Kyle Cassidy and three other members of the Annenberg Running Group were stretching on the grounds of the University of Pennsylvania, waiting for a few latecomers. The Penn colleagues and other community members meet three days a week for a roughly 30-minute jog and an occasional lecture. That's right― during some runs, one of them delivers a talk. Topics range from the brain to Bitcoin.
But on this day last January, it would not be their normal run. The first clue that something was off was the man who sprinted past them. "Running at an amazing pace," Cassidy told Runner's World admiringly. Cassidy discovered why the sprinter was so fleet of foot when another man ran by, yelling, “Help! He took my phone and laptop!"
At that, the group did what running clubs do: They ran, trailing the suspect down the streets of Philadelphia until he ducked into a construction site. The runners split up. Cassidy ran around to the far side of the site to cut the thief off while the others wandered the neighborhood hoping he had dumped the loot （赃物）in a backyard.
No luck. So they decided to ask residents whether they'd seen the guy. When they knocked on the door of one row house, they were in for a surprise. Unknown to them, he had already emerged from the construction site—and was hiding behind a bush by that very house. As the owner opened the door, the suspect darted out from behind the bush ... and right into the arms of campus police, who'd joined the chase shortly behind the runners.
The members of this running group are not hard-core athletes. But they do understand the benefit of a little exercise. ''Running is typically a useless sport where you turn fat cells into heat," Cassidy told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "But occasionally it can be useful, and here was one of those opportunities."
1.Why do the group members gather together?
A.To do some stretching. B.To have a regular run.
C.To deliver a lecture. D.To cover some topics.
2.What does the underlined word "sprinted" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A.Dashed. B.Pushed.
C.Jumped. D.Escaped.
3.We can infer that the success of the chase is mainly due to____ .
A.the assistance of the runners B.the owner of the row house
C.the campus police on patrol D.the joint efforts of the people
4.Which of the following best describes Cassidy?
A.Athletic and generous. B.Courageous and ambitious.
C.Helpful and humorous. D.Thoughtful and demanding.
Occasions like anniversaries, weddings and reunions call for special event venues （场地）.The following places may have a way out. There's no need to spend money creating atmosphere at special event venues. It's built right in!
Hard Rock Cafe Anchorage
415 E. STREET, ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 99501
Events, like great music are born of inspiration. Featuring a 13,600-square-foot facility that will seat 275 guests with private event space, we pride ourselves on delivering an exceptional experience with a rock and roll twist for each of our guests.
Business Expo Center
1960 S. ANAHEIM WAY, ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA 92805
The Business Expo Center is Orange County's premier event venue in Anaheim, California. Our flexible 36,000-square-foot expo center is home to space for conferences, trade shows and celebrations. We pride ourselves on providing a memorable experience with excellent flexibility, services, and cost savings. We won't charge customers for on-site parking and provide high-speed Wi-Fi.
Automobile Driving Museum
610 LAIRPORT STREET, EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245
Centrally located in the South Bay beach community of El Segundo, California, the ADM offers a wonderful venue for private parties and corporate events. Conveniently located 5 minutes south of LAX, right off the 405 and 105 Freeways, the 610 Lairport space has a vintage feel surrounded by our primary automobile collection. We offer several different venues inside and outside our facility for diverse events. To better our service, reservations are needed.
Yamashiro Hollywood
1999 N. SYCAMORE AVE., LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90068
Yamashiro Hollywood is a restaurant and therefore, all food and beverages must be handled in house. However, guests are allowed to bring in outside wine and champagne for a corkage fee.
1.What can you do in Business Expo Center?
A.Enjoy free parking.
B.Bring in outside wine.
C.Experience a rock and roll twist.
D.See some automobile collections.
2.Which venue do you need to book in advance?
A.Business Expo Center.
B.Yamashiro Hollywood.
C.Hard Rock Cafe Anchorage.
D.Automobile Driving Museum.
3.What do the four venues have in common?
A.They offer optional places.
B.They are open to special events.
C.They are located in the same state.
D.They enjoy convenient transportation.
Maybe it's because it was our first purchase as homeowners. The salesman must have spotted just how green we were, so he began persuading. And soon he led us to a classic leather chair. All these years later, I remember he used words like rich and handsome, the thing every living room needed.
We believed him. So we bought that chair — just less than $100, a great deal in the 1970s for a young couple!
