阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容或括号内单词的正确形式。
Jane was walking round the department store. She remembered how difficult 1. was to choose a suitable Christmas gift for her father. She wished that he was as easy 2. (please) as her mother, who was always delighted with perfume.
Besides, shopping at this time of the year was not 3. pleasant experience：people 4.（step）on your feet or pushed you with their elbows (肘部), hurrying ahead to get to a bargain.
Jane paused in front of a counter 5. some attractive ties were on display. “They are real silk,” the assistant tried to attract her. “Worth double the price.” But Jane knew from past experience that her 6. (choose) of ties hardly ever pleased her father. Jane stopped where a small crowd of men had gathered. She found some good quality pipes 7. sale. She did not hesitate for long: although her father smoked a pipe only once in a while, she knew that this was a present which was bound to please 8..
When Jane got home, with her small but well-chosen present in her bag, her parents were already 9. table having supper. Her mother was excited. “Your father has at last decided to stop smoking,” Jane 10. (inform).
Many years ago, I was working in an office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We had large ________ that look out over a busy street. I was standing by one of those windows one day when a woman in a ________ car looked up and made eye contact. Naturally I _______. As she turned and tried to identify me, a quiet laugh_________my lips. My co-workers began taking an interest, and stood back watching the _________ I received, and laughing happily. Then the stress of work was _________ away.
Christmas approached, and job ________ were announced. Several of my co-workers were losing their jobs, and everyone was _________. While I was working a night shift, a red jacket , a box of foam packing and strips of tape in the corner caught my __________. They could be Santa’s jacket and beard! Then I folded a red file into a hat and tied the _________ to it. With the red jacket , a Santa’s Costume appeared.
The next day I walked _______down into the office in the costume. My co-workers ________around me and laughed for the first time in weeks. Suddenly, my boss came to me, _______, shook his head and then left. I feared________. Then the phone rang.
With a bead of sweat __________ my forehead, I entered the boss’ office . _________, he laughed: “Thanks, Mike! It’s been hard to enjoy the Christmas season. Thanks for the laugh. I _________it.”
That evening, I stood ______ by the window and waved at my fans, with my heart ________ with joy. For a few minutes of that day, we’d been able to forget our __________.
1.A. balcony B. windows C. roof D. curtain
2.A. working B. wandering C. passing D. following
3.A. waved B. welcomed C. shouted D. shook
4.A. obtained B. locked C. grasped D. escaped
5.A. concerns B. feelings C. responses D. actions
6.A. given B. turned C. washed D. put
7.A. loads B. time C. arrangement D. cuts
8.A. depressed B. excited C. confused D. awkward
9.A. notice B. attention C. appreciation D. consideration
10.A. jacket B. tie C. vest D. beard
11.A. sadly B. nervously C. embarrassedly D. bravely
12.A. got B. gathered C. turned D. presented
13.A. approached B. backed off C. stepped in D. paused
14.A. responsibility B. difficulty C. trouble D. mistake
15.A. pulling B. rolling down C. flowing D. moving on
16.A. lastly B. Thus C. Instead D. However
17.A. needed B. claimed C. declared D. shared
18.A. proudly B. carefully C. hopefully D. silently
19.A. filled B. covered C. equipped D. loaded
20.A. weakness B. faults C. losses D. changes
Although problems are a part of our lives, it certainly doesn’t mean that we let them rule our lives forever. One day or the other, you’ll have to stand up and say – problem, I don’t want you in my life.
1. Problems with friends, parents, girlfriends, husbands, and children – the list goes on. Apart from these, the inner conflicts within ourselves work, too. These keep adding to our problems. Problems come in different shapes and colors and feelings.
But good news is that all problems can be dealt with. Now read on to know how to solve your problems.
Talk, it really helps. What most of us think is that our problem can be understood only by us and that no talking is going to help. 2. Talking helps you move on and let go.
