Last October, while tending her garden in Mora, Sweden, Lena Pahlsson pulled out a handful of small 1.(carrot) and was about to throw them away .But something made her look closer ,and she noticed a 2.(shine) object .Yes ,there beneath the leafy top of one tiny carrot was her long-lost wedding ring.
Pahlsson screamed 3. loudly that her daughter came running from the house .“she thought I had hurt 4.(I),” says Pahlsson.
Sixteen years 5.(early), Pahlsson had removed the diamond ring 6.(cook) a meal. When she wanted to put the ring back on later, it was gone. She suspected that one of her three daughters-then ten. eight, and six-had picked it up, but the girls said they hadn’t. Pahlsson and her husband 7.(search) the kitchen, checking every corner, but turned up nothing. “I gave up hope of finding my ring again," she says. She never replaced it.
Pahlsson and her husband now think the ring probably got 8.(sweep) into a pile of kitchen rubbish and was spread over the garden, 9. it remained until the carrot’s leafy top accidentally sprouted (生长) through it. For Pahlsson, its return was 10. wonder.
At my heaviest I weighed 370 pounds.I had a very poor relationship with food: I used it to____bad feelings,to make myself feel better,and to celebrate.Worried about my health,I tried many different kinds of____but nothing worked.I came to believe that I could do nothing about my____.
When I was 50,my weight problem began to affect me____.I didn’t want to live the rest of my life with this ____weight any more.
That year,I____a seminar where we were asked to create a project that would touch the world.A seminar leader shared her____story—she had not only 125 pounds,but also raised $25,000 for homeless children.
____by her story,I created the As We Heal,the World Heals____.My goal was to lose 150 pounds in one year and raise $50,000____a movement founded 30 years ago to end hunger.This combination of healing myself and healing the world ____me as the perfect solution.
____I began my own personal weight program,I was filled with the fear that I would____the same difficulties that beat me before.While the____hung over my head,there were also signs that I was headed down the right____.I sent letters to everyone I knew,telling them about my project.It worked perfectly.Donations began____in from hundreds of people.
Of course,I also took some practical steps to lose weight.I consulted with a physician,I hired a fitness coach,and I began to eat small and____meals.My fund-raising focus also gave me new motivation to exercise____.
A year later,I____my goal: I lost 150 pounds and raised $50,000!I feel that I’ve been given a second life to devote to something that is____and enormous.
1.A. add B. mix C. kill D. share
2.A. diets B. drinks C. fruits D. dishes
3.A. height B. ability C. wisdom D. weight
4.A. temporarily B. recently C. seriously D. secretly
5.A. ideal B. extra C. normal D. low
6.A. attended B. organized C. recommended D. mentioned
7.A. folk B. success C. adventure D. science
8.A. Surprised B. Amused C. Influenced D. Disturbed
9.A. project B. business C. system D. custom
10.A. in search of B. in need of C. in place of D. in support of
11.A. scared B. considered C. confused D. struck
12.A. As B. Until C. If D. Unless
13.A. get over B. run into C. look for D. put aside
14.A. excitement B. joy C. anger D. fear
15.A. row B. hall C. path D. street
16.A. breaking B. flooding C. jumping D. stepping
17.A. heavy B. full C. expense D. healthy
18.A. regularly B. limitlessly C. suddenly D. randomly
19.A. set B. reached C. missed D. dropped
20.A. stressful B. painful C. meaningful D. peaceful
How to Do Man-on-the Street Interviews
The man-on-the-street interview is an interview in which a reporter hits the streets with a cameraman to interview people on the spot. 1. But with these tips, your first man-on-the-street interview experience can be easy.
• When your boss or professor sends you out to do man-on-the –street interviews for a story, think about the topic and develop a list of about ten general questions relating to it. For example, if your topic is about environmental problems in America, you might ask, “Why do you think environmental protection is important in America?” 2.
• Hit the streets with confidence. 3. Say, “Excuse me, I work for XYZ News, and I was wondering if you could share your opinion about this topic,” This is a quick way to get people to warm up to you.
• Move on to the next person if someone tells you she is not interested in talking on camera. Don’t get discouraged.
• 4. Each interview that you get on the street shouldn’t be longer than ten minutes. As soon as you get the answer you need, move on to the next person. Make sure that as you go from interview to interview, you are getting a variety of answers. If everyone is giving you the same answer, you won’t be able to use it. A safe number of interviews to conduct is about six to ten. 5.
• If your news station or school requires interviewees to sign release forms to appear on the air, don’t leave work without them.
A. Limit your time.
B. As you approach people, be polite.
C. If you don’t own a camera, you can buy one.
D. For new reporters, this can seem like a challenging task.
E. To get good and useful results, ask them the same question.
F. That number of interviews should give you all the answers you need.
G. With a question like this, you will get more than a ‘Yes” or “No” reply.
George Aldrich, whose official title is chemical specialist, works at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. He uses his nose to protect astronauts from unpleasant or harmful odors (气味). His near four-decade career has involved smelling objects from technical handbooks to astronauts’ personal things.
It’s crucial that all items taken aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are odorless. Since astronauts are allowed to bring personal items aboard, all their objects must be smell-checked before leaving Earth. In a video provided by Science Channel, Aldrich relates on specific occasion when an astronaut wanted to build a ship in a bottle in space. Everything in the ship-building process had to be sniffed — right down to the glue.
Aldrich and his team are responsible for making sure that objects are not only odorless but also harmless to astronauts. When the ISS heats up, a process called off-gassing occurs, which means chemicals flow out from certain substances (物质). Objects that would be safe on Earth could give off unpleasant odors or become dangerous when exposed to high temperatures in the ISS’s unique environment.
