Staying connected
When Central Bucks South became one of the first Philadelphia-area high schools to close because of the fear of novel coronavirus exposure in early March, 16-year-old sophomore Andrew Chen knew that things were not going to return to normal as quickly as some of his peers hoped.
But still, the change from seeing his friends on the swim team during daily practices to learning alone at home was jarring.
“I only have three years here at South, and it pains me to see one of them being wasted,” Chen said.
The coronavirus has changed everyone’s lives, but for students, the disruption feels particularly serious. Schools closed and graduation ceremonies were put off. Summer plans, such as camps, are up in the air.
But right now, many students are trying to stay connected, struggling with false information, and finding out the best ways they can help – through online method.
For Josh Harycki, 17, a senior student at the Shipley School in Philadelphia, the best way to help was to create a “social distancing promise” for young people.
“I saw a lot of young people not paying attention,” he said. “They were … still going out, hanging out with others. I thought that there had to be a way to reach younger people, who were possibly not watching the news.”
Harycki started a call to action on social media and then built a website with a map that followed and kept the locations of people who’d signed the promise. The site also shares links to accurate sources of information like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Harycki knows that his peers are worried they can’t connected with their friends in the same way, so he created the social distancing promise to strengthen that although everyone might be physically distant, they’re still connected.
“Part of what we’re showing is that you might feel like you’re the only one taking this seriously, but our map shows that you’re not alone,” he said.
1.What does the underlined word “jarring” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A.natural
B.necessary
C.worrying
D.reasonable
2.Who does Harycki mainly want to reach?
A.Friends who are worried and bored.
B.Young people not aware of the situation.
C.Younger students trying to help.
D.People taking the coronavirus seriously.
3.What’s Harycki’s purpose in creating the “social distancing promise”?
A.To order young people to stay at home.
B.To follow those infected with the coronavirus.
C.To tell young folks of latest news about the coronavirus.
D.To show young people that they are still connected.
4.Why does the author describe Andrew Chen’s experience in the text?
A.To explain what worried students most when schools closed.
B.To show the different views of students toward the coronavirus.
C.To show how the coronavirus affected students’ lives.
D.To explain the proper reaction to the close of school.
Here we have some amazing plans for your travelling. Come and have a look!
Perth to Broome overland
Running: February 1 through April 30
Activities:
· Explore the Pinnacles Desert
· Sandboard down the sand dunes of Jurien Bay
· Discover the diverse scenery at Kalbarri National Park
· Visit the rare and beautiful Shell Beach
· Make friends with the dolphins at Monkey Mia
· Relax and explore at Coral Bay
Price: ＄1100
What’s included: Accommodation, expert guide, meals, transport (coach, trails).
Not included: International flights; insurance.
Adelaide to Alice Springs tour
Running: May 5 through August 28
Activities:
· See Australia’s incredible Lake Eyre
· Explore beautiful stones in Coober Pedy
· Visit a Kangaroo orphanage
· Experience Australia’s red center, Uluru
Price: ＄850
What’s included: Accommodation, expert guide, meals, transport.
Not included: International flights; insurance
Brisbane to Cairns adventure
Running: October 1 through December 20
Activities:
· Walk through rainforests and relax on beaches
· Explore Fraser Island with a jeep ride
· Watch the sun set as you sail the Whitsundays Islands
· Make life-long bonds and party the night away in the town Cairns
· Go diving on the Great Barrier Reef
Price: ＄1200
What’s included: Accommodation, expert guide, meals, transport (air-conditioned coach with WiFi in most regions)
Not included: International flights; insurance; other activities
Ultimate Oz tour
Running: November 1 through December 10
Activities:
· Enjoy a bonfire party, beachside
· Take on a Sydney Harbor boat cruise
· Try your hand at sandboarding
· Go to a Sydney pub
Price: ＄920
What’s included: Accommodation, expert guide, meals, transport
Not included: International flights; insurance
1.What can you do only on Adelaide to Alice Springs tour?
A.Walk through a rainforest.
B.Play with dolphins.
C.Visit a kangaroo orphanage.
D.Go sandboarding.
2.How is the Brisbane to Cairns trip different from the others?
A.Tourists may go diving.
B.Tourists can party on the beach.
C.It offers the highest price.
D.It has the longest travel time.
3.Which is included in the fees of all the tours?
A.Accommodation and insurance.
B.Expert guides and transport.
C.Meals and international flights.
D.WiFi service and expert guides.
