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Should I live in the city or the suburbs?
There are three different kinds of areas you can live in: urban, suburban, and rural. You can describe living in a rural area as living out in the sticks or the county. This type of living is seen as idyllic (田园生活的) for those seeking reprieve (暂时缓解) from crowds. Rural areas generally have small, self-sustaining populations.
Urban living is city living: active nightlife, full of noise, sophisticated public transit system and sometimes small and expensive city apartments. Urban areas tend to be densely (密集地) populated and have more intense traffic and pollution as a result.
For those seeking an intermediary between urban and rural living, the suburbs might be just the thing. Suburbs are large residential areas away from the core of town yet close enough to the city center.
Can you afford to live in the city?
Choosing whether to live in the city or the suburbs is often a matter of budget — where can you afford to live? By and large, living in the city is more expensive than living in the suburbs, though that’s not always the case. For instance, in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and a few other cities, suburban living is not always better on your wallet.
Your lifestyle influences your happiness in the city or suburbs.
For someone who enjoys five-star restaurants, vibrant (充满活力的) nightlife, and fast-paced living, residing in an urban hub is a dream come true. On the other hand, if you find crowds and tons of noise unbearable, then a large city might feel like purgatory (炼狱).
Your lifestyle is one of the primary considerations in deciding where you ought to live. If you are into fishing, hiking, and spending time outdoors, then realize that you may have to drive several hours to enjoy your hobbies if you choose city living.
Is your career better suited for the city or suburbs?
Your career should also strongly influence your choice about whether to live in the city or in the suburbs. For example, if your job is in landscape, you might find it difficult to find work in the city because there is not a high demand for landscape artists. The fact of the matter is that most city homes don’t have large yards with grass to cut, and competition for landscaping contracts is probably fierce. Similarly, a business executive (主管) may find that the suburbs do not offer the convenience afforded by city living.
The debate of whether to live in the suburbs or the city is long lasting and never-ending. When it all boils down to it, it is a matter of preference and budget, so go with your gut (决心) and you’ll make the right choice.
Passage outline | Supporting details |
1. of living in three kinds of areas | ◆ Living in rural areas helps people escape from 2.streets and public transportation. ◆ Living in urban are can mean active nightlife but has many 3. like noise, pollution and so on. ◆ The suburbs might appeal to those seeking to achieve a 4. between urban and rural living. |
Affordability | Generally, city living 5. more than suburban living, but in some cases, urban living is less expensive. |
Lifestyle | ◆ When choosing where to live, you should take your lifestyle into 6.. ◆You can settle in a big city if you prefer modern life. However, if you want to 7. your hobbies like fishing and hiking, you’d better avoid city living. |
Career | ◆ Your profession plays a great role in helping you 8. on where to live. ◆ A landscape artist has difficulty finding work in the city while a business executive finds it not 9. to live in the suburbs. |
Conclusion | Anyway, you’ll make the right decision if you 10. your choice on your preference and budget. |
Fred Rogers was a curious man, six feet tall and without pretense (虚伪). He liked to pray, to play the piano, to swim, and to write, and he somehow lived in a different world than I did. We became friends for some 20 years, and I made lifelong friends with his wife, Joanne. I remember thinking that it seemed as if Fred had access to another realm (领域) like the way pigeons have some special magnetic compass that helps them find home.
Fred died in 2003, somewhat quickly, of stomach cancer. He was 74. “Just don’t make Fred into a saint (圣人),” That has become Joanne’s refrain (叠句). 91 now, still full of energy, she lives alone in the same roomy apartment, in the university section of Pittsburgh, that she and Fred moved into after they raised their two boys. Throughout her 50-year marriage to Fred, she wasn’t the type to hang out on the set or attend production meetings. That was Fred’s thing. He had his career, and she had hers as a concert pianist. For decades she toured the country with her college classmate, Jeannine Morrison, as a piano duo; they didn’t retire the performance until 2008.
