As we passed the Eaton’s Department store’s window, we stopped as usual to gaze and do our bit of dreaming. My mother set her eyes on a red dress, _______ it long.
As we continued down the street, mother turned_______for one more look. “My goodness! They’d display something a person could use!”
Christmas was_______and the red dress was soon forgotten. Mother was not the one who_______items that were not practical. Father, ______ , liked to splurge(放纵)whenever the budget(预算)allowed. He’d get blamed for his occasional splurging, but it was all done with the best_______.
On our last trip to town before Christmas, mother suddenly said in surprise, “Would you just look at that!” She pointed ______as Dad drove past Eaton’s.
“That big red dress is gone,” she said in ______ , “It’s actually gone.” I was certain to feel a bit of yearning(渴望)in her_______.
I’ll never forget that Christmas morning. I watched Mother tearing the paper off a large box that read, “Eaton’s Finest Enamel Dishpan”. “Oh Frank,” she_________in surprise, “just what I wanted!” Dad was sitting in his chair with a huge_______on his face.
“Only a ______wouldn’t give a priceless wife like mine exactly what she wants for Christmas, “Dad laughed and winked(递眼色)at me, confirming his _______, and my heart filled with more love for my father than it could hold!
Mother opened the______ . With trembling hands she touched the elegant material of Big Red.
“Oh my goodness!” her eyes were ______tears. “Oh Frank. You shouldn’t have” came her weak attempt at ______ .
“Oh, never mind that! Let’s see if it _____ ,” he laughed, helping her put on the wonderful dress. Mother completely ______ into another person.
I watched surprisedly, _______by the happiness in my parents I had ______noticed before. “You look beautiful,” my dad whispered to my mom---and she surely did!
1.A. having B. keeping C. admiring D. wearing
2.A. up B. back C. away D. out
3.A. over B. on C. along D. near
4.A. wished for B. searched for C. called for D. sent for
5.A. besides B. therefore C. however D. also
6.A. value B. intention C. chance D. need
7.A. strangely B. confidently C. angrily D. excitedly
8.A. disbelief B. joy C. discomfort D. interest
9.A. dream B. desire C. voice D. view
10.A. stopped B. said C. told D. sighed
11.A. surprise B. embarrassment C. doubt D. smile
12.A. seller B. driver C. man D. fool
13.A. secret B. weakness C. kindness D. worry
14.A. door B. chain C. box D. letter
15.A. held back B. filled with C. occupied with D. squeezed with
16.A. scolding B. smiling C. appreciating D. feeling
17.A. fits B. attracts C. shines D. opens
18.A. looked B. changed C. grew D. made
19.A. interested B. fascinated C. puzzled D. doubted
20.A. always B. ever C. never D. still
Traveling is a very enjoyable experience as it provides an opportunity to see new things. 1.The following article discusses the advantages of traveling.
Traveling gives you the opportunity to disconnect from your regular life. People all have crazy schedules, work and a family to take care of, and traveling alone or with some friends can give you distance and perhaps even make you realize how important these people are to you.
2.Another great benefit is the relaxation you get. 3.When you come back you feel energetic and you are happy to be back to your daily routine.
4.They will create a bond that nothing can erase no matter what happens to the friendship. You can create photo albums and when you feel nostalgic (怀旧的) you can experience the trips again by looking at your pictures.
It’s never been this cheap to travel. With increasing oil prices the cheap travel era might be coming to an end. 5.With the Internet and all the new technology, you can plan your trip exactly the way you want it. You can choose your budget, the duration of the trip and what you want to do.
A. It’s nice to enjoy a stress-free time.
B. As the saying goes, you never know what you have until you lose it.
C. When traveling with friends or family it creates memories of a lifetime.
D. Going on a trip means that you are most likely going to spend time outside.
E. Discovering different values and ways to get by in life is really interesting.
F. However, there are still many budget airlines fighting for your dollar right now.
G. There are many benefits other than enjoying yourself that can be realized when you travel.
British English may have come first, but around the world, the American way of spelling is now far more popular.
A recent examination of the English language shows that publications now largely use the American version swapping words like “centre” for “center” after the 1880s. To get data, researchers used Google’s Ngram Viewer to analyze the words found in all English-language publications from 1800 to 2000. Entering a word into the viewer will show how frequently it occurs within the massive corpus(语料库)of books around the world.
According to the data, this shift was further strengthened around World War I. Since then, English-language publications have preferred “gray” and “flavor” instead of “grey” and “flavour”. The American spelling has continued to grow over the years, with “liter” passing “liter” around 1900, and “center” becoming the more common choice over “centre” in 1913. “1913 marked a turning point in British spelling, as the American alternative became more frequently used in literature,” the post explains, in regard to “center”. This was just a year before the beginning of World War I, which many views as a key period in America’s rise to superpower status.
Though this switched again between 1920s and the late 1930s, the American, spelling took over for good around 1940, during which time the spelling “airplane” shifted dramatically over “aeroplane”.
Ever since the middle of the 19th century, even the British Isles have slowly rejected the old spelling. The future is gray for British English.
1.Which of the following is true?
A. American spelling takes over all the time
B. British people refuse to use American spelling
C. All the media prefer American spelling
D. The change in spelling is more obvious around World War I
2.What’s the main idea of the second paragraph?
A. The popularity of American spelling
B. The examples of the change in spelling
C. The history of English spelling
D. The reason for the change in English spelling
3.The passage is developed _______.
A. by space B. by time
C. by process D. by logic
4.The passage is written to _____.
A. introduce the change of English spelling
B. encourage the change in English spelling
C. compare the difference between American spelling and British spelling
D. introduce different views on English spelling
Move over millennials(千禧一代), here comes Generation Z, today’s youngest group.
