Last month my mother moved into a nursing home. This came after years of witnessing the worsening of her cognitive abilities and changes in her personality, all thanks to life-sucking frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
My mom is going to lose her ability to speak, have trouble forming complete thoughts and sentences, and eventually forget how to do things she loved, like cook and read.
But despite all of her inabilities, when I walked in on her having dinner with the rest of the women that make up the dementia floor of the nursing home, I didn’t think she belonged.
It wasn’t until I spent three days there bonding with those women that I realized what scared me the most-she did fit in.
If you were an outsider looking at these women, you’d pity them. You’d think it was cruel that our bodies could turn on us in this way. You’d think it was sad that their families have put the burden of taking care of them on someone else. You’d want to intervene.
You’d want to give the lady eating mashed potatoes with her hands a spoon, you’d want to peel the orange for the lady who’s eating it like an apple, you’d want to scold the lady who forgets to flush the toilet and wash her hands after using the bathroom.
I did all those things to my mother. But when I see her in an environment that lets her be herself, it somehow seems okay.
Learn to love them unconditionally. It’s easier said than done, but if she loved me after giving her hell for making me come home by 10 p. m. on Fridays, I can love her even if she forgets my name.
1.What frightened the author most?
A. Her mother adapted to the nursing home.
B. She had to look after her mother.
C. Her mother suffered from FTD.
D. She lived with those women at the nursing home.
2.Which of the following can best replace the underlined word “intervene”？
A. Amaze. B. Interrupt.
C. Permit. D. Explore.
3.What was the final decision of the author?
A. She let her mother alone.
B. She took care of her mother at home.
C. She sent her mother to hospital.
D. She let her mother stay at the nursing home.
4.What’s the author’s attitude towards her mother?
A. Mean. B. Selfish.
C. Grateful. D. Honest.
Almost all researches in sleep explain that nightmares are a reaction to negative experiences that happen during waking hours. However, some of them believe that nightmares do have some real benefits. One 2017 study, for example, found that frequent nightmare sufferers considered themselves as more empathetic (共鸣的). They also showed more of a tendency to unconsciously mirror other people through things like yawning. People who have constant nightmares also tend to think further outside the box on psychoanalysis tasks. Some other researches have found support for the idea that nightmares might be linked to creativity.
People seeking cure for nightmares were not necessarily more fearful or anxious, but rather had a general sensitivity (敏感) to all emotional experiences. Sensitivity is the driving force behind Intense (强烈的) dreams. Heightened sensitivity to threats or fear during the day results in bad dreams and nightmares, while heightened passion or excitement may result in more intense positive dream. And both these forms of dreams may feed back into waking life, perhaps increasing suffering after nightmares, or promoting (促进) social bonds and empathy (共鸣) after positive dreams.
The effects go further still. This sensitivity overflows over into perceptions and thoughts: people who have a lot of nightmares experience a dreamlike quality to their waking thoughts. And this kind of thinking seems to give them a creative advantage. For example, studies show that such people tend to have greater creative talent and artistic expression. And people who often have nightmares also tend to have more positive dreams than the average person.
The evidence points towards the idea that, rather than disturbing normal activity, people who are unfortunate in having a lot of nightmares also have a dreaming life that is at least as creative, positive and vivid as it can be distressing and frightening. What’s more, this imaginative richness is unlikely to be limited to sleep, but also is filled with waking thought and daydreams. Even after people wake up and shake off the nightmare, in other words, a mark of it stays behind, occupying them throughout the day.
1.What do most sleep researchers think of nightmares?
A.They have no advantages at all.
B.They make people more empathetic.
C.They can contribute to humans’ creativity.
D.They are a reflection of waking behavior.
2.How can nightmare sufferers probably stop nightmares in theory according to the text?
A.Be more fearful to anxious to nightmares.
B.Try to reduce sensitivity to threats or fear.
C.Avoid excitement as much as possible.
D.Promote social bonds and empathy.
3.What does the underlined word “perception” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A.Awareness. B.Content.
C.Relief. D.Determination.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.The Solution of Nightmares B.The Empathy of Nightmares
C.The Benefits of Nightmares D.The Tendency of Nightmares
Kiwis are unique in a lot of interesting ways. They have many characteristics that are not found in any other bird.
