For immigrant (移民) parents, passing on their native languages can be a struggle.
“You understand grandmother when she talks to you, don’t you, darling?” The girl nods. Johnson met her — and her Danish mother and English father — at the airport, on the way to Denmark. The parents were eager to discuss their experience of bringing up their daughter bilingually (双语) in London. It isn’t easy: the husband does not speak Danish, so the child hears the language only from her mother, who has come to accept that her daughter will reply in English.
This can be painful. Not sharing your first language with loved ones is hard. Not passing it on to your own child can be especially hard. Many immigrant parents feel a sense of failure; they are worried and share stories on parenting forums and social media, hoping to find the secret to bringing up bilingual children successfully.
Children are linguistic sponges (海绵), but this doesn’t mean that brief exposure (接触) is enough. They must hear a language quite a bit to understand it — and use it often to be able to speak it comfortably. This is mental work, and a child who doesn’t have a motive (动机) to speak a language — either a need or a strong desire — will often avoid it. Children’s brains are already busy enough.
So languages often fade and die when parents move abroad. Consider America. The foreign-born share of the population is 13.7%, and has never been lower than 4.7% (in 1970). And yet foreign-language speakers don’t increase: today just 25% of the population speaks another language. That’s because, usually, the first generation born in America is bilingual, and the second is monolingual (单语) — in English, the children often struggling to speak easily with their immigrant grandparents.
In the past, governments discouraged immigrant families from keeping their languages. These days, officials tend to be tolerant; some even see a valuable resource in immigrants’ language abilities. Yet many factors ensure that children still lose their parents’ languages, or never learn them.
1.Find out or write out one sentence to state the main idea of this passage.
2.The underlined word “it”, in Paragraph 2 refer to ________.
3.Restate (重新叙述) the main meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3.
4.The statistics in Paragraph 4 are used to support the idea that ________.
5.Find out one word to show the American officials’ present attitude toward immigrants keeping their languages.
The sixth mass extinction (灭绝) is not a worry for the future. It’s happening now, much faster than expected before, and it’s entirely our fault, according to a study published Monday.
Humans have already wiped out hundreds of species (物种) and pushed many more to the edge (边缘) of extinction through wildlife trade, pollution and habitat loss. 1.
Gerardo Ceballos Gonzalez, a professor of ecology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said approximately 173 species died out between 2001 and 2014, which is 25 times more extinct species than you would expect under the normal, background, extinction speed.
2. There have been five mass extinction (大规模灭绝) events in the Earth’s history, each wiping out between 70% and 95% of the species of plants, animals and microorganisms. The most recent, 66 million years ago, saw dinosaurs disappear.
The past events were caused by terrible changes of the environment The sixth mass extinction - the one happening now - is different: it’s caused by humans.
3. But it took millions of years to restore(恢复)the number of species.
When one species in the ecosystem disappears, it destroys the entire ecosystem and pushes other species toward destruction. 4.
Hundreds of species of frogs are suffering population decrease and extinctions because of the chytrid fungus (真菌) disease, which is sometimes spread into new areas by humans. Climate change is likely making it worse.
5. The researchers also said the current COVID-19 shows how the carelessness with which people treat the natural world can backfire badly.
The researchers said this data highlights the urgency (紧急) with which the world needs to act. Later this year, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is expected to set new global goals to fight the ongoing biodiversity (生物多样性) problem in the coming decades.
A.Mass extinctions are just as serious as their name suggests.
B.This interdependency (相互依存) of different species is bad news for humans, too.
C.But the speed at which species are dying out has quickened up in recent decades.
D.We humans are destroying the biodiversity of the world we evolved into.
E.Life on Earth has recovered after each of these events.
F.The researchers use amphibians (两栖动物) as an example of this phenomena.
G.Many species have evolved to deal with climate changes.
It was decades ago now, but it’s still one of the most memorable conversations of my life. On a long, slow train heading north, with nothing to do but watch the rain, the man sitting opposite began trying to talk to me. Like most young women who have learned the hard way to be careful of strangers, I was unfriendly. But curiosity took over when he said that he was just bored, and liked talking.
