Yu Rong, a Chinese artist, thinks of a new way to introduce 1.ancient story of Hua Mulan in her picture book. In the book, I Am Hua Mulan, she tells the story by2.(combine) paper-cutting with international artistic styles. She places Shaanxi paper-cuts over Western-style pencil sketches(素描) 3.(create) a typical presentation of Chinese elements (元素), which turns out to be a 4.(success) and impressive breakthrough.
Hua Mulan, 5.story has been told by generations in China, is a fighter from the Northern Wei Dynasty(386-534). As a devoted daughter, she dressed herself as a man to serve in the army 6.place of her father. Mulan’s characteristics, such as courage, kindness and a disinterested attitude toward fame and fortune, made 7.(she) one of the most respected historical Chinese heroines. Mulan’s story has been adapted 8.(frequent) in modern media, including TV shows, video games and literature. For example, in 1998, Disney produced a film named Mulan, which 9. (consider) a great success by critics and the public.
To better tell the story, Yu Rong takes inspiration from her several 10.(visit) to sites of ancient battles and Henan Province’s Yuju Opera. After years of preparation, she finally makes this extraordinary work.
I believe it is in my nature to dance by virtue of the beat of my heart, the pulse of my blood and the music in my mind. So I dance____.
My dining room is now a ___ballroom. Each morning when I____the house on the way to make coffee, I turn on the ___,and it's dance time! I dance alone to whatever is playing.
Tango(探戈)is a recent enthusiasm. It's a complex and___ dance. The first time I went tango dancing I was too ___to get out on the floor. ___, I stayed on edge of the dance floor when the dancing began. The fancy footwork____me. “Don't make a fool of yourself. Just____it. ” I thought.____my mind, an older woman dropped out of the____,sat down beside me, and said she had a secret for me. She____,“If you do not join the dancing, we will know you are a fool. But if you dance, we will think well of you for____” Inspired by her____words, I took up the____of tango.
A friend asked me if I was a little too____. “Tango? At your age? You must be out of your mind!" On the contrary, it’s a deeply considered____I seek the sharp, scary____that comes from beginning something new, which____all my resources and challenges my body and mind. So, when people say, “Tango? At your age?” I____answer, “Yes!”
1.A. crazily B. skillfully C. daily D. casually
2.A. private B. formal C. temporary D. grand
3.A. pass by B. walk through C. clean D. leave
4.A. light B. tap C. heat D. music
5.A. dangerous B. terrible C. difficult D. dull
6.A. scared B. excited C. foolish D. proud
7.A. Otherwise B. Still C. Instead D. Anyhow
8.A. amazed B. disappointed C. comforted D. confused
9.A. watch B. finish C. join D. stop
10.A. Occupying B. Reading C. Overlooking D. Entering
11.A. class B. show C. dance D. conversation
12.A. argued B. admitted C. declared D. whispered
13.A. trying B. waiting C. coming D. sharing
14.A. bitter B. brave C. wise D. familiar
15.A. talk B. challenge C. task D. duty
16.A. careful B. humorous C. practical D. ambitious
17.A. decision B. suggestion C. belief D. answer
18.A. security B. pleasure C. freedom D. relief
19.A. changes B. wastes C. saves D. requires
20.A. roughly B. simply C. politely D. possibly
How to Improve Your Confidence
Confidence is something that everyone admires. At some point in your life you may question your level of confidence and wish it to be higher.1.If you believe the theory that we attract into our lives who we are, then creating and keeping high levels of confidence is vital to your well-being.
Watch your intake.2.So reduce the amount of hours of soaps and reality TV each day. Read a book or magazine about a topic you are interested in. Listen to a different radio station you have not listened to before. In this way, you challenge the beliefs you hold and raise your awareness of new things.
3.Spend an allocated period of time being quiet and just reflecting on your life. Remove yourself away from others and focus on the power of silence and improve your levels of concentration.
Believe in yourself. One of the key steps in raising your level of confidence is to believe it for yourself. You need to believe, accept and be in no doubt that you are a confident person.4.Meanwhile, value the time that you spend doing this process.
Take a look around for people you admire. It can be helpful to have someone in your circle that you admire for their skills or achievements. Observe the way they face new challenges and communicate with people. You also should attend a club or a group associated with a topic you're interested in.5.
