When I heard the piano, I walked to Mrs. Windsor’s house and waited outside as I always did. That meant she was working with another student, and I was not supposed to bother them by ringing the bell. I stood against the wall and daydreamed what I’d rather be doing. “Almost anything”, I sighed dejectedly. I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn’t have a gift for it. It didn’t come to me naturally. I thought back to happier times when I was writing stories and acting them out with my friends, cutting up old clothes to make dresses that performers wear in plays, and building scenery out of old things we found. But Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt my duty to try.
The door opened and Wendy Barton came out. I walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music.
“Hello,” I heard a voice behind me say softly. I turned around to see a little girl standing behind me, eating an apple. But before I could make any response, Mrs. Windsor walked into the room in her usual urgent manner and announced, “Jennifer, this is my niece, Pasha. Pasha, this is Jennifer. Pasha will be giving you your lesson today. I’m up to my ears in something else!” she then exited to the kitchen.
Pasha set her apple down on the side table and slid beside me on the piano bench.
“What piece do you like best?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “They’re all the same to me. I don’t know.
“You mean you don’t have a favorite?”
“No, not really.”
Pasha looked at me, rather puzzled, then opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys and studied the notes on the page for a moment. Then I frowned and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I have to admit I was a rather mechanical pianist.
After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. “What are you hearing in the music?” I looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn’t know what she meant.
“Like a story. What story is being playing out within the music?”
“I guess I’ve never thought about it before. I don’t know.”
“Here, let me try and you listen,” Pasha advised.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play. “See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water flowing beside you?”
Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys. “Now the princess appears and she’s picking flowers from the water’s edge.”A carefree, happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha’s dancing fingers. “Oh, but she slips!”The music changed. “And our princess is being carried off by the fast-flowing stream. Quickly, the princess’s horse sees her plight (困境),” Pasha continued, “and races to the river’s edge where he swims out to let her catch hold of him. They make it to the bank and she hugs her faithful horse and swears she will never again wear princess skirts that weigh her down.” Pasha finished with a big smile and then looked at me.
“Aren’t you the girl who tells the stories?” she asked.
“I guess. I do tell a lot of stories.”
“Oh, yes! All the kids talk about them. I’ve heard about you. Well, all you have to do is learn to hear the stories in the music. That’s all there is to it.”
“I’ve never thought it that way.”
“Let’s try another one, shall we?”Pasha smiled and together we played that afternoon, finding the stories in the music and learning that sometimes it takes a friend to pull you out of the river onto dry land again.
1.The underlined word “dejectedly” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______
A. nervously B. desperately
C. impatiently D. unhappily
2.Jennifer got lost in thought when she ________
A. played the piano with Pasha for the first time
B. listened to Pasha tell her story about the princess
C. remembered happier times of writing stories and acting them out
D. discovered that Mrs. Windsor’s niece would be giving the piano lesson
3.By describing herself as a mechanical pianist, the author showed ______
A. she could remember the notes in a short time
B. she was playing the piano without thinking
C. Pasha was showing off her skills
D. it had been a long time since she played last time
4.Which of the following can best describe Pasha?
A. Creative B. Naughty
C. Humorous D. Brave
5.This text would be probably found in ______
A. a collection of stories about friendship and learning
B. a book of daily records about famous young musicians
C. a magazine series about the challenges of overcoming fears
D. a series of newspaper articles about musical instruments
Tens of thousands of ancient pictures carved into the rocks at one of France’s most important tourist sites are being gradually destroyed. Scientists and researchers fear that the 36,000 drawings on rocks in Mont Bego in the French Alps are being damaged so rapidly that they will not survive for future generations.
The mountain, believed to have once been a site for prayer, is scattered (散布) with 4,000-year-old drawings cut into bare rock. They include pictures of cows with horns, cultivated fields and various gods and goddesses. But as the popularity of the site increases, the pictures are being ruined by thoughtless graffiti (涂鸦).
Jean Clottes is the chairman of the International Committee on Rock Art. He says, “People think that because the pictures have been there so long they will always continue to be there. But if the damage continues at this rate there will be nothing left in 50 years.”
He describes seeing tourists stamping on the drawings, wearing away the rock and definition (清晰) of the artwork as they do so. Some visitors, he says, even cut off parts to take home as souvenirs. “When people think they can’t take a good enough photograph, they rub the drawings to get a clearer picture,” he said. “The drawings are polished by the weather, and if the sun is shining and the visitors can’t see them properly they simply rub them to make them look fresher.” Other researchers describe how people arrive carrying long sticks with sharp ends to scratch (刮) their own drawings, or even their names, in the rocks.
But experts are divided over the best way to preserve the drawings. Henry de Lumley, director of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, believes that the only way to save the site is to turn the whole mountain into a “no-go” area, preventing the public from going there except on guided tours. Otherwise, he says, not only will the site be completely destroyed but important research work will be reduced.
Clottes disagrees, “The measure suggested by Henry de Lumley is the most severe, and while it is the most effective, it is also certain to bring about protests from people who live there,” he said. “The site was classified as a historic monument years ago by the Ministry of Culture, and we must do as much as possible to save what is there.”