So that’s what we did for hours and hours as the man turned out to be quite talkative. When the train finally pulled in, we didn’t change numbers. However, I still think about it sometimes on long, boring journeys, before getting a phone out and scrolling silently like everyone else. It’s a rare person who can cheerfully break the social rule about not talking to strangers without any ill intention, but life would be more interesting if more of us knew how to do it.
And that’s why I can’t be as cynical as I probably should be about “Tube Chat” campaign launched to encourage Britons to talk to each other. All anyone is being asked to do is to start a conversation they wouldn’t otherwise have had — maybe with a friend from whom they’ve been apart or a neighbor they don’t know.
Obviously, it takes more than a bit of small talk over garden fences to unite strangers together. More people live alone than did so a generation ago, and the rise in freelancing（自由职业）means more of us work alone too. We socialize increasingly through screens, sending texts instead of bothering to call.
It’s true that the “Tube Chat” campaign of a few years back failed in its attempts to make Londoners talk to each other on public transport. But even city people who would normally die rather than make eye contact with strangers still happily gather in large numbers by the Thames for the New Year’s Eve fireworks. They would get a far better view at home on television — it’s not really about the fireworks, but about being part of something communal (公共的).
There’s no guarantee (保证) that this latest campaign to reconnect will succeed wherever others have failed. But if there ever a moment to stop social disbelief it may start a fire to warm a world that sometimes feels cold. Wherever my train friend is now, ________.
1.The author introduced her train friend to ________.
A.share her most memorable but boring journey
B.express her deep regret for losing touch with him
C.show that talking to strangers can add interest to life
D.explain why people are becoming indifferent
2.The underlined word “cynical” is closest in meaning to ________.
A.doubtful B.supportive C.confused D.disappointed
3.The example of Londoners gathering for the New Year’s Eve fireworks is used to show that ________.
A.“Tube Chat”, failed in its attempts to unite strangers together
B.it’s hard to break the social rule about not talking to strangers
C.people have a wish to be socially connected by nature
D.“Tube Chat” made some difference to reconnecting people
4.Which of the following best fits in the blank in the last paragraph?
A.I hope he’s still talking B.I hope he is still as interesting
C.I will miss him forever D.I will try to get in touch with him
5.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Keep our desire to connect. B.Avoid talking to strangers.
C.Show respect for social disbelief D.Socialize with our friends.
New climate-control jackets have helped people stay warm in subzero conditions, and even made cows comfortable enough to produce more milk. But it all began with an Indian graduate’s simple wish for clothing that could be used for both the cold Boston winters and heated MIT campus rooms. Now, the MIT graduated company has begun selling the jackets and other clothes that allow wearers to control their level of comfort without adding or removing layers. “Our products can go from 0°C to 100 °C in the push of a button,” said Vistakula, founder and CEO of the company. “We have four levels of heating and four levels of cooling that include low, medium, high and very high.”
When electricity runs through the junction where two different metals meet, it creates a temperature difference so that one side heats up and the other side cools down. Such heat-exchange equipment also needs fans to blow away the heat. “We were able to reduce the weight and get rid of the need for a fan,” Vistakula told Innovation News Daily. “That made it very suitable to put it into clothes.”
The current clothing runs on a range of laptop batteries (电池) that can support up to eight hours of hot or cold comfort. Aside from shoes, jackets and bike helmets, the startup also sells knee and elbow packs that provide hot or cold therapy (疗法) for aching joints. That’s just the beginning, as the 20-person team tries many new and different applications (应用) in the search to find what works. They have their eyes set on a “HaemoSave” application that could use freezing temperatures to control bleeding, and pain during medical emergencies. “That’s at a very early stage,” Vistakula explained.
“It works for superficial (表面的) wounds, but we have to do deeper wounds and see what happens.” In another case, tests with jackets adapted for cows succeeded in enabling the cows to produce more milk. But the current costs mean that farmers can’t afford such equipment - at least not until the company scales up its production and lowers the price.
