Camels certainly like eating green grass, not dry grass. But 1. (strange), camels always keep looking for dry grass 2. their stomachs are filled up.
A classmate of 3. (I) whose home is on the edge of Turpan Basin in Xinjiang told me his home has two camels; he said you could imagine a camel’s appetite, for it can slowly swallow dozens of kilograms of hay (干草). I asked him 4. camels eat hay, not green grass. He said the camel is a kind of animal with 5. strong sense of suffering, 6. (fear) its master letting it travel through the desert the next day, and the hay in its stomach is more hunger-resistant 7. green grass.
The camel has the best tolerance. Unfortunately, many people can only see a camel’s outstanding performance, but few understand its 8. (prepare) made for it.
Life, 9. a camel traveling through the desert, 10. (need) the adequate accumulation, but not everyone can understand it.
My heart beat with that feeling, like blood to my body as my fingers flew across the piano keys. As the piece neared the end, I up to take my final bow. For a second, the room was . Yet, even in that one second, I had enough time to whether I had done perfectly. Then, , the applause (掌声) came.
“Thank you… so much,” I said, to the person standing on my other side. Olga, my piano teacher for six years, smiled back at me. “You’ve been an student all these years,” she said, “I hope that whatever you do, you never stop .”
I leaned forward, I would keep playing because I loved piano, and hugged her.
As it , the promises weren’t as meaningful as I’d hoped. Right after the , I kept up my strict practicing schedule every day. , it began slipping away from me. The reason I had stopped taking was because of my busy schedule with homework. Not long after, I stopped practicing altogether. It was not to have to stress about piano anymore. But something was inside of me. I was empty inside.
One day I met Michelle, who had also taken piano lessons from Olga.
“Are you taking lessons from Olga?” she asked.
“Actually I just quit a while ago,” I replied.
“That’s a ,” she responded, “I remember your performance a year ago; it was .”
Two days after talking to Michelle, I was at a what to do. I moved slowly into the living room unconsciously, but in fact I knew what I was doing.
As the music , a familiar feeling rose inside me.
1.A. showed B. sat C. stood D. looked
2.A. light B. quiet C. colorful D. nervous
3.A. expect B. remind C. know D. doubt
4.A. immediately B. successfully C. hopefully D. suddenly
5.A. turning B. waving C. running D. pointing
6.A. easy-going B. imaginative C. amazing D. honest
7.A. practising B. learning C. competing D. gaining
8.A. telling B. promising C. admitting D. speaking
9.A. carried on B. brought up C. turned out D. taken in
10.A. performance B. final C. presentation D. play
11.A. Soon B. Besides C. Thus D. Instead
12.A. lectures B. parts C. lessons D. pieces
13.A. disappointing B. pleasing C. inspiring D. puzzling
14.A. beating B. rising C. changing D. shining
15.A. still B. even C. much D. yet
16.A. shame B. relief C. pleasure D. deal
17.A. challenging B. breathtaking C. demanding D. embarrassing
18.A. time B. heart C. dream D. loss
19.A. normally B. exactly C. unclearly D. badly
20.A. ended B. hit C. covered D. spread
After the popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge, another challenge now is hot in India. Indians give rice to their poor neighbors for a charity (慈善) which is called “Rice Bucket Challenge”. 1. It is about giving a bucket of rice to someone who is in need and taking a picture named “Rice Bucket Challenge” to share online. The aim of the activity is to help the poor and hungry people in India, and the movement’s Facebook page has so far clocked up more than 50,000 likes. 2. The activity was started by Manju Latha Kalanidhi, a 38-year-old journalist, who thought the Ice Bucket Challenge was a little strange. She said, “Hunger is a disease anybody would connect.” The challenge has gained a lot of support with students signing up in Indian Institute of Management, and more and more people join in it. 3.
India is the world’s second-biggest rice consumer, with a storage of 21.2 million tons of the grains. 4. It has suffered with mass hunger, and last year was ranked 63rd of 78 countries on the International Food Policy Research Institute’s global hunger index. How to participate in this activity? First, pick up a bucket of rice from your home and give it to the neighboring people who are in need. 5. At last, invite online all your friends and ask them to take up the challenge. It is important to post back on Facebook because it will inspire all your friends to come forward. All the people get together and make a difference!
A. Besides, hand the rice bucket over to other people who are in need.
B. It is not an activity involving dumping a bucket of rice on someone’s head.
C. The activity raises the public awareness and charitable donations to agriculture.
D. The AirAsia India airline says its staff including senior management will join.
E. Then, take a picture and post it on facebook with “Rice Bucket Challenge”.
F. But it is far from enough for this country.
G. The initial inspiration came from the ice bucket challenge.
The stories we share with one another are important. They show wisdom and provide inspiration. They are important to our development. But sometimes people choose not to tell.
Consider the negative effects of not sharing a story in the news: People are wondering if public health officials are holding back too much information about the recent outbreak of Ebola.
There is a danger in holding back stories that ought to be told. Bobette Buster said it like this, “The fact is, history has shown us that stories not told can become like a dangerous genie (妖怪) left in a bottle. When they are finally uncorked, their power to destroy is set free.”
There are a number of reasons why we hide parts of our story: they often show our weaknesses or expose our disadvantages; they require courage and strength to share; and of course, there are some stories that should be kept secret—especially those that embarrass someone else.
