The other day I was shopping at a local store and came upon a lady from India squatting (蹲)on the floor ___ a certain product on the bottom shelf. She ___when she saw me as if to get out of my way. ___ , she explained that she was a ___ and on her lunch break, trying to ____ a few needed items.
I told her, “I am in no hurry. ____and do what you need to do. ” While she searched for a particular brand, she said that sometimes customers were ___ to her and she really ____ my kindness. I told her that I had noticed cashiers being treated rudely by some people and they needed to be more ___.
It is stressful to the cashier when people are ____ at them when the cashier is doing the best they know how. I explained to her that I was a retired nurse and ____some of what she was saying. Sometimes patients or doctors could be very rude. But I ___ to understand why they were____ that way and let it go.
She thanked me for being so ____ and friendly. I told her, “The world would be a better place if we all acted ___ toward each other. Those who are rude may have bad karma (报应)coming after them ___ for treating people badly. She nodded and said it was ___ that I knew what karma was.
It felt so good that I may have helped her ___ the pressure for even a few seconds. In a brief ___ I showed her there are good and kind people in the world and may have boosted (增强)her faith in ___ .
1.A.looking for B.looking into C.pulling apart D.pulling down
2.A.bent B.passed C.jumped D.ran
3.A.Tentatively B.Honestly C.Apologetically D.Unwillingly
4.A.manager B.student C.teacher D.cashier
5.A.get B.put C.mark D.show
6.A.Calm down B.Go ahead C.Keep up D.Try on
7.A.patient B.good C.kind D.rude
8.A.accepted B.appreciated C.remembered D.expected
9.A.considerate B.helpful C.honest D.careful
10.A.nodding B.glancing C.glaring D.smiling
11.A.heard B.ignored C.understood D.did
12.A.happened B.tried C.intended D.forgot
13.A.crying B.fighting C.shopping D.feeling
14.A.cool B.nice C.humorous D.generous
15.A.kindly B.coldly C.differently D.equally
16.A.frequently B.eventually C.regularly D.seldom
17.A.puzzling B.satisfying C.frightening D.amazing
18.A.reduce B.realize C.find D.increase
19.A.interview B.speech C.exchange D.lecture
20.A.peace B.future C.truth D.humanity
Are you crying because you're sad or because something moves you? It's all okay. Some people try to hold back tears because they are scared it makes them seem weak, which is not a wise practice. Don't try to fight the tears, but let them flow freely, 1. .
1. It gives you more support
Sometimes people don't understand how much something is bothering you,2. . Research carried out in 2018 shows that crying is so-called attachment behavior. This means that crying makes people want to comfort you and support you.
2. 3.
When you cry because something made you sad, the pain is often quite sharp, but you do feel relieved after you cry. That is not that strange. Researchers found out that your body produces oxytocin and endorphins when you cry. These components make people feel good and that's why you experience the sharp pain a little less intense.
3. It is said to cause less stress
4. , but researchers are convinced that crying can lessen stress. When you cry, your tears contain a certain concentration of stress hormones (激素). These stress hormones leave your body when you cry and researchers have developed a theory that you experience less stress after crying because of it.
4. It can improve your sight
Most people know tears as the drops that pour over your cheeks when you cry, but there is also something called 'basal tears'. This is the liquid that is produced when you blink (眨眼).It keeps your eyes watery and allows you to see clearly. Sometimes your eyes can be a bit dry, 5.. When you cry, your eyes will be wet for a little.
A.It really eases the pain
B.It can make you farsighted
C.which makes you see a little less
D.It is no use crying over spilt milk
E.because crying also has four benefits
F.A lot of research still has to be done
G.but they suddenly understand it better when you cry
Britain's got talent——but we're still wasting it. That's the main finding of a new report by researchers from Oxford University. Children of similar cognitive (认知) ability have very different chances of educational success； it still depends on their parents' economic, socio-cultural and educational resources. This contradicts a commonly held view that our education system has developed enough to give everyone a fighting chance. The researchers looked at data from groups of children born in three decades: 1950s, 1970s and 1990s.