How we loved that chair! It always occupied a place of honor in our various living rooms, moving with us from our first tiny house to our beloved new house.
Somehow, conversations were better on that chair, and life was more fun around it. Three daughters spilled their secrets on it. Old friends seemed to be attracted by it on those wonderful occasions. Crazy as it sounds, that leather chair seemed to have — well, powers. All for good.
At first, we didn't really care that the leather was showing signs of wear or that it had lost its sheen (光泽). But in our most recent move, when the chair was moved in our new living room, it suddenly looked terribly lonely sitting close to newly painted walls and a couple of shiny new tables.
My husband and I tried but still we couldn't ignore the rough spots. Our chair had a skin disease. Even our adult kids raised eyebrows, urging us to at least remove the chair to some dark comer of the room. Neither of us could imagine such a retirement for it.
So we had an inspired idea. We'd call in an upholsterer (修理工) to give our old chair a whole new life. Our friend Joe studied the chair and then took out a simple leather conditioner. He explained that although it wouldn't work miracles, it would definitely get our weary chair looking younger again. It certainly doesn't look new, but its seat and back are shining, and some of its deeper wrinkles have lightened.
Best of all, it's back in the living room, looking like a wise old friend to the furniture around it. And, yes, there it will stay.
Because some things, like some people, just deserve a happy old age.
1.How did the salesman persuade the author into buying the chair?
A.By thinking highly of the author.
B.By saying that the author was green.
C.By describing how great the chair was.
D.By comparing the chair with others.
2.What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?
A.Sweet memories with the chair.
B.Various functions of the chair.
C.People's comments on the chair.
D.Family activities and parties of friends.
3.Why did the author finally decide to repair the chair?
A.Because he was persuaded by Joe.
B.Because he didn't have enough money.
C.Because it showed signs of hardness.
D.Because it couldn't match his new house.
4.What can we learn from the text?
A.East or west, home is best. B.From saving comes having.
C.It is never too late to mend. D.Old friends and wine are best.
A population of the world's most aggressive mosquito species was almost completely wiped out by an experiment on two islands in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, according to a study published.
The experiment successfully reduced the female Asian Tiger Mosquito population — the main source of bites and disease spread — by up to 94%, reducing the number of reported human bites by 97%.
One of the Chinese study's researchers, Xi Zhiyong, a professor at Michigan State University, has been a longtime pioneer in this field of study. Running a mosquito factory in southern China, he previously attempted to use sterilized male mosquitoes to mate with unaltered females which developed normally. In the new study, published by the International Journal of Science, Xi and his colleagues attempted to cut mosquito numbers even further by limiting both males and females' ability to reproduce. The results were so successful that they nearly killed the entire female mosquito population on the two islands.
It isn't the first attempt by researchers to reduce mosquito populations across the world. In 2018, scientists from the Imperial College of London used gene-editing tools to make female mosquitoes sterile, while males developed normally and continued spreading the genetic mutation (突变).Experts said the Asian Tiger Mosquitoes are particularly hard to kill using traditional population control methods, such as pesticides (杀虫剂) and removing stagnant (不流动的) water where the insects lay their eggs.
Mosquitoes create grave threats to human health beyond just bites. The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the insects as "one of the deadliest animals in the world," due to their ability to rapidly spread deadly diseases such as dengue fever and malaria. There is currently no effective vaccine or treatment for most mosquito-spread diseases, leaving controlling the insects' populations one of the most effective control methods, according to the International Journal of Science. “A new tool like what's being described in this paper is very much needed” said Stephen Dobson, a professor of medical insectology at University of Kentucky.
1.What does the underlined word "unaltered" in paragraph 3 refer to?
A.Unchanged. B.Undivided.
C.Unadopted. D.Unfinished.
2.Why do mosquito populations have to be controlled?
A.Mosquitoes cause genetic changes in humans.
B.Mosquitoes spread some deadliest diseases.
C.Mosquitoes limit people's ability to reproduce.
D.Mosquitoes make traditional vaccines ineffective.
3.What has been the most successful way of reducing mosquito numbers?
A.Editing genes in female mosquitoes.
B.Sterilizing male mosquitoes before mating.
C.Limiting both genders' reproduction ability.
D.Using pesticides and removing stagnant water.
4.What can we learn from Stephen Dobson's words?
