As I sat there one night in Namibia, staring out at one of the most perfect sunsets I’d seen in a while, I realized why I never wanted to visit Africa alone. Sometimes the _____ of travel is not so beautiful when you don’t have someone to _____ it with. And there I was, staring out at this gorgeous _____ , and I was alone. I had no one to share that moment.
Sure, there was my tour group, but it’s not the same. Sharing a moment with people you have a bond with is much _____ from sharing it with strangers. Days later, I kept coming back to the _____ I felt at that moment. There was nothing wrong______ anyone on my tour-----they were all nice, polite, and talkative, and we got along well. But tours are _____ organized, and sometimes you closely _____ with people and sometimes you don’t. Dining alone may well be one most awkward times of solo travel. But like anything, the more you do it the more you get used to it.
And as I sat there looking at this beautiful sunset while zebra _____ from the nearby watering hole, a ___ hit me at the moment-----I am alone .And I am _____ it. While I’m an introvert(内向的人)and I like my “me” time, after 6.5 years, solo travel isn’t for me any longer. I no longer _____ to wander cities or gaze upon African sunsets alone. I want to _____ with people I know. I want_____ faces. I want to share moments. I make plenty of _____ on the road, but I’m tired of having to ______ in each new city.
I think everyone should travel alone at some point in their life; you _____ a lot about yourself by doing so. I never ____the solo travel I’ve done in the past and never felt alone or bored during those years, but Africa made it ______ that it’s time to move on to a new _____ of my life. I couldn’t hold onto the past any longer.
1.A. route B. beauty C. destination D. plan
2.A. share B. compare C. award D. admire
3.A. grassland B. sky C. desert D. sunset
4.A. different B. helpful C. unusual D. admirable
5.A. doubt B. sadness C. wonder D. comfort
6.A. for B. in C. with D. on
7.A. expensively B. commonly C. meaningfully D. casually
8.A. play B. compete C. bond D. fight
9.A. drank B. lay C. bent D. ate
10.A. stone B. truth C. stick D. ball
11.A. fond of B. proud of C. afraid of D. tired of
12.A. desire B. fail C. dare D. refuse
13.A. communicate B. work C. travel D. deal
14.A. round B. familiar C. healthy D. similar
15.A. friends B. mistakes C. decisions D. plans
16.A. take over B. look over C. turn over D. start over
17.A. learn B. worry C. care D. concern
18.A. recall B. dream C. regret D. experience
19.A. clear B. valuable C. impressive D. basic
20.A. situation B. discovery C. challenge D. chapter
Public Speaking Training
△Get a coach
1., so get help. Since there are about a billion companies out there all ready to offer you public speaking training and courses, here are some things to look for when deciding the training that’s right for you.
△Focus on positives
Any training you do to become more effective at public speaking should always focus on the positive aspects of what you already do well. Nothing can hurt confidence more than being told that you aren’t doing well.2., so good public speaking training should develop those instead of telling you what you shouldn’t do.
△ 3.
If you find a public speaking course that looks as though it’s going to give you lots of dos and don’ts, walk away! Your brain is so full of what you’re going to be talking about. 4. As far as we’re concerned, there are basically no hard and fast rules about public speaking. Your audience can be your friends.
△You are a special person not a clone
Most importantly, good public speaking training should treat you as a special one, with your own personal habits. 5.. Your training course should help you bring out your personality, not try to turn you into someone you’re not.
A. You aren’t like anybody else
B. You already do lots of things well
C
. Turn your back on too many rules
D. Check the rules about dos and don’ts
E. Whatever the presentation, public speaking is tough
F. The one thing you don’t want is for them to fall asleep
G. So trying to force a whole set of rules into it will just make things worse
Nearly 19 percent of teachers of color(有色人种教师) left their jobs after the 2014-2015 school year. Some left for personal reasons like taking care of their families. But 50 percent said they left because they were dissatisfied with their employment situation, such as poor working conditions, student discipline problems and large class sizes. Thus, taking immediate measures to improve it is our top priority.
