Five years ago, my wife said she'd found us a tiny but adorable house. It was close to the historic Abbot Kinney. However, there was a bus depot(公共汽车停车场)across the street. Hundreds of buses noisily parked there every night and noisily left every morning. It was awful.
But I was determined to make the best of it. “It is noisy, but it offers us a good way to think about what is required to make a city work, "I kept telling our 6-year-old daughter.
Then one morning, I woke up to find that the buses were gone! I allowed myself to get excited. My daughter, however, was unhappy. It took me a minute to understand:she had got used to the idea of us having a role in city life.
Shortly afterward, a homeless encampment(临时营地)was built there. Then I found out what was planned for the bus depot-a place to deal with the homeless.
When I told my daughter about the“bridge housing", a big smile spread across her face. Her first reaction wasn't fear or selfishness. She understood instantly how special it was that the bus depot would become a place for people who needed just that to live.
What story about city life could I tell her then?I tried to keep fruit in the car so that at traffic lights, we could hand out a banana or an apple. When a woman put up a tent on the sidewalk in front of our stairs, I filled all her water bottles.
Now we have a couple hundred new neighbours, and I'll be telling anyone who will listen what an honour it is to live among the homeless. Without my daughter, I might not have come to the same conclusion.
1.What was wrong with the author's new house at the beginning?
A.It was too small for family use.
B.There was too much noise around.
C.It was too close to a tourist attraction.
D.There were too many neighbours around.
2.Why was the author's daughter unhappy when she found the buses were gone?
A.She thought she lost the role in city life.
B.She didn't like the idea of bridge housing.
C.She had been used to the presence of buses.
D.She couldn't go out of town without the buses.
3.What was the author's purpose of keeping fruit in his car?
A.To meet his family's needs.
B.To make his daughter happy.
C.To help the homeless when possible.
D.To thank those who had helped them.
Smart Home Products for Living a Connected Life
What makes something a smart home product? Generally, it’s defined by its ability to connect to a Wi-Fi network, allowing users to interact(互动)with it from their smartphones.We’ve rounded up some cool, diverse offerings that you’ll love to have in your home.
Nest Cam IQ
walmart.com
$299.00
The Nest Cam IQ is a beautifully designed home security camera that can recognize faces. It can warn you if there’s a stranger in your home. The device also supports two-way communication via built-in microphones and a powerful speaker.
Logitech Harmony Elite
amazon.com
$249.99
The Logitech Harmony Elite is one of the best universal remote controls available on the market. It can control just about every piece of electronics you own(it supports over 270,000 devices!)in every room of your house or apartment, including TVs,streaming devices, and sound systems.
Apple HomePod
bhphotovideo.com
$349.00
The Apple HomePod has better audio quality than any other smart speaker available today. Available in white or space gray, the Siri-powered device also allows you to control a number of devices with your voice.
August Smart Lock Pro
amazon.com
$279.99
The August Smart Lock Pro is compatible(兼容的)with most locks. A mobile app allows you to manage access to the lock, check its usage history, and get informed when someone opens the door. You can control it and check on the state of your door with voice commands.
1.What can the Nest Cam IQ help you do?
A.Properly use your smartphone camera
B.Control electronics with your voice.
C.Check the locks of your house.
D.Keep your home safe.
2.Which device can help you operate almost all your electronic equipment remotely?
A.Nest Cam IQ.
B.Apple HomePod.
C.August Smart Lock Pro.
D.Logitech Harmony Elite.
3.Which column of a website is the text most probably taken from?
A.Technology.
B.News.
C.Society.
D.Education.
假如你是王可,最近你的美国笔友Steven写信告诉你虽然学得很刻苦,汉语考试还是通不过,因此情绪很低落,请你就此给他写一封信,内容要点如下:
1、说明情况表示理解并给与安慰;
(1)自信很重要,要相信自己;
2、提出解决问题的办法:
(2)只有掌握正确的学习方法才能取得成功;
(3)勇敢地面对困难。
3、表达良好的祝愿。
注意:1、可以适当发挥,以使行文连贯;
2、词数100左右。自信self-confidence
Dear Steven__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours
Wang Ke
阅读下面一段材料,在空白处填入一个适当的内容(不多于3个单词)或使用括号中词语的正确形式。
There are various kinds of theme parks, 1.a different park for almost everything. Disney Land can2.(find) in several parts of the world. It will bring you into a magical world and make your dreams come true,3.you are travelling through space, 4.(visit) a pirate ship or meeting your favourite fairy tale. Dollywood is5.of the most unique theme parks in the world. Although Dollywood has 6.(ride), the park’s main attraction is7.culture. England’s Camelot Park is a theme park8.you can experience the ancient clays and great deeds of English knights and ladies. Every area of the park is modeled9.life in the days of King Arthur. So whichever and 10.(what) you like, there is a theme park for you.