Write your problems. 3. When you write down your problems, you are setting free all the tension from your system. You can try throwing away the paper on which you wrote your problems. By doing this, imagine yourself throwing away the problems from your life.
Don’t lose faith and hope. No matter what you lose in life, don’t lose faith and hope. Even if you lose all your money, family，you should still have faith. 4.
Your problems aren’t the worst. No matter what problem you get in life, there’re another one million people whose problems are huger than yours. 5. Your problems might just seem big and worse, but in reality they can be removed.
Go about and solve your problems because every problem, however big or small, always has a way out.
A.When we have a problem, a pressing, critical, urgent, life-threatening problem, how do we try and solve it?
B.But the truth is that when you talk about it, you’re setting free the negative energies that have been gathering within you.
C.Having a personal diary can also be of huge help if you don’t want a real person to talk with.
D.We can often overcome the problem and achieve the goal by making a direct attack.
E.Of course, we’ve been fighting troubles ever since we were born.
F.With faith and hope, you can rebuild everything that you lose.
G.Tell yourself: when they can deal with them, why can’t I?
A company in San Francisco, California, has found a way to turn used plastic bottles into women's shoes.
Every day, millions of Americans drink water and other liquids from plastic bottles. More than 60 million of them are thrown away each day. Many of the plastic bottles end up in landfills or are burned with other waste products.
A San Francisco start-up company called Rothy's, however, turns this plastic waste into environmentally friendly shoes. Roth Martin is the company's co-founder. He explains how they turn plastic into soft material for women's feet. They take the plastic, clean it, and break it down into small pieces. Then they press them through a device that makes soft fibers. Those fibers are then combined together. This is done by a 3D machine. It is designed to reduce waste while making the shoes. The knitted stuff and the inner part of the shoe are then attached to the shoe's outer part, called the sole. This outer sole is also made from environmentally friendly material: responsibly sourced no-carbon rubber.
Rothy's shoes are sold online. They are flat shoes, with either a rounded or pointed toe. They come in different colors and designs. They cost either $ 125 or $ 145 per pair, depending on the design. After American actress Gwyneth Paltrow discovered them last year, the demand for the shoes grew. Martin says there is no shortage of material to fill that demand. “We're not going to run out of water bottles any time soon. So we have a limitless supply of material, and I think that is a good sign for our future.” When the environmentally friendly shoes wear out, customers can return them at no cost to a company that uses the recycled material to make other products.
For now, the shoes are only available to be shipped in the United States. However, the company says it will add international shipping in the near future.
1.How are used plastic bottles usually dealt with?
A. They are used to make shoes. B. They are buried or burned.
C. They are changed into soft materials. D. They are returned to factories for reuse.
2.What does the underlined word “knitted” in the third paragraph mean?
A. Combined. B. Fixed.
C. Spotted. D. Repaired.
3.Which of the following directly helped to increase the sales of Rothy's shoes?
A. The design and color. B. The reasonable price.
C. The company's advertisement. D. The star power of Gwyneth Paltrow.
4.What is the purpose of the text?
A. To advertise a new kind of shoes.
B. To introduce a new way of recycling plastic waste.
C. To describe the process of making shoes.
D. To stress the importance of environmental protection.
Whatever happened to the familiar scene from the past of children playing “tag(捉人游戏)” in the streets while their parents chatted with the neighbors over the garden fence? This picture is fading fast today, as children are now leaving the streets in favor of a screen.
Several organizations are attempting to change this situation. One of these organizations is Play England, which aims to improve opportunities for children to play outside. A leading figure in the campaign is 50-year-old Adrian Voce, who has childhood memories of days spent in the “Big Woods” near his house with his older brothers. “We were given a packed lunch and told not to talk to strangers. I can still remember wandering in and out of each other’s houses.” he says.
