My grandma and I shared an amazing relationship as uncommon as the double rainbow. When I was ten, we started our first_________during World War II. We sowed seeds together—in the_________and in me.
We planted beans, corn, watermelon and flowers. I must_________that I rode twenty miles each Saturday more for the conversation with grandma and the homemade cookies than for the_________. But however full I was after I ate, I was always left_________for more of the wisdom and optimism she_________with me.
I’ll never forget the day when we tasted our first harvest as a result of_________a plum(李子)tree with an apricot(杏子) tree. The ripe fruit was pink, not purple like a plum, nor orange like an apricot,_________a mixture of both. “Granny, will they be any good?” I asked.“_________!” she said, “Didn’t we do all that was needed?”
Sure enough, they were__________. “That’s because they are special,__________any other fruit you’ve ever eaten. They are plumcots!” she said__________as we ate most of what we had__________, “You always get out what you__________. Sow apple seeds and you get apple trees; sow weeds and you will__________weeds; sow the seeds of great ideas and you will get great__________,” she said softly, looking directly into my eyes.
From my grandma, I learned the seeds of__________are neither unusual genes, nor are they__________on the high IQ, the skin-deep beauty, the race, or the family background. The seeds of greatness are attitudes and beliefs that begin in children by observing and learning the lifestyle of role models and heroes.
“Shape your__________and actions after people who are enthusiastic, excellent, honest,__________and creative in their service to others.” Armed with my grandma’s words, I set out bravely, sowing and then harvesting my own great life stories.
1.A.forest B.garden C.park D.library
2.A.soil B.water C.air D.floor
3.A.observe B.recognize C.notice D.admit
4.A.flowers B.vegetables C.plants D.fruits
5.A.hungry B.satisfied C.enjoyable D.dull
6.A.exchanged B.shared C.connected D.argued
7.A.supplying B.matching C.comparing D.crossing
8.A.but B.or C.and D.so
9.A.Go ahead B.Of course C.No way D.Come on
10.A.delicious B.ordinary C.strange D.terrible
11.A.unlike B.including C.past D.without
12.A.surprisingly B.patiently C.worriedly D.joyfully
13.A.bought B.caught C.cooked D.picked
14.A.care about B.put in C.believe in D.refer to
15.A.purchase B.output C.dug D.harvest
16.A.grades B.persons C.advantages D.dreams
17.A.courage B.confidence C.friendship D.greatness
18.A.dependent B.satisfied C.attractive D.organized
19.A.appearances B.feelings C.thoughts D.clothes
20.A.unselfish B.wealthy C.careless D.ordinary
If you live in a small house you know how difficult it can be to find room to fit everything and still have enough living space.1..
Get rid of what you don’t use or need. If you have a small house you likely won’t have room for everything. Clean out all closets, garages and drawers.2.. The less you have the easier it will be to organize.
3.. Use baskets, shoe boxes and milk boxes to store items such as crafts, pictures and seasonal items. Clean out desks regularly to get rid of unneeded paperwork. Choose a shelf or closet for particular items. Put things back where they should be to keep things organized.
Throw away magazines and newspapers as soon as you read them.4.. Keep a box for bills, invitations and mails you need to keep. This helps keep a small house easier to organize. Create more space by changing the garage into a living space.5.. A garage can be turned into office space, a play room or exercise area.
A. Have a place for everything
B. Select furniture that takes up less space
C. It may be easier to organize a house if you add more space
D. Consider donating items you never use or have a big garage sale
E. Throw away junk mail and advertisements as soon as they come in
F. Make a careful plan in advance so that you can put everything in order
G. There are ways to organize a small house and make the most of the space you have
Mental health experts estimate that depression affects more than 120 million people worldwide. It severely affects the person’s quality of life and, in extreme cases, can lead to people killing themselves. Anti-depressant medicines have been shown as an effective treatment for most patients. But the drugs are unable to help a small number of people with the disorder.
