This summer, Roman Espinoza put up what he called a ''blessing box'' filled with food available to any and all who need it on his lawn (草坪).
Roman Espinoza, a 46-year-old New Yorker, hoped to _______ the problem of hunger in his community. He was _______ that there were plenty of poor and homeless people in his neighborhood, and he also knew that they _______ needed help. That’s why he decided to construct a ''blessing box'' filled with food on his own lawn. People who are in need of food are always _______ to take something from the ''blessing box''. It mostly holds canned food. He found that not everyone who _______ food from the ''blessing box'' wanted to be known, so they often _______ until it was dark to avoid _______.
Roman was inspired by a _______ action at the local community college, where he saw there was a small box with a number of free food _______ inside that was meant for poor students who couldn't ________ a snack or a meal. He thought it was such an amazing gesture and decided to try that in front of his own home.
Thanks to him, there's a whole community that ________ donates food and other necessities. Roman is so grateful that other people are also donating food for the less ________, and he feels honored that he ________ others to do so.
________, people started donating things into Roman's blessing box, but it definitely didn't ________ there. In fact, many people had a strong ________ to build their own blessing box, so they turned to him for help. And many more wanted to help in their own way. The local Home Depot store, ________, decided to sponsor all of the wood needed to build new ________. By ________ the word and the idea of these amazing food pantries, people can truly make a significant ________ for the poor in the entire city.
1.A.worsen B.update C.cause D.relieve
2.A.ashamed B.aware C.doubtful D.desperate
3.A.sadly B.hardly C.badly D.rarely
4.A.allowed B.forbidden C.requested D.accompanied
5.A.purchased B.stole C.swallowed D.took
6.A.waited B.hid C.thought D.struggled
7.A.enjoyment B.pride C.embarrassment D.preference
8.A.terrible B.similar C.natural D.illegal
9.A.items B.chains C.shops D.projects
10.A.resist B.enjoy C.miss D.afford
11.A.carefully B.regularly C.passively D.suddenly
12.A.intelligent B.dependent C.innocent D.fortunate
13.A.inspired B.invited C.convinced D.challenged
14.A.At times B.At once C.At first D.At last
15.A.fail B.stop C.start D.move
16.A.ability B.curiosity C.dislike D.desire
17.A.however B.or rather C.for example D.instead
18.A.boxes B.communities C.stores D.homes
19.A.ignoring B.remembering C.spreading D.breaking
20.A.promise B.difference C.judgment D.comment
Water skiing
Water skiing is an exciting water sport that can be a ton of fun. You will get to have a happy and joyful adventure every time you go out on the water. 1. However, once you start, water skiing is a sport you can enjoy whenever you have a boat and enough flat water.
2. Every water skier needs water skis—these are different from snow skis and they also differ depending on the size of the skier and the experience level of the skier. 3. You will need to find at least two people to go with you on your water skiing adventure. You and everyone you go with will have more fun if the friends you go with also want to water ski. You need a boat, naturally. 4.
For your first time water skiing, you may want to either take a lesson from an expert or find a friend that has experience and is willing to teach you. 5. The observer rides in the boat, but watches the water skier for any signals and helps the driver know when to start and stop.
A.It’s no hard task to learn.
B.It takes a little patience to learn.
C.Of course, no one can water ski alone.
D.Once prepared, a skier can start the game on his own.
E.You will also need a water skiing cable and a life jacket.
F.Before you start water skiing, there are a few supplies you’ll need.
G.Of your two helpers, you need one to drive the boat and one to observe.
At some point in elementary school, your science teacher may explained to you that there are 365 days in a year because that's how long it takes for Earth to complete one full journey around the sun. What they might not have explained, however, is that it's not exactly 365 days—it’s actually closer to 365. 2421 days.
