Kay and Charles Giddens sold their home to start a bed and breakfast. Four years later, the couple now dishes out banana pancake breakfasts, cleans toilets, serves homemade cookies to guests in a bed and breakfast surrounded by trees on a mountain known for colorful sunsets.
“Do I miss the freeways? Do I miss the traffic? Do I miss the trees? No,” says Ms. Giddens. “This is a phenomenon that’s fairly widespread. A lot of people are rethinking their lives and
figuring out what they want to do.”
Simple living ranges from cutting down on weeknight activities to sharing housing, living closer to work and commuting(通勤) less, avoiding shopping malls, borrowing books from the library instead of buying them, and taking a cut in pay to work at a more pleasurable job.
Vicki Robin, a writer, tells us how she deals with the changes in her budget, now far less than what she used to make.
“You become conscious of where your money is going and how valuable it is,”Ms. Robin says. “You tend not to use thing up. You cook at home rather than eat out. You find your life is not
a mess anymore, and you discover your living costs have gone way down.”
Janet Luhrs, a lawyer, quit her job after giving birth and leaving her daughter with a babysitter for two weeks.“It was not the way I wanted to raise my kids,”she says.“Simplicity is not just about saving money ; it’s about me sitting down every night with my kids to a candlelit dinner with classical music.”
Ms. Luhrs now edits a magazines called Simple Living, which publishes tips on how to buy recycled furniture and shoes, and organize potluck（家常便饭）dinners instead of fancy receptions.
“Simplicity is about conscious living and creating the life you want. The less stuff you buy, the less money goes out the door, and the less money you have to earn,” Ms. Luhrs explains.
1.How does Ms. Giddens feel about the life she is living now?
A. Bored B. Worried
C. Satisfied D. Surprised
2.What does the phenomenon Ms.Giddens mentioned refer to?
A. Serving others B. Finding a new job
C. Living a simple life. D. Opening a restaurant
3.Janet Luhrs gave up her job as a lawywer in order to _________.
A. have one more baby girl B. create her own magazine
C. make her career in music D. spend more time with her kids
4.In which part of a newspaper will the text most probably appear?
A. Business B. Lifestyle
C. Education D. Entertainment
Dear Derrick ,
Although under great pressure, we all get on well with each other in this large office. You are one of the people who keep the social temperature at such a comfortable setting. I don’t know anyone in the office who is better liked than you .
You can perhaps help with this. The collection of contributions towards gifts for employees’ personal-life events is becoming a little troubling. Certainly, the group sending of a gift is reasonable now and then. In the past month, however, there have been collections for two baby shower gifts, one wedding shower gift, two weeding gifts, one funeral remembrance, four birthday gifts, and three graduation gifts .
It’s not only the collected-from who are growing uncomfortable(and poor), but the collected-for feel uneasy receiving gifts from people who don’t know them outside the office, who wouldn’t even recognize their graduating children, their marrying daughters and sons, or their dead relatives.
This is basically a kind gesture (and one that people think well of you for), but the practice seems to have become too wide-ranging and feels improper in today’s office setting .
Thank you for understanding .
1.The underlined word “ contributions ” probably means _________ .
A. reports B. suggestions
C. understanding D. money
2.Derrick is expected to _________.
A. show more kindness
B. discontinue the present practice
C. quit being the organizer for gift giving
D. know more about co-workers’ families
3.This is basically a letter of _________.
A. apology B. dissatisfaction
C. appreciation D. sympathy
加拿大高中生David在互联网上登出启事（notice），希望结识一位中国朋友，以便学习中国的语言、文化。假设你是贵阳一中的李华，请在看到这则启事后，用英文给David发一封电子邮件。主要内容包括：
1. 你怎样得知他的愿望；
2.你愿意成为他的朋友；
3.你打算如何帮助他；
4.你盼望他的回复。
注意：词数100词左右。
Dear David,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Though many people hate it, but cigarette smoking remains a common habit. About 20 percent of adult men in the USA smoke cigarettes regular. In spite of this, a number of individuals who have given up smoking is increased.
There are many factors that determines a person’s smoking habit, included income, education, and occupation. People who live in city smoke more than those who live on farms. Well-educated men with high incomes are less likely smoke cigarettes than men with fewer years of schooling and lower incomes. In the other hand, if a well-educated man with a high income does smoke, who tends to smoke more cigarettes per day.
About 25 million people play soccer in the U.S.,1.is almost 10% of the total population. Many of these players are young people, and soccer’s2.(popular) has grown over the years in part because children as young as five years old can play on3.(organize) teams.4.contrast, most baseball and basketball leagues don’t start until ages seven5.eight. Also, most parents want to sign their kids up for soccer teams because the sports6.(consider) very sage,7.(like) baseball and basketball. Most8.(importance), the culture of youth soccer in America places greater importance on teamwork than being9.(compete). Because of this, players of all skill levels are able to be part of10.team.
In order to change the way Americans think about their trash footprint, Rob Greenfield is going to live like the average American for one month. He’ll eat, shop, and consume just like the average American who______4.5 pounds of trash per day. He has to______every piece of trash he creates. That’s nearly 140 pounds______the end of the month(almost his body weight)! Every coffee cup, plastic bag, pizza box, every single piece of trash be creates will be on his______, everywhere he goes.
The idea behind Bob’s “TrashMe” project is to show people the______effects of trash. Most people______think about how much waste they are producing every month. They just______their garbage bags, put them in the bin and______someone to pick them up. But what if they came face to face with a walking, talking______of overconsumption? That might get them thinking about the world’s______trash problem and maybe even get them to______the amount of trash they generate.
To make himself______to a wider audience, Greenfield has______a nonprofit film studio LivingOne to create a six-episode TrashMe web-series. He promised to deliver “a visual of______that Americans will never forget.”
Rob’s______adventure began on September 19th, and will end on October 19th. Three days in, he has already put on about 8 pounds, just a little bit______the trash that the average American produces in that time. But 30 days later, he will have put on over 130 pounds of trash. If you’re wondering______on Earth he’s going to carry all that garbage around, you should know that he will be wearing a custom-made trash suit to______around 135 pounds of trash. Still, that’s______his own body weight, so it’s not going to be______to move around.
1.A. consumes B. digests C. saves D. produces
2.A. have on B. deal with C. stand for D. get rid of
3.A. in B. on C. by D. from
4.A. way B. body C. behalf D. mind
5.A. negative B. positive C. cumulative D. creative
6.A. never B. ever C. always D. just
7.A. divide B. separate C. seal D. throw
8.A. ask for B. send for C. look for D. wait for
9.A. display B. model C. experiment D. experience
10.A. decreasing B. growing C. reducing D. moving
11.A. record B. prevent C. limit D. stop
12.A. famous B. powerful C. heard D. visible
13.A. teamed up with B. kept up with C. put up with D. come up with
14.A. pollution B. trash C. dresses D. bags
15.A. normal B. necessary C. unique D. strange
16.A. behind B. beyond C. over D. under
17.A. when B. where C. what D. how
18.A. choose B. hold C. control D. charge
19.A. casually B. roughly C. possible D. usually
20.A. boring B. difficult C. easy D. interesting
