Once there lived a noble guru(领袖) known for his wisdom and compassion(同情). But one of his disciples(信徒) _______ that his guru had not taught him anything valuable despite spending 20 years at his _______. Hearing his complaint, the guru gave him the responsibility of bringing lunch to Gurukul(school) every day from his neighborhood.
While getting _______ from the neighborhood one day, the disciple befriended a(n) _______ parrot,to whom he complained about his guru. The parrot _______ : “I have heard great things about the noble guru. Are you sure you were _______ in the process of learning?” The frustrated disciple shouted,“You shouldn’t _______ my intelligence.” Disappointed with his arrogance(傲慢), the parrot _______ the conversation.
A few days later, the _______ parrot told him, “My master has decided to ________ me in two days, and said,” Please ask the guru for a ________ to save my life! The disciple answered ________ : “He has not taught me anything. How would he be ________ to you?” But because the parrot had ________ , he decided to ask his guru.
The next day, the parrot asked him for the solution. The disciple said: “I told the guru about your ________ . When I asked for a solution, the guru simply lay still on the floor for a while, and then went away. I am sorry that he cannot help.” The day after, the disciple saw a(n) ________ cage. He met his friend’s master to ________ the sad death. The angry master ________ : “When I went to open the cage, the parrot was lying still. I opened the cage to look at it. Suddenly, it flew away and ________ .”
Hearing this, the disciple realized the parrot had ________ his guru without even meeting him once. Now he knew where the lack of willingness actually was.
1.A.admitted B.complained C.announced D.proved
2.A.service B.promise C.noise D.place
3.A.advice B.support C.food D.message
4.A.injured B.sick C.stuck D.caged
5.A.agreed B.added C.explained D.replied
6.A.mindful B.rude C.good D.honest
7.A.praise B.question C.blame D.fool
8.A.refused B.banned C.ended D.changed
9.A.regretted B.excited C.angry D.worried
10.A.release B.protect C.sacrifice D.attack
11.A.information B.solution C.instruction D.decision
12.A.shyly B.calmly C.sadly D.nervously
13.A.frank B.acceptable C.skillful D.helpful
14.A.begged B.consulted C.reminded D.promised
15.A.problem B.challenge C.responsibility D.potential
16.A.big B.empty C.unusual D.beautiful
17.A.announce B.claim C.confirm D.prevent
18.A.yelled B.joked C.warned D.laughed
19.A.died B.wandered C.hid D.escaped
20.A.knew about B.learned from C.depended on D.looked for
Many teenagers want to look cool. 1.Chloe Murray, an eighth-grader at Jefferson Middle School in the US, realized this problem and established a charitable clothes closet(衣橱) to help her peers.
2.The school let her use a room for the project. Chloe s classmates joined her as well.
Last month, the charitable clothes closet, called Chloe s Closet, opened. 3. "Confidence is a real issue in middle school, especially when it comes to clothing," Chloe told the Chicago Tribune, a daily newspaper in Chicago, US.
4. Many people from the school s community and neighboring schools donated used and new clothes. The clothes closet is only open after school. Students can "buy" these clothes by earning "money" when they turn in their schoolwork on time. make corrections on homework, participate in a school activity or express helpfulness to their peers and teachers. Since the first week in March, about 100 items have been "sold" to students.
"5. Then, they will be better able to focus on the learning material rather than paying too much attention to what they are wearing, Shannon Arko, a language arts teacher at the school, said about the mission (使命)of the closet. "Feeling good about yourself translates into a better learning experience overall."
A.Where are the clothes from?
B.Her school supported the idea too.
C.Fashion has already become an important part of students' lives.
D.You need to supply children with basic needs, such as clothing.
E.Despite all these difficulties, she was able to start a charitable clothes closet.
F.But not everyone can afford to keep up with the changing fashion trends.
G.It' s filled with trendy clothes for girls and boys to help students look their best.
An animated(动画) film Coco has made a dark horse in the Chinese film box office competition at the end of these recent two years. Since its first run on Nov 24, 2017 in China, the animation has taken in over 602 million yuan. Against the background of the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, a day in memory of the dead, it centers on a 12-year-old boy named Miguel accidentally transported to the land of the dead, where he seeks his great-great-grandfather’s help to be a great musician and also return him to his family.