A. Spend some time being quiet.
B. In this way, your attitude is changed.
C. Spend time imagining you at your absolute best.
D. What you read, watch and listen to affects your mindset.
E. Your level of confidence affects the decisions you make in your life.
F. You'll meet new people different from your present circle of friends.
G. These are the kind of people that can help you to grow in confidence.
A few years ago, Darla Hoff painted a pumpkin face onto a round straw bale(捆)at A1 and Karen Goldman's farm in Idaho Palls to advertise her U-pick pumpkin field. While Darla has stopped growing pumpkins, the annual tradition of straw bale art lives on at the farm and has drawn friends and neighbors to participate in it. Past creations have included an owl, Minions, tractors and a teddy bear.
To make the tractors, A1 baled round straw bales in two different sizes smaller ones for the tractor's front tires and larger ones for the rear(尾部). Large square bales made up the bodies. Jerry Kienlen used his farming equipment to arrange the bales in the shape of two tractors. Then it was time to bring the tractors to life. Karen and her daughter. Lana Hedrick, secured some green paint, and A1 got some red paint. Darla's husband, James, sprayed the creation with a paint gun. For the finishing touches, Steven donated two shiny exhaust stacks (排气管),and A1 and Karen donated two steering wheels from their farm parts.
The farm's annual straw bale art projects have now become a way for everyone to celebrate the end of another growing season. It's just something fun to do together after harvest. This neighborhood has always been close. Generations of these families have grown crops in this soil. Raised on the farms where they live now, they grew up together as their elders did before. A1 and Karen are truly super neighbors. Every year they also grow about two acres of corn to give away. Anyone can pick some, or A1 and Karen will even deliver. And during long Idaho winters, everyone gathers at the farm to enjoy fresh coffee and cookies.
This year's straw hale creation theme is Straw Wars. And all eyes will be on A1 and Karen's farm as their creation takes shape.
1.Why did Darla paint a pumpkin face onto a straw bale?
A. To recycle straw bales.
B. To please his neighbors.
C. To create a new tradition.
D. To make an advertisement.
2.What does the underlined phrase “the creation" in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. The straw bale tires.
B. The square straw bales.
C. The straw bale tractors.
D. The farming equipment.
3.What do local people think of the straw bale art show?
A. It needs something fun.
B. It’s a good way to celebrate harvest.
C. It makes A1 and Karen famous in the town.
D. It stands for the beginning of a new season.
4.What kind of neighbors are A1 and Karen according to Paragraph 3?
A. Generous. B. Creative.
C. Funny. D. Determined.
☞文章内容To make the tractors, Al baled round straw bales in two different sizes- smaller ones for the tractor's front tires and larger ones for the rear(尾部).得知他们都在制作圆草捆拖拉机。
The arm bones of women who lived 7-000 years ago show a surprising level of strength-even higher than today's professional athletes. That's according to a first-ever study comparing prehistoric(史前的)bones to those of living people. The finding suggests a revision of history — the everyday lives of prehistoric women were filled with hard labor, rather than just sitting at home doing lighter tasks while the men struggled and fought for life.
“Before the study, there are no clear records describing how our ancient ancestors lived. It can be easy to forget that bone is a living tissue, one that responds to the difficulties we put our bodies through,” said lead author Alison Macintosh. “Physical force and muscle activity both put pressure on the bone. The bone reacts by changing in shape, thickness and other aspects over time. ”
Previous studies only compared female bones to contemporary male bones, the researchers said — and that's a problem, because the response of male bones to stress and change is much bigger than that of women. For instance, as humans moved from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle constantly on the move to a more settled agrarian (农耕的)one, changes can be observed in the structure of the shinbone (胫骨) 一 and these changes were much more evident in men.
However, a comparison of the bones of prehistoric women to the bonos of living female athletes can help us work out a more accurate picture of what those prehistoric women were doing. “By analyzing the bones of living people and comparing them to the ancient hones, we can start to explain the kinds of labor our ancestors were performing,” Macintosh said. What they found was that women's leg strength hasn’t changed a great deal, but their arms used to be very powerful. Prehistoric women, the researchers found, had arm strength 11〜16 percent stronger than those of modern rowers, and 30 percent stronger than those of non-athletes.
1.What does the study tell about prehistoric women?
A. They were stronger than men.
B. They had lighter bones than men.
C. They did tough tasks as the men.
D. They spent most time staying at home.
2.What problem did previous studies on prehistoric bones have?
A. They lacked enough comparison.
B. They only studied men's bones.
C. They focused little on bones.
D. They ignored the lifestyles.
3.What does the underlined word “that” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Bones’ structure.
B. Bones' thickness.
C. Bones’ response to stress.
D. Bones’ stress from hard labor.
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. It’s still hard to explain our ancestors' lifestyle.
B. Prehistoric women went through much suffering.
C. Women's arms have become much stronger over time.
D. Prehistoric women are stronger than contemporary females.
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
