Keeping a diary in English is one of
the effective ways to improve our English writing ability.
1. (compare) with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes 2. (little) time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. 3. we persist in the practice, gradually we’ll learn how to express 4. (we) in English. When keeping a diary in English, we run up against many 5. (difficult). In the first place, 6. often happens that we have trouble 7. (find) appropriate words and phrases to give expression to our mind. Secondly, there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is 8. (extreme) hard for us to put them into English properly.
As far as I am concerned, my suggestion is 9. we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is 10. great use to keep a diary in English for the development of our writing skills.
Born without the right hand, 12-year-old Cassie Stewart often had to sit out during music classes. Cassie was sad that she couldn’t take ____ and would quietly walk toward the back of the ____ .
Now she doesn’t have to, thanks to an _____ by a local high school student. Nicholas Brown, 15, ____ and tested a 3-printed prosthesis(义肢)for Cassie and Andrew Mindy, another student who also has a ____ , to use during music classes. “I wouldn’t really call it a prosthetic hand,” said technology _____ , Brad Fessler, who helped Nicholas _______ the project. “it’s a prostheses ______made for playing instruments. Generally, in the prostheses world, everything is custom-made to _____ different people,” Fessler said. “ in this case, we were able to use the same exact prosthesis for each student, ____ their sizes are different. Everything is designed to be adjustable. They put the prosthesis on, and they can use their other hand to ______ it.”
The idea for the project was born when Cassie’s music teacher, knowing Fessler had just bought a 3-D printer, emailed him to see _____ he could find a way to help her students. Immediately, Fessler thought of Nicholas, one of his ______ students. “ He is really brilliant,” Fessler said. “ He just ______ on things really quickly.”
They worked together to find a(n) ______ for Cassie and Andrew. “Coming up with the original idea was the hardest part,” Nicholas said. “But the _______ of it was just improving the idea and finding out what works.”
They ____ Cassie and Andrew with the final product this week. “I was so glad that she could use it and that it was actually _____ ,” Nicholas said. Cassie was most _____ about the guitar. “I think it’s a really cool instrument,” she said. “I’m _______ they did it for me,” she added.
1.A. care B. part C. action D. interest
2.A. door B. office C. classroom D. playground
3.A. example B. experiment C. instruction D. invention
4.A. used B. bought C. repaired D. designed
5.A. question B. concert C. talent D. disability
6.A. fan B. student C. teacher D. prizewinner
7.A. on B. for C. with D. into
8.A. surely B. specifically C. suddenly D. secretly
9.A. fit B. surprise C. recognize D. challenge
10.A. even though B. because C. as though D. unless
11.A. wear B. play C. adjust D. touch
12.A. when B. if C. how D. why
13.A. star B. university C. poor D. honest
14.A. misses out B. picks up C. looks back D. comes down
15.A. arm B. doctor C. instrument D. solution
16.A. rest B. fact C. meaning D. difficulty
17.A. treated B. examined C. presented D. filled
18.A. changing B. working C. existing D. appearing
19.A. excited B. strict C. worried D. confused
20.A. sorry B. satisfied C. confident D. grateful
Things People Over 50 Wish They’d Done Differently At 25
Save more money. Retirement is no joke, as you’ll learn by 50. As you stare at the poor reality of your retirement, you might find yourself counting every penny you wasted on worthless things. So pack your lunch, find street parking or take the bus.1.
Travel more. You’re only young once. So before you get tied down by responsibilities of a spouse (配偶)and kids, it’s a good idea to explore the world and all it has to offer. Consider working abroad.2.Just go somewhere that will make you look up and around rather than down at your smart phone.
Slow down. Too many of us waste precious moments because we’re too busy connecting to our digital products or on social media. Life is short. Enjoy it. We think a reader put it perfectly: “I would
not have been so busy to be successful and work 80 hours a week.3.I would have defined myself by more than what I did for a living.”
4.As the saying goes, nobody can take your accomplishments away from you. Education is one of those accomplishments. Many readers wished they would have either gone to college. Whether it’s bad to land you the career of your dreams, or to meet people from different walks of life or to learn to see things a little differently, education is always a good choice.