Born in 1995 or later, a lot of Gen Z-ers are entering into adulthood and will soon join the workforce. People of Generation Z have grown up with the internet. Policy makers, sociologists, as well as employers and marketers, are trying their best to understand these young people. So, how should we pin down the Gen Z-ers?
Most people will agree that the single biggest difference between Gen Z and other generations is how connected they are. This is a group of people who were hooked up to social media as soon as they were born. A recent Guardian article says that the average teenager in the UK has at least 150 followers on Instagram and spends around half an hour a day on Snapchat, an image messaging app. “We are the first true digital natives,” Hannah Payne, an 18-year-old UCLA student and lifestyle blogger. “I can almost create a document, edit it, post a photo on Instagram and talk on the phone at the same time, all from the user-friendly interface(界面) of my iPhone.
The Guardian also notes that young people in the UK are becoming more active in politics. Voting is just one way of making one’s voice heard. Most of Generation Z are still too young to vote, says the Guardian. Instead of party politics, they focus more on single-topic issues such as feminism(男女平等)or climate change. And “much of the civil engagement and organizing they do takes place on social media rather than through traditional political structures,” according to the newspaper.
1.The underlined phrase “pin down” in the second paragraph can be replaced by ______.
A. set an example to B. have an interest in
C. give an explanation for D. make a decision on
2.The biggest difference between Generation Z and other generations lies in _________.
A. how linked they are
B. how enthusiastic they are
C. how they communicate with each other
D. how many hours they spend on the Internet
3.What do Instagram and Snapchat have in common?
A. They are newly-created cellphones
B. They are popular among millennials
C. They are online games invented by teenagers
D. They are applications applauded by teenagers
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. Generation Z have great interest in politics
B. Most Gen Z-ers haven’t entered the political field
C. Voting is the only way of making yourself noticed
D. Voting on social media is the same as voting through traditional ways
You may be familiar with the following famous people, but have you heard of their graduation speeches, in which they either share their unforgotten experiences or give you some great inspiration(启迪).
●Michael Dell, University of Texas at Austin
And now you've accomplished something great and important here, and it's time for you to move on to what's next. And you must not let anything prevent you from taking those first steps. ... You must also commit to the adventure. Just have faith in the skills and the knowledge you've been blessed (赐予)with and go.
●J.K. Rowling, Harvard University
Half my lifetime ago ,I was striking an uneasy balance between my ambition and the expectation from my parents who were not rich...But what I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty(贫穷), but failure. The fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you know little about failure, you might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success.
●Steve Jobs, Stanford University
Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith...Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle.
●Bill Gates, Harvard University
We need as many people as possible to have access to the advanced technology to lead to a revolution in what human beings can do for one another. They are making it possible not just for national governments, but for universities ,smaller organizations, and even individuals to see problems, see approaches and deal with the world's inequities（不公平）like hunger, poverty, and so on.
1.What Michael Dell said is to urge us to .
A. listen to our heart B. pursue our dreams
C. follow others' example D. learn from our mistakes
2.What did J.K. Rowling fear most when she was studying in university?
A. Poverty. B. Hunger.
C. Failure. D. Appearance.
3.Who wants to express "Keep looking for what you believe in"?
A. Michael Dell. B. J.K. Rowling.
C. Bill Gates. D. Steve Jobs.
4.What does Bill Gates suggest people do?
A. Make contributions to the environment.
B. Take responsibility for their own behavior.
C. Make joint efforts to rid some global problems.
D. Master as much advanced technology as possible.
I had offered to watch my 3-year-old daughter, Ramanda, so that my wife could go out with a friend. I was getting some work while Ramanda appeared to be having a good time in the other room. No problem, I figured. But then it got a little too quiet and I yelled out, “What are you doing? Ramanda” No response. I repeated my question and heard her say, “Oh, nothing?” Nothing? What does “nothing” mean?
I got up from my desk and ran out into the living room, and then I saw her take off down the hall. I chased her up the stairs and watched her a little behind made a hard left into the bedroom. I was gaining on her! She took off for the bathroom. Bad move. I had her cornered. I told her to turn around. She refused. I pulled out my big, mean, authoritative(命令式的)Daddy voice, “Young lady, I said turn around!”
Slowly, she turned toward me. In her hand was what was left of my wife’s new lipstick. And every square inch of her face was covered with right red (expect her lips of course)!
As she looked up at me with fearful eyes, lips trembling, I heard every voice that had been shouted to me as a child. “How could you… you should know better than that… How many times have you been told…What a bad thing to do…”It was just a matter of my picking out which old message I was going to use on her so that she would know what a bad girl she had been. But before I could let loose, looked down at the sweatshirt my wife had put on her only an hour before. In big letters it said “I’M A PERFECT ANGEL!” I looked back up into her tearful eyes and instead to seeing a bad girl who didn’t listen, I saw a child of God …a perfect little angel full of worth, value and a wonderful spontaneity(自发行为)that I had come dangerously close t shaming out of her.
“Sweetheart, you look beautiful! Let’s take a picture so Mommy can see how special you look.” I took the picture and thanked God that I didn’t miss the opportunity to reaffirm(再肯定)what a perfect little angel he had given me.
1.When the author found the house was abnormally quite, ______.
A. he went on with his work
B. he went to check on his daughter
C. he called his daughter to come over
D. he knew his daughter must be behaving well
2.When he saw his daughter’s face, the author _______.
A. thought she was so beautiful and lovely a girl
B. no longer saw her as an angel
C. flew into an uncomfortable disappointment
D. remembered the words he was scolded with
3.What does the underlined sentence “I had her cornered” mean?
A. She had been in the corner of the room
B. She had screamed out of fear
C. I had forced her into a position from which she couldn’t escape
D. She had escaped from one corner to another
