The day before Christmas I pulled into a store parking lot and counted my money again. It wasn’t much. I ______ being poor, not having enough to ______ my small children a few simple toys. As I was ______ I noticed the Salvation Army (救世军) bell ringer at the ______. I felt bad again because I didn’t feel I could ______ anything to give him. I started walking towards the entrance ______ two cars entered empty parking spaces in front of me. The first was a ______, new Cadillac which became the ______ of me the moment I saw it. “How ______ I thought, “would it be to have enough money to buy a car like that!” The second car,______, was an ancient car more shabby than the one I was driving.
A man got out of the Cadillac and hurried into the store ______ past the bell ringer without a second ______. Out of the old car came a young mother with three small children following ______ behind her. Her clothes looked as ______ as her car, yet she slopped at the entrance and ______ a bill. In that second a(n)______ touched me, my envy and dislike ______ me, and all the love and joy filled me. I fished a bill out of my own purse,______ it in the Salvation Army kettle, and wished the ______ a “Merry Christmas!”
Now I felt I was a poor man hut rich on the ______. After finding a few things for my kids, I drove home with my heart singing.
1.A. regretted B. permitted C. escaped D. hated
2.A. make B. buy C. award D. lend
3.A. pulling out B. settling in C. getting out D. cutting in
4.A. parking space B. entrance C. parking lot D. counter
5.A. spare B. split C. spend D. save
6.A. when B. since C. though D. if
7.A. sharp B. dull C. pure D. shiny
8.A. target B. item C. envy D. bargain
9.A. nice B. precious C. rare D. expensive
10.A. therefore B. however C. anyhow D. besides
11.A. merely B. seldom C. hopefully D. right
12.A. smile B. nod C. glance D. wave
13.A. firmly B. closely C. casually D. bravely
14.A. worn out B. cast down C. tired out D. broken down
15.A. paid B. passed C. donated D. rejected
16.A. equality B. sympathy C. approval D. warmth
17.A. left B. visited C. reached D. missed
18.A. took B. handed C. dropped D. started
19.A. salesman B. bell ringer C. woman D. man driver
20.A. wealth B. luck C. inside D. outside
Lots of people find it hard to get up in the morning and put the blame on the alarm clock. In fact, the key to easy morning wake-up lies in resting your body clock 1. Here is how to make one.
• 2. In order to make a change, you need to decide why it’s important. Do you want to get up in time to have breakfast with your family, get in some exercise or just be better prepared for your day? Once you are clear about your reason, tell your family or roommates about the change you want to make.
• Rethink mornings. Now that you know why you want to wake up, consider re-arranging your morning activities. If you want time to have breakfast with your family, save some time the night before by setting out clothes, shoes, and bags.3. That’s a quarter-hour more you could be sleeping if you bought a coffee maker with a timer.
• Keep your sleep/wake schedule on weekends. If you’re tired out by Friday night, sleeping in on Saturday could sound wonderful. But compensating (弥补) on the weekends actually feeds into your sleepiness the following week, a recent study found.4.
• Keep a record and evaluate it weekly. Keep track of your efforts and write down how you feel. After you’ve tried a new method for a week, take a look at your record.5. If rot, take another look at other methods you could try.
A. Gel a sleep specialist.
B. Find the right motivation.
C. A better plan for sleep can help.
D. And consider setting a second alarm.
E. If the steps you take arc working, keep it up.
F. Slick to your set bedtime and wake-up time, no matter the clay it is.
G. Reconsider the 15 minutes you spend in line at the café to get coffee.
The popular smartphone application Instagram (照片分享) has changed the way we look at photography, even our world. The photo-worthy moments we share serve as an important function in cultivating the photographic artistic eye.
Instagram has got people to start noticing the art in their everyday life. It has also allowed us to share the artful moments in our lives with others. Clearly, making people focus on beautiful moments in their lives and how to share them is a positive takeaway from Instagram.
Not only has Instagram changed the way we look at things around us, but it has also changed the way people view professional photography. Instagram has turned everyone with a smartphone into an artist. Opening up art to the general community is a groundbreaking (创新的) aspect of this application. Making artistic attempts accessible for everyone to discover their artistic talents and explore creatively is something that has made people find the beauty in the everyday. However, this accessibility has also created questioning around art and respect deserved by professional photography.
The art in a professional photograph versus an Instagram can sometimes be hard to notice at a quick glance. But photographs taken by true professional photographers hold something that Instagram’s can’t match in terms of photographic quality, or advanced compositional knowledge.
This is not to say Instagram is a lesser art. Aesthetic qualities of art are a personal matter and how good an artwork is depends on personal preferences. Good is a very arbitrary term in the art world. For example, I may find one photo more pleasing than another, but not everyone has to agree with me.
