As a child I was always good at drawing and art. I won ____, got constant attention, and even saw my face in the ____ and on television because of my natural ability to ____.
Most people who ____ to come across something that they are good at are ____ to take it and run with it. Of course, my life was no ____. From teachers, to principals, to family members, ____ seemingly had a ton of advice to give me in regards to art.
All the while, my true desire was ____. I entered poetry, essay, and short - story contests and ____ them all. It was such a contrast from my artistic ____ experience! It was so bad that I ____ a good friend of mine who told me once, “If you are so good at drawing why do you even care about writing? ____ drawing!”
Though well intended, eighteen years later I’m ____ I didn’t take his words to heart. Years went by with me still writing and still occasionally entering ____.It wasn’t until my first year in college that I finally got honorable ___ in a poetry contest. As a writer I’ve truly ____.
I’m sure there are things in your life that are ____ and yet, rewarding. Endurance (忍耐), especially when it comes to things you truly love is ____. Take some time to devote some more ____ to the “thing” that didn’t come ____ and see what happens.
1.A.praise B.awards C.supports D.success
2.A.street B.school C.newspaper D.book
3.A.draw B.act C.learn D.show
4.A.want B.mean C.agree D.happen
5.A.encouraged B.invited C.developed D.permitted
6.A.perfect B.different C.similar D.lucky
7.A.everyone B.who C.that D.no one
8.A.art B.fixing C.writing D.music
9.A.won B.ignored C.missed D.lost
10.A.interest B.competition C.career D.talent
11.A.had B.made C.found D.met
12.A.Give up B.Take in C.Stick to D.Put away
13.A.glad B.sorry C.sad D.sure
14.A.training B.contests C.articles D.trouble
15.A.appearance B.change C.mention D.name
16.A.forgot B.regretted C.expected D.grown
17.A.challenging B.beautiful C.appealing D.hopeful
18.A.meaningless B.popular C.essential D.painful
19.A.consideration B.energy C.money D.education
20.A.young B.bad C.usual D.easy
Do you want to put a smile on someone’s face? Maybe make their day a little bit brighter? 1. In fact, many things can be done as a part of your normal routine and cost little or nothing. Try out one or more of the following ways today to put smiles on their faces.
2. Handwritten notes that are given to encourage someone, not just for thanking someone for a gift, are rare. That makes handwritten notes even more special. Start a new practice of sitting down and writing an encouraging note on a regular basis.
Take a friend out to lunch or invite him or her to your home for a meal. 3. If you feel like being more adventurous, throw a party for several of your friends.
Deliver a meal to someone you know that is sick or having a rough time. We have all been sick and know the last thing you want to do is being out of bed. There are also times when life is tough. 4.
Ask a friend if you can take care of their kids for a day or an evening. If you have been a parent, you know the value of being able to have a few hours of “adult time” without worrying about the children. 5. Offer to do it when the parents want to relax themselves.
Besides, there is one more way that can’t be ignored. Give a real smile to everyone you meet. You will experience how easy it is to get others to smile!
A. Thank everyone that supports you.
B. Write an encouraging note to others.
C. Helping others will be rewarded with more smiles.
D. Don’t wait to be asked to baby-sit when it is required.
E. It doesn’t have to take much time or money on your part.
F. You can be a great help by providing a meal that can be enjoyed.
G. You will get to know each other even better than you do right now.
E
Science has a lot of uses. It can uncover laws of nature, cure diseases, make bombs, and help bridges to stand up. Indeed science is so good at what it does that there’s always a temptation(诱惑) to drag it into problems where it may not be helpful. David Brooks, author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character,and Achievement, appears to be the latest in a long line of writers who have failed to resist the temptation.
Brooks gained fame for several books. His latest book The Social Animal, however, is more ambitious and serious than his earlier books. It is an attempt to deal with a set of weighty topics. The book focuses on big questions: What has science revealed about human nature? What are the sources of character? And why are some people happy and successful while others aren’t?
