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.
The makeup of British families has changed1.(rapid) over the last two hundred years. The traditional family structure (结构)before the Industrial Revolution was the extended family in2.three generations lived under one roof. The early twentieth century saw the3.( grow) of the nuclear family﹣parents and a small number of4.(child) would form a single family. In the last thirty years, however, the UK5.( see) a breakdown of the typical nuclear family.
Increased divorce rates, later marriage and a move away from marriage altogether have resulted6.new forms of family; divorced parents will develop new relationships and take their kids with them. A survey7.( conduct) by researchers shows that over 50% of kids are now born to parents who are not married.
Some minority communities stick to the extended family structure, and it is common8.(find) that three generations are living together in an Indian family. They say that apart from strengthening traditional family ties,9.can provide security for older people when they cannot work anymore. They believe that the phenomenon of other old people living in care homes10.(indicate) that many old people in the wider community are abandoned in their old age.
Greenberg was a lucky guy to enter Columbia University on full scholarship. But just before junior year,Greenberg's______ changed. One day his vision "______ up" and later he was diagnosed (诊断)with glaucoma (青光眼). Then doctors operated on Greenberg's eyes.______,the surgery didn't work. Greenberg was going blind. He was so______ that he refused to see anyone.
As Greenberg' s best friend,Arthur persuaded Greenberg to go back to Columbia and______ to be his reader. Arthur read ______ to him every day, taking time out from his own study, and Greenberg______ scoring straight A's. Still, he was______ about getting around alone and relied on his friend.
Then, one afternoon, Greenberg and Arthur went to Midtown Manhattan. When it was time to go back to campus, Arthur said he couldn' t______ him because of an appointment. Greenberg______ They argued,and Arthur walked off,______ Greenberg alone in Grand Central Terminal.
Greenberg,who was completely______,stumbled (蹒珊)through the rush﹣hour crowd. He took a shuttle train west to Times Square,and then transferred to an uptown train. Four miles later, he ______ at the Columbia University stop.
At the university's gates, someone______ him. "Oops, excuse me,sir. " Greenberg______ the voice. It was Arthur's. Greenberg's first reaction was ______,but in the next second, he realized what he had just______﹣and realized,too,who had made it possible.______,Arthur had been with him the whole way, using one of the most______ strategies.
Blindness doesn't make Greenberg fail to appreciate the______ of life. He always says he is the luckiest man in the world.
1.A. faith B. attitude C. fortune D. reputation
2.A. lit B. steamed C. cleared D. cheered
3.A. Otherwise B. Moreover C. Therefore D. However
4.A. shy B. desperate C. selfish D. nervous
5.A. offered B. pretended C. happened D. learned
6.A. letters B. newspapers C. textbooks D. magazines
7.A. ended up B. carried on C. imagined D. considered
8.A. curious B. confident C. excited D. tentative
9.A. abandon B. rescue C. comfort D. accompany
10.A. compromised B. panicked C. explained D. apologized
11.A. leaving B. finding C. consulting D. serving
12.A. tired B. amused C. confused D. satisfied
13.A. got off B. pulled over C. looked around D. ran away
14.A. turned to B. shouted at C. knocked into D. quarreled with
15.A. raised B. lost C. controlled D. recognized
16.A. anger B. pleasure C. relief D. sorrow
17.A. missed B. questioned C. ignored D. achieved
18.A. Gradually B. Finally C. Obviously D. Strangely
19.A. brilliant B. familiar C. defensive D. complex
20.A. magic B. beauty C. wisdom D. truth
Apologizing the Right Way to a Friend
Why are apologies so difficult? Saying you are sorry can be one of the most difficult things you do. But we all make mistakes, so you'll probably have an occasion when you need to apologize.
Perhaps you had a big blow up and realized later you reacted poorly.1. Whatever the reason,apologizing can help you both heal and move on from the situation.
