Johnny and I lived in a small neighborhood in 1955. We had bought our two young sons two ______ for Christmas and Johnny would assemble them on Christmas Eve.
But on Christmas Eve day, Johnny ______ to go to Brookley Air Force Base in Mobile to repair a jet. I had my hands ______ with flour, preparing for Christmas dinner and ______ two energetic boys.
I was making the chocolate cake when a(n) ______ knocked on the door. It was Beatrice who was the ______ person on our road with a telephone. The base had ______ to say that a heavy torque wrench (扭矩扳手) had come apart in Johnny’s hand, making the hone ______ . My sister-in-law Ruth and her husband, Otto, took me to the ______ while my mother-in-law stayed with the children.
We got there only to ______ Johnny with a cast on his arm, eager to get home although the doctor required that he ______. It was Christmas Eve, Johnny ______, and he had bikes to assemble for his boys. The doctor said he’d consider ______ him the next morning if Johnny could find someone to drive him home.
On Christmas morning, Johnny tried calling the motor pool (车辆调配所). They said ______ must come from higher up, so Johnny ______ making calls. ______, a big blue car rolled up to the hospital asking for the man who needed a ______ home.
Johnny’s mother and I were putting dinner on the table when we heard the car. We were ______ to see Johnny. With Otto’s help, Johnny assembled the boys’ gifts.
That cold Christmas Day, our hearts were full of ______ for those who had gone the extra mile to bring us ______ on the holiday.
1.A. cars B. bicycles C. phones D. toys
2.A. asked B. refused C. had D. used
3.A. full B. decorated C. related D. familiar
4.A. searching for B. playing with C. worrying about D. looking after
5.A. stranger B. engineer C. operator D. neighbor
6.A. last B. right C. only D. first
7.A. paused B. called C. decided D. intended
8.A. broken B. dirty C. ugly D. abandoned
9.A. base B. hospital C. destination D. station
10.A. find B. supply C. assist D. equip
11.A. leave B. rest C. stay D. relax
12.A. believed B. imagined C. expected D. argued
13.A. admiring B. dismissing C. rewarding D. assessing
14.A. ideas B. demands C. orders D. policies
15.A. started B. tried C. kept D. stopped
16.A. Suddenly B. Finally C. Instantly D. Gradually
17.A. lift B. recipe C. trip D. voyage
18.A. thrilled B. embarrassed C. motivated D. terrified
19.A. generosity B. consideration C. kindness D. appreciation
20.A. close B. apart C. around D. together
We automatically assume that as adults, we’re wiser than when we were children. However, actually we can learn a lot from our childhood self. For example, we can learn to develop optimism about the future. Do you remember how excited you used to be just before Christmas? 1. Reintroduce that childlike wonder into our daily experiences.
We can learn to dream big and imagine the impossible. How often have you heard a child say something like “One day, I’m going to be an astronaut”? Our adult minds immediately laugh at this idea and think about all the logical reasons as to why this might never happen. 2. We minimize our chances of attaining what we dream about. It is okay to dream big just as our childhood self did.
3. Our childhood self looked at possibilities and believed we could achieve them successfully. If we wanted to build a tree house, we’d go about thinking about how to make it happen instead of focusing on all the reasons it might not happen. In this way we can fill our life with possibilities rather than regrets.
We can learn to be playful and silly sometimes, 4. Children spend a large amount of time escaping from reality to mess about and have fun. Make time for your childhood self to come out and play. Run around the garden, wear a silly hat or spend time laughing. 5..
A. Don’t imagine things could go wrong.
B. We can learn to hold a “can do” attitude.
C. That feeling of great joy is hard to beat.
D. Most children tend to think in a positive way.
E. All of these activities can make us feel happy and alive.
F. We employ self-limiting beliefs without even realizing it.
G. All work and no play makes a person very dull and upset.
In this Pennsylvania city, Pittsburgh is shrinking but getting wealthier. Since 2000, its population has declined by 95,000 while its income per capita (人均) has shot up 24 percent. The trend is taking hold in many other cities, like Buffalo in New York, Providence in Rhode Island and New Orleans.
