It was early in 1981 when I first met George. I was in my early 30s, seeking a creative outlet unrelated to the boredom of housework and raising little kids. At 65, George had recently retired and was seeking a rewarding hobby for his golden years. For both of us, painting was “it” and we met at a local TAFE painting class. Thus began a friendship that was to last for 25 years- -until the day he died.
George was a man who lived life to the full. He worked hard, played hard and had an opinion about everything. As a slim and energetic man, he took pride in his fitness and walked more than three kilometers every day. “I'd no more go without my walk than without changing my underwear. “He’d say.
As the only male in a painting class full of women, George ruled the roost and we were his hens. He adored his singular role and looked after his brood with the same attention he gave to everything.
He took to painting with passion and commitment, even changing the spare bedroom of his home into a studio. His painting equipment was comprehensive- an easel, quality paints, linseed oil, turpentine, brushes, palette, canvases, charcoal pencils, fixative, palette knives- even a rolling pin for removing air bubbles when gluing.
For about six years George and I studied together through various units until the completion of the course and other commitments drew us apart, though we always maintained personal contact as we lived within a couple of kilometers of each other. I'd sometimes see him on his daily walk or at the local shops and occasionally we' d touch base with a“proper”afternoon tea.
Fast-forward some years and George was now about 80 years old. He rang one day and asked me to come to his house, saying he needed to ask me something. George explained that he was giving up painting and giving away all his “stuff". Everything- -paints, boards, canvases, completed works and rolling pin! “I can't paint, Bev.” He declared in the manner of a child who had to say farewell to his favorite toy.“ You have the best talent and are most likely to use it," he said.
After considerable persuasion, I accepted this precious gift on condition that he could reclaim it at any time. He never did, of course, and I still use much of his equipment today, more than 20 years later. As I paint, I often remember George and his big personality.
1.The friendship between George and the writer started because_________
A.they thought painting was characterized by creativity
B.they appreciated each other for their painting ability
C.they thought painting was a great way of killing time
D.they shared happiness in their local painting class
2.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 indicates that_________
A.George walked too hard to change his underwear
B.George viewed his walk as a great way to keep fit
C.George had his opinion of changing his underwear
D.George had to walk hard daily to live life to the full
3.The rolling pin is mentioned in Paragraph 4 to show that_________
A.George was passionate about painting
B.George was cautious about his painting
C.George was skilled with his painting
D.George was fond of its use in painting
4.Which of the following can NOT reflect George’s “big personality “in the last paragraph?
A.“He worked hard, played hard and had an opinion about everything" (Paragraph 2)
B.“As the only male ... George ruled the roost and we were his hens." (Paragraph 3)
C.“I’d sometimes see him on his daily walk .... afternoon tea." (Paragraph 5)
D.“He declared in the manner of a child who ... his favorite toy." (Paragraph 6)
Children with long-term health conditions, such as asthma (哮喘), may be at greater risk of developing a mental health disorder in early adolescence compared to healthy children, according to a new study.
The findings, published in the journal Development and Psychopathology, show that kids with chronic illness exhibit higher rates of mental problems at age 10, and these health issues continue to be associated with poor mental health at ages 13 and 15.
In the study, the research team reviewed a sample of approximately 7,000 children to investigate the occurrence of mental health disorders, including anxiety or depression, and chronic illness. They found that children with chronic health conditions were approximately twice as likely at 10 and at 13 to present with a mental health disorder than healthy children. At age 15, children with chronic health problems were 60% more likely to present with such disorders.
“Although the link between chronic health conditions and mental health problems in childhood has been made before, this study provides the strongest evidence of it to data in the years of late childhood and early adolescence," said study author Dr. Ann Marie Brady. “The difference chronic illness makes to mental health is concerning, and the first impact can be seen even before adolescence, in late childhood."
The researchers also found that bullying and health-related absence from school were two most significant additional factors for children with mental health issues. The second one was identified as the most consistent factor predicting mental health problems over time.
“If children with chronic illness are more likely to miss school, or experience bullying, that can make the situation worse. Keeping an eye on school attendance and looking out for evidence of bullying amongst those children may help to find out who are most at risk.", said Dr. Brady.
1.The underlined term “chronic illness" in Paragraph 2 refers to a kind of disease_________
A.causing a lot of deaths B.causing absent-mindedness
C.lasting for a long time D.leading to mental disorders
2.By the findings of this study, we know that_________
A.chronic illness leads to the mental health disorder in early adolescence
B.healthy young adolescents have no chance of having mental problems
C.adolescents with illness are more likely to develop mental health disorders
D.chronic illness has some relation to mental problems in early adolescence
3.What is special about this study?
A.It makes a new discovery based on the findings of previous studies
B.It draws a more accurate conclusion based on the previous studies
C.It questions the accuracy of the findings by the previous studies
D.It draws more attention to adolescents' health than previous studies
4.Which of the following can best help to decide if children with chronic illness tend to have mental problems?
A.Their school attendance. B.Their physical conditions.
C.Their tolerance of bullying. D.Their tendency for bullying.
The Happiest Place on Earth may soon be welcoming visitors again. On Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that Shanghai Disneyland will reopen on May 11. But one of the new safety measures is phased (分阶段的) reopening. This means Disney will begin by gradually and partially reopening certain locations.
