The new high-speed railway line between Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur self-governing region, and Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, has cut train travel time by half to less than 12 hours.
The dramatic improvement will benefit many families planning reunions for Spring Festival.
"For the first time, I feel home is not that far away after all," said Liang Shaofu as he boarded a high-speed train in Urumqi with six members of his family.
The 35-year-old left Lanzhou to set up a dry fruit business in Xinjiang eight years ago, and he has now settled in Urumqi.
The 1,776-km line, which passes through Qinghai province and is the country's first high-speed railway to be built in a high-altitude region, came into service on Dec 26.
"We normally drive home for Spring Festival to avoid the difficulties of buying seven train tickets for the whole family during the peak season," Liang said. "Driving can be very tiring and dangerous sometimes, so one year we even decided not to go back to Lanzhou simply to avoid the trip.
More than 600,000 passengers traveled on the line during its first month, and the Urumqi Railway Bureau said the introduction of high-speed services will ease transport pressure during the Spring Festival peak season.
The existing usual railway line could no longer support Xinjiang's development. All passenger trains will gradually shift to the new link, leaving the old one to be used for goods. As a result, Xinjiang's annual goods ability could reach 200 million metric tons from the current 70 million.
The line passes through areas that experience high winds, and it also crosses parts of the deserted Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the bone-dry sands of the Gobi Desert.
The project could help China to promote its high-speed railway technology abroad, said Ma Xizhang, director of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway project's management department in Xinjiang.
1.How long did it take to go from Urumqi to Lanzhou by the usual train before?
A. about 12 hours. B. About 6 hours.
C. About 18 hours. D. About 24 hours.
2.What’s the main advantage of the new high-speed railway?
A. It takes more time to go to Urumqi to Lanzhou.
B. It will be more convenient for people all over the country to Xinjiang.
C. All the people in Lanzhou can return home on festivals.
D. It helps to improve Xinjiang’s development.
3. From the passage we can learn _______.
A. Xinjiang’s annual goods ability can increase nearly four times
B. the new railway technology may help more railway lines to be built abroad
C. the high-speed railway lines can’t be built across the bone-dry sands
D. the old railway lines can only carry goods now
4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. The new high-speed railway line is good for all people to go home.
B. The new high-speed railway line benefits businessmen to carry goods.
C. Taking the new train is safer than driving home from Urumqi to Lanzhou.
D. Businessmen seldom went home for Spring Festival before.
Every Wednesday, I go to Cantata Adult Life Services, a local retirement community in Brookfield, Illinois, US, with my classmates to do community service.
After my very first visit to Cantata, my life changed forever. That may sound a bit dramatic, but volunteering with the elderly has changed my views on life.
Our visits last about an hour, and we bring 25-30 students every time. We play board games and cards with the residents while we’re there.
You can watch all the movies and TV shows you want about “life back then”, but nothing compares to talking to the people who were actually there. Just hearing their stories has touched me in a way I never thought possible.
Whether it was talking to 98-year-old “Hurricane Hilda” about her glory days as a roller skater or chatting with Lou about the times she danced with a famous actor, I was completely attracted by every single memory the residents wanted to share with me.
Even the residents who don’t have amazing memories make the experience satisfying . I remember visiting Mrs Robinson. She couldn’t recall much about her past, but she told me she’d never forget how kind I wasjust to listen to her “rambling (漫谈)”. It made me realize that it’s the little things that make life worth living. That’s something I won’t forget anytime soon.
If there’s one thing I’ve realized in my three years of visiting Cantata, it’s that presence –just being there –means more than anything to many of the residents. And despite how busy our lives are, there’s always time to make someone’s day.
For me, it feels great to be a source of happiness, a smile on a bad day or a listening ear for old memories. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.It’s easy to feel like you don’t have anything in common with the elderly –especially when you’re a teenager. But that’s not true at all.
I hate to be overly clichéd (陈词滥调的) here, but age really is just a number. As young adults, it’s important for us to realize this sooner rather than later. We can learn a lot from the elderly, and they can often benefit from teenagers too.
1.What do the volunteers do according to the passage?
A. They share everything with the residents.
B. They play board games and cards with the residents.
C. They watch the residents play games.
D. They buy gifts for the residents.
2.According to the writer, what is the most important thing that volunteers can do for the elderly?
A. Playing with them. B. Benefiting from them.
C. Helping them. D. Being there with them.
3.What does the writer want to tell us by writing this passage ?
