In 1973, I was teaching elementary school. Each day, 27 kids entered “The Thinking Laboratory.” That was the name students voted for after deciding that “Room 104” was too dull.
Freddy was an average student, but not an average person. He had the rare balance of fun and compassion（同情）. He would laugh the loudest over fun and be the saddest over anyone’s misfortune.
Before the school year ended, I gave the kids a special gift, T-shirts with the words “Verbs Are Your Friends ” on them. I had advised the kids that while verbs（动词）may seem dull , most of the fun things they do throughout their lives will be verbs.
Through the years, I’d run into former students who would provide updates on old classmates. I learned that Freddy did several jobs after his graduation from high school and remained the same caring person I met forty years before . Once, while working overnight at a store, he let a homeless man sleep in his truck. Another time, he lent a friend money to buy a house.
Just last year, I was conducting a workshop when someone knocked at the classroom door. A woman excused the interruption and handed me an envelope. I stopped teaching and opened it up. Inside were the “Verbs” shirt and a note from Freddy’s mother. “Freddy passed away on Thanksgiving. He wanted you to have this. ”
I told the story to the class. As sad as it was, I couldn’t help smiling. Although Freddy was taken from us, we all took something from Freddy.
1.What do the underlined words “The Thinking Laboratory” in paragraph 1 refer to?
A.The elementary school where the kids studied.
B.“Room104”in which the kids studied.
C.The workshop in which the kids carried out experiments.
D.The high school which was fun as well as dull.
2.What can we learn about the author?
A.She hardly kept in touch with her former students.
B.She wrote the passage in 2013 or so.
C.She was very strict with her students.
D.She gave the kids special gifts after the school year.
3.Which of the following words can best describe Freddy?
A.modest and daring. B.outstanding and calm.
C.generous and creative. D.warm-hearted and caring.
4.What’s the author’s attitude towards Freddy?
A.Cautious. B.Disapproving.
C.Uninterested. D.Appreciative.
People love to celebrate. Whether it’s a birthday or a wedding, we enjoy having a reason to relax and have a good time. This is especially true for festivals that welcome spring and summer. Here are some celebrations you may not know about.
Carabao is a buffalo(水牛) found in the Philippines, and the Carabao Festival is a day of dancing and revelry(狂欢)in May that celebrates the strong animal that plays such an important role in Filipinos farming economy. The animals are cleaned before a parade in which 20 or more of them—many decorated with paint and colorful ribbons—walked through the streets.
Cooper’s Hill is a steep, grassy knoll(圆丘 ) near Gloucester, England, which is longer than a football field. Cooper’s Hill is a late May event in which participants race one another to beat a nine-pound cheese round to the bottom of the hill. The event attracts lots of contestants but is harder than it sounds. Lots of contestants bite the dust before they reach the finish line. The winner gets the cheese.
The Boryeong Mud Festival takes place each summer near Seoul, South Korea. Tons of mud are trucked from the Boryeong mud flats to a beach area near the event. People participate in lots of activities, including a mud pool, mud skiing and mudslides. By the time the celebration is over, anyone coated in soft or dried mud can take a short walk to the beach for a quick bath.
La Tomatina is an organized tomato fight that takes place in Bunol, Spain, every August.The festival’s origins are unclear, but that hasn’t lessened anyone’s enthusiasm.The battle lasts for about an hour, and participants have to throw squashed(挤烂的) tomatoes to reduce the risk of injury. After the fight, both the people and the streets are covered with tomato guts. Fire trucks then begin the difficult task of washing everything.
1.In which celebration can people compete with each other?
A.The Carabao Festival. B.Cooper’s Hill Cheese-rolling Festival.
C.The Boryeong Mud Festival. D.La Tomatina Festival.
2.When will you go if you want to participate in La Tomatina?
A.In May. B.In March.
C.In July. D.In August.
3.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.An unforgettable celebration. B.Exciting activities.
C.Different customs of celebrations. D.Different festivals in Asia.
In college, Spring Break （春假）is usually associated with the beach, parties and sleepless nights, bringing about relaxation, free time and friends. Students who wish to spend their break doing something productive and rewarding, however, may choose to participate in the Alternative Break Program. It places college students in communities both at home and abroad.
The Program allows students to take part in various projects dealing with issues such as literacy （识字）, homelessness and the environment. It includes helping kids with their lessons, raising money for families in need and collecting data for environmental research.
The hope is that, by getting themselves involved in different environments, students will have the opportunity to learn about members of communities and broaden their view. In turn, they will incorporate (融合) their experiences and lessons learned into their own communities. In a word, the Program aims to encourage students to be active citizens and engage themselves in making a difference in society.
In the spring of 2006, about 36,000 students in the USA participated in the Alternative Break Program.
Samantha Giacobozzi, now director of the Program, has been on five alternative break trips herself, including trips to New Orleans, India and Dominican Republic. “I was a student who went on alternative break trips and had my life totallytransformedby that experience,” she said. “Every year, we meet many students who have attended the Program. You can see changes in their life that are connected with their alternative break experiences.”
The Program began in 1991.Today, it has become increasingly popular with college students in the United States.
