Christmas Eve means a lot to almost every family in the US, and mine is of no exception. Every December 24, we used to head to my parents’ house and spend the night, along with my brother’s family, and my sister’s family. We’d eat lots of foods such as candies and my mom’s ______ chocolate cookies.
We’d play a card game for hours until one team proved ______ over all other sides. ______, my sister Martie and I won, and when we beat every other ______, we’d sing and even dance. Yes, we were ______. The kids always put out cookies and milk for Santa, and my dad would sit down and color a picture with his grandchildren to ______ it for Santa Claus. And then we’d ______ every person in the family to open just one ____. After everything settled down, my father would read the story of Christmas, ______ us all of the true meaning of Christmas. Our Christmas Eves are a little ______ now as my parents have moved to heaven and my girls are in college, but December is still ______. Candies and my mom’s favorite chocolate cookies are ____ our favorite foods. Martie and I still like card games, ______ my daughter Ally and her boyfriend, Wesley, actually ______ us easily. We still open one gift that night. And, Martie’s husband, Jan, has ______ the duty to read the Christmas story.
I can hardly wait for the ______ to come! It’s my favorite time of a year because we’re all ____. I’ ll bet your family has wonderful holiday ______, too. Whatever your traditions are, I hope one of them is reading the story of Christmas. Why not teach your children the ______ meaning of Christmas this year? Because that’s the ______ gift you could ever give them!
1.A.special B.homemade C.favorite D.fresh
2.A.helpful B.creative C.strong D.victorious
3.A.Usually B.Recently C.Immediately D.Hurriedly
4.A.sister B.brother C.team D.family
5.A.funny B.happy C.free D.normal
6.A.open B.provide C.leave D.save
7.A.allow B.order C.beg D.force
8.A.box B.window C.case D.gift
9.A.convincing B.informing C.reminding D.warning
10.A.simple B.different C.meaningless D.strange
11.A.wonderful B.reasonable C.comfortable D.powerful
12.A.even B.rather C.already D.still
13.A.and B.or C.though D.as
14.A.find B.reach C.cheat D.beat
15.A.taken over B.thought about C.dealt with D.applied for
16.A.game B.night C.dinner D.day
17.A.alive B.healthy C.around D.together
18.A.traditions B.songs C.foods D.plans
19.A.clear B.only C.true D.hidden
20.A.best B.biggest C.most beautiful D.most expensive
There are many ways to begin making gratitude a habit in your life. The best way to tell someone that you appreciate their effort is to talk to them directly. 1. Express your gratitude through words that they can treasure for a long time. Even something as small as sincerely showing appreciation and recognition by telling someone they did a good job and saying thank you offers some feelings of appreciation. 2.
If you cannot meet the person because they either live far away or you do not have time to meet them, you can send them your gratitude in the form of a gift. 3. You can wait for a holiday like Thanksgiving to send them.
4. Small gestures can make a person feel appreciated. There may be some people who are older than you and the way to show gratefulness is by respecting and obeying them. Is your father going shopping?
5. Your mother has a lot of work in hand, so you can do your bit to lessen her workload.
A. Express gratitude by sending him a useful gift.
B. Take the job in your hands and shop for your father.
C. Meet the people and tell them that you are grateful to have them in your life.
D. Flowers with a note saying thank you can brighten anybody’s day.
E. You will be able to witness their pleasant expressions when they hear what you say.
F. Gifts and words are not the only way to express gratitude.
G. Gratitude helps us focus on the good things we have, and not on what we lack.
When you think of batteries, you’ll likely think about them powering up remote controls, cellphones, flashlights and toys. But some people carry a battery around in their body to power a pacemaker (起搏器). It isn’t really pleasant and easy to carry batteries because they need to be replaced so often and they can leak poisonous chemicals. A battery-powered pacemaker may become a thing of the past, thanks to a new technology developed by UCLA researchers: a biological supercapacitor (超级电容器), which is thinner than several hairs.
Teams of researchers at UCLA and the University of Connecticut published a paper in a journal explaining their new invention. The supercapacitor is made from a carbon material, and coated with human-like proteins that act as electrodes (电极). But what makes the device different is that it is powered by an energy harvester that changes body heat and movement in the blood into energy.
Those traditional pacemakers are six to eight millimeters thick. They are much bigger. The new supercapacitor, which, due to its lack of battery, is only one micrometer thick. This “little” feature could benefit the new pacemaker’s energy efficiency, researchers stated. Also, unlike other batteries used in medical treatments, the supercapacitor can bend and twist in the body without suffering damage.
Though they’ve not been widely used in the medical world, supercapacitors have the ability to serve as a safer and more efficient medical device than the traditional battery-operated devices, the researchers believe.
“In order to be effective, battery-free pacemakers must have supercapacitors that can get, store and transport energy. However, commercial supercapacitors are too slow to make them work,” said Maher El-Kady, a UCLA researcher and a co-author of the study. “Our research focused on the custom-designed supercapacitor to capture energy effectively, and finding a way to make it exist together successfully with the human body.”
1.What do we know about traditional pacemakers?
A.They are very popular with users.
B.They can do harm to the users’ bodies.
C.They need to be replaced quite often.
