Many years ago, I was working in an office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We had large ________ that look out over a busy street. I was standing by one of those windows one day when a woman in a ________ car looked up and made eye contact. Naturally I _______. As she turned and tried to identify me, a quiet laugh_________my lips. My co-workers began taking an interest, and stood back watching the _________ I received, and laughing happily. Then the stress of work was _________ away.
Christmas approached, and job ________ were announced. Several of my co-workers were losing their jobs, and everyone was _________. While I was working a night shift, a red jacket , a box of foam packing and strips of tape in the corner caught my __________. They could be Santa’s jacket and beard! Then I folded a red file into a hat and tied the _________ to it. With the red jacket , a Santa’s Costume appeared.
The next day I walked _______down into the office in the costume. My co-workers ________around me and laughed for the first time in weeks. Suddenly, my boss came to me, _______, shook his head and then left. I feared________. Then the phone rang.
With a bead of sweat __________ my forehead, I entered the boss’ office . _________, he laughed: “Thanks, Mike! It’s been hard to enjoy the Christmas season. Thanks for the laugh. I _________it.”
That evening, I stood ______ by the window and waved at my fans, with my heart ________ with joy. For a few minutes of that day, we’d been able to forget our __________.
1.A. balcony B. windows C. roof D. curtain
2.A. working B. wandering C. passing D. following
3.A. waved B. welcomed C. shouted D. shook
4.A. obtained B. locked C. grasped D. escaped
5.A. concerns B. feelings C. responses D. actions
6.A. given B. turned C. washed D. put
7.A. loads B. time C. arrangement D. cuts
8.A. depressed B. excited C. confused D. awkward
9.A. notice B. attention C. appreciation D. consideration
10.A. jacket B. tie C. vest D. beard
11.A. sadly B. nervously C. embarrassedly D. bravely
12.A. got B. gathered C. turned D. presented
13.A. approached B. backed off C. stepped in D. paused
14.A. responsibility B. difficulty C. trouble D. mistake
15.A. pulling B. rolling down C. flowing D. moving on
16.A. lastly B. Thus C. Instead D. However
17.A. needed B. claimed C. declared D. shared
18.A. proudly B. carefully C. hopefully D. silently
19.A. filled B. covered C. equipped D. loaded
20.A. weakness B. faults C. losses D. changes
The running of the bulls is a nine-day traditional Spanish festival in honor of Saint Fermin in Pamplona. Every year, at midday on July 6th, the Mayor of Pamplona shoots a rocket. 1. The participants are usually dressed in white and wear red neckchiefs and belts. They open champagne(香槟酒) mostly used for sprinkling(撒) other people.
2. It starts every day at eight in the morning and the runners run, sometimes wildly, sometimes less. As a sign that the run has begun they shoot the first rocket. Then they shoot the second one when the bulls are out in the streets. Six bulls which are trying to attack the participants from behind run down the 900-meter-long street to the bullring with a lot of spectators. 3. All of the six bulls are going to be killed at the bullfight in the stadium.
The bullfight in the stadium begins at half past six in the afternoon. First, there comes the first bull. There is also a person called “picador”.4.That makes the bull very wild and it starts to run all over the stadium. Later when the bull is tired, there comes another person----a “matador” who kills it with an arrow. 5. At the end of the celebration, another rocket is shot as a sign that the bullfight is finished.
A. It makes the bull very nervous.
B. It is one of the greatest events in the city.
C. The main event is the running of the bulls.
D. He waves a red cloth in front of the bull.
E. This is a sign that the celebration has started.
F. The participants can get hurt or even killed.
G. The same thing happens with the other five bulls.
The year 2114 will be an eventful one for art. In May of that year in Berlin, the philosopher-artist Jonathon Keats’ “century cameras” – cameras with a 100-year-long exposure (曝光）time – will be brought back from hiding places around the city to have their results developed and exhibited. Six months after that, the Future Library in Oslo, Norway, will open its doors for the first time, presenting 100 books printed on the wood of trees planted in the distant past of 2014.
