When someone becomes an annoying presence for you, it means a disaster if you can’t face it bravely and overcome it. I learned this _______ in the second year in high school. The shock this experience brought was so great that I felt my _______ was left on the side of the road for dead. That was all it took; one year and one person _______ everything.
Her name is Jenny. She was the girl who _______ raised her hand and had useful comments about everything. When teachers needed challenging problems answered, they _______ her. And if students needed _______, they went looking for her. I didn’t _______ her, but I admit her presence annoyed me. In the first year, as a model student, I was the person everyone _______ and all the teachers trusted. Then she came out of _______! We also had two classes ____________. There I got to see what everybody thought of her. When an exam finished, it became a ____________ that she got the top grade and it didn’t ____________ to my classmates whether I was right there, ____________ I also got excellent grades. They would cross a desert and ____________ her! I was left being denied my presence. ____________. I felt like not trying anymore.
I stopped trying to put on a show because no one was ____________ anymore. Later, I volunteered at the graduation ceremony. She was palled to make a(n) ____________ and discussed their difficulties. I realized all her hard work got her there, not her desire to ____________. It finally hit me that Jenny ____________ the attention she got. She showed me how big the world is and how ____________ a world I used to live in. I’ll do my best because I know it will pay off.
1.A. plan B. course C. lesson D. excuse
2.A. sympathy B. trust C. respect D. pride
3.A. remembered B. changed C. proved D. checked
4.A. only B. still C. always D. never
5.A. turned to B. called up C. talked about D. cared for
6.A. friends B. answers C. news D. money
7.A. stop B. hurt C. follow D. hate
8.A. noticed B. protected C. missed D. served
9.A. nowhere B. everywhere C. somewhere D. anywhere
10.A. first B. again C. alone D. together
11.A. fact B. challenge C. standard D. chance
12.A. return B. occur C. happen D. matter
13.A. once B. as if C. even if D. since
14.A. ask B. help C. remind D. control
15.A. Frightened B. Confused C. Bored D. Heartbroken
16.A. hosting B. chatting C. laughing D. watching
17.A. decision B. attempt C. speech D. appointment
18.A. break up B. give up C. take off D. show off
19.A. loved B. needed C. deserved D. escaped
20.A. lonely B. small C. peaceful D. dark
Variety is the spice of language. The words listed in this book are not intended to replace those that most people use most of the time. Rather, they are variations on the theme. We tend to use the same old words over and over again, to limit our powers of expression by limiting our vocabulary. 1. but why not enhance your speech and writing by learning to use new ones from time to time ds alternatives?
How often have you spoken of having an accident? 2. Or why not occasionally describe a situation as aggravated（恶化）instead of worsened.
I don’t mean that you should throw away the Mold words”. 3. English is an especially rich language, and often there are differences between two words that are generally regarded as die same. Thus, a mishap is not merely an accident; it is an unfortunate accident. Because there can be fortunate accidents, like bumping into an old friend you haven’t seen for years and whose address you’ve lost. 4..
No doubt a good many words in the list will be familiar to you, but do you use them, or do they remain the “property” of others? 5. Try to make these words your own, as companions or friendly rivals of the ones you have owned in the past. Let them compete, and make your language all the richer.
A. Just vary them with the “new words”.
B. Many words have more than one meaning.
C. There is nothing wrong with the “old words”.
D. English words are grouped according to their origins.
E. Why not use the alternative mishap once in a while?
F. They are included to introduce variety into your speech and writing.
G. So in using mishap instead of accident, you must be sure of the difference.
In February, 2015, a South Korean woman was sleeping on the floor when her robot vacuum ate her hair, forcing her to call for emergency help. It surely isn’t what Stephen Hawking warned us that intelligent devices “mean the end of the human race”. But it does highlight one of the unexpected dangers of inviting robots into our home.
There are many examples of intelligent technology going bad, but more often than not, they involve cheating rather than physical danger. Meanwhile, increasing evidence suggests that we, especially children, tend to tell our deepest, darkest secrets to human robots. So how do we protect ourselves from giving-away code?
