阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个恰当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
We often like new things—new clothes, new phones, new furniture. But when it comes to cities, older is often better. This is 1. (certain) true of Montreal, one of Canada’s oldest cities.
Begin your visit with Mount Royal, the 2. (high) point in the city. At various viewing 3. (point) you can see and photograph much of the city below. If your visit is in the fall, enjoy Montreal’s glorious autumn colors. The foliage (树叶) on every tree will be bright red, orange, yellow and purple. But at any time of year, you will likely meet people 4. (speak)many languages from many backgrounds.
The road down from Mount Royal 5. (pass) through McGill University, one of Canada’s top schools. Below McGill is the Golden Square Mile, 6. is a great area for walking tour. If it is too hot 7. too cold outside, you can walk Montreal’s more than 32 kilometers of underground streets.
8. you may not want to miss is to wander in the Old Port of Montreal district, ride the huge Observation Wheel for wonderful views of the city and look for huge “Grand Chapiteau”, or circus tent 9. (see) Cirque du Soleil’s travelling shows. Each show carries with it 10. unique feeling. It’s a flavor of the historic city, Montreal.
Luke is a cute dog, living together with me for five years. We get lots of _________ in our area during the summer season. Many forests are badly _________ by fire each year. That hot summer, not far from our shelter, a forest _________ fire. It was July, and there had been a heat wave going on for three days.
Somehow, Luke rushed toward the forest. There was no longer any hope at that moment to wait for Luke to come back to the _______. In fact, I was waiting for firefighters to tell me that he had _______ in the forest. Suddenly, a fireman burst into my office and _______ me that Luke had succeeded in saving four kittens who had been _______by the flames. I _______ accompanied the fireman to the forest to get him back. _______ we got to the scene of the incident, we didn’t see Luke. Then we heard the ________ of a dog barking in the forest. I ________the barks as Luke’s. The firemen ________ the tracks of the dog until they found him barking loudly by the side of an injured ________. Thanks to Luke, four kittens and a fireman were saved. This true story shows us that pets are loving, caring and compassionate. We should love and ________them. Little animals can do ________ things for humans.
1.A.rain B.sun C.noise D.fires
2.A.damaged B.removed C.changed D.treated
3.A.made B.caught C.set D.burned
4.A.forest B.house C.area D.shelter
5.A.lost B.died C.appeared D.remained
6.A.warned B.reminded C.informed D.promised
7.A.buried B.trapped C.controlled D.swallowed
8.A.immediately B.slightly C.approximately D.particularly
9.A.Since B.Unless C.When D.Until
10.A.call B.shout C.voice D.sound
11.A.understood B.recognized C.treated D.realized
12.A.recorded B.noticed C.followed D.wanted
13.A.fireman B.doctor C.farmer D.teacher
14.A.save B.raise C.protect D.hate
15.A.fun B.enormous C.little D.risky
Mother’s Day is a time for children, young and old, to show how much they appreciate their mothers. Mother’s Day started in the US, where it’s celebrated on the second Sunday in May. 1.
It became an official US holiday in 1915. It was the result of the love of one girl, Anna Jarvis of West Virginia.2. As a girl, Anna helped her mother take care of the garden and filled it with white carnations (康乃馨), her mother’s favorite flower.
When Mrs. Jarvis died on May 5, 1905, Anna was determined to honor her. 3. On the same Sunday in Philadelphia, a minister honored Mrs. Jarvis and all mothers with a special Mother’s Day service. Anna Jarvis began writing to the government, asking them to set aside a day to honor all mothers. In 1910, the governor of West Virginia made the second Sunday in May Mother’s Day.
4. Other children give their mothers gifts that they’ve made themselves or bought from stores. Adults give their mothers red carnations, the official Mother’s Day flower. White carnations are placed on the graves of mothers who are no longer alive.
Mother’s Day is now celebrated in more than 40 countries, including Denmark, Finland, Italy, and Australia. 5. In France, Mother’s Day is the last Sunday in May. A cake in the shape of flowers is presented to mothers at a family dinner.
A.So why is it celebrated on different dates?
B.But do you know the origin of Mother’s Day?
C.Anna’s mother provided great support for the family.
D.But not all countries celebrate Mother’s Day at the same time.
E.The second Sunday in May was the Sunday closest to her mother’s death.
F.She asked the minister of her church to hold a special service in honor of her mother.
G.On the morning of Mother’s Day, some American children serve their mothers breakfast in bed.
There’s a reason humans have been building homes from wood for 10,000 years. It’s an excellent building material. But since it’s not transparent (透明的), we’re still in the habit of cutting windows in our houses.
But what if wood could be made transparent?
Researchers in Sweden have been trying to do just that. They’ve created a clear wood material they hope could one day be used for more energy-saving building.
“We chemically made wood transparent”, says Celine Montanari, a researcher at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
Montanari and her team took wood and removed its lignin(木质素), and filled the resulting micro holes with a special chemical. Then the wood looked rather like the frosted glass of a shower door. They took the material one step further, mixing it with polyethylene glycol, a material that melts at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. When it melts, it absorbs energy and becomes transparent, then releases energy when cooled. In theory, this means the new wood material could be used to make windows that absorb energy during the hot part of the day and release it into the home when it gets cold at night. It makes the new wood an even more eco-friendly material by keeping indoor temperatures constant.
