Nowhere is the place you never want to go. It’s not on any departure board, and though some people like to travel so far off the motherland that it looks like Nowhere, most wanderers ultimately long to get somewhere. Yet every now and then—if there’s nowhere else you can be and all other options have gone—going nowhere can prove the best adventure around.
Nowhere is entirely uncharted; you’ve never read a guidebook entry on it or followed others’ suggestions on a train ride through its suburbs. Few YouTube videos exist of it. Moreover, it’s free from the most dangerous kind of luggage, expectation. Knowing nothing of a place in advance opens us up to a high energy we seldom encounter while walking around Paris or Kyoto with a list of the 10 things we want—or, in embarrassing truth, feel we need—to see.
I’ll never forget a bright January morning when I landed in San Francisco from Santa Barbara, just in time to see my connecting flight to Osaka take off. I hurried to the nearest airline counter to ask for help, and was told that I would have to wait 24 hours, at my own expense, for the next day’s flight. An unanticipated delay is exactly what nobody wants on his schedule. The airline didn’t answer for fog-related delays, a gate agent declared, and no alternative flights were available.
Millbrae, California, the drive-through town that encircles San Francisco’s airport, was a mystery to me. With one of the world’s most beautiful cities only 40 minutes to the north, and the unofficial center of the world, Silicon Valley, 27 miles to the south, Millbrae is known mostly as a place to fly away from, at high speed.
It was a cloudless, warm afternoon as a shuttle bus deposited me in Millbrae. Locals were taking their dogs for walks along the bay while couples wandered hand in hand beside an expanse of blue that, in San Francisco, would have been crowded with people and official “attractions.” I checked in to my hotel and registered.
Suddenly I was enjoying a luxury I never allow myself, even on vacation: a whole day free. And as I made my way back to my hotel, lights began to come on in the hills of Millbrae, and I realized I had never seen a sight half so lovely in glamorous, industrial Osaka. Its neighbor Kyoto is attractive, but it attracts 50 million visitors a year.
Who knows if I’ll ever visit Millbrae again? But I’m confident that Nowhere will slip into my schedule many times more. No place, after all, is uninteresting to the interested eye. Nowhere is so far off the map that its smallest beauties are a discovery.
The Unexpected Joys of a Trip to Nowhere | |
Passage outline | Supporting details |
Introduction to Nowhere | ●Although many choose to travel beyond the 1., they actually hope to get somewhere. ●Getting nowhere can be the best adventure when we are2. out of options. |
3. of Nowhere | ●You don’t have to be 4. on a guidebook entry or others’ advice. ●With limited information of a place and little expectation, we will encounter a 5. high energy that doesn’t exist when visiting Paris or Kyoto. |
The author’s experience of getting nowhere | ●The airline wasn’t 6. for unexpected delays and there were no alternative flights available. ●He decided to visit the mysterious Millbrae,7. between San Francisco and Silicon Valley. ●He 8. to enjoy such a luxurious and free time in big cities before. |
Conclusion | ●Though 9. about whether to visit Millbrae again, Nowhere will be included in his schedule. ●Nowhere is entirely uncharted with its beauties to be 10.. |
The first time she saw Bryce Loski, she flipped. The first time he saw Juli Baker, he ran. For six years of living close by, they had played the same game of cat-and-mouse (Juli was the cat; Bryce was the unfortunate mouse).
For years Juli dreamed of one thing: her first kiss from the boy. Nothing else seemed to matter. But when Juli’s favorite sycamore tree is threatened by developers, things begin to change. She begins to see things and places and people in a different light. Things, for years, she thought to be important, become things she can live without; and people she thought to be the center of her universe, become nothing more than a star in a faraway galaxy.
Things begin changing with Bryce also. It all begins with the eggs…which then cause a domino effect of changes with his relationships with his best friend, his father, the Bakers and, ultimately, Juli.
I had seen this book on the shelf at bookstores for years, but never bothered to pick it up because it looked to be another book from Jerry Spinelli (not exactly my favorite author in the world) and so, continually, I would walk past it without giving it a second glance. If by chance I had picked it up, I most likely would not have read it, since the summary on the back didn’t seem too appealing. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that I heard about Flipped the movie. I read an interview with Callan McAuliffe (the actor who portrays Bryce) and thought that Flipped was a romance right up my alley; cute, innocent and as far from Jane Austin as you could get. After reading the interview and a summary of the movie, I found the plot-line to be somewhat appealing and a definite breath of fresh air opposed to the dark material I have been recently reading and writing. I found the book a few days later in a Goodwill bookstore and finished it in three days.