完形填空(共20小题;
阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡将该项涂黑。
Lang Lang is a world-class young pianist who grew up in Shenyang.He went to a piano school in Beijing when he was just eight.“You need_______,”his father said.“But if you don’t work hard,no fortune will come.”
What made him sad was_______his piano teacher in Beijing didn’t like him.“You have no talent(天赋).You will never be a pianist.”___________________________He decided that he didn’t want to be a_______any more.For the next two weeks he didn’t touch the piano_______,his father didn’t push,but waited.
Luckily,the day came when his teacher asked him to_______some holiday songs.He didn’t want to,but as he placed his fingers on the piano keys,he_______that he could show others that he had talent_______That day he told his father_______he had been waiting to hear—that he wanted to study with a new teacher________that point on,everything turned around.
He started________competitions(比赛).In the 1994 International Young Pianists Competition,when it was________that Lang Lang had won,he was too________to hold back his tears.Soon________was clear that he couldn’t stay in China forever—he had to play on the world’s big________In 1997 Lang Lang________again,this time to Philadelphia,U.S.There he spent two years practising,and by 1999 he had worked hard enough for fortune to take over.After his________performance at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival,gigs(特邀演出) in Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall started______________________________________发现) him,and lets him________
1.A.exercise B.fortune C.knowledge D.wealth
2.A.whether B.why C.when D.that
3.A.Like B.With C.To D.As
4.A.hurt B.weakened C.ruined D.frightened
5.A.singer B.pianist C.conductor D.player
6.A.Hopefully B.Patiently C.Wisely D.Painfully
7.A.play B.sing C.write D.study
8.A.seemed B.admitted C.noticed D.realized
9.A.in all B.above all C.after all D.at all
10.A.that B.what C.which D.when
11.A.From B.At C.Since D.After
12.A.receiving B.accepting C.winning D.beating
13.A.told B.mentioned C.announced D.recognized
14.A.excited B.encouraged C.shocked D.satisfied
15.A.this B.it C.that D.what
16.A.concerts B.tours C.competitions D.stages
17.A.started B.left C.moved D.performed
18.A.successful B.cheerful C.respectful D.meaningful
19.A.pulling B.breaking C.falling D.pouring
20.A.brign B.shine C.admire D.develop
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项,选项中有两项为多余选项。(如果所用的答题卡没有E、F、G选项,则选E涂A、B,选F涂A、C,选G涂A、D。)
1.The answer is that the government needs money for many things, for example to pay its army, to build public facilities and to buy goods from abroad, and only the people of the country can supply the money.
2.That is, a person pays according to the amount of his income. Whether he is a merchant, a doctor, a lawyer, a shopkeeper, a miner, or anything else, he must pay tax if his income is more than a certain amount. This is called a “direct” tax, because it is paid in money direct to the government.
Another tax is paid on goods such as watches, jewelry, tobacco, wine, etc. When they are brought into a country, such a tax is paid as part of the price of these goods if they are later sold in shops.3.
People usually complain about having to pay taxes, but they forget that the money is spent on things that they and their families need. We need policemen to catch thieves, and they must be paid what they earn; children need education and there must be schools and teachers; we want our streets to be kept clean, and the wages of men who do this kind of work have to be paid.4.And we cannot have an army without paying for it.
5.We have no real cause to complain when we are asked to pay taxes for the good of ourselves and for our fellow citizens.
A.Why must we pay taxes? |
B.Why do people often complain? |
C.Taxes, therefore, cannot be avoided. |
D.Taxes, however, should be cancelled. |
E. One of the most important taxes is income tax.
F. We call it “indirect” tax, because it is paid indirectly through the shopkeeper.
G. Above all, the country must always be ready to defend itself against attacking enemies.