At a young age, Darrius Simmons fell in love with the piano. As he watched others play, he was _________ by the joy the piano gave them. He wanted to experience that, too, but knew for him it would be a/an _________.
“I decided at age 10 that I wanted to learn how to play the piano, _________ it was going to take a little bit _________ work for me to learn,” Simmons says. “I knew most people had 10 fingers while I had four, yet I was pretty _________ I could make it work.”
The Warren, Ohio teenager was born with a genetic _________ called ectrodactyly (先天性缺指畸形). He has three fingers on his right hand and _________ finger on his left. But it didn’t _________ Simmons from following his _________. With no formal training, Simmons taught himself by ear how to play the piano. He practiced and practiced, finding a way to __________ the keys with four fingers while mastering the pedals with his prostheses(假肢).
Simmons knew he would have to __________ his own style of playing. “I couldn’t base it __________ the technique of somebody who has 10 fingers. It just wouldn’t __________.” He says. “That’s __________ it was hard for me to take piano lessons. It’s very __________ for somebody who has learned how to play with 10 fingers to adjust and teach me with only four.”
The now 18-year-old not only learned how to play and read music but also began composing.
His mother, Tamara Simmons, isn’t surprised by Darrius’ __________. She knows how focused and __________ he can be.
From mastering music to beating __________ challenges, Darrius Simmons sets out to __________ the world. “I like to be somebody’s __________,” he says. “If I play in front of a whole crowd and I see one person smile, that’s a job well done.”
1.A.frightened B.amazed C.interested D.disturbed
2.A.challenge B.opportunity C.fortune D.trouble
3.A.while B.but C.and D.therefore
4.A.more B.much C.fewer D.less
5.A.surprised B.worried C.sure D.glad
6.A.condition B.environment C.situation D.tendency
7.A.one B.two C.three D.five
8.A.encourage B.prevent C.remove D.change
9.A.actions B.roads C.instructions D.passions
10.A.reach B.repair C.remove D.clean
11.A.adopt B.abandon C.develop D.change
12.A.by B.in C.through D.on
13.A.support B.run C.operate D.work
14.A.why B.because C.when D.whether
15.A.easy B.tough C.funny D.stupid
16.A.ideas B.creations C.difficulties D.achievements
17.A.kind B.determined C.talented D.generous
18.A.spiritual B.mental C.physical D.emotional
19.A.please B.persuade C.inspire D.cheer
20.A.partner B.symbol C.aim D.motivation
Experienced⁃Based Education
Everyone is familiar with traditional education. You sit in a class and a teacher teaches. This is an important part of development. But at some point, every individual has to take charge of their own education. To do this, one must look at the root of learning.1.
Basically, unfamiliar experiences usually add more value than experiences that are familiar.
2. And we are in a better state to learn something new. Honestly, someone who never experiences the same thing twice will never have a chance to benefit from anything learned. However, new experiences are generally what make people interesting and push them to grow.
High school is a new experience. College is a new experience. However, at some point traditional education becomes repetitive. It is not that you won’t learn anything else, but that the environment is so familiar.3.
To solve this, an individual needs to introduce new experiences into their life. You may spend a summer in a different part of the country or learn a new language through trial and error. You can also go to a drive⁃in movie（or some other entertainment event that is new to you）.4.
These types of experiences often result in very little“book knowledge”. Instead, they will often provide you with a better understanding of yourself as you experience your reaction to different situations.5. It can be invaluable for you to work effectively with others. Becoming a well ⁃ rounded human isn’t something that happens by accident. You can spend your entire lifetime developing your potential.
A. Has education changed so much in the last decade?
B. They will also provide you with a better understanding of others.
C. Those new experiences may not lead to great personal development.
D. These are all things that can stretch and expand your experience in life.
E. This is because unfamiliar experiences require much more of our attention.
F. As a result, you can easily become less aware of your experience and not learn as much.
G. What makes some experiences add great value to our lives while other experiences do not?
Work Your Mind
Here’s something to think about the next time you ask your teacher for help: struggling with schoolwork on your own can help you learn. According to a recent study, the more you struggle while you are learning new information, the better you can remember it later.
This theory might surprise you. When teachers are presenting new information, they often give students lots of help. But a new study shows this may not be the best way to support learning. “Don't be too quick to get help when learning something new,” education expert Manu Kapur told TFK. “Try to work on it yourself even if it means trying different ways.”
Kapur came up with the idea that struggling can lead to better learning. Then he tested it out on students in Singapore. He separated students into two groups. In the first group, students were asked to solve math problems with the teacher’s help. In the second group, students were asked to solve the same problems by helping one another, instead of getting help from the teacher.