For years, researchers have proved the benefits of increasing the share of minority teachers in schools, especially as our public school system has turned to one that is made up mostly of minority students. Teachers of color, who are more likely than their white counterparts to choose to work in racially diverse(多种多样的) schools, offer particular benefits to their students. Graduation rates increase among minority students when they are taught by racially similar educators, research shows. They can also serve as positive role models, and their presence reduces the chance of racial discrimination at school.
The Shanker Institute report suggests that the rate of minority teacher hiring is not the whole problem. The problem is what happens after these teachers enter the classroom. These teachers often work in high-poverty rural schools. They are more likely to have less-desirable working conditions.
Diversity is a key component to equality and opportunity. Where there’s a diverse teaching workforce, all kids thrive. So solutions must be found at once to turn this trend around. Firstly, schools should develop mentorship programs that support minority teachers once they are in the classroom. Secondly, more money should be spent in improving working conditions in these schools. Of course, school headmasters should also be evaluated on their ability to retain teachers of color.
1.Among teachers of color leaving their jobs, half of them quit because _______.
A. they had to take care of their children
B. they had to move to other places
C. they eventually found better-paid jobs
D. their employment situation was unsatisfactory
2.Which of the following is the main idea of the second paragraph?
A. The solutions to increasing graduation rates among minority students.
B. The benefits of increasing the share of minority teachers in schools.
C. The reasons for teachers of color leaving their jobs in many schools.
D. The ways to decrease the possibility of racial discrimination at school.
3.Which of the following components is vital to equality and opportunity?
A. Honesty B. Variety
C. Ability D. Safety
4.How did the author feel when writing the passage?
A. He felt angry about the government.
B. He was satisfied with the present situation.
C. He felt it urgent to solve the problem.
D. He didn’t care about diverse teaching workforce.
Reader: For six years, I’ve run an office that has two employees: me and my boss. He used to be so appreciative that I didn’t mind doing a little extra, but about two months ago, he started being rude and demanding. Now he even yells when I don’t have time to bring his favorite wine to his home after work.
This change started when we met a wealthy new customer, who is a huge jerk (古怪的人) -- my boss’s new behavior is just like his.
My boss is a good man; he and his family have treated me like a little sister. Is there a good way to discuss this with him?
Karla: Sounds like your new customer has set a bad example to your boss. You need to remind your boss that you’re in his corner-- but you’re not his slave. My suggestions are as follows.
Start with a simple question in a calm moment: “Is everything okay?”
State the truth: “Until recently, I’ve felt like a valued teammate. But our relationship has become tense. Your expectations of me seem to have changed. Although I used to do occasional personal businesses for you as a favor, now it seems expected.”
Draw your lines: “If you think my job description needs to change or my performance is not good enough, let’s discuss that. Otherwise, I need you to stop yelling at me and to respect my personal time.”
Ideally, you’ll get an apology and a promise to do better. After that, it’s a matter of reinforcement (加强) . If he starts yelling, look at him with a calm expression. After he cools down, restate his request and add, “Is that correct?” For the unreasonable request, such as fetching his favorite wine after work: “I’m afraid I can’t take care of that for you.” If he keeps acting like a jerk, there are bosses out there who will better respect your time and talent.
Karla L. Miller is ready to hear your work dramas. Send your questions to wpmagazine@washpost.com.
1.We can infer that the reader’s boss used to be ____.
A. grateful and friendly B. rich but strange
C. proud and hard-working D. honest but self-centered
2.What does the underlined word “demanding” mean in the first paragraph?
A. appreciating too much B. scolding too much
C. apologizing too much D. expecting too much
3.When the reader’s boss asks her to do something unreasonable next time, she is advised to ___________.
A. quit her job B. look at her boss calmly
C. refuse the request D. discuss the job description
4.What sort of problem can be solved by Karla L. Miller?
A. How do I make a friend?
B. How do I kill my personal time?
C. How can I get along well with my workmates?
D. How can I get rid of wine?
One advantage of the Internet is shopping conveniently online for clothes; one disadvantage of the Internet is also shopping conveniently online for clothes.
“Nothing fits,” said Lam Yuk Wong, a senior in electrical and computer engineering at Rice University. “Everyone says this. They order clothes and they don’t fit. People get very unhappy.”
