I went with some colleagues from my office for a dinner in a very popular local restaurant. It was__________business time and the restaurant was packed. We__________found a table in a corner for three of us.
As soon as we sat down, we heard a crash when a cleaning boy__________the floor with all the plates he was carrying. There was__________and no one was saying or doing anything.
In a flash I remembered my__________many years ago. Once, I__________in the airport because I had rushed there on my own on an empty stomach. I was picked up and taken care of by two__________. Now this was my chance to_________it forward.
I ran to the young man’s side immediately, turned him on his back and screamed for someone to__________a hot drink. Soon people started asking if I was a doctor. I said I was not,________I was skillful at blacking out(晕厥).
The kid soon opened his eyes,_________what had happened. I_________him by saying it was OK and I had had a__________experience. He had not eaten anything. I held the__________drink to his mouth till he finished it and sat with him till he felt OK. By then the_________had arrived. I asked her to give the kid something to eat. I offered to pay.
The manager was kind enough to refuse the_________and agreed to make sure the kid ate before he went home. By the time all this was_________it was getting late for my colleagues. We hadn’t__________anything yet, so they decided to go home.
I slowly walked home, not hungry any more, feeling_________for the opportunity I pay forward the________I had received many years ago.
1.A. peak B. local C. spare D. regular
2.A. actually B. finally C. eagerly D. gradually
3.A. kicked B. touched C. hit D. swept
4.A. doubt B. danger C. silence D. tension
5.A. experience B. flight C. adventure D. lesson
6.A. walked around B. showed up C. settled down D. passed out
7.A. friends B. colleagues C. strangers D. relatives
8.A. return B. pay C. take D. put
9.A. order B. buy C. serve D. bring
10.A. and B. so C. because D. but
11.A. wondering B. arguing C. ignoring D. knowing
12.A. reminded B. encouraged C. answered D. comforted
13.A. memorable B. similar C. common D. personal
14.A. refreshing B. cool C. sweet D. warm
15.A. manager B. customer C. waitress D. doctor
16.A. payment B. reward C. suggestion D. support
17.A. away B. over C. up D. behind
18.A. prepared B. demanded C. ordered D. received
19.A. comfortable B. grateful C. ready D. anxious
20.A. inspiration B. honor C. kindness D. service
The Science of Risk-Seeking
Sometimes we decide that a little unnecessary danger is worth it because when we weigh the risk and the reward, the risk seems worth taking. 1. Some of us enjoy activities that would surprise and scare the rest of us. Why? Experts say it may have to do with how our brains work?
The reason why any of us take any risks al all might have to do with early humans. Risk-takers were better at hunting, fighting, or exploring. 2. As the quality of risk-taking was passed from one generation to the next, humans ended up with a sense of adventure and a tolerance for risk.
So why aren’t we all jumping out of airplanes then? Well, even 200,000 years ago, too much risk-taking could get one killed. A few daring survived, though, along with a few stay-in-the-cave types. As a result, humans developed a range of character types that still exists today. So maybe you love car racing, or maybe you hate it. 3.
No matter where you are on the risk-seeking range, scientists say that your willingness to take risks increases during your teenage years. 4. To help you do that, your brain increases your hunger for new experiences. New experiences often mean taking some risks, so your brain raises your tolerance for risk as well.
5. For the risk-seekers a part of the brain related to pleasure becomes active, while for the rest of us, a part of the brain related to fear becomes active.
As experts continue to study the science of risk-seeking, we’ll continue to hit the mountains, the waves or the shallow end of the pool.
A. It all depends on your character.
B. Those are the risks you should jump to take.
C. Being better at those things meant a greater chance of survival.
D. Thus, these well-equipped people survived because they were the fittest.
E. This is when you start to move away from your family and into the bigger world.
F. However, we are not all using the same reference standard to weigh risks and rewards.
G. New brain research suggests our brains work differently when we face a nervous situation.
People typically wash their hands seven times a day in the United States, but they do it at a far higher temperature than is necessary to kill germs, a new study says. The energy waste is equivalent to the fuel use of a small country.Amanda R. Carrico, a research assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment in Tennessee, told National Geographic that hand washing is often “a case where people act in ways that they think are in their best interest, but they in fact have inaccurate beliefs or outdated perceptions.”
