Dressed in a dark blue waterproof (防水) jacket, outdoor shoes and a small backpack, 25-year-old Ye Tian tries to get in an abandoned coking plant in Beijing.
An intern (实习生) for a German company in Beijing, Ye is among thousands of youth interested in city adventures, which they call urban exploration-4urbex' for short.
The aim of this trending (流行) hobby is to explore structures — usually abandoned ruins or hidden areas of the manmade environment. Urban explorers are interested in these sites because they can understand cities from a different angle. Ye, for example, said he enjoyed the contrast between Beijing's two sides.
Widely known scenic spots and historical sites can only reflect the bright side of the city, or what the city wants you to see, Ye said. “But abandoned places show you the past (that is) hidden deep in people's memories."
In the eyes of Pan Ran, who is in her early 30s and works in Canada, an abandoned building can also evoke (引起，唤起) the spirits of those who lived and worked there.
“There are diaries and letters recording the owner's lives,” she said. “And one time, I found a whole box of 8-millimeter videotapes of a family?
Pan couldn't watch the tapes at the site, as the power supply had been cut. She didn't take them away with her either, as there is a very important rule of urbex that you can't remove any souvenirs from a site", Pan said.
While urban exploration can get people to extraordinary places that few have visited, it's sometimes dangerous. Climbing up tall buildings and tip-toeing through abandoned structures can sometimes be a life-threatening affair.
Injuries and even death are not unheard of within the urbex community.
"In the beginning, I was pretty audacious and believed the riskier the places you go, the better photos you get," said Du Tianyu, 22. "But that is not necessarily the case. After doing my calculations, I learned to stop when I reach the limit."
1.According to the text, why do urban explorers like to visit abandoned places?
A.To escape the crowdedness of cities.
B.To take breathtaking pictures.
C.To appreciate different aspects of a city.
D.To know about the lives of the people who left.
2.What does Pan say is an important rule of urban exploration?
A.Don't take things from a site.
B.Don't buy souvenirs when exploring structures.
C.Only explore abandoned sites with long histories.
D.Share travel diaries or journals within the urbex community.
3.The underlined word “audacious” in the last paragraph probably means_____ .
A.cautious B.adventurous
C.passionate D.curious
4.What's the best title for the passage?
A.Travel in Big Cities B.Visit a City's Historical Sites
C.Experience a City's Life D.See a City's Secrets
KQED is a Public Broadcasting Service station in California, US. The station is owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting. Some of its radio programs are as follows:
●The Cooler
As one of the most popular programs among young listeners, the Cooler is a podcast (博客) about pop culture stories and music, presented in a smart, fun and personal way. Come and join us on our journey.
Time: MON-THU, 8 pm—9 pm.
● Here & Now
A live production, in cooperation with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young
Time: MON-THU, 11am—1 pm
● Mind Shift
The Mind Shift podcast explores the innovations (创新) in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. They cover topics like how teachers are developing surprising methods to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts is helping kids develop reading skills.
Time: THU-SUN, 7 pm—9 pm
● Living on Earth
Living on Earth is a weekly news and information program about the world's changing environment, ecology, and human health. If there's something new about climate change, environmental politics or environmental quality and human health, you can count on Host Steve Curwood and the LOE public radio news team to keep you up to date.
Time: WED, 9 am—10 am
1.At what time can the audience enjoy pop culture stories?
A.Tuesday, 8 pm—9pm. B.Wednesday, 9 am—10 am.
C.Friday, 8 pm—9pm. D.Sunday, 7pm—9pm.
2.From which radio program can listeners pick up news at noon?
A.The Cooler. B.Here & Now.
C.Mind Shift. D.Living on Earth.
3.Which of these topics might be covered in Living on Earth?
A.Education policies. B.Economic problems.
C.Human population. D.Global warming.
Even a small increase in light activity such as washing dishes, or walking around the house might help prevent an early death among older adults, researchers say.
“It is important for elderly people, who might not be able to do much moderate intensity（强度）activity, that just moving around and doing light intensity activity will have strong effects and is beneficial,” said Ulf Ekelund, who led the research.
Published in the BMJ, the latest research was based on a review of eight studies involving a total of more than 36,000 people with an average age of almost 63 years. Participants were followed for five to six years; 2,149 deaths were recorded. All of the studies involved monitoring the physical activity of individuals who had activity trackers, and the studies did not rely on self-reporting, which, the experts noted, could be unreliable.
