The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms(节气). Major Snow, the 21st solar term of the year, begins this year on December 7 and ends on December 22. During Major Snow, the snow becomes heavy and begins to accumulate on the ground. The temperature drops significantly.1. .
●Snowy winter
2. . The natural scenery is “ice blockading for hundreds miles and snow flying through thousands miles”. In the South, the snowflakes fly and the world turns white. About the snow, a proverb goes, “A timely snow promises a good harvest”. As the snow covers the ground, pests living through the winter will be killed by the low temperature.
●3.
Wintersweet(腊梅花)usually blossoms in mid-to-late December in some southern cities of China. Sometimes it even blooms earlier. Wintersweet originated in China and is highly appreciated in Chinese culture for its endurance in severe winters. With pine and bamboo, it is referred to as one of the Three Friends of Winter.
●Eating lamb
Lamb is the main food chosen by Chinese people during Major Snow.4.. People in Chongqing like to have potted lamb soup or stewed(炖)lamb soup with their families and friends. Nanjing residents like to stew the lamb with yams or wolfberries to make it more nutritious.
●Preventing respiratory (呼吸系统) illness
The Chinese people during this period pay attention to the outbreak of respiratory illness, which can be prevented by wearing a warm scarf to protect the neck and drinking water properly. During Major Snow, it is drier and colder, so people should drink more water.5..
A.Appreciating wintersweet
B.Blooming wintersweet
C.Here are several things you should know about Major Snow
D.At the same time, don’t drink cold water after exercise
E.But one should drink too much water at once
F.The snow in North China may last a whole day, breaking tree branches and blocking the road
G.It is excellent for nourishing the body, promoting blood circulation and providing protection against the cold.
When it comes to losing weight, many individuals know that the correct amount of exercise paired with healthy eating is the way to go. However, this doesn’t stop individuals from employing other small strategies into their routines to help the weight come off faster. The cold water technique uses the understanding that our metabolic (新陈代谢) rate will need to be increased in order to warm up the water we have consumed.
In 2003, a German research team chose to study fourteen participants and found that when they consumed ice water, they were able to increase their caloric consumption. According to the study, this consumption was increased by about 30% for over an hour, resulting in a 100 calorie burn per day with two liters of cold water. Now two liters of cold water a day is quite a lot to consume but for 100 calories burned a day, that’s a pretty major benefit considering how much exercise it takes just to burn 100-200 calories off. Unfortunately, later on, it was found that the way the study measured caloric consumption was flawed(有缺陷的) and that there wasn’t actually a 30% rise in metabolic rate but rather a very small statistical rise in calories spent.
Your body will work to bring any cold water that you consume up to the internal temperature through your metabolic system. It’s like when you place an ice cube into a warm drink, the drink will use up the energy to melt down the ice cube. Your body will use up the energy to heat that water up to match the environment within your body.
Drinking ice cold water should not replace healthy eating or exercise, but it can be used to help you burn away some extra calories.
1.When it comes to losing weight, some individuals will .
A.think exercise is the best way to lose weight
B.think we should only have healthy eating
C.use some small strategies to help them
D.first think of drinking cold water
2.What can be learned about the studies mentioned in the passage?
A.The cold water can sharply increase the caloric consumption.
B.It turned out that the former study was not entirely correct.
C.Two liters of ice water can burn 30% calories.
D.The cold water can replace exercise.
3.The author holds the belief in this passage that .
A.drinking cold water can help people lose weight in a way
B.healthy eating needn’t be combined with exercise
C.people should drink more cold water to keep healthy
D.the study is unbelievable
4.From which is the text probably taken?
A.Sports news B.A fashion magazine
C.A chemistry textbook D.A science magazine
US enrollment(入学注册)of international students declined for the second year in a row, sending waves of unease across American colleges and universities, which see students from abroad as a buffer (缓冲) against the falling number of US high-school students graduating each year.
The number of new international students enrolling at American institutions fell by 6.6% during the 2017-18 academic year, while a 3.3% decline the year before, according to a report by the Institute of International Education (IIE). The total number of international students in the US plus those working here on a student visa rose by just 1.5% this year. That was down from average annual growth of 6.1% over the past decade. Several factors are driving the decrease. Visa and immigration policy changes by the Trump administration have prevented some international students from enrolling, college administrators and immigration analysts said. A strong dollar has made US college tuition relatively more expensive, Canadian and European universities are competing fiercely for the same students, and headlines about mass shootings also may have prevented some students, said Allan Goodman, president of IIE.
Foreign students are big business. They pumped $42 billion into US college and university coffers (金库) in the 2017-18 school year alone.
1.The US government is expecting for more International students because _________.
A.they need gifted students from all over the world
B.the population in the US is growing older and older
C.they can compete with the universities from all over the world
D.fewer US high-school students graduate each year
2.The number of new international students enrolling at American institutions fell by_____ during 2016-17 academic year.
A.6.6% B.3.3%
C.1.5% D.6.1%
3.The decrease of the US enrollment of international students lay in several factors Except that .
A.the immigration policy has been changed
B.the expense of studying in America is high now
C.there were too many reports about gun shooting
D.the big mountain fire frightened the students away
4.What is the best title for this passage?
A.US sees fewer international students
B.America’s new policies
C.Fewer Chinese students study in the US
D.More money will go into the US
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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