I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a neighboring town of Venice. As we enjoyed our coffee, a man called the waiter and placed his order, “Two cups of coffee, one on the wall.” We got interested and observed that he was served with one cup of coffee but he paid for two. As soon as he left, the waiter attached a piece of paper to the wall saying “A Cup of Coffee.” Similar occasions took place twice while we were there. It seemed that this gesture was quite normal at this place. However, it was something unique and confusing for us.
After a few days, when we again enjoyed coffee there, a man entered. The way this man was dressed did not match the standard or the atmosphere of this coffee shop. Poverty was evident from his looks. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said, “One cup of coffee from the wall.” The waiter served coffee to this man with respect and dignity. The man had his coffee and left without paying. We were amazed to watch all this when the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the dustbin.
Now it was no surprise for us; the matter was very clear. The great respect for the needy shown by people in this town moved us to tears.
Coffee is not a necessity. However, the point is that when we take pleasure in any blessing, maybe we also need to think about those people who also appreciate that specific blessing but cannot afford.
Note the waiter, who gets the communication going between the affording and the needy with a smile on his face. Think about the man in need: he enters the coffee shop without having to lower his self-dignity; he has a free cup of coffee without asking or knowing about who has given this cup of coffee to him; he only looked at the wall, placed an order for himself, enjoyed his coffee and left. Besides, we need to remember the role played by the wall that reflects the generosity and care of people in this town.
1.What made the author interested as well as confused?
A. The waiter’s making normal gestures.
B. Customers’ buying coffee for the needy.
C. The waiter’s attaching coffee orders on the wall.
D. Customers’ paying for coffee and having it put on the wall.
2.The author thought the man in need was ______.
A. not properly dressed
B. obviously poor
C. not right to leave without paying
D. strange to order coffee from the wall
3.In the author’s opinion, coffee is _____.
A. necessary in our life
B. respect shown for the needy
C. a blessing to someone who can’t afford
D. a blessing everyone should have
4.The passage is mainly concerned about ______.
A. learning from the waiter
B. buying coffee for others
C. caring more about the people in need
D. analyzing the characters in the coffee shop
Your 2018 Reading List, Provided by Bill Gates
Most of us can’t live like billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, but we can read like him. Gates recommended four books in 2018—though some were published earlier.
Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson (2017)
The bestselling biographer of Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein researched deeply into da Vinci’s contributions beyond art, highlighting the breadth of his scientific, technological, and creative output. “Leonardo nearly understood almost all of what was known on the planet at the time. That’s mostly because of his curiosity about every area of natural science and the human experience,” said Gates.
The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir, by Thi Bui (2017)
Gates calls this graphic novel “really impressive”. Bui is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who came to America after the fall of Saigon, and becoming a parent inspired her to look into her own parents’ miserable history. “I was struck by how the experiences Bui illustrates manage to be both universal and specific to their circumstances,” said Gates.
Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders (2018)
Saunders, a long-time short story writer, won high praise for this novel. The book imagines the ghosts that haunt (萦绕) the basement of Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s son, who died at 11 in real life. “Willie’s death after the Civil War made the president have a new understanding of the grief he’s creating in other families by sending their sons off to die in battle,” said Gates.
Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian (2018)
This new book is by the creator of Big History, a free, online social studies course. It traces history in wide, sweeping movements, starting with the Big Bang, and it provides, in effect, a short course in modern science. This is a brief history of the universe. “David gets a little stuck on the current economic and political problems in the West, and I wish he talked more about the role innovation will play in preventing the worst effects of climate change,” said Gates.
1.Which books refer to the field of science?
A. Origin Story and Leonardo da Vinci.
B. Lincoln in the Bardo and Origin Story.
C. Leonardo da Vinci and The Best We Could Do.
D. The Best We Could Do and Lincoln in the Bardo.
2.If you are interested in thrillers, whose book will you most probably choose?
A. Walter Isaacson. B. Thi Bui.
C. George Saunders. D. David Christian.
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The Best We Could Do is an autobiography.