It ia assumed that the kiwi's ancestor was able to fly and reached New Zealand. Once on the island, it lost its ability to fly and eventually became the kiwi known today. Kiwis have feathers that look like hair and very strong and muscular legs. They rule the ground instead of the air. They can smell very well, Kiwis are quite shy and usually only come out at night. Kiwi can live a long time, between 25 and 50 years.
A female carries a huge egg for its body size. The kiwi is about the same size as a chicken but its egg is actually six times as large as a chicken’s egg. The reason for this is that the kiwi doesn’t have to fly so there aren't any limits on its weight. The female has to eat three times as much as usual to help the egg develop. Right before the egg is laid she can't eat anything because the egg presses against her stomach, leaving no room for food.
All kiwi species are endangered. On average, twenty-seven die each week. They have been affected most by deforestation and invasive mammals. Before humans came to New Zealand, the only mammals on the island were bats and seals.The kiwi never had to worry about predators before, but now since it cannot fly, and lays its eggs on the ground, it is pretty defenseless against invasive mammals such as rats and stoats. Stoats kill a lot of the chicks, while dogs kill a lot of adult birds, usually by accident, because they are quite delicate (易碎的).
1.Which is kiwi’s unique characteristic?
A.They can’t fly with no wings.
B.They can live more than 50 years,
C.They rule the air instead of the ground.
D.They seldom or never come out in the daytime.
2.Why does a female kiwi carry a huge egg?
A.It eats three times as much as usual.
B.I focuses too much on developing its egg.
C.Body weight will grow without limit for a flightless bird.
D.The egg presses against her stomach.
3.Which kind of mammal does no harm to kiwis?
A.Bats. B.Rats.
C.Stoats. D.Dogs.
4.Which is a suitable tile for the passage?
A.Endangered kiwi species B.Kiwis — unique birds
C.Get close to the bird world D.Why can’t kiwis fly?
Have you ever felt the desire to move and experience another beautiful part of the country? This could be the perfect career change for you.
The National Trust in England is looking for someone to work as a ranger on the Fame Islmds, one of Britain’s oldest nature reserves located just off the Northumberland coast.
For $22,668 a year, the successful applicant will be required to look after the local wildlife, including the 200 seal pups which are born on the islands each year and 37,000 pairs of puffins.
The ranger will get the chance to work in some of the nation’s most attractive places and spaces — impressive sunrises a one-minute ride and one of England’s largest seal colonies on his doorstep. But like every job, it doesn’t come without a downside. Apart from avoiding the dive-bombing Arctic terns, there is no running water on the island and there will be severe storms to fight with during the spring.
Along with a love of nature and the outdoors, the National Trust is looking for “an excellent team player” who has experience in conservation work. This job isn’t the normal 9 to 5, so being good at PowerPoint isn’t a must. With 50,000 annual visitors every year, you really need to be able to get on with people and show them how they can participate to help nature.
Could you see yourself in this role? Applications for the job close on June 7.Want to apply? Click here.
1.“Downside” in the 4th paragraph can be replaced by____________.
A.pay drop B.disadvantage
C.bright future D.bad environment
2.If you’d like to apply for the job as a ranger, you should_____________.
A.live a regular life B.come to terms with being lonely
C.be expert at working with PowerPoint D.have experience in conservation work
3.The passage is probably taken from_______________.
A.a newspaper B.a textbook
C.the Internet D.a news report
Directions: Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.每一个人都会被自己阅读过的一本书或看过的一部电影所感动并难以忘怀，请以A Most Influential Book (Or Film)为题写一篇短文。
1. 描述你的书或电影的主要内容；
2. 其令你感到或难忘的原因；
3. 谈谈它对你产生的影响或带来的思考。
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Directions: Translate the following sentences into English, using the words given in the brackets.
1.您什么时间方面来取一下您的体检报告? (convenient)
2.一个合格的大学生应当有着良好的英语运用能力。(command)
3.他经常向我抱怨在工作中得不到赏识。(complain)
4.尽管当时父亲很忙，他仍旧信守承诺，带我和妈妈去了上海迪士尼乐园。(as)
5.这位作家用其在博物馆中展出的所有展品阐明了他对爱情的观点，即只有当一个男人失去他所爱的人时，他才会开始真正爱上她。(illustrate)
