A book is so much more than mere ink and paper. So insist French booksellers, who for nearly four decades successfully persuade the government to keep the forces of the free market at bay. A law passed in 1981 bans the sale of any book at anything other than the price decided by its publisher. Authorities are cracking down on those trying to sell the latest Thomas Piketty or J.K Rowling at a discount.
The fixed-price rule is meant to keep customers loyal to their local bookshop and out of the control of supermarkets and corporations. But the arrival of e-commerce and e-readers has promoted questions worthy of their own tomes(大部头著作). Can you fix the price of a book if it is part of an all-you-can-read subscription service? Are audio-books books at all? And what of authors who self-publish?
Changes have been made to preserve the principle of “one book, one price”. In 2011, the rule began to apply to digital tomes. Free delivery by online sellers was prohibited because it implied a subsidy(补贴) on the delivered books (encouraging online sellers to charge only €0.01 for postage). But a new challenge to the policy is proving more difficult to deal with.
Used books are exempted from the pricing rule. Third-party sellers on Amazon are accused of using this as a way to apply forbidden discounts: selling brand-new books as “second hand” to make them cheaper. So fans can purchase a copy of the latest Michel Houellebecq novel Serotonine for 11.71 pounds on Amazon, roughly half of its original price. Its seller claims it is in “perfectly new” condition.
Amazon claims its practices are legal. But books sellers are upset, and their political allies with them. “This is a major concern,” said Franck Riester, the culture minister, at a bookseller’s conference this week. He says new laws may be needed.
Defenders of the fixed-price principle (which has spread to other parts of Europe) say it helps keep independent bookshops alive. Others are not so sure. Books are expensive in France — an odd way to encourage people to buy more.
1.What was the function of the law passed in 1981?
A.To stop publishers from publishing poor books.
B.To prevent the random price of books in the market.
C.To help book consumers benefit from the free market.
D.To encourage French booksellers to sell cheaper books.
2.What’s implied about the arrival of e-commerce and e-readers in Paragraph 2?
A.It greatly changed people’s reading habits.
B.It challenged the principle of “one book, one price”.
C.It weakened the ties between publishers and authors.
D.It provided local booksellers with some new opportunities.
3.What does the underlined part “are exempted from” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A.are involved in. B.are threatened by.
C.are consistent with. D.are unrestricted by.
4.What is Franck Riester’s attitude towards those third-party sellers’ practices on Amazon?
A.He is hopeful of them. B.He is uncertain of them.
C.He disapproves of them. D.He is indifferent to them.
Recently according to a new research, humans have had a link to starches (含淀粉的食物) for up to 120,000 years — that’s more than 100,000 years longer than we’ve been able to plant them in the soil during the time of the ice Age’s drawing to an end. The research is part of an ongoing study into the history of Middle Stone Age communities.
An international team of scientists identified evidence of prehistoric starch consumption in the Klasies River Cave, in present-day South Africa. Analyzing small, ashy, undisturbed hearths(壁炉) inside the cave, the researchers found “pieces of burned starches” ranging from around 120,000 to 65,000 years old. It made them the oldest known examples of starches eaten by humans.
The findings do not come as a complete surprise — but rather as welcome confirmation of older theories that lacked the related evidence. The lead author Cynthia Larbey said that there had previously only been genetic biological evidence to suggest that humans had been eating starch for this long. This new evidence, however, takes us directly to the dinner table, and supports the previous assumption that humans’ digestion genes gradually evolved in order to fit into an increased digestion of starch.
Co-author Sarah Wurz said, “The starch remains show that these early humans living in the Klasies River Cave could battle against their tough environment and find suitable foods and perhaps medicines. And as much as we all still desire the tubers (块茎), these cave communities were gilling starches such as potatoes on their foot-long hearths. They knew how to balance their diets as well as they could, with fats from local fish and other animals.”
As early as the 1990s, some researchers started to study the hearths in the Klasies River Cave. Scientist Hilary Deacon first suggested that these hearths contained burned plants. At the time, the proper methods of examining the remains were not yet available. We now know human beings have always been searching for their desired things.
1.When did humans begin to farm starches?
A.After the Ice Age. B.After the Middle Stone Age.
C.About 20,000 years ago. D.About 100,000 years ago.
2.What was the previous assumption of starches?
A.Starch diet promoted food culture. B.Starch diet shaped humans’ evolution.
C.Starches had a variety of functions. D.Starches offered humans rich nutrition.
3.What can we learn about the early humans described by Sarah Wurz?
A.They were smart and tough. B.They preferred plants to meat.
C.They were generally very healthy. D.They got along with each other.
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A.Great Civilization of South Africa B.The Evolution of Foods in History
C.Starches--the Important Food of Today D.Big Findings--the Starches in Ancient Times
Something strange happened when I was 14 years old. Every previous year on Thanksgiving Day I’d woken up early, filled with excitement. But that Thanksgiving, for some reason I saw no reason to celebrate. None of my family were really thankful, I realized. The whole thing was a lie!
During the dinner time, I left, hiding in the guest room and cried. My mom came to see what was wrong. “No one is really thankful!” I sobbed, “They just pretend for one day because that’s what they’re supposed to do!”
After I finished talking, she nodded. “You’re right,” she told me. “It’s fake until you find the truth for yourself.” She said it was my choice whether to celebrate with them or not. She said Thanksgiving is a time to reflect because we don’t always get to see loved ones and eat a good meal. Then she left.