Some of these areas have created more high-paying jobs in energy, health care or education. Others have managed to reshape their manufacturing (制造业) for a new economy. Higher-paying jobs have a greater effect because they create demand for additional services. “The story in Pittsburgh is very positive, and other areas are looking at it as an example of the transformation that might be possible,” said Guhan Venkatu, who wrote an economic history of the area called “Rust and Renewal” for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have helped bring tech jobs and innovation (革新) to the area by sponsoring tech centers that help graduates start companies without moving to Silicon Valley or San Francisco. This has helped keep Pittsburgh’s educated young population growing even as the entire population in the city has dropped.
Pittsburgh has more STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) jobs than other shrinking cities, about 80,000 or 7% of all jobs. STEM jobs add productivity and income growth to the area. Manufacturers of high-tech medical equipment in the Pittsburgh area also have doubled employment in the last 10 years.
However, some experts question whether growing income per capita can really make up for a declining population. According to Patrick Adler, a researcher at the University of Toronto, population loss does matter if it means lower-skilled workers have fled because of a lack of opportunity. What’s more, high-paying jobs in education and health care can disappear if the population declines too greatly. So it’d be wise to find ways to increase the population.
1.In what aspect does Pittsburgh set a good example?
A. Transforming new energy. B. Creating more well-paid jobs.
C. Prohibiting the manufacturing. D. Sponsoring higher education.
2.How do some academic institutions help with the local economy?
A. By helping to attract more talents from other areas.
B. By providing much technical support to local companies.
C. By successfully keeping educated youths working locally.
D. By assisting in employing a large number of educated youths.
3.Why is Patrick Adler mentioned in the last paragraph?
A. To show the disadvantage of a declining population.
B. To give a suggestion about increasing population.
C. To raise doubts about growing income per capita.
D. To tell a reason why lower-skilled workers flee.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. How Fast Job Growth Is Related to Population Growth
B. How Less-crowded Cities Plan Their High-tech Economy
C. Why Some Cities are Losing People but Getting Wealthier
D. Why Some Cities are Suffering From a Shrinking Population
Dolphins, African gray parrots and some other animals understand the idea of “zero,” but researchers were surprised to find that honeybees also comprehend this abstract concept, considering the insects’ tiny brains, according to a new study. Honeybees have fewer than one million neurons (神经元), compared with the 86 billion neurons in humans—and yet, they grasp a concept that humans, by some measures, don’t start to understand before preschool.
The researchers set up two cards, each of which had a set of symbols on them, like triangles or circles. Then, they trained a group of the bees to fly to the card with the lower number of symbols. The bees quickly learned what the humans wanted them to do to get their delicious, sweet rewards. The trained bees were then shown a card that was empty and one that had symbols on it. There is no need for the bees to be trained to fly more often to the empty card—thus showing that they understood that “zero” was a number less than the others.
Although they flew more often to an empty card than to one that had one symbol on it, it became easier for them to distinguish when the symbols on the card increased in number. For example, they more often flew to the zero when the other card had four symbols than when it had one.
Perhaps these findings will explain the brain mechanism (机制) behind what allows us to understand the concept of “nothing,” Adrian Dyer, a researcher said. This understanding, in turn, could help in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) that also understands this concept. “If bees can understand ‘zero’ with a brain of less than a million neurons, it suggests there are simple, efficient ways to teach AI new tricks,” Dyer said in the statement.
1.What is a surprising finding for the researchers?
A. Many animals also comprehend the meaning of “zero”.
B. The number of neurons of honeybees is much smaller.
C. Honeybees can understand “zero” with their tiny brains.
D. Humans fail to recognize abstract ideas before preschool.
2.What can the bees do without further training?
A. Fly directly to the card with more symbols on it.
B. Fly less often to the card with fewer symbols on it.
C. Fly quite slowly to the card without anything on it.
D. Fly more often to the card without any symbol on it.
3.What does Adrian Dyer say about these findings?
A. They offer inspiration to the development of technology.
B. They enable people to understand more abstract concepts.
C. They suggest ways to teach humans some complex tricks.
D. They allow people to set a new type of brain mechanism.
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A. Honeybees know about the concept of “zero”.
