The alarm sounds. Students swing their backpack over their shoulders, board the school bus, make their way to their homeroom and the bell rings - school is back. But for more homes in America, school looks more like students waking up, making their way to the dining room or home office, setting up laptops and learning in the comfort of home.
Virtual(虚拟的) schooling, defined as “a public school that offers only instruction in which students and teachers are separated by time and/or location, and interaction occurs via computers and/or telecommunications(电信) technologies'”, has increased over the past decade. According to the National Education Policy Center, enrollments(入学) in virtual schools increased by 17,000 students between 2015-16 and 2016-17 to 295,51 8 students.
For Arizona Virtual Academy, a full online public K-12 charter school, they use K12 Inc. curriculum. K12 serves students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries with digital learning platforms and technology, providing on line education. “We always are improving our platforms and the technology that we use to make sure that we're keeping up with the changing trends, not only with education but also with technology,'” Dr. Kelly Van Sande said. Another piece of new technology they've rolled out is a new app where parents can find virtual schools available in their area.
Carrie Faulkner chose to enroll two of her children in Arizona Virtual Academy. She says they've done schooling online in Chicago, in California, at restaurants, and on her cousin's floor in Kansas. “It doesn't matter whether he/her son) is on the couch, in his bed or at the kitchen table-he can do schooling wherever he wants to,” Faulkner said. “I wish they had it for me back when I was in school. That would have been awesome.”
1.What's the purpose of paragraph 1?
A.To give an example of virtual schooling.
B.To introduce the topic “virtual schooling”
C.To describe vividly students going to school.
D.To compare real schooling with virtual schooling.
2.How many students enrolled virtual schools during the 2015-2016 school year?
A.17,000 B.147,759
C.278,518 D.295,518
3.What can we infer about Arizona Virtual Academy?
A.They provide both online and offline education.
B.They're intended for students in the United Stated.
C.Their new app lets people find school nationwide.
D.Their platforms and technology are very advanced.
4.What is Carrie Faulkner's attitude to virtual schooling?
A.Favorable B.Doubtful
C.Indifferent D.Disapproving
When a disaster strikes, humanitarian agencies (人道主义机构) like The World Food Programme (WFP) need information more than anything else. They need a clear picture of the damage to roads and bridges, for example, to be able to take quick action.
WFP has published a picture of damage to the epicenter (震中) of the earthquake which struck Haiti. The picture, which has been produced in the form of a satellite-based map, shows great damage to the epicenter, where 90% of the buildings were destroyed. In the map, one pixel (像素) stands for half a meter of land. That's a very close look of how things are on the ground. It helped rescue teams a lot.
WFP's Emergency Preparedness and Response Branch produced a series of clear maps showing the damage of Haiti. The maps have been produced in partnership with a research and development institute called In formation Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperati on and Action (ITHACA). The organization was set up years ago especially to work with WFP in bringing developments of satellite technology into its response to disasters. Just a few years ago, this would have meant having to wait for helicopters to overfly areas and for human beings to physically see the damage. The satellites which operate around high above our heads are of great help. They are able to see through clouds, which is helpful when weather conditions prevent the use of optical instruments(光学仪器) .
Now both WFP and ITHACA have teams working around the clock to make use of more new technologies to help people actively deal with natural disasters. “Deaths and injuries from natural disasters can be reduced if the disaster can be predicted. Several disaster prediction technologies have been developed over the years. We are also working hard to provide a more effective instrument to predict natural disasters,” said Riccardo Roscelli, president of ITHACA.
1.According to Paragraph 1, what does WFP extremely need after a disaster?
A.Doctors and volunteers.
B.Medical and food supplies.
C.The information about the damage.
D.The details about the causes of the disaster.
2.What does the author mainly want to show us when he mentions the Haitian earthquake in Paragraph 2?
A.The satellite-based map is useful. B.It was a very serious earthquake.
C.It caused many injuries and deaths. D.The picture of the damage is unclear.
3.What is the unique advantage of the satellites compared with optical instruments?
A.They can be used as the substitution of helicopters.
B.They can reduce deaths and injuries from natural disasters.
C.They can be operated around high above our heads.
D.They can see through clouds in bad weather conditions.
4.What can we learn from Riccardo Roscelli's words in the last paragraph?
A.It is not easy for people to predict natural disasters.
B.Natural disasters can cause more terrible consequences.
C.They are trying to find out a better disaster prediction instrument.
D.They have studied disaster prediction technologies for years.
The desire to sleep late can be almost too much to resist at weekends. This Saturday morning, though, there was something important enough to get me up early. Yawning widely, I got out of bed and put on some old jeans and a T-shirt. After combing the house for work gloves, my dad came up with a pair my mother used for gardening and took them along.
