The Spotlight(公众注意的中心) in Rio
Phelps puts spotlight on cupping(拔火罐)
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps fed American swimmers to 8 gold medals in the 4 × 100-meter relay, but what grabbed media attention and led to stories and photos around the globe were the purple and red circles on his back.
Michael Phelps of the USA is seen with red cupping marks on his shoulder as he competes during the 2016 Rio Olympics men’s 200m butterfly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 8, 2016.
Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui goes viral
China’s women’s swimmer Fu Yuanhui has created a hit online not just by winning the bronze medal in the 100m backstroke competition, but also by her facial expressions during the post semi-final interview with China Central Television (CCTV) on Monday.
When asked whether she held back for the final, Fu replied “No, I used my ‘prehistorical power (洪荒之力)’” What she meant was that she had spared no efforts in the semi-final. Since then, the so-called “prehistorical power” has gone viral and become a new Internet meme.
Britain wins first Olympic diving gold in men’s synchronized 3m springboard(男子双人3米跳板)
Britain’s Jack Laugher and Chris Mears ended China’s gold medal monopoly (垄断) over diving events at the Rio Olympics by winning the men’s synchronized 3m springboard final on Wednesday, the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in diving.
Laugher and Mears finished with a six-round total of 454.32 points, just 4.11 points ahead of silver medalists Mike Hixon and Sam Dorman of the USA at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Center. China’s Cao Yuan and Qin Kai took the bronze with 443.70 points.
1.What attracted media attention with Phelps’ winning the gold medal?
A. His scars on his back.
B. His great leadership.
C. The cupping marks on his back.
D. His achievements made in the men’s 200m butterfly.
2.Which of the following is NOT the reason why Fu Yuanhui became the spotlight?
A. Her devotion and determination to swimming.
B. Her achievement in the 100m backstroke competition.
C. Her facial expression during the post semi-final interview.
D. Her humourous reply to the reporter—the so-called “prehistorical power”.
3.What can we learn from the third news?
A. China didn’t win any medals in diving events at the Rio Olympics.
B. Mike Hixon and Sam Dorman of the USA took silver with 447.81 points.
C. Britain had never won the Olympic diving gold medal before the Rio Olympics.
D. Britain became the gold medal monopolist (垄断者) of diving events at the Rio Olympics.
Just a couple of hours ago, I was on the plane, ready to fly home from London. The flight had been delayed by a few hours so it felt good to be so close to take-off. I had my iPod in place and a new book to read. Then, over the loudspeaker came the pilot’s voice: “The ground crew has found a metal instrument in one tire. We regret that we must cancel this flight.”
The passengers’ reactions that announcement led to were interesting. One man close to me began to argue with a flight attendant. A couple in another row complained loudly. A businessman in a black suit actually kicked the seat in front of him. Yet some passengers responded differently. An elderly gentleman smiled as he helped others take their bags down from the overhead compartments. A teenager, rather than trying to rush off the plane like most of the other passengers, stopped to help a woman with a disability. The lady sitting next to me laughed and said: “Hey, it’s not the end of the world,” before she made a call to her kids and shared her adventure with them, the wisest among us who has a remarkable ability to maintain grounded(稳定的) when times get tough.
No life is perfect; mine certainly isn’t. We all must face challenges, both large and small. You and I have the power to choose to rise above the external circumstances(外部环境). We always have the choice to be strong and kind when things fall apart.
That’s grace under pressure. My seatmate was right — things could have been so much worse. Anyway, I am safe. I have my health. I have two wonderful children. I have work I love and so much to be grateful for. Sure I now have to wait a few hours to catch the next flight home.
1.What caused the passengers’ different reactions?
A.The loudspeaker. B.The delay of the flight.
C.The ground crew’s fault. D.The pilot’s announcement.
2.Who turned his anger on the seat?
A.A teenager helping the disabled. B.An old man taking bags down.
C.A man in a black suit. D.A man close to the author.
3.What did the woman sitting next to the author do?
A.She assisted a disabled woman. B.She made a phone call to her family.
C.She helped others carry their luggage. D.She told moving stories to her children.
4.What can we learn from the story?
A.Our life is full of ups and downs.
B.It is natural to be scared under pressure.
C.We should help each other in times of difficulty.
D.We should be positive and calm when life is hard.
假设你是红星中学高三学生李华。停课期间，妈妈过生日，你在学习之余给妈妈准备了丰盛的生日晚餐。请根据以下四幅图的先后顺序，写一篇稿件，记述整个过程。
注意：词数不少于 60。
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假设你是红星中学高三学生李华，你的英国笔友 Jim 在邮件中谈到近年来全球掀起的剩食运动（Waste No Food Movement），例如：推行打包及食物共享文化、鼓励购买即期品，并将厨余分类回收后加以利用。请你回邮件，说明你对此现象的看法，内容包括：
1. 你对剩食运动的看法；
2. 你或者你周围人的做法。
注意 ：1．词数不少于50；
2．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
提示词： leftover n. 剩余食物; adj. 剩余的
Dear Jim,
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Yours,
Li Hua
All book writing has to start somewhere, and the best place to kick off your manuscript (原稿) is by coming up with a great idea.1. It can be an article you read from your local newspaper, a conversation you overheard at Starbucks, a recent experience you had during a vacation, etc. Your overall idea should be narrowed down to one-to-two paragraphs, similar to the back cover copy you find on most books. When writing books, the idea is king. Always remember that.
