Life is colorful. Sometimes it’s just like potato salad; when it’s shared, it became a picnic.
With three young children to bring up, my husband John and I were very _______. "Can we go on a picnic, Mom?" my six-year-old daughter, Becky _______. "Please." I had said no so many times in _______ months, and I decided the usual Saturday morning chores could _______. To her _______, I agreed.
I prepared a few sandwiches and _______ a cooler with ice and drinks and called John _______.
My eleven-year-old twin sons loaded the cooler and the picnic basket in the trunk and off we went to spend some _______ time together as a family.
About the time I got the lunch _______ out on the table, John arrived on the ________. That was one of the happiest meals we ever shared together. The meal was full of ________. We felt a closeness that had been hidden by work and school responsibilities for so many months. John and the boys ________ rocks into the lake, Becky fed the ducks and I sat quietly at the picnic table, ________ God for blessing me with such a wonderful family.
That night as our children went to bed, I kissed their cheeks. It ________ me what a wonderful life I had. As I walked out of the room it dawned on me that even the busiest ________ could become a picnic when it’s shared with the ones you ________. Even though kids have now grown up and ________ from home, I can still remember how I felt that day while sitting at the picnic table.
Maybe today would be a good time to ________ potato salad, call all of my ________ kids, feed some hungry ducks and skipped a few rocks into the lake. Since life is like potato salad, let’s make it a ________.
1.A. patient B. old C. occupied D. poor
2.A. begged B. doubted C. asked D. wondered
3.A. coming B. recent C. following D. late
4.A. last B. approach C. relax D. wait
5.A. disappointment B. sadness C. surprise D. embarrassment
6.A. supplied B. filled C. provide D. compared
7.A. at work B. off work C. on business D. at home
8.A. unhappy B. quantity C. quality D. unfortunate
9.A. cooked B. spread C. taken D. made
10.A. scene B. sight C. view D. scenery
11.A. communication B. expectation C. hope D. laughter
12.A. missed B. took C. skipped D. left
13.A. trusting B. thanking C. praising D. praying
14.A. refreshed B. questioned C. beat D. hit
15.A. lifestyle B. time C. world D. occupation
16.A. love B. enjoy C. own D. have
17.A. left alone B. left behind C. moved away D. ran away
18.A. watch B. appreciate C. plant D. cook
19.A. handsome B. young C. mature D. grown
20.A. picnic B. salad C. life D. purpose
Voluntourism --- New Trend in Travel
Volunteering to help people in need combined with travelling to faraway places is a new trend in the travel industry. It is called voluntourism. 1. On the other side, they volunteer to help others who are not as well off as they are.
Recent statistics show that in the past few years voluntourism has been one of the fastest-growing areas of tourism. 2. They work in orphanages (孤儿院), help build schools, assist in hospitals and do farm work in developing countries. Some of them establish lasting bonds with people far away.
3. Students see it as a gap year after school; others simply want to take some time off from a job and do something else. Then there are these who are bored and merely seek adventures. 4. They think it is a cheap way of travelling and don’t really want to get involved in hard work.
Not everyone sees voluntourism in a positive way. Critics (评论家) say that if people really want to help those in need there are many opportunities in their own community to do this. 5. Travel experts also point out that in some cases voluntourists are made use of by organizations that set up the trips.
A. voluntourism has been expanded into many countries.
B. There are many reasons why people engage in voluntourism.
C. However, many voluntourists do not see volunteering as what it is.
D. Besides, volunteers are often not skilled enough in the tasks that they do.
E. More than 1.6 million people around the world are volunteers in other countries.
F. Standard development programs are often sponsored by international organizations.
G. People travel to other places, learn languages and other cultures and gain new experiences.
Do women make BETTER astronauts? Russia locks an all-female crew in space simulator (太空模拟器) for eight days to find out. Six Russian women have been sent into a spaceship to begin a unique experiment testing how an all- female crew would relate to others on a trip to the Moon and back.
