Nowadays, there are a lot of reminding days in the world. World Read Aloud Day is celebrated each year on the first Wednesday of March. It1.(start) by the LitWorld.org website in 2010 and has now reached 65 countries.2.aim is to encourage people worldwide who cannot read to enjoy the benefits of a book. The website asks everyone3.(celebrate) the day by taking a book, finding an audience and reading out aloud. It is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write4.(belong) to all people. The website asks visitors to join in the movement to reduce the number of illiterate(不识字的) people in the world. It is5.(absolute) necessary to help those6.cannot read. The website says, “It’s time to start by reading aloud to7.might like it. Share a book with a child who might need it, share a story with someone who would treasure it, listen patiently8.someone else’s story as they share with you.” The United Nations says, ”Literacy involves a9.(vary) of learning in10.(enable) individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and to participate fully in society.” In that way, World Read Aloud Day does help make a difference.
The Broken Lantern
On a wild July night, the storm was getting worse and worse. Kate Shelley, who lived between Honey Creek(小溪) and Des Moines River, was______looking out of the window, wondering______it would wash away the bridges over them, when suddenly came the loud______of breaking wood, then followed by a great splash(飞溅的水花). She realized the bridge over the creek was______. At that time, the midnight train was almost due. If no one told the engineer to______the train, it would fall into the creek with a hundred or more______. The situation was so urgent that Kate______to go to Moingon Railway Station to get help. Immediately she______out into the storm with her father’s railway lantern.
Moingon lay on the far side of Des Moines River. The only way to get there was to cross a long wooden railroad bridge. Even in the daytime, it was______to walk on it because there was no foot walk or railing(栏杆) except only rails and ties. The ties were______enough apart for the girl to fall through.
Kate stopped when she came to the______. She had never seen the river rising so high that she was______. Her father had been killed in a train accident by that river and her brother had drowned there. But she soon managed to______thinking more of the past happenings for she knew that train had to be stopped______it was too late. She started to step on that dangerous bridge, knowing she might fall into the rush water at any moment. What’s worse, she broke her lantern while making her way, exposing herself to the______. She had to climb on her hands and knees…It seemed like a long time. At last she______the other side. She stopped just long enough to catch her breath. Then she ran______to the railway station. When she finally got there, she was out of______, wet all over, her hat blown away, her hands and knees still bleeding and her eyes looking______. She told the station man what had happened to the Honey Creek Bridge before her fainting. Finally, the passengers were saved. The girl’s heroic deed was rewarded. For her______act, Kate enjoyed a right of getting on or off the train at her door when she wanted.
1.A. angrily B. eagerly C. anxiously D. hopefully
2.A. that B. whether C. when D. how
3.A. blow B. cry C. crash D. voice
4.A. removed B. blocked C. completed D. broken
5.A. stop B. change C. catch D. leave
6.A. conductors B. passengers C. customers D. engineers
7.A. expected B. tried C. decided D. agreed
8.A. fell B. rode C. climbed D. rushed
9.A. harmful B. dangerous C. foolish D. strange
10.A. far B. wide C. thick D. long
11.A. train B. station C. bridge D. rail
12.A. moving B. running C. escaping D. shaking
13.A. forget B. avoid C. admit D. risk
14.A. though B. because C. before D. unless
15.A. darkness B. calmness C. emptiness D. coldness
16.A. selected B. found C. reached D. passed
17.A. desperately B. slowly C. disappointedly D. cautiously
18.A. breath B. mind C. sight D. favor
19.A. sharp B. wild C. watchful D. bitter
20.A. honest B. modest C. courageous D. generous
How to Have a Successful Teenage Life
Everyone wants to succeed in their life, don’t they? Even as a teenager, you can achieve success in your life, it really isn’t that hard.1.
Do well in school. No matter how boring it is now, education will help you be a productive member in society. Try your best for excellence in school: listen to the teachers, do your homework, study, and get good grades. Doing so will help you get into a better university, which will enable you to have a bright future.2.