2. This doesn’t just mean fictional characters—memoirs (回忆录) and nonfiction books still have characters, even if those characters are based on real people. When you write your own book, you must ask yourself what makes this character unique, what is the No. 1 thing this character wants and what difficulties must he or she overcome to reach it. Readers love imperfect, yet relatable characters.
3.
Maybe the most crucial step in the steps to writing a book, setting a deadline and sticking to it is essential. 4. Too many writers say they are going to write a book and, after starting strong, find excuses as to why they stopped (or are on a super-long pause from writing books). There are definitely reasonable reasons that could prevent you from book writing—help needed in the family, a health issue, etc. But if you’re serious about writing a book, you have to make time for it. Deadlines will push you to do just that.
You can spend as much time as you want reading tips for writing a book, how to write books and how to edit your novel—and you should spend some time doing that. You should invest in studying the craft and learning how to write a bestseller.5. Do it during your lunch break. Do it while waiting for the kids at soccer practice. Do it after everyone goes to bed. There’s no official book writing model, there’s just you, a pen and a paper (or a computer, of course).
A.Strive to make your characters as interesting as possible.
B.But you’ll never write a book if you don’t spend time writing.
C.Now discover our best tips for how to write a book effectively.
D.It’s time to further your writing career by diving deeper into deadline.
E.Book ideas come in all shapes and sizes and can be found anywhere.
F.It’s the difference between serious writers and those who are merely dreamers.
G.How to start writing a book begins with an idea, but your idea needs to be carried out with well-developed characters.
How many more people can we squeeze onto our fragile planet? Surely, the Earth must be full? Pretending that human numbers can grow forever, with no ill-effects, is at best innocent and at worst utterly irresponsible.
Biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution, deforestation, water and food shortages — these are all worsened by our huge and ever-increasing numbers. Yet governments and most environmental groups choose to sidestep this giant elephant in the room. The human population was just 2.6 billion in 1950. But it has been 7.7 billion today and according to the UN it will reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by the end of the century. Where will so many people live? How will we feed them?
Unless we diffuse this “population bomb”, by the end of the century we will need several Earths to survive. But we can’t have several Earths, and so we will face a future of increasing poverty, food shortages, conflict and environmental degradation.
Admittedly, not everyone agrees with the UN’s predictions. But even the doubters calculate that the human population will grow to 8 or 9 billion sometime between 2040 and 2060. Ultimately, there has to be a limit.
The good news is that the human populations of about two dozen countries, from Poland and Italy to Cuba and Japan, are now decreasing. But that’s not true of most countries. The cradle of overpopulation is in Africa, which is where more than half of global population growth is expected to occur: from 1.3 billion people in 2020 to 4.3 billion in 2100.
The solution isn’t rocket science. There are two drivers of population growth: birth rates and longevity. We all aim to grow old, after all, but we can reduce birth rates. That’s not to say that anyone should be denied the right to have many children as they like. But it’s a fact that wherever women are empowered and literated, have help with family planning and have access to medical care, they generally choose to have fewer children. And the birth rate falls.
So why the stony silence? Why such a failure of leadership from governments and environmental groups? I think it’s for two reasons. First, calls for population control are often believed racist: relatively rich people in the developed world blaming poor people in the developing world. Second, it is often thought insincere. The problem is as much about consumerism as it is about population growth: westerners are consuming more and more, so it appears as if they are blaming the poor for the excesses of the rich. Most population growth is, indeed, taking place among those who consume almost nothing. But the uncomfortable truth is that we all need to consume much less.
Whatever the complications, we urgently need a UN Framework Convention on Population, just as we have for climate change. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us.
1.What are the first three paragraphs mainly about?
A.Environmental degradation made by humans.
B.The increasing poverty coming with illnesses.
C.The problems resulting from the growing population.
D.Water shortages caused by climate change and pollution.
2.How do governments react to human population?
A.They are too busy with other problems to solve it.
B.They avoid seeking solutions to reduce population.
C.They know the consequence and face the problem.
D.They think the population will decline in the future.
3.What is practical for birth control according to the passage?
A.Consuming much less than before.
B.Removing the right to have more children.
C.Decreasing population in developed areas.
D.Educating women and providing health care.
4.What is the author’s attitude to the ever-increasing human population?
A.Neutral. B.Concerned.
C.Skeptical. D.Indifferent.
