Every year, families across the US and the UK hang up little strange-shaped pickles (腌黄瓜) to decorate their Christmas trees. The practice is ______ by many English-speaking families, and is thought to be brought over from _______.
The tradition involves hiding the pickle ornament(装饰品) among the branches, and _____ the child who finds it with the chance to open gifts first. It’s also believed that person will get good ____ for the year.
The origin of the ______, however, is a bit confusing. In fact, it doesn’t seem to have actually _____ in Germany at all, since most Germans don’t practice it. In 2016, a survey conducted among 2,057 Germans found that 91 percent had never even heard of it.
Another ____ is that the tradition of _____ a pickle didn’t actually start in Germany, but with a German immigrant in the US. The ______ goes that a German man named John Lower _____ to the US and became ill when he was in prison during the Civil War. He ______ a guard to give him a pickle as a last meal, but he _____surviving. After being _______, he honored that pickle by starting his own ______ tradition of hiding a pickle in his Christmas tree for the kids ---- saying ______ found it would have the same good ______ he did.
Of course, that story is also _______, and could just be a tale coming out nowhere to explain the pickles later on. According to Wide Open Country, the whole pickle game was most ______ a marketing trick to sell German glass ornaments to Americans.
It was said to be ______ by F.W. Woolworth when the store began importing the ornaments in 1880. Each one would come with a card telling the story of the tradition.
Whether the tradition is real or manufactured, pickle ornaments have become ______ everywhere.
1.A.interrupted B.mentioned C.favored D.suspected
2.A.Germany B.America C.England D.Australia
3.A.pleasing B.winning C.rewarding D.encouraging
4.A.fame B.luck C.fate D.life
5.A.congratulation B.expectation C.situation D.tradition
6.A.originated B.concluded C.borrowed D.dated
7.A.custom B.routine C.performance D.story
8.A.decorating B.hanging C.manufacturing D.purchasing
9.A.program B.inspiration C.legend D.intention
10.A.fled B.slipped C.escaped D.immigrated
11.A.persuaded B.advised C.commanded D.urged
12.A.gave up B.ended up C.set up D.showed up
13.A.removed B.rejected C.regained D.released
14.A.country B.family C.hometown D.community
15.A.whatever B.whichever C.whoever D.whomever
16.A.fortune B.possibility C.experience D.destiny
17.A.disappeared B.disapproved C.unexpected D.unconfirmed
18.A.appropriately B.approximately C.likely D.exactly
19.A.created B.imagined C.instructed D.directed
20.A.particular B.popular C.familiar D.regular
How to Meditate Daily
The habit of meditation is one of the most powerful things. Meditation is the act of remaining in a silent and calm state for a period of time. Meditation has been shown to have mental benefits, such as improved focus, happiness, memory, self-control and more. 1. But our concern is to form the daily habit of meditation.
Commit to just 2 minutes a day. You can do it for 5 minutes if you feel good about it, but all you're committing to is 2 minutes each day.
Pick a time and trigger(触发器).2.The trigger should be something you already do regularly, like drink your first cup of coffee, brush your teeth or have lunch.
Find a quiet spot. Sometimes early morning is best, before others in your house might be awake and making lots of noise. 3. It really doesn't matter where — as long as you can relax without being bothered for a few minutes.
4. Don't care too much about how you sit, what you wear, what you sit on. I personally like to sit on a pillow on the floor, with my back leaning against a wall.
Focus on your breath. As you breathe in, follow your breath in through your nostrils(鼻孔),then into your throat, then into your lungs and belly. 5. You won't be very good at it at first, but you'll get better with practice.
And that's it. Do this for a month and you'll have a daily meditation habit.
A. Sit comfortably.
B. There are lots of ways to meditate.
C. Train yourself to focus your attention.
D. You might find a spot in a park or on the beach.
E. There are countless reasons, but here are some of my favorites,
F. As you breathe out, follow your breath out back into the world.
G. Not an exact time of day, but a general time, like morning when you wake up.
El Nifio, a Spanish term for “the Christ child”, was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nifio sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
The weather effects both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nifio, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nifio in 1997 helped American’s economy grow by 15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvest, farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural in rich countries in growth than the fall in poor ones.
But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought (干旱）in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters.
The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
Simple improvements to infrastructure (基础设施）can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers (下水道）make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.
1.What can we learn about El Nino in Paragraph 1?
A.It is named after a South American fisherman.
B.It takes place almost every year all over the world.
C.It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas.
D.It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean.
2.What may El Ninos bring about to the countries affected?
A.Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall.
B.Droughts become more harmful than floods.
C.Rich countries’ gains are greater than their losses.
D.Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically.
3.The data provided by ODI in Paragraph 4 suggest that_________.
A.more investment should go to risk reduction
B.governments of poor countries need more aid
C.victims of El Nino deserve more compensation
D.recovery and reconstruction should come first
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A.To introduce El Nino and its origin.
B.To explain the consequences of El Nino.
C.To show ways of fighting against El Nino.
D.To urge people to prepare for El Nino.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is gaining global popularity. According to a government white paper, TCM has been introduced in 183 countries and regions around the world.
Westerners’ understanding of TCM, however, may be limited to acupuncture(针灸), cupping(拔罐) and massage(按摩). For instance, the purple, injury-like marks left on U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps’ back from cupping for the purpose of relaxing his muscles and reducing pain became the center of attention during the Rio Olympics in 2016.