The story isn’t what you would consider deep…it isn’t shallow and pointless either…I guess you could say it’s the perfect balance of life-lessons and innocence.
You read about Bryce and Juli (each from their own points of view) and how, throughout six years, their lives and views and opinions change and develop. Flipped is somewhat of a coming of age story about two kids learning to see life from the other’s point of view and learning that growing up isn’t about staying the same, but changing; changing likes and dislikes; changing friends and crushes and views on family.
Uniquely written, every other chapter showing the same scenes and events, only from the other’s point of view, you see how the saying, “Two sides to every story,” is true. You are able to see both Juli and Bryce’s reasons for doing what they do and saying what they say…not just what the other sees.
It will be interesting to see how this writing style comes into play in the movie. Overall I thought this story was incredibly cute and light-hearted, although it didn’t entirely meet my expectations. Especially the ending. I felt as though it ended quite abruptly and that there was more story that needed to be told.
But even with that, after having taken a step back and taken my mind off of Flipped, I find the story has stuck with me and stayed in the back of my mind, making me highly anticipate seeing this book turned to a film. I understand why it has been so popular for almost two decades and am looking forward to seeing Flipped on the big screen soon.
1.According to Paragraphs 1 and 2, what is the relationship between Juli Baker and Bryce Loski？
A. Lovers. B. Neighbors.
C. Daughter and father. D. Sister and brother.
2.What has happened to Juli after her favorite sycamore tree is endangered?
A. Bryce Loski has become an insignificant figure in her life.
B. Things and people around her have changed beyond recognition.
C. She has come to realize that she is the center of the universe.
D. The sycamore tree is nothing more than a star in faraway galaxy.
3.Which of the following sentences best expresses the essential information in the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4?
A. After reading the interview with Callan, the author confirmed his pervious attitude to Flipped.
B. After reading the interview with Callan, the author was deep impressed by his story of romance.
C. It was the interview with Callan that made the author realize that it was a book to his taste.
D. It was the performance of Callan that inspired the author to read the original work.
4.According to Paragraph 6, what is the theme of Flipped?
A. Generation gap. B. Growing pains.
C. Forever love. D. Changing lifestyles.
5.In the author’s opinion, Flipped doesn’t provide us readers with ________.
A. a happy ending for Juli and Bryce B. limited appeal for re-appreciation
C. much space for individual imagination D. a smooth ending to the whole story
6.The passage is mainly about ________.
A. a beautiful love story between Juli Baker and Bryce Loski
B. a cute and innocent love story that you shouldn’t miss
C. how an amazing movie was adapted from a love story
D. how a summary prevents readers from moving forward
The American Bystander
On a humid subway ride into work a few days ago, a woman on the other end of my car had a seizure (病情突然发作). All of a sudden, I heard her let out a painful sigh as she collapsed. For several minutes, the train continued down the track, and everyone in the car just stared at the woman. Finally, at the next stop a man informed the operator of what had happened and called 911. Luckily the woman came to herself as the EMTs carried her off the train. Ever since, I’ve been puzzled by the same question — why didn’t anyone do anything? And more importantly, why didn’t I do anything?
We’ve learned about the commonly referenced bystander effect—a psychological phenomenon in which individuals will avoid offering help to a person in need when other people are present. The bystander effect is attributed to two different psychological processes: social influence—individuals in a group will monitor and imitate other group members’ behavior—and shift of responsibility—individuals will cease to help because they believe that someone else will.
Even though most people probably haven’t witnessed a woman having a seizure on the subway, I’m sure if asked, anyone could think of a time when they could have helped and simply didn’t. In fact, I know that we have all experienced the bystander effect, because I believe it is one of American society’s most common headaches.
Anyone who follows the news can tell you that most of what we hear or read about these days is another death or another hate crime committed right in our own country. Consider the most recent theatre shooting in Nashville. The headlines read Another Theatre Shooting, Gunman is dead. When we read that headline or heard it on the news, most of us just acknowledged how sad it was, then told ourselves that there is nothing we can do to help and assumed that someone else would.
