Recently I was shopping in the local Walmart. There I _________ a former coworker. We started _________ about old times when we worked together at the store. Looking at her I could _________ that she was not in the best of health so I asked, “When are you going to _________?” She told me with tears in her eyes that she had _________ retired but had to come back to _________ because she couldn’t make ends meet with her retirement _________. I told her how sorry I was and left the store.
A week later, I was _________ to have a little extra cash and I was looking for someone to _________ it with. It wasn’t a ton of money __________ it was more than what I had and I wanted to show my __________ by giving a bit of it to someone else. I was __________ at Walmart again and I noticed the same __________ I had talked to a week earlier.
As soon as I __________ her I thought she could be one of the people I share my blessing with. I walked up to her. I __________ her by name and asked her, “If 1 __________ you something, will you keep it and not try to give it back?” She __________ at me, puzzled and said yes. At the same __________ I reached in my pocket and pulled out a $100 bill and put it in her hand. When she saw what it was she looked __________ and asked “Why me?” I saw her tears rolling down her face.
I walked away because I __________ myself about to cry.
1.A. ran into B. turned to C. cared about D. suffered from
2.A. complaining B. talking C. quarrelling D. thinking
3.A. debate B. doubt C. sense D. consider
4.A. retire B. change C. leave D. improve
5.A. exactly B. honestly C. hardly D. actually
6.A. wait B. work C. escape D. survive
7.A. time B. offer C. cost D. income
8.A. fancy B. certain C. confident D. fortunate
9.A. share B. keep C. count D. waste
10.A. for B. and C. so D. but
11.A. savings B. possession C. blessing D. congratulations
12.A. wandering B. resting C. shopping D. applying
13.A. stranger B. lady C. saleswoman D. customer
14.A. saw B. judged C. ignored D. encouraged
15.A. praised B. called C. introduced D. reminded
16.A. give B. return C. show D. borrow
17.A. glared B. looked C. shouted D. laughed
18.A. hour B. day C. store D. moment
19.A. terrified B. entertained C. shocked D. annoyed
20.A. calmed B. limited C. felt D. admitted
Compared to the history of China, the history of the United States is quite short. 1. In 1776, 13 colonies（殖民地）located on the eastern coast of North America declared independence and fought a revolution against the British. In 1783 the colonists won the revolution and gained their independence.
After the revolution, the United States bought a large section of country from Napoleon of France. This purchase doubled（加倍）the size of the United States. 2. If he hadn’t needed that money, the United States might have stayed a small country. Texas and most of what is now the southwestern part of the United States belonged to Mexico. The people of Texas fought a revolution against Mexico. 3. Later, the United States and Mexico went to war. If Mexico had defeated the United States in that war, California and New Mexico would have been part of Mexico today.
The British and the Americans both claimed the northwestern part of the country. They settled their differences with a compromise. South of the 49th parallel was the United States. North of the 49th parallel was Canada. In 1861 one half of the United States did go to war with the other half. 4. President Lincoln wanted to free slaves. He was supported by the North but opposed by the South. The South wanted to separate from the rest of the country and become independent. 5.
Following the Civil War, the United States bought Alaska from Russia. Today it is the largest state in the country and a very important one, too.
A. This was the Civil War.
B. It was controlled by England then.
C. It began little more than 200 years ago.
D. After 4 years of war, the South was defeated.
E. Napoleon needed money for his European wars.
F. They became independent and joined the United States.
G. At that time many people didn’t think Alaska was important.
You may be surprised to learn that English gets 30 to 45 percent of its words from French. The reason goes back to the year 1066, when Norman forces invaded（入侵）what is now Britain. The Normans were from northern France and spoke French. During the Norman occupation, French became the language of England’s rulers and wealthy class. This lasted for more than 300 years. Other people in England continued to speak English during this period.
Over time, the two languages combined and shared words. Some researchers believe that about 10,000 French words eventually entered the English language. However, although English took many French words, their meanings have not always stayed the same. Sometimes the differences in meanings can be very important, and lead to funny or strange situations if the words are used in the wrong way.
Take, for example, the French word college. In English, college can often be used in place of the word university, or sometimes as a school within a university. However, in French, college actually means “middle school”, or the level of schooling for students in grades five or six through eight.
There are many other similar words in the two languages with completely different meanings. In English, the word chat is a verb which means “to talk casually”; but in French, the word chat is the word for an animal: a cat.
If an English speaker says someone is jolly, that means they are cheerful or friendly. But in French, jolie means someone is good-looking or pleasant to look at. In any case, both are nice things to say to someone.
1.What does the author stress about the French words in English?
A. Their spelling forms. B. Their changes in history.
C. Their puzzles for English. D. Their different meanings.
2.What does a Frenchman mean if he says he likes a chat?
A. He likes a kind of pet. B. He wants to have a talk.
C. He hates to speak English. D. He prefers to chat in French.
3.What is the French word “jolie” used to do?
A. Replace “jolly” in English. B. Describe people's looks.
C. Refer to people’s happiness. D. Prove the change in French.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. Comparison between two languages. B. Difficulty in grasping English.
C. French words in English. D. Development of English.
Even now, almost a year after their astonishing act of group heroism, the dozens of people who risked their lives to save two boys from drowning in Panama City Beach, are still remembered.
The story began on July 8, 2017. Members of the Ursrey family, eight in total, were enjoying an evening together at the beach. As the sun sank lower on the horizon（地平线）, the two boys—Noah, 11, and Stephen, 8—took their skateboards and walked into the waves without the grown-ups noticing. When the boys were about 70 yards from shore, they realized that the ocean pulled them out to sea. After trying and failing to paddle（涉水）back, they started waving and screaming for help. But the lifeguards had clocked out for the evening.