To answer these questions, Brooks surveys a wide range of disciplines（学科）. Considering this, you might expect the book to be a dry recitation of facts. But Brooks has structured his book in an unorthodox(非常规的), and perhaps unfortunate, way. Instead of introducing scientific theories, he tells a story, within which he tries to make his points, perhaps in order to keep the reader’s attention.So as Harold and Erica, the hero and heroine in his story, live through childhood, we hear about the science of child development and as they begin to date we hear about the theory of sexual attraction. Brooks carries this through to the death of one of his characters.
On the whole,Brooks’ story is acceptable if uninspired. As one would expect, his writing is mostly clear and, to be fair, some chapters stand out above the rest. I enjoyed, for instance, the chapter in which Harold discovers how to think on his own. While Harold and Erica are certainly not strong or memorable characters, the more serious problems with The Social Animal lie elsewhere. These problems partly involve Brooks’ attempt to translate his tale into science.
1.The author mentions the functions of science at the beginning of the passage to__________.
A.illustrate where science can be applied
B.demonstrate the value of Brooks’ new book
C.remind the reader of the importance of science
D.explain why many writers use science in their works
2.According to the author, which of the following could be a strength of the book?
A.Its strong basis.
B.Its convincing points.
C.Its clear writing.
D.Its memorable characters.
3.What is the author’s general attitude towards the book?
A.Contradictory.
B.Supportive.
C.Cautious.
D.Critical.
4.What is the author likely to write about after the last paragraph?
A.Problems with the book.
B.Brooks’s life experience.
C.Death of the characters.
D.Brooks’s translation skills.
D
There are an extremely large number of ants worldwide. Each individual (个体的) ant hardly weigh anything, but put together they weigh roughly the same as all of mankind. They also live nearly everywhere, except on frozen mountain tops and around the poles.For animals their size, ants have been astonishingly successful, largely due to their wonderful social behavior.
In colonies (群体) that range in size from a few hundred to tens of millions, they organize their lives with a clear division of labor. Even more amazing is how they achieve this level of organization. Where we use sound and sight to communicate, ants depend primarily on pheromone (外激素), chemicals sent out by individuals and smelled or tasted by fellow members of their colony. When an ant finds food, it produces a pheromone that will lead others straight to where the food is. When an individual ant comes under attack or is dying, it sends out an alarm pheromone to warn the colony to prepare for a conflict as a defense unit.
In fact, when it comes to the art of war, ants have no equal. They are completely fearless and will readily take on a creature much larger than themselves, attacking in large groups and overcoming their target. Such is their devotion to the common good of the colony that not only soldier ants but also worker ants will sacrifice their lives to help defeat an enemy.
Behaving in this selfless and devoted manner, these little creatures have survived on Earth, for more than 140 million years, far longer than dinosaurs. Because they think as one, they have a collective (集体的) intelligence greater than you would expect from its individual parts.
1.We can learn from the passage that ants are ____________.
A.not willing to share food
B.not found around the poles
C.more successful than all other animals
D.too many to achieve any level of organization
2.Ants can use pheromones for______.
A.escape B.communication
C.warning enemies D.arranging labor
3.What does the underlined expression "take on" in Paragraph 3 mean?
A.Accept. B.Employ.
C.Play with. D.Fight against.
4.Which of the following contributes most to the survival of ants?
A.Their behavior. B.Their size.
C.Their number. D.Their weight
Disease spread in many ways. An infected person can cough or sneeze on someone nearby, or they can spread germs through a handshake. But sometimes we pick up germs indirectly. A sick person might leave behind bacteria or viruses when they touch a door handle, for example. But what if those surfaces could clean themselves?
Two teenagers from Hong Kong asked themselves the same question. Now they’ve developed a door handle that can kill germs on contact.
The idea is simple. Every time the door is opened, the movement creates power that starts a germ-killing reaction on the handle. In lab tests, their system killed about 99.8 percent of the germs that they spread onto lab dishes covered with their material.
