The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks fly from his hammer.
The ______of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would______ himself watching how the tradesman worked.
"Young man, why don't you try your ______to learn to make shoe tacks(鞋钉), even if it is only to kill the time?" said the blacksmith. "Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you."
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little ______ he found that he was becoming very______ and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war______all his goods. He had to leave home and was______ to take up residence(居住) in another country. It ______ happened that in this village there were numerous shoemakers who were_____ a lot of money to buy tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid______ prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high______for soldiers' shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was ______ it difficult to ______ his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of ______ tacks and had the______ idea of making a _____ with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him _____ in his workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the______. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
"How______ it seems," he used to say, " even making tacks can bring a _____. My trade is more useful to me than were all my former riches."
1.A. soldier B. son C. villager D. tradesman
2.A. spend B. find C. enjoy D. demand
3.A. luck B. fortune C. means D. hand
4.A. moment B. performance C. practice D. routine
5.A. skilled B. scared C. tired D. satisfied
6.A. ruined B. lost C. sold D. crashed
7.A. required B. adopted C. forced D. delighted
8.A. thus B. ever C. meanwhile D. so
9.A. spending B. earning C. begging D. possessing
10.A. expensive B. high C. numerous D. much
11.A. requirement B. appeal C. bargain D. demand
12.A. valuing B. finding C. accustoming D. approaching
13.A. earn B. make C. eat D. have
14.A. conducting B. conveying C. making D. transforming
15.A. joyful B. sudden C. awful D. appropriate
16.A. bargain B. business C. order D. difference
17.A. addicted B. stressed C. strengthened D. settled
18.A. offer B. help C. tacks D. residence
19.A. strange B. funny C. lucky D. impressive
20.A. difference B. trade C. life D. fortune
I’ve heard such a story.
On a Friday______ , a poor young artist stood at the gate of the subway station, playing his violin. The music was_____, and many people______and put some money into the _____of the young man.
The next night, the young artist took out a large piece of______and laid it on the ground. Then he began _______ The music sounded more pleasant. Some people gathered and they found the _____on that paper. “Last night, a gentleman put a(n)_____thing into my hat. Please come to get it back.” When the people saw that, they felt very curious and began to______what it could be. After about half an hour, a man ______there in a hurry and said, “It can’t be true！You ...you ...”.
The young violinist asked, “Did you______ something?” “Lottery (彩票).”the man answered_____.
The violinist took out a lottery ticket. “Is it?” he asked.The man was too ______to say a word ...George Sang ____ a lottery ticket a few days ago. The awards(奖)opened yesterday and he won $500,000. So lucky and excited did he feel that he ______50 dollars and put it into the hat when hearing the music. However, the lottery ticket was also thrown into the hat without being noticed. The violinist found the lottery ticket. Thinking that the owner would ______to look for it, he came back to where he was given the lottery ticket.
Someone askedthe violinist_____ he returned the lottery ticket to the man. He said, “_____ I don’t have much______ , I live happily; but if I lose_____ I won’t be happy forever.”
1.A. morning B. afternoon C. noon D. night
2.A. quiet B. beautiful C. familiar D. exciting
3.A. slowed down B. speeded up C. passed by D. went away
4.A. wallet B. bag C. hat D. box
5.A. paper B. glass C. plastic D. cloth
6.A. working B. waiting C. singing D. playing
7.A. poems B. articles C. words D. texts
8.A. important B. fantastic C. dangerous D. interesting
9.A. talk B. care C. expect D. guess
10.A. came B. rushed C. walked D. left
11.A. get B. find C. forget D. lose
12.A. quickly B. anxiously C. seriously D. carefully
13.A. confused B. anxiously C. excited D. surprised
14.A. bought B. made C. found D. sold
15.A. handed out B. took out C. hunted for D. picked up
16.A. forget B. remember C. return D. leave
17.A. where B. why C. when D. how
18.A. If B. Why C. Because D. Although
19.A. money B. food C. time D. luck
20.A. friendship B. hope C. love D. honesty
Are you having trouble concentrating when you’re reading a book or listening to a lecture? This list of activities might help to improve your study habits.
Make a List. We often have trouble paying attention to one thing because our brain wants to think about something else. 1. You don’t worry about whatever else you should be doing.
Sleep More. Studies show that people who sleep fewer than eight hours a night for a period of time have slower response systems and more difficulty recalling information. 2.
Eat Healthier Foods. Many people enjoy foods high in fats and sugars. 3. They might give you a temporary burst of energy. However, that energy is soon followed by a crash.
Reduce Screen Time. This may be the most unpopular suggestion among young people. Screen time --- or time spent looking at cell phones, televisions, computer screens, has a clear effect on the attention span. 4.
5. Concentration improves for students who participate in team sports. It could be that being active is helpful in this way. Participating in a sport trains your brain to concentrate on specific tasks, and shut out other thoughts.
A. Be active.
B. Practice more.
C. These foods can provide enough energy for focusing.
D. But these foods can’t be helpful enough when it comes to focusing.
E. That is bad news for teens who stay up studying the night before a test.
F. Researchers advise parents to limit it when their children need to be focused.
G. By writing down all the things you need to do, you’ll gain a sense of control.
One of the biggest social issues in Japan is the increasingly low marriage rate among young people and the small birth rate, which led to an aging and eventually shrinking（萎缩） population. Most young Japanese women simply don’t seem interested in having many children.
