Christmas can easily become an expensive time of a year. From gifts to decorating, the money spent on the celebration adds up quickly. But there's no reason to completely break the bank. 1.
Make a budget (预算). Set the amount you're willing to spend for the holiday, including gift giving, decorating and travel. 2. And if you can keep to your budget, you'll lead an easy life in the following weeks and months.
Start shopping for Christmas decorations early. Stores have sales for decorations between Halloween and Thanksgiving. 3. Better yet, go shopping for next year's decorations the day after Christmas. You can buy many things at very low prices right after Christmas.
Shop for gifts all year round. Whenever you're out shopping, keep an eye out for great Christmas presents. 4. Shopping early can prevent you from spending more money than you can afford. And if you spend little here and there throughout the year, Christmas will have a much smaller influence on your wallet in December.
Scale down (缩减) your gift giving. Sometimes you just can't afford to get something for everyone. Remove the people from your list whom you rarely speak with. 5. The people you do choose to buy for don't need something expensive. Keep in mind that it's the thought that is more important.
A. Send them simple cards instead.
B. This budget is perfect for many people.
C. Once you have a budget set, keep to it.
D. And it's after Thanksgiving that the prices begin to go up.
E. Christmas is known as the season of giving, sharing and receiving.
F. There are ways to celebrate well and spend wisely at the same time.
G. It doesn't matter when you get the gift, whether it's January or June.
Pharrell Williams takes a breath and considers how the past years have developed for him: ten Grammy Awards and a number of hit singles including a song that has caused countless fans to express how they are “happy”．
And the key, says the 43yearold known simply as Pharrell, has been taking advantage of audiences' (听众的) need for heartfelt personal stories.
“I think we've entered a new singersongwriter time，” said the American singer and producer. “People want a story. They want a story they can connect to. It's not about what you have or what you don't have; it's more about your journey and your viewpoint that's important to people.”
Pharrell said he noticed a change in audiences' tastes over the past year in particular with the sudden success of his song Happy, which received little fanfare upon its release but has turned into an international hit. Countless videos populate sites like YouTube with people from Portugal and China to Abu Dhabi and Iran singing and dancing along to the song.
After seeing how far his song traveled, the singer broke down in tears during a televised interview with the famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
“It's just encouraging to people who have something to say, something to express，” he said.
The success has made Pharrell realize that people are searching for personal and emotional links (情感纽带), perhaps as a means of getting away from the modern technological world we're living in today.
“People want to feel. There's too much thinking to deal with，” the singer said. “We're different from what we were 15 years ago, The only thing we have left that reminds (提醒) us that we are humans is feeling. It' s the most important thing ever.”
1.What's the key to successful music according to Pharrell?
A. Writing happy songs.
B. Following your heart.
C. Telling moving stories.
D. Sharing personal experiences.
2.What can we learn about Pharrell's song Happy?
A. It received a cold welcome.
B. It became popular overnight.
C. It changed audiences' tastes in music.
D. It received different responses at home and abroad.
3.How did Pharrell feel about the success of his song?
A. It was caused by good luck.
B. It was within his expectations.
C. It gave him hope and confidence.
D. It prevented him giving up making music.
4.Why do people want to be connected to others emotionally?
A. They need someone to talk to.
B. They need others to help them think.
C. They are tired of their own personal life.
D. They feel less human in the technological world.
Background music may seem harmless, but it can have a powerful effect on those who hear it. Recorded background music first found its way into factories, shops and restaurants in the US. But it soon spread to other parts of the world. Now it is becoming increasingly difficult to go shopping or eat a meal without listening to music.
To begin with, “muzak” (音乐广播网) was intended simply to create a soothing (安慰) atmosphere. Recently, however，it has become big business—thanks in part to recent research. Dr. Ronald Milliman, an American marketing expert，has shown that music can boost sales or increase factory production by as much as a third.
However, it has to be light music. A fast one has no effect at all on sales. Slow music can increase receipts by 38%. This is probably because shoppers slow down and have more opportunity to spot items they like to buy. Yet, slow music isn't always the answer. Dr. Milliman found, for example, that in restaurants slow music meant customers took longer to eat their meals, which reduced overall sales. So restaurant owners might be well advised to play uptempo_music to keep the customers moving—unless of course, the resulting indigestion (消化不良) leads to complaints!
1.Background music means ________.
A. light music that customers enjoy most
B. fast music that makes people move fast
C. slow music that can make customers enjoy their meals
D. the music you are listening to while you are doing something
2.Restaurant owners complain about slow music because ________.
