I wasn’t particularly great at school. And 1 wasn’t the _________ boy because was quiet and shy. Mrs Kerswell was my English teacher. It’s hard to _________ her exact age. When you’re a child, every adult is _________. She must be past middle age, with grey hair and a(n) _________ face. Her lessons were in a totally stress-free environment. However, I was really _________ because I went from a _________ school with 28 people up to the sort of bigger town junior high school.
I didn’t _________ anyone. No one from my _________ school went there because we all went to different schools. I really struggled in my first year to _________. Thanks to Mrs Kerswell she was really the sort of humorous teacher you could have chats with, who read materials that weren’t on the syllabus (教学大纲) just for ____________.
She managed to make Beowulf interesting to a number of ____________. She was key in keeping my love of reading going. It certainly wasn’t a ____________ thing for a boy of that age to love ____________ as an entertainment. Actually, I just treated it as a learning task. But she reminded me that books were fun and they weren’t just about learning or the ____________.
When I was 13, I wasn’t excellent at writing. But she allowed and ____________ me to write in a natural way. Unlike my other teachers, she told me not to use the fanciest ____________. “Writing is not about flowery language but about real communication. ____________, you’re having a conversation on a page,” she said. So it made me realize that I didn’t have to ____________ about it too much.
I saw her once, over 10 years ago. My writing career was going well, and she was proud of my achievements and ____________ as a writer, and I really ____________ her for keeping the fame on.
1.A.fattest B.quietest C.naughtiest D.loneliest
2.A.leave out B.work out C.adapt to D.amount to
3.A.old B.friendly C.innocent D.lively
4.A.blue B.honest C.guilty D.kind
5.A.relaxed B.disappointed C.stressed D.relax
6.A.city B.league C.village D.town
7.A.assign B.accept C.acknowledge D.know
8.A.junior B.primary C.senior D.social
9.A.fit B.give C.break D.check
10.A.defense B.fun C.victory D.fame
11.A.writers B.teenagers C.celebrities D.teachers
12.A.cool B.flexible C.major D.painful
13.A.speaking B.writing C.reading D.learning
14.A.courses B.progress C.entertainment D.hobbies
15.A.commanded B.forbade C.warned D.encouraged
16.A.words B.means C.ways D.ideas
17.A.Gradually B.Basically C.Ridiculously D.Awkwardly
18.A.enquire B.bring C.doubt D.worry
19.A.habit B.interest C.privilege D.reputation
20.A.promoted B.criticized C.thanked D.dismissed
If you’re enjoying a cup of tea while reading this, you’re supporting just about every organ in your body. Unsweetened tea can prevent some diseases and help repair cells in the body. The popularity of Chinese tea cannot be separated from its medicinal value.
Your heart will thank you. Tea’s properties can keep your blood vessels (血管) relaxed and clear, putting less stress on your heart, and thus slow down block formation in vital blood vessels. 1..
Your risk of the brain disease could decrease. 2.. It’s important to know the early warning signs and do what you can to prevent it. Green tea can help you develop resistance against stress and potentially Alzheimer’s disease. The special substance in it protects cells from damage.
3.. If you spend your nights turnings try relaxing yourself with a cup of east-Asian medicinal tea before bed, which can improve sleeplessness. 4., it can help improve sleep and quality of life in those with mild sleeplessness according to a study in Integrative Medicine Research.
Your attention may improve. The caffeine in tea can improve your attention and awareness. The unique acid to tea may also improve attention by relaxing the brain, but stimulating it when it is time to focus. 5.. try making a warm cup of tea just before it’s time to work or consider these reasons you may not be able to focus.
A.Your sleep could improve
B.Your body becomes more energetic
C.When you have the habit of getting up early
D.Once you have formed the habit of drinking that kind of tea
E.you ever find yourself having difficulty with concentration
F.So drinking a proper amount of black tea can be beneficial to your heart
G.The thought of you being diagnosed with the brain disease is very scary
Using modern technology, archaeologists (考古学家) have recently discovered about 200 Mayan artifacts (玛雅古器) in Mexico, which surprisingly, appear to have been untouched for up to 1,000 years. The artifacts were found inside a cave in ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
The lead researcher on the project is Mexican archaeologist Guillermo de Anda. He called the cave a “scientific treasure”.
