Giving generously and receiving gratefully make it easier to live happily with others. Yet, why do we have such difficulty accomplishing these things in our relationships? I think people refuse to be generous with others because they fear being used.
For example, my husband and I have family members who only contact us when they need money. We usually accept their requests, but we rarely receive a “thank you”. Most people would say that my husband and I are being used. But when we give, we shouldn’t be giving for the purpose of getting gratitude. Rather, we should be giving because it’s a good thing to do.
Everything that we have, from our ability to wake up each morning to the money in our bank account, is a gift from the world. In return, the world asks us to use these gifts to help others, either by giving them our time or our resources. The good news is that when we live our lives being nice to others, our lives run more smoothly.
If you’re generous, yes, some people will use you. But if you practice being generous, most of your relationships will improve. And at the same time, we should remember to receive gratefully. I truly believe that you cannot say “thank you” enough.
So often we get lazy about expressing gratitude. Parents can feel unappreciated by their children, and teachers can feel unappreciated by their students. Just because a task is part of someone’s job description doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t thank them for it.
Words of appreciation make others feel good about themselves like nothing else. It’s good for us to say “thank you” because we often need to tell ourselves how lucky we are.
If you are looking for a way to improve your life, I can give you one: Give generously and receive gratefully.
1.The author mentions her family members in the article mainly to explain ______.
A. why we should give even if we feel we are being used
B. why people have trouble expressing gratitude
C. what makes people refuse to offer help
D. why it’s necessary to express gratitude
2.According to the author, why should we be grateful to those who help us?
A. It can bring us good luck.
B. Words of gratitude make people happy.
C. It’s not other people’s duty to help us.
D. All we normally get are gifts from the world.
3.The author wrote this article mainly to ______.
A. tell the importance of generosity
B. persuade people to give generously and receive thankfully
C. show how to express our gratitude to others
D. give tips on how to improve other people’s lives
Perhaps no one knows the power of imagination better than Chinese writer Liu Cixin. Until four years ago, Liu worked full-time as a computer engineer at a power plant in Shanxi province. He only wrote science fiction in his spare time. But it was during this time that Liu’s imagination took flight. He did what he might never have the chance to do in real life – wander in space, fight with aliens, and visit planets light-years away.
But even with such a powerful imagination, Liu, 55, probably hadn’t expected that he would become the first Asian to win the Hugo Award, science fiction’s highest prize, in 2015. Perhaps neither did he think that former US president Barack Obama would read his novel The Three-Body Problem, nor that on Nov 9 in Washington DC, he would win the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society. It’s the first time a Chinese writer has ever won the award.
In his acceptance speech, Liu said that he owed his imagination to Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008), a famous UK sci-fi author. He said that reading Clarke’s 1968 classic novel 2001: A Space Odyssey in the early 1980s had a great effect on him.
“My mind opened up like never before. I felt like a narrow river finally seeing the sea,” Liu said. “That night, in my eyes, the starry sky was completely different from the past. For the first time in my life, I was awed (使……敬畏) by the mystery of the universe.”
But no matter how far away Liu’s imagination takes him, somehow his novels always stay rational.
In The Three-Body Problem, for example, Liu tells a tale of aliens invading Earth. But unlike other alien stories, Liu talks more about relationships between civilizations, rules of survival, and the meanings of life. And in The Wandering Earth, Liu looks ahead to the day when our solar system comes to an end and humans have to look for a new place to live. However, all his visions and solutions are based on “hard science”. Liu’s works aren’t simply daydreams.
1.What do we know about Liu Cixin?
A. He became a full-time writer when he was young.
B. He dreamed about wandering in space from childhood.
C. He is the first Asian to win the Arthur C. Clarke Award.
D. He is the first Chinese winner of the Hugo Award.
2.Liu Cixin’s words are used mainly to show ______.
A. his interest in mysteries of the universe
B. his love of reading science fiction
C. his confusion when he started writing
D. his feeling after reading Clarke’s work
3.Why did the author mention The Three-Body Problem and The Wandering Earth?
