A Window Into the Future
Shortly after its opening on the first day of Chinese New Year, The Wandering Earth began to gain momentum (展现强劲势头). In a little over a week, it made 2.8 billion yuan in the domestic market alone. The film’s popularity and success has come as a surprise to many reviewers especially since there hasn’t been that much success for Chinese-produced science fiction in the past. Many agree that this film will change the embarrassing situation and bring in a new age for Chinese science fiction.
As a genre (类型), Chinese science fiction has lagged behind general fiction in both the film and publishing industries. Even Liu Cixin’s (the author who wrote the short story on which The Wandering Earth is based) The Three Body Problem — which is currently quite popular — didn’t have many readers until it was translated into English and won the Hugo Award (雨果奖) in 2015. Personally, I haven’t read much of any genre written in Chinese, but I do notice that there aren’t many separate sections of the bookstore dedicated to science fiction. I cannot speak for everyone, but some people seem to have misunderstandings regarding the genre.
My parents were the type who tried to steer me in the direction of non-fiction and the classics. They believed that science fiction and fantasy were “unrealistic nonsense” and would “rot my brain.” Actually, great science fiction writers do their research. More often than not, one can learn a great deal about science and its possible development from reading science fiction. Sure, some of the concepts may be confusing or technical in nature, but that is also part of the appeal. Things like the internet, electric cars and tablet computers were first theorized (建立理论) in science fiction before they were invented. The author simply uses a combination of science and their imagination to create worlds different from the Earth of today, from which we can get bits and pieces that can be turned into a reality.
The world is changing. There may very well be a time when Earth is no longer able to sustain the entire population. We could be living on Mars or in giant spaceships; perhaps we will be forced to move Earth to a new solar system just like The Wandering Earth. Each of these scenarios (设想) has appeared in science fiction multiple times. If we are to be prepared for what is to come, we can look into modern science fiction for a window into the future.
1.According to the article, which of the following statements about The Wandering Earth is NOT true?
A.Critics did not expect too much of the film before its release.
B.It is the first time that Chinese science fiction has achieved success in the film industry.
C.The film was adapted from a short story in Liu Cixin’s The Three Body Problem.
D.In the future we might be faced with similar crises to the one described in the movie.
2.We can learn from the article that the author ______.
A.was not allowed to read science fiction by his parents
B.has never read Chinese science fiction
C.has little interest in science fiction
D.has not been prepared for the future development of science and technology
3.Paragraph 3 mainly talks about ______.
A.people’s misunderstandings about science fiction
B.real technologies inspired by science fiction
C.the practical significance of science fiction
D.imaginary worlds created by science fiction writers
F.Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24,1896, an American novelist, was once a student of St.Paul Academy, the Newman School and attended Princeton. University for a short while. In 1917 he joined the army and was posted in Alabama, where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre. Then he had to make some money to impress her.
His life with her was full of great happiness, as he wrote in his diary:“ My own happiness in the past often got such joy that I could share it even with the person dearest to me but had to walk it away in quiet streets and take down parts of it in my diary.”
This side of paradise, his first novel, was published in 1920. Encouraged by its success, Fitzgerald began to devote more time to his writing. Then he continued with the novel the Beautiful and Damned (1922), a collection of short stories Thales of the Jazz Age (1922), and a play The Vegetable (1923). But his greatest success was the novel The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, which quickly brought him praise from the literary world. Yet it failed to give him the needed financial security. Then, in 1926, he published another collection of short stories All the Sad Young Men.
However, Fitzgerald’s problems with his wife Zelda had an effect on his writing. During the 1920s he tried to reord his life, but failed. By 1930, his wife had her first break down and went to a Swiss clinic. During this period he completed novels Tender Is the Night in 1934 and The love of the last Tycoon in 1940. While his wife was in hospital in the United States, he got totally addicted to(沉迷于) alcohol. Sheila Graham, his dear friend, helped him fight his alcoholism.
1.How many novels written by Fitzgerald are mentioned in the passage ?
A.5 B.6 C.7 D.8
2.Which of the following is the correct order to describe Fitzgerald’s life
according to the passage?
a. He became addicted to drinking.
b. He studied at St.Paul Academy.
c. He published his first novel This Side of Paradise.
d. The Great Gatsby won high praise.
e. He failed to reorder his life.
f. He joined the army and met Zelda.
A.f-c-e-a-b-d B.b-e-a-f-c-d C.f-d-e-c-b-a D.b-f-c-d-e-a
3.We can infer from the passage that Fitzgerald _______..
A.had made some money when he met Zelda in Alabama.
B.was well educated and well off before he served in the army
C.would have completed more works if his wife hadn’t broken down
D.helped his friend get rid of drinking while his wife was in hospital
4.The passage is probably followed by a concluding paragraph about_____.
