It is believed that raisins (葡萄干) were discovered in the Middle East, where they were treasured. Any food that wouldn't spoil in the hot sun was very valuable. Prehistoric drawings in France show that raisins have been enjoyed in southern Europe for thousands of years. 1. In 1000 B.C. the Jews paid their taxes with raisins. Two jars of raisins in ancient Rome could buy one slave boy. 2.
In North America, the original mistake of leaving grapes to wither (枯萎) on the vine was not the only time raisins accidentally became popular. In the 1870s many people were growing grapes in California. 3. Most Americans had never heard of raisins at that time. In September, 1873 a severe heat wave struck the area. Before the growers could pick all their grapes, they withered on the vine. The grapes were lost. One grower took the dried grapes to a grocer in San Francisco. 4. The new accidental raisins grew into a major industry in California. Today almost all the raisins eaten in the United States are grown in California. California produces a third of the world's raisins.
5. Raisins also provide potassium, magnesium, calcium and certain B vitamins. Without added preservatives (防腐剂), raisins will stay fresh, delicious and nutritious if kept in a cool place. Raisins are tiny, portable and above all delicious.
A. They have been used for necklaces and as religious symbols.
B. Raisins are children's favorite snacks.
C. The grapes were either eaten as fresh fruit or were made into wine.
D. The grocer was unwilling to buy the dried grapes.
E. Raisins are high in iron, which is important to children's growing bodies.
F. Roman doctors believed raisins could cure anything from mushroom poisoning to old age.
G. The grocer's customers discovered that raisins made a delicious treat.
Blue Planet II's latest episode (情节) focuses on how plastic is having a destructive effect on the ocean and slowly poisoning our sea creatures. Researchers recently also found that sea creatures living in the deepest place on Earth, the Mariana Trench, have plastic in their stomachs. Indeed, oceans are drowning in plastic.
Though it seems that the world couldn't possibly function without plastics, plastics are a remarkably recent invention. The first plastic bags were introduced in the 1950s, the same decade that plastic packaging began gaining popularity in the United States. This growth has happened so fast that science is still catching up with the change. Plastics pollution research, for instance, is still a very early science.
We put all these plastics into the environment, but we still don't really know what the outcomes are going to be. What we do know, though, is disturbing. Ocean plastic is estimated to kill millions of marine animals every year. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by it. One in three leatherback turtles, which often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, have been found with plastic in their bellies. Ninety percent of seabirds are now eating plastics on a regular basis. By 2050, that figure is expected to rise to 100 percent.
And it's not just wildlife that is threatened by the plastics in our seas. Humans are consuming plastics through the seafood we eat. I could understand why some people see ocean plastic as a disaster, worth mentioning in the same breath as climate change. But ocean plastic is not as complicated as climate change. There are no ocean trash deniers (否认者), at least so far. To do something about it, we don't have to remake our planet energy system.
This is not a problem where we don' t know what the solution is. We know how to pick up garbage. Anyone can do it. We know how to deal with it. We know how to recycle. We can all start by thinking twice before we use single-use plastic products. Things that may seem ordinary, like using a reusable bottle or a reusable bag-when taken collectively, these choices really do make a difference.
1.Why is plastics pollution research still a very early science?
A.The plastics pollution research is too difficult.
B.Plastics have produced less pollution than coal.
C.Plastics have gained popularity too fast for science to catch up.
D.The world couldn't possibly function without plastics.
2.How did the author support his opinion in Paragraph 3?
A.By citing quotes from leading experts. B.By making a comparison and contrast.
C.By listing examples from his own experience. D.By presenting solid statistics.
3.What does the author intend to tell us in the last paragraph?
A.We reap what we sow. B.The shortest answer is doing.
C.All things are difficult before they are easy. D.Actions speak louder than words.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.The oceans become choked with plastic. B.Ocean plastic is a global issue.
C.Blue Planet II has left viewers heartbroken. D.Plastics gain in popularity all over the world.
Google’s new camera, called Clips, is a smart device. It comes with a case that has a clip (夹 子), but it’s not designed to be worn on your clothing. Most interestingly, it uses artificial intelligence to take photography out of your hands and captures moments entirely on its own!
What sets this roughly 2-inch by 2-inch camera, with a three-hour battery life and Gorilla Glass for toughness apart is that it is specially intended for candid moments, like when a child does something cute that may happen too quickly for you to pull out your smartphone.
The Clips device, it uses machine learning algorithms ( 计 算 程 序 ) to help capture scenes. Those algorithms include face recognition. “Once it learns that there’s a face you see frequently, it’ll try to get nice photos of those faces,” said Juston Payne, the device’s product manager. And they also want it to recognize facial expressions, which involved “training it to know what happiness looks like”. The Google team also trained it to recognize what not to shoot—like when a child’s hand is over the lens, or if it is tossed in a dark purse.
The only way to see the images is by connecting the camera with your phone, as it has no screen for viewing or editing.
Concerned it could seem strange? Yes, Payne admitted, but he said they addressed that by making it obvious what it is. A green light on the front signals that it is on. Besides, unlike a camera meant to monitor your home, it is not connected to the Internet.
“This product is only possible because of the way that silicon(硅) has advanced,” Payne said that now they could squeeze the technology down into a device this size. Going forward, we’re likely to get more assistance from the artificial intelligence packed into our apps and gadgets.
1.What is the most outstanding feature of Clips?
A.It enables easy Internet access.
B.It is equipped with tough glass.