It’s an ambitious goal, but their confidence is supported by the startup’s innovation (创新) philosophy. “Nature has been innovating for billions of years, so you just have to look in the right place,” Vistakula said. “If you go looking for answers, you’ll find them.”
1.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The technology were first designed to control climate.
B.The clothing is user-friendly with a simple push of button.
C.The clothing runs on batteries that can last at least eight hours.
D.The clothing needs fans to create a temperature difference.
2.According to Vistakula, next they have to test whether HaemoSave can ________.
A.be applied to reduce pain B.be used to control bleeding
C.function for deeper wounds D.make body temperatures low
3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A.the technology doesn’t work well in practice
B.the technology can be widely applied in life
C.the company will increase production to meet market needs
D.the company is now facing a very uncertain future
4.What can we conclude from what Vistakula said in the last paragraph?
A.We can probably innovate anything in nature.
B.Innovation should be encouraged to protect nature.
C.It has taken billions of years for nature to change.
D.We should innovate as it agrees with Nature.
Shakespeare’s Family Homes Pass
Enter the world of Shakespeare and see the places that inspired a genius, with entry to five historic properties (房产) in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The properties:
Shakespeare’s Birthplace --- Enjoy a multimedia exhibition and live theatre
Hall’s Croft ---Visit the traditional herb gardens and home of Shakespeare’s daughter
Susanna Anne Hathaway’s Cottage --- Hear readings of Shakespeare’s most popular sonnets Maty Arden’s Farm---Watch falconry displays and traditional crafts
Shakespeare’s New Place --- Walk in the footsteps of Shakespeare and explore where he wrote some of his most iconic works like his four tragedies (悲剧).
Price Adult (（18+）) £20
Child （3-17） £10 Under 3: free
Concession （优惠） £15 60+ and students （18-25） with ID
*Tickets are valid (有效) for one visit to each of your 5 properties in a 72 hour period,
*Please note that customers who are disabled can buy a concession ticket and then will be able to have one carer admitted free.
Opening dates and times
Winter Season: 4 November 2019 - 15 March 2020
Shakespeare’s BirthPlace: open Monday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm
Shakespeare’s New Place: open Monday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm
Anne Hathaway’s Cottage: open Monday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm
Halls Croft: open Monday - Sunday, 11am-4pm
Mary Arden’s Farm: closed
*Shakespeare’s BirthPlace, Shakespeare’s New Place, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage: open on the 24 December 10am-lpm, closed 25-26 December.
Spring/Summer/Autumn Season: 16 March 2020 - 1 November 2020
Shakespeare’s BirthPlace and Anne Hathaway’s Cottage: open Monday - Sunday, 9am - 5pm.
Shakespeare’s New Place, Hall’s Croft and Mary Arden’s Farm: open Monday - Sunday 10am-5pm
Closing times listed above are last entry.
Houses close 30 minutes after last entry.
1.According to the advertisement, visitors can ________.
A.hear Shakespeare’s sonnets at Shakespeare’s Birthplace
B.explore where he created some of his master works
C.visit the properties many times with the ticket in 72 hours
D.visit the 5 properties free of charge on Christmas Day
2.If Tom, who is disabled, visits the properties with his wife and 13-year-old son, he should at least pay ________.
A.£10 B.£25 C.£30 D.£50
3.Li Hua, a fan of Shakespeare from China, will visit Shakespeare’s BirthPlace on July 25. He should exit at the latest before ________.
A.4:00 pm B.4:30pm C.5:00pm D.5:30 pm
假设你是李华，你上周刚刚参加了你校举办的第十届英语演讲比赛，并从三十名选手中脱颖而出，荣获“十佳奖”。在准备参赛期间，你的外教Mr.Craige对你提供了很多指导和帮助。现请你用英语给他写一封感谢信，内容包括：
1.获奖情况及感受； 2.回顾准备过程； 3.感谢他的帮助； 4.邀他来家做客。
注意：1．词数100词左右； 2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
提示：十佳奖：Top Ten Prize
Dear Mr. Craige,
Yours,
Li Hua
