I always hear about brave people on social media. If bravery is as simple as showing ______ during a time of fear, I ______ a time when I had a scary experience.
My family had just arrived at our Christmas holiday house when the ______ came to drop off the keys and ______ us to watch out for wild rodents running around his house. My parents ______ and said they would ______ the situation if they appear. The thought of ______ something like a mouse ______ entered my mind. Besides, my father always came to my ______ if I needed him.
While my parents ______ our bags, I decided to watch a movie in my room. Everyone else was ______ so I had to take care of my brother. Halfway through the movie, I really needed to take a bathroom ______ so I stepped out of my room, leaving him alone in his baby bed. He disliked it, but I would only be ______ for a moment. “What’s the ______ that could happen？” I thought.
When I left the room, my brother began to cry ______ he usually did. However, his crying grew louder and more fearful, so I hurried back, and was greeted by an ______ furry visitor.
“Dad！” I cried, “there is a rat in my room！”
“Killing it！” he ______.
“But dad, I can’t.”
My mind ______； I was so frightened. The first thing I saw was an umbrella, so I ______ it. WACK! I began to hit the rat until it stopped moving.
My parents were ______ that I put my fears aside to protect my brother. That day, I felt brave.
1.A. strength B. progress C. intelligence D. skill
2.A. waste B. recall C. spend D. appreciate
3.A. neighbor B. agent C. stranger D. owner
4.A. warn B. beg C. allow D. encourage
5.A. sighed B. nodded C. coughed D. shook
6.A. ignore B. handle C. overcome D. challenge
7.A. observing B. playing C. teasing D. killing
8.A. almost B. gradually C. never D. suddenly
9.A. life B. hand C. mind D. aid
10.A. unpacked B. unfolded C. unlocked D. uncovered
11.A. occupied B. excited C. hurried D. frightened
12.A. ride B. walk C. break D. chance
13.A. available B. brave C. lost D. gone
14.A. least B. worst C. most D. best
15.A. when B. if C. as D. until
16.A. unreasonable B. unexpected C. unconscious D. unqualified
17.A. complained B. informed C. yelled D. signed
18.A. froze B. broke C. wandered D. changed
19.A. kicked B. handed C. seized D. threw
20.A. afraid B. awkward C. overjoyed D. proud
Helicopter parenting refers to a style of parents who are over focused on their children.
1. For example, it can increase feelings of love and acceptance.However, helicopter parenting may be harmful to children’s development in the following ways.
Decreased confidence and selfesteem (自尊)．The message the parents’ overinvolvement sends to kids is “my parents don’t trust me to do this on my own”．2.
Increased anxiety.A study from the University of Mary Washington has shown that overparenting is associated with higher levels of child anxiety and depression.
Undeveloped problemsolving skills.If parents are always there to clean up a child’s mess or prevent the problem in the first place, how does the child ever learn to deal with loss, disappointment, or failure？3.
Strengthened sense of entitlement (权利)．Children who have always had their social, academic, and athletic lives adjusted by their parents to best fit their needs can become accustomed to always having their way and thus they develop a sense of entitlement.
4. Parents who always tie shoes, clear plates, and pack lunches, even after children are able to do the tasks, prevent their children from mastering these life skills themselves.
So, parents should let children struggle, allow them to be disappointed, and when failure occurs, help them to work through it.5. Remember: taking one step back from solving children’s problems will help build the independent, and selfconfident kids.
A．Weakened life skills.
B．Damaged life experiences.
C．And this distrust leads to a lack of confidence.
D．Helicopter parenting has many benefits for children.
E．Parents should also let children do tasks they are physically and mentally able to do.
F．Making your 3yearold’s bed sounds reasonable, while making your 13yearold’s bed doesn’t.
G．Studies found helicopter parenting can make children feel less able in dealing with the stresses of life on their own.
Are you content with the shape of your nose? If not, the climate may be to blame, not your parents.
According to a recent study carried out by scientists from Pennsylvania State University, US, climate played a key role in shaping our noses.The findings were based on an examination of the size and shape of noses of 476 people from four regions — West Africa, East Asia, South Asia and Northern Europe, using 3D facial imaging technology.
“People have thought for a long time the difference in nose shape among humans across the world may have arisen as a result of natural selection because of climate，” Arslan Zaidi, one of the lead authors of the study, told The Guardian.But while previous studies were based on measurements from human skulls, Zaidi and his team looked at nose shape itself.
The result showed that wider noses are more common in warm and humid climate, while narrower noses are more common in cold and dry climate.That, Zaidi said, could be because narrower nasal passages help to increase the moisture (潮湿) content of air and warm it, which is easier on our lungs.This, in turn, led to a gradual decrease in nose width in populations living far away from the equator.
More studies are still needed to test the link between climate and nose shape, but Zaidi believes the current findings are valuable in understanding potential health issues.“As we become more of a global community, we are going to come across climate that we do not adapt to，” he told The Guardian.This means moving to a very different climate might increase the risk of breathing problems.
However, he added, “This may not be necessarily true for various reasons such as of modern medicine and the fact that our current climate is very different from what it used to be.”
1.From the passage we know most people from Singapore have noses.
A. wider B. narrower
C. smaller D. larger
2.Narrower noses are helpful to .
A. cool the air B. warm the air
C. take in more oxygen D. dry the air
3.What can be learned about the study?
A. Zaidi’s team measured human skulls using 3D technology.
B. The shape of our noses is determined by our parents.
C. Nose shape helps people adapt to the environment.
D. It’s certain that people will suffer from more breathing problems.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. What factors shape noses?