As a matter of fact, Chinese herbs play a more important role in getting rid of diseases and keeping the body in good condition in the TCM treatment system than physical treatment. It is therefore disappointing to know that while 103 World Health Organization member countries have given approval to the practice of acupuncture, not many recognize Chinese herbal medicine. TCM falls far behind Western medicine owing partly to the slow development of Chinese herbs.
Herbs are made into pills, powder and soup, and the kind of herbs used, their quality and quantity, and the processing of the ingredients jointly determine the effectiveness of the prescription. Compared with Western medicine, which has standardized drug production processes and treatment methods, TCM lacks standardization, with the chemical composition and functions of its medicines being unclear and their effects being unstable. Fortunately, standardization has improved in recent decades, with an increasing number of factories producing patented TCM drugs.
Another factor that has prevented the development of TCM prescription(处方) drugs is the lack of creativity. While Western medicine-making companies come up with new products every year, TCM drug producers tend to make medicines according to prescriptions handed down from the past. Chinese chemist Tu Youyou’s winning the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research into malaria(疟疾) treatment may drive creativity to some extent in China’s TCM industry. However, the current state of affairs cannot be changed within a short time.
1.Why does the author mention the example of Michael Phelps?
A.Because Phelps has an international fame for his interest in TCM.
B.Because cupping is a kind of important TCM treatment.
C.Because currently westerners have a preference for TCM
D.Because westerners have rather limited knowledge about TCM.
2.Why don’t some member countries of WHO recognize Chinese herbal medicine?
A.Because Chinese herbs can’t cure diseases as well as western medicine
B.Because they only approve of the practice of acupuncture
C.Because Chinese medicine tastes so bad.
D.Because medicine made out of Chinese herbs develops pretty slowly
3.Compared with Western medicine, what is the weak point of TCM in Paragraph 4?
A.The methods of processing herbs.
B.The effectiveness of prescription.
C.Lack of proper standardization.
D.Its unstable functions.
4.The lack of creativity in TCM refers to the fact that_______.
A.medicine-making companies lack creativity
B.prescriptions are passed down from generation to generation
C.Western companies are more experienced
D.medicine-making companies lack driving force and experienced specialists
Volunteering Is Fun
One afternoon I was sitting at home feeling so bored. Instead of feeling sorry for myself. I wanted to meet people and have new experiences so I decided to start volunteering. I searched on my computer and found a website where I could volunteer on a farm in France.
My time working on a farm was a new experience for me. It was basically a free holiday as food and accommodation were provided. However，it was not your typical holiday as I had to look after fifteen horses and sleep at the top of a tower in a castle！I was an awful farmer but it did not matter because I made some great friends.
However，you do not need to go abroad to volunteer. I have had plenty of adventures at home as volunteering can become a hobby. For example，I love singing so I had a good laugh waving my arms in an attempt to conduct my local choir（唱诗班）. I did slowly improve and it felt great to conduct the choir in a concert. At university，I organized a concert for charity with my friends. It was really fun finding bands and raising money for a cause we believe in.
It is true that you feel good volunteering but there are also other advantages. I once volunteered as a server at a charity sports event where the organizers gave me cupcakes to thank me for my services. I also volunteered in a charity shop so I found loads of nice cheap clothes to update my wardrobe(衣柜)．
While this is all fun，my favorite aspect of volunteering is creating and sharing stories. My terrible attempts at farming have given me hilarious stories to tell！Talking to volunteers from different countries and backgrounds has also helped me learn more about the world. I feel thankful to have had so much fun with many nice people thanks to volunteering.
1.Why did the author want to volunteer?
A.He wanted to go abroad.
B.He felt ashamed of himself.
C.He wanted to taste new life and make friends.
D.He wanted to be a farmer.
2.The underlined word “hilarious” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to“________”．
A.sad B.funny
C.awful D.critical
3.The author did much volunteering work except________．
A.taking care of horses and sheep
B.conducting a choir in a concert
C.helping in a charity sports event
D.helping in a charity shop
4.How does the author feel according to the last paragraph?
A.Curious. B.Anxious.
C.Cautious. D.Grateful.
Welcome to The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met, which is short for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. Millions of people take part in The Met experience online or offline.
Since it was founded in 1870, The Met has always tried to be more than a storeroom of rare and beautiful objects. Every day» art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.
Notes：
I. How can I obtain permission to film or photograph at The Metropolitan Museum of Art? Please email a detailed request to communicatiom@nietmuseum.org.
II. How can I obtain suitable images to reproduce in a magazine, newspaper, or website? To view and request press images for the Museum’s current and upcoming exhibitions and news stories about the Met, please sign in or register for a press account in the Press Images section of the online Press Room.
III. All other image requests should be directed to Art Resource through its website (http://www.artres. com), by telephone at 212-505-8700, or email at requests@artres.com. You may also submit your request using the Image Request Form available on the Met’s website.
IV. If you have any other questions, please contact the Museum’s Digital Department:
Digital Department
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10028-0198
Telephone: 212-650-2550
Email: prtvacypolicy@metmuseum.org
1.What type of writing is this text?
A.A business guide. B.An art survey.
C.A research report. D.An advertisement.
2.What can we learn about the Met from the text?
A.The Met has a history of 5,000 years.
B.People started to visit the Met online to buy objects.
C.The Met stops collecting arts right now.
D.People cannot take a photo without the permission of the Met.
3.What should you do if you want to have images used for a magazine?
A.Email to communications@metmuseum.org.
B.Telephone at 212-505-8700.
C.Write an application at the online Press Room.
D.Contact the Museum’s Digital Department.
