阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
The word Nushu literally means “women’s writing” in Chinese: As the name suggests, Nushu is created and specially used by women.
Often 1.(call) “the world’s only surviving characters for women”, these slim words were developed from standard written Chinese. In the old days, Nushu 2.( teach) by elderly women to girls at home because female children weren’t allowed 3.(attend) formal school. During gatherings in villages, women used the characters to write poems or song lyrics to express their emotions 4. were hidden from men. The words were full5. encouragement and positive energy, and showed an uncommon open-mindedness among women at that time.
Ji Xianlin once said that Nushu is a feminist (女权主义者) symbol. “It’s6. unique writing system created by7.(talent) women who were deprived (剥夺) of the right to education,” he wrote in an article. “It has significance in various 8.(field) and represents Chinese people’s strong spirit.”
Nushu was made as a national cultural heritage in 2006. However, it is not 9.(wide) used in daily life today. In fact, it is a dying language. Now linguists are taking action to prevent this incredible cultural heritage from10.(disappear).
When I first entered university my aunt, who is an English professor, gave me a new English dictionary. I was ________to see that it was an English- English dictionary, also known as a monolingual (只用一种语言的) dictionary. __________it was a dictionary intended for non-native learners, none of my classmates had one, ________to be honest, I found it extremely _________to use at first. I would look up words in the dictionary and ________not fully understand the meanings. I was used to the _________bilingual dictionaries, in which the words are __________both in English and Chinese. I really wondered why my aunt gave me such__________to make things so difficult for me. Now, after studying English at university for three years, I _________that monolingual dictionaries are __________in learning a foreign language.
As I found out, there is, ________, often no perfect equivalence (对应) between two ________in two languages. My aunt even goes so far as to ________ that a Chinese “equivalent” can never give you the__________meaning of a word in English! _________, she insisted that I read the definition (释义) of a word in a monolingual dictionary when I wanted to get a better_________ of its meaning._________, I have come to see what she meant.
Using a monolingual dictionary for learners has helped me in another important way. This dictionary uses a(n)___________number of words, around 2,000. in its definitions. When I read these definitions, I am__________exposed to the basic words and learn how they are used to explain objects and ideas. ________ this, I can express myself more easily in English.
1.A. worried B. sad C. surprised D. nervous
2.A. Because B. Although C. Unless D. If
3.A. but B. so C. or D. and
4.A. difficult B. interesting C. important D. practical
5.A. thus B. even C. still D. again
6.A. new B. familiar C. earlier D. ordinary
7.A. explained B. expressed C. described D. created
8.A. appreciation B. courage C. advice D. promise
9.A. imagine B. recommend C. predict D. grasp
10.A. natural B. better C. easier D. convenient
11.A. at best B. in fact C. at times D. in case
12.A. words B. names C. ideas D. characters
13.A. hope B. declare C. doubt D. tell
14.A. exact B. basic C. translated D. expected
15.A. Rather B. However C. Therefore D. Instead
16.A. understanding B. practice C. expression D. consideration
17.A. Largely B. Generally C. Gradually D. Probably
18.A. extra B. average C. total D. limited
19.A. repeatedly B. nearly C. immediately D. anxiously
20.A. According to B. In relation to C. In addition to D. Because of
Friendship is a gift of God. But it may be taken for granted in some cases and not valued. 1.Say one has no child even after many years of marriage and the other has many children, more than they can manage. What do you think? Will the couple with many children value the children as much as the couple which has none? Everything is relative in life. We value what we don’t have and give less value to what is freely available to us.2.
Why should we value friendships? What qualities does a good friend bring to our relationship that makes the friendship so valuable? Let us examine some of these.
Judgement——A good friend is rarely judgemental. We can be open in our behaviour with our good friends because we know that they will not judge us. 3. With other people our actions and behavior are always calculated and guarded and that takes away lots of pleasure from our life.
Share sorrow and losses ——A friend can be depended upon to share all our problems and sorrows. 4.Once I saw the image of a man left alone in a village after an earthquake. The whole village got killed except this man with whom, will this man share his sorrow? A friend gives us this gift.
Hope——During our times of trouble, only a friend comes forward and gives us encouragement and hope. 5.
A. This is no small gift of friendship.
B. Friendship is one such relationship
C. It is familiar to a case of two couples.
D. Some of us are blessed with good friends
E. We can enjoy this freedom only with friends
F. With that inspiration, we regain confidence in ourselves.
G. This sharing may not reduce the loss but helps us unburden ourselves.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, on January 10th, 1928. Philip Levine was formally educated in the Detroit public school system. After graduation from university, Levine worked a number of industrial jobs, including the night work in factories, reading and writing poems in his off hours. In 1953, he studied at the University of Iowa. There, Levine met Robert Lowell and John Berryman, whom Levine called his “one great guide”.
About writing poems, Levine wrote: “I believed even then that if I could change my experience into poems I would give it the value and honor that it did not begin to have on its own. I thought too that if I could write about it, I could come to understand it: I believed that if I could understand my life——or at least the part my work played in it——I could write it with some degree of joy, something obviously missing from my life.”
Levine published (出版) his first collection of poems. On the Edge in 1961, followed by Not This Pig in 1968. Throughout his life Levine published many books of poems, winning many prizes. A review said: “Levine writes poems about the bravery of men, physical labor, simple pleasures and strong feelings, often set in working-class Detroit or in central California, where he worked or lived.”
He taught for many years at California State University, Fresno and served as Distinguished Poet in Residence for the Creative Writing Program at New York University. After retiring from teaching, Levine divided his time between Brooklyn, New York, and Fresno, California, until his death on February 14th, 2015. His final poem collection, The Last Shift, as well as a collection of essays (短文) and other writings, My Lost Poets: A Life in Poetry, were published in 2016.