David Lavergne, the regional architect, also wants to avoid closing the site. “Henry de Lumley’s idea isn’t ideal,” he said. “Our department feels that the best solution is to let people look at the site, but because the area is very big it is difficult to prevent visitors from damaging it. I would prefer that everyone was able to look at it, but the main problem is money. We do not have the funds to employ the necessary number of guards. We may have to consider charging a fee. It doesn’t seem to be possible to get the government support.”
1.Jean Clottes says that people who visit the mountain____.
A. do not believe the drawings are old. B. believe they are allowed to paint there
C. think the drawings should be left alone D. think the drawings will not disappear
2.According to Jean Clottes, some of the visitors to the area have____.
A. helped to clean the drawings B. taken bits of the rock home
C. been unable to take photographs D. misunderstood what the pictures mean
3.Henry de Lumley is eager to ____.
A. set up research projects B. protect public rights
C. keep out individual visitors D. ban traffic in the area
4.This passage has been written about Mont Bego to ____.
A. advertise the closing of the site
B. warn visitors about the dangers of the site
C. encourage scientists to visit the site
D. describe fears for the future of the site
Most dog owners believe their dogs experience guilt, but animal behaviorists say the “guilty look” of a dog is simply a reaction to you and that dogs lack the ability to feel shame.
Alexandra Horowitz, a psychology professor and principal investigator at the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Columbia University once carried out a study on dog “guilt”. She videotaped 14 dogs in a series of trials and observed how they reacted when their owners left the room after instructing them not to eat a treat. When the owner was gone, Horowitz gave some of the dogs the forbidden treat. Then she would tell the owners whether their dogs had eaten the treat or had behaved. However, Horowitz wasn’t always honest with them.
Horowitz found that the dogs’ “guilty looks” had little to do with whether they’d eaten the treat or not. In fact, dogs that hadn’t eaten it but were scolded by misinformed owners tended to exhibit the most elements of the “guilty look”.
Horowitz says this shows that the dogs’ body language is actually a response to their owner’s behavior---not an experience of shame for a misdeed. Why then, do dogs look so ashamed when we scold them?
Maybe that look of guilt is the result of a learned association. When you scold your dog for chewing up a pair of slippers, he quickly learns that if he lowers his head and tucks his tail, the undesirable response---raised voice and angry expression---is more likely to disappear.
1.According to Horowitz, the dogs’ “guilty look” is _____.
A. the dogs’ nature. B. a reaction to people’s behavior.
C. a direct result of copying people’s behavior. D. a response to a shameful behavior.
2.How was Horowitz’ study carried out？
A. By giving examples. B. By telling her experience.
C. By doing an experiment. D. By reasoning.
3.What might be the most suitable title for the passage ？
A. The “Guilty Look” of the Dog B. Dog without the Sense of Guilt
C. Dogs’ Ability to Feel Shame D. The Study on Dogs
4.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that dogs were ______.
A. born with the look of guilt B. born with the ability to feel guilty
C. so smart to copy people’s behavior D. so smart to adjust its behavior
Love working with children? Looking for an exciting new opportunity? Want to work on a friendly, fun and supportive team? This is what our team member Anna says about working at My Crèche:
“It’s the nicest place I’ve ever worked. Everyone is so friendly and we have so much fun working together. They give me opportunities to learn new things every day. They care about my personal development. Working at My Crèche has enabled me to build relationships with the children as well as parents within the community which makes me feel so welcomed in the local area.”
Conveniently located in the heart of crouch End, London, N8, My Crèche offers drop-in and pre-booked childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years of age. We also provide after-school and breakfast clubs for children up to 8 years old. Our goal is to enable parents to pursue personal and professional activities when they need to, with total peace of mind knowing their children are being cared for in a safe and fun environment.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and committed professional with excellent interpersonal skills, who is committed to ensuring the best outcomes and care for children. This is an excellent opportunity for a proactive individual to be a part of a fresh and progressive childcare concept and we welcome newly qualified professionals. We are a small and very supportive team with great training opportunities.
The successful candidate will:
·Have a certificate Level 3 in Childcare and Education.
·Have experience working with children.
·Be an excellent communicator with strong people skills.
·Be energetic and able to multi-task.
Salary:£16,500—£19,000 per year depending on experience and qualifications.
Full time(flexible work available) and 28 days annual leave.
1.The author uses Anna’s words mainly to _______ .
A. examine B. inform
C. compare D. advertise
2.What does a successful candidate need?
A. A college degree. B. A language certificate Level 3.
C. Great skills in communicating with people. D. Years of working experience with children.
假设你校《英语学习报》在组织一个关于城市生活问题的讨论。你也想在报上谈谈你的看法。你谈的主要内容如下：
1. 城市中有许多高楼大厦、繁忙的街道、舒适的生活环境，但也有许多的污染，如噪音和烟尘等；
2. 乡村生活平静安宁，但也有如城市中的问题；
3. 你的看法。
注意：1. 词数100个左右；2. 可适当增加细节，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。
When holidays draw nearly, people usually greeted each other in a variety of ways. Some people often go on the line and send e-mails or electronic cards to their friends, relatives and teachers that others prefer to make phone calls or send short messages by mobile phone. In a word, people choose differently to exchange their best wish during our holidays.
As to me, I’d like send e-mails or electronic cards. First, it costs little and no money. What’s more, a lot of paper is saving, which is environmentally friendly.