If America is just one large group of witnesses, all while telling ourselves that someone else most certainly will step in, how can we hope to shake the hold of this social psychological spell? The solution lies solely within us, to know the difference between doing what is justifiable and doing what is right, helping those in need when we have the means and opportunity to do so.
I want to be like the man on the subway who told the operator about the woman’s seizure, because as soon as he did, people followed suit and offered help. We have the power to choose whether to justify passivity or actively decide to do the right thing, and as a society I believe we ought to break free from our psychological tendency to just stand by.
1.What was the most passengers’ attitude towards the woman’s seizure?
A. Indifferent. B. Skeptical.
C. Enthusiastic. D. Concerned.
2.The psychological explanation for the fact that most people hesitate to help is that ________.
A. they need heroes or good examples to learn from
B. they believe such cases are none of their business
C. they fear that their behavior will be imitated by others
D. they count on other group members to give a helping hand
3.What can we learn from the theatre shooting in Nashville?
A. The mass media are only too concerned about crimes and deaths.
B. The majority of the US citizens are suffering from crimes.
C. People get too accustomed to pay adequate attention to crimes.
D. Media coverage is inconsistent with what the Americans assume.
4.As far as the author is concerned, the key to solving such an effect lies in ________.
A. the necessary means and opportunity to help others
B. the essential power to display psychological tendency
C. the acute awareness of making a right choice
D. the determined effort to help whoever is in need of help
Half a century ago, Japan built the world’s first high-speed rail network—a network that remains the gold standard in train travel today. Currently the country is now helping Texas build its own bullet train, a potential game-changer for transportation in the state.
When it launched on October 1, 1964, the world’s first high-speed rail network was known as the “super-express of dreams.” The first line in Japan’s now world-famous shinkansen network was built against all odds, in the face of fierce public opposition, technical difficulties and astronomical costs.
Half a century ago, the system was far humbler. In 1964, the first track was a 320-mile-long link between Tokyo and Osaka that reduced the trip from six-and-a-half hours (on conventional trains) to three hours and 10 minutes, traveling at a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour. For the first time, workers could get to meetings in one city during the day and be back home drinking a beer in the local pub that night.
Not only did the train expand mobility profoundly, but also businesses appeared around the major stops as a growing emphasis on productivity swept across Japan. Today, the shinkansen network has 1,487 miles of track, with more set to open in the coming years. It seems that everything the shinkansen touches turns to city, and regions that are off the beaten track, so to speak, benefit greatly from the economic jumpstart brought by the train. New shinkansen lines are often proceeded by aggressive marketing campaigns promoting tourism in those areas, a strategy that seems to work.
Despite its astronomical costs, it actually has saved more. Today, over 350,000 annual trips transport tens of millions of passengers all over Japan with efficiency—the average delay time is less than a minute. A research report titled 30 Years of High-Speed Railways: Features and Economic and Social Effects of The Shinkansen by Hiroshi Okada, estimates that the economic impact from the shinkansen train network, based on the time saved from faster travel, is approximately ¥500 billion ($4.8 billion USD) per year. Okada stresses that the cultural impact is also significant, a shinkansen offers people living far from urban centers “easy access to concerts, exhibitions, theaters, etc., enabling them to lead fuller lives.”
Japan has a plan, known as the One-Day Travel Initiative. Its goal: regardless of where you are in Japan, it should only take you three hours to get to the nearest major regional city (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo or Fukuoka). The planned impact of this hyper-mobility is to discourage the tide of migration toward urban centers, like Tokyo, and encourage decentralization.
1.The underlined phrase in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.
A. opposed to traditional belief s B. despite some major barriers
C. based on impractical fantasies D. in spite of poor planning
2.According to Okada, what benefit does a shinkansen bring to people living far from urban centers?
A. Saving more travelling time. B. Creating massive employment.
C. Enjoying a more colorful life. D. Accumulating vast wealth.
3.What is the main purpose of the One-Day Travel Initiative?
