I have two kids, a boy and a girl. I don't worry about my girl; I'm sure she'll be well trained in mixed martial arts. I worry about my son. I'm pretty sure he's going to be feminine (女性化的). Sorry to say that, but let's face it. No dad wants his son to go feminine.
At the rate we're moving in a couple of years you won't be able to tell the difference between boys and girls. Sound extreme? Think about this. In every movie where advanced time-traveling beings come to our planet there's one constant: You can't tell the male aliens from the female aliens!
But that's the future. Kids today are soft and fat. People ask why. Is it junk food? No. Junk food has been around for fifty years. Is it video games? No. Video games have been around for thirty years. None of the kids playing them back in the day were terribly obese. We're all scratching our heads trying to figure out what we've introduced to society to ruin our kids. But it's not anything we've added that has ruined our kids. It's stuff we've gotten rid of.
Take the gym rope for example. Remember that thing that stretched from the floor to the ceiling in your gym class that you could never climb? Most of the kids couldn't make it to the top. But that wasn't the point; the point was you had to try while some middle-aged guy who couldn't make it up a flight of stairs shouted at you. We should have put our son on that rope, and given him a head start, But we didn't want to shame the boy, so we took it down.
Taking down the rope would be a good idea if there were no ropes in life. But they're everywhere. You just can't see them. They're in every goal unrealized and expectation not met. The point everyone missed about the rope is you weren't supposed to make it to the top. It was there to create a fire that burned in the oversized belly of every kid.
1.What is the example of aliens used to show?
A. Girls are growing like boys. B. Boys are going feminine.
C. There are really time-traveling beings. D. Alien movies are popular with children.
2.What causes kids today to be soft and fat?
A. Junk food. B. Video games.
C. Stuff introduced to society. D. Things removed from society.
3.How does the author find teenagers today?
A. They have too much dignity. B. They are overprotected.
C. They are less independent. D. They are thought too highly of.
4.What does the rope probably symbolize?
A. Goals. B. Expectations.
C. Competition. D. Assistance.
Most heroes are not super. They don’t appear in comic books, on television, or in movies. They just do what they believe needs to be done to make their world a better place. Bike Batman is one of them.
Bike Batman is a 30-year-old married engineer who lives in Seattle, Washington. He’s a cyclist who also buys and sells bikes as a hobby.
About three years ago, he was looking for a bike for his wife. He found one on Craigslist, a website where people list things they want to sell. As he often does, he also looked at Bike Index, a popular website that allows users to register their bikes and post reports when they’re taken. The bike, which he was considering purchasing, clearly matched one reported stolen on Bike Index. Then he called the person who claimed to be the bike’s owner and arranged to meet him— supposedly to complete the sale. When the two men met, Bike Batman told the thief, “You’ve got two options. You can wait until a police officer gets here, or you can just get out of here.” You can imagine what the thief did.
After that first success, Bike Batman developed a safer routine. When he sees questionable bike ads on Craigslist, he cross-references the image with bikes reported on Bike Index. Once he has confirmed it with the owner, he arranges a meet-up with the thief and will call the Seattle police department so that officers can participate in the action. In more than half of the 22 cases in which he has got back and returned bikes, the thieves have been arrested. In one case, Bike Batman even helped a family recover a wide range of prized possessions that suspects had stolen during a home burglary.
His nickname came from a discussion with a police officer who suggested he be called “Robin Hood”. Since he wasn’t exactly stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, “Batman” seemed a better fit. The idea of a superhero punishing criminals feels pretty silly to him, but the main reason he continues his work is to keep up Seattle’s reputation as a friendly city.
1.What is Bike Batman?
A. A superhero. B. A website manager.
C. A Seattle citizen. D. A police officer.
2.What will Bike Batman first do when he discovers a questionable bike?
A. Arrange to meet the thief.
B. Call the police department.
C. Contact the owner of the stolen bike.
D. Look up the bike’s information on Bike Index.
3.Why does Bike Batman help find the lost bikes?
A. To become famous. B. To help poor people.
C. To punish bike thieves. D. To build a friendly city.
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A. the thieves refused to return the bikes.
B. the police failed to perform their duties.
C. Bike Batman began his good deeds by accident.
D. Bike Batman felt relieved to see the thieves arrested.
Sydney Trains is one of the most economical, reliable and convenient ways to travel throughout Sydney and its surrounds.
Our network, the NSW Trains Intercity, covers suburban Sydney and extends to the Hunter, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands and South Coast regions.
The network is made up of several colour-coded lines. Trains from different lines can share the same platform, so check display screen and listen to announcements.
Ticket prices are generally based on the distance traveled. You can visit Transportnsw. Info for details.
Getting to the City
In Sydney, if you’re near a train station, you’re on your way to the city. Every rail line leads directly or indirectly to the City Circle. It’s the loop around the central business district of Sydney. Most City stations are underground so look out for the sign on street level.
Automatic ticket gates
Large stations have automatic gates for entry to, and exit from, the station. If you have an Opal card or a ticket which has a magnetic stripe (磁条) you must use the automatic gates. You may use the wide gate for wheelchair, pram or luggage access. Station staff will assist you.
Night Ride buses
Most trains do not operate between midnight and 4:00 a.m. For your convenience a special Night Ride bus service is available between these hours on most Sydney suburban lines.
Track work
In order for the tracks to the maintained, we sometimes have to replace train with buses, particularly at weekends. Please check the track work section for the latest service changes on your line.
