Geraniums of Love
As the fifth of seven children, I went to the same public school as my three elder sisters and brother. Every year, my mother went to the same ceremony and had parent-child interviews with the same teachers. The only thing different was the child. And every child _______ an old school traditional activity---the annual plant sale held in early May, just in time for _______Day.
Third grade was the first time that I was allowed to take part in the plant sale. I wanted to surprise my mother. _______, I didn’t have any money. I went to my eldest sister and _______ the secret, and she gave me some money. When I arrived at the plant sale, I carefully made my _______. I agonized(苦苦思索) over that decision, _______ each plant to ensure that I had indeed found the best geranium. The moment I had smuggled it home, with the help of my sister, I _______ it on the upstairs neighbor’s porch. I was very afraid my mother would find it before Mother’s Day, but my sister assured me that she wouldn't, and _______ she did not.
When Mother’s Day arrived, I was bursting with pride when I gave her that geranium. I remember how bright her eyes were, and how delighted she was with my _______.
The year I ________ fifteen, my younger sister reached third grade. In early May, she came to me full of wonder and secrecy and told me that there was going to be a plant sale at school and she wanted to ________ our mother. As my eldest sister did for me, I gave her some money and ________ went my sister. She arrived at home full of ________ excitement, the geranium hidden in a paper bag ________ her sweater. “I looked at every plant,” she explained, “and I know I got the best one!”
I helped my little sister hide that geranium on the upstairs neighbor’s porch, assuring that our mother wouldn’t find it before Mother’s Day. I was there when she gave my mother the geranium and I saw them both bursting with pride and ________. It was like being in a dream I had already dreamed. My mother noticed me ________, and she gave me a soft secret smile. Shocked and puzzled, I ________ back. I had been wondering how my mother could ________ to be surprised at this gift from her sixth child. But as I watched her eyes ________ with delight as she was ________ with that most precious gift, I knew she was not pretending.
1.A.passed down B.participated in C.broke with D.carried on
2.A.Women’s B.Father’s C.Children’s D.Mother’s
3.A.Furthermore B.Moreover C.However D.Therefore
4.A.shared B.discovered C.guarded D.stuck
5.A.plan B.preparation C.present D.selection
6.A.watering B.growing C.inspecting D.protecting
7.A.showed B.potted C.packaged D.hid
8.A.indeed B.instead C.properly D.anyhow
9.A.performance B.grades C.gift D.presence
10.A.went B.turned C.grew D.came
11.A.inspire B.surprise C.satisfy D.relax
12.A.off B.up C.in D.out
13.A.nervous B.youthful C.increasing D.false
14.A.on B.beside C.over D.under
15.A.confusion B.anxiety C.delight D.astonishment
16.A.listening B.watching C.smelling D.tasting
17.A.waved B.smiled C.signed D.called
18.A.pretend B.continue C.appear D.try
19.A.take up B.make up C.light up D.set up
20.A.impressed B.satisfied C.associated D.presented
Living in a culture that is different from your own can be both an exciting and challenging experience. You have to learn different cultural practices and try to adapt to them.
1. They talk about topics such as ages, income or marital status, which Americans think is annoying and instructive (侵犯的).
In China, elders are traditionally treated with enormous respect and dignity while the young are cherished and nurtured. In America, the goal of the family is to encourage independence, particularly that of the children. 2.
Chinese people have their own way to define friends. 3. Friendship means lifelong friends who feel deeply obliged to give each whatever help might seem required. Americans always call people they meet friends, so the definition of friends is general and different. There are work friends, playing friends, school friends and drinking friends.
As is well known, the Chinese like to save. 4. It is different in the US, where for fewer families are saving money for emergencies and education than their Chinese counterparts.
5. If you achieve something in the US, it’s because you are great. While in China, if you achieve something it’s because the team, or family, or company is great. Everything you do gets attributed to the greater whole, while in America individual merits are celebrated.
A.Just hanging out together from time to time is not friendship.
B.Chinese people put more emphasis on good character and faith.
C.More often than not, they call casual acquaintances friends.
D.They are always conservative when they are planning to spend money.
E.Basically China values the community and the US values the individual.
F.Chinese people do not have the same concept of privacy as Americans do.
