My grandma was in a nursing home. She was unable to move; now her eyesight was almost ______. Grandma and I often exchanged cards. I knew that she enjoyed ______ in touch with people. Since I returned, Grandma thought I should be her “personal ______ ” . I said, “I guess you’ve forgotten how bad my ______ is.” Grandma acted like she didn’t ______ me. Grandma would have me write letters on the cards she would send. She would dictate(口授); then I would ______ what she said. Grandma would always have me ______ what I had written back to her. Grandma didn’t have a hearing ______ then because she was always telling me, “That is not _________ what I said!” I would then rewrite what she exactly said.
Since I was ______ before Christmas, I asked Grandma if she would send some Christmas cards. Grandma readily agreed. I prepared several _________kinds of cards. I knew she had friends and family who all had different ________. I would take each card and ______ the front of the card in detail.
After a while, I looked up and I ______ several nursing home ________ standing in the doorway. I started to notice as I read each card, the ________ on their faces and Grandma’s face, too. Each one had a smile in _________ eyes, as they were seeing the scenes in their minds.
I thought I would be doing Grandma a favor when I started to write the Christmas ____ for her, ____ it turned out that she did me a big favor. I would always cherish this special memory of bringing some Christmas______and pleasant memories to Grandma and her fellow residents. That was it.
1.A.wonderful B.found C.gone D.young
2.A.keeping B.losing C.getting D.staying
3.A.teacher B.secretary C.competitor D.driver
4.A.feeling B.thinking C.building D.handwriting
5.A.understand B.recognize C.hear D.find
6.A.wait for B.write down C.watch over D.pay for
7.A.show B.smooth C.count D.read
8.A.advantage B.opinion C.problem D.desire
9.A.exactly B.actually C.obviously D.clearly
10.A.tired B.free C.careful D.generous
11.A.different B.familiar C.similar D.same
12.A.methods B.names C.interests D.habits
13.A.describe B.hide C.draw D.find
14.A.told B.noticed C.attacked D.challenged
15.A.kinds B.teams C.judges D.residents
16.A.eyes B.feelings C.tears D.looks
17.A.my B.their C.her D.your
18.A.trees B.gifts C.cards D.rings
19.A.but B.though C.so D.if
20.A.disappointment B.dislike C.surprise D.joy
While there are not any magic shortcuts to learning words, the larger your vocabulary becomes, the easier it will be to connect a new word with words you already know, and thus remember its meaning. 1.There are four basic steps to building your vocabulary.
Be aware of words. When meeting new words, instead of avoiding them, you will need to take a closer look at them.2. Second, make a daily practice of noting words of interest to you for further study whenever you are reading, listening to the radio, or watching TV.
Read. When you have become more aware of the words, reading is the next important step to increasing your knowledge of words.3. When you come across a word you have recently studied, you understand it, which proves you have learned its meaning. What should you read?4. If you like sports, read the sports page of the newspapers or magazines.
Use a dictionary.5.Remember, words can have more than one meaning, and the meaning you need for the word you are looking up may not be the first one given in the dictionary. Even if it is, the other meanings of the word will help you understand the different ways the word is used.
Study and review regularly. Once you have begun looking up words and you know which ones to study, vocabulary building is simply a matter of reviewing the words regularly until you fix them in your memory.
A.First, try to guess at a word’s meaning from its context.
B.This will give you a quick form of review.
C.Read the entire entry for the word you look up.
D.It is also the best way to check words you have already learned.
E.Reading alone may not be enough to make you learn new words.
F.Whatever interests you.
G.So your learning speed should increase as your vocabulary grows.
Growing up in Venezuela, there was never really much cause to learn English.
For years I knew nothing past “hello,” until I started high school. For five years, I spent two hours a week immersed in understanding the verb “to be”, numbers, colors, and the difference between saying “good evening” and “good night”.
I thought two hours a week was enough time to invest in learning a foreign language. I would always get top marks, and my teachers would regularly praise me.