If you've ever been to a Disney theme park, especially during peak days, you know how crowded it can get and how necessary FastPasses are. On a "normal day" at Disneyland, park attendance is 65,000 people, according to Walt Disney Imagineering director Kim Irvine. So physical distancing and capacity measures are major focuses as Disney prepares to reopen. Dr. Hymel says that Disney will "conduct physical distancing guidelines based on guidance from health authorities."
The new measures will likely include a guest capacity (容量) based on state and federal guidelines. Disney is also exploring ways technology can help with social distancing-experiments in this aspect include using virtual queues at Disneyland and Walt Disney World in advance.
Other new measures include increased cleaning of high traffic areas. Disney will follow guidelines from the medical community and the government for improved screening procedures and prevention measures; this means guests will likely need facial masks. Disney Parks have already adopted new measures such as providing hand soaps and setting up hand washing stations.
Shanghai Disneyland has sold out all tickets for May 11. The theme park said that all tickets were gone in a matter of minutes after sales started at 8 am on Friday.
1.In order to reopen, Disney has decided to take some measures EXCEPT_________
A.following guidance from authorities
B.advocating waiting in line for tickets
C.cleaning high traffic areas more often
D.providing convenience for hand-wash
2.This passage is mainly about _________
A.the great popularity of Disney parks
B.the phased opening of Disney parks .
C.the new measures of Disney parks
D.the great changes of Disney parks
阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
Artificial intelligence(AI)teachers can provide customized teaching for students to meet their unique requirements through analyzing data and deep learning.In the future, they may replace human teachers for basic teaching tasks.Since some students may find it and put new power into traditional teaching patterns.An educational system providing customized teaching centered on students represents the future trend of AI education.
China's AI education has developed rapidly in recent years with the rise of several thousand relevant companies.Currently,AI teachers are able to help students leamn pronunciation,analyze their condition,guide them to learn independently,and even grade writing assignments. Some foreign AI educational systems have been introduced into several domestic schools and have worked well on trial.
However,the promotion of AI education is still facing several difficulties in practice such as low technological levels,inadequacy of data and lack of funds.AI education still depends largely on human teachers' work.Most importantly,it conflicts with current educational patterns because the courses developed by foreign countries are not suitable for Chinese exam-oriented education.Teachers may also find it hard to change their original roles in classrooms since easing control on classes may make them seem irresponsible.These problems need to be handled before the mass promotion of Al education.
With AI teachers,the original teacher-centered classes will be transformed into student-centered ones where teachers only organize the class and provide guidance.Since teachers are supposed to not only equip students with knowledge but also shape their values and help them develop creative abilities,AI teachers will not replace human teachers but will only pose higher requirements of teaching.A combination of AI teachers and human ones can create the best future for Al education.
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假定你是李华，你校即将举行“给农村小学捐书”（Donating Books to Rural Primary School)活动，现向全校招募志愿者，你的笔友Peter来信向你咨询有关情况，请你写一封回信，要点如下：
1.简单介绍该项活动；
2.志愿者所需条件.
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯.
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One day in May 1884,twenty-one-year-old Ida Bell Wells ___a train for Woodstock.Ida sat in the first-class ladies'___ and opened her book.Minutes later the conductor __ passengers' tickets.He told Ida to go to the other carriage.
In 1884,African Americans, ___in the South,did not have the same __ as whites.They could not ___the same schools and they were expected to sit in a(n) __ railroad carriage,one that was usually dirty and smoke-filled,though they were charged __ fare.
Having paid for a first-class ticket,Ida refused to __.Then the conductor,together with two other railroad men,__ Ida from her seat,tearing her sleeve.After she was____out of her seat,Ida sued(起诉）the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.When the case went to __,the judge decided in Ida' s favor.He __ her 500 dollars in damages.But Ida' s __ did not last long.The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad appealed its case.This time,the victory went to the railroad.
Ida had lost her ___with the railroad,but not her determination to ___what was right. After losing her case,Ida wrote an article about it,which ___in a number of African American newspapers.Readers quickly recognized the __ of Ida' s words.
In 1913,Ida came to Washington,D.C.as a journalist.There she became a representative of the National Equal Rights League.The league __ President Woodrow Wilson to end segregation(种族隔离）. Ida didn't live to see the end of segregation,but she did help lead the way in bringing about ___for all.
1.A.operated B.boarded C.accommodated D.stopped
2.A.room B.station C.club D.coach
3.A.collected B.purchased C.reserved D.booked
4.A.similarly B.exactly C.particularly D.absolutely
5.A.rights B.levels C.problems D.qualities
6.A.finish B.visit C.attend D.establish
7.A.empty B.separate C.available D.private
8.A.basic B.full C.casual D.low
9.A.take in B.get in C.come in D.give in
10.A.pulled B.settled C.drove D.carried
11.A.requested B.guided C.stuck D.forced
12.A.press B.system C.court D.media
13.A.awarded B.returned C.owed D.handed
14.A.measure B.victory C.position D.attempt
15.A.belief B.challenge C.battle D.opportunity
16.A.look for B.stand up for C.reach for D.pay for
17.A.appeared B.explained C.stated D.reported
18.A.meaning B.charm C.value D.power
19.A.put off B.called out C.resulted in D.appealed to
20.A.fortune B.safety C.justice D.happiness
