A Race Against Death
It was a cold January in 1925 in Nome, Alaska. The town was cut off from the rest of the world due to heavy snow.
On the 20th of that month, Dr. Welch ______ a sick boy, Billy, and knew he had diphtheria, a deadly infectious(传染的) disease mainly affecting children. The children of Nome would be ______ if it struck the town. Dr. Welch needed medicine as soon as possible to stop other kids from getting sick. ______, the closest supply was over 1,000 miles away, in Anchorage.
How could the medicine get to Nome? The town’s ______ was already full of ice, so it couldn’t come by ship. Cars and horses couldn’t travel on the ______ roads. Jet airplanes and big trucks didn’t exist yet.
____ January 26, Billy and three other children had died. Twenty more were ______. Nome’s town officials came up with a(n) ______. They would have the medicine sent by ______ from Anchorage to Nenana. From there, dogsled(狗拉雪橇) drivers—known as “mushers”—would ______ it to Nome in a relay(接力).
The race began on January 27. The first musher, Shannon, picked up the medicine from the train at Nenana and rode all night. ______ he handed the medicine to the next musher, Shannon’s face was black from the extreme cold.
On January 31, a musher named Seppala had to ______ a frozen body of water called Norton Sound. It was the most ______ part of the journey. Norton Sound was covered with ice, which could sometimes break up without warning. If that happened, Seppala might fall into the icy water below. He would ______, and so would the sick children of Nome. But Seppala made it across.
A huge snowstorm hit on February 1. A musher named Kaasen had to brave this storm. At one point, huge piles of snow blocked his ______. He had to leave the trail (雪橇痕迹)to get around them. Conditions were so bad that it was impossible for him to ______ the trail again. The only hope was Balto, Kaasen’s lead dog. Balto put his nose to the ground, ______ to find the smell of other dogs that had traveled on the trail. If Balto failed, it would mean disaster for Nome. The minutes passed by. Suddenly, Balto began to _______. He had found the trail.
At 5:30 am on February 2, Kaasen and his dog ______ in Nome. Within minutes, Dr. Welch had the medicine. He quickly gave it to the sick children. All of them recovered.
Nome had been ______.
1.A. examined B. warned C. Interviewed D. cured
2.A. harmless B. helpless C. fearless D. careless
3.A. Moreover B. Therefore C. Otherwise D. However
4.A. airport B. station C. harbor D. border
5.A. narrow B. snowy C. busy D. dirty
6.A. From B. On C. By D. After
7.A. tired B. upset C. pale D. sick
8.A. plan B. excuse C. message D. topic
9.A. air B. rail C. sea D. road
10.A. carry B. return C. mail D. give
11.A. Though B. Since C. When D. If
12.A. enter B. move C. visit D. cross
13.A. shameful B. boring C. dangerous D. foolish
14.A. escape B. bleed C. swim D. die
15.A. memory B. exit C. way D. destination
16.A. find B. fix C. pass D. change
17.A. pretending B. trying C. asking D. learning
18.A. run B. leave C. bite D. play
19.A. gathered B. stayed C. camped D. arrived
20.A. controlled B. saved C. founded D. Developed
Your teen is falling asleep in class
Teens have a busy morning schedule as they need to wake up and get moving very early in order to catch a bus and get to school by the required time. This means teens need to get their rest the night before or they will be too tired to learn anything at school. 1.
When a teen falls asleep in class, two things happen: he/she misses what is being taught and he/she loses the respect of the teacher. He/She may also receive a consequence from the school, depending on the classroom discipline policy. 2.
To prevent your teen from being sleepy in class, try these three tips:
* Set a time for “lights out” on school nights. This is never be any later than 10 p. m. and preferably 9 p.m. 3. Soft music can be on and used to help calm your teen.
* Help your teen develop a nighttime routine that involves activities that slow them down for the end of the day. 4. Turning off the computer and disconnecting from friends and the excitement of the day an hour before bedtime will also help your teen relax.
* 5. This will reinforce （增强）what it feels like to be rested and capable of accomplishing what he/she wants.
A. What’s worse, they may even fall asleep in class.
B. Taking a bath and reading are two activities that work well.
C. Set a good example and show him/her your love for learning.
D. Point out the positives after your teen has had a good night’s rest.
E. All of these things affect your teen’s academic success and can be avoided.
F. “Lights out” means the computer, television, lights and cell phone should be off.
G. While your teen keeps his/her goals in line with your expectations, he/she may have his/her own goals.
Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian culture, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotions are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly.
1.What does the smile usually mean in the U.S?
A. Joy. B. Politeness.
C. Love. D. Thankfulness.
2.The author mentions the smile of the Vietnamese to prove that smile can _____.
A. show friendliness to strangers
B. be used to hide true feelings
C. be used in the wrong places
D. show personal habits
3. What should we do before attempting to “read” people?
A. Learn about their relations with others.
B. Figure out what they will do next.
C. Find out about their past experience.
D. Understand their cultural backgrounds.
4.What would be the best title for the test?
