We met a little girl seven years ago during one of my daughter’s occasional hospital stays. Her name was Beth and she was my daughter’s roommate for a week. My Daughter had an incurable kidney(肾) disease. Beth was a very happy girl, despite the fact that she had cancer. I was amazed at her will and determination to never give up, however sick her treatment made her. She was always concerned about my daughter and the other children with cancer.
My daughter’s hospital treatment was completed in a week and we were waiting for her final discharge orders when Beth appeared. She said “I want you to have this. I know you need a new kidney, so keep this angel pin with you till you get better. She will watch over you and make you smile. My friend, John, gave it to me to watch over me. When you get your new kidney and smile, you can give this angel to someone that needs her, too”. My daughter thanked her and the girls exchanged hugs and big smiles. Later that year, Beth passed away.
We kept that angel for six more years. Finally, a kidney became available and she received a transplant.
Now she felt it was time to give it to someone who needed to be watched over until he or she could smile again. She gave it to an elderly man trying to recover from a heart problem.
How many families and hearts this angel has touched, no one knows for sure. But all that it took was a single gift of kindness. So in this Christmas season, create a tradition with your children or maybe someone you love. Give them a gift that keeps on giving. It’s a gift from your heart.
1.For what reason was the author impressed with Beth?(No more than 15 words)
2.Why did Beth give an angel pin to the author’s daughter?(No more than 10 words)
3.What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to?(No more than 5 words)
4.What tradition should be created as it is suggested in the passage? (No more than 15 words)
5.In your opinion what can be a gift from your heart? And why? (No more than 20 words)
Street art is a very popular form of art that is spreading quickly all over the world. You can find it on building, sidewalks, street sings and trash cans from Tokyo to Paris, and from Moscow to Cape Town. Street art has become a global culture and even art museums and galleries are collecting the works of street artists. Even advertising companies also use street art in their ads due to its popularity.
Street art started out very secretly because it’s illegal to paint on public and private property without permission. People often have different opinions about street art. Some people think it is a crime with others think it’s a new form of culture.
Art experts claim that the movement began in New York in the 1960s. Young adults sprayed words and images on walls and trains. This colorful and energetic style of writing became known as graffiti(涂鸦). Graffiti art showed that young people wanted to rebel against society. They didn’t want to accept rules, and they travelled around cities to create paintings that everyone could see. In many cases, they had trouble with the police and the local government.
Many street corners in Paris show the works of Space Invader. A French artist uses small pieces of glass to make images of space creatures. He has been doing this for some years and the police have arrested him a few times. On his website, you can see many other places where he has created this form of art.
Street artists do their work for some reasons. Some of them do not like the artists who make so much money in galleries and museums. They choose street art because it is closer to common people. Some artists try to express their political opinion in their works. They often want to protest against big firms and corporations. Others like to do things that are forbidden and hope they don't get caught.
In today’s world, the Internet has a big influence on street art. Artists can show their pictures to people all over the world. Many city residents, however, say that seeing a picture on the Internet is never as good as seeing it alive. The street art movement lives with the energy and life of a big city. There it will continue to change and grow.
1.What may be the best title for the text?
A. A New Form of Art
B. The New Trend of Street Art
C. Discovery of Global Culture
D. Street Art-New Culture of Cities
2.Why do advertising companies use street art?
A. It has a free style. B. It has a great effect.
C. It’s popular with customers. D. It gives the impression of youth.
3.What’s the author’s attitude toward street art?
A. Objective. B. Subjective.
C. Doubtful. D. Supportive.
Your house may have an effect on your figure. Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off. You can make your environment work for you instead of against you. Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.
Open the curtains and turn up the lights. Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating, for people are often less self-conscious(难为情) when they’re in poorly lit places — and so more likely to eat lots of food. If your home doesn’t have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.
Mind the colors. Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites. In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us less hungry. So when it’s time to repaint, go blue.
Don’t forget the clock — or the radio. People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories(卡路里) per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at 30 minutes. And while you’re at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turning on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.
Downsize the dishes. Big serving bowls and plants can easily makes us fat. We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12-inch plate instead of a 10-inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one, total intake(摄入) jumps by 14 percent. And we’ll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tall, skinny glass.
1.The text is especially helpful for those who care about ________.
A. their home comforts
B. their body shape
C. house buying
D. healthy diets
2.A home environment in blue can help people ________.
A. digest food better
B. reduce food intake
C. burn more calories
D. regain their appetites
3.What are people advised to do at mealtimes?
A. Eat quickly.
B. Play fast music
C. Use smaller spoons
D. Turn down the lights
4.Which of the following is correct according to the passage?
A. House with enough brightness is helpful for people to go on diet
B. The more slowly you eat, the more food you will take in
C. Your house environment will certainly affect your weight
D. Cool colour will make food appear more attractive
Jessica Tandy probably is best known for winning an Academy Award in 1989 for the movie Driving Miss Daisy. She was the oldest person to have won the award. But for many years, she had received praise for her great performances.
Jessica Tandy was born in London in 1909. After her father died, her mother taught and took other jobs at night to make extra money to raise her, three children. Jessica’s older brothers showed an interest in the theater and often put on shows at home. Jessica said later that she was terrible in all of them. But she said taking part in those plays as a child created a desire in her to be someone else.
Jessica loved going to the theater. This love led her to attend an acting school in 1924. She performed in her first play called The Manderson Girls at 18. But few people watched this play. In 1932, she married the famous actor Jack Hawkins. Their wedding pictures were on the front page of many British newspapers. In the same year, critics in London recognized her great acting skill in her performance in the play Children in Uniform.
