I decided to cut my front lawn (草坪) today, especially since I live on a main street downtown with lots of traffic. I finished mine and decided to cut my neighbor — Joan’ grass while I was good at it. She is a sweet person who has gone through some trying times in the last year. Her brother passed away because of cancer last year, and her sister (who lives with her) was mentally challenged — yet so sweet!
It was a difficult time with physical and mental challenges that led her employer in our local hospital to let her go after 25 years of service! Lastly, my neighbor Joan, who is a nurse in our local hospital was diagnosed with esophageal(食道) cancer in December. She went through radiation and a long recovery — but thankfully she is in remission(缓解).
Anyway, in short I was leaving my house this afternoon and she stopped me to thank me for cutting her grass. She told me her dad passed away on Friday and she just arrived home from the funeral service, so she didn’t know when she would have time to cut her grass. So, when she arrived home and saw it cut she was more than happy and grateful! I said to her, "You are welcome.It’s just a small act of kindness for a neighbor."
I did it for exercise and pleasure, not knowing it meant more to her than just doing a neighbor a favor!
1.Although a lot of unfortunate matters happened to Joan, she is still .
A.pessimistic B.optimistic
C.depressed D.disappointed
2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word "trying" in the first paragraph?
A.Happy. B.Exciting. C.Simple. D.Hard.
3.What can we learn from the first three paragraphs?
A.Joan is unlucky.
B.Joan lives happily.
C.Joan has retired.
D.Joan’ employer doesn’t like her.
4.How does Joan feel about the author’s helping her cut grass?
A.She feels sad.
B.She feels only happy.
C.She feels very happy and thankful.
D.She feels easy.
It can be hard to meet people from another culture. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal（信号）. Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.
Different cultures emphasize （强调）the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in “small talk”, usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries--like the UK or France—people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafes rather than at the office.
Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realized that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.
Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment（多元文化环境）will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.
1.In some countries, eating together at restaurants may make it easier for people to ________.
A.keep each other company B.share the same Culture
C.get to know each other D.develop closer relations
2.The author mentions his experience in Thailand to show that _________.
A.even talk and silence can be culturally different
B.too many words are of no use
C.people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature
D.the English prefer to make long speeches
3.According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?
A.By sharing different ways of life.
B.By recognizing different values.
C.By accepting different habits.
D.By speaking each other’s languages.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.Multicultural Environment.
B.How to Understand Each Other.
C.Cross-Cultural Differences.
D.How to Build Up a Relationship.
Erica and Steve Lineberry have been rock climbing since 2005. They were first introduced to it while visiting a family in Montana. Now they are at climbing centers, like Inner Peaks in Charlotte, three times a week, and on weekends they climb outdoors.
Steve said they first started climbing as part of their exercise. Years later, he lost 60 pounds. But as the couple’s interest in the sport grew, they consulted some mentors and started climbing outdoors.
Then Erica got pregnant. "Most people think that rock climbing and pregnancy don’t go very well together," Erica said. But with lots of places to go, Erica kept climbing through her pregnancy. Then her son, Canaan, was born. She says the baby immediately started participating in the family sport. "He went to the gym the first time with us at four weeks old, and then we took our first outdoor trip, just a day trip, at six weeks old with him."
Now Canaan is three-year-old, and Erica is once again pregnant: 7 months along. During her first pregnancy, she blogged about climbing while pregnant. Now her Cragmama.com website is a top resource for families who rock climb. Erica said, "I think a lot of people will say, they’ll wait a few years until they get into an easier age or an easier life phase with their kids. And I think if they wait for that they’re going to wait forever." Her message to women is to quickly climb back into the things you love; and that your life is not over once you are a mother.
Cragmama.com website is quickly becoming the face of mommy rock climbing. She contributes to a handful of climbing magazines. Outdoor equipment companies ask her to wear and use their gear(设备). And her website is a popular resource for families who are not only interested in climbing with their children, but also interested in taking on other adventures too.
1.What does the author intend to tell in the passage?
A.A family who love rock climbing.