A. To compare the different writing styles in the two books.
B. To explain how Liu Cixin came up with his ideas.
C. To show that Liu Cixin has a powerful imagination.
D. To prove that Liu Cixin’s works relate science to reality.
4.What’s the text mainly about?
A. Liu Cixin’s achievements and writing style.
B. Liu Cixin’s contributions to science fiction.
C. How Liu Cixin became a sci-fi writer.
D. How Liu Cixin started a new sci-fi style.
A bright yellow “M” tells you that it’s a McDonald’s restaurant; we also associate the cheerful theme tune “I’m Lovin’ It” with the famous US fast food.
A brand’s music has a similar effect on its customers as its logo. “It appeals directly to the heart, where consumers’ decisions are really made,” wrote Marketing Week.
This is probably why companies from around the world have recently focused more on building a “sonic (声音的) identity”.
An example is the software company Tencent QQ. Since 2014, this Chinese company has been trying to trademark (申请商标权) its “Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-Di” notification sound. The trademark was finally approved on Nov 15, which means that Tencent’s “Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-Di” notification sound is now protected by law and can only be used by QQ.
Sound and music can also help tell stories. In Game of Thrones (《权力的游戏》) there are so many characters that it is difficult to memorize them all. So, they wrote melodies (旋律) specific to each family. The result is that characters do not only look familiar, but sound familiar too.
“I think a huge reason why sound inspires action is that, on an unconscious level, we are always listening,” Lauren Nagel, executive creative director at Pandora Media, told GeoMarketing. “You can close your eyes, but you can’t shut your ears.”
1.What is the influence of a brand’s music, according to Marketing Week?
A. It creates a relaxing environment.
B. It helps to get customers’ attention.
C. It makes the brand better known.
D. It encourages consumers to make quick decisions.
2.The example of Tencent QQ is mainly used to show ______.
A. how companies value their sounds and music
B. the importance of trademark protection
C. the lasting impact of a brand’s music
D. what makes a good notification sound
3.How does music help Game of Thrones?
A. It helps to create more impressive scenes.
B. It tells about the characters’ personalities.
C. It suggests that important things are coming.
D. It makes the characters easier to remember.
假设你们班将举行一场以“Why Should We Learn English”为主题的英语演讲比赛，请你结合以下内容，写一篇100词左右的英语演讲稿。
英语被广泛使用。
学习英语可以为我们带来很多好处，如可帮助我们考取理想大学，增强竞争力，了解外国文化，丰富生活。
注意：可适当增加细节，使行文流畅。开头与结尾已经写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：理想的 ideal 有竞争力的 competitive
Why Should We Learn English
Dear friends,
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That’s all．Thank you．
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(Λ)，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。
At 3:42 one of the greatest earthquake of the 20th century shook Tangshan．It seemed as if the world was at the end．A huge crack that was eight kilometers long and thirty meters wider cut across houses, roads and canals．Steam bursts from holes in the ground．Hard hills of rock became rivers of dirt．In fifteen terrible seconds a large city lay in ruin．The suffering of the people was extremely．Two-thirds of them died and injured during the earthquake．The number of people killing or injured reached more than 400,000．After the earthquake, everywhere the survivors looked nearly everything was destroyed．Bricks covered the ground like red autumn leaves and sand was now filled the wells instead of water．People were shocking and they felt hopeless．
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。
Wang Wei and Wang Kun are brothers and sisters．They have dreamed of1.(take) a great bike trip．It was Wang Wei 2. first had the idea to cycle along the Mekong River and finally they 3. (ride) bicycles to travel along the river, 4.source is in Qinghai Province．When it enters Southeast Asia, it travels slowly through hills and low valleys and the plains5.rice grows．Despite the 6.(difficult), Wang Kun and Wang Wei were 7. (determination) to begin their journey at 8. altitude of more than 5,000 metres in Qinghai Province．During their journey, they enjoyed the 9. (continue) change of the weather．At last they reached Dali in Yunnan, where Dao Wei and Yu Hang joined them．The four of them went on10.their great bike trip．