C.It can be worn on your clothing.
D.It allows of hands-free photography.
2.What does the underlined word “candid” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.Awkward. B.Brief.
C.Touching. D.Unforgettable.
3.What makes Clips a reality according to Juston Payne?
A.The advance in technology.
B.The popularity of the Internet.
C.The screen for viewing and editing.
D.The rise of the smartphone industry.
4.What does the text mainly talk about?
A.New gadgets in the age of apps.
B.Artificial intelligence in daily Life.
C.A new digital camera from Google.
D.An alternative way to photograph.
Daniella Wride was brushing her daughter’s long brown hair when she noticed that with each comb, masses of the hair were coming out. That was January 1, 2017. Within 20 days, seven-year-old Gianessa Wride’s hair was completely gone, and her doctor said the hair would never grow back. Gianessa had become one of the 6. 8 million Americans with alopecia, an auto-immune disease that causes hair loss.
Alopecia isn’t painful, but for kids who suffer from it, the severe pain comes from standing out from the crowd. For the most part, the students in Gianessa’s first-grade class in Salem, Utah, were understanding. But the occasional jokes of “Baldy”(秃子) made her feel like an abandoned child. “I didn’t want her to feel that she wasn’t like the other kids,” her mother said.”I tried covering her baldness, but the artificial hair was uncomfortable. “
Then comes the school’s traditional “Crazy Hair Day” in April, a great just-for-fun celebration where all the kids and their parents can express their wild sides a bit. Daniella and Gianessa decided that rather than hide Gianessa’s baldness under the artificial hair, they would celebrate it. Daniella bought scrapbook-sticker (贴纸) jewels and decorated her head with flowered designs and even a deer. “They just fit her personality,” Daniella smiled. “She’s so lovely. “
On the morning of the competition, Gianessa was nervous. Would her friends think it was funny? However, with her mother’s encouragement, she had nothing to fear. Impressive Gianessa was a hit and a winner of the crazy-hair competition. Gianessa is now glad that she dared to go bare. “I was sad at first when I lost all my hair,” she told people. “But now I love being bald. I can do things to my head that other kids can’t. I’m thinking now it might be fun to decorate my head with some colourful butterflies and flowers. “
1.Why was Gianessa different from other kids?
A.She was born bald. B.She suffered from hair loss.
C.She was talented in hair designing. D.She had her head fully shaved.
2.How did others react to Gianessa’s disease?
A.Her doctor was quite optimistic. B.Her mother gave her artificial hair.
C.Her classmates were all considerate. D.Her school offered her special help.
3.What could Gianessa do on the “Crazy Hair Day”?
A.She could tease others. B.She could decorate her hair.
C.She could shop scrapbook-stickers. D.She could show her personality.
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A.The girl faced her disease in a most beautiful way.
B.The artificial hair built up the girl’s confidence.
C.The competition served as a way to make a change.
D.The disease was cured with mother’s love and care.
Your creativity and ideas can help other teachers. Submit your art lesson plan or activity today. Don’t forget to include additional resource documents or a photo.
Wet Chalk Painting Grades: K -4th
Lesson Plan Objectives: Development of fine motor skills (协调性) and creatively expressing the child’s ideas and thoughts by a new medium.
Materials Needed : Colored chalk, water, drawing paper, sponge, and newspapers.
Lesson Procedure: Dip the colored chalk into water and draw on the paper. Another way is to put the drawing paper on newspapers, dampen it with a wet sponge, and then draw.
Submitted by: Jack
Sidewalk Drawing Grades: K -5th
Lesson Plan Objectives : Development of the creative process by doing artistic drawings in a new way and development of fine and gross motor skills (全身协调性).
Materials Needed : Sidewalk or outdoor chalk and lots of sidewalk.
Lesson Procedure : Give the children the chalk and let them draw whatever they choose on the sidewalk. You may also consider using this in teaching some other lessons(i. e. science).
Submitted by: Peter
Rose - Colored Lorgnette Grades: Any
Materials Needed: Half an egg carton (包装盒), scissors, glue, colored paper, scotch tape (通明胶带) and a seven inch stick.
Lesson Plan Objectives: Child will construct an object that allows them to view the world in a variety of colors and will learn why certain objects in their colored environment look the way they do when certain colors are mixed.
Lesson Plan Procedure : Cut windows in the bumps of half an egg carton. Glue circles of colored cellophane over the windows with rubber cement. Tape on a stick for a holder.
Submitted by: Jennifer
1.Which art lesson plan is presented by Jennifer?
A.Wet Chalk Painting. B.Sidewalk Drawing.
C.Rose - Colored Lorgnette. D.Rainbow Fan.
2.What common material does Wet Chalk Painting and Sidewalk Drawing require?
A.Scissors. B.Chalk. C.Stick. D.Sponge.
3.Rose - Colored Lorgnette is aimed at ___.
A.encouraging the child to paint at will B.developing the child’s motor skills
C.expressing the child’s ideas and thoughts D.bettering the child’s understanding of colors
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.From whom did the speaker get the information of the project?
A.Her neighbors. B.Her cousins. C.Her friends.
2.Where did the speaker come from?
A.China. B.Thailand. C.Australia.
3.What does the speaker ask her family to do?
A.Learn about sea animals.
B.Recycle as much as possible.
C.Take part in the cleaning project.
4.What will One-Day Clean-up focus on on January 11th next year?
A.The woodlands. B.The seaside. C.The rivers.