B. Lincoln in the Bardo has been warmly received.
C. David Christian talks much about the part that innovation will play.
D. Readers can only read about Leonardo da Vinci’s contributions towards art.
假定你是中学生李华，你的美国笔友Harry来信说想学习中国的古诗(ancient poems)，
请你推荐一本有助于学习古诗的书籍。请给他回复邮件，内容包括：
1．书名及作者：
2．推荐理由；
3．表达祝愿。
注意：1．词数100词左右：
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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短文。短文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误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：在错的词下画一横线，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 hate to say sorry，and there is a change in my school arrangements．So I’m afraid I won’t able to keep my appointment to discuss Chinese paintings with you．I sincere apologize to you for any inconvenience causing by the unexpected change．Therefore I suggested we put it off from 3 pm this weekend until the same time in next Thursday．Will that be fine for you? Good news is that a exhibition of Chinese paintings are to be held this weekend．Works by many nationwide famous painter will be included，among who Qi Baishi is most famous in China．A visit there will surely help you better understand Chinese paintings．
Looking forward to your earliest reply．
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。
When police found Barely，19 years old，living in a tent，instead of a dormitory in Gordon State University，they were prepared to drive him away．
Then they heard his story．Barely 1. (plan)to walk to college 2. he couldn’t afford a bus ticket，but it would be too 3. (tire)．So he rode six hours from his hometown on his little brother’s bike，4. (carry)all his possessions—a bag，a tent，two bottles of water 5. a box of food—in order to start his second year 6. a biology major．He arrived early to look for a job，but no luck．7. (touch)by his story，Officer Richard and his partner put Barely up at a motel with their own money．Word spread and soon people donated clothes；school supplies and money 8. (cover)the rest of his motel stay—he was even given a job．And then there was Casey，who started a GoFundMe page for Barely after spending time with him．“This kid，though weak in 9. (appear)，rode a bike for 6 hours in the hot weather．I thought that he is determined．”She wrote on her Facebook page．The fund reached $1 84，000，all of 10. went into an education trust for Barely．
Grady threw down his backpack and slammed the car door shut．
“This is going to be a really ____ week，”he said unhappily to no one ____ ．He looked around the campground．Hundreds of tall and green fir trees，some as tall as church towers，__ the mountainside，giving it the appearance of a green carpet．The sun would be setting soon．Then，Grady thought，maybe the ____ wouldn’t be unbearable，But actually even up here in the ____ ，the hot stickiness of July was closely attached to him．
Grady hated camping，but it was something his family ____ every summer．His father liked cooking over an open fire，telling stories about how to ____ things like bear attacks and swarms of bees．His mother and younger brother Jared 1iked to hike and take ____ of animals．Jared had a collection of bug pictures that he’d ____ to the walls in his half of their room．Grady thought they were just scary and proof that Jared was a ____ kid．
They set up camp—two ____ ，one for his parents and one for himself and Jared．While everyone else started ____ dinner，Grady，looking for some place to cool down，set off for the nearby stream，which was deep enough to ____ in．
As he ____ the stream，something caught his eye．There was a(an) ____ black bear cub—no more than two feet tall with a lovely face．It was playing pretty ____ at the water’s edge， ____ its surroundings．Grady moved closer to get a ____ look．Then Grady heard a sound behind him．He ____ his father saying that bear cubs would never be __ ．Then he turned around and saw the cub’s mother moving swiftly towards him…
1.A. risky B. 1engthy C. peaceful D. interesting
2.A. in particular B. in advance C. in brief D. in silence
3.A. blocked B. reflected C. scarred D. covered
4.A. dust B. campground C. heat D. sun
5.A. river B. sky C. tower D. mountain
6.A. believed in B. stuck to C. came cross D. lived through
7.A. survive B. experience C. explore D. recognize
8.A. care B. control C. examples D. pictures
9.A. guided B. pinned C. taken D. thrown
10.A. sensitive B. smart C. strange D. tough
11.A. beds B. rooms C. tents D. plates
12.A. altering B. hunting C. ordering D. preparing
13.A. dig B. swim C. hide D. sink
14.A. crossed B. imagined C. neared D. 1eft
15.A. adorable B. aggressive C. injured D. 1arge
16.A. cautiously B. joyfully C. forcefully D. nervously
17.A. attacking B. destroying C. hating D. ignoring
18.A. better B. brighter C. fixed D. 1asting
19.A. found B. 1earned C. remembered D. misunderstood
20.A. alone B. awake C. smart D. scared
