Halloween is usually celebrated on October 31 or in the weekends before and after this date amongst family, friends and, sometimes, co-workers. In the UK, Halloween traditions are very popular. Here are some of the most common ones.
Pumpkin lanterns
These are pumpkins with the insides taken out and eyes, a mouth and a nose cut into one side. A candle is placed inside the empty pumpkin. The light creates a "scary face" effect. People make pumpkin lanterns to decorate their homes and gardens on Halloween.
But do people actually eat their pumpkins? Yes, they do! Pumpkin soup and pumpkin curry are very popular meals at this time of year.
Dressing up
People of all ages dress up on Halloween. The most popular costume (化装服) ideas include witches, vampires, ghosts, skeletons, zombies and monsters. You can buy a costume from a shop or make your own at home. It's easy to make a ghost costume from an old white sheet (床单) or wear black clothes to look like a witch.
Trick-or-treating
The custom of "trick-or-treat" appeared in the 1950s. It came from the US and is the most popular among kids. Children dress up in fancy costumes and visit the houses in their neighborhood asking for a "trick or treat". Their neighbors give them sweets or money as a treat. If there is no treat, the children play a trick on the neighbor. Some people think that playing tricks is rude (粗鲁的), but luckily, there is almost always a treat. People often have a bowl of small presents or sweets to offer to anyone who knocks on your door.
Whether you decide to go to a Halloween party or go trick-or-treating, we hope you've got some ideas for celebrating Halloween.
1.Why do people make pumpkin lanterns?
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2.How do people get a costume to dress up?
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3.When did the custom of "trick-or-treat" appear?
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4.Who gave the children sweets as a treat?
_________________________
5.What is the passage mainly about?
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Many students think about how to best spend their time while studying. But what we can do before study can be important too—especially if you want to improve your memory of what you have learned.
Exercise
Before you study, doing cardiovascular exercise (有氧运动) may help you better remember what you learn. High-intensity exercise (高强运动) may be especially helpful. In a 2018 study, published in the journal Physiology and Behavior, researchers found that a group of young people who did 15 minutes of high-intensity training remembered more words.
Some studies suggest the importance of different kinds of exercise. It seems that both long, slow cardiovascular exercise and high-intensity exercise have different effects on memory. Researchers have suggested combining the two to get the best effects for your memory.
Location
Location is also important for improving your learning. While it is good to have a desk or a special study area, some research suggests that changing where you study could help you remember more of what you study.
Our memories sometimes depend on things in our environment. For example, a book might remind you of something interesting or strange you learned while reading it.
"Environmental Context and Human Memory," a famous study on memory, dealt with the question of memory and our surroundings. Researchers Smith, Glenberg and Bjork found that environmental context played a big part in how well people remembered words. The researchers noted that subjects who learned from a list remembered an average of 15.9 words, while subjects who learned in two different contexts remembered an average of 24.4 words.
Be sure to plan your location before you start to study.
Pre-study test
Students often study with a test in mind. They think the test is the final step to show how much they have learned. But taking a pre-study test is also important.
In 2018, researchers found that students who took a test before learning new material did much better after studying the material. The research was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.
So, try to take a pre-study test.
We have explored three things you can do before study to improve your learning. In the future, we will explore things you can do during and after your study sessions to improve your learning.
1.According to the text, _____ before you study may help you remember better.
A.running 15 minutes
B.sleeping for a while
C.reading English words
D.drinking plenty of water
2.What's the meaning of "combining the two" in Paragraph 3?
A.joining the two together to relax
B.doing the two things at the same time
C.doing the two things to work together
D.joining the two together to make a single one
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Pre-study test is more important than the final test.
B.Researcher Smith suggests people remember words in a list.
C.The researchers have explored what to do after the study.
D.Environmental context can help improve human memory.
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Things to do before you study
B.How to spend your time while studying?
C.How to improve your memory?
D.Importance of studying your memory
Painful for Your Ears
Do you often listen to music at loud volumes? You should know that this habit is bad for your hearing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The human ear has three different parts. The outer ear is the part you can see. The middle ear and inner ear are inside your head. That doesn't mean those parts can't be hurt. They can be harmed by loud noises. Over one billion young people are at risk of hearing loss due to listening to loud noise for long periods of time, said WHO. Listening to music or watching a TV show at loud volumes can harm your hearing.
Sounds are measured in decibels (dB分贝). A whisper is 30 dB. A friend talking is about 60 dB. The sound of a busy road is about 85 dB and the sound of a rock concert can be about 100 dB. The United Nations has standards for safe listening. It is not safe to listen to sounds that are louder than 85 dB for eight hours or 100 dB for 15 minutes.
Loud noise is harmful to the inner ear. Most of us are born with about 16,000 hair cells (听毛细胞) in our inner ears. These cells detect (探测) sounds. However, listening to loud noise for a long time can make these cells work too hard and cause some of them to die. This is what causes hearing loss.
Some people might think that their music isn't all that loud. But this can depend on where you are. For example, if you are in a noisy place like the subway, you might turn up your music too loud without realizing it. Later, when you listen to it the same volume in a quiet place, you might feel uncomfortable.
What can be done to protect your hearing? Use noise-canceling (降噪) headphones. These headphones get rid of background noise. You don't need to turn up the volume as much. Keep your device volume at 50 to 60 percent. Limit daily use of headphones. Listen to sound on your mobile devices for a maximum of one hour per day.
