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.
Fireworks have been enjoyed by countless people ever since they were invented in China during the Tang Dynasty hundreds of years ago. From small family gatherings (团聚) to huge global celebrations, there isn’t a party that couldn’t be made more fun with a few fireworks. But it seems that there’s a big price to pay for some brief beauty and fun.
It’s been discovered that fireworks contain metals such as copper (铜) and lead, in addition to other pollutants like perchlorates (高氯酸盐). According to the Environmental Protection Agency, perchlorates can form naturally or be made. They are an industrial chemical used in rocket fuel and explosives (炸药), and are soluble (可溶解的) in water.
This is a reason for concern because perchlorates negatively affect the thyroid gland (甲状腺), which influences important bodily functions like blood pressure and heart rate.
Furthermore, a study conducted by Terry Gordon, a professor at New York University, examined the emissions(排放物) whose sizes were big enough to enter the lungs. They concluded that these emissions may lead to various dangerous conditions like cancer, heart attacks, and strokes (中风).
It is worth noticing, however, that no studies have proven the connctions between these conditions and the dangerous chemicals in fireworks.
However, the negative effects of firework emissions can be observed in birds. Britain’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds warns against setting off fireworks close to wildlife areas as they may cause confusion among birds.
In 2010, an incident involving 5,000 red-winged blackbirds falling out of the sky on New Year’s Eve in Arkansas, US supported this idea. A fireworks display held at a nesting ground for blackbirds led to the birds’ night sight being affected, causing them to fall to their deaths.
Arguably (可以说), the use of fireworks during celebrations may be because people don’t realize how they pollute our environment. Companies and researchers could take this cue (线索) and find other new, eco-friendly ways.
After all, for all the beauty fireworks bring, there’s no better beauty than that of our planet’s.
1.According to the article, perchlorates contained in fireworks ______.
A.do harm to the thyroid gland
B.raise the risk of cancer
C.are dangerous when put in water
D.are made from copper and lead
2.Terry Gordon concluded from his research that ______.
A.fireworks are directly connected with lung cancer
B.the waste from fireworks could threaten our body
C.chemicals in fireworks could increase our blood pressure
D.our body is strong enough to fight against the pollutants in fireworks
3.What is the author’s attitude toward the use of fireworks?
A.Positive. B.Negative.
C.Indifferent. D.Neutral.
It’s often said that the rise of social media has revolutionized (彻底改变) communication. With smartphones and social networking apps, we can write to our family and friends whenever we like. But while social media has brought us convenience, it also has its problems, such as misunderstandings in communication.
Quite often, people misunderstand what’s written on social media. According to a story published on The Conversation on March 8, sarcasm (讽刺), in particular, can be very difficult to notice in a written message.
Sarcasm is a kind of irony (反语): It’s when we say something, but really mean the opposite. For example, a message from a friend the day before a math exam that says “I’m so looking forward to tomorrow!” is obviously sarcasm.
Sarcasm before the rise of social media and mobile phones was mostly used in speech and face to face. That made sarcasm easier, because you could accompany your words with a facial gesture and a tone (语气) of voice that would help others get your message. You had a good chance of being understood and receiving a laugh or an understanding glance.
And yet when we text or write something online, a lot of that information goes missing. “There are no facial hints, no tones or maybe even a delayed response if a person can’t text you back immediately,” wrote The Conversation. “And if you don’t know the person all that well, there goes your last possible hint: history.”
To help avoid misunderstandings, people who use platforms such as Twitter often include the hashtag ﹟sarcasm – although this is like having to explain a joke when people don’t laugh at it, which destroys the point of sarcasm in the first place.
And it isn’t only sarcasm that can get lost in electronic communications. It’s also hard to notice things such as indifference (冷漠).
“One of the problems with digital communication, when it relies purely on text, is that this sucks (抽离) the empathy (情感共鸣) out of the communication. So it can lead to miscommunication,” linguist Vyv Evans, author of The Emoji Code, told USA Today. “This is where emojis come into their own. They put the body language back, so people can better read emotional intent (目的).”