2. First, you acknowledge that you did something wrong. With an apology,you take responsibility for your actions,which allows your friend to forgive you. Second,an apology gives you sincerity as a friend.3.,but that doesn' t mean you still shouldn't apologize.
Now, what are elements of a proper apology? 4.,depending on what the offense was,where it was done, and who you are apologizing to. In general, a good apology should include the following: a request for their attention,an acknowledgment of what happened,sincerity in admitting you did something wrong and the words. "I'm sorry" or "I apologize."
Here are things never to say when apologizing. Note that the art of apologizing involves taking responsibility. Never apologize as a way to "shut someone up" when they are saying you hurt their feelings and you don't think you did.5.,you should talk things through with your friend until you see why they are hurt or how you came across. You'll really need to self﹣reflect so you can see things from your friend' s point of view.
A. When you make your apology in person
B. If you really believe you did nothing wrong
C. Apologies benefit friendships in a variety of ways
D. The way you apologize is going to be slightly different
E. Or maybe you just didn't show support when you needed to
F. Apologizing the right way,however, may take a little practice
G. Sometimes our pals forgive us easily for the minor things we do wrong
We can video chat with astronauts aboard the International Space Station and watch live footage from the frozen heights of Everest. But communicating with a submarine (潜艇)or a diver is not so easy. The lack of practical methods for sharing data between underwater and airborne devices has long been a frustration for scientists. The difficulty stems from the fact that radio signals work perfectly in air travel but poorly in water. Sonar (声呐)signals used by underwater sensors reflect off the surface of the water rather than reaching the air.
Now,researchers at MIT have developed a method with the potential to revolutionize underwater communication. “What we’ve shown is that it’s actually feasible to communicate from underwater to the air," says Fadel Adib,a professor at MJT’ s Media Lab,who led the research.
The MIT researchers designed a system that uses an underwater machine to send sonar signals to the surface, making vibrations (震动)corresponding to the ls and Os of the data. A surface receiver then reads and decodes these tiny vibrations. The researchers call the system TARF. It has any number of potential real-world uses, Adib says. It could be used to find downed planes underwater by reading signals from sonar devices in a plane' s black box and it could allow submarines to communicate with the surface.
Right now the technology is low-resolution. The initial study was conducted in the MIT swimming pool at maximum depths of around 11 or 12 feet. The next steps for the researchers are to see if TARF is workable at much greater depths and under varying conditions—high waves, storms, schools of fish. They also want to see if they can make the technology work in the other direction— air to water.
If the technology proves successful in real-world conditions, expect “texting while diving” to be the latest underwater fashion.
1.What does the author mainly talk about in Paragraph 1?
A. The future of video chat underwater and in air.
B. The frustrations of developing underwater devices.
C. The difficulty of communication from water to air.
D. The current situation of communicating with a submarine.
2.What does the underlined word “feasible” mean?
A. Achievable. B. Convenient.
C. Changeable. D. Alternative.
3.What do we know about TARF?
A. It is widely used to find downed planes.
B. It can work well at great depths underwater.
C. It is an underwater machine that sends signals.
D. It can send,receive and read signals from underwater.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. The Real-world Uses of Sonar Technology
B. Full Water-to-air Communication Closer to Reality
C. A Breakthrough in the Application of Video Chat
D. TARF Becoming a New Means of Communication
Have you ever heard of agritourism where you can experience farm life? If not, Dr. Cindy Ayers-Elliott will tell you the real story of Foot Print Farms.
