On his 67th birthday, Dad had a heart attack. He was _________- he survived. But something inside him had _________. His passion for life was gone. He refused the doctor’s _________, and his bitter attitude made every visitor _________. Dad was left alone.
I asked Dad to come and live on our small farm, _________ the fresh air would do him good. A week later, I _________ the invitation. He criticized everything here. Frustrated, I decided something had to be done.
One day I read an article saying several depressed patients’ attitudes had _________ dramatically (显著地) when given dogs. That afternoon I drove to an animal shelter, where a pointer’s eyes caught my attention. They watched me _________.
A staff member said: “He’s been here for two weeks with nothing heard, his _________ is up tomorrow.”
I turned to the man in horror, “You mean to __________ him?”
“Madam,” he said coldly. “We don’t have __________ for every unclaimed dog.” The pointer’s calm brown eyes __________ my decision. “I’ll take him,” I said.
On arriving home, I took the dog to Dad’s room. “Look what I got you!” I said __________.
Dad frowned and murmured. “I don’t want it.” Then, suddenly, the pointer __________ from my grasp. He sat down in front of Dad.
Dad’s anger __________, and soon he was hugging the animal.
It was the beginning of a (n) __________. Dad named the pointer Cheyenne. Together they spent long hours walking down country roads and relaxing on the banks of streams.
Dad’s __________ faded, and he and Cheyenne befriended each other. Then, one night two years later, Cheyenne rushed into my bedroom as if telling something. Running into Dad’s room, I found he had __________.
Two days later, my grief __________ when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad’s bed. While burying him near their favorite stream, I silently __________ the dog for restoring Dad’s peace of mind.
1.A.helpless B.dangerous C.lucky D.unusual
2.A.stayed B.left C.died D.stopped
3.A.orders B.descriptions C.designs D.ideas
4.A.satisfied B.upset C.crazy D.surprised
5.A.imagining B.guessing C.hoping D.supposing
6.A.forgot B.regretted C.admitted D.opposed
7.A.improved B.differed C.grew D.transformed
8.A.anxiously B.seriously C.restlessly D.calmly
9.A.time B.owner C.energy D.body
10.A.release B.adopt C.kill D.reject
11.A.money B.room C.worry D.patience
12.A.refused B.doubted C.expected D.challenged
13.A.patiently B.suddenly C.carefully D.excitedly
14.A.pulled free B.set back C.kept off D.slipped away
15.A.occurred B.melted C.continued D.strengthened
16.A.patience B.adoption C.separation D.friendship
17.A.bitterness B.sympathy C.happiness D.sadness
18.A.come back B.gone out C.turned up D.passed away
19.A.weakened B.deepened C.appeared D.closed
20.A.praised B.apologized C.begged D.thanked
People all have good days and bad days. And some of the bad days happen due to events beyond your control. 1.One way to increase the possibility that you have a good day is to join in “gratification(喜悦)” activities , which you enjoy and you’re good at. 2.However, if you don’t have the type of job, you can take part in other activities and find the same result.
3.There are many little pleasures you can add to your life, such as tea, a warm bath, a walk in the park and so on. As long as you enjoy them, they can really brighten your every day. Laughter is also part of having a good day. That’s why it’s important to do what you can to create joy for you.4.After all, if you are humorous, you can more easily center on fun things.
If you don’t have much time, one way can be used during a stressful day. 5.You should achieve this by making your plan flexible and checking that everything in your plan is necessary. Being busy is okay, but wasting time and energy on too many unnecessary things can just lead to stress.
A. Often, bad days come from overweight stress.
B. Some people experience joy and happiness at work.
C. Good moods enable us to notice more chances.
D. Life’s pleasures are also able to add a quick lift to your mood.
E. However, people do have power in creating better days.
F. So it’s important ---especially if you’re a busy person---to stay balanced.
G. Besides, developing a sense of humor also helps you have a good day.
Scientists can figure out a movie's emotional tone from the gasps(喘气) of its audience. These gases could point the way to a subtle(微妙的，精细的) form of human communication, a new study suggests.
