When we were kids, my little sister Madison and I were the M&Ms—my parents' two daughters. 1. So it was quite a surprise when my mom and dad sat us down to let us know that baby number three was on the way when I was 10 years old. However, as soon as my brother Mac was born, he completely stole my heart and I have learned many things from having a young brother.
● 2.
Having a baby in your life means watching your parents endlessly change diapers (尿布), make bottles, and wipe spit-ups every once in a while. I was allowed to do those things and I learned just how important it was to take care of this little life before I even hit middle school.
● You watch a child grow up.
3.I remember how excited my family was when we discovered how fast of a reader he was in kindergarten. I'll never forget telling him bedtime stories before he went to sleep at night. It's cool to think about the entirety of his life and how far he has come.
● You teach your brother life lessons.
From a young age, my brother watched my sister and me overcome personal challenges, go to high school, and, worst of all, get our hearts broken. 4. Watching his sisters go through life's difficulties has taught him how he should act when he gets older.
Now Mac is 11 years old. I have no shame in telling people that one of my best friends is an 11-year-old boy. In fact, our family without him is unimaginable. 5.
A．You stay in the know.
B．You learn about responsibility early on.
C．We received a lot of attention, and we liked it that way.
D．I remember the first time Mac crawled, walked, and said my name.
E．Nothing makes Mac more upset than a mean guy who hurts a girl's feelings.
F．All I can say is that my family wouldn't be happy without Mac.
G．Thanks , Mom and Dad, for turning the M&Ms into the Three Musketeers.
D
The Sahara Festival is a celebration of the very recent past. The three-day event is not fixed to the same dates each year, but generally takes place in November or December. It is well attended by tourists, but even better attended by locals.
During the opening ceremonies（典礼）, after the official greetings from the government leaders, people who attend the festival begin to march smartly before the viewing stands, and white camels transport their riders across the sands. Horsemen from different nations display their beautiful clothes and their fine horsemanship. One following another, groups of musicians and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turn to show off their wonderful traditional culture. Groups of men in blue and yellow play horns and beat drums as they dance in different designs. On their knees in the sand, a group of women in long dark dresses dance with their hair: their long, dark, shiny hair is thrown back and forth in the wind to the rhythm of their dance.
The local and visiting Italian dogs are anxious to run after hares. The crowd is on its feet for the camel races. Camels and riders run far into the distance, and then return to the finish line in front of the cheering people.
Towards the evening, there comes the grand finale of the opening day, an extremely exciting horserace. All the riders run very fast on horseback. Some riders hang off the side of their saddles. Some even ride upside down — their legs and feet straight up in the air — all at full speed. Others rush down the course together, men arm in arm, on different horses. On and on they went. So fast and so wonderful!
1.This passage mainly tells readers_____.
A. how people celebrate during the three-day Sahara Festival
B. what takes place at the closing ceremonies of the Sahara Festival
C. how animals race on the first and the last days of the Sahara Festival
D. what happens on the opening day of the Sahara Festival
2.The Sahara Festival is a festival which_____.
A. has a very long history in North Africa
B. is attended mainly by the people in the Sahara
C. is held in the same place on the same day
D. is celebrated mostly by travelers from different countries
3.The underlined word “finale” in the fourth paragraph most probably means the _____ of the opening day.
A. first part B. middle
C. last part D. whole
4.Before the races begin，_____ ta
ke part in the activities during the opening ceremonies.
A. musicians, dancers, horses and hares
B. camel riders, musicians, dogs and hares
C. musicians, officials, camels and horses
D. horsemen, dancers, camels and dogs
Great white sharks! Just hearing that name makes many people’s hair stand on end. In reality, these big fish have more to fear from us than we do from them. For many years, people killed countless great white sharks in the waters around the United States.
But thanks to conservation (protection) efforts, great whites are making a comeback in the U.S. Two recent studies show that the population of these sharks is rising along the east and west coast.
Why is the growing population of a killer fish something to celebrate? “When you fish too many of them, you start to lose balance in the environment,” says shark researcher Tobey Curtis. As the biggest killer, sharks help keep the populations of fish, seals, and other creatures they eat from growing too large.
In spite of their importance, great white sharks had long been hunted for their meat and their fins (鳍). Then, in 1997, the U.S. government passed a law that didn’t allow the hunting of great whites. Afterwards, the numbers of these sharks in the U.S. waters started to increase.
The law wasn’t the only thing that has helped great whites. Conservationists have also played a part in the sharks’ comeback. The research group OCEARCH is using a method called tagging (加标签) to help change people’s attitudes about great white. They let the public follow each shark as it travels the world’s oceans. OCEARCH also gives each tagged shark a name to help people form a closer connection with the big fish.
The group’s most well-known shark is named Katharine. She was tagged last year near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Since then, thousands of people have tracked Katharine’s movements on Twitter and the OCEARCH website.