1.Who may choose to participate in the Alternative Break Program?(No mare than 10 words)
2.What is the aim of the Program?(NO more than 15 words)
3.What is the meaning of the underlined word "transformed" in Paragraph 5? (1 word)
4.What is Samantha's attitude toward the Program?(No more than 10 words)
5.If you take part in the Program, which project are you interested in? And why?(No more than 25 words)
根据所给的首字母和中文写出所缺单词的完整形式
1.Regular visits from a social worker can be of i_________（巨大的）value to old people living alone.
2.The weather is terrible today because of the d _______（毁灭）of nature by human beings.
3.Though the weather in Britain is so changeable and u ________（不可预测）, the climate is in fact a favorable one.
4.After her c ________（同事们）had talked with her several times, she became a bit more cheerful.
5.They found s ________（遮蔽物）from the storm in a barn.
6.This incident left a v ________（生动的）impression on me.
7.We've been working all week without a moment’s l ________（休闲）.
8.You might want to consider t ________（暂时的）work until you decide what you want to do.
9.The disease was spreading more r ________（迅速地）than expected.
10.Long complex sentences are d ________（与众不同的）of Henry James’s later style.
People size you up in seconds, but what exactly are they evaluating(评价)？ Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy has been studying first impressions alongside fellow psychologists Susan Fiske and Peter Glick for more than 15 years, and has discovered patterns in these interactions(互动). In her new book, “Presence”, Cuddy says people quickly answer two questions when they first meet you: Can I trust this person? Can I respect this person?
Psychologists refer to these factors as warmth and competence(胜任) respectively, and ideally you want to be considered as having both. Interestingly, Cuddy says that most people, especially in a professional environment, believe that competence is the foremost factor. After all, they want to prove that they are smart and talented enough to qualify your business.
But in fact warmth, or trustworthiness, is the most important factor in how people evaluate you. “From an evolutionary view,” Cuddy says, “it is more important to our survival to know whether a person deserves our trust.” It makes sense when you consider that in cavemen days it was more important to figure out if your fellow man was going to kill you and steal all your possessions than if he was competent enough to build a good fire.
Cuddy’s new book explores how to feel more confident. While competence is highly valued, Cuddy says it is evaluated only after trust is established. And focusing too much on displaying your strength can backfire(产生事与愿违的不良后 果). Cuddy says MBA interns(实习生) are often so concerned about coming across as smart and competent that it can lead them to skip social events, not ask for help, and generally come off as unapproachable.
These overachievers are in for a rude awakening when they don’t get the job offer because nobody got to know and trust them as people. “If someone you’re trying to influence doesn’t trust you, you’re not going to get very far; in fact, you might even cause doubt because you come across as manipulative(会 摆布人的),” Cuddy says. “A warm, trustworthy person who is also competent gains admiration, but only after you’ve established trust does your strength become a gift rather than a threat.”
1.What does the passage mainly tell about?
A.People judge you on your look and mind at first sight.
B.People judge you on your presence at first sight.
C.People judge you on your interaction at first sight.
D.People judge you on your warmth and competence initially.
2.The underlined word “foremost” can be replaced by .
A.very valuable B.changing
C.extremely important D.accessible
3.Why does Cuddy refer to cavemen days?
A.To stress the importance of survival.
B.To show the hardship of ancient times.
C.To stress the importance of trust.
D.To tell us the importance of ability.
4.According to the passage, Amy Cuddy .
A.thinks highly of confidence
B.lays trust on the basic position
C.has a negative attitude to overachievers
D.says people who want to influence others are approachable
As the international demand for narrative(叙事的) film/TV content continues to increase with popular streaming services like Netflix and others the two questions then come: will the coming generations receive most of their entertainment through visual means rather than through the written word and will such an increase of narrative film/ TV reduce the importance of reading?
Growing examples of this trend include the diminishment(减少) of fiction in the common core (核心的)curriculum, the ever－rising culture of computer games, the wave of streaming services of wide international reach, and movies filled with special effects made for children and teenagers. Nor must we ignore the economic dangers that lie ahead for the written word. The narrative film industry is a moneymaker that dwarfs(使相形见绌) the publishing industry.
The other underlying question, of course, is “does it really matter if the written word bows to the world of film/TV?” From my point of view, any diminishment of fiction delivered by words is a loss for mankind.
There is no greater human feature than the imagination. It lies at the very soul of the human species. It is the brain’s most powerful engine. It is the essential muscle of life and like all muscles it must be exercised and strengthened.
Writing and reading are the principal tools that inspire, create and empower our imagination. Anything that diminishes that power is the enemy of mankind.
It should be known that I am not opposed to new media and technological advances. Instead, I have always felt it necessary to adapt to advancing technology. In fact, a number of my novels are in various stages of development for film, TV, and live stage productions. My hope is that the written word will only stand to be complemented(补充)by its visual counterparts(对应物), not pushed to the edge of extinction.
Of course, there are those who will present arguments for the superiority of the moving image over the written word. Each has its place. My argument is for finding the right balance between it and the moving image.
1.In what way does narrative film/TV embarrass the written word?
A.Economic benefits B.International reach
C.Cultural influence D.Educational importance
2.Why does the author value the role of the written word?
A.It strengthens our muscles. B.It helps sharpen imagination.
C.It distinguishes man from each other. D.It paves the way for narrative film/TV.
3.What is the author’s attitude towards technology?
A.Cautious B.Skeptical
C.Positive D.Critical
4.What’s the author concerned about?
A.The fate of reading. B.The extinction of fiction.
C.The impact of the written word. D.The future of the moving image.