We hopped(跳) in the car and headed into Boston. Guided by my directions, Dad was somehow-able to get us to our destination: a row of two-story houses. They were in the process of being built,mostly by volunteers like us.
After grabbing a huge leather tool belt, I met the people I would be working with. Virginia, James and Wilbur were all more than twice my age but treated me like a peer(同龄人). We got to work nailing the frames of walls. By lunch break I had hit what seemed like every tough spot in the whole house, and pried(撬起) countless bent nails. The rest of the day went by quickly as I gained efficiency with my hammer. Soon it was time to pack up.
As l was leaving, a woman came into the house. She saw the progress we'd made upstairs and started looking around the rooms. Then I realized who the woman was-her family would be living in the house. As she walked through each room, I could see her planning where furniture would go.
Even though I had only been there one short day out of weeks of construction. I felt a great sense of accomplishment. When these houses finished, six families would have nice homes.
Thanks go to Habitat for Humanity for giving me such an opportunity to make a difference in others' lives. Habitat for Humanity is an international organization. Local information can be found by visiting www: habitat. org. You are welcome to join and be part of the change you want to see in your community.
1.What is the important thing the author mentioned in Paragraph l?
A.Sleeping at weekends.
B.Building some houses.
C.Gardening with his mother.
D.Finding his father a pair of work gloves.
2.What can be learned about the author from Paragraph 3?
A.He worked with people'of his age. B.He was an awkward nailer at first.
C.He finished work before lunch break. D.He learned a lot from his workmates.
3.Which of the following words can best describe the author?
A.Caring. B.Brave. C.Ambitious. D.Sensitive.
4.What does the author intend to do in the last paragraph?
A.Call more people to volunteer.
B.Stress the importance of labor work.
C.Advertise a local nonprofit organization.
D.Introduce the benefits of joining Habitat for Humanity.
Highlights of Iceland
Day 1
Our representative will meet you at the airport and a bus will bring you to your hotel in the capital, Reykjavik. After checking in, your guide will lead you to visit some of the city's highlights.
Day 2
We tour Iceland Golden Circle, taking in Thingvellir National Park and gullfoss Waterfall and see Trokkur, which spouts (喷射) a 100-foot jet of water into the air every 3-5 minutes.
Day 3
Day 3 is left free so that you can try out our optional tours. Explore the Thorsmork Valley on a jeep ride. Another option is to drive out onto the glaciers (冰川) and take a snowmobile tour. Whale-watching boat trips are also available from Reykjavik harbour.
Day 4
The tour ends at the city airport.
Useful Information
☆ The local currency is the Icelandic Krona (ISK). The optional tours on day 3 cost extra, and a minimum of 4 people is required for both the jeep and snowmobiling tours.
Current costs: Thorsmork Jeep tour: 27,000 ISK; snowmobile tour: 34,200 ISK; whale-watching (summer only) 9,000 ISK.
☆ Tipping is voluntary, but is expected in this part of the world for workers in the tourism industry.
☆ You must have travel insurance to travel on our tours. You can arrange for this yourself, or buy it through our company.
☆ You can either book a flight with us or arrange your own flight. If you choose the latter, you will have to make your own way to the hotel, details of which will be sent to you in advance.
1.On which day can the tourists see Gullfoss Waterfall?
A.Day 1. B.Day 2. C.Day 3. D.Day 4.
2.What can be learned about the whale-watching tour?
A.It is one of the optional tours.
B.It is available all year round.
C.It costs more than the snowmobile tour.
D.It requires at least four people for each tour.
3.What is required of the tourists?
A.Tipping their guides. B.Booking a flight with the tour company.
C.Reaching their hotel in advance. D.Buying travel insurance.
假如你是李华，你的英国笔友 Tom 听说中国爆发了新型冠状病毒疫情，非常担心你的处境，特来信询问，请你给他写封回信，内容包括：
1. 感谢他的关心；2. 你的应对措施；3. 你的盼望。注意：1. 词数 100 左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
词汇：新型冠状病毒肺炎 novel coronavirus pneumonia；流行病 epidemic
Dear Tom,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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。
On New Year’s Day, I went to a stamp exhibition, what proved to be an unique experience.
At 9:30, I arrived at the exhibition with my precious stamp album, eager and excited. To my delighted, there gathered crowds of stamp lover. Immediately, I joined in them and studied the stamps one by one. I was attracted by the artists’ delicate designs and wanted to learn more. Then some of us got together in small groups to share our collections, chat cheerfully about the stamps. We even told stories behind it like old friends. Time past quickly and it was time to say goodbye to the friends.
I had a great time. Not only I appreciate beautiful stamps but also I made new friends with the same interest. This was really a specially celebration for the New Year.