Now what began in Japan is happening globally. As David Brooks wrote, birth rate is becoming smaller in much of the world, from Iran — 1.7 births rate per woman — to Russian, where low birth rates connected with high death rates mean the population is already shrinking. And this includes US, which has long had higher birth rates than most developed nations. Aging countries will face the burden of caring for large elderly populations without a larger resource of young workers.
It’s true that global aging is going to present some major challenges. Who will take care of the elderly? Will an older world be less active and slower to change and adapt? It’s all true. Sometimes I worry about a coming generational war over resources, just as I worry about how I will take care of my own parents in their old age, just as I worry about who might take care of me.
But here’s the thing: an older world may have less pressure on the environment. As we all know, the environment is the real victim of overpopulation.
So maybe a world that grows slower and grows older will put less pressure on the environment, and buy us a few more years to ensure our energy use, along with our birthrates, reaches a sustainable（可持续的）level. After all, we’re supposed to get smarter as we got older. Hopefully that holds true for the planet as well.
1.The population issue in Japan was mentioned to ________.
A. show young people’s preference to marriage
B. introduce the topic of global birth rate becoming smaller
C. indicate the deeper cause of Japan’s depression
D. emphasize the revolution of Japanese women
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to David Brook?
A. The birth rates all over the world are becoming smaller.
B. The most developed countries have higher death rates.
C. America is the only developed country with higher birth rate.
D. Birth rate’s becoming smaller means a great risk to aging countries.
3.Which will be caused by low birth rates according to the passage?
A. Aging society. B. Environmental problems.
C. High death rates. D. Low employment rates.
4.What’s the author’s attitude to the worldwide birth rates becoming smaller?
A. Anxious. B. Disappointed.
C. Hopeful. D. Doubtful.
On November 14, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt was on a hunting trip in Mississippi while trying to settle a line(边界) problem between Mississippi and Louisiana. Being an expert outdoorsman, he liked to hunt large animals.
However, his hunt was going poorly that days, and he couldn’t seem to find anything worthy of firing his gun. His followers, trying to help him, caught a Louisiana black baby bear for the President to shoot, but he refused. The thought of shooting a bear that was tied to a tree did not seem sporting, so he spared the life of the baby bear and set it free.
A famous political cartoonist for the Washington Star, Mr. Clifford Berryman, drew a cartoon titled, Drawing the Line in Mississippi, which used the story of the President refusing to shoot the bear.
The cartoon in the Washington Star showed Teddy Roosevelt, gun in hand, with his back turned on a pretty baby bear. Morris Michtom, owner of a Brooklyn toy store, got the idea from the cartoon and make a toy bear. Planning to use it only as a display, he placed the bear in his toy store window, and next to it placed a copy of the cartoon from the newspaper. To Michtom's surprise, he was surrounded by customers eager to buy it. He asked for and received President Roosevelt's permission to use his name for the bears that he and his wife made, and the Teddy Bear was born! Michtom soon made Teddy bears by the thousands. The money from selling Teddy bears made him, in 1903, form the Ideal Toy Company.
1.Why did Theodore Roosevelt come to Mississippi?
A. To go on a hunting trip. B. To look for large animals.
C. To do some outdoor games. D. To deal with a line problem.
2.Why did Theodore Roosevelt refuse to shoot that baby bear?
A. He was caring. B. He loved animals.
C. He was not hunting. D. It was too young.
3.What can we learn about Morris Michtom from the passage?
A. He was a far-sighted businessman.
B. He liked drawing cartoons of bears.
C. He became President Roosevelt’s friend.
D. He didn’t expect Teddy Bear to be popular.
4.Who named the toy bear “Teddy Bear”?
A. Morris Michtom. B. Teddy Roosevelt.
C. Mr. Clifford Berryman. D. Michtom and his wife.
The Ministry of Construction has released the names of the first group of 20 national parks, including 9 Suzhou classical gardens: Zhuozheng Garden, Liu Garden, Wangshi Garden, Huanxiu Villa, Lion Grove, Yipu Garden, Ou Garden, Tuisi Garden and Canglang Pavilion.
National parks refer to the famous city parks and gardens. Suzhou classical gardens are parts of China's precious cultural heritage (遗产) (all the 9 gardens are on the list of World Cultural Heritage) as well as a necessary part of the life of Suzhou citizens, not to mention they are also world-famous tourism resorts (胜地). In fact, their unique historical and cultural background serves to contribute to their ranking among national parks.
The earliest classical gardens in Suzhou can date back to the Song Dynasty. However, the gardens impress their visitors not only with their age-old history but also with their delicate scenes, particularly Canglang Pavilion, Zhuozheng Garden, Lion Grove and Liu Garden, the most famous four that represent different styles of dynasties of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing.
In 1978, an imitation（仿造物） of a Suzhou classical garden was set up by Chen Congzhou (the author of the book Suzhou Classical Gardens) in the City Museum of Art in New York, US, which was the first time ever to directly introduce Chinese ancient architecture to Westerners.
1.________parks and gardens are selected as National Parks in the first group.
A. 9 B. 8
C. 20 D. 4
2.Which of the following statements about Suzhou classical gardens is NOT true?
A. They are parts of China's precious cultural heritage.
B. They are world-famous tourism resorts.
C. They are a necessary part of the life of Suzhou citizens.
D. They came into being at the same time.
3.Which of the following can best explain the meaning of the underlined word "delicate"?
A. astonishing B. delicious
C. beautiful D. impressive
4.The first imitation of a Suzhou classical garden was set up in ________.
A. London B. New York
C. Paris D. Tokyo
