On New Year’s Eve, I came across an old couple at a secondhand store. They moved slowly around me _______something.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
They stopped, looked at me and said, “We’re looking for _______ things that look new.”
Then they _______ . I didn’t. It must have been a private joke between them.
Noticing I looked _______, the man explained, “Look, every new year in the past we _______ to begin the year with new things. It was a goal to surround ourselves with things _______ and new so that we had new direction, new hopes and dreams for the _______ ahead.”
“How did that _______?” I asked.
“Well, after so many years, we discovered it really got us _______,” the woman said.
“Then why do you ________at a secondhand store? Are things bad financially?”
“No, not at all. We just discovered that things don’t have to be ________but to be of great value. ________ it’s old, it’s new to someone who ________ saw it before,” the man said.
“So, each year now we search for things that are ________ to others but mean the world to us,” the woman added.
This couple had spent most of their lives ________ that there was power in “things” and on New Year’s Eve, they should ________ old things and be surrounded with new things. They spent most of their lives believing that by doing so, their life was going to change magically.
________, the truth is, there really isn’t anything different from one day to the next, one year to the next, except for your ________ to it. Everything is there waiting to be ________, so everything is old until you see it for the first time.
I have learned a ________ that day and it has been the best New Year gift I have ever received.
1.A.in search of B.in charge of C.in memory of D.in support of
2.A.strange B.cheap C.old D.pretty
3.A.laughed B.nodded C.shouted D.apologized
4.A.shocked B.worried C.puzzled D.annoyed
5.A.promised B.tried C.struggled D.failed
6.A.fresh B.familiar C.interesting D.useful
7.A.way B.year C.goal D.chance
8.A.carry out B.pick out C.work out D.come out
9.A.somewhere B.anywhere C.nowhere D.everywhere
10.A.work B.volunteer C.stay D.shop
11.A.outstanding B.attractive C.depressive D.expensive
12.A.Even though B.Now that C.If only D.Ever since
13.A.seldom B.never C.sometimes D.often
14.A.common B.funny C.valueless D.harmless
15.A.believing B.proving C.explaining D.arguing
16.A.take hold of B.get rid of C.pay attention to D.put up with
17.A.Therefore B.Moreover C.Otherwise D.However
18.A.approach B.attitude C.contribution D.introduction
19.A.bought B.remembered C.improved D.discovered
20.A.word B.skill C.fact D.lesson
Learn How to Have a Learning Vacation
Going on a vacation to learn a skill you have long hungered to pick up sounds like a good thing, but be careful, said John Spence, the president of a travel company in Calif. “If you don’t pick the right skill for you, or go in without realistic expectations, your time won’t enjoyable,” he said.
Here, he shares his advice on planning a learning vacation that you won’t regret taking:
◆Follow your passion. 1.. They include cooking, photography, art history, farming or a sport such as diving or horseback riding. To get the most out of the trip, choose something you’re passionate about.
◆2.? With whatever skill you intend to learn, figure out whether you want an immersion (沉浸) or only to occupy a part of your trip. It’s possible to learn cooking basics, for example, by taking a weeklong course at Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland. Another choice is to attend several half-day classes at the school and have more free time to explore the destination itself. “3., so make sure that it’s what you really want,” Mr. Spence said.
◆Consider your budget. No matter the skill, you can learn it by taking a vocation in a wide range of price choices. 4.. If you want to learn scuba diving (水肺式潜水), for example, heading to the Maldives will cost several thousand dollars per person, while a scuba diving trip to the Florida Keys is a more wallet-friendly choice.
◆Don’t forget the children. 5., if they are fun. “ Yes, you want your kids to learn, but you don’t want them to be bored by overloading them with too much information,” Mr. Spence said.
A. A little, or a lot
B. Don’t be influenced by others’ interest
C. What skill do you want to learn
D. Learning vacations can be great family trips, too
E. The choices for what you can learn on your vacation are limitless
F. Having a clear idea of your budget will help you home in on the right trip
G. Spending your entire break learning something new can be stressful
In June 2015, Hedlund gave herself a challenge: She would go an entire year without buying any clothes. At first she thought she’d try it out on her own. But because she was also in charge of clothes shopping for her husband and young son, she expanded the experiment to also include them. Hedlund found that she spent hundreds of dollars each year on clothes she and her family never actually wore.
