A young man wandered through the desert for forty until he reached a beautiful castle at the top of a mountain. There lived the sage that he was looking for.
With considerable patience, the sage listened attentively to the reason for the boy’s visit, but told him that at that moment he did not have time to explain to him the secret of happiness.
He suggested that the young man take a walk around his palace and come back in two hours’ time.
“However, I want to ask you a favor,” he added, handing the boy a teaspoon, in which he poured two drops of oil. “While you walk, carry this spoon and don’t let the oil spill.”
The young man began to climb up and down the palace staircases, always keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. At the end of two hours he returned to the presence of the wise man.
“So,” asked the sage, “did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining room? Did you see the fantastic garden that the Master of Gardeners spent ten years in creating?”
Embarrassed, the young man admitted that he had seen nothing.
“So, go back and see the wonders of my world,” said the wise man. “You can’t trust a man if you don’t know his house.”
Now more at ease, the young man took the spoon and wandered again through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art that hung from the ceilings and walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around the palace, and the delicacy of the flowers. Returning to the sage, he reported in detail what he had seen.
“But where are the two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?” asked the Sage.
Looking down at the spoon, the young man realized that he had spilled the oil.
“Well, that is the only advice I have to give you,’’ said the sage of sages. “The secret of happiness lies in looking at all the wonders of the world and never forgetting the two drops of oil in the spoon.”
1.What was the intention of the young man to travel to look for the sage?
A. To appreciate the most beautiful scenery along the way
B. To learn the secret of happiness from the wisest man
C. To figure out whether the sage was knowledgeable or not
D. To experience adventures of the outside world
2.Which of the following statements is wrong?
A. The sage listened to the young man with patience
B. During his second round of wandering, the young man appreciated the wonders of the castle
C. The young man made it as the sage had expected
D. The young man was too concerned about the oil when he first went around the castle
3.Why did the sage ask the young man to go around his castle with a spoon of two drops of oil?
A. Because he wanted to help the young man to uncover the secret of happiness in an indirect way
B. Because he intended to let the young man know that happiness came at a price
C. Because he wanted to let the young man trust him
D. Because he wanted to find out whether the young man was perseverant in accomplishing his goals
4.What can we learn from the story?
A. We can t trust a man unless we get familiar with his house
B. It s not easy to keep balance between enjoyment and commitment
C. The search for the secret of happiness demands our devotion
D. Real happiness consists in enjoying our rights and meanwhile fulfilling our duties
Last month my mother moved into a nursing home. This came after years of witnessing the worsening of her cognitive abilities and changes in her personality, all thanks to life-sucking frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
My mom is going to lose her ability to speak, have trouble forming complete thoughts and sentences, and eventually forget how to do things she loved, like cook and read.
But despite all of her inabilities, when I walked in on her having dinner with the rest of the women that make up the dementia floor of the nursing home, I didn’t think she belonged.
It wasn’t until I spent three days there bonding with those women that I realized what scared me the most-she did fit in.
If you were an outsider looking at these women, you’d pity them. You’d think it was cruel that our bodies could turn on us in this way. You’d think it was sad that their families have put the burden of taking care of them on someone else. You’d want to intervene.
You’d want to give the lady eating mashed potatoes with her hands a spoon, you’d want to peel the orange for the lady who’s eating it like an apple, you’d want to scold the lady who forgets to flush the toilet and wash her hands after using the bathroom.
I did all those things to my mother. But when I see her in an environment that lets her be herself, it somehow seems okay.
Learn to love them unconditionally. It’s easier said than done, but if she loved me after giving her hell for making me come home by 10 p. m. on Fridays, I can love her even if she forgets my name.
1.What frightened the author most?
A. Her mother adapted to the nursing home.
B. She had to look after her mother.
C. Her mother suffered from FTD.
D. She lived with those women at the nursing home.
2.Which of the following can best replace the underlined word “intervene”？
A. Amaze. B. Interrupt.
C. Permit. D. Explore.
3.What was the final decision of the author?
A. She let her mother alone.
B. She took care of her mother at home.
C. She sent her mother to hospital.
D. She let her mother stay at the nursing home.
4.What’s the author’s attitude towards her mother?