B. Honeybees can understand much as humans do.
C. Honeybees will help to improve AI in the future.
D. Honeybees can be trained to comprehend “zero”.
The morning after an evening struggle to care for my three-year-old daughter, I couldn’t wait to get her to school. I, as a mother, was tired from the anger and her inability to communicate because of her slowed language development.
As I accompanied her into the car, I felt desperate. Nothing was right with our world. She’d been born around the same time when the nation was witnessing the birth of another Great Recession. My job and my house had been victims. Then this happened. My child’s language delay was identified, but doctors struggled to properly help her, I felt like we both needed to he rescued.
I returned that afternoon as disenchanted with the little girl 1 loved as when 1 left. Walking slowly toward the school’s playground gate, I found her preschool teacher racing to greet me.
“You should have seen her today!” His breathy words were supported by excitement. I didn’t interrupt. “See that climber. ” He pointed to a wooden piece of playground equipment that looked like a rock wall. I nodded. “Well, every day since she started school, she’s tried and failed to make it to the top. ” He took a breath. “And today she did it!”
He expressed his joy just as he’d witnessed her conquering Mount Everest! “She cheered and celebrated! I wish I’d recorded it!” His words comforted me. My daughter had conquered her mountain.
As she ran toward me, I recognized something I hadn’t before. I saw her perseverance(毅力). I saw her strength. I saw a Hero.
Everyday greatness celebrates ordinary people who do unusual things in big and small ways, showing courage, kindness, love and selflessness. We encourage you to click these brief accounts and invite you to share your own story.
1.Why did the author rush her daughter to school?
A. She was busy with her work as a doctor.
B. She had a fight with her daughter last night.
C. She broke down when dealing with her daughter.
D. She had to sell their house due to Great Recession.
2.Which of the following best explains “disenchanted” underlined in paragraph 3?
A. Happy. B. Concerned.
C. Careful. D. Disappointed.
3.Why did the little girl’s preschool teacher feel excited?
A. She succeeded in standing on Mount Everest.
B. She managed to climb up the wooden equipment.
C. She got the first place in the school sports meet.
D. She began to communicate with others normally.
4.From which is the text most probably taken?
A. The radio. B. A magazine.
C. A newspaper. D. The Internet.
LEADING INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS 2019
●Jerudong International School(JIS) , Brunei
“Achieving Excellence” is the motto of JIS, Brunei. A developing boarding school of 1,700 students, 40% Bruneian, JIS has made itself a leading school in Asia. With almost 200 highly qualified teachers primarily from the UK, the 120-acre single campus (校园) close to both coast and rainforest offers a unique educational environment. There is a Performing Arts Centre, 27 science laboratories, libraries and classrooms.
●The American International School (AIS), Austria
Founded in 1959, AIS is the oldest English-language school in Austria. School programs focus on academics, but also on the development of students’ creative and leadership abilities and emotional intelligence. The school recognizes students’ special learning styles, trying to make instruction different and allowing students to reach their full potential in different areas.
●Singapore American School (SAS), Singapore
Founded in 1956, it is one of only a few good non-profit schools in Singapore. For over six decades, SAS has provided students from preschool to Grade 12 a good American education with an international view. The school supports professional development financially and continually sends teachers across the globe to discover new ideas and best practices from influential educational institutions.
●Santa Clara International School (SCIS), Spain -
In the school, when you walk into a classroom, you’ll see hands raised, small groups assembled (集合), and presentations underway. You’ll find teachers creating cooperative partnerships with students, encouraging them to discover and connect. You’ll observe children working on meaningful hands-on projects that build skills and excite creativity. The teaching philosophy is that learning happens everywhere: in the classrooms, in the city, in a museum, on a farm, or just a walk around the neighborhood.
1.How can students benefit from attending AIS?
A. They are exposed to the beauty of vast rainforests.
B. They are made leaders with emotional intelligence.
C. They are always sent abroad to discover new ideas.
D. They are encouraged to develop their possibilities.
2.Which school attaches importance to teachers’ development?
A. JIS. B. SAS. C. AIS. D. SCIS.
3.What makes SCIS different from the other schools?
A. Its special teaching methods. B. Its various practical courses.
C. Its large and beautiful campus. D. Its oldest history and buildings.
