In today's fast-paced (快节奏) society, few people take time to enjoy the midday meal.Most of us just rush right through it. We grab a quick salad, or buy a sandwich and eat at our computers, Sometimes, if there is a deadline around the corner, we just skip lunch.
The development of technology hasn't done our eating habits much good either.We are constantly distracted by e-mail, social media, and 24 - hour news.Even when we do sit down for lunch, we are more connected to our hand - held electronic devices.
Long working hours can cause all kinds of health problems, and many developed countries have put in place labor laws specifically regarding the lunch break.These laws give employees the right to take a break during a long work shift, but it's up to them whether they do so or not.
Frank Partnoy, a former Wall Street trader, says that employers should encourage workers to take time off for lunch.This is because long lunch breaks can benefit both individuals and society.
Writing in The Guardian, Partnoy says that one obvious reason to take a lunch break is to slow down and gain some perspective(认识). A break from work allows us to think strategically and outside the box.It also puts our daily tasks into a broader context(背景).
What we eat at lunch is also important.In Partnoy' s opinion, a fast food lunch is more harmful than not having lunch at all. And it's not just about calories and unhealthy food.Recent studies show that fast food also has negative effects on how we think.
However, if we sit down at a proper restaurant and chat leisurely with colleagues, we are more likely to slow down, something that hardly can be achieved in a noisy and over — packed fast food chain.
Despite these benefits, some employees might still be unwilling to take time off for lunch.Partnoy's suggestion? Make skipping lunch difficult: Employers could ask workers to fill out a form stating their reasons for skipping the meal.
1.What does the underlined phrase "skip lunch" mean in the first paragraph?
A.have a quick lunch B.don't have lunch
C.work while having lunch D.take a lunch break
2.Which of the following is true according to the text?
A.Modern technology results in good diet habits.
B.Electronic devices make our life comfortable.
C.Many people are too busy to have a good lunch.
D.Laws have passed to make workers have lunch.
3.According to Frank Partnoy, long lunch breaks .
A.are time for the workers to relax their mind
B.make the employees work longer hours
C.are for employees to have a quick lunch
D.make the workers eat a proper lunch at home
4.In Partnoy's opinion, a fast food lunch .
A.saves a lot of time for a rest
B.affects people's way of thinking
C.is better than having no lunch
D.makes workers sit down and think
5.What might be the author's purpose in writing the text?
A.To warn us not to eat fast food.
B.To introduce Frank Partnoy's opinion.
C.To encourage us to work more efficiently.
D.To show the importance of a proper lunch.
高三学生李梅就如何提高自己的英语写作水平写信向外籍教师Mary请教。请你代替Mary写封回信。
写作要点:
1、对英语写作的认识;
2、至少提出三点建议;
3、举例说明英语写作水平是怎样提高的。
注意:
1、词数120左右;
2、开头和结尾已为你写好,不计入总词数。
Dear Li Mei,
Your letter reached me this morning. Now I’d like to share my opinion with you.
Sincerely hoping you can benefit from the above and will make great progress in your writing.
Best wishes!
Yours,
Mary
It often seems that people have a hard time in speaking a seemingly familiar name. Did you ever have someone's name on the tip of your tongue and yet you were not able to recall it? When this happened,what did you do? Next time this happens again,what should you do?
You should not try to recall it. Instead, just do something else for a couple of minutes and then the name may come into your head. Why? The name is just there, since you have met this person and learned his name. It, waiting there, only has to be dug out. The initial(最初的) effort to recall prepares the mind for operation, but it is the subconscious (下意识的) activities that go to work to dig up a dim(模糊的)memory. Forcing yourself to recall almost never helps because it doesn't loosen your memory; it only tightens it.
That’s why students find the preparatory method greatly helpful in examinations. They read over the questions before trying to answer any of them. Then they answer first the ones of which they are most confident. At the same time, deeper mental activities in the subconscious mind are taking place; work is being done on the more difficult questions. By the time the easier questions are answered, answers to the more difficult ones will usually begin to come into consciousness. It is often just a question of waiting for recall to come to the memory.
