I was leaving for a new job in Europe and my younger brother would be leaving for college. We only had a few precious months left as a family living under the same ______. Everything would change in the ______. A family of magpies (喜鹊) ______ in our maple tree. This family seemed to be extraordinarily lively. One early morning, the noise was so ______ that my dad went out to see what the birds were doing. He found a young magpie ______ around the yard, flapping (拍打) his little wings and yelling.
Dad looked up in the tree to find Mommy and Daddy Magpie sitting on a branch and glaring ______ at him. He had to do something for the poor little thing. Dad called the zoo for ______. They told him not to ______ it and assured him the baby would learn to fly on its own. Dad no longer ______ the magpie around the yard. He did, however, watch him ______ from the living room window, just to make sure a cat didn’t turn him into ______.
The next day I got a ______ at my summer job. It was from my father. He never called me ______. He asked me if I saw Morey before I left home — he named the bird Morey.
Driving home from work, I ______ it wasn’t only about the magpie but also about his own little fledglings (幼鸟) who were ______ the nest. It was about my brother and me. Dad felt as helpless as the Mommy and Daddy bird watching in the tree. He couldn’t make us fly nor could he ______ cats once we left the nest.
I got home and found him looking out of the kitchen window with ______ in his eyes. I ______ him by saying Morey might have learnt to fly with very good parents raising him.
Soon it was the end of August. Bags were ______ and it was time for my brother and me to leave the nest. In the end, Dad had nothing to worry about. He ______ his little fledglings well. And we flew...
1.A. house B. room C. family D. roof
2.A. winter B. spring C. fall D. summer
3.A. settled down B. took down C. cut down D. brought down
4.A. exciting B. loud C. frightening D. low
5.A. flying B. jumping C. running D. wandering
6.A. hopefully B. carefully C. helplessly D. suddenly
7.A. leave B. permission C. advice D. conclusion
8.A. hunt B. chase C. ignore D. touch
9.A. followed B. assisted C. helped D. collected
10.A. coldly B. gladly C. purposely D. cautiously
11.A. taste B. lunch C. meat D. nest
12.A. news B. message C. call D. notice
13.A. at work B. at school C. at home D. at noon
14.A. realized B. wondered C. summarized D. questioned
15.A. building B. quitting C. directing D. leaving
16.A. argue with B. fight against C. drive away D. associate with
17.A. light B. tears C. pain D. doubts
18.A. greeted B. hugged C. persuaded D. comforted
19.A. locked B. packed C. loaded D. strengthened
20.A. raised B. loved C. brought D. accompanied
How to Discover Your Talent
Talent tends to refer to that inborn skill that everyone seems to be born with. 1.. It’s good to try and identify and practice that skill.
Revisit your childhood. A good way to figure out where your talents lie is to go back to your childhood. 2.. This is often the time when you had plans that weren’t limited by what people tend to think of as ‘reality’.
Consider what it is you do when you lose track of time. One of the chief things you can do is focus on what you love to do so much that you have a tendency to forget everything else for a while. 3.. You might have to research a bit deeper into the things you enjoy to discover what makes you feel satisfied.
4.. Sometimes, when you’re having difficulty seeing clearly, it’s good to get an outside opinion. Your friends and family members know you well and they should be able to offer you some insights into the areas they think you’re talented in.
Try new things. Especially if you’re not sure what your talents might be, you should get out and try new things. This way you’re more likely to hit on what it is that you’re really good at and that really makes you happy. 5.. In your quest for your own talent you should look into the talents of other people.
A. Consider what you loved to do as a child
B. Ask others for better advice
C. You can use your talents in the service of kindness
D. Focus on the areas that you’re less talented in
E. Not all talents are going to be super obvious
F. Observe and enjoy the talents of other people
G. It’s true that having a talent can help you in life
A small robot may help children who are recovering from long-term illnesses in the hospital or at home. These children may feel isolated from their friends and classmates. The robot takes their place at school. Through the robot, the children can hear their teachers and friends. They also can take part in class from wherever they are recovering.