A. Mean. B. Selfish.
C. Grateful. D. Honest.
On Sept. 15, TripAdvisor, one of the world’s largest travel review websites, named the world’s top 25 museums in its Travelers’ Choice Award according to the reviews and opinions of travelers worldwide. Now let’s take a look at the top four museums which are ranked as follows by the popularity around the world.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
It is the largest museum in the Western Hemisphere, with a collection of 2 million items from more than 5,000 years of world culture. The iconic museum includes important collections from ancient Egypt and medieval Europe as well as ancient Greece and Rome. Here, visitors can get lost in different centuries: They can see the Temple of Dendur from early Egypt, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh’s Wheatfield With Cypresses an US pop Andy Warhol’s Souper Dress, all in one place.
Muse d’Orsay, Paris
Located in the center of Paris on the bank of the River Seine, the Musee d’Orsay houses the world’s most amazing collections of impressionist and post-impressionist art. It offers the chance to view major works from greats like Van Gogh and Claude Monet. The museum is famous for being home to Starry Night over the Rhone, an oil painting by Van Gogh that is often praised along with his masterpiece Starry Night.
Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
It was named the world’s best museum in 2014. The world-famous Windy City museum houses nearly 300,000 works, including one of the largest collections of modern art, including pieces such as Spanish painter Pablo Picasso’s The Old Guitarist, US artist Georgia O’Keeffe’s Black Cross and French artist Henri Matisse’s Bathers by a River. A TripAdvisor reviewer commented, “No matter how many times I visit, it never gets old. Paintings from every era, works from every great artist.”
Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Nowhere is able to present the entire history of Spanish art like the Museo Nacional del Prado.
Here, visitors can enjoy a detailed view of the Spanish school of the Modem Age. Outstanding masterpieces by artists such as Diego Velazquez, Francisco Goya and Joaquiin Sorolla make up an internationally-famous collection. The Italian school is another highlight of the museum’s collection, as it includes the 15th century masterpieces such as The Annunciation by Fra Angelico, The Death of the Virgin by Andrea Mantegna and The Dead Christ Supported by Angels by Antonello da Messina.
1.How is the Metropolitan Museum of Art different from the other three museums?
A. It is the largest art museum in the world
B. It is so big that visitors may easily get lost in it
C. Its main collection is from ancient Egypt and medieval Europe
D. It is the most popular museum of the four museums
2.If you are interested in impressionist art, is a place you cannot miss.
A. Metropolitan Museum of Art B. Musee d’Orsay
C. Art Institute of Chicago D. Museo Nacional del Prado
3.Which is a correct match of the painting and the museum?
A. Pablo Picasso’s The Old Guitarist—Musee d’Orsay
B. Henri Matisse’s Bathers by a River—Metropolitan Museum of Art
C. Andrea Mantegna’s The Death of the Virgin—Museo Nacional del Prado
D. Vincent van Gogh’s Wheatfield With Cypresses—Art Institute of Chicago
假定你是李华，得知某英文报社要评选“The Most Qualified Student”（最美中学生），请你用英语给编辑写一封推荐信。要点如下：
1.介绍被推荐人（林扬）的基本信息；
2.说明推荐理由。
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Editor,
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Yours sincerely,
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。每处错误仅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。
It is really a good chance to have met both of you here. We have spent several precious weekend learning in an English Club. Although we have been members for a short period of time, we have made so great progress. That is because we were all very active and the activities are not only enjoyable and also helpful. Besides, the foreign teachers here work hard, try their best to make the activities lively and interestingly. I am very pleased to say that all of us has greatly improved our spoken English so far. I am looking forward to see all of you again in the near future!
1.The president demanded that a meeting concerning the environment_____(hold) as soon as possible.
2.The boy pretended_____(fall) asleep when his father came back.
3.My chief worry is_____he doesn’t have experience although he is energetic.
4.As_____(translate), they have made great contributions to cultural exchange.
5.I’m rather in doubt about his_____(explain) of the accident.
6.I wonder how long it will be before he_____(return).
7.With a strong_____(determine), one is able to overcome whatever hardships he may encounter.
8.They have been married for nearly 20 years but never_____they quarreled with each other.
9._____(occupy) with the research work, she couldn’t spend most of her spare time with her children.
10.The man is considerate. You can’t imagine how pleasant he is_____(deal) with.
