The art of paper-cutting in China may date back to the second century, since paper 1. (invent) by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty in China. As paper became more affordable, paper-cutting became one of the most important 2. (type) of Chinese folk art. Later, 3. different regions adopting their own cultural styles, this art form spread to other parts of the world. 4. (usual), the artworks are made of red paper, as red is associated with 5. (happy) in Chinese culture, but other colors are also used.
With 6. (it) long history, paper-cutting, 7. originated in China, has been very popular among the ordinary Chinese people. People put up papercuts on walls, windows and doors at wedding ceremonies or festivals 8.(strengthen) the cheerful atmosphere.
Chinese papercuts are rich in content. The auspicious (吉祥的)designs symbolize good luck and the avoidance of evil, The child, lotus (莲花) and bat designs suggest a family with 9.large number of children and grandchildren. Birds, livestock, fruit, fish and worms are also familiar objects 10. (accept) by Chinese farmers. In a word, papercuts used in different occasions have different meanings,
Massive Open Online Courses are also called MOOCs. Tens of thousands, or even more people can _____ these classes all at once. You can be anywhere in the world to take a MOOC. All you need is a ____ and a network connection.
MOOCs add to a tradition of what is known as _____ learning. For years, many colleges have offered classes that are taught ____ or mostly online. MOOCs are available in ____ like computer science or engineering. which work quite well. nut can in subjects like arts be as ____ as the old teaching approach?
Scott Anderson teaches philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Canada. He sees both good and ____ sides of MOOCs. “There are parts that will be fine, mostly -when students listen to a ____, there is no special reason why they need to be _____ present to hear and get it,” says Mt Anderson. Increasing numbers of students in MOOCs can mean ____ communication between students and ____. He says two ways to ____ this problem are by adding more teachers and ____ up online discussion groups.
Lisa Jadwin, who teaches English and writing at St. John Fisher College in New York, says that online education has some ____ for her subjects. What’s ____ in online education is face-to-face interaction. for example’ the teaching of English is a face-to-face ____ practice. So the old approach is not going to be ____ very quickly by computer aided instruction.
Bill Pogue teaches communications at the University of Houston downtown. He says that after leading classes for more than 30 years’ he would not ____ to teach a MOOC. However, Mr. Pogue sees good ____ in online education. He noted a strong sense of community in an online course he once took. He said the students could work ____ on the same project while living in different regions.
1.A. cut B. give C. accept D. take
2.A. computer B. television C. telephone D. radio
3.A. constant B. distant C. similar D. creative
4.A. rarely B. partly C. merely D. equally
5.A. subjects B. areas C. courses D. schools
6.A. expensive B. sensitive C. effective D. active
7.A. wrong B. right C. bad D. positive
8.A. lecture B. debate C. chat D. contest
9.A. physically B. mentally C. spiritually D. commercially
10.A. better B. less C. more D. fewer
11.A. students B. teachers C. friends D. parents
12.A. go through B. watch over C. deal with D. take In
13.A. getting B. making C. looking D. setting
14.A. mistakes B. strength C. weakness D. benefit
15.A. obtained B. exposed C. lost D. preferred
16.A. careful B. attentive C. basic D. interactive
17.A. turned B. missed C. taken D. removed
18.A. avoid B. attempt C. escape D. hate
19.A. idea B. value C. form D. habit
20.A. together B. outdoors C. along D. again
It’s well-known by all the people to greet friends with a smile and a wave. 1. However, what happens if your face and body send mixed messages? Would someone tend to believe the look on your face or the way you behave?
Recently, scientists have dealt with these questions. They found that when a person is staring at your face, he might not believe what he sees if your body doesn’t match the feeling that your face shows. 2. Previous study had showed that the tone of a person’s voice can be more important than the words spoken. For example, most people are more likely not to believe a person who says in a flat voice, "I’m so excited."
When talking about emotions conveyed by facial expressions and body language, most scientists suspected that the face was more important. To test if this was true, psychologists from the Netherlands and Boston showed people a number of pictures of isolated faces and isolated bodies that showed anger or fear, 3.
An angry face had low eyebrows and tight lips. A frightened face had high eyebrow and a slightly open mouth, 4. A scared body had arms forward and shoulders square, as if ready to fight back.
These results told the researchers that mixed messages can confuse people. Even when people
pay attention to the face, body language surely influences the emotion they read.