“It’s interesting for us to see what is special about the way a female crew communicates,” said Sergei Ponomaryov, the experiment’s leader. “it will be particularly interesting in terms of psychology,” said the institute’s director Igor Ushakov. “I’d like to wish you a lack of conflicts, even though they say that in one kitchen, two housewives find it hard to live together,” he added.
The volunteers include scientific researchers, a doctor and a psychologist. The test period simulates (模仿) a flight to the Moon and back, with the women carrying out 10 experiments covering psychology and human biology. Russia sent the first woman into space, Valentina Tereshkova, in 1963 but has fallen behind since. Last year, it sent its fourth female astronaut into space, Yelena Serova. Serava complained of a great deal of media interest in how she would wash her hair aboard the International Space Station, pointing out that male astronauts did not face the same line of questioning.
The women found themselves fielding questions at a press conference about how they would act without men or makeup for eight days, “We are very beautiful without makeup,” said participant Darya Komissarova. Her colleague Anna Kussmaul was more direct: “We are doing work. When you’re doing your work, you don’t think about men and women.” They plan to spend their 11/2 hours per day of free time watching films, reading and playing board games. Team leader Yelena Luchnitskaya said she expected the women to deal with any conflict.
1.In which column can you find this passage on a website?
A. Education. B. Entertainment.
C. Science. D. Economy.
2.What’s the purpose of the experiment?
A. To show that women can do better than men.
B. To test whether women can be good astronauts.
C. To gather information about the conditions in space.
D. To measure the distance from the earth to the moon.
3.What do we know from what Igor Ushakov said?
A. Women can not live peacefully in space at all.
B. There may be conflicts among the women astronauts.
C. The female crew will deal with each other in a new way.
D. Being in the same kitchen helps the women live together.
4.Which of the following was once sent into space?
A. Sergei Ponomarev. B. Darya Komissarova.
C. Anna Kussmaul. D. Valentina Tereshkova.
The theatre in Shakespeare’s time was much different than it is today. Authors wrote plays for the masses, especially those who couldn’t read or write.
The theatre changed a lot during Shakespeare’s lifetime. The authorities didn’t like it and didn’t allow acting in the city itself: They thought it had a bad influence on people and kept them from going to church. Queen Elizabeth, on the other hand, loved acting and helped the theatre become popular.
The theatre in Shakespeare’s time was full of life. People did not sit all the time and it was not quiet during the performance. The audience could walk around, eat and drink during the play.
Theaters were open arenas or playhouses that had room for up to three thousand people. There was almost no scenery because the dialogue was the most important part of the play. Colourful and well-designed costumes were very important and told the people about the status of a character. Women never performed in plays, 80 young boys played female characters. The performances took place in the afternoon because it was too dark at night.
There was no stage crew as there is today. Actors had to do everything themselves-from making costumes to setting the stage. Plays were organized by acting companies. They performed about 6 different plays each week because they needed money to survive. They had almost no time to rehearse (排练).
The companies in Shakespeare’s time had a rank system. The company belonged to shareholders and managers. They were responsible for everything and got most of the money when the company was successful. Sometimes they even owned their own buildings. Actors worked for the managers and after some time became a permanent member of the company. Apprentices (学徒) were young boys and were allowed to act in unimportant role. They also played female characters in plays.
1.Why was the theatre banned by the authorities?
A. It was much different than before.
B. They thought it affected people negatively.
C. They thought it kept people going to church.
D. The queen didn’t like it.
2.What does the underlined word “arenas” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. Stages. B. Stores.
C. Companies. D. Playgrounds.
3.What do we know about then actors?
A. They could drink during the play.
B. Women had to cross-dress male characters.
C. They had stage crew to help them.
D. They were too busy to practice.
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A. To remember Shakespeare.