A. To promote even distribution of population.
B. To advocate urban lifestyle among migrants.
C. To satisfy the increasing needs of urban centers.
D. To include more citizens in urban centers.
Student Job Center
Job #: 45961 | |
Employer: MJ Homecare | On Bus line: No |
Pay: $12.50-$16.00/hr | Posted: 05/26/2017 |
Category: Health Care-Medical | Deadline: 07/04/2017 |
Number of Positions: 3 |
|
Contact Information: Name: MJ Ford Email Address: wiscwiscwisc@gmail.com Address: Verona, Wisconsin 23333 Primary Phone: 623-623-2333 | |
Description: Outgoing, fun, disabled man on Madison’s far west side has immediate need for assistance with morning and/or evening cares. Times are somewhat flexible. Morning duties (8 AM) include transferring, assistance dressing, bathing, bowel care (肠道护理) and other activities associated with morning routine for the disabled. Short evening shift duties include help with bedtime, usually between 8-9 PM. Apply for either shift. Lifting is a vital part of this job. Experience with manual, pivot-type transfer and bowel care is preferred, but will train. Additional information is available upon request. Pays $12.50+/hr. Car needed. This position is great experience for anyone interested in a career in the medical field—nurse, PA, doctor, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc., but not limited to those areas of interest. A very rewarding position that makes a difference, helping to remain independent in your life. If you enjoy helping others, then this job may be for you! Please respond by email and include your phone #. https://jobcenter.wisc.edu/jobs/detail/45961 | |
1.If you successfully land the job, it is better for you to ________ there.
A. ride a bus B. take a train
C. drive a car D. travel on foot
2.This job is targeted at those somewhat strong students ________.
A. who are experienced and available for both shifts
B. who are outgoing and good at caring skills
C. who are determined to get jobs in the medical field
D. who are caring and ready to live on their own
If you’ve ridden any New York subway, chances are good that you’ve watched your cellphone clock tick while seated on an unmoving, delayed train. You wouldn’t wish to have such a ________ feeling of being stuck on public transportation anymore. No one knows the feeling as ________ as Jerich Marco Alcantara does particularly when he had ________ in his life to celebrate. He ________ his graduation ceremony at Hunter College’s Brookdale campus due to a delay.
There were two ________ ceremonies that day, but Alcantara specifically wanted to ________ the early ceremony, because students were only ________ two tickets for friends and family at the latter event. He wanted all of his family and friends in attendance.
Stuck on the train in full baccalaureate gown (学士服), Alcantara still got to experience a formal ________, sort of. Some friends and strangers improvised (即兴创作) a ceremony on the subway. ________ a cellphone, a friend presented Alcantara with a “diploma”; ________ somebody else on the train played Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day. Another passenger ________ the ceremony and posted the video to Facebook.
_____ he wasn’t able to attend the full ceremony, in a way this will end up being a more memorable ________ for Alcantara down the road. He will be able to point to his ________ and not just think of the hard work it took to earn it, but the ________ missing his real graduation ceremony created.
Moments like these help us get a little more ________ of our fellow man during a ________time. Although these aren’t all strangers, it’s still wonderful to see people ________ to make sure someone feels the proper ________, or at least their big achievement should be ________. Though Alcantara missed his official graduation ceremony, he said his subway experience meant a lot.
1.A. rising B. sinking C. spinning D. floating
2.A. vividly B. casually C. plainly D. fiercely
3.A. milestones B. promotions C. festivals D. parties
4.A. spoiled B. quitted C. overlooked D. missed
5.A. separate B. continuous C. relevant D. contradictory
6.A. join B. make C. abandon D. ignore
7.A. appointed B. allocated C. approved D. accumulated
8.A. assembly B. situation C. occasion D. meeting
9.A. Via B. On C. In D. From
10.A. instead B. afterwards C. therefore D. meanwhile
11.A. filmed B. took C. interviewed D. reported
12.A. Since B. As C. Although D. When
13.A. exploration B. moment C. impression D. stage
14.A. video B. ticket C. diploma D. cellphone
15.A. pain B. inconvenience C. excitement D. memory
16.A. convinced B. tired C. reliant D. faithful
17.A. messy B. extreme C. acute D. disorganized
18.A. get together B. gather together C. put together D. band together
19.A. acquisition B. cooperation C. recognition D. evaluation
20.A. welcomed B. applauded C. calculated D. encouraged