The point I am trying to make is that professional photography should not be lost, but instead approached with a new, enhanced level of respect and admiration—despite how accessible, common and fun Instagram now makes the taking and sharing of photos.
1.What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage?
A. The increasing popularity of Instagram.
B. The advantages and disadvantages of Instagram.
C. The changes that Instagram brings us.
D. The differences between Instagram and professional photography.
2.Why do people begin to doubt the art of professional photography?
A. Because common people can take perfect photos easily.
B. Because they show no respect for professional photographers.
C. Because the artistic level of professional photography is reducing.
D. Because Instagram has changed the way people look at the world.
3.What does the writer think of professional photography?
A. useful. B. valueless.
C. helpless. D. absurd.
Christmas was near a season that we took seriously in our house. But a week or so before the 25th, my father would give each of his children $ 20. This was the 1970s, and $ 20 was quite a bit of money.
But I saw it differently. My father trusted me to have the smart to spend money wisely. Even better, he gave me the means to get it. On a very basic level, my father was giving me a shopping spree (狂欢) every year.. But he was also giving me charge over my own fun, trusting my ability to manage money and making me feel like a grown-up. He didn’t buy me Sherlock Holmes, but he gave me the means to walk into the bookstore and choose it for myself, so it felt like a gift from him.
My mother had a gift for giving me what I needed, usually right at the moment I needed it most. This was when I was 25, I failed at being an adult on my very first try. I had quitted my previous job but had no new one. But when my mother paid me a visit, I put on a good show, telling her I had started my own company.
My mother knew that I was trying hard and failing at that time. It wasn’t until after she left that I noticed at the foot of my bed an envelope thick with cash. She knew how desperately I needed it. She knew that had she just shown up with groceries, or offered to pay my rent, she would have made me feel much worse. The cold, hard cash meant she was helping me. And, funnily enough, the distance with which she gave the gift felt like she was giving me space to fix my life and preserve my dignity. My mother and father both did the same thing. One was giving me the means to take my own decisions, and the other was giving me a second chance when those decisions had cost me dearly.
1.What can we learn about the author from the first two paragraphs?
A. His family once celebrated Christmas happily.
B. His father gave the author chances to make decisions.
C. His best memories about Christmas were in the 1970s.
D. He used to choose books as his father’s gift on Christmas.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. money offered by his father. B. father generous with money.
C. Christmas being important. D. the means of spending money.
3.When he was 25 years old, the author .
A. planned to open his company B. became interested in shows
C. gave his mother a gift D. was out of work
4.Which word can best describe the author’s mother?
A. sensitive. B. optimistic.
C. considerate. D. determined.
Chester City Library offers a range of Library Special Needs Services to people who don’t have access to our library service in the usual way. As long as you live in Chester City, we’ll provide a wide range of library services and resources including:
• Large printed and ordinary printed books
• Talking books on tape and CD
• DVDs and music CDs
• Magazines
• Reference and information requests
Home delivery service
Let us know what you like to read and we will choose the resources for you. Our staff will deliver the resources to your home for free. We also provide a service where we can choose the resources for you or someone instead of you choose the things from the library. You can also choose the resources you need personally.
Talking books and captioned videos
The library can provide talking books for people who are unable to use printed books because of eye diseases. You don’t have to miss out on reading any more when you can borrow talking books from the library. If you have limited hearing which prevents you from enjoying movies, we can provide captioned videos for you at no charge.
Languages besides English
We can provide books in a range of languages besides English. If possible, we will request these items from the State Library of NSW, Australia.
How to join?
Contact the Library Special Needs Coordinator to register or discuss if you are eligible (合适的) for any of the services we provide-Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9am-5pm on 4297 2522 for more information.
1.Library Special Needs Services are meant for .
A. those who are fond of reading
B. people living in Chester City with an illness or disability
C. only those who have walking disabilities
D. those who can’t get medical help in Chester City
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Few entertaining resources are offered here.
B. People with limited hearing have to pay for captioned videos.
C. Books with different languages are available.
D. People have to choose what they need by themselves.
3.To get home delivery service,you must .
A. only choose printed books.
B. have others choose the resources for you.
C. pay the library ahead of time.
D. register ahead of time.
假定你是李华,是一名高二学生。最近,你校广播站向全体学生招募两名英语播音员。你很想尝试一下,请根据下面的要点写一封自荐信。
1.自我介绍和写信的目的;
2.自身优势;
3.希望被录取。
注意:1.词数100左右;
2.可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
3.开头语已为你写好。
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am Li Hua, a student in Class 1, Grade 2. I have read the notice
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Yours,
Li hua