Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers(汉堡包) are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham(火腿)? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today “hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting. too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.
1.Hamburg is_____________.
A. a kind of food B. a round piece of beef
C. the name of a village D. a city in Germany
2.According to the story, ________________.
A. few Americans like hamburgers
B. hamburgers are only made with beef
C. hamburgers are made with ham
D. hamburgers were first sold about a century ago
3.According to the writer, which of the following can often be found in any large English dictionary?
A. Where all the new words come from
B. Where those Germans came from
C. The reason why a word has a certain meaning
D. The reason why English is spoken around the world
4.According to the story, the word “hamburger” comes from_________________.
A. China because it has a long history
B. England because Germans don’t speak good English
C. the round pieces of beef which those people from Hamburg were eating
D. English speakers because they always create new words
Using too much water or throwing rubbish into our rivers are clear ways that humans can put our water supply in danger, but we also affect our water supply in less obvious ways. You may wonder how paving(铺砌) a road can lead to less useable fresh water. A major part of the water we use every day is groundwater. Groundwater does not come from lakes or rivers. It comes from underground. The more roads and parking lots we pave, the less water can flow into the ground to become groundwater.
Human activity is not responsible for all water shortages(缺乏). Drier climates are of course more likely to have droughts(干旱) than areas with more rainfall, but in any case, good management can help to make sure there is enough water to meet our basic needs .
Thinking about the way we use water every day can make a big difference, too. In the United States, a family of four can use 1.5 tons of water a day! This shows how much we depend on water to live, but there’s a lot we can do to lower the number.
You can take steps to save water in your home. To start with, use the same glass for your drinking water all day. Wash it only once a day. Run your dishwasher only when it is full. Help your parents fix any leaks(滴水) in your home. You can even help to keep our water supply clean by recycling batteries instead of throwing them away.
1.Which of the following is most likely to lead to less groundwater?
A. Using river water. B. Throwing batteries away.
C. Paving parking lots. D. Throwing rubbish into lakes.
2.What can be inferred from the text?
A. All water shortages are due to human behavior.
B. It takes a lot of effort to meet our water needs.
C. There is much we can do to reduce family size.
D. The average family in America makes proper use of water.
3.The last paragraph is intended to ________________.
A. show us how to fix leaks at home
B. tell us how to run a dishwasher
C. prove what drinking glass is best for us
D. suggest what we do to save water at home
4.The text is mainly about _________________.
A. how human activity affects our water supply
B. how much we depend on water to live
C. why droughts occur more in dry climates
D. why paving roads reduces our water
Today most Chinese teenagers are happy to be favored by two parents and four grandparents in their families. But have you ever thought about how to take care of four to twelve old people when you grow up and get married? This could be a problem for most Chinese youths as China is entering a new stage of an aging society.
An aging society refers to one where 10 percent or more of its population is over 60. By the end of 2007, Chinese over 60 years old have made up 11.7 percent of the nation’s total population. “China is getting old before becoming rich,” said Cai Chuang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The population increase that has powered Chinese growth for three decades will give way over the next ten years to a rapid aging of the society. This will lead to weaker economic growth, because of a lack of labor resources.
As a result of the family planning policy, it is expected that the country's total working population will decrease after 2015.
China is not the only country getting old. More than 60 countries have become aging societies and one in three people in the European Union is a senior citizen.
However, experts said that China doesn't have a highly developed social security network to support the old. Social security is an insurance program protecting those in need, including the old, the disabled and others.
1.An aging society is a society that ___________.
A. less than 10% of its population is over 60
B. 10% or more of its population is over 60
C. there are four old people in a family
D. most of its population is over 60
2.If China enters an aging society, ___________.
A. there will not be enough labor resources
B. the family planning policy will be ended
C. everyone needs to take care of four to twelve old people
D. China will have a highly developed social security network
3.The passage mainly talks about ___________.
A. an aging society B. Chinese social problems
C. family planning policy D. aging problem in China
Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission(录取)to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school, she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon(外科医师) , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children. Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital, she also set up the first medical school for women.
1.Why couldn’t Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a surgeon?
A. She couldn’t get admitted to medical school.
B. She decided to further her education in Paris.
C. A serious eye problem stopped her.
D. It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States.
2.What main obstacle(障碍) almost destroyed Elizabeth’s chances for becoming for a doctor?
A. She was a woman.
B. She wrote too many letters.
C. She couldn’t graduate from medical school.
D. She couldn’t set up her hospital.
3.How many years passed between her graduation from medical school and the opening of
her hospital?
A. Eight years B. Ten years
C. Nineteen years D. Thirty-six years
4.According to the passage, all of the following are “firsts” in the life of Elizabeth Blackwell, except that she ______.
A. became the first woman physician.
B. was the first woman doctor
C. and several other women founded the first hospital for women and children
D. set up the first medical school for women
1.There are many m_________ stories aabout the Egyptian pyramids.
2.You’d better polish up the o_______ version before sending it to the publishing house.
3.The writer, k________ to us students, will finish his third book next month, which many fans are looking forward to.
4.You see, there are many s________ between our school life and theirs.
5.After having finished the draft, I’m totally b______ out.
6.The factory is in charge of removing waste p_______.
7.The job of a scientist, which is a c___________ profession, is to find out the truth in the field of science.
8.After the earthquake, she lay t _______under the building for three days.
9.The doctor c________ his terminal lung cancer.
10.The m_________ of the work has been finished.
Less is more. This is why we say: reduce things by half instead of doubling them, relax instead of stressing, and slow down instead of speeding up. Apply these principles(原则) in your everyday life. You will then find yourself well along on your journey to simplification.
Separate Your Actions
When you concentrate on one task, you find you have energy that you didn’t even know you had. Just imagine: you have to carry two heavy pigs over 100 yards. If you carry two, it will take forever. But if you tie one pig in a place, pick up the other, gather all your strength and make a dash for the finish line, pause for a moment, run back and get the other one, and carry the second pig to the finish line, then you can be sure of success.
Say “No” Firmly
If you have the feeling that 24 hours per day are not enough for all the things you need to do, then it’s not because the day has too few hours, but because you have too many activities. The solution is equally simple: say no to accept so much work in your private life or your working life.
Allow Yourself to Be Weak
“I can deal with stress” is regarded as a positive statement in the world of work. People who can deal with stress are given more and more to --- until one day they break.
Pay careful attention to the signs that tell you that you are under more stress than you can deal with. If you become ill, or your work efficiency decreases, change your life goals. Say quite openly, “I can’t manage that.”
Stop Expecting Everything to Be Perfect
“If only I were slimmer, more beautiful, richer, more clever, then I would be happier.” This is a dream that makes a lot of people ill, and unhappy. Life is imperfect. Only those who accept this reality can lead a really full life.
Of course there are activities in which errors are dangerous: driving a car; crossing the road. But life doesn’t entirely have these things. In among them there is possibility that you may make small and large mistakes.
Escape Now and Then
Successful people all have their own places where they can be left alone in order to work. Find out which places improve your creativity. For me it’s the train. When I know that I’m going to be traveling for four hours without phone calls or people knocking on my door, I find my mind is free and I can read or write articles.
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Theme | Less is more, which helps you 2. a simpler life. |
3. to apply | Concentrate on one task, and you will find you are more 4. than you know and achieve 5. more easily. |
6. to accept too much work in your life. | |
Change life goals if you are under more stress than you can 7.. | |
8. yourself to make mistakes since life is not perfect. 9., you will be unhappy. | |
Find out where you can be left 10. to improve your creativity. | |