G.Unlike the Chinese, older Americans seldom live with their children.
What makes Belgian (比利时的) chocolate so special? How has Belgian chocolate become so famous? What are the reasons why Belgian chocolate is so good? After reading the text, you will find the answers.
Congo (刚果) became their gateway to Africa’s cocoa plantations and resulted in Belgium bringing back cocoa beans to Europe from Africa around the 1880s. Therefore, Belgium could produce quality chocolate before anyone else in Europe and before most countries in the world. Even the Swiss, who are farmed for their chocolate, learnt much of what they know from the Belgians.
Belgians are naturally good at engineering---They developed processes; they created new methods. Firstly, Belgium was one of the first countries to come up with machines which could make the cocoa beans really thin so that the chocolate was extremely smooth.
Another example of this Belgian innovation was the process brought about by Jean Neuhaus in 1912. He developed a way to make a cold shell of chocolate for what he called “pralines (干果糖)”. These were different and for the first time the chocolate could be filled with a variety of flavored creams, such as coffee, fruit or even more chocolate. No one else at that time could make chocolate with such a complexity of flavor and this development changed the way people would eat chocolate forever.
Just as many Italian villages have a specialty olive oil supplier and many French villages have a local vineyard (酒庄), so is it true that every Belgian village has its own small chocolate shop. Recipes have been passed down through for families for generations. This culture extends to both the quality of ingredients used and the care that is taken when people make the chocolate. The most delicious Belgian chocolate is made not by large manufacturing companies, but in small family chocolate shops by hand and basic equipment.
1.What makes Belgians produce quality chocolate first in Europe?
A.The perfect location. B.The improved process.
C.The advanced equipment. D.The earlier access to cocoa beans.
2.What does the underlined word” innovation” in paragraph 4 mean?
A.devotion. B.creation.
C.strength. D.preference.
3.What can we infer from the passage?
A.Chocolate has been the typical product of Belgium.
B.Belgian chocolate has been also famous in Italy and France.
C.It is hard to buy Belgian chocolate made by small family shops.
D.Recipes of Belgian chocolate were introduced from other countries.
4.What is the structure of the passage?
A.①---②③④---⑤ B.①--②--③--④--⑤
C.①--②--③④--⑤ D.①--②--③④⑤
As pictures of the recent Northern California wildfires confirm, living on the edge of a forest comes with considerable dangers. But new research from Germany suggested closeness to a wooded area may not have all unfavorable effects.
In a study of older urban residents, it was found that living close to forest land is linked with strong, healthy functioning of a key part of the brain. This indicates that, compared with those who live in a mostly man-made environment, people who live on the boarder between city and forest may be better able to deal with stress.
“The findings suggest forests in and around cities are valuable resources that should be promoted,” writes a research team led by Simon Kuehn of the Max Plank Institute for Human Development in Berlin.
The researcher analyzed data on 341 participants in the Berlin Aging Study II, all of whom were between the ages of 61 and 82. They specifically looked at three different signals of brain structural function, each of which provided distinct information on several key brain regions. They also noted the amount of forest land within a one-kilometer distance of each participant’s home address.
“Our results reveal a significant positive association between the coverage of forest and amygdale (扁桃腺) function,” the researchers report. The amygdale is the set of neurons (神经元) that plays a key role in processing emotions, including fear and anxiety.
Perhaps surprisingly, Kuehn and her colleges found the amygdale function wasn’t germane to living close to urban green spaces such as parks, or bodies of water. Only closeness to forest land had this apparent positive effect.
More research will be needed to confirm that forest has a stronger, measurable impact on brain health than exposure to other forms of nature. But the evidence keeps mounting that, in stressful times, there is much to gain by surrounding yourself with plants and …
1.What’s the finding of the new research?
A.Brain activities relate to stress control.
B.Man-made environment may lead to stress.
C.Old urban citizens have healthier brain functions.
D.Living near a forest may help relieve pressure.
2.What is paragraph 4 mainly about?
A.The result of the new study.
B.The standard of choosing participants.
C.The preparations for the study.
D.The process of the new study.
3.What does the underlined part “germane to” in paragraph 6 mean?