Even as an adult, I still thought I spoke the language, just by understanding English menus or translating common phrases.
Yep, that used to be me, walking like a queen among everyday Spanish speakers.
“Bring it on, life,” I said.
“I can handle whatever you’ve got; I’m a rock star.” But when I moved to Canada, life hit me so hard that it knocked me down. Years later, I am still recovering.
Living in a new land, with different people, new rules, new weather, a new culture and language, I was no longer a queen.
Did I speak English?
No, not at all.
So, I went back to school, thinking that it was a challenge I would conquer in record time. But the reality was different. English was more like a solid wall in my path.
Even after getting a job, it took all my courage to stop myself from hiding in the washroom during my lunch break, crying, completely overwhelmed (不知所措的) and scared.
Learning English, speaking, listening – it hurt me. Not the language. Not the unkind people, it hurt because I wasn’t good, despite my efforts.
Now, after almost seven years in Canada, I’ve decided not to apologize for my accent, grammar mistakes, or pronunciation. I’m going to chase my dreams and enjoy a beautiful, rich, and fascinating language without being ashamed.
Don’t get me wrong, my brain still screams “Give me a break!” from time to time, but that’s completely natural.
I know it’s going to take a while, but at least now I accept the person I am – not the perfect person I thought I was.
1.What do we learn about learning English in Venezuela?
A.Everyone invested a lot of time in it.
B.It could bring a lot of benefits to students.
C.Its standard was very high in high school.
D.It didn’t require much effort.
2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 show about the author?
A.She was proud of her command of foreign languages.
B.She felt confident enough to face any challenge.
C.She delighted in all kinds of competition.
D.She looked down on others.
3.What happened after the author moved to Canada?
A.She expected to improve her English easily.
B.She regretted not working hard in English.
C.She quickly put her language talent to use.
D.She adjusted to the new environment rapidly.
4.What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?
A.The author now can pass as a native speaker.
B.The author has conquered English eventually.
C.The author has a realistic understanding of herself.
D.The author is frustrated with her English.
Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world. When it comes to cancer, the sooner you know you have it, the better your chances of surviving. A new blood test could change the way doctors and researchers find cancer in patients. Researchers say the test could provide evidence to the early forms of the disease.
Scientists at Swansea University in Wales came up with the idea. Gareth Jenkins is a professor at the university. “ In this blood test we don’t measure the presence of cancer; we measure the presence of mutant red blood cells which are collateral(附属的) damage that occurs---a by-product of the cancer developing.”
The researchers used normal laboratory equipment to perform the test. This equipment looks for changes in the structure of millions of red blood cells. Those mutant cells lack a surface protein that healthy cells normally have. “The main purpose of the test is to look for very rare cells which have picked up a mutation. The number of mutant red blood cells in a healthy person is around 5 or so per million. You have to look at millions of red blood cells to detect those rare events. These numbers increase in cancer patients---they go up to 40 or 50 mutants on average.”
The researchers tested blood from about 300 people, all of whom have cancer of the esophagus(食道). Patients with esophageal cancer have high levels of mutant red blood cells. Jenkins says that at this point he is not sure if other cancers will produce similar results.
The hope is that the new test and other non-invasive methods could one day become part of commonly used medical methods. He says that using a battery, or series, of tests will be the best way to find out if a person has cancer. These new technologies could save millions of lives.
1.According to the test, how do scientists find out if a person has cancer?
A.By calculating the speed of changes in the structure.
B.By observing the surface protein.
C.By looking for changes in the number of mutant red blood cells.
D.By measuring the presence of cancer.
2.What does the underlined word “mutant” in the 3rd paragraph mean?
A.Decreased. B.Changed. C.Increased. D.Multiplied.
3.The author adopts a/an tone in the passage.
A.humorous B.favorable C.critical D.objective
4.In which section of a website can you most probably find the passage?
