Black Friday in the United States
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving Day in the USA, falling on the Friday after the fourth Thursday in November.
1.
Many people have a day off work or choose to take a day from their annual leave on Black Friday.Some people use this to make trips to see family members or friends who live in other areas or to go on vacation.Shopping for Christmas presents is popular on Black Friday.Many stores have special offers and lower their prices on some goods, such as toys.
Public life
2..Many people take a day off on the day after Thanksgiving Day.Many organizations also close for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Public transit systems may run on their normal schedule or may have changes.Some stores extend their opening hours on Black Friday.3..
Background
Black Friday,the day after Thanksgiving Day, is one of the busiest shopping days in the USA.4..One theory is that the wheels of vehicles in heavy traffic on the day after Thanksgiving Day left many black marking on the road surface,leading to the term “Black Friday”.
The other theory is that the term “Black Friday”comes from an old way of recording business accounts.5.Many businesses,particularly small businesses,started making profits before Christmas.Many hoped to start showing a profit,marked in black ink,on the day after Thanksgiving Day.
More recently,Black Friday has been exported to nations outside of North America such as the United Kingdom by major online retailers like Amazon or Apple.In 2011, IBM reported online Black Friday sales were up by 24.3%, according to a study that includes 500 retailers.
A.People’s activities.
B.History of Black Friday.
C.Losses were recorded in red ink and profits in black ink.
D.A.busy shopping day is a holiday in some states.
E.There can also be jams on roads to popular shopping destinations.
F.There are two popular theories as to why it is called Black Friday.
G.Black Friday is not a federal holiday but a public one in some states.
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics is shared by three scientists, the Royal Academy of Sciences announced in Stockholm on Tuesday. The Nobel Prize in Physics 2016 was divided, with one half awarded to David J. Thouless, the other half to F. Duncan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz “for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter(物质拓扑相变和拓扑相).”
Haldane said he was “very surprised” at the news, adding that he was glad that their discoveries found something previously unnoticed by many, and that they revealed “more possibilities for looking for new materials.” He particularly pointed out that a lot of work was still ongoing.
The year’s prize amount is 8 million Swedish krona(0.93 million US dollars), and will be split properly between the three winners.
The winners are given a sum of money when they receive their prizes, in the form of a document confirming the amount awarded. The amount of prize money depends upon how much money the Nobel Foundation can award each year. The purse has increased since the 1980s, when the prize money was 880,000 SEK per prize. In 2009, the monetary award was 10 million SEK (US$1.4 million; €950,000). In June 2012, it was lowered to 8 million SEK.
If there are two winners of a particular prize, the award money is divided equally between the winners. If there are three, the awarding committee can choose to divide the money equally, or award one-half to one winner and one-quarter to each of the others. It is common for winners to donate prize money to benefit scientific, cultural, or charities.
1.How much price money does Thouless get?
A. 8 million Swedish krona.
B. 6 million Swedish krona.
C. 4 million Swedish krona.
D. 2 million Swedish krona.
2.According to the passage, Haldane thought that his work_________
A. was far from ending
B. was based on many previous studies
C. had perfectly been completed
D. had surprised the whole world
3.The amount of prize money _________. .
A. has been ever increasing since the 1980s
B. has been ever decreasing since the 1980s
C. remains 880,000 SEK each year after 2012
D. differs according to the Nobel Foundation’s affordability
4.What does the last paragraph talk about?
A. The purpose of the award money.
B. How the award money is dealt with.
C. How the laureates are selected.
D. The number of laureates per prize.
When others get off the train to finally go home, Leonie Muller stays behind. That’s because she is already home: The train is her apartment, and she says she likes it that way. The German college student gave up her apartment in spring.“It all started with an argument I had with my landlord,” Muller told The Washington Post via e-mail.“I immediately decided I didn't want to live there anymore and then I realized: Actually,I didn’t want to live anywhere anymore.”
Instead, she bought a subscription (会员费) that allows her to board every train in the country for free. Now, Muller washes her hair in the train bathroom and writes her college papers while traveling at a speed of up to 190 mph.She says that she enjoys the freedom since she gave up her apartment.“I really feel at home on trains.It’s like being on vacation all the time,”Muller said.
“I want to inspire people to question their habits and the things they consider to be normal,” Muller told The Post.“There are always more opportunities than one thinks there are.The next adventure is waiting just around the comer-provided that you want to find it.”
Muller frequently travels late at night,although she tries to sleep at the apartments of relatives or friends. Often, she is accommodated by her boyfriend,her mother or grandmother. “Normally, we would have to have a long-distance relationship, but living on a train enables me to see him all the time,” Muller told German TV station SWR regarding her boyfriend.“Most of my friends really like the idea,although some consider it to be quite adventurous. Others, however,have reacted more negatively.They feel offended by the fact that I question the ordinary way of life and living.”
The only problem? “Possessing a headset that reduces most surrounding noises is important,” she said.
1.What do we know about the direct reason for Muller s choice to live on trains?
A. She had an argument with her landlord. B. She wanted to visit more people on the way.
C. She had to finish her graduate paper on the topic. D. She planned to act against tradition.
2.According to Muller,which is one of the advantages of living on trains?
