I remember all too well my first traffic ticket. For an over-confident and impatient teenager, the newfound freedom of driving was a bit ________ .
Dad was probably as ________ as any parent when they hand the keys to a child and pray both car and ________ will come back in one piece. But I was not ________ at all. A car crash? Nah,________ happen.
_____ I didn’t hit anything or anybody. But there was plenty of traffic at the crossing. “Come on!” I ________ . “Will the light ever turn green?” The traffic light did change to the splendid color of ________ and the cars moved forward. Just as I ________ the crossing, the light turned yellow. I sped up immediately but without ________ the car was dead, right in the middle of the crossing. Horns(喇叭) sounded. My face burnt as ________ as the light now. I managed somehow to ________ the car and rushed through the crossing, trying to avoid the ________ glances from the cars wanting their turn at the light.
My heart ________ when my eyes caught the flash of headlights of the police car. I ________ . With each passing minute the ________ continued. The officer wrote the ________ and handed it to me. It felt like a death sentence ________ I knew facing Dad was going to be harder than any police officer.
I have learned my ________ — being patient, ________ the laws and taking my responsibility. Now I can proudly claim that I am a better driver.
1.A. scaring B. exciting C. boring D. moving
2.A. calm B. delighted C. relieved D. nervous
3.A. keys B. lights C. kid D. officer
4.A. concerned B. guilty C. grateful D. confident
5.A. seldom B. always C. sometimes D. never
6.A. Surprisingly B. Unusually C. Typically D. Fortunately
7.A. laughed B. whispered C. complained D. cheered
8.A. go B. stop C. wait D. turn
9.A. ignored B. reached C. missed D. passed
10.A. Warning B. doubt C. hesitation D. delay
11.A. white B. red C. yellow D. green
12.A. repair B. park C. restart D. abandon
13.A. shy B. angry C. quick D. embarrassed
14.A. sank B. broke C. ached D. failed
15.A. drove away B. sped up C. pulled over D. settled down
16.A. thrill B. pride C. shame D. disappointment
17.A. note B. letter C. book D. ticket
18.A. because B. although C. if D. unless
19.A. skill B. lesson C. subject D. story
20.A. changing B. breaking C. making D. observing
For many people, working from home part time or full time can be an attractive option.1.. You’ll have to plan out your strategy, work out all the little details, and then put in the work to make it happen.
Evaluate your talents.
Keep in mind that there is a huge difference between talents and things you enjoy.2. . Think about your skills that you do better than anyone else.
Assess your financing needs.
While starting a business from home can be more affordable than starting a traditional business, you will still need money to get started.3.. If you don’t have a lot in savings, you can get a business loan to get started, but this would mean afterwards being responsible for a loan.
Know your competition.
If you plan on working from home locally, look around town for other businesses offering the same services or products. You’ll have to find a way to stand out from the competition. Be sure to check around and analyze your competitors’ pricing.4. .
5.
If no business ideas are coming to mind, think about some of the tried home business types. Some common ideas include tutoring, tax preparation, accounting, web designing, dance instructing. These home based business ideas just require your personal skills.
A. Understand the needs of your market.
B. Consider some of the more common ideas.
C. Most of these business ideas can also be done online.
D. Think about how much money you need to cover all the initial costs.
E. Just because you enjoy something does not mean you can turn it into a business.
F. However, like starting any other business, it requires planning and personal devotion.
G. If you can offer the same product for less, you may be able to draw some of their customers away.
Have you ever been in a situation where your name is spelled incorrectly on a Starbucks cup even after you spell out every single letter to the barista(咖啡师)？ What would you feel when a room freezes into a sudden silence as soon as you start talking — living with a foreign accent is difficult？
Recently a gentleman in his 40s noticed my accent, and asked me where I was from. Then he inquired about what I majored in and how long I’d been in the US to learn English. After a polite exchange, he said sympathetically that he couldn’t imagine how hard it was for me to deal with reading long English texts. Furthermore, he seemed genuinely puzzled to the fact that I learned to speak English “so well” in an African country. Usually I would have shown my defensive self, pointing out his ignorance and telling him how sad I felt that his education had failed him. But I didn’t.
