阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
The national college entrance examination, or gaokao, will be postponed for a month to July 7 to 8 due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Education said. Authorities in Hubei province and Beijing can come up 1. their own gaokao schedule based on the epidemic situation 2.will be published after consulting with the ministry, it said in a notice on Tuesday.
The gaokao, widely 3.(consider) one of the most important exams in the country,4.(hold) every year from June 7 to 8 since 2003. The country resumed(恢复) gaokao in the winter of 19775.it was suspended(暂停) for 10 years during the “cultural revolution” (1966-76). The exam was held every year in July from 1979 to 2002. In 2001, the ministry decided to move the gaokao dates forward a month from 2003 due to hot weather and frequent natural 6.(disaster) in summer. 7. total of 10.31 million students participated in the gaokao last year, up 560,000 from 2018. Chinese people often compare the 8.(high) competitive exam to 9.(cross) a narrow bridge, because for many students, especially those from rural areas, enrollment at a university is an opportunity 10.(change) their future.
Cassandra was in a rush with work and planning her 200-person wedding. As she was _______invitations for her wedding in the mail one day last year, she addressed one_______to her aunt and uncle. They were 20 minutes’_______from where she lived.
A week later, the_______came back. She had mistakenly _______the wrong address. A handwritten note was _______ to the return envelope: I wish I knew you. _______-go have dinner on me. I’ve been married for 40 years — it gets better with_______. A $20 bill was _______inside.
Cassandra was at a professional crossroads and had been having a(n)__________day. In fact, she was talking to her fiancé Jesse Jones about her difficulties just as she opened the __________envelope. Then she read the note.
“It was kind of perfect __________,” says Cassandra. “I was really grateful for it.” And the __________envelope wasn’t finished with its __________. Cassandra looked closer and saw that the person had written “Live long and prosper” on the envelope.
Cassandra and Jesse have no idea who the __________note writer is, but they went out to dinner the following night with a friend who was going overseas on army __________. They happily added the $20 to their __________. Then Cassandra stopped by a store and bought a thank-you card. She wrote her aunt and uncle’s incorrect __________ on the envelope again-this time on __________ — and sent it to “Kind Stranger.”
Inside, she wrote, “Thank you for the note and __________ the time to send it. I’m thankful for people like you still being in the world.”
1.A.replacing B.offering C.sharing D.sending
2.A.worriedly B.hurriedly C.carefully D.automatically
3.A.drive B.delivery C.check D.march
4.A.comment B.invitation C.plan D.appointment
5.A.brought about B.brought down C.set about D.set down
6.A.attached B.distributed C.devoted D.exposed
7.A.Connections B.Cheers C.Congratulations D.Directions
8.A.age B.belief C.shelter D.weight
9.A.trapped B.included C.saved D.caught
10.A.smooth B.casual C.tough D.average
11.A.misdirected B.expected C.unloaded D.ignored
12.A.lighting B.drawing C.charging D.timing
13.A.optimistic B.imaginary C.special D.primary
14.A.disappointments B.surprises C.memories D.qualifications
15.A.similar B.popular C.complex D.mysterious
16.A.service B.support C.experiment D.application
17.A.form B.ticket C.routine D.bill
18.A.address B.name C.certificate D.guidance
19.A.approval B.demand C.purpose D.principle
20.A.affording B.sparing C.advising D.demanding
Food feeds the soul. To the extent that we all eat food, and we all have souls, food is the single great united across cultures. With food, there are more opportunities to connect to memory and family and place. 1.
Food as identity. French, Mexican, Chinese, and Italian cuisines each involve dozens of distinct regional foods. Every single culture and religion uses food as part of their celebrations.
2. Every season, every harvest, and every holiday has its own food, and this is true in America as well.
3. Sometimes food means living on. While the Chinese cooks who exported “Chinese” food around the world ate authentic cooking at home, the dishes they served, thus creating new cuisines entirely, were based on economic necessity.
Food as pleasure. Things have changed dramatically in the past 20 years when it comes to food in France. Some of the ideas of French food life may be a performance. France is this pastoral nation where people are spending five hours a day going to 12 different markets to get their food. 4.
Food as status. The introduction of global foods and brands has compounded food as a status symbol for some Chinese. 5. In China, people eat food not necessarily for taste, but for texture. You can find food from all of the provinces of China in Shanghai, as well as every kind of global food style imaginable.
A.Food as survival.
B.Food as community.
C.It’s the hardest to give up.
D.The celebratory nature of food is universal.
E.It is an accumulation, a function of your experiences
F.How and why you eat your food, is, of course, also very cultural.
G.But food in Italy is love, then nutrition, then history, then pleasure.
The term “multitasking” originally referred to a computer’s ability to carry out several tasks at one time. For many people, multitasking has become a way of life and even a key to success. In fact, some excellent mental aerobic exercises (大脑训练) involve engaging the brain in two or more challenging activities at a time. Although checking e-mail while talking on a phone and reading the newspaper may be second nature for some people, many times multitasking can make us less productive, rather than more. And studies show that too much multitasking can lead to increased stress, anxiety and memory loss.
In order to multitask, the brain uses an area known as the prefrontal cortex (前额叶脑皮层). Brian scans of volunteers performing multiple tasks together show that as they shift from task to task, this front part of the brain actually takes a moment of rest between tasks. You may have experienced a prefrontal cortex “moment of rest” yourself if you’ve ever dialed (拨电话) a phone number and suddenly forgotten who you dialed when the line is answered. What probably occurred is that between the dialing and the answering, your mind shifted to anther thought or task, and then took that “moment” to come back. Research has also shown that for many volunteers, job efficiency (效率) declines while multitasking, as compared to when they perform only one task at a time.
