The journey my daughter Cathy has had with her swimming is as long as it is beautiful.
Cathy suffered some terrible_______in her early childhood. After years of regular treatment, she_______became healthy.
Two years ago, while Cathy was watching the Olympics, a dream came into her sweet little head — to be a swimmer. Last summer, she wanted to _______ our local swim team. She practiced hard and finally _______ it. The team practice, _______ , was a rough start. She coughed and choked and could hardly _______ her first few weeks. Hearing her coughing bitterly one night, I decided to _______ her from it all. But Cathy woke me up early next morning wearing her swimsuit _______ to go! I told her she shouldn’t swim after a whole night’s coughing, but she refused to _______ and insisted she go.
From that day on Cathy kept swimming and didn’t ________ a single practice. She had a ________ intention within herself to be the best she could be. My ten-year-old was growing and changing right before my eyes into this ________ human being with a passion and a mission. There were moments of________ of course: often she would be the last swimmer in the race. It was difficult for Cathy to accept that she wasn’t a ________ — ever. But that didn’t stop her from trying.
Then came the final awards ceremony at the end of the year. Cathy didn’t expect any award, but was still there to________ her friends and praise their accomplishments. As the ceremony was nearing the end, I suddenly heard the head coach________ “The highest honor goes to Cathy!” Looking around, he continued: “Cathy has inspired us with her ________ and enthusiasm. ________ skills and talents bring great success the most valuable asset (财富) one can hold is the heart.”
It was the greatest________of my daughter’s life. With all she had been________in her ten years, this was the hour of true triumph (成功).
1.A.failure B.pressure C.loss D.illness
2.A.finally B.usually C.firstly D.frequently
3.A.improve B.train C.join D.contact
4.A.increased B.found C.made D.created
5.A.however B.therefore C.otherwise D.instead
6.A.use B.survive C.save D.waste
7.A.tell B.pull C.hide D.fire
8.A.afraid B.nervous C.free D.ready
9.A.take off B.set off C.give up D.show up
10.A.attend B.miss C.ban D.start
11.A.firm B.rich C.weak D.kind
12.A.trusted B.experienced C.embarrassed D.determined
13.A.frustration B.delight C.excitement D.surprise
14.A.beginner B.learner C.winner D.partner
15.A.cheer on B.compete with C.respond to D.run after
16.A.announcing B.admitting C.explaining D.whispering
17.A.humor B.will C.honesty D.wisdom
18.A.Since B.Although C.Once D.Because
19.A.moment B.discovery C.choice D.influence
20.A.through B.under C.across D.around
We know that choosing a college major can be very hard. But have no fear! Your choice of major will not lock you into a specific career for the rest of your life. Here's what you need to know about college majors before you commit.
What is a major?
1.Beyond general college requirements， you'll also take a group of courses in a subject of your choosing such as Chemistry， Literature， or Political Science.
How important is my major?
The major you choose will neither predict nor guarantee your future. Many graduates find jobs that have nothing to do with what they studied in college. If you intend to earn a professional degree after college， you will probably need certain courses. 2.
When do I declare a major?
This varies widely across schools and programs.3.Others require that you declare upon a major by the time that you set foot inside your first class.
4.
Definitely. One of the most exciting aspects of college life is that it introduces you to new subjects and arouses new passions. However， keep this in mind. Every major has necessary coursework. If you change your major late in the game， it may take more than the traditional four years to earn a degree.
What are minors and double majors?
If one field of study doesn’t satisfy your intellectual appetite， consider a minor. A minor is similar to a major in that it’s an area of academic concentration.5.A double major provides you with an understanding of two academic fields. It allows you to become familiar with two sets of values and views while it also requires you to fulfill two sets of requirements.
A. Can I change my mind?
B. Is my major time-consuming?
C. It's your specialized area of study in college.
D. Most students find one major is more than enough.
E. Some schools may give you one year or more to decide.
F. But many future doctors major in non-science related fields.
G. The only difference is that it doesn’t require as many classes.
It happens from time to time that after a whole morning of studying, you are tired in the afternoon. It’s then that you might want to eat something sweet, perhaps a Coke or a chocolate bar, to lift your mood. After all it’s popularly believed that a “sugar rush” gives us energy.
But a study published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews in April suggests that sugar can make us feel worse rather than boost our moods.