Research by others has shown that door handles in public areas are often home to lots of bacteria and viruses, notes 17-year-old Sum Ming(“Simon”）Wong. He and schoolmate Kin Pong ( Michael ) Li, 18, wanted to design a covering for door handles that would kill germs.
After doing some research, they learned that a mineral called titanium dioxide(二氧化钛）is known to kill bacteria. It’s already used in many products, from paints to desserts. To make their covering, the teenagers made the mineral into a very fine powder.
Titanium dioxide kills bacteria best when lit by ultraviolet(紫外线的）light, says Simon. UV light is found in sunlight. But UV light does not naturally shine on indoor handles or any used at night, so the teenagers light their door handle from within.
To make sure the light reaches the coated surface, the teenagers made their door handle out of clear glass, Each end fits into a bracket (托架).Inside one of the brackets is a strong light-emitting diode(LED). From it comes UV light.
And here’s the interesting part: The power that makes the UV light shine comes from opening and closing the door. The power from the door is then carried by wire to the LED inside the door handle.
The door handle system, Michael and Simon say, might cost no more than about $13 (about 81 yuan) to build.
1.The ways diseases spread are mentioned at the beginning of the text to .
A.demonstrate how most diseases are spread indirectly
B.remind readers of the importance of cleaning their hands
C.explain how to kill bacteria or viruses effectively
D.help to describe a new invention that prevents diseases from spreading
2.Michael and Simon’s door handle .
A.is too expensive for ordinary families
B.is powered by the movement of its users
C.works better at night than in the daytime
D.is made of a metal that can take in UV light
3.The LED is placed inside the brackets to .
A.supply enough power to the handle system
B.produce titanium dioxide to kill bacteria
C.provide UV light to help titanium dioxide work better
D.direct the UV light in sunlight to the coated surface
4.What is the author's attitude toward Michael and Simon s door handle system?
A.Cautious B.Critical
C.Enthusiastic D.Disappointed
There are many Spanish gossip magazines being published around the world. If your Spanish is good enough, these magazines will offer a lively look into the private moments of the beautiful, rich and famous, and provide entertainment and at the same time, help you practice your Spanish.
Diez Minutos: The magazine is a classic Spanish gossip feast with daily news based on many stories of love, separation, divorce and death. The two main parts are headlined “love” and “partners”. They also have an online version of the magazine for serious gossip addicts.
Hola: It is Spain’s top weekly magazine and the leader of the gossip world. It contains many pictures and a round-up of well-known and less well-known nobles and people in show business. Apart from edited highlights from the present and past issues, there is a report of the week and photo of the week. There is also a French version called OhLa!
Revista CUORE: As the third best-selling gossip magazine in Spain, it is mainly aimed at younger teenage readers who look not only for current celebrity (名流）gossip，but also for fashion and TV news. It uses a lot of oral terms.
Revista SEMANA: It is a Spanish magazine covering the latest news on the famous in Spain and Hollywood. It also offers its readers information on fashion, beauty, cooking and travel.
Revista LECTURAS: Practical, friendly and informal, this magazine is one of the most widely-read gossip magazines on the Spanish market today.
Marujeo.com: It is a blog serving up a daily diet of national gossip news on Spanish and international celebrities and the celebrity world from a particular point of view.
Revista CARAS: It is a magazine published in various countries of Latin America. It is also exported to certain parts of the United States, bringing together strange and wonderful news from around the world and the famous Latin community.
1.What does the first paragraph tell us about Spanish gossip magazines?
1.Types 2. Publishers 3. Functions 4. Origins
A.1、2 B.3、4
C.1、3 D.2、4
2.Which of the following also has a French version?
A.Hola. B.Revista SEMANA.
C.Revista LECTURAS. D.Marujeo.com.
3.How many of the magazines mentioned in the text can be read on the Internet?
A.One. B.Two.
C.Three. D.pour
