A Spanish company Siesta &Go has opened the first public napping (小睡) space in Madrid. It promises people a quiet rest in the middle of the city’s business center.
Napping spaces are nothing new; places to rest are already set up in other big cities in the world. But the idea would appear to work well with the culture of Spain, where people traditionally take an afternoon nap, called siesta.
The Madrid nap space recently opened with 19 beds. People can use them by the minute or by the hour, and they can also choose either a private or shared room. An hour of napping inside a private room costs about $ l5.
Siesta &GO provides all bedding, clean nightshirts and other materials. Nippers can request to be woken up when their time is up. It also offers areas to work, with armchairs, newspapers and coffee for those not wishing to sleep.
Philip &Go is one happy customer. Marco says he gets tired during the day because of hard work. He says a siesta is the perfect way to build up energy. “I come for about 30 minutes or something like that. That is usually enough for me to be full of energy.”
While many Spanish people love their naps, others like Carlos Villarroja say they are just too busy to keep the tradition. “It’s a Spanish tradition, but I think it’s more of a legend (传说) than a tradition. Because of the lifestyle and the working hours, we have very little free time for a siesta at least during the week.”
But many health experts believe there is evidence that taking a short nap can be very good for the body and mind. Scientific studies show that taking a siesta can also prevent illness and lower blood pressure.
1.What is not allowed for customers to do?
A. Sleep for free B. Choose a private room
C. Use it as an office D. Share a room with others
2.What does Philip Marco think of the Madrid nap space?
A. Costly. B. Helpful.
C. Comfortable. D. Convenient
3.What’s Carlos Villarroja’s opinion on siestas?
A. It is not necessary to take a nap.
B. They can treat high blood pleasure.
C. People have no time to take a nap.
D. It’s not true that Spanish people like naps.
There once lived in China a very foolish king and queen. One day the queen had a baby daughter. When they saw their baby, they both cried out, “My goodness! How small it is! It’s hairless and toothless! It’s a monster!” they sent for all the doctors in the country and ordered them to prepare some medicine for her.
“When she drinks your medicine, she must grow to the right size and have hair and teeth,” the king said, “If you don’t do this, you’ll have a beating.”
The doctors thought it impossible, but they dared not say anything against the king’s order. Just then and old doctor stepped forward. “Oh, we shall certainly obey your order,” he said, “but it takes time. We have to dig a mineral from the KunLun Mountains when the snow melts for the second time. The snow melts on those mountains only once in six years. So we need twelve years.”
At last the king agreed and the doctors took away the little princess. On her twelfth birthday, they brought her back to her parents with long black hair and beautiful teeth. The king and queen were very happy and gave the doctors expensive presents.
1.The doctors would be beaten if __________.
A. the baby daughter didn’t drink their medicine
B. they refused to obey the king’s order
C. the baby daughter grew to the right size
D. the baby daughter became a monster
2.The old doctor wanted to keep the king’s daughter for twelve years because ___________.
A. they needed a lot of different plants
B. they need a lot of different minerals
C. this would give the baby time to grow up
D. they had to dig a mineral the snow melted for the second time
3.The doctors thought it impossible __________.
A. for them to change the king’s order
B. for them to prepare the medicine in twelve years
C. for the small baby to drink the medicine
D. for them to make the baby have teeth and hair or grow teeth at once
4.______the king wouldn’t have given them expensive presents.
A. Had the doctors not brought back a beautiful girl
B. Had the doctors not found the minerals
C. Had the doctors not been able to prepare the magic medicine
D. Were the daughter still a monster twelve years later
假设你是李津，天津某中学高三学生。春节刚过，你的加拿大笔友Susan发来邮件，询问你有关在春节期间天津市禁止燃放鞭炮的情况。请你给她回复邮件，要点如下：
1.春节燃放鞭炮的传统及意义；
2.自2018年起，在城区禁止燃放鞭炮的原因（污染，火灾，人身伤亡等）及市民遵守禁令的情况；
3.你对第一个无鞭炮燃放春节的感受。
注意：
1.词数不少于100；
2.邮件的开头、结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。
3.内容可适当发挥，注意行文连贯，要点齐全，语句通顺。
参考词汇：燃放鞭炮：set off firecrackers
Dear Susan,
I’m more than delighted to hear from you._______________________________________________________
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Yours，
Li Jin
I was still a fresh graduate from high school; I got a chance to work. During my first day of work, I came early. I was the first one to arrive in the office. Perhaps it was due to excitement. I had performed well in my given tasks. Everything went smoothly in my work. The passion when I started was still the same passion I am feeling until now. Furthermore, I didn't forget to do well in my studies. In fact, I still managed to review my notes, to become active in classes and to score high in tests.
I had learned new things as I started working there. Dealing and interacting with people were some of the remarkable learning I had. Moreover, it was also very fulfilling when I had helped my parents diminish their finances in my own ways.
It is not that easy to study while working. There are truly pressures in between them. Sometimes, deadlines of the school project and errand(差事) from the boss go together. Sometimes, there are misunderstandings between colleagues. There are just some sacrifices and challenges of becoming a working student.
