The spiders have long, scary legs. Some spiders even bite. But Spider-Man is another story. He might help people see spiders less negatively, a new study finds.
After Menachem Ben-Ezra, a proud fan of the Marvel (漫威漫画公司)films and also a psychologist. saw the movie Ant-Man and the Wasp (黄蜂), lie walked out with a sudden scientific idea that he should measure people before they went into the theater, and afterwards to see if the fear of ants would be reduced or changed.
Ben-Ezra and his colleagues asked 424 people questions, about one-quarter of them about spiders, such as “Did they find them scary?” “Did seeing one make their hearts race and palms sweat?” A second group received similar questions, this time about ants. The last two groups got the same questions about other insects. Afterward, everyone watched videos. Group one got a Spider-Man movie. Group two saw Ant-Man and the Wasp. Groups three and four watched unrelated video-wheat waving peacefully in the breeze.
After viewing the movie, Ben-Ezra again asked the participants how they felt about spiders, ants or insects in general-and found the ant and spider exposures seemed to make people insensitive and less afraid. Between 3.5 and 6.1 percent of people experience such a phobia (恐惧症) of spiders. Phobias can stop people from traveling, working and enjoying their lives.
Ben-Ezra hopes that their movie research might help people with phobias. But they caution that people with phobias shouldn’t just run out and watch movies and expect their fears to go away. “What we did is only the first step in a very long road.” Ben-Ezra says. “We didn’t say you’ll be cured. We don’t have evidence for that.” But eventually, presenting people’s fears in a positive context-such as a superhero movie—might help people surmount their fear or disgust. After all, if spiders produce Spicier-Man, maybe they’re not so bad.
1.How did Ben-Ezra conduct the study?
A.By doing lab experiments. B.By asking questions.
C.By analyzing former data. D.By observation.
2.What does the underlined word“surmount” in the last paragraph mean?
A.Delete. B.Regain.
C.Discover. D.Overcome.
3.What did Ben-Ezra advise people to do with phobias?
A.They should not try to face their phobias.
B.They should travel, work and enjoy their lives.
C.They should adopt a positive attitude to their fear.
D.They must keep away from the insects they fear.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.The Movies about the Insect Fear
B.The Positive Energy of Superheroes
C.The Cartoon Characters Made by Marvel
D.Fighting Spider Fear with Spider-Man
Tabichi’s father,uncle,and cousins have all worked as teachers. He could see that his relatives were making a real difference to people’s lives and wanted to do the same. So for the past 12 years, Tabichi has worked as a math and science teacher in the hope that his lessons will give students a chance to improve their situations.
However,working at a remote village school in Kenya hasn’t been easy. The unique challenges and obstacles have forced Tabichi to find unique solutions for his students. The school only has one computer and unreliable Internet access. The school also has no library or laboratory. To make matters worse,there are not enough books for all the students and the school is desperately in need of more teachers. Most of the students are not able to concentrate, because they haven’t had enough meals at home.
One of the other major challenges that Tabichi faces is keeping kids in school as long as possible. So Tabichi spends most of his time outside of the classroom working on ways to keep kids in school. When the 36-year-old gets the feeling that a student is at risk of dropping out, he works to persuade families to put more value in education. To help those in poverty afford food,uniforms,and books, Tabichi also gives away 80 percent of his salary. Despite all the obstacles he faces, Tabichi is credited for improving the school and keeping much of the village’s youth in school. He has also managed to set up science clubs and addressed food insecurity issues.
Thanks to his tireless work,his students have excelled. In recent years,students have won national and international science competitions. In March of 2019, Tabichi was voted the best teacher in the world and won the prize of $1 million.
1.What inspired Tabichi to be a teacher?
A.The high salary of teachers.
B.His father’s demand on him.
C.Contributions a teacher can make.
D.His relatives’ encouragement.
2.What is paragraph 2 mainly about?
A.The difficulties Tabichi’s school faced.
B.The life of a remote village in Kenya.
C.Tabichi’s unique teaching ways for his students.
D.Most of the students’ distraction on their learning.
3.What occupied Tabichi’s most time?
