We’ve all been there before: You’re driving down the road when suddenly a pothole(凹坑) seems to appear out of nowhere and sends the ______ jumping. Most people think potholes are_____, but artist Jim Bachor sees them as a canvas(画布) for his artwork.
Bachor uses the ______ art form of mosaic(马赛克) to create eye-catching, colorful images of famous artists like Aretha Franklin or simple everyday ______ like food. He even makes less-appealing visuals of insects.
Bachor was a graphic designer for 20 years before he began his ____ in mosaic. He regards an incidental trip to Europe as his motivation to change careers. While ______ in Italy, Bachor fell in love with Pompeii, the preserved ancient Roman city. A tour guide pointed out a mosaic, made of mainly glass and marble, and told Bachor, “Glass and marble don’t ______. So, this looks essentially the way the artist intended.” Bachor says, “That kind of staying power just ______ me so much.”
A year later Bachor returned to attend a mosaic class in Ravenna, Italy, to learn the proper way to ______ the ancient technique. Years after that, he mastered the technique. He ______ that mosaics can be just as significant today as the art form over 1,000 years ago. “I just saw that there was a(n) ______ to bring it into the new age as a contemporary subject,” he says.
So, Bachor decided to make a special piece of ______ for that pothole. He has ____ mosaic pothole art around Chicago, Detroit, New York City and even in Finland.
While he may not be getting ______ from drivers or passengers, Bachor’s art is ______ a pleasant surprise to discover.
1.A.body B.rock C.car D.sand
2.A.challenging B.interesting C.discouraging D.annoying
3.A.modern B.ancient C.elegant D.mysterious
4.A.objects B.ideas C.routines D.projects
5.A.duty B.career C.belief D.instruction
6.A.traveling B.living C.working D.studying
7.A.last B.connect C.fade D.resolve
8.A.reminded B.confused C.troubled D.impressed
9.A.introduce B.perform C.promote D.describe
10.A.argued B.imagined C.remembered D.realized
11.A.link B.time C.opportunity D.voice
12.A.artwork B.machinery-work C.code D.literature
13.A.discovered B.created C.improved D.taught
14.A.help B.invitation C.money D.praise
15.A.nearly B.merely C.certainly D.personally
No-friend eating trend
When you eat lunch in a restaurant, you might see many people eating by themselves, watching videos on their phones. 1. Do you worry they’re lonely?
You probably didn’t even notice because you were looking at your own phone. The New York Post says that eating alone with electronic devices is a growing trend among young people around the world.
According to a new survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of the US-based Highbush Blueberry Council, the average adult eats six meals alone each week and 387 meals each year.
2. Maybe not.
“The way we define ‘togetherness’ and what it means to be connected seems to be evolving as technology evolves. Keeping our relationships strong doesn’t always require being together physically,” wrote the report.
Nowadays, many young people spend more time studying and working in competitive environments. 3. Instead, it’s natural to communicate with others through text, email and social media.
Daniela Galarza, from the US, is one of these young people. She told the New York Post that she spent nearly 10 hours on her work every day. She said, “Engaging with my friends and families on social media platforms for about half an hour every day always helps me feel more connected with them. 4.”
“Today, ‘togetherness’ is more of a feeling than a physical state, and people get creative to stay connected,” a spokesperson for The Highbush Blueberry Council told the New York Post. “5.”
A.I’m not lonely any more.
B.Do you feel pity for them?
C.Being together all the time is great.
D.Does it mean there are a lot of lonely people?
E.They enjoy eating alone with electronic devices.
F.They have less time to gather and eat with their friends or families.
G.The joy of being together – however you manage it – never changes.
Recently, researchers at the University of Toronto figured out a way with a quick video selfie to accurately measure blood pressure with your smartphone’s camera by developing a technology known as transdermal optical imaging (TOI)(透皮光学成像).
