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。
As we all know, Columbus was a great explorer. He left Spain in September 1492,1. (look) for gold. Native Americans greeted him, offering gifts of corn. Columbus found little gold on that trip, but he collected many 2. (plant), including corn, to bring back to Spain.
Columbus didn’t know it, but the corn was much 3. (valuable) than gold. Farmers from Europe to Asia accepted it 4. (immediate). They grew it on cold mountainsides and in rainforests. So it 5. (feed) millions of people all over the world today.
On his second trip, Columbus brought back a few chocolate beans to make chocolate. Europeans and Asians loved this new drink, and soon they were paying a great deal of money for the beans. Chocolate beans became so valuable in Central America 6. they 7. (use)as cash for 200 years.
Tomatoes and potatoes took some time to become popular. Eventually, 8., they became the basis of a lot of popular foods. 9. is hard to imagine life without fried potatoes or chocolate. Thanks10. native American culture, many people are able to enjoy lots of tasty food.
It was a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon some fifteen or sixteen years ago. I took my two kids to the local playground. As soon as we got there my daughter headed for the swings(秋千)and asked for a ____. I noticed another little girl ____ to get her own swing going high as I was ____ my daughter to go higher and higher.
I walked over to the little girl and asked ____ she needed help. She smiled and said YES and I soon had her feet flying towards the ____ while she laughed happily. For the next two hours I found myself pushing swings and playing games with my daughter and the little girl. By the time we headed home, I was ____ tired, but my spirits were flying ____ than those swings.
Three years later I was ____ again after a day’s work. Still, I needed to ____ my kids from their school before heading home. I stood in the ____ waiting area waiting for my children. Suddenly, I felt two ____ arms wrapped around my legs. I looked down and there was the little girl I met 3 years before on the ____ smiling up at me. She gave me a big hug before running away to ____ the school bus. As I watched her ____, I didn’t feel tired any more and my spirits were once again ____ with that swing.
The love we ____ with others will find its way back to us. It will travel from heart to heart. It may take seconds or it may take ____. The law of love, ____ is never broken. We will get back what we give. We will harvest what we ____ . The kindness we give and the joy we create will always come back to ____ us.
1.A. jump B. pull C. push D. climb
2.A. failed B. decided C. stopped D. managed
3.A. encouraging B. helping C. refusing D. advising
4.A. why B. how C. when D. whether
5.A. clouds B. ground C. swing D. trees
6.A. finally B. suddenly C. physically D. mentally
7.A. faster B. higher C. more quickly D. more slowly
8.A. amazed B. upset C. concerned D. tired
9.A. look after B. pick up C. take away D. bring up
10.A. parents’ B. teachers’ C. patients’ D. passengers’
11.A. strong B. long C. tiny D. weak
12.A. classroom B. school C. kindergarten D. playground
13.A. drive B. catch C. reach D. repair
14.A. hands B. head C. face D. back
15.A. flying B. crying C. running D. falling
16.A. own B. care C. share D. find
17.A. hours B. days C. months D. years
18.A. though B. therefore C. still D. besides
19.A. save B. plant C. design D. offer
20.A. scare B. interest C. excite D. shock
Everyone wants to perform well at school. Add these tips to your life and you should be on your way to being a top student!
1..I cannot stress how important it is to pay attention to what your teacher is teaching you. Take part in class discussions if you have something worth adding. Pay attention during class, especially during lectures.
Taking notes is important. You don’t need to write down every single word your teacher says but write down what he or she writes on the board or any special fact you think you might need for a test. 2.. In this way it will help you learn more effectively (有效地) by actually thinking about what you are writing.
Don’t skip school. You will be missing out on stuff. 3.. However, you will have more work and you have missed lectures. Also, try not to be late for class. It’s most likely that your teacher won’t appreciate it and you will get yourself behind.
4.. If you have an “I don’t care about school or this class” attitude, then teachers will be less willing to help you with problems. The same goes for lazy attitude. Have a respectful attitude to the teacher and other students. Try not to laugh when other students make mistakes.
Always ask questions. 5.. If you don’t understand, ask someone. Read your textbook and notes，and then if that fails, seek help. Ask a teacher, friend, classmate, parent, etc. Get a tutor if you need one.
A. It is true that you could make up the work.
B. Keep a good attitude towards things.
C. Pay attention to everything the teacher says.
D. There is no shame in needing some help.
E. Staying organized will be helpful.
F. Write in your own words.
G. Be prepared.
As Internet users become more dependent on the Internet to store information, are people remembering less? If you know your computer will save information, why store it in your own personal memory, your brain? Experts are wondering if the Internet is changing what we remember and how.