So, if we want our calendar year to begin right when Earth begins a new turn around the sun, we have to account for roughly an extra quarter of a day each year, or one day every four years. History.com reports that the Egyptians had already been doing this for a while before Europe finally caught on in 46 BC, when Roman Emperor Julius Caesar and astronomer Sosigenes put their heads together to come up with what we now call the Julian calendar, which includes 12 months, 365 days, and an additional ''leap day'' every four years on February 29.
But rounding 0.2421 up to 0.25 each year created an issue, because it didn't quite add up to a full day every four years—and that tiny difference meant that after 128 years, the calendar year ended up starting a day before Earth had completed its journey around the sun. By the 14th century, the calendar year was starting 10 days before Earth finished its orbit.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII sought to correct the error by suggesting that we simply skip a leap day every so often. His Gregorian calendar, which we still use today, rules that we skip the leap day during years which can be evenly divided (被整除) by 100 but not by 400. For instance, the year 2000 included a leap day because it can be divided by 100 and 400; the year 2100, on the other hand, will not include a leap day, since it's evenly divided by 100, but not by 400.
Gregory XIII’s correction to Caesar's overcorrection is itself a bit of an under-correction, so we'll probably need to reevaluate our leap day design again in about 10,000 years.
1.What do the underlined words ''put their heads together'' in paragraph 2 mean?
A.Come across each other. B.Bump their heads together.
C.Compete against each other. D.Combine their efforts.
2.According to Gregorian calendar, which year may include a leap day?
A.2100. B.1600.
C.1800. D.2020.
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Emperor Julius Caesar was also an astronomer.
B.Today's calendar exactly agrees with the sun's turning.
C.The 10-day early start in calendar will always exist.
D.The Gregorian calendar is not yet the most accurate.
4.What's the purpose of this passage?
A.To point out a mistake made by your science teacher.
B.To explain how long Earth makes a trip around the sun.
C.To explain in detail why the leap day is needed.
D.To explain the reason why we need a calendar.
Unconfident children can improve their performance in math tests simply by saying nice things to themselves, a study suggests.
A total of 212 fourth to sixth graders, aged between 9 to 13 years old, took part in the research. The children completed a math test in two parts. At the end of the first half, researchers asked the first group of kids to talk to themselves about the amount of effort they would put into the second half of the test before carrying on. The children quietly told themselves: ''I will do my very best. '' Another group was told to consider their ability, by repeating the phrase: ''I am very good at this. '' The children were instructed to write down their given phrase, and repeat it to themselves while working on the problems, particularly when they found the work challenging. The rest of the children acted as the control group, and weren't required to say anything. A few days before completing the test, all the kids completed a survey on how they viewed their own and others' abilities.
Compared with kids who didn't do what is known as self-talking, those with low self-confidence who spoke about the effort they'd make did better in the second half of the test. The data led the researchers to conclude children who struggle with negative thoughts about their competence could improve their achievements in school by telling themselves they will put effort into a task.
However, the team said they did not find the same result among children with low self-confidence who spoke to themselves about ability, for self-talk about effort is the key. Meanwhile, they pointed out the findings may not relate to children of other ages, and more research is needed to explore this.
1.How was the research conducted?
A.By telling students to talk about their effort. B.By comparing three groups of students.
C.By instructing students to repeat phrases. D.By telling students not to say anything.
2.What conclusion did the researchers draw?
A.Students may benefit from talking about effort.
B.Students should talk about effort in the tests.
C.Students can benefit from talking about ability.
D.Self-talking helps all students do better in tests.
3.We can infer from the last paragraph that the research team is _________.
A.careless B.cautious
C.stubborn D.competitive
4.In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?
A.Entertainment. B.Health.
C.Education. D.Sports.
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, has an ancient competition with Chongqing, a city to its south-east. Residents of Chongqing accused their Chengdu cousins of being pompous (自大的). The people of Chongqing were hotheads, Chengdu residents shot back. Both cities share a love of spice-laden Sichuan cuisine, which in recent decades has occupied Chinese dinner tables. But they are at war over which has the best Sichuan hotpot—a type of DIY-cooking that involves boiling vegetables and slices of meat with chillies and numbing peppercorns.
