I work as the reception manager at my hotel. A ______came in a few weeks ago with a note saying that the guest would be travelling with her________ father. His daughter wanted to make his trip to Ireland as ______as possible.
Upon seeing this note, I ______I would be the one to check them in as I was scheduled for their arrival time. I ______to learn some very basic sign language. I ______ the guest in my usual fashion, asking for the surname on the booking. Once I heard the name I ______ immediately who was standing in front of me.
I had been learning for two weeks how to say "welcome to Ireland. My sign language is ______, but please if you need anything during your stay just let me know and we will help you".
I ______ at the father and daughter and greeted him in the sign language I had learned for him. His daughter broke down ______ and called me sweet when she learned about the truth. But the father just smiled and was so ______. Honestly, seeing his ______ was enough for me. It was so worth the last few weeks of learning basic sign language.
On check-out, I ______ wasn't working, but they had ______ a gift for me---a small box with some chocolates and a book on sign language. Inside was a ______ saying "Thank you very much for what you did on check-in. You have no idea how much this ______ to my father and me. We can't ______ you enough. You've made his trip home to his family after 50 years very ______ with one simple gesture".
They wrote a letter to the general manager, ______ to give me a raise, which I really ______. I cried for 5 minutes when I came into work today to find this gift in my locker.
1.A.stranger B.woman C.booking D.call
2.A.deaf B.retired C.lonely D.blind
3.A.exciting B.cheap C.smooth D.long
4.A.worried B.knew C.thought D.hoped
5.A.pretended B.preferred C.had D.decided
6.A.greeted B.eyed C.helped D.attended
7.A.recognized B.realized C.wondered D.remembered
8.A.excellent B.helpful C.terrible D.useless
9.A.smiled B.stared C.pointed D.shouted
10.A.laughing B.singing C.complaining D.crying
11.A.entertained B.embarrassed C.happy D.encouraged
12.A.presence B.disability C.appearance D.reaction
13.A.fortunately B.sadly C.hopefully D.recently
14.A.left B.made C.posted D.ordered
15.A.book B.poster C.proverb D.note
16.A.showed B.meant C.happened D.explained
17.A.help B.pay C.give D.thank
18.A.useful B.special C.meaningless D.important
19.A.asking B.offering C.promising D.demanding
20.A.needed B.cared C.appreciated D.deserved
Are you always embarrassedat social events？Or do you often struggle (挣扎)to enter into conversations because you are shy？If so，your social life and career may have been influenced in some way. 1.Then，you’ll be able to enter into conversations with confidence.
Behave like a social person. You can behave like a more social creature even if you don’t feel like it. Don’t allow anxiety to hold you back. Make the decision to talk to new people andenter into conversations even when you’re feeling nervous about it.2.
Create goals for yourself.3.Perhaps you want to practice one particular skill or maybe you want to attenda social activity in your community. Set a goal and begin to work on skills that will improve your social life.
Offer compliments (赞美)generously.4.Offer your colleague a compliment on his presentation at a meeting or compliment your neighbor on his new car. Compliments can show others that you are friendly.
5.There are many books on the market that can help you learn specific social skills and ways to start conversations. However，keep in mind that reading about these skills won’t make you an expert. You’ll needto practice them over andover again.
A.Ask open-ended questions.
B.Read books about social skills.
C.You can set some small goals for yourself at first.
D.Good manners go a long way in improving social skills.
E.It can be a great way to open the door to a conversation.
F.You will findit easier to start a conversation with others over time.
G.However，you can improve your social skills by following the tips below.
Making beers on the moon might seem like a pipe dream to many, but for a group of students from the University of California at San Diego, there is a chance to take their research beyond Earth’s surface.
The Lab2Moon competition, held by TeamIndus, is offering students the chance to secure a spot on the TeamIndus rocket this year.
Taking craft beer to the next level, the students want to test whether it’s possible for yeast(酵母) to work and create beer on the moon. However, they believe the experiment is not just a creative concept for astronauts, it’s also important for the development of drugs and yeast-containing food, like bread.
“The idea started out with a few laughs among a group of friends,” said Neeki Ashari, a fifth-year bioengineering students at UC San Diego. “We all appreciate the craft beer. When we heard that there was an opportunity to design an experiment that would go up on India’s moonlander, w e thought we could combine our hobby with the competition by focusing on the practicality of yeast in outer space.”
The preparation work for the beer — up to the stage of adding yeast — will all be done on Earth, and rather than separating the fermentation ( 发酵) and carbonation stage of making beer, the team plans to combine them.
This removes the need to release CO2 accumulated in the process, which may result in cleanliness and safety issues out in space.
If selected, Team Original Gravity will be the first to make beer in outer space, and the fermentation will take place in a container no bigger than a soda can.
All teams competing for the place will showcase their ideas in Bangalore, India, in March.
Sadly, you won’t be enjoying moon beer in your local craft beer bar anytime soon, as no samples will be brought back. However, this small experiment could provide important data on just how practical it is for us to make and create our own resources on other planets and moons by learning how consumables (消耗品) behave in different environments.
1.How did the students feel when they got the chance to design the experiment ?
A.Excited. B.Nervous.
C.Confident. D.Casual.
2.What does the underlined word “This” in Paragraph 6 refer to?
A.The mixing of two stages. B.Adding yeast on Earth.
C.The preparation work on Earth. D.Fermentation and carbonation.
3.What can we learn about the experiment from the passage?
A.It has been designed based on similar experiments.
B.It’s quite competitive compared with other designs.
C.It’s design has already been approved by TeamIndus.
D.Its process was adapted to make it safer and greener.
4.What does the author think of the students ’ idea?
A.It seems like a pipe dream. B.It’s extremely complicated.
