When I was 17, I read a magazine article about a museum called the McNay, once the home of a watercolorist named Marian McNay. She had requested the community to turn it into a museum upon her death. On a sunny Saturday, Sally and I drove over to the museum. She asked, "Do you have the address? ""No, but I'll recognize it, there was a picture in the magazine. "
"Oh, stop. There it is!”
The museum was free. We entered, excited. A group of people sitting in the hall stopped talking and stared at us.
"May I help you?" a man asked. "No, "I said. "We're fine.” Tour guides got on my nerves. What if they talked a long time about a painting you weren't that interested in? Sally had gone upstairs. The people in the hall seemed very nosy(爱窥探的), keeping their eyes on me with curiosity. What was their problem? I saw some nice sculptures in one room. Suddenly I sensed a man standing behind me. "Where do you think you are? " he asked. I turned sharply. "The McNay Art Museum!" He smiled, shaking his head. "Sorry, the McNay is on New Braunfels Street." "What’s this place?” I asked, still confused. "Well, it's our home." My heart jolted(震颤). I raced to the staircase and called out, "Sally! Come down immediately! "
"There's some really good stuff(艺术作品) up there." She stepped down, looking confused. I pushed her toward the front door, waving at the family, saying, "Sorry, please forgive us, you have a really nice place." Outside, when I told Sally what happened, she covered her mouth, laughing. She couldn't believe how long they let us look around without saying anything.
The real McNay was splendid, but we felt nervous the whole time we were there. Van Gogh, Picasso. This time, we stayed together, in case anything else unusual happened.
Thirty years later, a woman approached me in a public place. "Excuse me, did you ever enter a residence, long ago, thinking it was the McNay Museum?"
"Yes. But how do you know? We never told anyone."
"That was my home. I was a teenager sitting in the hall. Before you came over, I never realized what a beautiful place I lived in. I never felt lucky before. You thought it was a museum. My feelings about my home changed after that. I've always wanted to thank you."
1.What do we know about Marian McNay?
A.She was a painter.
B.She was a community leader.
C.She was a museum director.
D.She was a journalist.
2.Why did the author refuse the help from the man in the house?
A.She disliked people who were nosy.
B.She felt nervous when talking to strangers.
C.She knew more about art than the man.
D.She mistook him for a tour guide.
3.How did the author feel about being stared at by the people in the hall?
A.Puzzled. B.Concerned.
C.Frightened. D.Delighted.
4.Why did the author describe the real McNay museum in just a few words?
A.The real museum lacked enough artwork to interest her.
B.She was too upset to spend much time at the real museum.
C.The McNay was disappointing compared with the house.
D.The event happening in the house was more significant.
5.What could we learn from the last paragraph?
A.People should have good taste to enjoy life.
B.People should spend more time with their family.
C.People tend to be blind to the beauty around them.
D.People tend to educate teenagers at a museum.
About 1.5 billion people speak English around the world. But for more than 1.1 billion of them, English is their second language-often with a noticeable accent (口音).
“Someone’s accent really reveals a lot about who they are and their identity. It will tell people what their native language is and probably where they come from.” says Marc Pell, a communication professor at McGill University in Montreal. And according to Pell, one reaction to it can be a bias (偏见) against that person.
Previous research that has been done elsewhere showed that people who have an accent tend to be trusted less, simply because they have an accent. But accents aren’t the only thing we listen for when we have to decide if we trust another person. Tone of voice also plays a role. Pell and his team wanted to know if people would trust a confident tone, even if it came from someone with an accent.
The researchers had Canadian English speakers listen to different versions of people saying neutral (无明显特性的) statements like “she has access to the building” while they were getting a brain scan in an MRI (磁共振成像) machine. Subjects heard someone say it with a confident tone with a Canadian English accent, an Australian accent or a French accent. Participants also heard the sentence with the three accents spoken in a doubtful or neutral tone.
The MRI scans showed that the participants had to use more brain power to decide if they could trust the statements said with the non-native accents. When the study participants heard the Australian or French accents, blood flow increased to the part of the brain that we use to process sound. They seemed to have to analyze that perhaps more carefully, or for a longer period of time to make this decision about whether they truly believed the speaker, especially when the speaker sounded doubtful. When asked, the participants reported not trusting either Australian or French accents-except when the statements were said confidently. It seems that confidence speaks for itself.
1.What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.A person’s identity. B.A person’s accent.