5.By 25 you might have noticed your metabolism(新陈代谢)slowing down. Looking after yourself at this time is about creating habits (and breaking bad ones) that will lead to a long life in which you’re healthy enough to do everything you want to do.
A. Get a better education.
B. Consider your health.
C. I would have enjoyed my life slowly.
D. Visit the city you dream about all day.
E. Focus on trying to build a good credit history.
F. Remember that a penny saved is a penny earned.
G. So never be afraid to stand up for yourself and speak your mind.
I have always been somebody who often alternated(交替)between hoping to be alone and hoping to be with others. The thing was, I only wanted to be with others in a very particular way. I wanted to feel warmth between me and the other person. I wanted to feel safe and comfortable. I wanted to feel close. If my relationship with someone didn’t have closeness, it tended to make me feel lonlier than just being alone.
I found most of the advice out there about how to get over loneliness futile. “Put yourself out there more!” the experts said. “Meet more people and you will finally find good friendships.” That only sounded reasonable. Most of us already have people in our lives with whom we feel that spark(火花)of connection, and we just don’t know how to properly fan the flames. We don’t know how to move from common interacting with someone to becoming close. In other words, I’ve found that most of us who fight against loneliness do not lack access to other people. That’s not the source of the pain.
The source of the pain is the lack of a certain feeling in our relationships. And that feeling is closeness. This feel of closeness is what you really want when you are lonely. The feeling of closeness arises between two people when they both feel that the other understands them well and cares about them deeply. I call these two important qualities of closeness “knowing and caring”.
Taken together, knowing and caring are a powerful combination. They say to the other person, “Not only do I see the real you, but I want to keep the real you well.” This is the message you will give and receive from close relationships. Getting to know others in the way that improves closeness means coming to understand them from their own perspective(角度). Closeness doesn’t have to be something that happens by accident--- it is within your control to create. Starting now, you really can stop being lonely.
1.What does the underlined word “futile” mean?
A. Unhelpful. B. Wonderful.
C. Useful. D. Unbelievable.
2.According to the author, most people who feel lonely _______ .
A. should make more new friends
B. don’t lack chances to contact other people
C. don’t know how to express their feelings
D. refuse to ch
ange their attitudes toward others
3.According to the passage, the feeling of closeness is ______ .
A. what we really need in our daily life
B. something we can’t control or create
C. based on understanding and valuing each other
D. the most important for building a good relationship
4.To build a close relationship with others, we should ______ .
A. learn to look after others
B. share our thoughts and feelings
C. spend more time staying with others
D. think more from others’s points of view
The Iranian-American Maz Jobrani knew early in life that he wanted to become an actor or a comedian. Jobrani came to California with his parents from Iran when he was six and attended school there. His introduction to acting was an experience of trying out for a school play. “When I was 12, I tried out for the school play and fell in love with the stage...” said Jobrani, “I have friends who were funnier than I was!”
Jobrani tried an ordinary career path, studying political science in college and even starting a Ph.D. Program at UCLA. But the comedy of Eddie Murphy was a more powerful influence. “I’m a comedian because I’m a fan of comedy. I love watching comedy and I believe I discovered Eddie Murphy probably by watching “Saturday Night Live” and just then I wanted to be like Eddie Murphy,” Jobrani said.
Now as a full-time comedian, Maz Jobrani uses comedy to bridge the cultural divide. His performances both laugh at extremism and challenge American bias(偏见)of Muslims. And his recent movie does the same. He co-wrote and started in “Jimmy Vestvood: American Hero.”
“The movie is about a man who loves America, who wins the green card coming to America from Iran. He wants to be a policeman. But once he comes to America, he realizes America doesn’t accept immigrants(移民)the way he thought they would and the only job he can find is working as a security guard(保安)and from there he has to go on to save the world.”
“This comedy has a message of showing Iranians in a very different light, a fun light that most Americans aren’t used to seeing,” he said. For example, he feared when he first heard the phrase “axis of evil,” which is used to describe such countries as Iran. But he soon realized it could also make a great name for a series of shows. So, in 2005, the “Axis of Evil Comedy” Tour came. The shows featured Jobrani and three other comedians of Middle Eastern descent(血统).The group first appeared on the American television channel Comedy Central.