The original concept of building Foot Print Farms was simple. When Ayers-Elliott returned to her hometown after graduation,she didn' t have to look any further than her state' s alarming health statistics to find a mission. Everywhere she turned, there were reports of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and heart disease. “The problem was already identified." explains Ayers-Elliott. “Too many Mississippians were seriously unhealthy and it didn’t take research to see that. And many of the state' s greatest health challenges could directly result from poor diet. ”
These days,Foot Print Farms, which started with a few raised beds of herbs and vegetables, is making fresh, naturally grown food. "When speaking of the key to my success,the co-op model works because we share the work and rewards,” notes Ayers-Elliott. “ A perfect example is the Wingfield High School football team. To earn the money for equipment and other items, players committed to working five hours a week on the farm,and by the end of the summer they had produced 1,000 melons and the profits from their sales helped to buy weights,T-shirts,sweat suits and pregame meals. But the lessons they learned about the rewards of hard work and working together to accomplish something were even more valuable products of their efforts. ”
"It' s a model that can easily be learned in other places and I' m looking forward to seeing some of our current partners do just that——to take what they have learned here and spin it off in other communities,"Ayers-Elliott remarks. She is now looking forward to developing an agritourism aspect to the farm, where visitors can experience farm life, learn new skills and take with them seeds of inspiration they can sow in their own communities when they return home.
1.What made Ayers-Elliott set up Foot Print Farms?
A. The problems faced by local farmers.
B. Her further research into heart disease.
C. The failure of her career after graduation.
D. The health state of people in her hometown.
2.Why does the author take the football team as an example?
A. To advocate the concept of independence.
B. To stress the importance of teamwork.
C. To support the idea of co-op model.
D. To explore the key to success.
3.What is Ayers-Elliott' s attitude towards the future of Foot Print Farms?
A. Optimistic. B. Skeptical.
C. Cautious. D. Ambiguous.
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A. Naturally grown food benefits people’s health.
B. Food Print Farms is making a difference in Mississippi.
C. Ayers-Elliott encourages people to experience farm
D. Agritourism is becoming increasingly popular in America.
Created in 1998 by Casey and Shelley Black, the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Center focuses on not only rescuing young abandoned wolves but educating the public. Unlike other centers, you can actually walk with the wolves and have exciting, hands﹣on interaction with them here. And so, we gathered one late winter morning to learn, prepare and walk.
Scrappy and Flora,our wolves that day,were brought to the center when only a few days old. "They lived in the house with us for the first several months. We treated them like human babies, fed them and slept with them," said Shelley. So, they are totally used to people. However, these are wild animals. For that reason, Shelley and Casey explained, the walk is totally on the wolf's terms. "We don't approach them, but if they come up to us, we can touch them. "
With all this in mind, we headed for the woods. We were walking on a logging road when suddenly,Flora, all 60 pounds of her,hurried up to me and raised up on her legs. She was almost as tall as me. As she leaned in, put her huge muddy paws on my shoulders and sniffed my face, apparently she was saying hello in wolf talk.
We walked farther, maybe half a mile, while Scrappy and Flora dashed in and out of the woods stopping to occasionally roll in the snow,dig for this or that and just play. Then we all headed into the trees to a picturesque stream where the wolves splashed,drank and had a great time.
One could point out that this whole adventure was staged and quite artificial. But the purpose, Casey and Shelley said,is to explain the wolves' place in the environment and,primarily,to let people know wolves don' t have to be universally feared﹣they really don' t hide secretly in the woods just waiting to eat people,but they' d rather avoid people,for the most part.
1.How is the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Center different from others?
A. It trains and educates wild wolves.
B. It aims to rescue young abandoned wolves.
C. It raises wolves for commercial purposes.
D. It allows visitors to take a walk with wolves.
2.What can be inferred from Shelley and Casey's explanation in Paragraph 2?
A. The walk can be potentially dangerous.
B. The wolves have lost all their wildness.
C. People should get close to the wolves actively.
D. The wolves can read people's mind like human babies.
3.Why did Flora behave like that when she saw the author on the logging road?
A. To express curiosity.
B. To show friendliness.
C. To attract attention.
D. To seek companionship.
4.Why do Casey and Shelley organize such an adventure?
A. To advertise the center.
B. To publicize wolf hunting.
C. To promote environmental protection.
D. To clarify some conventional views of wolves.