A private museum in Chongqing, opened several years ago, makes the case for the Chongqing-style hotpot. It describes how it developed from a method used to make cheap offcuts of meat taste delicious. But Chengdu is playing catch-up. In January the city sold a plot of land on condition that the developer build a hotpot museum on part of it.
The two cities are among many in China with their own styles of hotpot. Hotpot restaurants in China are more profitable than other kinds. Haidilao, a well-known Sichuan-based hotpot chain, raised nearly $1bn when it was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (股票交易所) in September.
Not all Chinese warm to hotpot. Some older Sichuanese refuse to be connected with it. They complain that it is causing overuse of chilli in other dishes that cover up the original genuine flavours.
But Chengdu’s plans for a museum suggest that Sichuan hotpot is not only growing in popularity, but is also becoming symbolic. If it can set the West on fire, officials may hope it will become a delicious new source of Chinese soft power. There will be plenty of glory for both Chengdu and Chongqing to take pride in if that happens.
1.Why are Chengdu and Chongqing competing with each other?
A.Because Chengdu people think Chongqing people are pompous.
B.Because Chengdu residents like to shoot back in battles.
C.Because they both think they are better at eating spicy food.
D.Because they both believe they have the best Sichuan hotpot.
2.What is the purpose of building a hotpot museum in Chengdu?
A.To compete with Chongqing. B.To advertise Sichuan cuisine.
C.To show their love for hotpot. D.To keep the hotpot tradition.
3.What can we infer about hotpot from the last paragraph?
A.The two cities have competed only in recent decades.
B.More hotpot museums will be built in the future.
C.Hotpot is already a source of Chinese soft power.
D.People hold a high expectation for hotpot culture.
4.Which can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Growing Popularity of Hotpot in Two Cities
B.Two Cities’ War Over Tastiest Sichuan Hotpot
C.“No Hotpot, No Happiness” True in Food Business
D.Private Museum in Chongqing Opened First
Paris is a museum city. There are hundreds of them, big and small. But, most importantly, they are excellent, some of the best on the planet. From the Louvre to the Musée d’Orsay to the Centre Pompidou, you could spend a lifetime wandering the halls of the city’s great museums. Here are some of the best museums in Paris.
The Louvre
The world’s ultimate museum is also the biggest one and the most visited. The 35,000 art objects on display are all overshadowed by one single painting—Mona Lisa, in the Renaissance era.
Jeu de Paume
Set in the Tuileries Gardens next to the Louvre, Jeu de Paume’s past lives were of a tennis court and then a museum which housed Impressionist art. Today it is Paris’s main photography and video museum. It also occasionally shows art-house films.
Musée d’Orsay
Housed in a former railway station on the Left Bank of the Seine, the museum opened in 1986 and today houses the planet’s largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artworks. If you like 19th-century natural landscapes with rural lives and tastes, this is the place to take it all in.
Musée du Quai Branly
As Paris’s main home to non-European art, objects, and culture, this Jean Nouvel-designed museum exhibits a collection of 3,500 pieces, many of which were taken from various countries during the vast period of French Colonialism. There are objects from Quebec and Louisiana from the time when the regions were under French control. There are also Indian sculptures, masks from West Africa and other aesthetic delights.
1.Which is the best and most admired exhibit in the Louvre?
A.Mona Lisa. B.Renaissance.
C.Lady Era. D.Unknown.
2.Which museum houses Impressionist art nowadays?
A.Jeu de Paume. B.The Louvre.
C.Musée d’Orsay. D.Musée du Quai Branly.
3.Musée du Quai Branly is different from the other three in that _________.
A.it houses non-European objects B.it used to be a tennis court
C.it shows the 19th-century rural scenery D.it is Paris’s largest museum