As Katie Paterson, the creator of the Future Library, puts it: “Future Library is an artwork for future generations.” These projects, more than a century in the making, are part of a new wave of “slow art” intended to push viewers and participants to think beyond their own lifetimes. They aim to challenge today’s short-term thinking and the brief attention spans of modern consumers, forcing people into considering works more deliberately. In their way, too, they are fighting against modern culture – not just regarding money, but also the way in which artistic worth is measured by attention.
In a similar fashion, every April on Slow Art Day, visitors are encouraged to stare at five works of art for 10 minutes at a time – a tough task for the average museum visitor, who typically spends less than 30 seconds on each piece of art.
Like the Future Library, the century cameras are very much a project for cities, since it’s in cities that time runs fastest and the pace of life is fastest. “Since I started living in a city, I’ve somehow been quite disconnected,” Anne Beate Hovind, the Future Library project manager, who described how working on the library drew her back to the pace of life she knew when she was growing up on a farm in her youth, told The Atlantic magazine.
1.According to the first paragraph, what will NOT happen in 2114 ?
A. A camera which was produced 100 years ago will be exhibited.
B. The Future Library will be open to the public for the first time.
C. Photos with a 100-year exposure time will be developed and exhibited.
D. Books printed on the wood of trees planted in 2014 will be displayed.
2.What can we learn about today’s people’s attitude toward works of art?
A. They consider works deliberately.
B. They spend little time on works.
C. They spend much money on works.
D. They stare at works for 10 minutes at a time.
3.What is the purpose of the wave of slow art?
A. To advocate creating works of art slowly.
B. To protect works of art from being damaged.
C. To promote works of art for modern culture.
D. To encourage people to consider works more deliberately.
4.How would Anne Beate Hovind feel about the city life?
A. It’s discouraging.
B. It’s awful.
C. It’s developed.
D. It’s busy.
Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens are to start a war on gray-headed flying foxes. These super bats have invaded one of Australia’s most famous public spaces. Officials have said the animals are destroying trees and have to move on.
These unwanted guests at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens look like tiny foxes with wings. Officials have estimated there are about 11,000 of them living in the picturesque harbor-side park. After inspecting damage to dozens of trees they now believe there are twice as many as previously thought. Branches have been breaking under the weight of these furry invaders and their droppings have been poisoning plants.
Help may well be at hand, however, in the shape of the ordinary garbage bin. The gardens’ director Dr. Tim Entwistle hopes the unpleasant sounds of crashing bin lids will agitate the flying foxes and force them to move on. “The way to disturb them is to use noises, so we’ve used the loud noises made by rubbish bins in the past. You can also use speakers as long as you move the noise around, and what we’ll do is have a series of noises, at the beginning and end of the day. What we’ve found in the past is that the flying foxes leave the gardens and go somewhere else,” said Tim.
The gray-headed flying fox is Australia’s largest bat. It flies around at night using its eyes and a powerful sense of smell to search for fruit and flowers. Officials at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney have said they’re optimistic the unwelcome colony can be uprooted. If and when the bats do move to other parts of the city they will of course then become someone else’s problem.
1.According to the passage, Why do people want to get rid of the flying foxes ?
A. Because the garden are important public places.
B. Because they are polluting the city.
C. Because many garbage bins have been damaged by them.
D. Because they’re threatening the survival of trees and other plants.
2.In order to get rid of the flying foxes, what are people doing?
A. They are shooting them.
B. They are using rubbish containers.
C. They are shaking the trees hard.
D. They are cutting some trees down.
3.Which of the following can replace the underlined “agitate” in Paragraph 3?
A. Excite B. kill
C. disturb D. discourage
4.What does the writer imply from the last paragraph?
A. The bats will still stay in the gardens.
B. Some area will have to deal with the bats.
C. The grey-headed flying fox often eat trees
D. The damage caused by the bats is serious
I am astonished at the way God knows when to send a special gift of encouragement at just the right time! It might be in a dream, a lost letter, a memory, or something found that we’d forgotten about.
My grandmother was from a town in Michigan. And summer after summer I enjoyed staying with my grandparents as a young child. I was from the city and loved the small town where they lived. People knew everyone, their children, their pets, their ancestors.
