This year I tried to pick a few more things that are on the lighter side. Each of these books made me think or laugh or, in some cases, do both. I hope you find something to your liking here.
If you want to buy some, please contact me as you like.
Telephone number: 010-8568758
E-mail: favouritebook@163.com
Hyperbole and a Half, by Allie Brosh.
The book, based on Brosh’s wildly popular website, contains simple vignettes and comic drawings about her young life. The adventures she describes are mostly inside her head, where we hear and see her deep thoughts most of us are too shy to let out in public.
You will finish reading it in three hours, tops. But you’ll wish it went on longer, because it’s so funny and smart.
The Magic of Reality, by Richard Dawkins.
Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist at Oxford, has a gift for making science enjoyable. This book is as accessible as the TV series Cosmos is for younger audiences—and as relevant for older audiences. It’s an interesting, well-illustrated(图文并茂) science textbook offering attractive answers to big questions, like “How did the universe form?” and “What causes earthquakes?”
What If ? ,by Randall Munroe.
The subtitle of the book is “Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions,” and that’s exactly what it is. People write Munroe with questions that cover all fields of science: physics, chemistry, biology, etc.
Munroe’s explanations are funny, but the science supporting his answers is very accurate(精确的). It’s an entertaining read, and you’ll also learn a bit about things like ballistics, DNA, the oceans, and the atmosphere.
1.What does the writer think of Brosh’s book?
A.Interesting. B.Strange.
C.Priceless. D.Boring.
2.What is Dawkins good at as an evolutionary biologist at Oxford?
A.Making TV series. B.Drawing pictures.
C.Answering big questions. D.Making science attractive.
3.What kind of questions do people mainly like to ask Randall Munroe?
A.Funny questions in daily life. B.Scientific questions.
C.Serious entertaining questions. D.Questions hard to answer.
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
I'd just returned from the local hospital where I'd held my first grandchild in my arms for the first time. What a beautiful child! She was named after her grandmother, Betsy. How I wished that my wife were here to see the healthy baby of Grace, our only daughter.
I knew what Betsy would have wanted and expected me to do on this grand occasion of the birth of our granddaughter, so I beaded for her favorite department store to select as a gift for our daughter. Shopping here would cause me to feel that Betsy was still with me and could share the joy of the birth of her first granddaughter.
There was a clerk, an attractive middle-aged woman with her name tag “JOY”. Her fingers lingered over a pair of diamond earrings. “How about these?” she said to an elderly man. He held them up. “oh yes, these are very pretty,” he said. He then turned to me, “What do you think? Would these be a good anniversary gift for my wife?”
“They'll be a wonderful anniversary gift,” I said, and I wondered how many years he and his wife had been married. I thought of all the years Betsy and I had shared. “When your wife wears them, they'll remind her of your love.”
“That's precisely what I want them to do,” he said, smiling.
Joy asked, “What anniversary will this be?” The old man's eyes sparkled as he answered, “You'll never guess.” Joy then said, “Well, diamonds are traditionally given for the sixtieth anniversary.”
“You're wrong,” he said. “It's our first anniversary!” Joy looked as surprised as I felt, as the man said, “I still can't believe my good fortune the second time around, finding someone as wonderful as my wife Helen.”
“Congratulations,” Joy said. “Your wife is lucky to have such a generous husband. The first anniversary is supposed to be a paper gift.”
“Do you think I shouldn’t even could-ask Helen to wait 59 years for her diamonds?”
Joy's eyes opened wide, “oh, I didn't mean.”
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
The old man said to Joy, “I hope you young people will remember to live each day with meaning” ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
While she wrapped them, I took a deep breath and asked Joy, “Do you have dinner plans?”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假定你是某国际学校向日葵美术社（Sunflower Art Society)的成员，请你用英文为美术社的网站写一则纳新启事。内容包括：
1. 成员要求；
2. 社团宗旨；
3.主要活动。
注意：1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Notice
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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。
A year off-also called a gap year-is not a new concept, but there's now a focus on making the most of this break from academic life. Long gone 1.(be)the days of just hanging out on a beach or backpacking round the world. While that is still an option, a gap year is now 2.(much) about gaining skills that 3.(help)you in later life. The BBC' s Smart Consumer podcast spoke to a student called Meg, 4.said "I just always had in the back of my mind I'd spend a year on something productive and something that would just be good fun. "
Doing something productive is 5.(exact)what students are being encouraged to do because doing more purposeful things like work experience or voluntary work helps them acquire skills to use when competing for 6. place at university. It looks good on their CV and makes them more employable.