B.A couple who learn how to climb.
C.A woman who is brave to climb.
D.A story about a pregnant woman.
2.Which can replace the underlined word "mentors"?
A.Friends. B.Students.
C.Teachers. D.Leaders.
3.It can be inferred from the third paragraph that .
A.Erica never cared about her unborn baby
B.rock climbing does good to pregnant women
C.Canaan fell in love with climbing at four weeks
D.Erica is really a courageous and fearless woman
4.Who will visit Cragmama.com website?
A.The women who expect to have babies.
B.The families who have brought up a child.
C.The women who have sympathy for Erica.
D.The families who take interest in rock climbing.
If you come across the news of the death of Mr. Bean (actor Rowan Atkinson) on your Facebook account and you are curious to know more by opening a link, then think twice. Because the news is fake, a message about his suicide.
The fake news created tense moments for the fans of Atkinson who were curious to know why the actor took the step. Apparently, rumours said that the 58-year-old actor took his life after a producer dropped him from Johnny English 3. Later, it was found that both the news were fake. Such rumours have their origins in social platforms, where it is not easy to track who made them.
Trishneet Arora, ethical hacker from the city, said: "Culprits are aware that Facebook does not store data on its servers, so the chances of getting tracked are less with such platforms. Many rumours have been spread using such platforms. Since one cannot stop the culprits, users should always cross-check the news with news websites, and only then believe these. On platforms like Facebook, one should resist clicking on any links, because it can pass on your login and password details to the hackers. Besides, one should forward news links only after checking out from reputed news websites."
So, if you click on his so-called "suicide video", you could unwittingly install malware(恶意软件)in your system through which the hacker can access your personal details like logins and passwords.
Ankit Aggarwal, a resident of Tagore Nagar, said: "I have also been a great fan of actor Rowan Atkinson, so the news of his death was quite shocking for me. The moment I read it, I shared the same on my wall. Later, through a friend, who had done her research well on the news, I got to know the news was false. So, I immediately removed the post from my wall and also asked my friends on Facebook not to forward the same news."
Many stars in the past, including Jackie Chan, Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, and Miley Cyrus, have become victims to such death hoaxes(恶作剧). No police official was available for any comment.
1.The news that Mr. Bean committed suicide .
A.was to play a joke on Rowan Atkinson
B.disclosed the dark side of movies
C.made the fans of Atkinson worried
D.intended to destroy computer system
2.According to the rumours we can know .
A.Mr. Bean wasn’t satisfied with Johnny English 3
B.the producer decided not to use Mr. Bean in a film
C.Mr. Bean failed to act well on the social platforms
D.the audiences liked making fun of the famous comedian
3.When you open a link of fake news .
A.you will feel disappointed at the news
B.you will be deeply hurt by the hackers
C.your computer system will be changed in no time
D.your personal information will be given away
4.Ankit Aggarwal immediately removed the post .
A.because he thought the news aimed to trick readers
B.as soon as he read the news on his Facebook account
C.after he had done a lot of research about the news
D.when he was told that the news was false
Do you ever pull your phone out of your pocket, thinking it is vibrating （振动） , only to find that it isn't?
This phenomenon, which scientists call " phantom （幻觉的） phone vibration" , is very common.Around 80% of people surveyed say they have imagined their phones vibrating when they were actually still.
So, what leads to this universal behavior? According to the BBC, the explanation lies in your brain's ability to discover signals from the outside world.
When your phone is in your pocket, there are two possible states: it is either vibrating or not.Meanwhile, you also have two possible states of mind: the judgment that the phone is vibrating, or that it isn't.
Ideally, you match the four states correctly.However, sometimes your brain decides that the consequences of missing a call are more serious than a "false alarm".Therefore, you become more sensitive to vibrations so that you don't miss anything.
This is just like the fire alarm in your home --- it can be annoying when it goes off in response to just a tiny bit of smoke.But that's a small price to pay compared to a fire really breaking out because the alarm fails to alert you.
Now, you might still ask: why can't our brains just make every judgment correctly without being too sensitive to false signals?
