My grandparents lived in a town in Michigan. Every summer I stayed with them as a young child. I came from the _______ but loved the small place where they lived. People there knew everyone else, their kids, their pets and their ancestors. The bond with them continued to grow _______ I grew older.
My grandma was _______ at making something exciting by hand. She would make little sandwiches and we'd have tea parties. She'd plant flowers and carefully _______ them. She'd _______ sweaters for her grandchildren as well as making beautiful _______ for each one. I remember the small thimble （顶针）she would use while doing her needlework. _______ her thimble on her finger, she'd remark, "I wouldn't want to sew without one."
A few years ago my grandma _______ at the age of 91. After attending her funeral, I realized how _______ our lives had changed. I missed her very much. When my birthday came, I was feeling ________ because there was no card from my grandma. But what happened later made me feel that she was ________ that special day with me. While I was arranging some ________ pillows that my grandma had made, I ________ felt something inside one pillow. It was small and ________ I moved the object to a seam （接缝）and I carefully opened it. To my delight, out ________ a tiny silver thimble!
How ________ it was to find something that had been a part of her. Not realizing it had fallen off her finger, my grandma ________ it in that little pillow for me. I carefully laid the thimble along with the other things I had ________ over the years, which reminded me of the pleasant ________ of her.
I heated the tea kettle and made some tea, using my best china, as my grandma always did, and enjoyed my tea and my grandma's __________. What a wonderful birthday that was!
1.A.building B.cottage C.city D.town
2.A.as B.though C.that D.if
3.A.mad B.angry C.good D.poor
4.A.watch B.tend C.pick D.cut
5.A.mend B.buy C.wash D.make
6.A.books B.houses C.quilts D.bikes
7.A.Buying B.Placing C.Collecting D.Removing
8.A.called on B.fell ill C.dropped in D.passed away
9.A.quickly B.shamefully C.slightly D.slowly
10.A.upset B.worried C.thrilled D.surprised
11.A.sharing B.thinking C.planning D.wasting
12.A.tiresome B.ugly C.colorful D.broken
13.A.eagerly B.carelessly C.suddenly D.gladly
14.A.neat B.difficult C.hard D.soft
15.A.went B.came C.took D.made
16.A.ashamed B.proud C.wise D.exciting
17.A.mixed B.sewed C.hid D.stored
18.A.learned B.designed C.collected D.saved
19.A.memory B.book C.letter D.clothes
20.A.kettle B.tea C.thimble D.coffee
Christmas was near a season that we took seriously in our house. But a week or so before the 25th, my father would give each of his children $ 20. This was the 1970s, and $ 20 was quite a bit of money.
But I saw it ___. My father trusted me to have the ________ to spend money wisely. Even better, he gave me the ____ to get it. On a very basic level ,my father was giving me a shopping spree（狂欢）every year. But he was also giving me charge over my own fun, trusting my ability to ____ money and making me feel like a/an _______. He didn't buy me Sherlock Holmes, but he gave me the means to walk into the bookstore and choose it for myself, so it felt like a gift from him.
My mother had a/an____for giving me what I needed, usually____at the moment I needed it most. This was when I was 25, I _____at being an adult on my very first try. I had quitted my ___job but had no new one. But when my mother____me a visit, I____a good show, telling her I had started my own company.
My mother knew that I was trying hard and failing at that time. It wasn't until____she left that I noticed at the foot of my bed an envelope thick with _________. She knew how _______ I needed it. She knew that had she just shown up with groceries, or____to pay my rent, she would have made me feel much __________ . The cold, hard cash meant she was helping me. And, funnily enough, the____with which she gave the gift felt like she was giving me space to ___my life and preserve my dignity. My mother and father both did the same thing. One was giving me the means to take my own ____ ,and the other was giving me a second ____ when those decisions had cost me dearly.