"When you see a movie, you can hear the music and see the pictures. However, you don't realize here are chemical signals in the air. And they, too, could be affecting you, says Williams, who led the study. As an atmospheric chemist, he studies the chemical makeup of the air around us.
Williams started out measuring the air in a soccer stadium. He noticed that levels of carbon dioxide and other gases changed wildly whenever the crowd cheered. That got him wondering -- Could the gases people breathe out be influenced by emotions?
To find out, he went to the movies.
Williams and his coworkers measured air samples collected over six weeks in two movie theaters. Overall, 9,500 movie goers watched 16 films. They included a mix of comedy, romance, action and horror films. Among them were The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Carrie, and Walking with Dinosaurs. The researchers gave scenes from the movies such labels as “suspense(悬疑)”, "laughter" and "crying". Then they looked for hundreds of chemicals in the air that showed up as people were watching particular movie scenes.
And certain scenes had distinct chemical "fingerprints". Scenes that had people laughing or on the edge of their seats were especially distinctive. During screenings of The Hunger Games, levels of carbon dioxide and isoprene got to the highest at two suspenseful moments. Because isoprene is related to muscle movement, the researchers think tense movie moments likely led to its spikes(尖峰). Williams and his colleagues think the increase in carbon dioxide was due to the viewers' increased pulse and breathing rates.
Scientists need more data to make stronger links between human emotions and what's in their breath. But Williams can see potential practical uses. Companies, for instance, could quickly measure the air during tests to see how people feel about new products. He pictures future studies recording other body variables(变数) as well. These might include heart rate and body temperature, for instance. "It's something to find out."
1.What was Williams's purpose of the research?
A.To know more about the makeup of the air.
B.To find out how the air changes in a crowded stadium.
C.To study how greatly the movies influence people's emotion.
D.To see whether people's emotion affects the air they breathe out.
2.What do we know about the experiment?
A.Each participant watched about 16 films.
B.The movies were a mixture of comedy and romance.
C.The film scenes were labeled with three main features.
D.The samples were taken in two theaters over six weeks.
3.In which situation are people most emotional?
A.Romantic moments. B.Exciting situations.
C.Suspenseful situations. D.Horrible moments.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.Human emotions are strongly related to the chemicals humans breathe out.
B.People's temperature will be measured when they' re watching movies.
C.Williams thinks more measures should be taken for practical uses.
D.Companies will spend much money testing their new product.
As smog forced students to stay home, the online learning industry saw a sharp increase in consumers.
During the air pollution red alert from Dec. 8 to 10 last winter, the Beijing Commission of Education ordered all kindergartens, primary schools and middle schools to suspend classes (停课). But the commission urged that, "Teachers should guide students to make full use of digital materials and conduct online learning at home".
According to the China Education and Research Network, the number of new users of 17zuoye. com, an online homework platform, tripled (增至三倍) on Dec. 8 compared to the previous day.
Online courses companies also adopted special measures to meet students' demand for Internet learning during the red alert period. For example, New Oriental offered free online English classes for three days for school students as well as online question answering services.
Recent years have seen the popularity of online courses increase sharply in China. Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC), for example, originated in the United States but have become widespread in China since 2013. Some Chinese universities, including Tsinghua University and Peking University, have started their own MOOC platforms. "MOOCs have enlarged the time and space of teaching, fired up learners' interest, helped more people benefit from high quality educational resources and accelerated reform in many aspects of teaching," an official at the Ministry of Education told China Daily.
1.What were the teachers required to do during the red alert period?
A.Start MOOC platform.
B.Reform their way of teaching.
C.Guide students to learn via the Internet.
D.Work at home answering phones.
2.Who offered free online courses during the red alert?
A.New Oriental. B.The Ministry of Education.
C.Tsinghua University. D.Peking University.
3.The underlined words "fired up" in the last paragraph can be replaced by.
A.displayed B.inspired
C.explained D.destroyed
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A.Teach Online Courses
B.Stay Home, Get Online to Learn
C.Take Measures, Stop Air Pollution
D.Speed up Education Reform
I must have looked deep in thought, or as deep in thought as an 11-year-old man can, when my grandmother glanced up from her weeding to ask, "You have something on your mind, don't you?"
