Several weeks ago, my grandfather was explaining his favorite expression, “Nothing is ever easy.” The following day, as I was working, I happened to _______ a large hairy bee on the skylight (天窗). The skylight was particularly _______, but I thought removing the bee would take _______ several minutes. An hour later, the bee still _______. All that had changed was that the living room was _______ and that I was dizzy from _______ for a long time. I did not _______ to waste an hour on such a tiny insect, but by doing so, I understood my grandfather’s _______.
It is not only time that we tend to underestimate(低估) — we don’t _______ unexpected costs. In fact we seldom ________ negative things that could affect us. It is of ________, however, to remember that your ________ might not go as planned, and that is normal. It is ________ to feel challenged—even at a simple task – because that is part of life.
If you can ________ that nothing is ever easy, then life might seem slightly more manageable. I found myself with a more ________ attitude.
Of course, there should be preparations made to consider ________ or time. Doing so can help you realize your ________ in a better way. However, there is no need to ________ ourselves when something stands in our path. Maybe we cannot see a bee appearing in our ________, but we can always give ourselves the ________ time to catch it.
1.A.catch B.notice C.ignore D.watch
2.A.high B.light C.hot D.dirty
3.A.even B.about C.only D.still
4.A.breathed B.flew C.hesitated D.remained
5.A.bright B.tidy C.warm D.messy
6.A.looking up B.working out C.cleaning up D.hanging out
7.A.decide B.manage C.expect D.intend
8.A.idea B.meaning C.plan D.arrangement
9.A.consider B.afford C.tolerate D.pay
10.A.deal with B.forget about C.write down D.think of
11.A.importance B.help C.intelligence D.interest
12.A.study B.work C.time D.research
13.A.awful B.acceptable C.embarrassing D.cruel
14.A.find B.predict C.admit D.agree
15.A.formal B.generous C.positive D.casual
16.A.expenses B.relaxation C.adjustment D.service
17.A.identity B.goal C.position D.situation
18.A.develop B.improve C.blame D.praise
19.A.school B.travel C.way D.life
20.A.free B.extra C.same D.enough
Self-study is cheap, convenient, and you can set your own pace. However, you have to figure out for yourself what to study, how to keep up motivation and how to meet your goals.
Make learning fun
1. To keep you interested, supplement(补充)your study with materials that fit your personality and interests.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel
For learning, it’s easy to believe that the smart self-studying student can use videos, apps, books, games all in a magical combination. 2. Don’t put all your faith in a game, free videos, or your own ability to create a better program than teaching professionals.
Build study into your daily life
Whether you’re a high school student or a college student, finding a spare hour to study is tough. 3. That’s really important.
Set realistic but ambitious goals and stick to them
You must make sure you make steady, regular progress. 4.
We recommend studying for 3 to 5 hours a day. If you have less time to study, that’s OK.
5. So daily practice—even just 10 minutes a day—is better than taking long breaks and then studying for hours at a time.
A.The key is to study every day.
B.I know this seems really obvious.
C.It’s difficult to know where to start.
D.The problem is that there is no structure to your courses.
E.You must find smart ways to force extra study into your daily life.
F.So it’s really important to make a study plan you can actually stick to.
G.To keep motivated over the long term, learning needs to be something you want to do.
One of the most dangerous insects you need to watch out for during summer is mosquitoes. But no matter how you try to avoid them, some people naturally attract mosquitoes more than others.
One of the most important facts to remember is that mosquitoes track people down by smell and body odour(气味), according to Bart Knols, PhD, a biologist devoted to the study of mosquitoes. The carbon dioxide people breathe out, along with chemicals from the skin, creates an “odour plume” that mosquitoes can detect from up to almost 100 feet away. “Each person gives off more than 300 chemicals from the skin, more than 100 in breathing out,” Knols says.
The specific mixtures on the skin that mosquitoes respond to vary by species. The yellow fever mosquito and Asian tiger mosquito, for example, respond well to lactic acid from skin. African malaria mosquitoes respond to a mix of fatty acids, according to Knols. Your individual mixtures and smells determine how much of a mosquito attraction you are, depending on the mosquito species. The mix of chemicals you produce are only partly in your control. These chemicals depend on your genetic make-up, health condition, diet, skin pH, and so on. “Bacteria(细菌)on the skin break down the mixtures that we give off through our pores(毛孔), and these are the attractive smells,” Knols says. “So it is not actually we that attract mosquitoes, but the bacteria on our skin.”
Although this is a complex and partly understood phenomenon, Knols says that we do all have a unique smell. There are many folk stories about why some people are more or less attractive to mosquitoes. Some people falsely think the blood type is the cause, and others believe taking vitamin B or eating garlic makes people less attractive to mosquitoes—but Knols notes there’s no scientific data backing these claims.
1.What do we learn from the second paragraph?
A.Mosquitoes can detect people with smell. B.Nobody can avoid mosquitoes anyway.
C.A person breathes out over 300 chemicals. D.People naturally attract mosquitoes.
2.Why does the author take several kinds of mosquitoes for example?
A.To persuade readers to protect the environment.
B.To warn people against touching mosquitoes.
C.To show different mosquitoes react to mixtures.
D.To make people look out for poisonous mosquitoes.
3.What draws mosquitoes according to Bart Knols?
A.Chemicals in the mouth. B.Mixtures people give off.
C.Smells from the pores. D.Bacteria on the skin.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.The Scientific Reason You Are a Mosquito Attraction
B.Folk Stories about How Mosquitoes Attack People
C.Attitudes toward Mosquitoes Different People Have
D.Ways to Make People More and More Attractive
Drivers who drive a little too close to cyclists on the road could soon be caught on the spot. A new technology adopted by legal departments in Ottawa could help carry out legal distance between bikers and cars on the road.