Sometimes these everyday experiences can drive me crazy. I even think of trying to actively “sound American” as a way to escape the stereotypes(模式化观念) that people have. But if I practiced an American accent enough, would people actually focus on what I say rather than how I say it?
Actually, to speak in our accent itself is to tell a story of identity. My housemates and I come from seven different countries: Jamaica, USA, Gambia, Yemen, China, Ecuador and SA. None of us speak native-like English, but we understand each other perfectly and get along harmoniously. If we all sounded the same, I think that would be boring. Together, we make up a cocktail of beautifully crafted accents with seasoned experiences. None of us owes anyone an explanation about why we don’t sound like how you expect us to.
Accepting that people sound different and embracing them for that reason is important. We are a generation of different languages, dialects, and accents. The world is more and more diverse with various cultures, and if that means making extra efforts to understand someone’s accent and learning how to spell their name, that’s just how it’s going to be.
Deal with it.
1.What purpose do the two questions serve in the first paragraph?
A. To introduce the topic of the passage. B. To share some unpleasant experiences.
C. To show it’s hard to live with an accent. D. To express disappointment at the service.
2.What does the author probably do?
A. An English teacher. B. An international student.
C. A Starbuck waiter. D. A university professor.
3.How did the author probably feel after talking with the gentleman?
A. Ashamed. B. Amazed. C. Amused. D. Annoyed.
4.Which of the following might the author most likely agree with?
A. Efforts should be made to get rid of accents.
B. We should speak the way we are expected to.
C. Acceptance of accents is needed in the society.
D. Education contributes to native-like English.
At the age of seven, while his friends were spending pocket money on things like candy and toys, Jose Adolfo was busy saving money for more essential purchases. To try to get his peers to do the same, the youngster from Arequipa, Peru came up with the innovative idea of an eco-bank, which allows kids of all ages to gain economic independence— while also helping the environment.
Established in 2012, the Bartselana Student Bank is the world’s first bank for kids. To open an account, kids have to bring in at least 5 kilograms of solid waste (paper or plastic) and establish a savings goal. Once accepted, all bank “partners” are required to deposit(存储) at least one additional kilogram of recyclables on a monthly basis and meet other requirements, such as attending financial education and environmental management workshops.
The waste collected is sold to local recycling companies, who, thanks to Jose, pay a higher-than-market rate for everything brought in by Bartselana Student Bank members. The funds received are placed in the individual’s account until his/her savings goal is reached. The account holder can then withdraw his/her money, or choose to leave it and continue to grow for a bigger target.
“At the beginning, my teachers thought I was crazy,” Jose recalls. “They did not understand that we are not the future of the country but its present. Luckily. I had the support of the school principal.”
By 2013, the bank had over 200 members who brought in one ton of recyclable waste. Today, the eco-bank, which now has the support of several local institutions, has ten educational centers. They are designed to teach the over 3,000 members both finance and environmental management. On December 6, 2018, in response to the growing demand, Bartselana Student Bank began accepting applications from kids all across Peru.
As the teenager says, “Together we can change the world. We just need an opportunity.”
1.What is the purpose of the eco-bank?
A. To involve kids in the management of the local recycling companies.
B. To help kids get pocket money to spend on things like candy and toys.
C. To show kids how important it is to learn environmental management.
D. To get kids to help the environment and be economically independent.
2.What duty does an eco-bank member have to perform?
A. Attending financial education workshops. B. Bringing in 5 kilos of waste.
C. Saving one kilo of solid waste weekly. D. Establishing a savings goal.
3.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. Kids are more responsible when growing up.