You see, forcing ourselves to think hard to recall something usually doesn’t help. Chances are that the harder we think, the more difficulty we face in thinking of what we want to. Offering our mind time to work is what we are expected to do.
Problem |
People 1.______ to recall what they are sure they know. |
Solution |
They are 2.______ not to try to recall it immediately. They can do something else for a while 3._____ of thinking hard about it. |
4.______ |
It takes time for the subconscious activities to go to work to dig up a dim memory, in which case forcing oneself to recall can make the memory 5._____. |
Example |
Students find the preparatory method of great 6.______ in examinations. They, having read over the questions, first answer easy ones. 7._____, the subconscious activities are 8._____ to deal with harder ones. |
9.______ |
People should offer their mind time to work so that a dim memory can be 10._____ up. |
The Mandarin Chinese word for “cha” is pronounced “t'e” in certain Chinese dialects(方言). Also the Malay word for the leaf is“the”. This word “the” was used to describe both the drink and the leaf. The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as the Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference; so these may be the origins of our word tea in the western world.
Tea may have been discovered in 2737 BC by Shen Nong, a Chinese Emperor of the San Huang Period(3,000 - 2,700 BC). He was a scholar, the father of agriculture and the inventor of Chinese herbal medicine. One summer day, while visiting a distant place, he and the court stopped to rest and his servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and made it a brown liquid. The Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. The tree was a wild tea tree, and so, tea was created.
The first samples(样品) of tea reached England between 1652 and 1654. Tea was referred to as the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, and tea and was at first regarded more as a medicine than a fashionable drink. The original English pronunciation of the word tea was “tay” and can be traced back to around 1655 when the Dutch introduced both word and beverage(饮料)to England. The pronunciation “tee” also originated in the 1600's but only gained predominance(主导地位)after the late 18th century.
By 1650 the Dutch were actively involved in trade throughout the Western world. During that year Peter Stuyvesant brought the first tea to America to the colonists(殖民地定居者)in the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam (later re-named New York).
1.The following information is true EXCEPT ________.
A. The Japanese write the character for tea the same way as we Chinese.
B. It was a Chinese Emperor who first found tea very refreshing.
C. The word “the” was used to describe only the leaf.
D. Tea was discovered quite by chance in history.
2.Paragraph 2 mainly tells us ________.
A. that Shen Nong, was a famous inventor of Chinese herbal medicine
B. why the Emperor was brave and dared to run risks
C. whether Shen Nong liked drinking boiled water outside the court
D. the way in which tea was created outdoors
3.Which of the following information is FALSE according to the text?
① Tea was at first regarded just as a fashionable drink in England.
② Tea had different names during the early days it reached England.
③ The pronunciation “tee”originated in 1600.
④ Peter Stuyvesant introduced both word “tay” and beverage(饮料)to England.
⑤ The pronunciation“tee”became popular after the late 18th century.
A. ①② B. ②③ C. ④⑤ D. ①④
4.From Paragraph 3 we know ________.
A. that the leaf tea should be put in hot water for drinking
B. that tea was called the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, t'e and tea in England
C. what the early situation of tea was like in the Western world
D. that tea was first brought to America in the late 16th century
Mu Yumin had no idea that when he stopped by the computer club as a freshman looking for something fun, it would decide his career four years later.The 22 -year -old biology major at Huazhong University of Science and Technology found a job as an IT technician in Shanghai." My experience in the club gave me another 'diploma' ," said Mu." More importantly, I found something I am good at and can make a living from."
Now campuses(校园) around the country have started recruiting(吸收某人为新成员) fresh faces for all kinds of clubs.Upperclassmen and experts suggest a hobby-based choice of clubs, which might have a lasting impact(影响)on one' s life and career Zhang Ling did not get many chances to write stories as an environmental protection major at Jiangxi University of Science and Technology.But this changed when she joined the university broadcast station.Her daily interviews with students and teachers expanded her horizon.Now she is determined to become a journalist on environmental issues with her degree in environmental protection."Journalism changed my life track," said the 22 –year-old girl."I only wanted to be a science teacher in a local senior high school.But now I am applying for a graduate school in journalism."
