“If you are cold, it will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; if you are depressed, it will cheer you; if you are exhausted, it will calm you.” The poem best identifies the passion for tea in Britain. Outside of the United Kingdom, many people refer to afternoon tea as “high tea”. Afternoon tea, also known as low tea, is what most people think of when they hear “high tea”. It involves things like manners, lace(蕾丝) and light meals such as cookies and finger sandwiches. It is typically served in the mid-afternoon and it was traditionally served on low tables, therefore its two names.
Legend has it that afternoon tea was started in the mid-1800s by the Duchess(公爵夫人) of Bedford. Around that time, kerosene(煤油) lamps were introduced into wealthier homes and eating a late dinner( around 8 or 9 p.m.) became fashionable. This increasingly late dinner was one of the only two meals each day, and the other was a mid-morning one. The story goes that the Duchess found herself with a “sinking feeling”. This came from hunger during the long wait between meals. She decided to invite friends over for various snacks and tea. The idea of an afternoon tea gathering spread across high society and became a favorite pastime of females for leisure. Later, it spread to other social groups.
However, the British working population did not have afternoon tea. They had a meal about midday, and a meal after work, between five and seven o’clock. This meal was called “high tea” or just “tea”. Traditionally eaten early evening, high tea was a substantial meal that combined delicious sweet food, such as cookies, cakes or tea bread, with heavy food, such as cheese on toast, cold meals and poached eggs on toast. This meal is now often replaced with a supper due to people eating their main meal in the evening rather than at midday.
1.What is the author’s purpose of using a poem at the beginning of the passage?
A.To introduce a topic. B.To present a puzzle.
C.To describe the phenomenon. D.To clarify his writing purpose.
2.What led to the appearance of afternoon tea?
A.Kerosene lamps were used at home.
B.Upper class had more free time.
C.Drinking tea makes people feel good.
D.Duchess of Bedford was influential in social circle.
3.What was the most important feature of afternoon tea in the mid-1800s?
A.Simple food and tea. B.Being served on low tables.
C.A ladies’ social occasion. D.Serving time.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Origins of Tea. B.Ways of Low Tea.
C.Traditional Afternoon Tea. D.High Tea and Low Tea.
“Nomophobia”, NO Mobile Phone phobia(恐惧) is a 21st-century term for the fear of not being able to use your smartphone. Smartphone addiction is on the rise, surveys show, and a new study released adds to a growing body of evidence that smartphone addiction is harming our minds literally.
Smartphone addiction affects many people from all across the globe. Over 1.8 billion people own smartphones and the average owners check their screens 150 times a day. Considering those numbers, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when 44% of people (compared with 20% in 2011) admit feeling anxious when they can’t have access to their phones.
Researchers from Harvard University used brain imaging to study the brains of 19 teenage boys who were diagnosed with smartphone addiction. Compared with 19 teenagers who were not addicted, the brains of the addicted boys had significantly higher levels of GABA, which decelerates neurons (神经元)， than levels of glutamate-glutamine, which energizes brain signals. That results in poorer attention and control, which you don’t want to have, because you want to stay focused. So that means you are easier to get distracted.
“Addicted teenagers in the study also had significantly higher scores in anxiety, depression and levels of impulsiveness (冲动) ,” said Dr. Leslie Perlow, who led the study.
If you seem to have the symptoms of smart device addiction, experts have some suggestions in addition to mindfulness training. First, turn off your phone at certain times of the day, such as in meetings, when having dinner, playing with your kids, and of course, driving. Remove social media apps, like Facebook and Twitter from your phone, and only check-in from your laptop. Try to stop yourself to 15-minute intervals at set times of the day when it won’t affect work or family life. Don’t bring your cellphone and its harmful blue light to bed, and use an old-fashioned alarm to wake you. And last, try to replace your smart device time with healthier activities such as meditating or actually interacting with real people.
1.What is the conclusion of the research?
A.Smartphone addiction leads to distraction.
B.Smartphone addiction easily causes anger.
C.Smartphone addiction is harmful to the mind.
D.Smartphone addiction brings about anxiety and depression.
2.Where can you find the data that best supports smartphone addiction is on the rise?
A.In Paragraph 2. B.In Paragraph 3.
C.In Paragraph 4. D.In Paragraph 5.
3.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “decelerates” in Paragraph 3?
A.Speeds up. B.Slows down.
C.Adds to. D.Cuts down.