However, even though there are hundreds of different emojis(表情符号) to choose from, there’s still no replacement for good old-fashioned face-to-face communication.
1.What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean according to the context?
A.They can’t wait to take the exam.
B.They are well-prepared for the exam.
C.They’re not looking forward to taking the exam at all.
D.The exam might be too difficult for them.
2.What might lead to the words we write online being misunderstood, according to the Conversation?
A.The use of new internet words and phrases.
B.The complicated relationship between people.
C.The absence of facial expressions and tones.
D.Responding to other people too quickly.
3.What does Vyv Evans think is a possible way to avoid miscommunication online?
A.Using emojis, as they can display body language.
B.Expressing fewer personal feelings.
C.Sending voice messages instead of text messages.
D.Using a hashtag before making jokes.
4.What is the article mainly about?
A.The convenience of online communication.
B.Some misunderstandings that come with digital communication.
C.A good replacement for face-to-face communication.
D.Some reasons for the popularity of emojis.
Slang(俚语) is very informal language which is often used by young people. It’s hard to keep up to date with it as new words and phrases appear and evolve (发展). Living in a multicultural society has an effect on language, especially on the young, whose friends are often from a mix of backgrounds. TV and music also have a big impact. A complete list of slang is difficult to make; by the time it was finished, the list would be out of date. However, here are a few examples:
Safe, sorted, sound, cool or wicked all mean “That’s good” or “I understand”.
Instead of using different tag questions (附加疑问句) like “… isn’t it?”, “… can’t you?” or “… don’t they?”, people use “innit”.
For example, “He can dance really well, innit!” (= He can dance really well, can’t he?) or “They always say that, innit.” (= They always say that, don’t they?)
Instead of saying “very”, “really” or “completely” use “well”, for example, “I’m well tired” or “You got it well wrong!”
“Whatever” means “I don’t care”, for example, A: “But the teacher says we can’t leave until we’ve finished.” B: “Whatever. I’m going.”
“He’s fine” or “he’s fit” both mean “He’s good-looking”. Fine and fit can describe a boy or a girl.
Not everybody uses slang and not everybody likes it. A school in the north of England recently told its pupils to stop using slang words such as “hiya” (hello), “cheers” and “ta” (both mean “thank you”) if they wanted to get a place at university or a good job.
When British people use language like this, it’s no surprise that some say they can’t understand native speakers. But perhaps learners don’t need to worry so much. Research shows that most of the English spoken around the world today is between non-native speakers of the language.
So, how important is it to understand these slang words and expressions? If you watch films or TV in English, read magazines in English, chat online in English or are interested in English song lyrics, then understanding slang can be very useful. You probably won’t see much slang in your English examination, though.
1.Why is it hard to make a complete list of slang, according to the article?
A.Because many slang words are outdated.
B.Because it is mostly used by young people.
C.Because modern slang changes very quickly.
D.Because it comes from different cultural backgrounds.
2.What can we learn about slang from the text?
A.It prevents language from evolving.
B.It is also spread through TV and music.
C.It is more popular in the UK than in the US.
D.It has found its way into formal written English.
3.What can we conclude from the text?
A.Knowing little slang doesn’t greatly affect how one communicates.
B.Many UK schools are encouraging students to use slang.
C.It is essential for English learners to study some British slang.
D.More English is spoken by native speakers than by non-native speakers.
假如你是李华，你的英国朋友Max来信询问你校图书馆的情况。请给他写回信，内容包括：
1.介绍图书馆(位置、占地、功能等)；
2.你经常借阅的书籍类型。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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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2处。每处错误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 。
On the first day of my part-time job, I woke up early than usual, excited but nervous. I said to me, with a mixture of these feelings, that it would be a easy job. However, things didn’t happen as I had expected. I entered the shop that I would spend the next couple of weeks serve coffee and food. After training, my first customer finally appeared. He ordered for a cup of coffee and two dish. Ignoring the shop’s rule, I carried the food without a tray. I was about to reach the table when one of the plates fall noisily to the floor. I stood there embarrassed. From now on, I always obeyed the rule and could never more careful.