B. To show his love of Shakespeare’s plays.
C. To introduce theaters in Shakespeare’s time.
D. To discuss the company’s rank system.
When Katie Stagliano was 9 years old, she was given a class project to grow her first cabbage from just one seed. She took it home and planted it in her home garden. It didn’t even take her long to come up and begin to grow. But as friends came over, they pointed out that it was bigger than any of theirs. And it grew so much that the cabbage ended up weighing 40 pounds! Katie then decided that she could use this cabbage to do something nice for the community. So she took the huge cabbage to a local soup kitchen, where they used it, and cooked it with ham and rice. And because of her cabbage, 275 people were fed.
She began to realize that gardening and helping people is what she likes to do most. So, she decided to start her first garden on a plot of land donated by her school.
“I think if more kids get to experience gardening they would find out how cool it is and how many people can be fed if you donate your produce,” said Katie. Now, just 9 years later, Katie is 18 years old, and has set up her own business called “Katie’s Krops” with the help of her family friends.
But this doesn’t even come close to the other amazing part. She has raised over 200,000 dollars! And there are over 100 Katie’s Krops within 33 states in the United States. She loves gardening and loves inspiring other children to experience the joy of gardening as well. As of today, her first garden is still doing amazing and is even responsible for supplying over 3,000 pounds of produce donated to local charities. Her goal now? To get 500 gardens across all 50 states.
1.How did Katie deal with her first cabbage?
A. sharing it with her community.
B. Presenting it to the school kitchen.
C. Eating it with her family.
D. Giving it to her friends.
2.What inspired Katie to help others by gardening?
A. The support from her school.
B. The gardening and sharing experience.
C. The encouragement of community.
D. The admiration of her friends.
3.Why does Katie suggest more children learn to garden?
A. She thinks gardening is cool.
B. She needs more people to help her.
C. She hopes to earn more money.
D. She wants them to experience the joy.
4.What is the last paragraph mainly about?
A. The brief introduction of Katie’s Krops.
B. The amazing benefits of gardening.
C. Katie's achievement and future aim.
D. The joy of gardening and donation.
Essentials of Nutrition --- Good nutrition VS malnutrition (营养不良)
Author: Joel Bressler
Price: $29. 99
Essentials of Nutrition touches important health topics such as: the positive and negative aspects of nutrition; the importance of exercise; the necessity of vitamins, minerals, and water. It also advises how doctors and educators will improve our health in the future.
Preserve the Best and Conserve the Rest---Memoirs (回忆录) of a US Forest Service Wildlife Biologist
Author: Hadley B. Roberts
Price: $19.99
Preserve the Best and Conserve the Rest covers US Forest Service wildlife biologist Hadley B. Roberts’ half-century career in wildlife and fish habitat conservation and preservation. It includes his accomplishment, motives and influences behind his actions.
Poodle (贵宾犬) Mistress ---The Autobiographical Story of Life with Nine Toy Poodle
Author: Sandi Latimer
Price: $22.99
Poodle Mistress is a story of unconditional love and devotion about nine dogs that changed author Sandi Latimer’ s life. Her memoir (回忆录) details a twenty-seven-year journey as she and her husband cared for and enjoyed the funny behaviors of their toy poodles.
A Professor and CEO True Story---A Fascinating Journey to Success
Author: Richard T. Cheng
Price: $13.95
In A Professor and CEO True Story, Richard T Cheng shares how he overcame great odds and transformed from a struggling immigrant to million-dollar CEO and esteemed professor. This is a powerful and inspiring story of success and survival.
1.Which book is about wildlife protection?
A. Preserve the Best and Conserve the Rest.
B. Essentials of Nutrition.
C. Poodle Mistress.
D. A Professor and CEO True Story.
2.Who probably enjoys reading Poodle Mistress?
A. Those who are looking for success.
B. Those who fight for animal rights.
C. Those who are interested in natural world.
D. Those who are pet lovers.
3.What is the cheapest book mainly about?
A. A story of life with poodles.
B. Important health topics.
C. An inspiring journey to success.
D. Memoirs of a wildlife biologist.