This helps people see sharks in a new way. Chris Fischer, the founder of OCEARCH believes learning to appreciate great whites will encourage people to do more to protect them.
1.The underlined part “makes many people’s hair stand on end” in Paragraph 1 can best be replaced by_____.
A. worries many people B. bores many people
C. interests many people D. frightens many people
2.The main purpose of the passage is to _____.
A. introduce an experiment result
B. inform us that great whites are making a comeback
C. make an advertisement for OCEARCH
D. remind us that big killers are dying out
3.The law passed in 1997 _____.
A. seemed very helpful B. helped the sharks by tagging them
C. let scientists down D. made people like great whites
4.Katharine’s example is used to show that _____.
A. great whites are in fact lovely animals
B. the OCEARCH website has a lot of visitors
C. OCEARCH help people get closer to great whites
D. the number of great whites is growing quickly
Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone.
Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled
alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. ＂It opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.＂ Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents.
In foreign countries, it is challenging (difficult)with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen. This is what drives young people to travel alone. It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own.
Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year. He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document (record) his adventures. He says he wished he had traveled alone earlier. ＂The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person,＂ said the 30-year-old man.
Richardson describes traveling alone like ＂a shot in the arm＂, which ＂makes you a more confident person that is ready to deal with anything＂. He said, ＂The feeling of having overcome something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.＂
The great 19th century explorer John Muir once said, ＂Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.＂
1.Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with?
A. Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone.
B. It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries.
C. It is comfortable to travel around without a friend.
D. Traveling abroad helps people to find new things.
2.Traveling alone is challenging because ____________.
A. you have to make things on your own
B. it is hard for you to prove yourself to others
C. it will finally build your character
D. you can only depend on yourself whatever happens
3.What can we infer about Chris Richardson?
A. He started traveling alone at an early age.
B. He was once shot in the arm.
C. He used to work as a salesman.
D. His website inspires others a lot.
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Travel Abroad B. Travel Alone
C. Travel Light D. Travel Wide and Far
This March is a busy month in Shanghai. There’s a lot to do. Here are the highlights.
Live Music — Late Night Jazz
Enjoy real American jazz from Herbie Davis, the famous trumpet player. He’s coming with his new 7-piece band , Herbie’s H
eroes. Herbie is known to play well into the early hours, so don’t expect to get much sleep. This is Herbie’s third visit to Shanghai. The first two were sold out, so get your tickets quickly.
PLACE: The Jazz Club DATES: 15—23 March
PRICE: ¥80, ¥120 TIME: 10:00 p.m. till late!
TEL: 6466-8736
Scottish Dancing
Take your partners and get ready to dance till you drop. Scottish dancing is fun and easy to learn. Instructors will demonstrate the dances. The live band, Gordon Stroppie and the Weefrees, are also excellent.
PLACE: Jack Stein’s DATES: Every Monday
PRICE: ¥60, including one drink TIME: 7:00 p.m.—0:00 p.m.
TEL: 6402-1877
Exhibitions — Shanghai Museum
There are 120,000 pieces on show here. You can see the whole of Chinese history under one roof. It’s always interesting to visit, but doubly so at the moment with the Egyptian Tombs exhibition. There are lots of mummies and more gold than you’ve ever seen before. Let us know if you see a mummy move!
PLACE: Shanghai Museum PRICE: ¥30 (¥15 for students)
TEL: 6888-6888 DATES: Daily
TIME: Monday — Friday 9:00 a.m. —5:00 p.m., Weekends 9:00 a.m. —9:00 p.m.
Dining — Sushi (寿司) Chef in Town
Sushi is getting really big in Shanghai. In Japan, it’s become an art form. The most famous Sushi ＂artist＂ is Yuki Kamura. She’s also one of the few female chefs in Japan. She’ll be at Sushi Scene all of this month.
PLACE: Sushi Scene in the Shanghai Hotel DATES: All month
PRICE: ¥200 TIME: Lunch time
TEL: 6690-3211
For a full listing of events, see our website.
1.Where can Scottish dancing be learnt ?
A. At the Jazz Club
B. At Jack Stein’s
C. At Shanghai Museum
D. At Sushi Scene in the Shanghai Hotel
2.Suppose you are going to attend an activity at 8: 00 p. m. on Saturday, which one can you choose?
A. Exhibitions — Shanghai Museum
B. Live Music — Late Night Jazz
C. Scottish Dancing
D. Dining — Sushi Chef in Town
3.From the text we may learn that Kamura is ___________.
A. an instructor B. a waitress
C. a cook D. an artist
假如你是李华，你的美国笔友Jack很好奇为什么有那么多的中国人早起。请根据以下提示给他发一电子邮件，解释国人认为早起有益的观点:
1、早起锻炼可使身体健康，强壮。
2、早起朗读，有助于记住学过的东西。
3、可为一天的活动做好准备。
4、坚持早起对培养好的性格也很有益处。
注意：1. 词数100左右(开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数)。
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Jack,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