Wong and her design partner, Xuaner “Cecilia” Zhang, are Team White Mirror, creators of what they call a “virtual (虚拟)fitting room”. Their goal is simple and consumer-friendly: to let online clothing shoppers have a perfect fit and a perfect look when shopping every time. Both women are from China, Wong from Hong Ko ng and Zhang from Beijing. They both order most of their clothing online. They got the idea from their own experience as consumers and from listening to the complaints of friends and relatives. “They say, ‘The color is wrong’ or ‘I got the right size but it still does not fit.’ We want to make it like you’re in the store trying on the clothes,” Zhang said.
Using a Kinect developed by Microsoft for use with its Xbox 360 video game player, Zhang scans Wong and turns her image into, in effect, a virtual model, keeping Wong’s dimensions (尺寸), and even her skin and hair color. “We put the clothes on the shopper’s 3-D body models and show how they look when they are dressed,” Wong said. So far, Wong and Zhang have adapted the software to show dresses and shirts, and they are now working on shorts.
Asked if she thought men as well as women might be interested in using their virtual fitting room, Wong said, “I think their wives will care about this, so it will also be important to men.”
1.Why is shopping conveniently online for clothes a disadvantage?
A. Students may easily get addicted to it.
B. Clothes bought online may not fit.
C. It attracts more online clothing shoppers.
D. It causes shoppers to waste too much money.
2.Wong and Zhang got the idea to design a virtual fitting room from ____.
A. their shopping experiences B. a program at their university
C. some shop-owners’ complaints D. the Xbox 360 video game player
3.Which of the following shows the process of using the virtual fitting room?
A. scanning -- trying on clothes -- getting images
B. trying on clothes -- getting models -- scanning
C. scanning -- getting models --trying on clothes
D. trying on clothes -- getting images -- scanning
4.What did Wong think of her virtual fitting room?
A. It is perfectly developed. B. It will have its market share.
C. It is limited to women shoppers. D. It is like a kind of video game player.
While CCTV’s educational show Animal World is well known, few big screen wildlife documentaries have been made by China’s film industry.
But Born in China, which came out on Aug 2, may be important for Chinese filmmakers who want to get into nature -themed films. The movie, directed by Chinese filmmaker Lu Chuan, was shot in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and shows the animals’ lives during different seasons.
Born in China not only brings to audiences the lives of animals that are rarely seen in the wild—giant pandas, snow leopards, and golden monkeys, but also shows Chinese traditional culture.
A symbol of China, the giant panda is both black and white. Its body is thought to show yin and yang, which ancient Chinese ideas were based on. The panda’s gentle nature shows how yin and yang lead to peace. It can be seen in the film when a panda mother guides her baby to look for independence and explore the world.
Unlike the shy pandas, monkeys always have strong personalities. The Monkey King in China’s most famous novel Journey to the West has many conflicting traits(特点). It stands for not only impatience but also cleverness and energy. Born in China follows a 2-year- old golden monkey who leaves his family, but then returns and understands the meaning of responsibility.
Just as the golden monkey, a mother snow leopard also faces difficulty in raising her babies in the wild. The leopards, known for their rapid attacks and quick footwork(脚步), have inspired a form of pictographic(象形拳) in Shaolin martial arts(武术).
“Born in China is a means to show off Chinese traditional culture,” director Lu told the reporter. “Chinese people have learned a lot from wild animals since ancient times. This is why I shot this nature -themed documentary.”
1.How is Born in China special according to the article?
A. It shows Chinese traditional culture through the lives of animals.
B. It’s considered the best nature-themed film to come out of China.
C. It’s the first big screen wildlife documentary ever made in China.
D. It shows audiences the lives of rare animals.
2.We can learn from the article that in Born in China, _______.
A. the story of the giant pandas shows the importance of exploring the world
B. the story of the golden monkeys was inspired by the Monkey King
C. the stories show how animals grow up to be independent
D. the story about snow leopards shows what people can learn from animals
3.What may be the best title for the text?
A. The stories of 3 animal families B. Symbols of China
C. Wildlife born in China D. Nature shows culture
