If you’re away from home, feeling a bit blue or searching for some comfort, the Danes have a solution. It’s called “hygge”. Coming from Danish culture, but popularized by the British in 2016, hygge is much more than just a word, it’s becoming a feeling around the world.
The hygge refers to the sense of happiness you get when your family is gathered together at new year or Christmas. It is all about the pleasant feelings of home: the smell of your mother’s cooking, your partner’s arm around your shoulder and so on.
Hygge is an antidote(良药) to stress. You know when you’ve got it, a gentle warmth starts spreading through your body. Another important part of hygge is that it has nothing to do with modern technology. It’s a period time to relax your tired mind and eyes. So, put down that smartphone and turn off the computer.
You should also know that hygge is not about healthy eating or more exercise. In fact, it’s just the opposite. You’re supposed to be lost in what you like: enjoy sweet snacks and calorie-laden cakes freely.
Let yourself be carried on a wave of nostalgia(怀旧) back to your birthplace, and remember the childhood songs of your distant youth with a smile. If it helps, wrap yourself in a warm blanket and sleep with one of your favorite books (not a pill or e-reader).
If Denmark seems too far, then think of old Beijing with its hutong and courtyard houses. Picture yourself sit around a traditional stove with your loved ones, eating dumplings and chatting about the old days. Let yourself drift back in time to a period where everything is relaxing, and there is no need to reply to any e-mails or text messages. They did not exist(存在) back then.
Now you’ve really understood hygge without even having to set foot in Copenhagen.
An Antidote to 1. －Hygge | |
Origin (起源) | ♦Hygge came from Danish culture. ♦It was 2.with the British in 2016. |
What hygge is | ♦You will feel pleased3. your family members around. ♦You don’t4. to use modern technology like a cellphone or computer. ♦You can eat whatever you like without5. about daily exercise. |
What people can do6. feeling stressed | ♦You can remind 7. of the sweet memories of childhood and relax yourself by reading books that you like 8. . ♦If Denmark seems too far, let yourself think of old things and chat about the old days when 9. or text messages didn’t exist. |
It’s not 10. for you to go to Copenhagen as you have known hygge well. | |
California Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed a law for driverless cars to travel on public roadways, showing once again that Left Coast has a way of making car-makers develop faster.
It is not that smart minds in Japan and Germany aren’t already working on driverless cars. But with most new technologies, engineers want to make sure that they are safe enough before large production. The California law will allow them to travel on the state’s roadways if there is an experienced driver sitting in the driving seat to take over if needed.
“Today, we’re looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow’s reality,” Gov. Brown said during a news conference at Google’s headquarters. “This driverless car is another step forward in this long march of California and leading not just the country, but the whole world.”
The state often uses stricter laws to control greenhouse gases and global warming, which was strongly against by most car-makers in other states, saying it would be impractical for each state to make its own fuel standards. However, the U.S. EPA(环境保护署) sided with California . At last all sides reached an agreement, but the push from California undoubtedly influenced the EPA’s sharply higher fuel standards, which require car-makers to achieve an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.
When it comes to driverless cars, California is actually the third state to authorize(批准) them, behind Nevada and Florida. But by far it is the most influential. “It’s meaningful because California is a big state , a first mover and really a big player,” Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington who studies autonomous transport law, told the New York Times.
1.The sentence“California, of course , has led the way towards cleaner transport.”is the topic sentence of _________.
A. Paragraph 2 B. Paragraph 3 C. Paragraph 4 D. Paragraph 5
2.From the whole passage, what are the advantages of driverless cars in California?
A. They are green and safe B. They are fast and big
C. They are green and big D. They are fast and safe
3.The last paragraph is written mainly to ______.
A. introduce a new law signed by California
B. California is a big state and really a big player
C. California is the third state to authorize the law
D. show the influence of California’s law on driverless cars
4.According to the passage, we can learn _______.
A. engineers in other countries aren’t working on driverless cars
B. California and the EPA reached an agreement on fuel standards
C. the developing of driverless cars in California will lead the world
D. California is the first state that allows driverless cars to travel on roads
Have you ever read stories of Sherlock Holmes---a famous detective? Here is one of his cases.