For such person, doctors may suggest deep transcranial magnetic stimulation(经颅磁力刺激), or DTMS for short. In this treatment, patients wear a special helmet connected to a machine. An electric coil(线圈)in the helmet sends out regular waves of electromagnetic energy. These beating sounds produce changes in the brain area responsible for the disorder.
Electromagnetic stimulation(刺激) was first tried to treat depression over 30 years ago. Now, a new generation of wiring can direct the energy on one part of the brain. DTMS starts with daily 20-mimute-long treatments for 20 to 30 days. The patient then returns for treatment two to three times a week for several weeks.
The only side effect is sometimes slight head pain. Aaron Tendler is the chief medical officer of Brains way, the company that makes the machine. He said that it’s hard to say how long the effects of DTMS last.
DTMS is being used in Europe to treat both depression and other conditions. Patients there are getting treated for dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. And DTMS is even being used to help some Europeans give up smoking.
But in the United States, the Federal Food and Drug Administration(FFDA) has approved it only for the treatment of depression which cannot be treated by medicine. But clinical tests are continuing on other conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Both of the disorders, like depression, can get in the way of a person working and getting along with people.
1.Why are people concerned about depression?
A.Because it may lead to death sometimes.
B.Because only a few people can recover from it.
C.Because it does not affect social communication.
D.Because medicine treatment usually fails to work on it.
2.How does DTMS help patients with depression?
A.By wearing a helmet in daily life.
B.By performing an operation on the head.
C.By making them face the disease bravely.
D.By letting electromagnetic waves stimulate the brain.
3.What can we infer about DTMS from the text?
A.It is quite safe to use it worldwide.
B.The use of it in America is forbidden.
C.It can cure patients of depression in a month.
D.It will be widely used in treating more diseases.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.Finding Hope in A Hopeless Depression
B.DTMS - A New Treatment for Depression
C.The Killer of Modern Humans Depression
D.Using Electromagnetic Waves to Cure Depression
How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change is the latest movie from filmmaker and climate activist Josh Fox. The movie is the third film in a three-part series about climate change.
In 2010, Fox’s documentary Gasland explored the hotly debated process of removing natural gas from the ground. He examined the subject again in Gasland II. Fox was against traditional fossil fuels(矿物燃料) and in support of renewable energy. In his third film, Fox says pollution from fossil fuels must be reduced. Without limits, there will be more extreme weather, like dry weather, rising sea levels and lack of food and water. “When you really meet that head on, it causes unbelievable danger.”
Fox notes there are things that climate cannot change. “Those are our value structure and that is what the film starts to explain. We start to really emphasize the things that are inside-courage, love, generosity and creativity. I think those are the centers of what we talk about when we talk about a response to climate change.”
In the new film, Fox travels through a sunless forest in the Amazon with local activists to measure oil spills. He goes to a village in Ecuador to learn how people there stopped a pipeline from being built. He joins young people in Australia to stop ships from entering the port of Newcastle.
“You should probably know the negative part of what we’re about to do. This is the short list: drowning, arrest, being run over by boats, being carried away in water into the Pacific Ocean, cultural disrespect and big waves.”
Also in the film, Fox talks to Ella Zhou, an energy expert. She explained the importance of what she calls“moral(道德) imagination”. “I think that it forces us to get out of our box of thinking about, for example, what is being successful. It allows us to have a moral value about what we want as a person. What do we want to do for the world and for ourselves? ”
1.What does the underlined word “that” refer to?
A.The extreme weather. B.The lack of food and water.
C.The pollution from fossil fuels. D.The support for renewable energy.
2.What did Fox start to explain in his third film?
A.The centers of our value structure.
B.The correct response to climate change.
C.The terrible effects climate change causes.
D.The process of removing natural gas from the ground.
3.Why did Fox make a short list?
A.To call on people to join him.
B.To express his love for adventure.
C.To prove that filming is a difficult career.
D.To stress the difficulties they met as climate activists.
4.According to Ella, which of the following is TRUE about moral imagination?
A.It tells us the way to success. B.It makes us creative in thinking.
