Dark clouds appear over the River Mersey and a cold wind is blowing. A few raindrops are beginning to fall. We’re in the famous city of Liverpool and we’re going to spend this rainy day in the Williamson Tunnels, which were built by a man named Joseph Williamson.
Joseph Williamson was born into a poor family in 1769. At the age of 11, he left home and went to work for a tobacco company. He began at the bottom and worked his way up to become head of the business.
Williamson spent 30 years building these tunnels. From his death to this very day, these tunnels have remained a puzzle to researchers. Nobody knows why Williamson dug tunnels under most of Liverpool, but many think it was to create jobs. It is believed that about half of Liverpool’s population worked for him.
I go on a guided tour starting close to where his empire (集团) began in Edge Hill. In the tunnels, the steps leading from rooms below ground to those buildings, which no longer exist, seem particularly ghostly (幽灵似的).
We go into the Double Tunnel. It’s just been discovered that it’s actually a triple tunnel – but nobody knows why the three tunnels were built on top of each other.
We finish the tour and decide we’ll have coffee in the Williamson Tunnels Cafe Bar. There, I notice lots of flyers (宣传单) for bands and theater groups that are coming to play there.
Apart from the obvious attractions like the football clubs, or anything to do with the Beatles, Liverpool has a lot to offer. You should definitely visit Liverpool.
1.How was the weather in Liverpool when the writer arrived there?
_______________________________________
2.Who was Joseph Williamson?
_______________________________________
3.According to some people, why did Williamson dig tunnels under Liverpool?
_______________________________________
4.What are Paragraphs 4 and 5 mainly about?
_______________________________________
5.What’s the purpose of writing this passage?
_______________________________________
1 Ring, ring, ring, the alarm bell sounds. It’s school time again! After a long, relaxing and comfortable winter holiday, are you ready for the new semester? Whether you feel excited to see your classmates or maybe a little nervous about the coming schoolwork, heading back to school is a time of transition (过渡). How can we adjust to (适应) the new semester? Here are some ways to make the transition from holiday to school a little easier.
2 It’s perfectly normal to feel nervous on the first day of school. Getting back to the school routine (常规) and adjusting to new workloads (工作量) takes some time after a long winter break. So how can we deal with being nervous? Just think about your first day in previous (以前的) years. Everything will go well once you get into the routine. Just relax and be patient.
3 If you went to bed and got up late during the holiday, you will have to change your body clock back to normal. Go to bed earlier the week before classes start. This way, you won’t be tired after the first few days of school. Also, having some warm-ups before school time is helpful. Doing exercise or making plans for the following week are some other good ideas.
4 It makes you feel organized (有条理的) if you are prepared and have all the supplies you need. It is better to pack your schoolbag the night before school starts.
5 What about wearing something you like? Maybe you got a new schoolbag during the holiday, or new sneakers (橡皮底帆布鞋) that can put a spring in your step. If you wear a school uniform, you can wear your favorite watch or a new hair band to show your personal style.
A. Start your school-year schedule
B. Back to school fashion
C. Deal with your nerves
D. Prepare your school supplies
E. Say goodbye to last year and adjust to the new semester.
1.________
2.________
3._________
4.________
5._________
Thousands of years ago, Shennong, who had an ox (公牛) head and a human body, lived in south China. Seeing that local people were suffering from disease, he built ladders and houses on a high mountain to store hundreds of medicinal plants. 1.This legend (传说) has made Shennongjia in Hubei an inviting place for tourists.
You can see natural scenery from all four seasons at different altitudes. “When the bottom of the mountain is summer, the top is spring and while the foothill is autumn, the top is covered with ice,” local people say of the special climate (气候) of Shennongjia.
Shennongjia is also home to 5,000 species of animals and plants. 2. For example, the golden monkey, the clouded leopard (云豹) and the Asian black bear live in this area.
One interesting and mysterious thing about Shennongjia is its “Bigfoot” legends. Some people have claimed that they have seen huge footprints or large man-like beasts. 3. Some say they are just bears.
4. On July 17, 2016, the Shennongjia Forestry District was added to the United Nations World Heritage list as a natural site. It was China’s 50th world heritage sites (遗址).
A.But scientists haven’t proven that they exist.
B.To remember him, people named the place Shennongjia.
C.This beautiful place recently earned a new title.
D.Many rare animals live there.
E.Traveling there is a special experience.
Why do many Chinese people refuse to cut their hair during the first month of the lunar year?
This is because people believe that getting a haircut during the first lunar month is not a good idea. Tradition says that doing so will cause your mother's brothers to die. Although it's not true, some people still believe it.
So, after a month's wait, people usually flock to cut their hair on Dragon Head-Raising Day —the second day of the second lunar month. It was once tradition to line up outside of barber shops on this day.
Dragon Head-Raising Day falls on Feb 24 this year. It is an important traditional Chinese holiday. Ancient people believed that after this day, rainfall would increase because the rain-bringing Dragon King would wake up from his winter sleep. So that day is the start of spring and farming.