A. She can have more holidays. B. She can escape from college life.
C. She can possess a headset. D. She can see her boyfriend more often.
3.What does Muller want to express in Paragraph 3?
A. There are opportunities everywhere in life. B. The next adventure is coming soon.
C. People need to make changes in their life. D. People need to follow in her footsteps to live on trains.
4.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. The ordinary way of life and living. B. The thought of living on a train.
C. German TV station SWR. D. A long-distance relationship.
In China, there are usually two reasons why people receive messages from friends and relatives from whom they haven’t heard for a while. The first is about New Year greetings, which are always welcome. The second reason is often less pleasant, however; people are increasingly contacting long lost friends, or even casual acquaintances, and urging them to cast online votes for their children or grandchildren in competitions.
The practice, which has been growing rapidly, has now reached the point where people are becoming tired and may even feel annoyed.
The results of a recent survey conducted by the Jinhua Evening News in East China’s Zhejiang Province show that 94 percent of 384 interviewees were once asked by friends or relatives to cast votes online for their children. The contests range from the “cutest baby” to dancing competitions, but in many is the people receiving the messages haven’t heard from the sender for a long time and have never met the child involved.
Although the competitions may appear to be harmless fun, some education professionals are concerned that they could have a negative effect on children.
Tang Sulan, a member of the CPPCC’s National Committee (全国政协)，proposed a ban on online competitions featuring children to prevent future psychological issues. She was also concerned that public disclosure of a child’s personal information and publication of photos cause a potential risk to the child’s safety.
Li Hongyan, the mother of an l1-year-old girl and an 18-month-old boy in Beijing, said she has never urged others to vote for her children. Although on the surface the children are competing among themselves via their parents’ social networks, the competitions are also about parents seeking a “sense of victory” for themselves, she Sid. “It feels as though parents are using their babies as tools to win glory for themselves, rather than truly respecting their kids’ dignity and nature.” However, despite her dislike of the contests, she has twice voted for the babies of close friends because “it would be embarrassing to say no”.
1.What is the best tide for the text?
A. Receiving Messages: An Unhappy Experience B. TO Say No: An Embarrassing Experience
C. A Dilemma: Vote or Not D. Child’s Safety and Casting Votes on Line
2.What does the underlined word “disclosure” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?
A. Exposure B. Concern. C. Reputation. D. Competition
3.What can be inferred from Li Hongyan’s words?
A. Her children don’t want to join in those online competitions.
B. She urges people to vote for the babies of her close friends.
C. She agrees to bring the children to their parents’ social networks
D. She opposes the idea of parents seeking votes for children.
●Underground City,Montreal,Canada
Take one of the 120 entrances into the largest man-made underground network in the world.
Montreal’s Underground City was first built in 1962.About 500,000 people a day use its 32 kilometers of shopping malls,apartment buildings,hotels,banks,offices,museums,and universities;there are also two train stations and a bus terminal（终点站）.
●Mammoth Cave National Park,Kentucky,America
Place names such as Grand Avenue and Frozen Niagara give an idea of what’s in the world’s longest underground cave system.The oldest part was formed 10 million years ago,9.5 million years before man made an appearance.
●Hannan’s North Mine,Kalgoorlie,Australia
Go down 30.5 meters in a cage elevator to tunnels dug during Australia’s 19th-century gold rush.Try your hand at panning for gold（淘金）.Kalgoorlie still produces 10 percent of the world’s gold.
●Wieliczka Salt Mine,Krakow,Poland
It all started when salt was just like today’s oil.Nine centuries of mining has produced miles of undergroud passages and huge caves to a depth of 134 meters.More than one million people a year visit the UNESCO-listed site, which includes lakes and statues made from salt,the world’s largest mining museum and concert halls.
●Berlin Nuclear Bunker（地堡）,Germany
Take a few minutes to adjust to the dim（昏暗的）light of this 1971 radiation-proof Cold War bunker.Feel the cold enter your bones in the deathly silence.The narrow beds for 3,562 people take up most of the space.The bunker could operate for 14 days after a nuclear attack.It’s a frightening experience.
1.What do the above five attraction have in common?
A. They are all man-made. B. They all lie underground.
C. They are all radiation-proof. D. They all date back to the 19th century.
2.In Wieliczka Salt Mine,visitors can .
A. make salt statues B. enjoy the mountain scenery
C. learn about salt mining history D. experience mining salt themselves
3.We can infer from the passage that .
A. Hannan’s North Mine is out of operation
B. Berlin Nuclear Bunker is well-equipped now
C. Mammoth Cave National Park has the world’s oldest cave system
D. Underground City was built to make citizens’ life more convenient
4.We can most probably read the passage in a ______.
A. news report B. history magazine C. travel guide D. research paper
最近，某英语交流学习论坛提出一个话题“Should square dancing be forbidden?”邀请网友参与讨论。你打算参加，请根据题目写一篇发言稿。
内容包括：
1.广场舞的现状；
2.表明你的观点；
3.给出理由。
注意：词数100左右。
Should square dancing be forbidden?
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