Stapleton, Charles’ younger brother, found that he would inherit (继承) the Baskerville lands if Charles and his nephew(侄子) ---Henry both died.
Charles who had a weak heart believed super natural stories. After knowing this, Stapleton had the idea of buying a huge hound, and of using the phosphorus(磷) to make it shine like the hound in one story.
Then Stapleton asked his friend Laura to write a letter to bring Charles to the moor gate on that sad night. The hound, which was shining with phosphorus, chased Charles down the Yew Alley. Charles’ fear was so great that his weak heart stopped, and he died but the animal did not touch the dead body. There was no sign of murder. It was difficult for Holmes to find the murderer.
Two weeks later, Stapleton learned that Henry had reached England. He took his wife and the hound with him. He wore a false beard and followed Henry in London. He wanted to use the same way to murder Henry there. He needed something to give the hound Henry’s smell, so he paid a woman at Henry’s hotel to steal one of his shoes. The first one was a new one, which was no use for the hound, so it was put back. And then another older shoe was stolen. Before he was ready to murder Henry, he wasn’t sure if his wife would keep his secret, so he did not tell her the truth. He locked her up in their hotel. She knew that he must have some evil plans. She sent Henry a letter which was made of words cut from a newspaper.
After receiving the letter, Henry realized he was in great danger and it must have something to do with his uncle Charles’ death. So he asked Holmes for help.
1.What does the underlined word “hound” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. 魔兽 B. 猎犬 C. 匕首 D. 猎枪
2.Paragraph 4 is mainly about _______.
A. how Stapleton bought the hound B. how Stapleton made the hound shine
C. how the hound killed Charles D. how the hound chased Charles
3.The first new shoe was not useful for the hound because ___________.
A. it didn’t have Henry’s smell B. it belonged to Henry’s wife
C. the hound saw nothing about Henry D. the hound didn’t like the smell
4.What may happen if Stapleton’s wife didn’t send the letter to Henry?
A. It may be easy for Henry to find that he was in danger.
B. It may be easy for Stapleton’s wife to know the truth.
C. Henry may be murdered easily with no sign like Charles.
D. Henry may get to know the truth much more easily.
I arrived in Cali, the second largest city in Colombia. The sun was truly shining. Cali was great, the people were friendly and helpful. One thing I knew about Colombia before I came was the coffee. I drank it every day while dreaming about South American adventures in my cold, wet hometown of England.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the beauty there. Even the bus ride was a pleasure. I never thought I would say like this in South America. The landscape was so unexpected, I didn’t imagine Colombia to have this much beauty. There lay fresh mountain waterfalls as well as luminous green hills at every turn, it was so amazing!
Bogota was my next stop. In the beginning, I thought it was a boring city with nothing different from any other. Then I opened my eyes and my heart. It attracted me. The smiles from the locals were infectious(有感染力的), love poured from their hearts.
For me, Bogota and the Colombian people changed my view on everything. I took a walk alone one night to pick up some goods. It was dark, and I was in a strange neighborhood.Yet all I could think about was how safe I felt, I almost felt like I was in my local town. People smiled and carried on with their own business. I walked more slowly and stayed for longer, that moment, I knew I had to change foreigners’ opinion on Colombia.
Thinking about the last month in Colombia, I couldn’t believe how much I had fallen in love with it. I’ve done seven countries in seven months and over twenty-five in my lifetime, and Colombia is right up there at number one! It was like a holiday romance.I will always love Colombia and anyone that tells you it is dangerous has obviously never been there before.
1.___________ impressed the writer most when he was in Cali.
A. Nice weather and mountain waterfalls
B. Friendly people and beautiful views
C. Safe neighborhood and nice people
D. Tasty coffee and beautiful views
2.Which of the statements is the writer’s opinion?
A. Cali is the second largest city in Colombia.
B. Bogota was great, and the people were friendly.
C. The writer has been to seven countries in seven months.
D. It is dangerous to travel in Colombia like other countries.
3.What writing techniques (手法)does the writer use in Paragraph 4?
