In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh(法老) treated the message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.
Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out of the door, picnic basket in hand , a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, “ Oh, boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.” I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, but for his smile.
Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile. “ Oh, that bus left five minutes ago.” Dreams of head-cutting!
It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should care the feeling of the receiver.
Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When you are tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready yet? When you have your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter merrily told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as a traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.
Had my neighbour told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warning. Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, “ Oh, that’s all right. I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners, when they hear bad news,deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded(被轰炸的) person is sure to have.
1.In Paragraph 1, the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to _______.
A. make a comparison B. describe a scene
C. introduce a topic D. offer an argument
2.In the writer’s opinion, his neighbor was ______.
A. not helpful B. not considerate
C. friendly D. warm-hearted
3.From “ Dreams of head-cutting !”(Paragraph 3), we learn that the writer _______.
A. was reminded of the cruel pharaoh
B. was mad at the sales agent
C. wished that the sales agent would have had dreams
D. dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night
4.What is the main idea of the text ?
A. Delivering bad news with sympathy is important in communication.
B. Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.
C. Receiving bad news requires great courage.
D. Learning ancient traditions can be useful.
There is an ancient Chinese story about a giant man named Kua Fu who chases the sun. He drains the Yellow and Wei rivers during his race and finally dies of delydration（脱水）. His failure has reminded people of the unstoppable power of the sun for centuries. And yet, scientists throughout history have tried to better understand the most important star in our sky. On Aug 12, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe（探测器）, marking the start of its trip to the sun.
The probe itself is almost as big as a car and needed the help of a powerful rocket to escape Earth’s orbit, change direction and reach the sun. In order to reach the sun, the probe must complete seven flybys of Venus, using the power of the planet’s gravity to change its path, sending it toward the sun. But that’s not the only difficult part of the journey. As the probe approaches the sun’s corona（日冕）, it will have to bear temperatures reaching 1,400℃, as well as deal with serious radiation. So how will the probe survive?
According to NASA, a special shield has been used, which is a special 11.5 cm-thick carbon-composite shield that will be positioned between the probe and the sun’s corona. It’s advanced technology like this that will make the probe’s trip to the sun much smoother. If everything goes as planned the probe will reach a speed of 692,018 kilometers per hour as it moves around the sun, setting a new record for the fastest man-made object in history, NBC noted. It will fly close to the sun 24 times between 2018 and 2025. NBC added.
1.What is the aim of mentioning Kua Fu in the first paragraph?
A. To tell the origin of Parker Solar Probe.
B. To lead to the topic of researching the sun.
C. To show the achievement of ancient China.
D. To show the difficulties of studying the sun.
2.How many challenges will the probe meet to reach the sun?
A. One. B. Two.
C. Three. D. Four.
3.What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
A. The probe will reach the sun in 2025.
B. The probe has been protected very well.
C. The probe is the fastest man-made object.
D. The probe has been prepared well for its aim.
4.What may be the best title of the passage?
A. Taking a Closer Look at the Sun
B. Discovering the Unknown Puzzles
C. The Story of Kuafu Chasing the Sun
D. The Scientific Value of Searching the Sun
The annual World Economic Forum took place in Davos, Switzerland, in Jan. 23-26, 2018. What did Chinese entrepreneurs speak in the forum? Are there some quotable quotes for you?
★Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group
“I think globalization cannot be stopped — no one can stop globalization, no one can stop trade. If trade stops, the world stops. Trade is the way to dissolve (结束) the war not cause the war,” said Ma in Davos, “Google, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba — we are the luckiest companies of this century. But we have the responsibility to have a good heart, and do something good.”
★Richard Liu, founder and chief executive officer of JD
“Business is not only a way to make money but also a way to contribute yourself, to help people,” Liu said in a speech in Davos. “How can we face the fractured (分化的) world? That’s the topics of the Davos this year. I think a very important thing in business is cooperation. If we can unite, work together, if we work very closely, I think we can bring more hope to the people and we can build more trust between the people, countries and companies and partners,” he said.
★Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip
“Tourism is a sunrise industry. Since I entered Ctrip, every year there are new comers, which, first of all, shows that tourism is booming.” Sun told Sina.com in Davos. “We invested heavily in ABC. A refers to AI, B is big data, and C is cloud computing. As we continue to expand overseas, these three will be very good weapons for us. So we think those mean opportunity,” she said.
★Hu Xiaoming, president of Aliyun
“In 2018, people will see the development in various countries more closely connected with cloud computing. More manufacturing enterprises and financial institutions will start to use ‘cloud’, and cloud computing will increase the efficiency of technology and finance,” Hu told Xinhua in Davos.
1.What do Chinese entrepreneurs like Jack Ma and Richard Liu focus more on?
A. More huge jumps in profits. B. The joined efforts of mankind.
C. Reducing production costs. D. The role of science in business.
2.What is the main business of Ctrip?
A. Tourism. B. The creation of AI.
C. Computer. D. Financial service online.
3.What does Hu think will promote global economic development?
A. Economy recovery. B. The World Economic Forum.
C. Cloud computing. D. Financial efficiency.
假定你是李华，你在某贴吧上看到美国孔子学院(Confucius Institute)的学生Henry发帖，希望通过网络视频互动学习中国诗词。请你给他写封邮件，内容包括：
1．表示愿意帮助他；
2．说明你想帮助他的原因。
注意：
1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：
1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
I like the Spring Festival，during that I usually enjoy myself greatly．All the family members will get together to have a big dinner．We also visit our relatives or friends．To my great joy，my grandparent always give me some lucky money．Last year，I spent the spring Festival happily as usual，but one thing made me surprising．My grandparents didn’t give me 1ucky money at the first! It seemed that they had forgotten about them．Seeing I was puzzled，my grandpa laughed．Several minutes late，my mobile phone received a message．It was my grandpa sent lucky money to me secret through WeChat！What modern and humorous my grandpa was!
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
China creates Harvest Festival for farmers
Recently China has set up a special day for farmers to celebrate the yearly harvest．It is the first festival 1. (create)by China specially for the country’s farmers．
“The country will celebrate the Chinese Farmers’Harvest Festival on the autumnal equinox(秋分)of China lunar calendar from this year，”said Han Changbin，minister of agriculture and rural affairs，at 2. press conference．Autumnal equinox usually 3.(fall)between September 22 and 24， 4. the country’s agricultural harvest season．
The festival will give greater 5. (important)to rural work and push for 6. (fast) development of agriculture and rural areas．
A variety of celebrations will be organized 7. (display)the agricultural harvest，rural technology achievements and farmers’creativeness．Farmers 8.(encourage)to involve in activities related to their work and life，9. waste should be avoided in the celebrations．
The rural economy is a key part of China’s efforts to develop a modernized economy．By 10. (develop)its vast rural areas，China expects to see a strong agricultural sector，a beautiful countryside and wealthy farmers．
