The professor
“A teacher affects eternity(永恒); he can never tell where his influence stops.”
----Henry Adams
He was eight years old. A telegram came from the hospital, and since his father, a Russian immigrant, could not read English, Morrie had to break the news, reading his mother’s death notice like a student read in front of the class. “We regret to inform you...” he began.
On the morning of the funeral, Morrie's relatives came down the steps of his tenement building on the poor Lower East Side of Manhattan.
At the cemetery, Morrie watched as they shoveled dirt into his mother’s grave. He tried to recall the tender moments they had shared when she was alive. She had operated a candy store until she got sick, after which she mostly slept or sat by the window, looking frail and weak. Sometimes she would yell out for her son to get her some medicine, and young Morrie, playing stickball in the street, would pretend he did not hear her. In his mind he believed he could make the illness go away by ignoring it.
How else can a child deal with death?
Morrie's father, whom everyone called Charlie, had come to America to escape the Russian Army. He worked in the fur business, but constantly out of a job. Uneducated and barely able to speak English, he was terribly poor, and the family was on the public assistance much of the time. Sometimes, to make money, Morrie and his younger brother, David, would wash porch steps together for a nickel(镍币).
One morning, David couldn't move. He had polio(小儿麻痹症). For a long time as his brother was taken back and forth to a special medical home and was forced to wear braces on his legs, which left him limping Morrie felt responsible.
So in the mornings, he went to synagogue(犹太教会堂) and he stood among the swaying men in their long black coats and he asked God to take care of his dead mother and his sick brother.
And in the afternoons, he stood at the bottom of the subway steps and sold magazines, turning whatever money he made over to his family to buy food.
In the evenings, he watched his father eat in silence, hoping for-but never getting a show of affection, communication, warmth.
At nine years old, he felt as if the weight of a mountain were on his shoulders.
But a saving embrace came into Morrie, s life the following year: his new stepmother, Eva. She was a short Romanian immigrant with plain features, curly brown hair, and the energy of two women. She had a glow (光) that warmed the otherwise murky atmosphere his father created. She talked when her new husband was silent, she sang songs to the children at night. Morrie took comfort in her smoothing voice, her school lessons, her strong character. When his brother returned from the medical home, still wearing braces from the polio, the two of them shared a rollaway bed in the kitchen of their apartment, and Eva would kiss them good night. Morrie waited on those kisses like a puppy waits on milk, and he felt, deep down, that he had a mother again.
There was no escaping their poverty, however. Because of the Depression, Morrie’s father found even less work in the fur business.
Still, despite their circumstances, Morrie was taught to love and to care. And to learn. Eva would accept nothing less than excellence in school, because she saw education as the only antidote to their poverty. She herself went to night school to improve her English. Morrie's love for education was hatched in her arms.
He studied at night, by the lamp at the kitchen table. And in the mornings he would go to synagogue to say Kaddish-the memorial prayer for the dead for his mother. He did this to keep her memory alive.
“What will you do? Eva would ask him.
“I don' t know,” he would say. He ruled out law, because he didn't like lawyers, and he ruled out medicine, because he couldn't take the sight of blood.
“What will you do?”
It was only through default that the best professor I ever had became a teacher.
1.Why didn't Morrie respond to Mother's yelling for medicine?
A.He didn't know how to help his mother.
B.He was too focused on playing stickball.
C.He was lost in tender moments they shared in the past.
D.He was too young to understand what was happening to his family.
2.After Eva joined in the family, Morrie____________.
A.began to enjoy a materially rich life.
B.witnessed his father changing the atmosphere.
C.partly recovered from the sufferings in his life.
D.was forced to pursue academic achievements.
3.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "antidote"?
A.alterative. B.credit.
C.exception. D.solution.
4.What gives Morrie the initial affection for education?
A.His stepmother’s influence. B.His desire for knowledge.
C.His experience at school. D.His memory of Mother.
5.Which of the following can best describe Morrie?
A.Innocent and adventurous. B.Energetic and ambitious.
C.Responsible and diligent. D.Optimistic and religious.
6.What can we learn from the story?
A.Every cloud has a silver lining. B.No man is wise at all times.
C.Time and tide wait for no man. D.Well begun is half done
London, New York, Tokyo and Paris these famous cities have a commanding influence on the world economy and are home to millions of people, as well as internationally famous arts, culture and educational institutions. But they are hardly representative of the rest of the world’s cities. While 54% of the global population live in cities, around half of those live in cities that have 500,000 inhabitants or fewer.
These “ordinary” cities can be overlooked by politicians, investors, researchers and big businesses. But they are dynamic places with many layers of social, cultural and economic significance. After experiencing a period of post-industrial decline, many such cities are considering urban regeneration (再生) programmes.
But that doesn't mean they have to follow the same path as other urban areas. In fact, the research into urban development has found that ordinary cities can avoid some of the ill effects of regeneration, by embracing what makes them unique.
