Andrea Yoch loves her adult sons, but would also love to not live with them. This is especially true in the 2, 200-square-foot rental in St. Paul, where she and her husband moved after the boys left their childhood home (a 5,000-square-foot property with a pool). But now Ben, 20, and Ryan, 23 are crammed with their parents in a house where a movie playing in one room can be heard in almost any other.
After her sons showed up due to the lockdown after the Coronavirus crisis struck- Ben from Boston, where he is a college student, and Ryan from New York, where he was starting out as an assistant advertising account executive- Ms. Yoch rushed to set up temporary offices in a bedroom and a basement that now also functions as a super crowded gym. "I would give anything for them to restart their lives, "she said.
As the pandemic （流 行 病） continues, Wall Street bankers, Uber drivers, academics, artists and many other adults have given up their independent lives and migrated home. Some fled heavily populated cities for the rural suburban houses where they grew up and the promise of home-cooked meals and free laundry. Others ended up in downsized spaces designed for empty nesters or in apartments already shared with other family members, such as grandparents or teenage siblings.
Parents caught by the increase of layoffs and canceled contracts found themselves feeding grown children who were in the same position. Mothers who had grown accustomed to freedom were suddenly expected to go back to cooking and cleaning.
“Some parents see this as a welcome surprise, but it can also add a lot of financial stress," said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at the investment bank Stifel. You can't assume that parents are necessarily in a better-off position than their adult children: a lot of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and don’t have enough savings to accommodate extra people living in their households.”
1.Which word best describes Ms. Yoch's life with her two sons?
A.Exciting B.Inconvenient
C.Satisfying D.Disappointing
2.What does the underlined phrase "empty nesters" in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A.People without jobs.
B.Children staying abroad.
C.Grown-ups with no houses.
D.Parents with no children around.
3.Why do some parents unwillingly welcome their children back home?
A.Because they want their kids to be independent.
B.Because they don’t like to do all the laundry.
C.Because they are in no better financial situation.
D.Because they have sold or rented out their houses
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.The generation gap between parents and their children.
B.The life young people used to live before going to college.
C.The parents' life being affected by children in the lockdown
D.The economic crisis brought about by the deadly coronavirus.
Museums are cathedrals to science and understanding, but not all science museums are equal. The following 4 examples are all well worth visiting in the future.
The Natural History Museum in London
It is one of the best science museums in the world. With exceptional exhibits all wrapped up in a masterpiece of architectural design, this museum is a must visit for anyone who travels to London. As the name suggests the main theme of the museum is natural history and it features collections about animals, plants, human biology, minerals, and natural resources.
The Exploratorium in San Francisco
The museum, full of engaging and educational exhibits, truly lives up to its nickname" The Scientific Fun House" and offers a very different museum visiting experience. The design team challenged themselves to create a space to display the strangest, most amazing and most exciting aspects of science possible to amaze and inspire young minds. Its main mission is to create young scientists by letting them see just how exciting science can be.
The Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne
It is located in Lucerne in Switzerland and is filled with different modes of transport. Most of the exhibits are Swiss car models from the early 1900s onwards but it also includes planes, trains, shops, and some communication technology. It's not all about science and technology - there is also a large collection of the works of Hans Erni, a well-respected local artist.
The National Air and Space Museum in Washington D. C.
The museums in the world. Exhibits within the museum take you on a visual feast of a tour, from the first attempt to fly right through to the incredible achievements of the explorations into space.
1.Which city are you most likely to visit if you're into dinosaurs?
A.Lucerne B.San Francisco.
C.Washington D.London
2.Which museum offers works of an artist?
A.The Exploratorium in San Francisco.
B.The Natural History Museum in London.
C.The Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne.
D.The National Air and Space Museum in Washington D. C.
3.The Exploratorium in San Francisco is mainly designed to _________.
A.introduce the human flight history B.present the wonder of science
C.display different car models D.show great architecture worldwide
注意：1.词数不少于100
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
3.邮件开头和结尾已为你写好。
短文改错
Jane Eyre is a world-famous storybook, which is very popular to middle school students. The main character Jane is one of my favorite heroine. The book tells us not only about her hard life and about her efforts to gain her happiness. It were her perseverance and determination which helped her to get what she deserved at last. I liked Jane very much, and her story leaves a great effect on her life and study. I make up my mind work hard at my lessons. Meanwhile, I will try to make the full use of any opportunity to train my characters, especial my tolerance and perseverance to solve all of the difficulties in my life.
