It was a summer evening almost 30 years ago.I was rocking my baby boy in my arms and when he fell asleep I put him____down into his crib for the night.My wife,____from a long day of work,was half napping（小睡）and half watching TV in the living room.Not caring for the____,I poured myself a glass of iced tea in the kitchen,took a lawn（草坪）____off our porch（门廊）,and walked into the front yard to____the stars.
As soon as I stepped onto the____,I heard the sweet sound of____floated through the air.On the hill next to our house,the neighbor's children were____fireflies,hoping to catch one in a jar.I sat down in my chair and____them for a while.They ran very fast,____,they couldn't seem to catch the slow moving lighting bugs.____,exhausted they both sat down in the grass and____ watched the little guys flying through the air,blinking their lights on and off.I____my tea and joined them in their____.It felt so good getting to see one of many miracles lighting up my front yard on a____night.It made me feel a part of something far greater than myself.
Over the years since then,I have appreciated and____all of the glorious light in this world.I have taken it into my heart and welcomed if into my soul.I have found it in nature,books,music,animals,prayer,and most of all in the lives of those around me.I have never tried to catch this____,however.I have learned that true light and true love must come from____.It must flow freely between us and can't be____in a jar.The next time you see some fireflies then,take a seat and enjoy their light.Let them remind you to shine your own light as well.Let them remind you that you,too,are one of____in this world.
1.A. gently B. quickly C. forcefully D. silently
2.A. broken down B. tired out C. calmed down D. made out
3.A. baby B. film C. show D. atmosphere
4.A. bench B. basket C. cushion D. chair
5.A. stare at B. point to C. smile to D. glance at
6.A. held B. farm C. yard D. street
7.A. argument B. laughter C. fight D. scream
8.A. chasing B. killing C. admiring D. teasing
9.A. ignored B. comforted C. calmed D. watched
10.A. otherwise B. however C. meanwhile D. somewhat
11.A. Frequently B. Purposefully C. Happily D. Eventually
12.A. also B. just C. yet D. still
13.A. poured B. made C. drank D. prepared
14.A. appreciation B. competition C. discussion D. celebration
15.A. winter B. cool C. summer D. spring
16.A. flashed B. shone C. preserved D. enjoyed
17.A. light B. hug C. jar D. practice
18.A. near B. upon C. within D. around
19.A. left B. caught C. ignored D. seen
20.A. passers-by B. rescuers C. discovers D. miracles
Tips for making small talk
Some people are not good at small talk.Making small talk doesn't have to be either awkward or boring.1.
●Have some conversation starters ready.
When you are sharing the same experience with someone,it's easy to start a conversation.2.If you are at a party and a song comes on that you like or that reminds you of something,you can talk about that.
●Ask open-ended（开放式的）questions.
These types of questions require more thought and more than a simple one-word answer.If you ask questions that need more details to answer,the conversation will go on longer.If you are at a summer pool party,don't ask people if they like summer.3.
●Become a student.
Nobody knows everything.So,as someone is answering one of your open-ended questions,they raise something about which you know nothing.So,tell them!4.They feel good about sharing their knowledge and you get to learn something.It’s a win-win situation.
●5.
Some people do not like their jobs or maybe they don't want to talk about them.So,instead of asking,“What do you do for a living?”ask something like,“So,what have you been doing these days?”or “So,what have you been up to?”One general question can contribute to an opportunity to share something you have in common.Ask people about their families,their passions,their ambitions or even their fears.However,balance these questions with comments about yourself.Asking too many questions may make people feel they are in an interview rather man in a conversation.
A.Don't ask,“So,what do you do?”
B.This lets the other person become the teacher.
C.By doing do,you can show that you are a modest person.
D.Here are some tips to improve your small-talking ability.
E.Instead,ask them what they like or dislike about summer.
F.It can be a lot of fun if you practice doing it,again and again.
G.You simply notice and comment on what's going on around you.
Technology offers conveniences such as opening the garage door from your car or changing the television station without touching the TV.
Now one American company is offering its employees a new convenience: a microchip implanted in their hands. Employees who have these chips can do all kinds of things just by waving their hands.Three Square Market is offering to implant microchips in all of their employees for free.Each chip costs $300 and Three Square Market will pay for the chip.Employees can volunteer to have the chips implanted in their hands.About 50 out of 80 employees have chosen to do so.The president of the company,his wife and their children are also getting chips implanted in their hands.
