Pop Culture Happy Hour
From the radio and podcasting giants at NPR, Pop Culture Happy Hour is a joyous celebration of popular culture that dives into movies and TV shows, Enthusiastically presented , it's full of thoughtful and intelligent criticism. Episodes are short and stand alone, each with a singular topic. This means you can dip in and out. Above all, it's fun while being informative.
Literary Friction
Running for five years, Literary Friction is a monthly podcast hosted by Carrie Pitt and Octavia Bright. The friends —one from the US, one from the UK interview authors about their lives, work and inspirations, as well as discussing wider literary topics and giving out book recommendations. Literary Friction is a thoughtful podcast, which calls for active listening and Plitt and Bright ask intelligent and profound questions. You will discover great things to read and feel smarter after you've listened to this.
Awaye!
Aboriginal culture is in the spotlight for this Australian podcast from ABC Radio National, which is presented by smooth-voiced broadcaster Daniel Browning. While it focuses on the experience of native Australians, Awaye! also has interviews with, and documentaries about native people and their arts and culture from around the world. A thoughtful podcast, Awaye!’s interviews successfully combine the critical arts interview with in-depth discussions about tradition and history.
Audio Poem of the Day
From the Poetry Foundation, this is a daily dose of poetry delivered by some of the best-placed people to do it. Each day, classic and contemporary poems are read aloud by actors or the poets themselves and delivered to wherever you listen to podcasts. Perfect for when you may need a quiet moment, or just a distraction from modern life. The poems are simply presented, with no background music- -just the voice and the words, Try listening to one or two before bed.
1.Which podcast requires active listening of listeners?
A.Pop Culture Happy Hour B.Literary Friction
C.Awaye! D.Audio Poem of the Day
2.Which is most likely to be talked about in Daniel Browning's podcast?
A.The decline of the aboriginal languages.
B.The exhibition of native American artists
C.Puzzles of modern Australian adolescents
D.His recent interview with a UK singer.
3.What is the purpose of this text?
A.To recommend good podcasts
B.To stress the importance of literature
C.To raise fund for the podcasts
D.To invite audience to participate.
假定你是李华，参加了由学校组织的骑自行车环城游的活动。请你用英语给校报写一篇短文，报道此次活动。内容包括：
1. 活动中的所见所闻；
2. 活动后的感悟。
注意：①词数 100-120 左右；②可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Latin is considered as a dead language, but some people disagree. They insist that Latin is not dead because news 1. (report) by the Roman Catholic Church in Latin recently. 2., Latin is no longer anyone’s native language. While its use is still taught, Latin is no longer considered to be a developing language to the degree of most modern languages.
There are many reasons 3. Latin dying out. The most important one has to do with the fall of the Roman Empire. During the Roman period, Rome was the most powerful country in the Western world, so most of those who wanted to succeed tried 4. (learn) Latin. As a result, 5. language developed quickly. But that rapid development 6. (final) stopped. Latin continued to be used during the Middle Age. Throughout Europe, it remained the language of choice. However, there was no need for a standard language, so Latin began to change when different areas developed their own languages over a period of hundreds of years, of 7. the most commonly spoken are Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French.
Though not directly connected with the Roman languages, Latin still has had an effect on many other 8. (language). English, for example, which is not one of the Roman languages but a Germanic one, can trace nearly two-thirds of its words back to Latin.
I’m going to have a week-long holiday with my friends, Gino and Connie. I’m so ________ that I can hardly type, not only for the wonders in Hawaii, but also for the ________ of meeting my friends.
Isn’t it ________ how certain friends are important to us in our life? Five years ago, I got a job in a famous company and I ________ whether I was making the right decision or if it was really a job I ________. After all, my dream was to work at a magazine or newspaper. And yet I felt like ________ there somehow, though it wasn’t my dream job.
The company was ________ fast. Every week brought new partners, most of them around my age. I met Gino who had just started a week earlier. ________, we became friends and exchanged ________ and thoughts with each other. In this way, I soon ________ my loneliness. One month later, Connie joined the company too, another ________ person to turn to for help when I was ________.
It was two years ________ I got a job as a journalist for a local magazine. Gino and Connie no longer work there ________, either. But we still chat over Wechat twice a week on a ________ basis. I could have never thought, five years ago, that we’d travel together in Hawaii one day and develop lasting ________ .
The job that wasn’t my dream job turned out to be the best job I ________ have ever found. Most of the friends I have today came from that company. We ________ everything with one another. There were still times ________ I wondered what I was doing there and whether my writing dreams would ever come true, but ________, I can hardly imagine my life without those friends.
Now I can’t wait to see what is in store for us—who knows who we’ll meet.
