“Get well soon!” Martha said, handing Jason a purple balloon. She was his third ______ since he was diagnosed(诊断) with cancer. That’s ______ she was his teacher’s daughter, and her mother made her come. The other two, John and Eric, weren’t his friends, ______.
Jason knew he wouldn’t have long to live. He could ______ it deep inside. Seeing his grandmother crying and talking with the doctor ______ it. His time had come. He didn’t ______ his visitors, though.
Once Martha left, he ______ a page off his notebook and wrote: “Dear God, I know I’m messed up and ______ likes me. Please give me a second ______. I can show you what a good friend I can be.” He ______ a map showing the way from the church to the hospital, walked shakily to the window, and let the balloon fly away, carrying his ______ towards skyward. The balloon was ______ to a telephone pole, but a gentle ______ blew it away just in time. Soon it disappeared out of ______.
The next day, a girl he had ______ met before, wearing a long, brown robe, came to visit him. “I found the balloon by accident,” she said, “You are ______ ?” He just nodded his head, too ______ to talk. “I, too. My family come from Afghanistan and I no speak English good.” She smiled, “I bring present to you.” and handed him a box of ______. “I pray for friends, and God give me friends.”
Normally he would have made fun of her strange clothes and her ______ English. But he didn’t this time. He ______ and offered her the first chocolate.
1.A.doctor B.visitor C.nurse D.friend
2.A.why B.what C.how D.because
3.A.too B.neither C.either D.still
4.A.diagnose B.touch C.see D.feel
5.A.proved B.informed C.decided D.included
6.A.understand B.disturb C.tell D.stop
7.A.tore B.wore C.stuck D.threw
8.A.somebody B.nobody C.everybody D.anybody
9.A.adventure B.experience C.chance D.choice
10.A.copied B.made C.painted D.drew
11.A.message B.news C.notice D.notebook
12.A.facing B.heading C.backing D.waving
13.A.cloud B.sunlight C.snow D.wind
14.A.look B.scene C.sight D.glance
15.A.always B.seldom C.never D.often
16.A.lonely B.lovely C.lively D.unlucky
17.A.worried B.surprised C.frightened D.delighted
18.A.balloons B.books C.chocolates D.cakes
19.A.rude B.fluent C.written D.broken
20.A.relaxed B.wandered C.left D.smiled
Maybe you are an average student. You probably think you will never be a top student. This is not necessary so, however. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here’s how.
1) Plan your time carefully. 1.. After making this list, you should make a schedule of your time. First your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc. then decide a good, regular time for studying. Don't forget to set aside enough time for entertainment. A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you to realize everything that is happening to your time.
2) Find a good place to study. 2.. Keep this space, which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room, free of everything but study materials. No games, radios, or television! When you sit down to study, concentrate on the subject.
3) Make good use of your time in class. 3.. Really listening in class means that you don’t have to work too much later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.
4) Study regularly. 4.. Review the important points that your teacher mentioned in class. If you know what your teacher is going to discuss the next day, reading that material will become more meaningful, and you will remember it longer.
5) 5.. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. They help you remember what you have just learned in class. The world won’t end if you don't pass a test, so don't be overly worried.
There are other methods that might help you with your studying. You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.
A.Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teachers say.
B.Look around the house for a good study area.
C.When you get home from school, go over your notes.
D.Work hard at your subjects
E.When you plan your week, you should make a list of things that you have to do.
F.learn from other students when you meet some problems.
G.Develop a good attitude about tests.
“Helicopter(直升机) parenting” describes a style of raising children where parents are overprotective and do too much. The term describes parents who hover over their kids at home and on the playground like a helicopter. Today, modern technology allows these helicopter parents to hover from even far away. They can give their children directions at any moment from anywhere.
Julie Lythcott-Haims wrote a book titled How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kids for Success. In her book, she gives readers a closer look at this parenting style. She also explains why parents should stop it.