C.It encourages us to realize our dreams. D.It helps us find the true meaning of life.
Many of us rarely check in with ourselves. We rarely wonder what we really want, what benefits us, what delights us, what hurts us, how we can respect ourselves, what people are actually healthy for us to be around and what the most supportive decision is. Or we may know these things but we don’t act on them.
One reason is that we get caught up in what everyone else is doing and thinking. I have to buy that, too! I need to be on that diet if she’s trying it. They think therapy is a waste of time and money. He suggests that I should lose weight. They completely disagree. Maybe I do, too?
When we get caught up like this, we silence ourselves. Here I don’t mean asking others for feedback(反馈) or advice or helpful insights. I’m referring to times when we ignore ourselves and when we let others’ perspectives set aside our own.
When we get caught up like this, what can help is to refocus. To ask ourselves: OK, but what do I want? What works for me? We can ask ourselves questions to check in with ourselves, our needs, our desires, our intentions, and our hearts. These questions reveal important answers. Asking these questions may lead to a new and deeper understanding or perspective. It puts us back in the driver’s seat.
And as I say many times, asking ourselves all sorts of questions means we are listening to ourselves. We’re admitting that our thoughts and feelings matter. Because they do. And in asking questions, in taking the time to listen to the answers, we are building self-trust. We are caring for ourselves in a powerful way.
1.What do we know about people described in Paragraph 1 and 2?
A.They tend to follow suit. B.They like to learn from others.
C.They are too lazy to think hard. D.They have a strong desire to win.
2.Why do we make ourselves silence?
A.Because we follow our own feelings.
B.Because we feel doubtful about things.
C.Because we don’t think about our own ideas.
D.Because we ask others for feedback or advice.
3.Which of the following questions can help you refocus?
A.Why are they happier than me? B.What do my family need the most?
C.What matters most to me in this world? D.How can I follow the traditional values?
4.How can you be in charge of your life?
A.Having a strong power. B.Ready to start out.
C.Leading the way for others. D.Back in the driver’s seat.
Situated on a 66-acre land overlooking Sarasota Bay, the Ringling Museum of Art features 21 galleries of European paintings, Cypriot antiquities(古董), Asian art, American paintings as well as modern and contemporary art. Built in 1927 as the legacy of collector of art John Ringling and his wife Mable, the museum is recognized as the official State Art Museum of Florida. The museum also regularly presents temporary exhibitions from its own collections and traveling collections.
Address: 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, FL 34243
Regular Hours: Open daily, 10 am to 5:30 pm
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day
Admission: Adults: $19 Seniors: $16
Children aged 6-17 and active U.S. military $6
All students and Florida teachers: $6
Children under 5: Free
Phone: 941-359-5700
In addition to the museum, there are the following:
Ca d’Zan, a splendid 30-room Venetian Gothic mansion, built between 1924 and 1926 by the Ringlings.
The Ringling Museum of the American Circus, built in 1948, shows visitors the rich history of the circus and offers guests a glance at all types of circus equipment.
The Historic Asolo Theater, an 18th-century European theater built in Asolo, Italy, in 1798, moved to Sarasota in the early 1950s by the museum’s first director, Austin. Jr.
Treviso, a restaurant serves classic Italian and American favorites.
The Banyan Cafe, located near the Circus Museum and Rose Garden, offers family-friendly counter service and a menu including hot dogs, sandwiches, chicken fingers and ice cream.
1.What can we learn about the Ringling Museum of Art?
A.It can be visited all the year round.
B.It focuses on works of art in the old times.
C.It displays many collections from the Ringlings.
D.It offers a discount to all teachers and the military.
2.How much should a Florida teacher and 6-year-old twins pay to visit the museum?
A.16 dollars. B.18 dollars.
C.25 dollars. D.31 dollars.
3.Which of the following appeared in Sarasota the earliest?
A.Ca d’Zan.
B.The Banyan Cafe.
C.The Historic Asolo Theater.
D.The Ringling Museum of the American Circus.
