Monthly Talks at London Canal Museum Our...

    Sally had anxiety disorder trouble that made her fail to speak in social situations. I’m a nurse and use Bella to help children in my community, to bring them comfort and confidence the way only a dog can. I thought back to the day when I’d first brought Bella to the school.

That morning in January, her teacher led us to a room. “Sally hasn’t spoken outside her home in two years,” she told me. “Her parents have taken her to doctors, but nothing has worked.” A little girl stood shyly just inside the doorway. Her eyes brightened when she noticed my dog.

“This is Bella.” I said. “She does tricks. Would you like to see?”

Sally nodded. I motioned with my hand. Bella lay down and then rolled over. Sally’s eyes lit up. I showed Sally the hand signals for various commands. She was a natural with Bella, maybe because she couldn’t rely on the spoken word herself. Bella sensed that and responded. Soon Sally was able to put Bella through her paces all on her own. I could see her standing taller, more sure of herself each time we met.

One morning in March when she was working with Bella, I heard a tiny voice, barely a whisper, “Good dog.” Sally didn't take her eyes off Bella, but I wanted to jump for joy. Sally spoke a little more each week, only to Bella at first, but then to me. Later, she started giving voice commands with her hand signals and her confidence rose.

Now, five-year-old Sally stood nervously in front of her kindergarten class, with Bella, my trained dog, sitting calmly by her side. All the eyes of her classmates were focused on Sally. They were waiting for her to speak. It was June—only one week of school left—but they had never heard her voice. Not once.

假定你是高中生李华，你的英国朋友Peter希望了解中药(traditional Chinese medicine)，请给他写一封邮件。

内容包括：

1. 中药的历史与种类；

2. 用途与好处。

注意:

1. 词数80左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

Dear Peter,

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

    During the day, I heard something happened at the Twin Towers. But nobody seemed to really _________ what was going on. Not until school let out did I realize something might be _________. My dad usually _________ me up, but he wasn’t there. My dad was a firefighter. His _________ was less than a mile from the Twin Towers.

The Twin Towers had been attacked, and my dad had gone there to _________. I remember only bits and pieces, like my mom calling hospitals all over New York City, _________ to find my dad. Hopelessly, she told me that he was probably _________.

We didn’t learn exactly what had happened to him until much later. We _________ that he had sent a radio message at 9:56 am, when he and hundreds of other _________firefighters were in the burning South Tower, saving as many people as possible. Just three minutes later, the tower __________.

17 years later, I still __________ my dad every day. He instilled(灌输) in me a __________ for my community, and his __________ encouraged me to volunteer.

Looking back, I don’t think only of the sad __________. I also remember the great acts of people, __________ my dad, proud to call him my hero.

1.A.wonder B.care C.know D.anticipate

2.A.wrong B.ambitious C.different D.strange

3.A.stimulate B.picked C.recall D.shift

4.A.objective B.region C.mission D.station

5.A.help B.assign C.cease D.cite

6.A.hoping B.promising C.requiring D.refusing

7.A.significant B.gone C.chosen D.mistaken

8.A.made sense B.made sure C.picked out D.found out

9.A.serious B.courageous C.excited D.surprised

10.A.showed up B.shut up C.fell down D.broke down

11.A.protest B.miss C.worry D.quote

12.A.profile B.passion C.love D.resolution

13.A.carefulness B.patience C.wisdom D.bravery

14.A.event B.lesson C.option D.change

15.A.apparently B.occasionally C.literally D.especially

The Art of Slow Reading

If you are reading this article in print, chances are that you will only get through half of what I have written. And if you are reading this online, you may not even finish a fifth. 1. They suggest that many of us no longer have the concentration to read articles through to their conclusion.

So are we getting stupider? Actually, our online habits are damaging the mental power we need to process and understand textual information. Round-the-clock news makes us read from one article to the next without necessarily engaging fully with any of the content. Our reading is frequently interrupted by the noise of the latest email and we are now absorbing short bursts of words on Twitter and Facebook more regularly than longer texts. 2. But we are gradually forgetting how to sit back, think carefully, and relate all the facts to each other.

3. A desperate bunch of academics want us to take our time while reading, and re-reading. They ask us to switch off our computers every so often and rediscover both the joy of personal engagement with printed texts, and the ability to process them fully. What's to be done then? Most slow readers realize that total rejection of the web is extremely unrealistic. They feel that getaway from technology for a while is the answer. 4. Personally, I'm not sure whether I could ever go offline for long. Even while writing this article, I am switching constantly between sites, skimming too often, absorbing too little. Internet reading has become too rooted in my daily life for me to change. I read essays and articles not in hard copy but as PDFs. I suspect that many readers are in a similar position. 5. You can download a computer application called Freedom, which allows you to read in peace by cutting off your Internet connection. Or if you want to avoid being disturbed by the Internet, you could always download offline reader Instapaper for your iPhone. If you're still reading my article, that is slow reading.

A.The Internet is probably part of the problem.

B.Now some campaigns are advocating slow reading.

C.These are the two findings from the recent research projects.

D.But if you just occasionally want to read more slowly, help is at hand.

E.Some of them have suggested turning their computers off for one day a week.

F.Slow reading can help connect a reader to neighborhood and become popular.

G.Because of the Internet, we have become very good at collecting information.

People aren't walking any more—if they can figure out a way to avoid it.

I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn't in any hurry, either. I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.

It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune(免疫的), for I was born in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day's walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as a sign of strength and skill. A well­known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrhams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercise. A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly and walking is an ideal form of exercise---the most familiar and natural of all.

It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flowers, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world. He can’t learn in a car.

The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don't dare to approach Nature any more. To them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat; to them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

I say that the green of forests is the mind's best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.

1.What is the national sickness?

A.Walking too much.

B.Travelling too much.

C.Driving cars too much.

D.Climbing stairs too much.

2.What was life like when the author was young?

A.People usually went around on foot.

B.People often walked 25 miles a day.

C.People used to walk ten hours every day.

D.People considered a ten­hour walk as a hardship.

3.What is compared to “a steel river” in Paragraph 6?

A.A queue of cars.

B.A ray of traffic light.

C.A flash of lightning.

D.A stream of people.

4.What is the author's intention of writing this passage?

A.To tell people to reflect more on life.

B.To encourage people to return to walking.

C.To advise people to do outdoor activities.

D.To recommend people to give up driving.