My husband and I changed our front yard with something eatable, adding apples, bananas, oranges, and pomegranates(石榴).
Every crop brought us_______ to neighbors and strangers. The food was a(an) _______to communicate. Kids in the neighborhood (including our son) learned _______ and gentle timing. When we had extra, we would _______it. Then, we received a powerful lesson: a gift hidden as a _______. Our first-ever crop of pomegranates had ripened(成熟)._______ , at harvest, they all disappeared in the middle of the night. We were _______ sad and angry. Friends had fun suggesting deterrents(为摄物). One _______ suggested we post a sign to curse (诅咒) those who _______ our fruits.
And suddenly, the ________ was clear. We did need a sign. But our sign would encourage sharing and community. Last autumn, we had a larger crop of pomegranates. We put________a sign that read, "If you'd like one, please knock and ________ yourself, and we would be ________ to cut one off the bush for you. Cutting saves the branches and is good for future growth, so we can ________ to share pomegranates with________friends like you. Thanks, the Green Family. "
Out of eight fruits, one pomegranate was taken. and most of others were________to new friends. This year, we won the Kindness Contest award, ________we planted three trees-a peach, a pear, and a plum. Before they fruit, I'll ________ a big sign to the yard to encourage sharing. Today. I'm happy to be a role model of ________ for my young sons and to have the opportunity to________ an eatable front yard for others.
1.A. richer B. stronger C. closer D. healthier
2.A. tool B. explanation C. evidence D. excuse
3.A. patience B. kindness C. confidence D. responsibility
4.A. take B. share C. select D. store
5.A. result B. challenge C. loss D. surprise
6.A. Besides B. However C. Moreover D. Otherwise
7.A. embarrassed B. interested C. ashamed D. shocked
8.A. still B. yet C. just D. even
9.A. stole B. destroyed C. bought D. hid
10.A. attitude B. answer C. lesson D. need
11.A. away B. down C. up D. on
12.A. enjoy B. impress C. help D. introduce
13.A. happy B. afraid C. proud D. worried
14.A. pretend B. continue C. agree D. happen
15.A. true B. close C. polite D. new
16.A. gifted B. sold C. donated D. devoted
17.A. unless B. since C. so D. or
18.A. connect B. add C. turn D. keep
19.A. generosity B. encouragement C. enjoyment D. creativity
20.A. change B. provide C. prepare D. choose
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Everyone knows that fish is good for health.1.But it seems that many people don’t cook fish at home. Americans eat only about fifteen pounds of fish per person per year, but we eat twice as much fish in restaurants as at home. Buying, storing, and cooking fish isn’t difficult.2.This text is about how to buy and cook fish in an easy way.3.Fresh fish should smell sweet: you should feel that you’re standing at the ocean’s edge. Any fishy or strong smell means the fish isn’t fresh.4.When you have bought a fish and arrive home, you’d better store the fish in the refrigerator if you don’t cook it immediately, but fresh fish should be stored in your fridge for only a day or two. Frozen fish isn’t as tasty as the fresh one.There are many common methods used to cook fish.5.First, lean it and season it with your choice of spices(调料). Put the whole fish on a plate and steam it in a steam pot for 8 to 10 minutes if it weighs about one pound. (A larger one will take more time.) Then, it’s ready to serve.
A.Do not buy it.
B.The easiest is to steam it.
C.This is how you can do it.
D.It just requires a little knowledge.
E.The fish will go bad within hours.
F.When buying fish, you should first smell it.
G.The fats in fish are thought to help prevent heart disease.
Bananas are one of the healthiest fruits you can eat, being loaded with protein, fiber, vitamins A, B6, and C, etc. Bananas are delicious on their own as well. But we’re not here today to talk about the banana fruit, but rather its peels. Generally thrown away as waste, banana peels actually bring about different uses.
Starting off with a topical benefit, banana peels are great for relieving the painful itch of bug bites. Science hasn’t figured out why it works, but you can’t argue with results. People who have tried it report that it is really useful.
There are lots of expensive ways to whiten teeth, and a lot of them use bleaching agents which weaken teeth and can cause sensitivity. But guess what? Banana peels can whiten teeth naturally and gently due to their potassium content.
Banana peels contain a lot of antioxidants that are great for your skin. To reduce the look of lines and wrinkles, simply rub a banana peel directly on the affected areas and wash your face 30 minutes later.
It is fiber once again that can lower your cholesterol levels, which is critical to maintaining a healthy heart. Banana peels contain more soluble fiber than the fruit itself, so throwing away the peel wastes a valuable opportunity to bump your intake. And finally, you can actually rub a banana peel on shoes, leather, and silver articles to clean them up and make them shine.
Whether you eat them or use them, banana peels don’t save very well. Once removed from the fruit, they blacken pretty quickly. It's best to prepare and consume banana peels right away. However, one thing is for sure—you will stop throwing these valuable wrappers in the trash after you discover all the incredible things they can do.
1.Why can banana peels be used to whiten teeth?
A.They will cause sensitivity to our teeth.
B.They are much cheaper than bleaching agents.
C.They can make our teeth white while doing no harm.
D.The effect is better than any other things.
2.What do we know about banana peels’ function?
A.They can stop the bites of some insects.