Most of us have two selves: the one we display on the outside and the one we actually are on the inside. And the better we get at hiding the stories that show our true selves, the more damage we may be causing to ourselves and to others.
Honesty and openness is important: It proves we are trustworthy. It displays we are human. We are not perfect or better. It highlights the importance of hard work and personal development. Hard work may not allow us to overcome our disadvantages completely. But with hard work, we do not have to be restricted to our mistakes.
Does this mean we admit every weakness, every disadvantage, and every secret regret to everybody we meet? No, of course not. There is a time and a place and a certain level of relationship necessary for some stories to be told in an appropriate manner.
1.What’s the function of the example in Paragraph 2?
A. It reflects that people are concerning about the spread of Ebola.
B. It shows the bad effect caused by sharing a story.
C. It proves not sharing a story can cause trouble.
D. It concludes that one should share a story at a proper time.
2.One of the reasons why people are unwilling to share experiences is that _______.
A. story-sharing highlights the importance of hard work
B. people are used to exposing their weaknesses
C. people sometimes have no courage to share their stories
D. some stories make themselves feel uneasy
3.Which is close in meaning to the underlined word “uncorked” in Paragraph 3?
A. freed B. broken C. unfolded D. untouched
4.The writer aims to convince us to _______.
A. be open to people close to you by sharing some secrets
B. share stories appropriately for the good of others and ourselves
C. remove the dangers that can be caused by untold stories
D. realize the importance of being honest when making friends
The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC has thousands of objects on display, including the 1903 Wright Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, and a lunar rock you can touch. In addition to our exhibition galleries, you may want to visit the Albert Einstein Planetarium, Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater, and the Public Observatory on the east end. There are many things to do at the Museum in DC. We offer daily tours and educational activities for both children and adults. We also have scheduled lectures and events throughout the year.
Hours & Admission: Open every day except December 25. Admission is free.
Regular Hours: 10: 00 am to 5: 30 pm
Extended Hours: 10: 00 am to 7: 30 pm
December 26—30, 2014.
March 30—April 20, 2015.
Fridays and Saturdays, April 24—May 16, 2015.
May 17—September 7, 2015.
VISITING TIPS:
Limit the Number of Bags: All visitors are screened through metal detectors upon entry. The fewer items you bring inside the Museum, the faster your entry. Before you visit, please review the list of prohibited items, which include pocket knives and tripods (三脚架). Visitors carrying prohibited items will not be allowed inside the Museum, so please leave them at home or in your car.
No Food and Drink: Only bottled water is permitted in the Museum. You may only consume food and other drinks in the Food Court, not in the Museum. Groups who bring food are encouraged to picnic on the National Mall.
Please Take Photos: You are welcome to take photos for personal use. However, tripods and monopods (单脚架) are not permitted without approval.
First Aid: The Museum has a First Aid office and a nurse on duty. Please contact the nearest security officer or the Welcome Center for assistance.
Visit the Welcome Center:
At our Welcome Center in the South Lobby, staff and volunteers can answer any questions you have during your visit.
Open 10: 00 am to 5: 30 pm
Phone: 202-633-2214
E-mail: NASM-VisitorServices@ si. edu
1.According to the passage, the National Air and Space Museum is a museum _______.
A. where only adults can take part in some educational activities
B. everyone can pay a visit to without buying tickets
C. where one can touch anything he likes
D. everyone can visit without time limits all the year round
2.If the Greens plan to visit the Museum at 6: 00 pm, it is accessible on _______.
A. December 24, 2014 (Wednesday) B. March 1, 2015 (Sunday)
C. July 6, 2015 (Monday) D. September 15, 2015 (Tuesday)
3.A visitor to the museum can _______.
A. eat and drink in the Museum or in the Food Court
B. take photos with tripods for personal use
C. bring fewer bags to go through metal detectors
D. get some medical treatment if he suddenly falls ill
4. The purpose of this passage is to _______.
A. make an advertisement for the museum
B. attract people to explore the universe
C. encourage adults to bring their children there
D. show what is on display in the museum
CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? Every one of us gets so used to punctuation marks that not many of us give them a second thought. Actually, the ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc. The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They • put • something • that • can • separate • words • in • a • sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a dot.
When the 5th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points. The spaces separated words while the points showed pauses in reading. Then in the 13th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma (逗号).
Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation mark (感叹号) comes from the Latin word io. It means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word questio, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question.
Punctuation even keeps changing nowadays. New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example the “interrobang”. This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what?” or “How much did you pay for that dress?” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized yet, but its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.
1.From the first paragraph, we can know that _______.
A. good readers had trouble reading without punctuation marks
B. a sentence always read from left to right in ancient Greece
C. ancient Greeks switched the direction of punctuation marks
D. the use of punctuation marks can date back to ancient times
2. The passage is developed _______.
A. by time B. by space
C. by comparison D. by importance
3. We can learn from the passage that _______.
A. ancient Romans didn’t use any punctuation marks
B. exclamation and question marks came from Latin
C. spaces and slashes were already used before the 5th century
D. Aldus Manutius first started to use commas
4. What can be concluded from the last paragraph?
A. The combination of two marks will not work.
B. It takes time for people to accept new punctuation marks.
C. Old punctuation marks need to be standardized.
D. Punctuation marks are still changing today.
