Some people would go through anything just to achieve their dream. Kasia Siwosz is proof.
Born in Poland, Siwosz began playing tennis at seven years old and developed the skills that helped her earn a top-50 ranking among the ITF Junior division (国际网球联会青少年赛). Siwosz wanted to do more with her life than just play tennis, which led her to seek chances that would also allow her to obtain a top education. “There’s no collegiate (大学的) sports in Poland and no culture of sports and academic study there. You can only do one, not both,” Siwosz said.
Her desire to have a quality education led her to America to follow her dream. While Siwosz was talented enough to begin her collegiate tennis career, she could only attend community college because she missed the deadline to apply to four-year schools, mainly due to misinformation provided in her home country of Poland.
When she had earned all her credits and was able to transfer, Siwosz made the decision to attend Baylor in Texas. Her friends from Poland put in a good word for the university, saying that it was a good fit because there were many international players at Baylor. “I thought it would be a good idea, but it really wasn’t what I thought it would be,” Siwosz said. “I wasn’t happy at Baylor. The level of tennis was high, but the academic standards were no match and I just wanted more.”
After one year at Baylor, Siwosz’s luck finally began to change when she made the decision to transfer to Berkeley, which was due in large part to Lee, a former Berkeley student. Lee, who is a keen tennis player himself, met Siwosz four years ago in Texas. “I knew she was unhappy there,” he said. “I saw the opportunity for her to come here.” Siwosz visited Lee in Berkeley. “I ended up loving this place and this school,” Siwosz said. “I came here a lot over the summer, I gave it a shot and I ended up with a Berkeley education and a spot on one of the best college tennis teams in the country.”
1.Why did Siwosz want to leave her homeland for America?
A.Poland had no culture of sports.
B.Berkeley had always been her dream university.
C.She wanted to play tennis and have a good education.
D.She wanted to improve her tennis skills and get a higher ranking.
2.Why didn’t Siwosz take Baylor as her first choice when she first arrived in America?
A.The level of tennis in Baylor was not high.
B.It was too late for her to apply to a school like Baylor.
C.Her home country of Poland forbade her to Baylor.
D.Baylor was not suitable for international students.
3.How did Siwosz feel in Berkeley?
A.She was unhappy there.
B.She had difficulty in keep up with others.
C.She enjoyed studying there.
D.She regretted going there.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.How Siwosz realized her dream.
B.How Siwosz left Poland.
C.How Siwosz became a tennis player.
D.How Siwosz transferred from Baylor to Berkeley.
Princess quiz time! How did Snow White survive? How did Cinderella (《灰姑娘》) leave her evil stepmother? How did Sleeping Beauty finally wake up?
A kind-hearted person always comes to save the princess, like a prince or a godmother. Princesses cannot protect themselves, though they are very pretty and nice. They always need the help of others. However, in fact, women can’t put their life in the hands of a prince-like man. They need to work and even fight for their own happiness. The traditional image (形象) of a princess is getting out of date.
Recently, Disney, a company famous for its princess movies, posted the “top 10 rules for being a modern princess”. You will not find any rules related to beauty or looks. The rules highlight loyalty, honesty and other moral values. The rules say princesses need to believe in themselves and try their best to get out of trouble, instead of waiting for a prince’s help.
It’s not the first time Disney princesses have caught up with society’s development. In 1950, when people’s hearts were broken by World War II, Disney created Cinderella. In 1990, Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast (《美女与野兽》) loved reading when education was a man’s special right in the past. Belle showed the improvement of women’s position in society. Now is Elsa from the film Frozen (《冰雪奇缘》), a symbol of modern princess.
“This is brilliant — ‘The top 10 rules of being a modern princess’ — (it’s) about time,” a group named Confidently Mom said on social media website Twitter. Princesses are still very beautiful, but inner character is the key to being a princess.
1.What should modern women be like according to para2?
A.They should care about their appearances.
B.They should turn to others for help.
C.They should depend on men to change their lives.
D.They should depend on themselves for their own happiness.
2.What are Disney’s rules for a modern princess centered on ?
A.Her beauty. B.Her moral values.
C.Her education. D.Her position in society.
3.Why has Disney been changing the images of a princess according to para4?
A.To meet the need of the world peace.
B.To improve girls’ education.
C.To improve girl’s position in society.
D.To keep up with the development of society.
4.What does the group Confidently Mom think of the rules?
A.Doubtful. B.Meaningless.
C.Fantastic. D.Terrible.
When I was a little girl, I remember that when my dad was repairing something, he would ask me to hold the hammer, so we would have time for a conversation with each other. I never saw my dad drinking or taking a night out. All he did after work was taking care of his family.
I grew up and left home for college and since then, my dad had been calling me every Sunday morning. And when I bought a house several years later, my dad painted it by himself in the fierce summer heat. All he asked was to talk to him, but I was too busy in those days.