Yet, it is my will and I am very happy with it because I am learning and growing. They say, "You can’t serve two masters at a time." It is possible, but it is a challenge. I know that I can balance studies and work. Moreover, I know that I can still keep my relationships with my family, friends and loved ones. I know that I can still share my talents despite my busy life. I just enjoy everything because every moment of being working student is a truly remarkable experience.
1.What did the author learn from work according to the text? (no more than 5 words)
2.What is the meaning of the underlined word “diminish” in paragraph 2? (one word)
3.Why is it not easy for the author to study while working? (no more than 10 words)
4.Why is the author satisfied with his becoming a working student? (no more than 8 words)
5.Would you like to be a working student? Why or why not? (no more than 25 words)
Many public figures from IT, show business, and sports have joined the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (肌萎缩性侧索硬化) research. A number of international famous people have already taken the challenge, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, and Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook. Troubled musician Justin Bieber even challenged US President Barrack Obama.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge requires that participants pour a bucket of ice water on themselves and then post a video of it on social media while nominating one or more people to do the same within 24 hours. People who fail to take the challenge will have to donate $100 to The ALS Association, which advocates finding treatment and a cure for ALS. And many of those who’ve taken the challenge donated as well.
ALS is a rare disease that gradually reduces patients’ muscle strength, finally making them become unable to speak, move, swallow and breathe. In North America, ALS is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the star baseball player who died of the disease in 1941 at the age of 38. The best-known ALS patient today is British scientist Stephen Hawking. While most people with ALS survive only two to five years after diagnosis(诊断), Hawking has had the disease for decades. The medical treatment for ALS is very expensive and cannot be covered by most social welfare programs. This creates difficulties for many ALS patients and their families, both physically and mentally.
“Due to the ice bucket campaign, many people beginning to know about ALS. With more people aware and more people taking part in the fight against ALS, we can calmly work with not only other ALS organizations, but also with medical companies to speed up new treatments for people affected by the disease,” said Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association.
1.Why does the author mention many famous people in Paragraph 1?
A. To stress the popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge.
B. To advise us to learn from them.
C. To prove they are generous.
D. To introduce the target group of the Ice Bucket Challenge.
2.Paragraph 2 is mainly about the Ice Bucket challenge’s ________.
A. influence B. purpose
C. rules D. development
3.The person who is nominated for the challenge is required to ________.
A. donate $100 to The ALS Association
B. watch others videos on social media
C. help find effective treatments for ALS
D. pour ice water on himself within time
4.What do we know about ALS from the text?
A. ALS is fairly common now.
B. Lou Gehrig was first cured of ALS.
C. It is rare for people with ALS to survive decades.
D. Social welfare programs provide medical treatments for ALS.
5.According to Barbara Newhouse, the Ice Bucket Challenge ________.
A. makes more people well aware of ALS
B. teaches people how to fight against ALS
C. makes medical companies help ALS patients
D. attracts many people to join ALS organizations
Electric cars are dirty. In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins.
People in California love to talk about “zero-emissions(排放) vehicles”, but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from. Power plants mostly use fire to make it. Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators(发电机). Generators are fueled by something--usually coal, oil, but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants. There are a few wind farms and geothermal
(地热) plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.
In other words, those "zero-emissions" cars are likely coal-burning cars. It’s just because the coal is burned somewhere else, it looks clean. It is not. It's as if the California Greens are covering their eyes—“If I can't see it, it's not happening.” Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle; a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it. But when you take that gas (or another fuel) and first use it to make electricity, you waste a nice part of that energy, mostly in the form of wasted heat—at the generator, through the transmission lines, etc.
A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles. But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won't get you nearly as far—so electric cars burn more fuel than gasoline-powered ones. If our electricity came mostly from nukes or geothermal, or hydro or wind or solar, then an electric car truly would be clean. But for political, technical, and economic reasons, we don't use much of those energy sources.
In addition, electric cars' batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill. And finally, when cars are the polluters, the pollution is spread across all the roads. When it's a power plant, though, all the junk is in one place. Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.
1.What does “clueless” mean in paragraph 2?
A. People see the California Greens everywhere.
B. People there have no idea that so far electricity mainly comes from burning coal, oil, etc.
C. People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells.
D. People in California love to talk about zero-emissions vehicles.
2.What is the main idea of the text?
A. Electric cars are not clean at all.
B. Electric cars are better than gasoline-powered ones.
C. People cast doubts on electric cars’ batteries.
D. Gasoline is an efficient way to power a vehicle.
3.The electricity we get from a gallon of gas may make our car run ________.
A. not less than 25 miles B. as far as 50 miles
C. as far as 25 miles D. not more than 25 miles
4.According to the text, electric cars ________.
A. are more environmentally friendly
B. burn more fuel than gas-powered ones
C. are very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated
D. are poisonous for a long time and will eventually end up in a landfill
5.It can be inferred from the text that ________.
A. being green is good and should be encouraged in communication
B. electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasoline-powered cousins
C. zero-emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment
D. electric cars are not clean because we get electricity mainly by burning something
