阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
The distance between ancient Rome and ancient China was about 4,000 miles by land. It was a very 1. (danger) trip with deserts and mountains. The Silk Road was a nickname for any route 2. any trader took from China to Rome.
For a very long time, the ancient Romans did not know who was making the wonderful cloth 3. (call) silk. They tried to find the traders as they came into villages to trade other goods for silk, but the traders 4. (hide) from the Romans. Therefore, they had to trade for it 5. (themself). The trading along the Silk Road was a relay system. One trader would travel for a while, stop and trade, and return home. 6. next traveler would continue. And so it went. But 7. (actual) no trader made the whole trip. It was too risky.
As the years went by, a civilization of sorts grew up along the Silk Road. Temples appeared. There were even cities built on the rare oasis (绿洲). It was never easy 8. (travel) by land from China 9. Rome, but it was worth it. Rome traded gold for China’s silk and spices. But 10. (many) things traveled the Silk Road than traders and goods. Ideas that changed the world traveled along the Silk Road as well.
Growing roots
When I was growing up. I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d _________ known. When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t _________ lives, he was planting trees.
The good doctor had some _________ theories on planting trees. He believed in “No pains, no gains”. He never _________ his new trees, which was _________ many people. He thought that watering plants spoiled (宠坏) them, and that if you want strong trees, you have to make things _________ for them. He, talked about how watering trees _________ shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in _________ of water. I came to understand that he meant deep roots were to be _________. The lack of water seemed to __________ the trees in ways comfort and ease never could.
I used to __________ for my sons that their lives will be easy. But __________ I’ve been thinking that it’s time to__________ my prayer. I know my children are going to meet__________and I’m praying they will be strong. The prayer for comfort is seldom met. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the winds blow, they won’t be __________ away.
1.A.even B.ever C.never D.hardly
2.A.valuing B.making C.enjoying D.saving
3.A.exciting B.dull C.interesting D.terrible
4.A.watered B.raised C.loved D.sheltered
5.A.against B.beyond C.within D.from
6.A.harmful B.favorable C.tough D.wonderful
7.A.made for B.head for C.allow for D.care for
8.A.charge B.favor C.honor D.search
9.A.treasured B.challenged C.respected D.liked
10.A.harm B.raise C.benefit D.hurt
11.A.pray B.apply C.stand D.call
12.A.perfectly B.formally C.obviously D.lately
13.A.attend B.say C.change D.keep
14.A.hardships B.worries C.bosses D.jobs
15.A.given B.sent C.broken D.swept
When it comes to helping students learn and mature, there are several ways to increase their well-being. Although your children may be succeeding in the classroom, there are a few things that you still can do.
Encouraging physical activity is the first thing you can do. More and more children do not participate in sports after school. It’s important for you to encourage mobility with sports that are played after class. You should find sporting equipment, basketball courts and play areas where kids can increase their well-being. 1.
Secondly, you can provide proper nutrition for your children. It’s important for your children to receive proper nutrition both inside and outside of the home. 2. You’d better make it a point to provide enough nutrition for their proper development and growth.
3. Many parents fail to stop children from using smart phones and computers. There are some institutions that even encourage too much screen time as a way to teach children or keep them entertained. You should help the children remain excited without sitting in front of a screen throughout the day.
Last but not the least, monitoring bullying （欺凌）is also an essential part. Bullying continues to remain a common problem in some schools, making it important that the environment that your children grow in holds a high standard. 4.
It’s important to examine the school life as a whole to determine what factors are missing. 5.. You may determine how well they adjust to the world around them and succeed in life.
A.You should provide kids with fresh food.
B.Besides, you’d better limit their screen time.
C.It will encourage children to focus on their study.
D.In addition, try your best to give them more freedom.
E.This will reduce the risk of health conditions that include obesity.
F.You can advise teachers to keep a practice of looking for bullying.
G.Parents play a significant role in children’s growth and well-being.
In the story of “The crow and the Pitcher” from Aesop’s Fables, a thisty crow (乌鸦)drops stones into a narrow jar to raise the low level of water inside so he can take a drink.
Now scientists have evidence to back up that story. Crows actually do understand how to make water displacement (移位) work to their advantage, experiments show. The results suggest that the birds are, at least in some aspects, as smart as first-graders.
Researchers, led by Sarah Jelbert at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, presented six crows with tubes filled with water. Inside the tubes, a worm or piece of meat on a piece of wood was floating, just out of reach of the crow. In front of the tubes, the researchers arranged several rubber erasers that would sink, and some plastic objects that would float. The crows found out that they could drop the erasers into the tubes in order to raise the water level and get their snack.
However, the birds handled awkwardly in experiments in which they could choose to drop objects in either a wide tube or a narrow one to get a snack, the researchers said. Dropping objects into narrow tube would lift the water level by a greater amount and put the treat within reach after just two drops; while it took around seven drops to raise the snack to the same level in the wide tube. The crows obviously didn’t realize this, and most of them went for the wide tube first.