The German and UK researchers collected data from 31 studies involving nearly 1,300 adults. They studied the effect of sugar on various aspects of mood, including anger, alertness, depression and tiredness.
They found that people who have too much sugar become more tired and less alert within an hour and that these feelings become more intense over time.
According to the researchers, when people take in sugar their blood sugar levels rise rapidly, leading to a burst of energy and a short “feel good” period. However, as they begin to digest the sugar, their blood sugar levels decrease quickly leading to a bad feeling.
To remain on a “high” people are likely to eat more and more sugar until they become addicted to it. As with caffeine, this prevents the body from relaxing, leaving people feeling tired and less alert.
But the study findings needn’t make us think we must give up sweet food altogether. According to the World Health Organization, it is healthy to have the sugars found naturally in fruit, vegetables and milk so long as these make up less than 5 percent of daily total energy intake.
So the next time you feel tired and can’t concentrate, perhaps you should think twice before you bite into a chocolate bar. Maybe a spot of exercise at midday would be a better idea!
Tips for beating afternoon fatigue.
* Head outside and sit in the daylight for 10 minutes.
* Get into the routine of a mid-afternoon cup of tea.
* Plan group activities for midday.
* Add variety to your routine.
1.What does the underlined word “boost” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A.harm B.improve C.control D.change
2.How did the people feel after they had sugar in the study?
A.They felt more tired. B.They felt relaxed.
C.They were more alert. D.They felt energetic.
3.What do we learn from Paragraphs 5-6?
A.Our mood is connected to our blood sugar levels.
B.Taking in more sugar benefits mental health.
C.Getting caffeine is another way to relax.
D.Sugar and caffeine are all the same.
4.What would the author suggest people do when they are tired?
A.Give up sweet food. B.Have a bar of chocolate.
C.Do an hour of exercise. D.Eat foods with natural sugars.
Perhaps it is time for farmers to put their feet up now because robots are used to inspect crops, dig up weeds, and even have become shepherds, too. Commercial growing fields are astronomically huge and take thousands of many hours to operate. One prime example is one of Australia’s most isolated cattle stations, Suplejack Downs in the Northern Territory, extending across 4,000 square kilometers, taking over 13 hours to reach by car from the nearest major town — Alice Springs.
The extreme isolation of these massive farms leaves them often unattended, and monitored only once or twice a year, which means if the livestock (家畜) falls ill or requires assistance, it can be a long time for farmers to discover.
However, robots are coming to the rescue. Robots are currently under a two-year trial in Wales which will train “farmbots” to herd, monitor the health of livestock, and make sure there is enough pasture (牧草地) for them to graze on. The robots are equipped with many sensors to identify conditions of the environment, cattle and food, using thermal and vision sensors that detect changes in body temperature.
During the trials, the robot algorithms and mechanics will be fine-tuned to make it better suited to ailing livestock and ensure it safely navigates around potential hazards including trees, mud, swamps, and hills.
“We want to improve the quality of animal health and make it easier for farmers to maintain large landscapes where animals roam free,” says Salah Sukkarieh of the University of Sydney, who will carry out trials on several farms in central New South Wales.
The robots are not limited to herding and monitoring livestock. They have been created to count individual fruit, inspect crops, and even pull weeds.
Many robots are equipped with high-tech sensors and complex learning algorithms to avoid injuring humans as they work side by side. The robots also learn the most efficient and safest passages, and allow engineers and farmers to analyze and better optimize (优化) the performances and tasks of the robot, as well as provide a live stream giving real-time feedback on exactly what is happening on the farms.
Of course, some worry lies in replacing agricultural workers. However, it is farmers that are pushing for the advancements due to ever-increasing labor vacancies (空缺), making it difficult to maintain large-scale operations.
The robots have provided major benefits to farmers in various ways, from hunting and pulling weeds to monitoring the condition of every single fruit. Future farms will likely experience a greater deal of autonomy as robots take up more and more farm work efficiently.
1.What will “farmbots” be expected to do?
A.Take up many of the farmers’ routines. B.Provide medical treatments for livestock.
C.Lead the trend in farming the world over. D.Improve the quality of pastures for grazing.
2.What can robots do when equipped with high-tech sensors and complex learning algorithms?
A.Help farmers choose the most efficient and safest passages.
B.Help farmers simplify their farming tasks and management.