This is not a new technique, says Mark Swihart, a professor at University at Buffalo. Materials that store and release energy are not new either. “The thing that seems to be new is their way of the energy storage.” Swihart says.
Using wood as a base material is attractive because it has strength that’s hard to reproduce in other materials at the same cost, Swihart says. Whether or not the new transparent wood will be successful will depend in large part on how cheaply it can be made, he says. It’s also difficult to get new material widely used by the building industry, as there are existing supply chains for things like glass.
Montanari and her team are currently looking at increasing the heat storage capacity(储热性能) of the transparent wood, for greater energy savings. They’re also studying how to increase production to an industrial scale(规模). They hope to have a product ready for market within five years.
1.What are researchers in Sweden trying to do?
A.Construct all-glass buildings.
B.Develop see-through wood.
C.Create new frosted glass for future buildings.
D.Figure out the reason people use wood for buildings.
2.How is the fifth paragraph developed?
A.By giving example.
B.By analyzing reasons.
C.By describing processes
D.By making comparisons.
3.What does Swihart say about the invention of Montanari and her team?
A.It costs too much
B.It uses a brand-new technique.
C.It will face uncertainty in the market.
D.It will be widely used in the building industry.
4.What are Montanari and her team doing with their new invention now?
A.Making it cheaper.
B.Improving its performance.
C.Putting it into production.
D.Building a supply chain.
We all know the value of taking a walk in the fresh spring weather. It allows your mind to relax and forget about the problems in everyday life. Studies have commonly shown the benefits of being around green spaces, including gardens, city parks and forests.
But did you know that being close to these natural surroundings during childhood could positively influence your mental health as an adult?
A study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) surveyed 3,600 people from all over Europe, including Spain, the Netherlands, Lithuania and the UK.
The all-adult study gave these volunteers a questionnaire on how frequently they used natural spaces during childhood – for example, playing in a garden, riding a bike at the park or hiking in a forest. They were also asked about the importance they put on using such places.
Volunteers were then given a psychological test, which included a variety of problem-solving activities, to learn about their mental state within a four-week period.
The results showed that the people who were more exposed to natural spaces had higher mental health scores compared to those with lower childhood exposure.
According to the study, 73 percent of Europe’s population only has limited chance to natural spaces. Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, director of ISGlobal’s Urban Planning, said that “Many children in Europe lead an indoor lifestyle… so we call on policymakers to improve the availability of natural spaces for children.”
While this study was based in Europe, a lack of green space can affect anyone, anywhere. So, remember to make time to immerse yourself in nature, as your mental health is just as important as the physical one.
1.What was the purpose of the ISGlobal’s study?
A.To study the influence of childhood exposure to natural spaces.
B.To understand the mental health problems of children.
C.To see how childhood experiences shape adult life.
D.To examine the advantages of taking a walk.
2.What do we know about the study?
A.The volunteers included both children and adults.
B.The volunteers were from all over the world.
C.It was made up of a questionnaire and a psychological test.
D.It focused on the volunteers’ physical health state.
3.What does the underlined word “immerse” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.understand something B.lose oneself in something
C.protect against something D.imagine doing something
4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A.The benefits of green space B.mental health or physical health
C.outdoor lifestyle D.the value of taking a walk
When David Carter started to study art at The University of Texas (UT)at Austin in 1971, he had big dreams of becoming an artist or a writer. But his study came to a stop at 23 after he hurt his hand in an unpleasant event. He developed schizophrenia(精神分裂症) later and spent many years without a home.
Carter liked to spend time around UT, because he dreamt of being able to continue his study in the university and becoming a writer. After running into Carter many times, UT student Ryan Chandler decided to interview him for a project for the Daily Texan, the student newspaper of UT.
“I interviewed him on Austin’s homeless problems. After I heard his story, we kept in touch and really became friends. I learned he wanted to get back to UT, so I decided to help him,” said Chandler. “He had got 87 hours, very close to a degree. Now, with changing degree requirements, he only has 64 hours to go.”
With the help of Chandler, who worked with the university office, Carter was assigned an adviser by UT’s College of Fine Arts. “It' s the greatest gift I’ve ever received,” Carter said. “He did what had to be done to get me back to school, and I couldn't have done it without him”
After seeing a magazine article about Carter, a UT schoolmate decided to pay his tuition fees (学费)without telling Chandler his name.
Doug Dempster, dean of the College of Fine Arts, said in a statement, “David Carter's decision to complete his degree is a testament (证明) to finishing well what was started, and stopped, even many years earlier. We welcome him back as we do many students each year whose education could not be completed easily. We’ re going to help him through his remaining course work.”
1.Why did Carter stop studying in the university?
A.He hurt an artist. B.He couldn’t afford his study.
C.He got a strange disease. D.He had a hand injury.
2.What was Chandler’s purpose in interviewing Carter?
A.To do a project on homelessness.
B.To know why he hung around UT.
C.To make friends with a homeless person.
D.To finish his homework on helping others.
3.Which of the following words can best describe Chandler?
A.Brave. B.Honest.
C.Warm-hearted. D.Strong-minded.
4.What can we learn from Dempster’s words in the statement?
A.He encourages Carter to study hard.
B.He supports students who never give up.
C.He calls on other students to help Carter.
D.He suggests other students learn from Carter.
