The cracked step four years ago was the start of it. That day, I awoke tired—the children were tiny and needing so much—and I had a golden afternoon of rest ahead, my mother stepping in to allow me to catch up on my sleep. I dropped them off and drove home—the sun shining and my bed signaling. As I was about to enter the house, I caught sight of a deep crack beneath my feet.
Without thinking, I turned around, walked back to the car and drove to a DIY store. Four hours later, I had all the tools, mixed my own cement, filled in the crack and repaired the foundation. Perfect. As I stood up to take a photo of my handiwork, I realized that I was trembling. I’d forgotten my shot at a nice long nap, and my children were already on their way home. That sleep... that promise to self was broken, because I had focused, instead, on the crack in the step.
Suddenly, everything started to hurt. My head, my throat, my back. I couldn’t stop shaking. What earned then is that when we break the promises we make to our bodies they will not be silenced. This is when we overwork and overthink to the point of breaking down. Ironically (讽刺地), for many of us, it is only when we have no choice— when we fall ill—that we learn to listen. For me, when that crack ended in a hospital stay which sent me to bed for two unmoving weeks when my body worked to clear two different infections, the lesson is ever present. I did it to myself—a whole twisted spin on DIY.
Sadly it took another two ridiculous DIY projects to finally get through. The cracks will never be fully filled. Focus, then, on your own inner core, the feeding of light, fire and strength.
1.What made the author so sleepy in the first place?
A.Taking care of the kids. B.Asking her mother for help.
C.Driving to her mother’s house D.Dealing with DIY projects.
2.How did the author feel as soon as she finished her repair work?
A.Regretful B.Upset
C.Proud D.Thankful
3.What can be implied from Paragraph 3?
A.Our health is ignored deliberately.
B.Our body will respond to what we do.
C.The author took her mother’s advice.
D.The author was infected before the DIY.
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A.To describe an unfortunate event.
B.To show the danger of DIY.
C.To stress the importance of sleep.
D.To encourage focusing on oneself.
How cool can libraries be in an era of iPods and Kindles? More than you think. Only if you know where to go.
Central Library: Seattle, Washington, United States
The Central Library in Seattle is modern and fashionable and has tourists from around the world paying visits and taking tours. It was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and American designer Joshua Ramus. Tours began in 2006, two years after its opening. The library holds various art exhibitions, book signings and other events, while visitors can stop by the Chocolate cart for a coffee and scan through the gift shop anytime.
Trinity College Library: Dublin, Ireland
The Trinity College Library in Dublin is in Ireland, founded at the end of the 16th century by Queen Elizabeth I. It is the largest single library in the world, also known as the Long Room, which contains more than 200,000 of the library's oldest books. The Long Room houses one of the oldest harps（竖琴）in Ireland. Dating to the 15th century, the old harp is the model for the symbol foreland.
Geisel Library, University of California: San Diego, United States
At first glance, it looks like a spaceship. Architect William Pereira, who helped design actual space launch facilities at Cape Canaveral in Houston, Texas, designed the library in 1970. It has been featured in sci-fi films, short stories and novels. The library hosts “Dinner in the Library,” which invites readers for cocktails, and also special speeches from distinguished authors．
TU Delft Library: The Netherlands
The library at the Delft University of Technology was constructed in 1997 and has more than 862,000 books, 16,000 magazine subscriptions and its own museum. The building itself exists beneath the ground, so you can't really see the actual Library. What makes it interesting is the roof, which is a grassy hill. The roof covers 5,500 square meters. And it has become one of the most striking and greenest structures in the area.
1.Which of the four libraries has the longest history?
A.Central Library B.Trinity College Library
C.Geisel Library D.TU Delft Library
2.What makes Geisel Library different from the others is that _____.
A.a spaceship designer founded the library
B.it has a roof of grassy hill
C.famous writers often deliver speeches there
D.it is the largest single library in the world
3.In Central Library, you can _____.
