Stories are shared in many ways. They are described in books and magazines. They are read around the campfire at night. They are randomly distributed from stand-alone booths. But what else?
To revive （复兴）literature in the era of fast news and smartphone addiction, Short Edition, a French publisher of short-form literature, has set up more than 30 story dispensers （分发机）in the USA in the past years to deliver fiction at the push of a button at restaurants, universities and government offices.
Francis Ford Coppola, the film director and winemaker, liked the idea so much that he invested in the company and placed a dispenser at his Cafe Zoetrope in San Francisco. Last month public libraries in some other cities announced they would be setting them up, too. There is one on the campus at Penn State. A few can be found in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla. And Short Edition plans to announce more, including at the Los Angeles International Airport.
“Everything old is new again," said Andrew Nurkin, the director of the Free Library of Philadelphia, which is one of the libraries that set up the dispensers. “We want people to be easily exposed to literature. We want to advance literacy among children and inspire their creativity.
Here's how a dispenser works： It has three buttons on top indicating choices for stories that can be read in one minute, three minutes or five minutes. When a button is pushed, a short story is printed. The stories are free. They are chosen from a computer category of more than 100,000 original submissions by writers whose works have been evaluated by Short Edition's judges, and transmitted over a mobile network. Offerings can be tailored to specific interests, like children's fiction or romance. Short Edition gets stories for its category by holding writing contests.
Short Edition set up its first booth in 2016 and has 150 machines worldwide. “The idea is to make people happy," said Kristan Leroy, director of Short Edition, “There is too much unhappiness today. ”
1.What do we know about the stories sent by dispensers?
A.They are expensive.
B.They are short in form.
C.They can be read on smartphones.
D.They are mainly taken from magazine literature.
2.Where can you find the popularity of story dispensers in America?
A.In paragraph 3.
B.In paragraph 4.
C.In paragraph 5.
D.In paragraph 6.
3.Which is the main purpose of setting up the dispensers according to Andrew Nurkin?
A.To get rid of people's smartphone addiction.
B.To reduce the financial stress of libraries.
C.To make people have access to literature.
D.To advertise the network literature.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Online Reading: a Virtual Tour
B.Short Edition, a French Publisher
C.Everything Old Will Be Popular Again
D.Taste of Literature, at the Push of a Button
Many Chinese institutions of higher education have been attempting to become more globalized by making their websites available in different languages to better communicate with potential foreign students and promote their academic achievements.
In late June, 20 universities gathering at Shanghai International Studies University for a meeting regarding overseas communication said that their websites are available in foreign languages.
For example, the SISU website now is available in 28 languages. The website's multilingual contents include over 7, 000 articles about topics such as Chinese culture,
Chinese society as well as information about Shanghai. Some articles are from foreign media, foreign embassies and official websites of foreign government agencies.
During the meet, the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology said that 43, 000 visits to its new English website launched in January were made from overseas, accounting for nearly two﹣thirds of the total visits. Jiang Feng, Party Chief of SISU, said that overseas communication is now a key focus for schools to interact with the world and improve their influence.
Tsinghua University in Beijing was among the first universities on the Chinese mainland to open accounts on international social media platforms in 2015. Around 2,000 updates, including pictures, videos and live broadcasts, are made each year on such platforms. The topics are usually related to the institution's major events or student and alumni（校友）activities.
"Updates regarding our master's programs taught in English and those about the school's performance in the latest world university rankings usually enjoy the highest popularity, " says Lin Yuan, deputy director of the global communication office at Tsinghua University.
Xiang Debao, a professor from SISU's School of Journalism and Communication, says that a recent research conducted by his team showed that a university's influence in cyberspace（通讯） has positive relationship with its visibility in the real world.
1.Why did the 20 universities gather at Shanghai International Studies University?
A.To deal with some academic issues.
B.To explore the way for universities to go global.
C.To exchange students in some international courses.
D.To discuss articles from foreign media and official websites.
2.Which of the following appeals to foreign visits most?
A.Accounts about the development of Shanghai.
B.The institution's major events and student activities.
C.The history of Shanghai International Studies University.
D.The latest information of a master's course taught in English.
3.What does Xiang Debao think of a university's influence in cyberspace?
A.Vital.
B.Slight.
C.Worthless.
D.Imperfect.
4.What can be concluded from the text?
A.Tsinghua University was the first to open international social media platforms.
B.Multilanguage website earned more foreign visits than national ones in the SISU.
C.Only 20 universities in China approved of websites available in different languages.
D.The ranking of a university in the world plays a main role in its international influence.
Stan Lee, who revolutionized the comic book and helped make billions for Hollywood by introducing human superheroes such as Spider﹣Man, the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk, died in November, 2018. He was 95.
