I read somewhere that we spend a full third of our lives waiting. But where are we doing all of this waiting, and what does it mean to an impatient society like ours? To understand the issue, let’s take a look at three types of “waits”.
The very purest form of waiting is the Watched-Pot Wait. It is without doubt the most annoying of all. Take filling up the kitchen sink (洗碗池) as an example. There is absolutely nothing you can do while this is going on but keep both eyes fixed on the sink until it’s full. During these waits, the brain slips away from the body and wanders about until the water runs over the edge of the counter and onto your socks. This kind of wait makes the waiter helpless and mindless.
A cousin to the Watched-Pot Wait is the Forced Wait. This one requires a bit of discipline. Properly preparing packaged noodle soup requires a Forced Wait. Directions are very specific. “Bring three cups of water to boil, add mix, simmer three minutes, remove from heat, let stand five minutes.” I have my doubts that anyone has actually followed the procedures strictly. After all, Forced Waiting requires patience.
Perhaps the most powerful type of waiting is the Lucky-Break Wait. This type of wait is unusual in that it is for the most part voluntary. Unlike the Forced Wait, which is also voluntary, waiting for your lucky break does not necessarily mean that it will happen.
Turning one’s life into a waiting game requires faith and hope, and is strictly for the optimists among us. On the surface it seems as ridiculous as following the directions on soup mixes, but the Lucky-Break Wait well serves those who are willing to do it. As long as one doesn’t come to rely on it, wishing for a few good things to happen never hurts anybody.
We certainly do spend a good deal of our time waiting. The next time you’re standing at the sink waiting for it to fill while cooking noodle soup that you’ll have to eat until a large bag of cash falls out of the sky, don’t be desperate. You’re probably just as busy as the next guy.
1.What is the difference between the Forced Wait and the Watched-Pot Wait?
A. The Watched-Pot Wait needs directions.
B. The Forced Wait makes people passive.
C. The Forced Wait requires some self-control.
D. The Watched-Pot Wait engages body and brain.
2.What can we learn about the Lucky-Break Wait?
A. It doesn’t always bring the desired result.
B. It is less voluntary than the Forced Wait.
C. It is more fruitful than the Forced Wait.
D. It doesn’t give people faith and hope.
3.What does the author advise us to do the next time we are waiting?
A. Take it seriously. B. Don’t lose heart.
C. Do something else. D. Don’t rely on others.
4.The author supports his view by _________.
A. exploring various causes of “waits”
B. describing detailed processes of “waits”
C. revealing frustrating consequences of “waits”
D. analyzing different categories of “waits”
This is a time of year when high school students and their families are thinking hard about college. As seniors，juniors，and parents identify their top choices，discussions typically focus on the college itself. Is the institution small or large? How strong are the academics？What is the social life like? Do I like the campus? Such considerations are important, but they can cover the all-important question：Where will these college years lead?
Applicants should think seriously about which college on their list can best prepare them for the real world. They should look for campuses that offer well-structured programs to help them form a direction for their lives and develop the capacity to take steps along that path.
One of the most striking recent phenomena about college graduates in America has been the “boomerang” student: the young person who goes away to college, has a great experience, graduates, and then moves back home for a year or two to figure out what to do with his or her life. This pattern has left many graduates – and their families – wondering whether it makes sense to spend four or more years at college, often at great expense, and finish with no clear sense of who they are or what they want to do next.
The trend points to one of the great shortcomings of many of our nation’s leading colleges and universities. Structured opportunities to think about life after graduation are rare. The formal curriculum focuses almost universally on the academic disciplines of the arts and sciences. Advising on how various majors connect to pathways into the workplace is typically haphazard (没有条理的). Career planning offices are often shorthanded and marginal (不重要的) to college life.
It doesn’t need to be this way, and in recent years some of the country’s top colleges have enriched their academic offerings with opportunities for students to gain real-world experiences.
1.According to the author, what do typical discussions on college choices ignore?
A. The function of college education in employment.
B. The difficulty in finding jobs after graduation.
C. High school students’ interests.
D. The academics of college.
2.Which accounts for the “trend” mentioned in the text?
A. Students failing to behave themselves.
B. Parents overprotecting their children.
C. Students choosing majors blindly.
D. Schools lacking proper guidance.
3.What will be probably discussed in the following paragraph?
