Every New Year’s Eve, we had breakfast at Aunt Dot’s house. Aunt Dot lived in a home with shelves of___ and photo albums she had collected over the years. Colorful pots of plants lined her kitchen windowsills and movie posters for classics___ the walls in the living room.
Although the food was delicious, my most vivid___ of the meal was the centerpiece that Aunt Dot always ____ on her kitchen table-a set of seven ceramic (陶瓷的) salt and pepper shakers .
It wasn’t until years later, when I was home during a holiday, that I finally asked Aunt Dot about the ____ centerpiece. She was then eighty-seven years old and she still___ us to the last breakfast of the year. I had come over early that morning to ____ the meal preparations and Aunt Dot was _____ cooking. Then I asked, “Why do you always put them out on New Year’s Eve morning?”
“Well, my dear,” Aunt Dot said in a ____ manner. “It helps to _____ me that even though the holidays are over, there’s another whole year of them coming. I have learned over my many years that nothing really___ ; every ending in life is really just another new beginning.” She smiled and continued, “Remember that, my dear.” And I___ .
In the spring of that year, after a short illness, Aunt Dot ___ . She left her book _____ to my mom and the movie posters to my sister, but I was ______ to learn that I got the holiday salt and pepper shakers. I ____ Aunt Dot wanted to make sure I remembered her___ to life.
Now, I continue Aunt Dot’s breakfast____ at my own apartment. The pancakes are never as ____ as Aunt Dot’s, but the center of the table is covered with those _____ salt and pepper shakers, reminding us all that every ending is really just another beginning.
1.A.toys B.books C.plates D.products
2.A.painted B.preserved C.decorated D.designed
3.A.memory B.description C.imagination D.dream
4.A.threw B.arranged C.ignored D.noticed
5.A.unusual B.artificial C.common D.expensive
6.A.advised B.ordered C.allowed D.invited
7.A.help with B.play on C.look into D.talk about
8.A.casually B.anxiously C.enthusiastically D.secretly
9.A.standard B.thoughtful C.funny D.polite
10.A.warn B.convince C.remind D.promise
11.A.connects B.changes C.improves D.stops
12.A.hesitated B.nodded C.sighed D.refused
13.A.moved on B.gave up C.fell over D.passed away
14.A.collection B.review C.club D.shop
15.A.disappointed B.surprised C.proud D.relieved
16.A.discover B.admit C.guess D.hope
17.A.introduction B.aid C.attitude D.solution
18.A.suggestion B.service C.trend D.tradition
19.A.significant B.simple C.vivid D.delicious
20.A.empty B.old C.recyclable D.strong
As they say, age is just a number. 1. To cope well with the changes, you have to develop good habits in caring and maintaining your body’s health and youth. Adopting these simple yet noteworthy habits should be done in order to attain healthy and graceful aging.
Stay positive. 2. A study reveals that those people who think of age as wisdom and overall satisfaction could recover better from a disability than those who view aging as uselessness and helplessness.
3. Practicing good eating habits should start early in life to accustom yourself from different kinds of food served on the table. As you age, the body keeps on changing; thus, nutrition is vital in delaying the aging process. Your plate should have the following nutrients to maintain balance. Low-glycemic diet high in fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains and lean protein is the healthiest. A research reports that eating plant-based food, whole grains, nuts as well as eating fish twice each week and reducing salt intake may help you age better. It wards off risks of heart attacks, strokes and premature aging. On the contrary, too much sugar, carbohydrates and fatty food can accelerate aging process. 4.
Moderation is the key. Anything in excess is bad for the health. 5. In order to age better and live longer, it is recommended to stick to a balanced diet that consists of 2 1/2 cups of vegetables, 1 1/2 to 2 cups of fruit, six ounces of grains, three cups of dairy and five ounces of protein each day.
A.Eat right.
B.Keep nutritious.
C.Optimism is the key to cope well with aging.
D.So take it slow on indulging in these kinds of food.
E.As you grow old, changes occur to varied parts of your body.
F.Avoid overeating as it leads you to a shorter life span, heart diseases, and type 2 diabetes.
G.When you are aging, different parts of your body will become weaker and weaker.
