“O gentle sleep!\Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frightened thee\That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down.”Henry IV, as portrayed by Shakespeare, would have sympathized with people who struggle with insomnia (失眠). Now a major publisher has come up with a novel idea.
In a project to be launched this week, Penguin Random House has cooperated with the Sleep Council and the Children’s Sleep Charity in creating collections of “Sleep Tales” for adults and children. Combining “cutting-edge technology and the ancient art of storytelling to help solve an age-old problem”, these audiobooks are part soundscape, part descriptive narrative, with softly spoken voices to calm anxieties and take listeners to the land of nod.
Each story lasts about 15 minutes, enabling listeners to set their sleep timer. The stories draw on the Sleep Council’s research into sounds that help people wind down, such as waves lapping on a shore, soft rainfall and birdsong.
Richard Lennon, publisher at Penguin Audio, told the Guardian the project was inspired partly by the realization that increasing numbers of people were listening to audio books “as they’re going to sleep or as part of their bedtime routine”. He said both adults and children respond to something comforting and familiar as they are nodding off.
Asked whether a boring story could have the same effect, he said the stories needed to be “engaging enough not to put you off”: “This is about creating the right environment and headspace for you … to go to sleep. Strangely, if you’re bored, it doesn’t have that effect.” Audience research had been very positive, Lennon said. One listener reported: “The story made my mind stop racing.”
1.Why is the poem mentioned at the beginning of the passage?
A.To introduce the works of Shakespeare.
B.To appreciate the rhythm of the poem.
C.To lead to the topic of the passage.
D.To offer an example of people with insomnia.
2.What’s the character of the audio books of “Sleep Tales”?
A.Their target readers are children.
B.Every story is long and interesting.
C.They are read vividly in different tones.
D.They can make listeners sleepy.
3.What can we learn from Richard Lennon’s words?
A.Not many people prefer listening to audio books before sleep.
B.A boring story is more likely to make people sleepy.
C.The environment is very important for reading stories.
D.The audio books prove effective in helping people sleep in the research.
4.Which is the best title for the passage?
A.Releasing audio books to send listeners to sleep
B.The new trend of people’s reading habit
C.Audio books are becoming more and more popular
D.Ways to help people sleep easily
From Antigua to Zanzibar, these spots promise an incredible trip for 2019.
Antigua, Guatemala
“Antigua is worth every penny, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have to empty your wallet,” says Hudson. There are plenty of budget-conscious activities. It won’t cost you a coin to visit Santo Domingo del Cerro, an outdoor sculpture park. Wanting something sweet? Head to ChocoMuseo. Admission is free and so are the samples!
Odessa, Ukraine
Odessa is having a bit of a tourism boom nationwide-not that we’re surprised, given its sandy beaches and pastel-colored buildings-but it’s still fairly under the order for international audiences. You can also count on this port city for affordable fun. Tickets to the Odessa Opera House start at a mere $ 2!
Bogotá, Colombia
“Travelers on budget will find Colombia’s vast capital far more of a bargain and every bit as fascinating,” says Hudson. “It’s free to visit Museo de Oro and on Sundays many of the big roads are closed to accommodate food carts, street entertainers, and pedestrians.”
Zanzibar
Zanzibar attracts vacationers with its white sand beaches, greenish-blue tides, colorful coral reefs, and oceanfront seaside. Of course, wandering in historic Stone Town is pretty appealing too. Either way, you needn’t spend a penny in this amazing place. It’s also worth noting that Jozani Forest is the only place in the world you can see endangered red colobus monkeys.
1.Which of the following requires admission fee?
A.ChocoMuseo. B.Odessa Opera House.
C.Museo de Oro. D.Stone Town.
2.Where can you enjoy seaside scenery and visit historical sites?
A.Antigua, Guatemala B.Odessa, Ukraine
C.Bogotá, Colombia D.Zanzibar
3.What do the four destinations have in common?
A.They are coastal cities.
B.They welcome street entertainers.
C.They are inexpensive to visit.
D.They will make your wallet empty.