Carrico said, “It’s certainly true that heat kills bacteria, but if you were going to use hot water to kill them it would have to be a way too hot for you to tolerate.”
Carrico said that after a review of the scientific literature, her team found “no evidence that using hot water that a person could stand would have any benefit in killing bacteria.” Even water as cold as 40°F (4.4°C) appeared to reduce bacteria as well as hotter water, if hands were scrubbed, rinsed(冲洗)and dried properly.
Using hot water to wash hands is therefore unnecessary, as well as wasteful, Carrico said, particularly when it comes to the environment. According to her research, people use warm or hot water 64 percent of the time when they wash their hands. Using that number, Carrico’s team calculated a significant impact on the planet.
“Although the choice of water temperature during a single hand wash may appear unimportant, when multiplied by the nearly 800 billion hand washes performed by Americans each year, this practice results in more than 6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually,” she said.
The researchers published their results in the July 2013 issue of International Journal of Consumer Studies. They recommended washing with water that is at a “comfortable” temperature, which they noted may be warmer in cold months and cooler in hot ones.
1.What’s the meaning of what Carrico told National Geographic in the second paragraph?
A. People are more concerned about their health and begin to wash their hands.
B. It’s important for people to wash their hands to keep healthy.
C. Generally, people’s hand washing behaviors and perceptions are not correct.
D. People like washing their hands very much.
2.The figures in the passage are used to show that __________.
A. using hot water to wash hands has a bad influence on our planet.
B. air pollution has become more and more serious.
C. using hot water to wash hands is a waste of energy.
D. people should pay more attention to the environment around us.
3.This passage is organized in the pattern of __________.
A. fact and opinion B. cause and effect
C. definition and classification D. time and events
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A. It’s necessary and useful for people to wash their hands frequently every day.
B. We can wash our hands with water that is at a “comfortable” temperature.
C. Using cold water to wash hands is necessary and much healthier.
D. Hot water can’t kill germs.
Winter solstice(冬至), an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, as the name implies, means the coming of winter. It generally occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, one year is divided into twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is the longest.
In Northern China there is a custom of eating dumplings during winter solstice. The tradition of eating dumplings during winter solstice has its origin in early times. It is said that dumplings were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a well-known doctor from the Eastern-Han Dynasty.
One winter, he noticed that many people’s ears were frozen, which made him sad. In order to prevent and cure the freezing injury caused by the cold, he asked his followers to boil mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties in a pot for fending off cold. After these were boiled, they ladled(舀取) the mutton and other ingredients out of the pot, cut them into pieces, and then wrapped them with dough skins in the shape of ears. Afterward, they put these into pots to boil again.
On the day of the winter solstice, the people whose ears were frozen were sent to eat the dumplings. People who ate it felt warm from head to toe and had their cold injury healed. Thereafter, every winter solstice people ate dumplings. Then there became a saying that if you eat dumplings during the winter solstice, then you won’t freeze your ears off.
Afterwards, Zhang Zhongjing died on the day of winter solstice. In order to honor him, every year on the day of the winter solstice every household makes dumplings.
1.Which of the following should be the best title of the passage?
A. The Custom Of Eating Dumplings B. The Inventor Of Dumplings
C. The Importance Of Eating Dumplings D. The Origin Of Winter Solstice
2.According to the passage, people make dumplings to eat every winter solstice because __________.
A. they want to honor Zhang Zhongjing, who invented dumplings to cure peoples freezing injury
B. they want to celebrate the important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar
C. dumplings boiled with mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties taste delicious
D. they can feel warm from head to toe and have their freezing injury healed
3.What does the underlined phrase “fending off” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Put off. B. Put out.
C. Keep up. D. Keep out.
4.According to the passage, which is TRUE about the following description?