B.They can clean leather shoes and gold jewellery.
C.They can act as a facial mask and make us look younger.
D.They can keep our heart healthy by increasing our cholesterol levels.
3.What should we do with bananas according to the last paragraph?
A.Consume them right away. B.Throw their peels in the trash.
C.Try to save their peels in good condition. D.Make use of their peels soon after being removed.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Why not eat banana peels? B.How to make good use of bananas?
C.Banana peels do good to our mental health. D.It is worthwhile using banana peels.
Even before a baby is born, the process of learning language has already begun. In the third stage of pregnancy（怀孕）, when the baby’s ears are fully developed, the intonation(语调)patterns of the mother’s speech are sent through the fluids in the body. This is thought to be like listening to someone talking in a swimming pool: It’s difficult to make out the individual sounds, but the rhythm（押韵） and intonation（语调） are clear. This has an important effect on language learning. By the time a baby is born, she already has a preference for her mother’s language. At this stage the baby is able to identify language through the intonation patterns.
For example, French and Russian speakers place emphasis on different parts of a word or sentence, so the rhythm of these two languages sounds different. Even at four days old, babies can use this information to tell their own language from an unfamiliar other language. This means that the newly born infants (婴儿) are ready to start learning the language that surrounds them; they already have an interest in their mothers’ language.
Research has shown that babies prefer to listen to this exaggerated(夸张的)type of speech than typical adult-like speech. They pay more attention when a parent’s speech has a higher pitch(音调)and a wider pitch range compared to adult-like speech with less exaggerated pitch features. For example, a mother might say the word “baby” in an exaggerated “singsong” voice, which holds a baby’s attention longer than it would in a simple adult-style voice. Words produced in this way also stand out more from the speech stream, making it easier for babies to pick out smaller groups of language.
So, baby talk is not just a way of getting involved with infants on a social level—it has important effects on language learning from the very first moments of a newborn’s life.
1.What does a baby first learn in the process of learning language?
A.Her mother’s language. B.Individual sounds.
C.The rhythm and intonation. D.Speeches around.
2.How does the author develop paragraph 2?
A.By making an instruction. B.By providing an example.
C.By giving a definition. D.By making a comparison.
3.Why does a mother prefer the “singsong” voice when talking to her baby?
A.To amuse herself.
B.To teach a song.
C.To attract her baby’s attention.
D.To make her baby familiar with a higher pitch.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Baby talk helps infants learn language
B.Babies tend to learn from their mothers
C.Babies are born with unusual learning ability
D.Baby talk helps infants tell one language from another
When I stepped out of Heathrow Airport, the British accents were music to my ears! The roads were so empty and traffic was so organized, with open spaces everywhere and so few people on the streets—what a difference from where 1 came—Mumbai. The difference was even more obvious after I had spent 21 years of my life living in that place. The streets were unfamiliar, and the faces were all foreign.
I boarded my bus for my university town. I felt like I had been in a fairytale book—the small houses, the quiet streets and the well-dressed people among other things. A small and beautiful three-storeyed building is quite a rarity back home and here, I have yet to see a building taller than that! Back home in India, the kind of rent I pay here could have afforded me a luxurious(豪华的） 2 bedroom-hall-kitchen apartment in a good location. But my accommodation here is the size of my bathroom back home! It’s just a fact... reality can be rude at times!
I really cherish the first day of my new university. I’ve met so many students from countries that I didn’t even know. But living alone in a new place, away from the protection of my family and friends, is a different experience altogether—a wonderful experience of further education!
It's been almost two months now. The novelty(新奇)is gradually disappearing, and the dust is settling down. It’s all just daily now but I feel fully settled. I really like this place. It feels like home!
1.What does the underlined part “that place” in paragraph 1 refer to?
A.Heathrow Airport. B.Britain.
C.Mumbai. D.A university of India.
2.What is the author’s first impression of Britain?
A.Dirty and noisy. B.Different but poor.
C.Hopeful and inspiring. D.Strange but beautiful.
3.What does the author probably do？
A.An international student. B.A tourist from India.
C.A British college teacher. D.An unknown writer.
4.What can we know from the last paragraph?
A.The author is less interested in everything because of dust.
B.The author still feels curious about everything around.
C.The author has been used to the new environment.
D.The author feels like going home after nearly two months.
You probably know who Marie Curie was, but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson. Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams (1860-1935)
Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson (1907-1964)
If it weren’t for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not exist today. Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.
Sandra Day O’Connor (1930-present)
When Sandra Day O’Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona state senator (参议员) and, in 1981, the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court. O’Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.
Rosa Parks (1913-2005)
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison. But it also set off the Montgomery bus boycott. It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement. “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in,” said Parks.
1.What is Jane Addams noted for in history?
A.Her social work.
B.Her teaching skills.
C.Her efforts to win a prize.
D.Her community background.
2.What was the reason for O’Connor’s being rejected by the law firm?
A.Her lack of proper training in law.
B.Her little work experience in court.
C.The discrimination against women.
D.The poor financial conditions.
3.Who made a great contribution to the civil-rights movement in the U.S.?
A.Jane Addams. B.Rachel Carson.
C.Sandra Day O’Connor. D.Rosa Parks.