The chip is about the size of a grain of rice.Implanting the chip only takes about a second and is said to hurt only very briefly.The chips go under the skin between the thumb and forefinger.With a chip in the hand,a person can enter the office building,buy food,sign into computers and more,simply by waving that hand near a scanner.The chips will he also used to identify employees.Employees who want convenience,but do not want to have a microchip implanted under their skin,can wear a wristband（腕带）or a ring with a chip instead.They can perform the same tasks with a wave of their hands as if they had an implanted chip.
Three Square Market is the first company in the United Slates to offer to implant chips in its employees.Epicenter,a company in Sweden,has been implanting chips in its employees for a while.
Three Square Market says the chip cannot track the employees.The company says scanners can read the chips only when they are within a few inches of them.“The chips protect against identity theft,similar to credit cards.”The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the chips back in 2004,so they should be safe for humans,according to the company.
In the future,people with the chips may be able to do more with them,even outside the office.Todd Westby is Chief Executive Officer of Three Square Market.He says,“Eventually,this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport,public transit,all purchasing opportunities,etc.”
1.What is the third paragraph mainly about?
A. The substitutes of the chips.
B. The potential risks of implanting the chips.
C. The places to implant the chips.
D. The advantages of the chips.
2.What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A. the hands B. the scanners
C. the employees D. the credit cards
3.We can infer that_____.
A. the chips have magic powers
B. the price of the chips is reasonable
C. the chips are very popular among the employees
D. most people suspect the application of the chips
4.Which of the following best describes Todd Westby's attitude towards the chips?
A. Defensive. B. Disappointing.
C. Casual. D. Optimistic.
White-collar workers increasingly unhealthy
An increasing number of white-collar workers in Shanghai are getting failing grades on their physical examinations,according to a white paper on the health of white-collar workers in Shanghai.
Carried out by Shanghai Foreign Service Group,a human resources company,the report indicated that more than 53 percent of males are overweight,46 percent suffer from a fatty live and about 26 percent have elevated blood lipids（血脂）.However,females are more often diagnosed as having breast lesions（乳房病变）that could lead to cancer (85 percent),thyroid（甲状腺）disorder (34 percent) and hemorrhoids（痔疮）(23 percent).
Though the report also found that white-collar workers were paying increasing attention to their health—with about 84 percent saying they followed their condition closely or very closely—those with healthy lifestyles dropped to 64 percent last year from 77 percent in 2015.
The report came from about 500,000 physical exams taken by while-collar workers in Shanghai over the past five years.“I always eat and drink too much and never exercise,”said Wei Ruoxi,a 26-year-old working in finance who is struggling with being overweight.“I know what a healthy lifestyle looks like,but the job just brings too much pressure and squeezes out exercise time,”she added.Hu Xiaolong,30,an accountant in Shanghai,said he was determined to live healthily from now on.“My recent physical examination shows a little shadow in the lung,which startled me when I heard it.I really need to quit had habits like smoking and staying up late.”
The white paper also showed that more people are turning to commercial health insurance to cope with financial risks caused by health problems.The popularity of insurance purchases among the participants reached 15.3 percent last year,a rise of 4 percentage points in just one year.Most participants also expected their companies to help them with effective health management,such as offering membership cards for gyms,flexible working schedules and regular physical examinations.
1.The female white-collar workers with breast lesions suffer from _____ most.
A. breast lesions B. fatty liver
C. hemorrhoids D. cancer
2.What does the underlined word “startled” in the 4th paragraph probably mean?
A. confused B. curious
C. shocked D. annoyed
3.The main idea of the last paragraph is that______.
A. more and more white-collar workers have realized their health problems
B. the health insurance firm has profited from white-collar workers
C. people are trying to handle the white-collar workers' health problems
D. companies have taken measures to improve white-collar workers' health
4.In which column of a newspaper do we probably find the passage?
A. Health. B. Business.
C. People. D. Technology.
Sometimes your expectations don't survive.But you have to make it through.
After a lengthy visa application procedure,I left my father with our dog,jumped on a flight,and there I was in London.Since Europe is an aspiration in my country,I had imagined it as a place where things always worked perfectly.I was alone in dealing with all kinds of problems as they arose,that was alright and this is how I became my own “special person” during my Erasmus exchange.
The accommodation I could afford was far from the city.To make things worse,I was new to many things,and definitely an outsider.But it wasn't an exception to carelessness,I found out.My dorm was in a silent neighborhood. Little did I know that those calm streets would he visited by loud fire trucks...And because of me!