Four years ago, my dad visited me. He spent many hours putting together a swing for my daughter. He asked me to have a talk with him, but I had to prepare for a trip that weekend.
One Sunday morning we had a telephone talk as usual. I noticed that my dad had forgotten some things that we discussed lately. I was in a hurry, so our conversation was short. Several hours later that day I received a call. My father was in the hospital. Immediately I bought a plane ticket and on my way I was thinking about all the occasions I missed to have a talk with my dad. By the time I arrived at the hospital, my father had passed away. Now it was he who did not have time for a conversation with me. I realized how little I knew about my dad, his deepest thoughts and his dreams.
After his death I learned much more about him and even more about myself. All he ever wanted was my time. And now he has all my attention every single day.
1.When the author was a little girl, she .
A.was good at repairing things B.liked playing with the hammer
C.often talked with her father D.learned to take care of her family
2.What happened when the author was at college?
A.She phoned her father every Sunday morning.
B.She received a call from her father every Sunday morning.
C.Her father bought her a house.
D.She often asked her father to talk with her.
3.Why did the author fail to have a talk with her father four years ago?
A.Because her father was busy putting up a swing for her daughter.
B.Because she had got tired of talking with him.
C.Because she was busy planning a trip.
D.Because her father often forgot what they had once talked about.
4.What can we learn from the underlined sentence?
A.The author found an excuse to forgive herself.
B.The author and her father were both busy.
C.The author complained about her father’s leave without saying goodbye.
D.The author regretted missing the talks with her father.
Craziest Food Festivals sounds like a joke topic, but once you start looking into it, you’ll realize they’re everywhere---the crazier, the better.
1. Bibimbap Festival
In the South Korean town of Jeonjuloves, their “mixed rice” dish is a hearty serve of rice topped with raw beef, a rainbow of vegetables, a raw egg and gochujang sauce so much. They take four days out of October to celebrate it.
Like any festival there’s music, entertainment and magic, but making it that little bit different is the bibimbap that’s whipped (搅拌) up in a big bowl by dozens of chefs and served to over 400 people.
2. Waikiki Spam Jam
Who knew this canned meat had so much love? Well, it turns out that a can of Spam is the go-to item in Hawaii, along with a grass skirt and garland (花环). The people of Hawaii love Spam so much that they even spend a day in May giving out the best Spam, a type of cheap canned meat made mainly from pork.
3. Bessieres Easter Egg Festival
At Easter time, for those in the French town of Bessieres it’s all about an egg far less sweet.
Here they celebrate the holiday by getting dozens of chefs to make one large omelette (煎蛋卷) - 15,000 eggs strong - for the townsfolk (市民).
4. Potato Days Festival
This festival actually takes place in Barnesville, Minnesota, the US. Over the last Friday and Saturday in August the town celebrates its potato-growing skills by hosting potato picking and peeling contests, as well as a Miss Tater Tot pageant (盛典) for five-and six-year-old girls.
1.What makes Bibimbap festival special?
A.They take four days to celebrate it.
B.The mixed rice is rich in many vegetables.
C.There’s music, entertainment and magic during the festival.
D.The rice dish needs to be mixed in one big bowl by dozens of chefs together.
2.What do we know about Waikiki Spam Jam?
A.The spam is the favorite for Hawii people.
B.People spend one day to prepare the Jam.
C.The Jam isn’t affordable for the plain townsfolk.
D.The Jam is mainly made from raw beef.
3.If you have time in August, you can go to ______.
A.Bibimbap Festival B.Waikiki Spam Jam
C.Bessieres Easter Egg Festival D.Potato Days Festival
假如你是李华，你的朋友 Robert来信说要来中国学汉语，想了解你校情况。你回信告知：你校建于1950年，校园环境优美，有教学楼、图书馆、音乐舞蹈室、游泳池和运动场，而且你校的老师都优秀，对学生很有耐心。
内容要点：
(1)听说 Robert要来你校学习，你很高兴。
(2)简单介绍你校情况。
(3)期待早日在中国见到 Robert。
注意：1、词数80左右。
2、可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3、开头和结尾已给出，不算字数。
Dear Robert,
I'm glad you're coming to our school to learn Chinese.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Yours
Li Hua
阅读下面短文,按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求,霍空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空。
Robots have been widely used in our daily life. They can be 1. (see) in many factories today and have gone to such far places as 2. moon. Some robots can” see" 3.( clear). For they use TV cameras as their 4. (eye), Many robots have computer brains, Now they have even come into 5. (we) homes and work as 6. (help) at home , Not only can they do simple jobs for us ,such as 7. (put) things into boxes , but also they can look8. babies Unlike human beings 9. needy sleep, robots can work 24 hours a day. In the future, with the aid of robots, our life will become much 10. (easy) than before.