B. The future of the country relies mainly on kids.
C. Kids can contribute to the society though young.
D. The present is a vital period for kid development.
4.Which of the following words can best describe Jose?
A. Generous. B. Crazy. C. Flexible. D. Influential.
Kiwi students have become the world’s first kids to be “taught” by a digital teacher named Will. Before you start imagining a human-like robot walking around the classroom. Will is just an avatar (化身) that appears on the student’s desktop, tablet or smartphone screen.
Auckland energy company Vector and AI company Soul Machines have worked together to model after the human brain and nervous system, allowing it to show human-like behavior. The digital teacher is now teaching primary school students about renewable energy.
Just like the humans it replaced, Will is able to instantly react to the students’ responses to the topic. He also picks up facial expressions, body language of the students. For instance, if a student smiles at Will, he smiles back. The two-way interaction(互动) not only helps capture(捕捉) the students’ attention, but also allows the program’s developers to monitor their performance, and make changes if needed.
Greg Cross, the Chief Business Officer of Soul Machines, says, “It’s well-documented that STEM teachers are in short supply in New Zealand schools. By using digital teachers, we are able to provide access to education to kids and communities that might not have access to real teachers.”
Greg believes that Will-like avatars could be a novel way to have the attention of the next generation. He says, “The program, in place since August 2018, has been a great success thus far. However, regardless of its popularity, Will is unlikely to replace human educators any time soon. For one thing, the avatar’s knowledge base is severely limited. For another, even the smartest digital avatars could never react to all the unexpected situations that educators have to deal with on a daily basis.”
1.What do we know about Will?
A. He teaches college students in the classroom.
B. He will replace human teachers in the future.
C. He can deal with unexpected issues in class.
D. He has human-like brain and nervous system.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. The human brain. B. The nervous system.
C. The digital teacher. D. The human-like robot.
3.Why did Vector and Soul Machines create Will?
A. To monitor students’ performance. B. To respond to the teacher shortage.
C. To capture students’ attention in class. D. To teach students renewable energy.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. World-first Digital Teacher. B. Future of Energy Company.
C. Development of AI Company. D. Shortage of Human Teachers.
Technology keeps students from focusing, right? One solution is ban phones and computers from the classroom. Another solution is to engage students with online tools that will help them complete assignments while still using electronic equipment. Here are some online tools to hold their attention.
Prezi
Presentations are an important part of the curriculum but let’s face it. PowerPoint isn’t terribly engaging. Prezi allows students to create presentations that are more creative and exciting than what PPT has to offer. Not only will this make the presentation-creating process more interesting for students, it will also make watching presentations more interesting as well.
Trello
Because so many students are in the habit of multitasking, a good skill to teach them is how to organize and simplify their assignments. Trello is a free and super easy-to-use tool for students to create workflow charts. Multiple students can be added to the same board; great for teamwork on projects.
Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey is a useful tool to reduce the number of tasks that students can do at the same time on their computers. They probably won’t love this one because it limits their access to certain websites so that students can focus on their tasks. Even having students turn it on for half of a period for some focuses on in-class writing time will make a difference in terms of their productivity.
White Noise
Whatever you want the students to engage in — activities, contents, assignments, etc. — they need to be able to focus, and classrooms aren’t always the easiest places to do that. White noise can not only drown out excess(过量) noise, but also help students keep more concentrated, for there is less noise when they’re concentrating.
1.What are these technology tools mainly used for?
A. Helping students stay focused on their lessons.
B. Banning electronic equipment from the classroom.
C. Improving the students’ creativity in class.
D. Discouraging too much use of online tools.
2.Which tool is suitable for teamwork?
A. White Nose. B. Cold Turkey. C. Trello. D. Prezi.
3.Why might students dislike Cold Turkey?
A. Because it is not practical for them at all.
B. Because it makes some websites inaccessible.
C. Because it greatly reduces their productivity.
D. Because it prevents them surfing the Internet.