Cameras on smartphones can catch red light reflected from hemoglobin (血红素）under our skin, which permits TOI to visualize and measure blood flow changes. Researchers measured the blood pressure of 1,328 Canadian and Chinese adults by getting two-minute videos of their faces on an iPhone. “From the video got by the technology, you can see how the blood flows in different parts of the face and through this flow, you can get a lot of information,” said Kang Lee, lead author of the study.
Lee also helped create an app called Anura, which allows people to try out the TOI software for themselves, giving them the ability to record a 30-second video of their face and receive measurements for stress levels and resting heart rate. Lee said more research was needed to make sure that the measurements were as accurate as possible, explaining that the study didn’t test people with very dark or very fair skin.
“In order to improve our app to make it usable, particularly for people with hypertension (高血压)，we need to collect a lot of data from them, which is very hard because a lot of them are already taking medicine,” Lee explained. “We cannot tell them not to take medicine, but from time to time, we get participants who don’t take medicine so we can get hypertensive people this way.”
The scientists said there were many potential applications of the technology, including providing health services for those who lived in remote areas.
1.What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 2？
A.Information offered by TOI. B.New findings on hypertension.
C.How TOI is put into smart phones. D.How the TOI technology works.
2.What might people benefit from the new technology mentioned above?
A.Living a life free from stress. B.Improving the heart function gradually.
C.Accessing health services for free. D.Knowing abnormal blood pressure earlier.
3.What can be done for a better Anura?
A.Equipping phones with better cameras.
B.Allowing phones to record longer videos.
C.Collecting data from more diverse samples.
D.Persuading participants not to take medicine.
4.Why does the author write this text?
A.To predict future applications of TOI.
B.To introduce TOI and an app related.
C.To describe functions of cameras on phones.
D.To evaluate the quality of an app called Anura.
America’s first transcontinental railroad, completed 150 years ago today at Promontory Summit in Utah, connected the vast United States and brought America into the modern age. Chinese immigrants contributed greatly to this notable achievement, but the historical accounts that followed often ignored their role.
Between 1863 and 1869, as many as 20,000 Chinese workers helped build the dangerous western part of the railroad, a winding ribbon of track known as the Central Pacific. At first, the Central Pacific Railroad’s directors wanted a whites-only workforce. When not enough white men signed up, the railroad began hiring Chinese men for the backbreaking labor. Company leaders were skeptical of the new recruits’ ability to do the work, but they proved themselves not only capable but even superior to the other workers.
Chinese workers cut through dense forests, filled deep narrow steep-sided valley, constructed long trestles(高架桥) and built enormous retaining walls(防护墙) -- some of which remain complete and undamaged today. All work was done by hand using carts, shovels and picks but no machinery. However, progress came at great cost: an estimated 1,200 Chinese laborers died along the Central Pacific route.
Despite these facts, Chinese workers were often left out of the official story because of their identity of foreigners. On the transcontinental railroad's 100th birthday, the Chinese workers were still not honored. It was another fifty years later that their role was gradually highlighted. To celebrate the railroad’s 150th anniversary in 2019, the California assembly passed a resolution in 2017 to recognize and honor the Chinese railroad workers by designating May 10, 2017, and every May 10 thereafter, as California Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial Day.
1.What might be the best title for the text?
A.The Birth of the Central Pacific Cost Dearly
B.May 10--A Special Day for Chinese Immigrants
C.Chinese Workers’ Contributions Gained Recognition
D.The 150th anniversary of the Central Pacific Railroad
2.What does “they” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Chinese laborers. B.White workers.
C.Company leaders. D.Railroad directors.
3.Why does the author make such detailed descriptions in Paragraph 3?
A.To prove Chinese workers’ superior skills.
B.To stress the danger and difficulty of the work.
C.To describe the grand scenery along the railroad.
D.To show notable achievements made by Chinese workers.
4.What does the text intend to tell us?
A.None so blind as those who won’t see. B.No pains, no gains.