D.They are really convenient to carry around.
2.What is special about the new supercapacitor?
A.It has electrodes on the outside.
B.It is made from a kind of protein material.
C.It can transform the energy from the body.
D.It helps save the carriers’ money and energy.
3.Which of the following makes the new pacemaker energy-efficient?
A.The small size.
B.The small battery.
C.The energy harvester.
D.The bending and twisting characters.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.A New Technology to Downsize Batteries.
B.A New Battery-free Pacemaker.
C.A Smaller Battery-powered Pacemaker.
D.A Great Contribution Made by UCLA Researchers.
Author Walter Dean Myers died at the age of 76 after a brief illness. Walter Dean Myers was the author of more than 100 books for children and young adults and received many top awards.
The prolific author was loved for his vivid description of the lives of African American children, and for writing books for young people that covered different subjects. “Myers has written about all those subjects with deep understanding and a hard-won, qualified sense of hope,” said Leonard S. Marcus in 2008.
He was born in 1937 and was adopted by Florence Dean and Herbert after his mother died while giving birth to his younger sister. They loved him very much and his mother read to him from a very young age. Reading pushed him to discover worlds beyond his landscape.
He began writing at an early age. He wrote well in high school and an English teacher recognized this and advised him to keep on writing no matter what happened to him. “It’s what you do,” she said.
He dropped out of high school at 17 and joined the army. After finishing his service, he entered a dark period in his life. Myers began writing at night to pull himself through that miserable time.
In an essay published in The New York Times earlier this year, Myers described how a short story by James Arthur Baldwin helped change his course of life. “I didn’t love the story, but I drew inspiration from it,” he wrote, “for it took place in Harlem, and it was a story concerned with black people like those I knew. By humanizing the people who were like me, Baldwin’s story also humanized me. The story gave me a permission that I didn’t know I needed, the permission to write about my own landscape, my own map.”
“I write books for the troubled boy I once was,” he wrote, “and for the boy who lives within me still.”
1.What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
A.How popular Myers was.
B.How Myers became successful.
C.What people think of Myers’ books.
D.What makes Myers’ works popular.
2.What does the underlined word “prolific” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A.Optimistc. B.Unfortunate.
C.Productive. D.Humorous.
3.Who discovered Myers’ writing talent?
A.James Arthur Baldwin. B.His mother.
C.Leonard S. Marcus. D.One of his teachers.
4.Why was the short story by James Arthur Baldwin so important to Myers?
A.It helped him survive the dark period.
B.It inspired him to pursue his writing career.
C.He learned many writing techniques from it.
D.The author of the story permitted him to write.
The Best Places To Watch Fireworks This Fourth Of July
CALIFORNIA: LIGHTS ON THE LAKE (LAKE TAHOE)
Launched from boats on the shore of Lake Tahoe, this show is considered one of the biggest such displays in the West, which means the fireworks are visible all over town. If you’re worried about getting a seat, park your picnic at the El Dorado Beaches before 9:45 p.m. Or you can take the road less traveled and hike to the top of Mount Tallac for an unforgettable and best view of the display. Just remember you’ll have to hike down, so bring a headlight.
DELAWARE: REHOBOTH BEACH
Launched from the beach south of Rehoboth Avenue, these fireworks are visible up and down the boardwalk and beach. So jump on the Jolly Trolley(观光车) early and spend your whole day at the beach. There’s even live music after the fireworks. Note: This year’s fireworks display is scheduled for July 1, 2018.
FLORIDA: SERTOMA’S 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS (PENSACOLA BAY)
The Gulf Coast knows how to celebrate the Fourth of July. With vendors, arts and crafts, kid-friendly activities and live entertainment, this fun-filled day in Old Seville culminates(达到高潮) with the largest fireworks display in the area. Unfortunately the pony rides and face painting are only for the kids, though.
GEORGIA: DAHLONEGA’S 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION
Pack up your lawn chairs, blankets and coolers and head about an hour outside of Atlanta to the University of North Georgia. It’s even pet friendly — just make sure your dog can take the noise. And if you get to town early enough (11 a.m.), there’s a Fourth of July parade that aims to put all other Fourth of July parades to shame.
1.Where is the best spot to watch the fireworks in Lake Tahoe?
A.At the El Dorado Beaches. B.On the top of Mount Tallac.
C.Anywhere all over the town. D.On the shore of Lake Tahoe.
2.Which display is most suitable for children?
A.REHOBOTH BEACH.
B.LIGHTS ON THE LAKE.
C.SERTOMA’S 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS.
D.DAHLONEGA’S 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION.
3.What do Georgians think of their parade?
A.The best. B.Just so so.
C.Not so bad. D.Very terrible.
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。 续写的词数应为150左右。
One day, when I was a first-year student in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kris. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, ''Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd (书呆子).''
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a gang of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His gasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up, and I saw terrible sadness in his eyes.
My heart went out to him. So I jogged over to him, and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his gases, I said, ''They are bad guys! They really should be punished.'' He looked at me and said, "Hey, thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before, but we talked all the way home, and I carried his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid._______________________
We hung out all weekend, and the more I got to know Kris, the more I liked him.___________