A. Cultural Differences B. Smiles and Relationship
C. Facial Expressiveness D. Habits and Emotions
For the first time in Hong Kong's history，an entertainer has been written into middle school textbooks. He is considered one of the best actors in Hong Kong. Yes，he is Chow Yun fat．
The example of his long hard struggle for success has been used in a chapter in a Hong Kong middle school textbook．Using his experience，students can learn to make the most of their time and to get every opportunity to succeed．
On hearing about this，Chow said happily，“I really hope that my experiences can make young people understand that one should not be afraid of difficulties and setbacks（挫折），for they are the only way to success．”
Indeed，Chow has travelled a long and difficult path to reach his success．In 1955，he was born into a poor family in Hong Kong. When he was 17，he had to leave school．He worked in a number of jobs—as a postman，camera salesman and taxi driver. These experiences paved the way for him to play all kinds of roles later in life．
Chow broke into the film industry in the late 1970s. He was one of the hardest working actors and starred in a number of popular TV dramas and films including “Shanghai Bund”（《上海滩》） and “A Better Tomorrow”． Since 1985， he has won many awards including Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards .
In 1995, he went to Hollywood． Although he was already in his 40s, he had to learn English．He even put chopsticks in his mouth to practise pronouncing certain sounds. His film， “Crouching Tiger，Hidden Dragon”，began to gain him more fame and recognition around the world．In 1998，the mayor of Chicago set aside January 12 as “Chow Yun fat Day．”
1.Chow Yun fat has been written into middle school textbooks mainly because________．
A. he plays best in Hong Kong
B. he keeps on struggling for success
C. his experiences are very special
D. he is well thought of
2.What can we infer from the passage？
A. Chow Yun fat is proud of his success．
B. Chow Yun fat is popular both at home and abroad．
C. Chow Yun fat prefers to make a living by selling cameras rather than by _________performing．
D. Chow Yun fat has won more awards than other actors．
3.The underlined sentence（in Paragraph 6） suggests _________．
A. chopsticks is of great help to practise English pronunciation
B. Chow Yun fat is willing to struggle with difficulties
C. Chow Yun fat has suffered a lot since he went to Hollywood
D. it is hard for a person who is over 40 years old to learn spoken English
4.The author wrote this passage to _________．
A. introduce Chow's way to success
B. praise Chow for his excellent performance
C. call on people to learn from Chow
D. show why Chow is popular
My color television has given me nothing but a headache. I was able to buy it a little over a year ago because I had my relatives give me money for my birthday instead of a lot of clothes that wouldn’t fit .I let a salesclerk fool me into buying a discontinued model, I realized this a day later, when I saw newspaper advertisements for the set at seventy-five dollars less than I had paid, The set worked so beautifully when I first got it home that I would keep it on until stations signed off for the night, Fortunately, I didn’t got any channels showing all-night movies or I would never have gotten to bed.
Then I started developing a problem with the set that involved static (静电) noise. For some reason, when certain shows switched into a commercial, a loud noise would sound for a few seconds. Gradually, this noise began to appear during a show, and to get rid of it, I had to change to another channel and then change it back. Sometimes this technique would not work, and I had to pick up the set and shake it to remove the sound. I actually began to build up my arm muscles(肌肉) shaking my set.
When neither of these methods removed the static noise ,I would sit helplessly and wait for the noise to go away. At last I ended up hitting the set with my fist, and it stopped working altogether .My trip to the repair shop cost me $62, and the set is working well now, but I keep expecting more trouble.
1.Why did the author say he was fooled into buying the TV set?
A. He got an older model than he had expected.
B. He couldn’t return it when it was broken.
C. He could have bought it at a lower price.
D. He failed to find any movie shows on it.
2.Which of the following can best replace the phrase ”signed off” in Paragraph 1?
A. ended all their programs B. provided fewer channels
C. changed to commercials D. showed all-night movies
3.How did the author finally get his TV set working again?
A. By shaking and hitting it. B. By turning it on and off.
C. By switching channels. D. By having it repaired.
4.How does the author sound when telling the story ?
A. Curious B. Anxious
C. Cautious D. Humorous
Do you find yourself reaching for just one more cup of coffee to get through the day? Are you tired of being tired ? Instead of relying on things like coffee or sugar for energy, get happy by eating more foods that give you energy through nourishment. Here are four foods that can help improve your energy levels.
Hemp Seed
A complete protein, rich in fiber and omega-3s, hemp is a great low-glycemic (低胰岛素) addition to any diet. The glycemic index (GI) is a measurement of how fast the carbohydrates in food are broken down into glucose (葡萄糖) and how much it will affect your blood sugar. Fiber, fat and protein all lower the GI of a food, which is why hemp seeds (along with nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes)are low-glycemic. Look for hemp seed oil for salad dressing, and hemp seeds to be added into salads.
Soaked Almonds
Raw almonds are nutrient dense, and soaking them releases（释放） higher nutrition potential. Soaking increases vitamin levels and removes the enzyme (酶) inhibitors that slow down digestion. I soak my almonds in water overnight (at least eight hours) and then dry them.
Quinoa
It is 20-percent protein, making it a balanced source of carbohydrates. Even though you feel like you're too busy to make home-made meals, quinoa is a fast food that cooks in less than 15 minutes.
Green Tea
Caffeine from green tea feels steadier and less sharp than the spike and crash with caffeine from coffee. This is likely because green tea contains L-theanine, a kind of acid found in tea that helps promote relaxation.
1.The writer wrote the passage in order to______.
A. introduce four foods making people energetic
B. find reasons why people need some coffee
C. reach for something to get through the day
D. tell people way of keeping fit
2.Why did the almonds get soaked?
A. It helped increase the enzyme. B. It helped unlock the nutrition.
C. It helped make digestion slow. D. It helped lock nutrient dense.
3.From the fourth paragraph we can know quinoa_______.
A. is rich in protein B. includes much fiber
C. can be served quickly D. has less sharp flavor