At the turn of the century, city leaders became increasingly interested in the idea of the “creative city,” The idea was to encourage a “creative class” of talented workers to make their homes and businesses in cities, by creating urban spaces that are open, inclusive and diverse, as well as attractive and technologically advanced.
“Regeneration” became a buzzword associated with these types of strategies, which seek to repurpose seemingly disused or rundown spaces to support an economy led by creative and technological industries. The apparent success of creative city policies was seen in post-industrial centres such as Detroit, US, following investments in cultural, artistic and musical urban renewal.
Such policies swiftly became the go-to strategy for seemingly “ordinary” post-industrial cities around the world, even resulting in new rankings that pit cities against each other, based on criteria including entrepreneurship (创业精神), urban leadership and “liveability”. Having plenty of former industrial spaces that can be adapted for new uses, and a desire to be noticed on the national or global stage, encourages investment in urban regeneration from both public and private sources.
Yet regeneration programmes inspired by the creative city agenda can cause problems. Property developers (地产开发商) and foreign investors have recognized the economic potential of real estate(房地产) in “creative” cities. This has led to rocketing land costs, and many low-income residents have felt the effects of being displaced from their homes.
Yet as more cities seek to emphasize their cultural assets(资产), city leaders and policy makers must be aware of the negative impacts that can arise if local residents are not central to the decision-making process. This emphasizes the need to consider local contexts and communities before operating copycat creative policies.
1.Some famous cities can’t represent the rest of the world's cities in that____________.
A.they are always ignored by politicians, researchers and businessmen
B.they accommodate millions of people but don't contribute to the world economy.
C.about a quarter of global population live in middle-sized and small cities.
D.not all famous arts, culture and educational organizations are distributed there.
2.What measure was probably taken by cities like Detroit to promote city development?
A.Using culture and art as a driving force.
B.Forcing low-income residents to move.
C.Following the same path as some big cities.
D.Encouraging industrial investment continuously.
3.What does the author want to stress in the passage?
A.Cities should copy regeneration programmes.
B.Cities should compete with each other based on some criteria.
C.Cities should seek financial support from sources around the world.
D.Cities should consider regional factors before using creative policies.
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Ordinary cities successfully avoid ill-effects of development.
B.Ordinary cities don' t have to copy trends to regenerate.
C.Ordinary cities are trying to recover from post-industrial decline.
D.Ordinary cities are dynamic places with social importance.
Mother Nature has it figured out. She’s designed a master scheme that connects plants and animals, all working in concert to keep every living thing in balance.
This is especially obvious in places like central Africa and in South American tropical rainforests where certain animals help keep trees safe and healthy, which is critical as trees absorb vast amounts of planet-warming carbon pollution.
Recent research warns that losing the creatures that nurture trees puts forests in danger. This, by extension, is helping to accelerate dangerous climate change.
In central Africa for example, elephants eat fast-growing trees, making room for those that grow more slowly. The slow-growing trees with their very dense wood store more carbon than the thinner, faster-developing ones Without elephants, more carbon would accumulate in the atmosphere, worsening climate change according to a new study that used computer models to project what could happen if elephant populations continue to decrease or become extinct.
Africa may once have contained 10 million elephants from the Mediterranean to the Cape, in every habitat except extreme desert. In 1970, there may have been a million left. By the end of the 1980s, there were half that number, mostly killed for the ivory trade, "said Stephen Blake, assistant professor of biology at St. Louis University.
By killing elephants, poachers (偷猎者) rob slow growing trees of their guardian. They also slow the growth of new trees. Elephants blaze(开辟) trails and disperse(散播) seeds as they look for food. “Elephants are basically the gardeners of the forest,” Blake said. They disperse over 100 species of seeds, and disperse more of them over longer distances than other dispersers.”
Blake, who has spent nearly 20 years in Africa working in elephant research and conservation, mourns their fate, describing them as “a complex society of intelligent, caring, emotional animals who respect their grandmothers and mourn their dead” and condemns those who neglect their duty to save them.
“We will go to Mars-there is no doubt-humans are too smart not to,” he said. “Yet we do not have the wisdom to protect elephants and their forest environment that do so much for our physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being.
1.Elephants help keep slow-growing trees safe and healthy by________.
A.providing living space for them.
B.dispersing seeds when searching for food.
C.decreasing in number and reducing carbon accumulation.
D.protecting them in the forest from being cut down.
2.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.The world is changing at a faster speed than before.
B.People are intelligent enough to protect the environment.
C.What we have done to protect elephants is far from satisfactory.
D.Animals are so smart that they care much about the well-being of humans.
3.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.Elephants are in danger of dying out in the near future.
B.Elephants are fighting climate change in ways humans can’t.
C.Animals are assumed to be the gardeners of the forest.
D.Animals are accelerating dangerous climate change.