"Yes, I was thinking that someday I want to be an Olympic speed skating champion like my hero, Eric Heiden, I want to be a doctor like my parents and I want to help children in Africa."
I immediately knew I had confided in the right person when a knowing smile broke across her face. "Johann, of course! You can do anything you want to do!" she said simply. And with my grandmother's support, I set out to pursue my passions.
14 years later, I was well ready to take hold of my first dream: becoming an Olympic champion. The Olympics in 1994 were in my home country, Norway. As I entered the Olympic stadium, I wasn't the best athlete, and many had doubts about my ability to perform well. But I had something special working for me. I had a woman in the first row who believed in me following my passions just as much as I did. For the first time ever, my grandmother was going to see me skate.
It happened. Breaking a world record, I won the gold.
As I stood on the podium(领奖台) that I had dreamed about my entire life, a curious question popped into my head. Why me? Why did I win, given all the other incredible competitors out there? The reason had to be more than a grandmother who shared a belief in her grandson's dream. The question led me to only one answer: because I wanted to make a difference in the world, and with all the media attention on my success, I could.
I immediately knew what that difference had to be: hope in the lives of the children in Africa. Six months earlier, I'd been invited to Eritrea as an ambassador for Olympic Aid.
1.When the author spoke out what was on his mind, his grandmother______.
A.laughed at him B.supported him
C.had no confidence in him D.felt quite surprised
2.The author probably realized his first dream at the age of ______.
A.20 B.22
C.25 D.28
3.What will the author tell us in the part following the passage?
A.His efforts in helping the African children.
B.His hard training in preparing for the next Olympics.
C.His successes at other Olympic games.
D.His grandmother’s attitude towards him.
4.The whole passage is mainly about ______.
A.a young boy who had many dreams
B.the encouragement from a grandmother
C.a sportsman who realized his first dream of helping African children
D.an Olympic hero who made a difference in the world
This month we have several new releases for you! Whether you’re looking for a romantic novel, an adventurous novel, a new series from a favorite author or a sports-focused story, you won’t have to look very far to find what you’re looking for. So? What are you waiting for? Get reading!
Surviving Adam Meade by Shannon Klare
Seventeen-year-old Claire Collins has a plan: get into college and leave North Carolina behind. But she doesn’t know how to get rid of the local football star- Adam Meade, who she can’t even avoid (despite many efforts), because Claire’s dad is the high school football coach.
Seventeen-year-old Adam Meade never fails. He always gets what he wants... until he meets Claire, the new girl who makes him upset and confused. But there’s something about her that he just can’t resist...
How to Breathe Underwater by Vicky Skinner
Kate’s father has been pressuring her to be perfect for her whole life, pushing her to be the best swimmer she can be. But when Kate finds her dad cheating on her mom, Kate’s perfect world comes crashing down, and Kate is forced to leave home and the swim team. As the pressures of love, family, and success press down on her, can Kate keep her head above water?
Google It! A History of Google by Anna Crowley Redding
Larry Page and Sergey Brin started out as two Stanford college students with a wild idea. They were going to organize the world’s information. So they created one of the most influential companies in the world. The word “google” has even entered our vocabulary as a verb. Now, find out the true history of Google- from its beginnings through its revolution to a brief glimpse of where they might take us next.
The Soul Keepers by Devon Taylor
Rhett always thought that death was the end of everything. But after he dies, he discovers it’s only the beginning. He awakens in the afterlife and is employed to make a voyage to ferry the souls of the dead. To where exactly, no one knows. But they must protect them from evil soul-eating monsters (怪物). Rhett and his new friends have a hard enough time fighting back the monsters.
1.Who wrote a romantic story between teenagers?
A.Shannon Klare. B.Vicky Skinner.
C.Devon Taylor. D.Anna Crowley Redding.
2.Why does Kate’s perfect world crash down?
A.Her pressure in school and swim team. B.Her father’s cheating on her mother.
C.Her father’s high expectations. D.Her bad relationship with her father.
3.Which novel would you like to read if you are interested in thrillers?
A.The Soul Keepers. B.Surviving Adam Meade.
C.How to Breathe Underwater. D.Google It! A history of Google.