The Austrian capital, Vienna, has beaten Australia’s Melbourne to be named the world’s most livable city of 2018.It’s the first time a European city has topped the first of the Economist Intelligence Unit(EIU)annual survey.
The worldwide league table ranks 140 cities on a range of factors, including political and social stability, crime, education and access to healthcare.
In the survey, Manchester saw the biggest improvement of any. European city, rising by 16 places to rank 35th. Manchester’s rise puts it ahead of London in the rank by 13 places, the widest gap between the two cities since the survey began two decades ago. The EIU said Manchester’s jump in the rankings was due to an improved security score.
The survey was criticized last year for demoting(降级)Manchester after the Manchester Arena attack which killed 22 victims. This year, survey editor Roxana Slavcheva said Manchester had shown resilience(恢复力)in the city’s recovery from a recent terrorist attack, which previously shook up stability.
Ms.Slavcheva said security had also improved in several western European cities and Vienna’s top place in the rankings reflected a relative return to stability across much of Europe, According to the survey, nearly half of the cities have seen their livability ranking improve over the past year.
Melbourne, ranked second in this year’s global rankings, had previously come top for seven years running. Two other Australian cities also made this year’s top ten: Sydney and Adelaide.
At the other end of the scale, war-torn Damascus in Syria was ranked the least livable city, closely followed by Dhaka in Bangladesh and Lagos in Nigeria. The EIU said that crime, civil unrest, terrorism or war played a “strong role” in the ten-lowest scoring cities.
1.Which city was named the world’s most livable city in 2017?
A.Manchester.
B.Vienna.
C.Melbourne.
D.Dhaka.
2.What contributes most in making Manchester rise in the rank this year?
A.Education.
B.Social stability.
C.Political stability.
D.Access to healthcare.
3.What makes Damascus the least livable city?
A.High crime rate.
B.Education.
C.Civil equality.
D.Wars.
4.What is the main purpose of the passage?
A.To introduce the latest rank of cities based on their livable standard.
B.To explain different ways to measure a livable city.
C.To propose possible means to make a livable city.
D.To present what the cities are like globally.
A new study found the greater the improvement in people’s handwashing habits at airports, the more noticeable the effect on slowing the infectious (传染的) diseases, including the flu. The findings were published in late December, 2019, just before the recent coronavirus (冠状病毒) outbreak, but the study' s authors say that its results would apply to any such disease and are relevant to the present outbreak.
People can be surprisingly casual about washing their hands, even in crowded locations like airports where people from many different locations are touching surfaces such as chair armrests, check-in entrances, security checkpoint trays, and restroom doorknobs and taps. On average, only about 20 percent of people at airports have clean hands. The others are potentially polluting everything they touch with whatever infections they may be carrying.
Improving handwashing at all of the world's airports to be three times that rate, so that 60 percent of travelers have clean hands at any given time, would have the greatest effect, potentially slowing global disease spread by almost 70 percent, the researchers found. Adopting such measures at so many airports and reaching such a high level of obedience may be impractical, but the new study suggests that it could potentially be accomplished through education, posters, public announcements, and perhaps improving access to handwashing facilities. It could slow the global rate of the spread of a disease by about 24 percent, they found.
The findings are consistent with recommendations made by both the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. Both have indicated that hand hygiene (卫生) is the most efficient and cost-effective way to control disease spread. While both organizations say that other measures can also play a useful role in limiting disease spread, such as use of surgical face masks, airport closures, and travel limitations, hand hygiene is still the first line of defense-and an easy one for individuals to implement.
1.What is most people’s attitude to handwashing?
A.Favorable. B.Careless.
C.Doubtful. D.Cautious.
2.What did the study suggest on increasing handwashing rate at airports?
A.Establishing higher hygiene standards.
B.Making handwashing fun and enjoyable.
C.Passing special laws to require handwashing.
D.Raising people's awareness of handwashing.
3.Why does the author mention the World Health Organization?
A.To introduce other measures.
B.To stress the importance of it.
C.To tell who carried out the study.
D.To make the study results more convincing.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.People have many good habits at airports.
B.Handwashing reduces infectious diseases.
C.New coronavirus is breaking out.
D.There is great improvement in handwashing.