However, it is not only the children that Mr. Voce and his organization have to convince. In many cases the parents themselves block his efforts. A survey in 2014 found that 85 percent of adults agreed that it was important for children to be able to play safely in the road or street where they live. However, many of them were not prepared to park their cars an extra 50 meters away from their homes.
Mr. Voce’s attempts to encourage children to play outside include the organization of campaigns like National Playday. Hundreds of communities all over the country take part in this effort, yet it can take a lot of people to give children a taste of what it is like to play in the streets. On one street in Aldershot last year there were five policemen, three community support officers, a traffic management crew, a closed-circuit television van, and a team of "play workers.”
Society today has changed to such an extent that children do not feel safe on the streets and their parents no longer feel comfortable about letting them play there. It is not only the appeal of computers and video games that has driven children inside, but also the presence of traffic, crime, and violent young people. However, thanks to the efforts of people like Adrian Voce, it may not be too late to turn back the clock.
1.What kind of feeling does Adrian Voce show when he looks back on his childhood?
A. Regret B. Shame
C. Delight D. Surprise
2.Why does the author say the parents themselves block Mr. Voce’s efforts?
A. They don’t want their children to be outside.
B. They are worried about the safety of the streets.
C. They are not optimistic about Mr. Voce’s campaign.
D. They won’t make the street safer for their children to play in.
3.What can we learn about National Playday?
A. It has rapidly spread to other countries.
B. A lot of people are needed to make it work.
C. It has not lived up to the organizers’ expectations.
D. It aims to call on parents to play with their children.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards children playing in the streets?
A. Worried. B. Hopeful.
C. Unclear D. Shocked.
Poet William Stafford once said that we are defined more by the detours in life than by the narrow road toward goals. I like this image. But it was quite by accident that I discovered the deep meaning of his words.
For years we made the long drive from our home in Seattle to my parents’ home in Boise in nine hours. We traveled the way most people do: the fastest, shortest, easiest road, especially when I was alone with four noisy, restless kids who hate confinement and have strong opinions about everything.
Road trips felt risky, so I would drive fast, stopping only when I had to. We would stick to the freeways and arrive tired.
But then Banner, our lamb was born. He was rejected by his mama days before our planned trip to Boise. I had two choices: leave Banner with my husband, or take him with me. My husband made the decision for me.
That is how I found myself on the road with four kids, a baby lamb and nothing but my everlasting optimism to see me through. We took the country roads out of necessity. We had to stop every hour, let Banner shake out his legs and feed him. The kids chased him and one another. They’dget back in the car breathless and energized, smelling fresh from the cold air.
We explored side roads, catching grasshoppers in waist-high grass. Even if we simply looked out of the car windows at baby pigs following their mother, or fish leaping out of the water, it was better than the best ride down the freeway. Here was life and new horizons．
We eventually arrived at my parents' doorstep astonishingly fresh and full of stories.
I grew brave with the trip back home and creative with my disciplining technique. On an empty section of road, everyone started quarreling. I stopped the car, ordered all kids out and told them to meet me up ahead. I parked my car half a mile away and read my book in sweet silence.
Some road trips are by necessity fast and straight. But that trip with Banner opened our eyes to a world available to anyone adventurous enough to wander around and made me realize that a detour may uncover the best part of journey—and the best part of yourself.
1.Why did the author use to take freeways to her parents' home?
A. It was less tiring. B. It would befaster and safer.
C. Her kids would feel less confined. D. She felt better with other drivers nearby.
2.The author stopped regularly on the country roads to ________．
A. take care of the lamb B. take a deep breath
C. relax in the fresh air D. let the kids play with Banner
3.What does the author discover from the trip according to Paragraph 6?
A. Freeways are where beauty hides.
B. Getting close to nature adds to the joy of life.
C. Enjoying the beauty of nature benefits one's health.
D. One should follow side roads to watch wild animals.
4.What could be the best title for the passage?
A. The Road to Bravery B. Creativity out of Necessity
C. Charm of the Detour D. Road Trip and Country Life