Julie Lythcott-Haims says she experienced the effects of helicopter parenting first-hand when she worked as dean of first-year students at Stanford University. The incoming students, or freshmen, she says, were very smart and accomplished on paper. But many were unable to take care of themselves, “They were turning to parents constantly for guidance, for problem solving, to have them make the choice about something.”
Lythcott-Haims warns this kind of parenting has many short-term wins but long-term costs that harm the child. She uses an area common to most children—a playground. Lythcott-Haims suggests letting your child get a little hurt.
“If you do your child’s homework, it will be perfect. That is what she calls the short-term win. The long-term cost is that your child may not feel capable(有能力的). And he does not become a determined learner, meaning he will give up easily when faced with a difficult problem to solve.” So what can parents do if they want to break the overparenting “helicopter” cycle? Reading Julie’s book, you can follow some ways to stop hovering over your children. In a word, when kids have all the skills to take care of themselves, they will be prepared for adulthood.
1.The underlined words “hover over” in Paragraph I probably mean .
A.deal with B.wait for
C.stare at D.circle around
2.What does the “helicopter parent” believe?
A.Short-term wins can harm the kids.
B.Getting protection from parents is necessary.
C.Trying to make decisions should be valued.
D.Learning from failure is helping kids.
3.What should parents do for their children based on Julie’s study?
A.Encourage them to do what they can do.
B.Help them grow with parent’s protection.
C.Guide them in doing as parents do or say.
D.Prevent them from playing on a playground.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.Helping Children Is Hurting Them
B.Helping Parents With Their Problems
C.A Good Way To Teach Your Kids
D.Stopping Being “A Helicopter Parent”
A new app aims to help parents interpret what their baby wants based on the sound of their cry. The free app ChatterBaby, which was released last month, analyzes the acoustic (声学的) features of a baby’s cry, to help parents understand whether their child might be hungry, fussy or in pain. While critics say caregivers should not rely too much on their smartphone, others say it’s a helpful tool for new or tired parents.
Ariana Anderson, a mother of four, developed the app. She originally designed the technology to help deaf parents better understand why their baby was upset, but soon realized it could be a helpful tool for all new parents.
To build a database, Anderson and her team uploaded 2,000 audio samples of infant(婴儿) cries. She used cries recorded during ear piercings and vaccinations to distinguish pain cries. And to create a baseline for the other two categories, a group of moms had to agree on whether the cry was either hungry or fussy.
Anderson’s team continues to collect data and hopes to make the app more accurate by asking parents to get specific about what certain sounds mean.
Pediatrician Eric Ball pointed out that evaluating cries can never be an exact science. “I think that all of the apps and technology that new parents are using now can be helpful but need to be taken seriously,” Ball said ,“ I do worry that some parents will get stuck in big data and turn their parenting into basically a spreadsheet(电子表格) which I think will take away the love and caring that parents are supposed to be providing for the children. ”
But Anderson said the aim of the app is to have parents interpret the results, not to provide a yes or no answer. The Bells, a couple using this app, say it’s a win-win. They believe they are not only helping their baby now but potentially others in the future.
1.How does the app judge what babies want?
A.By collecting data.
B.By recording all the sounds.
C.By analyzing the sound of their cries.
D.By asking parents about specific messages.
2.What was the app designed for in the beginning?
A.All new parents. B.Deaf parents.
C.Ariana Anderson. D.Crying babies.
3.What is Ball’s opinion about the app?
A.Parents should use the app wisely.
B.The app can create an accurate result.
C.Parents and babies are addicted to the app.
D.The app makes babies lose love and caring.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.Parents should not rely too much on their smartphones.
B.A new app helps parents figure out why their babies are crying.
C.Parents can deal with babies’ hunger with the help of a new app.
D.A new app called ChatterBaby can prevent babies from crying.
Ever since Grumpy Cat first appeared online, the Internet can't get enough of her.But attention is not the only thing that this cat is getting. Her fortune is estimated at $100 million, more than many famous actors and musicians earn.
So how did it all start?