A Game of Light and Shade
It was a sunny day. I had gone up and down the tower when, outside the door at the foot, a blind man came toward me. In a moment, he disappeared up the stairs. I looked at the sign that said “To the Tower”, and decided to _______ him.
I caught up with him in the ticket office. There I was _______ to see the attendant (工作人员) selling him a ticket as if he were any other visitor. Then, with the ticket in one hand and _______ the wall with the fingers of the other, the blind man reached the stairs _________ to the hallway.
“That man is blind. What would a blind man climb up the tower for?” I said to the attendant, expecting him to show some _______, but he didn’t answer.
“Not the _______ certainly,” I said. “Perhaps he wants to _______.”
I bought a ticket and _______ up the stairs. The man hadn’t gone as far as I _______. A third of the way up the tower, I heard his ________. I slowed down and followed him at a little ________. He stopped from time to time. When he got to the balcony, I was a dozen steps ________. As I reached it, I saw him at the corner of the tower.
At last, after ten minutes, I ________ him. “Excuse me,” I said as politely as I could, “but I am curious to know ________ you came up.”
He smiled. “Coming up the stairs, you will notice how not just light but sun ________ into the tower through the narrow windows here and there, so that you can feel the ________ —the cool stairs suddenly become quite warm—and how up here behind the wall there is ________, but as soon as going opposite a window you can find the sun. There is no ________ so good as this for feeling the difference between light and shade. It is not the first time I’ve come up.”
The blind man seemed quite ________ just like a child who was enjoying his favorite games. He told me the truth that blind men can also find the beauty in life ________ they cannot enjoy the sights of the world.
1.A.accept B.follow C.control D.visit
2.A.frightened B.disappointed C.surprised D.embarrassed
3.A.touching B.climbing C.hitting D.covering
4.A.pointing B.attaching C.contributing D.leading
5.A.respect B.doubt C.concern D.sympathy
6.A.view B.test C.prize D.trick
7.A.kick B.jump C.relax D.escape
8.A.struggled B.explored C.wandered D.hurried
9.A.promised B.examined C.imagined D.confirmed
10.A.steps B.words C.secrets D.cheers
11.A.standard B.distance C.expense D.intention
12.A.ahead B.around C.outside D.behind
13.A.recognized B.surrounded C.approached D.witnessed
14.A.why B.how C.when D.whether
15.A.knocks B.pours C.slides D.bursts
16.A.trend B.reaction C.change D.honor
17.A.light B.space C.mess D.shade
18.A.place B.signal C.object D.period
19.A.nervous B.content C.curious D.patient
20.A.unless B.because C.once D.although
Once eating alone was just that: sitting down in a restaurant on one’s own and eating a meal. Everyone did it sometimes, and when they did so, 1. . To eat alone might suggest that you didn’t have any friends. There was a kind of shame attached to it.
Nowadays, however, there is more and more solitary (独自的) eating for pleasure. 2. . “Foodies”—people with a passionate interest in cuisines—do it because all they need is the chance to eat good food. They don’t want company or conversation, but only the joy of eating some special dish. Other people eat alone because it’s simply practical for them to do so. For instance, it’s estimated that nearly a third of all the customers of fast-food restaurants eat alone. They are served with their food fast， eat it fast and then leave fast. 3.
But the appeal of eating alone is quite different. 4. . For the hour or so that it takes to have a meal, they can forget all the pressures of their lives. They don’t have to deal with their family or job. They can relax and let their mind wander. Maybe they’ll bring a book, a newspaper to enjoy a quiet time.
David Annand, editor of Conde Nast Traveler magazine, who delights in dining alone, speaks of his pleasure in the “rhythm of a meal in a restaurant—its ebb and flow (人来人往), the periodic arrival and departure of the waiter”. 5. .
A.It’s an experience of freedom
B.they might be a little embarrassed
C.People choose to eat alone for various reasons
D.none of them would feel bad about themselves
E.Sometimes staying alone is quite cosy when you don’t work
F.This restaurant rhythm allows him to sit back, observe and think
G.It saves time if they have a meeting or a child to pick up from school