“If you make him out to be a saint, people might not know how hard he worked,” Joanne said. Disciplined, focused; a perfectionist — an artist. That was the Fred she and the cast and crew knew. “I think people think of Fred as a child-development expert,” David Newell, the actor who played Mr. “Speedy Delivery” McFeely, told me recently. “As a moral example maybe. But as an artist? I don’t think they think of that.” that was the Fred I came to know. Creating, the creative impulse (冲动), and the creative process were our common interests. He wrote or co-wrote all the scripts for the program — all 33 years of it. He wrote the melodies. He wrote the lyrics. He structured a week of programming around a single theme, many of them difficult topics, like war, divorce, or death.
I don’t know that he cared whether people saw him as an artist. He seemed more intent (急切的) that people not see him at all. The focus was always on you. Or children. Or the tiny things. It was hard to see Fred.
I like you just the way you are. One day he told me where that core message came from. His grandfather, Fred Brooks McFeely, who like the rest of the Rogers family lived in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. “He was a character,” he said. “Oh, a lot of me came from him.”
His grandfather represented a life of risk and adventure, the very things Fred’s boyhood lacked. He was a lonely kid, an only child until he was 11, when his sister came. He was bullied. Here comes Fat Freddie! He was sickly. He had asthma. He was not allowed to play outside by himself. He spent much of his childhood in his bedroom.
He had music, and he had puppets to keep himself amused. He didn’t need much. He was expected to fill his father’s shoes, become his business partner at the brick company. “My dad was pretty much Mr. Latrobe,” he told me. “He worked hard to accomplish all that he did, and I’ve always felt that that was way beyond me. And yet I’m so grateful that he didn’t push me to do the kinds of things that he did or to become a miniature (缩小的) version of him. It certainly would have been miniature.”
Fred wanted to be like his grandfather. “He taught me all kinds of really neat stuff!” he told me. “I remember one day my grandmother and my mother were telling me to get down, or not to climb, and my grandfather said: ‘Let the kid climb on the wall! He’s got to learn to do things for himself!’ I heard that. I will never forget that. What a support that was. He had a lot of stone walls on his place.” “I think it was when I was leaving one time to go home after our time together,” Fred told me, “that my grandfather said to me: ‘You know, you made this day a really special day. Just by being yourself. There’s only one person in the world like you. And I happen to like you just the way you are.”
1.What is the author’s impression of Fred?
A.Fred had many lifelong friends.
B.Fred lived in a strange world.
C.Fred could always find way home.
D.Fred was an amazing person.
2.Why does Joanne try to persuade people not to make Fred into a saint?
A.To show the great success the couple achieved.
B.To underline the great pains Fred spared at work.
C.To remind people of the contributions she made.
D.To keep the weaknesses of Fred’s character hidden.
3.Who may think Fred a moral example?
A.David Newell. B.The author. C.Common people. D.Joanne.
4.What did Fred prefer to do according to the author?
A.Write scripts and music on his own.
B.Act as the man behind the curtain.
C.Focus more on difficult topics.
D.Present himself as an artist.
5.Which of following might have the greatest influence on Fred’s growth?
A.His poor health condition. B.His father’s expectation.
C.His unhappy childhood. D.His grandfather’s attitude.
6.What is mainly talked about in the passage?
A.The making of Fred Rogers.
B.The importance of a good wife.
C.The influence of a moral example.
D.The achievements of Fred and his wife.
Sweet potato plants don't have spines or poisons to defend themselves. But some have evolved a clever way to let hungry herbivores (食草动物) know they aren't an all-you-can-eat buffet, a new study finds. When one leaf injured, it produces a chemical that warms the rest of the plant and its neighbors to make themselves inedible (不宜食用的)to bugs. Sweet potato breeders could potentially engineer plants to produce the chemical as an all-natural pest defense.
Plant ecologists led by Axel Mithofer of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, started to look into sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) defenses after they noticed something interesting about two varieties of the plant grown in Taiwan: The yellow-skinned, yellow-fleshed Tainong 57 is generally herbivore-resistant, but its darker orange cousin, Tainong 66, is plagued (造成麻烦) by insect pests.