The device, which is fixed on a bicycle’s handlebars like a bike bell, uses sonar(声呐) technology to measure the distance between the bike and passing cars. The device will make a loud noise if the car is within one meter of the bike, the legal limit in the city of Ottawa, allowing the police rider to radio ahead to his colleagues so that the driver can be pulled over. “The safety of all road users is extremely vital, including cyclists. These cycling changes are directed at encouraging cycling, promoting road safety, and sharing the road,” said Rob Wilkinson, coordinator of the Safer Roads Ottawa Program.
The authorities started the program last week with a single sonar device. One police officer rode the bike bearing the device around the city on Tuesday to prove the effectiveness(有效性) of the technology. Within a few minutes of riding, the device was beeping, registering that two drivers had violated the one-meter distance requirement. The drivers were pulled over and given brochures informing them that they had broken the safe distance law.
Wilkinson noted that the device is not currently being used to issue fines, which can go up to $110, and that there are no plans to use it for enforcement(执法)in the future. At this point, its main use is to spread awareness about the safe distance law, which was passed last September in an effort to encourage rider safety and reduce deadly crashes.
1.What will happen if the safe distance is beyond the legal limit?
A.The cyclist will soon be caught on the spot.
B.The police will make the driver stop by the road.
C.The driver will be arrested for driving too fast.
D.The device will at once call the police of itself.
2.What’s the main purpose of using the device?
A.To make the bicycle attractive. B.To encourage people to walk.
C.To guarantee road safety. D.To warn drivers of danger.
3.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “beeping” in paragraph 3?
A.Making a loud noise. B.Receiving an urgent message.
C.Sending a stop signal. D.Radioing the police rider.
4.What does Wilkinson say about the device?
A.It is being developed at present. B.It still has room for improvement.
C.It may be used to fine drivers later. D.It helps reduce traffic accidents.
In her 17 years on this earth, Shreyaa Venkat has done more to help the planet and the people living on it than many adults. The non-profit organization she founded, NEST4US, has helped tens of thousands of people in the United States. Through it, it’s served over 12,000 homeless people in the Washington, D.C. area by providing food and other supplies.
Venkat’s passion for helping others started as soon as she could walk, as her parents, active volunteers themselves, brought her along on their various projects, like some creative ways to volunteer. By fifth grade, she’d developed such enthusiasm for it that she started organizing her own service projects in her community.
NEST4US was born when she realized how much food waste there is, how many hungry people there are, and how simple it would be to use the former to help the latter. “There was a homeless man standing on a corner in D.C. and he was holding a sign that said ‘Hungry Need Food’,” she recalls. “So I gave him my lunch and his whole face just lit up. It was so easy, it only took me 30 seconds, and it really helped him.”
As NEST4US took off, with hundreds of volunteers helping to feed thousands of hungry people, Venkat decided to branch out with her volunteer efforts, starting three other branches of NEST4US. Serving others had become such a way of life for her that she even celebrated her 13th birthday at a homeless shelter, bringing the party to them instead of expecting gifts for herself.
As much as she has helped others, they’ve helped her too. Not only does she get a lot of joy and personal satisfaction from her volunteer work but running NEST4US has taught her important life skills like time management, public speaking, writing, and leadership. “What it’s really given me is this opinion of putting other people first,” she says.
1.What can we infer about NEST4US from the first paragraph?
A.Its main aim is to make money. B.It offers people cheap supplies.
C.It takes in all homeless people. D.It is a charity organization.
2.What caused Venkat to set up NEST4US?
A.Her parents’ constant suggestion. B.The memory of her hard childhood.
C.Her experience of helping a hungry man. D.Volunteers’ great influence on her.
3.Why did Venkat spend her 13th birthday at a homeless shelter?
A.She held a grand party for many people.
B.She could receive many nice gifts there.
C.She got much personal satisfaction from it.
D.She saw helping others as part of her life.
4.Which of the following best describes Shreyaa Venkat?
A.Caring. B.Ambitious.
C.Humorous. D.Demanding.
Giraffe Manor(Kenya)
Giraffe Manor is an extraordinary hotel built in the early 1930s and lies in Nairobi, Kenya. The hotel is most well-known for its Rothschild giraffes. Every morning and evening, giraffes will enter the dining hall and eat with the guests. Giraffe Manor is the only place in the world where people can get this up close and personal with a giraffe.
The Ice Hotel (Sweden)
The hotel, lying in a remote village in Sweden, is the first ice hotel in existence. It was started in the 1980s by a Swedish artist who wanted to create a large sculpture to celebrate the natural resources around it. The hotel is rebuilt every year, opening in winter and closing in spring.
Free Spirit Spheres (British Columbia)
The goal of Free Spirit Spheres is to provide a place for people to enjoy exceptional experiences while living in a natural forest environment. It is open year-round on Vancouver Island. It is the only known eco-friendly tree house hotel in the world. It is so popular that you may have to book it three months to a year in advance.
The Manta Resort (Tanzania)
The underwater hotel is part of the unique Manta Resort on Pemba Island in Tanzania. It is 273 yards offshore(在近海)in the Manta house reef(礁). The reef is famous for its abundant oceanic wildlife and guests come to experience the peace and quietness that the remote island offers. The room is surrounded on all sides with large windows so that guests can be part of the wildlife activity around the reef.
1.What attracts guests most in Giraffe Manor?
A.The sculpture. B.The reef. C.The tree. D.The giraffe.
2.Which hotel do you need to reserve ahead of time?
A.Giraffe Manor. B.Free Spirit Spheres. C.The Ice Hotel. D.The Manta Resort.
3.What do these hotels have in common?
A.They lie in remote villages. B.They offer amazing experiences.
C.They are open all year round. D.They cost an amount of money.