That morning,I closed the kitchen door after placing some bread in the toaster.I was still half asleep and looking for what to wear.For some reason,the automatic mechanism of the toaster to push the slices up didn't work. When I went back to the kitchen,it was full of thick white smoke.Coughing hard,I opened the windows,stepped outside the door for a breath,and then went in again to reach for the fire extinguisher（灭火器）.It was the first time I used one,and had to get out of the kitchen to be able to see how to unlock it.It was only then the fire alarm went off!I went in again and made sure I put off the fire.
Nothing was like how I planned.A few times I hung out in the school cafeteria,but couldn't make friends.I went to discover the city,alone.Independence wasn’t something to be ashamed of after all.I wish I had made friends with people,but it turned out that I had to learn I wasn't in need of others' company to enjoy life.I tried to make the best of my time,thinking that being alone is a blessing too,just like being with friends is.My international experiences that followed definitely made me more social,but now I know that being alone is not a weakness,but a part of life to embrace.Just like our mistakes,carelessness or bad luck,I can say it was during my time in London that I learnt I was,despite everything,a strong and special person who can cope with（处理）anything that comes her way.
1.The underlined words “it wasn’t an exception to carelessness” probably refers to “________”.
A. I was careless to cause a fire
B. I shouldn’t be careless in a foreign country
C. I was supposed to handle hardships abroad on my own
D. the accommodation of exchange students is always out-of-the-way
2.How did the author feel about his experience when living abroad by himself?
A. Helpless. B. Meaningless.
C. Fruitful. D. Regretful.
3.We can learn from the second paragraph that the author______.
A. had expected everything abroad would go smoothly before leaving his country
B. hadn't been prepared to handle the problems abroad before going
C. got his visa without much difficulty
D. went abroad with his dog
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. What Made Me Become My Own Hero?
B. My Study Experience in the UK
C. Being Alone Is Definitely an Awful Thing
D. An Unforgettable Experience of Putting Out a Fire in London
Dutch masters exhibition in Beijing
The 17th century Dutch Golden Age had several significant artists and a range of great pieces produced during the period—including Jan Vermeer’s Young Woman at Virginal,Jan Lievens’ Boy in a Cape,and Turban and Rembrandt's Self-Portrait with Shaded Eyes.
Some of the most refined examples of the time,including the three pieces mentioned above,will make their debut（首次亮相）in China as part of a world tour of The Leiden Collection.
If you go:
9 a.m.-5 p.m.,June 17-Sept 3 (closed on Mondays).National Museum of China,I Wusi Avenue,Dongcheng district.010-6400-1476.
Ticket: 50 yuan ($7)
The Age of Mechanical Reproduction
The Age of Mechanical Reproduction,the latest exhibition at the Riverside Art Museum,features 41 artworks of US pop icon Andy Warhol,covering art installations,paintings and photographs.Warhol's well-known installation Electric Chair is a highlight of the show,which is also its debut in Asia.
If you go:
10 a.m.-5 p.m.,through August 28 (closed on Mondays).The Riverside Art Museum,Hongyan Road,Chaoyang district.010-5309-2062.
Ticket: 60 yuan
Back with a bang
Beijing-based hand Escape Plan will hold a concert in Beijing this weekend.The band is most famous for the song The Brightest Star in the Night Sky.
If you go:
7:30 p.m.,June 17.Beijing Worker’s Gymnasium,Gongti Beilu,Chaoyang district.400-610-3721.
Ticket: 280-980 yuan
Purple clay teapots
Yixing purple clay potteries are a vital part of Chinese pottery culture and have been included in China's list of national intangible cultural heritage（国家非物质文化遗产）.A selection of more than 80 purple clay teapots will go on display at the Poly Art Museum starting Friday.The exhibit will include a range of delicate teapot works of Ji Yishun,Wang Xiaolong and Gao Lijun,who are all inheritors（继承人）the time-honored（历史悠久的）pottery handicraft.
If you go:
9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.(closed on Sundays),through June 30.Poly Art Museum,New Poly Plaza,1 Chaoyangmen North Street 9.010-6500-8117.
Ticket: 20 yuan
1.What do Dutch masters exhibition in Beijing and The Age of Mechanical Reproduction have in common?
A. Their total exhibition time. B. They aren’t open on Mondays.
C. Their ticket prices. D. Their exhibition places.
2.If you are fond of the performance of Escape Plan,which number can you contact to book a ticket in advance?
A. 010-5309-2062. B. 010-6500-8117.
C. 010-6400-1476. D. 400-610-3721.
3.Where can you go and enjoy an exhibition but spend less money?
A. Poly Art Museum,New Poly Plaza. B. National Museum of China.
C. The Riverside An Museum. D. Beijing Workers' Gymnasium.