With the exception of a single pair of running shoes, Hedlund succeeded in not buying any clothing for anyone in her family for one year. Along the way, the experiment brought her attention to something else: the clothing industry’s wastefulness. This problem, Hedlund realized, was fueled partly by people like herself, who bought too many clothes they didn’t need. These purchases power an industry where pollution, waste and unsafe working conditions are too often seen.
“ I wasn’t really aware of this dark side of the clothing industry,” said Hedlund. “It wasn’t the first thing I took into consideration when I started the challenge, but now it just makes me want to keep not buying clothing.”
It’s possible that consumers’ (消费者) actions can affect a trillion-dollar global industry. By controlling their consumption, consumers can send a clearer signal to clothing producers that they don’t want to buy so much and they don’t want to buy badly-made clothing.
However, minimalism (极简主义) has earned plenty of critics. “Minimalism is OK only when it’s a choice, and its followers are in the well-off middle class,” said Stephanie Land, a journalist for The New York Times. “ For people who are not so well off, it is not really a choice.”
1.Why did Hedlund include her husband and young son in her experiment?
A.She needed their help.
B.She loved them very much.
C.She was responsible for their clothes.
D.She wanted to face a great challenge.
2.What was one result of Hedlund’s challenge?
A.She did a lot of running.
B.She bought fewer clothes.
C.She stopped buying anything.
D.She changed her living conditions.
3.What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 3 refer to?
A.Overconsumption.
B.Leading a simple lifestyle.
C.The experiment she did on clothing.
D.The negative effect of the clothing industry.
4.It can be inferred from Stephanie Land’s words that minimalism __________.
A.is not suitable for everyone. B.should be spoken highly of.
C.is popular with poor people. D.can’t be thought of as a good idea.
“ Go ahead,” I told Linda. “ Pick up the rock, and see what’s under it.”
Her 4-year-old arms struggled with the rock buried in the stream bed. Her eyes got big as she examined the worms after their nest was uncovered. She watched quietly, as they walked past her foot. She gently put the rock back and said,” Are there worms under all the rocks?”
This wasn’t school — it was a nature-based summer camp in New York’s Hudson Valley that I ran when I was 17. When I turned the kids over to their parents at the end of the day, they were tired, inspired by nature and knowledge.
Finland’s “forest kindergartens” use the natural world as a jumping off point for early academic instruction to make them enjoy learning. Finland is following in the footsteps of other European countries including Denmark, where outdoor education has been common for many years.
In the Finnish program, kids spend four days of a week, from 8:30a.m. to 6:30p.m., outside with a teacher. Built into the program is quite a bit of playtime. Kids get a lot of exercise and lesson plans are freely made so teachers can use what’s at hand and in season in their lessons.
While all this sounds less strict than a classroom-based kindergarten program, the results show that these types of programs have better results for overall physical health as well as academic performance and social development. But aren’t the kids who do this coming from wealthy, educated communities — so, of course they score better on tests? In fact, the greatest gains from spending time outdoors can be found in kids who are coming from less advantageous background. At a school near Atlanta, where kids spend 30 percent of their day outside, students have improved scores more than students from any other school in their area, and most of the kids there come from poor families.
1.Why did the author ask Linda to turn over the rock?
A.To help Linda be independent.
B.To see if Linda had enough courage.
C.To give Linda a chance to study nature.
D.To teach Linda how to protect animals.
2.What’s the purpose of Finland’s “forest kindergartens”?
A.To help kids learn about forests.
B.To popularize outdoor education.
C.To show the importance of play.
D.To develop kids’ interest in study.
3.Compared with classroom-based kindergartens, “forest kindergartens”____________.
A.seem to be less tiring B.have no fixed lesson plans
C.set many strict rules D.have no teachers around
4.What is an advantage of outdoor programs according to the last paragraph?
