How to Improve Vocabulary Fast
Your vocabulary refers to the words in a language you are familiar with. We should learn some ways to expand it.
Read every day. 1. Choose reading material that is slightly above your level and keep a dictionary with you to look up words you do not know.
2.If you do not meet with an unfamiliar word in your daily reading, use your dictionary to search for one.
Learn the correct definition and pronunciation for each new word. Pronunciation is as important as definition because in order to add a word to your active vocabulary, you must be able to use it in speech.
Elaborate (详尽阐述) on the meaning of the word. If you have just learned the word “stubborn”, think about the neighbor who will not lend you his car. 3.
Use your new word in speech and in writing. Email your sister about how your cat is stubborn about sleeping on your pillow. 4.But the more you use it, the more fluent you will become in its use. Soon it will be a regular part of your active vocabulary.
Tell everyone you are trying to increase your vocabulary. Encourage them to ask you what your latest word is. 5. The more you explain the meaning of a word to someone, the more likely you are to remember it.
A. Find a new word every day.
B. The vocabulary can be increased.
C. Your vocabulary contains the words you understand.
D. The more often you read, the faster your vocabulary can grow.
E. Or let them ask for the definition of a new word you have used.
F. The first time you use a new word in speech it may seem strange.
G. Imagine him shaking his head, and think of him as “stubborn in his refusal”.
In my mind, there is a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart.
Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere. Despite his hard training at all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.
This teenager lived alone with his father, and the relationship between the two of them was very special. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him.
The young man loved football and was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior. All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a benchwarmer. Besides, his faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a “walk-on”. Everyone firmly believed that he could never make the cut, but he did.
The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but actually he never got the real chance to play in a game.
It was at the end of his senior football season that the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became totally silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?” The coach put his arm gently around his should and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son. And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.”
Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were surprised to see their faithful teammate back so soon. “Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today,” said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close play-off game. But the young man insisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. “All right,” he said. “You can go in.” Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before, was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, passed, blocked, and tackled like a star. His team began to succeed. The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid got a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.
Finally, after the stands had emptied, the coach noticed that this young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said, “Kid, you were unbelievably fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?”
He looked at the coach, tears in his eyes, and said, “Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?” The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could make it!”
1.What does the underlined sentence “he got absolutely nowhere” mean?
A.He could never make his father see his performance clearly.
B.There was no coach to train him well enough to be a good player.
C.There was no chance of his becoming a top athlete in this sport.
D.He had no idea at all what kind of person he wanted to be in the future.
2.From the passage, we can infer that__________.
A.the young man’s father had a great positive influence on him
B.the young man’s coach played an important role in his growth
C.not until his father passed away did the young man train hard
D.the young man’s road to success in football was always smooth
3.Why did the young man return to the match on Saturday?
A.He planned to make money to cure his father of his blindness.
B.He thought he was much better than other players in his team.
C.He wanted to defeat the opposing team in this significant game.
D.He hoped his dead father could be proud of his performance.
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A.A thrilling football match B.Determined father and son
C.The power of dreams D.The encouragement of a coach
A new report from University of East Anglia(UEA)shows that exposure to green space reduces the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stress, and high blood pressure. Populations with higher levels of green space exposure are also more likely to report good overall health.
Lead author Caoimhe Twohig-Bennett, from UEA’S Norwich Medical School, said, “Spending time in nature certainly makes us feel healthier, but until now the impact on our long-term wellbeing hasn’t been fully understood. We gathered evidence from over 140 studies involving more than 290 million people to see whether nature really does provide a health boost.”
The research team studied data from 20 countries including the UK, the US, Spain, France, Germany, Australia and Japan—where “forest bathing” is already a popular practice. “Green space” was defined as open, undeveloped land with natural vegetation including urban green space, which included parks and street greenery. The team analyzed how the health of people with little access to green space compared to that of people with the highest amounts of exposure.