Anyone who has a long-term illness knows that recovering at home can be lonely. This can be especially true for children. They may feel left out. Now, these children may have a high-tech friend to help feel less lonely. That friend is a robot. The robot is called AV1. AV1 goes to school for a child who is homebound while recovering from a long-term illness. And the child’s school friends must help. They carry the robot between classes and place the robot on the child’s desk.
A Norwegian company called No Isolation created the robot. The co-founders of No Isolation are Karen Dolva and Marius Aabel. Dolva explains how the robot AV1 works. She says, from home, the child uses an iPad or a phone to start the robot. Then they use the same device to control the robot’s movements. At school, the robot becomes the eyes, ears and voice of the child.
‘So, it sits at the child’s desk in the classroom and the child uses an iPad or a phone to start it, control its movement with touch, and talk through it.’
The student can take part in classroom activities from wherever they are recovering — whether at home or from a hospital bed. The robot is equipped with speakers, microphones and cameras that make communication easy.
1.What’s the meaning of the underlined word ‘isolated’?
A. Kept apart. B. Difficult to learn.
C. Unhappy or stressful. D. Full of hope.
2.What are children unable to do through the robot?
A. Taking part in the class. B. Talking with his friends.
C. Writing on the blackboard. D. Hearing their teachers.
3.How do children control the robot’s movements?
A. By talking with the robot.
B. By taking part in class activities.
C. By using the microphones equipped in it.
D. By touching an iPad or a phone.
4.What’s the robot mainly designed for?
A. Children who have just recovered from illnesses.
B. Children who can’t go to school for a long time.
C. Children who are bored with going to school.
D. Children who can’t see, hear or speak.
During the past Spring Festival, many children may have received red packets from their families. But Xing Pu, a 40-year-old economist, is asking the government to give red packets to every Chinese citizen.
Xing suggested the government give out 1,000 yuan to each Chinese since the government income has increased rapidly in recent years. He said his suggestion would allow everyone to directly enjoy the fruits of the country’s economic success, help the lower-income groups deal with rising prices and increase consumption around the country.
Recent years have seen the government carry out a series of pro-poor (扶贫) and pro-rural (惠农) policies, including increasing spending on public health-care and cutting down the agricultural tax. But the lower-income group still needs more help.
Xing said he has borrowed many ideas from practices in countries like the United States and Singapore. Earlier this year, the governments of the two nations offered cash handouts (救济) to their citizens. As for in China, ‘We can even encourage the rich to donate their 1,000 yuan red packet to the poor,’ said Xing.
Although Xing’s suggestion has gained wide support among ordinary Chinese on the Internet, many other economists criticized it as unpractical. ‘To better use the increase of money, handing out money is not a solution that holds good for all time. It could be better to improve the public service or cut the price of energy use in daily life,’ said Qiao Xinsheng, an economic professor.
1.Xing Pu suggested that the government give out 1,000 yuan to each Chinese because _____.
A. the poor should get help from the rich
B. the government should help the rich
C. the growing economic pie should be shared among the people
D. the government doesn’t know how to use the money
2.What has the government done to help the lower-income group?
A. Spending less on public health care.
B. Increasing the agricultural tax.
C. Handing out money to every Chinese.
D. Carrying out pro-poor and pro-rural policies.
3.Xing Pu’s ideas of giving red packets to every Chinese citizen mainly came from ______.
A. children receiving red packets from their families
B. the US and Singapore governments offering cash handouts to their citizens
C. the government’s increasing spending on public health care
D. the rising prices in the country
4.According to Qiao Xinsheng, what is better than giving out money?