They found significant evidence of a wastage of talent. Individuals with high levels of cognitive ability but with disadvantages in their social origins are unable to translate their ability into educational achievement to the same extent as their more advantaged counterparts (对照组). The research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, found that only about half of the difference in educational achievement between children from advantaged and disadvantaged parental backgrounds is due to differences in their cognitive ability. The other half is due to other factors (因素)associated with their backgrounds.
“If we compare the educational achievement of children born in the 1990s to those in the late 1950s and early 1970s, we see that parents' economic resources have become a less important factor, but their socio-cultural and educational resources have grown in significance," says Dr. Bukodi. “That means that your parents' place in society and their own level of education still play a big part in how well you may do."
These experts are now calling for policy-makers to acknowledge that formal qualifications is only one channel for upward mobility (流动性)for high-ability individuals of disadvantaged backgrounds. Dr. Bukodi says, “These findings show that there are limits to how far inequalities of opportunity can be reduced through educational policy alone. Changes in educational policy aren't having the powerful effect we want."
1.What is the main finding of the research?
A.We're wasting talent due to education system.
B.Children of similar cognitive ability have different chances of educational success.
C.Children's cognitive ability depends on different educational resources.
D.Education system has developed enough to give chilidren a fighting chance.
2.How does the author mainly develop the text?
A.By making a comparison.
B.By discussing a result.
C.By giving examples.
D.By presenting reasons.
3.According to Dr. Bukodi, what affects children's educational achievement greatly?
A.Children's cognitive ability.
B.Parents' economic resouces.
C.Educational policy.
D.Parents' socio-cultural and educational backgrounds.
4.What is the author's attitude towards the finding of the new report?
A.Favorable. B.Objective.
C.Doubtful. D.Negative.
A 23-year-old British woman has invented a product she hopes will one day replace single-use plastic.
The new product is made by combining fishing waste and algae (水藻).It could be used to replace plastic bags or containers that people use once and throw away. Lucy Hughes created the material, called MarinaTex, for her final year project at the University.
MarinaTex is edible, to put it in another way, it can be tasted without danger. Hughes says it is also strong and stable. But unlike plastic, MarinaTex biodegrades (生物降解)in four to six weeks under normal conditions and does not pollute the soil. The inventor said she is concerned about the growing amounts of plastics in ocean waters. She noted one report that there would be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans by the year 2050. The United Nations estimates that 100 million tons of plastic waste has already been left in the oceans. Hughes also was investigating ways to reduce the amount of waste from the fishing industry. The industry produces an estimated 50 million tons of waste worldwide each year, UN officials say.
Examining fish parts left over from processing helped to give her the idea for a material that was useful and did no harm to the environment. “Why do we need to have hundreds of man-made polymers (聚合体)when nature has so many already available?" she asked. After months of testing, Hughes produced a strong, flexible sheet that forms at temperatures below 100 degrees Celsius. Inventor James Dyson said that MarinaTex is “stronger, safer and much more sustainable (可持续的)”than plastic. It is also easier to break down. Hughes will receive about $ 41,000 prize money as the first place winner of the James Dyson Award. She plans to use the money to further develop the product and ways to mass produce it. "Further research and development will ensure that MarinaTex evolves further, and becomes part of a global answer to the abundance of single use plastic waste," Dyson said.
1.What do we know about MarinaTex?
A.It is a safe seafood.
B.It is a kind of waste.
C.It is a new kind of plastic.
D.It is a safe material that can replace plastic.
2.What does the underlined word “edible" in paragraph 2 mean?
A.Useful. B.Eatable.
C.Replaceable. D.Delicious.
3.What gets Hughes to creat MarinaTex?
A.Her concern about the growing amount of plastic in ocean.
B.Her occupational habit of trying out new things.
C.Her hope to help develop the fishing industry.
D.Her desire to win the prize money.
4.What can we infer from the last paragrach?
A.We need to have hundreds of MarinaTex available.
B.Hughes produced MarinaTex without much effort.
C.MarinaTex will be a good solution to plastic waste.
