
A. a busy and simple life B. a tiring and dull life
C. an easy and comfortable life D. a hard and embarrassing life
2.Why does the author mention Cameron Keesling in the second paragraph?
A. To introduce his real life
B. To explain why he went to New York
C. To illustrate the hardship of male models’ lives
D. To encourage models to make a fortune in New York
3.What does the underlined word “counterparts” mean in the last paragraph?
A. Partners B. Peers
C. Opponents D. Competitors
4.What is the writer’s attitude towards the lives of the male models?
A. Supportive B. Doubtful
C. Critical D. Objective