Once you’ve invited a robot into your home, you need to manage your expectations. Movies and marketing may have told us to expect deep interaction with robots friends but we’ve still got a long way to go before they are as socially aware as described. Given the gulf between expectation and reality, it’s important to avoid being tricked.
The message is clear: as robots became increasingly connected to the internet, and able to respond to natural language, you need to especially cautious about figuring out who or what you are talking about.
We also need to think about how information is being stored and shared when it comes to robots that can record our every move. Some recording devices may have been designed for entertainment but can easily be adapted for more dangerous purposes. Take Nixie, the wearable camera that can fly off your wrist at a moment’s notice and take shots around you in the air. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how such technology could be taken advantage of.
If the technology around us is able to record and process speech, images and movement, or listen secretly to us, what will happen to that information? Where will it be stored? Who will have access?
So, what is the safest way to welcome robots into our homes, public spaces, and social lives? We should be cautiously optimistic that intelligent machines could become enriching companions, while acknowledging that we need to determine strict boundaries for robots. There should be someone to turn to should your robot commit a crime, steal your card... or try to eat your hair.
1.The hair-eating story in Paragraph 1 is intended to .
A. introduce the topic of the discussion
B. show the poor quality of the product
C. appeal to us to take pity on the victim
D. warn us to keep far away from vacuum
2.According to the writer, it is wise to .
A. put a cautious trust in robots
B. make robots more socially aware
C. have deep interaction with robots
D. tell our secrets to robots straightly.
3.The underlined word “gulf” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to .
A. trust B. distance
C. technology D. advantage
4.The writer’s attitude to our complete trust in robots can best be described as .
A. positive B. objective
C. critical D. pessimistic
Earlier this month, the University of Glasgow in Scotland launched a course entitled: The Simpsons Introduce Philosophy（哲学）. The course’s aim is to ease students into the typically heavy topic by relating it to the popular cartoon family.
“The Simpsons is one of the modem world’s greatest cultural products, partly because it is so full of philosophy,” John Donaldson, creator of the course, told the BBC. “Aristotle, Kant, Marx, Camus and many other great thinkers’ ideas are represented in what is arguably the purest of philosophical forms — the comic cartoon.”
While this may seem like an unusual way to attract pupils to a traditionally dull topic, this class isn’t the first of its kind. In 2009, Liverpool Hope University in the UK began offering a master’s degree on the music of world-famous 60’s group The Beatles, which still runs today. The following year, the UK’s Durham University gave students the chance to enroll on a Harry Potter-themed module, covering contents such as “Gryffindor and Slytherin: prejudice and intolerance in the classroom,” and “muggles and magic”.
To some, these courses may seem like a waste of a valuable education, but Donaldson believes that packaging certain topics into something more easy to relate to will enhance the learning experience, without distracting（分离）from the main subject. “Firstly, scholars want to be taken seriously by other scholars and ideas like this can be seen as not serious,” he tells iNews. “There are definitely ways to include popular culture into academic subjects that still remains their nature and doesn’t take away from the quality of the ideas,”
Already booked full, Donaldson’s Simpsons class isn’t meant to be taken as seriously, however. The lecturer says that his one-day course, which will pose philosophical questions around morality, free will, and religion by relating them to scenarios（情节）from The Simpsons, aims to introduce students to his area of expertise greatly while having a bit of fun.
1.From Paragraph 2, we can learn that .
A. The Simpsons contains many philosophical ideas
B. John Donaldson produces those philosophical ideas
C. many great thinkers will be invited to The Simpsons
D. the main reason for The Simpsons’ success is its philosophy
2.Paragraph 3 is developed mainly .
A. by comparison B. by time
C. by example D. by process
3.What is the main feature of the course according to Donaldson?
A. It’s very dull with many serious topics.
B. It’s very common as a traditional course.
C. It’s very time-saving as a one-day course.
D. It’s very efficient in teaching philosophic ideas.
4.The passage mainly talks about .