A. We don’t have anything in common with the elderly.
B. Age is just a number.
C. It is important to help the elderly.
D. Young adults and the elderly can benefit from each other.
书面表达
假如你是李华, 你班的留学生Charles即将结束三周的假期从美国返回。你想委托他为你代购一个剃须刀, 作为生日礼物送给爸爸。请按照以下要求给他写一封电子邮件:
1. 品牌: Gillette.
2. 价格: 30美元左右。
参考词汇: 剃须刀shaver
注意:
1. 词数100左右:
2. 可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯:
3. 开头语和结束语已为你写好, 不计入总词数。
Dear Charles,
______________ _______________________________
______________ _______________________________
______________ _______________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之问交换修改作文, 请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误, 每句中最多有两处。错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加: 在缺词处加一个漏字符号(^), 并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除: 把多余的词用(＼)划掉。
修改: 在错的词下画一横线, 并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:
1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处, 多者(从第11处起)不计分。（请将答案写在答题纸上）
As far as I can remember, grow up in Ohio left many good memories and very few bad ones. We rented a home near a lake where I spent good time of my life. I attended to school to learn a variety of course, and went camping overnight in the woods. My dog and I would go fishing in the lake that I mentioned early. During the winter we will come down at night and go ice-skating on the lake. In Ohio the snow could be heavily sometimes and too deep to walk in as I was not that tall at the time. It was not until I was sixteen and moved to California when the life was changed. This was a tough change for me because the area total differed from Ohio. There was no rivers or lakes to fish in at all.
阅读下面材料, 在空白处填入适当的内容(仅限1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
Based on recent researches. Distance-1earning is slowly proving as 1.______ (value) as the traditional campus-based form. It is a fixed truth that this form of learning is 2._____ the increase. Moreover, both students and teachers have expressed their 3.___________(happy) with these courses. The best part of distance learning courses is their flexible format. Students can continue 4.__________ (work) and study at the same time without any kind of difficulty. You will 5._________ (provide) with the facilities of a virtual(虚拟的) classroom and a virtual campus. Anyone 6.____ upgrades their professional knowledge to a new level can apply for these courses. With an online study format, the tests and notes can be 7._______ (access) with just a mouse click from your home computer. However, a student 8.________ (attend) an online course must take the time management 9._________ (serious). Every online student must keep 10.___ in mind that proper management of time and study schedule is the key towards success in this format.
完形填空
阅读下面短文, 从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中, 选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
In the fourth grade, I discovered my one true love—acting. It is not only fun, but it ____ teamwork and empathy, things I think the world should have more of.
However, I never expected that acting would also teach me to !
In the first semester of my freshman year of high school, my school the play Frankenstein. It’s about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates a monster, and __ the monster destroys the scientist’s life.
I got the lead female of Frankenstein’s girlfriend, Elizabeth. I had been in plays before, so I was very to the rehearsal(排练) process of memorizing lines and then a character with help from the director. But this play was different from one I had ever done before, because Frankenstein and Elizabeth had to kiss in the play a lot. The boy who ____ Frankenstein was very cute, I must say. There was a(n) in which our characters shared “15 kisses”. , the director removed it. But there were still some kissing scenes.
Would we to kiss, or would we actually kiss? Our director 53 having us kiss for real, and for the first few times, it was very . My lips barely touched the boy’s. Many of the other actors and actresses laughed at us.
, one thing about stage kissing that you have to understand is that you are not being yourself. That goes for any . After that experience, I feel like I can any role. It was a big event in my toward becoming a better actress. I feel more being onstage and showing my character’s personality to the . And that is important for getting the message of a play across.
1.A. 1earns B. teaches C. directs D. explains
2.A. kiss B. hug C. bow D. pray
3.A. prepared for B. carded out C. put on D. took up
4.A. when B. where C. whether D. how
5.A. star B. role C. maid D. keeper
6.A. used B. addicted C. related D. devoted
7.A. imagining B. convincing C. developing D. revising
8.A. each B. no C. some D. any
9.A. played B. served C. created D. replaced
10.A. space B. part C. area D. interval
11.A. Eventually B. Surprisingly C. Fortunately D. Regrettably
12.A. intend B. mean C. try D. pretend
13.A. applied to B. ended up C. objected to D. gave up
14.A. fierce B. romantic C. awkward D. pitiful
15.A. However B. Therefore C. Meanwhile D. Otherwise
16.A. behaving B. acting C. touching D. moving
17.A. change B. design C. handle D. assess
18.A. way B. journey C. tour D. trip
19.A. comfortable B. practical C. optimistic D. hopeful
20.A. readers B. actresses C. actors D. audiences