假定你叫李华。你班外教Mr.Baker要求每个同学制定一个“班级英语角”的计划，并在班上向全班同学说明。请你用英语写一个英语角计划，内容包括：
1. 英语角目的；
2. 时间和地点；
3. 英语角内容。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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。每处错误仅涉及当个单词的增加、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：在错的词下划一横线，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。
Today, together with my classmates I went on a school trip, where I think was interesting. Our destination was the City Science Museum. We get up earlier than before, and we took a bus to go there. It wasn't far, so they arrived there soon. At the museum, I learnt a lot about robots. I felt exciting that the robot can help do much houseworks. Then a staff member showed how make a model robot. I'll send the photos about the robots taking there to my friends. Before we returned, and I went to the gift shop where I bought some gifts with my family. How a happy school trip I had!
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
This winter seemed1. (long) and colder than previous years as the novel coronavirus (新型冠状病毒) broke out in China. However, people, young and old, from all walks, of life, have all devoted every effort2.fighting the virus.
In order to contain the spread of the deadly disease, most public sites have remained3.(close), including barbershops. In response, a mobile barber stand was quickly set up in Feixi county, Anhui province, China.
Having done enough4.( prepare), three volunteers, wearing masks and using basic tools including scissors, combs and medical alcohol, are acting as mobile barbers, who5.(serve) hundreds of people since Feb 15.
“Many people working in epidemic (传染病) prevention and control have not had their hair cut for more than 20 days, and we wanted to do6.we should do,” said 46-year-old Ge Xianling, one of7.volunteers.
From 2 pm till dusk every day, the team of barbers is8.(busy) visiting neighborhoods in city and countryside areas,9.(give) free haircuts to those at checkpoints for epidemic prevention and control, as well as elderly locals.
“For those who are on duty and can't leave, we go to10.(they) one by one and ask if they need a haircut," Ge said.
After each haircut, they carefully disinfect (消毒) their tools before moving on to the next customer.
Celeste Ayala is a police officer, from Berisso. Yesterday she was on guard duty at the Sister Marial Ludovica Children's Hospital when a_______baby was brought in suffering from serious lack of nutrition._______the baby was described by hospital staff as “smelly and dirty”, Ayala asked if she could_______ the baby.
Ayala's colleague, Marcos Heredia, took a photo of the_______act and posted it on Facebook, which caught fire, having gained 1 10,000 shares_______
“I want to make public this great gesture of_______that you had today with that little baby,”_______Heredia's post ,“You didn't_______and you acted as if you were his mother. You don't care about the_______…”
Ayala said she did not think twice about__________the baby in need. I noticed that he was__________, as he was crying and putting his hand into his mouth, so I asked to__________ him and breastfeed him," Ayala said.
The local fire department where Ayala volunteers in her spare time__________sang high praise for her on Facebook. “We want to__________Celeste Ayala who, when on guard duty at the Hospital, breastfed a young child who__________crying, “the department wrote. “Actions like these fill us with__________”
As a result of her selfless__________, Ayala has been promoted from officer to sergeant, which was__________on Twitter by Cristian Ritondo, the minister of security of Buenos Aires province. “We wanted to thank you for your love that__________to calm the baby's cry,” Ritondo wrote. “That's the type of__________we're proud of.”
1.A.thin B.quiet C.disabled D.wounded
2.A.Unless B.Now that C.While D.In case
3.A.touch B.see C.adopt D.feed
4.A.careful B.merciful C.respectful D.trustful
5.A.finally B.luckily C.soon D.once
6.A.expression B.love C.fun D.success
7.A.recognized B.indicated C.responded D.read
8.A.refuse B.analyze C.suspect D.hesitate
9.A.smell B.result C.illness D.pleasure
10.A.keeping B.educating C.helping D.arranging
11.A.lovely B.energetic C.hungry D.unhealthy
12.A.protect B.hug C.check D.control
13.A.also B.even C.still D.just
14.A.challenge B.congratulate C.approach D.encourage
15.A.tried B.stopped C.regretted D.arrived
16.A.pride B.concern C.patience D.practice
17.A.act B.wish C.record D.promise
18.A.evaluated B.announced C.demanded D.described
19.A.decided B.agreed C.managed D.waited
20.A.duty B.skill C.doctors D.police