1.How did Levine make a living right after graduation from his university?
A. He worked as a full-time writer.
B. He worked as a worker in factories.
C. He worked as a teacher in university.
D. He worked as a great guide in writing.
2.According to Levine’s words, he thought_______.
A. he had lived the life he wanted
B. poems made him misunderstand life
C. his life was valueless and dishonorable
D. poems could give him much pleasure
3.What was the main subject of Levine’s poems?
A. The scenes of his hometown
B. Love stories
C. The imaginary future
D. Life of common people.
4.Which poem collection was published after his death?
A. The Last Shift B. Not This Pig
C. My Lost Poets: A Life in Poetry D. On the Edge
Mandara seemed to know something big was about to happen. So she let out a yell, caught hold of her 2-year-old daughter Kibibi and climbed up into a tree. She lives at the National Zoo in Washington D.C..
And on Tuesday, August 23rd, witnesses said she seemed to sense the big earthquake that shook much of the East Coast before any humans knew what was going on. And she’s not the only one. In the moments before the quake, an orangutan (猩猩) let out a loud call and then climbed to the top of her shelter.
“It’s very different from their normal call,” said Brandie Smith, the zookeeper. “The lemurs (monkey like animals of Madagascar) will sound an alarm if they see or hear something highly unusual.”
But you can’t see or hear an earthquake 15 minutes before it happens, can you? Maybe you can——if you’re an animal.
“Animals can hear above and below our range of hearing,” said Brandie Smith. “That’s part of their special abilities. They’re more sensitive to the environment, which is how they survive.”
Primates weren’t the only animals that seemed to sense the quake before it happened. One of the elephants made a warning sound and a huge lizard (蜥蜴) ran quickly for cover. The flamingoes (a kind of birds) gathered before the quake and stayed together until the shaking stopped.
So what kind of vibrations (震动) were the animals picking up in the moments before the quake? Scientist Susan Hough said earthquakes produce two types of waves——a weak “P” wave and then a much stronger “S” wave. The “P” stands for “primary”. And the “S” stands for “secondary”. She thinks the “P” wave might be what sets the animals off.
Not all the animals behaved unusually before the quake. For example, Smith said the zoo’s giant pandas didn’t jump up until the shaking actually began. But many of the other animals seemed to know something was coming before it happened. “I’m not surprised at all,” Smith said.
1.Why did Mandara act strangely one day?
A. Because it sensed something unusual would happen.
B. Because its daughter Kibibi was injured.
C. Because it heard an orangutan let out a loud call
D. Because an earthquake had happened.
2.According to Brandie Smith,_____________.
A. many animals hearing is sharp
B. earthquakes produce two types of waves
C. primates usually gather together before a quake
D. humans can also develop the ability to sense a quake
3.Which animal seems unable to sense quake?
A. A giant panda. B. A flamingo.
C. A lemur. D. A lizard.
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. How animals survive a quake
B. How animals differ from humans
C. How animals behave before a quake
D. How animals protect their young in a quake
As I was thinking about language learning the other day, the image of baking bread came into my mind. I compared some of the exercises and drills that we put ourselves through in order to learn a language to the various ingredients that go into baking a loaf of fresh bread.
Real language learning takes place in human relationships. No one sits down and eats a cup of flour, even if he is hungry and in a hurry. You don’t become bilingual (双语的) by learning lists of vocabulary. You don’t become a speaker of a language by memorizing verb conjugations (动词的词形变化) and agreement rules. You become bilingual by entering a community that uses that other language as its primary means of communication.
I am not suggesting that we can make bread without ingredients. Flour is necessary, as are yeast, salt, water and other ingredients. Vocabulary is part of any language and will have to be learned. Grammatical rules exist in every language and cannot be ignored. But merely combining the appropriate ingredients in the recommended proportions does not result in bread. At best, you only end up with a ball of dough (面团).
In order to get bread, you have to apply heat to the dough. And in language learning, that heat comes from the community. Anyone who has learned a second language has experienced that heat. It creeps up your neck when you ask the babysitter, “Have you already been eaten?” when you meant to say, “Have you already eaten?” When you try to say something quite innocent and the whole room bursts into laughter, you are experiencing the heat that turns raw dough into good bread. Remember the old saying, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen?” This is where language learning often breaks down because we find the heat uncomfortable and we stop the baking process. In other words, we can’t stand the heat, so we get out of the kitchen.
However, the language learner who stays in the kitchen——in the heat until the combined ingredients are thoroughly transformed will enjoy the richness of a quality loaf of bread. He said that he did not “get out of the kitchen” at the critical moment when the oven seemed too hot. The dedicated language learner knows that becoming bilingual cannot be achieved without the heat!
1.The passage is mainly about________.
A. how we can make baking bread with various Ingredients
B. how to become bilingual by communicating with others
C. what an important role “heat” plays in learning a language
D. what a high quality of bread you may achieve in the kitchen
2.You can become a speaker of a language by_______.
A. bearing millions of words and expressions in your mind
B. using the language to communicate with those around you
C. knowing verb conjugations and grammatical rules
D. saying something innocent to be laughed at by others
3.What is the purpose of illustration of the example——you ask the babysitter, “Have you already been eaten?” when you meant to say, “Have you already eaten?” ?
A. To prove that you are sure to make some mistakes when you enter a community.
B. To show that you should combine the ingredients in the recommended proportions.
C. To prove that you may experience "heat" from the community in language learning.
D. To indicate that being bilingual calls for your courage, confidence and perseverance.
4.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the necessity of baking bread and learning language?
A. Wonderful skills. B. Various ingredients.
C. Appropriate proportions. D. Uncomfortable heat.
