Spreading smiles at Birchwood
When Ava McCarver was in kindergarten, her class visited a nursing home (疗养院). Ava learned that many of the residents (住户) there receive few visitors. 1.“I asked my mom if I could visit them,” she says. Soon, Ava and her mom became volunteers at Birchwood Health Care Center.
That was six years ago. 2.She enjoys hanging out with Mary, Shirley and other residents during her twice-monthly visits. “I paint their nails, and I talk to a lot of them,” she says. Sometimes she helps lead craft (手工艺) projects. Other times they play card games. “It’s good for the residents to see little kids,” Ava says. “That makes them really happy.”
3.She has raised money for the nursing home by making refrigerator decorations and selling them at a craft fair. She has also collected used puzzles from garage sales and donated them to Birchwood.
Ava wrote a book called The Squirrel Family. In the book, two squirrels raise a family and eventually move into a place called Birchwood where they live happily.4.Ten stores in her city agreed to display the books, along with a can to collect money. Ava’s project raised about $750. Birchwood used that money to buy furniture for the residents.
Ava says she enjoyed the look of “pure joy” on a resident’s face after a hug from her. That’s why she started visiting Birchwood — to bring happiness to others.5.“It’s really fun,” she says. “They have good stories, and I enjoy my time there.”
A. She decided to take action.
B. But she has gained happiness for herself, too.
C. Since then, Ava has made many friends at Birchwood.
D. Ava used her book to raise money for the nursing home.
E. Birchwood needs more volunteers for its craft project.
F. Ava has found some creative ways to help her friends at Birchwood.
G. Ava’s book has achieved a great success and earned a large amount of money for her.
Blue Planet II’s latest episode focuses on how plastic is having a disastrous effect on the ocean and slowly poisoning our sea creatures. Researchers recently also found that sea creatures living in the deepest place on Earth, the Mariana Trench, have plastic in their stomachs. Indeed, the oceans are drowning in plastic.
Though it seems now that the world couldn’t possibly function without plastics, consumer plastics are a remarkably recent invention. The first plastic bags were introduced in the 1950s; the same decade that plastic packaging began gaining in popularity in the United States. This growth has happened so fast that science is still catching up with the change. Plastics pollution research, for instance, is still a very early science.
We put all these plastics into the environment and we still don’t really know what the outcomes are going to be. What we do know, though, is disturbing. Ocean plastic is estimated to kill millions of marine animals every year. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by it. One in three leatherback turtles, which often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, have been found with plastic in their bellies. Ninety percent of seabirds are now eating plastics on a regular basis. By 2050, that figure is expected to rise to 100 percent.
And it’s not just wildlife that is threatened by the plastics in our seas. Humans are consuming plastics through the seafood we eat. I could understand why some people see ocean plastic as a disaster, worth mentioning to the same degree as climate change. But ocean plastic is not as complicated as climate change. There are no ocean trash deniers (否认者), at least so far. To do something about it, we don’t have to remake our planet energy system.
This is not a problem where we don’t know what the solution is. We know how to pick up garbage. Anyone can do it. We know how to dispose (处理) of it. We know how to recycle. We can all start by thinking twice before we use single-use plastic products. Things that may seem ordinary, like using a reusable bottle or a reusable bag----when taken collectively, these choices really do make a difference.
1.Why is plastics pollution research still a very early science?
A. The plastics pollution research is too difficult.
B. Plastics have produced less pollution than coal.
C. The world couldn’t possibly function without plastics.
D. Plastics have gained in popularity too fast for science to catch up.
2.How did the author support his opinion in Paragraph 3?
A. By statistics.
B. By quotations from leading experts.
C. By using examples from his own experience.
D. By comparison and contrast.
3.What can we infer about climate change?
A. Climate change is caused by human activities.
B. Some people hold some doubts about climate change.
C. Climate change is less important than ocean pollution.
D. Ocean plastic is more complicated than climate change.
4.What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Ocean plastic is a global issue.
B. The oceans become choked with plastic.
C. Blue Planet II has left viewers heartbroken.
D. Plastics gain in popularity all over the world
Finland is the happiest place on Earth, according to the 2018 World Happiness Report of 156 nations.
The report, released Wednesday by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network, ranks the countries of the world based on six different categories of well-being: income, freedom, trust, life expectancy, generosity and social support. This year's report also pays special attention to the happiness of each country’s immigrants.
The U.S. dropped four spots from 2017 and landed in 18th place, and last year’s winner, Norway, came in second place — followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland.
“The top five countries all have almost equally high values for the six factors found to support happiness, and four of these countries—Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and now Finland — have been in first place in the six World Happiness Report rankings since the first report" in 2012, ”co-editor John Helliwell told CNN. “In a division with such excellent teams, changes in the top spot are to be expected."
Rounding out the top 10 happiest countries was Canada in sixth place, then New Zealand, Sweden and Australia. The order of the top 10 nations changed from the 2017 list but the countries did not, according to the report. They were also 10 of the 11 top spots in the immigrant happiness category (including Mexico — 24th overall, but 10th in immigration).
“The most striking finding of the report is the remarkable consistency between the happiness of immigrants and the locally born,” Helliwell said in a statement. “Although immigrants come from countries with very different levels of happiness, their reported life evaluations resemble those of other residents in their new countries. Those who move to happier countries gain, while those who move to less happy countries lose.”
Other major world powers placed in significantly low spots on the list. Germany came in 15th, the UK was 19th — followed by Japan in 54th place, Russia in 59th and China in 86th.
The report, based on surveys completed by citizen volunteers, came just under a week before World Happiness Day on March 20, when the UN declared to recognize “the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives”
1.The US ranked ______ in 2017.