While the benefits of taking a gap year are clear 7.(see), some students worry they can't afford it. Another student, Tom, told the BBC that to him, a gap year was an 'alien concept'. He said" it would have been far too expensive 8. it's not something that I would have been able to rely on my parents or family 9.(member)for. "But some experts say that it needn't burn a hole in your pocket; you don't need to travel far and you can even earn money 10.doing paid work.
In 1914, World War I broke out. After hearing about all the men being _______ to fight in bloody battles, Edith decided she must help. So she went to Brussels in Belgium, where her hospital had been _______to a Red Cross hospital to care for war_______
There, she encouraged the nurses to treat _______soldiers that came through their doors, _______which side they were fighting on.
In August 1914, German forces_______ into Belgium and took control of the country. It was at this time that Edith made a decision that would change her fate-she decided to help British, Belgian and French soldiers _______to Holland, a 'neutral(中立的)country ' where they would be _______
Working closely with a_______network of people, she sheltered Allied(同盟国的)soldiers in her hospital________they wove well and then sent them out through a(n) ________ passage. She also helped to ________ them with a bit of money and secret ________for their escape.
________ time, the German police began to suspect Edith, and her colleagues urged her to run away to save herself. Edith refused, and ________ staying and helping Allied soldiers leave Belgium.
But in August 1915, ________struck when a Belgian spy discovered the secret passage ________ the hospital and reported it to the authorities. Edith was arrested and kept in prison. Many people felt she should be treated with ________, given that she had done so much work to help and look after both Allied and German soldiers.
________, their cries went unheard, and following a short ________, Edith was found guilty and shot by a German firing group in Brussels.
1.A.pulled up B.sent off C.settled down D.pushed out
2.A.transported B.turned C.changed D.exposed
3.A.prisoners B.citizens C.fighters D.victims
4.A.any B.only C.most D.same
5.A.in spite of B.regardless of C.for fear of D.according to
6.A.squeezed B.burst C.advanced D.pioneered
7.A.move B.expand C.immigrate D.escape
8.A.safe B.brave C.healthy D.strong
9.A.secret B.general C.famous D.rigid
10.A.after B.if C.until D.since
11.A.underground B.indirect C.constant D.illegal
12.A.comfort B.reward C.provide D.associate
13.A.policemen B.locations C.tools D.passwords
14.A.Over B.In C.On D.At
15.A.insisted on B.agreed on C.depended on D.looked on
16.A.accident B.disaster C.problem D.disorder
17.A.throughout B.beyond C.across D.beneath
18.A.cruelty B.peace C.mercy D.favor
19.A.Quickly B.Sadly C.Normally D.Surely
20.A.trial B.charge C.question D.judgement
A British father, digital product manager Nick Herbert, has invented an app, ReplyASAP, because his 13-year-old son wasn't responding to his calls or texts.
The app takes over a smartphone screen, locking the phone from further use and sounds an alarm that only stops when the receiver replies by text. It sounds like an invasion of privacy(侵犯隐私) and the latest attempt by distrustful parents to track and control their children. But this is fair enough-it serves these youngsters right for not replying.
Mobile phones are usually bought by parents primarily for safety reasons, but teenagers have" other important things". Sometimes, it's perhaps an entirely reasonable lack of interest in anything that" boring adults" have to say.
However, mobiles have also long been employed by teens in the ongoing war against parental control in their otherwise vivid social lives. Thus, texts and calls are ignored, with the teen pretending to have missed them or just simply ignoring them. At which point parents must stroke their chins and consider apps such as “ReplyASAP”。
It should be pointed out that Herbert's son wasn't doing anything wrong-he was merely distracted by video games. Most teenagers wouldn't be doing anything wrong, but that's not the point. While there are wider concerns about things such as ReplyASAP being used by adults to control and abuse partners, makers can't really be held responsible for their apps being misused. And where kids are concerned, it's all about parental access and information. Parents not only have a right, they also need to know that their children are sate. It's this need, not the right, that I believe morally outweighs the child's privacy. Anyone who doesn't agree with me perhaps needs to experience the horror of not being able to locate their child in the small hours, long after they were supposed to be home.
1.Nick Herbert invented the new phone app because.
A.his son refused to talk to him B.he couldn't reach his son by phone
C.his son was addicted to video games D.he wanted to monitor his son's phone use
2.Teens sometimes ignore calls and texts from parents because they
A.have little interest in their parents' social life
B.find parents' concern over their safety ridicul.us
C.believe they are not doing anything wr.ng
D.are busy taking care of other things
3.ReplyASAP could be put to wrong use by
A.controlling adults B.its maker
C.naughty teens D.child abusers
4.Why does the author support apps such as ReplyASAP?
A.Because parents have the right to access their kids 'phone.
B.Because parents need to know if their kids are safe.
C.Because kids tend to stay out in the small hours.
D.Because kids are supposed to obey orders.
