One year my children came home from school asking where we were going on your summer vacation. It seemed that all the other kids were______ where they were spending the summer. I couldn’t ______to take them anywhere but I didn’t want to tell them that so I just said, “It’s a surprise!” They were_______ That bought me a little more ________.
I called several amusement ______to see if there was a half-price event during the summer but no such _____ . I tried everything, with no success, so I called some of the other moms to find that most were in the same______that I was. We decided to ______something fun for our kids to do. We had a meeting, all five of us, and_____ what is now called a “playcation”.
One mother was a _____ , so on Mondays the kids would all go to her house. They would play games using plants and ______. They also planted vegetables and_______them grow over the summer.
Another mother had Bible_______on Tuesdays. She asked some questions about Bible. The kid who answered ______got a penny, which they all turned in at the end to buy their goodie bags(礼品袋).
At our house on Wednesdays, I made an outdoor ______training with my spare tires. The kids also walked a balance beam and raced through large cardboard boxes taped together.
On _____they had arts and crafts across the street. Fridays were______by a wonderful single dad with a metal detector(金属探测器)who took everyone out treasure_____ .
The summer was a big ______ . Okay, it wasn’t Disney World,_______the kids didn’t miss anything. My son actually asked me, “Can we do this again next year?”
1.A. rejecting B. discussing C. learning D. reporting
2.A. sacrifice B. offer C. select D. afford
3.A. disappointed B. satisfied C. shocked D. delighted
4.A. time B. money C. confidence D. patience
5.A. schools B. shops C. parks D. libraries
6.A. hope B. luck C. attitude D. hobby
7.A. situation B. gap C. direction D. process
8.A. come up with B. face up to C. look forward to D. step away from
9.A. discovered B. enjoyed C. created D. controlled
10.A. teacher B. doctor C. gardener D. grocer
11.A. books B. vegetables C. sweets D. toys
12.A. guessed B. watched C. affected D. felt
13.A. debates B. readings C. explanations D. contests
14.A. easily B. patiently C. correctly D. hurriedly
15.A. computer B. obstacle C. painting D. speech
16.A. Thursdays B. Saturdays C. Sundays D. Mondays
17.A. hosted B. forced C. avoided D. forbidden
18.A. hiding B. making C. hunting D. donating
19.A. failure B. challenge C. business D. success
20.A. and B. so C. or D. but
1. I say this a lot because it’s important: you need to walk more. There are a few main reasons why I’m so fond of walking, also known as moving frequently at a slow pace.
2.
Walking might not be as effective as other forms of exercise, but frequent walking will help anyone with two functioning legs that allow movement who would otherwise meld into the couch lose some body fat.
It’s good for your brain.
Walking does much more than work the area underneath your neck. The farther an older person can walk in six minutes, the better he or she performs on memory and logic tests. Folks who perform poorly on the walking test tend to have reduced grey matter volume in certain sections of their brains.
It reduces stress.
3. Go for a walk, preferably in a natural setting. For me, it’s the beach of the Malibu hills. For others, it might be the woods or even a park.
It prevents falls in the elderly.
Walking on uneven, natural ground like hiking trails，improves balance and reduces falls in the elderly. 4. The earlier you start habitually walking, the better your ability to navigate the land without falling will be.
It gives you a chance to think.
When we walk, we think. And because walking is a low-difficulty effort, we can direct our executive functioning to more internal matters. We work through problems, come up with ideas, replay conversations, scheme, and discover solutions. 5.
A. It modestly reduces body fat.
B. It lowers blood pressure, especially after meals.
C. Don’t wait until you’re already at risk of falling, though.
D. What do I do when I need to get away from a particularly stressful day?
E. Try to keep the walk as close to the meal as possible to aid in weight loss.
F. Even though some of you may be tired of me saying this, it needs saying.
G. Or maybe we just think about that funny dog we saw on the way to work the other day.
I ran into quite a few language problems while vacationing ( 度假) with my family last summer. The most embarrassing was when my Mom apologized to the people we were staying with because her “pants were dirty”. They looked at her in amazement, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, “pants” means underpants or knickers( 内裤；衬裤), not trousers as it does back home.
Katie — From America
I went to stay with a friend on the west coast last summer. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn’t find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor.
David — From Britain
When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. It took me years to get through to (使...明白)someone that I only wanted the toilet!
Tom — From America
Last summer we went on a two-week family touring holiday, so Dad hired a car over the Internet. This was an old vehicle and there turned out (结果是；证明是)to be lots of things wrong with it. When he phoned the hire company and tried to explain that the lock on the boot was broken, they thought he was talking about footwear! He had no idea their word for “boot” was “trunk”. In the end we went to a garage and just solved the problem.
Mary — From Britain
1.David went out to find a phone box to ________.
A. phone the police for help B. phone his friend for help
C. tell his friends he couldn’t go to visit her D. apologize for his being late
2.When Tom asked for the “restroom”, the people around him thought ________.
A. he wanted to have a rest. B. he wanted the toilet
C. he wanted a chair D. He wanted to go to a department store
3.The underlined word “garage” is probably ________.