4.Which of the suggestions is encouraged according to the text?
A.To use an old-fashion cellphone. B.To participate in more social activities.
C.To stop fifteen-minute intervals. D.To turn off the blue light on bed.
Stan Lee, co-founder of the Marvel Universe(漫威宇宙) and co-creator of many of its most popular superheroes, died at the age of 95.
Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York in 1922. As a son of working-class Jewish immigrants from Romania, times were hard and he lived with his family in a shabby single-bedroom apartment. After graduating from high school at 16, Lieber landed a job as an assistant at Timely Comics. By the early 1940s, he was a temporary editor for the company. It was at this time that he began using his pen name---Stan Lee. In 1947, two years after returning from serving for the U.S. Army, Lee married his wife, Joan. The two began their 70-year marriage and had two children.
In the late 1950s, DC Comics breathed new life into its classic superhero and experienced a significant success with its updated version of the Flash, and later with super-team the Justice League of America.
To compete against DC Comics, Lee was given the task of creating their own group of superheroes. In 1961, Timely Comics changed its name into Marvel Comics after Atlas Comics, and that November saw the debut(首次亮相) of the Fantastic Four. Lee’s later famous and lasting creations of comic-book superheroes included Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and the X-Men.
Over the course of his career, Lee was an icon of Marvel Comics. As a writer and editor and, at various points, both the publisher and vice president of Marvel Comics, Lee not only introduced interesting characters to the industry, but changed the way that comic books came together. He also created a cooperative workflow between writers and artists, which became known as the “Marvel Method”. Lee received a National Medal of Arts in 2008 for his innovations that revolutionized American comic books.
1.What do we know about Lee from Paragraph 2?
A.He served for the U.S. Army for two years.
B.He suffered from an unfortunate marriage.
C.He had a tough and struggling childhood.
D.He adopted his pen name at the age of 16.
2.What was the company called when Spider-Man was created?
A.Timely Comics B.Marvel Comics
C.Atlas Comics D.DC Comics
3.What does the underlined word “icon” in the last paragraph mean?
A.Statue. B.Agent.
C.Assistant. D.Symbol.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Stan Lee, the Godfather of Marvel Comics.
B.The Development of Marvel Comics.
C.Stan Lee, a Superhero in Comic Books.
D.The Popular Superheroes of Marvel Comics.
Holidays in Spain not only mean visiting the tourist attractions or enjoying the thrills of bullfight, but also are charming because of the various options for entertainment in Spain.
Getting in
Reaching Spain by air from London to Barcelona takes 2 hours; London to Madrid is 2 hours and 20 minutes and to Malaga is 2 hours and 45minutes. The journey from New York to Madrid is 8 hours and 35 minutes.
Things to do
If you want affordable entertainment and leisure in Spain, go to the streets. In Spain, walking across the streets is known as the “paseo”, in which the entire Spanish families move forward clapping out flamenco rhythms. This is the best occasion to know Spanish culture better.
If you want some indoor options for fun, come to the movie houses, which are luxurious and provide the bar service. Here, you can watch films translated into Spanish and be prepared to watch horror films, cowboy films, etc. If you have a taste for drama and play, you can enjoy performances in theaters, where you can watch plays of Spanish authors as well as translations of foreign plays. There are typical nightclubs which are open till 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m., and you need to be formally dressed up.
There are circuses of very high quality and also a lot of options for sports lovers. Soccer has attained even more popularity than bullfight in Spain. Then, there are other sports like boxing, bicycle races, horse races, and in the Basque region, handball.
Tips
Though you may think that this country is warm, it can be very cold in winter, so you need proper clothing when you come here. Further, direct exposure to sunlight for long duration should be avoided to prevent sunburn and heatstroke.
1.How long does it probably take a tourist to fly to Madrid from London?
A.120 minutes. B.140 minutes.
C.165 minutes. D.515 minutes.
2.Where is the most suitable place to learn about Spanish culture?
A.The streets. B.The nightclubs.
C.The movie houses. D.The Basque region
3.What can you do in the movie houses in Spain?
A.Enjoy the thrills of bullfight.
B.Dance clapping out flamenco rhythms.
C.Experience the bar service and watch various films.
D.Watch plays written by Spanish or foreign authors.
Bats are surprisingly long lived creatures, some ________ a life span of around 20 years.
A.having B.had C.have D.to have
Please tell me how the accident _____. I am still in the dark.
A.came out B.came by C.came across D.came about