The findings included bone pieces and burnt offering materials. In addition, incense burners, vases, plates and other objects were discovered. Some items included the portrait of Tlaloc, the rain god of central Mexico.
The cave where the objects were found is so unique. It is part of a cave system known as Balamku. The cave is long, narrow and dark. It is about three kilometers east of the main pyramid of Kukulkan. It sits at the center of Chichen Itza which is the stone city described by the United Nations as “one of the greatest Mayan centers of the Yucatan Peninsula.”
The cave sits about 24 meters underground, with areas connected by passages. Some of the passages were so narrow that researchers had to climb in or pull themselves through. The team has so far explored about 460 meters of the cave, and is unsure how far it stretches. The team plans to continue exploring the cave. The found artifacts will not be removed, but studied inside.
The team accidentally found the artifacts while exploring Chichen Itza in an effort to learn more about its underground water system. The new discovery will help scientists better understand the history, culture, lives and beliefs of people who lived in Chichen Itza, especially in the boom years.
Archaeologists believe there may be another cave hidden under the pyramid of Kukulkan that could be connected to the latest find. “Let’s hope God will lead us there,” Guillermo de Anda said. “That is part of the reason why we are entering these sites to find a connection to the natural well under the Kukulkan.”
1.What’s amazing about the Mayan artifacts discovered in Mexico?
A.The long history and perfect state.
B.The digging time and location.
C.The current high price.
D.The variety of usage.
2.What is paragraph 4 mainly about?
A.The features of the cave. B.The findings in the cave.
C.The ancient cave system. D.The origin of Mayan centers.
3.What is the significance of the new discovery?
A.It can help scientists register cultural relics.
B.It can encourage archaeologists to form work beliefs.
C.It can help scientists further learn about Mayan civilization.
D.It can arouse the interest of Mexicans in archaeology.
4.What will archaeologists do next according to the last paragraph?
A.Dig wells under the Kukulkan.
B.Move the findings to another cave.
C.Find the cause of groundwater disappearance.
D.Try to find another cave under the pyramid of Kukulkan.
Back when the Mississippi River flowed wild, its ever-changing waters moved soil across the North American continent. It picked up sand and dirt in the north and brought it to the southern areas of what we now call the state of Louisiana. Thousands of years later, man-made barriers called levees (防洪堤) and flood-control systems control the powerful river. But Louisiana officials are making plans to use the Mississippi River’s ancient power to build new land as a way to ease the threat of rising seas.
Engineers hope to remake the destroyed low-lying lands by copying nature—digging into the levees and redirecting the water. The water holds a lot of small dirt sediments (沉淀物). The sediments can flow into coastal basins.
Some critics question whether the idea presents its own environmental risks. But if it does work, the project would rebuild an important protection against storm waves. It would also help the land provide new living areas for birds and fish that depend on wetlands.
Saltwater is destroying the coast. Pathways cut for oil and gas development, boat travel and logging have worsened the problem. The state estimates that it has lost about 518,000 hectares of land since 1932. If nothing is done, more than twice that much land could disappear over the next 50 years.
Experts and officials have discussed the idea of using the river to rebuild the coast for many years. But it was not until money became available from the 2010 BP oil spill that the plan began to really take shape. In 2010, an explosion killed 11 people on an oil rig (石油钻塔) off the Gulf Coast that energy company BP operated. Millions of gallons of oil then flowed into the water over the next three months.
One year later, the United States government ruled that BP was responsible for the accident,
The company was ordered to pay billions of dollars for the damage. Louisiana is putting much of its share of the money toward coastal restoration.
1.What advantage will the new land bring?
A.Preventing severe drought.
B.Creating habitats for animals.
C.Controlling the powerful river.
D.Increasing the northern farm land.
2.What can cause the coast to disappear faster?
A.Energy changes.
B.Destroyed levees.
C.Man-made disasters.
D.Man-made water protection systems.
3.What made the plan of rebuilding the coast land come into effect?
A.The restoration of an oil rig.
B.The payment of compensation by BP.
C.The strong demand from oil companies.
