Beijing was once a city of bikes, the capital of a country 1. (know) as the Bicycle Kingdom, where cars were reserved for official business and the politically powerful. 2., decades of remarkable economic growth led to a huge flowing of can in the city. Owning one became not just a marker of reaching the middle class but also a 3. (require) for marriage. As the economy boomed, autos pushed bikes off the roads, 4. (create) heavy pollution and miserable traffic.
Fortunately now Beijing may be returning to its roots with a modem twist. Thanks to about 20 technology companies, brightly coloured shared bikes 5. (flood) Beijing since last year. Many local residents welcome the shared bikes 6. the flexibility and freedom they offer. They pick up the bikes and then ride and drop 7. off anywhere they like, locking the back wheel, with no need to find a fixed place.
Analysis in China say there are three factors 8. contribute to the sudden increase of bikes: a lot of cash looking for a home, a good idea and government support. “As the city’s population grew, traffic jams got 9. (bad).” Cai, the Ofo spokeswoman, said, “Shared bikes could solve the ‘last mile’ problem in 10. environmentally friendly way.”
I ask my grandpa what it feels like to grow old. He ______ this question while we sit in his office overlooking the yard, where an empty bird feeder swings ______ from a tree branch. The yard has gone into a state of ______ in recent years. Grandpa no longer possesses the energy to maintain its ______ splendid glory.
After taking a sip of his black tea, he asks me a question. “Have you ever been in a hot ______ when the water ran cold?” I tell him I have. “That’s what ______ feels like,” he says. “At first the water is too warm, but you ______ the heat and begin enjoying it. When you’re young, you think it’s going to be this way ______. But one day you realize the ______ begins to drop. You gradually feel the warmth leaving your body. The water is still pleasant, but you know it’ll soon become cold and there’s nothing you can do,” he ______. “I knew a few people who decided to ______ the shower. I was able to stay in because I ______ myself recalling the showers of my youth. It’s too late now, and no matter how hard I try, I’ll never get the hot water ______ again.”
This is how my grandpa felt about growing old, but he has lived a good life to have ______ the birth of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
After dinner, I fetch a bag of birdseed, take it out to the ______ and pour the seed into the feeder. I go inside,______ to tell Grandpa about what I’ve done, only to find he is sleeping. I think about waking him up ______ decide not to disturb his sleep, a sleep which will soon ______ forever. I hope he is ______ the dreams of his youth, remembering the ______ of days gone by, the days before the water ran cold.
1.A. reads B. considers C. admits D. asks
2.A. wildly B. lifelessly C. helplessly D. slowly
3.A. decline B. peace C. boom D. repair
4.A. ever B. lately C. once D. only
5.A. stove B. shower C. temper D. day
6.A. growing B. sleeping C. aging D. living
7.A. get used to B. get addicted to C. get tired of D. get rid of
8.A. instead B. forever C. sometime D. then
9.A. pressure B. quality C. temperature D. level
10.A. concludes B. compromises C. complains D. continues
11.A. take B. enjoy C. leave D. refuse
12.A. contented B. confused C. taught D. cheated
13.A. on B. off C. up D. down
14.A. ordered B. given C. demanded D. witnessed
15.A. window B. yard C. room D. office
16.A. disappointed B. puzzled C. depressed D. excited
17.A. but B. so C. or D. and
18.A. end B. change C. last D. disappear
19.A. valuing B. achieving C. experiencing D. dreaming
20.A. strength B. warmth C. energy D. soul
What Is Fear?
Few is a basic feeling arising when we fed threatened, and can have physical symptoms such as sweaty hands and an increased heart rate. 1. On the upside...
Fear means growth.
Fear tells us we are moving towards the edge of our comfort zone. We are doing something unfamiliar and learning new skills. This means wt art growing, and growth means that once we go beyond the uncomfortable bit, we will be stronger, better and brighter than before! 2.
Things are never as bad as they seem.
In most cases, the thing we fear is never as bad as we think it will be. When we are trying to make a decision to do something new, we lack the perspective to sec further than the familiar range. 3. No. If you look back on some of the scary things you’ve had to do in the past, you would now say. “What was so scary about this?!”
We are always stronger than we think!
Fear can teach us so much about our personal powers. There is no other feeling like the victory you feel that makes you realize you won. 4. Who cares? You made the leap! This will build your confidence! Think of your yoga practice. We CAN stand on our hands, even though we sometimes doubted it. And it will make us realize that we are so strong!
Fear b part of lift, and doesn’t need to be eliminated.
5. We can welcome it; we can cope with it and proceed in spite of it. The best decisions in life art rarely the easiest ones. Or rather, they may seem easy, bat often come with fear. To quit your job is not easy, but if you know it’s the right thing to do, you know what you need to do. Following your heart will not come without fear, but it will come with big rewards.
A. Face the feeling of fear bravely.
B. And everything unfamiliar is scary?
C. Catch every opportunity to be successful.
D. We don’t need to remove fear from our lives.
E. So when you fed fear approaching, say thank you!
F. You succeeded, even though not every try is perfect.
G. But it can be a useful feeling when it comes to keeping us safe.
With more large solar farms being developed in the sunny southwestern United States, researchers and conservationists alike are beginning to notice surprising environmental effects. While solar energy is known for its positive environmental impacts, officials at the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory have come to recognize one of its significant downsides: Some specks of birds that live close to large solar plants (太阳能板) are dying off, including endangered birds.
A recent federal investigation recovered 233 birds that had been killed as a direct result of solar plants. Researchers believe that some of the affected birds have mistaken the large, reflective areas of the solar panels for bodies of water. This is a phenomenon referred to by scientists as “lake effect.” The birds are drawn to what they assume to be water. They aim for the area and slam into the panels with great force. It is thought that the insects that birds cat fall victim to “lake effect” as well, leading the birds into the panels.