A. Recipes for academic achievements.
B. Good academic programs in college.
C. Academic tips for college students.
D. Disadvantages of present college course.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. A good way to choose a college.
B. A new trend in top colleges.
C. Connect subjects with life beyond college.
D. Make college one of life’s richest experiences.
Fifteen years ago, I took a summer vacation in Lecce in southern Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic (全景的) view of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.
Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.
Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, my camera scanning the sun and reviewing the shot I would eventually take, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn’t want to mess with that.
Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway. And now when I look at it, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.
This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who “ruined” it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured (捕捉) and frozen on some stranger’s bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don’t even know has been immortalized (使……永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.
Perhaps we all live in each others’ spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us.
That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.
1.What happened when the author was about to take a photo?
A. Her camera stopped working. B. A friend approached from behind.
C. Someone asked her to leave. D. A woman blocked her view.
2.In the author’s opinion, what makes the photo so alive?
A. The woman’s existence in the photo.
B. The perfect positioning of the camera.
C. The rich color of the landsc
ape.
D. The soft sunlight that summer day.
3.The photo on the bedroom wall enables the author to better understand ________.
A. the need to be close to nature B. the shared passion for beauty
C. the joy of the vacation in Italy D. the importance of private space
4.The passage can be seen as the author’s reflections upon _______.
A. the art of photography B. the pleasure of traveling
C. a particular life experience D. a lost friendship
Five Must-visit Alternative Movie Theaters in Houston
Wortham Giant Screen Theater — Journey to Yellowstone, Kenya, or even the Triassic period at the Wortham Giant Screen Theater, located inside the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Far from a fossil, the 394-seat theater features a large screen with 4K digital resolution and a six-track sound system, the perfect tools to bring its 3D attractions to life.
Brown Auditorium Theater — Add variety to your cinematic diet at the Brown Auditorium Theater, inside the Museum of Fine Arts, Huston. Brown Auditorium Theater was designed in 1974 by famous architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and updated in 2000. The theater screens both classic and modern films as well as world cinema and documentaries.
River Oaks Theater — Enjoy dinner and a movie in style at the River Oaks Theater, Houston’s typical movie theater located inside the fashionable River Oaks Shopping Center. Spring for extra cost-plus seating to settle into a leather recliner (躺椅) and receive push-of-a -button food and drink service. Showings typically include contemporary documentaries and fiction films and, naturally, the traditional midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Sundance Cinemas Houston — Book your tickets in advance for the easily reserved seating movie theater Sundance Cinemas Houston. The MetroRail-nearby Downtown theater keeps independent films on deck, but doesn’t mind showing the latest great blockbuster (大片). And its on-site cafe serves up pizza, popcorn and more.
Showboat Drive-in Theater — Park the car at The Showboat Drive-In Theater in Hockley where “it’s not just a movie… it’s an experience!” For a small price, families, friends, and lovers alike get snacks, souvenirs, and a double feature of the newest releases.
1.What’s the Wortham Giant Screen Theater unique for?
A. The latest film. B. Advanced equipment.
C. A long history. D. Easy reach.
2.What can you experience in the River Oaks Theater?
A. Drive your car in. B. Buy friends gifts.
C. See cultural films. D. Enjoy convenient food service.
3.Which cinema is located in the city center?
A. Sundance Cinemas Houston. B. Brown Auditorium Theater.
C. River Oaks Theatre. D. Showboat Drive-in Theater.
最近学校正在展开一场急救知识普及活动, 就此你所在的班级举行了一场讨论会,并提出以下几点建议。现请你根据以下要点以First Aid in Fires 为题写一篇文章,说明发生火灾时要注意的几点事项,贴在班级的板报上。
注意事项:
1. 不要惊慌, 保持冷静；
2. 室内有浓烟时, 身体尽量低一些,用湿毛巾捂住鼻子和嘴巴逃出；
3. 不要乘坐电梯或从高层跳下；
4. 你自己还有什么好的建议。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当发挥，以使行文连贯。
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I went to a new restaurants to have dinner yesterday. The delicious food there left a deep impression on to me. But the service was not as good I expected. Usual, I appreciate waiters come to check on me and to see if there is anything I need. Therefore, the waiters there left me alone. I had to get our attention whenever I needed something. And I hate waiting so long to receive the bill. I am used for fast, efficient service, so this was a worst experience that I ever had.