C.It’s meaningful and hopeful. D.It’s creative but impractical.
I was telling my boy Sonny the story of the hare and the tortoise. In the end ,I said, “ Son, remember: Be slow and steady, and that will win the race. Don’t you think there’s something to learn from the tortoise?”
Sonny opened his eyes wide, “Do you mean next time when I’m entering for the 60-metre race I should wish that Billy, Tony and Sandy would all fall asleep halfway?”
I was shocked, “But the tortoise didn’t wish that the hare would fall asleep!”
“He must have wished that,” Sonny said, “Otherwise how could he be so foolish as to race with the hare? He knew very well the hare ran a hundred times faster than he himself did.”
“He didn’t have such a wish,” I insisted. “He won the race by perseverance (坚忍不拔的), by pushing on steadily.”
Sonny thought a while. “That’s a lie,” he said. “He won it because he was lucky. If the hare hadn’t happened to fall asleep, the tortoise would never have won the race. He could be as steady as you like, or a hundred times steadier, but he’d never have won the race. That’s for sure.”
I gave up. Today’s children are not like what we used to be. They’re just hopeless.
1.The writer argued with his son because ______________.
A.he liked tortoises while his son liked hares
B.they disagreed about whether the tortoise was foolish
C.he tried to teach his son a moral (品德) lesson but the son had totally different opinion
D.he liked the story of the hare and the tortoise while his son didn’t.
2.Sonny believed that the tortoise ______________.
A.won the race by his own hard working
B.took a risk by agreeing to run a race
C.was not given a fair chance in the race
D.in fact did win the race luckily
3.Billy, Tony and Sandy must be_______________.
A.boys who were unknown to Sonny’s father
B.boys who Sonny has run races with before
C.boys who Sonny has never raced with before
D.boys who Sonny did not expect to race with again
4.According to the passage, who do you think learnt a lesson?
A.The tortoise B.Sonny
C.The hare D.Sonny’s father
In many ways, Alma Deutscher is like other 11-year-olds. She loves to climb trees, dance, read, and draw. But Alma, who lives in Dorking, England, has made one very special achievement. She has composed a full opera and brought it to the stage. Her opera, a retelling of Cinderella (灰姑娘), premiered (首次演出) in December 2016, in Vienna, Austria.
“I’ve loved Cinderella since I was 3,” Alma said. But she felt the story needed an improvement. “I didn’t like the thing about the shoe,” she says. “Why should the prince find her because of her feet?”
In Alma’s version (版本), Cinderella is a composer. She creates a melody (旋律) that she sings to the prince before fleeing the ball. “He remembers the beginning but not how it went on,” Alma says. The prince realizes that only Cinderella would know how the melody continues. He uses that knowledge to find her.
Alma began writing the opera when she was 8. It premiered on December 29, 2016, and the audience stood up and cheered. Alma played the piano and violin and performed in the show. “It was something that was completely inside my head, in my imagination, and then it came to life,” Alma says.
Alma says she is sure that music will remain a major part of her life. “I have lots of things that I want to compose,” she says. “The first one is a piano concerto (协奏曲). Then I’m writing a novel, and I want to write a movie based on it, and the music for that.”
She also has advice for kids who want to achieve their big dreams. “It’s a lot of work to reach a high level,” Alma says. “But if you love what you are doing, it doesn’t feel like hard work. Don’t let anyone stop you from doing it.”
1.What does the author mostly want to tell us about Alma Deutscher in Paragraph 1?
A.She is a cute girl. B.She lives in Vienna Austria.
C.She has a special music talent. D.She is always ready to help others.
2.What can we learn from Alma’s version of Cinderella?
A.The prince knows how the melody continues.
B.The prince finds Cinderella because of a melody.
C.The prince finds Cinderella because of her shoes.
D.The prince sings a melody to Cinderella before her fleeing the ball.
3.How was the performance of Alma’s Opera Cinderella?
A.It was a great success. B.It disappointed the audience.
C.It set a good example for other kids. D.It was something in Alma’s imagination.
4.What can we learn from Alma’s advice to other kids in the last paragraph?
A.Knowledge is power. B.A good beginning is half done.
C.Failure is the mother of success. D.Nothing is difficult if you’re enthusiastic.
Books to Read in Your 20s
The Kite Runner
By Khaled Hosseini
As a Middle Eastern and North African Studies student, I have a great interest in books about what takes place in this area. I first read this book in high school and really enjoyed it because of its accurate language. If any of you is interested in reading this book and hasn’t yet, I highly recommend (推荐) it.
Firefly Lane
By Kristin Hannah
This is my favorite book. It is a story about friendship, love and life lessons. The story covers the lives of two best friends, Tully and Kate, from childhood to adulthood. I learned so much about friendship and life. So, read Firefly Lane! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and then you’ll share this book to your best friend.
Half the Sky
By Nicholas Kristof
For any person of any age, Half the Sky is a must-read. It describes the struggle of women and the most pressing human rights problems of our time: the common oppression of women and girls.
The Little Prince
By Antoine de Saint
This children’s book is simple. It might seem like a wrong book to recommend to someone in their twenties but perhaps that’s what makes it a good choice. It sings praises to exploration and shows the importance of making friends.
1.Who is the writer of the book The Kite Runner?
A.Khaled Hosseini. B.Kristin Hannah.
C.Nicholas Kristof. D.Antoine de Saint.
2.What can you learn from Firefly Lane?
A.It’s written by Tully and Kate. B.It’s about friendship, love and life lessons.
C.It’s a simple book for children. D.It’s a book written for any person of any age.
3.Which book will you read if you want to know about human rights problems?
A.The Kite Runner. B.Firefly Lane.
C.Half the Sky. D.The Little Prince.