Do good in your community(社区). Volunteering can not only improve your community's status, but could make you happier. Studies show that people who volunteer are less likely to develop depression(抑郁) than people who don’t.3.For example, if you love animals, volunteer at an animal shelter. If you love helping the environment, plant trees or pick up litter. When you help others, it will make you feel better about yourself.
4.Remember, they’re there to help you be the best that you can be. Respect them and value their opinions, even if they annoy you sometimes.5.You don't get to choose your teachers or your family, but you still have to put up with them. Learn how to deal with people now, because when you’re an adult, you don’t get to choose your boss or your co-workers, so learn how to respect them now.
A. Here are some important points that you may find helpful
B. Be nice to your parents and teachers
C. School sets you up on the right track
D. Find chances to do volunteer work that interests you
E. Keep in mind that they do the things they do because they care about you
F. Live life to the fullest
G. It will help you pass time and develop your personality
Why Do People Blink Their Eyes?
People blink(眨眼) their eyes tens of thousands of times every day. Scientists have long believed blinking was an involuntary movement and served mainly to keep the eyeballs wet. But a new study suggests it has a more important purpose.
An international team of scientists from the University of California at Berkeley studied the blinking of human eyelids. The journal Current Biology published their findings. The team said they found that blinking “repositions our eyeballs so we can stay focused” on what we are seeing. They said that when we blink our eyelids, the eyes roll back into their sockets--the bony area that surrounds and protects the eyes. However, the researchers found the eyes don’t always return to the same position. They said this causes the brain to tell the eye muscles to reorganize our eyesight.
Gerrit Maus is the lead writer of the report. He serves as an assistant professor of psychology at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Maus says: “Our eye muscles are quite sluggish(迟缓的) and imprecise, so the brain needs to constantly adapt its motor signals to make sure our eyes are pointing where they’re supposed to. Our findings suggested that the brain measures the difference in what we see before and after a blink, and commands the eye muscles to make the needed corrections.” The researchers said that without such corrections our surroundings would appear unclear and even jumpy. They said the movement acts “like a Steadicam(摄影稳定器) of the mind.”
The researchers said they asked volunteers to sit in a dark room while staring at a small dot on a flat surface. They used special cameras to follow the volunteer’s blinks and eye movements. After each blink, the dot was moved one centimeter to the right. The volunteers did not notice this, but the brain did. It followed the movement and directed the eye muscles to refocus on the dot. After the dot was moved in this way 30 times, the volunteers’ eyes changed their focus to the place where they predicted it would be.
Professor Maus says “Even though participants did not consciously register that the dot had moved, their brains did, and adjusted with the corrective eye movement. These findings add to our understanding of how the brain constantly adapts to changes, commanding our eye muscles to correct for errors in our bodies’ own hardware.”
1.According to the new study, blinking eyes can .
A. serve to keep the eyeballs wet
B. consciously correct eye movements
C. reposition eyeballs to stay focused
D. make our eyes adapt to motor signals
2.From the experiment, we can learn that .
A. the brain commanded the eye muscles to refocus on the dot
B. the eyeballs could stay in the place as they were predicted
C. participants were aware of the dot’s movements to the right
D. volunteers could see the moving dot with special cameras
3.The underlined word “register” in Paragraph 5 possibly means .
A. reason B. refocus
C. reserve D. realize
4.This passage shows that .
A. eye muscles are quite inactive and imprecise
B. the research is of great value in the eye movement
C. volunteers control their blinks to follow the changes of the dots
D. the brain plays an important role in seeing things clearly
Nobody is sure where and when the expression “apple-pie order” began. Some say that Scottish and English writers used the expression a long time ago. Others say it was first used in the northeastern American states known as New England. The housewives of New England cut their apples in even slices. Then they filled pie pans with them in an organized way, row upon row. As one writer said, the women of New England loved to have everything in its place. This perhaps explains why it generally is believed that the expression “apple-pie order” began in New England.