D.The special support from some local critics.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Use Nature Power to Stop Soil Losing
B.Let the River Go Back to Its Original State
C.Fight Coastal Destruction by Copying Nature
D.Remove the Man-Made Barriers from the River
I feel ashamed to admit this, but in much of my past life, I pretended I knew what was going on when I didn’t, for fear of being “caught out”. In the school cafeteria, when people talked about TV shows, which I didn’t have the channels for, or on MSN Messenger, when I read unfamiliar song lyrics my friends had shared, I felt upset and I’d pretend to be calm and recognize what they were talking about, like everyone else.
I did this, as I didn’t want to be seen not to understand some things that people, I respected were good at. I thought that if I didn’t know what was going on, it betrayed a moral failing and exposed me as a boy who was deeply uncool and actually, a bit stupid.
And so I nodded along silently. I prayed I wouldn’t be found out what I really was, or I would feel embarrassed. I would follow up each incident with some diligent homework on the subject, trying to disguise myself. Unsurprisingly, it all became far too much and recently I’ve found myself overwhelmed by the number of things I didn’t know about. From politics to pop culture—even Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. I just felt exhausted by it all.
And so I made a decision. I decided to stop nodding frequently at the pub while crazily searching the relative information under the table. Instead, now I’m embracing saying what is really true when I don’t know what the other person is talking about. Instead of hurrying to make up some funny opinion about a show I’ve never seen, I’ll say something like: “I’ve heard of that show but I haven’t watched it yet” Saying “I don’t know” is such a simple thing. I’m sorry that it took me so long to start saying that. I’ve changed my attitude towards something I don’t know in life. I’ll never get caught in an embarrassing lie again.
1.What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?
A.His fear of making mistakes. B.The ways to make friends in the past.
C.School activities he and his friends loved. D.His sense of shame about lying in the past.
2.How did the author feel when he didn’t know about the topic m conversation?
A.Confused. B.Anxious and awkward.
C.Unconcerned. D.Calm and relaxed
3.What does the underlined word “disguise” in paragraph 3 probably mean?
A.Hide. B.Beat.
C.Expose. D.Fool.
4.What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A.To show disadvantages of being ignored.
B.To show some embarrassing learning experiences.
C.To tell us what to do with the case of being “caught out”.
D.To tell us how saying “I don’t know” changed his life attitude.
Four Healthy Experience Gifts Wellness Fans Will Love
You’ll surprise and delight your friends and family with these thoughtful gifts that have real health benefits.
Facial
Taking care of your skin is a way to take care of yourself. And anytime you prioritize your own well-being, that’s a very good thing. Gifting a facial will allow you to feel the healing benefits of walking out with a fresh face. A new skincare and facial destination in New York. Philadelphia, and LA. offers gift certificates to treat someone to much-needed time.
Facials start at $ 65
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Massage (按摩)
“We don’t have to tell you why a massage makes a good gift.” If you are m businesses, the chance to really feel your body less tense is always going to be a winning experience gift. Massage is too often one of those things we know are good for you, but you may rarely schedule the time to do that. Make it easy in your life to take the advantage of this relaxing self-care experience.
Massages start at $ 45
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Personal training session
There are so many health benefits to working out. Not only does regular exercise help improve your health now. It also helps you live longer. Gifting a yoga class or a one-on-one personal training session can help ease someone back into a regular routine. You can help with this: a ClassPass gift card that will allow you to choose the class that suits you best.
Price varies
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Private meditation (冥想) session
Investing in a regular meditation routine is an experience gift that you should give to yourself. Numerous studies have shown that meditation has an impressive list of benefits from reducing blood pressure to lessening symptoms of psychological depression. Meditation studios are popping up all over the country, so search for a studio in your area that offers private or group sessions, like MNDFL in New York or the Meditation Bar in Austin, Texas.
Price varies
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1.What can the “Facial” experience gift help you do?
A.Build up your muscles. B.Have a new look.
C.Relax your body completely. D.Reduce blood pressure.
2.Who may prefer the experience gift “Massage”?
A.Artists who want to meditate in nature.
B.Elderly women who want to live longer.
C.Businessmen who want to get rid of pressure.
D.Actresses who want to have a fresh appearance.
3.Which of the following can best improve mental health?
A.Facial. B.Massage.
C.Personal training session. D.Private meditation session.
