My motivation for starting our family tradition of reading in the car was purely selfish: I could not bear listening to A Sesame Street Christmas for another 10 hours. My three children had been addicted to this cassette on our previous summer's road trip.
As I began to prepare for our next 500-mile car trip,I came across a book Jim Trelease's The Read Aloud Handbook. This could be the answer to my problem, I thought. So I put Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach into my bag. When I began to read aloud the tale of the boy who escapes the bad guys by hiding inside a giant peach, my three kids argued and wrestled in their seats. But after several lines, they were attracted into the rhythm of the words and began to listen.
We soon learned that the simple pleasure of listening to a well-written book makes the long miles pass more quickly. Sometimes the books we read became highlights of the trip. I read Wilson Rawls's Summer of the Monkeys as we spent two days driving to the beach. We arrived just behind the power crews restoring(恢复)electricity after a tropical storm. The rain continued most of the week, and the beach was covered with oil washed up by the storm. When we returned home, I asked my son what he liked about the trip. He answered without hesitation, “The book you read in the car. ”
Road trips still offer challenges, even though my children now are teenagers. But we continue to read as we roll across the country. And I'm beginning to see that reading aloud has done more than help pass the time. For at least a little while, we are not shut in our own electronic worlds. And maybe we've started something that will pass on to the next generation.
1.Why did the author start reading in the car?
A. She wanted to have a better journey.
B. She wanted to keep a family tradition.
C. Her children were addicted to reading.
D. Her children were tired of the cassette.
2.How did the children react after the author read a few lines?
A. They kept fighting.
B. I hey hid themselves.
C. They soon settled clown.
D. 丁hey read together aloud.
3.What can we learn about the author and her family’s trip to the beach?
A. They were caught in a storm.
B. They enjoyed reading on the road.
C. They had a good time on the beach.
D. They thought it had passed too quickly.
4.Which can be the best title for the text?
A. Better Traveling than Reading
B. Books that Changed My Children
C. Road Trips Full of Challenges
D. Reading Makes Great Road Trips
Lost cities that have been found
The White City
In 2015, a team of explorers to Honduras in search of “the Lost City of the Monkey God” led to the discovery of the White City. They found the ruins in the Mosquitia region of the Central American country — which is known for poisonous snakes, vicious jaguars and deadly insects. It is believed that local people hid here when the Spanish conquerors(征服者)occupied their homeland in the 16th century.
Canopus and Heracleion
Modern researchers were teased by the ancient writings about the Egyptian cities Canopus and Heracleion — where Queen Cleopatra often visited. But the cities weren't found until 1992, when a search in Alexandria waters found that the two cities had been flooded for centuries. Artifacts(史前器物)showed that the cities once highly developed as a trade network, which helped researchers piece together more about the last queen of Egypt.
Machu Picchu
A Yale professor discovered “the Lost City in the Clouds” in 1911. A combination palaces, plazas, temples and homes, Machu Picchu displays the Inca Empire at the height of its rule. The city, which was abandoned in the 16th century for unknown reasons, was hidden by the local people from the Spanish conquerors for centuries, keeping it so well preserved.
Troy
The ancient city of Troy in Homer's The Iliad was considered a fictional setting for his characters to run wild. But in 1871, explorations in northwestern Turkey exposed nine ancient cities layered(层叠)on top of each other, the earliest dating back to about 5,000 years before. It was later determined that the sixth or seventh layer contained the lost city of Troy and that it was actually destroyed by an earthquake, not a wooden horse.
1.Why did people hide in the White City in the 16th century?
A. To survive the war.
B. To search for a lost city.
C. To protect their country.
D. To avoid dangerous animals.
2.Which of the following was related to a royal family member?
A. The White City.
B. Canopus and Heracleion.
C. Machu Picchu.
D. Troy.
3.What can we learn about Troy?
A. It was built by Homer.
B. It consisted of nine cities.
C. It had a history of 5,000 years.
D. It was ruined by a natural disaster.
假定你是李华,你们学校下周将举办一场以“关爱动物”为主题的宣传活动,学生自己设计海报并展览。你的朋友Lisa对此很感兴趣,请你用英语给她写一封电子邮件,内容包括:
1. 时间与地点
2. 活动内容
注意;1. 词数100 左右;
2. 可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
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The Spring Festival, known 1. the Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on February 16th this year and 2. (mark) the start of the Year of Dog in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Meanwhile, the Spring Festival travel season, known as Chunyun in Chinese, officially begins. It is 3. time for family reunions, so millions of Chinese people will return to their hometowns or travel around the country in 4. has become the largest human migration in the world.