As the top writer at Marvel Comics, Lee was widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book. He renewed the industry in the 1960s by offering the costumes and action while insisting on complicated plots, college﹣level dialogue, science fiction, even philosophy. Millions responded to the unlikely mix of realistic fantasy, and many of his characters, including Spider﹣Man, the Hulk and X﹣Men went on to become stars of blockbuster films.
Lee considered the comic﹣book medium an art form. He came up with a new comic book every day for 10 years. He hit his peak in the 1960s when he brought the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Spider﹣Man, Iron Man and numerous others to life.
Lee knew his work was different, proudly noting that stories were drawn out over several issues to better develop characters, situations and themes. The characters were normal people changed into superheroes through no fault of their own. "The beauty of Stan Lee's characters is that they were characters first and superheroes next, " Jeff Kline, executive producer of the "Men in Hack" animated television series, told The Blade of Toledo. Some of Lee's creations became symbols of social change ﹣ Spider﹣Man represented 60s'America, for example.
Lee scripted most of Marvel's superhero comics, including the Avengers and the X﹣Men. In 1972, he became Marvels publisher and editorial director. Four years later, 72 million copies of Spider﹣Man were sold. CBS turned the Hulk into a successful TV series. A Spider﹣Man series ran briefly in 1978. Both characters were featured in animated TV series. The first big﹣budget movie based on Lee's characters, "X﹣Men", was a hit in 2000, earning more than ＄130 million at North American theaters. "Spider﹣Man" did even better, taking in more than ＄400 million in 2002.
1.Where does Lee's characters' beauty lie according to Jeff Kline?
A.They are symbols of social change.
B.They are characters in both series and films.
C.They are ordinary but can save others in emergency.
D.They are unique people from all walks of life.
2.What can we learn from the text?
A.Lee was a productive writer.
B.Lee prefers simple plots and science fiction.
C.Lee reached his best in the 1970s.
D.Spider﹣Man was Lee's first big﹣budget movie.
3.Which work of Lee's made more profits?
A.The Hulk.
B.Spider﹣Man.
C.X﹣Men.
D.Iron Man
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A.The loss of a master.
B.A pioneer in comic books.
C.Master works of Stan Lee.
D.Stan Lee's contributions to the USA.
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Application Deadline： August 20th
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Application Deadline： October 8th
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ACF Andrew Piech Memorial Scholarship
Application Deadline： July 9th
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“Species On The Edge 2. 0” Social Scholarship
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1.What's the $ 1,000 College JumpStart Scholarship mainly based on?
A.Certificate. B.Virtue.
C.Protecting wildlife. D.Helping black students.
2.Who can minority nationality students call for help if they want to get a scholarship?
A.Stephanie Dalessio. B.Adrian Monk.
C.Daniel White. D.Andrew H. Ragland.
3.Which of the following is intended for New Mexican students?
A.5 Strong Scholarship.
B.$ 1,000 College JumpStart Scholarship.
C.ACF Andrew Piech Memorial Scholarship.
D.“Species On The Edge 2. 0" Social Scholarship.
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
The most delicious memories seem to happen during the holidays. And like a squirrel preparing for winter, I put them away to enjoy slowly during the long winter months. Sometimes, I enjoy them for years.
Among them are sweetest recollections: my little girls at the church play and the moment they got their first angel wings; a pink dolly stroller(手推车) wheeled into the bedroom with a tiny voice declaring, ''Look what Santa Claus brought me! ''; or New Year's snowmen wearing bright scarves borrowed from a grandma's fragrant drawer.
But there is one memory that is a little bittersweet -- sort of like 80% dark chocolate, but still good for you.
This story brings to mind a colorful candy dish and a very little boy. The occasion was somewhere between Christmas and New Year's when a few candies in a dish remained behind, a bright spot in dull winter gray.
Wrapped in December's chill, my then 3-year old grandson, Justin, and I had dashed from the warmth of my parked car into the building where I planned to take care of a few work-related tasks.
A smiling secretary greeted us as we brushed the snowflakes and rubbed our hands to chase the cold. Then with my grandchild close to my side, I busied myself, finishing the items of business that had brought us there. But while his hand remained in mine, his eyes fell on the candy dish sitting nearby.
As we turned to leave, the thoughtful and very observant woman behind the desk asked the question all children wait to hear.
''Honey, '' the kindly woman said, peering over her glasses at Justin. ''Would you like a candy bar? '' she asked, her hand pushing the dish close for an easier reach.
The boy looked up questioningly, his eyes meeting mine, permission hanging in the air. A slight nod from me and then a hurried beeline to the candy dish followed. One candy bar was already in his hand.
Para 1: ''Justin! '' I said from the doorway.
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Para 2: In the humor of the moment, I felt something hard to swallow.
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假定你是李华，你校计划成立“读英文名著”小组，请用英语给你的外教Wilson写一封信邀请他加入，内容包括：
1. 成立的目的；
2. 活动时间和地点；
3. 请他加入的理由。
注意：1. 词数 80 左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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