Growing up, I wanted to be just like my mom. She was kind. People always seemed to feel comfortable in her presence. For years, she was a volunteer in our community. I loved going to the local nursing home with her where she taught a ceramics(制陶技术) class.
On one summer day, Mama told me to get changed and meet her at the car.
I had planned to spend the day at the lake with friends. Why did she have to ruin everything? I imagined the cool lake water. Irritated，I climbed into the car and slammed the door shut. We sat in silence. I was too upset to make conversation.
“Tasha, would you like to know where we are going?” Mama asked calmly.
“No,” I said.
“We are going to volunteer at a children’s shelter today. I have been there before and I think it would benefit you,” she explained.
When we reached the shelter, Mama rang the doorbell. Moments later, we were greeted by a woman. She led us to the front room where all of the children were playing. I noticed a baby whose body was scarred with iron marks. I was told it was because she wouldn’t stop crying. The majority of the children had noticeable physical scars. Others hid their emotional wounds.
As I took in my surroundings, I felt a gentle pull on my shirt. I looked down to see a little girl looking up at me. “Hi. You want to play dolls with me?” she asked. I looked over at Mama for reinforcement. She smiled and nodded. I turned back and said, “Sure.” Her tiny hand reached up and held mine, as if to comfort me.
My mom taught me a valuable lesson that summer. I returned to the shelter with her several times. During those visits, some of the children shared their troubled pasts with me and I learned to be grateful for what I had. Today as I try to instill (逐渐灌输) these values in my own child, I reflect back to that experience. It was a time that I will never forget.
1.The author admired her mom for__________ .
A. her kindness to others
B. her excellent teaching
C. her quality of honesty
D. her positive attitude to life
2.According to Paragraph 3, when she was asked to go out with her mom, the author was__________.
A. excited B. angry
C. surprised D. worried
3.From the passage we learn most children in the shelter__________.
A. were often punished by staff
B. weren’t allowed to go outside
C. were once treated badly
D. all suffered from mental illness
4.The underlined word “reinforcement” in the passage is closest in meaning to __________.
A. truth B. help
C. comfort D. support
Dutch masters exhibition in Beijing
The 17th century Dutch Golden Age had several significant artists and a range of great pieces produced during the period—including Jan Vermeer’s Young Woman at Virginal,Jan Lievens’ Boy in a Cape,and Turban and Rembrandt's Self-Portrait with Shaded Eyes.
Some of the most refined examples of the time,including the three pieces mentioned above,will make their debut（首次亮相）in China as part of a world tour of The Leiden Collection.
If you go:
9 a.m.-5 p.m.,June 17-Sept 3 (closed on Mondays).National Museum of China,I Wusi Avenue,Dongcheng district.010-6400-1476.
Ticket: 50 yuan ($7)
The Age of Mechanical Reproduction
The Age of Mechanical Reproduction,the latest exhibition at the Riverside Art Museum,features 41 artworks of US pop icon Andy Warhol,covering art installations,paintings and photographs.Warhol's well-known installation Electric Chair is a highlight of the show,which is also its debut in Asia.
If you go:
10 a.m.-5 p.m.,through August 28 (closed on Mondays).The Riverside Art Museum,Hongyan Road,Chaoyang district.010-5309-2062.
Ticket: 60 yuan
Back with a bang
Beijing-based hand Escape Plan will hold a concert in Beijing this weekend.The band is most famous for the song The Brightest Star in the Night Sky.
If you go:
7:30 p.m.,June 17.Beijing Worker’s Gymnasium,Gongti Beilu,Chaoyang district.400-610-3721.
Ticket: 280-980 yuan
Purple clay teapots
Yixing purple clay potteries are a vital part of Chinese pottery culture and have been included in China's list of national intangible cultural heritage（国家非物质文化遗产）.A selection of more than 80 purple clay teapots will go on display at the Poly Art Museum starting Friday.The exhibit will include a range of delicate teapot works of Ji Yishun,Wang Xiaolong and Gao Lijun,who are all inheritors（继承人）the time-honored（历史悠久的）pottery handicraft.
If you go:
9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.(closed on Sundays),through June 30.Poly Art Museum,New Poly Plaza,1 Chaoyangmen North Street 9.010-6500-8117.
Ticket: 20 yuan
1.What do Dutch masters exhibition in Beijing and The Age of Mechanical Reproduction have in common?
A. Their total exhibition time.
B. They aren’t open on Mondays.
C. Their ticket prices.
D. Their exhibition places.
2.If you are fond of the performance of Escape Plan,which number can you contact to book a ticket in advance?
A. 010-5309-2062. B. 010-6500-8117.
C. 010-6400-1476. D. 400-610-3721.
3.Where can you go and enjoy an exhibition but spend less money?