The less loud noise you hear, the better!
1.Listening to loud music causes hearing problems because_______.
A.it can stop our ears from resting
B.it puts our brains under great pressure
C.it can cause hair cells in the inner ear to die
D.it makes people get used to listening to loud sounds
2.From paragraph 5, we can know_______.
A.people love to listen to loud music
B.people don't always know how loud their music is
C.it's great to listen to music on the subway
D.it's reasonable to listen to loud music in some places
3.The writer probably agrees that _______.
A.people have to wear headphones while walking on a busy road
B.listening to music on TV is better for hearing than on mobile devices
C.young people should set a time limit of listening to music at loud volumes
D.wearing noise-canceling headphones can stop the outer ears being harmed
The Paper Boy
Before I could turn 10, I had lost my parents. To support myself and my education, I began to deliver newspapers.
I would get up every morning at 5 am and walk five kilometers from Hydery to the newspaper office in Bazar. By 6 am, I would collect 50 copies of newspaper which must have weighed over five kilos. After delivering them, I would rush home, another three kilometers away, cook my breakfast, eat quickly and go to school.
One morning, I found a boy of my age at my doorstep. He introduced himself as Jimmy and said his parents wanted to see me. I guessed they wished to subscribe to (订阅) the newspaper, so I followed him to his place nearby.
Jimmy's mother opened the door. She served me a large plate of snacks and fruit salad. It was a rich breakfast, one that brought back memories of the happy time with my parents. As I was about to leave, Jimmy's father, Mr. Kader, appeared with a new bicycle.
"This is for you!" He said, patting my shoulder.
"But I have no money!" I replied.
"Who is asking you to pay for this, my son?" He continued.
It took me a few seconds to sense the warm moment. I didn't even realize my tears were rolling down my face. Jimmy's mother held me closely. It was like home, as if my mother were there.
I bowed, thankfully, and left. This time, I didn't have to walk—I had the bicycle!
The bicycle saved my life for many years thereafter and taught me a lifelong lesson: Help should always be need-based.
1.How did the writer support himself?
A.By selling the newspaper. B.By collecting newspaper. C.By delivering newspaper. D.By printing the newspaper.
2.Jimmy's parents asked the writer to their home because _______.
A.they wanted him to buy snacks B.they wanted to help him C.they wished him to be their son D.they wished to thank him
3.To the writer, the bicycle was _______.
A.the tool of his childhood
B.the symbol of the friendship
C.something that made him recall his mum
D.something that got him out of difficulties
Peking Opera ·Do you like Peking Opera? Come and join us. ·At 8:30 am every Sunday ·At the Red Star Theater ·Tickets are free | Blue Sea Hotel ·Two restaurants (24 hours) ·Swimming pool ·Double room: 180 yuan/night ·Single room: 220 yuan/ night |
Fashion Week ·At 3: 00 pm May 12 ·At the White Cloud Cinema ·Price: 200 yuan each person ·Models come from China, Russia, Italy and Japan | Welcome to Our Food Festival ·Time: 3:00 pm-7:00 pm Saturday, April 16 ·On the playground of No. 5 Middle School ·Help raise money to plant more trees |
1.Where can we enjoy Peking Opera?
A.At the Red Star Theater. B.At the Blue Sea Hotel. C.At the White Cloud Cinema. D.At No. 5 Middle School.
2.We can enjoy the show at Fashion Week _______.
A.at 8:30 am every Sunday B.at 3:00 pm May 12 C.at 7:00 pm on April 16 D.at any time on May 12
3.The food festival is being held to raise money to _______.
A.help sick children B.plant more trees C.help build restaurants D.buy food for poor kids
Valuable Gifts
When my mother told my father she was pregnant (怀孕), the first thing he did was to buy a TV. It was 1957 and TVs were new technology. He thought that with a baby, they would go out less and he would need to find entertainment at home.
That was the first _______ he gave me.
But when I think of other gifts my father has given me, the first would be a love of _______. He is always found reading in our study. He has been totally deaf in one ear since he was two, so we rarely listened to music. In my childhood, storybooks were king, not songs.
The second is _______ all. He treats everyone the same—CEO or cleaner, child or adult. Even when I was little, the conversation around the dinner table was noisy but adult-level. He always said my age didn't matter. If I voiced an opinion, I had to argue the case and give evidence (证据).
The greatest gift to me, however, was that he took interest in my _______ and never my looks. Most successful women had fathers who_______ their intelligence. My father said that my mother was the most intelligent person he had ever met. He still says that.
They met at a dance in the early 50s when she was a teacher. Wanting to show off, he told her she reminded him of Jane Austen's Emma, then misquoted (错误地引用) the book. My mother _______ corrected him and he was in love from that moment.
Over the years, my father taught me never to stand _______ and never to accept the way things are; I should find for change. I will continue to follow his _______.
1.A.book B.toy C.doll D.gift
2.A.writing B.reading C.singing D.dancing
3.A.respecting B.choosing C.changing D.facing
4.A.hope B.hobbies C.success D.brains
5.A.required B.accepted C.valued D.dreamed
6.A.hopefully B.nervously C.politely D.proudly
7.A.still B.quiet C.silent D.calm
8.A.idea B.lead C.plan D.advice
