Thanksgiving Day was drawing near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun_______—to draw a picture of something for which they were_______
Most of the class would_______the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season, which, the teacher thought, would be the_______of most of her students' art. And they were.
But Douglas made a different kind of picture. He was the teacher's true child of misery, frail and unhappy. One could only guess the_______Douglas felt_______those sad eyes. When asked to draw the picture, he drew a_______. Nothing else.
His abstract image_______the attention of his_______.Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers________turkeys. Another________a police officer, because the police protect and care for people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God, for God feeds us. And the discussion went---until the teacher almost forgot the young________himself.
When the children had gone on to other assignments, she________at Douglas's desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and________,"It’s yours, teacher."
She recalled the________she had taken his hand and walked with him here and there.________had she said, "Take my hand, Douglas. We will go outside." Or, "Let me show you how to________your pencil." Or "Let’s do this together." Douglas was most thankful for the teacher's hand.
The story________more than thankfulness. It says something about teachers’ teaching and how much it________to the Douglases of the world. They might not always say thanks, but they will remember the hand that________out.
1.A.design B.approach C.challenge D.assignment
2.A.determined B.grateful C.proud D.impressed
3.A.instruct B.observe C.introduce D.paint
4.A.attempts B.characters C.subjects D.candidates
5.A.pain B.delight C.glory D.magic
6.A.over B.on C.behind D.along
7.A.man B.hand C.god D.turkey
8.A.attacked B.appealed C.withdrew D.caught
9.A.classmates B.competitors C.teachers D.roommates
10.A.measure B.kill C.raise D.secure
11.A.approved B.arranged C.ignored D.suggested
12.A.barrier B.artist C.writer D.applicant
13.A.paused B.stayed C.assisted D.persuaded
14.A.rejected B.laughed C.whispered D.shouted
15.A.dreams B.pressures C.stories D.times
16.A.How much B.What if C.How often D.How about
17.A.gather B.hold C.carry D.guide
18.A.speaks of B.fits in C.argues about D.looks into
19.A.symbolizes B.sounds C.annoys D.means
20.A.reaches B.points C.takes D.throws
Easy Ways to Give Yourself a Fresh Start
It doesn't need to be complicated or challenging to turn a fresh page on each new day.
Whenever we mark a new year — by turning the calendar, returning to school or celebrating a holiday — we are looking for a fresh start. 1. But how? Here are some easy ways to connect with that feeling of starting fresh, whether it’s a new year or simply a new day in our life.
2. This means you have realized what serves your life now and what can stay in your past. Or invest in a new pen and a new notebook. Having fresh supplies can stimulate even the common task of creating your to-do list.
Moreover, you can learn something new by opening a book you've been expecting to read, searching a question that's been on your mind, enrolling in a class that motivates your interest. Of course you can simply ask a friend for a fresh idea about an issue. 3.
Take a break from technology — for an hour, a day, or a week. 4. You should be able to put some space between yourself and digital routines.
One reason we sometimes struggle to start fresh is that you get stuck reflecting on worrisome thoughts about the past, the future or even the present. 5. Allow these thoughts into your day only at a brief (30 minutes or less), specific time. The rest of the time, focus on what you are doing that's new and positive.
How do you give yourself that “fresh start” feeling?
A.Electronic Products might not be serving you best.
B.Newness or the freshness can guide us on a positive path.
C.Limit your daily “worry time” and make an appointment with yourself.
D.All of us enjoy newness, but what is it that leads to a sense of freshness?
E.Realizing your past mistakes, you should move forward with enthusiasm.
F.Increasing your knowledge on any topic means taking your mind into a fresh area.
G.First, even letting go of a single box or bag of items can give you a refreshing sense.
Every year, little black-and-white birds called pied flycatchers(斑姬鹟) travel from sub-Saharan Africa to northern Europe to feast on caterpillars (毛毛虫), claim a nest, and have babies. And they fly back a few months later. But recently, some flycatchers have arrived only to find their nesting sites occupied by great tits (大山雀). And those birds don’t just chase flycatchers away—they attack them, kill them, and eat their brains.
Great tits live in European forests all year round. Flycatchers are regular vacationers. Since the 1980s, flycatchers’ reproductive season has been inching up earlier in the month of April. Warm spring temperatures have caused caterpillar populations to boom. To adapt to that, flycatchers arrive a bit earlier, too. That won’t be too big a problem. But now, tits delay their breeding period a bit in April, so they overlap with the flycatchers, and violence begins.