A.Health. B.Fashion. C.Education. D.Culture.
Simply being quiet is a growing appeal. Lots of business have appeared to meet a rising demand for quiet time, from silent weekend getaways to silent dining, silent reading parties and even silent dating. Silence can mean different things to different people. We are usually silent only with those closest to us. So there is something almost radical(不同凡响的)about the recent trend towards enjoying silence with strangers.
Mariel started a regular silent reading party in Dundee just under a year ago. Readers bring their books and meet in a bar, where they read together in silence for an hour or sometimes two and then put their books away to chat and have a drink. “When the reading party starts, everything goes quiet,” says Mariel, “ It’s a little bit surreal (超现实的), especially in what is usually a noisy bar. However, there is something special about sharing the silence with others. It offers a chance to escape from reality; everyone is so busy with work and with technology being ever present. An event like this gives people the opportunity to escape these things for a while.”
Honi Ryan is an artist based in Berlin who began hosting silent dinner back in 2006. The rules of the dinner are: no talking, no using your voice, no reading or writing, trying to make as little noise as possible, not connecting with technology, and staying for at least two hours. So far she has taken her silent dinner project to Mexico, the US, Australia and China. “It’s evident that the age-old connections we make over food do not depend on the words around it. Silence creates the space for the people and places involved to fill with whatever is needed; it is quite different from our usual social behaviors.”
1.Why have lots of silent businesses appeared?
A.To satisfy people’s demand for silence.
B.To make people get close to each other.
C.To appeal to young people.
D.To change people’s old way of life.
2.What can we learn about Mariel’s silent reading parties?
A.Readers can use their voice while reading.
B.Readers can be busy with their work.
C.Readers can connect with technology.
D.Readers can chat and drink after reading.
3.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to .
A.noise B.space C.silence D.food
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Escape from Reality. B.Enjoying Being Quiet.
C.Silent Reading Parties. D.Silent Dining Projects.
Travel Journal
Friday
We arrived in Paris on Friday lunchtime and went straight to our apartment. We then went for a walk around our area and realized how close we were to the centre of Paris. It only took us 20 minutes to walk to the Louvre. After a walk around the Tuileries Gardens, we went for afternoon tea in a café called Angelina which has the most delicious hot chocolate. After warming up we then walked along to the big department store Printemps, on the top floor where you get a wonderful view of Paris (this was free). We walked along a street called Grands Boulevards which was beautiful with all its Christmas lights. The shops on this street are famous for their Christmas window displays. In the evening we cooked at the apartment and went to a Scottish pub which was funny as two of my friends are Scottish.
Saturday
In the morning we went for brunch (a meal between breakfast and lunch) at a really cool café called FAB (French American Bakery). We had waffles with bacon and fresh carrot and ginger juice. We found out that we were really close to a chocolate museum, so of course we took a visit--- who doesn’t love chocolate! In the afternoon we went to a Christmas market with unique handmade gifts and crafts. In the evening we ate at a Tunisian restaurant and had roast chicken and vegetable stew with couscous. It was delicious and the restaurant was in a cute little lane.
Sunday
On Sunday we went for breakfast at the same café and we caught our train back home at midday, carrying shopping bags full of lovely presents that we had bought at the Christmas market. We had a great weekend in Paris. Exploring this beautiful city with no plans was an unusual but great idea as we got to do things we wouldn’t normally discover. I highly recommend spending a weekend somewhere trying to be a local!
1.Where did they enjoy the beautiful view of Paris?
A.In a Scottish pub. B.In a department store.
C.In a café called Angelina. D.In the Louvre.
2.What may the Christmas market be famous for?
A.Christmas lights. B.Delicious food.
C.Handmade gifts and crafts. D.Christmas window display.
3.When did they leave Paris according to the text?
A.On Sunday lunchtime. B.On the morning of Saturday.
C.On the morning of Sunday. D.On Friday lunchtime.