Another old expression, “apple of discord”, comes from ancient mythology(神话), however. The myth says that all the gods and goddesses were sitting around the table to celebrate the marriage of Thetis and Peleus. One of the goddesses-Discord was a troublemaker. She threw away a golden apple on the table to be given as a prize to the most beautiful goddess.
At one time, the tomato was called a love apple. That was a mistake. This is how the mistake happened: In the sixteenth century, Spain brought the tomato from South America after Spanish explorers had landed there. Spain then sold the tomato to Morocco. Italian traders carried it on to Italy. The Italian name for the tomato was “pomo di Moro” meant “d’amour” -the French word for love. And so “pomo di Moro” became the apple of love.
People believe many things about the apple. One belief is that it has great powers of keeping people healthy. A very common expression is "an apple a day keeps the doctor away."
Another belief is based on fact. The expression is "one rotten apple spoils the barrel." When an apple begins to go bad, it ruins all the other apples around it in the container. The expression has come to mean that one bad person in a group can cause everyone to act bad.
1.Which of the following can we know about the phrase “apple-pie order”?
A. No one knows for sure where and when it began
B. It has been put into use recently
C. Everyone is sure of where it began
D. It began in New England
2.What’s the meaning of “apple of discord”?
A. Everything in good order B. Situation of danger
C. Everything in agreement D. Cause of disagreement
3.What’s the purpose of the third paragraph?
A. To show us a mistaken idea
B. To explain how the tomato was called the apple of love
C. To tell us a love story about apple
D. To show how the tomato was brought in from south America
4.Which of the following expressions is about health?
A. Apple of discord
B. Apple-pie order
C. An apple a day keeps the doctor away
D. One rotten apple spoils the barrel
With five breakout(破纪录的) games, Jeremy Lin has become the NBA’s newest star.
In the New York Knicks' 92-85 won over the Los Angles Lakers last Saturday, Lin had a career-high 38 points. A day later, he led the Knicks to their fifth victory, 100-98 to Minnesota Timberwolves. In his previous games, Lin, 23, had 23 points against the Washington, 25 points against New Jersey and 28 against Utah in his first start.
Lin is smart. Before graduating from high school in California, he had sent his application to all the Ivy League Schools(常青藤联盟). He only got into Harvard and Brown, and he chose Harvard. In 2010, Lin graduated with a degree in economics.
Lin is the first Chinese-American player in the NBA. He was born in the US and his family is Asian. Although not born in China, Lin has attracted nearly all Yao Ming's old fans, who see him as a powerful role model.
He started off on the Golden State Warriors. Lin first signed with the Warriors in July, 2010, but seldom played in games before the start of the fourth quarter. His first time on the court for the Warriors earned him seven points, three rebounds(篮板球) and two assists in just 11 minutes.
He is really perfect for the Knicks. The New York Knicks has been in need of a reliable point guard and to Mike D'Antoni, the Knicks coach who's going through a difficult season, Lin is a most unexpected figure. Lin just does everything easy and the rest of the guys around him are playing the way we want to," D'Antoni said. "I think it's for real, and it can only get better."
1.In which team did Lin start his career in NBA?
A. the New York Knicks B. Minnesota Timberwolves
C. The Golden State Warriors D. The Los Angles Lakers
2.From the passage, we learn that .
A. most of Yao Ming's fans take Lin as a great role model
B. Lin is an American-Chinese basketball player
C. the New York Knicks has never been defeated
D. after graduation from Harvard, Lin signed with the Knicks
3.From the passage, it can be inferred that .
A. Lin is the team leader of the Knicks
B. the Knicks' coach puts strong hopes on Lin
C. the Knicks' success only depends on Lin
D. the Knicks is sure to win the season this year
4.The author's purpose of writing the report is .
A. to introduce a newest rising NBA star
B. to express his love for Jeremy Lin
C. to report the progress of the Knicks
D. to show his support for the Knicks