1.A.excited B.interested C.surprised D.upset
2.A.view B.request C.chance D.power
3.A.shocking B.amazing C.hopeful D.unfair
4.A.explored B.bargained C.recognized D.doubted
5.A.cared about B.watched over C.went through D.set up
6.A.surviving B.belonging C.escaping D.deserving
7.A.falling B.recovering C.arising D.growing
8.A.Gradually B.Totally C.Frequently D.Actually
9.A.reality B.evidence C.feelings D.principles
10.A.rebuilt B.removed C.replaced D.rescued
11.A.reliable B.stubborn C.educated D.determined
12.A.in ruins B.in return C.in trouble D.in charge
13.A.until B.unless C.before D.while
14.A.ever since B.at present C.as usual D.on purpose
15.A.regular B.exact C.firm D.equal
16.A.identity B.value C.friendship D.character
17.A.could B.should C.must D.need
18.A.ignored B.selected C.judged D.shared
19.A.that B.when C.what D.which
20.A.extremely B.entirely C.anyhow D.moreover
Cultural Relics in the UK
Thirty million people come to the UK every year and much of the attraction lies in Britain’s cultural relics - its palaces, cathedrals (大教堂), castles and museums. 1.
Experience easy-to-reach city traffic.
London is usually the visitor’s first choice. 2. There is the underground system, the oldest in the world, or the traditional double-decker bus. A boat trip along the River Thames takes you to the Tower of London. Several famous people were imprisoned here - including one of King Henry Ⅷ’s wives, Anne Bolevn.
3.
Taking a walk around the city is easy since there are maps in the streets to show you what is within a five-minute walk. You can get a great view of the city from 135 meters up on a huge wheel, the London Eye. Look across the river and you will see the Houses of Parliament and its famous clock tower, Big Ben. Walk east towards the City, the capital’s financial district, and you won’t fail to find St Paul’s Cathedral. It was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Take a friend up to the Whispering Gallery in the dome, stand on different sides and have a conversation by putting your ear to the wall and speaking very softly to each other.
Appreciate Stone enigma.
For one of the earliest and most amazing man-made structures in Britain, you shouldn’t miss Stonehenge. Standing on windy Salisbury Plain, the ancient stone circle draws visitors from all over the world to think about how it got there and why it was built. 4.
A. The answer is still a puzzle.
B. So what exactly are they visiting?
C. Visit valuable relics in the countryside.
D. It has everything you would expect in a city.
E. Getting around is not too difficult.
F. Go around the city of London on foot.
Alibaba Group Holding is sparing no effort to turn its annual Singles’ Day shopping festival into a universal celebration. The challenge for billionaire Jack Ma’s (MaYun) online kingdom is to break another sales record after a decade of rapid developments. With rising strong competition from smaller platforms such as JD.com Inc. and Pinduoduo Inc., Alibaba is seeking to add new growth engines.
Now the retail (零售)celebration on Nov. 11 has become an important signal not just for the company, but also the world’s second largest economy, China. This year, shoppers in China have broken last year’s record by making the sum of $30.8 billion in sales, as the tradition marked its 10th year. “Singles’ Day has now become a stage for Alibaba to present its power across all its platforms.” Daniel Zhang (Zhang Yong), chief executive officer (CEO), said at an October news conference in Beijing. He’s taking over after Ma steps down as executive chairman next year.
It was Zhang who came up with the idea of turning Singles’ Day into a shopping festival a decade ago. Now that this year’s one-day fair will be Ma’s last as chairman, Zhang will need to prove he can carry on the wonder. “We think 1 billion packs will become a daily event in the future.” he said.
To fuel growth, Alibaba is speeding up its global exploration. Ele. me, the company it took control of this year, will provide services for selected Starbucks stores across 11 cities in China. Rural Taobao, aiming at the customers in the countryside will offer special discount (折扣) for goods across 800 counties.
Although it’s been three years since Ma said he wants to make Singles’ Day a global shopping event, that hasn’t happened yet. International expansion will be a key part of Zhang’s plan to keep breaking sales records.
1.According to paragraph 1, Alibaba is exploring more growth engines because ________.
A.it has developed swiftly in the last ten years
B.it has broken a new sales record
C.Jack Ma’s dream has come true
D.other companies are competing for the market
2.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A.Zhang has a long way to go before he sets another sales record
B.the Singles’ Day shopping festival started over ten years ago
C.the idea of the retail celebration on Nov. 11 was put forward by Jack Ma
D.shoppers in China doubted whether Zhang will be a successful CEO
3.The writer expresses the idea in paragraph 4 by ________.
A.giving an explanation B.listing examples
C.making a comparison D.offering data
4.From the author’s point of view, Alibaba’s future is ________.
A.challenging and hopeless B.worrying and doubtful
C.challenging but hopeful D.worrying but rewarding