Grumpy Cat's owner Tabatha Bundesen was working as a waitress when her brother Bryan decided to take a photo of her funnylooking cat and post it on Reddit, a social news site. In a matter of hours, she became a sensation (轰动).
It got 1 million views on Imgur in 48 hours.
Grumpy Cat's real name is Tardar Sauce and she actually has a condition called dwarfism, which makes her constantly frowning. But that unique frown turned out to be worth millions of dollars.
Tabatha, who lives in Arizona in the U.S., isn't complaining. She still remembers that September 22, 2012, when her life turned upside down.
Since her cat became a worldwide phenomenon, she was able to quit her job and devote her life to managing her cat's modeling career. Sounds unbelievable, but it's true. She says that her only job now is to book Tardar's photo shoots, commercials (商业广告), and other appearances.
What are the other benefits of owning a milliondollar cat?
Apart from not having to work, Tabatha can travel all the time. She has time and money to visit her family more often and enjoy her life. She never could have imagined just how huge her cat would become, but she always knew Tardar was very special. And she is glad to see her cat bringing joy to so many people around the world.
As for the millions of dollars Tardar has earned, they come from all the products, commercials and a bestselling book. She even has her own movie Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever.
1.What does the underlined part “the Internet can't get enough of her” mean?
A.The Internet can't stand her any more.
B.The Internet can't pay more attention to her.
C.People don't focus on her any longer on the Internet.
D.The Internet can't find enough information about her.
2.What made Grumpy Cat become famous?
A.Her unusual appearance.
B.Her bad temper.
C.Her short and fat body.
D.Her unique fur.
3.About Tabatha Bundesen, we know that ________.
A.she now works as a waitress
B.she feels very tired of her famous cat
C.she only manages her cat's modeling career
D.she is too busy to go home to visit her parents
4.The general idea of the last paragraph is ________.
A.how the cat can become so famous
B.how the cat can make so much money
C.what the film about the cat is named
D.how the cat's owner spends so much money
A layover(临时滞留) or flight delay can be extremely fun in these international airports.
Munich Airport, Germany
Aviation(航空) lovers passing through Munich can take a behind-the-scenes tour to learn how the airport operates. Visitors can also tour three historic aircraft and a retired rescue helicopter, climb up to a 28-metre high observation platform for an up-close view of take-offs and landings, and watch films on aviation in the airport’s 60-seat cinema. Travelers can also kill layover time at an 18-hole mini-golf course, or even stop in for a teeth cleaning at the airport dental office.
Changi Airport, Singapore
After a long flight to Singapore, travelers can relax in a Balinese-style swimming pool, work out at the airport gym, or enjoy a drink and live musical performances at the airport’s Music Bar. The airport also boasts a tranquil butterfly garden, and a “fragrant garden” which is home to 15 species of plants and trees. Free movies at one of two airport cinemas also keep passengers entertained.
Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, the Netherlands
Schiphol is Europe’s fifth-largest airport. Here passengers can view the works of Dutch masters free of charge, and try their luck at airport’s casino(赌场). You can even have your wedding ceremony at Schiphol—couples can choose from four different wedding packages, including a 1930-style ceremony held on a Dakota military aircraft.
San Francisco International Airport, California
The airport’s 24-hour AirTrain not only moves passengers between terminal, but also provides a fun view of the runways. There are three aquariums(水族馆) to explore, along with interactive play area, an aviation museum, and a library. If that’s not enough to keep the little ones busy, travelers can rent portable DVD players and movies for use in the airport.
1.What can travelers do at the Munich Airport?
A.They can have their teeth cleaned.
B.They can watch free films in the 28-seat cinema.
C.They can visit one of three aquariums.
D.They can relax in a swimming pool.
2.Which is the unique feature of the Schiphol Amsterdam Airport?
A.Passengers can see a retired rescue helicopter.
B.Passengers can visit a Munich military aircraft.
C.Passengers can get married there.
D.Passengers can play golf there.
3.Which airport was designed with kids in mind?
A.Munich Airport. B.Changi Airport.
C.Schiphol Amsterdam Airport. D.San Francisco International Airport.