Researchers figure that between 1,000 and 28,000 birds are killed as a result of harvesting solar energy. The number of birds affected by wind farming is much greater, ranging from 140,000 to 328,000. Coal-fired electricity has the largest negative effect on birds, killing nearly 8 million a year. These numbers make solar farming seem like the best option. However, conservationists are quick to point out that areas where solar is expected to boom between 2015 and 2020 are home to some of the rarest birds in the United States. This could put specific bird species at risk of extinction.
There exists a state order in California that 20 percent of all electricity of all energy sold should be renewable by the year 2017. This has been one driving force behind the rapid development of huge solar farms. The industry, which is expected to boom as a result of this change to renewable energy, is facing newly filed lawsuits (起诉) by conservationist groups. These lawsuits could slow down the approval process for the planned solar development across the Southwest.
1.What can we infer from paragraph 1?
A. Solar farms require a long development period.
B. Most people would be shocked by the size of solar farms.
C. Solar energy equipment looks strange to most people.
D. Most people think that solar energy is very beneficial.
2.The underlined word “slam” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to .
A. dash B. break
C. move D. slide
3.Which of the following best reflects the author’s viewpoint?
A. Using solar farms is the most practical way to create energy.
B. More birds are endangered by solar farms than wind farming.
C. Solar farms may not be as friendly to the environment as expected.
D. Ways should be found to reduce “lake effect” caused by solar farms.
Smartphones have been blamed for everything from taking drivers’ attention from driving to keeping people on the sofa scrolling (滚屏) videos. But the smartphone that seems to be everywhere could just as easily increase physical activity if it pushes its owner’s buttons in the right way.
New research shows that making social connections through activity-tracking apps gets people to move more. And a separate study on this summer’s “Pokemon Go” phenomenon shows that the smartphone game got players to take thousands more steps than usual. Together, the studies show the potential for smartphones to push a range of people to be more active.
People who linked with friends on the activity-tracking app increase their steps by 400 a day on average over the next week, compared with people who made no social connections, according to Tim Althoff and two other computer scientists at Stanford University. The effect of social connections declined, but remained significant for five months before the numbers fell back even with users who made no connections.
Such insights show the promise of smartphones and games to help with one of the most stubborn public health problems-that even people who want to be active have trouble staying active.
An NBA videogame, for example, gives players extra powers in the game if they reach a step goal in real life. The app “Zomies, Run!” uses audio stories to push people to run more or run faster.
Still, there is room for growth: Only about 4% of all health apps use “gamification,” such as point-scoring or competition, according to a study published in October in BMJ Open. “Gamification is actually quite closely linked with behavior change techniques,” says Dr. Elizabeth Ann Edwards, the study’s lead author and a doctor and researcher at Queen Mary University of London.
1.What does the author think of smartphones?
A. They lead to people’s lack of physical activity.
B. They will make people have more connections.
C. They can have videogames more interesting.
D. They can involve their users in more exercise.
2.According to “Pokemon Go” phenomenon, smartphone users become more active because .
A. they have more social connections
B. they get extra powers in life
C. the games increase physical activity
D. a life goal has been set step by step
3.Who are most likely to exercise more?
A. Video watchers on the sofa.
B. Smartphone game lovers.
C. People with no social connections.
D. People with trouble staying active.
4.How does the author try to argue the ease of smartphones?
A. By showing the results of some researches.
B. By explaining the functions of smartphones.
C. By giving vivid description of some games.
D. By analyzing the causes of public health problems.
Shortly after my fourth birthday, my parents and I arrived from China in Sydney, Australia. It was 1991 and my mother had left behind everything she knew-family, friends and career.
Yet within two years, my parents’ marriage had broken down. After one particularly unpleasant fight, my mother left my father, taking me with her. With no family or friends, and in a country where she couldn’t even communicate, she took me to Chinatown, the only area of Sydney she was familiar with. That night she laid me on a bench in Dixon Street, packing suitcases around us for security. I will never forget the despair in her face that night.
At around 4 am, a group of four young Chinese men noisily exited a club nearby. I remember them falling silent as they saw us. They approached and asked my mother why she was sleeping on the streets with such a young child. My mum burst into tears as she told them our story. Without hesitating, they bundled me up, took our suitcases, and drove us to their students housing.
In the weeks that followed, the men looked after us with a youthful enthusiasm. Being poor students living on their own for the first time, they simply knew how to cook in a clumsy way. However, they insisted that a child should have homemade meals. They quickly adjusted their lives around us, buying fresh food, cooking, teasing me to make me laugh, and advising my mum on how to sort out her life.
Eventually, Mum reconciled (和解) with Dad and we moved back in with him, although they continued to split and make up several times.
Gradually we lost touch with the men as we all moved on. But at every milestone of my life-graduations, entering university, getting a good job-I never forget that all of this was made possible because 22 years ago, a group of complete strangers took us in and shared everything they had to save us from life on the street.
1.Why did Mom and I stay in Dixon Street that night?
A. We were waiting for the Chinese men.
B. Mom knew nobody in Australia at all.
C. It was safe to slay there for night.
D. We had no other place to go.
2.How did the students feel the moment they saw us in the street?
A. Ashamed. B. Shocked.
C. Amused. D. Nervous.
3.What message is conveyed in the passage?
A. There is no perfect husband or wife in marriage.
B. It’s the timely help to someone in need that counts.
C. It’s a great challenge for the Chinese to study abroad.
D. Childhood memory functions to guide present behavior.