1.A.positively B.differently C.naturally D.originally
2.A.intelligence B.passion C.power D.potential
3.A.courage B.suggestions C.discipline D.means
4.A.spend B.carry C.manage D.use
5.A.grown-up B.teenager C.adventurer D.pioneer
6.A.habit B.gift C.approach D.tradition
7.A.approximately B.about C.right D.slightly
8.A.failed B.fooled C.dropped D.fell
9.A.important B.creative C.challenging D.previous
10.A.brought B.suggested C.paid D.gave
11.A.put on B.put away C.put off D.put forward
12.A.before B.after C.when D.as
13.A.credit B.loans C.receipts D.cash
14.A.desperately B.hardly C.eventually D.accurately
15.A.attempted B.offered C.promised D.refused
16.A.better B.more C.less D.worse
17.A.decoration B.love C.distance D.method
18.A.defend B.equip C.fix D.develop
19.A.actions B.opportunities C.risks D.decisions
20.A.solution B.chance C.visit D.assistance
A 2018 report found that food waste would increase by a third to 2. 1billion tons by 2030. Beyond the cost of the waste itself，thrown-away food generates a gas that contributes to climate change.
Home delivery meal kits(盒)can reduce food waste by more than two-thirds，but suppliers need to switch to reusable packaging to make them environmentally friendly.
Tailor-made meal kits cut waste by providing people with precise amounts of fresh ingredients(烹饪原料)for chosen recipes，meaning leftovers are minimized. But while the delivery services score well on reducing food waste，buying the same food ingredients from the supermarket almost always saves energy overall simply because meal kits use so much single-use packaging. The good news is that if people have meals that are tailored for consumption，they won’t overbuy and have less food waste. They fine-tune the amount of food to what they will actually eat.
Meal kits can reduce transport emissions(排放)if people go to the supermarket less frequently. If people only go and buy such goods as soap and toilet paper，they may only have to visit once every couple of months. A delivery truck can carry meals for a lot of people in the neighborhood. So dozens of car trips might be replaced with one truck trip.
However，study found that even if delivery meal kits reduced food waste to zero，they would still use up more energy overall than buying the same food from the supermarket unless the energy used for the meal kit packaging was cut by a fifth. The packaging is a killer if it’s single-use and thrown away，which can make all the environmental benefits lost. But if the packaging can be reused，if it’s glass bottles，like in the old days，we can get some benefits.
1.What can we learn about home delivery meal kits?
A.They can cut down on daily expenses.
B.They will totally solve the problem of food waste.
C.They can keep energy consumption to a minimum.
D.They will benefit the environment with reusable packaging.
2.What does the underlined word“fine-tune”in paragraph 3 mean?
A.Attach. B.Adjust.
C.Raise. D.Compare.
3.The author suggests carrying meals with a delivery truck to__________.
A.reduce transport emissions B.save more food
C.shop only in the supermarket D.shorten car trip distances
4.What’s the author’s attitude to meal kits?
A.Supportive. B.Unfavorable.
C.Objective. D.Indifferent.
For top students from low-income families，the challenge of applying to colleges is particularly difficult. 1 in 4 deal with all of that—the writing，the studying，the researching and applying—completely on their own. One approach to make this whole process easier? Pair students up with an adviser.
That’s the idea behind CollegePoint，an initiative to help gifted students go to schools that match their intellectual(智力的)ability. When a high school student takes a standardized test—the PSAT，SAT or ACT——and they score in the 90th percentile，and their families make less than$80，000 a year，they get an email from the program offering them a free adviser. The advisers listen，guide and answer students’questions.
Connor Rechtzigel，an adviser in Minnesota，sees the importance of his role，for research shows that low-income students are far more likely to undermatch because they don’t think they have what it takes to get in and because many don’t even know what schools are out there. He helped high school senior Justice Benjamin，the first in his family to apply to college，think about what his ideal learning experience was. Finally，Justice narrowed in on smaller schools where he could study environmental science and made his final choice：Skidmore College in New York. He felt empowered by the process.
Figuring out how to pay for college is a major part of what，CollegePoint advisers do. Nakhle，an adviser in North Carolina，is working with Hensley，an Ohio high school senior who can’t get extra financial help from her family. They spent a lot of time comparing and analyzing her financial-aid award letters，which made her decision much clearer. Finally，the Ohio State University offered an option where she would pay nothing. Staying in-state wasn’t her first choice，but it was the best option for her.
1.What is the second paragraph mainly about?
A.How CollegePoint works. B.The goal of CollegePoint.
C.Ways to apply for a free adviser. D.The challenge of choosing colleges.
2.What prevents low-income students from attending proper colleges?
A.Overestimating their abilities. B.Knowing little about colleges.
C.Lack of enough learning experience. D.Failure to get support from their families.
3.Why did Hensley finally choose the Ohio State University?
A.She didn’t want to stay far from home.