5. And if you want to be understood it helps to avoid sending mixed messages.
A. Studying such mixed messages is nothing new for scientists.
B. So, your body language is important for telling people your feelings.
C. Scientists feel new to study the mixed message that puzzles people,
D. An angry body had arms back and shoulders at an angle, as if ready to fight.
E. Body language can sometimes be misunderstood in different culture backgrounds.
F. They also showed pictures where angry or scared faces were paired with angry or scared bodies.
G. When doing this, your face and body work together to show your friends that you are happy to see them.
Why do so many tourists come to Easter Island? Because it has world-famous stone statues (雕像) . These statues, whose likenesses look like humans with huge stone cylinders（柱状物）balancing on their heads like hats, have tourists coming from all over the world. The tourists come to see these works of ancient art carved by the early inhabitants of the island. They come to see the mystery that has puzzled historians for decades.
Easter Island is located in a remote part Of the South Pacific Ocean about 2,300 miles west of Chile. Easter Island covers just 45 square miles and its Polynesian name is Rapa Nui.
On Easter Sunday 1722, a Dutch explorer named Jacob Roggeveen was the first European to see Easter Island. The early Polynesians carved the statues within the holes of the volcano (火山) using only stone tools. Then they moved these huge statues to various destinations throughout the island. These 600 statues range in height from 10 to 40 feet. Some of them weigh as much as 50 tons. How could the early Polynesians lift hundreds of heavy statues out of the volcano? How did they move them across the island to their various locations? All of these questions, as well as many others, remain unanswered.
The early islanders probably worshiped (崇拜) these eyeless giants until sometime around 1670. In 1680, a war broke out between two groups of islanders. The victors（胜利者）of the war and ancestors of the present inhabitants, broke down many of the statues. In most cases, they broke the necks of the statues.
Now 15 of the statues on Easter Island have been repaired to their original positions on their stone platforms. Even today, using modern tools and machinery, putting up such large statues and balancing cylinders on top of their heads presents a challenging task.
1.What do we know about Easter Island?
A. It is a big island of Chile.
B. It is located in North Pacific Ocean
C. Its early inhabitants were Polynesians
D. It was named after a Dutch explorer
2.Scientists are still uncertain about .
A. why people built the statues
B. how people transported the statues
C. where people made the statues
D. how many statues there are on the island
3.What happened in 1680?
A. The islanders started a war against outsiders
B. Another 15 statues were put up
C. People began to worship the statues
D. Many statues were damaged
4.The purpose of the text is to .
A. inform B. advertise
C. entertain D. persuade
What are the biggest problems that society will have to deal with in the new age? There re diseases like AIDS and cancer. There’s climate change, of course. And what about producing enough cheap food and energy for the world’s growing population? Who’s going to solve all these terrible problems? Yes, politicians and world leaders will have a big part to play. Yes businesses will need to create the economic wealth to pay for some of these things. But who’s going to make a much greater difference to something like AIDS or climate change. It’s going to be a scientist. It is the scientist who can turn some new bit of science into a new technology to solve these problems. If you like thinking about the world around you, why not become a scientist? It doesn’t mean you have to wear a white coat and plastic glasses and spend all your time in a lab as most people often imagine! Scientists do all kinds of amazing things that are actually interesting!
Military scientists develop not only new weapons but new military technologies that could help make wars out of date. Forensic(法医的) scientists work with the police to find quite small clues to catch criminals. Scientists work in schools and colleges as the teachers and professors who will train tomorrow’s scientists. Don’t think a scientist is far away! Maybe you like cooking? You could be a food technologist helping to keep fruit and vegetables fresher for longer. Perhaps sport is your thing? Do you know that most top athletes work with sports scientists in order or improve their performance? You could even be the science writer who gets to spend the life studying the latest advances and sharing them with the world.
Looking for something to do for the rest of your life? My advice? Take a long and hard look at science. It is interesting and ever.
1.Many problems are mentioned in the first paragraph to .
A. suggest they are impossible to be solved
B. introduce the causes of these problems
C. show the writer’s worry about the future world
D. show scientists play an important part in solving them
2.What is needed to solve these problems? .
A. Advanced weapons B. Enough energy
C. New technologies D. A growing population
3.Most people think the life of scientists is .
A. amazing B. boring
C. colorful D. unreal
4.Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Owing to military technologies, there has been no wars
B. For those interested in cooking, food technologies may be a choice
C. Forensic scientists play an important part in dealing with crimes
D. Most athletes can achieve greater achievement with the help of sports scientists
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.
