How to get by in a foreign country
Not knowing the local language is no reason not to travel. Here are some tips to get by from someone who does it all the time. Download a language translation app. Thanks to new inventions, traveling in foreign countries has become much easier.
1. . Find an app that works for you. It best to find one that specializes in the language you need to translate especially if the language uses a character set you're not familiar with, or is one you have difficulty pronouncing.
2. Body language is an easy way to communicate with locals. Gestures are almost all globally understood. 3.. In many countries, for example, nodding means “no”, and shaking your head means “yes”. So, a quick web search for the country you're visiting and “gestures” or “body language” will turn up anything you need to be aware of before you go. Hire a local tour guide 4. You can always search the web for local tour guides before you go, or find a guide through your hotel or a travel agent(旅行社) .
Learn a few keywords
Try learning basic words and phrases like “hello”, “thank you” and “I'm sorry” .
5.
A.Don't speak to strangers
B.There are exceptions, however
C.Speak with your hands and head
D.A guide can always help you with locals
E.Many foreign language apps translate words on the spot
F.It is a form of respect and will go along way to bring you closer to locals
G.Always try searching the internet when you meet some communication problems
When you buy fresh-cut flowers, do you think about where they came from？You might think they were grown somewhere nearby. The reality, though, is that the cut flower trade is increasingly International. Today, thanks to airplanes and high-tech cooling systems, even the most delicate flower be exported and sold thousands of kilometers away from where it was grown.
The Netherlands handles about 60 percent of the world’s cut flowers. And its auction houses（拍卖行）are very large---Aalsmeer, near Amsterdam, is auction house in the sense that Tokyo is a city, or Everest a mountain. About 120 soccer fields would fill its main building. Nineteen million flowers are sold here on an average day.
The Netherlands is also a world leader in developing new flower varieties. Dutch companies and the government invest a great amount of money in flower research. Their scientists look for ways to lengthen a flower’s vase life, to strengthen flowers to prevent them from being damaged while traveling, and also to strengthen the natural fragrance of the flowers.
There are also many other places with a better climate for growing flowers, and the climate of Ecuador is almost perfect. With predictable rainy periods and 12 hours of sunlight each day, Ecuador’s roses are famous for their large heads and long, straight stems（茎）. Every year, Ecuador sells about 500 million flowers to the U.S. alone. The industry has brought employment opportunities and a stronger economy to the country. “My family has TV now. There are radios.” says Yolanda Quishpe, 20, who picked roses for four years.
To others, the increasingly international nature of the flower trade is very bad news. In recent years local growers in the U.S. faced huge competition from international flower companies, and many lost their businesses. Lina Hale, an independent rose grower said her father had predicted the situation in the 1980s. “I see a train coming down the track,” he warned her, “and it’s coming straight towards us.”
1.What do we know about Aalsmeer?
A.It’s very large.
B.It’s as big as Tokyo.
C.19 million flowers are grown there.
D.60% of the Netherland’s flowers are sold there.
2.What is one aspect of the Netherlands’ flower research?
A.How to increase flower production.
B.How to avoid climate’s effect on flowers.
C.How to speed up the process of flowering.
D.How to keep flowers fresh during transportation.
3.What does the author want to show through Yolanda Quishpe’s words?
A.Flowers from Ecuador are beautiful.
B.Ecuador could grow even more flowers.
C.The flower trade in Ecuador benefits the local.
D.Rose-picking is a very popular job in Ecuador.
4.What Lina Hale’s father said suggested that ______.
A.he was excited to see the train
B.he knew his business would be affected
C.he was sure customers wouldn’t want
D.he thought trains were a new way to deliver flowers
Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have changed the way that people interact and connect on a daily basis. They are changing the face of relationships of every kind. One of the major concerns that have caught the attention of many, is the influence that social media may be having on social anxiety disorders.
If removed from their phone for a few hours or a few days, the average person would likely feel anxious about not being “connected”. Most people have probably experienced an occasion in which they posted a creative photo, and waited to see “how many” or “retweets” they received. If this number is lower than expected, the（自我）ego is going to take a hit. There is also constant checking of the number of “followers” and “friends” that you have, and these numbers can have a direct influence on feelings of acceptance and popularity.
Anxiety can arise from feeling at a loss when faced with too much going on at one time Multitasking can very quickly lead to increased levels of anxiety. Most people can likely relate to feeling the constant need to check their phone while driving, during meals or at work. This desire is actually leading to increased levels of anxiety. The choice to be constantly connected leads to the feeling of having to always make yourself available.
Social anxiety is much different from the anxiety one feels from being offline. It’s a more serious type of anxiety resulting from the fear of being judged by others while in a social interaction. Cases can range from mild--- and are often the cause of a lot of drinking with others to severe, in which case a person may avoid parties and get-togethers altogether.