To find out why, the team offered up Tainong 57 and 66 plants to hungry African cotton leafworm caterpillars (毛虫).Both plants released at least 40 airborne compounds as the caterpillars snacked on their leaves. But Tainong 57 produced a lot more of a chemical called DMNT, which has a very distinct smell, the team details this month in Scientific Reports. (“The smell is not nice,” Mithofer says. “You wouldn't want it as a perfume.”)
DMNT isn't a new compound; researchers have isolated (分离出) the smelly chemical from other plants such as corn and cabbage, and it is known to induce defense responses in some species.
To determine whether this was happening in sweet potatoes, scientists set up two experiments. First, they put two plants next to each other and wounded one so it produced DMNT. Then, they exposed healthy Tainong 57 plants to DMNT they had synthesized (合成).In both cases, the DMNT caused the exposed plants to produce more of a protein called sporamin in their leaves. (Tainong 66 did not have the same reaction.) When the caterpillar’s snack on sporamin, “they immediately stop eating because they don't feel well,” Mithofer says.
Sporamin is the main protein in sweet potato tubers (块茎),and is indigestible raw, which is why sweet potatoes must be cooked for humans to enjoy them. “If the caterpillars could cook it, they could eat it,” Mithofer says. Theoretically, he says, sweet potato breeders could use genetic engineering to make different varieties of sweet potato produce as much DMNT as Tainong 57, and display the same defense responses.
Still, the research isn't ready for prime time, cautions plant ecologist Martin Heil. DMNT might work in the lab, but in the field, airborne chemicals can be “blown away in seconds,” says Heil, who studies plant-insect interactions at the National Polytechnic Institute in Irapuato, Mexico.
Mithofer himself has no plans now to create genetically engineered sweet potato plants, because they would not be a viable (能活下去的) crop in Europe, where genetically modified crops are outlawed. So for now, Tainong 66 will have to put up with being a caterpillar salad bar.
1.What is the purpose of the experiment carried out by Axel's team?
A.To find out why DMNT has a very distinct smell.
B.To determine which sweet potato suits caterpillars better.
C.To find out why Tainong 57 resists bugs while Tainong 66 doesn't.
D.To determine what compounds are released when bugs eat sweet potatoes.
2.Which is an example of the underlined words “defense response” in Paragraph 4?
A.Researcher isolated the smelly chemical from plants.
B.Corn produces a chemical to avoid being eaten by bugs.
C.Two plants are put next to each other for an experiment.
D.Caterpillars have stomach trouble when they snack on sporamin.
3.The tone of the this passage can be described as .
A.humorous B.serious C.causal D.subjective
4.What's the author's attitude towards GM Tainong 66?
A.Supportive. B.Objective. C.Opposed. D.Skeptical.
Picture this: You’re searching the Internet and come across a website with interesting articles. Some are news stories. Their goal is to share information. Others only look like news stories. They’re actually advertisements, or ads. The goal of an ad is to get you to buy something. How do you, the reader, tell the difference between a news story and an ad?
Back when I was growing up, it was easier. We got most of our information from newspapers. Big news stories appeared on the front page, and ads were boxed off and clearly labeled. But on the Internet, the two are often presented together. It can be hard to tell which is which.
That’s why the research group I direct conducted a study. My research team showed kids like you the home page of a popular digital magazine. We asked them to tell us what was a news story and what was an ad.
Most were great at identifying certain types of ads. “It has a coupon (优惠券) code, a big company logo, and the words ‘limited time offer’,” one student wrote about an ad on the site. So where did kids get stumped (难倒)？
Some ads seem identical to real news stories. They have headlines and contain information. But they may also include the words “sponsored content”. Sponsored means “paid for,” and content refers to the information in the story. “Sponsored content” is a way of saying that something is an ad. Most kids in our study, even if they used the Internet often, didn’t know this.
Something sponsored doesn’t necessarily mean it’s false. It means someone paid money for it to appear. Companies pay so that readers will see their stories, buy their products, and like what the company stands for.