Coco has scored 9. l of 10 points at Chinese movie review website Douban for its warm story, popular soundtrack and, most of all, meaningful theme. However, the film wasn't favored by Chinese moviegoers at first because of the poor translation of the film title.
It was called “Xun Meng Huan You Ji”, meaning the journey to chase dreams in Chinese.” It's such an improper name. The film is more than a little boy's musical dreams—it also explores the meaning of life and death." said a Sina Weibo user Gu Xudong. “The awful translation almost made me miss such a great film. When I first noticed its name, I thought it another Forrest Gump.” said the Sina Weibo user Xiao Pihai.
Some locations featured in the animation have gained much attention on Chinese social media platforms like WeChat and Sina Weibo. And many people expressed their hopes to visit these scenic spots in the future. Meanwhile, the film's universal values that you should cherish your family and loved ones won much appreciation from the audiences. The boy's grandma Coco reminded me of my grandmother. I couldn't help but sob at the cinema." said the netizen Xu Lingling.
The meaning of life and death is an everlasting issue for humans. And it seems unlikely to be explored in animation, but more animated films are going in that direction. Coco tells us, “Death is not a scary thing at all, but being forgotten by others should be.” “The physical death is not the final destination. The moment when no living people remember who you are, then you have gone forever,” is one of the most impressive lyrics in the film.
1.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph1 refer to?
A.the background. B.the animation.
C.the Mexican holiday. D.the memory of the dead.
2.Coco has achieved great success at the popular Chinese movie review website mainly because of _______.
A.interesting story. B.meaningful theme.
C.positive energy. D.popular soundtrack.
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Xu Lingling had a low opinion of the translation of the film title.
B.People would rather die than be forgotten by others.
C.The film’s values won much appreciation from the audiences.
D.Many people visited these scenic locations featured in the animation.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.People increasingly love cross cultural stories.
B.An animated film exploring life and death wins big.
C.Profound truths are revealed in an animated film.
D.Poor translation arouses debate.
Years ago when I was at the Grand Canyon, I remember someone coming up to the canyon's edge, taking a shot with their camera and then walking away, like ‘got it- done’, barely even glancing at the magnificent scene sprawling in front of them,” Linda Henkel, a scientist at Fairfield University, US told Live Science.
Henkel was surprised by how obsessed people are with taking pictures these days—before dinner, during friends' birthday parties, on museum tours and so on. You know people just like that, don’t you?
They keep taking pictures because they think that it helps record the moment, but as Henkel's latest study has just found out, this obsession may prevent their brains from remembering what actually happened, reported the Guardian.
In her study, Henkel led a group of college students around a museum and asked them to simply observe 15 objects and to photograph 15 others. The next day the students' memory of the tour was tested, and the results showed that they were less accurate in recognizing the objects and they remembered fewer details about them if they photographed them.
“When people rely on technology to remember for them—counting on the camera to record the event and thus not needing to attend to it fully themselves, it can have a negative impact on how well they remember their experiences,” Henkel explained.
But there is also an exception: if students zoomed in to photograph part of an object, their memory actually improved, and those who focused the lens on a specific area could even recall parts that weren’t in the frame.
So basically, this study is saying that constantly taking pictures can harm your memory. But shouldn't reviewing pictures we have taken help wake up our memories? This is true, but only if we spend enough time doing it.
“In order to remember, we have to access and interact with the photos, rather than just collecting them,” Henkel told The Telegraph. However, previous research has shown that most people never take the time to look over their digital pictures simply because there are too many of them and they aren't usually very organized on their computers.
1.The author mentioned Henkel's trip to the Grand Canyon at the beginning to _______.
A.describe the great view of the Grand Canyon.
B.complain about some tourists bad habits.
C.point out people’s obsession with taking pictures.
D.give suggestions on how to enjoy one’s tour.
2.Which of the following statements about Henkel's study is TRUE according to the article?
A.Taking pictures in a museum tour helps students recognize objects better.
B.Reviewing pictures always helps people bring back memories.
C.Pictures that focus on the details of objects are likely to improve people’s memories.
D.People should spend more time taking pictures than studying real objects.
3.What point of view may Henkel agree to?
