阅读下面材料， 在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Over the past ten years I 1.(travel)abroad and home has become more of a feeling 2. a place. So 3. is important that I can celebrate the new year with the loved ones. New Year’s Eve has become the only time to reconnect with my friends which makes me feel at home. Every year we try 4.(unite)wherever we are and remember the time when we knew each other. 5., a lot of people feel that New Year’s Eve can’t live up to 6.(expect). Ideas such as the New Year’s kiss and resolutions create much pressure for people to have 7. night to remember, 8.will change their lives and perhaps make the next year worth 9.(live). I think those people are missing the point. 10.Christmas is about family, why can’t New Year be about friends?
Many times, the small things in life, which we often ________, are more important than the ones that we consider far more valuable.
This theme is highlighted in Kenny Roger’s song Buy Me a Rose.
This song tells the ________ of a wife whose husband ________ her very much. However, she thinks that the ________ her husband shows her his love is not ________ .
According to her husband, the best way of showing his love to his wife is by ________ her with all the wealth and comforts of life. ________, he works hard day and night and is thus not able to ________ any of his time to her.
His wife, however, ________that this is not what she wants. All she wants from him is to show her more ________ by giving her more of his time, caring for her and by ________ his feelings for her. These are the things that she ________ in her life and not the big, flashy things that he has given her.
“Buy me a rose, call me from work.”
Open a door for me, what would it hurt?
Show me you love me by the look in your eyes.
These are the little things I ________ the most in my life.”
To her, these are all the things that can ________ great joy and happiness.
Although her husband loves her very much, his way of showing his love for her is creating ________ between the two.
This song leads us to ________ on how we lead our lives and how to make a person ________ .
People who are closer to us ________ more sincere expression of our love. Spending time with them ________ spending money on them is a better way of expressing our love. We should learn to express our feelings than to show our love through ________ goods.
1.A.treasure B.decline C.ignore D.feature
2.A.pride B.story C.joy D.truth
3.A.loves B.hates C.ignores D.appreciates
4.A.reason B.process C.way D.method
5.A.unique B.common C.clear D.appropriate
6.A.providing B.connecting C.equipping D.feeding
7.A.Actually B.Gradually C.Consequently D.Eventually
8.A.save B.devote C.spend D.waste
9.A.argues B.lies C.guesses D.warns
10.A.chances B.choices C.affection D.presents
11.A.expressing B.hiding C.changing D.considering
12.A.puts down B.picks up C.worries about D.longs for
13.A.give B.need C.get D.challenge
14.A.bring about B.bring up C.bring out D.bring forward
15.A.differences B.understanding C.distances D.success
16.A.move B.fight C.reflect D.depend
17.A.rich B.happy C.relaxed D.lovely
18.A.need B.gain C.give D.deserve
19.A.rather than B.more than C.less than D.better than
20.A.wealthy B.rare C.material D.extra
One of the best aspects of travel is in discovery. Whether you're burying yourself in a new culture or wandering the streets of a foreign city, you're finding new things to see and experience. Part of that discovery is in what you learn about yourself. 1..
Here are some of those ways:
◆ 2.
Travel means new foods, cultures and places to explore. Try speaking that new language or eat a new kind of food you never knew existed. When you’re thrown outside of your normal circumstances, you’ll discover more about who you are and what you're like.
◆ The chance to reinvent yourself
At home, people can see you a certain way and classify you into a personality type that can be hard to escape. 3.. You're free to break away from how people normally see you and reinvent yourself.
◆ Building confidence
You've just traveled across a country, tried a new language and bargained over prices in a market. They're all things you didn't know you could do before, but you dug up a new-found sense of adventure and somehow made it work. 4.. And the more challenges you take on, the more sure of yourself you become.
◆ Choices and organizing skills
What's the best route to take so I see all the major attractions? What's the best way to get to the next city and back so I don't miss my flight? How should I organize my itinerary (行程)? 5.. You have to organize your trip so that you have a place to stay and transportation to and from certain destinations.
A.With travel, come challenges
B.Travel is about making choices
C.Forcing you out of your comfort zone
D.Trips don't always go according to plan
E.Having time to reflect on your life
F.Travel can give you a chance to explore other sides of your personality
G.Like most experiences, travel can change you in ways you might never have expected
With their long histories, the United Kingdom’s universities have earned reputation and become favored destinations for many international students. However, while many people dream of attending these institutions, a growing number of the schools have fallen victim to cheating scandals (丑闻) in recent years.
The Telegraph reported that investigations for cheating have risen at Leeds University, from 127 in 2014/15 to 516 last year. Over the same period, cases at Queen Mary University of London increased from 104 to 248, and Nottingham University tripled to 514.
The increase has been linked to the rise of essay mills (论文作坊). These are companies that, for a fee, provide original essays, written by real people, for specific university assignments. Widely advertised on social media, these essay mills target those who struggle with their university workloads.
Even though many students have the ability to complete work on their own, it is believed that the pressure of too many deadlines and a lack of discipline encourage them to use essay mills.
In response, many universities have introduced new measures, such as oral exams to test students’ knowledge of assignments and subject areas. New software is also helping catch cheaters. Currently, most UK universities use Turnitin to check assignments for plagiarism (剽窃). Now it is being used to analyze students’ natural writing styles. This way, it may detect abnormal changes in their written assignments.
Despite the risks, essay mills seem like an easy ticket to a degree. However, a majority do not deliver the A+ essays they promise, and students are vulnerable to being cheated and blackmail (敲诈). According to the BBC, multiple Coventry University students were blackmailed up to $5,000 (35,190 yuan) after using an essay-writing service last year.