In a recent study, Professor Betsy Sparrow conducted some experiments. She and her research team wanted to know the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they gave people 40 unimportant facts to type into a computer. The first group of people understood that the computer would save the information. The second group understood that the computer would not save it. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.
In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information on the Internet. The information was in a specific computer folder(文件夹). Surprisingly, people later remember the folder location(位置)better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Rather, they remember how to find it. This is called “transactive memory”.
According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet. Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories; that is, people are learning how to organize large amounts of information so that they are able to find it at a later date. This doesn't mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.
1.The passage begins with two questions to ___________________.
A. describe how to use the Internet. B. introduce the main topic.
C. show the author’s attitude . D. explain how to store information.
2.What can we learn about the first experiment?
A. Sparrow’s team typed the information into a computer.
B. The two groups remembered the information equally well.
C. The second group did not understand the information.
D. The first group did not try to remember the information.
3.In transactive memory, people ___________________.
A. remember how to find the information.
B. keep the information in mind.
C. change the quantity of information.
D. organize information like a computer.
4.What is the effect of the Internet according to Sparrow's research?
A. We are becoming more intelligent. B. We have poorer memories than before.
C. We are using memory differently. D. We need a better way to get information.
There are so many expressions in American English that sound pleasant but are not.
“Face the music” is a good example. When someone says they have to face the music, it does not mean they are going to a musical performance or concert. To face the music means to accept the unpleasant results of an action.
Imagine a friend asks you to take care of her beautiful red sports car. She gives you the keys and says, “Thanks so much for watching my car while I’m away. But please do not drive it. It is an extremely fast car.” But you do not listen. You want to show off and pretend the car is yours. So, you drive it around town. As bad luck would have it, you lose control of the car and drive it into a stop sign. The damage is serious. When your friend returns, you must tell her what you have done and “face the music”. That could mean losing her friendship or paying for repairs to her sports car or both. Whatever the music is, you must face it.
There are other American expressions that mean the same as “face the music”.
To “take your medicine” means to accept the results from something bad you have done. And if someone says, “You made your bed. Now lie in it.” He means you created a bad situation and now you will experience the results, or as we say in American spoken English, you must deal with it!
“Pay the piper” also means the same as “face the music”. But, that expression has its own very interesting beginning. We will talk about that on another Words and Their Stories.
1.What does “face the music” mean?
A. Going to a musical performance. B. Apologizing to the person you have hurt.
C. Dealing with the situation you have caused. D. Accepting the unpleasant results of an action.
2.Which of the following expressions doesn’t have the same meaning with the others?
A. Face the music. B. Make your bed.
C. Take your medicine. D. Pay the piper.
3.Which action belongs to a “take your medicine”？
A. You caught a cold and took some medicine.
B. You worked hard but failed in the exam.
C. You broke the traffic rules and caused an accident.
D. You moved to a new city and lost touch with your old friends.
4.What may be talked about in the next programme?
A. Other words and their stories. B. The beginning of “pay the piper”.
C. The wider use of “face the music”. D. An example of “take your medicine”.
Everyone has got two personalities---the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control yourself, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, you often change your sleeping positions. The important position that best shows your secret personality is the one that you fall asleep with.
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don’t like to upset people. So you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a person who likes to keep secrets. You worry a lot and you’re always easily becoming sad. You never want to change your ideas, but you are satisfied with your life the way it is. You usually live for today not tomorrow.
If you sleep curled up(卷曲), you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and you often protecting yourself from being hurt, so you are very defensive. You’re shy and you don’t usually like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You’re easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced(平衡的) personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You’re usually careful. You believe in yourself. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don’t often get unhappy. You always say what you think, even if it makes people rather angry.
1.You may find the passage in_____.
A. a story book. B. a guide book.
C. a sports newspaper. D. a science magazine.
2.Which is NOT mentioned in the second paragragh about a person’s personality?
A. He or she is always open with others. B. He or she is always easily upset.
C. He or she always likes new ideas. D. He or she tends to believe in others.
3.Tina hardly tells her secrets to her friends. She probably goes to sleep _______.
A. curled up. B. on her back.
C. on her stomach. D. on her side.
4.What does the passage tell us?
A. Sleeping positions show people’s secret personalities.
B. Sleeping on your side is the best way of sleeping.
C. Changing positions will cause sleeping problems.
D. Enough sleep makes people look better and healthier.