A.drink cocktails B.buy souvenirs
C.create paintings D.book events
假设你是李华，某报社英语编辑Mr. Smith邀请你参加英语周报（English weekly）报社组织的一个活动， 请你根据下列内容，写一篇小短文：
内容要点：1. 未能参加英语角；
2. 简述未能参加的原因；
3. 对未来再次参加英语角活动的渴望。
注意：1. 词数100左右；2. 书信格式已经给出，不计入总词数；
Dear Smith,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours truly,
Lihua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（
），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I don’t exactly remember what old I was when I started to ride a bike. I only remember that I practice riding a bike in my early years. When I first successful rode a bike, which remained a vivid memory, my brother helped him by holding the back seat of the bike steadily while I was riding. “Wow, I did it!”, cried I, as soon as I noticed I was riding with his hands! After that, I was inspiring to ride a bigger bike (26 inches) to ride faster even though my feet was not touching the ground!
Soon, I started to go to the local traffic playground frequently which kids could learn traffic rules from the policeman working at there. I really enjoyed there! At 12, I finally learnt how to ride the bike, and nothing could hold me back.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
It’s surprising how we spend our lives. Reach your 78th birthday and according to some back-of-the-envelope 1. (calculate) , and you will have spent nine of those years 2. (watch) television, four years driving a car, 92 days on the toilet, and so on.
But when 3. comes to time-consuming activities, there’s one that sits head and shoulders above them all.4. (live) to 78, and you may have spent around 25 years asleep. In an effort 5. (regain) some of that time it’s reasonable to ask: how long can we stay 6. (wake) – and what are the consequences of going without sleep?
Any healthy individual 7. (plan) to find out through personal experimentation will find it tough going. If we ignore all these side effects and stay up 8. days on end, our minds become insane（精神错乱的）. We get moody, paranoid（偏执狂的）, and see things that 9. (be) really there. When a shadowy apparition(幽灵) appears on the roadway, so the advice goes, it’s time to pull the lorry over. “People start to hallucinate（幻觉） and go 10. bit crazy,” says Atul Malhotra, the Director of Sleep Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
Kobe Bryant was at the peak of his career in 2013, controlling the court by spinning, shooting and scoring. Then suddenly, as he tried to use his way around a defensive guard, he started to limp and ____ . Before the game ended, Bryant fell again, and could ____ walk.
“I remember feeling the silence and ____ . This can be the end,” Bryant ____ in his documentary. His fears were ____ founded. He had ruptured（断裂）his left Achilles tendon（跟腱）. The kind of injury ____ US All-Star player Isiah Thomas’career.
Saying farewell to a sport you love is hard. ____ Bryant took an even harder, more painful route: His goodbye lasted for nearly three year. Seven months after his injury, he was back on the ____ again. But his performance never recovered. Bryant ____ the Lakers as the team and set a record with three season losses. Over the course of this season, he got the ____ rate for shooting accuracy in the league.
But for many, Bryant ____ a legend. He started out as a basketball gift who ____ college and took his talents directly to NBA. Fans remember him as the player who helped the Lakers ____ five NBA championships. However, the ____ fact is that the Lakers may have been better off if Kobe played less this season. Last month, they won a game ____ the Golden State Warriors. Bryant spent the fourth quarter of that game ____ on the bench. But the team has otherwise efforted to thank him for decades of ____ . As teammate D’Angelo Russell told CBS, their job this season is to “ ____ Kobe the ball”.
Bryant’s ____ game is scheduled for April 13 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. For Bryant, the ____ is bitter and sweet.
1.A.rise B.fall C.climb D.stand
2.A.barely B.steadily C.totally D.smoothly
3.A.worry B.concern C.fear D.happiness
4.A.recalled B.retold C.reminded D.responded
5.A.badly B.well C.easily D.fully
6.A.ended B.began C.ignored D.lost
7.A.And B.So C.But D.Or
8.A.family B.team C.group D.court
9.A.won B.led C.lost D.taught
10.A.best B.worst C.greatest D.smallest
11.A.remains B.has C.needs D.works
12.A.went B.sent C.skipped D.left
13.A.lose B.win C.cancel D.ignore
14.A.happy B.frightening C.sad D.exciting
15.A.for B.in C.at D.against
16.A.waiting B.resting C.standing D.leaning
17.A.service B.labor C.job D.failure
18.A.handle B.hand C.keep D.leave
19.A.final B.wonderful C.early D.lasting
20.A.wish B.desire C.occasion D.secret