The degree to which social media and technology are changing our lives and introducing new forms of anxiety is anything but deniable（可否认的）. The real question is to what extent are they introducing new disorders or increasing existing ones like social anxiety. It’s certainly a topic worth studying more to determine who is being helped, who is being harmed and how social anxiety can be dealt with.
1.What is the major focus of the text？
A.Human desire for social interaction.
B.The influence of social media on anxiety.
C.Anxiety resulting from interpersonal relationships.
D.The popularity of social media in people’s daily life.
2.How does the author explain social anxiety in Paragraph 2?
A.By giving examples. B.By offering statistics.
C.By providing processes. D.By making comparisons.
3.According to the author, which of the following can lead to increased levels of anxiety?
A.Not being available for get-togethers. B.Chatting on the phone with a friend.
C.Using the phone while driving. D.Eating meals alone.
4.What does the underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refer to?
A.Life changes. B.Anxiety degrees.
C.New forms of anxiety. D.Social media and technology.
Ms Green’s dog was barking. It was its lunch time, but there was not any meat in the house.
Considering that there was no better way, Ms Green took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it, “Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently, “Take this to the butcher, and he’s going to give you your lunch today.”
Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher’s shop. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady’s handwriting and pleasantly did as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up immediately.
At midday, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more, smiling.
The next day, the dog came again exactly at midday. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at the paper, and gave the dog its meat without any delay, for he had thought of the dog as one of his customers.
However, the dog came again at four o’clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher’s more surprise, it came for the third time at six o’clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Ms Green give it so much meat to eat today?”
Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it!
1.Why did Ms Green give her dog a piece of paper with some words on it?
A.Because she wanted her dog to send the butcher a message for some meat home.
B.Because she often did something like this to solve the dog’s lunch problem.
C.Because she was fed up with the barking dog.
D.Because the butcher would give her dog a pound of meat for its lunch after reading it.
2.What can we learn from the paragraph 5&6?
A.The dog got some meat after the butcher reading the paper again.
B.The dog was easy to be hungry due to its large size.
C.It appeared that the dog knew well the paper could do it much good.
D.The dog took in the butcher several times.
3.Before reading the paper with no words, the butcher treated the dog ______.
A.cruelly B.friendly
C.proudly D.angrily
4.At the end of the story, we learn that ______.
A.The dog was more clever than the butcher.
B.The dog had learned to write on the paper.
C.The butcher was surprised to find he was cheated by the clever dog.
D.The dog was punished and would not be given meat any more.
Creative alarm clocks
Dumbbell（哑铃） alarm clock
It is not a real dumbbell, but you have to shake it up and down 30 times to stop the alarm clock. And there is no stop button. Of course you will be totally refreshed by then. Don’t be lazy and take some exercise in the morning.
Target alarm clock
The alarm is ringing at the time you set it for！Do you see the target？Then hit it to stop the sound with a laser gun（激光枪）. Of course you have to be fully awake if you don’t want to miss the target.
Flying alarm clock
I’m sure you won’t be able to simply ignore this alarm as you usually do, because it flies！Its propeller（螺旋桨）flying off the alarm is the key. Before the frightening alarm sounds drive you crazy， you’d better quickly put the key back.
Banclock
Have you been keeping a pocketful of change for some time without knowing what to do with it？Maybe you can put those coins in your alarm. This is both an alarm clock and a money box. It only stops ringing if you put a coin in it.
IQ alarm clock
What about a brain workout in the morning？ IQ alarm will go off and ask you a set of IQ questions. Don’t even think about removing the battery, because it is hard to open. The only way to shut it off is to answer all questions correctly.
Mr. Bump-off-the-wall alarm clock
An alarm clock is so annoying when you are too tired and sleepy to get up. You can release your anger on Mr. Bump. It looks like a blue ball covered with “bandages（绷带）”. Just throw this alarm at the wall to silence it.
1.How can we turn off Target alarm clock？
A.By shooting at it. B.By shaking it 30 times.
C.By putting the key back on it. D.By answering questions shown on.
2.What is another function of Banclock？
A.Improving people’s sleep. B.Asking people to do exercise.
C.Testing people’s intelligence. D.Helping people to save money.
3.What can we infer about Mr. Bump-off-the-wall alarm clock?
A.It hangs on the wall. B.It is difficult to break.
C.It was invented by Mr. Bump. D.It rings louder than any other clocks.
假设你是红星中学高三学生李华。你们学校上周组织了一次以“感动中国，感动你我”为主题的演讲比赛。请根据以下四幅图的先后顺序，写一篇英文周记，记述你参加本次活动的全过程。
注意：词数不少于 60。
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