假如你是李华，你校英国交换生David在邮件中告知你他被牛津大学（Oxford University)录取了，想邀请你本周六晚参加庆祝派对，但你因故不能前往。请你用英语给他回封邮件。内容包括：
1.表示祝贺；
2.不能赴约的原因；
3.补救措施。
注意：1・可以适当补充细节，以使行文连贯；2.词数80左右。
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阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
In elementary school, George wasn’t 1. (exact) popular, but he always had a couple of really good friends. In middle school, he was really good at science and math. 2. most kids were going to 3.movies on weekends, George preferred to design his own special projects. He dreamed of owning his own technology company someday. When George got to high school, some of the other students made fun of him for being into books and computers. This made George very upset, but he tried not to let anything keep his dream from 4. (achieve). George got excellent grades and was admitted 5. both Harvard and Yale, but he decided to go to Stanford 6. there were many opportunities for people 7. wanted to work in Silicon Valley. This was the first time George 8. (feel) accepted by the people around him. He took many computer classes, and kept designing his own projects on weekends. During the summer months, he would take extra classes, and he ended up 9. (graduate) a year early. He took a job 10. a computer programmer at Apple. After five more years there, George left to start his own company, finally realizing his childhood dream.
“A” for Attitude
English was always my favorite subject. In my freshman year of high school, I could write a killer composition. In my second year, my_________allowed me to give spelling tests to the class. I had wonderful_________of my junior year. Mrs. Alexander _______me to sit at her desk and take over the class when she had to leave the room. Only my senior English class was_________, as we had a teacher right out of college who expected college-level work. Every student received a “C” or “D” grade the first quarter._______English was still my subject.
I graduated from high school,_______early and had children. Confident about my English, I often helped my kids with their English homework. And I_________long articles and beautiful poetry as a columnist for a newspaper. Fifteen years later, I went to college, and because I had been an "A" student, I remained an “A” student. I_________up to my own expectations.
Yesterday, I_________my high school report cards when I was reading old papers. That bundle of report cards__________back the old days. I remembered sitting in my advisor's office，explaining that I had always excelled at English, and __________that I did not deserve a “D” from that__________ teacher of my senior year. The advisor was sympathetic but unable to change a (an)__________.
Reading__________my old report cards revealed something else too. I wanted to shred them or hide them. I was not an “A” student in high school English！Somehow, I had__________myself of this，when the grades clearly reflected an__________student with an occasional “A” or “B” but mostly “C” s.
Had I lived up to those grades and__________ myself according to those letters, I would have never confidently sought my writing__________. Had I believed in my early grades instead of myself ，I would have allowed my fear of____________to defeat my enthusiasm and damage my creativity.__________，I viewed my younger self as an “A” English student, except for that undeserved “D”.
1.A.monitor B.headmaster C.classmate D.teacher
2.A.impressions B.thoughts C.inspirations D.memories
3.A.approved B.appointed C.expected D.urged
4.A.flexible B.creative C.disappointing D.controversial
5.A.So B.But C.And D.Or
6.A.married B.worked C.succeeded D.progressed
7.A.wrote B.edited C.read D.copied
8.A.added B.lived C.grew D.went
9.A.counted B.remembered C.approached D.discovered
10.A.brought B.turned C.held D.kept
11.A.reporting B.guaranteeing C.complaining D.recommending
12.A.impolite B.impatient C.inexperienced D.independent
13.A.grade B.figure C.paper D.entry
14.A.out B.through C.from D.into
15.A.warned B.reminded C.informed D.convinced
16.A.average B.enthusiastic C.outstanding D.awkward
17.A.considered B.defined C.reflected D.described
18.A.goal B.dream C.career D.enterprise
19.A.change B.risk C.stress D.failure
20.A.Otherwise B.Besides C.Instead D.Still
A new urban sport, parkour, is hitting the streets. It has evolved from obstacle course training into a fitness option for young people. In parkour, the outside world is the gym! 1. The goal of parkour is a direct route from one place to another. You meet an obstacle, you overcome it.
Mark Toorock, who teaches the techniques of parkour at his fitness gym, says that parkour is a method to train the body and mind using obstacles as the medium. He says that this new sport is demanding and takes years to master. 2.
But Toorock, who used to be a martial arts expert, says that everyone can benefit from learning the basic skills involved in parkour like running, jumping and crawling (爬行). These are the things that humans used to have to do all the time. 3. The original idea of parkour was to return to running and jumping as basic elements in moving from one place to another.
Georges Hebert, a French navy officer, was so impressed by the effortless athleticism of African tribes that he devised a training method based on running, climbing, jumping, balancing and throwing. The word parkour comes from parcours de combatant, the French term for a military obstacle course. 4.
Dr Kenneth Kao explains that the sport of parkour is not extreme — it is the environment which is extreme and dangerous. Being outside, jumping off railings and flipping over park benches can be quite frightening, so parkour courses in gyms concentrate on practicing all the individual moves to make everything easier. 5. However, that is not real parkour because it’s indoors with a fixed obstacle. The goal for everyone is to go outdoors.
A.Gyms provide thick floor matting (垫子) for rolling and rubberized boxes for jumping over.
B.The bridges, buildings and railings (栏杆) of each and every city are the equipment.
C.Every action in parkour is natural, so everyone must have the ability to move in this way.
D.Parkour was introduced into china in recent years and has gained popularity.
E.But today, due to modern transport, these basic skills are no longer used on a regular basis.
F.The French word for people who participate in the sport is traceurs or traceuses.
G.Beginners should realize that they won’t be jumping over buildings any time soon!