A Nottingham University spokesman told the Guardian, “The best way to deal with essay mills is for the government to legislate (立法) against them and block their webpages at a national level.”
Currently, these sites are legal in the UK, but other countries, including New Zealand and Australia, have banned them altogether. Students in Australia could even face two years in jail and a $210,000 fine if found guilty of cheating.
1.Why do many students turn to essay mills, according to the writer?
A.Because they want to pay for top marks.
B.Because essay mills are popular on social media.
C.Because they find college work is too difficult.
D.Because they have heavy workloads and they are undisciplined.
2.The underlined word “vulnerable” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to “_______”.
A.knowing little about something
B.paying close attention to something
C.well prepared for something
D.likely to suffer from something
3.What is the best way to deal with essay mills, according to the Nottingham University spokesman?
A.The government should make laws to ban them.
B.Students found guilty of cheating should be put into jail.
C.Teachers should change the way of testing their students.
D.Universities should better manage their campus websites.
4.What is the main idea of the article?
A.The increase of cheating at UK universities.
B.The rise of essay mills in the UK.
C.Pressures faced by students in the UK.
D.Attitudes toward plagiarism in different countries.
Did you know that most humans are able to recognize about 1 million different colors? Well, some people can’t recognize this many because of something called colorblindness. If someone is colorblind, that means they can’t see as many colors as others – or, in rare cases, can’t see any colors at all.
Thankfully, special glasses have already been made to help fix some types of colorblindness. Now, according to new research published in Optics Letters, scientists have brought this solution one step further.
Sharon Karepov and Tal Ellenbogen, engineers from Tel Aviv University in Israel, have found a way to apply this technology to contact lenses. This new method is so groundbreaking because it can be customized to fix many different kinds of visual disadvantages.
People are able to see colors because of how the eye is structured. At the back of our eyes, there are three different kinds of cone-shaped (圆锥形的) cells that absorb light waves. When light waves are absorbed, the cells send a message to the brain for the image to be processed.
If something is wrong with these cone-shaped cells, this can cause problems when the brain processes the image. One of the most common types of colorblindness is red-green colorblindness. People who have this specific type of visual disadvantage have difficulty telling apart the colors red and green.
“Problems with distinguishing red from green interrupt simple daily routines such as deciding whether a banana is ripe,” Karepov explained.
Karepov also stressed the importance of applying this finding to create special contact lenses instead of relying on color-correcting glasses.
“Glasses based on this correction concept are commercially available, however, they are significantly heavier than contact lenses.” Karepov continued. “Our contact lenses … create a customized, simple and durable way to correct these disadvantages.”
1.Why is Sharon Karepov and Tal Ellenbogen’s finding groundbreaking?
A.They found an effective method to cure colorblindness.
B.They found what causes different kinds of visual disadvantages.
C.They developed special contact lenses to fix many visual disadvantages.
D.They developed glasses to fix all visual disadvantages.
2.What is the cause of colorblindness, according to the text?
A.Only one type of cone-shaped cell exists in the eyes.
B.Cone-shaped cells cannot process images received.
C.The brain fails to absorb light waves.
D.Cone-shaped cells in the eyes don’t work properly.
3.Why are the customized contact lenses better than special glasses, according to Karepov?
A.They are easier to make. B.They are cheaper.
C.They are simpler and more durable. D.They can help correct colorblindness.
4.Which of the following can be the best title?
A.Special Contact Lenses—Seeing the World’s Full Beauty
B.Glasses to Correct Colorblindness
C.Colorblindness Preventing People from Seeing Colors
D.Colorblindness—Something is Wrong with Cone-shaped Cells
I entered a cabinetmaking(家具制造)program. I didn’t think I would be good at making furniture. I’m not handy. Nobody in my family is.
I had great teachers, but making furniture is hard. There are so many steps and something can go wrong at each one. I couldn’t even get organized. My toolbox always looked as if a hurricane had gone through it.
I didn’t fully know what I was committed to in the beginning, but I kept attending class. I tried to be wrapped up in math. The projects forced me to solve new kinds of problems. My brain started to build new connections. Working in this new physical manner and giving it 100 percent of my effort had huge benefits for my mental health. I got over my fear of embarrassment and asked for help at every opportunity.
I spent that year truly learning. True learning is the most challenging experience, especially for those of us who are learning a new set of skills. I could understand exactly what was wrong with the furniture I made, but I couldn’t fix those problems. And yet, I kept trying. I failed again and again, until I learned to fail better.
In the end, I finished the program—with honors, no less! My grades were helped by my good written work. I also learned how to use tools. Having to constantly push myself to step outside my comfort zone has made me a more well-rounded person.
Maybe most importantly, the school gave me a more realistic idea of my strengths and limitations. I’m stronger than I thought!
1.What can we know about the author from the first two paragraphs?
A.She had a gift for making furniture. B.She lacked practical skills.
C.She disliked making everything in a mess. D.She went to the program to surprise her family.
2.What was the biggest challenge the author encountered?
A.Physical condition. B.Psychological preparation.
C.To know how to correct mistakes. D.Not being good at math.
3.What do you think of the author?
A.Hard-working and determined. B.Confident and efficient.
C.Cooperative and creative. D.Modest and talented.
4.What did the author benefit most from the project?
A.She won an award for good writing. B.She became stronger both mentally and physically.
C.She became skillful at making furniture. D.She had a better understanding of herself.