With the teacher’s help, students in the first group were able to find the correct answers. Students in the second group did not solve the problems correctly. But they did come up with a lot of good ideas. The students were then tested on what they had learned. The group without any help from a teacher scored much higher than the group who had help. Kapur said working to find the answers helped students understand the process, not just the solution.
Kapur’s advice for kids is to put a lot of effort into learning something new rather than going to your teacher for help. “Simply doing a little work or nothing at all won’t work,” says Kapur. “The struggle needs to be a genuine attempt to figure out or solve a problem in as many ways as possible.”
1.When you have doubt on schoolwork, you’d better ____________.
A.ask your teacher for help
B.make it clear by yourself
C.ask your classmates to help you
D.ask your parents for help
2.What’s Manu Kapur educational idea on learning new knowledge?
A.Give students much help as soon as possible.
B.Let students learn it on themselves in one way.
C.Let students learn it by themselves in the same way.
D.Let students learn it for themselves in different ways.
3.How did Kapur check his idea on better learning?
A.By asking questions.
B.By solving art problems.
C.By group comparations.
D.By solving science problems.
4.What is the most important in learning knowledge?
A.Getting the teacher’s help.
B.Getting the student’s help.
C.Grasping the learning course.
D.Receiving the final solution.
While many of us may have been away somewhere nice last summer, few would say that we’ve “summered.” “Summer” is clearly a noun, more precisely, a verbed noun.
Way back in our childhood, we all learned the difference between a noun and a verb. With such a tidy definition, it was easy to spot the difference. Not so in adulthood, where we are expected to “foot” bills, “chair” committees, and “dialogue” with political opponents. Chances are you didn’t feel uncomfortable about the sight of those verbed nouns.
“The verbing of nouns is as old as the English language,” says Patricia O’Conner, a former editor at The New York Times Book Review. Experts estimate that 20 percent of all English verbs were originally nouns. And the phenomenon seems to be snowballing. Since 1900, about 40 percent of all new verbs have come from nouns.
Even though conversion (转化) is quite universal, plenty of grammarians object to the practice. William Strunk Jr. and E.B.White, in The Elements of Style — the Bible for the use of American English — have this to say: “Many nouns lately have been pressed into service as verbs. Not all are bad, but all are suspect.” The Chicago Manual of Style takes a similar standpoint, advising writers to use verbs with great care.
“Sometimes people object to a new verb because they resist what is unfamiliar to them,” says O’Conner. That’s why we’re comfortable “hosting” a party, but we might feel upset by the thought of “medaling” in sports. So are there any rules for verbing? Benjamin Dreyer, copy chief at Random House, doesn’t offer a rule, but suggests that people think twice about “verbifying” a noun if it’s easily replaceable by an already existing popular verb. Make sure it’s descriptive but not silly-sounding, he says.
In the end, however, style is subjective. Easy conversion of nouns to verbs has been part of English grammar for centuries; it is one of the processes that make English “English.” Not every coinage (新创的词语) passes into general use, but as for trying to end verbing altogether, forget it.
1.What can we learn about the verbing of nouns?
A.It hasn’t recently been opposed by many grammarians.
B.It is more commonly accepted by children than adults.
C.It hasn’t been a rare phenomenon in the past century.
D.It is easily replaced by existing verbs in practice
2.What is most leading experts’ attitude towards the practice of the verbing of nouns?
A.Cautious. B.Satisfied.
C.Disappointed. D.Unconcerned.
3.What does the author think of ending the verbing of nouns?
A.Predictable. B.Practicable.
C.Approaching. D.Impossible.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Are 40 Percent of all new verbs from nouns？
B.Are Summering and Medaling Annoying?
C.Are You Comfortable about a New Verb?
D.Are There Any Rules for Verbing?
In the atmosphere， carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents the heat from escaping.
According to a weather expert's prediction， the atmosphere wilbe3C warmer in the year 2050thanitis today， if man continues to burn fuels at the present rate.If this warming up took place， the icecaps in the poles would begin to melt thus raising sea level several meters and severely flooding coastal cities.Also， the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere(半球) ， possibly resulting in an alteration of the earth's chief food-growing zones.
In the past， concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet.But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic， which maybe affected by only a few degrees of warming：in other words， by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.
Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing.The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place.This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.
However， most of the fuel is burnt in the northern hemisphere， where temperatures seem to be falling Scientists conclude，therefore，that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by man.The question is：Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?