Grandma was always using her hands for something exciting... she would make sandwiches and we’d have tea parties, plant flowers and carefully tend them. She loved knitting sweaters as well as making beautiful quilts for her grandchildren. I remember the small thimble (顶针) she would place on her finger while doing her needlework.
A few years ago, when Grandma left this earth for her new residence in Heaven, I bid farewell to my loving grandmother. How quickly our lives can change! We had just had tea together a couple of months earlier, on her 91st birthday. I missed her very much, but I noticed it mostly on my birthdays, because there was no card from Grandma. She’d never forgotten my birthday!
On one particular birthday when I was feeling a little low, something happened made me feel as if she was sharing that special day with me. I was arranging some colorful pillows that she had made, and suddenly I felt something inside one pillow; it was small and hard. I moved the object to a seam（缝）that I carefully opened, and, to my delight, out came a tiny silver thimble!
How happy I was to find something that had been a part of her! Not realizing it had fallen off her finger, I pictured her sewing it into that little pillow that I just happened to fluff（抖松）, to place on my bedspread（床罩）that day. I carefully laid the thimble alongside the others I’d collected over the years. What a precious memory of a very special lady who, somehow, I knew, was laughing in delight at sewing her thimble into my pillow. I heated the kettle and made some tea, using my best china, as Grandma always did, and then enjoyed my tea and Grandma’s thimble. What a wonderful birthday that was!
1.In the author’s memory, what would her grandmother do?
A. She would make sandwiches and hamburgers for her family.
B. She would wear a thimble for needlework every day.
C. She would make beautiful quilts for money.
D. She would look after the flowers in the garden.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. The modern world’s fast-changing life.
B. The fact that the grandmother had passed away.
C. The author’s missing her grandmother.
D. The love the author got from her grandmother.
3.How did the author feel when she found the thimble?
A. Surprised and joyful. B. Delighted but regretful.
C. Guilty and sad. D. Joyful but lonely.
4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A. Grandma’s Thimble.
B. Grandma’s Life Story.
C. The Joy of Finding Something Lost.
D. The Importance of Putting Things Away.
Starting Cycling
We have two services designed to give people the confidence and knowledge to cycle successfully.
Lessons
All our instructors have been trained to National Standards level of “Bikeability”. This means you will be trained to a standard consistent across the whole country.
There are 3 levels of skills to progress through. Children would start with levels 1 & 2, progressing from the playground or park to cycle on less busy local roads. Teenager and adult beginners can also learn levels 1 & 2 in an off-road and quiet environment.
Confident teenagers and adults can broaden their skills by learning level 3, using multi-lane (多道) roads and larger roundabouts (环岛). We provide both a complete package of lessons for the beginner or individual lessons tailored to the client. You can ride a bike but don’t feel confident about right turns on multi-lane roads. Whatever the need
we can address and practice until perfect!
Everyone can be taught to ride a bike!
We train both adults and children.
We cover London Zones 1 & 2
The cost is ￡30 per hour.
Guided Ride
We know that riding on the roads in London can be scary, and if you have to navigate (确定行车路线) as well it can become a real hard task! The Guided Ride service takes all the stress out of it for you by providing the following:
Route planned in advance to suit your skill level. Route map provided to you.
Cycle and equipment checked. We will teach you a simple method to check basic roadworthiness (车辆性能) of your bike that you can perform on a weekly basis.
Route discussed and focus given to any areas requiring special attention.
Cycle along with the instructor close behind. Here the traffic can be controlled by the instructor and rider observed.
Occasionally stopping to discuss events.
We currently cover London Zones 1 & 2. Please contact us if your requirements are outside of these areas.
Cost ￡30
1.Where can Level 1 & 2 lessons for adult beginners be carried out？
A. Off road.
B. Near large roundabouts.
C. On busy local roads.
D. On multi-lane roads.
2.What service does the Guided Ride mainly provide?.
A. They help you to be familiar with London roads.
B. They check your cycle and equipment every week.
C. They let users experience the busiest road in London.
D. They ensure users ride safely in London Zones 1 & 2.
3.Who is the text probably intended for ?
A. Bike riding lovers.
B. Children and teenagers.
C. Travelers in London.
D. Parents loving cycling.
