I will always appreciate my father and his faith.
As I held my father’s hands one night, I couldn’t help but notice their calluses(老茧）and roughness. His hands tell the story of his life as a ______, including all his struggles.
One ______, I remember, a drought (旱灾）hit Ontario, turning it into a burning desert. On one of those hot mornings I was picking sweet corn with my dad to fill the last ______ from the grocery store. Fifty dozen was all we needed, which ______ took twenty minutes. That morning, however, the process didn’t go quickly. After forty minutes of ______walking in the field, we ______ needed twenty dozen. I was completely frustrated and angry. ______ the basket heavily, I declared, “If the store wants its last twenty dozen, they can pick it themselves!” Dad laughed. “Just think, my little girl, only ______ dozen left for each of ______ and then we’re done.” Such is Dad----whatever problem he ______, he never gives up.______, the disastrous effects of the drought were felt all over our county. It was a challenging time for everyone, ______ Dad remained optimistic. He ______ to be grateful for other things like good health and food on our plate. Only then did I truly begin to ______ Dad and his faith that guided us through the hard times.
Dad is also a living example of real ______. From dawn to dusk, he works countless hours to ______ our family. He always puts our happiness ______ his own, and never fails to cheer me on at my sports games ______ his exhaustion(疲劳) after long days. His loving and selfless nature has inspired me to become more sympathetic and ______ others first.
Dad，the life ______ I have learned from you will stay with me forever. You are my father, teacher, friend and, most importantly, my hero.
1.A. farmer B. grocer C. gardener D. teacher
2.A. spring B. summer C. autumn D. winter
3.A. gap B. form C. order D. position
4.A. usually B. repeatedly C. finally D. really
5.A. happily B. aimlessly C. easily D. hardly
6.A. yet B. even C. still D. nearly
7.A. Cutting B. Taking C. Picking D. Dropping
8.A. five B. ten C. twenty D. fifty
9.A. them B. you C. me D. us
10.A. brings up B. meets with C. works out D. thinks about
11.A. Thankfully B. Strangely C. Hopefully D. Unfortunately
12.A. or B. but C. for D. so
13.A. happened B. stopped C. aimed D. continued
14.A. face B. examine C. appreciate D. question
15.A. love B. pride C. friendship D. honesty
16.A. settle B. start C. support D. impress
17.A. before B. after C. beside D. under
18.A. in terms of B. in control of C. in spite of D. in place of
19.A. putting B. cheering C. thinking D. turning
20.A. styles B. ways C. lessons D. history
They Just Can't Help It
My theory is that the female brain is mainly built for empathy — the ability to understand other people — and that the male brain is mainly built for building systems. 1. For example, women are more likely to read magazines on fashion and parenting, while men will choose magazines that feature computers and sport.
You may think that these preferences are influenced by the way people are taught to behave when they are growing up. However, this is not the case. A new study carried out at Cambridge University shows that newborn girls look longer at a face, and newborn boys look longer at a mobile. 2. It has also been observed that girls are better at noticing signs of changes in other people's feelings. Boys, however, seem to enjoy building toy towers and playing with toys which have clear functions. 3. People whose jobs are in the construction industries are almost male. Math and engineering, which require high levels of systems-thinking, are also male-chosen disciplines. Why do men and women have the difference? Actually women have four times as many brain neurons (神经) that connect the right and left part of their brains. Because of it, women have a better ability to multitask than men. 4. Men tend to focus on a limited number of problems at a time. They will separate themselves from problems and view tasks as independent from one another.
Some people may worry that I am suggesting one gender (性别) is better than the other, but this is not the case. My theory says that males and females differ in the kinds of things that they find easy, but that both genders have their strengths and weaknesses. 5. It is not true. The study simply looks at males and females as two groups, and asks what differences exist, and why they are there.
A. Generally speaking, there are clear differences.
B. Their preference for building systems may change over time.
C. You can see the same kind of pattern in the adult workplace.
D. They will consider many sources of information at the same time.
E. It is important to stress that the female brain may be built more for empathy.
F. That suggests certain differences between male and female brains are biological.
G. Others may think the theory creates a belief of what a particular type of person is like.
In many American schools the holiday celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday is used as an opportunity to teach children about his life and legacy. But in too many of those same schools, Black children’s extraordinary talents are still being wasted today. Nearly three-quarters of Black fourth and eighth grade public school students cannot read or compute at grade level. Black students made up only 18 percent of students in public schools in 2009-2010 but were 40 percent of students who received one or more out-of-school suspensions (暂被停学). A Black public school student is suspended every four seconds. Black students are more than twice as likely to drop out of school as White students. Each school day 763 Black high school students drop out.
So I applaud the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice for their recent action to address harmful school discipline policies that push so many thousands of black children out of school each year and into the juvenile (青少年) justice and adult prison pipeline. If the education system is to do its part in replacing it with a cradle to college, career and success pipeline, we must end the current practice where children in the greatest need are suspended from school mostly for nonviolent offenses.
These resources, officially known as “guidance,” will help schools and districts meet their legal responsibility to protect students from discrimination (歧视) on the basis of race, color or national origin as required under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As we recognize the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and so many other important hard-won victories in the Civil Rights Movement this year, we must remember those victories could be lost without meaningful enforcement of the laws advocates fought so hard to win half a century ago.
While the guidance does not prohibit (禁止) schools or districts from using any particular nondiscriminatory policy, it does call into question some policies that have historically excluded Black students and are of questionable educational value including “zero tolerance” discipline policies which require mandatory (强制的) consequences for certain infractions (违反), and policies that prevent students from returning to school after completion of a court sentence.
