When I went to Senegal to work, the first thing I did was to hit the streets in Dakar. Not far from the city center, there is one of Africa’s biggest slums (贫民窟). Many street kids tailed me, begging. During my _______ trip to Senegal, I’d met a man who _______ me for blocks with a sad story about needing milk for his newborn baby. After I bought him some, he _______ quickly without any thanks. The shopkeeper _______ to me that the man was a cheat and I was too _______. So when I walked on the streets of Dakar, I had my guard up, trying to be _______.
Near my apartment, on a major road, I passed a lot of young men in _______, whom I considered to be _______. The next day, I saw them again at an outdoor _______ court near my office. I lingered (逗留) and watched them warm up. They rolled the three-man weave, laughing and speaking Wolof, the ________ language. A few days later, I ________ myself to them. When I shared some advice from my playing days, they ________. So I started spending more time with them and ________ I ended up being their assistant coach. I started referring to them as “my ________” to colleagues.
During one game on an outdoor court in Guédiawaye, it seemed our guys had met their match. Players on the opposing team played ________ and were good chair-handlers and sharpshooters. ________, my players didn’t back down. We ________ at last. We clattered (喧闹) out of the slum, singing at full ________.
Toward the end of the season, Mafall, one of the members, ________ me to where he lived. As Mafall and I chatted in his room, I knew something had changed. I was no longer just a ________ white person, and they were no longer beggars. They were basketball players, my guys, and my friends.
1.A.pleasant B.previous C.precious D.delightful
2.A.followed B.surrounded C.embarrassed D.frightened
3.A.drowned B.disappeared C.queued D.responded
4.A.announced B.screamed C.yelled D.whispered
5.A.trusting B.forgetful C.abnormal D.admirable
6.A.cautious B.stubborn C.childish D.ridiculous
7.A.uniforms B.masks C.sleighs D.wheelchairs
8.A.thefts B.relatives C.beggars D.candidates
9.A.fantasy B.tournament C.basketball D.tennis
10.A.global B.local C.explicit D.royal
11.A.teased B.abandoned C.introduced D.clarified
12.A.withdrew B.disagreed C.overlooked D.applauded
13.A.unbearably B.sincerely C.eventually D.rarely
14.A.guys B.beggars C.friends D.assistants
15.A.hard B.fair C.clumsily D.ambiguously
16.A.Therefore B.Furthermore C.However D.Otherwise
17.A.quit B.won C.celebrated D.gathered
18.A.eyebrow B.throat C.fluency D.accuracy
19.A.recommended B.commanded C.required D.invited
20.A.superb B.clumsy C.troublesome D.strange
The Good and Bad of Online Communication
Our need to communicate with each other is a constant driving force for new inventions.Online services and products are where most development in communication is happening. Now there are increasing options for when, where and how to communicate, and perhaps most importantly, with whom.
1. Nobody can see who they are or what they look like. Many people who are shy feel confident online. One user noted that everyone is equal online and this cannot be found in face-to-face meetings. When you meet someone in person, you immediately make judgments based on appearance. 2. Online, however, appearance, age and status all become unimportant, and this encourages users to be open and honest, which makes it a lot easier for people to make friends.
Apart from making friends online, the Internet can bring together like-minded people who want to discuss favourite topics. There are forums and chat rooms for just about any hobby, interest, special abilities or unusual taste you can imagine.
3.
Some people spend so much time on the Internet that they become totally dependent on it. Psychologists and social scientists worry that if people spend more time with computers than with other people, they will forget how to get on with people face to face. Apart from dependency, there are other objections and worries about the Internet. 4. Being open and honest with complete strangers, then arranging to meet them without friends or family knowing about it is very dangerous behaviour. Even when the worst dangers do not happen, simple lies can leave people disappointed. Then there is the problem of information being stolen. The Internet has led to a new type of criminal, cyber-criminals, who could easily take your information and could even be using your identity and password.
5. Most users seem to think it is.
A.Whenever or however you use the Internet, hackers will be a constant threat.
B.With all these dangers, is going online to communicate really worthwhile?
C.People love the freedom of the Internet.
D.However, going online also has a dark side.
E.Even a person's accent or choice of shoes forms a certain impression.
F.Most users said that going online had improved their lives.