A.Giving students the best lessons.
B.Helping students get rid of poverty.
C.Persuading students not to drop out.
D.Getting students away from any risk.
4.Which of the following can best describe Tabichi?
A.Pitiful. B.Lucky.
C.Punctual. D. Selfless.
Portugal’s most beautiful seaside destinations
The long coastline of Portugal is extraordinarily diverse. Wind your way along it and you will find true Portugal,its history,its heart and its soul.
Cascais
Originally a little whitewashed fishing village, Cascais became a summer residence for wealthy noblemen in the late 19th century. It is now a busy, modern town, but along its shoreline,it still has palatial villas (富丽堂皇的别墅), many of which have been turned into hotels,and its pretty town square and old streets have kept their character.
Comporta
This little village has,until recently,been a secret of the experts. With hotels now starting to open,the locals make the most of it before the crowds come. Blue waters wash such-picture-perfect white sands that it’s hard to believe you’re in Europe: walk the beach at sunset, or weave your way on horseback through the green rice fields before a meal of the freshest of fish on the seashore.
Zambujeira do Mar
Standing between the fierce Atlantic and the plains of the Alentejo,the little fishing village of Zambujeira do Mar has one of the regions most beautiful beaches, backed by high rock cliffs. For five days in August, one of Portugal’s biggest youth music festivals, MEO Sudoeste, is held here. Dates for 2020 are August 4-8.
Lagos
White-washed Lagos manages to maintain its character and charm while offering a lively nightlife for locals and tourists. An important naval centre in the 15th century, Lagos was also capital of the Algarve from 1576-1756. Extensively damaged in the 1755 earthquake,the town now consists of mostly 18th and 19th-century buildings. Visit Santo Antonio Church for its blue and white tiles and gilded (镀金的) woodwork.
1.Which place is still a destination full of mysteries?
A.Lagos. B.Comporta.
C.Cascais. D.Zambujeira do Mar.
2.What is special about Zambujeira do Mar?
A.It is a remote village. B.It faces the Pacific Ocean.
C.It hosts a music festival. D.It lies on high rock cliffs.
3.When were most of the constructions in Lagos built?
A.14-15th centuries. B.15-16th centuries.
C.16-17 th centuries. D.18-19th centuries.
假定你是李华，暑假在澳大利亚悉尼歌剧院参观时结识了当地青年Jack，参观过程中他为你提供了很多帮助。在你即将回国之际，给他写一封信。内容包括：
1. 感谢他的帮助；
2. 你的收获与祝福。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：悉尼歌剧院Sydney Opera House
Dear Jack, __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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：在错的词下划一横线，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。
Nowadays the Internet and mobile phones are becoming increasing popular. As a result, there are few chances for us to writing letters to our friends and family.
Actually, there are some disadvantage of using modern communication tools. To begin with, we don't know how to write Chinese characters with our hands because of we are used to sending messages or chatting online. What's more, we are losing the ability to express our thoughts in a clear but proper way. On other hand, the advantages of writing letters were obvious. It not only keeps our tradition alive, but also remind us of our friendship forever.
Let’s write letters to our friends and family. It is everyone duty to protect tradition Chinese culture.
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。
The Austrian capital, Vienna, is known1.its museums, palaces and ease of living. The city of 2 million people2.(identify) recently as having the world’s highest quality of life for the3.(ten) year in a row. That opinion comes from Mercer, a consulting agency4. does a yearly Quality of Living Ranking.5.(measure) quality of life is not a simple job.
Mercer says the agency looks at many factors (因素). For example, researchers measure how6.(easy) people can use public transport, such as buses and trains.They ask whether drivers can move well on the roads. They ask if houses and apartments 7.(be) available at a good price? and whether children can go to international schools. They think about whether people in the city can enjoy music, theater, restaurants and sports. And, they look for8.healthy political and social climate. In total, the agency has considered 39 factors in 10 areas to name Vienna the9.(win).
Vienna has also been ranked number one on other quality of life measurements, such as the Economist’s Global Liveability Index. Other top 10.(city) on Mercer’s list included Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver.