A well-known phrase (俗语) goes, “On the second day of the second month, the dragon lifts his head.” Besides cutting their hair, there are also other ways to celebrate this holiday. For example, people eat food with “dragon names". People call noodles dragon's beard . Dumplings are dragon's ears and spring rolls (春卷) are dragon's scales (龙鳞).
1.In ancient times, people believed cutting their hair during the first lunar month ____.
A.would make the Dragon King angry
B.would cause their mothers' brothers to die
C.would bring them bad luck
D.would cost them more than usual
2.The underlined word "flock" probably means ________.
A.gather B.refuse C.forget D.disagree
3.Paragraph 3 and 4 mainly tell us _________.
A.people’s expectations for rainfall in ancient China
B.that dragons stand for good luck in Chinese culture
C.about the relationship between Dragon Head-raising Day and hair cutting
D.the traditional meaning of Dragon Head-raising Day holiday.
4.What do we know about Dragon Head-raising Day from the story?
A.People eat dragons to celebrate the holiday.
B.Young people don't celebrate the holiday
C.People visit their uncles during the holiday.
D.It is seen as the start of spring.
“Please don’t travel to Wuhan unless it’s absolutely necessary,” Zhong Nanshan, a famous respiratory (呼吸科的) expert, reminded the public when the novel coronavirus (新型冠状病毒) first hit Wuhan. But despite the danger, he, 84, rushed on an overnight train to Wuhan to fight the disease.
Known as the hero who defeated SARS in 2003, Zhong’s image and messages are flooding (遍布) social media. Many people say they “trust every word of Zhong”. He has given Chinese people confidence in winning the battle.
A great doctor and honest scholar (学者)
Growing up in a family of doctors, Zhong lives by a simple motto (信条): save lives and always be honest. In 2003, when SARS hit China, he volunteered to treat patients and asked his colleagues (同事) to send their most serious cases to him. After months of work, his treatment plan for SARS was adopted (采纳) by China and then the whole world, saving thousands of lives.
Zhong is also known for being an honest scholar. In 2003, when authorities (官方) said that the SARS virus was under control, he publicly refuted their claim. “I couldn’t help myself. I said it’s not all under control,” Zhong said in a later interview. His honesty won widespread praise from the Chinese public.
Back to the frontlines
Seventeen years later, Zhong is once again leading an expert team to study the novel coronavirus. Although this new virus is known to be more dangerous to the elderly, Zhong doesn’t seem worried about his own safety.
On Jan 18, he took a high-speed train from Guangzhou to Wuhan. Two days later, he became the first expert to make certain that the new virus can be spread between humans. On January 29, he and his colleagues spent over four hours online checking five patients who were in serious condition. The next day, he chose the treatment for those patients. Under his guidance, his team developed a rapid test kit (快速检测试剂盒) for the disease that can show results within 15 minutes.
As People’s Daily wrote, “the 84-year-old Zhong Nanshan shows his professionalism as a scholar, courage as a soldier, and a sense of duty as the backbone (脊梁) of our nation.”
1.Which one would NOT be used to describe Zhong Nanshan?
A.He is an expert. B.He is confident.
C.He is dishonest. D.He is brave.
2.What achievements did Zhong make in the fight against SARS?
A.He was the first doctor to start treating SARS patients.
B.He treated the most serious patients online.
C.His treatment plan saved lots of people.
D.He stated that SARS was under control.
3.What does the underlined word “refute” mean?
A.To support other’s opinions.
B.To say that a statement was false.
C.To mock or laugh at authorities.
D.To be in the fight against the epidemic.
4.What has Zhong done to fight the disease?
A.He said that the virus could spread between humans.
B.He treated five severe patients in one day.
C.He chose some special patients to receive treatment.
D.The test kit from his team can show results in 51 seconds.
Sometimes, I doubt whether there is any love between my parents. Every day they are busy trying to make money. They don’t act romantically the way couples do in books and on TV. They never say: “I love you.” It’s not their style.
One day, my mother was sewing (缝) a quilt (被子). I sat down beside her.
“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.
“What?” she asked while still working.
“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her.
She didn’t answer right away.
I thought I had hurt her.
“Susan, look at this thread (线),” she said finally. “Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. It makes the quilt strong. If life was a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere, but it’s still important.”
The next spring, my father suddenly got very sick. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month.
After they got back, she helped my father walk slowly down the road every day. My father had never been so fragile (脆弱的).
“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.
“Susan, don’t worry about me,” he said. “I just like walking with your mom.”
Once, I thought love meant flowers and gifts. Now, I know that love is the thread that holds a family together.
1.How did the writer’s parents appear to act at first?
A.They often argued with each other.
B.They usually acted romantically.
C.They were busy making money.
D.They always said “I love you”.
2.The writer thought there may be no love between her parents because _____.
A.they never said “I love you” to each other
B.they didn’t take care of each other
C.they didn’t often read books together
D.they didn’t like to watch TV together
3.The writer wrote the story mainly to tell us ______.
A.how to sew a quilt
B.how to express love
C.what true love is
D.what makes a happy family