D.Hughes is the first winner of the James Dyson Award.
A letter to the editor complained about someone stringing toilet paper on their trees. That letter brought a flood of responses defending this act as being harmless to friends: “ It's an honor to get toilet papered", said one writer, “and good fun for teenagers."
Reading these letters brought me chuckles (轻声笑)and then tears as they woke old memories of my mother’s ninety-second year. She was seriously ill that autumn. And I watched, powerless.
A decade before, I helped her break out" of the nursing home. It was a fine place with a caring staff. But Mom didn't want skilled care: she wanted to live on her own and just needed some assistance to do so. Being in a more restrictive environment than necessary was bad for her condition. The risk paid off, and I was rewarded by seeing my mother once again enjoying her life.
Ten years later, Mom's health declined, and my care-giving duties increased. One evening, for some unexplainable reason, I invited my mother to go toilet papering!
This outing would push my mother to her physical limits. Was I making a mistake? Secretly we went to my brother's home. In his backyard, I handed Mom a roll of toilet paper. Without hesitation she shot it skyward...
Mom papered a dozen trees in four family yards that unforgettable evening. The day after our big adventure, Mom and I sent a card to each of our victim, signed “From your decorators". We laughed all the way home from the post office, like two schoolgirls.
My mother's last year was marked by physical decline. However, we shared some simple fun each day. Those light-hearted moments were like a salve (慰藉)，and they are the ones I'll always remember. Toilet papering has taught us that play is powerful medicine!
1.Why did the author cry when reading the letter?
A.She was blamed for toilet papering.
B.It brought her childhood memory.
C.She thought of her sick mother.
D.It was very stressful.
2.The author helped her leave the nursing home in order that ____.
A.Mom could enjoy a free life
B.Mom could get more skilled home care
C.the nursing cost could be cut down
D.they could avoid taking risk
3.What can we learn from the mother's experience of toilet papering?
A.They did some damage to four family yards.
B.They were made to apologize for their mistakes.
C.Toilet papering made her illness worsened.
D.Toilet papering brought them much pleasure.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.A Letter of Complaint
B.Love Between Daughter and Mother
C.The Curing Power of Toilet Papering.
D.An Unforgettable Evening in Family Yards
Guinness World Records Set by Kids
♦ The youngest club DJ
Oratilwe A J Hongwane likes putting in more efforts when playing music for a crowd. In 2012, he became the youngest club DJ—he was five when he played a one- hour set to 100 people at a bar in South Africa. Known in the business as DJ Arch Jnr, he broke the record previously held by a six-year-old in Japan.
♦The most viewed video game-unboxing video
Kids love watching someone unbox a new purchase—especially if it's something they can't get themselves. Maybe that's why more than 25 million people have watched YouTube HD. What's really cool about Evan is that he actually donates most of the toys to those in need. He also uses his popular YouTube channel to draw people's attention to worthy organizations for helping the poor.
♦The youngest drummer
The rules of Guinness World Records say a drummer must record a real song and be paid for his skills and that the drummer must give at least 20 concerts of 45 minutes or longer within five years. At the age of just four Julian Pavone met all those qualifications.
♦The fastest assembly (组装)of 10,000 Lego pieces and the longest Lego chain
A group of school kids in New Jersey went for their world records to increase public awareness about a fellow student who is suffering from a rare and deadly disease. The group put together 10,000 Lego pieces in just three hours, breaking the old one by five hours. They also set the record for the longest Lego chain, which ended up at 947 meters, beating the old record by 40.
1.Who is devoted to charity?
A.Oratilwe A J Hongwane. B.Evan.
C.DJ Arch Jnr. D.Julian Pavone.
2.What do we know about the youngest drummer?
A.He has recorded 20 real songs.
B.He gave at least 20 concerts at five.
C.He must earn a lot of money by recording.
D.He was qualified for the Guiness World Reords at four.
3.Why did the school kids set the world record?
A.To help a sick schoolmate.
B.To inspire team spirit.
C.To prevent a rare disease.
D.To make their school famous.