As a reader, you have a right to know who’s behind the information you’re consuming. So, look for the phrase sponsored content. (And look carefully. Sometimes, it will be written in tiny letters.) The Internet is a vast sea of information. To use it well, we not only have to know how to swim but also how to avoid the sharks.
1.Why was it easier for the author to distinguish ads from news stories?
A.Because news stories were clearly labeled.
B.Because ads had a very big company logo.
C.Because ads were printed on separate sections.
D.Because news stories appeared on the front page.
2.The underlined word “shark” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A.tricky advertisements B.information consumers
C.underwater rocks. D.content sponsors
3.Which would be the best title for this passage?
A.Identify News Stories B.Be digital smart.
C.Research into the Internet D.Be a smart advertiser
Buy the GNN paperback book directly from Good News Network if you’re in the U.S.A. — and you will save $2.00 compared to the Amazon price during our Holiday Sale-plus get FREE shipping!
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This collection of unique, inspiring stories celebrates 20 years of Good News Network — the website that features all-positive news from around the world at GNN.org. Created in 1997 by former Washington, DC television news editor Geri Weis-Corley, these are among her favorite GNN stories from two decades.
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1.Why is the book considered a great gift for all the ‘news junkies’?
A.It can be bought directly from Good News Network.
B.Buyers can save $2.00 compared to the Amazon price.
C.It can help readers find the power of positive thinking.
D.Buyers outside the USA can also get free shipping.
2.Why did Geri Weis-Corley collect these inspiring stories?
A.She likes reading books on an airplane.
B.She often sends thank-you gifts to friends.
C.She hopes to gain international popularity.
D.She wants to celebrate 20 years of a website.
One day, I watched a video of a man who was throwing empty wine bottles in a rage (泄愤屋) room. I felt a(n) _______ to go and smash (砸碎) some glass myself. Everyone was keen to show how _______ their lives were.
I handed over the cash and _______ protective overalls (防护服) and a mask before entering the rage room with a friend. We started _______ but were soon giving it everything. I started with glass bottles, but I soon, _______ to heavier goods. It was partly the _______ of work that led me to the rage room. I am an entertainer in film and television, but I still need to _______ the rent. Standup comedy and small acting roles help me _______.
Before discovering the rage room, I _______ all kinds of ways to deal with stress: karaoke and the gym. Going to the gym is about getting ______________ looking good, but when I’m smashing things, the intention is ______________. When I behave like a caveman (野人), I leave any ______________ behind.
The rage room is a place of honest ______________. During one session, a year and a half after we ______________, the words of my ex (前女友) came into my head: “I just don’t think you put enough effort into our relationship.” I thought this ______________ was unfair. In a flash of broken glass, I realized I had been ______________ that thought for too long.
I still haven’t fully realized my dream. But ______________ the rage room has taught me anything, it is that I am not a(n) ______________ person any more. I don’t experience rage before, during or after a session.
The whole ______________ feels like a calm and controlled release. It is extremely ______________. I think everyone could pay a visit.
1.A.duty B.urge C.ability D.chance
2.A.colorful B.casual C.tough D.cozy
3.A.put on B.took off C.wore out D.threw away
4.A.excitedly B.tentatively C.fortunately D.arbitrarily
5.A.progressed B.withdrew C.referred D.submitted
6.A.rewards B.stresses C.joy D.lack
7.A.receive B.keep C.reduce D.pay
8.A.catch on B.get by C.spring up D.dive in
9.A.invented B.identified C.tried D.dropped
10.A.thrilled B.healthy C.wealthy D.connected
11.A.similar B.superior C.consistent D.different
12.A.negativity B.friendship C.motivation D.priority
13.A.competition B.purchase C.reflection D.cooperation
14.A.dropped out B.made up C.worked out D.broke up
15.A.suggestion B.criticism C.inspiration D.confidence
16.A.holding on to B.living up to C.looking forward to D.giving rise to
17.A.unless B.once C.if D.while
18.A.calm B.honest C.innocent D.angry
19.A.truth B.life C.process D.trip
20.A.liberating B.frustrating C.demanding D.struggling