I didn’t listen to her, thinking that every holiday was a lie and I could never find joy celebrating again. But giving in to my starving stomach, I went back to the dining room in a few minutes. I couldn’t believe what I saw. My entire extended family was waiting for me with wide smiles and concerned looks, and the table was covered with untouched plates.
“Andy,” my aunt said, “We can’t eat without you. We’re waiting for your turn. Now you can start it.” I didn’t know what to say first. Finally, I said I was thankful for having a younger brother to teach, play with, and see grow.
The family shared, and everyone had something beautiful to say. Listening to what they said, I suddenly understood what my mom meant about finding out my own reason for celebrating. For me, this holiday was a chance to pause and reflect on everything I cared about.
And with that, I took a huge and satisfying bite of food.
1.Why did the author hide himself and cry on the Thanksgiving Day?
A.Because he got up too late
B.Because some of his family were absent.
C.Because he thought the dinner was tasteless.
D.Because he doubted the sincerity of others’ thankfulness.
2.What can we know about the author’s mother according to the text?
A.She is very understanding. B.She is strict with the author.
C.She disagreed with the author. D.She showed great worry about the author.
3.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A.Having dinner. B.Expressing thankfulness.
C.Giving a performance. D.Making a wish.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.My loving mother B.Love and lies
C.An inspiring Thanksgiving D.An unforgettable dinner
Do you like watching movies? The following movies are coming on soon. Please check and find the one you like. Click the name of each movie to get more information.
Brahms: The Boy II
Horror | Mystery |Thriller
Soon after a family moves into the Heelshire Mansion, their only son makes friends with a life-like doll called Brahms.
Director: William Brent Bell
Stars: Katie Holmes, Ralph Ineson, Owain Yeoman, Christopher Convery
Little Joe
Drama | Sci-Fi
Alice, a single mother, is a devoted senior plant breeder at a corporation engaged in developing new species. Against the company policy, she takes one plant home as a gift for her teenage son, Joe. The plant was created by genetic engineering and anyone touching it will become strange. Director: Jessica Hausner:
Stars: Emily Beecham, Ben Whishaw, Kerry Fox, Kit Conor
The Aeronauts
Action | Adventure I Biography | Romance
Pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) and scientist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) find themselves in a hard fight for survival while attempting to make discoveries in a gas balloon. Director: Tom Harper
Stars: Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Himesh Patel, Phoebe Fox
Apparition
Horror | Adventure
A group of young people, guided by an APP that connects the living with the dead, find themselves at an abandoned castle, a place with a horrific history tied to each of them, for reasons they’ll soon discover.
Director: Waymon Boone
Stars: Mena Suvari, Kevin Pollak, Megan West, Jon Abrahams
1.What can we learn about Brahms: The Boy II?
A.William Brent Bell is in charge of it.
B.Brahms can live a life as a man does.
C.The audience may be amused by the movie.
D.The story was created by William Brent Bell.
2.Which movie will be favored by a science fiction lover?
A.Brahms; The Boy II. B.The Aeronauts.
C.Apparition. D.Little Joe.
3.What do Brahms: The Boy II and Apparition have in common?
A.They are liked by teenagers.
B.Their plots are both horrible.
C.They are played by young actors.
D.Their characters all behave strangely.
假设你是晨光中学学生会主席李津，你的笔友Peter给你发来邮件，询问你在抗击新型冠状病毒期间的学习情况。请给他回复邮件，内容包括：
（1）感谢他的关心；
（2）你的学习情况；
（3）你的感受。
注意：（1）词数不少于100；
（2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
（3）开头已为你写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：新型冠状病毒COVID-19
Dear Peter,
How is everything going?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Jin
阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
It was a hot July day. The five boys and I wanted to find some new tricks to play. “Hey!” Ned said, “We haven’t climbed the cliff for a long while.” “Let’s go!” said someone else. And off they went. I hesitated. I longed to be brave and active, like them, but I’d been a sickly child most of my eight years and my mother often told me not to adventure.
“Come on!” called Jerry, my best friend. “Just because you’ve been sick is no reason to be timid.” “I’m coming!” I yelled, and ran along after them.
Through the park and into the woods, we finally approached the cliff, which was only about 60 feet high, but to me it just seemed impossible because it was almost vertical (垂直的).
One by one, the other boys began to climb upward. Then trembling and sweating, I began to climb, my heart beating widely in my skinny chest. At some point, I looked back and was horrified. The ground at the base of the cliff seemed very far below; one slip and I would fall. Soon, the boys were u to the top. Then they left, leaving me clinging (紧握) to the rock alone.
I looked down and was overcome by dizziness: I could never climb back down. It was much too far to go and I would fall and die. But the way up to the top was even worse — higher, steeper and more dangerous; I would never make it.
Time passed and it was getting dark. I began to sob.
After what seemed one hundred years, I heard my father’s comforting voice: “Come on down, boy.”
“No, I can’t,” I howl. “It’s too far, it is too hard, I can’t do it.”
“Listen to me,” my father said. “Don’t think about how far it is and all you have to think about is taking one little step.” I inched backward. Eventually I took the last step down onto rocks at the bottom.
Now whenever I’m faced with a frightening situation, I’ll remind myself not to look at the rocks far below, but at the first small and relatively easy step, feeling a sense of accomplishment with each move, until I have done what I wanted to do.
1.Why did the writer hesitate to climb the cliff at first?(no more than 10 words)
2.What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 probably mean? (no more than 2 words)
3.How does the writer like the cliff?(no more than 10 words)
4.What is the embarrassing situation the writer have to face in Paragraph 5? (no more than 15 words)
5.What’s your attitude towards “fear” in life? Please explain.(no more than 20 words)