1.How do travelers get more information about ticket prices?
A. They can go to the City Circle. B. They can visit a website.
C. They can check display screen. D. They can listen to announcements.
2.What service is offered to travelers in need at most big stations?
A. A free Opal card. B. Earlier entry to the station.
C. Help from station workers. D. A ticket with a magnetic stripe.
3.Which is the best convenient time to travel by Sydney Trains?
A. At midnight. B. On Sunday afternoon.
C. Between midnight and 4:00 a.m. D. At 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
假如你是天津某中学学生会主席李华，你们外教 Mr. Brown 刚刚回国，并打算组织学 生来你校学访。请你代表学校给 Mr. Brown 写一封电子邮件。
内容要点如下。
1. 对他的工作表示感谢。（学生的进步：口语，交际能力等）
2. 询问来访活动事宜。（到访时间，人数）
3. 表达祝愿与期望。
注意：1. 词数不少于 100；
2. 可适当加入细节，是内容充实、行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇学访 study tour
Dear Mr. Brown,
On behalf of all the teachers and students of my school,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours
Li Hua
阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
On March 6, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love posted an article titled Everyone is Going Through Something on the website The Players’ Tribune. In the article, the 29-year-old revealed how he suffered from his first panic attack in a game against the Atlanta Hawks and why he was so worried about sharing his story with the public.
Love identified that what keeps people from speaking up about their mental health challenges is the fear that many people see them as a weakness. “Growing up, you figure out really quickly how a boy is supposed to act. You learn what it takes to ‘be a man’. It’s like a playbook: Be strong. Don’t talk about your feelings. Get through it on your own,” he wrote.
And being an NBA player made his situation even more difficult. Love was afraid to share his struggles because he didn’t want his Cavaliers teammates to think that he was unreliable.
However, as it turned out, Love’s teammates understood and supported him. Cleveland superstar LeBron James even wrote on social media that Love is “even more powerful now than ever before”.
For Love, it was a journey of empowerment to accept and address his mental illness and share his experience with millions of people who face the same problems. In fact, he was inspired to talk
about his situation by Toronto Raptors shooting guard (得分后卫) DeMar DeRozan, who had also opened up about his mental health issues.
Last month, the 28-year-old told the Toronto Sun that despite being a top-performing and wealthy NBA player, he still deals with constant blues. “It’s one of the things that no matter how indestructible (坚不可摧的) we look like we are, we’re all human at the end of the day,” he said. “Sometimes it brings out the best of you when everything in the whole world gets on top of you.”
1.What problem did Love have according to the author? ( No more than 8 words )
2.According to Love, why was it more difficult for him to speak up about his problem? ( No more than 11 words )
3.How did Love's teammates react after Love shared his story? ( No more than 9 words )
4.How do you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph? ( No more than 11 words )
5.How does the author’s story inspire you to overcome weaknesses in life? Put it in your own words. ( No more than 20 words )
An immigrant is a person living in a country that is not their own, often in a culture with which they are not familiar. There are, of course, translation and interpretation services available to recently arrived minority groups in most host countries.
However, it is more important to provide motivations for language learning for immigrants to accelerate their integration (融合). The language barrier increases intercultural misunderstandings. Those seeking work are at a disadvantage due to subjective factors (因素) such as employers fearing migrants are unable to learn a trade because of language problems. In workplaces where the majority of employees are from the same linguistic background, which is other than the host language, there is the danger of apathy (淡漠) setting in and it is therefore necessary to encourage immigrants to take advantage of whatever language tuition（辅导）not only to help integration but to achieve self-improvement.
The general tendency is to acknowledge that the government should provide money for the teaching of the language. The British Advisory Board on Naturalisation and Integration stated that some of the pressure for English language classes could be reduced by employers taking responsibility for the language needs of migrant workers. As for their children, a high percentage speak languages at home other than that of their country of adoption which increases the burden on schools to provide an adequate standard of linguistic education.
The goal is for immigrants to become "anonymous". For example, many Turks in Germany have lost their "visibility" as poor workers to become "invisible" - thus not immediately recognized as foreigners - but as professionals (doctors, engineers, etc.)
Apart from the responsibility of governments and education authorities, the duty also lies with the individual migrant families. Of course they should not lose sight of their own cultural identity and "cross-cultural exchanges should be promoted to improve the understanding between immigrants and the host population. At the same time, parents must be ready to adapt to their new situation and not influence their children who, through the host country education system, will learn the language quicker and wish to integrate into the local society.
1.What is the second paragraph mainly about?
A. The disadvantages of immigration.
B. The advantages of receiving tuition.
C. The importance of understanding each other.
D. The harmful effects of language barriers.
2.What might the British Advisory Board on Naturalisation and Integration agree with?
A. Employers should pay for their employees' English language classes.
B. Schools provide various language classes.
C. Government shoulders the responsibility of language training.
D. Immigrant children should speak their mother tongue at home.
3.What does the underlined word "anonymous" in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Educated.
B. Responsible.
C. Unidentified.
D. Unacceptable.
4.What should migrant parents do in the author's opinion?
A. Don't speak their native language.
B. Learn English from their children.
C. Don't practice the customs of their homeland.
D. Help their children integrate into the new environment
5.What would be the best title for the text?
A. How immigration changes language
B. Immigration and language
C. Does immigration threaten our culture ?
D. English language requirements for immigrants
