When he was a little boy his uncle called him “Sparky”, after a cartoon horse named Spark Plug. School was all but impossible for Sparky. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. And his record in sports wasn’t any better. Though he did manage to make the school’s golf team, he lost the only important match of the season in no time.
Throughout his youth, Sparky was awkward socially. It wasn’t that other students disliked him; it was just that no one really cared all that much. Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates ... everyone knew it. So he learned to live with it. He made up his mind early that if things were meant to work out, they would. Otherwise he would content himself with what appeared to be his mediocrity.
One thing was important to Sparky, however — drawing. In his senior year of high school, he sent some cartoons to the yearbook. The editors rejected his ideas. Despite that, Sparky was convinced of his ability. He decided to become an artist. So, after completing high school, Sparky wrote to Walt Disney Studios. They asked for samples (样本) of his artwork. Despite careful preparation, he was rejected.
But Sparky still didn’t give up. Instead, he decided to tell his own life’s story in cartoons. The main character would be a little boy who symbolized the continuous loser and chronic (长期的) underachiever. You know him well. Because Sparky’s cartoon character went on to become a cultural phenomenon of sorts. People readily identified with this “lovable loser”. He reminded people of the painful and embarrassing moments from their own past, of their pain and their shared humanity.
The character soon became famous worldwide — Charlie Brown. And Sparky, the boy whose many failures never kept him from trying, is the highly successful cartoonist Charles Schultz. His cartoon strip (连环漫画), “Peanuts”, continues to inspire books, T-shirts and Christmas specials, reminding us that life somehow finds a way for all of us, even the losers.
1.What does the underlined word “mediocrity” in paragraphs two mean?
A.annoying violence. B.strange behavior.
C.hopeless feeling. D.being ordinary.
2.Before Sparky started his Charlie Brown cartoon, _______.
A.his artwork was rejected time and again
B.he thought himself really bad at drawing
C.some editors encouraged him to keep trying
D.his artwork was accepted by Walt Disney Studios
3.Why did Sparky’s cartoon character Charlie Brown become popular?
A.Everyone had pity on it.
B.It belonged to youth culture.
C.Its lovely image rid people of their pain in life.
D.People shared some similarities with the character.
4.What can we learn from Charles Schultz’s story?
A.Everyone is equal in life. B.All is well that ends well.
C.There is always a way out. D.Things speak for themselves.
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
Get the sleep you’ve been dreaming about!
Save 50% today by using the promo code: “ywb979.”
Buy now at mypillow.com or call 800-299-4018
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
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Last Sunday, sixty students from our school pay a visit to China Science and
Technology Museum.The museum, which main task is to spread the knowledge of science and technology, covering an area of 48000 square meters. The moment when we entered the museum, the exhibition caught their attention. In the museum, we saw the latest progresses in science and technology. Moreover, we did an amazed scientific experiment by ourselves. What appealed us most was the 3D film that made us feel we were in real events.
Though the visiting time was slight short, we gained a lot. It is so an instructive activity that we hope more will be organized in the future.
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
One day, I was comfortably waiting for my flight with a good book to read1. an elderly lady was wheeled to our waiting area. I noticed the trouble she was having 2.(try) to open a packet of nuts with her shaking hands, so I offered to help. The lady was very grateful. The time came to board the plane. Realizing she needed some 3.(assist), I volunteered to carry her bag.
As I helped her get 4.(settle), I noticed her ‘seat mate’, a businessman,5.(look) a bit horrified at having to make the flight with her. He meant to change 6.(seat) with me---and I agreed. We had a long chat. As we were entering another country we needed to fill out forms. I offered to fill 7.(her) because of her shaking hands. We landed and I needed to change planes, but the wheelchair she ordered was nowhere 8. (see) so we slowly walked to the gate 9. her daughter was waiting.
As a result, I had to run to catch my connection but, as I thought about the experience, I saw her 10. my airport angel.
Just several days ago, a violent storm hit our community. I looked out of the window and witnessed a tree being ____ by the fierce winds. The branches bent, and swayed back and forth, thanks to their ____ to avoid breaking. The leaves desperately stuck to the branches because their life ____ the tree. The powerful trunk that ____ the tree upright bent slightly backwards from the force in a battle to ____ its position.
After the storm had passed, the tree gracefully returned to its ____ position standing tall among the chaos. It managed to ____ the storm. It didn’t look the same as leaves had shed from its branches and the soil had loosened a bit, but what ____ is that the tree won the fight for its life.
For a long time I couldn’t understand why this tree ____ my attention the way it did. As time passed, it became ____ that it wasn’t just about the tree but about the roots, which, although unseen, dig deep into the soil providing ____ and nutrition. The roots allow the tree to be able to take a ____ because they are there to support them.
I couldn’t but ask myself how deep the roots are in my life. ____, the next time you catch your kids ___, when the job is driving you crazy, when you are underpaid and the ____ is tight, and when the storms of life are raging, go back to your roots. Life is full of ____. They will make you sway, make you ___, make you lose some leaves but the deeper your roots the stronger you stand.
Faced with ____ you might bend but don’t break. No matter how hard the wind blows don’t let life ___ you into an uncomfortable position. Your ____ lies in your roots.
1.A.crushed B.abused C.broken D.removed
2.A.height B.thickness C.flexibility D.outline
3.A.answered for B.depended on C.catered for D.touched on
4.A.held B.tied C.pulled D.raised
5.A.achieve B.reach C.establish D.maintain
6.A.current B.final C.original D.comfortable
7.A.explore B.avoid C.chase D.survive
8.A.counts B.differs C.concerns D.reveals
9.A.fixed B.transferred C.escaped D.caught
10.A.strange B.obvious C.possible D.reasonable
11.A.surroundings B.resources C.probability D.stability
12.A.beating B.stand C.chance D.turning
13.A.However B.Therefore C.Nevertheless D.Besides
14.A.misbehaving B.struggling C.withdrawing D.misunderstanding
15.A.security B.deadline C.money D.community
16.A.surprises B.choices C.storms D.changes
17.A.smile B.bend C.hesitate D.advance
18.A.opportunities B.challenges C.tasks D.differences
19.A.trick B.argue C.force D.admit
20.A.courage B.ambition C.value D.strength
What color is a tennis ball? Ask your classmates, and they might give you some surprising answers.
US magazine The Atlantic recently asked 30,000 people this question. Among them, 52 percent said tennis balls are green, 42 percent said they are yellow, and 6 percent went with other colors. According to the International Tennis Federation, tennis balls are yellow. 1.
Scientists call this color constancy (色彩恒常性). For example, we know that China's flag is red. When we see it during sunset or under purple light, we still know that it is red, even if it looks like a different color. 2. Even if the object is seen in different kinds of light later, our brain can still tell its true color.
3. It appears to be a combination of yellow, a ''warm'' color and green, a ''cool'' color.
According to The Atlantic, when our brains try to figure out what color the ball is, some people ignore ''cool'' colors, such as green, blue and purple. So they see the ball as being yellow.4. They see the ball as being green.
5. In 2015, a girl posted a picture of a dress online. Some people believed the dress was black and blue—but others thought it was gold and white. They had different opinions based on whether they ignored ''cold'' or ''warm'' colors.
A.It is not just tennis balls that have such a confusing color.
B.But others ignore ''warm'' colors, such as red, yellow and orange.
C.However, the color of a tennis ball is not as pure as the flag.
D.It is difficult for some people to distinguish yellow from green.
E.So why did so many people say that they're green?
F.Certain parts of our brain are in charge of recognizing colors.
G.When we first see an object in natural light, our brains recognize its true color.