C.Truth will come to light sooner or later. D.Doing is better than saying.
When people think about British music, for the most part they think about the 60s or 70s with the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones or more modern artists like Adele or Ed Sheeran. However, stuck between these two ages was, in my opinion, British music’s best period. The 90s were an optimistic time for Britain and indeed Europe, with the economy recovering from the lows of the 80s and the Cold War ending.
One of the defining features of 90s music was the birth of “Britpop”. This was a style of pop music that aimed to promote “Britishness” and commonly featured electric guitars, drums and male singers. Britpop was the style used by world-famous bands such as Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede who became known as “The Big Four”. The summer of 1995 was dominated by the “Battle of Britpop” which was between Blur and Oasis for the number one spot. Eventually, Blur won the battle and Oasis settled for second.
However, the 90s weren’t only for the boys, with major female groups also finding fame, the most well-known of which were “the Spice Girls” who were extremely popular in Britain and around the world. Once again they promoted “Britishness” and had catchy melodies and lyrics, but they also started the “Girl Power” movement which helped empower girls and women worldwide. It isn’t too far to assume that without their music, many female singers and artists who we love today would not have had the confidence to pursue their dream.
British music may have had many great times, however the 90s are often overlooked. Although I was not alive to enjoy the music properly, the 90s had a huge impact on British culture that can be felt today and I feel that the decade should get the recognition it deserves!
1.What can we infer from the first paragraph?
A.The Cold War came to an end in the 80s.
B.Britain’s economy began to pick up in the 90s.
C.The Beatles represented the best British music.
D.Adele is better than Ed Sheeran in modern music.
2.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
A.Britpop. B.Britishness.
C.The Big Four. D.Battle of Britpop.
3.What’s the most important influence of “the Spice Girls” according to the text?
A.Promoting “Britishness”. B.Empowering girls and women.
C.Creating catchy melodies. D.Finding fame for female groups.
4.The writer thinks the impact of the 90s music on British culture is ________.
A.underestimated B.well-recognized
C.fairly evaluated D.reasonably doubted
TGBWP(the Great Books Winter Program) is an experience like no other in American education. For the past eleven years, TGBWP has gathered outstanding middle and high school students from across the world to read selections from the greatest works of literature, experience college-level lectures, engage in lively discussions and enjoy winter camp fun with other literary-minded students.
Here is a sample of what you will get at Great Books:
Membership in an international community of enthusiastic young learners and distinguished college teachers who read and discuss great books and big ideas. You will discuss the likes of Plato, Mark Twain, Dickens, and Tolstoy with other teens from around the globe who love literature just as much as you do!
Find your voice in the classroom. TGBWP gives students the opportunity to grow academically and socially as they prepare for high school and college. Open discussions encourage students to express themselves and give power to their ideas. Students gain confidence in their ability to read a text closely and express their ideas clearly both orally and in writing.
Experience time away from home and spend it at a top college -- choose from two campus settings: Amherst College in Massachusetts and Stanford University in California. This is the perfect opportunity to preview life on a college campus!
Don’t miss this opportunity to join students from 47 states and 28 countries in this unique learning environment.
Categories | Reading/Writing Arts/Photography/Film Music/Singing/ Dancing Travel/ Touring Academic/Pre-College |
Ages | 11-18 |
Type | Overnight/Residential |
More information: CLICK HERE
1.What do we know about TGBWP?
A.A course on literacy skills improvement.
B.An education department of universities.
C.A camp suitable for teen literature lovers.
D.A program of studying American literature.
2.What does TGBWP offer its participants according to the text?
A.College-level evaluation in literature.
B.Admissions to world famous universities.
C.Free literature courses and literature works.
D.Chances to experience college life beforehand.
3.Suppose this text is an Ad, what else must be included in “More information”?
A.Contact information. B.Membership benefits.
C.Registration requirements. D.Activity arrangements.