A. Giving examples B. Making a definition
C. Making a comparison D. Explaining cause and effect
4.Who may be interested in this article?
A. People who like making coffee by hand.
B. People who want to have adventures.
C. People who want to do business with others.
D. people who like travelling around the world.
| Gone with the Wind Author: Margaret Mitchell ¥25 (in bookstores) ¥18 (online) Gone with the Wind is a best-seller, which tells a story that happened in the American Civil War. Scarlett O’Hara is a woman in the story who is full of energy. She is strong and saves her family but is very selfish at the same time. | ||
A Little Princess Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett ¥20 (online) A special offer: ¥18 (8:00a.m.-10:00 a.m. ) Motherless Sara Crewe’s father was very rich and Sara lived a rich and comfortable life. Then her father died and she lost everything. Her strong character made her able to fight successfully against her poverty(贫穷) and the scorn(嘲笑). It’s an excellent book for children. |
| ||
| Peter Pan Author: J.M Barrie ¥15 (in bookstores) ¥12 (online) It is a children’s story full of imagination and adventures(冒险), which is about Wendy, John, and Michael Darling’s adventures in Never-Never Land with Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up. The children are happy and lovely. | ||
1.What difficulty did Sara Crewe face in her life ?
A. The American Civil War B. The loss of her parents
C. Adventures in Never-Never Land D. Her strong character
2.We can learn from the passage that _________.
A. we can buy all the above books in bookstores
B. two of the books are written by J.M Barrie
C. all the books have children as their main characters
D. Peter Pan is ¥3 cheaper online than in bookstores
3.If you want to buy all the three books, you have to pay at least ______ online.
A. ¥30 B. ¥12 C. ¥48 D. ¥42
The day before my daughter Norah’s fourth birthday, I picked her up from preschool. On the way, she said, “I like old people best because they walk slowly like I walk slowly and they have soft skin like I have soft skin.”What she said marked a ______beginning.
The following day—her birthday—again on the way home, she asked ______ we could stop at the store to buy cakes for her. How could I say ______ to a birthday girl? After paying for the bill, I noticed that Norah was standing up in the cart, ________announcing, “Hi, old person! It’s my birthday today!” However, the old man in front of her didn’t show he was______ by my talkative child. He ______ with a smile, “Well, little lady! And how old are you today?” After a few minutes’ chat, Norah offered to take a photo with the old man called Mr. Dan, his expression changed from surprised to delighted. We exchanged our phone numbers. There was magic happening in the store that day, and we could ________ feel it.
During our first visit in Mr. Dan’s home, We walked with him to his front door. He pulled out a knife and ______ the only blooming red rose. He spent ten minutes cutting every thorn（刺）_____ the stem（茎）before handing it to his new friend. Norah keeps that rose, now_______as a bone, under her pillow for a long time.
Norah asks about Mr. Dan every day. She worries about him. She wonders if he’s ______, or cold. She wants him to be OK. She wants him to feel loved. Mr. Dan thinks about Norah too. After ______ recent visit, he said that he had ______ had a whole night’s sleep since his wife died. “Norah has healed me since meeting her.” he said. That left me ______ and my eyes wet with tears. Somehow, their hearts and souls seem to recognize each other from long ago. Sometimes talking to strangers can ________ beautiful new beginnings.
1.A. broken B. beautiful C. boring D. busy
2.A. what B. that C. if D. when
3.A. hello B. no C. yes D. thanks
4.A. excitedly B. sadly C. luckily D. carefully
5.A. treated B. trained C. trapped D. troubled
6.A. realized B. replied C. repeated D. recorded
7.A. neither B. both C. all D. none
8.A. let B. get C. put D. cut
9.A. off B. down C. into D. away
10.A. wet B. white C. dry D. red
11.A. relaxed B. excited C. lonely D. silly
12.A. the other B. another C. other D. others
13.A. never B. always C. often D. usually
14.A. useless B. meaningless C. careless D. speechless
15.A. belong to B. lead to C. thanks to D. speak to