A. Winter solstice is the most important among twenty-four solar terms.
B. Australia in the Southern Hemisphere has the longest period of daytime on Winter Solstice.
C. If people don’t eat dumplings, they will have their ears frozen off.
D. China has the longest period of daytime on Winter Solstice.
I first met Paul Newman in 1968, when George Roy Hill, the director of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, introduced us in New York City. When the studio didn’t want me for the film - it wanted somebody as well known as Paul — he stood up for me. I don’t know how many people would have done that; they would have listened to their agents or the studio powers.
The friendship that grew out of the experience of making that film and The Sting four years later had its root in the fact that although there was an age difference, we both came from a tradition of theater and live TV. We were respectful of craft(技艺) and focused on digging into the characters we were going to play. Both of us had the qualities and virtues that are typical of American actors: humorous, aggressive, and making fun of each other — but always with an underlying affection. Those were also at the core(核心) of our relationship off the screen.
We shared the brief that if you’re fortunate enough to have success, you should put something back — he with his Newman’s Own food and his Hole in the Wall camps for kids who are seriously ill, and me with Sundance and the institute and the festival. Paul and I didn’t see each other all that regularly, but sharing that brought us together. We supported each other financially and by showing up at events.
I last saw him a few months ago. He’d been in and out of the hospital. He and I both knew what the deal was, and we didn’t talk about it. Ours was a relationship that didn’t need a lot of words.
1.Why was the studio unwilling to give the role to author at first?
A. Paul Newman wanted it.
B. The studio powers didn’t like his agent.
C. He wasn’t famous enough.
D. The director recommended someone else.
2.Why did Paul and the author have a lasting friendship?
A. They were of the same age.
B. They worked in the same theater.
C. They were both good actors.
D. They han similar charactertics.
3.What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Their belief.
B. Their care for children.
C. Their success.
D. Their support for each other.
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the test?
A. To show his love of films.
B. To remember a friend.
C. To introduce a new movie.
D. To share his acting experience.
Washington, D.C. Bicycle Tours
Cherry Blossom Bike Tour in Washington, D.C.
Duration: 3 hours
This small group bike tour is a fantastic way to see a world-famous cherry trees with beautiful flowers of Washington, D.C. Your guide will provide a history lesson about the trees and the famous monuments where they blossom. Reserve your spot before availability — the cherry blossoms—disappear!
Washington Capital Monuments Bicycle Tour
Duration: 3 hours (4 miles)
Join a guided bike tour and view some of the most popular monuments in Washington, D.C. Explore the monuments and memorials on the National Mall as your guide shares unique facts and history at each stop. Guided tour includes bike, helmet, cookies and bottled water.
Capital City Bike Tour In Washington, D.C.
Duration: 3 hours
Morning or Afternoon, this bike tour is the perfect tour for D. C. newcomers and locals looking to experience Washington, D.C. in a healthy way with minimum effort. Knowledgeable guides will entertain you with the most, interesting stories about Presidents, Congress, memorials, and parks. Comfortable bikes and a smooth tour route(路线) make cycling between the sites fun and relaxing.
Washington Capital Sites at Night Bicycle Tour
Duration: 3 hours (7miles)
Join a small group bike tour for an evening of exploration in the heart of Washington, D.C. Get up close to the monuments and memorials as you bike the sites of Capitol Hill and the National Mall. Frequent stops are made for photo taking as your guide offers unique facts and history. Tour includes bike, helmet, and bottled water. All riders are equipped with reflective vests and safety lights.
1.Which tour do you need to book in advance?
A. Cherry Blossom like Tour in Washington, D.C.
B. Washington capital Monuments Bicycle Tour.
C. Capital City Bike Tour in Washington.
D. Washington Capital Sites at Night Bicycle Tour.
2.What will you do on the Capital City Bike Tour?
A. Meet famous people. B. Go to a national park.
C. Visit well-known museums. D. Enjoy interesting stories.
3.Which of the following does the bicycle tour at night provide?
A. City maps. B. Cameras.
C. Meals. D. Safety lights.