The boys had been struggling for several minutes when Brittany and Tabatha Monroe, a married couple from Georgia, wandered by. They didn’t see the boys at first, but they heard them.
They jumped into the water and easily reached the brothers, who were still in fairly shallow water. The woman reassured the frightened boys and seized their skateboards, telling them they would be safe and then discovered that they, too, were now in a world of trouble. They couldn’t get back to shore and could barely and only occasionally hit the sandy bottom with their feet. After a few minutes, it was clear to the woman that they were all trapped in a terrible whirlpool.
Then scores of tourists were walking to them, hand in hand, forming a line. Soon the first person held the woman’s hand. In turn, her husband and the two boys joined her. The long line moved slowly until they were back to the safety of the beach.
The rescuers call it the Human Chain. But it was the deeply “human” aspect of the rescuers’ cooperation（合作）that made it so astonishing and successful.
1.What happened to the two boys?
A. They got into deep sea by chance. B. They couldn’t be seen in the sea.
C. They went out without supper. D. They met with danger in the sea.
2.What does the underlined word “reassured” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. Saved. B. Comforted. C. Congratulated. D. Accompanied.
3.Which of the following best describes the water the young couple stayed in?
A. It appeared calm on the surface. B. It was very deep.
C. It was mixed with sand. D. It moved fast.
4.What made the four persons in the sea escape the risky situation?
A. Team spirit. B. Confidence. C. Good luck. D. Bravery.
Rescue officials in Poland are working quickly to clear one of the country’s highways. The roadway is covered with a sticky brown material. It is blocking cars from both directions.
What is causing the mess? Milk chocolate. The problems began early Wednesday, after a huge truck carrying many tons of liquid chocolate overturned. Chocolate spilled out. It spread across six driveways of Poland’s A2 highway.
The liquid chocolate solidified（凝固）as it cooled, causing even more difficulties. The accident happened near the western Polish town of Slupca. Bogdan Kowalski is with the fire fighters of Slupca. He told the Associated Press that “the cooling chocolate is worse than snow”.
Videos published on social media showed rescuers and cleaners were trying to move the sticky brown mess with a bulldozer（推土机）.
The private Polish broadcaster TVN24 reported that the driver of the truck was taken to a hospital with a broken arm. The accident happened in the morning when there was little traffic. Nobody else was harmed.
The sticky situation became a hot topic on social media. Some people offered to help the clean-up workers by eating the chocolate themselves.
Marlene Kukawa is a media officer for Slupea police. She told the New York Times that rescue workers needed to remove the truck from the highway first. “The cleanup”, she said at the time, “will take a few hours or more.” She added that accidents are rare in this part of the A2 highway. And, she told the New York Times, she is sure the area has never experienced something quite like a huge chocolate spill.
1.What caused the traffic trouble?
A. A broken-down car. B. Cars stuck on the highway.
C. Serious traffic accidents. D. The liquid chocolate.
2.What made the situation even worse?
A. The difficulty to get rid of the chocolate. B. Fear caused by videos on social media.
C. The chocolate becoming hard. D. Snow falling on the highway.
3.Why did some people offer to eat the chocolate?
A. To avoid wasting the chocolate. B. To reduce loss for the driver.
C. To play a joke. D. To solve the problem.
4.What did Marlene Kukawa think of the incident?
A. It happened very rarely. B. It was the most serious accident.
C. It was unexpected by other drivers. D. It was lucky that no one was killed.
Favorite Books for Kids
◆Me and Marvin Gardens by A. S. King Image Source: Scholastic This middle-grade novel is perfect for introducing kids to recycling, but with a fun science fiction story. Obe lives on his family’s farmhouse that was built a hundred years ago-and now it’s being taken over by developers. While adventuring on the land, he discovers a creature, Marvin Gardens, which only eats plastic. Kids will love this charming story. Available from Amazon, $11.89 |
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◆Wrinkle in Time: A Guide to the Universe by Kari Sutherland Image Source: Disney Publishing World Wide Kids may get excited to see A Wrinkle in Time. While the original novel may be too hard of a read for them right now, they can dive into the fantastical world the film takes place in with this awesome guide to the characters and locations. Available from Amazon on March 6, $11.04 |
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◆Rivers of Sunlight by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm Image Source: Scholastic Get kids going green with a little help from this educational picture book! Filled with excellent artwork and helpful explanations, these pages are filled with important lessons about the Earth. Kids will learn about how the sun keeps the ocean currents（流）moving and how the sun can power all living things—it’s pretty amazing. Available from Amazon, $7.67 |
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◆How to Code a Sandcastle by Josh Funk Image Source: Penguin Random House Pearl’s sandcastle keeps getting ruined by puppies (who could be mad at that?). So she teams up with her Robot friend Pascal to solve the problem with code(编码). Combining the fun of building a sandcastle with the discovery of coding, a future engineer will love paging through this story. Available from Amazon on May15, $16.99 |
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1.What can kids benefit from Me and Marvin Gardens?
A. Learning the skill of building farmhouses.
B. Developing awareness of environmental protection.
C. Enjoying natural beauty of the countryside.
D. Forming the interest in exploring the secret of nature.
2.What do you know about How to Code a Sandcastle?
A. It describes a means of problem solving. B. It shows the work of a future engineer.
C. It is the cheapest of the four books. D. It is a bit hard to read.
3.Which of the following deals with the movement of water on the earth?
A. A Wrinkle in Time. B. River of Sunlight.
C. Me and Marvin Gardens. D. How to Code a Sandcastle.