Multitasking is easiest when at least one of the tasks is habitual, or requires little thought. Most people don’t find it difficult to eat and read the newspaper at the same time. However, when two or more attention-requiring tasks are attempted at one time, people sometimes make mistakes.
We often don’t remember things as well when we’re trying to manage several details at the same time. Without mental focus, we may not pay enough attention to new information coming in, so it never makes it into our memory stores. That is one of the main reasons we forget people’s names---even sometimes right after they have introduced themselves. Multitasking can also affect our relationships. If someone checks their e-mail while on the phone with a friend, they may come off as absent-minded or disinterested. It can also cause that person to miss or overlook key information being passed on to them.
1.Why are some mental aerobic exercises designed to engage people in multitasking?
A.To reduce their stress and anxiety.
B.To develop their communication skills.
C.To help them perform daily tasks more easily.
D.To make them more productive.
2.According to Paragraph 2, why may a person suddenly forget who has called?
A.He may leave his prefrontal cortex temporarily damaged.
B.He is probably not very familiar with the person he has called.
C.He is probably interrupted by another task.
D.He may need a rest between dialing and speaking.
3.People tend to make mistakes when ____.
A.new messages are processed one after another
B.their relationships with others are affected
C.the tasks require little thought
D.they perform several challenging tasks at a time.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Multitasking has become a way of life.
B.Multitasking exercises need to be improved.
C.Multitasking often leads to efficiency decline.
D.Multitasking enables people to remember things better.
A Letter to My Younger Self
Dear 17-year-old self,
When your Laker (洛杉矶湖人队球员) dream comes true tomorrow, you need to figure out a way to invest in the future of your family and friends. This sounds simple, but you have to take some time to think it over.
I said invest.
I did not say give.
Let me explain.
Purely giving material things to your siblings (兄弟姐妹) and friends may appear to be the right decision. You love them, and they were always there for you growing up, so it’s only right that they should share your success and all that comes with it. You buy them a car, a big house, and pay all of their bills. You want them to live a comfortable life, right?
But the day will come when you realize that as much as you believed you were doing the right thing, you were actually holding them back.
You will come to understand that you were taking care of them because it made you feel good to see them smiling. That was extremely selfish of you. While you were feeling satisfied with yourself, you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions. You were adding material things to their lives, but taking away the most precious gifts of all: independence and growth.
Understand that you are about to be the leader of the family. This involves making tough choices, even if your siblings and friends do not understand them at the time.
Invest in their future; don’t just give.
Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose. Put them through school, set them up with job interviews and help them become leaders in their own right. Hold them to the same level of dedication (全身心投入) that it took for you to get to where you are now and where you will eventually go.
I’m writing you now so that you can begin this process immediately and don’t have to deal with the struggle of getting rid of the addiction you caused. That addiction only leads to anger and jealousy from everybody involved, including yourself.
As time goes on, you will see them grow independently and have their own ambitions and their own lives, and your relationship with all of them will be much better as a result.
There’s plenty more I could write to you, but at 17, I know you don’t have the attention span (注意力持续时间) to sit through 2,000 words.
The next time I write to you, I may touch on the challenges of mixing blood with business. The most important advice I can give to you is to make sure your parents remain PARENTS and not managers.
Before you sign that first contract, figure out the right budget for your parents - one that will allow them to live beautifully while also growing your business and setting people up for long-term success. That way, your children’s kids and their kids will be able to invest in their own futures when the time comes.
Your life is about to change, and things are about to come at you very fast. But just let this sink in a bit when you lay down at night after another nine-hour training day.
Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache, some of which remains to this day.
Much love,
Kobe
(节选自the Player’s Tribune)
1.According to Bryant, “giving” could make ______.
①him feel satisfied with himself
②him stand out from other players
③his siblings and friends live a comfortable life
④his siblings and friends depend on him
A.①②③ B.①③④ C.①②④. D.②③④
2.According to the article, Bryant probably ______.
A.had never dreamed of playing for the Lakers
B.spent a large sum of money buying houses for himself
C.had trouble handling family relationships
D.has a circle of supportive friends
3.According to the article, Bryant should have ______ when he was younger.
A.shared his success with others
B.inspired his siblings to achieve their goals through hard work
C.looked for well-paid jobs for his siblings
D.refused to live with his siblings
4.Bryant’s purpose in writing this letter was to ______.
A.criticize his siblings for wasteful spending
B.give advice to young people about how to treat their family if they become rich
C.complain about feeling tired of looking after his friends
D.remind young people to use every means to take good care of their family
After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves you too, and she would love to spend some time with you.”
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. “What’s wrong, are you well?” she asked. My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.
“I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I would like that very much.”
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up, I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Halfway through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation--nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other’s life. We talked so much that we missed the movie.
As we arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to do anything for her. Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined. An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance. I wasn’t sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates — one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son.”
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: “I LOVE YOU” and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till “some other time”.
1.When the mother heard it was the son’s call, she was _______.
A.surprised B.worried C.suspicious D.puzzled
2.What did the mother mainly talk about to the author during the dinner?
A.Her life after the author’s marriage. B.Her memory about the author as a child.
C.Her life since the author’s last visit. D.Her expectation about future reunions.
3.What’s the purpose of the author’s writing this passage?
A.To teach us how to cherish our family.
B.To tell us to enjoy the present life.
C.To convey the importance of showing respect for our parents.
D.To warn us not to put off what we should do till some time later.
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A.Mother’s love B.Love is Something You Should Never Put off
C.Precious union D.A special date