A.Kids joining them score higher on tests.
B.They help change poor kids’ families.
C.They do good to communities.
D.Kids meet people who are different from them.
When I was eight years old, I had cancer. It was really hard. One of the worst things was having to sit in the doctor’s office for hours during chemo (化疗) treatments. I’d want to walk around and do things, but dealing with the big intravenous poles (静脉输液架) that hold the bags of medicine was a pain. I’d have to roll them around with me. I’d trip over them, and the poles got stuck on everything. It made my stress over being sick even worse.
Last year for science fair, my teacher said we should think of how to solve an everyday problem. When you have cancer, the intravenous poles are an everyday problem. I started thinking of making a backpack for kids so they could get around and play and go outside while they are getting chemo. I especially want to make chemo easier for kids. I know how frightening it can be.
For my project, I got a backpack and made a model. I took a small box and made it look like an intravenous machine. I had a small pole sticking out of the top, where you’d hang the bag of medicine. Then I painted it to make it look nice.
After the science fair, I got a patent for my invention. That means I officially owned the idea. I was pretty surprised. Companies started talking to my family about making the backpacks. But it’s very expensive. A lot of people have donated money to help. So far I’ve raised $55,000.
Before the backpack project, I thought of cancer as terrible. But now I realize that a good thing that came from it was that I could help others. I don’t like seeing kids with cancer suffer through treatment. I hope my invention can help them.
1.What troubled the author most?
A.Her health. B.Her studies
C.The chemo treatment D.The medicine for cancer
2.Why did the author want to invent a special backpack?
A.To help kids know about cancer
B.To make treatment more effective
C.To make students’ school bags lighter.
D.To help kids feel better during chemo.
3.What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?
A.What the author did to raise money.
B.How the author made the backpacks.
C.What the author got from her teacher.
D.How the author got an intravenous machine.
4.What can we learn about the backpack project?
A.It was fruitful.
B.It has made lots of money.
C.It was started by a company.
D.It was a school-owned business.
MUSEUM SHOPS
BUFFALO HISTORY MUSEUM
Offers items related to the history of Western New York and its people, such as postcards, posters, fine gift items, children’s books, and a wide selection of publications about Buffalo architecture, the Arts& Crafts movement and Frank Lloyd Wright.
One Museum Court, Buffalo
716-873-9644/buffalohistotry.org
BUFFALO ZOO
The Zootique is full of animal-themed items from around the world, as well as Buffalo Zoo branded T-shirts, sweatshirts, postcards, calendars, and educational toys. A Zootique gift can be the perfect way to remember your day at this attractive zoo, which is set within the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Delaware Park.
300 Parkside Ave, Buffalo
716-873-3900/buffalozoo.org
BURCHFIELD PENNEY ART CENTER
While most museum gift shops are filled with knick-snacks (小摆设) and memorabilia, the Burchfield’s shop is filled with works by local artists. There are some seriously cool, collectible items to be found. The museum itself is known for showing cutting-edge artists and exhibitions, and the creativity obviously doesn’t stop at the art.
1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo
716-878-6011/burchfieldpenny.org
ROYCROFT COPPER SHOP GALLERY
You can experience the American Arts and Crafts Movement’s legacy (遗产) today by shopping at the Roycroft Copper Shop, featuring hundreds of works by over 100 local, national, and international artisans including handmade jewelry, woodwork, glass, prints and paintings.
31 South Grove St, East Aurora
716-655-0261/roycroftcampuscorporation.com
1.Which number should you call if you want to know more about Zootique gifts?
A.716-873-9644. B.716-837-3900.
C.716-878-6011. D.716-655-0261 .
2.How is Buffalo Penny Art Center different from other museum shops?
A.Its goods are all artworks.
B.Its gifts are intended for children.
C.It sells a lot of works by local artists.
D.It shows various coins from around the world.
3.At which shop can you learn about the Arts and Crafts Movement in America?
A.Buffalo Zoo. B.Buffalo History Museum.
C.Burchfield Penny Art Center. D.Roycroft Copper Shop Gallery
