It was raining. I went into a café and asked for a coffee. 1. I was waiting for my drink, I realized that there were other people in the place, but I sensed 2.. I saw their bodies, but I couldn’t feel their souls 3. their souls belonged to the 4..
I stood up and walked between the tables. When I came to the biggest computer, I saw a thin, small man 5. in front of it. “I’m Steve”, he finally answered after I asked him a couple of times what his name was. “I can’t talk with you. I’m 6.“, he said. He was chatting online with somebody - probably someone he didn’t know - and, 7. he was playing a computer game - a war game. I was 8..
Why didn’t Steve want to talk with me? I tried 9.to speak to that computer geek (怪人), 10. not a word came out of his mouth. I touched his shoulder, but no 11.. I was unhappy. I put my hand in front of the monitor, and he started to shout, “12.!”
I took a few steps back, wondering if all those people in the café were looking at me. I13., and saw nobody showed any interest.
14., I realized that the people there were having a nice conversation with their machines, not with people. They were more 15. having a relationship with the 16., particularly Steve. I wouldn’t want to 17. the future of human beings if they preferred sharing their lives with machines 18. with people.
I was worried and I sank in my thoughts. I didn’t even 19. that the coffee was bad,20. Steve didn’t notice there was a person next to him.
The celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd began in the United States in 1970. Earth Day is a perfect time to reflect about what you are doing to help protect the environment. There are many ways that you can celebrate alone or with others.
Reduce, reuse and recycle all day long.
Buy as little as possible and avoid items that come in lots of packaging. Support local growers and producers of food and products - these don’t have to travel as far and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 1. Recycle all the things you do use for the day.
Rid litter.
Many groups use the weekend of Earth Day to clear roadways, highways and neighborhood streets. 2. Villages organize bag pick-ups. Once the group has collected the trash and placed the recycled bags along the road, get the village public works department to pick the bags up.
3.
There are many Earth Day song lyrics available on the Internet. Many follow well-known tunes. These make a fantastic classroom activity and help younger children to become interested in environmental topics.
Engage others in conversations about your environment concerns.
Don’t be bossy or pushy. 4.. Encourage them to respond and if they have no opinions or they seem not to know much, help them learn some more by imparting your environmental knowledge in a friendly and helpful manner.
Remember: Every day is Earth Day.
Anything to help our environment is a perfect thing to do on Earth Day and every day. 5. Learn about how you can make a difference to environmental protection all the time. And put it into practice - every day!
A.Tell people some facts and then explain your feelings about them.
B.Many companies donate gloves and bags for clean-up groups.
C.Don’t restrict yourself to just one day a year.
D.Take your drink container with you.
E.Sing or listen to “Earth” songs.
F.Try to save money and water.
G.Join in group work.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is gaining global popularity. According to a government white paper, TCM has been introduced in 183 countries and regions around the world.
Westerners’ understanding of TCM, however, may be limited to acupuncture, cupping and massage (按摩). For instance, the purple, injury-like marks left on US swimmer Michael Phelps’ back from cupping for the purpose of relaxing his muscles and reducing pain became the center of attention during the Rio Olympics in 2016.
As a matter of fact, Chinese herbs play a more important role in curing diseases and keeping people in good health in the TCM treatment system than physical treatment. It is therefore disheartening to know that while 103 World Health Organization member countries have approved the practice of acupuncture, not many recognize Chinese herbal medicine. TCM falls far behind Western medicine owning partly to the slow development of Chinese herbs.
Herbs are made into pills, powder and soup, and the kind of herbs used, their quality and quantity, and the processing of the ingredients (原材料) jointly determine the effectiveness of the prescription. Compared with Western medicine, which has standardized drug production processes and treatment methods, TCM lacks standardization, with the chemical composition and functions of its medicines being unclear and their effects being unstable. Standardization has improved in recent decades, with an increasing number of factories producing patented TCM drugs.
Another factor that has prevented the development of TCM prescription drugs is the lack of creativity. While Western medicine-making companies come up with new products every year, TCM drug producers tend to make medicine according to prescriptions handed down from the past. Chinese chemist Tu Youyou’s winning the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research into malaria (疟疾) treatment may drive creativity to some extent in China’s TCM industry. However, the current state of affairs cannot be changed within a short time.
1.The author mentions the example of Michael Phelps to show that __________.
A.he was injured in his swimming
B.cupping is a kind of important TCM treatment
C.Westerners know a little about TCM
D.Westerners attach great importance to TCM
2.Why don’t some member countries of WHO recognize Chinese herbal medicine?
A.Because Chinese herbs can cure diseases.
B.Because they only approve the practice of acupuncture.
C.Because Western medicine is more effective.