For each study participants were split into four equal-sized groups, based on the total amount of time spent actively, and the risk of death assessed, taking into account factors such as age, sex, body mass index, and socioeconomic status. This was then repeated for an amount of activity at different levels of intensity. The results were analyzed together to give an overview. The team found a greater amount of activity was linked to a lower risk of death. The results held for different intensities of activity. The team said the study supported the message “sit less and move more and more often”.
However, the study had limitations. It only looked at the situation for middle age and older adults, most of whom lived in the US or Europe, and some of the effect could be due to those people with a higher risk of death being less likely to be related to physical activity. Physical activity levels also were only measured over one period of time.
Dr Gavin Sandercock, from the University of Essex, said the results suggested moving more brought bigger benefits than simply reducing the time of sitting, another factor measured in the study.
“This study reinforces the important message that getting the least active people to do even just a little bit more physical activity can have important public health benefits,” he said.
1.Which of the following may Ulf Ekelund suggest elderly people do?
A.lying on the sofa reading.
B.Doing a little gentle gardening.
C.Going out to hike with friends.
D.Playing basketball sometimes.
2.What can we know about the research?
A.It lasted about 8 years.
B.The researchers admitted they used fake data.
C.The participants didn't include younger people.
D.Some participants died because of doing too much physical activity
3.What is the author’s attitude towards the researchers' conclusion?
A.Doubtful B.Critical
C.Supportive D.Neutral
4.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “reinforces” in the last paragraph?
A.Highlights B.Conveys
C.Excludes D.Denies
When I was a child, our dining room had two kinds of chairs — two large ones with arm rests and four small ones without. The larger ones stood at the ends of the table, the smaller ones on the sides. Mom and Dad sat in the big chairs, except when one of us was away; then Mom would sit in one of the smaller chairs. Dad always sat at the end, at the "head" of the table. Sitting where he did, Dad was framed by the window through which the yard could be seen with its trees and grass. His chair was not just a place for him at table; it was a place in which he was situated against the yard and the trees. It was the holy(神圣的）and protected place that was his, and ours through him.
After Dad retired, he and Mom moved out into a small flat. When thy came to visit me at their old house, Dad still sat at the end of the table though the table was no longer his but mine. Only with my marriage to Barbara, did I hear a voice questioning the arrangement. She requested, gently but firmly, that I sit at the head of the table in our home. I realized then that I was head of the family, but I also felt unwilling to introduce such a change. How would I feel sitting in that "head" place in my Dad's presence? And how would he handle it? I was to find out on the occasion of our youngest child's first birthday.
Mom and Dad arrived for lunch, and went into the dining room. Dad moved toward his usual seat in front of the window. Before he could get around the side of the table, I took a deep breath and said, "Dad, this is going to be your place, next to Mom, on the side." He stopped, looked at me and then sat down. I felt sad, and angry at Barbara for pushing me to do this. It would have been easy to say, "My mistake, Dad. Sit where you always sit, ” But I didn't.
When he and Mom were seated, Barbara and I took our places. I don't know how Dad felt. I do know that, though removed from his usual place, he continued to share his best self with us, telling stories of his childhood and youth to the delight of his grandchildren. As I served the food, our lives experienced a change, which we continue to live with.
It wasn't easy, but I sense that there is also something good in the change which has occurred. I am beginning to learn that "honoring one's father” is more than the question of which place to occupy at the dining table. It also means listening, wherever we sit and whatever positions we own, to the stories Dad longs to tell We may then, during these magical moments, even be able to forget about whose chair is whose.
1.Why did Dad always sit in the big chair at the end of the table before he retired?
A.Because the chair was large enough for him.
B.Because sitting there he could see the trees and grass in the yard.
C.Because it was the holy seat for the head of the family.
D.Because the chair was comfortable with arm rests.
2.What do we know from the second paragraph?
A.The writer's parents moved out because the house was too old.
B.The writer didn't want to hurt his father’s feelings.
C.The writer's wife was rude to his parents.
D.The writer didn't dare to refuse his wife's request.
3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Dad felt upset after being removed from his usual place.
B.The writer was satisfied with the new seating arrangement.
C.Dad continued to tell stories to cover his embarrassment.
D.Dad didn't appear to mind where he sat.
4.What does the writer intend to tell us?
A.Respecting Dad is more than the question of dining seat.
B.It is not easy to go against parents' wishes.
C.Think twice before you act.
D.Every coin has two sides.