A.beneficial to B.damaged by
C.relevant to D.limited to
4.What may be the author’s attitude towards living close to the forest?
A.Cautious. B.Favorable.
C.Ambiguous. D.Disapproving.
Starting Cycling
We have two services designed to give people the confidence and knowledge to cycle successfully.
Lessons
All our instructors have been trained to National Standards level of “Bike-ability”. This means you will be trained to a standard consistent across the whole country.
There are three levels of skills to progress through. Children would start levels 1&2, progressing from the playground or park to cycle on less busy local roads. Teenager and adult beginners can also learn levels 1&2 in an off-road and quiet environment.
Confident teenagers and adults can broaden their skills by learning level 3, using multi-lane roads and larger roundabouts. We provide both complete packages of lessons for the beginner or individual lessons tailors to the client. Whatever the need we can address and practice until perfect!
Cost is ＆30 per hour.
Guided Ride
We know that riding on the roads in London can be scary, and if you have to navigate(确定行车路线)as well it can become a real hard task! The Guided Ride service takes all the stress out of it for you by providing the following:
Route planned in advance to suit your skill level. Route map provided to you.
Cycle and equipment checked. We will teach you a simple method to check basic roadworthiness(车辆性能)of your bike that you can perform on a weekly basis.
Route discussed and focus given to any areas requiring special attention.
Cycle along with the instructor close behind. Here the traffic can be controlled by the instructor and rider observed.
We currently cover London Zones1&2. Please contact us if your requirements are outside of these areas.
Cost ＆30 per hour.
1.Where can level1&2 lessons for adult beginners be carried out?
A.Off road. B.Near large roundabouts.
C.On busy local roads. D.On multi-lane roads.
2.What services does the Guided Ride provide?
A.They check your cycle and equipment every week.
B.They help you to be familiar with all London roads.
C.They let users experience the busiest road in London.
D.They ensure users ride safely in London zones 1&2.
3.Who is the text probably intended for？
A.Bike riding lovers. B.Children and teenagers.
C.Travelers in London. D.Parents loving cycling.
Raised in a fatherless home, my father was extremely tightfisted towards us children. His attitude didn’t soften as I grew into adulthood and went to college. I had to ride the bus whenever I came home. Though the bus stopped about two miles from home, Dad never met me, even in severe weather. If I grumbled, he’d say in his loudest father-voice, “That’s what your legs are for!” The walk didn’t bother me as much as the fear of walking alone along the highway and country roads. I also felt less than valued that my father didn’t seem concerned about my safety. But that feeling was canceled one spring evening.
It had been a particularly difficult week at college after long hours in labs. I longed for home. When the bus reached the stop, I stepped off and dragged my suitcase to begin the long journey home.
A row of hedge（树篱）edged the driveway that climbed the hill to our house. Once I had turned off the highway to start the last lap of my journey, I always had a sense of relief to see the hedge because it meant that I was almost home. On that particular evening, the hedge had just come into view when I saw something gray moving along the top of the hedge, moving toward the house. Upon closer observation, I realized it was the top of my father’s head. Then I knew, each time I’d come home, he had stood behind the hedge, watching, until he knew I had arrived safely. I swallowed hard against the tears. He did care, after all.
On later visits, that spot of gray became my watchtower. I could hardly wait until I was close enough to watch for its secret movement above the greenery. Upon reaching home, I would find my father sitting innocently in his chair. “So! My son, it’s you!” he’d say, his face lengthening into pretended surprise.
I replied, “Yes, Dad, it’s me. I’m home.”
1.What does the underlined word “grumbled” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A.Accepted happily. B.Spoke unhappily.
C.Agreed willingly. D.Explained clearly.
2.What made the author feel upset was ______.
A.the feeling of being less than valued
B.the fear of seeing something moving
C.the tiredness after long hours in labs
D.the loneliness of riding the bus home
3.The author’s father watched behind the hedge because ______.
A.he didn’t want to meet his son at the doorway
B.he wanted to help his son build up courage
C.he was concerned about his son’s safety
D.he didn’t think his son was old enough to walk alone
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.My College Life. B.My Father’s Secret.
C.Terrible Journey Home. D.Riding Bus Alone.
