Both of my two sons were born in Toronto, but they moved with us to Ottawa when they were quite young. They went to school there, grew up there. Later, one of my sons went to Canada’s east coast near a city called Halifax and the other moved to the west coast to Vancouver. My wife and I were left in the middle.
As we nearly retired (退休), we started to think where we should spend our final years. For several reasons we decided to live on a small town on Vancouver Island, where was close to one of my sons. However, the son moved to Hollywood soon after he had got another job there. I helped him move.
We still lived a happy life in our little west coast town, but we have paid a price. We have not been there for some important events such as the births of our grandchildren. We have missed watching them grow up; we have missed backyard barbecues (烧烤) and basketball weekends with them. Our home, while very comfortable, was also very quiet.
Every fall we travel to see the children. We usually fly, first to California to see our son Scott and spend a week or more with him trying to catch up on everything we’ve missed. Then, usually in November, we make the even longer trip east across Canada to see Travis and our grandchildren, who were about their twenties.
Fortunately, both our sons are doing well and grandchildren are growing up straight and tall. We love all of them and they love us. We’re very happy but there are times I think about the things we didn’t see: the tears or the smile on the granddaughter’s face, their school graduations, my son’s joy at successes in business.
Life has been good for our family but we have all paid a price.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
1.The writer’s sons grew up in ________.
A.Toronto B.Ottawa C.Halifax D.Vancouver
2.From the underlined sentence in paragraph 3, we can infer (推断) that the writer ________.
A.wanted to live a noisy life B.was satisfied with retired life
C.lived a comfortable life D.was sometimes lonely
3.Which of the following important events did the writer miss?
A.The births of his grandchildren.
B.School graduations of his grandchildren.
C.The successful times of his son’s business.
D.All of the above.
4.For his family life, the writer implies (暗示) ________.
A.they all regret not living together all the time although enjoying a happy life
B.they enjoy a happy life because they can see each other every year
C.they are proud of the sons and the grandchildren
D.they love the sons and the grandchildren
5.What’s the best title for the passage?
A.Living a happy life. B.A price to pay.
C.Moving from east to west. D.My sons and grandchildren.
Over the last six months, the coronavirus pandemic (冠状病毒疫情) has affected different countries and regions in different ways. Here, we’ll take a look at a few of the most important events that have happened.
Italy shuts down
On March 10, the Italian government decided to put the whole country on lockdown after the number of cases (病例) in the country started increasing quickly, people were suggested not leaving their home. The first case was detected (检测到) as early as January 31. In the following weeks, the number of cases reached over 10,000 by the time of the lockdown. The lockdown affected 16 million people across the country. Italy was one of the first of many countries that carried out lockdowns to prevent the spread of the virus.
WHO declares pandemic
On March 11, World Health Organization (WHO) officially characterized (描述) COVID-19 as a pandemic. This was because of a growing number of cases around the world. By this time, there were more than 20,0000 cases in Europe, including 1,000 deaths, as well as 1,000 cases in the US.
Summer Olympics delayed
On March 24, President of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC) Thomas Bach announced the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, which were planned to be held in Tokyo, would be delayed until the following year in the interest of protecting pubic safety.
US hits over 1 million cases
On April 28, the US officially recorded over one million COVID-19 cases nationwide. This came just four days after it was announced that the virus had resulted in over 50,000 deaths across the country. The virus spread rapidly across the country, as the first case had been recorded three months earlier.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
1.The events in the passage are all connected with ________.
A.Italy’s lockdown B.Olympic games
C.US cases D.the coronavirus pandemic
2.In Paragraph 2, the underlined word “lockdown” probably means ________.
A.封城 B.控制 C.关押 D.锁定
3.COVID-19 was officially announced as a pandemic because it ________.
A.caused the lockdowns B.had a growing number of cases in the world
C.could result in death D.spread quickly in Europe
4.2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo will be delayed because ________.
A.people may not go during the pandemic B.the cases in Asia increased quickly
C.it hasn’t been well-prepared D.it’s necessary to protect public safety
5.It took ________ for the number of COVID-19 cases in the US to reach over one million.
A.four days B.twenty-eight days
C.three months D.four months
5 Great British Bands | |||||
Name | Origin | Dates | Main band members | Famous song/album | Honours |
The Beatles | Liverpool | 1960-70 | John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr | The Beatles (The White Album) | Best- selling band in history |
The Rolling Stones | London | 1962 - present | Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman | It’s Only Rock’n Roll | 4th on ‘100 Greatest Artists of All Time’ list (Rolling Stones magazine) |
The Who | London | 1964 -82, 1985, 1988 - 89, 1996 - present | Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Kenney Jones | My Generation | Have seven albums on Rolling Stone magazine’s ‘500 Greatest Albums of All Time’ |
Led Zeppelin | London | 1968 -80 ( reunions: 1985,1988, 1995, 2007) | John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant | Stairway to Heaven | Second best-selling band ever in the USA |
Pink Floyd | London | 1965 - 1995, (one-off reunion: 2005) | Syd Berrett, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, David Gilmour | The Dark Side of the Moon | Sold more than 250 million albums worldwide |
仔细阅读表格内信息，选择最佳答案。
1.________ formed in Liverpool.
A.The Beatles B.The Rolling Stones C.The Who D.Led Zeppelin
2.________ lasts the longest.
A.The Rolling Stones B.The Who C.Led Zeppelin D.Pink Floyd
3.Among the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time on Rolling Stone magazine, ________ has seven.
A.The Beatles B.The Rolling Stones C.The Who D.Led Zeppelin
4.Led Zeppelin’s most famous song is ________.
A.It’s Only Rock’n Roll B.My Generation
C.Stairway to Heaven D.The Dark Side of the Moon
5.________ was one of the members of Pink Floyd.
A.John Lennon B.Keith Richards C.John Paul D.Richard Wright
Blue whales are the largest animals in the world. But they are amazing _______ because of their huge size, but their slow heartbeat.
For the first time , scientists have researched the _______ of a blue whale. They found _______ when blue whales dive (潜水) for food, their heart rates (心率) are as _______ as 2 beats per (每) minute (bpm). Scientists used to _______ that their diving heart rate was 15 bpm. When the whales go to the ocean’s _______ to breathe, their heart rate is between 25 and 37 bpm.
Usually, the larger an animal is, _______ its heart beats, since it takes more time to pump (输送) blood around _______ body. Shrews, the smallest mammals (哺乳动物), have a heart rate of up to 1,000 bpm. Humans usually stay between 60 and 100 bpm.
_______ slowing their heart rate, blue whales can send more blood to the muscles (肌肉) that they use ________. These muscles become stronger, allowing the whales to dive for longer periods of time.
1.A.neither B.either C.not only D.although
2.A.heartbeat B.body size C.diving D.food
3.A.it B.that C.once D.if
4.A.many B.little C.fast D.slow
5.A.regard B.expect C.think D.doubt
6.A.bottom B.surface C.center D.side
7.A.the slower B.slower C.the faster D.faster
8.A.it’s B.its C.his D.her
9.A.By B.In C.On D.At
10.A.to pump blood B.to eat C.to breathe D.to dive
— You look down! What’ s up?
— ________.
A.I’m watching a sitcom B.My mom is ill C.I just finished high school
—________ an amusement center, some restaurants and hundreds of stores in the shopping mall.
—Wow, it’s amazing. I will go next week.
A.There is B.There are C.There will be