Around 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during the Spring Festival. Several years ago, some people had no 5. (choose) but to turn to ticket scalpers (黄牛党) for help. However, at present, unlike previous years, people find 6. much easier to get tickets. High-speed trains make trips home 7. (considerable) faster. China Railway Corp. has launched a series of 8. (service) for passengers which involve self-service counters, free smartphone apps and ubiquitous(随处可见的) travel notices, thus 9. (save) much time for the passengers. As for travel by road, the electronic toll collection system helps enhance the efficiency of travel with the system 10. (update).
Yesterday, our teacher asked us when a man could be referred to as an old man. David stood up and said people with wrinkles could be called old people, However, Mary didn’t _______ for some people may gain wrinkles at an earlier age owing to their. _______ life. Then Lily expressed her idea that those reaching their 60s or more could be called old people. However, Emily expressed her _______ and said some old people may still be energetic and trying to pursue their dreams, which makes them appear _______. The class was over and we still didn’t reach any _______, so the teacher asked us to think about it after class.
The _______ has reminded me of the saying of J. Barrymore that a man isn’t old as long as he is _______ something.
My grandma is such a woman who pursues her dream _______ when she’s 70 now. She has _______ her dream of being a painter since she was a little child. ________, because her family was poor, she had to ________ her dream and stepped into the ________ to raise money so as to support her family. Though she has ________ abandoned her dream, she could hardly find any ________ to realize it because of the tough work. ________, chance came when she retired from her work. She began taking her painting lessons ________ she had all-white hair and lots of wrinkles. At first, I was ________ her idea of attending school at so old an age, but after seeing her paint happily and enjoyably, I ________ feeling it a good choice. She seems ________ and looks fine.
So if we have our dreams and seek for them, we aren’t old. It’s when we don’t know what we want and let ________ be the center point of our lives that we can finally be regarded as the old.
1.A. respond B. agree C. identify D. understand
2.A. negative B. boring C. tough D. complex
3.A. certainty B. wish C. doubt D. concern
4.A. attractive B. young C. intelligent D. ambitious
5.A. conclusion B. contract C. decision D. destination
6.A. embarrassment B. barrier C. question D. confusion
7.A. preserving B. seeking C. treasuring D. possessing
8.A. even B. nearly C. only D. hardly
9.A. realized B. changed C. promoted D. kept
10.A. Therefore B. Instead C. Moreover D. However
11.A. give up B. search for C. put aside D. stick to
12.A. society B. reality C. world D. office
13.A. seldom B. occasionally C. already D. never
14.A. time B. excuse C. help D. money
15.A. Suddenly B. Eventually C. Soon D. Gradually
16.A. because B. once C. though D. unless
17.A. with B. for C. at D. against
18.A. risked B. rejected C. continued D. began
19.A. energetic B. gentle C. optimistic D. wealthy
20.A. achievements B. regrets C. dreams D. difficulties
Technological innovation (创新)may not give you a warm feeling. 1. Messaging apps are examples of technology that are helping bring people together. It’s ready to continue improving our lives as innovation allows technology to really understand how we live.
2.
Some of the most popular and widely adopted innovations make things we’re already doing easier. A well-designed piece of technology can transform something that consumes time into a worry-free swipe of your finger, giving you more time to spend with friends and family.
Proving that you really are you
Developers keep finding new and brilliant ways to prove our identities online. With fingerprints and voice recognition, technology keeps getting better at proving we are who we say we are. 3.. The more trust we have, the easier it will be to fully embrace the empowering aspects of fintech (金融科技) and having control of our financial data.
Helping make good ideas a reality
Crowdfunding (众筹) technology keeps breaking down barriers that may have previously kept good ideas from being realized. Here’s how it works: You pitch (拋) your project to people through an online platform. 4.. By connecting dreamers and inventors to a new type of capital, technology is giving more creative ideas their opportunity to become a reality.
Adding even more quality to quality time
As technology continues improving, it becomes easier to build and maintain a connection with someone who isn’t in the same location as you. 5.. And think about how great it will be when you can interact with your friends and relatives in virtual reality. It will be the next best thing to being together in person.
A. Sparing some time to make researches
B. Freeing up more time for friends and family
C. However, when at its best, it opens our eyes to many things
D. Actually, it can do wonders . to deepen our interpersonal connections
E. That technology can make it easier to trust the connections we make online
F. If they are interested in your project, they donate money to fund your project
G. Think about how much easier it is to connect via video conferencing than before