C.Allow farmers to learn instantly what is occurring on the farm.
D.Allow farmers to give them real-time instructions on what to do.
3.Why are farmers pressing for robotic farming?
A.Farming costs are fast increasing. B.Robotics technology is maturing.
C.Robotic fanning is the trend. D.Labor shortage is worsening.
4.What does the author think future farms will be like?
A.More and more automated. B.More and more productive.
C.Larger and larger in scale. D.Better and better in condition.
The year I turned fifty, I resolved to do something new every day. However, balancing 365 new things with work and family, while still managing to do the laundry and get dinner on the table every night, was not always easy. In the early weeks of the project, I found it difficult to find so many new things.
It wasn’t long before my friends learned that I was open to almost anything I could consider a new thing, and the invitations began pouring in not just from friends, but friends of friends. As a result, my life was new. I went dog sledding. I attended a fashion show. I went to numerous lectures on all kinds of topics that I never would have previously considered useful or interesting and found something to appreciate in every single one. I even signed up immediately when learning about a local group trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records by doing something unusual.
As time went by, whenever I learned about something that seemed remarkable, I did what I could to pursue it. Instead of “Why”, I began to ask “Why not”. Now I find it is easier to just keep my eyes open to the possibilities that surrounded me. It turned out that there were new things everywhere, and all I had to do was make a little effort to enjoy them.
I looked back on the year. It doesn’t matter to me that many of my “new things” weren’t exactly meaningful. What matters is how to make full use of them when discovering there is an endless number of new things for me. It seemed to me an obvious sign that at fifty, my life was full of promise. I could continue to grow, stretch my wings, and learn more every day for the rest of my life. I enjoyed the idea of something new, and it gave me a reason to welcome each day as an opportunity to experience the world a little differently.
1.Which of the following can best describe the author’s feeling according to Paragraph 1?
A.Better late than never. B.Action speaks louder than words.
C.Saying is one thing but doing is another. D.Experience is the best teacher.
2.What’s the author’s attitude toward new things?
A.Skeptical. B.Appreciative. C.Cautious. D.Tolerant.
3.What does the author intend to tell us in the last paragraph?
A.Make the most of new things. B.Wait for your life to start over.
C.Try to find more new things. D.Never say never when in trouble.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Dream for a New Life B.The Value of Friendship
C.Remarkable New Things D.A Year of New Things
72 Hours in Beijing
Traveling to China is no longer a luxury for many foreign passport holders. The Chinese government has permitted a 72-hour visa-free policy that offers access to visitors from 53 countries including the US, France and Austria. Let’s start with the capital of China, Beijing. Here’s a pick of the best in Beijing!
Mutianyu Great Wall
Your trip to Beijing isn’t really complete without seeing one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”, the Great Wall of China. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is by far the most well-preserved of all. Taking a one-hour bus ride Mutianyu would be your ideal location for a half day of hiking away from the large crowds in the city. Also the authorities have allowed tourists to paint graffiti on a specific section of the Great Wall since 2014. The Great Wall was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.
798 Art Zone
This would be on the top of my list! Named after the 798 factory that was built in the 1950s. The art zone is home to various galleries, design studios, art exhibition spaces, fashionable shops and bars. You could easily spend half your day wandering around the complex, feeling the contrast of the present and the past.
Summer Palace
Located in northwestern Beijing, the Summer Palace is by far the city’s most well-preserved royal park. With its huge lake and hilltop views, the palace offers you a pastoral escape into the landscape of traditional Chinese paintings. The Summer Palace was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.
Sichuan Provincial Restaurant
While in Beijing, apart from trying the city’s best-known Peking duck the Sichuan provincial restaurant is one of the places where you can enjoy regional delicious food. It offers one of China’s eight great cuisines, Sichuan, which ranges from Mapo tofu to spicy chicken.
1.Which of the following is true about the Mutianyu Great Wall?
A.You can paint graffiti anywhere.
B.You need a half day to get there.
C.It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014.
D.It is the most well-preserved part of the Great Wall.
2.When was the Summer Palace added to the UNESCO World Heritage List?
A.In1950. B.In 1987. C.In 1998. D.In 2014.
3.Which place is the author’s first choice when visiting Beijing?
A.Mutianyu Great Wall. B.Summer Palace.
C.798 Art Zone. D.Sichuan Provincial Restaurant.