When students walk into Jenny Umland's class, they don't automatically go to the same seat they sat in the day before. In her classroom at Riverdale Heights Elementary School, Lowenstein’s are allowed to sit wherever they want. Umland doesn't assign seats. In fact, she has done away with most of the regular desks and uses beach chairs, standing desks, and rocking chairs instead.
Riverdale Heights is one of a growing number of schools that have ditched assigned seats. Many teachers say letting kids choose where to sit helps them learn how to make good choices. Some teachers point out that students are often more comfortable speaking up when they're sitting near kids, they like the most.
“If kids are happy and comfortable, they are more willing to learn,” says Umland. After 19 years of teaching, she tried non-assigned seating for the first time this year. She says she'll never go back.
But not all teachers are ready to do away with their seating charts. Some say having assigned seats helps students focus on their work, instead of where they'll sit. One teacher from Texas thinks letting students sit wherever they want can create chaos. Assigned seating helps keep classrooms under control. Without specific seats to go to, students may argue over who gets to sit in the best spots. He often finds it hard to work in that environment. A more controlled classroom leads to better learning. Maybe what he says is reasonable. A 2012 study by Montana State University found that high school students did better on tests when a teacher assigned their seats.
A student, Jack, from Lowa, thinks he and his classmates should be comfortable when they learn. He says, “My teacher, Mrs. Umland, allows us to choose our own seats, and it's great! I used to be terrified of sitting in the same seat every day, which made me uncomfortable all over. Being allowed to sit wherever I want makes me more enjoyable, because I can sit where I'm most comfortably.” And Umland says, “The setup in my class helps kids get along better. If two students want to sit in the same spot, they have to talk it out and compromise”.
1.What do we know about Umland?
A.She insists on arranging regular desks.
B.She is strongly against non-assigned seating.
C.She has failed in teaching in the past 19 years.
D.She lets students in her class choose their own seats.
2.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “ditched” in paragraph 2?
A.tried on B.looked forward to
C.got rid of D.prepared for
3.What does Jack think of the Umland's seat setup in her class?
A.It is cozy. B.It is terrifying.
C.It is controversial. D.It is uncomfortable.
4.What's the best title for the text?
A.What Role Do Students Play in Class?
B.Should Students Have Assigned Seats?
C.Students Are Required to Listen Carefully in Class
D.Assigned Seats in the Classroom Are Popular Now
Located in Los Angeles, University of Southern California is in the heart of a leading city. Although LA ranks highly in The Economist’s Safe Cities Index, navigating and city calls for certain safety precautions (预防措施) along with practicing common sense.
♦ Mobile Safety App Powered by LiveSafe
The Mobile Safety App powered by LiveSafe, manage by the USC Department of Public Safety and the USC Department of Emergency Planning, is a free downloadable app that mobile users can use to initiate contact with emergency responders around the campus. Features include: immediate “push button” calls to DPS, easy reporting for suspicious activity or crimes in progress, and location services to notify friends of your route through campus.
♦ Blue Light Phone Locations
The University Park has multiple blue light phones that are strategically placed throughout campus. Take note of where the closest ones are on your route. They come in handy in case you lose your phone or in an emergency. These phones are directly connected to USC’s Department of Public Safety’s 24-hour communications center. Besides emergency needs, it can also be used to report suspicious activity, request for an escort (护送) if you feel unsafe and to report a crime.
♦ Trojans Alert
Trojans Alert is an emergency notification system that allows university officials to contact you during an emergency by sending messages via text message or email. When an emergency occurs, authorized USC senders will instantly notify you with real-time updates, instructions on where to go, what to do (or what not to do), whom to contact and other important information. All members of the USC community, as well as parents and regular visitors to campus, are strongly encouraged to sign up for Trojans Alert.
1.What do blue light phones do for students?
A.Guide students through campus.
B.Alert students to crime activities.
C.Light up the way if students feel unsafe.
D.Connect them with the safety department.
2.How does USC send out instructions during an emergency?
A.With blue light phones.
B.Via text message or email.
C.Through mobile safe app.
D.By calling all USC members.
3.What is the purpose of the text?
A.To encourage students to fight crime.
B.To introduce USC’s safety department.
C.To provide safety services for USC students.
D.To inform parents of safety risks on campus.