“We found that spending time in or living close to natural green space is associated with diverse and significant health benefits. It reduces the risk of type TT diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, and preterm birth, and increases sleep duration. People living closer to nature also had reduced diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and stress. In fact, one of the really interesting things we found is that exposure to green space significantly reduces people’s levels of salivary cortisol—a physiological marker of stress. This is really important because in the UK, 11.7 million working days are lost annually due to stress, depression or anxiety.”
“Forest bathing is really popular as a therapy in Japan, with participants spending time in the forest either sitting or lying down, or just walking around. Our study shows that perhaps they have the right idea! Although we have looked at a large body of research on the relationship between green space and health, we don’t know exactly what it is that causes this relationship. People living near green space likely have more opportunities for physical activity and socializing. Meanwhile, exposure to a wide variety of bacteria present in natural areas may also have benefits for the immune system and reduce inflammation (炎症),” Twohig-Bennett stated.
Study co-author Prof Andy Jones, also from UEA, said, “We often reach for medical treatment when we’re unwell but exposure to health-promoting environments is increasingly recognized as both preventing and helping treat disease. Our study shows that the size of these benefits can be enough to have a meaningful clinical(临床的) impact.”
The research team hopes that their findings will prompt doctors and other healthcare professionals to advise patients to spend more time in green space and natural areas.
1.What do we know about exposure to green space from the first two paragraphs?
A.290 million people will see its effectiveness.
B.People have been cured of several diseases by this way.
C.People seeing less green space can’t report good health.
D.People haven’t realized its value completely.
2.From the research team’s definition of “green space”, we can infer that .
A.green space often exists in places with small populations
B.space in the countryside is certainly green space
C.an urban green belt is a kind of green space
D.green space in the cities usually has little effects on people’s health
3.What does the author do in Paragraph 4?
A.Analyze the research process.
B.Introduce the research findings.
C.Show his concern about people’s health.
D.Explain why green space is good for patients.
4.Prof Andy Jones holds the view that .
A.their study will improve the professionalism of doctors
B.exposure to green space can help treat disease effectively
C.one should see a doctor immediately when unwell
D.people are increasingly going to health-promoting spaces
So many of us hold on to little resentments (怨恨) that may have come from an argument, a misunderstanding, or some other painful event. Stubbornly, we wait for someone else to reach out to us—believing this is the only way we can forgive or rekindle a friendship or family relationship.
An acquaintance of mine, whose health isn’t very good, recently told me that she hadn’t spoken to her son in almost three years. She said that she and her son had had a disagreement about his wife and that she wouldn’t speak to him again unless he called first. When I suggested that she be the one to reach out, she resisted initially and said, “I can’t do that. He’s the one who should apologize.” She was literally willing to die before reaching out to her only son. After a little gentle encouragement, however, she did decide to be the first one to reach out. To her amazement, her son was grateful for her willingness to call and offered an apology of his own. As is usually the case when someone takes the chance and reaches out, everyone wins.
Whenever we hold on to our anger, we turn “small stuff” into really “big stuff” in our minds. We start to believe that our positions are more important than our happiness. They are not. If you want to be a more peaceful person, you must understand that being right is almost never more important than allowing yourself to be happy. The way to be happy is to let go, and reach out. Let other people be right. This doesn’t mean that you’re wrong. Everything will be fine. You’ll experience the peace of letting go, as well as the joy of letting others be right.
You’ll also notice that, as you reach out and let others be “right,” they will become less defensive and more loving toward you. They might even reach back. But if for some reason they don’t, that’s okay too. You’ll have the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your part to create a more loving world, and certainly you’ll be more peaceful yourself.
1.The underlined word “rekindle” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.
A.develop B.recover
C.accept D.replace
2.According to the passage, the author’s friend never spoke to her son for three years because ________.
A.she had got an argument with her husband
B.she had disagreed about her son’s marriage
C.she had got an argument about her daughter-in-law
D.she had disliked her son’s wife for many years
3.Which of the following is NOT the reason for people to be unwilling to apologize first?
A.People believe that they are right.
B.People always wait for others to offer an apology first.
C.People consider the position more important than happiness.
D.People want to get an inner satisfaction.