Of course, humans aren’t the only testers or the first to be exposed to potentially dangerous objects. Before Aldrich sticks his nose into a substance, it has been examined by machines. Even though machines can detect unsafe substances, computers cannot tell exactly how things smell to humans. While something could be technically fine, it could be smelly to an astronaut.
Aldrich’s nose is not alone there. He is the head of a hard-sniffing team of smell testers. Together they smell each object and rate it on a scale (等级) of 1 to 4. According to NASA, I cannot be detected, and 4 is considered not bearable. After the scientists conclude their tests, the scores are averaged. If an item is rated more than 2.4 on the scale, it fails the test and is not allowed on the flight.
1.Which can describe the smell check from Paragraph 2?
A. Quite dangerous. B. Extremely strict.
C. Rather boring. D. Very complex.
2.What is a threat to astronauts’ safety at the ISS?
A. Negative emotions. B. Odor-related disease.
C. The off-gassing process. D. Changes in temperature.
3.What should be done before Aldrich and his team start their work?
A. Using machines to test objects.
B. Having a meeting to make the scale.
C. Using computers to examine their noses.
D. Listing potentially dangerous substances.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. An unusual smell tester. B. Astronauts’ life at the ISS.
C. Strong odors in a spaceship. D. The smell of personal items.
One of America’s best-known artist colonies, the MacDowell Colony, will turn 110 next year. It is a place where artists of all types can sweep away distractions (令人分心的事物) and just create.
MacDowell’s operations are funded by foundations, corporations and individuals. Writers, composers, photographers, filmmakers and sculptors — both famous and unknown —compete for the 32 free studios at the place. Once accepted, an artist can stay for as little as a couple of weeks, or as long as a couple of months.
When they arrive, artists find a kind of isolation (隔绝) hard to find in our world. There’s no phone. No fax. No friends. No family. It’s just a cabin in the snowy woods.
Writer Emily Raboteau lives in New York City. She came to MacDowell to work on a novel. She received a desk, chairs, pencil and paper — and ice grippers. The walk from one isolated, one-room studio to another is icy, so colony residents (居住的人) fasten the ice grippers to the bottom of their shoes.
Another colony resident, Belfast composer Elaine Agnew, plays a piece called “To a Wild Rose,” written by Edward MacDowell. She says it’s so famous that every pianist in the world has played the tune. A hundred years ago, Macdowell owned the land where the colony now sits. He liked its isolation and his ability to get work done there. After his death, his wife, Marion, encouraged other artists to come.
And for the last century, artists have accepted the invitation, coming to step outside of their daily lives for a short time. Privacy is respected, but cooperation and discussion is common.
Screenwriter Kit Carson — who wrote Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and the film adaptation of Sam Shepherd’s play Paris, Texas — has visited MacDowell twice. He says that the interdisciplinary (学科间的) discussion there is valuable.
“You sit around at dinner, talking, and then somebody runs off and brings you back some stuff and shows it to you,” he says. “That, I didn’t realize, was part of the magic here, because people are really open to showing their opinions here.”
1.What do the colony residents have in common?
A. They find it hard to survive the loneliness.
B. They usually stay in the colony for months.
C. They are already famous in their own field.
D. They are nearly cut off from the outside world.
2.Why does the author mention Elaine Agnew?
A. To show the wide range of the residents.
B. To introduce the origin of the colony.
C. To admire her great musical talent.
D. To show respect for MacDowell.
3.Where does the magic of the MacDowell Colony lie according to Kit Carson?
A. It has a homely feel. B. It values work-play balance.
C. It encourages privacy greatly. D. It has an idea-sharing atmosphere.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Wonderland for artists B. Creativity at work
C. Happy birthday! D. Power of silence
One morning, my newspaper wasn’t delivered on time. Since I always brought it to work, it upset me that I would have to pick one up on my way to work. After breakfast, I was already running late, but figured I could make it if I hurried.
As I pulled into the parking lot of the store, I noticed a young man in a wheelchair who seemed to be struggling. “Someone else will stop and help him,” I thought.
However, no one stopped. I got out, and walked over to see what the trouble was.
“Is there anything I can do?” I asked. It was then that I noticed he wasn’t able to speak, and was still struggling with the chair.
I looked down at the chair and noticed that the clamps (夹具) holding the electronic keyboard had apparently become loose causing the equipment to slip down, out of his reach.
I pulled it back into place and then re-tightened the clamps. He hit a key on the keyboard. An electronic voice told me, “Thank you.” He then found the control that steered (操纵) the chair, turned and left.
I got back in my car and headed off to work, completely forgetting my newspaper. As I drove, I felt a deep gratitude (感激). I was truly blessed to have the physical abilities that allow me to live a normal life. Here was this young man who relied on machines to get around and communicate. He probably dreamed about doing all the things that I thought were normal and simple.
It’s funny; fifteen minutes before that happened, I was whining because my morning paper hadn’t arrived on time. I was glad I helped the young man, because he helped me gain a new viewpoint on everything I had in my life.
1.Why did the author stop at the store?
A. To do his job. B. To have breakfast.
C. To buy a newspaper. D. To drive a colleague to work.
2.What was the young man trying to reach?
A. The clamps. B. The car key.
C. The wheelchair. D. The electronic keyboard.
3.What does the underlined word “whining” in the last paragraph mean?
A. Complaining. B. Worrying.
C. Arguing. D. Crying.
4.What did the author learn from the experience?
A. Treasure what we have. B. Treat the disabled nicely.
C. Technology has changed our lives. D. Don’s get annoyed over small things.