B.Her favorite major was provided there.
C.She would show her talents to the full.
D.The university met her financial needs.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.How to Be a Financial Adviser
B.Steps for Top Students to Select Ideal Colleges
C.Advisers Help Poor Students Apply to Suitable Colleges
D.CollegePoint—a Program Helping Students Score High
In India，one of the most significant festivals is Diwali，which falls between October and November. It’s a five-day celebration that includes good food，fireworks，colored sand，and special candles and lamps.
In honor of Lakshmi，the Hindu goddess of wealth，people make special prayers on the first day to obtain blessings for welfare，succcss，and well-being. People welcome the goddess into their homes by decorating entrances with colorful lanterns and traditional designs. In addition，many people treat themselves to fine jewelry，praying for good fortune. Those who cannot afford so much，seek out cheaper items such as clothes or household goods.
The second day of the festival is called Kali Chaudas. For some，the day provides an opportunity to drive away misfortune from homes and businesses. They decorate their homes with clay lamps and create design patterns called rangoli on the floor using colored powder or sand.
The third day is when the biggest celebrations occur，which begin early in the morning with a visit to a temple to seek the blessings of the goddess. As the sun sets，festival observers light up their homes with small lamps and enjoy delicious traditional foods with their loved ones.
The festival’s fourth day is celebrated in many different ways. Friends and relatives visit with gifts，sweets and best wishes for the season.
And the final day of the festival is called Bhai Oooj. It honors the close bond between brothers and sisters and is observed with traditional ceremonies and more delicious food.
For children in India，Diwali is similar to Christmas. They get all entire week off from school and are treated to gifts，new clothes，amazing food，and，in the past at least，a large number of fireworks. It is no wonder that the festival ranks high among the country’s favorite celebrations.
1.People celebrate the first day of Diwali mainly for______.
A.good fortune. B.colorful lanterns
C.expensive jewelry D.traditional designs
2.What’s the probable purpose of creating“rangoli”on the floor?
A.To design traditional patterns. B.To produce colored powder or sand.
C.To help get rid of bad luck. D.To produce an opportunity in business.
3.What is a man likely to do on the last day of the festival?
A.Exchange gifts and best wishes with his loved ones.
B.Be busy decorating his home during the day.
C.Get together with his sisters and brothers.
D.Light up his home with small lamps.
4.Which of the following may not be a reason for children’s love of Diwali?
A.Having a week off. B.Getting Christmas gifts.
C.Enjoying amazing food. D.Setting off fireworks.
Uncover secrets of the world’s oldest civilizations and see natural wonders that will take your breath away. Through our tours you’11 encounter wild animals，see unbelievable landmarks and experience the local traditions of native tribes(部落).
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Uniting North African culture and French flavor in harmony，Morocco attracts tourists with its old-world traditions and splendid landscapes. Our Morocco tour from the U. S. contains must-see destinations. And，if you like，a noble camel will take you on an unforgettable ride during a full-day Sahara Desert trip. You’ll also have time to experience the country’s delightful customs.
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If you appreciate big and striking，consider this Dubai and Abu Dhabi tour package from the U. S. Thanks to enormous wealth due to its oil reserves，the UAE’s largest emirate(酋长国) has transformed into an impressive destination you have to see to believe. Dramatic Dubai is developing rapidly too. It’s become a truly global，open society where visitors are absorbed in exciting possibilities. Experience all of the must-sees，as your guide provides context，dining ideas and personalized tips on maximizing your free time.
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If South Africa is one of the many destinations on your wish list，our Cape Town and Safari package from New York City is a very smart choice. The tour includes three full days in this port city，where you can book extraordinary optional tours that show south Africa’s incredible diversity. Discover the long-lasting legacy(遗产)of Nelson Mandela，explore the scenic Winelands or even go shark cage diving.. if you dare!
1.What will you do on Grand Morocco tour?
A.Have delicious French food. B.Experience mixed cultures.
C.Walk across Sahara Desert. D.Enjoy the modern civilization.
2.Why is Abu Dhabi so wealthy?
A.For the amount of oil. B.For its special location.
C.For the tourist destinations. D.For its personalized services.
3.On which tour can you experience all adventurous activity?
A.Sahara Desert. B.Grand Morocco.
C.Deluxe Dubai & Abu Dhabi. D.Cape Town & Safari Express.