It’s a good feeling when you realize it’s working. It’s the worst when you’re doing stand-up (单人说笑表演的)comedy and the audience doesn’t relate to you. But their laugh is like a drug keeping feeding you. It’s kind of like I were surfing. So whether it’s doing stand-up comedy or putting on a movie, your goal as a comedian is to make people laugh.
1.By introducing his comedian career, Jobrani tends to tell us that ________.
A. he is actually a born comedian
B. Americans’ lifestyle makes him a comedian
C. Eddie Murphy has a great influence on him
D. Murphy’s plays made him first like comedy
2.What do you know about Jobrani’s film “American Hero”?
A. It is all about his personal experiences.
B. It is about Iranians who are against Americans.
C. It mainly plays a joke on the US immigrant policy.
D. It makes fun of American bias of Muslims.
3.What do you learn about the “Axis of Evil Comedy” Tour?
A. It turns what’s frightening into something funny.
B. It is performed by Jobrani and two Iranians.
C. It blames the US’ unfriendly attitude to Iran.
D. It didn’t work well at the very beginning.
4.To comedians, ________.
A. stand-up comedy is difficult to perform.
B. the audience’s laughter is their power.
C. doing stand-up comedy is just like surfing.
A 7.0-magnitude(震级)earthquake attacked Kumamoto, Japan on April 15th, 2016, less than two days after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked the same area. The smaller 6.2-magnitude quake on April 14th killed nine people and injured hundreds more, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. With these two and the memories of the huge 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami(海啸)that destroyd northeast of Japan in 2011 not far from people’s minds, what is it about this part of the 
world that makes it so active in earthquakes?
First of all, Japan is along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, which is the most active earthquake area in the world. This “ring” is actually an imaginary U-shaped zone that follows the edge(边缘)of the Pacific Ocean, where many of the world’s earthquakes occur.
“The earthquake in Kumamoto seems to have been caused by the collision(碰撞)between the Philippines Sea Plate(板块)and the Eurasia Plate,” said Paul Caruso, a geophysicist of the USGS. While Japan is no stranger to earthquakes, the 7.0-magnitude earthquake is one of the largest ever recorded in this part of southern Japan, Caruso told Live Science. “The second largest was probably on March 20, 1939 --- there was a magnitude of 6.7 in this area,” he said.
“Not all earthquakes cause tsunamis,” Caruso said. In general, there are three key elements that can produce a dangerous earthquake-tsunami combination, he added. First, the earthquake must be at least 7.0-magnitude. Second, the quake’s epicenter(震中)has to be under the ocean, Caruso said. And 
finally, the earthquake hasn’t to be too deep.
“We have quakes around Fiji all the time, but those are sometimes 640 kilometers underground, so they aren’t going to cause a tsunami,” he said. The one in Kumamoto was about 10 km underground but the epicenter was on land, Caruso said.
“There are lots of large aftershocks,” Caruso told Live Science. “And of course, after a large earthquake, buildings are often weakened as a result. Additional damage can be expected. ” People living in the area should expect more shaking in the coming days, according to Caruso. “We can say for certain that there are going to be more aftershocks in this area,” he said. “Exactly when and how big they’re going to be is difficult to say, though. No one can predict that.”
1.The earthquake happened on April 15th in Kumamoto ________.
A. was the largest one that ever happened there
B. caused the movement of the Philippines Sea Plate and the Eurasia Plate
C. was the first one that reached the magnitude of 7.0 in Japan
D. brought great destruction to the northeastern part of Japan
2.What does the underlined word “elements” in Para 4 mean?
A. Conclusions. B. Influences.
C. Ingredients. D. Intentions.
3.Which inference about the Kumamoto earthquake is the most probably correct?
A. It didn’t cause too much destruction to the buildings.
B. The epicenter was too deep to cause tsunami.
C. The aftershocks were well-controlled.
D. It didn’t bring about any powerful tsunamis.
4.Which of the following might be the title of the passage?
A. Why Are Earthquakes in Japan So Destructive?
B. Why Do So many Earthquakes Attack Japan?
C. Why Do Earthquakes Cause Tsunamis in Japan?
D. Why Do So Many Earthquakes Happen?