Previous studies showed that chimps and human children can solve similar tasks. In a 2011 study, chimps and kids found out that they could put water into a tube to reach a peanut that was floating in a small amount of water at the bottom.
1.How did the crows get the snack in Sarah’s experiment?
A.By breaking the tube.
B.By dropping in erasers.
C.By standing on the wood.
D.By removing the wood.
2.What does the author mean by “the birds handled awkwardly” in paragraph 4?
A.They were unable to tell different shapes.
B.They dropped objects only into narrow tubes.
C.They were not aware of the snack at first sight.
D.They mostly avoided the easier way to get the snack.
3.What does the text mainly focus on?
A.Stories of Aesop’s Fables.
B.The development of crows.
C.Crows’ intelligence.
D.Human-animal communication.
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Crows are almost as clever as first-graders in some respects.
B.Crows understand water displacement completely.
C.Chimps and children are much smarter than crows.
D.The story of “The crow and the Pitcher” lacks evidence.
Candy comes in many flavors. Some taste like fruit. Some taste like flowers. Some are chewy, like taffy (太妃糖) and gum. Hard candies are, well. hard! So, they last a long time.
But, in spoken English, there are some types of candy that you cannot eat. For example, you can’t eat eye candy. Eye candy is a person-man or woman-who is very good-looking. So, looking at this person is a treat for the eye, just like candy is a treat for the taste buds.
Do you hear of candy coat? Of course it is not a coat made of candy. But you can say I don’t candy coat the truth. What does candy-coating something mean? Well, some pills are covered with a coat of thin, sweet candy. The coating makes swallowing the pill easier, and it may hide a bad taste. So, candy coating a difficult truth or situation means you don’t directly discuss its bad parts.
After talking about candy you may want to eat some candies. However, some people dislike things that are very sweet, especially adults. But even if you do not like candy, you can still be called a kid in a candy store. This expression means a person is very happy to do something or to simply be somewhere. Imagine a child going from one candy display to the next, not knowing which candy to choose!
Talking about children brings us to another expression: as easy as taking candy from a baby. Think about a small, helpless baby holding a piece of candy. Taking it would be very easy—mean, but easy. So, use this expression when you are talking about something that may be simple to do, but probably not right.
1.What kind of girl can be described as “eye candy”?
A.Beautiful B.Optimistic
C.Hardworking D.Warmhearted
2.What does the underlined word “swallowing” mean in English?
A.Making. B.Taking.
C.Selling. D.Testing.
3.Which of the following expressions means you are doing something with wrong intention?
A.Hard candies. B.Candy coat.
C.A kid in a candy store. D.As easy as taking candy from a baby.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A.Candy. Enjoy It or Avoid It B.Various Candies in English
C.The Best Candy in the World D.Candies’ Different Flavors
Sonya took Rupert, a rescue dog, back home three years ago, and soon found it liked attacking strangers and other animals, which she believed was caused by pain.
It took Sonya a year to develop a normal relationship with Rupert, during which she learned it was afraid of being left alone and also couldn’t walk properly. Finally, she decided to take it to see a vet (兽医). After examining Rupert, the vet said its leg was broken, and it needed an immediate operation.
But when it had to go in for an operation on its leg, there was a problem—the vet Mike couldn’t get near the dog. Mike and Sonya were left scratching their heads until one of them came up with an idea. Sonya said Rupert slept on a mouse suit so she suggested that Mike put it on.
At first, the dog barked wildly when Mike tried to operate on it in usual clothes. To make his patient feel at ease, Mike decided to dress up in the mouse clothes to see if it would be less worried. Amazingly, it worked. It stopped barking and immediately became good friends with Mike when he put on the suit. As a result, he was able to perform an operation on the leg safely and the result was quite satisfying.
After the successful operation, Mike hugged the dog around the neck, which isn’t usually well-received by pets. Mike tried to be as respectful of its needs as possible and made time to give some attention. What Mike had done created a special experience or event in the dog’s life.
1.What do we know about Rupert?
A.It was often left alone at home. B.It was hard to get on with at first.
C.Its leg broke after it was saved by Sonya. D.Its violence was caused by its rescue job.
2.Why did Mike and Sonya scratch their heads?
A.They couldn’t find a mouse suit. B.They had great pain in their head.
C.They didn’t know how to comfort the dog. D.They didn’t find the cause of Rupert’s pain.
3.Why did Rupert stop barking?
A.It saw Sonya. B.It didn’t feel pain.
C.It saw the mouse suit. D.It was hugged by Mike.
4.What played the most important part in calming down the dog?
A.Sonya’s kindness B.Sonya’s patience
C.Mike’s good temper D.Mike’s respect for Rupert.