4.The purpose of the passage is to ________.
A.instruct the readers how to apologize
B.teach the readers how to gain inner peace
C.tell the readers to reach out first when there are painful events
D.inform the readers the importance of being forgiving
China Experience Tours | |
| China Experience Trip Beijing→ Shanghai→Xi’an(8days) Price: Adult $1,517 p/p Under 17$1,230 *Imagine you are a king or queen when entering the great Forbidden City *Have a hike on the world famous Great Wall * Discover the Terracotta Warriors *Admire Shanghai where east meets west and walk around some local markets |
| Glories of China Beijing→Xi'an→Guilin→Yangshuo→Shanghai(11days) Price: Adult $2,219 p/p. Under 17 $1,650 *Discover more of China’s extraordinary history from Beijing and Xi'an *visit the easy part of the Great Wall at Mutianyu and use the cablecar(缆车) there *Cycle near Yangshuo and admire the beautiful rural scenery * Discover Shanghai lifestyles ancient and modern |
| China Impression Experience Beijing→XI'an→ Yangtze River→ shanghai(11 days) Price: Adult $2, 329 p/p. Under 17 $1, 810 Explore both the ancient cultures and modern features, and relax on the yangtze river Cruise(乘船游览) to see the various ideas of China. Your guides will show you around not only the most classic spots, like the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terra-cotta Army, the Bund, Yuyuan Garden and the Three gorges but also take you for a local experience by visiting lovely giant pandas and local markets. |
| Cultural and Natural Wonders of China Beijing→Xi'an→ Zhangjiajie→ Shanghai(11days) Price: Adult $2, 159 p/p. Under 17$1,360 Wind your way from Beijing to Shanghai in style and discover China's natural wonders-climb up the Great Wall, walk around the Forbidden City while listening to the stories of kings, and see the Great“Avatar Mountain”"in Zhangjiajie. |
1.The four tours have the same final destination EXCEPT _____.
A.Glories of China B.China Experience Trip.
C.China Impression Experience D.Cultural and Natural Wonders of china
2.One tourist spot that all the four tours include is ______.
A.the Great Wall B.the Three Gorges
C.the Forbidden City D.the Terracotta Warriors
3.How much should the Whites with their 13-year-old son pay if they are on Cultural and Natural Wonders of China?
A.$5678 B.$6088
C.$6468 D.$6477
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
Mary waited anxiously for her turn in the empty dressing room. Never had she been so nervous before. This competition was of vital importance to her comeback .“If I can win today,” she said to herself, “I can dance on the national stage next month.” Three months ago, her left arm was seriously injured in a car accident.After the medical treatment , she began to recover slowly. She practiced over and over again in order to regain her dancing skills.
“Hi, Mary,” in rushed her friend Jessica.“How is your arm? Is it going to influence your performance?”
“I guess it can be tolerated for I am to win the match . ” said Mary with a determined look.
“Admirable! But I hear that a girl called Linda is really gifted and strong.She can be your real well-matched competitor.Come on!”
After Jessica left,Mary decided to practice her most difficult spin . “If I don’t try harder, I won’t grasp this chance.” She thought. But her arm began to hurt, making her worried. “Mary, what makes you think you have a chance tonight?” she said to herself. After the pain was gone, she continued to warm up.
A slim girl hurried in and put down an equipment bag on the chair.Then, she took out her dance dress quickly and put it on skillfully. Seeing Mary, she smiled politely and said “Hi, I’m Linda. I am the next one!” Mary nodded in reply but felt uncomfortable. “This is just my competitor. Because of her, I may lose tonight.” Her mind was wandering when Linda let out a scream, “Oh, God, I can’t find my music tape!” Linda searched her bag but in vain . “It may be missing on the way.”With these words, she then rushed out.
注意：
1.所续写短文的字数应为120字左右；
2.应使用5个以上的短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Suddenly, Mary caught sight of a black box under the chair where Linda put her bag.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Hearing her name called, Mary walked on the stage with her heart beating faster and faster.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