A. Cutting the price of energy use in daily life.
B. Supplying food to everyone every day.
C. Controlling the rising of prices.
D. Increasing the government income.
Both humans and animals have enemies. It is easy for us to know the difference between our friends and our enemies. But can other animals do the same? Elephants can! They can use their sense of vision and smell to tell the difference between people who mean a threat and those who do not. In Kenya, researchers find that elephants react differently to clothing worn by men of the Maasai and Kamba ethnic groups. Young Maasai men hunt animals and thus mean a threat to elephants; Kamba men are mainly farmers and are not a danger to elephants.
In an experiment conducted by animal scientists, elephants were first presented with clean clothing or clothing that had been worn for five days by either a Maasai or a Kamba man. When the elephants noticed the smell of clothing worn by a Maasai man, they moved away from the smell faster and took longer to relax than when they noticed the smells of either clean clothing or clothing worn by a Kamba man.
Clothing color also plays a role. In the same study, when the elephants saw red clothing not worn before, they reacted angrily, as red is typically worn by Maasai men. Rather than running away as they did with the smell, the elephants acted angrily toward the red clothing.
The researchers believe that the elephants’ emotional reactions are due to their different senses of smell and sight. Smelling a possible danger means that a threat is nearby and the best thing to do is run away and hide. Seeing a potential threat without its smell means that risk is low. Therefore, instead of showing fear and running away, the elephants express their anger and become aggressive.
1.The author wrote the text in order to tell us that elephants are _____.
A. dangerous B. friendly C. clever D. naughty
2.How did the elephants react to smells in the study?
A. They attacked a man with the smell of new clothing.
B. They needed time to relax when smelling something unfamiliar.
C. They became anxious when they smelled Kamba-scented clothing.
D. They were frightened and ran away when they smelled their enemies.
3.What can be inferred about the elephants’ behavior from this text?
A. Elephants can tell enemies from friends.
B. Elephants have a sharper sense of smell than sight.
C. Elephants are more intelligent than other animals.
D. Elephants tend to attack rather than escape when in danger.
4.In which section of a magazine will the text be most probably found?
A. Business. B. Fashion. C. Nature. D. News.
News China
Circulation (发行量): 1 Year, 12 Issues
Cover Price: $47.88 Price For You: $19.99
Product Description: News China is the English edition of China Newsweek. The magazine covers the latest Chinese domestic news in politics, business, society, environment, culture, sports and travels, etc. It is the first comprehensive news magazine for readers interested in China.
Better Life
Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues
Cover Price: $44.55 Price For You: $15.00
Product Description: Designed for those who have a strong interest in personal lifestyle, Better Life is America’s complete home and family service magazine. It offers help with food, recipes, decorating, building, gardening, family health, money management, and education.
Apple Seeds
Circulation: 1 Year, 9 Issues
Cover Price: $44.55 Price For You: $33.95
Product Description: Apple Seeds is an award winning magazine filled with stories for kids aged from 7 to 9. The cover is very soft, providing durability (耐用性) that allows each issue to be enjoyed for may years to come. Besides, there is a big surprise for you—it’s being sold at a more favorable discount than usual.
Humor Times
Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues
Cover Price: $36.00 Price For You: $11.95
Product Description: Humor Times is for those who love to laugh! Full of cartoons and humor columns, it shows up in your mailbox once a month and keeps you smiling all year round! In today’s world, you need a reason to laugh. So let’s find it in Humor Times.
1.What kind of people may buy News China?
A. People who have an interest in personal lifestyle of the Chinese.
B. People who have a strong sense of humor and love to laugh.
C. People who want to enlarge the knowledge of their kids.
D. People who are interested in China’s politics, business and culture.
2.Better Life can help you in _________.
A. ordering food from restaurants
B. finding interesting stories for your kids
C. beautifying your house
D. learning about sports and travels
3.What do we know about Apple Seeds?
A. The soft cover enables it to be read and kept long.
B. It can be purchased as an award for your children.
C. It offers the biggest discount among all the magazines.
D. The magazine is going to surprise you for many years.