B. How to make your nose attractive?
C. Nose shape causes breathing problems
D. Climate shapes noses
If you have ever found yourself looking for your keys, misplacing your cell phone or wanting to keep track of your bicycle or car, then the TrackR, a device (装置) that works with your smartphone created by a Californiabased company, is for you! At $29.95 each, not like the expensive GPS systems, or with TrackR Pack purchase deals, you can’t afford not to have one!
Install (安装) the free TrackR app on your smartphone.Connect the app to your device and then you are ready to go! Simply attach the TrackR to whatever you don’t want to lose.The entire process of setting it up only takes 5 minutes or less.
If you have the hard TrackR, you can just hide it under your car’s floor mat, in the trunk or somewhere it won’t be found if your car gets stolen.If you forget where you parked your car, take out your smartphone and open the TrackR app.Tap on the “lost item” icon on the screen and the app will tell you exactly where it is.
You can also attach it to your pet.Put it on their collar, and the problem of searching for them as they run off to nearby places will be over! Attach it to your keys and wallet, and never waste a minute searching the whole house for it.The affordable TrackR even comes with a doublesided adhesive (黏合剂) so you can stick it to your laptop or under your bike seat.Track down and punish the thieves who steal your expensive things!
The convenience and the ability to find actually any object means that the TrackR is one of the most useful articles that you’ll find for any price.However, the best thing it can give is peace of mind, and it doesn’t get any better than that.
1.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
A. How the TrackR works.
B. The features of the TrackR.
C. Why the TrackR is invented.
D. The advantages of the TrackR.
2.What can the TrackR help people do?
A. Walk their pets nearby.
B. Recognize the thieves.
C. Seek their misplaced car.
D. Find them a parking place.
3.What can we infer about the TrackR?
A. It’s far from affordable.
B. It’s on sale worldwide.
C. It can be easily folded.
D. It’s small in size.
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A. TrackR — no limits
B. TrackR — no worries
C. TrackR — your item protector
D. TrackR — your financial manager
Back in January, I was watching a college football game and came to a realization: As a high school senior, pretty soon, I’ll be the same age as some of the top athletes in the world.
This realization was both confusing and comforting. Until this point, I’d always thought of top athletes in another generation. I had no real connection to people in the news or playing sports on TV because they were so much older. But pretty soon, people of my age will be the ones dominating (支配) the news.
The comfort came in understanding that as I prepare to graduate from Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick, I’m not that far off from entering the real world, and I will have a chance to make a name for myself.
Right now, I’m at the end of one of life stages, with many more to come. As seniors, many in my class developed superiority complexes. We’d see babyfaced ninthgraders and think, “Ugh, those annoying freshmen.” Or we’d hear juniors complain about starting the college application process and say to each other, “Those juniors have no idea what they’re talking about.” Of course, last year’s seniors said the same thing about last year’s juniors, repeating a timeless cycle.
Psychologist and author Thomas Armstrong writes that life is made up of 12 stages. He stresses that no stage is more important than another, and each has its own unique gifts. There is no highest point in life, no impressive ending when you are above everybody else. At the same time, there is no lowest point in life; at no point is a human worthless and below others. Just as an infant isn’t below everyone else, our elders aren’t above everyone else.
1.What can we know about the author?
A. He’ll finish his high school studies about one year later.
B. Reflecting on the past is a part of his daily routine.
C. Football is a particular favorite with him.
D. He dreams of being an excellent athlete.
2.Why did the author find his realization comforting?
A. The top athletes are the same age as him.
B. There is a possibility that he can be famous.
C. He will be admitted to his dream university.
D. He’s made full preparations for entering society.
3.What does the underlined phrase “superiority complexes” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. A habit of making complaints.
B. A habit of following in others’ footsteps.
C. A feeling that you are better than others.
D. A feeling that others are unapproachable.
4.What message is conveyed in the last paragraph?
A. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed.
B. Life is never smooth, full of ups and downs.
C. One should try to reach his greatest potential.
D. Everyone has their own value and position in life.
In no particular order, here are some songs on the Music app of my phone:
On a Sunday Afternoon by Lighter Shade of Brown—A student of mine introduced this rap song lo me all the way back in the early 1990s, when 1 was teaching Spanish at a local university. The story in the song takes place not too far from where I live in Los Angeles. It’s a good “driving” song, nothing complicated or “deep”.
Say Something by A Great Big World—A more recent song about a couple losing contact with each other. The piano part is very little playing but beautiful.
American Pie by Don McLean—Another song from my youth in the 80s, very popular with almost every American of my generation. It retells some of the key events of the middle 20th century, a song of happy memories of the past and wanting to return to those better times.
The Weight by The Band—Another old song, originally made public in 1968, but one I didn’t hear until I was in high school more than 10 years later. I don’t understand the words to the song completely, but the feeling of the song is very comforting to me.
Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers—This Los Angeles group wrote a song that 1 used to listen to when I first moved to LA more than 25 years ago. I didn’t know anyone here when I first arrived. When I got bored, I used to drive up and down the major streets that cross the city from east to west, listening to this song about the “city of angel” being as “lonely as I am. (Don t worry! I have plenty of friends now.)
1.What does the underlined word “deep” probably mean?
A. with skill B. with comfort
C. with a normal meaning D. with a significant meaning
2.When did the author probably hear the Weight by The Band?
A. In 1968. B. In 1970.
C. in the 1980s. D. in the 1990s.
3.When the author first moved to LA, the first song he heard was .
A. Say Something B. American Pie
C. The Weight D. Under the Bridge