The answer is that your brain bears a heavy burden every day.“You get a large amount of sensory information that's coming from your eyes, ears and skin, and you can't deal with all that information all the time," Michael Rothberg, a researcher at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, US, told Live Science.
For example, the rustling （ 沙沙声） of clothing or the growling （咕咕声） of your stomach may both lead your brain to believe that they come from the vibration of your phone -it is like trying to hear your name being called in a noisy room.
So, perhaps you should just check your phone whenever you think it's vibrating.It's not too much trouble to do that, is it?
1.According to this passage, phantom phone vibration _____.
A.is common among people with mental problems
B.can measure people's ability to collect information
C.happens when our brains react sensitively to false signals
D.helps our brains to make quick and accurate decisions
2.According to Michael Rothberg, which is mainly responsible for phantom phone vibration?
A.A noisy background.
B.A lack of much attention.
C.A heavy burden every day.
D.An overflow of sensory information.
3.Why is the fire alarm used as an example in this passage?
A.To help us understand the cause of phantom phone vibration better.
B.To show us the fire alarm is as sensitive as the phone vibration.
C.To tell us the phone vibration usually happens when a fire breaks out.
D.To convince us it's important to check our phones like checking a fire alarm.
4.What does the author suggest we do about phantom phone vibration?
A.We should always fully believe our own sense of listening.
B.We should just check our phones whenever we think they're vibrating.
C.We should ignore the vibration bothering when our phones are actually still.
D.We should think of the vibration carefully before we make correct judgments.
My neighbor Jennifer is blind, but you’d never know it. She makes such good use of her other , including her "sixth sense", that she hardly gives the impression that she has anything. Jennifer looks after her children much like the rest of us, that she doesn’t push too hard on them, really benefit a lot from her relaxed attitude. She knows when to clean the house, and she moves around so fast that often don't realize she's blind.
I this the first time after my six-year-old daughter, Kayla, went to play there. When Kayla came home, she was very about her day. She told me they had baked cookies, played games and done art projects. But she was excited about her finger-painting project.
“Mom, guess what?” said Kayla, all smiles. “I learned how to colors today! Blue and red make purple, and yellow and blue make green! And Jennifer with us”. To my great , my child had learnt about color from a blind friend! Then Kayla continued, “Jennifer told me my showed joy, pride and a sense of accomplishment(成就感). She really what I was doing!” Kayla said she had never known how good finger paints felt Jennifer showed her how to paint without looking at her paper.
I realized Kayla didn't know that Jennifer was blind. It had just never in conversation. When I told my daughter that Jennifer was blind, she was for a moment. At first, she didn't believe me. “But Mommy, Jennifer knew exactly what was in my picture!” Kayla . And I knew my child was because Jennifer had listened to Kayla describe her art work. Jennifer had also heard Kayla's in her work.
We were silent for a minute. Then Kayla said slowly, “You know, Mommy, Jennifer really did ‘see’ my picture. She just used my .”
Indeed, she uses a special type of “vision” that all mothers have.
1.A.senses B.means C.methods D.ways
2.A.enjoyed B.found C.missed D.got
3.A.instead B.except C.since D.but
4.A.which B.it C.she D.who
5.A.children B.family C.guests D.friends
6.A.witnessed B.heard C.recognized D.realized
7.A.sad B.satisfied C.excited D.sorry
8.A.not at all B.not so C.a little D.especially
9.A.mix B.draw C.write D.paint
10.A.stayed B.painted C.talked D.studied
11.A.surprise B.encouragement C.delight D.excitement
12.A.attitude B.picture C.homework D.paper
13.A.understood B.found C.saw D.touched
14.A.after B.unless C.until D.when
15.A.talked about B.turned out C.referred to D.come up
16.A.curious B.quiet C.puzzled D.worried
17.A.cried B.insisted C.required D.informed
18.A.uncertain B.wrong C.worried D.right
19.A.shortcomings B.difficulties C.pride D.description
20.A.eyes B.pens C.hands D.paper