Lan Yujie, professor at Anhui University of Technology, regards Mu and Zhang as good examples of choosing "what I like" instead of " what is practical" in finding jobs and seeking further study. "Some freshmen don't know what to choose," said Lan."Just following a hobby and doing something you like can easily give you the experience that makes you happy and special."
Lan further says that joining clubs should not necessarily have a purpose, As part of campus life, a club experience will impact one's life and career m one way or another."The point of clubs is to have as many diverse(多样的)experiences as possible so that students can explore more of their life," said Lan.
1.Why did Mu Yumin join the computer club?
A.To get another diplomA. B.To change his major.
C.To find a good joB. D.To have a good time.
2.Which of the followings is true about Zhang Ling?
A.She didn't intend to be a journalist.
B.She changed her major to journalism.
C.She now works as a science teacher
D.She's graduated from the university.
3.According to the text, joining the campus club has many advantages EXCEPT .
A.helping you know what you really like
B.making you plan your career better
C.helping you to make more friends
D.obtaining more life experiences
4.What can we learn from Lan Yujie's words in the last paragraph?
A.Club experiences will affect students' life and career
B.Students should be practical in finding jobs
C.Joining clubs should have a clear goal.
D.Students will have a colorful campus life by joining clubs.
5.What is the main idea of the text?
A.How to change your major.
B.Joining a campus club for a diploma.
C.How to find a job after graduation
D.Joining a club to explore more of your life.
GAOMI, Shandong, Oct.11( Xinhua)—Chinese writer Mo Yan said last Thursday that he was "very surprised" at winning the Nobel Literature Prize.
Speaking to reporters at a hotel in his hometown Gaomi city in east China's Shandong Province, Mo said, " (I was)very surprised upon winning the prize because I felt I was not very senior in terms of qualification ( among Chinese writers).There are many good writers and my ranking was not so high."
"I am very happy," he saiD."I was having dinner when I received the news.I was surprised.”
"Thank you for coming all the way to Gaomi.This should be a season of red sorghum, but no such crop is planted any more. I believe none of you have seen the crop," he said.
"The Nobel Literature Prize is a very important literature prize, but not the top awarD.It represents the opinions of the jury(评审团 ).I am satisfied with my major works and I still keep writing by hand.My works are Chinese literature, which is part of world literature.They show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs.Meanwhile, my novels described human beings in the broad sense.I wrote in the perspective of a human being.These works stand beyond regions and ethnic groups," he said.
"The folk arts and folk culture accompanied my growth and I was influenced by the cultural elements I witnessed through my childhood.When I picked up the pen for literature creation, the folk cultural elements inevitably entered my novels and affected and even determined the artistic styles of my works," he added.
Mo's win brought joy to other writers and readers throughout the country as he is the first Chinese national to win the Nobel Literature Prize in its century-long history.
Born into a farmer's family in a village in Gaomi, Mo has been known since the late 1980s for his novels such as Big Breasts and Wide Hips and Red Sorghum(红高粱), which was later adapted into a film by director Zhang Yimou.
1.Mo Yan was surprised at winning the Nobel Prize because he felt________ .
A.he was not as famous as other writers
B.he was not the best writer in China
C.he was born in a farmer's family
D.he didn't have good education
2.According to Mo Yan, .
A.red sorghum should be planted in his hometown
B.the Nobel Prize represents the opinions of the public
C.he still keeps the habit of writing by hand
D.his novels described human beings of all regions
3.By reading Mo Yan's works, we can .
A.increase our sense of national pride
B.learn a lot about the Chinese folk culture
C.form a vivid picture of his childhood
D.learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize
4.Which of the following words can best describe Mo Yan?
A.modest B.self--confident C.humorous D.romantic
5.Where might you find the article?
A.In a novel. B.In a travel book
C.In a newspaper. D.In a student book