A. a parking place B. a car
C. a gas station D. a place to repair cars
4.Which of the following words is from British English？
A. Pants. B. Ground floor.
C. Restroom. D. Trunk.
The end of the school year is in sight - Christmas cards， candy canes and of course， end of year reports．
While most parents welcome an assessment of their kids' performance， they do not expect their own input to be evaluated． But a school in the UK is changing that． As well as assessing their students， they are dishing out grades to mums and dads． Parents that are really involved in their kids' education are rewarded with an A， and parents that haven't done their bit get a disappointing D．
The school， Greasley Beauvale Primary in Nottinghamshire， uses standard such as whether mums and dads have attended school events such as plays and parent teacher evenings to decide on the grade． The school's principal， Donna Chambers， said that the scheme had been well received．
"There were some critics． In spite of it， between 15 percent and 20 percent of parents started out in the lower categories but now that has been reduced to just two per cent，" she explained．
Chambers hopes that the scheme will help motivate parental involvement． "The system is important because you have got to get the parents on board from day one． That one hour initial conversation saying they could improve will make a difference to the rest of that child's academic life"， she said．
But while the scheme may be well intentioned， it is likely to be connected with parent shaming． There are lots of reasons why some mums and dads might not be involved in school activities such as work commitments， looking after younger children or caring for elderly relatives．
And of course， being involved in your kid's education doesn't begin and end at school． There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes from helping with homework to keeping uniforms freshly laundered． And what about all the parents who stayed up sewing special costumes at the last minute？ Surely that earns a gold star instead of a grade!
1.What do schools usually do at the end of the school year？ ______
A. Evaluating kids' performances．
B. Making Christmas cards．
C. Dividing candies．
D. Grading parents．
2.What does the school's principal Chambers say about the scheme？ ______
A. It uses a new way to evaluate kids．
B. It has gained much acceptance．
C. It gives parents further education．
D. It improves kids' motivation for learning．
3.What does the author think of parents being involved in kids' education？ ______
A. It adds to parents' burden．
B. It brings shame to parents．
C. It means far more than being graded．
D. It increases parents' commitment to education．
4.What is the passage mainly about？ ______
A. There is too much stress for parents about their children's academic life．
B. Parents as well as their children are on the list of the year school report．
C. Parents should be involved in children's school life．
D. Whether a parent is excellent depends on the grade he gets．
If you’ve ever visited London, it’s likely that you’ve heard the loud chimes（鸣响）of Big Ben, the 157-year-old clock bell of the UK’s Houses of Parliament（议会）.
But on Aug 21, the world’s most famous bell fell silent. This is because the Palace of Westminster’s Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben, needs to be repaired. The workers who’ll carry out the repairs don’t want their ears to be damaged by the sounds of the huge bell, reported BBC News. Big Ben won’t ring again regularly until 2021.
There’s been quite an emotional response to the move. Several members of parliament gathered in front of the Houses of Parliament to hear the bell’s last regular chime for four years. A few even shed tears, as if they were attending a friend’s funeral.
But a number of politicians are angry about the lengthy silencing of Big Ben, calling it a symbol of Britain, according to ABC News. And some members of public agree with it. “It’s our heritage,” David Dummigan, from Cumbria in the north of England, told The New York Times. “People come from all over the world to look at it and listen to it. It’s part of British history.” This kind of emotional reaction could be linked to “fears about Britain losing its voice and place in the world, which is part of the threat that comes from Brexit”, according to CNN. “The reality of losing a place at the top table is being made obvious,” it wrote.
Worries aside, fans of Big Ben will still be able to hear its unique chimes during special occasions such as New Year’s Eve. But if we do miss hearing Big Ben on a regular basis, we could always set its sound as our message tone.
1.Why did Big Ben fall silent?
A. To get Big Ben repaired.
B. To create a quiet environment for residents.
C. To protect the workers’ ears.
D. To remove some politicians’ anger about it.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. Big Ben needs to be repaired.
B. Big Ben is a symbol of Britain.
C. The UK is losing its voice in the world.
D. Big Ben should ring on special occasions.
3.Why did Britons react emotionally?
A. Fears about Big Ben falling silent forever.
B. Threat coming from the rise of other countries.
C. Worries about not being able to visit Big Ben anymore.
D. Worries about the UK losing its influence on the world.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A. Britons React Emotionally to Big Ben’s Silence.
B. Britons are Worried about the Fall of the UK.
C. Britain is Losing its Place at the Top Table.
D. Big Ben Falls Silent for Four Years.
Most young people enjoy some form of physical activity. It may be walking, cycling or swimming, or winter, skating or skiing. It may be a game of some form---football, hockey, golf or tennis. It may be mountaineering.
Those who have a passion for climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked upon with surprise. Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship, and to take risks on high mountains? This astonishment is caused, probably, by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their leisure.
Mountaineering is a sport and not a game. There are no man-made rules, as others, as there are for such games as golf and football. There are, of course, rules of a different kinds which would be dangerous to ignore, but it is this freedom from man-made rules that makes mountaineering attractive to many people. Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods.
If we compare mountaineering with other more familiar sports, we might think that one big difference is that mountaineering is not a “team game”. We should be mistaken in this. There are, it is true, no “matches” between “teams” of climbers, but when climbers are on a rock face linked by a rope on which their lives may depend, there is obviously teamwork.
The mountain climber knows that he may have to fight forces that are stronger and more powerful than man. He has to fight the forces of nature. His sport requires high mental and physical qualities
A mountain climber continues to improve in skill year after year. A skier is probably past his best by the age of thirty. But it is not unusual for men of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in the Alps. They may take more time than younger men, but they perhaps climb with more skill and less waste of efforts, and they certainly experience equal enjoyment.
1.Mountaineering is a sport, not a game because______
A. there is not certain rule for climbers to follow
B. it is too dangerous for climbers
C. it can’t bring people joy and leisure
D. it has man-made rules
2.According to the writer, the only enemy of mountaineer should be______
A. temperature B. nature
C. climate D. patience
3.The underlined word “passion” in Paragraph 2 could be replaced by______
A. enthusiasm B. taste
C. gift D. strength