A. it results in indigestion
B. it increases their sales
C. it keeps customers moving
D. it decreases their sales
3.We can know from the text that ________.
A. background music was first used in big department stores
B. proper music can increase the selling of goods
C. light music has a bad effect on production
D. restaurant owners had better play slow music to comfort their customers
4.The underlined expression “uptempo music” probably means ________.
A. slow music B. fast music
C. light music D. classical music
Sonya and her family have been homeless since she was 3 years old. Over the years, they have moved more than 15 times to different shelters around New York City. Moving around was hard on Sonya, At school, Sonya hid her homelessness from teachers and other students. She didn't want to be treated differently than other kids.
In sixth grade, Sonya discovered a way to deal with some of her stress (压力). She began studying dance at her middle school. “It was a way for me to express myself, instead of just holding everything in，” she explains. Soon, Sonya auditioned (试演) for a summer dance camp run by Alvin Alley, a famous dance company. She was accepted.“I was delirious，” says Sonya.
Dancing became an even more important part of Sonya's life in high school. But things were not going well for Sonya at school. Each time her family moved to a new shelter, Sonya missed school. As the secondoldest of six kids, Sonya often took care of her younger sisters and brothers. She helped them get ready in the morning and took them to school. They would be on time, but Sonya would be late.
Worrying about her family kept Sonya from thinking about her own future. That changed the summer after 11th grade. Sonya learned she would have to go to summer school to graduate. She became determined to succeed, no matter what. “It was a wakeup call，” she says.“I had to focus on (集中精力于……) school and on myself.”
Sonya made up the work that she had missed, and finally graduated from high school. No one in her family had gone to college before. But in September 2015, Sonya enrolled (登记入学) in the State University of New York at Potsdam. She plans to become a doctor for kids and to teach dance to children who have disabilities.
1.According to the text, Sonya ________.
A. learned to dance at the age of 3
B. kept moving to a better school
C. hid no secrets from her teachers
D. became homeless at an early age
2.What does the underlined word “delirious” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Sorry. B. Angry.
C. Excited. D. Polite.
3.By saying “It was a wakeup call”， Sonya means that ________.
A. she had to finish high school
B. she must support her family
C. she should focus on dancing
D. she needed to teach herself
4.What' s the main idea of the text?
A. A girl finds hope through dance.
B. Dancing makes someone famous easily.
C. Going to college is now becoming popular.
D. More and more kids stay at shelters in New York.
Where are you going today? What about the California Science Center? It is an amazing place because it can teach kids all about science and science is amazing.
The California Science Center is filled with different exhibits (展览品), which are presented in fun ways. It provides many handson experiences. Through these handson experiences, kids can learn about human inventions, the life processes of living things and so much more! The Science Center also has special exhibits that change all the time, so visit often to find out what's new!
The exhibitions there cover some amazing topics. Kids can learn about all the ecosystems (生态系统) that we have on our planet. They can also find out all about how everything on our planet exists (存在) in their own environment.
The Creative World lets kids explore the relationship between humans and communications, transportation and structures, and the World of Life lets kids examine how plants, animals, people and even the smallest living cells on our planet all have something in common.
From the earth to space, we couldn't let you explore the California Science Center and not tell you that a wonderful exploration is waiting. Kids can let their imagination fly as they explore a real spacecraft.
Don't forget about the IMAX either where you can watch an amazing IMAX film which brings everything to life.
An amazing family day out in Los Angeles—fun and educational! Don't miss it!
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Adults: FREE!
Children: FREE!
WHEN CAN YOU GO?
10 am—5pm daily all year round
1.Why are kids advised to visit the Science Center often?
A. It has some living things.
B. Some of its exhibits are funny.
C. It offers handson experiences.
D. There are some changes in its exhibits.
2.What can kids learn from the World of Life?
A. All the ecosystems on our planet.
B. IMAX films can bring everything to life.
C. Things on our planet share something similar.
D. The relationship between humans and communications.
3.What is the exploration mentioned in Paragraph 5 about?
A. Space. B. Adventure.
C. Imagination. D. Transportation.
美国学生Lucy在互联网上登出启事notice，希望结识一位中国朋友，以便学习中国的语言、文化。假设你是新华中学的李华，请在看到这则启事后，用英文给Lucy发一封电子邮件，主要内容包括：
1、你怎样得知她的愿望；
2、你愿意成为她的朋友；
3、你打算如何帮助她；
4、你盼望她的回复。
注意：
1、词数100左右；可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
2、开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Lucy，
I’m Li Hua, a 17-year old middle school student, coming from China.
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Looking forward to your reply soon.
Yours,
Lihua