D.Because medicine made out of Chinese herbs develops slowly.
3.Compared with Western medicine, what is the weak point of TCM in Paragraph 4?
A.The methods of planting herbs. B.The effectiveness of prescription.
C.Lacking in standardization. D.Its stable functions.
4.The lack of creativity in TCM refers to the fact that __________.
A.medicine-making companies lack creativity
B.prescriptions are got from the past
C.Western companies are more experienced
D.medicine-making companies lack driving force
It is well known to car drivers that red means “stop”, green means “go” and yellow means “hurry up and make that damn light”. Why those colors, though? The answer lies in the fact that the earliest traffic signals were designed for trains, not cars. They were red and green, gas-powered, and more than a little dangerous in the event of a leak.
Red is an inherited (继承的) symbol from railroads, which symbolizes danger in many cultures. As red has a longer wavelength than any other color on the visible spectrum (光谱), it can be seen from a greater distance than other colors. Red has meant “stop” since long before cars existed, with train signals’ use of red dating back to the days when mechanical arms lifted and lowered to indicate whether the rail ahead was clear.
Green’s wavelength is next to (and shorter than) yellow’s on the visible spectrum, meaning it’s still easier to see than any color other than red and yellow. Back in the early days of railway lights, green meant “caution”, while the “all-clear” light was, well, clear or white. It is said that several disastrous collisions happened after an engineer mistook stars in the night for an all-clear. Thus, green became “go”, and for a long time, railways used only green and red to signal trains.
From the earliest days of motoring up until mid-1900s, not all stop signs were red-many were yellow, because at night it was all but impossible to see a red stop sign in a poorly lit area. In 1950 the yellow stop-sign craze began in Detroit, a city that five years later installed its first electric traffic signal, which happened to include the very first yellow traffic light.
But what of those mysterious yellow stop-signs? As materials and technologies evolved, the ability to produce highly reflective signs meant that red could resume its natural spot in the sign hierarchy (层次体系，等级体系), leaving the still-highly-visible yellow to the domain (领域) of “caution”. That’s why school zones and buses, crosswalks, and other important warnings are yellow today.
1.What’s the main reason for the color red’s long being used to mean “stop”?
A.It has the longest wavelength on the visible spectrum.
B.It represents danger in many cultures.
C.It can be seen even in the dark area.
D.People prefer red to other colors.
2.Which of the following may the author agree with?
A.The meaning of red is culture–specific.
B.Yellow functioned as stop signs in the 1900s.
C.Green’s wavelength is just second to that of red.
D.Green’s role in traffic lights has changed over time.
3.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.The significance of road traffic signs.
B.The history of railroad transportation.
C.The symbolic meaning of different colors.
D.The origin and development of traffic lights.
After shopping for deals in stores on “Black Friday”, or online on “Cyber Monday”, Americans and people worldwide are preparing for newly popular “Giving Tuesday”. Starting in 2012, now the global event that is celebrated annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is the brainchild of 92nd Street Y, a cultural center in New York City and the United Nations Foundation.
As the name indicates, “Giving Tuesday” is meant to restart the charitable season and therefore observed by raising funds for local nonprofits and schools, organizing food and clothing drives, and conducting random acts of kindness. In 2015, 700,000 people from 71 countries came together to donate $116.7 million in cash. An additional $1.08 million was spent on gifts.
While the easiest way to participate is by donating to your favorite charity, this day can be celebrated in many other ways too. You can give back by volunteering at your local shelter or food bank, or even by donating blood. If all else fails, a purchase from the growing number of organizations that give a portion of their sales to charity will do the trick.
But perhaps the best way to celebrate the day is by helping those nearest and dearest to you. Assist a family member with a simple chore like folding laundry, cooking dinner, or even reading to a younger sibling. No matter what you do, be sure to share your good deed on social media and inspire others to celebrate “Giving Tuesday” as well!
1.What’s the main purpose of “Giving Tuesday”?
A.To persuade more people to shop online.
B.To make Thanksgiving Day enjoyable.
C.To encourage more people to do charity.
D.To get voluntary work better known.
2.Why does the author advise sharing good deeds on social media?
A.To donate money to local schools.
B.To keep a record of one’s experience.
C.To help people make new friends.
D.To make “Giving Tuesday” more popular.
3.Which section of a website does the text probably come from?
A.Business. B.Culture. C.Education. D.Lifestyle.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What is the purpose of the talk?
A.To present a disagreement. B.To introduce a lecturer. C.To recommend a book.
2.Where is Russel working currently?
A.In Oxford. B.In Chicago. C.In Virginia.
3.What does Russel think of sleep?
A.It’s rarely researched. B.It’s rather inconvenient. C.It’s of great significance.