A. The Poly Art Museum,New Poly Plaza.
B. National Museum of China.
C. The Riverside An Museum.
D. Beijing Workers' Gymnasium.
假设你是红星中学高三学生李华。 英国交换生Jim在给你的邮件中提到他对你校的学生社团非常感兴趣，计划下学期参加其中一个。他向你征询建议。请给他回邮件，内容包括：
1. 推荐的社团； 2. 推荐的理由； 3. 建议他做哪些准备。
注意：1. 词数不少于100；
2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours faithfully,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文,请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误,每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2．只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。
I do well in school, so people think I am smart. And it’s not true. In fact, three year ago I struggled in Grade 9. Later, I decide to get serious about school, so I made a few changes. First, I decided I would become interesting in whatever was being taught, regardless of that what other people thought. I also made up my mind to work hardly every day. After carry out these changes, I became active participant in classroom discussions. Then my test scores began to rise. How exciting! It seems to myself that being smart is simply a matter for making efforts and being interested.
阅读下面短文,在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Qiang Shuping was so busy making cloth shoes 1. she didn’t even rest during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. The woman from Baipu County, Jiangsu Province, 2. (make) shoes since she was 19 years old, and this year marks her 31st year making cloth shoes.
She spends the entire day in her tiny studio, which measures less than 10 square meters altogether, filled with cloth shoes in 3. (vary) stages of completion.
Nowadays, many stores make cloth shoes 4.(use) machines, but Qiang sticks to the technique of making shoes entirely 5. hand. She says the shoes 6. (produce) by the machine are not of the same quality as handmade ones. The handmade cloth shoes are more durable and comfortable, 7. (soft), and absorb sweat better.
Some people buy cloth shoes out of nostalgia(怀旧), while 8. trust their quality. Making shoes isn’t 9. profitable job, but Qiang still insists as she wants to preserve the craft and pass it down to the younger generation.
Handmade cloth shoes are also called qiancengdi (shoes with a thousand layers),10. can date back to the ancient Zhou Dynasty. In 2009, the making technique of qiancengdi was listed as the national intangible cultural heritage.
During my lifetime, I’ve learnt something important: it’s good to learn new skills outside of your comfort zone. About seven years ago, I started learning how to paint as a ______. I was pretty terrible. Everything looked ________, and my colors were totally off. My friends and colleagues suggested that I stop ________ my time on something I wasn’t good at. “________ on your day job,” they said.
I kept at it — practicing, taking classes, finding the right ______ who could guide and challenge me. I am now ________ “good”. Today, the same friends say I was born with this _______.
The same thing __________ when I started piano and singing lessons a couple of years ago. Comments shifted from, “Stop wasting your time and focus on what you know,” to “You’ve got a musical gene.”
These _______ originate from long-held beliefs that growth is usually not possible for adults. Even when there is evidence of learning, it can be _______ to inborn talent. Most scientific studies on adulthood focus on cognitive (认知) decline, rather than _______, suggesting that even scientists may think that development is limited in adulthood.
A few recent studies suggest that ________ new skills, such as photography, for even three months may enhance the functioning of the brain in adults.
I would take these studies one step further to argue that a(n) ________ cause of cognitive decline is the fact that adults learn fewer new skills _______ to children. If we can _______ how to learn well as adults, then perhaps we can ________ cognitive decline.
Adults are often _______ to go outside of their comfort zones. We fear looking _________ for making mistakes; we fear failure could cost us our jobs. Perhaps a reason why we suffer from cognitive decline is that we do not engage in learning new skills for many years.
To better communicate with my German friends, I am starting to learn German. I’m ________ at the“listening and babbling (咿呀学语)” phase. Sure, some may laugh at an adult babbling, but I hope one day I can __________ German fluently, and inspire many other adults to learn like a baby.
1.A. hobby B. dream C. job D. measure
2.A. perfect B. bright C. dull D. enjoyable
3.A. taking B. wasting C. putting D. getting
4.A. Count B. Depend C. Congratulate D. Focus
5.A. friends B. teachers C. colleagues D. partners
6.A. concluded B. realized C. considered D. described
7.A. talent B. spirit C. character D. power
8.A. happened B. found C. mentioned D. showed
9.A. suggestions B. achievements C. results D. comments
10.A. reported B. attributed C. forced D. addicted
11.A. failure B. change C. adaptation D. growth
12.A. catching B. arranging C. learning D. holding
13.A. important B. flexible C. permanent D. useful
14.A. prepared B. compared C. intended D. provided
15.A. break out B. figure C. bring out D. give out
16.A. prevent B. master C. interrupt D. influence
17.A. unreasonable B. uncertain C. unwilling D. undoubted
18.A. stupid B. upset C. crazy D. ugly
19.A. clearly B. presently C. continually D. occasionally
20.A. write B. read C. listen D. speak
