If you’ve never heard of eight-year-old Gavin Thomas, you clearly aren’t one of the millions of people around the world who have fallen in love with the young internet sensation (网红) .
But it isn’t in his native United States that Gavin has really hit the big time, the honor belongs to China. Since creating a profile a mere four months ago on Weibo, Gavin has gained an astonishing 1.8 million followers - and the number continues to grow, along with his fame. On Twitter, by comparison, Gavin has a mere 450,000 followers.
Why is a young American, born in Minnesota and still in elementary school, an instant sensation in the largest country in the world? It’s because of Gavin’s unique facial expressions, which have become a hugely successful viral meme (模仿传递行为) . Gavin first made a name for himself in the US, when short videos of him playing with his uncle Nick Mastodon quickly became a hit online. But it wasn’t until Gavin’s videos spread gradually to the Chinese cyberspace, particularly one of his reacting with a nervous smile to a gecko (壁虎) being placed on his head, that his fame truly took off. A picture of Gavin’s face, smiling awkwardly, might be used as many as 10 million times a day across China’s various social media platforms, according to Ann Ding, founder and CEO of Dongtu.com, a major distributor of online gifts, told CNN. Ding said Gavin seemed to be more popular in China than in the US. She estimated that all of the total number of Gavin related pictures used across platforms in China has easily exceeded 1 billion. His appearance on Weibo was widely reported by Chinese state media, and his first trip to China in August made headlines across the country.
1.Where is Gavin more popular?
A.In the USA. B.In the Europe.
C.All over the world. D.In China.
2.Gavin Thomas has so many followers because of his ________.
A.unique facial expressions B.great contribution to China
C.coming to China D.his appearance with his uncle
3.The underlined word “exceeded” in the last paragraph means________.
A.enlarged B.strengthened
C.surpassed D.finished
4.Which of the following statements is true?
A.He has never come to China but well-known here.
B.He earned followers not only from the USA but also from China.
C.He became famous when reacting to a gecko placed on his head.
D.Gavin now works in major Chinese social media platforms.
100-Word-Story Competition 2018
Our annual short-story competition is back for its eighth year. As ever, we look forward to reading yours!
The Rules
Please make sure that stories are new, not previously published and exactly 100 words long (not including the title). We may use entries in all print and electronic media.
Entry is open only to people living in the UK. It is not open to employees of Reader’s Digest and all others associated with this competition, their immediate families and relatives living in an employee’s household.
Terms and Conditions
There are three categories-one for adults and two for schools: one for children aged 12-18 and one for children under 12.
In the adults category, the winner will receive￡1,000 and two runners-up will each receive￡250. In the 12-18s and under-12s categories, the winners will each receive a Fire HD 8 Tablet and a selection of STAEDTLER products worth￡50, plus two STAEDTLER classpacks of pencils for their school. The two runners-up in both categories will each receive a Kindle E-Reader.
Please submit your stories by 5 pm on February 19.
The editorial team will pick a shortlist of entries, which this year will be published by our partner nicereading.com. Winners of the categories will have an opportunity to write a longer version of their stories for inclusion in the book.
The three best stories in each category will be posted on-line at readersdigest.co.uk on February 27. You can vote for your favourite, and the one with the most votes wins the top prize. Voting will close at 5 pm on March 19 and the winning list will be published in our June issue (六月刊) .
1.Who is allowed to take part in the story competition?
A.A British man of 20. B.A staff of Reader’s Digest.
C.One of the organizers. D.A brother of the staff.
2.Which of the following will be awarded to the runner-up in the adults category?
A.A Fire HD 8 Tablet. B.A Kindle E-Reader.
C.￡50. D.￡250.
3.Where will the three best stories in each category will be posted?
A.On TV. B.In a magazine.
C.On a website. D.In a book.
阅读下面短文, 根据其内容写一篇 60 词左右的内容概要。
How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments - mostly for entertainment purposes is fair and respectful?
Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. However, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats. Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes.
Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range (分布区). The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs.
The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusual and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis(动物精神病). A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding(圈养繁殖) of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?
Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons why people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.
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假定你是李华, 你的好友张明邀请你参加他的 18 岁生日聚会, 你因故不能参加。请用英语给他 写一封电子邮件。内容包括：
●感谢邀请；
●表达祝愿；
●你不能参加的原因；
●你准备的礼物以及如何送给他；
注意：1. 词数 100 左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯；
3. 开头语和结束语已为你写好, 不计入总词数
Dear Zhang ming
How are you?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li hua
阅读下面材料, 在空白处填入适当的内容（1 个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Keeping a diary in English is an1.(effect ) way to improve our English writing ability.
2.(compare)with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes 3.(little) time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. If we persist in this practice, gradually we'll learn how to express ourselves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many4.(difficulty). In the first place,5.often happens that we have trouble6.(find )appropriate words and phrases to give expression to our mind. Secondly, there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is extremely hard for us to put them into English7.(proper).
As far as I 8. (concern), we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. 9. something beats us, we can first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is10.great use to keep a diary in English for the development of our writing skills.
A visit to the hospital is rarely a pleasant one. As I made my way to the ward(病房), I took a deep breath and_______ a smile. After all, nobody needed another_______ face in the room.
As I entered the ward, I overheard my relatives making plans for a funeral. My grandfather had remained _______ for almost a week, with a _______ diagnosis from the doctor. Was this really the end for him? _______ at my grandparents' place since young, I_______a very close relationship with them. He would sneak me downstairs for ice cream when Grandmother was in the bathroom, while I _______added more sugar in his morning drink because he had a sweet tooth that Grandmother disapproved of.
I wanted to_______ this quiet man. I did not believe it was his time to go. I had read about paper cranes(鹤) and wishes coming true. For every one thousand folded paper cranes, we get a wish granted by the gods. Ridiculous as it sounds to the adults, I managed to_______ my sisters and cousin to carry out this sacred plan.
The last few cranes were ________but a week later he was still in a deep sleep. The one thousand paper cranes had not delivered our________ to the gods. We only had one wish -was that too________to ask for?
Just when all hope seemed________, a call from my aunt changed everything. She wanted us to come to the hospital immediately my grandfather was awake. A visit to the hospital is ________a pleasant one. However, this time, I was________by the scent(香气) of flowers that visitors brought. I stepped into my grandfather's ward and saw him holding our jar of paper cranes. This man of few words looked up at me and said, “My good girl, thank you.”
1.A.hid B.gave C.forced D.return
2.A.beautiful B.miserable C.serious D.ugly
3.A.awake B.silent C.uncertain D.unconscious
4.A.firm B.wrong C.correct D.discouraging
5.A.Supported B.Raised C.Held D.Kept
6.A.improved B.destroyed C.established D.handled
7.A.secretly B.delightedly C.surprisingly D.gladly
8.A.call B.understand C.forget D.awaken
9.A.allow B.convince C.advise D.inform
10.A.completed B.perform C.started D.left
11.A.wish B.suggestion C.information D.opinion
12.A.heavy B.high C.much D.far
13.A.promising B.lost C.reasonable D.inspired
14.A.usually B.gradually C.rarely D.typically
15.A.praised B.accepted C.reminded D.greeted