G.Not all people seeking relationships online have innocent intentions.
A Massive Open Online Course (大规模开放在线课程) — known as a MOOC — is a kind of online platform offering various lessons to the public, which brings opportunity and help to those who are eager to learn more. Many countries are active participants in developing online courses, and China is not an exception.
In the past few years, China has made great progress on online education and the country is in a leading position worldwide. The China Internet Network Information Center said that 144 million people had taken up online education up to June 2017.
According to the Ministry of Education, there are more than 10 MOOC platforms in China, providing 3,200 online courses — which make China the world’s largest online course provider. 490 of them are high quality and national-level courses, and another 3,000 will be added by 2020. High quality online courses have raised students’ enthusiasm for learning and given them more freedom to choose subjects.
However, the explosive increase in the number of lessons and users also brings problems in lesson quality and network security. In addition, online courses are not properly combined with on-campus courses. Therefore, the ministry intends to roll out a development plan for online education at Chinese colleges, along with regulations and standards.
The ministry will create policies encouraging professors to use MOOCs in their teaching, and set rules on how college students gain credits(学分) for taking such courses in an effort to promote the training of talented people in Chinese institutions of higher education and to bridge the country’s regional inequality in education. Besides, professors who use MOOCs in their teaching can enjoy the same sense of honor as those who innovate teaching in other ways. At the same time, strict supervision will be used to stop the spread of harmful information and users’ personal information will also be protected. China will do more to make its online courses go global and show the world the country’s achievements in this field.
1.What can we learn about MOOCs?
A.They are gaining more and more users and courses.
B.They are designed for college students.
C.Just a few countries are developing them.
D.They are just free for the poor students.
2.Why does the Ministry of Education make regulations?
A.Students have little freedom to choose courses.
B.Different problems arise in online courses.
C.Many professors don’t use online courses in their teaching.
D.Online courses are not practical for college students.
3.What does the underlined word “supervision” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.Truth. B.Teaching.
C.Themes. D.Rules.
4.Where is this text most likely from?
A.A diary. B.A magazine.
C.A novel. D.A bulletin board.
As the Forbidden City approaches its 600th anniversary next year, a great change has been taking place, with dark and dusty corners of the palace brought back to their former glory for all to see. As recently as 2012, only 30 percent of the vast palace was open to the public. Now, 80 percent is accessible ― quickly filling with exhibition spaces, stylish restaurants and cafes, bookstores and highly profitable gift stores, as well as quiet walkways. Besides, great walls around it are now mostly open, allowing an overhead view of the grounds.
But even all that new space is not nearly enough to showcase(陈列) the treasures collected over the centuries by emperors. Now the Forbidden City can display only about 30,000 objects at a time, or 2 percent of its total.
By 2022, a new campus in the university district of Haidian, about 18 miles to the northwest, is scheduled to open to the public, a 153-acre area that will have room to show imperial carriages, carpets and regalia (礼服).
The museum staff members have also become more creative in using the space. During a visit, there was a show on how the imperial family celebrated the Chinese New Year, including reproductions of New Year’s couplets written by the Emperor Kang Xi, whose six-decade rule ended in 1722.
The new gift stores, which earned $220 million in sales in 2017, have also lifted their offerings. They once featured little more than key chains and ugly dolls; now, they have reproductions of porcelain (瓷器), textiles (织物) and even furniture.
Lisa Tan, a 38-year-old editor at a Beijing publishing house, said the new shops were attractive because they offered traditional porcelain made by government-recognized masters using traditional methods.
“It’s good that the Forbidden City is taking a lead in keeping these traditional practices alive,” Ms Tan said. “The gift store has even become fashionable in some circles.” And some of the more commercial activities are being limited, including photo studios where people can dress up like an emperor or empress.
Most visitors are still part of package tours that make people travel quickly through the central part of the palace. But taking a slower, more winding path through the Forbidden City is a better way to soak up the history and discover some of its secrets.
1.What’s the great change in the Forbidden City?
A.The great walls around it are open to the public.
B.The gift stores are a new visiting spot there.
C.It welcomes visitors on a large scale.
D.The new space is mainly for displaying treasures.
2.What makes the new gift stores attractive?
A.They bring in huge profits.