A. 14 B. 10
C. 18 D. 22
2.What is the most significant finding of the report?
A. That immigrants are different from residents in the country.
B. That immigrants come from countries with different levels of happiness.
C. That immigrants become happy when they leave the country.
D. That immigrants and locals feel the similar level of happiness.
3.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A. Happiness is no less important than any other aspect in life.
B. People’s happiness and well-being should be considered when it comes to policy-making.
C. The happiness report came under a week before World Happiness Day.
D. What the UN declared was beneficial to all human beings.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. World Happiness Day. B. Happiness — forever pursuit.
C. What's your happiness index(指数)? D. The 2018 World Happiness Report.
I can proudly say that last year I broke the record for the oldest person in the world to ride a roller-coaster. I’m 105, but I feel younger. Even the doctor agrees I’m in good condition. I’m a bit deaf and my legs feel weak, but they are the only issue.
I rode the Twistosaurus at Flamingo Land, which spins you round quite fast. I didn’t choose to go on that. I’d have preferred a really fast one that went upside down. But I was told I couldn’t ride something like that, because my blood pressure could drop and I might have some danger.
I wasn’t nervous — I don’t get frightened of anything. I was securely fastened, so I knew I wouldn’t fall out. The roller-coaster ride went on for three or four minutes, and it couldn’t be a better experience. And I raised a lot of money for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance fund, which was fantastic.
People were saying I’d got a place in the Guinness World Records. Later, someone came to present me with the certificate. I had it on the wall in my living room, with another one that got a year earlier.
My record-breaking ways really began a couple of years ago, with the ice-bucket challenge. It turned out that I was probably the oldest person in the world to do it, and the video was very popular. After that, I started to think about what else I could do to raise money for different charities.
I’m not sure if anyone admires all the fun I’m having. They just say I’m daft and that’s about it. But I’ve had many good days and many exciting times. I’ve had a really good life. I don’t think I’ve wasted any of it.
1.Why didn’t the author choose to go on riding the Twistosaurus?
A. Because he was in a bad physical condition.
B. Because he was told not to do so.
C. Because he considered it too gentle.
D. Because he thought it spun too fast.
2.How did the author most probably react while riding the roller-coaster?
A. He really enjoyed himself. B. He was very worried at first.
C. He couldn’t think much about it. D. He got frightened as it started moving.
3.What do you know about the author from Paragraph 4?
A. He was the oldest person in the world. B. He set a record the year before last year.
C. He disliked showing off his success. D. He was eager to get certificates.
4.What does the underlined word “daft” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A. healthy. B. strong.
C. crazy. D. funny.
Whether it’s music, art, stage, screen, restaurant and bar deals, or the great outdoors – there’s always something interesting going on in Hong Kong
Tim Yip: Blue – Art, Costumes and Memory
What: A well-known visual artist, costume designer, and art director for stage and film (particularly on his work for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which he won an Oscar), Tim Yip has been a proud promoter of Eastern aestheticism(唯美主义)for 30 years. For his first large-scale solo exhibition in Hong Kong, Yip explores the nature of human imagination and the depths of the subconscious mind. Organized by Mark Holborn, the exhibition is expected to be praised due to Yip’s vision of “New Orientalism”.
Where: HKDI Gallery, Hong Kong Design Institute, 3 King Ling Road, Tiu Keng Leng, Tseung Kwan O
When: Until March 31, 2019
Alice’s Adventure at Starlight Garden
What: Introduced last year, this exhibition became a huge hit, with more than 6,000 photos and videos posted online every day. Created by 27 multimedia digital artists from Korea, the exhibition features a 30-foot rabbit hole for visitors to explore the fantasy world made famous in the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This Christmas, New Town Plaza delivers a brand-new interactive digital version of the literary work. In particular, check out the seventh floor, with its bright lighting, glittering mirrors and rose-shaped decorations.
Where: New Town Plaza, 18 Sha Tin Centre Street, Sha Tin
When: Until January 13, 2019
We Travel in Our Minds
What: This exhibition of sculpture aims to present ideas of theatricality, the fantastical, travel and exchange, with figures that take the forms of humans and animals. Made by artist Ethan Murrow, a professor at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, these dream-like objects are inspired by puppetry (木偶戏), music, trade, navigation and beyond, with mixed effects of materiality, sound and imagination.
Where: Duddell’s, Level 3, Shanghai Tang Mansion, 1 Duddell Street, Central
When: Until March 10, 2019
1.Which person mentioned in the passage has ever won a famous film award?
A. Ethan Murrow. B. Tim Yip.
C. Mark Holborn. D. Alice Green.
2.What can be learned from the passage?
A. Tim Yip, a well-known visual artist, is devoted to promoting western arts.
B. Alice’s Adventure at Starlight Garden was not greeted with viewers’ approval.
C. Humans and animals sculptures are displayed in We Travel in Our Minds.
D. The exhibition in New Town Plaza explores the depths of the subconscious mind.
3.What is the purpose of the passage?
A. To introduce interesting exhibitions in Hong Kong.
B. To encourage people to go outdoors.
C. To advertise some nice bars in Hong Kong.
D. To attract visitors to go shopping.
假定你是李华，你的好友Jim在暑假期间痴迷于微信朋友圈，经常发照片分享生活中的所有细节，请根据以下要点提示，给Jim写一封信：
（1）对分享行为表示理解； （2）阐述过度分享的危害； （3）提出建议．
注意：1． 词数100左右．2． 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯．3．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数．
（参考词汇：微信朋友圈 WeChat circle； 过度分享 overshare）
Dear Jim，
I'm worried that you've been addicted to sharing all sorts of photos in WeChat circle recently．
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Yours，
Li Hua