A.Zelda’s personal life
B.Zelda’s illness and treatment
C.Fitzgerald’s friendship with Graham
D.Fitzgerald’s contributions to the literary world
Not getting the sleep you need?
Is your pillow the problem?
How well did you sleep last night?
Did you toss and turn all night? Did you wake up with a sore neck or a headache? Do you feel like you need a nap even though you have slept for eight hours? Just like you. I would wake up in the morning with all of those problems and I couldn’t figure out why. Like many people who have trouble getting a good night’s sleep, my lack of sleep was affecting the quality of my life. I wanted to do something about my sleep problems, but nothing that I tried worked.
The pillow was the problem
I bought every pillow on the market that promised to give me a better night’s sleep. None of them worked. Finally, I decided to invent one myself. I asked everyone I knew what qualities they would like to see in their “perfect pillow” and got many responses: “I’d like a pillow that never goes flat,” “I’d like my pillow to stay cool” and “I’d like a pillow that adjusts to me regardless of my sleep position.” I spent the next two years of my life inventing MyPillow.
MyPillow to the rescue
Flash forward ten years and MyPillow, Mike Lindell’s revolutionary pillow design, has helped five million people improve the quality of their sleep. Lindell has been featured on numerous talk shows, including For Business News and Imus in the Morning. Lindell and MyPillow have also appeared in feature stories in The New York Times, MyPillow has been selected as the Official Pillow of the U.S. National Sleep Foundation.
“Until I was diagnosed with various sleep issues, I had no idea why my sleep was so interrupted throughout the night. I watched Imus each morning and heard endless ads about MyPillow. I ordered one and now, I wake up rested and ready to conquer (征服) the day ahead. Thank you for helping me remember what it's like to sleep like a baby!
—Jacqueline H
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1.What is the main purpose of this passage?
A.To introduce Mike Lindell. B.To encourage to buy MyPillow.
C.To tell the function of MyPillow. D.To deal with the problem of bad sleep.
2.The first two paragraphs were probably written by ______.
A.a fellow at the US National Sleep Foundation B.Jacqueline H
C.a staff writer for The New York Times D.Mike Lindell
3.Lindell decided to invent MyPillow after ______.
①he had trouble getting a good night’s sleep
②his wife often woke up with a sore neck or a headache
③none of the pillows that promised to improve sleep worked for him
④his friends shared their ideas of a “perfect pillow” with him
A.①② B.③④
C.①③ D.②④
One British school is finding that allowing children to listen to music or even to have the TV on while studying is helping improve grades.______ your teenager starts a family quarrel by sitting in an armchair listening to music while doing his homework, why not ______ a simple experiment? ______ taking the heavy handed(严厉的)line of ______ him to his bedroom to get on with it ______, let him do the homework the ______ he wants. You might well find that his essay is more sparkling than ______ he’s done before.
According to the research of Millfield preschool, around 20% of youngsters ______ best with background music, 10% excel(突出) when allowed to ______ their work with short walks around the room while up to 80% can concentrate ______ if allowed to fiddle(用手拨弄)with a small object.
The research has advised the school to adopt a complete ______ approach, analyzing pupils to discover which learning style _____ them best-then letting them do their work listening to music or______ lying down.______ parents at first regarded the ______ as a layabout’s(懒散闲荡的人) deed but many are now applying it at______ where children are also allowed to do their work ______ the television on.
”I ______ to work on the floor with music on low,” admits Susan, 13, a day girl.”At first my parents thought I was skiving (逃避),but my ______ persuaded them to look at my homework and when they saw it was okay, they ______.”
1.A.Then B.Next time C.Before long D.In case
2.A.take B.allow C.form D.try
3.A.Rather than B.Except for C.In place of D.In spite of
4.A.causing B.advising C.ordering D.permitting
5.A.quickly B.carefully C.quietly D.attentively
6.A.way B.atmosphere C.method D.means
7.A.everything B.anything C.nothing D.something
8.A.progress B.relax C.think D.work
9.A.break out B.break down C.break up D.break in
10.A.faster B.better C.deeper D.worse
11.A.new B.special C.common D.interesting
12.A.interests B.affects C.suits D.improves
13.A.still B.perhaps C.almost D.even
14.A.Puzzled B.Doubtful C.Angry D.Unpleased
15.A.move B.suggestion C.research D.problem
16.A.school B.class C.home D.last
17.A.while B.when C.as D.with
18.A.continue B.hope C.hate D.prefer
19.A.teacher B.classmate C.friend D.neighbor
20.A.refused B.agreed C.stopped D.blamed
He suggested that the book _____ returned to the library at once.
A.speaking of should be B.spoken to be C.referring to D.referred to be
Things of _____kind come together; people of _____ kind fall into _____ same group.
A.the; the; the B.a; a; the C.the; the; a D.a; the; the