B.They focus on key chains and dolls.
C.They sell reproductions of furniture.
D.They offer a good variety of traditional items.
3.Why does the author say the museum staff are creative?
A.They create some quiet walkways.
B.They use the space for holding shows.
C.They manage the new gift stores successfully.
D.They guide visitors to find out history and secrets.
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A.The Emperor Kang Xi ruled the country for 60 years.
B.The district of Haidian covers an area of 153 acres.
C.One can explore the Forbidden City fully on package tours.
D.About 1,500,000 objects are on display now.
The British are known for their sense of humor. However, it is often difficult for foreigners to understand their jokes. The main point to remember is that the British often use understatement.
Understatement means saying less than you think or feel. For example, if someone gets very wet in a shower of rain, he might say, “It's a little damp outside.” Or, if someone is very impolite and shouts at another person, someone else might say, “She isn't exactly friendly.” Understatement is often used in unpleasant situation or to make another person look silly. Understatement plays an important part in British humor.
Another key to understanding British humor is that the British like to make fun of themselves as well as others. They often laugh about the silly and unpleasant things that happen to our everyday life when someone accidentally falls over in the street. They also like to make jokes about people from different classes of society. They like to make jokes about their accents, the way they dress and the way they behave. What's more, the British love to watch comedies about people who do not know how to behave in society. The comedies series Mr. Bean is a good example of this kind of humor.
Mr. Bean is the character created by British actor Rowan Atkinson in 1990. Mr. Bean doesn't talk often, and instead he uses his body movement and facial expressions to make people laugh. Perhaps what makes Mr. Bean so funny is that he does things that adults in the real world cannot do. Mr. Bean is popular in many countries around the world because you do not have to speak English to understand the humor. Because of this, many people have become familiar with the British sense of humor.
1.Why is it difficult for foreigners to understand British jokes?
A.The British often use overstatement.
B.The British try to understate something.
C.British jokes are not as funny as jokes in other countries.
D.British jokes are connected with many different cultures.
2.The author explains understatement by _______.
A.describing a process B.making comparisons
C.following time order D.using examples
3.Mr. Bean makes others laugh by ______.
A.using his body movement and facial expressions
B.making jokes about others’ accent
C.copying how others behave
D.telling funny stories
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.British Humor in Comedy B.Humor in Different Cultures
C.Understanding British Humor D.Developing Your Sense of Humor
Voluntary organizations
Horizon School Peru
Area: Peru
We are a non-profit organization based in Trujillo, Peru. We provide free English classes for the nearby area, which we believe can help the community get out of poverty. By learning English, people here will be able to get more job chances.
As a volunteer, you will have to teach English both in Horizon and at a local public school. It’s also a chance to explore Trujillo and the local beach town. Volunteers will get to experience the Peruvian culture and cooking as well as the language. Please get in touch with us at contact@horizonperu.com.
Do-it.org.uk
Area: the United Kingdom
If you want to make a difference, meet new people or learn new skills through volunteering, then look no further than do-it.org.uk — a volunteering website of the UK, which provides over a million chances to volunteer.
Just enter your postcode (邮编) and interest at www.do-it.org.uk, look through the chances and apply online. It’s as simple as that.
Aim Abroad
Area: India
Aim Abroad is a non-profit volunteer organization based in India. International volunteers are welcome to take part in the programs for the improvement of society. For more information, please visit www.aimabroad.org.
Adventist Nepal
Area: Nepal
We are a non-profit organization lying in Kathmandu, Nepal, with the purpose of providing volunteer services in Nepal in the field of education, health, human rights, writing, travel, etc. If you are interested in working as a volunteer and looking for help, please feel free to get in touch with us at info@adventistnepal.org. We also provide home stay service for visitors.
1.What are volunteers in Horizon School Peru required to do?
A.Attend English classes. B.Offer free English lessons.
C.Experience the local culture. D.Talk in English with the locals.
2.If you are concerned about health problems, which organization can you apply for?
A.Aim Abroad. B.Do-it.org.uk.
C.Adventist Nepal. D.Horizon School Peru.
3.What do the four organizations have in common?
A.Their aim is to help the poor. B.They only accept local volunteers.
C.Their volunteers must have many skills. D.Volunteers can apply for positions online.