Moreover, there’s limited nesting space in many of these birds’ favorite forests—the trees can be quite young and have very few tree holes where birds can nest. Volunteers and academics have placed nestboxes to help. But with climate change, birds’ breeding schedules getting closer, there aren’t enough nestboxes to go around. Unfriendly hosts—the tits, eat their brains.
“Great tits are superior competitors when it comes down to a fight, ” said Jelmer Samplonius, lead author of a study. “People see it as a cute garden bird, but some of them have a real anger management problem. ” Luckily, the murdered birds were often surplus males that arrive late. The deaths haven’t had a big impact on the population because those late males probably won’t have had babies anyway. But there’s always the chance that it could get worse.
“Whatever the flycatcher population’s future may hold, ” Samplonius said, “this is a good example of why it’s essential to study how climate change can shift animals’ schedules, often with deadly consequences. Understanding different responses to changing environments will be an important part of species assessments in coming years.”
1.What has happened to pied flycatchers recently?
A.They couldn’t get enough food.
B.Their nesting sites were destroyed.
C.Their babies have become less likely to survive.
D.Their lives have been threatened by another kind of birds.
2.Which is one of the causes of the violence between pied flycatchers and great tits?
A.The change in migration of flycatchers. B.The delay of flycatchers’ reproductive season,
C.The reduction of both birds’ favorite forests. D.The two birds’ sharing the same food.
3.Which can best describe great tits?
A.Ugly. B.Smart. C.Aggressive. D.Lazy.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.A terrible bird murder B.Birds’ struggle to hunt
C.Birds’ influence on climate change D.The future of mixed species communities
Sleep，considered as a luxury by many, is essential for a person’s well-being. Researchers have found that insufficient sleep and tiredness increase a person’s risk of developing severe medical conditions, such as obesity, high blood sugar levels and heart disease. Now, a new study has found that getting sufficient sleep is also the key to improving academic performance.
Jeffery Gross, the university science professor who led the research, was not trying to find the relationship between sleep and grades when he handed out smartwatches to the 100 students in his chemistry class. Instead, the professor hoped the wrist-worn devices, which track a person’s physical activity, would show a connection between exercise and academic achievements.
While Gross’s data showed no relationship between these two factors, the study found something surprising. As the researchers were analyzing the data, they noticed a linear(线性的)relationship between the average amount of sleep the students got and their results in the course’s 11 quizzes, three midterm tests and the final exam.
Even more interesting, it was not sufficient for students to just head to bed early the night before the test. Instead, it’s the sleep you get during the days when learning is happening that matters most.
When students went to bed each night was similarly important. Those went to bed in the early hours of the morning performed poorly, even if the total sleep time was the same as higher-performing student. “When you go to bed matters,” Gross says. “If you go to bed at 10, or 12, or 1 at night, and sleep for 7 hours, your performance is the same. But if you go to bed after 2, your performance started to go down even if you get the same seven hours’ sleep. So, quantity isn’t everything.”
Perhaps the most interesting was the huge impact that small differences in sleep patterns had on the students’ grades. The overall course grades of students averaging six and a half hours of sleep each night were 25% lower than students who averaged just one hour more sleep. Similarly, students who varied their bedtime by even one hour each night had grades that dropped 45% below those with more regular bedtime.
Who knows getting straight A’s just required some extra sleep?
1.Based on his original objective, which best describes Professor Gross’s research findings?
A.Accidental B.Complete
C.Convincing D.Doubtful
2.Who were the people taking part in the study?
A.Middle school chemistry students
B.Professor Gross’s own students
C.Volunteers from different universities
D.University student athletes
3.How did Professor Gross’s team measure students’ academic performance?
A.Making the students wear special watches
B.Using students’ university entrance test results
C.Giving the students regular quizzes after class
D.Using the students’ normal test and quiz grades
4.Based on the study’s findings, who is likely to perform best academically?
A.A student who has a good night’s sleep the night before an important test.
B.A student whose normal bedtime varies between 9 p.m. and 12 p.m.
C.A student who sleeps from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day.
D.A student who sleeps for a total of 7 hours each night.