Information of the new guidance recommendations is available at this government website for almost every school and district in the country. Check your own school district now to see whether the discipline policy is focused on creating a positive school climate and preventing misbehavior, whether consequences are clear, appropriate and consistent, and whether there is a commitment to fairness in the application of discipline.
1.What does the first paragraph mainly talk about?
A. Life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
B. Unsatisfactory situation of Black students’ education.
C. The percentage of Black students dropping out of school.
D. The holiday celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
2.The guidance issued by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice may ____.
A. punish Black children for dropping out of school
B. push thousands of Black children out of school each year
C. protect Black children from being suspended for nonviolent offenses
D. prevent Black children from coming back to school after a court sentence
3.According to the passage, the “zero tolerance” discipline policies ____.
A. have questionable consequences
B. are prohibited by the guidance
C. prevent Black children from being absent from school
D. were considered discriminatory when they were released
4.What is the author’s attitude toward these “guidance”?
A. negative B. pessimistic
C. approval D. indifferent
In a new look at the impact of long-time sitting behavior on health, a new study links time watching television to an increased risk of death. One of the most surprising findings is that it isn’t just couch potatoes who were affected. Even for people who exercised regularly, the risk of death went up the longer they were in front of the TV. The problem was the long periods of time spent sitting still.
Australian researchers who tracked 8,800 people for an average of six years found that those who said they watched TV for more than four hours a day were 46% more likely to die of any cause and 80% more likely to die of cardiovascular (心血管的) disease than people who reported spending less than two hours a day in front of TV.
Time spent in front of TVs and computers and videogames has come under fire in studies in recent years for contributing to a spread of obesity in the US and around the world. But typically the resulting public-health message urges children and adults to put down the Xbox controller and remote and get on a treadmill (跑步机) or a soccer field.
The Australian study offers a different view. “It’s not the sweaty type of exercise we’re losing,” says David Dunstan, a researcher at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, who led the study. “It’s the incidental moving around, standing up and using muscles. That doesn’t happen when we are plunked on a couch in front of a television.”
Indeed, participants in the study reported getting between 30 and 45 minutes of exercise a day, on average.The results are supported by a new field of research that shows how long periods of inactivity can affect the body’s processing of fats and other substances that contribute to heart risk. And they suggest that people can help decrease such risk simply by avoiding extended periods of sitting.”
Keeping such processes working more effectively doesn’t require constant intense exercise, but consciously adding more routine movement to your life might help, doctors say. “Just standing is better than sitting,” says Gerard Fletcher, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla., who works standing up at his computer. “When you stand up, you shuffle around a little bit and use muscles not required when you are sitting or lying down.”
Simple strategies for increasing activity include combining household chores such as folding laundry with TV-watching time or getting up to change a TV channel rather than using a remote control. The report, published Tuesday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, focuses on TV watching in part because it is the main leisure-time activity in many countries, researchers said, especially in the US.
1.One misunderstanding people might have is that ________.
A. the radiation from TV may badly affect your sight
B. TV programs can broaden your horizons effectively
C. watching TV very long is a good way to kill time
D. regular exercise can minimize the side effect of watching TV
2.What is new about the discovery of the Australian study?
A. Remote control shouldn’t be used when people watch TV.
B. People who watch TV too long should take more physical exercise.
C. Sitting too long in front of TV will lead to high risk of heart attack.
D. Long-time sitting is bad for all people including those who exercise regularly.
3.According to the Australian study, how can the risk of death be reduced when people watch TV?
A. By increasing simple movement.
B. By totally avoiding watching TV.
C. By taking some medicine.
D. By increasing sweaty type of exercise.
I have many wonderful memories of my days as a circus clown (小丑), but there is one day that I would rather forget: July 6, 1944. We were playing a two-day stand in Hartford, Connecticut, and the big top caught fire.
I could hear grandstand chairs slamming inside the tent as people headed toward the exits. Some were jumping twelve feet from the top rows of the grandstand and seats to the ground outside. Most of the crowd was pouring through the regular exits and it soon became a panic.
In the midst of this scene the musicians had kept on playing until the tent was on fire over-head because they knew music sometimes might work wonder; they had jumped off the bandstand just before a flaming quarter-pole fell into their stand.
City fire equipment had arrived by now and was pouring streams of water onto the big top area to cool it enough for firemen to enter. In the smoke and confusion, it was impossible to tell whether or not anyone might have been left in the tent. We circus people were ordered away from the smoking ruins that, only a few minutes before, had been the biggest spread of canvas in the world.
I went outside; doctors, and first-aid workers were everywhere, carrying bodies from where the grandstands and seats had been. The toll (伤亡人数) of dead and dying increased so fast that emergency crews were called in from surrounding cities.
Later it was found that 168 people had died in the fire — the worst circus disaster in history, and an afternoon of horror I can never forget.
1.The musicians kept playing during the fire probably because they ________.
A. thought the fire was in another tent
B. knew nothing about the terrible fire
C. wanted to keep the crowd from panicking
D. believed the show should go on whatever happened
2.Why were emergency crews from other cities called in?
A. There were too many victims to deal with.
B. Fire equipment in the city was not enough.
C. Too many people were left in the tent waiting.
D. The circus people were unwilling to do the rescue work.
3.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. A Journey to Death B. The Day the Big Top Burned
C. Memories as a circus clown D. The Worst Disaster in Human History
假定你是李华，你的朋友Jason在上次SAT考试中因发挥失常，成绩不理想而情绪低落。请给他写封信表示安慰，要点如下：
1)表示难过和理解；
2)找出错误原因并及时改正；
3)鼓励他重拾自信，实现梦想。
注意：1)词数100左右；
2)可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3)开头和结尾已为你写好。
Dear Jason,
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Yours,
Li Hua