Northern Lights in a Superjeep
Tour Operator: Superdeep. is Travel method: Jeep/4x4 Region: Capital Region
The northern lights are a natural wonder, ethereal sheets of green and blue lights swaying across the starry night sky.
To see the lights, you need to get out of the city lights on a clear winter's night. The northern lights guides are experts at finding the best spot for viewing the elusive(难以得到的) lights, giving you the very best chance possible to see them. Travelling in a small group means that your moment under the northern lights will be intimate and personal and the sturdy vehicle also allows for a greater range of movement. The superjeep drivers can get off the beaten path and take you to places where it's just you, the Icelandic nature and the northern lights.
Important information
This tour lasts 3-4 hours. Free pick-up from your hotel in the capital area begins at 20: 00.
From 15/09-31/09 and 15/03-15/04. The pickup starts at 21: 00 due to a longer daylight.
It is vital to wear comfortable and appropriate clothing like waterproof, walking shoes, dress in layers to be able to enjoy your journey to the fullest.
Attention
The Northern Lights Superjeep tour is dependent on the weather and sky conditions and we reserve the right to cancel at any time. If the evening tour goes ahead and the Northern Lights are not seen, we will offer the trip again for free!
We make the decision around 17: 00 every day if the tour is on or not due to weather condition. Please contact us around 17: 00 on the day of your our to confirm the forecast is good and tour is ON at info@superjeep. is or call 00 354 569 8000.
Dress for the worst, hope for the best and prepare to be surprised.
1.Why is joining in the Northern Lights Superjeep tour a good choice?
A.Because it helps tourists find the only viewing spot of the northern lights.
B.Because it provides tourists with a small-group personalized experience.
C.Because it allows travelling with many friends or companions around.
D.Because it ensures an amazing trip with a limited range of movement.
2.From the advertisement we know that___________.
A.a free pick-up in the capital area is available at 20: 00 every day.
B.dressing formally is important for tourists to fully enjoy the trip.
C.tourists are supposed to confirm the trip is on as early as possible.
D.weather conditions are a great concern for the tour operator.
It all started with a commercial. I watched the baby take his first_________ on TV, right before his family left for a trip to Disney World. An idea came to my mind: I wanted to go to Disney World. For most young kids, it's a(n) _______ request, but for me, it is unique. I was born with cerebral palsy (脑瘫), which doesn't________ me to walk on my own. Over the next three years or so, I worked with physical therapists and practiced walking, standing, and balance all __________that I would need to turn my goal into a reality.
I remember the feeling when my legs would_________ doing any more work, practically turning to jelly(胶状物). __________ this, everyone else told me I could do it, so I persisted. I walked, stood, balanced, until the ______came. On June 9, 2008, I stood in the tunnel leading into Main Street, looking around at my adoring fans, otherwise ________ as my family and friends. My dad asked me if I wanted any help doing this thing. I promptly replied, “No!” and situated myself ________ the end of the tunnel, feet_________ firmly, heart most likely beating out of my chest. Step, step, step, step, bump. I __________quickly what had happened: I ________ my momentum (冲力)and my focus, bumping into something. _________, we had practiced this type of ________ beforehand. Holding fast onto the handlebars, I gathered all of my six-year-old ___________and straightened out, _________my pace once again. It wasn't too long before the__________became louder because I had made it to the end, where my mom was waiting with tears in her eyes.
Looking back on that experience, I realize something thoughtful. Every once in a while, life will________ a few bumps in the road. _______ it may set you back for a bit don’t let it ________ you. Pick yourself back up and finish. It’s worth it.
1.A.steps B.risk C.photos D.chance
2.A.official B.blind C.explicit D.normal
3.A.leave B.require C.allow D.expect
4.A.skills B.possibilities C.answers D.features
5.A.delay B.protest C.admit D.miss
6.A.Besides B.Against C.Despite D.Beyond
7.A.time B.help C.memory D.person
8.A.appointed B.evaluated C.emphasized D.known
9.A.searching B.missing C.facing D.overlooking
10.A.planted B.controlled C.buried D.tied
11.A.explained B.realize C.confirmed D.proved
12.A.sustained B.lost C.gathered D.acquired
13.A.Partly B.Luckily C.Alternatively D.Abruptly
14.A.technique B.involvement C.situation D.intention
15.A.patience B.curiosity C.dignity D.strength
16.A.laughing at B.worrying about C.picking up D.looking
17.A.cheering B.explosion C.shout D.scream
18.A.guarantee B.spread C.distribute D.throw
19.A.Until B.Unless C.Since D.Though
20.A.threaten B.push C.stop D.cheat
—Kobe Bryant was a basketball star with strong fighting spirit.
—_____________. He's always a role model for youngsters.
A.I couldn't agree more. B.I can't help it. C.I couldn't be bothered. D.I beg to differ.