Nothing good generally comes of a conversation that start with the words, "I think you should probably sit down before I tell you this.”
And so it came to pass. Away for Christmas, we got a call from kind friends at home, our neighbour's house had caught fire while they were out. The fire didn't spread to our house but the smoke very much did.
It's weeks of either throwing out, or sending away for specialist cleaning, every single thing into which smoke could have permeated(渗透)because the particles(微粒) are an ongoing health risk and washing isn't enough. Anything soft—sofas and carpets and children’s teddy bears, clothes—is suspected. We will be seeing in the New Year in a decidedly minimalist fashion.
What I didn't expect to feel, however, is this lucky. Friends and neighbours have come together with incredible generosity. We will never again underestimate the closeness of the village community in which we live, or the innate kindness that is most people's natural reaction to trouble, and are grateful to be reminded of so much that is good. But that's not the only thing I've learned. For in a sense, we have a chance to start again.
The surprise on being forced to think about what might urgently need replacing is how short the list of essentials seems; how much we must have been hanging on to out of habit, and how much we have been conditioned to think was important.
It's all too easily assumed that family history lives in tangible(有形的)things— old photographs, a dress bought decades ago for a night heavy with memories — but that's not quite right. These things were only reminders of what we already carry with us in head and heart.
Walking through the house, sweeping up the broken glass, I realised that the answer to the old question of “What would you save in a fire? ” is actually that nothing really matters but each other.
1.What happened to the author's house?
A.It caught a fire.
B.It was affected by a fire.
C.It was broken into by friends.
D.Its windows were broken.
2.What does the underlined word "suspected" in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A.something that may be damaged.
B.something that may not be genuine.
C.something that may not be so good.
D.something that may be dangerous.
3.What did the author expect to feel?
A.People around him were cold to others' trouble.
B.His friends and neighbours were so generous.
C.People in his community were close to each other.
D.He was so lucky to find much that was good.
4.How will the author probably feel when the New Year finally comes?
A.Worried. B.Surprised.
C.Excited. D.Contented.
As the most wonderful tools for learning and teaching English, iPads appeal to more and more students who use them to access online resources in their classrooms. With the help of the thousands of education and language apps available in Apple's app store, students make effective use of the iPad to learn in an interactive environment. Given below is a list of some of the best iPad apps for learning and teaching English.
Grammar Up
Grammar is the heart of any language and, thus, the Grammar Up app is one of the most highly recommended apps for English Learners. This app is specifically designed for people who want to improve their grammar, vocabulary and word selection. It consists of more than 1800 multiple-choice questions grouped under twenty different grammar categories.
Learn English The Fun Way
"Learn English the fun way" is an amazing app for grammar and matching lessons in which English learners get to do simple exercises such as matching an animal or a short description of something to its picture.
SpeakingPal
Recommended as one of the best apps for English educators and learners, SpeakingPal allows users to record and compare their speech with a native English speaker. This amazing app combines video with automatic speech recognition software that tests your English speaking skills. You just have to speak with a video character and get immediate response on how well you said and pronounced all your English words. In short, this app basically understands and rates your speech.
Wordflex Touch Dictionar
Turn your word-meanings search into a fun experience with the Wordflex Touch Dictionary app! Developed exclusively for iPad in association with the Oxford University Press, the Wordflex Touch Dictionary app converts your word entries into attractive trees which you can move, drag, share and reorganize using touch gestures. This app is among the best as it also contains audio pronunciations both in UK and US English, which is a great benefit for English learners.
iBooks
iBooks is a complete book library for the iPad users. It includes the iBookstore and allows users to download and read books for free. It also allows users to save their favorite classics for free. The app features a beautiful bookshelf on which you can browse various books; tap a book to open and read it, and add notes to your favorite paragraphs in the book. You can also create your own texts and upload them into the app.
1.Which app might be the best choice for a kid who is beginning to learn grammar?
A.Grammar Up B.Wordflex Touch Dictionary
C.Learn English The Fun Way D.SpeakingPal
2.Which of the following is Right according to the passage?
A.The Grammar Up app is the best recommended app for English learners.
B.Wordflex Touch Dictionary provides pronunciation in British and American English.
C.SpeakingPal allows users to compete with a native English speaker.
D.iBooks is a free book library for English learners and teachers.
3.What's the purpose of the text?
A.To advertise Apple's app store.
B.To attract users to iPad.
C.To distinguish some apps for English learning.
D.To introduce some apps for English learners and educators.