C.A person’s hometown. D.A person’s native language.
2.What did Pell’s team want to know?
A.Why some people trust others less.
B.Which parts of the brain deal with sound.
C.What can cause a bias against non-natives.
D.Whether a non-native’s confident tone can gain trust.
3.For the study participants, which of the following might demand the most brain power?
A.A Canadian speaking English in a friendly way.
B.A French person speaking English neutrally.
C.An American speaking English confidently.
D.An Australian speaking English doubtfully.
Summer is the most popular season to visit Texas since there is so much to see and to do. While visiting the Lone Star State this summer, don’t miss visiting some of these attractions and taking part in some of Texas’ best summer vacation activities.
Visit SeaWorld
There are sea life shows, adventure camps, thrilling rides and a water park. A great many activities are waiting for you at SeaWorld.
Windsurf (风帆冲浪) at South Padre
With miles of shallow (浅的), calm water in the Lower Laguna Madre and strong winds coming off the Gulf of Mexico, South Padre Island is a windsurfer’s dream.
Swim at Barton Springs
Barton Springs is in the famous Zilker Park. It was formed when Barton Creek was built. Since its opening, Barton Springs has become one of the most popular swimming pools in the state.
Take part in an outdoor adventure
In the scenic Texas Hill Country, Lake Buchanan Adventures offers different kinds of activities, including boating, hiking, camping and more.
Camp and hike in Big Bend Park
Big Bend offers a great number of outdoor activities in an old way. Backpacking, mountain biking, fishing, boating, hiking, nature watching and camping-you name it. If it can be done outdoors, it can be done in Big Bend.
Enjoy saltwater fishing
Saltwater fishing in Texas is as good as anywhere else in the USA. More and more fishermen have been discovering this in recent years and packing their bags and rods (鱼竿) to make good use of Texas’ world-class saltwater fishery.
1.The underlined phrase “the Lone Star State” in Paragraph 1 is another name for ________.
A.Texas B.San Antonio
C.South Padre D.Gulf of Mexico
2.From the text you know that _______.
A.Barton Springs is the most popular in the USA
B.Lake Buchanan Adventures offers indoor activities
C.Big Bend provides outdoor activities in an ancient way
D.Fishermen may get the best salt fish when fishing in Texas
It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and the old headmaster was giving the students a speech about important things in life and about _______ourselves to what is important to us. This is_______the story went: An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he _______wake up every morning and go to the _______, where he got the train right to Central London, and then sat at the street corner, _______. He did this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years. His house was dirty, and it smelled_______. The neighbors could not _______the smell anymore, so they asked the police officers to _______the place. The officers knocked down the _______ and cleaned the house. There were small bags of ________ all over the house that he had ________over the years. The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a ________. They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more ________ he was a rich man now. He said ________at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the street and ________ to beg. ________, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything important for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying ________ the things we enjoy doing. We should remain true to our course, which may mean devoting yourselves to things that people around you may disapprove . Let nothing prevent us from being happy, let nothing else decide our fate (命运), but ________. What makes us happy is what ________ in the end…not what we gain.
This particular story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I don’t focus on courses, I ________ myself of this story.
1.A.attracting B.agreeing C.devoting D.believing
2.A.why B.how C.where D.when
3.A.might B.would C.should D.must
4.A.street B.factory C.airport D.subway
5.A.begging B.waiting C.attempting D.sleeping
6.A.pleasant B.delicious C.terrible D.serious
7.A.bear B.forget C.judge D.get
8.A.control B.remove C.clear D.look
9.A.old man B.door C.neighbor D.wall
10.A.rubbish B.waste C.money D.food
11.A.earned B.collected C.managed D.stole
12.A.manager B.gentleman C.millionaire D.gift
13.A.as B.unless C.until D.though
14.A.something B.anything C.nothing D.everything
15.A.discouraged B.found C.managed D.continued
16.A.Actually B.Obviously C.Surprisingly D.Generally
17.A.focused on B.called on C.turned to D.acted out
18.A.others B.us C.some D.ourselves
19.A.considers B.matters C.achieves D.faces
20.A.reminded B.admitted C.warned D.tired
—He must be crazy to spend all that money on a car.
—Yes, he’s !
A.out of his mind B.a wet blanket
C.playing games D.a green finger
You can’t predict everything. Often things don’t ______as you expect.
A.run out B.work out C.break out D.put out