In 1940, Jessica ended her first marriage and moved to the USA. In New York, she met actor Hume Cronyn. Two years later, they married and moved to Hollywood.
Her turning point came in 1947 when she played the lead part in Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire. Tandy won the first of her four Tony awards for best actress in it. After that Hollywood producers began to choose her to be in the movie.
Jessica Tandy said she hated seeing herself in the movies. She was surprised when she won the Academy Award for Driving Miss Daisy. She said that the wonderful part she had made up for her lack of experience in movies.
1.Jessica’s early interest in acting came from __________.
A. her natural gift for acting B. her brothers’ influence
C. her hope of helping raise her family D. her mother’s encouragement
2.What made Jessica first widely known to the public?
A. Attending an acting school.
B. Her first play The Manderson Girls.
C. Her marriage with Jack Hawkins.
D. Her wonderful performance in Driving Miss Daisy.
3.Which is the correct order of the following events?
a. Jessica performed in The Manderson Girls.
b. Jessica married Hume Cronyn
c. Jessica played the lead part in A Streetcar Named Desire.
d. Jessica moved to the USA.
A. a, d, b, c B. a, b, c, d
C. b, d, a, c D. b, c, a, d
4.From the last paragraph, we can learn that __________.
A. Jessica wasn’t interested in acting in movies
B. Jessica would perform better if given a better part
C. Jessica was as confident as commonly considered
D. winning the Academy Award was a surprise to Jessica
Nowadays kids can access various websites. However, they also need to aware of some websites that may bring them bad influences. There are a lot of good websites for kids that can be useful for their overall development.
Kids, national geographic
National Geographic Kids is one of the best websites for kids to stay updated with latest information on a wide range of topics. Every kid will surely find something important when he/she visits this website. It covers exciting information about activities, animals, education, fun and intellectual games, people and places, science and technology, stories, etc.
Factmonster
We know how much kids hate to study. If you also find it hard to make your kids study, you can ask him to visit Factmonster. This website is a fun way to study on all the school subjects. Kids will not have any punishments or long hours of lectures, but instead they will learn in a free way to study on their own!
Clubpenguin
Clubpenguin is an entertaining website, operated by Disney. As the name suggests, kids need to create a penguin alter ego (密友)and play online games and chat with fellow penguins, or friends. So, if you are looking for the chat rooms for kids only, then club penguin is a great choice for you! The best part is that all the chat information and history can be monitored by parents, in any time they want. Along with online chatting with friends, your kids can also participate in various activities that take place on club penguin, like drawing, painting! etc.
1.Kid. national geographic is a good website for kids because ______.
A. it enjoys the largest amount of topics
B. it provides online teaching by educators
C. it is good for kids’ over-all development
D. it has academic papers written by scientists
2.If the parents want their kids to learn in a more relaxing way, then they can visit _________.
A. Ebay B. Factmonster
C. Clubpenguin D. Kids. national geographic
3.Why is Clubpenguin better than other websites that have chat rooms?
A. It can useful for children’s intelligence
B. Kids can change their names as penguins
C. Kids can play online games with their friends
D. Parents get all the chatting records of their kids
4.The passage is most probably taken from ______.
A. education report B. science news report
C. ad for some websites D. Internet training course
If you want your life to stand for peace and kindness, it’s helpful to do kind, peaceful things. One of my _______ways to do this is by developing my own helping rituals (习惯). These little_______of kindness are opportunities to be of service and reminders of how good it feels to be kind and helpful.
We live in a rural area of the San Francisco Bay Area. _______of what we see is the beauty of nature. One of the exceptions to the beauty is the_______that some people throw out of their windows as they are_______on the rural roads. One of the few drawbacks(缺点) to living out the boondocks（偏远地区）is that _______services, such as litter collection, are less available than those closer to the city.
A helping ritual that I practice _______ with my two children is picking up litter in our surrounding area. We’ve become so_______ doing this that my daughters will often say to me in animated(兴致勃勃)_______, “There’s some litter, Daddy, stop the car!” And if we have________, we will often pull over and pick it up. It seems strange, but we actually ________ it. We pick up litter in parks, on sidewalks, practically________. Once I even saw a complete stranger picking up litter close to where we ________. He smiled at me and said, “I saw you doing this, and it seemed like a good idea.”
Picking up litter is only one of an endless supply of possible helping rituals. You might like________a door open for people, visiting lonely old people in nursing homes, or shoveling snow from someone else’s driveway. Think of something that seems effortless yet helpful. It’s fun, personally rewarding, and________a good example. Everyone wins.
1.A. favorite B. useful C. unusual D. strange
2.A. methods B. idea C. acts D. knowledge
3.A. More B. Most C. Some D. Any
4.A. litter B. box C. cigarette D. bottle
5.A. driving B. rolling C. walking D. running
6.A. private B. public C. water D. electricity
7.A. strangely B. easily C. regularly D. greatly
8.A. considerate to B. popular with C. familiar with D. used to
9.A. sounds B. voices C. noises D. tones
10.A. time B. oil C. money D. book
11.A. develop B. ignore C. need D. enjoy
12.A. somewhere B. nowhere C. anywhere D. everywhere
13.A. stand B. lie C. live D. stay
14.A. turning B. knocking C. kicking D. holding
15.A. follows B. sets C. makes D. creates
