My husband and I had tried for many years to have children, but it just never happened. So we applied to be foster parents(养父母). We decided we should start with an older child for a number of reasons. Since we both worked, child care might be a problem. Our dog Corby might be a bit too energetic for a young child.1.We sat back and prepared to wait for the few months they thought it might take to get a school-age child to pass——which was why we were at a loss when the agency called us within weeks, just before Christmas, and asked if we would take Kaleb, a two-and-a-half-year-old boy, for a few months.
This wasn't what we had discussed a few weeks before.2.It was such short notice. We had made holiday plans and most of all, the boy was toddler(初学走路的孩子)! We went back and forth, and in the end, we just couldn't say no.
The day was set for Kaleb to arrive. We went outside to greet our little guest. But before we could even reach the child, I heard a noise from behind me.3.I gasped(因惊异吸气). Corby would frighten Kaleb——probably even knock him down.
Corby reached Kaleb before either of us could grab her. She hounded up to the boy and immediately began licking his face with joy.4.. His face light up with excitement, he cried, "Can this be my dog?
Kaleb came to stay those few months.5.Yes, we’adopted Kaleb. He became our son, and Corby…well, she couldn’t have been happier. She turned out to be Kaleb’s dog, after all.
A.Privately, I was full of doubts.
B.There were so many difficulties,
C.Eight and a half years later, he is still with us.
D.Turning, I saw Corby heading straight for the little boy.
E.In our hurry, we must not have closed the door completely.
F.And honestly,we were a little nervous about taking on a baby.
G.In response, this little boy threw his arms around the dog’s neck and turned toward us.
On April 12th, two African American men walked into a Starbucks in Philadelphia, and sat down to wait for their friend.Because they had not bought anything, an employee asked them to leave.When the two men refused, the employee called the police, and in minutes, they were arrested.It was not until later that day that they were let go.
The video of this incident posted on Twitter went viral.People across the US were outraged.Unfortunately, these practices are not uncommon today.This incident is just one example of implicit bias(内隐偏见), something that is a part of human nature.
Most of the time, implicit bias refers to people showing negative associations towards people of a different race.Starting from a young age, these feelings develop unconsciously and naturally, because our brain draws associations based on our background, cultural environment and personal experiences.
Implicit bias affects our everyday speech and actions and these unconscious decisions can be harmful to our society.There have been many examples of blacks unfairly killed by white officers, such as in the cases of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, which happened only two years ago.Implicit bias affects the justice system, our medical system where studies show minorities are less likely to be taken seriously, and job placements where white males are likely to be judged as more capable compared to women and other minorities.
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson and the police have publicly apologized to the two men, and Starbucks will be holding an anti-bias training meeting on May 29th. All Starbucks stores will be closed on that day.However, critics and experts have said that such training is done "for show" rather than to promote change.
To address this issue, many experts agree that what the world needs is a long-term program that targets the root cause.It also starts with promoting diversity in children from an early age when they have friends and playmates from different races and cultures.
1.What does the underlined word "outraged" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A.Very angry. B.Quite curious. C.Very delighted. D.Quite puzzled.
2.What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?
A.The nature of implicit bias. B.The examples of implicit bias.
C.The basic concepts of implicit bias. D.The negative effects of implicit bias.
3.What might experts think of the anti-bias training meeting?
A.It will be a shame for Starbucks B.lt will be a meaningless practice.
C.It will raise the police's reputation. D.lt will raise public awareness of anti-bias.
4.What might many experts agree with?
A.Starbucks should be closed.
B.Implicit bias should be ignored.
C.Children should be taught to avoid implicit bias.
D.Implicit bias should be dealt with by the policemen.
A lot of us lose life’s tough situations by mounting a frontal attack when a touch of humor might well enable us to chalk up a win. Consider the case of a young friend of mine, Sam, who hit a traffic jam on the way to work. Although there was a good reason for Sam’s constant lateness-serious illness at home, he decided that this by-now-familiar excuse wouldn’t work any longer. His boss was probably already pacing up and down with a dismissal speech prepared.
He was. Sam entered the office at 9:35. The place was as quiet as a locker room. Sam’s boss approached him. Suddenly, Sam reached out his hand. “How do you do!” he said. “I’ m Sam Maynard. I’m applying for a job which I understand became available just 35 minutes ago. Does the early bird get the worm?” The room exploded in laughter. The boss smiled and walked back to his office. Sam Maynard saved his job with the only tool that could win a laugh.