A.People who tend to use cameras to catch the moment will remember the experience.
B.People should collect many pictures to remember the experience.
C.Taking pictures have negative impact on remembering the experience.
D.Reviewing pictures constantly can help remembering the experience.
4.What is the article mainly about?
A.Some skills to learn for taking pictures.
B.People's obsession with taking pictures and its influence.
C.How pictures remind us of our past.
D.How to deal with pictures after taking trips.
Contrary to popular belief, when a person makes a mistake while learning, it improves their memory for the right information, but only if the error is close to the correct answer, according to their recent findings made by Baycrest researchers.
To figure out the influence of making mistakes on learning, researchers carried out the study. They asked 32 young adults with no Spanish background to guess the English definitions of certain Spanish words. The Spanish words selected either resemble an English word with similar meaning or look like an English word, but mean something different. Participants were first shown a Spanish word and asked to guess its meaning. Then, they were briefly shown the correct translation before being shown another Spanish word. After repeating this process with 16
Spanish words, participants had a short break before their memory for the translations was tested.
Researchers found that people were better able to think of the correct translations of Spanish words that were similar to the English words. They had greater difficulty retrieving the meaning of words that look misleading.
“Our research found evidence that mistakes that are a ‘near miss’ can help a person learn the information better than if no errors are made at all,” says Dr. Nicole Anderson. “These types of errors can serve as stepping stones to remembering the right answer. But if the error made is a wild guess and out in left field, then a person doesn't learn the correct information easily.”
"Based on these findings, someone studying for an exam should only take practice quizzes after reviewing the materials,” says Dr. Anderson. “If a person takes a practice test and is unfamiliar with the content, they risk making guesses that are nowhere near the right answer. This could make it harder for them to learn the correct information later.”
“Even if a person makes a mistake while testing themselves, as long as their error is close to the right answer, they’re more likely to remember the right information,” adds Dr. Anderson.
1.What do we know about the subjects in the recent study?
A.They have a good memory for new words
B.They know nothing about any foreign language
C.They get answers by making wild guesses in the test
D.They need to translate Spanish words into English ones
2.What does the underlined word “retrieving” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A.Guessing. B.Remembering.
C.Distinguishing. D.Understanding.
3.Which of the following reflects Dr. Anderson’s opinion?
A.Errors of certain kind are likely to help with learning
B.It is rewarding to make wild guesses during learning
C.Taking practice tests before exams is an unwise practice
D.It is hard to make “near miss” types of errors during learning
4.What can be the best title for the passage?
A.The art of making mistakes.
B.The way of improving memory.
C.Good guesses while learning matter a lot.
D.Making mistakes may bring unexpected benefits.
NGS Scholarship (NGSS)
The NGS Scholarship is awarded to talented students with a strong interest in innovative(创新的) PhD research.
Terms:
●Monthly stipend(津贴) of $3,200 for up to 4 years of PhD studies, or up to date of graduation, whichever is earlier.
●Payment of full tuition(学费) fees for up to 4 years of PhD or up to date of graduation, whichever is earlier.
●Other allowances include:
Computer allowance
Book allowance
Conference allowance
Eligibility(资格):
●Open worldwide.
●Graduates should have an affection for research.
●Graduates should have at least Upper 2nd Class Honors, or equal qualification.
●GRE is compulsory(必须做的，义务的) for students applying from overseas.
●TOEFL is compulsory (ONLY) for applicants whose native tongue or medium of undergraduate instruction is not in English).
Application:
●Click here to apply online.
●All supporting documents, together with a printed copy of the application form are to be submitted (提交) by post to:
NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences & Engineering (NGS)
Center For Life Sciences (CeLS)
28 Medical Drive, #05-01
●ONLY Online Applications are accepted.
●Closing date: 15May 2017.
1.Students may receive all the following allowances EXCEPT ________.
A. computer allowance B. book allowance
C. travel allowance D. conference allowance
2.If you want to study for 5 years, you’re likely to receive a total stipend of ________.
A. $ 3,200 B. $115,200 C. $153,600 D. $192,000
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. A TOEFL grade is a must for students from America.
B. Applications should be submitted before 15 May 2017.
C. All the application processes should be finished online.
D. Students don’t have to pay any tuition fees for PhD studies.