A. a creative philosophy course B. a popular comic cartoon
C. a reform of traditional subjects D. an enterprising lecturer
Last week, my granddaughter started kindergarten, and I wished her every success. But part of me didn’t. I actually wanted her to fail in some ways because I believe that failure can be good for our learning process. Success is proving that you can do something that you already know you can do, or doing something correctly the first time, which can often be a problematic victory. First-time success is usually a luck. First-time failure, however, is supposed to be the natural order of things. Failure is how we learn.
In Africa they describe a good cook as “she who has broken many pots”. If you’ve spent enough time in the kitchen to have broken a lot of pots, probably you know a fair amount about cooking. I once had dinner with a group of cooks, and they spent time comparing knife wounds and bum scars. They knew how much their failures gave them.
I earn my living by writing a daily newspaper column. Each week I know that one column I write is going to be the worst column. I try my best every day. I have learned to love that column. A successful column usually means that I am discussing my familiar topic, writing in a style I am used to or saying the same things as anyone else but in a better way.
My younger daughter is a trapeze artist（荡秋千演员）. She spent three years practicing a show, and she did it successfully for years. There was no reason for her to change it but she did anyway. She said she was no longer learning anything new and she was bored. She risked failure and great public embarrassment in order to feed her soul.
My granddaughter is a perfectionist. She will feel her failures, and I will want to comfort her. But I will also, I hope, remind her of what she learned, and how she can do better next time.
1.Why did the author want his granddaughter to fail?
A. She would learn more from failure.
B. He wanted her to be strong enough to face hardships.
C. It, s impossible to do everything successfully.
D. Success is boring though good.
2.The writer talked about his own experience to show that .
A. we should try every possible way to avoid failure
B. the thought of failure will make him work even harder
C. past failures made him dare not take risks in writing
D. we cannot depend on luck to live a good life
3.What’s the author’s attitude toward his daughter changing her show?
A. Negative. B. Worried.
C. Anxious. D. Positive.
4.The author develops the article mainly by .
A. giving examples
B. following the time order
C. comparing different opinions
D. giving a cause and analyzing its effects
Your kids might be ready for a break from school but the idea of being at home for three weeks loses its magic. Lucky for us Portlanders, the city has no shortage of awesome winter camps for kids.
Trackers Earth
For winter break, Trackers is offering several one-day outdoor and craft camps. The hard part will be choosing between so many fun options: “Ninjas Save Christmas?” Or “Here We Go A Waffling - Caroling and Waffles?”
Details: $70. Dec. 23, 27, 30, 31; Jan. 2, 3. （Ages 4-14）
Address: 5040 SE Milwaukie Ave.
Tel: 503-345-3312
Audubon Society
Your kids don’t have to be specifically bird-crazy to appreciate the Audubon Society’s one-day winter camps. The classes all have a broad nature focus, including everything from ducks for the younger set to introducing older kids to bats, wolves and wildlife rescue work.
Details: $65, Dec, 2S, 24, 26-31; Jan, J-3 (Ages 6-14)
Address: 5151 NW Cornell Rd.
Tel: 971-222-6120
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)
When your kids start to get bored with his or her own Legos (乐高玩具)－yes, it occasionally docs happen－check out OMSI’s one-day Lego and Museum Experience, a full day of hands-on Lego activities in one of the city’s most fun, family-friendly museums.
Details: $49. Classes offered throughout December and January, (Ages 7-10)
Address: 1945 SE Water Ave.
Tel: 800-955-6674
The Children’s Gym
Your kids definitely won’t complain of being bored at Children’s Gym’s Winter Sports Camps. From 9:0 -5:30, they’ll develop their gymnastics skills on the center’s excellent equipment, then squeeze in a little rock climbing and field games.
Details: $60/day; Dec. 23, 26, and 2 7; Jan. 2 and 3. (Ages 3-14)
Address: 1625 NE Sandy Blvd.
Tel: 503-249-5867
1.Which number should you call if you are looking for a one-day camp on January 5?
A. 503-249-5867 B. 800-955-6674
C. 971-222-6120 D. 503-345-3312
2.For a young animal lover, he/she is most probably interested to go to .
A. The Children’s Gym B. Trackers Earth
C. Audubon Society D. Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
3.This passage is intended for .
A. high school teachers B. parents
C. camp organizers D. young kids