A.The things described in this paper are not practical.
B.A better way of mosquito control is yet to be found.
C.Xi Zhiyong' s method has proven to be very effective.
D.A new tool is needed in order to improve Xi's research.
Runners never forget crossing the finishing line at their first marathon, and that will be especially true for Mike Kohler. When Kohler crossed the starting line in Fargo last Saturday, he thought he was going to run 13.1 miles, his first half marathon. Six hours later, he had "mistakenly” completed his first full marathon, 26.2 miles.
Kohler, a 26-year-old plumber (水管工) who now lives in West Fargo, had lined up for the half marathon that he hoped to complete in 150 minutes. He didn't realize he was in a starting fence with the full marathoners. Several miles later, Kohler began to realize he was on the course for the full marathon. "The 8-mile mark was when I figured out that I had made a mistake," he said. "Between then and 13.1, I debated with myself about what I should do.”
At some point — he doesn't remember when — he doubled down on the distance. "After I decided I was going to keep going, the thought of quitting didn't come back. Run, walk, or crawl, I wanted to finish," he said.
Until Saturday, Kohler's longest race was a 10-kilometer run, just over 6 miles. Even the most casual marathoners do a training run of 18 miles before the race. From his experience, he said he learned one thing: sometimes people can do more than they think they can.
After his long race, he went right back to work, put in a 10-hour day and then boarded a flight to Scotland for a vacation. "I was pretty sore, but I found the more I kept moving, the less sore I was, so I tried my best to go about life normally — minus running,” Kohler said from Glasgow. "I needed a break from that for a bit."
Not for too long, though. He's already considering the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon in October.
1.When did Kohler realize that he made a mistake?
A.Before starting the race.
B.After running 8 miles.
C.When being with the full marathoners.
D.While lining up for the half marathon.
2.Which of the following best describes Kohler?
A.Determined. B.Cooperative.
C.Open-minded. D.Well-prepared.
3.What can we infer from the text?
A.He went to Scotland to get a break from work.
B.He had never trained for the full marathon before.
C.He decided to complete the race at the 8-mile mark.
D.He was debating with himself when he finished the race.
4.What might be the best title for the text?
A.Life Lies in Movement
B.Life Means Never Quitting
C.One Can Always Do More Than He Can
D.One Mistakenly Runs Full Marathon Not a Half
Coolest Bookstores in the World
Where did you buy your last book? Chances are that you bought it on the Internet. But if you did, you missed the remarkable experience of browsing in a real bookstore. These days bookstores offer lots of great books and plenty more.
Eslite Dunnan Store
Time magazine once named Eslite Dunnan Store in Taiwan province, China "Asia's best bookstore". One visit to the store tells you why. The store, spread across five floors, offers a combination of restaurants, music and over 200,000 books. With its comfortable reading spots, visitors sometimes say it's like a library. Others have called it the "7-Eleven of bookstores" because it's open 24 hours a day.
Book Garden
The world's biggest bookstore is Tehran, Iran's Book Garden with 700,000 square feet of space. In addition to restaurants and a theater, the Book Garden features a park on the roof. Visitors can pick up one of 1,000 free books to read while enjoying the fresh air and sunshine from the Book Garden's rooftop park.
Saraiva Bookstore
Rio de Janeiro's Saraiva Bookstore might be the world's most colorful bookstore. The visible upper level is lined with books arranged by their colors. This rainbow effect provides a color welcoming for shoppers as they arrive. A rainbow path also leads young readers into the children's section.
Liberia Acqua Alta
Venice, Italy, is a city surrounded with water. Its books are displayed in all things related to water such as boats, bathtubs to protect them when the shop floods during high tide. It overlooks one of Venice's many canals, and the smell of old books fills the air.
1.Which bookstore provides a special reading place on the roof?
A.Eslite Dunnan Store. B.Book Garden.
C.Saraiva Bookstore. D.Liberia Acqua Alta.
2.What do we know about Saraiva Bookstore?
A.It is open twenty-four hours a day.
B.Shoppers can paint books with color.
C.It greets people with colorful books.
D.Shoppers can find a rainbow there .
3.Why are the books in Liberia Acqua Alta kept in boats?
A.Because the store is known for floods.
B.Because they match canals in Venice.
C.Because the store is surrounded with water.
D.Because they can be preserved from water.