One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun.Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and“cold”spots(that is， the relatively less hot spots) on the sun.As the sun rotates(旋转) ， every 27.5 days it presents hotter or“colder”faces to the earth， and different aspects to different parts of the earth.This seems to have a considerable effect on the distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure， and consequently on wind circulation.The sun is also variable over along term：its heat output goes up and down in cycles， the latest trend being downward.
Scientists are now finding mutual relations between models of solar-weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years， including the last Ice Age.The problem is that the models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not.One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia(惯性) of the earth's climate.If this is right，the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful counter-balance to the sun's diminishing(减少) heat.
1.Why is the fuel consumption greater in then or them hemisphere， but temperatures there seem to be falling?
A.Mainly because the levels of carbon dioxide are rising.
B.Possibly because the output of solar energy varies.
C.Because the inertia of the earth's climate take effect.
D.Possibly because the icecaps in the poles are melting
2.On the basis of their models， scientists are of the opinion that
A.the climate of the world should be becoming cooler
B.the new Ice Age will be delayed by the greenhouse effect
C.the man-made warming effect helps to increase the solar effects
D.it will take thousands of years for the inertia of the earth's climate to take effect
3.If the assumption about the delay of a new Ice Age is correct， .
A.the best way to overcome the cooling effect would be to burn more fuels
B.ice would soon cover the northern hemisphere
C.the increased levels of carbon dioxide would warm up the earth quickly
D.the greenhouse effect could work to the advantage of the earth
4.The purpose of the article is to explain .
A.the greenhouse effect
B.the solar effects on the earth
C.the models of solar-weather interactions
D.the causes affecting weather
Come to the AG Society's expedition (探险) program and you will surely get unique experiences! SWIM WITH THE HUMPBACKS(座头鲸) OF TONGA
Darren Jew and his team are your hosts for an unforgettable AG Society adventure, filled with in- water meetings with humpback whales in the Kingdom of Tonga's group of islands.
WHO: Darren Jew's underwater whales
DATES: 26 September-4 October 2018
COST: $ 5,450 per person
BOOKINGS: Call 0756679413, email reservations @ whalesunderwater.com or visit whalesunderwater.com
11-DAY KIMBERLEY COASTAL CRUISE(乘船浏览)
The AG Society is partnering with APT to present an exciting voyage along the Kimberley coastline. Expedition cruising offers the easiest way to explore the Kimberley. Guests on this 11-day voyage will go ashore, explore natural wonders, meet traditional owners, see rock art and spot wildlife.
WHO: APT
DATES: 6 - 16 September 2018
COST: $ 13,395 per person
BOOKINGS: Visit kimberleywild.com. au
LIGHTNING RIDGE FOSSIL(化石) DIG
The AG Society offers you a chance to hunt for fossils. Guided by experts, you'll go to special locations, seeking new fossils for the collections of the Australian Opal Centre. Your discoveries will further establish these museum collections as a world-class scientific and cultural resource. There are also a series of lectures on mining history, fossils, dinosaur hunting and new dinosaurs.
WHO: The Australian Opal Centre
DATES: 20 -25 August 2018
COST: $ 2,200 per person, including all activities and lunches and dinners
BOOKINGS: Call 0427904587, email dig @ stralianopalcentre.com or visit australianopalcentre.com
AG DEVIL ARK EXPEDITION
Come and join Tim Faulkner for a unique hands-on experience with this Tasmanian devil (袋獾) feeding program in the beautiful Barrington Tops of NSW. You'll get to see Tasmanian devils up close when you help with feeding individuals.
In addition to working with the animals, there'll be opportunities to explore the area's natural treasures and spot local wildlife. Don't miss your chance to get involved in this important conservation effort.
WHO: Devil Ark
DATES: 24 - 26 November 2018
COST: $ 1,750 per person
BOOKINGS: Call 0243408610, email info @ devilark.org. au or visit devilark.org. au
1.If you join in LIGHTNING RIDGE FOSSIL DIG, you can .
A.go to seek new fossils individually
B.learn something about mining history
C.collect the world-class scientific fossils
D.become an expert and go to special locations
2.What can you do if you take part in AG DEVIL ARK EXPEDITION?
A.Help protect wildlife. B.Learn about dinosaurs.
C.Watch humpback whales. D.Enjoy an exciting voyage.
3.Which program will you choose if you want to enjoy rock art?
A.AG DEVIL ARK EXPEDITION.
B.LIGHTNING RIDGE FOSSIL DIG.
C.11-DAY KIMBERLEY COASTAL CRUISE.
D.SWIM WITH THE HUMPBACKS OF TONGA.