Here is another example. An English hostess was giving a formal dinner for eight distinguished guests. She had asked her son to serve a large roast turkey. The boy only succeeded in dropping the bird onto the dining-room floor. Moving only her head, the hostess smiled at her son, “No harm, Daniel,” she said, “just pick it up and take it back to the kitchen”, she said clearly so he would think about what she was saying and bring in the other one. Some humorous words changed the dinner from a red-faced embarrassment to a ton of fun.
Humor is a most effective, yet frequently neglected(忽视)means of handling the difficult situations in our lives. It can be used for making up differences, saying sorry, saying no, criticizing, and getting the other person to do what you want without his losing face. Also, many believe that comedians on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance than people are in any other places.
Of course, humor is often more than a laughing matter. In its potent guises(有效的伪装), it has a Trojan-horse(特洛伊木马)nature: no one goes on guard against a laugh; we let it in because it looks like a little wooden toy. Once inside, however, it can turn a city to reform, to rebellion(反抗), to resistance.
1.What can the underlined words “chalk up” in Paragraph 1 be replaced by?
A.pay for B.respond to C.think of recording D.succeed in getting
2.How does the author explain the power of humor?
A.By using examples. B.By making comparisons.
C.By introducing study results. D.By setting clown general rules.
3.What does the author mean by mentioning humor’s Trojan-horse nature?
A.It is but a toy. B.It catches us unaware.
C.We usually resist its effect. D.We seldom really understand it.
At the office that day, Martha was left to keep her eyes open until after the lunch hour. Then Mr Max Cohen brought her a document to copy. She was so anxious she had to start afresh three times. And when he came to fetch it, all that had been achieved were the words “Memorandum of an Agreement of Sale” typed across the top of the sheet. She shrank under his impatient assurance that it did not matter in the least, and she must take her time. Her fingers were heavy and trembling, and her head was thick. To type two pages of his small neat writing into something clean and pleasant to look at seemed to her, just then, an impossibly difficult task. He went home without coming to her desk again, and she decided she would come early next morning and do it before anyone else arrived.
Mrs Buss, on her way out, asked, “Have you got any certificates?” Martha said no. She had learned to type at home. Mrs Buss said nothing, but merely nodded absent-mindedly, for her eyes were on the elegant Mrs Jasper Cohen. Martha could barely see where she was going as she left the office. What she said to herself was, “I won’t spend the rest of my life typing this stupid jargon”.
She then went into the building of the ZambesiNews. She was going to see if Mr Spur, an old journalist whom she had known as a child, could offer her any kind of position. She was in the building about half an hour, and when she came out, her face was hot with embarrassment. It had been so painful she could not bear to remember what had happened. What she must remember was that she had no qualifications at all.
1.Why did Martha find her first day at the office difficult?
A.She was too nervous to think. B.Mr Cohen was not easy to please.
C.The task given to her was very difficult. D.She was not used to working under pressure.
2.By the end of the day, which of the following was true of Martha?
A.She had decided to work overtime. B.She hadn't finished her typing work.
C.She hadn't thought she would be blamed. D.She knew Mr Cohen was disappointed in her.
3.What might be Mrs Buss's attitude towards Martha?
A.She seemed eager to help her.
B.She seemed uninterested in her.
C.She seemed to have taken a dislike to her.
D.She seemed concerned about her lack of qualifications.
假定你是中学生李华，一个来自英国的中学生代表团在你学校举办英语文化节（English Culture Festival）期间来访，并受邀观看英文喜剧表演。请根据一下内容要点写一篇欢迎词。
1.表示对客人的欢迎：
2.介绍此项活动（如活动目的、内容等）
3.表达对客人的祝愿。
注意：1.词数100左右。文章的开头已为你写好，不计入总词数；
2.内容可适当发挥，注意行文连贯；
Dear British guests,
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(
)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Dear Mr. Zhang,
Known that our school is going to set up elective (选修的) English courses, I'd like to give some advices. English Visual-Audio-Oral Course is a good choice. Most of us are interested at English videos and songs, that provide us with great images and beautiful music to listen to. As result, we can enjoy some local customs and singing English songs with joy. In addition, we need to improve our oral English. When we are always learning English, we may not be able to make a fluent speech. We can't easy communicate with others like native speakers. That is why I suggested taking a Speech Course. I'll be glad that if you can consider my suggestions.
Yours
Li Hua