On an afternoon in 2014 in Denmark, Decan Andersen saw a baby red squirrel fall from his apartment building and land in the middle of his garden, injured and bleeding. Although concerned, Andersen left the squirrel alone and went inside, thinking that the mother would come and rescue him.
But when that didn’t happen, the 37-year-old former television salesman knew what he had to do. He brought the furry baby back and got in touch with wildlife officials for advice. And while he was on the phone, a strange thing happened: His cat Coco’s motherly instincts took hold, washing him with his tongue and warming him up. Later, after a veterinarian (兽医) had dressed the squirrel’s wounds, Andersen made his new housemate some tiny sweaters and socks to prevent him from scratching his wounds.
Then Tintin---named after the movie his children were watching, “The Adventure of Tintin”---got so used to his cozy home life during his convalescence that the family soon realized they couldn’t release him back into the wild, especially since he now had no fear of cats! Feeding him kitten milk from a bottle until Tintin grew strong enough to crack nuts on his own, Andersen received special permission from Danish Wildlife Preservation officials to keep the red squirrel, since they are considered endangered in Denmark and several other countries.
Using a little harness(甲胄) and leash(安全绳) to protect Tintin from the dogs, eagles and cats that weren’t as tolerant of squirrels as Coco, Andersen began taking his little pet everywhere he went, documenting their adventures on Facebook and Instagram, where they now have almost 40, 0000 followers.
“With so much negativity in the world, I thought it could help lift people up,” Andersen said. “Most people who meet us feel amazed and want to know more. He makes people forget about their troubles for a moment so they can laugh and smile. He’s certainly brought light and enjoyment to me and my family. We have a special bond and are pretty much together, 24/7. ”
1.How did Andersen respond to the injured squirrel at first?
A.He left it as it was
B.He called wildlife officials
C.He went to rescue it right away
D.He hid himself in his apartment
2.What does the underlined word “convalescence” in paragraph 3 mean?
A.Immigration B.Catastrophe
C.Recovery D.Survival
3.What can be inferred about red squirrel in the passage?
A.They are uncommon in Denmark
B.It is generally forbidden to keep them
C.It is hard for them to coexist with humans
D.They can keep on good terms with wildcats
4.What does Andersen think of the relationship with Tintin?
A.It is annoying B.It is discouraging
C.It is solid D.It is uplifting
New Scientist Live
What is it?
New Scientist Live is the world’s greatest science festival, which has won gold in the “event of the year” category at the British Media Awards three years in a row. This year’s event will run at the ExCel Center in London from 10 to 13 October, featuring over 140 talks and a huge range of interactive experiences, workshops and performances.
Who are the speakers?
The main stage lineup features such amazing names as Lee Berger, the discoverer of our ancient human relatives Homo Naledi, biological anthropologist Alice Roberts, the Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, and Christiana Figueres, who led the United Nations climate negotiations from 2012 to 2016.
Then there are 5 more stages with different themes: universe, humans, Earth, technology and engineering. Here you’ll find architect Roma Agrawal, geneticist Giles Yeo, ocean explorer Jon Copley, engineer Mark Miodownik and many more. Plus, you can see TV stars like Konnie Huq and Maddie Moate on our performance stage.
What else is going on?
On top of that, there’re over 150 exhibits including a virtual reality roller coaster, rocket building, the operating room of the future, and a huge moon installation.
Can school groups come?
Absolutely—we have schools’ tickets available on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 October. On Thursday we have a special schools’ program with dedicated content around the curriculum.
Can I come just for the evening?
Yes—On Friday 11 October, we’re open until 9 pm. Friday night tickets allow access from 5 pm onwards for drinks, discussions and after-dark entertainment, like Julia Shaw’s talk on the science of evil.
How can I get tickets?
Head over to the New Scientist Live website—you’ll find much more information there about what’s on and how to get there.
1.How can you benefit from the event?
A.Make friends with many visitors present
B.Have chances to interview many famous stars
C.Learn about different fields of scientific knowledge
D.Develop special habits of making scientific discoveries
2.What do you have to do to attend the festival?
A.Buy a ticket online
B.Join a school group
C.Make an appointment with the speakers
D.Arrive at the ExCel Center in advance
3.When can you listen to Julia Shaw’s presentation?
A.On Oct 10 B.On Oct 11
C.On Oct 12 D.On Oct 13
